Sky Event #5

Venus-Jupiter Conjunction

 

Just before sunrise tomorrow (January 22, 2019) there will be a conjunction between Venus and Jupiter. You can sight it by looking eastward, towards the direction of the sunrise, in the pre-dawn/dawn hours of the morning. 

Image is courtesy of
https://whenthecurveslineup.com/2018/11/27/2019-january-22-venus-jupiter-conjunction/

At conjunction, these two brilliant planets shine north and south of one another on the sky’s dome, with Jupiter passing 2.5 degrees south of Venus. Venus and Jupiter rank as the 3rd-brightest and 4th-brightest celestial bodies, respectively, after the sun and moon. So this conjunction should be very easy to spot.

While a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter usually takes place once a year, this conjunction is less common, as Venus is positioned for optimal viewing. Similar Venus-Jupiter conjunctions, to the one coming tomorrow morning, recur in periods of about 24 years plus one week. 

As conjunctions between these two planets go, this one is not a very close conjunction (visually). 2.5 degrees is not that close together in the sky. But later on this year (in November) the two planets will have a closer conjunction at 1.5 degrees. And the fact that this year will showcase two conjunctions of these planets is more rare and significant.

To understand the spiritual significance of this sky event, we first need to identify the heavenly "players". There are three main "players" in this star-event, as you can see in the above image. They are the two planets and one star. Let's begin with the planets. As I shared in the January 18 blog posting, instead of holding the names of pagan gods, the seven planets recognized by the ancient world had names which glorified Yahweh. The planet Venus was originally called Nogah in Hebrew, meaning "the bright, morning star". Jupiter was Tsedek, meaning "He is Righteous".

At first, planetary conjunctions like this one may seem far less significant than the moon "turning to blood" or the stars "falling". But, as Rick Larson shows in his documentary, "The Star of Bethlehem", Yahweh has long been using conjunctions as markers of key prophetic events - specifically, the Bethlehem star was a conjunction event. To watch Rick's presentation which actually recreates (with astronomy software) the amazing Bethlehem star event and Scripturally proves its accuracy, click here.

Now, as I mentioned above, tonight's sky-event involves a conjunction between two planets (Nogah and Tsedek). The third player in this star-event is a star: Antares, which is part of the scorpion constellation, anciently called Aqrab. 

Thus, to appreciate the Heavenly significance of tonight's sky-event, we need to address its placement (within Scorpius/Aqrab) and the spiritual significance of the scorpion constellation.

In both the Bible and the sky-picture, Death is represented as having a “sting”—which is Eternal Death, the consequence for sin (Romans 6:23). 

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O Death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of Death is Sin... But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our (Master) (Yahshua) Christ.”  

In this third star-family, we see the epic battle that is being fought over every soul. Soberingly, we also see that the outcome of this war determines our eternal destiny. The momentous battle over each soul is even revealed in the Hebrew name, Aqrab, which means “the conflict” or “war”. The Coptic name of this constellation is Isidis, meaning “the attack of the enemy”, or “oppression”.

Thankfully, mankind is not left to face such a huge threat unprotected! As we saw in the previous star-family, God has provided a way of Salvation for us, through His Son, Yahshua Christ. But Messiah doesn’t just save us in our sins, He saves us from them, empowering us to live as “new creatures” in Him (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Living in victory over the Tempter (1 Corinthians 15:57), through Messiah, we find deliverance, 

healing, and victory. In Christ, we are 

victorious—even over the “sting” of sin and Death.

Aqrab is one of the brightest constellations in the sky. It’s Latin name, Scorpius, literally means “scorpion” and “creature with the burning sting”.  In the Northern Hemisphere, Aqrab lies close to the southern horizon; in the Southern Hemisphere, it lies high in the sky near the center of the Milky Way. Aqrab has many bright stars, including Antares, which is a red, supergiant and is the 16th brightest star in the sky. Of course, we are especially interested in Antares as it is one of the players in tonight's sky-event.

The name of this constellation (Aqrab) is found in the Bible in the following verse:

Psalm 144:1 “Blessed be Yahweh (the LORD) my strength, which teacheth my hands to War (Aqrab), and my fingers to fight.”

The following verses also show the spiritual message behind this constellation, which is a message of spiritual warfare and victory in Christ:

Psalm 91:13 “Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”  

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 “...For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;  Casting down... every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” 

This image is created by Shauna Manfredine. It is copyrighted and found on page 109 of God's Amazing Star Secret.

Since ancient times, God's people have understood His Heavenly sky-messages by combining the names of the planets or stars involved in the heavenly event with the meaning of the constellation in which the event visually occurs. Using this format, we find the suggested meaning of this sky event is as follows:

Yahshua, our Messiah is being showcased in the two planets involved (Venus/Nogah and Jupiter/Tsedek). As is signified in the meaning of the Hebrew name Nogah, Yahshua is the Bright and Morning Star (2 Peter 1:19; Revelation 22:16). He is also Tsedek, Yah our "Righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:5-6). Antares, the star which is the red heart of the death-scorpion, conveys the message that Messiah was "wounded" for our transgressions and by His stripes, we are healed - Isaiah 53:5.

Thus, the conjunction of Nogah (Venus) and Tsedek (Jupiter) within the constellation Aqrab (Scorpius) near Antares appears to convey the encouraging Heavenly reminder that in Messiah we may be victorious over our "old man of sin" (Romans 6:6). In fact, in Yahshua we may gain victory over sin now, and over eternal death in the future (1 Corinthians 15:57). Highlighting this message seems to be a way for Yahweh to encourage us towards personal victory in Christ, Who is our Righteousness!

It isn't meant to be a nebulous message meant for people in general...  It is a personal message and promise, which each of us is invited to partake of personally.

Are you loving God's Star Messages? Now you can go deeper with God's Amazing Star Secrets!

Get Shauna Manfredine's book! 

For more information about the Mazzaroth (God's constellation tapestry) and His Messages in the 48 original constellations, request your own copy of Shauna Manfredine's book, God's Amazing Star Secret (book trailer).

Turn your Church or Venue into a Planetarium for a Night (or Weekend)! Now you can share God's Amazing Star Secrets with your whole family, church, or gathering! Request Shauna Manfredine to give her inspiring and well-researched, planetarium-style God's Amazing Star Secrets presentation. 

In her presentation(s), Shauna shows the meaning of Psalm 19:1-4 and the original names of the stars based upon earth's first recorded language(s). She shows archaeological evidence of the original constellations and the amazing connection between the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 primary constellations. And she explains the Plan of Redemption in the original star and constellation names. More information...