Apocalypse Now? Another Great Sign Rises in the Heavens Featured
Written by  Patrick Archbold

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 Apocalypse Now? Another Great Sign Rises in the Heavens
On September 23, 2017, we will see the constellation Virgo with the sun rise directly behind it (the woman clothed with the sun). These events transpire during the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of “the woman clothed in the sun,” Our Lady at Fatima in 1917. What does it mean?

[Editorial Note: In the following article, I intend to present a series of facts and observations from which I draw no definitive conclusion. Yet, these facts and observations are of such a nature, for no other reason than their observation and reporting, that lend themselves to misinterpretation. So let me be clear, in the following article, I predict nothing. I am offering my observations on some upcoming phenomena, both heavenly and man-made, potentially of great import, that people might find interesting and of which people should be aware.]


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The Great Sign in Heaven

What if God gave us a sign, would we even notice it? What if God, like He has done before, gave us a heavenly sign, a portent of great and terrible events?   Would we even take notice? Are we, like so many that have come before us, so busy in our day-to-day lives that we never bother to even look up anymore? What if God gave us a heavenly sign today, would we notice? And if we did notice, would we care or just ignore it as some superstitious nonsense?

What if I told you that there is a forthcoming astronomical event that closely mirrors a sign from the Book of Revelation, stunning in its precision, context, and timing? Would you look up?
Revelation 12:1-5

“And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars:

And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered.

And there was seen another sign in heaven: and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns: and on his head seven diadems:

And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to be delivered; that, when she should be delivered, he might devour her son.

And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with an iron rod: and her son was taken up to God, and to his throne. “

The Star of Bethlehem

Before I begin, I think it is important to establish some sense of context. We take it as an established and undeniable part of our faith that, 2,000 years ago, God used an astronomical event to communicate with man, the Star of Bethlehem. Many people, when picturing the Star of Bethlehem, if they picture it at all, think of this massive bright star over Bethlehem that was so obvious to everyone that it sent the Magi on a long trek to find the promised king.

We know that version of events is in error, for when the Magi arrived in Jerusalem, just 8 kilometers from Bethlehem, they had to explain what it was they saw and why they interpreted it the way they did. King Herod, his court, and the rest of Jerusalem were largely ignorant of the events of the Star of Bethlehem. The people of Jerusalem, like us today, were busy providing for their families and going about their daily duties. Even though this great sign announcing the birth of the Savior, the very Son of God, was going on above their heads, they neither noticed it, nor cared about it.

In order to understand the proper context of the potential Revelation 12 sign, it is helpful to further examine the Star of Bethlehem. What was the Star of Bethlehem and how did the Magi see it when everybody else missed it? Short answer, they were paying attention.

I think that there is a compelling case that the Star of Bethlehem was a series of regular astronomical events involving rare conjunctions that symbolically indicated the birth of a king. It is important to note that this is emphatically not astrology. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines astrology as:

“…type of divination that involves the forecasting of earthly and human events through the observation and interpretation of the fixed stars, the Sun, the Moon, and the planets. Devotees believe that an understanding of the influence of the planets and stars on earthly affairs allows them to both predict and affect the destinies of individuals, groups, and nations.”

The Catholic Church explicitly condemns astrology, as it does all forms of divination (CCC 2116).   But signs like the Star of Bethlehem are not divination of fates ordered by the stars, but regular astronomy and symbology with the idea that the God of the universe sometimes uses His creation to communicate with man. The bible is replete with instances that make this case. Psalm 19 states:

1 …The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world…

— PSALM 19:1-4

Paul directly quotes this Psalm in Romans when making the case that the Jєωs had knowledge that the Messiah had come.

17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. 18 But I ask: Did they [the Jєωs] not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”

— ROMANS 10:17-18

Paul is clearly making the case that the Jєωs had knowledge of the Messiah because the heavens told them so. Obviously Paul is not endorsing astrology, but indicating that God can and does sometimes use the heavens to announce His plans. There is much more that can be said on the differences between astrology and understanding heavenly signs, but suffice it for now to say that looking to the heavens for confirmation and announcement of God’s plans is legitimate within the proper context and application.

So what was the Star of Bethlehem? As mentioned, I think there is a compelling case that the Star of Bethlehem was a series of astronomical events with significant symbolism. More detail can be seen at BethlehemStar.net, but I will attempt a brief summary.

In 3/2 B.C., there occurred a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter (the king planet, through its retrograde motion) and Regulus (the king star). The Magi likely interpreted this rare triple conjunction as a giant neon sign in the heavens blinking KING-KING-KING. This all began at the Jєωιѕн New year and all within the constellation of Leo (the lion, a symbol of the tribe of Judah). So it heavily symbolized Jєωιѕн King from the tribe of Judah, a clear indication for those familiar with the Messiah. Further, rising right behind Leo was the constellation Virgo, with the sun and the moon at her feet.

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After this incredible triple conjunction, Jupiter began moving westward in the sky, eventually coming into conjunction with Venus, a planet long symbolically associated with motherhood. The conjunction of the king planet and the motherhood planet was so close, that no man alive had ever seen anything like it and together it formed the brightest object in the sky.

All this symbolism of a Jєωιѕн king from Judah and a Virgin was enough to get the well-versed Magi moving to Jerusalem, but you can understand why the average citizen of Jerusalem missed it.

Jupiter continued its western movement in the sky until it finally stopped. When it stopped (as seen from Jerusalem), it stopped directly south, directly over the small village of Bethlehem, on December 25 of 2 B.C.

This may be easily seen with modern star programs that can show you the night sky on any date in history from any perspective. It is the advent of such computer programs that now allows us to not only look at the past, but to look at the skies of the future.

Given the context of all I just described, it is when we turn our gaze to the heavens of the future that once again we are treated to heavenly signs of great symbolism.

Let us revisit the opening verses of Revelation 12.
"And a great sign appeared in heaven: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered.”

The author of Revelation clearly indicates that this vision is one of a sign in heaven or in the sky. What do we see in the sky of the near future?

On November 20, 2016, an astronomical event begins that will last nine and a half months, culminating in startling concurrence with the vision of Revelation 12. While I am not an astronomer, all my research indicates that this astronomical event, in all its particulars, is unique in the history of man.

On November 20, 2016, Jupiter (the King planet) enters into the body (womb) of the constellation Virgo (the virgin).   Jupiter, due its retrograde motion, will spend the next 9 ½ months within the womb of Virgo. This length of time corresponds with gestation period of a normal late-term baby.

After 9 ½ months, Jupiter exits out of the womb of Virgo. Upon Jupiter’s exit (birth), on September 23, 2017, we see the constellation Virgo with the sun rise directly behind it (the woman clothed with the sun). At the feet of Virgo, we find the moon. And upon her head we find a crown of twelve stars, formed by the usual nine stars of the constellation Leo with the addition of the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

That is a truly remarkable and, as far as I can determine, unique series of event with a startling degree of concurrence with the vision of Revelation 12.

So what does it mean, if anything? The obvious and truthful answer is that we simply do not know. That said, we are not entirely without possible context.

It just so happens that these events transpire during the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of “the woman clothed in the sun,” Our Lady at Fatima in 1917. The culmination of these astronomical events occurs just 3 weeks before the 100th anniversary of the great miracle of Fatima, in which the sun “danced” (another heavenly sign), an event that was witnessed by many thousands.

In the almost century that has followed that great event, we have seen Our Lady’s warnings come true with startling precision. People did not cease offending God and we have seen terrible wars, nations annihilated, and Russia spread her errors throughout the world and, if we are honest, even into the Church itself. And yet, we still await the fulfillment of her promises, the triumph of Her Immaculate Heart, and a period of peace to be granted to the world.

But what you may not know is that within the Fatima story itself, there are indications that a 100-year period might be significant. In August 1931, Sister Lucy was staying with a friend at Rianjo, Spain. There, Our Lord appeared to Sr. Lucy and He complained the requests of His mother had not been heeded saying, “Make it known to My ministers, given that they follow the example of the King of France in delaying the execution of My command, they will follow him into misfortune. It is never too late to have recourse to Jesus and Mary.”

And again in another text, Sr. Lucy quoted Our Lord as saying, “They did not wish to heed My request! ... Like the King of France, they will repent of it, and they will do it, but it will be late. Russia will have already spread its errors in the world, provoking wars and persecutions against the Church. The Holy Father will have much to suffer.”

Those references to the King of France are very interesting for our discussion as this is an explicit reference to the requests of the Sacred Heart given through Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque on June 17, 1689 to the King of France. King Louis XIV and his successors failed to heed Our Lord’s request to publicly consecrate France to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. As a result, on June 17, 1789, one hundred years to the day after the request, the National Assembly of the French Revolution rose up and declared itself the government of France and stripped the king of his power. Later, the king lost his head to the revolution.

Now it is not possible to know the relevance of this 100-year allusion or to know if and when the clock may have started ticking, but it is certainly interesting and relevant in this context.

And of course, many are familiar with the vision of Pope Leo XIII in which he allegedly heard Satan granted one hundred years to try and destroy the Church. Immediately after this vision, Pope Leo XIII composed the prayer to St. Michael pleading with the Archangel to defend us in battle and be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. Pope Leo XIII then added the Leonine prayers to the end of the mass, later suppressed during Vatican II.

As we live through these tumultuous times in the Church, in which the very foundations of faith, even the very words and commands of Our Savior are diminished and ignored, it is impossible not to recall Pope Leo’s vision.

Speaking of our current crisis, in this era of false mercy, I must also note that the date the astronomical event begins, November 20, 2016, is the very day that Pope Francis’ declared “Year of Mercy” comes to an end. The very same day is the Feast of Christ the King.

In conclusion, I must stress that I make no specific claim of the significance, if any, of the astronomical event I described. Further, I make no claim to know the future or of any forthcoming events relating to the fulfillment of the promises of Fatima. I only relate this to you now as I find myself in a similar situation as those Magi 2,000 years ago. I look to the sky and say, “Alright Lord, you have my attention.”

http://remnantnewspaper.com/web/index.php/articles/item/2127-apocalypse-now-another-great-sign-rises-in-the-heavens

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After 9 ½ months, Jupiter exits out of the womb of Virgo. Upon Jupiter’s exit (birth), on September 23, 2017, we see the constellation Virgo with the sun rise directly behind it (the woman clothed with the sun). At the feet of Virgo, we find the moon. And upon her head we find a crown of twelve stars, formed by the usual nine stars of the constellation Leo with the addition of the planets Mercury, Venus, and Mars.

That is a truly remarkable and, as far as I can determine, unique series of events with a startling degree of concurrence with the vision of Revelation 12.

So what does it mean, if anything? The obvious and truthful answer is that we simply do not know. That said, we are not entirely without possible context.

It just so happens that these events transpire during the 100th anniversary of the apparitions of “the woman clothed in the sun,” Our Lady at Fatima in 1917. The culmination of these astronomical events occurs just 3 weeks before the 100th anniversary of the great miracle of Fatima, in which the sun “danced” (another heavenly sign), an event that was witnessed by many thousands.

There were 6 apparitions of Our Lady to the 3 shepherd children at Fatima, the penultimate one being on September 13th, when some 10,000 pilgrims came to the Cova da Iria.  100 years from that day will be Sept. 13th, 2017, which will be just 10 days prior to the end of the astronomical events described above.

So maybe it's worthwhile to think about what happened during that 5th apparition.  

If I'm not mistaken, that was the day that something like rose petals or mysterious puffs of snowflake clusters fell from the sky.  I have never seen any answer as to the meaning of those flakes falling.  Witnesses say they fell overhead but never reached anyone because they vanished just as they became within reach of the people or the ground.

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Here is what one website has on this day.  When I said 10,000 people I did not check my facts and apparently there were 3 times that many, or 30,000.

http://www.fatimaforbeginners.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27&Itemid=80

 September 13, 1917: The Fifth Apparition - Extraordinary Signs in the Heavens

May 13 | June 13 | July 13 | August 13 & 19 | September 13 | October 13 | Further Appearances

The three seers of Fatima The three seers of Fatima (click image to enlarge)

By September, accounts of the visions had raised such widespread interest that some 30,000 people came to witness the apparitions for themselves. The large number of people made it difficult for the children to pass through them all to get to the apparition site.

As they waited for the Lady to appear, the crowd joined together and recited the Rosary. Suddenly, there were sounds of jubilation and voices praising the Blessed Virgin. Arms were raised pointing to something in the sky.

“Look, don’t you see?” Clearly and distinctly, a luminous globe moved from the east to the west, gliding slowly and majestically through space. The globe then began to approach the holm-oak tree. Then the sun’s brightness diminished, the atmosphere became golden yellow, like other times. Some people even reported being able to see the stars in the sky at noon.

Visible only to the children, the Lady appeared.

Lucia asked the Lady, “What does your Grace want of me?”

   Continue to say the Rosary in order to obtain the end of the war. In October, Our Lord will come, as well as Our Lady of Sorrows and Our Lady of Carmel. Saint Joseph will appear with the Child Jesus in order to bless the world.

Other Signs of Her Presence

During the time of the apparition, the Blessed Virgin wished to give the crowd gathered around the holm-oak where She was appearing, several signs of Her presence:

    The pilgrims enjoyed a marvelous spectacle: They saw falling from Heaven a shower of white petals or round, shining snowflakes. Some described them as stars and others as a rain of white roses, which slowly descended and disappeared as they approached the ground.

    A pleasant-looking cloud formed around the rustic arch erected over the little holm-oak tree. The cloud rose up from the ground, it grew thicker and went up into the air until it was five or six meters high, then it disappeared. A few moments later, similar curls of smoke were formed and disappeared in the same manner, and then a third time.

They were very clear heavenly signs giving proof of Our Lady’s presence. Small miracles that would prepare the crowds for what was to come.

I have read in other sources that people asked the children if the falling petals was the miracle they were waiting for, and only the two girls were willing to answer them, for Francisco was afraid and confused since he could not hear Our Lady speak and he had to talk to the two girls about everything first.  

Lucia and Jacinta both said that the falling petals were not the miracle everyone was waiting for, but that the miracle would happen the following month, in October.

Eventually, it became understandable that the beautiful lady had said that a miracle would be given in October so that all may believe, not that a miracle would come a month early so that all would question what it meant and wonder what it was for.

I'm bringing this up because in light of the astronomical signs expected in the OP article, it seems to me that there might be some meaning attached to the falling petals that would become more understandable two years from now, as it was meant for our time, and not for the people in 1917.

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Most of the article is interesting, except I disagree with their naturalistic (almost modernistic) explanation for the Star of Bethlehem.

So what was the Star of Bethlehem? As mentioned, I think there is a compelling case that the Star of Bethlehem was a series of astronomical events with significant symbolism. More detail can be seen at BethlehemStar.net, but I will attempt a brief summary.

In 3/2 B.C., there occurred a rare triple conjunction of Jupiter (the king planet, through its retrograde motion) and Regulus (the king star). The Magi likely interpreted this rare triple conjunction as a giant neon sign in the heavens blinking KING-KING-KING. This all began at the Jєωιѕн New year and all within the constellation of Leo (the lion, a symbol of the tribe of Judah). So it heavily symbolized Jєωιѕн King from the tribe of Judah, a clear indication for those familiar with the Messiah. Further, rising right behind Leo was the constellation Virgo, with the sun and the moon at her feet.

After this incredible triple conjunction, Jupiter began moving westward in the sky, eventually coming into conjunction with Venus, a planet long symbolically associated with motherhood. The conjunction of the king planet and the motherhood planet was so close, that no man alive had ever seen anything like it and together it formed the brightest object in the sky.

All this symbolism of a Jєωιѕн king from Judah and a Virgin was enough to get the well-versed Magi moving to Jerusalem, but you can understand why the average citizen of Jerusalem missed it.

Jupiter continued its western movement in the sky until it finally stopped. When it stopped (as seen from Jerusalem), it stopped directly south, directly over the small village of Bethlehem, on December 25 of 2 B.C.

Nonsense.  According to Sacred Scripture, the Magi knew that the child would be born in Bethlehem BEFORE they arrived there and BEFORE the star "stopped" over where the child was.  They explained this to Herod on their way, which is why Herod then slaughtered the Innocents in Bethlehem.  There's no way that a natural star could stop with such precision as to be directly over a small area like Bethlehem.  Not only that, but the star stopped over Our Lord's EXACT LOCATION in the stable.  Given that Our Lord was not exactly living in a regal palace, there's no natural way the Magi could have located him, in his trappings of extreme poverty, unless the star had directed them with pinpoint accuracy to the exact location of Our Lord.  Which is what Sacred Scripture states actually happened.  And since it took them a couple years to get over there, while no doubt the Holy Family didn't spend all that long a time in Bethlehem, the star must have appeared a couple years or so before the Nativity so as to have the timing of their arrival be exactly perfect.  Herod therefore misread the timeframe, thinking that the child might have been born at the appearance of the star rather than a couple years later.  These Magi had evidently began seeing this "star" about two years prior, which is why Herod had all the males below two years of age killed.  So it took them a couple years to actually make it over to Bethlehem.

...Behold the star which they had seen in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the child was.  And seeing the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

And entering into the house, they found the child with Mary his mother, and falling down they adored him;

So this star led the to the exact location of Our Lord.  They knew which house to enter based upon where the star stopped.  Impossible with a natural astronomical phenomenon.  They could see it in the East, but then it "went before them" in such a way as that it could indicate His precise location.

So what was this "star"?  I suspect that it was the manifestation of an angel.  I don't believe that this was a natural physical star, much less do I believe that it was some astronomical alignment.

This modernistic interpretation for the Star of Bethlehem involves ignoring the testimony of Sacred Scripture.

Remnant writers are often imbued with naturalism and materialism in their thoughts. They truly don't understand the idea of miracles.  

Yes, that's one of the hallmarks of modernism, a lack of belief in miracles, so that everything must be explained naturally, from the many attempts to explain away the parting of the Red Sea, to every other miracle reported in Sacred Scripture.

While attending a Jesuit university, I confronted a professor after he claimed that the Gospels were written after 70 A.D.  I asked him why he knows this.  He said that it was due to references in the Gospels to the fall of Jerusalem.  So I asked, "You mean when Our Lord made the prophecies regarding the fall of Jerusalem?  So then the entire dating is based on the premise that Jesus could not know the future, that Jesus is not God."  He scowled a mighty scowl at me, and then I left the room.

There could have been a planetary alignment AND a an angel/star which the Magi followed directly to Bethlehem.  It doesn't have to be one or the other.  I recall reading that there were many, many astronomers who noticed the signs in the heavens (and I assume Herod had men who studied this thing too) and the signs all pointed to a new king.  I suspect that the reason Herod and many others were not able to follow it to Bethlehem and find Our Lord is because they were not given the grace to see the additional angel/star which led the Magi to the nativity.

Just my theory, but it fits the facts of history that many saw the signs in the heavens but didn't know how to interpret it as the Magi did.

Very fascinating post cassini.

Yes, that was pretty good.

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Quote from: cassini

And this is why I do not believe God used a wandering star to direct the three wise men to Bethlehem nor is he going to use them for anything in 2017.

Could God have used the astronomical alignments described in the article as a timer, to hint at the timeframe of certain apocalyptically-significant events?  I don't see why not.  But the naturalistic explanations for the star of Bethlehem are absurd on the surface if one believes that the Sacred Scriptures report facts and aren't just mythological narratives (as the modernists believe).

Yes Ladaslaus and Pax Vobis, God could (and did) use the positions of stars to send messages to mankind.

He (Domenico Cassini) also accepts Josephus’s claim that it was through the study of the stars, indeed of the irregularity of their motions [planets], that Abraham was led to knowledge of the true God, for their irregularity shows that they move, not by their own will, but for our benefit in service to a commanding power.’  --- N. Swerdlow: ‘Astronomical Chronology and prophecy: Jean-Dominique Cassini’s discovery of Josephus’s great lunisolar period of the Patriarchs,’ Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, Vol. 53, 1990, pp.1-3.  

For those unaware of such star messages here is the following again.

‘The story which the Zodiac unfolds in the course of the year lies in the meanings of these names given by God to each of the stars in its forty-eight constellations when He set them in order in the beginning, making of them, as the Psalmist says: “faithful witnesses in heaven” (Ps. 88:38) of His plan for the world… Put in proper order, beginning not with Aries as now deployed, but with Virgo, and ending with Leo rather than with Pisces, the Zodiac foretold in the stars the story of the Incarnation, the Redemption and the world to come long before the Bible was written. Virgo is of course the Blessed Virgin and Leo is Jesus Christ, the Lion of Judah, universal Lord of Creation. (This incidentally, provides the answer to the mystery of the Sphinx which, having the head of a woman and the body and tail of a lion is therefore simply a representation in stone of the ancient Zodiac).’ --- Solange Hertz: The Sixth Trumpet, Remnant Press, Minnesota, 2002, p.11.

To which T.E. added:

'It comes as no surprise then – in the context of that great battle of principalities and powers resulting from that martial decree of Genesis 3:15 - to find occult interference with the Zodiac of Holy Scripture. Their pagan astrology asserted that earthly spirits, ghosts and other agents joined the heavenly angels and all began to influence planetary formations in a manner that, they said, had a direct effect on human behaviour and our destiny depending on where these cosmic bodies are within the zodiac belt. This way the astrology ‘signs’ became the object of fraud, superstition and the occult, with men and women claiming to read prophesies and messages from the ‘gods’ in them. So, just as the signs in the stars were hijacked for diabolical purposes, an astrology that became a useless occult belief system for vast numbers of people throughout the last few thousand years even to this day, so too would God’s astronomy be hijacked and replaced by one that would also be used to serve the occult forces on earth [heliocentrism]. The Catholic Church of course, absolutely rejects the idea that the sun, moon or planets could actually influence or predict one’s present or future behaviour. The Church teaches that men have free will and that God alone knows the future. Such a notion as the position of stars or planets being able to determine the destiny or behaviour of men is anti-Christian.'