He focuses on stories with a health/science bent and has reported some of his favorite pieces from the prow of a canoe. Such an event would have been very meaningful to the magi, who were knowledgeable of ancient astronomy, but would likely have gone unnoticed by others. It is believed that a miracle had occurred at the time of his birth. A conjunction is when a planet passes closely by a star or by another planet. Such an event is extremely rare and may have been perceived as highly significant to the magi. And when they had found out about the Lord Jesus Christ being born they brought gifts of three. However, this would not have been the case at the time of Christ’s birth, due to a celestial phenomenon called “precession.” There was no “North Star” during Christ’s earthly ministry. It moved before the wise men appearing disappearing as it led them to Jesus. Certainly the birth of our Lord was deserving of honor in the heavens. According to the Bible, a star rose with the birth of Christ. Two of these were triple conjunctions; this is when a planet passes a star (or another planet), then backs up, passes it again, then reverses direction and passes the star/planet a third time. But it is a great thing to lead people to Jesus. Star and Scepter (bearer) both indicate a king, and Israel and Jacob are two names for the same person who is the ancestor of the coming king. Never indulge for a single moment the notion that you need a broader philosophy or a deeper spirituality than is to be found in Christ. He partnered with Intimate Life Ministries and also regularly teaches national leaders for CRU and various other mission organizations. Some suggest Halley’s Comet that passed overhead in 11 B.C. Others suggest a meteor or a shooting star. So they, too, followed the star till it rested above the birthplace of Jesus. The faithful Christian, like the star, belongs to Jesus. Chapter 2 in the Gospel according to Matthew opens with the narrative of Jesus’ birth in close connection with an Eastern star. Continue However, such an event could have been of religious or astrological significance. There they meet King Herod of Judea, and ask him, where the king of the Jews had been born. This they had learned from Herod, who had learned it from the priests and scribes (Matthew 2:4–5, 8). And while a supernova would have certainly been a dramatic sight, there is no historical record of a bright nova at that time, Rao reports. When a star in our galaxy explodes, it shines very brightly for several months. He was recently honored as distinguished alumni by Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. That is, it was not necessarily an enormous mass of hydrogen and helium gas powered by nuclear fusion. For a normal star, it would be impossible to determine which house is directly beneath it. The Virgin Birth itself was a supernatural event; it cannot be explained within the context of known natural laws. When the star came to where Jesus was, it stood still and so should our minds become settled and fixed and focused in upon Jesus. This is clear from the synonymous parallelism (see the next note). Others claim to lead to Christ and stop before they get all the way to Him. The Christmas star has traditionally been associated with the spirit of the celebration and their is something very special about it. A careful reading of the biblical text indicates that the magi saw the star on at least two occasions: when they arrived at Jerusalem (Matthew 2:2) and after meeting with Herod (Matthew 2:9). Although the Star of Bethlehem appears just once in the Bible, in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, it has become one of the holiday’s most important and enduring symbols. In The New Answers Book 2 you’ll find 31 more great answers to big questions for the Christian life. This explanation has its origins even further back in time, dating to early Christian theologian Origen in AD 248. Dr. Roger Barrier, founder of Preach It, Teach It, is a well-known author and sought-after conference speaker. The star watched over them, casting a peaceful light over all. The planet then appears to move from east to west for some days before again stopping and resuming its west to east movement. "The Magi came from Persia, which meant they traveled 900 miles west. In fact, Christmas only takes place on December 25 because of the Roman Emperor Constantine, who moved the holiday in order to coincide with the shortest night of the year. This could have been nearly two years after Christ’s birth, since Herod—afraid that his own position as king was threatened—tried to have Jesus eliminated by killing all male children under the age of two (Matthew 2:16). The idea is present in many different works of universal literature, including poetry and philosophy. Supernovae are extremely luminous and cause a burst of radiation that often briefly outshines an entire galaxy before fading from view over several weeks or months. For more information on the laws of nature, see. But the Christmas star is specially designated as “His” (Christ’s), suggesting its unusual nature. Contrary to what is commonly believed, the magi did not arrive at the manger on the night of Christ’s birth; rather, they found the young Jesus and His mother living in a house (Matthew 2:11). If you enjoyed the bits of information about the meaning of Parol, and wants to read more from The Mixed Culture, make sure to subscribe to my mailing list to read my latest blog straight from your inbox. Star Spiritual Meaning. Due to the relative movements of the Earth and the planets, this motion appears to slow and then stop as the planet reaches what is called a 'stationary point'. His popular book, Listening to the Voice of God, published by Bethany House, is in its second printing and is available in Thai and Portuguese. A conjunction is when a planet passes closely by a star … Barrier has also written a number of journal articles and was a contributing author of The Kingdom and the Power. In the biblical conception of the word, a star is any luminous point of light in our night sky. We see at “The Secret Doctrine” references to the direct connection between the Seven. I’m inclined to believe that the “Christmas star” was some sort of miraculous-luminous appearance in mid-air–something akin to the pillar of fire that led Israel in the wilderness! Of course, God can use natural law to accomplish His will. Then the star moved on again to a country far away, where some good, wise men lived. Such events are quite rare. Others suggest a supernova in which a dying star implodes in upon itself. Perhaps the magi were expecting a new star to announce the birth of Christ from reading Numbers 24:17, which describes a star coming from Jacob and a King (“Scepter”)4 from Israel.5, Curiously, the magi seem to have been the only ones who saw the star—or at least the only ones who understood its meaning. Danny Lewis is a multimedia journalist working in print, radio, and illustration. He had to ask the magi when the star had appeared, but everyone would have seen a bright supernova. Jupiter in Hebrew is known as ‘Sedeq’, which is often translated as meaning righteousness. God can use extraordinary means for extraordinary purposes. None of the above speculations fully explain how the star “went ahead of ” the magi nor how it “stood over where the child was.” Indeed, no known natural phenomenon would be able to stand over Bethlehem since all natural stars continually move due to the rotation of the earth.2 They appear to rise in the east and set in the west, or circle around the celestial poles. During the Christmas season, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing stars hanging from street lamps and perched atop Christmas trees. These beautiful events are quite rare and outshine all the other stars in the galaxy. The topic is also subject to mystery, as its deeper knowledge belongs to high initiates only. Then, let me gather some light of application from the Star. Such an intimate relationship between stars and wise men also occurs in the more recent Christian tradition, and in the legends of the New Testament. The Star of Bethlehem and the Esoteric. Dr. Nor could the Christmas star have been a bright comet. A supernova (an exploding star) fits the popular Christmas card conception of the star. The significance of the star can be found in the story related to the birth of Jesus Christ. Is evolution a religion? People complain about The New Answers Book. However, this same argument could be applied to an object moving with the stars if the journey of the Magi took some months. This would certainly include our modern definition of a star, but it would also include the planets, supernovae, comets, or anything else that resembles a point of light. The Greek word translated star is aster (αστηρ), which is where we get the word astronomy. The idea that the Magi saw a nova or supernova explosion was hinted at by 17th century astronomer, Johannes Kepler, and has had many supporters since. are come to worship him.” (Matthew, 2:1) In fact, there were three conjunctions, when the two planets were close to one another in the sky, but none of these were close enough that they'd appear as one object. Regulus itself is Latin for 'prince' or 'little king', and Venus is often viewed as a symbol of love, fertility and birth. It seems to have led them to the very house that Jesus was in—not just the city. At last the dawn came over the hill tops, and the star went away, far back into the blue heavens, to tell the other stars the story of the Christmas day. And Plato says this about the “creator” and the primordial “mixture” of the cosmos: “(…..) He divided the whole mixture into souls equal in number to the stars, and assigned each soul to a star; and having there placed them as in a chariot, he showed them the nature of the universe, and declared to them the laws of destiny…”, Indeed, according to esoteric philosophy physical stars are but the “chariots”, or vehicles, for star-spirits. There are some remarkable stars in the theological skies these days. GIVE TODAY to help pastors around the world share Christ. This leads us to the theory that the Christmas star was a conjunction of planets. It is a small thing to shine for Jesus. A miraculous star also explains why the magi referred to the object as “His star” – a star uniquely created for the purpose of announcing the coming of the long-awaited Messiah. What light can we gather from the star? At the possible time of the birth of Christ in the Bible, one of the stationary points could have occurred when Jupiter was directly overhead at Bethlehem at the same time of night for several nights. During the Christmas season, it’s hard to go anywhere without seeing stars hanging from street lamps and perched atop Christmas trees. Of course, we do not know the exact year of Christ’s birth, but both of these events are close to the estimated time.