THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
Documentary takes the full message of Christmas beyond December
Researching the birth of Christ for a church class sent attorney Rick Larson on an intensive search for the truth of whether the star mentioned in the gospel of Matthew was an actual event. The results of his research is presented in a critically acclaimed documentary, “The Star of Bethlehem: Unlock the Mystery of the World’s Most Famous Star,” from Producer Stephen McEveety of MPower Pictures (The Passion of the Christ). Paula K. Parker spoke with Rick about his research and this presentation.
Paula K. Parker: I loved “The Star of Bethlehem.” While I watched this video, I went from goose bumps to tears and back again. I’m amazed at the depth of your research. There are many people – myself included – who would come to a point in the research and say, “Okay, that’s enough,” and stop.
Rick Larson: I don’t think I had a choice in the matter, really. If you’re not a believer, you might look at me and say, “You’re obsessed.” If you’re a believer, you’d say, “You have a calling.”
It wasn’t burdensome really – I guess in a way it was – I just did it every single night for months. It wasn’t like I felt I had to; I just wanted to. And I kept going and going.
One of the most fun things about that DVD to me was that, after we got it done, I told the retail people, “Try putting it out in six packs.” They laughed at me, and then they tried it [laughs] and the six packs sell as well as the individual ones. Everyone has a family member or a friend, who won’t listen if you say, “Jesus,” but they’ll watch the DVD. Rather like the Trojan Horse; it’s getting in places where the gospel is not welcome. It’s science, it’s historical, it’s subjective, it’s great ministry.
PKP: What do you say to people who want to know whether this research was verified about another source?
Larson: That’s an excellent question. During the middle of my research, I was outdoors looking up at the sky and the thought occurred to me, Rick, you’re not an astronomer. You’d better have your research looked at by an astronomer. I thought that was a good idea. The next night, the same thought occurs to me and I think, Oh wait; this could be the Lord.
The next day at work, I’m sitting at my desk trying to practice law, and the thought occurs to me again. I think, Okay, okay. I stand up, because I know I’m supposed to do something right now. I’m thinking, Where do I find an astronomer? I grew up in Los Angeles, so I thought I would call the Griffith Observatory. I was in the process of getting that phone number, when my phone rings. This is exactly how it happened.
There’s a guy on the other end of the line. His name is Roger; I wouldn’t call him a friend, I’ve never had a meal with him or anything like that, but he knows me. He says, “Rick, what would you think about having an astronomer look at your program?”
PKP: Wow.
Larson: I said, “Roger, I think that’s a fine idea.” So Roger puts me in touch with not just any astronomer; he puts me in touch with the planetary astronomer in the nation. He’s the guy who founded NASA’s planetary astronomy department. He wrote the book on planetary astronomy and it’s called, “Planetary Astronomy.” He’s an older man, rather crusty, with a thousand opinions on everything and a right to every single one of them.
I do the presentation for him privately in my office. He’s up and down like a Jack-in-the-Box, telling me this and telling me that. Which is fine, because that is what I wanted him for; if I’m doing something wrong, please tell me. The second third of the presentation, he’s quieting down, and the last third, he’s saying nothing.
I finished the presentation and left the final screen up. He’s staring at the screen, not saying a word, which felt rather awkward. Then I blew it; I’m convinced that the Holy Spirit was talking to him. I said, “Well, what do you think?”
He still didn’t say anything; he just stared at the screen. Then he stood up and said, “That’s an excellent presentation,” and he’s walking to the door. He doesn’t want to talk about it. He kept saying, “That’s an excellent presentation! An excellent presentation!”
My office was in a bank building that had an open stairwell. He was going down the stairwell and shouting back up over his shoulder, “An excellent presentation! An excellent presentation!”
So, my research has been vetted at the highest level. What I am doing is not disputable on facts. It’s like a connect the dot picture. You can connect the dots and choose not to see the ducky on the page. It’s like that; you’d have to make a mental effort not to connect these dots once they’re laid out. It’s obvious there’s order here, it’s obvious that God did something for us to find.
All of the astronomers that have looked at it are fascinated, because they’ve never seen a story told in the stars.
The first time I did a community-wide presentation, it followed weeks of prayer and fasting, because I was afraid I was going to run ahead of the Lord. I booked a venue which seats a thousand and thought, ‘Okay what happens if a hundred people show? It would be so embarrassing.’ We got 1800 people in and couldn’t fit anymore in and people couldn’t get into the parking lot.
One girl who attended came with her parents. Her mother emailed me later and said that her daughter, who is 23, was not walking with the Lord. She said that after her daughter saw the presentation, the girl went home, she fell on her face on the floor and wept.
I’ve seen that reaction before with people who are backslidden; because when they see it, they realize, ‘this stuff is true.’
PKP: Have you found anything else in your research that did not include in the video?
Larson: There’s a story that should have been in the bonus material on the DVD. There is physical evidence of the star. People always raise their eyebrows and say, ‘What can you possibly mean, Mr. Larson?’
The Romans used to believe that celestial portents accompanied great men and momentous events. For instance, when Julius Caesar made his play and the Senate said, ‘no’ a comet rose; I haven’t checked into it, but I think it was Halley’s Comet. The Romans just assumed that was Julius’ divine spirit returning to heaven.
Julius had adopted a son; his name was Octavian. He killed everyone who opposed Julius and gradually took the throne and assumed a new name, Augustus. He reigned for a long time; at 25 year into his reign, he had ruined everyone who was opposed to him and was doing a good job ruling Rome.
That same year coincided with what they believed to be the 750th anniversary of the founding of Rome; this was a momentous date. They decided to have a celebration for Augustus and decided to give him a new title, pater patriae, which means, ‘the father of the country.’ We know exactly when it happened; in 2 B.C. I personally believe it was this event that caused Mary and Joseph to return to their home to register, because there wasn’t any ordinary registration but this festival happened.
Lo and behold, the brightest star that anyone had ever seen appeared. The Romans assumed, ‘Oh, that must be for Augustus.” Of course, it was Christ’s star. But, to commemorate the event in 2 B.C., they printed up a coin. On the coin is the bust of Augustus and around the circumference it reads, ‘Divinus Augustus’ – which means, ‘the divine Augustus’ – and ‘pater’ for the new title they had given him. Over his head is the Star of Bethlehem; struck on a Roman coin.
So there is physical evidence of the star. And I own the coin.
PKP: You found one of these Roman coins?
Larson: I found the coin and I own it.
PKP: Is there anything else?
Larson: There is something I have added to the live presentations that is not in the video.
Aramaic lacks comparative and superlative cases; they don’t say good, better, best. Instead, for emphasis, they repeat. Hence, Jesus says “verily, verily” meaning this a very important truth.
When Jupiter encounters Regulus the first time, it says “king”. The second conjunction says “very important king”. But the third pass means, of course, “king of kings”! All happening in Leo, that is, Judah! God is pretty cool, no?
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