Astrotheology in the Old Testament
In my previous post “Astrotheology in the Gospel — the recording of Jesus of Nazareth’s birth” I have proposed several dates for events that follow the Biblical narrative from Matthew and Luke between the 1st of May, 3 BCE (-2), and the 29th of December, 1 BCE (0). If you are new to the concept of astrotheology then it would be good to read it before continuing.
According to Luke 3:23 Jesus was about 30 years old when he started his ministry:
And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,
We know he was born on the 31st of July, 2 BCE (-1) according to my previous writing. Which means that he started after 31st of July, 29 AD by estimation.
According to the Prophecy of Daniel
The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BCE biblical apocalypse with an ostensible 6th century setting. What we need to understand is that the Antikythera Mechanism is thought to have been constructed sometime around 150–100 BCE.
The Antikythera is an ancient Greek hand-powered orrery, described as the first analogue computer, the oldest known example of such a device used to predict astronomical positions and eclipses for calendar and astrological purposes decades in advance. [1]
Now in the Book of Daniel there was a prophecy called the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks, which was the narrative of chapter 9. Daniel 9:24–26 reads:
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
By taking the day-year principle this means that there were 69 x 7 = 483 years between the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, this is commonly understood.
According to Nehemiah’s recounts
Nehemiah supervised the rebuilding of Jerusalem in the mid-5th century BCE after his release from captivity by the Persian king Artaxerxes I, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes. Nehemiah 2:1–8 reads:
1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
2 Wherefore the king said unto me, Why is thy countenance sad, seeing thou art not sick? this is nothing else but sorrow of heart. Then I was very sore afraid,
3 And said unto the king, Let the king live for ever: why should not my countenance be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers’ sepulchres, lieth waste, and the gates thereof are consumed with fire?
4 Then the king said unto me, For what dost thou make request? So I prayed to the God of heaven.
5 And I said unto the king, If it please the king, and if thy servant have found favour in thy sight, that thou wouldest send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers’ sepulchres, that I may build it.
6 And the king said unto me, (the queen also sitting by him,) For how long shall thy journey be? and when wilt thou return? So it pleased the king to send me; and I set him a time.
7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
An Eclipse helps to fix a starting date.
A near-total eclipse of the sun happened on August 3rd, 431 BCE, at the very beginning of the Peloponnesian War. The eclipse of 431 BCE was described by Thucydides. The NASA website describes this account of Thucydides as the “oldest European record of a verifiable solar eclipse (annular)”. [2]
To know the date of the solar eclipse, 431 BCE is to know, by reading the History, the date of the flight of Themistocles, 473 BCE. To know that date is to know also the beginning of the reign of Artaxerxes, which happened just a short while before this, 474 or 473 BC. [3] And by using the Antikythera Daniel could have known this as well if History was made available to him.
Now if we go by 474 BCE and add 20 years for the twentieth year of Artaxerxes then we can conclude that the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks started in 454 BCE and the Jesus’ ministry began in 454–484 (483 + 1 for year zero) = 30 CE. I will propose exact dates by reading deeper into scripture.
Confirming Nehemiah by astrotheology
Nehemiah 2:1 And it came to pass in the month Nisan, in the twentieth year of Artaxerxes the king, that wine was before him: and I took up the wine, and gave it unto the king. Now I had not been beforetime sad in his presence.
The first verse of chapter 2 gives several clues as to what to look for. First we read that it happened in the month of Nisan which for the year 454 BCE started on the 18th of March. It is important to understand that Artaxerxes I, even though described as benevolent, does not embody the same qualities as a righteous king.
Nehemiah was a cup-bearer, a righteous king would have no need for a cup-bearer. This is important as the descriptions tells us what to look for. The cup-bearer was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as thoroughly trustworthy to hold the position. Because of the character of the king we can assume he is linked to the planet Mars, and Nehemiah having been trusted the cup of Hermes can be linked to Mercury.
In the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, he is described as such: eunochos (eunuch), rather than oinochoos (wine-cup-bearer). This too is fitting as spilling the “cup of Hermes” refers to seminal spilling from an alchemical point of view. Having been trusted the role of eunochos or oinochoos makes Nehemiah the prime candidate for God to rebuild Jerusalem from an exoteric as well as an esoteric perspective.
The wine-cup-bearer serves wine. In the Bible there is bread (the House of Bread, Virgo) and wine (the House of Self-Undoing). Bread sustains but wine is a mocker (Proverbs 20:1).
Bringing this all together we can expect Mercury to approach Mars in the sign of Pisces in the month of Nisan, 454 BCE. Proving that Nehemiah 2:1 is based on astronomical observations.
N.B. The scene is better played out in motion. Over several days Mercury approaches Mars an right before connecting due to its slow pace and retrograde motion relative to the Sun.
Venus conjuncts the Sun on this day, for whatever it is worth.
Confirming the Sermon on the Mount by astrotheology
The Sermon on the Mount given by Jesus was said to have taken place right after Pentecost. In 30AD, fifty days after the Ascension of the Living Word, the Jews were celebrating the Old Covenant Feast of Pentecost. In Hebrew, this feast was known as the Feast of Weeks or Shavuot. The feast began in the evening of Thursday, May the 23rd and lasted until the evening of Saturday, May the 25th.
The new moon leading up to this was a solar eclipse which happened on the 21st of May, 30 CE. This solar eclipse was not visible, but again, in the second century science was able to model and calculate eclipses that were not visible. Transits between Taurus and Geminin seem to be very significant as they appear at major events in Biblical history which I will follow up on in a later post.
Conclusion
Jesus’ ministry was foretold by Daniel who referenced Nehemiah, which itself contained an astronomical observation. Daniel lived in the 2nd century BCE at a time when it was possible to calculate the duration between eclipses. By combining written accounts and mechanical engineering Daniel was able to predict solar eclipses 483 years apart. The final week of the Prophecy of Seventy Weeks deservers further exploration.
Scripture is undeniably rooted in astrology.
References
[1] Antikythera mechanism — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antikythera_mechanism
[2] Nasa describes eclipse of 431 BCE — https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEhistory/SEhistory.html
[3] Old Greek History & Daniel’s Seventy Weeks — https://asterisktom.wordpress.com/2014/09/29/old-greek-history-daniels-seventy-weeks/
By Orestes_3113
Social media: Twitter, Facebook , LinkedIn
Support me if you value the presented content so that I can continue to report on my research. BTC: bc1qkjkm63hw77308crne0ut472mmzwkyhg7g6r7e7, Patreon: Orestes_3113.
