Author-Damon Ray Beggs ([email protected])
T Coronae Borealis: “The Blaze Star”
T Coronae Borealis is a binary star system composed of a red giant and a companion white dwarf located in the constellation of Corona Borealis. Nicknamed the “Blaze Star,” it is a recurrent nova with a period of approximately 80 years. Very soon, it is expected to increase rapidly in brightness and astronomers worldwide are training their gaze to catch a glimpse of the expected nova event.
The 1217 AD Event
There is evidence that a nova of the star system T Coronae Borealis (T CrB) was witnessed by Abbott Burchard of Upsberg in October of 1217 AD. The following information is from a Bradley E. Schaefer of Louisiana State University, 2023. His full paper can be found here:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2308.13668
“The 1217 eruption was reported in the Ursperger Chronicle (a typical monastic annals) from southern Germany, written in 1225 by the Abbott Burchard. Burchard tells about a transient star seen for “many days” in autumn of 1217 in the constellation of ‘Ariadne’s Crown’ (i.e., CrB). A bright transient lasting for “many days” can only be a nova, a comet, of a supernova. Burchard’s event cannot be a supernova or some different nova, due to the lack of any bright remnant. The object cannot be a comet because Burchard explicitly called it “stella” (i..e, a point source) instead of any of the several medieval German terms for comet. Further, Burchard labeled it as a ‘wonderful sign’ (“signum mirabile”) with very positive connotations, whereas comets are universally regarded as amongst the most evil and dangerous omens in the sky, and Burchard would never have called a comet as “signum mirabile”. So Burchard gave his personal eye-witness report of an expected T CrB eruption in 1217.”
As the Star system of T CrB is located 806 parsecs or 2628.82 Light Years from Earth, the light from the nova began its journey 2628.82 years prior. This would place the original nova detonation in the year 1411 BCE. This date is significant, because it is generally held that the Israelites began their journey into the promised land of Canaan at this time, crossing the river Jordan in 1406-1407 BCE. As this time range is an approximation, I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the nova event of 1411BCE was the very light that was shining the moment the Israelites stepped foot in the Jordan river. This is the light that Burchard witnessed in 1217; light from the River Jordan crossing, light from the very day that Israel became a nation—a “wonderful sign,” indeed.
The Event of 1787 AD
Using the same source as before, Bradley E. Schaefer of Louisiana State University:
“The 1787 eruption was reported by English Astronomer Francis Wollaston in his compilation of star positions. Wollaston specialized in astrometry for stars in Corona Borealis, and all his stars had measured astrometric positions taken on four occasions. In a private letter to W. Herschel, Wollaston tells of his measures of a V~7 star at the exact position of T CrB, as observed shortly before 28 December 1787.”
Again, the light from the nova seen in 1787 AD would have taken 2628.82 years to reach the Earth. Therefore, the nova detonation itself took place in the year 841 BCE. This is a significant date, as this was the year that King Jehu of Israel surrendered to the King of Assyria, Shalmaneser lll.
This is a depiction from the black obelisk of Shalmaneser, of King Jehu in 841 BCE bowing down to kiss the dirt in front of the Assyrian king, as he formally paid tribute and became a vassal:
Inscription:
“I received the tribute of Iaua (Jehu) son of (the people of the land of) Omri (Akkadian: 𒅀𒌑𒀀 𒈥 𒄷𒌝𒊑𒄿): silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden vase with pointed bottom, golden tumblers, golden buckets, tin, a staff for a king [and] spears.
Thus, the light from this nova was the light that was shining the moment King Jehu hit the ground and surrendered to one of Israel’s greatest enemies.
The Event of 1866 AD
The following is taken from the American Journal of Science, 1 November 1866:
https://archive.org/details/mobot31753002152699/page/78/mode/2up
“Yesterday, May the 16th, one of us received a note from Mr. John Birmingham of Tuam, stating that he had observed on the night of May 12 a new star in the constellation of Corona Borealis. He describes the star as “very brilliant, of about the 2nd magnitude.” Also Mr. Baxendell of Manchester wrote to one of us giving the observations which follow of the new star, as seen by him on the night of the 15th instant. “A new star has suddenly burst forth in Corona. It is somewhat less than a degree distant from ε of that constellation in a south-easterly direction, and-last night was fully equal in brilliancy to β Serpentis or v Herculis, both stars of about the 3rd magnitude.””
Using the same calculation as before, the nova event observed in 1866 AD would have taken place in the year 763 BCE.
According to records from that time, an eclipse of the sun took place over the Assyrian capital city of Nineveh on June 15th, 763 BC. The record is as follows:
“[year of] Bur-Sagale of Guzana. Revolt in the city of Assur. In the month Simanu an eclipse of the sun took place.” (the phrase “shamash akallu” is translated here from “obscured sun” to “eclipse.”)
Shortly after this eclipse, a massive earthquake, estimated through archeological evidence to have been magnitude 8.2 on our modern scale shook the same area in approximately 760 BC. The prophet Amos preached during this time to the people of Judah, the prophet Hosea preached to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, and the prophet Jonah preached to the Assyrians at Ninevah. These men preached of impending judgement and the need for urgent repentance:
“Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord GOD, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day.” – Amos 8:8-9
A few years later, starting in approximately 734 BC, the northern kingdom of Israel and 10 of their 12 tribes were swept away by the Assyrian Empire, ending with the destruction of the northern kingdom in 718 BC by Sargon II.
Depiction of Sargon II (right) and his son Sennacherib on display, Louvre, Paris.
The Event of 1946 AD
The last recorded occurrence of a nova from T Coronae Borealis was witnessed in the year 1946 AD. One of the first observers was a Norman F.H. Knight of Stoneleigh, southwest of London from his home on the morning of February 8, 1946. On the following day, he sent this letter to the British Astronomical Association addressed to the Director of the BAA Variable Star Section (VSS), W.M. Lindley:
The event was also observed independently by Arman Deutsch of the University of Chicago Department of Astronomy at the Yerkes Observatory in Williams Bay, Wisconsin. An article reporting this was printed in the Pittsburgh Press dated Feb. 9, 1946:
The light from this outburst began its journey to earth in 683 BCE. A few years earlier, in 701 BCE, the Judean city of Lachish was sieged by the Assyrians and the King of Judah, Hezekiah, offered to pay tribute to King Sennacherib in exchange for his withdrawal. According to the Bible, King Hezekiah sent 300 talents of silver and 30 talents of gold to the Assyrian King. The enemy king was not impressed, Lachish was looted and burnt, and its inhabitants killed or scattered in the empire and the Assyrian army marched on to Jerusalem. The prophet Isaiah encouraged King Hezekiah and assured him that the Assyrians would not set foot in Jerusalem. Later that night, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers were killed in a virulent plague and King Sennacherib fled to his capital city Ninevah where he was murdered by his own sons in 680 BCE.
A decoration from the Palace of Sennacherib in Nineveh (in modern Iraq), the relief is today in the British Museum in London. The associated inscription reads:
“Sennacherib, the mighty king, king of the country of Assyria, sitting on the throne of judgment, before (or at the entrance of) the city of Lachish. I give permission for its slaughter”
Now, the nova event for this year of 1946 AD was first observed on February 9th. This was a special day on the Hebrew calendar, as it was the sabbath before the holiday of Purim Katan, or “2nd Purim.” This observance of Purim during a leap year is a happier version of the traditional Purim- fasting is not performed, and the meal is more festive. It is a more celebratory occasion. The Sabbath before Purim is called Shabbat Zachor, which means “Shabbat of Remembrance.” The Jews during this time remember and celebrate their deliverance from destruction, catastrophe, or an antisemitic threat.
Not long after this year’s Purim celebration of deliverance from her enemies, the Nazi’s responsible for the holocaust were hanged on October 16, 1946, shortly after the conclusion of the Nuremberg trials. 10 Nazis were executed in all, hanged by the neck however, Hermann Göring committed suicide by ingesting poison hours earlier, after the International Military Tribunal had condemned him to hang. These 10 men perished in the same way that Haman’s 10 sons were hanged during the time of Queen Esther. One of the Nazis involved, a man by the name of Julius Streicher realized the similarities between his fate and the fate of the villains of the Purim story. An eyewitness account from a member of the press, journalist Kingsbury Smith noted:
“As the guards stopped him at the bottom of the steps for identification formality he uttered his piercing scream: “Heil Hitler. Streicher was swung suddenly to face the witnesses and glared at them. Suddenly he screamed, “Purim Fest 1946!”
Just like in the Purim story, where Haman is clothed with the death veil, or black hood, the Nazis were led up the 13 steps to the gallows where a black hood was forcefully put over their heads before hanging.
This fact, and the nova in the constellation of Corona Borealis (The Crown of the North) itself are both mentioned in the Bible:
“His enemies will I clothe with shame: but upon himself shall his crown flourish.” – Psalm 132:18
The word translated in the above verse as “flourish,” means “to shine forth,” but also, “to blossom.”
In May 1946, U.S. President Harry Truman announced his approval of a recommendation to admit 100,000 displaced persons into Palestine and in October publicly declared his support for the creation of a Jewish state. President Truman was the first world leader to officially recognize Israel as a legitimate Jewish state on May 14, 1948, only eleven minutes after its creation.
The event of September 7, 2024 AD
Which brings us to the present day. Astronomers from all over the world are awaiting the latest observance of the nova of T Coronae Borealis. Careful observations during its past two novae in 1866 and 1946 showed that T CrB became slightly brighter about 10 years before the nova was visible from Earth. Then, it briefly dimmed. Although scientists aren’t sure what causes these brightness changes, this pattern has repeated, with a brightening in 2015 and a dimming in March 2023. Based on these observations, scientists predict the nova will be visible to us sometime in 2024.
This year, is it possible to precisely predict which day the nova will be first seen on earth? Of course. As I have said earlier repeatedly, the light from T Coronae Borealis takes 2628.82 years to reach the earth. Did anything of consequence happen exactly that long ago in Jewish history, something that God would want to chronicle/herald? Yes, the answer is yes.
On September 7, 2024, we will be seeing light from a very important moment in Israel’s history. With the naked eye we will see light from the Babylonian First of Ululu, (September 7 on our calendar) 605BCE. This is the very day that Prince Nebuchadnezzar ascended to the throne and became King Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylon.
Conclusion: What Does This All Mean? What Does This Series of Novae represent?
Stars are composed of all manner of materials, primarily gases like Hydrogen and Helium. Throughout a star’s life, the light of a star can vary, it can go nova if part of a binary system, or it can explode altogether in a supernova at the end of its time, leaving only a dense core behind. If the star is massive enough, it collapses in on itself and its gravity becomes so great that not even light can escape. Stars are relatively predictable and adhere to the natural laws of the universe regarding pressure, temperature, gravity and so forth however, according to the Bible stars have other uses and are under the ultimate authority of God Himself:
“And God said, let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years.” -Genesis 1:14
The word in the above verse translated as “Signs,” can mean a flag, ensign, signal, beacon and so forth. And that’s exactly what the Constellation of Corona Borealis is: It is a signal generator. You can think of it as a repeating news broadcast. I like to think of it as the Corona Borealis News Network.
You might say that the star has been blasting light every 80 years since God knows when, and that’s true. However, we have no idea when these past unobserved novae appeared and so God doesn’t hold that against us. We are responsible for what we observe.
So let us put these 4 past broadcasts and one near future (2024) observation into one message:
The Broadcast is meant for Israel since it begins and ends with Israel. The broadcast comes from the “Crown of the North,” a constellation of 7 stars and so it represents God’s crown and His authority.
1217 AD– Israel crosses the Jordan River into the Promised land of Canaan and is born as a nation. (1411BCE)
1787 AD– Israel attempts to appease its enemy instead of trusting in God. (841 BCE)
1866 AD– Israel is warned again and again with signs and the preaching of the prophets that judgement is coming. Israel ignores the warnings and the northern kingdom and its people are wiped away. (763-713BCE)
1946 AD– Judah, the southern kingdom is surrounded by enemies who wish to destroy her. The King submits to God, who crushes her enemies in a single night. Meanwhile in the modern age the Jews are scattered throughout the world, and a new king threatens to destroy them. In 1946AD their enemies are executed, and the nation of Israel is reborn a few months later on May 14, 1948 AD.
September 7, 2024 AD– Israel has been regathered as a nation, and is again plagued by various enemies. The latest war between Israel and her enemy Hamas began on October 7, 2023 when several thousand combatants breached the Gaza-Israel border and murdered 1139 people. Another 251 people were carried into captivity from the Nova music festival . This has yet to be resolved and world opinion has turned on Israel as protests appear in cities all over the planet.
What is the significance of this last broadcast, pointing to the coronation of the King of Babylon? What does that mean for Israel today?
Long ago, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had a dream. He dreamt of a towering statue composed of dissimilar metals:
The prophet Daniel interpreted the dream for the king and Nebuchadnezzar was told that he was the head of gold. The chest and arms represented the kingdom of the Medes and Persians. The belly and thighs of Brass represented the Greeks, and the legs represented the Eastern and Western Roman empires- all nations that had and would trample the people of Israel underfoot. The final kingdom of the feet and toes represent the strongest but short-lived future kingdom of Antichrist.
You will notice that as you go down the statue, the metals become less valuable, but stronger. The final world empire is composed of iron mixed with clay which happens to be the recipe for steel (coal/carbon deposits are found in clay and rudimentary steel is approximately 98% iron and 2% carbon.)
So why is God pointing us to this king, and to this metal man? This statue, this dream of Nebuchadnezzar II can be seen as a kind of stopwatch. A timepiece. Most of what this statue represents has disappeared and you and I find ourselves at the level of the feet and toes. One important message God is relating to us is that we don’t have much time left. At the end of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, he saw a rock fall from heaven, which struck that statue and destroyed it. The rock then grew to become a mountain that filled the whole earth. This is the Kingdom of the Messiah. His Kingdom will know no end.
People are fond of saying that there will be no more signs until the Rapture of the Church. I beg to differ—God is alive and well and if you want to get technical, the sign we are about to witness is a very old sign from thousands of years ago, when God was hurling signs left and right. God’s program is continuing and God is not done with Israel, or the rest of us yet.
Israel has the same choices it had under its kings of old, she can surrender and be wiped away or she can return to her God and watch Him convert her enemies into bird food. But make no mistake, the clock is ticking and the end is coming whether we want it to or not. God’s patience with us is not infinite and He will be here soon. But first, another is coming and that is the message of this star. The King of Babylon the Great is on his way, the serpent with poison in his mouth, the blood-red dragon, the liar and murderer from the beginning who will destroy perfectly: The coming, “Man of Steel.”