Israeli rabbi sees messianic prophetic significance in discovery of "cow" nova

When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? Psalms 8:3-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Psalms 19:1

Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11

As reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Breaking Israel News, June 26, 2018 (links in original):

A recent flash in the cosmos, far brighter than any nova, has scientists stumped, but one rabbi who delved into esoteric ancient sources, suggested an answer to this astronomical riddle, while heralding a powerful Messianic message.

On June 17, astronomers at the Keck Observatory’s twin Asteroid Terrestrial-impact Last Alert System (ATLAS) telescopes in Hawaii discovered an enormous, unprecedented bright flash in space that had just appeared in the heavens. Supernovae typically take several weeks to develop but this flash, 10 to 100 times brighter than an average supernova, appeared in a region of space the astronomers had checked only two days before.

“It really just appeared out of nowhere,” said Kate Maguire at Queen’s University Belfast, part of the ATLAS team, to New Scientist.

The discovery was designated AT2018cow in the Astronomer’s Telegram, a website where professionals in the field post new observations of cosmic phenomena. The serendipitous letter ending of the random designation inevitably led astronomers to dub the new discovery, ‘the Cow.’ Due to the extreme brightness, researchers initially believed the flash originated in our galaxy but a group of astronomers in China determined that the Cow was actually quite distant, approximately 200 million light years from earth.

Astronomers are still not sure how to classify this stellar explosion with speculations ranging from a cataclysmic variable star, gamma-ray burst, gravitational wave, supernova or something else entirely.

“There are other objects that have been discovered that are as fast, but the fastness and the brightness, that’s quite unusual,” Maguire said. “We’re not sure yet what it is, but the normal powering mechanism for a supernova is radioactive decay of nickel, and this event is too bright and too fast for that.”

The Cow is indeed fast, and astronomers now believe that it is some sort of explosion carrying high-energy particles. The particles are moving at 12,000 miles per second, close to the speed of light and are burning at an estimated 16,000 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.6 times hotter than the surface of the sun.

Yuval Ovadia, a filmmaker and lecturer on the subject of Nibiru and other astronomical phenomena, was not surprised that researchers could not precisely identify the Cow.

“Science does not have all the answers. Encountering unexpected things that can’t be explained by previous assumptions is part of the scientific process of discovery, especially when studying the cosmos,” Ovadia told Breaking Israel News. “This new discovery is something entirely new and may be a Nibiru-like appearance.”

Nibiru, also known as Planet X, is a planet some believe will collide with the Earth in an end-of-days catastrophe.

“This can’t be Nibiru since it is not heading for the earth but it could be similar,” Ovadia said. “But to truly be scientists, they need to consider every possibility and not just the ideas that conform to their agenda or preconceived ideas.”

Ovadia predicted that as the end of days draws closer, extreme and unprecedented natural phenomena will appear in the heavens and on the earth.

“There were at least 12,000 earthquakes in Hawaii last month,” Ovadia said. “There is a connection between what happens in space and what happens to our planet. It may not be a coincidence that scientists discover this powerful nova at the same time that we are seeing so much seismic activity in the world. We know that what happens in the cosmos can affect our planet. This is part of what we know about Nibiru: that its arrival will be accompanied by earthquakes and volcanoes.”

Ovadia emphasized that implicit in this recent discovery is an admission by NASA that the danger of a a Nibiru-like impact is real enough that it requires attention. The observatory in Hawaii that first reported the Cow is part of ATLAS, which became fully operational just last year and with the express purpose of identifying planet-threatening meteors.

Rabbi Yosef Berger, the Rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, noted that the discovery could not be more timely since this week, Jews around the world will be reading the portion of the Torah describing the blessings Balaam gave to Israel. One of these blessings is enigmatically called the Star of Jacob.

What I see for them is not yet, What I behold will not be soon: A star rises from Yaakov, A scepter comes forth from Yisrael; It smashes the brow of Moab, The foundation of all children of Shet. Numbers 24:17

“It is highly significant that when we read about the Star of Jacob that will come to accompany the Jewish Messiah a powerful light appears in the sky since there is a powerful connection between what is read in the Torah at a given time and what happens in the world,” Rabbi Berger said to Breaking Israel News. “This particular blessing is the source for the future arrival of the Jewish Messiah being accompanied by a powerful new star.”

Rabbi Berger cited Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, known by the acronym Rambam, the foremost Torah authority of the 12th century, whose rulings are still used as the basis for much of Jewish Law.

“The Rambam brings this verse about a star appearing as proof that the Messiah will come one day,” Rabbi Berger said. “But he says it will come from Jacob, and not from Esau. More specifically, from the tribe of Judah.”

Rabbi Berger suggested that the Jewish sources concerning the Star of Jacob may hold clues that could help the scientists understand the new astronomical appearance. He cited the Zohar, the foundational work of Jewish mysticism, which described Star of Jacob as a star with seven “stars” orbiting it.

After forty days, when the pillar rises from earth to heaven in the eyes of the whole world and the Messiah has appeared, a star will rise up on the east, blazing in all colors, and seven other stars will surround that star. And they will wage war on it. (Zohar, Parshat Balak)

“The astronomers are only familiar with novas that come from one star,” Rabbi Berger said. “Since this flash is so much larger, it may have come as the result of several stars, maybe even seven stars, similar to what the Zohar described. If that is the case, this event has greater implications than the scientists realize.”

The reader will note that Rabbi Berger relies on occult sources for his view on the prophetic significance of the nova. This rabbi, and those who agree with his views and cite similar sources of prophetic information are setting themselves up for deception by the Antichrist, whom they will mistake for the true Messiah:

For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Matthew 24:24

See also my post Yet another apocalyptic prediction is about to be proven false (September 22, 2017).