Hale Bop & Halley's Comet
In our examination of the 10 rarest sky events, comets make the list several times. This makes sense when you consider that all comets - with the exception of Halley's - pass by Earth once, within the period of human records. Thus, two of the rarest sky events are the sightings of the Hale-Bop and Halley's Comet.
Let's take a look at both of them and then we'll look at their placement in the heavens... We'll start off with Hale-Bopp.
The comet Hale-Bopp was first discovered on July 23, 1995 by two individuals, from which it gets its name. Independently, both Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered this comet on the same day, before it became visible (from Earth) with the naked eye.
When Hale-Bopp passed perihelion (the point at which it is closest to the sun in its orbit path), on April 1, 1997, it was visible to the naked eye for a record period of 18 months. Obviously, Hale-Bopp is an exceptionally bright comet, for many comets are not visible with the naked eye from Earth. At its closest point, Hale-Bopp was 120 million miles from the surface of the Earth.
But Hale-Bopp was not only visible - it remained visible to the naked eye for a record length of time - twice as long as the previous record holder, which was the Great Comet of 1811. This is why Hale-Bopp has been called the Great Comet of 1997.
The sighting of the Hale-Bopp comet is extremely rare. This is because of its unusual orbit path. To show you how rare, space scientists estimate that the last time (prior to 1997) that Hale-Bopp was seen from earth was in 2215 B.C., which is 4,235 years ago!
Also, to give some perspective on events, according to Usher's Chronology of Biblical events, 2215 B.C. is about when Yahweh changed Abram's name to Abraham (Genesis 17:1-21) and it is when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 19), which is a shadow-picture of the the final destruction of the world at the End.
Hale-Bopp is not expected to return to Earth's sky until 4380 A.D., which is why it rightly appears on a list of the top 10 most rare sky events.
Now let's take a look at the Halley's Comet...
Halley's Comet, named after the English astronomer Edmond Halley, is on an orbit path that makes it visible from Earth with the naked eye every 75-76 years. When it makes its rare appearance, the comet is only visible for a very short time. It has the distinction of being the only comet which may be seen with the naked-eye that could appear twice in a person's life-time.
Halley's sightings from Earth have been recorded since ancient times. On May 25, of 240 B.C. ancient Chinese astronomers recorded sighting Halley's comet. This is the first undisputed sighting of Halley's comet on record.
To give some historical point of reference, 240 BC sighting of Halley's comet was in the time when the Septuagint was being produced. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (39 Old Testament books). It was also the year that Origen compiled the Hexapla, a 6 columned parallel of Hebrew and Greek texts. By 300 BC, all of the original Old Testament books of the Bible had been written, collected and were considered to be a part of the Bible "canon".
While the first irrefutable sighting of Halley's comet is recorded in 240 B.C., there are earlier comet sightings, which were also most likely Halley's comet. As is recorded in Wikisource, "The Story of the Comets":
But what is the spiritual significance of a comet? In answering this question, it should be noted that comets and meteors are closely connected with each other. This is because, in many cases, meteors are actually the debris from comets. Thus, the spiritual significance of comets and meteors are quite similar. Both comets and meteors are heavenly warnings of coming Judgment.
As we saw earlier in this blog, Josephus tells about miraculous warning signs of Jerusalem's impending destruction - one of which, was a comet. He referred to all the signs as supernatural, including: a vision of an army which appeared in the clouds, a Voice announcing it was leaving the Temple, a bright light which shone on the altar, a Temple door left ajar - and the comet (which was undoubtedly the return of Halley's Comet in 66 AD). Josephus wrote:
Perhaps, at this point, one may be wondering why the judgment seems to be centering on Jerusalem. The reason for this is that there is - in Jerusalem - a piece of Ground, which Heaven has made sacred. It is on this holy Ground that the first two temples stood.
The Abomination of Desolation, in the past, also stood on this sacred Ground. And the final Abomination of Desolation will be on this holy Ground. For more information on this subject, see our January-March 2019 News Magazine feature article titled: "What if the Temple Mount - Isn't: Secrets of Gihon Springs".
With this background on these two comets, we are ready to take a look at the placement of Hale-Bopp in the Mazzaroth. And what Yahweh did with the paths of two comets - Comet Hyakutake (in 1996) and Hale-Bopp (in 1997) - was hugely significant within the starry tapestry.
But I'll wait to explain that in tomorrow's blog...
Let's take a look at both of them and then we'll look at their placement in the heavens... We'll start off with Hale-Bopp.
The comet Hale-Bopp was first discovered on July 23, 1995 by two individuals, from which it gets its name. Independently, both Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp discovered this comet on the same day, before it became visible (from Earth) with the naked eye.
When Hale-Bopp passed perihelion (the point at which it is closest to the sun in its orbit path), on April 1, 1997, it was visible to the naked eye for a record period of 18 months. Obviously, Hale-Bopp is an exceptionally bright comet, for many comets are not visible with the naked eye from Earth. At its closest point, Hale-Bopp was 120 million miles from the surface of the Earth.
But Hale-Bopp was not only visible - it remained visible to the naked eye for a record length of time - twice as long as the previous record holder, which was the Great Comet of 1811. This is why Hale-Bopp has been called the Great Comet of 1997.
The sighting of the Hale-Bopp comet is extremely rare. This is because of its unusual orbit path. To show you how rare, space scientists estimate that the last time (prior to 1997) that Hale-Bopp was seen from earth was in 2215 B.C., which is 4,235 years ago!
Also, to give some perspective on events, according to Usher's Chronology of Biblical events, 2215 B.C. is about when Yahweh changed Abram's name to Abraham (Genesis 17:1-21) and it is when Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed (Genesis 19), which is a shadow-picture of the the final destruction of the world at the End.
Hale-Bopp is not expected to return to Earth's sky until 4380 A.D., which is why it rightly appears on a list of the top 10 most rare sky events.
Now let's take a look at the Halley's Comet...
Halley's sightings from Earth have been recorded since ancient times. On May 25, of 240 B.C. ancient Chinese astronomers recorded sighting Halley's comet. This is the first undisputed sighting of Halley's comet on record.
To give some historical point of reference, 240 BC sighting of Halley's comet was in the time when the Septuagint was being produced. The Septuagint is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (39 Old Testament books). It was also the year that Origen compiled the Hexapla, a 6 columned parallel of Hebrew and Greek texts. By 300 BC, all of the original Old Testament books of the Bible had been written, collected and were considered to be a part of the Bible "canon".
While the first irrefutable sighting of Halley's comet is recorded in 240 B.C., there are earlier comet sightings, which were also most likely Halley's comet. As is recorded in Wikisource, "The Story of the Comets":
...The Chinese record 2 comets: one in July, 65 (BC) which remained visible for 56 days, and the other in February 66, which remained visible 50 days... Most likely, the last-named was Halley's Comet... And Cowell and Crommelin have definitely confirmed this... This comet was the sword-shaped sign recorded as having hung over the city of Jerusalem before the commencement of the war which terminated in the destruction of the Holy City.
Josephus says that several prodigies announced the destruction of Jerusalem: Amongst other warnings, a comet, of the kind called Xiphias, because their tails appear to represent the blade of a sword, was seen above the city for the space of a whole year. Josephus rebuked his countrymen for listening to false prophets while so notable a sign was in the heavens.
Dio Cassius mentions a comet which seemed to be suspended over the city of Rome before the death of Agrippa. The date would be B.C. 11. The path of this comet was recorded in great detail by the Chinese, and (John Russel) Hind (an English astronomer) thought that the records afforded "the most satisfactory proof that they belonged to the Comet of Halley." The 3rd week in October was suggested for the perihelion passage. The comet was lost in the Sun's rays 56 days after its discovery.
Cowell and Crommelin (of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich) have made systematic efforts to trace Halley's Comet back further, and with some success, and it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that further identification will reward research because the Chinese records go back for six centuries before the Christian era, and besides them there exists a sprinkling of European observations, although all these latter are very much lacking both in precision of language and precision of dates."The last sighting of Halley's Comet was in 1986. And it isn't projected to return until 2061...
But what is the spiritual significance of a comet? In answering this question, it should be noted that comets and meteors are closely connected with each other. This is because, in many cases, meteors are actually the debris from comets. Thus, the spiritual significance of comets and meteors are quite similar. Both comets and meteors are heavenly warnings of coming Judgment.
As we saw earlier in this blog, Josephus tells about miraculous warning signs of Jerusalem's impending destruction - one of which, was a comet. He referred to all the signs as supernatural, including: a vision of an army which appeared in the clouds, a Voice announcing it was leaving the Temple, a bright light which shone on the altar, a Temple door left ajar - and the comet (which was undoubtedly the return of Halley's Comet in 66 AD). Josephus wrote:
"Thus there was a star resembling a sword which stood over the city, and a comet that continued a whole year" (Bella Judaeorum, lib vi, v, 3).Josephus' description reminds of another warning of destruction, as the angel of death-once stood on the threshing floor of Ornan (future site of the Temple) with a sword stretched out towards Jerusalem.
1 Chronicles 21:16 "And David lifted up his eyes, and saw the angel of Yahweh stand between the earth and the heaven, having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem. Then David and the elders of Israel, who were clothed in sackcloth, fell upon their faces."So, given the dates of the sightings of Halley's Comet and Hale-Bopp, already referenced in this blog, what Judgments may have followed the comet sightings?
- Comet Sighting: Halley's in 240 BC
- Judgment: 332 BC - Alexander the Great conquered Judea and Jerusalem
- Comet Sighting: Halley's in 11 BC
- Judgment: First Advent of Messiah 3 BC and the conclusion of the Daniel 9:24-27 70 Week Judgment period.
- Comet Sighting: Halley's in 66 AD
- Judgment: 70 AD - Roman forces destroyed Jerusalem and demolished the Second Temple.
- Comet Sighting: Halley's in 1986
- Judgment: December 8, 1987 - First Intifada
- Comet Sighting: Hale-Bopp in 1997
- Judgment: 2000 - Second Intifada
The Abomination of Desolation, in the past, also stood on this sacred Ground. And the final Abomination of Desolation will be on this holy Ground. For more information on this subject, see our January-March 2019 News Magazine feature article titled: "What if the Temple Mount - Isn't: Secrets of Gihon Springs".
With this background on these two comets, we are ready to take a look at the placement of Hale-Bopp in the Mazzaroth. And what Yahweh did with the paths of two comets - Comet Hyakutake (in 1996) and Hale-Bopp (in 1997) - was hugely significant within the starry tapestry.
But I'll wait to explain that in tomorrow's blog...
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Great cross-referencing!
ReplyDeletei had no idea that comets are signs of judgmernt.