The time has come for the closure not only of a chapter in the book of this world’s history, but for the closure of the book itself. As comets have been the harbingers of great change since time immemorial, it is fitting that in proportion to the advancement of astronomy, comets have played an increasingly significant role in the study of Bible prophecy. While in past generations, only visible comets were recognizable by man, today we have telescopes and tools that allow us to also recognize comets that cannot be seen by the naked eye,^[1] and to predict their movements beforehand with a precision never before known, enabling mankind to identify their roles as described in the Word of God. Such was the case in the latest of our article series entitled The Divine Monogram, which represents the culmination of nearly two decades of intensive study of the whole body of Scripture in tandem with the heavens.

The comets—as angels or messengers—fulfill the symbolism of the book of Revelation, not only by drawing out the deep meaning of the symbols of the book, but also imparting an element of time to the prophecies of the end of this world and the dawning of the new. So, when the date of March 4/5, 2023, arrived as the “midnight hour” (that was the subject of the two overarching categories The Bridegroom Cometh and Go Ye Out To Meet Him), Christ’s followers were attuned to the fulfillment of His words:

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. (Matthew 25:1-6)

In this article, we will close the first half of the story of the sleeping virgins, during whose slumber the darkness had deepened and the streets had fallen silent. As Jesus indicated, this dreary state of affairs is brought to an end with the midnight cry that pierces the silence, followed shortly thereafter by the little lights of the five wise virgins, flickering to life one by one as they trim their lamps and “go out” to greet their Lord, the Bridegroom.

While the last article series about The Divine Monogram was still in writing, the White Cloud Farm publishing team was startled to recognize yet another comet fulfilling the role of another “angel” in heaven: Comet 96P/Machholz, which foretold the defeat of Babylon in the battle of Armageddon as described in Revelation 19:17-21. That surprising discovery begged the question: “Are there still other comets to be expected?” “Are there any other angels of Revelation to be ‘revealed’ in heaven?” The answers to those questions is now definitive; the understanding of comet 96P has been followed by something even greater.

The Announcement

The wonder of a comet is most broadly appreciated when the comet can be seen by the unaided eye. It becomes a topic that everyone, everywhere can participate in. While modern astronomical tools and knowledge allow us to study comets that are not visible to the naked eye, there is still nothing like being able to look up in the evening or morning to watch a comet from day to day as it tells its story in real time. There is a certain “seeing-is-believing” element at play, which unfortunately means that faith^[2] has a diminished role, in a spiritual sense.^[3] This is the case with the announcement of a newly discovered comet that will be visible in the autumn of 2024, which is AFTER the revealed time of transition from this world to the next.^[4] In other words, if you finally see this comet, it will be too late to be saved! Thankfully, you can already study it in advance and still act accordingly “by faith” as a wise virgin, to let your light shine as you join the procession of the wedding party to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

The comet was announced by LiveScience as follows:

Bright new comet discovered zooming toward the sun could outshine the stars next year

The newly discovered comet C/2023 A3 is making a close approach around the sun for the first time in 80,000 years, and might be as bright as a star in fall 2024.

As for its potential brightness, the report states:

As viewed from Earth, the comet may be as luminous as the brightest stars in the sky during its upcoming flyby, according to EarthSky. This is brighter than the green comet C/2022 E3 that just passed by Earth in January. That comet had a brightness of around magnitude +4.6, just visible to the naked eye. The new comet may have a brightness of magnitude 0.7, potentially peaking at magnitude -5, similar to Venus at its brightest. (Lower numbers mean greater brightness on the stellar magnitude scale.)

To understand what spiritual significance this comet might have, it helps to have already identified many of the other angels in the book of Revelation, which we have done in our articles. Some angels (especially relatively stationary ones) have been represented by constellations lightened by the sun, while others have been more active angels, whose actions are often depicted by related cometary movements. We recognized the various comets acting the roles of the angels up to the end of chapter 19 with comet 96P as the angel standing in the sun who calls to the fowls of heaven.

Is there another angel left in the book of Revelation? Continuing into chapter 20, the answer is clear:

And I saw an angel come down from heaven [like the newly discovered comet A3], having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (Revelation 20:1-3)

If one has read the science article linked above, the connection to this verse immediately starts to become clear:

Skywatchers will likely get their best views in late October, as the comet moves through Serpens Caput (the western part of the constellation Serpens) and into the constellation Ophiuchus in the evening sky.

“That old serpent,” which is the devil and Satan, is exactly the subject of the verses above. Could it be that this new comet A3 has even more to say regarding the prophecy? Let’s take it step by step. First of all, notice the context. This prophecy is describing the time of the thousand years, during which the raptured saints are with Jesus. The context is AFTER the rapture, just as the comet is due to become visible well after the expected rapture date of May 27, 2024. So far, it fits.

The Bible describes the angel “coming down” from heaven. When a comet is used to illustrate that movement, besides being a way to say that it becomes visible to the naked eye, it can refer to one of two things, depending on the scope: either its perihelion (closest approach to the sun—in this case on September 28, 2024) or its closest approach to earth (October 13, 2024 for A3). That means that beginning no earlier than September 28, 2024, we should look for a sign in the heavens in which we can see an angel with something “in his hand.”

Sure enough, just within that timeframe, on October 10, 2024, the comet—and the sun—are in the hand of Virgo. The evidence is mounting, that this is the heavenly scene that the Bible speaks about! It is always an interesting time when the sun is in Virgo because this marks the autumn season when the feasts of the seventh month fall in the northern hemisphere. In fact, the tenth day of the Jewish month (Yom Kippur) will likely fall just three days later, on the same day the comet makes its closest approach to Earth. So, the timing alludes to judgment—particularly that part of the Day of Atonement in which the scapegoat is led into the wilderness,^[5] as a type for Satan being confined to this lifeless planet while the saints spend the millennium in heaven with Jesus. This judgment theme is emphasized in the verses that follow:

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:4-6)

Notice that the ones who live and reign with Christ are described here as not having worshipped the beast nor his image (LGBT agenda) nor having received his mark. It is speaking about those who will have stayed faithful to the Creator by refusing the things that are antithetical to His authority as the Creator: the perversion of marriage and the disregard for the sanctity of the DNA that He endowed humanity with. It perfectly fits the sense of the sign of the Son of man and the trials God’s children will face in the coming months before the angel binds Satan.

Furthermore, the fact that this sign takes place in Virgo is highly significant, because in the context of the sign of September 23, 2017, this was the woman of Revelation 12 who had twelve stars in her crown. Exactly seven years later, she has in her hand (singular) two objects. Bear in mind that a constellation—particularly one with a human figure—can also be described as an angel. Could the angel of Revelation 20:1 refers to Virgo rather than specifically to the comet itself? And could it be that the key to the bottomless pit and the great chain in her hand are symbolized by the sun and the comet which are both in Virgo’s left hand?

The symbolism here is astounding. God is not only showing that it is through His pure church (Virgo) that Satan is bound, but that the time has come for her to arise and shine. Virgo is depicted as a virgin, like the virgins in the parable of the wedding feast, who slumbered and slept until the cry at midnight. With that in mind, it was highly significant that comet A3 came to our attention at 9:40 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2023, shortly after the Hebrew day began that the Horologium midnight hour pointed to: March 4/5. In fact, it was literally even the very hour when K2 struck the midnight line on the clock! While the church was meeting in prayer in recognition of the time, Brother John was reading the news about comet A3, a good 15 minutes before posting the news in the “Town Square” of our Philadelphia chat. Thus, that post was the midnight cry to the virgins.

How amazing that the praying church should hear of this comet exactly at the appointed time of midnight on God’s clock! How amazing that the comet, in the hand of Virgo, even alludes to the virgins of the parable who hear the midnight cry that finally announces the coming of the Bridegroom! The cry at midnight was not to the whole world, but to the virgins. It was not nuclear bombs over the US or some other wake-up call to the whole world, but only a cry to the undefiled who are waiting for the Lord.

The fact that it was Brother John who posted that announcement as the midnight cry is also significant because it confirms his role as the “second Miller” who, like the William Miller of 1843 fame, would “prophesy again” about the return of Jesus. It was always sort of an open question as to who that unnamed voice of the parable would be, which the Bible does not otherwise identify except to say, “there was a cry made.”

Who Are the Virgins?

It is undeniable that the members of our little church were the only ones who saw Brother John’s post about the comet discovery and could participate in the study that flowed from it that night. The post was made in our Town Square, in a private chat that is open only to our church members. Jesus took His parables from real-life examples, and it is also quite plausible that the original ten virgins of the parable were waiting in a literal town square (as was common in those days) for the wedding party.^[6] 

This might lead to the inevitable conclusion that the ten virgins (five of whom were wise, and five foolish) are strictly within our church.

As a people we are not half awake to a sense of our necessities and to the times in which we live. Wake up the watchmen. Our first work should be to search our hearts and to become reconverted. We have no time to lose upon unimportant issues. Wake up, brethren and sisters, and give the trumpet a certain sound. {Lt 47, 1909, par. 14}

Nevertheless, as this publication goes out, one might see a wider application in which the voice of our community of believers conveys the cry to Christianity at large. Now that the cry has been made, and you are hearing it too, you have a chance to wake up and trim your lamp just the same. After all, some sleep deeper than others, and for some, it is possible to sleep through even a loud cry, until a friend shakes such ones to their senses and informs them of what has just happened. It would be our greatest privilege to be that friend to you if you will permit.

Once one is awake, however, it is time to go out with light shining and join the procession—hopefully with enough oil! The church (Virgo) has an important work to do, even if it is not detailed in the parable of the ten virgins. The fact that comet A3 points to Virgo in the heavens as fulfilling the role of the angel with the key to the bottomless pit and the great chain means that all who receive this message are to become church messengers themselves, to cast Satan down and bind him with the chain and lock him in with the key.

For the church to be given this privilege is truly amazing and shows what great confidence the Lord places in His people! Keep in mind that at that time when Satan is bound, the sleeping saints will have already been resurrected and the church will be present with Christ. Therefore, it is speaking about the work the church must do now in faith, before comet A3 will literally be seen! That is why it is given to us to understand it beforehand. To the unbelieving world, the comet will only be visible after the fact in fulfillment of Jesus’ words:

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. (Matthew 16:4)

The sign of Jonah, the great fish inscribed by comets K2 and E3 that is the sign of the Son of man, is all that the world is given. It must be accepted in faith, because in the time after this sign, when faith turns to sight, it will be too late.

The Bottomless Pit

To investigate further, we need to find out which of the two objects in Virgo’s hand represents the key to the bottomless pit, and which represents the great chain. With a little imagination, one might infer the answer, knowing that comets make loops in the sky that often resemble a long chain of interconnected links.

But if the comet were to represent the chain, how would the sun represent the key to the bottomless pit? The sun normally represents the Bridegroom,^[7] Christ Jesus-Alnitak of Orion, who has the authority over the bottomless pit of death because He died the death on the cross for all men. Thus, He gained the keys to death, as it is written:

I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. (Revelation 1:18)

Therefore, the sun, which normally represents the Lord, is a fitting symbol in the hand of Virgo to represent the key that He now gives to the church.

To further understand the symbolism, it helps to know where the bottomless pit is located. In the highly symbolic heavenly language explained in the Elijah Signs videos, we learned that the “smoke” from the bottomless pit (out of which came locusts like horses with scorpion-like tails^[8]) is symbolized by the thick cloud of the Milky Way around the galactic center, where indeed Sagittarius and Scorpius sit (horses and scorpion tails) who have Ophiuchus ruling over them (the king of these locusts). This is where the sun is headed, and where it arrives two months after leaving Virgo’s hand.

Furthermore, the bottomless pit can be even more precisely located (and even named). The bottomless pit, or “abyss,” describes a pit where no matter how much is put in, it is never filled up. It is a perfect description for a black hole, such as the one at the center of the Milky Way: Sagittarius A*^[9] (or Sgr A* for short). This is quite literally the bottomless pit that swallows everything up (including light) in darkness, and never gets filled up. A black hole is truly an abyss, and Ophiuchus is even fittingly illustrated with his legs disappearing, as if he is already getting spaghettified as he descends into it.

In the spiritual sense, the bottomless pit is this whole galaxy—the Milky Way—unique in all the universe for being the quarantine station for the experiment of sin, where the dismal history of sin is documented in its stars with the triumph of salvation in Christ. Here, Satan is to be bound for the thousand years. It will also be the home of the saints after the millennium, when Satan is finally destroyed forever and the earth recreated, as described in the closing chapters of the book of Revelation.

The Great Chain

Returning to the comet, we can easily see how it functions as a great chain to bind that old serpent if we plot the ephemeris:

From perihelion forward, the comet races through the constellation of Serpens (both neck and tail) and around the chest of Ophiuchus to bind “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan.” By the time the world would have celebrated Christmas at the end of 2024, the comet will reach the talons of the eagle in the constellation Aquila, signifying not only the authority by which the church will have bound Satan (the authority of the King of heaven) but also the location to which he is bound. Aquila is poised on the galactic equator, along which lies Sgr A*, the bottomless pit of which we spoke earlier. This agrees with the exact wording of the verses:

…and bound him [1] a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, [2] and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, [3] that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years [4] should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (From Revelation 20:2-3)

First we see the binding as the comet spanned Serpens and Ophiuchus [1], then the casting into the bottomless pit by Aquila who flies above it [2]. Going forward from there, the cometary chain points to the head of the snake charmer,^[10] ultimately even circumscribing the star that marks it (Rasalhague), as though setting a seal upon him [3] that endures through the thousand years [4].

Interestingly, it is around 2031 when the comet begins to circle the head star—two thousand years after the crucifixion of Jesus in AD 31. This brings to mind the seal that was set upon the tomb where our Beloved was laid:

Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch. (Matthew 27:65-66)

Jesus died the second death—the curse connected with being hung on a “tree”^[11]—to save all those who put their faith in Him. He felt the abysmal depth of eternal separation from His Father on account of sin that would have been our lot. But the seal on His tomb was broken by His resurrection. Now the seal of eternal death is placed upon whom it truly belongs: Satan. Think about it: to be bound and cast into a bottomless pit is a hanging. Ophiuchus has nothing but an infinite void under him. His feet are already disappearing into the darkness, and he knows what fate awaits him after the thousand years.

Despite all that time to reflect upon his works of destruction, when he is loosed briefly after the thousand years [4] all the universe will see that his hateful character won’t be the slightest bit softened.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:7-10)

Just as comet A3 does not move much further through the millennium, so the chain will keep Satan bound throughout the thousand years, until that time when he should be “loosed a little season.” Then he will come to his end in the devouring fire of God, never again to annoy the redeemed. In the symbolism of the heavens, that devouring fire is illustrated by the central black hole of our galaxy, representing the throne of God. God will consume Satan with the fire of eternal destruction.

For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)

After the Holy City descends upon the new earth and Satan is loosed “a little season,” he wants to take the city. The Holy City is accessed through the mobile throne of God, which will descend to this earth, then made new.

And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God… And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:2-3, 5)

The verses above are describing the Grand Relocation of the Throne of the Kingdom of God. No more will this dark pit of the universe be the quarantine zone to protect the rest of the Kingdom from the spread of sin, but it will become the very center of life and light, from which will flow the healing codes of Christ’s DNA, expressed by the 144,000 who have overcome sin in the flesh by the blood of the Lamb.

This relocation brings us full circle to the discovery of POWEHI, the black hole at the center of M87, which is located in what would be the uplifted right hand of Virgo.

Thus, although the sun does not represent Jesus in this case, but the key to the bottomless pit, as we saw, Jesus is nevertheless depicted with His church in the form of M87, dubbed POWEHI—the embellished (or CROWNED) dark (or hidden) Source of unending creation.^[12] 

In the original article entitled The Sign of the Son of Man, written in 2019, we recognized that the imaging of the black hole of M87 was the beginning of the process of Christ’s return. Quoting from the article:

…hardly any of those present had paid attention to the European scientist who explained the photo and—while pointing with his right hand to his left palm—said that the photo of the accretion disk, although the event horizon telescope was about as large as the earth itself due to the interconnection of several giant telescopes across the earth, only occupied about the area of his hand. I immediately remembered Ellen G. White’s statement:

Soon there appears in the east a small black cloud, about half the size of a man’s hand. It is the cloud which surrounds the Saviour and which seems in the distance to be shrouded in darkness. The people of God know this to be the sign of the Son of man. In solemn silence they gaze upon it as it draws nearer the earth, becoming lighter and more glorious, until it is a great white cloud, its base a glory like consuming fire, and above it the rainbow of the covenant. Jesus rides forth as a mighty conqueror. Not now a “Man of Sorrows,” to drink the bitter cup of shame and woe, He comes, victor in heaven and earth, to judge the living and the dead. “Faithful and True,” “in righteousness He doth judge and make war.” And “the armies which were in heaven” (Revelation 19:11, 14) follow Him. With anthems of celestial melody the holy angels, a vast, unnumbered throng, attend Him on His way. The firmament seems filled with radiant forms—“ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” No human pen can portray the scene; no mortal mind is adequate to conceive its splendor. “His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise. And His brightness was as the light.” Habakkuk 3:3, 4. As the living cloud comes still nearer, every eye beholds the Prince of life. No crown of thorns now mars that sacred head; but a diadem of glory rests on His holy brow. His countenance outshines the dazzling brightness of the noonday sun. “And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.” Revelation 19:16. {GC 640.3}

How fitting are those words and that quote! The small black cloud has come nearer, and we see so much more of our Savior and Sovereign today through the sign of the Son of man than ever before. Now we are looking not upon a small black cloud, but upon great white cometary clouds. We peer no longer across the vast distance of 50 million lightyears to M87, but to the clouds in our own vicinity in the solar system that are tracing the very signet of our King, who has come to take us “where He is.”

In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. (John 14:2-4)

In the heavens, God illustrates the church as Virgo, being taken by the hand to the house of the Father in M87. This is figuratively where the saints will reign with Christ for a thousand years, while Satan is bound in the bottomless pit of this Milky Way galaxy. There, they will reign to judge the wicked to determine the severity of their sentence, which is to be executed upon them after the millennium.

And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished… (From Revelation 20:4-5)

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6)

Has the story of comet A3, as told in the heavenly language, proven to be a biblically accurate drama? Not one detail has been missed! And what a glorious conclusion to the discovery of the heavenly messengers, the angels of the Revelation. The only unanswered “mystery” that should burn in every heart is, “How can I be part of this people?”