Jupiter and Venus Conjunction

Jupiter and Venus Conjunction

June 30/ July 1, 2015

There will be a dazzling sight on the night of June 30/July 1 (2015) if the skies are clear. Outside of the moon and the sun, the two brightest celestial bodies are Venus and Jupiter, and these two planets will be aligning together in a conjunction that night. These alignments reoccur at least every 13 months and, depending upon the degrees of separation between the two planets, they can almost appear as one light. Since they are so easily seen right now, we can begin tracing them all the way through their conjunction by looking in the western sky right after sunset. Venus comes into view first as the brighter of the two, followed closely by Jupiter to its left. They will gradually move closer together over the next two weeks as Venus chases and catches Jupiter on the last day of June. This will be not only a brilliant sight, but also one with Christological significance.

This conjunction will closely resemble the one that occurred just before Jesus of Nazareth was born. Revelation 12:1–4, along with astronomical history, reveals that He was born on Tishri 1, 3 bc (September 11, Gregorian dating); and just one month before this, on August 12, 3 bc, a conjunction of Venus and Jupiter occurred in the front portion of the constellation of Leo. The one we hope to view on June 30/July 1 offers an opportunity to see what the magi (the wise men) saw, as it will be positioned in almost the same location.  

The first depiction shown below from the Stellarium computer program shows the conjunction that will occur on July 1, 2015 and the second depiction shows the one that occurred on August 12, 3 bc. (Note: The Stellarium software includes a zero year (“0”) in its timeline, so 1 year must be subtracted from any “bc” date. Therefore, August 12, 3 bc must be entered into Stellarium as “August 12, -2” to get an accurate view of that night’s sky.) Notice that both conjunctions were located in the same place on the ecliptic path, in Leo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, which represents the coming King of kings.

The 2015 conjunction coming up will give us the rare opportunity to witness a similar scene that the magi saw. They were watching the paths of Venus and Jupiter very closely since Daniel had prophesied the date of the coming of Messiah. Venus, the bright and morning star, representing Messiah’s passion and love, “chased” Jupiter and eventually caught up when they were both in Leo. We will witness a similar chase as Venus follows after Jupiter leading up to the conjunction. Venus, the effulgence of beauty and passion, represents the bride of Christ; and Jupiter, also known as the King Planet, represents Messiah, the groom. As such, when Venus chases Jupiter, it shows the bride of Christ pursuing the King and coming together with Him in His reign on earth, as Leo indicates. The magi anticipated His first coming as the Redeemer and King. Now, we likewise anticipate His coming as King and Bridegroom. In short, this conjunction tells all who have eyes to see that the promise of reigning with Him as His bride will be given to those who chase the Lord and catch Him.

This will certainly be fun to watch over the course of the next couple of weeks. As you see it in the evening, remember that the Lord likes to be pursued and caught. Be reminded that those who the Lord will choose to reign with Him in His millennial Kingdom will be those who chased Him and did not quit till they caught Him.

As an additional note, the conjunction that followed the one in 3 bc is one of the closest alignments of Venus and Jupiter in history. They came so close together on June 17, 2 bc that they appeared as one star, which had to be extremely bright since they are the two brightest planets. In fact, many astronomers believe that this was the touted “His Star.” The conjunction coming up on June 30/July 1 will be quite close but not as close as that one.

When we think of how closely this conjunction resembles the one that the magi witnessed and then we combine that with the prophetic implications of other current celestial events, we can’t help but lift up our eyes and see that our redemption is drawing nigh!