Dear friends:

Were the 21 fragments of the Shoemaker-Levy Comet that slammed into the planet Jupiter on July 16-22, 1994 another heavenly sign of Messiah's soon return?

That was almost 11 years ago. I see nothing in this relevant to 2005 or any particular year, but maybe someone else will get a revelation on this. However, there is plenty of evidence that the timing was not by accident. See below.

The total force of the 21 collisions is estimated at 100 million megatons of TNT ( World Book Encyclopedia ); the first collision alone at 200,000 megatons, more than all the combined nuclear arsenals of the world, leaving a hole in Jupiter half the size of the Earth.

Historically, the planet has been linked to the Jewish Messiah. The nine planets of our solar system may symbolize the pattern of the nine-lamp Hanukkah menorah. Jupiter, the fifth planet, is in the position of the "servant lamp," an apt symbolism of Messiah (we know as the "suffering servant").

According to J. R. Church, at the time of the collision, Jupiter was near Scorpio (a serpent in the Egyptian zodiac, symbolic of Satan and the antichrist) and moving toward the lamp of Libra. Church suggests the signs may indicate that Lucifer may be trying to seize the lamp and become the light of the world in place of Christ (which we know is his job description)! Church also points out that the moon was under Virgo on the night of July 16, 1994, and that Revelation 12 states that the moon is under the feet of Virgo when the great red dragon tries to "devour" the Messiah, all this portraying warfare in the heavenlies.

The date of initial impact, July 16, is significant. It was the anniversary of the date of the very first atomic explosion on Earth at Alamogordo, New Mexico, (exactly 49 years earlier, a good biblical number of 7 X 7) when one scientist exclaimed, "My God, we have created hell."

But July 16-17, 1994 is even more significant. It overlapped with the 9th of Av on the Jewish calendar, a date that historically has meant destruction and tragedy for the Jews, and is commemorated by them as a dark day. The Midrah states that God marked the 9th of Av as a day of catastrophe and declared it an eternal day of mourning. Both Solomon's and Herod's Temples were destroyed by invaders on that very same day.

July 16 and the 9th of Av do not always coincide. Friend Randy Bullock has discovered that the first fragment of Shoemaker-Levy hit at exactly 4:11 p.m. eastern time, or 11:11 p.m. Jerusalem time, July 16, exactly five hours into the 9th of Av. That brief overlap, he states, "is a very poignant one to remember war and destruction."

Why? He checked his Hebrew calendar starting with 1920 through 2020 and found that the two dates overlap only six hours every 19 years, one of which was on July 16, 1994. Further calculations revealed only a 1 in 27,759 chance of the overlap occurring at the time the comet hit Jupiter. In view of all the historical symbolisms involved, it is extremely unlikely that the timing was a coincidence. It is more likely that this is a "sign" in the heavens, revealing to those who have ears to hear the soon rise of antichrist and the "time of Jacob's trouble" just ahead.

This is speculation, but it may be no accident that the comet collisions extended over seven days, possibly representing the seven years of the Tribulation. The 21 separate comet collisions may represent the seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls of Revelation. Also, the seven-day collisions ended July 22, the very day before the Jewish joyous celebration of Tu Be-Av, which I am told could symbolize the Millennium.

There were other celestial signs in 1996-1997. In 1996, there were two full "red-moon" eclipses over Jerusalem during important religious festivals: April 3 (Feast of Passover) and September 26 (eve of Feast of Tabernacles). Apparently, such is rare, maybe unprecedented. In 1997, the extremely rare, bright and only recently discovered Hale-Bopp Comet appeared brightest in the heavens, coinciding with the Feast of Purim, and also a 90 percent lunar "red moon" eclipse seen in Jerusalem on that same day. And on September 16, 1997, there was another full "red moon" eclipse seen in Jerusalem coinciding with "Days of Teshuva (repentance)."

As mentioned previously, the Hale-Bopp comet reminds us of the comet, reported by the Jewish-Roman historian Josephus, that hovered "like a sword" over Jerusalem just before the Jewish-Roman War of A.D. 66-73 when Jerusalem was last destroyed. This seven-year war may have been a type of the end-time Tribulation as both are described in Matthew 24. Interestingly, recent scientific estimates of the comet's path indicate it has been about 4,200 years since Earth dwellers last saw it. According to biblical chronology, this places it during Noah's lifetime! This immediately reminds us of Jesus' words that at His coming the world will be "as it was in the days of Noah."

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands" (Psalm 19:1, NIV)

His wisdom is unsearchable. His mercy endureth forever. May His name be praised. At the name of Jesus (Yeshua) the Messiah every shall knee bow and every tongue shall confess that He is Lord!