Apocalypse of John - dated astronomically

Die Offenbarung Johannis – Eine astronomisch-historische Untersuchung (English: "The Revelation to John - An astronomic historical Investigation") is the title of the German edition of the 1905 book by the Russian astronomer Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov.

In the month of March in 1907 the Russian astronomer Nikolai Alexandrovich Morozov (Николай Александрович Морозов, 1854-1946) published the book "Revelation within Thunderstorm and Tempest. History of the Apocalypses Origin." (After an intervention of the orthodox clergy, the book was placed on the index in the following year.) In his book Morozov makes the case that the Book of Revelation is describing the astronomical constellation over the island of Patmos on Sunday, September 30, 395 (Julian year). Morozov presumes that the highly educated John was capable to calculate the Saros cycle and, therefore, did observe the sky on this day in attendance of a solar eclipse.(This eclipse did occur indeed - over South America, howeverSolar eclipse catalogue 300-400: "http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/SEcat/SE0301-0400.html"] ).

Morozov's claims

1. The weekday of the event is named explicitly: :*Rev. 1,10: I was in the Spirit on Sunday... 2. The description of the skies starts quite systematically at the pole with a constellation named "Throne" (today: Ursa Minor): :*Rev. 4,2: And a throne was set in heaven... 3. The text continues mentioning the "Milky Way" and the signs of the zodiac denoting the four seasons: "Lion", "Taurus", "Sagittarius" and "Eagle" (today: Aquarius): :*Rev. 4,6-7: And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full of eyes before and behind. And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 4. The four horses were interpreted by Morozov as traditional metaphors for the planets "Jupiter", "Mars", "Mercury" and "Saturn". The constellations "Sagittarius", "Perseus", "Libra" and "Scorpion" were "sitting" on them: :*Rev. 6,2: And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow;:*Rev. 6,4: And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.:*Rev. 6,5: And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. :*Rev. 6,8: And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. 5. Sun and Moon were named explicitly. The only female character within the zodiac is "Virgo": :*Rev. 12,1: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. 6. As a Harlot, the planet "Venus " will be blamed, eventually. Venus, the symbol of female eroticism, united with the red star "Antares" ("Anti-Mars") within the constellation "Scorpion": :*Rev. 17,3-4: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication. The description within the Book of Revelation matches exactly theConstellation for the Julian date 30-9-395.

Right ascension and Declination for the island of Patmos at 15:00 UTC on this day were calculated using the program Yoursky.Planetarium program Yoursky (395-09-30 15:00; 37N 27E; Opt.: E,M,N,N) "http://www.fourmilab.ch/cgi-bin/uncgi/Yoursky"] (Due to precession R.A. of the stars has been shifted since 395).

Sun, Moon and the 3 outer and 2 inner planets will produce 3.732.480combinations within the 12 signs of the zodiac (12⁵ × 5 × 3).Therefore, an accidental match is quite unlikely. At this point criticism on Chronology begins: Common understanding says, referring to
Irenaeus (Haer. V,30,3), that the Revelation to John has been written down near the end of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96).Consequently, either the Revelation has been dated some three centuries too old, or the reign of Domitian has.

Literature

*Nikolai A. Morozov: "The Revelation to John - An astronomic historical Investigation" (Die Offenbarung Johannis – Eine astronomisch-historische Untersuchung, 223 pages, Stuttgart 1912.)
*Nikolai A. Morozov: "Revelation within Thunderstorm and Tempest. History of the Apocalypses Origin." (Откровение в грозе и буре. История возникновения Апокалипсиса. СПб.: Былое, 1907.)

References

Notes

This article is a translation from the German Wikipedia.