The Return of Christ and Babylonian Astrology

By Dag Kihlman, 2019-11-19

The Return of Christ and Babylonian Astrology are two subjects that might seem totally unrelated.
However, the synoptic gospels, especially Matthew 24, connects the return of Christ with celestial
events, and these events could be evaluated using the Babylonian Divination Manual, Enuma Anu
Enlil.

In the following text I will examine Matthew 24:29-31 combined with Christ's word to the Sanhedrin
in Matthew 26:59. These verses is about Christ arriving on clouds, and since the basic Christian idea is
that Christ will return one day and not two, the two chapters must be about the same event: the
return of Christ.

Matthew writes that the moon will give no light and the sun will be darkened. This cannot happen at
the same moment, but solar eclipses often happen a couple of weeks before or after a lunar eclipse,
something the magi were aware of.

Lunar eclipses are more commonly seen than solar, and it is easy to believe that a solar eclipse must
be more ominous. That was actually not the case in Babylonia. A solar eclipse and a lunar eclipse had
the same meaning, but since lunar eclipses are more common and easier to predict, the magi
concentrated on lunar eclipses. The full lunar eclipse meant that the king of Babylonia would die.1

In other words, the magi would interpret Matthew in such a way that the king of Babylonia would
die. The darkening of the sun is just a confirmation of the lunar eclipse.

The term "Son of Man" carries no meaning in Babylonia, so the term as such does not tell the magi
anything. But the context is that the son of man is the new king, so it fits into the picture: the present
king will die and the new one is arriving.

Matthew says that the king shall be seen seated at the right side of Power. This is possible in
Babylonian divination. There are three options: a) Saturn is in Taurus, b) Saturn is next to Jupiter, or
c) Jupiter is in Scorpio. These are the three main options since the highest god, Marduk, is
represented by Jupiter and Taurus. The future king has only one representation, Saturn. So Saturn in
Taurus or next to Jupiter are the likely alternatives. However, Saturn/Scorpio represents the same
god (Ninurta) in the same way as Jupiter/Taurus represent Marduk. So Jupiter in Scorpio could be an
option too.

The magi hearing Matthew would probably assume that Saturn is in Taurus or next to Jupiter.

The stars falling is not important information to the magi. It is not uncommon to see falling stars a
clear night and Babylonian divination focuses on rare events. The magi would not find the description
strange.

The four corners of the world are the same as the cardinal directions, and they are connected to four
winds, so the magi would recognise the terms.

In other words, what Matthew describes fits perfectly with Babylonian divination. Matthew describes
signs and these signs interpreted with Babylonian divination are that the highest god has appointed a
new king to replace the present king. So the interpretation of the signs fits with Matthews

1
Koch Westenholz, U (2001), "Babylonian Views of Eclipses", in "Démons et merveilles d’Orient", 71-84, Bures-
sur-Yvette
explanation. The magi would see the signs and Matthew's explanation of what would happen on
Earth as fully compatible with Babylonian divination.

But why compare Matthew 24 with Babylonian divination at all? Well, it because I saw this
connection when I wrote my book "The Star of Bethlehem and Babylonian Divination".2 In it I
examine an almost 40 year old theory that Revelation 12 describes what the magi saw in September
of 3 BC and June of 2 BC. The dates were not picked by me, neither were the dates picked using the
Babylonian divination manual, since it had not been gathered and translated 40 years ago.

So to test these dates against the divination manual and see if the interpretations comply with
Revelation 12 is a way to test the 40 year old theory.

I found that the signs indeed are fully compatible with Revelation 12, but to my surprise that they
also have connections to the return of Christ. Without the divination manual the weak connection
between Revelation 12 and Matthew is hardly noticeable: a) arrival of a king, b) falling of stars and c)
a king together with God in the sky. Most persons would probably not assume any real connection.

But if we interpret the events on the suggested dates, including the even 1260 days after the second
(Rev. 12:6), we get the Babylonian view of the signs. And their list of interpretations is indeed about
the death of the king, arrival of a new king being on the right side of Power:

1) Sept of 3 BC "The king will die and a new dynasty will arise". Sign is seen in Virgo.
2) Sept of 3 BC "Children will be born in great difficulty and pain". Sign is seen in Virgo.
3) June of 2 BC "The will be a great flood". Sign is seen in Virgo
4) June of 2 BC "Amurru will attack, the king will die, either the enemy will send a delegation or
a delegation will be sent to the enemy". Sign is seen in Leo.
5) June of 2 BC- Aug of 2 BC. The dragon (Hydra) is cast down to earth together with the star
falls of August. The fight is fought by Nabu, who is represented by Aquarius/Mercury.
6) Sept of 3 BC – Aug of 2BC Saturn, the representation of the heir of the throne is seen at the
right side of his father. The sign is seen in Taurus.
7) Nov of 2 AD, 1260 days after June of 2 BC, Venus, i.e. the woman, leaves her stationary point
in Scorpio, signalling the victory of Amurru.

The sign about the birth of Christ and the return of Christ are both about the arrival of a new king
and the death of the previous king. What is lacking from the Star of Bethlehem is only the eclipse of
the moon. However, in my book I argue that the magi saw Christ as a new Alexander the Great. The
history of Alexander was that he defeated the Persian king at the battle of Gaugamela eleven days
after a lunar eclipse. Shortly afterwards he was hailed as a liberator as he entered the city of Babylon,
and the same autumn the Persian king died. Alexander was also seen as the son of a god and a virgin
mother conceived before the mother had married her husband.

Of course the magi expected Christ to grow up and they probably advised that he should wage war in
connection with a lunar eclipse as the previous Alexander had done.

Matthew is thus fully understandable as a description of the arrival of a new Alexander the Great
attacking and defeating his enemies in connection with a lunar eclipse accompanied by a partial solar
eclipse.

2
Kihlman, D (2017), "The Star of Bethlehem and Babylonian Divination", Kihlman Publish, Trollhättan