Revelation and Babylonian Astrology With appendix: Communications with professor XXX Dag Kihlman www.starofbethlehem.com Abstract Hermann Gunkel claimed that Revelation 12 is a chapter with a different origin than the rest of Revelation. He argued that the author built Revelation 12 on a Babylonian myth about the birth of a new king who would grow up and defeat the dragon. In this paper, a new and different theory is put forward. It is suggested that Revelation 12 is connected to the Babylonian divination manual, Enuma Anu Enlil. In it we find possible omens behind the woman screaming in pain, we find a demon trying to catch children, we find a woman with a secret place where she gains nourishment and we find several omens about floods. The seven headed dragon is a well-known Babylonian creature, but it is neither red nor crowned. But red and crowned is a technical term in the manual. In this paper it is suggested that Revelation 12 is the interpretation of three real celestial scenes, the first in September of 3 BC. Combined they announce the birth of “the king of Amurru” (i.e. Amorite) who will defeat the Parthian king, visualized on the sky as the dragon. The second scene was seen nine months after the first, and the third was seen 1260 days after the second. The second omen contains a suggestion to send a delegation to the new king. The third tells when Amurru will win peace. The Parthian king continues as the dragon in Revelation 13, who had to pass the authority over Armenia to the beast, Emperor Nero, who won the authority to install a Parthian prince, the little beast with the dragons tongue, as king of Armenia. Revelation 6 can also be linked to Babylonian astrology and shows that the author has gained some knowledge in the subject, partly through the Hebrew bible. This paper was submitted to British New Testament Conference 2018, but rejected with a kind reply. Acknowledgments Image on front page: Photograph of door portal at St Trophime in Arles, France. © Keith Hall; used with permission obtained on 25th October 2016. Image of seven headed dragon: Courtesy of the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. Dag Kihlman [email protected] © 2018-05-12 Version 2018-05-22 17:00 Introduction In this paper, the connections between Revelation and Babylonian divination will be examined. It will focus on Revelation 12 and examine if Revelation 12 could be seen as the remnants of a protocol of the magi visiting Christ in Bethlehem. If this can be demonstrated, we have a better understanding why the author of Revelation is so interested in heavenly scenes. We also understand why he is interested in the four creatures of Ezekiel 1 and the four horses of Zechariah 6. The creatures of Ezekiel could be seen as representations of the four cardinal points and the faces could be linked to the four major male Babylonian gods. 1 The horses in Zechariah might be connected to the four cardinal points too, if they are connected to Babylonian divination. The colours as such are used in Babylonian divination 2 and are connected to planets 3, and these planets are in turn related to the same male gods. The main god, Marduk is connected to the constellation Taurus and to the planet Jupiter, seen as the white planet. Bull and white represents east. Three months earlier in the zodiac we see Aquarius, the (water)man/angel who represents the main war god of late Babylonian time: Nabu. He is related to Mercury, seen as red. According to Revelation 6, the white rider comes with the bow, but the bow is not a bow for war. It is the red rider who arrives with war. Another three months earlier we find Scorpio, which is related to the god Ninurta, who in turn is also related to Saturn, which is seen as the black planet in divination. According to Revelation 6, the black rider is holding a scale. This fits well with ancient view on the constellations. Until the early 20th century, the constellations shared stars. To the ancient astronomers, the balances of Libra were The claws of Scorpio 4. Scorpio is connected to nourishment in Babylonia, and prices of food is his weapon in Revelation 6. Ninurta is represented by Scorpio in the zodiac, but he is also represented by the Eagle. In the four creature pattern, Eagle replaces Scorpio. The fourth male god is Nergal, who is the king of the dead, of pestilence and wild animals, just as the fourth rider in Revelation 6. He is connected to the constellation Leo and the planet Mars. In divination, the colour of Mars varies, and in the colour pattern this fourth colour varies. A critical reader will say that the number of basic colours is limited and that the connections could be seen as coincidental. Other readers might feel that the connections suggested are too many too be coincidental, but at the same time feel that the arguments are new and that further examinations by others are necessary to see if several researchers reach the same conclusions. The aim of this paper is not to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Revelation 6 is connected to Babylonian divination. The aim is to demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that Revelation 12 is connected to Babylonian divination and the birth of Christ. In doing so, probability calculations will be used, probability calculations that certain events will be seen on the sky on certain dates. The evidence is thus the fact that Revelation 12 can be connected to events in the sky on three different dates and that these events will be interpreted, according to the Babylonian divination manual, in such a way that the events are the reason why the magi travelled to Jerusalem and that their interpretation has been preserved as Revelation 12. 1 Peterson (2012). p. 119 2 Koch-Westenholz (1995: 91, 97) 3 Frequently in Enuma Anu Enlil, the Babylonian divination manual 4 White (2014), p. 229 1 Probability calculations examine the probability that certain events will occur. For instance, the likelihood to throw one six when throwing one dice is 1 to 6. To throw two sixes when throwing two dices is (1/6) * (1/6) = 1 to 36. In other word, probability for two unrelated events to happen is the probability of the first event multiplied with the probability of the second event. A critical reader will of course be careful and wonder if each probability in itself is correct. If the probability for each event is calculated too high or too low, it will greatly influence the final probability for all events. Since the probability concerns events on the sky, some readers might feel that they are not able to verify that the probability is correct. That is of course true, but eventually the calculations will be examined and be considered reasonable. Until experts examine my calculations, I expect my theory to be met with caution. I have actually assumed that it will take about ten years for my proof to be accepted. In Popper’s terms, the theory is falsifiable and thus scientific, but the effort needed to falsify the theory means that the theory will not be accepted at first. However, I challenge my readers to falsify the theory. A particular point of interest is the death year of Herod, and most scholars accept that it happened around the year 4 BC. I consider this date to be very poorly researched. It is primarily based on Josephus’ writings and other “facts” based only or partly on Josephus. The idea that Josephus is a reliable witness concerning Herod’s death is actually an idea contrary to what Josephus himself writes. He tells us his sources for Herod, two of which clearly wrote well before the death of Herod. The third, Nicolaus of Damascus worked for Herod and wrote a history about Herod. He is thus a perfect first hand witness, near in time and place, if he wrote after the death of Herod. However, Josephus clearly states that Nicolaus “wrote in Herod’s lifetime, and under his reign, and so as to please him”. This suggests that Nicolaus’ text ended before the death of Herod. The fact that Josephus is reliable concerning Herod’s life does not mean that he is reliable for the years around the death of Herod. I have seen no historian addressing the problem that Josephus’ reliability drops around the year of Herod’s death. I have examined the dates in Josephus’ writings and come to the conclusion that the reason why scholars offer different dates for the death of Herod simply is because the information about the death does not match the earlier dates in Herod’s life. If we say that the year when Herod died is unknown, then the earlier dates can easily be put in to a coherent and logical framework. 5 The Babylonian Divination manual, Enuma Anu Enlil We have access to the manual used by the magi in Babylonia. It is reasonably easy to follow, and the omens are precise, for instance: “If Venus reaches Sulpae [Jupiter] and they follow upon each other: high water will carry off the land.“ 6 This omen is easy to understand if we are aware that all planets, the moon and the sun appear to be travelling on the same path among the constellations. The constellations they pass are the same as the twelve star signs in the zodiac. Venus travels at a larger speed, but depending on her position in relation to the Earth, she might seem to slow down, stop or even reverse.