The Great Christ Comet (36 page)

The Magi felt great joy when they saw the comet standing up over the house. Incredibly, it had enabled them to complete their mission. The Messiah's Star had led them right to the Messiah. The comet that had represented the messianic baby in the great celestial wonder marking his birth was now pinpointing his precise location on the earth.

When the Magi went into the house, “they saw the child with Mary his mother” (Matt. 2:11a). The absence of Joseph is striking and pushes the reader to recall that Jesus was born to a virgin mother. The Magi at the climax of their journey therefore saw the virgin and her special child. They immediately realized that this was what they had come to Judea seeking. The Eastern visitors therefore fell down and worshiped the infant and presented him with their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh (v. 11), tokens of their acknowledgement that he would, as the Hebrew Scriptures had prophesied, die, be buried, rise, and then reign over all nations.

Matthew's Evidence

We have every reason to believe that Matthew knew exactly what the Star had done in the eastern sky that prompted the Magi to journey westward to Judea. The question is, is Matthew's account of the nativity, the Magi, and the Star consistent with Revelation 12:1–5's portrayal of the natal sign? Our brief overview of Matthew 1:18–2:12 suggests that it is.

First, Matthew highlights that the Magi's observation of what the Star did in relation to its rising coincided with the terrestrial nativity of the Messiah in Bethlehem (2:1–2). Second, the Magi believed that the comet was the Messiah's “star” and interpreted its behavior in connection with its heliacal rising to signify not only that he was born, but that he was born at that time. In other words, what they saw in the eastern sky they interpreted as a nativity scene. Third, at the climax of the Magi's journey to Judea in search of the Messiah, the Star led them to the newborn King and his virgin mother (v. 11). The Magi instantly recognized that this is what the Star, during the eastern phase of its apparition, had commissioned them to find, and so they offered their gifts to the child.

Obviously, the most natural celestial context for a heavenly nativity scene announcing the birth of the Messiah to a virgin is the constellation Virgo, the sole zodiacal female. As to where within Virgo the comet would have risen, there is only one plausible suggestion: in her womb.

Moreover, in Matthew 2:2 the Magi seem to allude to Numbers 24:17's oracle concerning the rising scepter-star, implying that it was fulfilled by the Star. This probably implies that the comet looked like a scepter at the time when it rose (Matt. 2:2). This is consistent with our conclusion that Revelation 12:5 may well be revealing that the comet as a whole looked like a scepter at the point of the baby's birth.

Matthew's narrative is therefore very compatible with what Revelation 12:1–5 recounts regarding the nature of the wonder seen in the eastern sky in connection with the Messiah's birth.

When it is appreciated that the Magi witnessed a cometary coma create an unfolding nativity drama in the eastern sky even as the comet as a whole simultaneously formed a spectacular scepter, their wonderment and eccentric pilgrimage suddenly make sense. Moreover, when the Magi entered the house in Bethlehem, they were awestruck because they were seeing on the earth what they had earlier seen in the heavens—the divine baby with his virgin mother.

To those who spoke Aramaic (as did people in Mesopotamia and Judea) or Hebrew, the town of Bethlehem, meaning “House of Grain,” may well have seemed a remarkably fitting place for the terrestrial representative of Virgo and her newborn child to be, for Virgo was strongly associated with grain. From at least the first part of the first millennium BC, the Mesopotamians identified the constellation associated with Spica as AB.SIN (“the Furrow”). The astronomical compilation MUL.APIN, from around 1000 BC,
105
stated that Spica was the goddess Shala's ear of grain.
106
The Bab­ylo­nians portrayed this constellation as a virgin with a sprig of grain. Initially “the Furrow” referred only to half of the constellation we know as Virgo; the other half was called “the Frond,” which rose in advance of “the Furrow.” However, when these two constellations were combined into one (probably around the time when the zodiacal band was divided up into twelve equal segments), the new unified constellation seems to have taken on the identity of “the Furrow,” including its close association with Spica and grain, although combining this with some of the traits of “the Frond.” The Greeks regarded Spica as the ear of grain in Virgo's left hand.

Moreover, Bab­ylo­nian astrologers referred to the zodiacal constellations as “houses.”
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Therefore the constellation Virgo was astronomically the “House of Grain,” just as, terrestrially, Bethlehem was the “House of Grain.”

We conclude, then, that Matthew's account of the comet is perfectly consistent with what Revelation 12:1–5 reveals concerning the celestial sign marking Jesus's birth: the cometary coma played the part of the baby Messiah in a celestial nativity play featuring Virgo as the Messiah's mother. Back in their homeland, the Magi had seen the heavenly Virgin with her divine baby in the celestial House of Grain. Then, at the climax of their journey west to Judea, they saw on the earth the Virgin Mary with baby Jesus in the terrestrial House of Grain. In addition, at this same time the Magi witnessed the comet as a whole looking like a scepter.

Summary

We suggest, then, based on our study of Revelation 12:1–5 and our fresh analysis of Mat
thew 1:18–2:12, that while the Virgin Mary was giving birth to Jesus in Bethlehem, the zodiacal constellation figure Virgo was giving birth to a cometary baby.
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What we have preserved in Revelation 12:1–5 is a series of astronomical observations from 6 BC.

The heavenly birth was the climax of the year-plus cometary apparition. It was also the culmination of a pregnancy that had been apparent from the moment that a cometary baby was observed in Virgo's womb as she heliacally rose, emerging in the eastern predawn sky.
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The cometary coma would initially have looked small in her belly, but over the following weeks, as the comet approached Earth, the “baby” would have become larger and larger, just like a fetus in its mother's womb. In due course, it descended within Virgo until it made it seem that she was in labor.
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Then, when the coma-baby had fully emerged from its mother's womb, it was “born.” Revelation implies that this celestial birth coincided with the birth of the Messiah to the terrestrial virgin, Mary. At that time the comet as a whole may well also have formed a massive celestial scepter that stretched from the eastern to the western horizon and seemed to rest on Israel in the west.

According to the New Testament, after the comet completed its time in the eastern sky and crossed to the west, it proceeded to
guide the Magi to the place where the terrestrial virgin mother and her child were located. While the Messiah's Star at its rising had revealed to the Magi the fact, time, and manner of his birth, it subsequently turned into a massive celestial pointer, disclosing to them precisely where the baby Messiah was located. The comet that had played the part of Virgo's messianic baby in the celestial play eventually led the Magi right to the virgin and her special baby!

The Biblical account suggests that, as the Magi entered the house in Bethlehem, they finally saw on the earth what they had seen in the heavens less than 1½ months beforehand: the virgin with her newborn child.
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Their divine mission was now complete. Heaven and earth were united.

The Interpretation of the Celestial Drama

What interpretation were the Magi to give to the remarkable celestial phenomenon in the eastern sky? Those operating on the faulty assumption that comets were always interpreted as negative omens might judge that ancient astrologers would necessarily have concluded that a terrible curse was about to befall pregnant women in general or perhaps one particular pregnant woman or a royal dynasty.
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However, while such an interpretation was theoretically possible, the image of Virgo being pregnant with a child at her heliacal rising and then going on to have a full pregnancy was more susceptible to a positive interpretation than most cometary apparitions. The presumably baby shape of the cometary coma, coupled with its growth and downward, birth-like movement would have confirmed that this particular sign should be interpreted more joyfully. The only plausible explanation was that the heavens were signaling that a wonderful natal event was transpiring somewhere on the earth around that time. Together with the scepter-like form of the comet as a whole, it suggested that the birth of someone destined to be a mighty king was being heralded.

We can perhaps go further. This astronomical wonder might naturally have been interpreted in light of the broader sequence of celestial events. Back on September 15, 6 BC, the Sun had been located in the region of Virgo's womb. Subsequently, as Virgo rose heliacally in the eastern sky and the presence of a gloriously bright cometary coma in her womb was detected, this may well have prompted onlookers to interpret the Sun's role on September 15 as being that of God begetting his divine Son within the celestial Virgin. That is, Virgo clothed with the Sun, and with the Moon under her feet, was liable to be regarded as the first scene in the celestial nativity drama relating to God's Son. After the cometary baby moved out of Virgo's womb and down through her birth canal and was born, it would then quickly have seemed to descend toward the horizon and the Sun, a phenomenon which, in context, was susceptible to the interpretation that this newborn king would be delivered from danger by God.
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Based on what they saw in the heavens, one can well understand why observers like the Magi would have concluded that an important birth was taking place at that very time, and indeed that the baby represented a great person
who was being born right then to a terrestrial equivalent of Virgo, most naturally herself a virgin. The astrologers would also probably have come to the conclusion that this person's father was the Most High God, and indeed that he himself was divine. Moreover, it is easy to see how the scepter-like form of the comet as a whole might have prompted them to believe that the baby would become a great ruler. Needless to say, observers would have been eager to know who the mysterious divine child was and where on the earth he was located.

Many pagans in the Greek, Roman, and ancient Near Eastern world in the first and second centuries BC thought of Virgo in terms of Isis, the consort of Osiris and mother of Horus. We recall that Teukros of Bab­ylon reported that Virgo was understood by some of his contemporaries as Isis sitting on a throne, feeding her young son Horus. Moreover, the whole celestial story as it played out in September/October of 6 BC was reminiscent of the story of Isis's pregnancy and delivery of Horus in the face of Seth-Typhon's determined hostilities. However, the heavenly narrative was different at key points, and these differences challenged any attempt to read it in a thoroughgoing way through that paradigm. For one thing, it was not Osiris, god of the underworld and the dead, who was playing the role of the father of Virgo's son. Nor was the Sun the son. Rather, the Sun seemed to be playing the role of the father of Virgo's child. Nevertheless, this international combat myth did offer ancient Near Eastern observers a ready-made paradigm for interpreting the cometary drama in Virgo, one into which the story of the Messiah's birth could be fitted.

While many ancients would have sought to make sense of what was transpiring in Virgo by resorting to Bab­ylo­nian, Egyptian, and Greco-Roman religious ideas, the Magi were thoroughly convinced that the comet was the Messiah's “star” and should be interpreted through the grid of the Hebrew Scriptures. They believed that it was the Messiah who would vanquish the forces of Chaos and would bring Order to the cosmos. Whether the Magi had some inkling of the Star's messianic significance prior to its heliacal rising we do not know, but they certainly interpreted the wonders in the eastern sky as announcing the Messiah's birth. We shall explore in the following chapter the particular prophecies of the Hebrew Scriptures that provided them with the keys to understanding the heavenly sign. For now it is important to note that, having watched the cometary show in the morning sky and having become convinced that it was disclosing the birth of the Jewish Messiah, the Magi set off urgently for Jerusalem on a quest to find Virgo's son and worship him. As they did so, they may well have felt concern that the great dragon, representing the forces of evil in the cosmos, was intent on attacking and killing the newborn king. Evidently Herod was a great actor, because the Magi had no idea that it was he who was playing the part of Hydra, determined enemy of Virgo and her son, until they were informed of his malign intentions in a dream.

Conclusion

From what they saw in the eastern sky the Magi could have deduced certain things about the newborn baby, Virgo's child
par excellence
: (1) His mother had conceived him through divine intervention without losing her virginity. (2) He had been born at the point when the cometary coma had in its entirety descended below Virgo's groin. (3) He was the son of God. (4) He was glorious. (5) He was divine. (6) He had a powerful enemy who was eager to kill him. (7) He was destined to reign over the whole world. However, the celestial wonders by themselves cannot explain why the pagan astrologers came to the conclusion that the one born to a virgin was the Messiah, the King of the Jews. It was the Hebrew Scriptures, mediated through one or more Jews in Bab­ylon, that furnished them with the all-important messianic paradigm.

8

“With Royal Beauty Bright”

Messiah's Star

In the previous chapter we proposed that the celestial sight observed by the Magi consisted of a large cometary coma playing the part of Virgo's baby in a celestial birth scene even as the comet as a whole formed a scepter. The retrograde long-period comet's coma heliacally rose in Virgo's womb and proceeded to grow in the manner of a baby there before descending to be “born.” The wonder occurred because of extraordinary comet-Earth-Sun geometry—the comet was approaching Earth after perihelion and was moving in sync with Earth. As they watched the magnificent celestial marvel unfolding before their eyes, the Magi became certain that the heavens were signaling the birth of an extraordinarily important, indeed divine, ruler to a virgin on the earth.

We must now ask how the Magi concluded that the heavenly phenomena pointed to the Messiah, the King of the Jews. Anyone living in Bab­ylon, with its significant population of Jews, would have been familiar with the basic tenets of Judaism and probably would have known that the Jewish people expected a great future leader called the Messiah to come and ultimately reign over the world. Suetonius,
Vespasian
4.5, confirms this: “An ancient superstition had spread throughout the east that out of Judea would come the rulers of the world. This prediction, which actually referred to a Roman emperor, as became clear after the event, the Jews interpreted to refer to themselves. Therefore they rebelled” (cf. Tacitus,
Ann
. 5.13).
1
However, one would be surprised if the average magus would have been aware of particular Biblical prophecies concerning the Messiah's birth. Almost certainly, as most scholars agree,
2
the Magi must have been aided in their interpretation of the cometary apparition by one or more Jewish exiles who knew their Scriptures, had a developed messianic expectation, and considered the cometary apparition to be the fulfillment of ancient prophecies recorded in the Hebrew Bible. Certainly by the time the Magi got to Judea, they were surprisingly well-versed in Jewish messianic traditions (although not Mic. 5:2).

But which Hebrew Scriptures played the decisive role in convincing the Magi that it was the Messiah who had been born at that
time? In this chapter I will suggest that the key Biblical texts that gave the Magi their messianic paradigm were Numbers 24:17; Isaiah 7:14; and 9:2.

Numbers 24:17

One of the main Old Testament prophecies that almost certainly played a part in convincing the Magi to interpret the Star as a sign of the birth of the Messiah was in Numbers 24:17–19, in the Book of Moses.

Numbers 22–24

In Numbers 22–24, the people of Israel were encamped just east of the River Jordan, poised to enter the Land. Balak, king of Moab, was afraid of them because of how they had so overwhelmingly conquered the Amorites. But instead of engaging them in military conflict, Balak hatched the plan of employing an internationally renowned Mesopotamian prophet/diviner called Balaam
3
to curse the Israelites. Securing his services by flattery and a generous offer of remuneration, Balak called upon Balaam to pronounce curses on the people of Israel. However, each time Balaam opened his mouth to curse Israel, Yahweh obligated him to speak only words that were favorable to Israel. Balak was infuriated.

In Numbers 23–24 we find the four main oracles uttered by Balaam (23:7–10, 18b–24; 24:3b–9, 15b–19), followed by a cluster of short concluding oracles (
24:20–24
).

The fourth oracle, which is the focus of our concern, was given by Balaam without Balak's specific prompting. This prophecy, in context, highlighted the punishment due Moab for its unprovoked hostility toward Israel. In the oracle, Balaam revealed what would take place in the distant future. He foresaw that a great leader would emerge from Israel, who would conquer the Moabites and Edomites (24:17–19): “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel will do valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!”

In the ancient Near East a monarch could be spoken of as a “star” (so, for example, in Isaiah 14:12). In addition, “scepter” sometimes represented (by metonymy) a king (as in Psalm 45:6: “The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness”) or royal authority (as in Genesis 49:10: “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet”). Here Balaam speaks of the coming of the future Israelite ruler in terms of a “star” and “scepter.”

The Scepter Star

As we saw in
chapter 6
, the fact that the “scepter” is parallel to, and synonymous with, “star” makes a compelling case that the “scepter” in view is a straight, long-tailed comet. That a comet is in view is consistent with the fact that Balaam prophesied that the “star” would “come” or “move” (
drk
) and that the “scepter” would “rise” or “stand” (
qm
). In addition, the Bab­ylo­nian Talmud tractate
Berakhot
58b expressly refers to a comet as “a scepter star.” Many scholars
4
and two recent Bible translations, the
New English Bible
and the
Revised English Bible
, have even rendered the Hebrew word used by Balaam “comet” rather than “scepter.”
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The peculiar conceptualization of this future
ruler in terms of a cometary scepter strongly suggests that his birth would be attended by an extraordinary cometary apparition, anticipating his destiny as world monarch. Accordingly, it seems that Balaam was employing double entendre here—the scepter-star was both literal and metaphorical. The literal, astronomical scepter-star would announce the birth of the metaphorical scepter-star, the Messiah, who was destined to wield sovereign and military authority over Israel and its neighbors. The natal star would be a symbol of the Messiah.

As we mentioned in the last chapter, when Balaam speaks of the cometary “star” as a “scepter” that “shall rise,” it is most natural to interpret him as suggesting that the comet would look like a scepter at the time when it rose to herald the Messiah's coming.

Fulfillment?

A glance at 2 Samuel 8 (especially vv. 2 and 13–14; cf. 3:18; 7:8–11; 1 Kings 11:15–16) shows that King David conquered Moab and Edom militarily. Was he regarded as the prophesied Scepter-Star? The answer is no. First, the historical books disclose that Moab and Edom did not remain subservient to the people of Israel on a permanent basis
6
(see 2 Kings 1:1; ch. 3; 8:20; 13:20; 2 Chron. 28:17). Moreover, Isaiah 11:14 (“They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab”) and 25:9–11 make it clear that the conquest foretold by Balaam was not regarded as entirely fulfilled in the centuries after David, but still awaited a future fulfillment in connection with the Messiah. Second, there is in the Hebrew Scriptures a notable lack of any claim that David's birth was attended by any special astronomical phenomenon.

Ancient Jewish Messianic Interpretations of Numbers 24:17

Jews around the time of Jesus's birth interpreted Balaam's oracle as referring to the coming of the Messiah. For example, the Qumran Community took it in this way.
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Its Damascus Document unpacked the meaning of Numbers 24:17 in the following manner: “. . . it is written ‘A star has journeyed out of Jacob and a scepter is risen out of Israel.' ‘The scepter' is the Prince of the whole congregation, and at his coming ‘he will break down all the sons of Seth.'”
8

Philo summarized the oracle in the following terms: “A man shall emerge, says the oracle, leading his army to war—he shall conquer great and densely populated nations.”
9

The Septuagint rendered the verse, “A star [
astron
] will rise [
anatelei
] from Jacob, and a man [
anthr
ō
pos
] will emerge [
anast
ē
setai
] from Israel,” and another Greek translation
10
and a Syriac version (the Peshitta)
11
used “leader” in place of “scepter” or “man.”

Some of the Targums, which are later but often preserve traditions from the time of Jesus, spelled out that the “star” in view is a human. For example,
Targum Neofiti
rendered the verse, “A king will arise from the house of Jacob and a redeemer and ruler from the house of Israel.”
12
Targum Onqelos
substituted “a king” for “a star” and “the
Messiah” for “a scepter.”
13
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
read, “a mighty king of the house of Jacob shall reign, and shall be anointed Messiah, wielding the mighty scepter of Israel.”
14
The
Fragmentary Targum
stated, “A king is destined to arise from the house of Jacob, a redeemer and ruler from the house of Israel, who shall slay the mighty ones, . . . who shall destroy all that remains of the guilty city, which is Rome.”
15

Famously, the messianic claimant Simon Ben Kosiba in the second century AD was identified by Rabbi Aqiba as the Messiah and given the title Bar Kokhba (“Son of a Star”), under the influence of Balaam's prophecy. This title, as well as the images of a star over the Jerusalem Sanctuary on coins issued by him, may imply that Ben Kosiba was regarded by followers as having been authenticated by some celestial phenomenon, most likely a comet, either at his birth or at some key moment in his career, so that he was viewed as the fulfillment of Numbers 24:17. Certainly, his title implied that Numbers 24:17 had been fulfilled in the coming of Ben Kosiba, “a luminary who had come down to them from heaven” (Eusebius,
Hist. Eccl.
4.6.2).
16

Two passages from the
Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs
(which was completed by the second century AD) also took a strongly messianic interpretation of Balaam's oracle.
Testament of Judah
24:1–6 drew heavily on Numbers 24:17 when it declared concerning the Messiah that “there shall arise for you a Star from Jacob in peace: And a man shall rise from my posterity like the Sun of righteousness. . . . This is the Shoot of God Most High. . . . Then he will illumine the scepter of my kingdom, and from your root will arise the Shoot, and through it shall grow a rod of righteousness for the nations, to judge and to save all that call on the Lord.”
17
Testament of Levi
(18:3) stated, concerning a messianic figure whom it calls a “new priest,” that “his star shall rise in heaven like a king, kindling the light of knowledge. . . . And he shall be extolled by the whole inhabited world.”
18

It is striking that
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
and the
Testament of Judah
and
Testament of Levi
strongly connect the star and scepter of Numbers 24:17 with Isaiah 11's great prophecy concerning the Messiah. Notably in both Numbers and Isaiah 11, the Messiah is associated with a “rod” or “scepter” (Isa. 11:4: “the rod of his mouth”).
19

There can therefore be no doubt that Balaam's oracle concerning the Star and Scepter was widely understood by Jews around the time of Jesus to relate to the coming of the Messiah.
20

Numbers 24:17 and the Magi's Star in Early Christian Interpretation

The early church clearly believed that Balaam's oracle was fulfilled in connection with the coming of Jesus. Revelation 22:16 (cf. 2:26–28) refers to Jesus as “the bright morning star,” which strongly alludes to Numbers
24:17. Similarly, 2 Peter 1:19 speaks of “the prophetic word . . . , to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.”
21
This passage too assumes that Balaam's prophecy was fulfilled in Jesus.

That Jesus was the fulfillment of the Mesopotamian seer's oracle was regarded by many early Christians as confirmed by the appearance of the Star at the time of his coming. In the early centuries of Christianity, Balaam's prophecy was widely believed to have been fulfilled literally by the Magi's Star.

With respect to Matthew himself, most scholars recognize that Numbers 24:17 is an important background text for the account of the Magi and the Star. More particularly, it is commonly accepted that when Matthew records that the Magi declared to the people of Jerusalem that “we saw his star at its rising” (Matt. 2:2), he was strongly alluding to Numbers 24:17 and expected his readers to recognize the allusion. Of course, if that was what Matthew was thinking, then it is more than likely also what the Magi themselves were thinking, since the words are attributed to them.

Further, we recall that Revelation 12:1–5, which preserves the memory of what the Star did to mark the birth of Jesus, makes reference to the iron scepter of Psalm 2:8–9 in connection with the birth of Virgo's son, ultimately recalling Balaam's oracle concerning the messianic scepter-star.
22
In a strongly astronomical context, particularly where a cometary apparition and the birth of the Messiah are in view, the reference to the iron scepter is most naturally interpreted as alluding to the literal fulfillment of Balaam's oracle concerning the cometary scepter. The implication of Revelation 12:5 is that the comet at its rising took the form of a gloriously bright scepter, in which case it would be little wonder that Balaam's prophetic word seemed a compelling interpretive key.