9/11/3 B.C.

Lots of theologians and commentators believe Jesus was actually born sometime in the spring, probably in 2 or 3 B.C. But several others believe the nativity happened in September, basing their calculations on—brace yourself—the constellations. In 1987, one theologian, the late David Chilton, pinpointed an exact date, down to the hour, based on his interpretation of Revelation 12:1-6:

"And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days."

Chilton decided to study the ancient charts to determine when, nearest to the B.C.-A.D. divide, the stars would have aligned in such a way. Here's his startling conclusion (and remember, he postulated this in 1987 in his commentary, Days of Vengeance):

The position of the Moon in John's vision could pinpoint the nativity to within a day—perhaps to an hour period or less. This may seem absurd, but it is entirely possible.

The key is the Moon. The apostle said it was located ‘under her feet.’ What does the word ‘under’ signify in this case? Does it mean the Woman of the vision was standing on the Moon when John observed it or does it mean her feet were positioned slightly above the Moon? John does not tell us. This, however, is not of major consequence in using the Moon to answer our question because it would only involve the difference of a degree or two. Since the feet of Virgo the Virgin represent the last 7 degrees of the constellation (in the time of Christ this would have been between about 180 and 187 degrees along the ecliptic), the Moon has to be positioned somewhere under that 7-degree arc. But the Moon also has to be in that exact location when the Sun is mid-bodied to Virgo. In the year 3 B. C., these two factors came to precise agreement for less than two hours, as observed from Palestine or Patmos, on September 11. The relationship began about 6:15 P.M. (sunset), and lasted until around 7:45 P.M. (moonset). This is the only day in the whole year that this could have taken place.

In case you're wondering, 6:15 P.M. Jerusalem time would be 10:15 A.M. Eastern Standard Time, meaning that Chilton, back in 1987, pinpointed Jesus' birth to a time coinciding within two hours of the Al Qaeda attacks on the USA that took place fourteen years later.

So what conclusions do I draw from such a coincidence? Well, first Al Qaeda has made it very clear that they are at war with Cristendom, because that is how they view the West. Second, that group is infamous for its love of symbolism and irony, not only in picking targets, but also in their methods of attack. Third, since they are Middle Eastern culturally, I believe it would appear obvious to them that St. John was using Zodiacal signs. Only pop-culture Americans are able to conjure up cobra helicopters and backfire bombers from biblical locusts (I can't bring myself to provide a link to Hal Lindsey's or Tim LaHaye's various speculative prophecy books. But here's a link to something more worthwhile anyway.) Therefore, I think it is entirely possible that they calculated Jesus' birth in the same way that Chilton did, and timed their attack to reflect a strike at the very heart (or root) of Cristendom.

Of course it's also possible that they were making purely pragmatic decisions about flights, fuel loads, et cetera. But if that's the case, then they appear to have stumbled upon a symbolic time far more meaningful than any they've ever cooked up purposely.

For those of you who are fans of December 25, Chilton in fairness points out in the next footnote that "Jupiter, recognized by Jews and Gentiles alike as the 'Planet of the Messiah:' was located in Virgo’s womb and standing still, directly over Bethlehem, on December 25, 2 B. C., when the Child was a little over a year old." Chilton seems to want to tie that date to the arrival of the Magi.

Hat Tip to my brother, Kevin, who took the time to read a long footnote in a 700 page book.

Oh, and just to tip the odds a little further away from coincidence, September 11, 3 B.C. was also the first day of Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Trumpets, which celebrates the enthronement of Messiah as King of Kings.

Next time…I'll identify the antich—aw, come on!

Obama Rising

I told you so.

Heroes: Chapter 2

Jon Karner's cancer treatment will total about $33,000 of uninsured costs, owing to the fact that it is classified as "alternative medicine." $25,000 must be paid up front, and right away. If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution, please scroll down the screen until you see the small credit card icon in the righthand column. You may then give either through PayPal, or via one of several major credit cards.

Thank you.

Heroes

This post began as a note to a few friends already familiar with the back story. Hence it is not complete, and I don't have time to finish it. But I thought you might want to read it too.

The SciFi Channel's "Heroes" is my favorite new show, but its comic-book characters, like the time-bending Japanese kid, Hiro, pale in comparison to a few people I have known, true heroes in a world woefully lacking them in our generation.

I just spoke with Jon Karner, one of my real heroes, on the phone a couple of minutes ago. Doctors have told Jon that he has terminal, stage-three stomach cancer. Thus our conversation was about how to raise the necessary $25,000 for the particular alternative (non-insurable) treatment he has chosen. The money must be paid in advance. We talked about cancer treatments and fund raising, of course. Yet it is the mere sound of his voice that suddenly has aroused deep emotion in me.

Suddenly I find myself transported back to #9 Looga Street in Tallinn, Estonia, and the day we met in 1980. The KGB was constantly spying on Jon's home, so he took a big risk even in taking Dolly and me there. Once inside we met wife Annie and Jon's two small sons, David and Stephen. Annie motioned us to seat ourselves on the floor around the coffee table, where a motley little collection of apples sat in a bowl before us. The brown-spotted fruit looked unappealing to me, but Jon presented them with such pride that they might as well as have been pomegranates straight out of the Song of Solomon. I soon found out that fresh fruit of any grade was to be prized in the USSR. More…

Over the next few days I learned that Jon and his friends, Tani and Tonu, were a brave lot, as was another man, Herbert, who was in prison for his faith. The KGB had been concocting a case against Herbert for some time, and had waited until he was at Jon's home to arrest him. That way they could link the two, in order to build a similar case against Jon.

It didn't matter that the world's second superpower was against my new friend. He knew God was for him. I knew it too, yet I could see that he knew it in a way that my relatively easy Western life had never taught me. And so he became my teacher by example, and our friendship deepened during the ensuing years.

Jon's voice still rings in my ears from another visit nearly three years later. It was Labor Day weekend, 1983, and I had taken Christian singer/songwriter Scott Wesley Brown to Moscow and Leningrad, before introducing him to my friends in Tallinn. After Scott and his wife returned to the States, I stayed over in Tallinn for a few days of more secretive work.

Jon's older son, David, was turning twelve, and Jon wanted me to attend the party they would hold at Tani Roos' house across town before I returned to America. Tani was also in constant hot water, so I my transport to the little celebration was very cloak-and-daggerish, what with waiting on certain street corners for secret signals, lying down on a carseat for several minutes, and finally being whisked in the door of the Roos residence.

It was halfway through the party that Jon took me out in the hallway to talk. It was the only room without windows, meaning the KGB couldn't aim parabolic microphones and listen through the glass (they were watching Tani too). But just in case the hallway was bugged, Jon cranked an old radio up to full volume, and then cupped his hands to my ear.

"This is probably the last time I'll ever see you," he said. "The KGB took me in a few weeks ago and told me it's already been decided in Moscow that I'll be tried and sentenced to ten years hard labor in Siberia. Most men don't survive the gulag for that long."

I reeled at his words and asked Jon what I could do. He didn't know, he said sadly. I left the country the next day, and within a week was back home in Tulsa, working on a petition for his freedom. The short story: God granted my mentor and then boss, Terry Law, favor by giving us a third-party contact with President Reagan's Secretary of State George Schultz, who appealed to the Soviet government in Jon's behalf. Within weeks he and his family were taking up residence in California. Jon had always dreamed of going west, and California is as far as West goes before becoming East.

Jon's first wife, Annie, passed away in 1992, and he married the lovely Elizabeth some years later. Today they live in her home state of Minnesota. His two sons, David and Stephen, still live in California.

I am at that crossroads between faith and experience, and am not sure how to proceed in my friend's behalf. All I know is that all hope seemed gone that Labor Day when he told me it was probably the last time we would ever see each other. Yet here we are, twenty-three years later, still friends and both free.

Cancer is no problem for the God who holds the nations in his hands. And as the disintegration of the USSR shows, my God—Jon Karner's God—can do anything.