Did mankind evolve as the evolutionists say? Or are we the product of intelligent design? If God created this universe … and created man, how can we prove it? To do some investigating, I opened my computer astronomy program and poked around to see what was happening in the sky 6,000 years ago.
Most conservative Christian theologians believe that Adam was created in 4004 BC. Furthermore, Jewish scholars observe the new moon of September or early October as the birthday of the world. They claim that the first day of Creation happened on Rosh Hashanah, the new moon of late September.
Also, I wondered if the first day of Creation might be on a Sunday. If so, then Adam would have been created on Friday, and God would have rested on Saturday.
There was one sure way to find out. I used a Macintosh version of Starry Night Pro astronomy program and changed the date to September 4004 BC. Next, I began to look for the new moon. On the computer screen, the evening sky appeared, and I moved the scene around to the west. Then I began to click on each day until I came to the new moon. It appeared as a crescent just above the western horizon shortly after sunset … and the date was September 25, 4004 BC. (see photo).
Of course, there was no moon or sun on the first day of Creation. They were not created until the fourth day. But God would have created them in a fourth-day position so that we could back up to the first day and find the sun and moon where we would expect them to be. Otherwise, the rabbis would be celebrating the new moon of autumn as the fourth day of the month instead of the first!
I could see the new moon of September 25, 4004 BC, on the computer screen, but did that evening occur on a Sunday? There was only one chance in seven that it did.
Starry Night Pro also has a virtual calendar with the phases of the moon for each month. If I could just figure out how to take it back 6,000 years, I could see if September 25, 4004 BC, was on Sunday. Try as I might, there was no easy way to back up the computerized calendar, except to simply click on the “year” button. So, I backed up the years, one at a time … for 6,000 years! My poor finger punched the computer key over 6,000 times before the month of September 4004 BC finally appeared. But it was worth it! To my amazement, September 25, 4004 BC, happened to be on a Sunday (see calendar).
While I had the computer’s virtual calendar open, I looked around at 4003, 4005, etc., and found no other new moons on Sunday, so I was rather confident that I had the correct month and year. But how could I prove that Sunday, September 25, 4004 BC, was the correct date for the first day of Creation? Could I find some corroborating evidence that could prove Divine design? Was there something special happening in our solar system that day that could help?
Leo, the Lion
I remembered that Jacob gave a prophecy about Judah having the symbol of a lion and decided to check it out. In Genesis 49:9,10, Jacob attributed the symbol of Leo, king of the jungle, to Israel’s royal tribe, and then made an interesting statement. He said: “The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come” (Gen. 49:10).
The Hebrew term for “feet” is regeleo, which when separated into its components contains the words “regal” and “Leo.” That’s pretty convincing evidence that Jacob had Leo in mind. The star between the lion’s front feet is Regulus, from which we get the terms “regal” and “regulation.” Leo’s chief star also happens to be in the handle of a sickle that proceeds up through the head and out of the mouth of the lion.
I noticed that Jacob said, “the sceptre shall not depart,” indicating that Judah’s sceptre was already there when Jacob prophesied it. I had not considered that before. I had previously thought that the verse only contained a prophecy that would be fulfilled in Christ—the promised “Shiloh.” Yet, Jacob said that Judah’s sceptre was already there awaiting the arrival of “Shiloh.”
Was the sceptre already in Leo? That is, did this constellation always represent the king of the earth? If so, when did it happen? Curiosity caused me to rotate the computer screen toward Leo to see what I could find. I was still looking at Sunday, September 25, 4004 BC.
As I gazed upon Leo, in what I considered to be the first day of Creation, I saw the four outer planets grouped together in the constellation, as if God had laid them out in a straight line before kickstarting their orbits! There was Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. The chances that all four outer planets could be that close together on that date was nigh unto impossible … unless, of course, they were placed there as a sign that this universe was created by intelligent design.
Uranus was not discovered until 1781. No one knew about Neptune until 1846, and Pluto was only discovered in 1930. Yet, there they were in Leo, even though no one could see them!
Furthermore, what is even more remarkable is that Saturn was in conjunction with Leo’s chief star, Regulus! The thought struck me that I should see whether this was a normal conjunction or a rare triple conjunction.
Setting the planets in motion, I discovered that this was the first of a triple conjunction (see Chart A) between Saturn and the royal star Regulus, the “sceptre” of Leo. I watched as Saturn moved on past Regulus for a few weeks, then turned around in retrograde motion and returned for a second conjunction on November 12 (see Chart B). Saturn continued to back up for a few months, then started forward again and encountered a third conjunction with Regulus on June 5, 4003 BC (see Chart C).
A triple conjunction is rare, and for Saturn to have the first of a triple conjunction with Regulus on September 25, 4004 BC, could not possibly be a coincidence. This rare conjunction came on the very day that was later observed as Rosh Hashanah, the new moon of September; and it was on a Sunday, thus fitting the biblical perimeters as the first day of Creation. This was not the second or third conjunction, but the very first one of three that year.
As I considered Saturn’s conjunction, I wondered why Jacob had said, “The sceptre shall not depart … until Shiloh come.” This conjunction, then, must be the initial event that placed the kingship on Saturn. According to the cosmologies of ancient civilizations, Saturn was regarded as the king of the earth “… during its Golden Age” (World Book Encyclopedia). Even though the tale of Saturn’s kingship is found in corrupt mythologies, the fact that it had a conjunction with the “royal” star in the “king of the jungle’s” constellation, on the first day of Creation, lends credibility to the concept that its conjunctions were there to celebrate the creation of Adam, the first king of this world.
It is true that astrology eventually became the Luciferian religion that the Old Testament calls “idolatry.” However, the devil has never invented or created anything. He can only corrupt what God has done. We should understand that for 2,500 years, from the creation of Adam until Moses wrote the book of Genesis, mankind had no written Bible. It seems that God’s first Bible was given in the symbols of the constellations.
Beginning with Virgo and continuing through Leo, we have the Gospel story of the “seed of the woman” and His war with the “seed of the serpent” (Gen. 3:15). Furthermore, Flavius Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, said that Adam’s son, Seth, and his sons “… were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies and their order.” (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 2, Paragraph 3).
The mythological story of Saturn said that he swallowed five of his children. His wife, Rhea, was so concerned she hid their sixth child, Jupiter, who, when he had come of age, defeated his father and made him cough up the other kids. Thus, Jupiter replaced Saturn as the king of heaven and earth. Could Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto be three of those “children?” Are there two more “children” (i.e., planets) beyond Pluto? Could they be the two planets recently discovered beyond Pluto and dubbed “Sedna” and “Xena?”
As I pondered this story, I realized that Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto could not be seen with the unaided eye … at least not today. However, is it possible that these planets could be seen by Seth and his children before disappearing? That could certainly explain the origin of the story.
Furthermore, Jupiter is the ancient symbol of the “all-seeing eye.” But how did early man know about the giant eye-shaped storm on the surface of Jupiter? Is it possible the universe was much closer to Earth shortly after Creation, then expanded at an incredible speed, moving the galaxies and the planets in our solar system farther and farther away from Earth until the outer planets could no longer be seen?
Jupiter—The New King
So, what about Jupiter? Greek mythology teaches that Jupiter replaced Saturn as the king of heaven and earth. If so, when did this take place?
Some years ago, I tracked Jupiter’s movements around the time of the birth of Christ and saw the first of a triple conjunction between Jupiter and Regulus, beginning on Rosh Hashanah, the new moon of September 11, 3 BC (see Chart D). Jupiter continued its forward movement for a few months, then returned in a retrograde movement for a second conjunction on February 13, 2 BC (see Chart E). Jupiter continued backing up for a few months, then started forward again and encountered its third conjunction with Regulus on May 8, 2 BC (see Chart F).
This convinced me that Jesus was born on Rosh Hashanah, 3 BC. Having seen Saturn in conjunction with the same star, during the week of Adam’s creation, and knowing that 4,001 years later, Jupiter had a conjunction during the time of Jesus’ birth, I wanted to know where Jupiter was located on September 25, 4004 BC.
As I moved the computer through the constellations along the line of the ecliptic, I found Jupiter coming out of Pisces, the constellation attributed to Jacob (see Chart G). It was almost all the way across the sky from Leo and the other four outer planets. Most of the other planets, including the earth and the sun, were close to being in a straight line with each other!
Jupiter was in Pisces, the constellation attributed to the house of Jacob! This reminded me that Balaam said Israel was like a lion, and that a “Star” would come “out of Jacob.” In Numbers, Balaam said: “He couched, he lay down as a lion, as a great lion: who shall stir him up? Blessed is he that blesseth thee, and cursed is he that curseth thee. … I shall see him, but not now: I shall behold him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel” (Num. 24:9, 17).
On the first day of Creation, Jupiter was in the constellation attributed to Jacob. Joseph Seiss, in his book, The Gospel in the Stars, wrote: “It is a singular fact that the ancient rabbis always considered the people of Israel [i.e., Jacob] as denoted by this sign [Pisces]” (p. 83).
But how did Seth know about Jupiter and Saturn since he was not born for another 130 years? Could he have witnessed a repeat of these conjunctions in Leo? Maybe so. When Adam was 501 years old, all five outer planets met in Leo. First, Saturn had a conjunction with Regulus on May 5, 3502 BC; then Jupiter had a conjunction with Regulus on August 1, 3502 BC; and finally, Jupiter and Saturn had a conjunction on June 27, 3501 BC, in which they were so close they almost became one light in the night sky! (see Chart H).
Could this have been perceived as a battle between Jupiter and Saturn over the sceptre in Regulus? Could it have given rise to the prophecy that a new messiah-king would replace Adam? And could it have also given rise to the mythology that Jupiter defeated Saturn and took his throne?
I would suggest that the final replacement of King Adam came with the birth of Jesus Christ, who was referred to as the “last Adam” (1 Cor. 15:45) and is destined to become King of kings and Lord of lords.
In Revelation 12, a virgin is clothed with the sun and the moon is under her feet. I feel confident that John was telling us that Christ was born on the night of the new moon of September. That is when the sun is in Virgo and the new moon is near her feet. If so, then the most logical date for the Savior’s birth would be September 11, 3 BC. Backing up nine months, for the incarnation in Mary’s womb by the Holy Spirit, would bring us to late December in 4 BC. Adam would have been 4,000 years and three months old.
On the night of September 11, 3 BC, Jupiter was approaching Regulus for the first of three conjunctions. The Magi may have been looking for Jupiter to replace Saturn as a sign of the birth of Jacob’s king. They may not have been too impressed with the first conjunction, even though it occurred on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. But when they saw the second conjunction on February 13, and the third conjunction on May 8, they may have become extremely interested. However, five weeks later, on June 17, 2 BC, when Jupiter and Venus met in the evening sky, they were so close as to appear as one very bright light (see Chart I). Perhaps then, they decided to travel to Jerusalem and worship the new king.
On August 12, 3 BC, a month before Christ was born, Jupiter and Venus met in the front feet of Leo. The following year, on July 17, 2 BC, Jupiter and Venus met again near the back feet of Leo for their second and most spectacular conjunction. Imagine living in Babylon and looking up into the sky, just above the western horizon at 9:04 p.m., and seeing the two brightest planets merge as one light in the sky. Jupiter and Venus had become practically one spectacular light. It must have been an impressive sight to the Magi. A few months later, on October 14, 2 BC, Jupiter, and Venus met again in the head of Virgo directly above Bethlehem.
The Magi may have arrived in Jerusalem in early October to inquire about the new Jewish king. Herod told them to look in Bethlehem. Perhaps before sunrise on October 14, they started on their journey five miles south to Bethlehem. They looked up at the sky and saw Jupiter and Venus in conjunction in the head of Virgo, the virgin, moving toward Bethlehem. Jesus would have been one year and one month old. Shortly thereafter, Herod decreed all male children under 2 years of age in Bethlehem be killed.
Conclusion
According to the astronomical events on September 25, 4004 BC, it seems evident that God created the universe in six days, beginning on Sunday. He created Adam on Friday and rested on Saturday. The seventh day was named after Saturn, the king planet during earth’s “Golden Age.” It seems apparent that Saturn represented Adam’s reign over the earth—a reign that failed in every regard. For 4,000 years, Adam’s race waged war continually.
But with the triple conjunction of Jupiter and Regulus, beginning on September 11, 3 BC, the new Messiah-King was born. This “last Adam” offers eternal life for all who will believe. These astronomical events cannot be a coincidence. They show a grand Divine design—an intelligent Designer. That means our future is bright. God is in complete control. All who repent and receive Christ will enjoy the glory of a great future … forever!
