A planet around another star, an extrasolar planet was discovered around the star Gliese 581. This planet is approximately 5 earth masses and although it is very close to its parent star, its parent star is also quite cool and not very luminous as it is a red dwarf. As a result these effects should balance out to produce a temperature tolerable to at least liquid water and possibly life either microbial or perhaps more advanced although as a Christian I don't think there is intelligent humanoid life but there could be the equivalent of plants and animals. According to the Extrasolar Encyclopedia at http://extrasolar.eu the temperature in the region of this planet should be 0 to 40 degrees Celcius. This planet and its star is very close to our solar system by astronomical standards at about 20 light years or about 200,000,000,000,000 or 200 trillion kilometres or 120,000,000,000,000 or 120 trillion miles away. There should be more effort soon to try to determine further evidence of life or at least liquid water on this planet soon although there is or could soon be technological capability to send a nuclear rocket there which would probably take about 400 years one way. This planet since it is very close to its parent star is probably tidally locked always having the same face towards the star but winds in a possible atmosphere of the planet could still moderate the surface of the planet and its day and night side.
You may be aware of some astronomy including having some knowledge of the Milky Way galaxy but the Lord has recently led me along several lines of investigation to conclude that the main gateway to heaven is in the constellation Sagittarius at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. As I investigate this more I continue to gain more information from different sources including much in the Bible as well as history and science to support this. As you may know Sagittarius means The Archer and often has the symbol of an arrow. It is also one of the Zodiacal constellations through which the planets and the sun and moon appear to move. Also in the constellation Sagittarius is located according to modern science the galactic center. This can be viewed in infrared wavelengths to some extent but there are clouds of dust that block our view of the centre of the galaxy in visible and some other electromagnetic radiation wavelengths. This galactic center is at the intersection of the ecliptic along which the planets and sun and moon move and the galactic equator which is an imaginary line through the center of the milky way and is the approximate plane of our Milky Way galaxy which is like a flatenned disk with a central bulge. Many of the current constellations, 48, and their pattern and names are straight from the Greek astronomer Ptolomy and his work The Almagest in about 150 AD including all 12 Zodiac constellations. However some of these constellations are from much earlier from Babylon with Orion also mentioned in the Biblical book of Job 2000 to 2500 BC Job 9:9, 38:31 and later in the book of Amos (Amos 5:8). The figure for Sagittarius is often depicted as a Centaur a half horse half man mythological creature with a bow and arrow. These Zodiac constellations can be traced all the way to the beginning of the history of Babylon earlier than 2000 BC and probably to its earlier namesake Babel that also means the same thing "confusion". The first king or ruler of Babel or Babylon was Nimrod who was also called "a mighty hunter". The word hunt or hunter in the Hebrew in the Bible means "to lie alongside" or "to lie in wait" (to catch an animal). Although it doesn't specifically say directly, this certainly would be consistant with someone using a bow and arrow in hunting. There is evidence that Nimrod chose the name of The Archer from which we get our name Sagittarius to give a memorial of himself and his hunting ability in the sky for posterity. The Zodiac constellations and probably some other constellations were probably also assigned by Nimrod and his mother Semiramis who were the originators of Babylonian or western astrology with some use of astronomy. I heard the study of the msystical or divination study of astrology and the scientific study of the stars astronomy were quite intertwined until the time of the scientist Kepler around 1600 AD. I have heard the word "zodiac" comes from the Greek for animal sign or the babylonian for observatory. Semiramis and Nimrod were also the originators of most idolatry including the mother goddess and mother child cult after the flood of Noah. The scripture reference to Nimrod as a hunter (archer) in Genesis is as follows:
And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty hunter before the LORD: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty hunter before the LORD. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. Genesis 10:8-10
Although some people might think it is just a coincidence that Nimrod who was the first mighty hunter called the area of the sky or heavens with the galactic centre after himself I think there is evidence that there is a very good and specific reason for this. One thing mentioned in verse 5 is that the LORD came down (from heaven) to see the city and the tower which the people of Babel building the tower of Babel. Then later God says let us go down and there confound (confuse) their language that they might not understand their speech. Then the Lord scattered them over the face of the Earth and they stopped building the Tower of Babel. What I want to emphasize is that twice it is mentioned God came down from heaven and then down to the Tower of Babel. I can't say for sure but perhaps Nimrod as well as other people in Babel (or Babylon) saw what part of the sky God came from and it was from the centre of the Milky Way Galaxy where astronomers say is large black hole and Nimrod perhaps with the encouragement of his mother Semiramis in spite against God named the constellation named after him Sagittarius or the Archer for this region of the sky or the heavens in order to in pride put his memorial in that part of the heavens against this region of the sky where God showed himself and his power and the entrance to his kingdom of heaven. The scripture reference in Genesis 11 of God coming down from heaven to Babel to confuse their language and Nimrod and others probably eyewitnessing this and possibly showing spite to God by naming this part of the heavens after himself and his might and hunting ability and against God and His might is as follows:
And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off the build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. Genesis 11:5-9
Although I had thought of it before, the idea that a black hole especially the centre of a black hole could be a passageway or entranceway to heaven received a boost in my mind recently. I was talking with a Christian friend about many things including about science and the Bible and he said because the famous and extraordinary astrophysicist Stephen Hawking has been for some time very sick including being heavily paralyzed but perhaps also more generally affected and in danger of his life he often thinks about death. This friend said this results in Stephen Hawking having a deep seated idea that black holes are gateways to the spiritual realm in this case especially of a passageway for demons or fallen angels or evil spirits into our physical universe. Although I haven't received confirmation of this yet in my own research, I plan to look into this more soon myself and try to obtain confirmation in books from or about Stephen Hawking. Although I don't know if Stephen Hawking said anything special about the massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy, it can be noted that it is far more massive and larger and with greater gravity although not necessarily more intense gravity than other black holes in our galaxy. Although massive black holes have been found or deduced for the centres of other galaxies, they are not as close to us and not as directly connected to us as the massive black hole at the centre of our galaxy. Also there are often reports of people who have Near Death Experiences (NDEs) or other similiar supernatural experiences of going through a long dark tunnel to often a beautiful environment and sometimes seeing a being of light. This could be along a passageway through a black hole especially the one at the centre of the galaxy to heaven to see Lucifer or Satan if the message they receive is contrary to the Gospel of salvation only through the Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Bible Satan or Lucifer and his angels (demons) will continue to have access to heaven until the midpoint of the tribulation when they will be cast out for good in a war there with the Archangel Michael and the holy angels of God. In fact this scene of war in heaven in Revelation 12 gives rise to a main association in the Bible of a passageway in heaven probably a black hole with arrow and an archer of which the word Sagittarius is a translation. In this reference in Revelation 12 Satan or Lucifer among other things is called the Accuser of the Brethren. This refers to his saying slanderous things against believers of the Lord Jesus Christ especially that God won't forgive our sins even if we have confessed them through Jesus and tried to put them behind us. The devil or Lucifer or Satan also will accuse believers in other ways in saying things like you are missing out on all the pleasures of the world or you are not accomplishing much for God or it is just our imagination in God and the Bible and it won't avail us anything in the end. These are some of the lies of Satan or Lucifer as the Accuser of the Brethren Satan says before God the Father in Heaven for which Jesus claims His shed blood to avail for us as believers but which can be assaults to our faith in God and Jesus or His Word - the Holy Bible. These assaults are called in Ephesians the fiery darts or arrows of the wicked one. This is named after the ancient practice of dipping arrows in oil and lighting them on fire and them shooting them at one's adversaries. This of course speaks of an archer in a spiritual sense including from heaven and probably the location of the black hole at the centre of the universe in Sagittarius but it could also refer other gateways to heaven through other black holes including micro black holes that are everywhere in the universe including inside us at a scale below 10-35 metre at the Planck Wheeler length where space time is supposed to be disccontinuous with a foaming mix of vacuum and black holes according to science. This is at a scale much smaller even than elementary particles like electrons and protons. The fact that Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven to the earth after this war in heaven and probably seen descend from heaven by people on Earth then in the tribulation or 70th week of Daniel will enable people on Earth to have an idea where the gateway to heaven is and possibly in the direction of the centre of the galaxy in Sagittarius especially if this event happens at night as it will for some people and possible in the right time of year when the sun is on the other side of the sky. The scripture reference of the war in heaven between Satan or Lucifer and his angels and Michael and his angels and Satan the Accuser of the brethren being cast out of heaven to the earth in Revelation 12 and the reference to Satan's accusations against believers as fiery darts arrows from a master archer from Ephesians 6 are as follows:
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ (Messiah): for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time. Revelation 12:7-12
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts (arrows) of the wicked (Satan). Ephesians 6:16
The first verse of this psalm looks forward to the 1000 year Messianic Age when the LORD (God the Father) and His Annointed One the Messiah (Jesus) reign over all the earth including all the isles or coastlands far from Israel. Then there will be worldwide peace, prosperity, righteousness and joy especially in the LORD and in His Messiah (Jesus) and His law and word. Verse 2 probably refers to the actual positon of the LORD in Heaven before he comes to reign on earth in the Millennial Kingdom with His Messiah Jesus, his holy angels and his saints (from the Church dispensation and some from the Old Testament period). The darkness round about the LORD could refer to the darkness of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy surrounding a tear in the fabric of space time at the centre of this black hole that is called a singularity. This could be a gateway to the third heaven where God's throne is and would allow spiritual beings to pass through as they wouldn't be confined to the crushing density or extreme gravity at the centre of this or other black holes although they would instantly crush and kill any people of flesh and blood or any other living things and crush and destroy any non-living material objects. This black hole is in the direction of Sagittarius and is perhaps also the direction God came from and was seen when he thwarted the building of the Tower of Babel and in the near future when Satan and the demons are cast out of heaven. The clouds could be the dust clouds in some of the spiral arms from 7000 light years from us to closer to the center of the galaxy that is itself about 25,000 light years from us. These dust clouds hide our view of the bright concentration of stars in the central bulge of our Milky Way galaxy that surrounds the central black hole. Verses 3 to 5 describe the appearance of the coming of the LORD at the end of the tribulation with the Lord Jesus at His Second Coming from heaven to earth very visibly in power and glory to initiate the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom. Verse 3 is consistant with passages like Malachi 4, 2 Thessalonians 1 and Matthew 26:64 and Matthew 24 where Jesus' coming is also compared to bright lightning. The scripture passage in Psalm 97 of the LORD (God the Father) coming with the Messiah (Jesus) and the holy angels and many saints from heaven, perhaps through the darkness of the black holy at the centre of the galaxy at the end of the tribulation and beginning of the Millennium is as follows:
The LORD reigneth; let the earth rejoice; let the multitude of isles be glad thereof. Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne. A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about. His lightnings enlightened the world: the earth saw, and trembled. The hills melted like wax at the presence of the LORD, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Psalm 97:1-5
The prophet Isaiah was living in a time when Assyria had taken over the northern kingdom of Israel and were threatening the southern kingdom of Judah which Isaiah was concerned would also be defeated because of their immorality, idolatry and godlessness but who later turned back to God temporarily and were spared God's judgment for another 100 years or so when King Nebuchadnezzar finally led the Babylonians to defeat Israel around 600 BC. Isaiah was longing that the LORD, the God of Israel would come gloriously from heaven in his day and deliver Israel and put fear or reverance for Israel and their God and defeat their enemies. It is especially significant that it is said that the LORD would rend the heavens when he comes from heaven to rule the earth and deliver Israel. This is consistant with prophecies about the LORD's and His Messiah Jesus' (and his holy angels and saints (believers) coming at the end of the tribulation to start His Messianic Kingdom on earth including the previously described reference in Psalm 97. The rent in the heavens could be making a larger rent from the already existing rent in the centre of the black hole at the centre of our Milky Way galaxy as a rent in the heavens is an accurate scientific description of a black hole. Also when the LORD and the Lord Jesus the Messiah (Christ) does come from heaven perhaps from the Milky Way's central black hole he could further rend or appear to rend the heavens if he clears a way through the dust clouds in the spiral arms in the direction of the black hole in the centre of our galaxy and more fully reveals the brightness of the concentration of stars around the center of our galaxy. Isaiah mentions the glory or fire of the LORD's coming melting the hills on earth and devouring Israel's adversaries that will also happen according to other scriptures such as in Zechariah 14. The scripture reference of Isaiah wishing the LORD (God the Father) to come in His glory from a rent in Heaven that could be through the centre of our Milky Way galaxy to deliver Israel and establish His kingdom on earth is as follows:
Oh that thou wouldest rend the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the mountains might flow down at thy presence. As when the melting fire burneth, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may tremble at they presence! Isaiah 64:1-2
The Mayan calendar called the Long Count calendar is supposed to date back to August 3114 BC and is related to the astronomical phenomena called "precession". This is like the effect of a wobbling, spinning top. The top is spinning on its axis but the top and its axis are themselves wobbling around a vertical axis in a certain period of time. This traces an angle of a certain number of degrees from the top being upright. This is also how it is with the earth with the earth tracing a circle in the sky of the fixed stars of about 23 degrees radius every 25,800 years. This is called the precession period or cycle. This precession also affects the positions of all the stars in the sky in a slow process including changing the pole star eventually such as having Thuban in the constellation Draco the Dragon in the time of the building of the great pyramids in Egypt just after 3000 BC and the North Pole Star now being Polaris in the Little Dipper or Ursa Minor the Little Bear. Anyway what is more important with the Maya and in this article is that precession also changes the place of the winter solstice sun slowly throughout this 25,800 year period. What is significant about the winter solstice in 2012 is that the winter solstice will be exactly in front of the galactic center. This also happens to be the intersection or cross of galactic equator, which is the plane of the disk of our Milky Way galaxy, and the ecliptic which is the plane of the sun, moon, and planets in our sky based on the planets and the and the earth orbiting the sun in the same plane as well as the moon orbiting the earth in this plane. According to the Maya civilization their calendar would end in 2012 which would end history as we know it and would bring in the reign of the gods under the man-god Kulkecan which is basically the same as the Aztec Quetzlcoatl which is associated with the planet Venus as the morning star. Under some of the Central American first nation people as well as many New Age devotees this is thought to be the beginning of their vision of an ideal society that has achieved peace and harmony and a collective consciousness.
The way things are going with Israel, the nations, the Church, morality, technology, the weather and many other matters I think the beginning of the tribulation might start by the end of 2012. Revelation 13 states that the false prophet will bring down fire down from heaven in the sight of men. The false prophet as well as the Antichrist or Beast out of the sea will be fully possessed and directed by Satan the devil or Lucifer by the beginning of the 2nd half of the tribulation and this will continue throughout the second half of the tribulaton leading to their being directed or possessed of Satan to lead the world's armies against Jerusalem and the Jews there and against the Lord Jesus the Messiah they will have some idea is coming to overthrow their the Antichrist's and False Prophet's world power starting at Jerusalem. At the beginning of the 2nd half of the tribulation Satan and his fallen angels will be permanently cast out of heaven to the earth probably from the direction of Sagittarius and the black hole in the center of the Milky Way galaxy there which could be a portal or passageway to the heaven of God's abode or the third heaven through which spiritual beings such as angels holy or unholy or God himself or Christians when we have resurrected, spiritual bodies could pass through and not be destroyed by the intense, virtually infinite gravity and density. Satan could instigate the false prophet, the Beast out of the land and the Antichrist, the beast out of the sea, to show spite against God by bringing the fire down from heaven in the sight of men especially from the direction of the galactic centre in Sagittarius including at the 2012 winter solstice or December 21, 2012 and at times leading up to or perhaps soon after that as well. This will no doubt be much to the delight and awe-inspiring to virtually all New Agers which will be probably the predominant religious and philosophy on Earth then and will instill more allegiance and subjection to the False Prophet and his instructions to worship the Antichrist or his image or take his mark and to dismiss the testimony or words of the Lord Jesus Christ among the One Lord God in Three Persons. I have recently heard that there is some teaching among the Hopi first nation people and other first nations people that in the last days there will be an intense blue light from the galactic center that could be visible even in the day light and scientifically could be from a gamma ray burst from the central black hole of our galaxy and Synchrotron Radiation. The scripture reference in Revelation 13 of the false prophet or beast out of the land bringing fire from heaven is as follows:
And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live. Revelation 13:11-14
Bildad was a friend or acquaintance of the man of God, Job, and Bildad was also associated with philosophy centred on the God of the Bible. In this chapter I believe the true and living God gave Bildad a revelation of the earliest history of the universe. In verse 2 of this chapter believe high places means heavenly places as this word high is the same as is used for the term the high God talking about the God of the Bible and is different in the Hebrew than the word high used for the pagan high places that were on the top of earthly hills or mountains. I believe God making peace in the high places refers to God casting out of heaven Satan and the demons or angels that became fallen angels after rebelling with Satan against God to restore peace in heaven or the heavens including the astronomical heavens or God's high places. These high or heavenly places are part of God's dominion and where God would also want fear or reverence to Himself. I think the rebellion of Satan or Lucifer the devil and his angels described in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 occurred after Adam and Eve were created but before Satan through the serpent tempted Eve in Genesis 3. There could have been up to a couple hundred years between the end of Genesis 2 and the beginning of Genesis 3 that would provide sufficient time for Satan and his angels to rebel against God and make plans to bring about the fall of our first parents and the human race. The reference to God's armies here in verse 3 I think refers to God's heavenly armies or his holy angels which are sometimes called the heavenly host or heavenly armies. The reference to the stars not being pure in God's sight applies at least partly to the physical or astronomical stars and planets that are in some way cursed due to and since the rebellion of the devil and his angels before the fall of man and curse of the earth and perhaps a further curse of the heavens although the latter is not specifically mentioned in Genesis 3. The stars not being pure in God's sight could have a secondary meaning to some of the angels that aren't pure in God's sight since the angels are sometimes called stars in the Bible. In that case they would be falled angels that rebelled against God before the fall of man with Satan or Lucifer the devil and became spiritually impure. The scripture reference from Job 25 of the restoration of order but still cursed state of the heavens and some of the angels due to the rebellion led by Satan the devil or Lucifer near the beginning of history is as follows:
The answered Bildad the Shuhite, and said, Dominion and fear are upon him, he maketh peace in his high places. Is there any number of his armies? and upon whom doth not his light arise? How then can man be justified with God? or how can he be clean that is born of woman? Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in his sight. How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm? Job 25:1-5
In the Bible references to astronomy especially in the Old Testament are given from the perspective of the Jews which didn't have much interest or knowledge of the heavens in a scientific way or in the way of psuedoscience like astrology. This was probably because God severely and repeately warned the Israelites not to worship the host of heaven (stars and planets, the sun or moon or comets etc.) so as not to fall into the idolatry of the surrounding pagan nations. Some of the planets are mentioned in connection with foreign false gods of other nations in the Old Testament and to some extent New Testament. Also the planet Venus is referred to in symbolic terms of Jesus' coming again especially in the rapture in the New Testament and is probably referred to concerning the devil or Satan or Lucifer with Lucifer Latin for morning star. However these warnings were not to worship the host of heaven was only partly successful as the Israelites periodically fell into the sin of worshipping the celestial objects including the planets especially near the end of their period as an independent nation and this was one of the main reasons God judged them by bringing the Assyrians to take away the sovereignty of the northern kingdom of Israel and then about a century later the Babylonians to take away the sovereignty of the southern kingdom of Judah. God also stated in the initial creation week that the purpose of the celestial objects including planets was "for days and years and signs and seasons" in Genesis 1:14. The Jews would be made aware of the study of the planets in a more scientific sense from the time of the rise of Greek culture from about 300 BC to into the New Testament period in the 1st century AD. However even the Greeks and most likely the Hebrews only thought of the planets as points of light in the heavens and rarely as additional worlds like the earth.
To the ancient people, probably also the Jews or Hebrews as they would be influenced by the Gentiles or people of the nations especially the Greeks at the New Testament times, the fixed stars were seen as more pure and noble as they were thought of as unchanging and more divine or heavenly. In contrast to this the planets or wandering stars as they were often called were seen as less lofty because of their continual change or movement. (The word planet means wanderer.) I was recently reading a book about astronomy and the Bible that made these points although I don't think they pointed out there is actually a use of the term wandering star in the Bible. Probably because of the negative or unheavenly idea of the planets because of their movement this use of the term in the book of Jude is for the eternal destiny of the unsaved especially false teachers. I am not sure how this relates to the general portrayal of unbelievers in the lake of fire for their eternal destiny but the Lord JEsus Christ at least on one occasion in the gospels referred to "outer darkness" as the destined place for those who die in their sins. Anyway the reference in the book of Jude to the destined place of probably especially false teachers with the negative connotation of planets or wandering stars is as follows:
Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities ... wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. Jude 8, 13
After Assyria, an empire centred in what is now northern Iraq, defeated the northern kingdom of Israel in about 720 BC they brought people from other parts of their empire, many of which were idol worshippers, to settle in the northern kingdom including its capital of Samaria where the Israelites had already had a long established centre of idolatry in Dan and Bethel set up by their first king Jeroboam. Later in Israel or Samaria's history before their conquest by Assyria they set up pagan high places where there would be idolatry and possibly worship of the host of heaven. Anyway when people from other nations were brought to the northern kingdom or Samaria by the Assyrians some of them were inhabitants of Cuth or Cuthah which was a city of Babylon. One of their chief gods was Nergal which was the god of war, death and pestilence. Nergal was also associated with the planet Mars which the people of Cuth and other Babylonians also saw as symbolizing death, war and pestilence because of its red colour. These people also thought Nergal dwelt on Mars although they didn't have any of our modern scientific knowledge of Mars as another world that is probably the most earthlike in our solar system although they might have still thought along these lines anyway. A priest of the Samaritans tried to teach people to fear the LORD or Jehovah (Yahweh) or God the Father but the people tried to serve the LORD and still alse commit idolatry including worshipping the host of heaven. The scripture reference of the people of Cuth and other Babylonians worshipping their god Nergal and the planet Mars is as follows:
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence(there); and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land (the LORD or Jehovah). Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt. And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima, And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of the Sepharvaim. So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence. 2 Kings 17:27-33
In the invasion by the Babylonians under their king Nebuchadnezzar in 589 BC to defeat Jerusalem and the house of the LORD (the Jewish temple or Solomon's temple) one of the leading officials was called Nergal-sherezer. He was also called the Rab-mag and later was assigned to bring the prophet Jeremiah out of the prison and was brought to the Judah puppet king Gedaliah who let Jeremiah stay in his home in peace. Nergal as part of the name Nergal-sherezer was no doubt named after the Babylonian god of war, death and pestilence associated with the planet Mars. This Nergal-sherezer was a Babylonian prince who married one of Nebuchadnezzar's daughters and later murdered Nebuchadnezzar's son, his brother in law Evil-merodach and became king of Babylon himself in 560 to 556 BC. The scripture reference to Nergal-sherezer and his role in the defeat of Jerusalem and bringing Jeremiah to safety in Jeremiah 39 are as follows:
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, came Nebuchanezzar king of Babylon and all his army against Jerusalem, and they besieged it. And in the eleventh year of Zedekiah, in the fourth month, the ninth day of the month the city was broken up. And all the princes of the king of Babylon came in, and sat in the middle gate, even Nergal-sharezer, Samgar-nebo, Sarsechim, Rab-saris, Nergal-sharezer, Rab-mag, with all the residue of the princes of the king of Babylon. So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the guard sent, and Nebushasban, Rab-saris, and Nergal- sharezer, Rab-mag, and all the king of Babylon's princes; Even they sent, and took Jeremiah out of the court of the prison, and committed him unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam the son of Shaphan, that he should carry him home: so he dwelt among the people. Jeremiah 39:1-3, 13-14
There is an interesting and unusual verse in the prophet Amos chapter 5 that mentions some false gods the Israelites worshipped when they strayed from worshipping the LORD or Jehovah (Yahweh) the Father of the New Testament and the true and living God. Moloch was a detestable god of the Ammonites which featured offering of children in its red hot arms as sacrifices which the Israelits unfortunately adopted at different times in their history. However what I want to focus on is the god names Chiun. Although images are associated with these gods so their must have been images or idols made of them but interestingly it is mentioned especially with regard to Chiun that it was the star of your god. This means it was what is sometimes called an astral deity or a deity associated with worshipping one or more of the stars or planets in the heavens. According to Unger's Bible dictionary under False Gods, Chiun further information is provided about this astral god. In that book he says that the romanization should more accurately be Kaiwan or Kewan associated with the Akkadian Kaiwanu which was a name for the planet Saturn. Akkadian was an ancient language of the Sumerian people that lived in what is now Iraq from about 3500 to 2000 BC. The scripture reference to this astral god Chiun representing the planet Saturn which the Israelites worshipped when they strayed from their God the LORD the true and living God in Amos 5 is as follows:
But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye have made to yourselves. Amos 5:26
There is a reference by the church father Stephen in his address to the Israelites before his martydom where he rehearsed their history including many of their examples of unfaithfulness to the LORD before his martyrdom. Stephen also mentions an astral god called Remphan which the Israelites made a figure of image of to worship in the form of a star so this is definitely a god of a planet or star. In the context in Acts 7 it is clear that the Israelites made this image and worshipped it when they were in the Sinai wilderness which would be quite annoying to the LORD and to Moses although there is some indication that the astral god Chiun mentioned in Amos 5 was also worshipped in the wilderness by the Israelites on their way from Egypt to the Promised Land of Israel or Canaan. Stephen quoted the LORD as he also said in Amos 5 that he would send the Israelites beyond Babylon or Damascus which he did from around 608 to 588 BC when Israel was invaded by and defeated by the Babylonians and especially the most rich and influential Israelites were taken to the Babylonian empire. According to Unger's Bible Dictionary also under false gods, Rephan the following additional information is given about this false god Rephan or Remphan. The reference in Acts is a garbled version of Kaiwan or the Akkadian Kaiwanu the name of Saturn which was regarded as the god Chiun. This is the god mentioned in Amos 5 that the Israelites also worshipped in the wilderness which are just different versions of the same astral god and both represent the planet Saturn. This is a primary specific example of one of the astral false gods that the Israelites worshipped when they strayed from their God the LORD the one true and living God and the Creator. This is an example of reference to celestial objects in the Bible but in this case an example of idoltatry in which people in this case God's chosen earthly people the Jews worship some of God's creation when they stray from worshipping God the Creator Himself. This is also increasingly common in our time and is a further indication of the nearness of the tribulation when God will judge the world for their forgetting or rejecting Him as the one true God and Creator who has shown himself personally in His Son Jesus Christ and also has shown Himself through His Word the Holy Bible and in His Creation. The reference to the worship by the Israelites of the false god Remphan or Chiun representing the planet Saturn when their were in the Sinai desert as an example of specific references to celestial bodies in God's Word - the Holy Bible in Acts 7 is as follows:
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond Babylon. Acts 7:42-43
One of the judgments in the first half of the tribulation, the second trumpet judgment, is quite interesting and very timely from an astronomical viewpoint. As one of my other interests in astronomy I am also a member of The Planetary Society the largest grassroots space exploration advocacy organizations in the world. why I mention them here is one of their preoccupations especially recently is detecting and giving warnings or in the future trying to take precautions against near earth asteroids or asteroids that might be on a collision course with earth. Although there haven't been any major incidents with collisions with asteroids since the rise of modern science except that in Tunguska in Siberia in 1908 that was probably a comet colliding with earth this scripture says to me at least that there will be a significant collision with an asteroid in the first half of the tribulation. This would be within 3 1/2 years after the rapture of the church and immediately following signing of the covenant with the antichrist and Israel to build their temple on the temple mount which could all happen any time. Anyway a great mountain would be about the size of some asteroids which are about 2 to 5 miles across and it burning with first would be a good first century description of the fire around an asteroid going through earth's atmosphere caused by the friction between the asteroid and the earth's atmosphere since the asteroid would be going very quickly through the atmosphere probably in the 10s of thousands of miles or kilometers per hour. Since about 70 % of the earth's surface is covered by water especially the oceans and large seas, it is most likely that this is where an asteroid would strike as the bible here says will be the case for this one. This impact of the asteroid will do serious damage to the animals in the ocean or sea where it hits and to ships (and those aboard them) and will also likely cause a tsunami that would dwarf that of the one in the Indian Ocean caused by an earthquake I think in 2004. This would result in much more damage and loss of life. In light of this I would encourage the reader if he or she hasn't done so already to trust in the Lord Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour with all your heart that he died for your sins on the cross and rose from the dead to give you new life so you can be taken in the rapture or catching up of the church before the tribulation and you won't have to be concerned about being affected by this judgment or any of the other ones in the tribulation but will be safely in heaven enjoying the full fellowship of God, His Son Jesus Christ the holy angels and other believers. The scripture reference from Revelation 8 of the impact of a fiery great mountain from heaven that is probably the impact of a medium sized asteroid with the earth in the first half of the tribulation and its damage is as follows:
And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood; And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed. Revelation 8:8-9
The vial or bowl judgments are the last of the three series of judgments in the tribulation and this is the fourth in this series and occurs with the following fifth, sixth and seventh vial or bowl judgments at the end of the second half of the tribulation just before and leading up to the Battle of Armageddon. The angel God commissions to carry out this judgment is given power to alter the sun to make it shine more brightly and probably give more intense radiation that will scorch men with fire perhaps with what some astronomers call now coronal mass ejections or CME which are ejections of great masses of charged material from the corona or outer atmosphere of the sun and that come to earth at high velocity. Although our magnetic field and atmosphere to some extent protect us from these CMEs in the past and recently, perhaps God will diminish this protection at the end of the tribulation for this plague so as to make these Coronal Mass Ejections or whatever else is this fire from the sun such as just intense solar flares so this hot charged material from the sun (fire) will scorch men more. These Coronal Mass Ejections or solar flares could scorch people with great heat partly directly from the solar radiation but perhaps also partly with the effect this solar radiation would have in heating up the Earth's atmoshpere. The unfortunate result, especially in God's sight, is that at least most of the then still unsaved people on Earth blaspheme God including taking God's or Jesus' name in vain and show no signs of repentance or humbling themselves before God and asking His forgiveness of their sins and to receive strength to live a godly new life through God's only begotton Son Jesus Christ. However on a program I recently heard on the radio from standeyo and two other scientists, there was quite convincing evidence presented that supported the idea that the current moderately excessive radiation from the sun is heating the Earth not just in our atmoshpere but also the body or rocky part of the earth as well resulting in more volcanic eruptions and earthquakes than would otherwise be the case. The volcanic eruptions and earthquakes would be ways in which the earth could release excessive heat partly given by the current excessive radiation from the sun such as in more than usual solar flares and larger and more active sun spots. However what I think God showed me and what I want to point out especially on this Starry Heavens web page in association with this plague of God sending an angel to manipulate the sun to make it shine more intensely and scorch people on earth is the following. This more intense solar radiation at the end of the tribulation will likely be the cause of the most intense that will ever occur on earth in the history or future of human existence here. This earthquake will be God's means of judging all the ungodly people and cities including places such as casinos, crack houses, marijuana grow places, brothels, strip joints, occult or non Christian religious buildings, gang club houses and many other ungodly places encouraged or accepted by other people including people's homes used for ungodly or selfish not God and Jesus Christ centred lives. This will probably be associated with most of the references in the Old Testament of the moon being turned to blood and the sun being darkened through the effect of smoke from instigation of volcanic eruptions from this earthquake. The scripture reference in Revelation 16 of God judging unrepentant people on earth by sending his angel to intensify the solar radiation to scorch men is as follows:
And the fourth angel poured out his vial (bowl) upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire. And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory. Revelation 16:8-9
The last judgment of the tribulation, the seventh bowl or vial judgment which completes God's judgments of the tribulation with the expression it is done or completed. Then there were voices, thunderings and lightnings that are similiar to other scenes around God's throne and around Mount Sinai or Mount Horeb when God came down from heaven to give his law to Israel through his servant and their leader Moses. Then there was a great earthquake that was unprecedented and had never been matched in the history of mankind. This earthquake also destroys all the cities of the earth. This caused the great city of Babylon (Rome) to be divided in three parts and experience God showing he remembered their sins. It is possible that this is pictured as God's wrath in the form of a cup of wine because Rome is noted for and continues to practice the Mass or Eucharist in which she badly interprets the scripture thinking she and her priests can recreate the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ instead of just remembering it. This unprecedented earthquake will surely be associated with great volcanic eruptions of huge quantities of dust, gas and smoke expelled high into earth's atmosphere and circulated around the earth. This will cause the moon to look red or blood coloured and the sun to be darkened as happened historically recently in 1882 be the powerful eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia but this final earthquake and volcanic eruptions will be even more intense. This earthquake will also cause the mountains to not be found or cast into the sea and islands fleeing away or being knocked down. There will also be a plague of great hail then with each hailstone of a talent's weight which I think is about 100 pounds or about 3 or 4 inches or about 10 centimeters across. These earthquakes will probably be caused by the immediately preceding intense solar radiation striking the earth and causing a build up of energy in the rock as well as the atmosphere of earth that will be released with this unparalled earthquake. The scripture reference in Revelation 16 of this unprecedented earthquake probably as a result of the extreme solar radiation that brings to a completion God's judgments on the earth in the tribulation is as follows:
And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in rememberance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great. Revelation 16:17-21
This part from verse 30 is clearly about the conditions during the tribulation while verses immediately preceding are more likely about the 1000 year Messianic age. God says he will cause wonders in heaven and earth at that time. The fire and pillars of smoke will probably be especially from volcanic eruptions either separately or in connection with earthquakes and in either these cases either independently of or at the extreme end of the tribulation such as with the unprecedented earthquake probably by the effect of intensified solar radiation including solar flares and possible coronal mass ejections. All these volcanic eruptions will in turn put much smoke, gas and dust in earth's atmosphere such as happened relatively recently in 1882 with the violent eruption of the volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia. Similiar but more powerful eruptions at the end of the tribulation will cause the moon even more to be turned into a red colour as seen from earth or to the colour of blood and the sun to be darkened. This changing of the appearance of the sun and earth from these eruptions will also be at least part of the wonders in the heavens although there could be direct miraculous effects on the heavenly bodies as well. This will all be before but just immediately before the great and notable day of the Lord or the Second Coming in power and great glory of the Lord Jesus Christ with God the Father the holy angels and at least Church age believers comes. Although God will be manifesting his wrath then he will still with the other hand offer grace, love and forgiveness to those on earth then if they call on him through his son the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and repentance. The statement in Mount Zion and Jerusalem shall be deliverance most likely means there will be deliverance there when the Messiah and God the Father land there from heaven to set up his kingdom and defeat all the ungodly armies in the Battle or Armageddon at the end of the tribulation. This scripture states there will also be deliverance in the remnant God will call. This probably refers to God offering salvation through the gospel and kingdom message of the Jewish remnant of the 144,000 Messianic Jews or Jews who believe in Jesus and in the two witnesses probably Moses and Elijah all in the first half of the tribulation mentioned earlier in Revelation. The scripture reference in Joel 2 of these signs in the moon and sun probably resulting from unprecedented earthquake and volcanic eruptions probably resulting from excessive and intense solar radiation at the end of the 7 year tribulaton is as follows:
And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the LORD come. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call. Joel 2:30-32
The lightning coming from the east to the west means that the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ again will be very brilliant and unmistakable and that he will come from the east and this is consistant with him landing on the Mount of Olives to the east of Jerusalem and marching into Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives through the East Gate of the Temple Mount or Mount Zion. Jesus says so shall the coming of the Son of Man be refers to a common title to himself borrowed from Daniel 7:13-14 about Messiah's glorious coming from heaven with God the Father (the Ancient of Days). The next verse about the eagles feeding on the carcases refers to similiar passages in Revelation 19 and Ezekiel 39 about the birds or fowls of the air feeding on the slaughtered ungodly armies that come up againt Jerusalem as the last refuge of the Jewish people, God's chosen earthly people, and against their Messiah the Saviour of the world the Lord Jesus Christ. Immediately after the tribulation this passage says the sun shall be darkened and the moon shall not give her light. This will probably be the same as the previous passages of the sun being darkened and the moon being darkened to a blood or red colour as a result of a great earthquake and volcanic eruptions and smoke at the end of the tribulation. The stars falling from heaven could refer partly to the physical stars being blotted out by all the smoke of the volcanos and partly by stars spoken symbolically as fallen angels or demons falling from heaven and being bound for 1000 years of the Messianic Age with Satan or Lucifer the devil. The statement the powers of the heavens being shaken is also consistant with this idea. The phenomena of the Son of man then coming with the clouds of heaven could refer partly to physical clouds but at least partly to clouds or multitudes of holy angels and saints or Church Age born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ through faith in his death for our sins and resurrection from the dead to give us new life. The Son of Man Jesus the Messiah or Christ coming in power and great glory would be partly his own glory and power but partly that of God the Father or the LORD or Jehovah or Yahweh or the Ancient of Days etc. This is probably what is meant by Jesus in the Lord's prayer in Matthew 6 when he says concerning God the Father or the Heavenly Father thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory or at least partly what he meant. At this event all the tribes of the earth will mourn referring to the ungodly or faithless or unrepentant people of all the tribes. However there will be also believers then on earth that will be gathered then to populate the earth in the 1000 year Messianic Kingdom and God's elect from one end of heaven to the other which means probably holy angels or believers in heaven such as Church Age or risen Old Testament saints or believers. The scripture reference from Matthew 24 of signs in the sun and moon associated with Jesus' second coming or the great and terrible day of the LORD is as follows:
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together. Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Gospel of Matthew 24:27-31
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