Dwight R Hutchison

A fundamental question needs to be answered. Did the Messiah's star announce the coming of the Great King promised by the Hebrew Scriptures, or did it serve as a visual guide, leading the Magi to a house in Bethlehem?

The PDF is Chapter 2 of the book MUL.BABBAR: The Messiah's Star.

The biblical account of the Magi and the star that announced the coming of the Messiah of Israel has inspired and puzzled people for two millennia.

Babylonian astronomy and Messianic Judaism seem to have shaped the experiences of the Magi. The star made a symbolic visual announcement concerning the Messiah while the wise men were in the East. The star was a sign, it never became a directional indicator.

The Righteous One, born in Bethlehem and announced by the star, became the Messiah Jesus.

Book website: www.mulbabbar.com

This book is a revised and enlarged edition of "The Lion Led the Way" (4th Edition) under a new name.

This is the full text of the book. There still may be some remaining editorial changes to the book. The author is open to constructive critiques and suggestions.

Email: association.signes.celestes@gmail.com

MUL.BABBAR The White Star Over Bethlehem is a historical novel about the wise men and the Star of Bethlehem. The book places Dwight Hutchison's theory of the star into a historical context. There are about 400 pages of the main text and an additional 60 pages of appendices. The book begins with a prophetic  section before the main text of the story about the star.

Une perspective juive et babylonienne concernant l’étoile de Bethléem

Le récit biblique des Mages et de l’étoile qui a annoncé la venue du Messie d’Israël a inspiré et intrigué bien des personnes au cours de ces deux derniers millénaires. Des aspects importants de l’astronomie babylonienne semblent impliqués dans la compréhension de l’apparition de l’étoile. Ce livre tente également d’explorer l’histoire de ces hommes et de ces événements à partir d’une perspective juive. Les noms juifs traditionnels des étoiles et des planètes, les symboles juifs et même les dates juives semblent tous être des clés qui permettent de déchiffrer l’énigme de la célèbre étoile.

Qui étaient les Mages de la Bible ? Différents savants ont joué un rôle important dans l’histoire de la vaste région du Moyen-Orient qui s’étend à l’est de la Judée. Des savants zoroastriens, babyloniens, grecs et même juifs ont tous joué un rôle dans les différents empires qui se sont succédé dans cette partie du monde. La possibilité d’un lien entre les Juifs et l’histoire des Mages de la Bible a été longtemps négligée. Des centaines de milliers de Juifs vivaient en Mésopotamie et en Iran à l’époque de la naissance de Jésus. Il convient d’établir un rapprochement entre l’astronomie babylonienne et l’espérance messianique juive.

Site web: www.star-of-bethlehem.info

The biblical account of the wise men and the star that announced the coming of the Messiah of Israel has inspired and puzzled people for two millennia. Important aspects of Babylonian astronomy seem to be involved in understanding the star’s appearing. But in addition, this short book​ also explores the men and events from a profoundly Jewish perspective. The traditional Jewish names of stars and planets, Jewish symbols, as well as Jewish dates, all seem to be keys to unlocking the mystery of the famous star.

"A Sign over Bethlehem" is a greatly abridged version of the third edition of the author's book "The Lion Led the Way," a book of almost 400 pages.

The biblical account of the wise men and the star that announced the coming of the Messiah of Israel has inspired and puzzled people for two millennia. Important aspects of Babylonian astronomy  seem to be involved in understanding the star’s appearing. But in addition, "A Sign Over Bethlehem" also explores the men and events from a profoundly Jewish perspective. The traditional Jewish names of stars and  planets, Jewish symbols, as well as Jewish dates, all seem to be keys to unlocking the mystery of the famous star.

The Star of Bethlehem was not the brightest of the heavenly lights, nor was it the most spectacular starry manifestation of all time. However, it was part of possibly the most meaningful set of celestial events in human history.

The book "The Lion Led the Way" has been republished with revisions and additional material.

The new title is "MUL.BABBAR: The Messiah’s Star"

This new book is available for download on the author's Academia page.
Please take a look at the new download elsewhere on this page.

Book website:  www.mulbabbar.com or www.star-of-bethlehem.info

We are told that the star that the wise men saw "went on ahead of them, it preceded them." What do these words actually mean? When does the verb "proago" in Matthew 2:9 have a temporal meaning? When does this same verb have a spatial meaning? And what difference does it make in Matthew's account of the Messiah's Star?

Alors que les cieux font l' objet de nouvelles découvertes, il est important que les chrétiens impliqués dans la recherche scientifique s' appliquent à mieux décrypter les textes bibliques. La description que Matthieu fait des Mages et de l' étoile est mal interprétée depuis des générations. L' étoile ne se laisse pas trouver malgré les nombreuses tentatives. Ces dernières sont autant d'interprétations et de spéculations peu concluantes. Avons-nous vraiment cherché à comprendre la description de Matthieu en la replaçant dans son contexte ? Cer-taines découvertes archéologiques récentes relatives à l' astronomie babylonienne pourrait cependant nous aider à réimaginer les Mages et leur célèbre étoile.  (Traduction de l'article : Matthew’s Magi Never Visually Followed a Star Anywhere, But …)

Several attempts have been made to connect the nativity of Jesus, and more recently, the so-called “Rapture of the Church” to specific datable events in the heavens. In recent decades, several of these efforts have been centered on the constellation Virgo, the vision of the woman “clothed with the sun” in Revelation 12:1-6, and possible Jewish dates for the conception or birth of Jesus. Some attempts at aligning Revelation 12 with the actual heavens are connected to theories about the Star of Bethlehem. This article presents a partial exegesis of Revelation 12:1-17, as well as Babylonian astronomical concepts, which could call into question some popular conceptions concerning dating the birth of the Messiah.  (Updated May 2021)

As we move forward into new discoveries in the heavens, it is also important for Christians involved in science to seek clarity about our ancient scripture texts. Matthew's account of the Magi and the star has been misinterpreted for generations. The star resists attempts to be discovered. One can find dozens of interpretations and speculations. Have we understood Matthew's account in its proper context? Recent archeological discoveries concerning Babylonian astronomy may help us to reimagine the Magi and their famous star.

This short paper underlines some of our lack of knowledge concerning the ancient past. It especially deals with some aspects of Roman history which are important in dating the life and reign of Herod the Great. This text was first published as Appendix 11 of the author's book "The Lion Led the Way," Third Edition (pages 298-301). The later part of the text deals with some questions which Timothy Barnes raised in replying to a chronology proposed by W. E. Filmer.

This paper deals with the so-called "Varus coins" which supposedly date the Syrian governorship of Publius Quintilius Varus. It was proposed in the 1830s by an Oxford scholar that the so-called Varus coins may, in reality, be in connection with a certain Varro (Varo) who was the Roman governor of Syria in the 20s BC. The text was originally published as Appendix 20 (pages 320-332) of the author's book "The Lion Led the Way" (Third Edition).

The traditional understanding of Matthew 2:9 leads to a type of Christian mysticism concerning the Star of Bethlehem. There is another way of reading the text which avoids some of the problems associated with the main historical understanding of the story.

This document is a summary of several symbolic royal celestial events in the years near the birth of Jesus. 

In the ancient world, Jupiter was thought of as the "king planet" and Regulus as the "king star." Regulus had been spoken of a the "king star" since Sumerian times (over 2,000 years previously). The star's name was LUGAL, the Sumerian word for king. The Parthians, who ruled in Babylonia and the Iranian Plateau, minted the coins with the Moon and Regulus together as a royal symbol. While everyone knew that Jupiter was a planet, it was also a "star." In most Babylonian astronomical documents the planet was called MUL.BABBAR, meaning "the White Star."

The presence of the sun and moon has messianic significance through Ps. 89:35-37. The entire early part of the Psalm is messianic up to verse 37. The Jewish names of the planets were also important. Venus / Nogah means "brightness" and Jupiter / Sedeq means "righteousness." The "Righteous One" was a name commonly used concerning the promised King / Messiah.

A series of chronological markers indicate the years of Herod the Great and his heirs. These two charts use the dating methods described in published articles written by Andrew Steinmann and Rodger Young. One can download several of their papers at the following address: https://independent.academia.edu/RodgerYoung
These charts are part of Dwight Hutchison's book "The Lion Led the Way" (Fourth Edition), which will be published later in 2020.