The Star of Bethlehem Has Now Been Found

The Star of the Wise Men

When the full story is known about these matters and what happened astronomically from May, 3 B.C.E. to December, 2 B.C.E., historians and astronomers may now be able to discover the very “star” that led the Wise Men to the infant Jesus at Bethlehem. Isaac Asimov asked the right question about the conjunction of Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2 B.C.E. We may share our inquisitiveness with him. Was this the “Star of the Messiah” that the Jews and others were looking for? Was this the “star” mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew and supported by the account in the Gospel of Luke? 28 The word “star” in the 1st century could refer to a planet as well as a fixed star. Could the “star” have been the planet Jupiter? The historical events recorded in the New Testament about the “Star of the Messiah” chronologically occurred precisely at this time, and this is the period early Christian scholars said Jesus was born.

These matters need serious investigation and the academic world recognizes the importance of this astronomical activity. Historians and classical scholars are aware of this new information that was recorded in my earlier article and book. Let me give a few reviews of this new research. Dr. Thorley in England wrote in the classical journal Greece and Rome,

“New light has been thrown on the date of the nativity. ... Martin tackles the [historical] problems convincingly. It does seem that Luke’s account of the nativity is turning out to be essentially accurate in its historical details [and that] Luke did not mislead Theophilus, not even historically.” 29

The National Catholic Register also reported on this new information.

“Dr. Martin directs a Pasadena-based organization devoted to research on biblical subjects. He has had considerable archaeological experience, and the Education section of Time [magazine] for September 3, 1973 was devoted to him and his excavations in Jerusalem. He not only knows his subject but can write simply and understandably. [His work] does seem to afford a solemn astronomical basis for calculating the birth of Christ.” 30

In the 1987 publication The Christmas Star published by Griffith Observatory we read,

“Martin has rewritten the history of this period, clearing up a slew of nagging problems. Prominent classical historians are taking his work very seriously, and although it will be years before a consensus is reached, an impartial referee would probably conclude that Martin’s chronology is correct.” 31

This new information inspired Guideposts magazine in its December, 1988 issue to state (having been given the astronomical evaluations of those on the staff of Adler Planetarium in Chicago) that this historical evidence represents the best explanation of the “Star of Bethlehem” yet presented. 32

This was followed in November 1992 with a presentation and discussion of this research on the Star of Bethlehem at the Center for Constructive Alternatives Seminar at Hillsdale College in Michigan. Among those attending were Prof. Owen Gingerich, Professor of Astronomy and Science at Harvard University and several other prominent professors in other scientific disciplines. The astronomer Dr. Craig Chester gave the lecture at the Seminar on the new research, and in December 1993 he wrote a full report about these astronomical and historical findings in Imprimis magazine in which he said that among astronomers the First Edition of this book (The Star that Astonished the World), “has become the authoritative source on the subject.” 33

There is no question that the astronomical occurrences which took place from 3 to 1 B.C.E. did in fact happen, and they represent some of the most spectacular celestial displays that either astronomers or the general public could ask for to introduce a newborn king into the world. If there were any design to it at all (and I believe there was), most people would think that someone of great importance was then being announced to the world. This is because the whole of the heavenly host was bursting forth into a brilliant panoramic exhibition that would have certainly astonished those who witnessed it.

The Star of Bethlehem Has Now Been Found

When Roger Sinnott over twenty years ago (concentrating on the astronomical events of this period) suggested that the “Star of Bethlehem” could be found with the planetary union of Jupiter and Venus in 2 B.C.E., the door was opened that made it possible to identify that biblical star in an astronomical and historical sense. What Sinnott suggested began to make sense to other astronomers. The results of his research were impressive to several astronomers. C.A. Federer, editor-in-chief of Sky and Telescope, said that “Sinnott’s results make the Star of Bethlehem more plausible astronomically than it has seemed heretofore.” 34

In addition to that astronomical appraisal, this present book will show that the same identification also becomes plausible in a historical sense as well. When the records of history are combined with the results of astronomy, it now becomes possible to identify the “Star of Bethlehem” that many people for the past 1900 years have been trying to discover.

What is needed is a serious scholarly consideration for this scientific approach in identifying the “Star of Bethlehem.” Evaluating the data will result in a much better understanding of that historical era of time. The astronomer John Mosley wrote in the Griffith Observer,

“It is not often that we see the demise of an astronomical theory that dates back to pre-telescopic times. Yet a theory first proposed by none other than the famous astronomer Johannes Kepler himself, and generally accepted as correct for more than 3 and ½ centuries, is now being discarded ... [by] new historical research of Dr. Ernest L. Martin.” 35

This historical and astronomical research in this book is why many planetariums (well over 600 in the United States alone) are now showing what was astronomically happening at the crucial time in history when Jesus of Nazareth was born. They are, correctly, not making judgments on these phenomena. Planetariums are scientific establishments and are not intended to give opinions on historical or biblical matters. But they are aware of the fascinating and spectacular astronomical relationships that occurred in 3 to 2 B.C.E., the period that history as revealed in this book shows Jesus was born. Because these celestial events were so remarkable and symbolically significant, many planetariums have considered it worthwhile to show them as a service to the general public because of the widespread interest in this period of time.

There is one thing for certain. This astronomical information given within this book makes this period in the history of the world come alive as never before. Whether people today view these planetary/stellar events from the early Roman, Mesopotamian or the Palestinian perspective, or even from a modern secular one, we now have clear evidence that there was once (at the very beginning of our era) a unique appearance of a magnificent star which must be called “The Star that Astonished the World.”

This celestial event on June 17, 2 B.C.E. would have appeared fortunate to the people of Rome because Jupiter was also reckoned as the guardian and ruler of the Empire and it was supposed to determine the course of all human affairs. 17 Besides this, Venus (which was now in conjunction with Jupiter) was believed to be the mother (Genetrix) of the family of Augustus. 18 So, here were the two planets dedicated to the origins of Rome and reckoned as special to Augustus now merging together into a “marriage” union during one of the most glorious years in the history of Rome.

Link:

[link to www.askelm.com]