“The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display His craftsmanship.” Psalm 19:1 (NLT)
Four hundred years ago today, December 21, 1620, the Mayflower, led by William Bradford landed on Plymouth Rock, Massachusetts. This was the first English Pilgrims to arrive in America. The Mayflower carried 102 passengers plus crew. The Pilgrims founded the Plymouth Colony, along with Jamestown, Virginia.
The Plymouth Colony plays a huge symbolic/prophetic role in American history. Though the settlers in Jamestown were entrepreneurs, the Plymouth citizens were fleeing religious persecution and searching for a place where they could worship God freely. They chose to settle in America. You get that? They came here worship! America became known as ‘The Land of the Free,’ a place where people were free to follow their dreams and their God.
400 years was the amount of time the Hebrews were in captivity before God rose up Moses to lead them into freedom, the promised land, and a new era!
400 years, the amount of time of God’s silence known as the intertestamental period, between what we now call the New and Old Testaments. The Old ended with Malachi’s prophetic word about spirit of Elijah returning to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children and the children to their fathers (Malachi 4:5-6). The silence was broken with John the Baptist. Many believe we are now not just stepping into a new year, but a new era!
Not only is today the 400 year anniversary of the Mayflower landing, it is also the date of “the great conjunction!” Tonight Saturn and Jupiter will line up and reveal what has been called “the Christmas Star.” These two planets should appear as a bright point of light easily visible in the night sky. Over the past few weeks, these two planets have slowly been moving closer to each other. “A conjunction occurs when planets appear incredibly close to one another in the sky because they line up with Earth in their respective orbits.” (https://www.space.com/great-conjunction-jupiter-saturn…).
Even though Jupiter and Saturn’s orbits bring them into alignment about every 20 years, this is the first time since 1623 that they have passed this close to one another, though it wasn’t visible at that time because of its location in the night sky. The last time it was visible was nearly 800 years ago in 1226. It just so happens to be tonight, on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year! This is truly a rare occasion because it will be visible for people to see the solar system. This has also been called the Star of Bethlehem because of it falling so close to Christmas.
In light of the crazy, perilous and uncertain times we have lived through this year, the Christmas Star and the Mayflower are signs of God’s glory and plans. God, who created the heavens and earth as a display of His glory is shouting at us to remember that He is the One we are to trust and worship. Are these aligning planets, a declaration of a new era, as when Christ came the first time? The Pilgrims came to the New World so that they could worship freely. That freedom is in the balance. We truly are on the verge of a new era! Please take time today to worship the One who holds the worlds in His hands, the One who displays His glory through all that He created. He is the One who is never late, nor is He finished with His purposes for our nation! In prayer, agree, decree and declare that His will be done and His kingdom to come, TODAY, in our nation and across the globe!
