It is very interesting how this “star” is described as “leading” the Magi to where the child Messiah would be. Without being knowledgeable about astronomy and the movement of the stars in the various constellations, you cannot help but wonder if this was a “supernatural” thing, or just a coincidental occurrence. In Christmas of 2020, a star appeared that was heralded as being the “Christmas” star. Astronomers claimed that this particular star was the same one that “led” the Magi to the location of Messiah. It is also understood that this “star” is actually the lining up of Jupiter and Saturn, causing it to appear as one big star as opposed to two separate stars. This alignment, according to astronomers happens once every 800 years.
But could this actually be the same “star” as astronomers claim? Many Christians were awed and amazed by the appearance of this “star” and the fact that it appeared around December 25th, the day many set aside as the day Messiah was born. It is also interesting how this same group of believers all unanimously agree that December 25th is NOT the birth date of Messiah, but rather a day they set aside to celebrate His birth. They further agree that they have no idea when exactly He would have been born. I bring this up because, for one, if indeed this alignment happens once every 800 years, from the birth of Messiah until now, you would have 3, maybe 4 appearances at best. The question to be asked is, would these occurrences happen every 800 years on the same date, or would it fluctuate with every appearance? If if fluctuates, this would mean that there would be no way that it would have landed on December 25 so quickly, or if it does not fluctuate, but rather lands on the same day every 800 years, then December 25th would without a doubt have to be the date Messiah was born on. The problem with this is that, biblical evidence of things going on during the time of the birth of Messiah contradicts the idea of a winter birth. With these contradictions in mind, there is no way December 25th could be His birthdate, so if indeed this alignment of stars happen every 800 years on an exact date, then we have a serious problem as it relates to the dates. But, for the sake of the conversation, astronomers make it clear that this alignment will always fluctuate within the 800 year window. That being said, it was more of a coincidence than a miracle that it landed this year on Christmas.
Im reading Matthew’s account of the birth of Messiah, we find that the Magi journeyed to find the child. What many do not know is that long before the star appeared to lead them to Messiah, they were already well aware of when He would come. How was this known, you ask? Well, back during the Babylonian exile, this was all told to the Prophet Daniel in a vision (Daniel 9). Daniel was chief of the wise men, and no doubt would have shared the vision with his peers. This information passed on from generation to generation, as it related to the wise men so that they would be fully aware of when He would appear. Although it was not a pinpoint date, the year was fully known by the wise men, who no doubt prepared for the search for the child. Prophecies also pointed out Bethlehem as the city He would be born at, it was just a matter of finding where in Bethlehem.
This where it gets interesting. Now I am not an astronomer so I will tell you right now that astronomy is not my field, however, there are a few things that need to be considered before going any further. In reading the creation story in Genesis 1, on day four we see that God created the sun, moon and stars. What was not mentioned was planets. So we have to ask ourselves, did God create planets also, but forgot to mention it, or is what we call planets actually just a bigger star? We have been taught that there actually are planets, and that all of them, to include ours, all rotate around the sun. If indeed this is the case, prior to the creation of the sun, moon, stars, and the “so called” planets, the biblical narrative implies that we were the first thing created in it’s entirety, and only then was everything else created. So if indeed we were the first, how is it we became minimalized by the creation of everything else? From what we understand, we are the only planet with life, yet we are joined by 8 other planets to rotate around the sun. Be patient, I’m going somewhere with this.
We already find a contradiction between the biblical narrative and science. The bible mentions a sun, a moon and stars, whereas science adds planets, and then go as fas as to label what we know as a “sun” to a “star”, thereby implying that the sun is a star, and all the myriads of stars are actually like our sun. If science be correct, then God does not know the difference between the sun and stars He created because they are actually the same thing. Anyway, moving on. So, according to astronomers, the stars in the sky work like that of a celestial clock, as they call it. They further say that if you were to be in a certain spot, and marked the location of particular star, this same time next year, that same star would be in that exact location. This statement agrees with the decree of God that the stars and moon would be for signs, seasons, days and years. Keep in mind what we have learned so far, the stars rotate on an annual cycle precise to the day. Dealing with “planets” is a whole different ballgame. Their cycles can span into the hundreds of years in many cases. We will use the “Christmas” star again. Remember I said earlier that astronomers claim that it shows up every 800 years, but never on the same month or date. While considering this, if indeed it’s appearance was a coincidental occurrence, how exactly could this work? According to astronomers, everything is moving, the earth, the moon, the planets, the stars as well as the sun. In order for the same stars to appear in the same exact location year after year, decade after decade, and century after century, they would all have to move with us, at the same speed. How likely is that? It would seem easier to believe based on the biblical narrative that everything revolves around us, but we are stationary.
Bet lets go with the original idea, that everything moves, while we rotate around our sun. How would this workout with a so called “Christmas” star, thats actually nothing more than the aligning of two separate “planets”? According to the biblical narrative, the child Yeshua was already 2 years old when they found Him. Lets look at this a little closer. They were led by a star to His location. According to Matthew 2:9, this same star led them to the exact location where Hey lay. From the beginning of the journey, until they went before Herod was well over a year. And from the time they left Herod until finding the child, 2 years had lapsed. Or perhaps the journey itself to the reaching of Herod was 2 years. Either way, they claimed to have seen the “star” in the east, and ultimately ended up in Bethlehem following it. The text implies that this “star” led them for two years before finding the Messiah. The problem I have is that, this “so called” Christmas star lasted only a few days before passing on. How could it be the same star if the one mentioned about in Matthew lasted 2 years according to the text, and this one that we had recently only lasted a few days? Something doesn’t add up.
Another problem is that if the earth is constantly moving as is everything else in the heavens, how can the lining up of these two planets rest over the same spot for that long? You also have to consider how much moving around that Joseph and Mary did. The idea of these planets moving and shifting just a few degrees one way or another would seem astronomically impossible. So what am I getting at? There has to be something more to this “star” than we know. This star in my opinion from reading the text operates a lot like the pillar of fire by night that led Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. There is absolutely no way you can explain this phenomenon through science, it defies all reason, as does this “Christmas” star. We have to stop trying to devalue the miracles of God by trying to scientifically explain them. Science was made for us, but just because we are subjugated by the laws of science, that does not mean on any level that the workings of God have to be governed by these same laws.
All in all, my thoughts on all of this is that, this star, although it was pretty cool to see fall on this date, causing everyone to take notice and reflect on the meaning of it was just coincidence. From the biblical narrative, the star that led the magi was something unlike anything seen before or after. In looking at the nature of God, when He does a work, it never something that is common. So the idea that he would use a “common” phenomena to point to the coming of His Son does not agree with His nature. God would never share His glory, nor the glory of His Son with another. You may disagree with my conclusion, and that is your right, but when I see God move, I see it in ways that defy reason, and this is no different. So, was this the “star” or not? You be the judge.
