I am wondering what your thoughts are on what the Three Kings saw over 2000 years ago to motivate them to go toward Jerusalem (http://bethlehemstar.net/)?
Also I am wondering what your thoughts are on what was seen early in the morning of September 23, 2017 regarding the combination of the Constellation Virgo and the planets. I am convinced that we saw on this morning the first two verses of Rev. 12: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered” (Rev 12:1-2).
I find it also very interesting the next verse: “And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, A GREAT RED DRAGON, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads” (Rev 12:3).
Certainly you can accuse me of prooftexting as do many Christians. But also there are many Christians who do not want to consider the possibility that our modern mass media is very highly controlled by the super elite of the world; this would not be “politically correct”, to which a great number of Christians bow down to.
God created the universe, which moves like a huge precise clock. The universe was above all created for the King of the Universe, Jesus Christ, and secondarily for human beings. God has programmed signs in the heavens especially to indicate, to those who have their eyes open and are seeking their Creator, the first and the second coming of the Son of God. With the computer, we can see for ourselves what the Three Kings saw before the birth of Christ, THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM, which convinced them to travel about 1000 kilometers to Bethlehem. Recently we have seen the extraordinary sign from God in the heavens on September 23, 2017: “And a great sign appeared in heaven: A WOMAN CLOTHED WITH THE SUN, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars: And being with child, she cried travailing in birth, and was in pain to be delivered” (Rev 12:1-2). Visit: “Signs of God vs. Signs of Satan” (http://spir-food.blogspot.it/2016/12/signs-god-vs-satan.html).
Given that Herod had males killed who were two years and under,I believe what the Magi saw was an object that they had observed from at least 2 years before their arrival to Jerusalem, per the story where Herod had asked about the times of the appearance of the star.
We know that the stars in the sky appear to move through-out the night due to the Earth’s rotation on it’s axis and that the constellations them selves move seasonably due to the Earth’s rotation about the sun. I think they began viewing an unblinking object, to their west, that appeared not to move through out the night and did not move with the seasons. That is why the two year figure is important.
As magi, they would have been well versed with the seasonable movements of the constellations and the nightly moves of the stars as well as the expected rises and the expected movements of the planets as they were studied and tracked and records kept for centuries before them. They would have known about the longer term processional movements of the constellations. One FREEPER argues that the Magi saw the last bit of the southern cross just before it finally slipped out of view of the Northern hemisphere and they attached special meaning to it. Yet the Magi, though knowledgeable of the legends attached to the stars, and well versed at pondering the portents of the appearances of comets and conjunctions would have been aware of these natural movements and I believe would have attached no undue significance then to wonder...”hmmm maybe an important person was born somewhere.
No, I think they saw something so awesome yet its significance would not have been guessed at by regular people because the star at a distance probably looked so ordinary. It was something that piqued their interest in that it DID NOT APPEAR TO MOVE!
So my scenario goes like this: So these night observers scan the heavens and they note one night that some ordinary magnitude looking star appears in the west. Everything else was where it had always been and where it has been expected to be. They weren’t quite sure perhaps when it precisely appeared but perhaps they knew it wasn’t there “last week” when they last viewed that area. There had been new stars and phenomena before and some predicted earthly events based on such phenomena had not always panned out as predicted or had to be “fudged to look like they did”. The Magi knew this, it was a hazard of their trade.
So they kept an eye on this star for a bit, studying the times and the legends. One night one of the magi says to a buddy” You know buddy, do you notice that this “King” star doesn’t move? Right at sun down there it is shining about 15 degrees above the eastern horizon and it stays there all night...everything else moves but there it is all night, right in the same place... Do you suppose the Hebrew legends were true?”
His buddy, the senior magi, was more cautious” We’ve seen strange things in the skies before that didn’t amount to much when it came to events upon the Earth, but lets carefully study this star’s movements in relation to everything else for another month or so...”
So they studied it and a certain sense of excitement began to build in them...could it be? Was the long awaited savior of the world finally born? The star did not move from its position, night after night. So they decided to mount an expedition to look for the possible savior of the world. They studied the Hebrew legends and calculated from the time line listed in Daniel that “NOW” might be the right time.
One of the Magi traveled North for 100 miles and returned to them. He reported that the apparent position of the star did not stay specifically strictly directly westward but apparently appeared more a little southwest of his position. Trips were taken south with the star appearing more Northwest than what would be expected. Palestinia/Israel was the triangulated center! Based on their measurements, the triangulated center was some distance away at least 3 months journey
So like Moses, who had noted countless trees that had burst into flames due to the sun’s heat acting on their resins in the hot desert climate, yet who looked again and saw a bush that was not being consumed in the flame that emanated from it and thus turned aside to see that great sight, the Magi upended their lives and destinies to study this star that did not move in it’s position.
They traveled to see and worship the king that most assuredly was directly under the position of that most unusual star. They felt an inward radiant unction, some of their number were having dreams!!
As they wandered toward Palestinia, they noted that the apparent position of the star was apparently elevating upward above the horizon the farther west they went. Still it did not move it’s position or change it’s brightness thoughout the night while disappearing in the day. The constellations changed, the planets moved as expected but night after night the star stayed stubbornly in it’s position other than moving apparently upward the further west they traveled.
One week they tried an experiment, as a group they would travel due North and watch the star’s position. Sure enough the star appeared to recede south west of them while otherwise staying in it’s position and not moving thru the night but dipping a bit in when compared to the south west horizon. They traveled again straight to where the star appeared directly east and the star’s position also rose in elevation as compared to it’s elevated position. This allowed them to use Greek geometrical math to map their way and calculate apparent distance to where the star would appear directly over head. 2 more weeks travel. They would stop first in Jerusalem as the great Temple was there that they had heard about. Perhaps the priests there would have more information about their search, about this great Star risen out of Jacob, (Jacob, whom God had surnamed Israel)!
Perhaps it was a cloudy period when the Magi had reached Jerusalem. They were sure they were near the right place but they needed more info. They were an unusual sight, these company of wisemen and mystics, in Jerusalem. They approached the temple priests with their queries and were soon ushered into the presence of Herod. The Romans had delicate dealings with the lands that these magi came from and Herod needed to be cautious but gracious in his dealings. The Magi explained that they had arrived to see the King of the Jews and have come to worship him. The temple priests were consulted and they did confirm that according to the Daniel timelines that a prince would be born at this time but then be cutoff for his people but that was just legend and no one had really seen such a star that the Magi had spoken of. Herod I think was immediately more troubled and a bit supersticious. He asked about the times and the appearance dates of the star and began to form a plan in his evil mind...”two years, hmmm, somewhere in the Bethlehem district according to the temple priests...and if I could find this child , he could be made to disappear and that will quash this messiah business and end a threat to my throne”
Herod sent the Magi on their way after making them promise to send word of his location so he could “come and worship him, too!”
The rest is biblical history. As they left Jerusalem, they again saw the star that appeared to “go before them” and they rejoiced. This was no ordinary star and as they found where the star shown overhead they found their Messiah, now a toddler about two years old and living in a house that Joseph had presumably procured for his Holy family.
Imagine, Mary sitting and pondering, Joseph scratching his head a little worried but a bit interested in the gold and gifts brought to the King, not avariciously so, just naturally so, the way any father would be in seeking advantages when raising and supporting his family. And then Jesus, laughing and giggling, running amongst the camels and gazing and giggling at the Magi who had bowed down to worship him. Jesus knew their hearts even then; these Magi too , were His sheep and had heard his voice!
The magi as the Bible stated, had dreams and to a man, they were warned by God not to return to Herod but to go back to their lands by another way.
Perhaps,It was a wrathful Herod who realized his mistake in not having the magi followed or by not sending an escort with the Magi. Roman edicts and complicated politics perhaps, perhaps a clouding of Herod’s mind by God. Nevertheless,the Bible says he exacted his vengeance on the males 2 years and younger in that Bethlehem district and wiped them all out. Too late, God had warned Joseph, and he took his family to Egypt before Herod’s forces could get to the young Jesus.
Anyway that is my opinion on the star, not that the story I spun happened the way I wrote it. I think they saw a star, that did not move the way everything else did in the heavens. It was not necessarily a super shiny star when they saw it, but it did not move night after night in comparison with anything else that moved. And that is what got their attention....was there a bit of Holy Spirit unction? You decide.