Unprecedented celestial sign

For an excellent article on the rare planetary alignment this week from the PropheTech Web site, click here.

An excerpt:

"On this day, Venus, Mercury, the Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars and the Moon, will all align in the heavens. This is an event that has never occurred before!

"The alignment is also unique in that the event was understood to be built into the original design of the Jewish menorah. The seven-lamped candlestick was to be fashioned after the pattern given by God to Moses.

"The first century Jewish historian, Josephus, noted this in his Antiquities 3, 11:7, stating that the menorah in the Temple represented the alignment of the seven 'planets.' This planetary alignment could signal the rebuilding of the third Temple."

Marilyn Agee replied to my above e-mail as follows:

Thanks. This an interesting article, summing up some of the celestial events
of recent years. The author failed to mention that Josephus included the
Sun. Josephus said, "...the shaft elevated itself on high from a single
base, and spread itself into as many branches as there are planets,
including the sun among them." The ancients called the Sun a planet because
it moves along the ecliptic like the planets. Planets were visible heavenly
bodies that moved against the background of stationary stars.

This alignment could represent more than the rebuilding of the third temple.
The Church is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Rev. 1:20 says, "the seven
candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." Does this show that
the seven churches will soon be in the heavens?

The author of the Web page you cited said, "The excitement stems from a
unique celestial event that will occur on May 6-7 of the year 2000. The
date (Iyar 2, 5760) has significance on the Jewish calendar because it falls
on the same day (anniversary date) that Solomon began building the first
Temple and Ezra began building the second temple."

Other sources have said May 5, which is Nisan 30. However, there is another
alignment on May 17, so maybe the alignment is still pretty good on May 7
(Iyar 2). The connection with the building of the temple may be significant.

The author also said, "According to Greg Killian, besides these coincidental
lunar eclipses and comets, there has been a celestial event taking place
which has never occurred before. The event has been occurring on Tishri 1
since September 1996. It will not occur for another 11,000 years.

"There is a picture being formed in the heavens of a woman (Virgo) having a
baby! She appears to be clothed with the sun and wearing twelve stars
around her head (The constellation of Bernice's Hair). The dragon is poised
in the sign, and the woman appears to be giving birth to the moon. This
sign fits the description of the "Great Sign" listed in Revelation 12:1."

Things are really getting interesting. Get ready. We may be taking a trip
soon.

Agape, Marilyn
Bible Prophecy Corner: http://www.kiwi.net/~mjagee

MORE later:

Reports of astronomical phenonema often vary slightly in their details. The below is a different slant from an interesting Web site called The Millennial Group at http://www.millenngroup.com/repository/repository.html, specifically at http://www.millenngroup.com/repository/planetary/mars2.html

Planetary Alignments

On May 5 2000, a very extraordinary event is going to occur in our solar system. The Sun, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Moon, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and at least five comets will be in close alignment, fitting together in a geocentric arc of only 25 degrees. This alignment will not occur again until the year 2675! (A preceding paragraph said, "It is important to note that the last occurrence of this alignment was in September 1186 AD.")

There are numerous minor alignments leading up to this spectacular event, but May 5 is the big one. At precisely this time, the Eta Aquarids meteor shower of the Southern Hemisphere will also peak with a splendid shower of approximately 50 meteors per hour.

The final significant alignment is on May 17 with the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn spanning a geocentric arc of only 19.5 degrees. In this alignment, Venus and Jupiter are separated by only 42 arc-seconds!

The alignment will essentially be a tug-of-war between neighboring planets over smaller objects like comets that pass between them. At the precise time of the alignment, at least five comets will also be within the geocentric arc and on the same plane between Mars and Jupiter.

Interestingly enough, this alignment is comparable to that which occurred in 2 BC resulting in the Christmas star from the book of Matthew.