Wisemen from the East see the star of Jesus Christ, but king Herod is troubled.

Matthew 2:1-6

Click for a description of the mark of the beast.
Click for a description of the image of the beast.

“Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.” Matthew 2:1-2

Who were the wisemen from the East? They were known as “Magi”, who came from the eastern territory where Babylon and Persia would have been and perhaps in the Arabian territories. They were experts in astronomy and keepers of ancient wisdom. How did they know to look for the King of the Jews? The belief is that when Daniel and other prophets were in Babylon, or when the Israelites were exiled to other regions in the east, the Magi were taught the prophecies of the Bible. Such as the verse from Micah 5:2 and mentioned in verses 5 and 6 of this post, concerning Christ coming from Bethlehem. The wisemen came to Jerusalem, about 6 miles from Bethlehem, in the land of Judah.

The Holy Spirit teaches us something very important through the wisemen; we can mix our intellectual knowledge with the Scriptures of the Bible to find our way to Jesus Christ. That intellect and Bible knowledge will bring us to within six miles of meeting Christ, just six miles from a born-again experience. Faith is what brings us through the other six miles to the Cross of Jesus Christ where atonement for our sins is made, and where there is forgiveness of our unbelief. We can confess with our mouth, like the wisemen did, that He is King, but it is with the heart that we believe that He is alive and living today, “…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

The wisemen made it to the place where the Christ child was, as quoted in Matthew 2:9-11.

How did the wisemen know that the star they saw from their homeland in the East was the star signaling the birth of Christ? Those Magi were experts in astronomy and knew the formation of the stars and their patterns from day-to-day and over the years. One night, they saw a star, a star that would not be there ordinarily, a bright star that caught their attention. The Spirit of God drew their attention to that unusual star, then they remembered the scripture that Christ would be born in Bethlehem, and that star led them to that exact location…at the exact time that the Christ child had indeed been born. As long as we seek the Lord with all of our mind, heart, and soul, the Spirit will lead us to the Savior, and we will desire to worship Him.

Our Lord spoke these words to Solomon, a man of great wisdom and understanding, “…serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you;” 1 Chronicles 28:9

“When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.” Matthew 2:3-4

When king Herod heard that wisemen came looking for the King of the Jews, to worship Him, he was troubled. He was troubled because of the sin and wickedness within his own heart. He lusted for power and authority and was greatly disturbed that wisemen were calling the Child the King of the Jews. He was enraged that wisemen had come to worship Christ the King and not to honor him.

We live in a world today where we see the formation of the government of the beast on all seven continents of the world. Leaders of every nation around the world govern through the beast that governs by giving them what to say, do, think, and feel. They are troubled to hear people say that Jesus Christ is King and that we live to serve Him and not honoring the rule of the beast. The Cross of Jesus Christ places sin in remission and through Jesus we are given the Holy Spirit. The beast cannot function in the presence of the Holy Spirit because the beast exists to eliminate belief in God, to cause rejection of the need for Jesus Christ, and to oppose the presence of the Holy Spirit.

How do we know that we have the Holy Spirit? If we do not speak against Jesus and say that He is Lord then we have the Holy Spirit, “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:3

When the wisemen came to Jerusalem, that is where they began to ask where the Christ child was, as stated in the first verse of this post. Jerusalem was the home of the Jewish people, the chief priests, and scribes. They were as corrupt, wicked, and sinful as Herod, and served the governing forces of this world and not God, “The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!” John 19:15 They feared the Romans would take their power and authority away if they honored Jesus as their Lord, “If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation.” John 11:48

Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes of the people to determine where the Christ would be born. They had knowledge of the word of God that would be used against baby Jesus to destroy Him. Their intellect was poisoned with sin, thoughts were filled with wickedness, and murder was in their heart. “For truly against Your holy Servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of Israel, were gathered together to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose determined before to be done.” Acts 4:27-28 While the Herod in that verse is the son of the Herod in this post, that verse reveals how the Jewish people plotted with governing authorities to put Jesus to death.

Today’s culture, and all authority, have been gathered together to the government of the beast, against Jesus Christ and the message of the Cross. They choose to welcome the image of the beast that is given breath/life to speak by speaking and living through them. By what they are given to say and do, it’s obvious that they have joined together against belief in God the Creator, our Lord Jesus Christ, and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Herod was a king under the authority of the Roman Emperor, and the leaders of the Jewish people were under them.

“So they said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you will come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.’” Matthew 2:5-6

The chief priests and scribes gave Herod the ammunition he needed to hunt down the Christ child, and to kill Him, as described in Matthew 2:13-18. Instead of rejoicing in, and acknowledging, the truth and fulfillment of Bible prophecy, they willfully betrayed the word of God. They saw the prophecy of the Bible happening right before their eyes, and they used it to help Herod in his attempt to hunt down and kill Jesus.

The chief priests and scribes quoted the prophecy from Micah 5:2 to let Herod know exactly where the Child could be found,“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you will come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel.” Micah 5:2

“He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.” Proverbs 13:13

Sin is a tragic, catastrophic, and destructive force that is able to see the truth of the Holy Bible and still use the Scriptures to destroy the One of Whom they are written about. The only cure for sin and unbelief is through Jesus Christ who gave His life on the Cross to cleanse our mind and heart from sin. When we are cleansed from the sin within our mind and heart, the Scriptures are put into perspective, not to destroy the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy2:15

Today, the world can see many prophecies being fulfilled since the 1940^s, such as global warming, which is the Fourth Plague of Revelations 16:8-9, but they still refuse to repent and glorify God. They insist on corrupting the word of God, seeking to eliminate the Gospel of Christ, and to make the Holy Spirit an outcast within their culture.

Click for a list of fulfilled prophecies since the 1940^s and scroll towards the middle of the page.

“….to you who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets,
‘I will not impose any other burden on you, except to hold on to what you have until I come.
I am coming soon. 
Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.’”
Revelation 2:24-25, 3:11