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What The Wise Men Say
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by
Rev. V.V. McCoy, President
World Vision Enterprise
P.O. Box 3292
Jackson, TN 38303-3292
 
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Opening of the Seven Scrolls
The Beautiful Artwork of Pat Marvenko Smith
 
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   The first two verses of the second chapter of Matthew describe the Wise Men: Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
   They were asking, "Where is He (Jesus) that is born King of the Jews?" Yet, who told them about the star? I ask you to read in the 22nd through 24th chapters of Numbers about Balaam. If you recall, Balak, the King of Moab, wanted Balaam to curse God's people, but Balaam refused to do so, even after the king had promised to promote him to great honor. Balaam stated: "If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more." (Numbers 22:18)
   There are those "Bible scholars" (Bible "Historians" and "professors") of today who say the Wise Men were called "wise men" because they were astrologers. Yet the Word of God tells us in Numbers 24:17, ...there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel...
   The appearance of a star at the birth of Jesus has given rise to much astronomical and astrological discussion. Magi, perhaps Median priests, saw Jesus' star in the east (Matthew 2:2). Whether it was a nova, a comet, a conjunction of planets (e.g., Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn), or just some supernatural light in the sky, it signified to them the birth of a great ruler among the Jews. An isolated sign like this is no endorsement of astrology. God has the right to meet seeking hearts through a medium they would understand. If there was a sign in the heavens at Jesus' death (sun was darkened) and if there will be signs in the heavens at his second coming (Luke 21:25), why should there not be a sign in the heavens at his first coming?*
   Further to the point, seven hundred years BEFORE Jesus was born, Isaiah foretold Him: Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. Isaiah 7:14,15. Let's look a little further, shall we?
   And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth: with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth. The envy also of Ephraim shall depart, and the adversaries of Judah shall be cut off: Ephraim shall not envy Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them. And the Lord shall utterly destroy the tongue of the Egyptian sea; and with his mighty wind shall he shake his hand over the river, and shall smite it in the seven streams, and make men go over dryshod. And there shall be an highway for the remnant of his people, which shall be left, from Assyria; like as it was to Israel in the day that he came up out of the land of Egypt. Isaiah 11:1-16.
   The "Wise Men" had read Micah 5:1-5, apparently:
   Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel. And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth. And this man shall be the peace, when the Assyrian shall come into our land: and when he shall tread in our palaces, then shall we raise against him seven shepherds, and eight principal men.
   The "Wise Men" had read where Jesus would be born. All of us need to read and learn our Bible, our "Road Map". We must follow Jesus, for as Jesus, Himself, said to Thomas: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." John 14:6.
   So not only is Jesus THE Way, the Truth and the Life, but He "shall be the peace". I think this lets us know how the "Wise Men" came to be so wise: they had read the scriptures!
 
   * Bibliography. F. Cumont: Astrology and Religion Among the Greeks and Romans; Tetrabiblos, ed. F. E. Robbins.
 
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