Gospel in the Stars

“The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.
God has made a home in the heavens for the sun.
It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.
The sun rises at one end of the heavens
and follows its course to the other end.
Nothing can hide from its heat.” (Psalm 19:1-6 NLT)

Do we believe that the stars speak to us of God and of Christ? That they “make him known” as the above Scripture says? In what sense? Just a general sense or a very specific sense? Could there be a literal message, a very specific story written in the stars? Have I italicized enough words in the previous sentences to pique your interest?

I don’t know. Let’s find out!

It certainly would be fun to discover a very specific special message in the stars from God, wouldn’t it? So join me on a journey of discovery as I embark on a mission to uncover the truth. Let’s do some proper research from some credible sources and see what we can find.

I found it remarkable that the Scriptures reveal Jesus as the Creator who personally placed the stars in the sky himself and knows them each by name:

Jesus is the Creator?!? 

“In the beginning the Word (Jesus) already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
He existed in the beginning with God.
God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.” John 1:1-3 NLT

Colossians 1 also bears witness to this:

“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God.
He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation,
for through him God created everything
in the heavenly realms and on earth.
He made the things we can see
and the things we can’t see—
such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.
Everything was created through him and for him.”

And Christ the Creator is intimately acquainted with every star he has made:

“He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.” Psalm 147:4 NIV

“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:26

As we see in the following Scriptures God has made the stars for “signs”.

“…let them (sun, moon, and stars) serve as signs to mark sacred times…” Genesis 1:14

“And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides.” – Jesus (Luke 21:25)

So then, the stars are for signs. Signs that reveal what? I would love to discover more, wouldn’t you?

Well, let’s talk about one of the most amazing astronomical signs of Scripture, the Star of Bethlehem!

I am currently watching this presentation of the Star of Bethlehem:

He took the clues given by the book of Matthew and used them to research on astronomy software and made some interesting discoveries. As it turns out, the star signalling Christ’s birth was the planet Jupiter, the “king” planet. It circled (retrograded) the star Regulus (the “king” star) three times in the constellation Leo (Lion representing Judah).

“A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17

Later on Jupiter stacks with Venus making it “the brightest star” in the sky. Now this is amazing as the King “wandering star” is joined with Venus “the bright and Morning Star” (a title of the Lord Jesus – More info). Magi arrived in Jerusalem to see that the “star” had stopped (retrograde) over Bethlehem on December 25th in the year 2 B.C.

In the last part of the documentary above, he goes on to share with us the astronomical signs that appeared in the sky at Christ’s death. Peter on the day of Pentacost 33 A.D. quoted the prophet Joel:

“I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke. 20The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Acts 2:19-21

These were events that the Jewish crowd Peter was speaking to had seen – a darkened sun (by smoke – perhaps a volcanic explosion?) and a blood red moon (a lunar eclipse) rising at the foot of the constellation Virgo as Christ expires on the cross.

Poetry in the sky marking the coming and going of the Messiah our Savior.

Rev. 12:1–2 reads, “A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.”

Further reading:

Here is more info and some different perspectives about the star of Bethlehem. This article makes the case for the presence of a comet! From the article:

“..In Numbers 24:17, there’s a prophecy by Balaam about a “scepter” and a “star” (“. . . a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel”). Ancient rabbis could refer to comets as “scepter stars.” The “star” in Numbers is almost certainly a comet…”

And this is in addition to the above mentioned signs?

His claim for a comet? idk. If there was a comet it was in conjunction with the other signs. He is claiming the comet lasted a year in the sky? Haleys comet only lasts a few weeks, so this one must have been pretty slow… I have my doubts. My own thoughts are that maybe a super nova was involved at some point? If that were the case I don’t think there would be any evidence now that we could point to?