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Much 21st century technology is beyond my
grandmotherly grasp, but I am glad to live in an age
where science explains and supports many of the
mysteries revealed in God’s Word. The story of gentile
men being invited to meet Jesus, God’s Son, their King,
is a thrilling story to me for two reasons: First, I
also am a gentile, and second, five of my favorite words
in the Bible are “He made the stars, also.” Genesis 1:16
For many centuries people have speculated
about the “star of wonder.” In our age of the Hubble
telescope, much has been revealed about the universe,
including the stars and planets in our own solar system.
Astronomers can now look back in history to see exactly
what was happening in the sky on any given date. Here is
what they have discovered:
God used the planets to guide the Magi,
the Wise Men, to Jesus. Jupiter, the “planet of kings,”
was in such a close conjunction with Venus, the “mother
planet,” that it appeared to men’s eyes as the most
brilliant star that had ever been seen! It traveled
ahead of the Magi as they went south from Jerusalem to
Bethlehem. Then amazingly, on December 25 of 2 B.C., as
it entered its retrograde, Jupiter appeared to stop in
the sky over the town of Bethlehem.
What God the Creator put into the sky
when “He created the stars, also,” is a picture of
unimaginable, awesome beauty. And it includes both the
times of Jesus’ birth and crucifixion! In Acts 2:14-21,
Peter quotes a prophecy of Joel which includes a
prediction of blood, fire, smoke and a blood moon that
would happen in the sky at the time of the Savior’s
death. All of this was fulfilled when Jesus shed His
blood on the cross; when lightning (fire) and storm
clouds (smoke) and darkness filled the sky; and when a
lunar eclipse on that date caused the moon to appear as
blood red. This has been proven to have occurred on
April 3, 33 A.D.
Even before God created people, He put
His plan of salvation into the universe as proof of His
amazing love for each of us! Gentiles as well as Jews
are invited to meet Jesus, accept Him as their Savior
and live as His disciples. |
