Have you Believed a FICTITIOUS account about the MAGI at JESUS' Birth?
Do you recognize this picture?
How about this picture?
Or this picture?
THEY ARE ALL FAKE PICTURES OF TELLING THE STORY WRONG, OF THE MAGI WHO CAME TO HONOR THE NEW BORN KING WITH HOMAGE.
The artists that painted them did not even READ the Story of the Magi, it is OBVIOUS.
These two pictures are Closer Biblically:
Now THOSE TWO ARTISTS at LEAST READ THE STORY in the BIBLE, even though I can point out some errors in their Pictures.
Matthew 2:1-16 (NKJV)
1 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,
2 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."
3 When Herod the king heard
this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 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.
5 So they said to him, "In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:
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'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' "
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Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found
Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also."
9 When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen 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 exceedingly great joy.
11 And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, "Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him."
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,
15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying,
"Out of Egypt I called My Son."
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts,
from two years old and under,
according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.
There are Parts of this Story that can be filled in only through HISTORY books. BEGINNING WITH THE MYTH THAT THEY RODE CAMELS. No were in Scripture does it say they road CAMELS, that myth was from the early Pictures by European Artists that neither read the HISTORY OF THE TRIBE OF MAGI, Nor the Biblical account of the Magi coming to see the New King.
The whole region is known as THE EAST, not just looking to the EAST of Jerusalem, so their homeland was northeast technically.
Magi, was a Tribe of Ranchers that had the history of READING everything related to WISDOM, and they RAISED Arabian Horses. This Tribe had two main sources of income, they raised Arabians to sell as WAR HORSES throughout the Mideastern Country, and their Wise Men would higher themselves out to be Wise Men in most of the mid-east Countries. Their home lands were along the western shore of the Caspian Sea, and down around the southern shore, which was fertile grassing land.
So WHY would a people who sells WAR HORSES for a Living, even want to RIDE CAMELS ? ? ? Yes, their is DESERT if you GO due EAST of Bethlehem. But MOST of the time people took the NORTHERN ROUTE. Which for the most part, followed streams along the Euphrates RIVER and then cut DOWN to Jerusalem through Lebanon.
Google maps shows the Euphrates River would have been the MOST LIKELY ROUTE.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.5231107,41.3642389,45773m/data=!3m1!1e3
Yes it jogged back up NORTH, but the Horses would have been CLOSE to a water supply, almost all of the way.
So WHY would you not follow the EUPHRATES RIVER when riding on Horseback, instead of CROSSING the Syrian Desert on Camels?
Now for another MYTH. The
gold, frankincense, and myrrh, were not birthday gifts for the new King. They are Traditional Homage Gifts, and it would have been a considerable amount, enough for them to live on in Egypt, till they got to come home. Jesus was about 2 years OLD before they Magi arrived. WHY SO LONG? They saw the star the First Night, and Again, as they approached Bethlehem. During that Time they would have rode to every village in their land collecting the Homage, perhaps down into Babylon, then rode out for Jerusalem. NOT WITHOUT PLENTY OF GUARDS TO PROTECT THE HOMAGE. History tells us that most of the time the Magi rode with about 100 armed men, known to be the Fiercest Warriors around, and 10 or 12 MAGI. You thought there were only THREE, but that myth was made up, because of the three GIFTS, which I already explained they were the Traditional HOMAGE for a New King.
So How Did they Know what the STAR MEANT. After Daniel told King Nebuchadnezzar what the DREAM MEANT:
Daniel 2:48 (ASV)
48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be
chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
The most likely explanation, is ONE OF THE LESSONS that DANIEL taught to the Wise Men was about the Star, and you thought EVERYTHING GOD DID AND SAID IS IN THE BIBLE. It seems likely that some of the things GOD told DANIEL, was for the MAGI's ears alone. Just LIKE not every conversation JESUS had and Miracles HE did are NOT IN THE GOSPELS.
John 21:25 (ASV)
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that should be written.
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