Many ancient astronomically aligned circles here. Buried by persons unknown. So historical evidence of astronomy goes back to here. Interesting and worth more study.
SS1
Posted on 12/26/2018 1:58:28 AM PST by SunkenCiv
One of the most compelling, recently translated into English by Bible scholar Brent Landau, is the so-called Revelation of the Magi, an apocryphal account of the traditional Christmas story that purports to have been written by the magi themselves.
The account is preserved in an eighth-century C.E. Syriac manuscript held in the Vatican Library, although Brent Landau believes the earliest versions of the text may have been written as early as the mid-second century, less than a hundred years after Matthew’s gospel was composed. Written in the first person, the Revelation of the Magi narrates the mystical origins of the magi, their miraculous encounter with the luminous star and their equally miraculous journey to Bethlehem to worship the child. The magi then return home and preach the Christian faith to their brethren, ultimately being baptized by the apostle Thomas...
In the Revelation of the Magi, there are not just three magi, as often depicted in early Christian art (actually, Matthew does not tell us how many there were), nor are they Babylonian astrologers or Persian Zoroastrians, as other early traditions held. Rather from Brent Landau’s translation it is clear the magi (defined in this text as those who “pray in silence”) are a group—numbering as few as 12 and as many as several score—of monk-like mystics from a far-off, mythical land called Shir, possibly China. They are descendants of Seth, the righteous third son of Adam, and the guardians of an age-old prophecy that a star of indescribable brightness would someday appear “heralding the birth of God in human form.”
(Excerpt) Read more at biblicalarchaeology.org ...
mark
Yeah but in defense of “TRADITION”, previous generations of Christians had access to the exact same Biblical text as you do. They also had a closer cultural context to the writers and sources of history that have since been lost.
Chrysostom in the mid-300s says that the Roman Church celebrated the birth on Dec. 25th “anothen”....”from the beginning” and that the date came from the census records which could still be checked in his time. Hippolytus witing around 200 seems to back him up about Dec. 25. These two men were reading the same Bible you are...except they read and wrote the original Greek natively.
You and I are at a decided disadvantage compared to them chronologically and linguistically. This is why some of us insist on maintaining TRADITION.
Who Were the Magi?
A Christmas Anticipation
by Chuck Missler • November 1, 1999
https://khouse.org/articles/1999/142/
***nor are they Babylonian astrologers or Persian Zoroastrians,***
A book I read forty years ago said they were most likely Jews of the dispersion, from far off Persia, some of those that did not return to Judea.
They knew the Hebrew scriptures well enough to understand the “signs of the Times”.
>Totally agree with what you posted, well almost
Thanks for the supportive comments. I conducted an intense investigation in the 90s of the Star of Bethlehem and the date of the Crucifixion and came to the same conclusions (independently) as another investigator, Frederick Larson. Larson published his findings here, http://www.bethlehemstar.com. I was very busy with work at the time, publishing as a research physicist.
September 11, 3 BC, may be a better date for the Conception but the comparison to Revelation 12 is stunning. On June 17, 2 BC, Venus and Jupiter would have appeared as one star in the night sky. That event and the triple conjuction of Jupiter over Regulus in Leo, would have been a significant motivator to scholars of astrological events. The wise men from the East were most likely astrologers, possibly from Babylon where the study of the movements of the planets, moon, sun and stars became a refined and sytematic practice. The recent evidence that Herod died in 1 BC puts everything in its proper palce.
It seems highly likely that this celestial dance in the sky was God’s orchestration of the most significant event in history, the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus rightly divided the Word of truth by reading from Isaiah 61:2, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” The rest of the verse “and the day of vengeance of our God” is an event that is yet to be realized. In between is the age of grace, the Great Mystery hidden in ages past but revealed to us, Christ in us the hope of glory, until the time of the gentiles is fullfilled. Then the end of days will come with signs in heaven and on earth, so that those who stay watchful will not be caught unaware (Mathhew 24).
Happy New Year everybody and may God bless and keep you. Continue to study to be approved of God, having faith that Jesus is the Christ, which is pleasing to God. God is Good and he rewards those who dilligently seek him. “Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but those who are wise will understand.” Daniel 12:10
PS, all typos are deliberate for copyright, not really. Please replace, “sytematic practice” with systematic practice and “proper palce” with proper place. Also, conjuction-conjunction, dilligently-diligently, Mathhew-Matthew, sorry, trying to get a neat time stamp on the post (11:11), shoulda used splell check.
-Frank
Thank you, a fascinating article.
Wouldn’t you love to someday know all of history that has been lost or hidden from us?
The author misses the little detour to Herod, which doesn’t fit the “guided them to the cave” narrative.
Okay, but how does your light shine, on the road to Shambala?
IMO, these were Jews living in Babylon, but they knew about the prophesy of the star no matter who they were. They watched the sky’s, so you might say they were astrologers, but they could be called astronomers. If you read your Bible and are watching for the return of Jesus, you are wise. If you are not watching for His return, He will come at a time you are not aware. Leviticus 23 establishes He will return on some Feast of Trumpets, at the Last Trump (1Cor 15:52). The day no one knows the day or the hour is Rosh Hashanah.
The wise virgins of Mat 25 were ready to go, but the foolish weren’t prepared. Yet they were all virgins. Virgins are eligible to marry the High Priest, (Lev 21:14) and Jesus is the High Priest forever. If the church is the Bride of Christ, Christians are virgins,....not necessarily wise virgins though. The Christian sitting in the next pew may not be doing anything to please God and preparing to meet Him.
Just as Rabbi’s know He would be born of a virgin, they also knew there would be a star over Bethlehem. Whatever the “star” was, they knew it was not normally in the sky. Knowing these things is neat to know, but what application is it for our lives? We are told we will be at the wedding feast on Trumpets. We will be hidden away to hide from God’s wrath as Noah was put in a room in the Ark while God judged the world. God’s wrath will fall for 7 years instead of 10 because no flesh would survive 10 years.( It's 10 days from Trumpets to Atonement) We will be judged on Atonement, and return to live with Jesus for 1000 years on earth. Then the earth will burn and the eighth day will represent eternity with God.
Leviticus 23 speaks of His first coming with Passover, Unleavened Bread, and First Fruits. Pentecost is the birth of the church, and the Fall Feasts teach us of His second coming.
Do a word search for the word “watch”. 99% will deal with the Rapture and Jacob’s trouble beginning. God took Noah out 7 days before the Flood and took Lot out 3 days before the fire fell. Noah didn't receive one drop of rain on his head. God does NOT judge without warning. We have been warned. “As it was in the days of Noah and the days of Lot”, He will return. We should know the days of Lot are already here. The days of Noah are also, but it's complicated to explain here without writing a book. It has to do with corrupting His image and our DNA.
Look UP, your redemption draweth nigh. Watch therefore that you are not overtaken as a thief. That’s real “wise”. The only church in Revelation 2-3 that is promised to be Raptured is the church at Philadelphia. They will NOT receive the "trial coming to the whole earth."
It would be real interesting to learn exactly who these wise men were, but it's not necessary to know who they were as much as why they were wise. They knew the Scripture and believed it. God calls that faith. Noah had faith and righteousness was imputed to him and he lived.
Exerpt:"This is said to be Biblical Ur, where the Prophet Abraham was born and from where he began his monotheistic teachings. The city was also ancient Edessa, the prize conquerors from Alexander the Great onwards fought over to win. "
"With such a long history, it's no wonder there's much to see in Urfa itself as well as many ruins in the surrounding countryside. The main tourist draw is the archaeological site of Göbeklitepe, just on the city outskirts, where humanity may have first began religious belief."
See link below, FWIW. Just a random link. A start.
https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/urfa-sanliurfa-tr-ur-ur.htm
Many ancient astronomically aligned circles here. Buried by persons unknown. So historical evidence of astronomy goes back to here. Interesting and worth more study.
SS1
Yeah, because the Bible is based on astrology. What? Oh. Nevermind.
Okay, but how does your light shine, on the road to Shambala?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Your guess is as good as mine aside from the pop song recorded by Three dog night in 1973, :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2mW5aeSK7k
There actually is quite a bit to it:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shambhala
Merry Christmas, Civ!
You will find that it is to the extreme east of Turkey, that Noah's Ark is said to have landed, on Mount Ararat on the boundary between Turkey and Iran. If this is true, all the races that now occupy the globe began to spread from there, the eastern side of Anatolia.
Why would it surprise anyone that the origins of astronomy and astrology was there, where they had to begin again to estimate when to plant and when to plow, when to harvest and when to lie fallow. when to war and when to stay home in bad weather.
Doubtless the Southern Cross was a heavenly symbol of the Crucified Savior to come in the fullness of time. It is beginning to be clear that Gobekli Tepe ("Potbelly Hill") was principally a religious center of the area. I go to a Turkish restaurant, where this area is common knowledge to the owners and workers there.
Star of the East keyword:
Yes, of course I read the whole thing, and it's nice to see another FReeper who actually does that. I did a nice excerpting job in order to maximize interest in the original (actually two originals, but there's a sort of paywall for the 2011 original). It appears to have worked, at least a little bit.
Thank you, a fascinating article.
My pleasure, and thanks for the kind remarks.
Wouldn’t you love to someday know all of history that has been lost or hidden from us?
Naw, that would take all the mystery out of it. ;^)
Merry Christmas, Civ!
Thanks, and to you and yours.
Even though I didn’t admit it in my comment I think the Sept 11-th date is the most accurate. I have seen Rick Larson’s DVD “The Star of Bethlehem: Unlocking the Mystery of the World’s Most Famous Star” which is who and what you were referring to in the comment.
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