[genetic homophobe]

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[MHGinTN]

BTW, Pastor, have you found 1 John 3:9 yet?

[MHGinTN]

Beautiful message, BTW.

[scrabblehack]

Is it known that the Magi came from Persia?
Isaiah 60:6 points to Sheba as a possibility (which is East of Bethlehem):

The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.

[Ezekiel]

Picture a stopwatch. It starts “from the going of the command the restore and build Jerusalem”… This decree of Artaxerxes, occurred in 444BC and is recouted in Nehemiah 2.

The 'end times' is about people not knowing how to tell time. Even big hands and little hands confuse many, a veritable "confusion of face."

Daniel 9:23 At the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth...
Daniel 9:25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment...

Nehemiah 1:1 The words of Nehemiah the son of Hachaliah. And it came to pass in the month Chisleu...
Nehemiah 1:6 Let thine ear now be attentive, and thine eyes open, that thou mayest hear the prayer of thy servant, which I pray before thee now, day and night,

God said that He'd destroy the wisdom of the wise. Scholars debate and decide when events occurred in ancient times, then followers follow the theories while the God of the living operates in real time.

These Magi had studied Daniel’s prophecies copiously for centuries. Thus they would have known that the time was near for the Messiah to present himself, and they knew to be aware and to understand the star and it’s meaning.

The letter chet has a value of 8 and represents chai, life. It's also the number associated with the Messiah in that 8 transcends the physical world of 7.

asterisk: "little star"

a house in Hebrew is a beit [בית], same as the letter bet [בית], same as a "byte" [בית], which is comprised of 8 bits, because binary... base 2. A 2 is the letter bet, located on the Hebrew keyboard on the "C", but who's looking there.

Matthew 2:9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 11 And when they were come into the house...

Everyone knows the Christmas story, when all the relatives and whoever else descend upon the family home for Christmas. Christmas Vacation is a classic.

The Singing Cowboy sang "Here Comes Santa Claus" when "the Law" descended. He *owned* the Angels.

Aunt Bethany made perfect sense when she exclaimed, "Play Ball!"

Those who have no heart for God, even if they are familiar with scripture, will not seek Him, and will not find Him.

Bethlehem: "house of [ginger] bread"

[Paisan]

we have seen his star in the east

In my KJV, east is capitalized, meaning that the Magi were consulting their astrological charts - back East.

A skeptic once asked me to explain how the Magi, while traveling west, could be following a star in the east, or behind them.

East, in the KJV translation means from the direction of the rising sun.

[mosesdapoet]

You can’t light the tree till Chirstmas eve mother would exclaim
Jesus wasn’t borne till holy Christmas day
So it was the tree remained till three kings were well upon their way
On the feast of Holy Family,was it was taken down,
only then was it hauled away
The tree was there for all to see
So it was as we strung the popcornChristmas day
So it was the tree remained till three kings were well upon their way
On the feast of Holy Family,was it was taken down,
only then was it hauled away
The tree was there for all to see
So it was as we strung the popcorn and cranberries on on threaded line
first the lights of course and cranberries on on threaded line
first the lights of course changing bulbs to see if they were seen
Then leaded icicles that dad would toss with glee
The tree sat in the window till Holy Family day
Those who were missed were seen throughout the days
and especially on Three Kings (Jan 6th) day those who missed their gifts
The paperboy,the mailman,not forgotten on that day

On This “Little Christmas”
January 6th

Once Upon a Time and not too long ago
The Twelfth Night Of Christmas
was celebrated with a ball
From the Day of Babes Birth
and the 11 thereafter
kith and kin were paid a visit
and friends from far and near
once were paid a call
So on this day I pray in the spirit that this date recalls
Let the gift of homage of kings gain
in the spirit of the days this season yet remain
ere it wane
Be thine Blessings Great
and misfortunes thee none befall

from my poetry page
http://www.theusmat.com/natdesk.htm

[ealgeone]

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.

*****

Key point from this verse....they worshipped Him.

The gave gifts to Him.

Additional key point.

Mary is called His mother....not Mother of God. They did not worship or "venerate" her.

[David]

Picture a stopwatch. It starts “from the going of the command the restore and build Jerusalem”… This decree of Artaxerxes, occurred in 444BC and is recounted in Nehemiah 2.

We are told, that in 69 weeks, (483 years(, Messiah the Prince would come and die, but not for himself but for the people”. This would bring us to the year 33 AD. (At this point the Divine stopwatch stopped. ;eaving 7 more years for God to complete his program for Israel).

The understanding of this set of prophecies is a critical testimony to the precise accuracy of God's Word and to the truth of His promise of a redeeming savior.

The seventy weeks prophecy is actually of seventy sevens of years from the going forth of the Commandment to restore Jerusalem. The arithmetic of the first sixty-nine weeks is clearly set out in Daniel 9:25 and 9:26: At the end of week sixty-nine, "shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself . . . . "

The sacrifice of Jesus on the cross is a clear fulfillment of that description.

So the problem with this description is that 69 weeks of years is 483 years (69 x 7 = 483), not 476 years (444 years plus 33 years minus one because there was no year 0).

Given the recounting of several prophecies in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah, scholars have had difficulty identifying either the precise decree from which the 69 weeks runs or the dating on which it is based.

My own interpretation ends the 69 weeks on April 5, 30 AD, not 33 AD, only in part based on what I believe is the correct dating of the decree referenced however the balance of that analysis is beyond the scope of this comment. [It should be noted that the Passover would have occurred on Friday twice during the period in Pilate was Procurator in Jerusalem--once in 30 AD and once in 33 AD.]

Since I also think this article correctly identifies the actual decree that is involved, it is important to understand the factors that apply to the actual calculation.

Artazerxes‘ decree is described precisely in Ezra Chapter 7 where we are told that the decree was rendered in the seventh year of Artazerxes (Ezra 7:8)..

So Ezra 7:8 is to be contrasted with Nehemiah 2 where we are told in 2:1 that Nehemiah’s participation commenced in the first month [Nisan] of the twentieth year of Artazerxes. The 13 year difference is resolved by the authors with the assumption that Nehemiah departed Jerusalem 13 years after the decree had been rendered in year 7. Although that interpretation might be correct, it is inconsistent with Ezra’s description in Ezra 7:8 of his companions on the trip to Jerusalem.

However that still leaves some difficulty because adding 13 years to the 476 years above is 489 years, not 483 years.

To understand the difference we need to appreciate the fact that there are alternative methods for the calculation of the dating of the 7th years of Artazerxes.

The Israelites calculated the reigns of the political head of state from the first day of the first year following the year in which the king took office. On the other hand, the Babylonians calculated the year of the king from the year in which the individual became entitled to be treated as the head of state.

Artazerxes Longimanus succeeded his father, Xerxes, as King. The reign of Xerxes ended in 464 BC when Xerxes was murdered by Artabanus, a Hyrcanian usurper, who reigned as king until he was slain by Artazerxes. Thus the Persian records on which many of the bible scholars have relied reflects a reign of Artazerxes from some point in 464 BC, making year seven the year 457 or 456–too late to fit the 483 year calculation.

On the other hand, the calculation employed by the Israelite priestly class for purposes of Daniel’s description would have commenced in April following the termination by Artazerxes of Artabanus at some point between 464 BC and 456 BC. That date is not certain on the historical record.

[fproy2222]

“The Meaning of the Magi...Matthew nativity pt 4”

It also means that God spoke to more than the people in the old testament.

[Ruy Dias de Bivar]

You by any chance have a copy of WORD KEYS WHICH UNLOCK CHRISTMAS by Duane Edward Spencer of San Antonio?

I had a copy forty five years ago till it was destroyed in the Tulsa flood. This is where I learned of the Magois and Sophoi of Persia connection, Jews of the Dispersion.