Was the Christmas "Star" a "Star?"

Have you ever wondered what the star was that the Wise Men followed? Why did it seem to rise from the opposite direction of all the other stars? How could it hover over the house, the very home, where Jesus was when the wise men were trying to find him?

Recently I came across an interesting article by our friend and astronomer, Dr. Jason Lisle, who heads the ministry, Biblical Science Institute. His approach to this is very logical as he examines the various theories floating around Christendom regarding this “star.” Could it have been a celestial body? Was it a giant ball of gas? Could it have been an alignment of the planets like we have heard in the past? Or was this something flat-out Supernatural; something that could never be explained in the physical universe, because it did not obey the laws of nature?

I loved this thought…

When astronomers say “star”, they refer to a spheroid of hydrogen gas powered by sustained nuclear fusion in the core. But the ancients would use the word to refer to any point-like light that appeared in the sky. For example, planets do not fall under the modern scientific definition of a star, but they do fall under the ancient definition. In fact, planets were referred to as “wandering stars” because they slowly move relative to the background stars. So the Christmas star need not be a star in the modern technical sense of the word.

I think you’ll enjoy reading his entire article, “The Christmas Star” as you take time to contemplate just one of the many miraculous events which occurred before, during, and after the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. Truly, there is no time better than Christmas to reflect on the historical, yet supernatural fact that the Creator of the universe stepped into and became a part of His Creation on that starry night in Bethlehem.

Was the Christmas “Star” a “Star?”