In case you missed it, here is the scoop on the end of the world, scheduled for September 23rd, 2017.

A particular configuration of constellations that occurs once in 7000 years is about to take place and prognosticators say it is only a few days from its ominous alignment.

The constellations Leo and Virgo along with the moon will replicate a Biblical astrological event described in the book of Revelation:

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.” (Revelation 12)

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The constellation Virgo is the “woman;” Leo is a constellation of 12 stars that will “crown” Virgo, and the moon will be seen underneath Virgo’s feet, occurring in the night sky Sept. 23.  This is a fact.  Its interpretation is what is left for speculation.

Is there any plausible rationale that the apocalypse, the end of the world as predicted in Biblical prophecies, would actually occur next week?

Uh, at this juncture I had better throw in the scripture from the Book of Matthew 24:36 (Jesus speaking): “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my father only.”

But Jesus did go on to instruct His followers in that chapter to “keep watch” for that day. (Matthew 24: 32) The Star That Astonish... Ernest L. Martin Best Price: $59.49 Buy New $197.87 (as of 06:55 UTC - Details)

Season but not year is known

Jesus explains it will be summer, when the “twigs on the fig trees get tender and its leaves fall.” (Matthew 24:32).  So we have the right season.  The apocalypse (end of the world) occurs in summer, all we have to do now is figure out the right year.

But then again, even Jesus says He doesn’t know the year.  For the scriptures say: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father (God Himself). (Matthew 24:36).

However Jesus goes on to alert His followers to be vigilant: “Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door.”  (Matthew 24:33)

Jesus goes on to say, “It will be like the days of Noah… in the days before the Flood….. and they knew nothing about what would happen until the Flood came and took them away.”  Matthew 24: 37-39.

So humanity will be caught unawares. Well at least too busy eating and drinking and marrying (Luke chapter 17), says the Bible.  Too busy to even read this column.  God would go and spoil some woman’s wedding!

He wrote the names of the stars

Now if you don’t think heeding the signs of the Zodiac foretell are superstitiously like consulting a Ouija board, maybe even unbiblical, think again.

In the book of Amos the prophet writes: “He who made the Pleiades and Orion (referring to constellations)….. the Lord is his name.” (Amos 5:8)

In Psalms (147:4) it says: “He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names.”

In the book of Genesis 49 we read Jacob saying on his deathbed something that is only intelligible when one understands the constellations (interpretation in parentheses):

“Judah is a lion’s whelp (the lion being Leo)…. who shall rouse him up?  The sceptre shall not depart from Judah (the messiah would come out of the lineage of the tribe of Judah)….. nor a lawgiver from between his feet (regal in Hebrew) until Shiloh (messiah) come.”

In other words, in astrological terms, the messiah would come out of Leo and the brightest star in the constellation Leo is Regulus (the foot), which is associated with the Messiah.

So the Bible spoke of a coming of a Messiah, which was linked to the constellation Leo.

The practice of astrology was forbidden

However, the practice of astrology was strictly prohibited — Isaiah the prophet took astrologers to task.  (Isaiah 47:13-14) The Bible is Astronomy and the Bibl... Donald B. DeYoung Best Price: $8.21 Buy New $8.25 (as of 07:00 UTC - Details) replete with scriptures that forbid sorcery, fortune telling and even astrology.

In the book of Deuteronomy (4:19) it says: “Beware you lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars… you be drawn away and bow down to them.”

Astrology was not intended to draw attention away from God towards any soothsayer.  Nor are the signs of the Zodiac intended to be a point of inquiry when determining the compatibility of a potential mate as is often practiced socially today.

However, the Bible is full of references regarding the alignment of celestial bodies.

For example, the lineup of Leo and Virgo on September 11th in 3 B.C. pertains to Jesus’ birth.  It is the writings of Ernest L. Martin who wrote the book The Star The Astonished The World that provides a widely accepted description of the astronomical phenomenon that produced the brilliant Christmas Star the magi were reported to have followed to the birthplace of Jesus.  A slideshow created by Griffith Observatory that depicts this phenomenon is available online.  On that date the sun was directly in the midst of Virgo and at the same time the new moon was directly under the feet of Virgo (see Revelation 12:12).

“And there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman (Virgo) clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars (Leo).  And she, being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.”

Using the work of Ernest L. Martin, Patrick Heron goes on to describe in his text The NEPHILIM AND THE PYRAMID OF APOCALYPSE:

“On September 14, 3 B.C. there was a conjunction between the planet Jupiter (the largest planet) and Regulus (the brightest star in Leo) which is the sign of the tribe of Judah.”

Heron says the most likely date for the birth of the Messiah was September 11th, 3 B.C.  Jupiter and Venus (planets that looked like stars) unusually conjoined to form one brilliant star in the western night sky within the constellation of Leo.  This is the mega-star that stood over Bethlehem and guided Persian astronomers (magi) to pay homage to the birth of Jesus.

If Jesus’ birth was foretold, what about the Apocalypse?

So we have stars and planets lining up to lead the magi to Jesus.  So what about the apocalypse?

Actually, the Star of Bethlehem came after Jesus’ birth and the magi arrived at His birthplace probably a year after his birth.

The often quoted scriptures from the book of Revelation that initially described Virgo and Leo + the moon — “and there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars” (Revelation 12) — was written by John the Apostle AFTER Jesus’ birth so it was not prophetic.   John was writing while in exile on the Isle of Patmos to escape ongoing persecutions against followers of Jesus.  Since Revelation 12 is not prophetic it is a big jump to use its verses to predict the Apocalypse today.

What Cal Tech scientists have to say

Just when you were thinking that all of this as implausible (one news report calls it “outlandish”), of all things, CalTech scientists add a recent note of scientific conjecture to the current apocalyptic predictions. Godu2019s Voice in the... Ken Fleming Best Price: $5.55 Buy New $10.95 (as of 07:00 UTC - Details)

CalTech scientists note in the January 20^th edition of The Astronomical Journal that there may be a hidden planet in the solar system.  The researchers point to outer planets in the solar system that have unusual orbits, as if being pulled in an unexpected direction.  That observation might suggest there is a mammoth planet in the outer solar system that has a very wide orbit that circulates around the sun every few thousand years and exerts gravitational pull on the outermost planets.

For comparison, the 3^rd planet from the sun (earth) circulates the sun in 365 days, the 7^th planet from the sun (Uranus) every 84 years.  There is suspicion now of a 9^th planet beyond Neptune.

A numerologist who is getting a lot of publicity these days claims there is a planet X, also called Nibiru, that will someday pass close to earth’s orbit and trigger catastrophic events.  Using Bible verses, the numerologist says September 23, 2017 is the day when planet X will cause the end of the world.

The numerologist, who will remain unnamed because this author doesn’t want to give him any more publicity than he has already gained (he’s attempting to sell a book), says both the Bible and Egyptian pyramids point to September 23, 2017 as the day when the world ends.   If you want to read a more authoritative book on the topic, click here.

It’s all scientific theatre of the highest realm.  They ridiculed and laughed at Noah when he began to build a large boat in his front yard.  That is, until it began to rain incessantly.  Just beware of false prophets.