Tag: Comets

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Part 3: What was the Star of Bethlehem?

Let’s check into a proven historical resource: the Bible. Please read Matthew 2:1–9. And I thank Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Ministries, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, for helping me think through this issue. (Dr. Kennedy passed away September 5, 2007.)

The phrase “we have seen” denotes an academic observation, and the phrase “in the East” (“…For we have seen His star in the East.…”) literally means “in its rising,” which in turn could denote a physical direction or pointing of the “star.” Therefore, the wording in verse two “we have seen his star in its rising” implies a meticulous scrutiny of a portion of the night sky rather than a casual observation.

The zodiac is divided into twelve constellations, and at that time in history each constellation was assigned to a specific world empire. The common thought back then was whenever a king or prince was born, a “sign” (comet? super-nova? conjunction of several planets?) would be found in that empire’s constellation.

Dr. Kennedy said the Persians believed whenever a comet entered a constellation, if the comet’s tail pointed downward a king had just died, but if the tail pointed upward a king was born. It was also understood that God (or “the gods”) controlled the heavens. Psalm 19:1 agrees by saying, “The heavens declare God’s glory; the sky displays His handiwork.”

Therefore, the wise men (Magi, astronomers, scholars, nobility) may have been studying the sky and discovered a new comet in Israel’s constellation with its tail pointing upward, and correctly understood it to mean that a new king was born in or near Israel’s capital: Jerusalem. In this sense, these royal ambassadors did not follow the star as one would follow a slow hotair balloon. Rather, they followed the directions obtained from Israel’s constellation and went to Jerusalem.

But what is it about the “star” that led them to the specific house? Matthew 2:9 says, “… and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.” A comet, possibly as close as 3,000,000 miles away, cannot “stand over” a planet, let alone stand over a house. The moon, 240,000 miles away, cannot “stand over” a particular house. Therefore, even a small star the size of our sun (with a diameter of approximately 860,000 miles, and 93,000,000 miles away) cannot get close enough to “stand over” a house.

So we need to consider another act of God – that of possibly assigning a messenger – to further direct the royal ambassadors. Here is a brief explanation of my theory.

After seeing a comet within Israel’s constellation which prompted the magi to start on their journey and directed them to Jerusalem, and being advised by the palace scholars to go to Bethlehem, an angel could have taken the physical position of “standing” or hovering over the house as the Magi approached Bethlehem. However, the angel would have started high in the sky and slowly descended to the house as the visitors approached. Therefore, the angel was not recognized for who he was. This, my theory, fits the biblical parameters while taking into consideration history and culture. I hope this helps you in formulating your ideas.

Someone asked me if I could prove that Jesus is God. No, I cannot. But the Bible says that He is. And because the Bible has been proven correct so many times, I accept the Bible as authoritative proof. What many folks do not understand is this: believing that Jesus is God is a matter of faith, but disbelieving is also a matter of faith.

Scripture attributes characteristics and titles to Jesus that can be true only of God, and Jesus is often called God. Example: “Looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13; NCV). Jesus is presented as being self-existent (John 1:1, 14:6); omnipresent (Matthew 18:20, 28:20); omniscient (John 4:16–18, 6:64, Matthew 17:22–27); omnipotent (Revelation 1:8, Luke 4:39– 55, 7:14–15, Matthew 8:26–27); and possessing eternal life (John 1:4, 1 John 5:11–12, 20).

Most of Jesus’ followers were devout Jews who believed in one true God. They were uncompromisingly monotheistic, yet they recognized Jesus as God incarnate. Because of his extensive training as a Pharisee and a rabbi, the Apostle Paul would be even less likely to attribute deity to Jesus. Yet he did (Acts 9:1–5, 20:28). These were not blind, mushy-minded, easy to deceive simpletons. They were devout Jews who were proud of their Jewish heritage. Yet they became followers of Jesus Christ because they believed what their Scriptures prophesied about Him.

Did Jesus claim to be God? In a confrontation with Satan, Jesus said, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only” (Matthew 4:10–11, NASB). Yet Jesus purposely received honor and worship that He, as God, had a right to receive (Matthew 14:33, 28:9). The Jewish leaders told Him: “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God” (John 10:33; NASB). Thus, the Jewish leaders agreed that Jesus claimed to be God. So, it is safe to believe that Jesus Christ is God, but is eternally dangerous not to believe.

This Jesus is the one who was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, was killed on the cross because the Jewish leaders were afraid of Him, who raised to life after three days in the tomb, and re-ascended to heaven forty days after his resurrection. He is God. You do not need to be afraid of Him because He came to save us and grant us eternal life. He loves you and is waiting for you to respond to Him.

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Historical Global Climate Change

We’ve been told: “Mankind and modern technology are creating greenhouse gases which are responsible for melting glaciers and polar ice caps, and warming the oceans. Therefore, our technology will cause massive coastal flooding within a hundred years.” The question is: Is that true?

That scenario can be confusing because the same people who bemoan human-caused global warming tell us the earth has undergone several ice-ages in the prehistoric past. If they’re right, the earth froze and thawed several times without man’s assistance. So if our technology wasn’t available, what caused the assumed cooling and re-heating cycles?

We have geological evidence that the entire earth was a greenhouse 5 to 8 thousand years ago. We also know that for every effect there is a cause. Therefore, without man to mess with the earth, what caused the earth to cool down? Geological data shows that the earth’s oceans could have been about 300 feet lower than they are now. What raised the ocean levels? Without the human factor, what caused the earth to warm up again?

To compound the problem, I just read that by 2050 the earth might undergo another “mini-ice-age” and the sun will be the culprit.

Mount Kilauea, one of three active volcanos in Hawaii, has a lava lake that is over 520 feet wide, is very deep, and of course it’s fed from the huge magma pool. On April 26, 2015 the “lake” level rose twenty-six feet. The previous week, Chile’s Calbuco volcano erupted again. On May 18, 1980, Mt. St. Helens erupted. And in April of 2010, Mount Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland erupted which caused substantial disruption to air traffic across Europe. There are about 1,500 potentially active volcanos above water and 500 potentially active underwater. People ignore the fact that these mountains spew heat into the water and atmosphere which affects the climate. Dr. Dan Walker at the University of Hawaii noticed a strong correlation between seismic and volcanic activity in the Pacific Ocean and El Nino cycles over a period of 25 years. Also, sulfur dioxide and sulfuric acid are produced by volcanic activity which is carried world-wide on the trade winds. Volcanism produces an average of over 5.5 billion tons of CO2 annually. And man cannot stop any of this.

Does the book containing the oldest available historical record of man say anything about global climate?

It does. Genesis 2:6 says, “The Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground.”

But Genesis 8:22 reports after the world-wide flood, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.”

Then Genesis 9:12-13 says, “And God said, this is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow [rainbow] in the cloud….”

We find that the earth was a greenhouse with no rain. That infers continuous cloud cover with a more massive atmosphere; and that suggests no direct sunlight reaching the ground. After the flood, Genesis 8:22 mentions “cold and heat, and summer and winter.”

Seasons were introduced which suggests massive geological, atmospheric, and climatological changes. There was a sudden world-wide cool-down with the sudden appearance of what became polar ice caps. Man’s average lifetime was reduced from 912 years (before the flood) to 285 years (as of Abraham’s lifetime). Winter, mountains, deserts, snow, hail, rain, tornados, and hurricanes were gradually introduced to the world.

Matt Cantor wrote an interesting article (May 3, 2015) titled “Ancient Climate Change Could Explain Tibet Mystery.” Matt said that about 4,000 years ago Tibetan climate suddenly became much colder. Of course, man didn’t cause that temperature shift.

With the probable influx of massive amounts of ice from ice comets that slammed onto earth which changed the earth’s astronomical posture, the earth went into geological convulsions and the earth’s crust broke up. And the earth has been ever-so-slowly reverting to its temperate equilibrium ever since. Although mankind should increasingly clean up industrial contamination, man is not able to control earth’s climate. If mankind were removed and the earth was given to the animals, the warm-up would continue. Since God caused it, He is the one who will have to stop it … if and when He wants to.