Christmas Date Made Simple

Question: I read your theory that the Star of Bethlehem was two planets that combined on June 17th of 2 B.C. But, how could the two planets still be combined six months later when the Magi arrived? Would they not have moved apart by then? Just asking.

The following is a brief overview of the dates concerning the conception and birth of Jesus including the date of the arrival of the magi according to the science of astronomy.

In the Book of Revelation, John saw a "great wonder" or vision involving a pregnant woman in the heavens with a crown of 12 stars on her head giving birth to a male child (Revelation 12:1-2). This astronomical scene actually appeared in the skies over Judah or Israel on September 11th of 3 B.C. This then was the conception of Jesus during the Holy Feast of Yom Kippur when the Jews pray for salvation from the wrath of God.

If we fast forward nine months to June 17th 2 B.C., we see the planets Jupiter and Venus stack on top of each other. This produced the brightest light ever seen in human history. This then was the birth date of Jesus. The two planets then passed each other and the “Star” was now gone. However, the Magi of Babylonia saw the Star in the constellation of Leo the Lion with its paw on the head of Hydra the serpent over the land of Judea. They concluded that this was a sign from the God of Daniel that the world’s Messiah was born (Daniel 2:48; Daniel 9:24-27). So, they started making plans for the 900 mile trip to Judea.

The Magi left the Kingdom of Babylon heading due west in the cooler months of September or early October (Matthew 2:1). They were three hundred miles into their nine hundred mile trip when they noticed that Jupiter, known then as a Wandering Star, made a sudden retrograde or stop on October 30th 2 B.C. We can now verify this actually happened on this exact date through the science of astronomy. The Magi were six hundred miles into their trip when they saw Jupiter make a second and extremely rare retrograde on November 25th, 2 B.C. Again, this has been scientifically verified. Then, thirty days later and from Herod’s palace in Jerusalem, they were observing Jupiter when it began to make an extraordinary third and final retrograde. They watched as Jupiter, now still heading south, slowed to almost a complete stop over Jerusalem.

Now the Magi wondered how they would ever locate the child in a city the size of Jerusalem (Matthew 2:1)? It was then that the Magi learned from Herod’s chief priests and scribes of a prophecy that the Messiah would come from Ephrata which is the ancient name of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:2-6). This was a small village where King David was born and located three miles south of Jerusalem. The Magi immediately went to Bethlehem, and on December 25th, 2 B.C. the planet Jupiter literally stopped over Bethlehem. Matthew writes that the star, " …came and stood still over the house where Jesus was."(Matthew 2:9). Seeing the star or planet, stand still or retrograde directly above Bethlehem for the final time, assured the Magi that they were at last in the right place at the right time (Matthew 2:10). They located the house where the family was staying, introduce themselves to Joseph and were invited in. When they saw Jesus with Mary, they instantly fell down and worshiped Him (Matthew 2:11). By this time, Jesus was now a six month old, or as Matthew puts it a, “young child” meaning not a newborn but closer to a toddler (Matthew 2:9).

This was then the first celebration of the birth of Jesus. And it is fitting that He was recognized, celebrated and worshiped by wise men. We have writings that show Christians were celebrating the birth of Jesus c. 150 A.D. but no exact date is given. Clement of Alexandria wrote in c. 200 A.D. that the date being celebrated was December 25th. In 336 A.D. this date was made the official time to celebrate the birth of Christ. The church then held a Mass in honor of this date and referred to it as the Christ Mass from which we get the name Christmas. Thus, we continue this tradition of celebrating His birth on this date.

Once again, the Gospel of Matthew states that the Magi arrived “after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah” and that they saw the star or Jupiter “stop” over Bethlehem where Jesus was living in a “house”. Modern astronomy can now scientifically verify for a fact that what is stated in Matthew concerning Jupiter, actually happened and the exact dates it happened. Therefore, the conception and birth dates of Jesus are now certain. And, the arrival date of the Magi six months later is now known. These dates are no longer a mystery nor are the events unprovable fabrications. They are now firmly grounded in irrefutable astronomical fact. Fortunately for us, God did permanently fix the stars and planets in the firmament for “signs” of things that have been and are to come (Genesis 1:14).

On an interesting note, Jupiter the king planet, is also referred to by astronomers as earth's saviour planet. Computer models show that while the earth was in its early formative stages, Jupiter inexplicably moved from its current orbit. For reasons still unknown, it repositioned itself into an orbit that was in close proximity to the earth. There, due to its immense size, it attracted most of the very large asteroids that could have struck and destroyed a young earth. Then, after the earth was fully formed but with no life, Jupiter once again moved back to it current distant position. Today we know it needed to return to its original orbit to allow the earth to experience one last large asteroid strike. It was the rocky debris that was thrown into space from this strike that coalesced to form the moon. Thus today, the only large asteroids and comets that might strike the earth are in long-period orbits of tens and hundreds of millions of years. So, Jupiter was not only the planetary saviour of the earth, but its triple retrograde motion announced to the Wise Men of the earth, the birth of the Savior of mankind and all creation. And it was Jupiter that led the Magi straight to the village of Bethlehem and the world's Messiah.

That said, and on a more ominous note, the Book of Revelation strongly suggest that it is a large asteroid that breaks into two pieces striking the earth on two occasions during the Great Tribulation period. These events are described as burning the earth with fire and the second polluting the oceans and fresh water. The asteroid is referred to as "Wormwood" which in Russian is translated to the word Chernobyl (Revelation 8:10-11).

In closing, consider this. God created the Big Bang knowing in advance that Jesus would be born in the future to bring salvation to all mankind. He wanted the birth and death of His only begotten biological Son to be permanently remembered in the heavens with a "sign". This means that from the Big Bang on, a tremendous grand and unfathomably complex clock was now set in motion. Then, 13.8 billion years later, two planets would converge exactly when they were intelligently designed to do so on June 17th 2 B.C. and herald the birth of His Son to those men wise enough to be looking for the "sign".

So, modern astronomy gives us the exact dates of Jesus' conception, birth and the arrival of the Magi. But modern astronomy gives us one last date to consider. It tells us that, 33 years later on Friday April 3rd, 33 A.D., just before the beginning of Passover at sundown, God marked the death of His Son with the appearance of a Blood Moon rising over His tomb. And, although this moon rose over Judah at sunset, according to astronomical calculations, it turned red three hours earlier while below the Judean horizon. So, it actually turned red at 3:00 P.M. which is the exact same time Jesus is noted by Matthew as having died on the cross (Matthew 27:45). But it was seen rising over Judah at sundown when Jesus was being sealed in His tomb. And all these events were put in motion 13.8 billion years ago! How incredible to consider the span of these timelines. And, more importantly, how great is our God who purposefully set these timelines in motion before the foundations of the world for our contemplation (Matthew 13:35; John 17:24; I Peter 1:20). Breathtakingly remarkable!

It is obvious we should continue to look to the skies in anticipation of what is to come in this final Age of the Rule of Mankind on earth. In the words of the Apostle Luke, “Look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draws near” (Luke 21:28)