By Dianne E. Butts:
The transit of Venus has only occurred seven times since the 17th century, including its appearance a few weeks ago.
[FAITH, SCIENCE NEWS] On Tuesday June 5, 2012, we witnessed a phenomenon that won’t happen again for more than a century: the transit of Venus.
A TV interview the next morning caught my attention when an astronomer explained how long the transit took. That caused me to wonder if I could find God in the Venus transit.
According to the website, transitofvenus.org:
“When Venus passes directly between earth and the sun, we see the distant planet as a small dot gliding slowly across the face of the sun. Historically, this rare alignment is how we measured the size of our solar system. The view is like a front row seat to the transit method, by which we now find planets around distant stars.”
If you were listening during the days surrounding the Venus transit on June 5th, 2012 you may have learned these facts like I did:
- An Associated Press article, Eyes turn skyward as Venus crosses the sun (MyFoxdfw.com), stated that this is “the seventh transit visible since German astronomer Johannes Kepler first predicted the phenomenon in the 17th century” (emphasis mine).
- The same MyFox from Dallas/Ft. Worth article says “transits occur in pairs separated by more than a century.”
- “Venus transits come in pairs eight years apart,” says Scientific America.
- According to the article, Charleston community views Venus transit (TheDailyEasternNews.com), “the transit is so rare because the orbital planes of Earth and Venus are seven degrees off. If they were perfectly aligned, they would happen much more often” (emphasis mine).
- Venus took “nearly seven hours to cross the face of the sun,” according to the UK’s Guardian (emphasis mine).
Did you happen to notice all those “sevens”? Seventh transit visible. Seven degrees off. Nearly seven hours to cross the sun…
Maybe these sevens are just coincidence. But I have to say, whenever I think of “seven” I think of God. Why? Because seven is God’s number. It is known as the number of “completion.” There are many sevens in the Bible. Here are some examples. I’ve emphasized all the “sevens.” Notice the last four bullets are all in the same chapter: Revelation 1!
- “By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:2-3).
- “John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne” (Revelation 1:4).
- “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea” (Revelation 1:11).
- “I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone ‘like a son of man,’ dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance” (Revelation 1:12-16).
- “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (Revelation 1:19-20).
So I don’t know. Are all these sevens coincidence? Or did we find God in the Venus transit?
Video: This footage of the Venus transit is speeded up dramatically, so it won’t take you seven hours to watch it:
© Dianne E. Butts. Dianne’s latest book, Deliver Me, for those in an unplanned pregnancy or with one in their past, won a “Book of the Year” award and is a finalist for the 2012 Golden Scroll Nonfiction Book of the Year. Her next book, on grandparenting releases August, 2012. Visit Dianne at www.DeliverMeBook.blogspot.com.
