Was there a Star of Bethlehem?

Indeed ther was. This fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob, “Judah is a lion’s cub.… The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs, and the obedience of the nations is his.”[37] When Venus was next due to rise with the sun 1.6 years later, the magi arrived in Jerusalem. The following morning, after they arrived near Bethlehem, Venus arose in the constellation or picture of Aries (ram or lamb). Venus, on the horizon, disappeared (or stopped) in the sunlight a few minutes later, over Jesus’ home, in a city of shepherds on Passover.[38] The star marked the house of a lamb, the Lamb of God was born.





Astrology, considered by many to be forbidden by the Bible, does not play a part in the interpretation of these pictures. The link between the star and the scepter is itself contained in the Star Prophecy: "A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel." This is an example of, Biblical poetry, a common feature of Scripture, where something is said multiple times in different words or synonymously. The star is parallel to the scepter and Jacob is parallel to Israel.





The magi saw the picture in the east, indicating the king of the Jews would be born, the one who would rule all the nations. They came to the king in Jerusalem, the Jewish capital, assuming his son would be that ruler. They were instead directed to Bethlehem. The star did not guide them to Bethlehem; it guided them at dawn, from their camping location west of Bethlehem, to the exact house where Jesus lived.





King Herod reacted to the Star Prophecy because it predicted the coming ruler would crush the heads of … Edom,[39] and Herod was Idumean that is an Edomite. Though he was old he wanted his sons to rule after him.[38]





[edit] An astrological event





The use of the phrase "king of the Jews" by the magi has led many writers to link the Star of Bethlehem to astrology. In Hellenistic astrology, Jupiter was the king planet and Regulus was the king star.[40] As they traveled from Jerusalem to Bethlehem, the star "went before" the magi and then "stood over" the place where Jesus was. In astrological interpretations, these phrases are said to refer to retrograde motion and to stationing, i.e. Jupiter appeared to reverse course for a time, then stopped, and finally resumed its normal progression[41] (This assumes that the magi had an instrument equivalent to an astrolabe that allowed them to detect to the motion of a planet between one night and the next.)





In 3-2 BC, there was a series of seven conjunctions, including three between Jupiter and Regulus and a strikingly close conjunction between Jupiter and Venus on June 17, 2 BC.[42] "The fusion of two planets would have been a rare and awe-inspiring event", according to an influential paper by Roger Sinnott.[43]





Astronomer Michael Molnar has proposed a link between a double occultation of Jupiter by the moon in 6 BC in Aries and the Star of Bethlehem.[44] This event was quite close to the sun and would have been difficult to observe, even with a small telescope.[45] Occultations of planets by the moon are quite common, but Firmicus Maternus, an astrologer to Roman Emperor Constantine, wrote that an occultation of Jupiter in Aries was a sign of the birth of a divine king.[46] "When the royal star of Zeus, the planet Jupiter, was in the east this was the most powerful time to confer kingships. Furthermore, the Sun was in Aries where it is exalted. And the Moon was in very close conjunction with Jupiter in Aries", Molnar wrote.[44] This set of conditions reoccurs every sixty years.[44]





A modern and exclusively astrological interpretation of Matthew's account of the star, based on the magi's role as astrologers, "decodes" the Star of Bethlehem as a rare celestial configuration that was visible only to the magi. The "star" was revealed in an astrological chart dated March 2, 5 BCE. [47]

Was there a Star of Bethlehem?
According to the Scriptures.......yes.





This is what God placed in the sky just at the correct time......and the wise men used it to navigate themselves to the baby Christ
Reply:Wow. Nice answers you guys got here. And a great


question, too. I understand that the Star of Bethlehem


was a beautiful sight to see.
Reply:More likely a supernova. Stars don't generally materialise suddenly.
Reply:I don't think there is anything I can add to the answers you already have. Something occured in the sky at that point in time. According to the Book of Mormon, the new star not only appeared in the sky to signal the birth of the Savior, but it also was such that the sky remained light as day even after the sun went down in the west. The next day the sun arose in the east as it was supposed to do signaling the birth of the Savior in Bethlehem. So this event not only appeared brightly in Jerusalem but also kept the sky light throughout the night in America.
Reply:Yes, the Bible says so...
Reply:The Star of Bethlehem, or Star of the East is actually the star Sirius. The story goes the Three Kings followed the Star of the East to the birth of the King. the three kings are the stars of Orion's belt (which are still called that to this day). on the night of the 24th (Christmas eve) the three kings line up and point directly to Sirius. This line points directly to where the sun will rise the next day on the 25th, 3 days after the solstice. This is the first day where the sun gains height in the sky instead of looses or remains the same. for the 3 days after the solstice is stays at just about the same position, and on the next day it "rises". this is also the story of the Resurrection as the King (the sun) dies (days get continually shorter until the 21st when the sun stops in the sky) remains dead for 3 days (does not change positions) then on the next day rises (gains one degree signaling the days getting longer). the 3 kings were said to be astrologers... well this is astrological as you can get. just wait til the 24th and look at the night sky just before dawn and where the sun rises. i guarantee you wont be disappointed
Reply:Well close but no cigars,yes scientists have proven a "star"was around in the year jesus was supposed to of been born,but it was in the summer time,not anywhere near christmas but that is the only proven refrence in history in accordance with the bible,pilate wasn't a grown up adult when"jesus " was put on trial it was a roman named quinnius,the bible is upto 30 years out on most of it's so called facts.....historically and scientifically proven my friends...check out how faith is defined in the concise oxford dictionary...belief without logical proof....
Reply:Sort of....it just shown for 2 years over Herod's palace in Jerusalem instead of the house in Bethlehem where Jesus was no longer a baby, but a child.





Matthew chapter 2 of any Bible.





It would more properly be called the Star of Jerusalem. It only appeared briefly over the house in Bethlehem.





Neither the magi (where the word magic comes from) nor the star was ever at the manger.





The shepherds were invited by angels, not by astrology, and were at the manger. Luke chapter 2 any Bible.





God sent the shepherds, satan sent astrologers to have Jesus killed by Herod. Herod did get all males 2 and under in all Judea trying to kill Jesus. But Joseph escaped with his family to Egypt until after Herod's death to save Jesus.





Debbie
Reply:I believe it was a comet.
Reply:According to scripture, Matt. 2:1-2 the star was over Jerusalem, not Bethlehem.
Reply:Yes there was. It was proven a couple of years ago by a professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Coins of that period had a "star" on them that coincided with historical events as well as scientific findings of the solar system. Ultimately, the Scripture is fulfilled.
Reply:of course.
Reply:"After Jesus had been born in Beth′le·hem of Ju·de′a in the days of Herod the king, look! astrologers from eastern parts came to Jerusalem, saying: “Where is the one born king of the Jews? For we saw his star [when we were] in the east, and we have come to do him obeisance.”





Matthew 2 v 1-2





Nowhere in this scripture does it say that there was a star.


These men were astrologers and looked at stars all of the time to read events on the earth. A practise which was forbidden in the Mosaic Law. And where did this so called star lead them, to the Messiah? No to a king which then proceeded to murder all babies under the age of two.





Think about it people! God did not send these men!