Do you know that most Christmas Card Artists have never read the story of Nativity in the BIBLE, Nor the Story of the Wisemen in the Bible. There Artwork picturing the Shepherds and the Wisemen there the same night, is FALSE, and is a dead give away.
Luke 2:7-16 (NASB)
7
And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 In the same region there were
some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.
9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.
10
But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people;
11
for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
12 "This
will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."
15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds
began saying to one another,
"Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."
16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger.
Quote: Adoration of the Shepherds by Friar Juan Bautista Maíno (1569 – 1 April 1649), a Spanish painter of the Baroque period.
:End Quote.
That Artist almost got it right, except men have European style
Haircuts, And the two men with European Shirts, I am not buying
at all, an the Caucasian skinned Baby Jesus, means he did not know
the Baby Jesus was NAZARENE, and almost all Nazarenes were
medium skinned.
Matthew 2:7-12 (NASB)
7 Then Herod secretly called the magi and
determined from them the exact time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem and said,
"Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found
Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him."
9 After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over
the place where the Child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.
(That is right, IN A HOUSE, where JESUS was a 2 year old Child.)
11
After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
12 And having been warned
by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.
It is rare that of Artist Picture the Magi at the Manger, judging it by centuries of old Christmas Cards, without even a hint those old pictures could be WRONG. In case You do not know, a Manger is a feeding Troth for Cattle that you put hay in, such as this:
Mary would not have that in her House that Joseph Built for her.
It was hard to find a picture that shows what they really were like.
They were not Kings, but they were hired to conduct a new King's Coronation Ceremony. I seriously DOUBT that they Rode Camels, as they were in the business of Selling War Horses, to just about every Army in the mid-east, so they RODE War Horses. They never rode with just THREE of them, that comes from the Three Gifts, as they collect HOMAGE for the New King. They collected from every town or village in their REGION, at least 12 of them, plus a 100 man Army of the Fiercest Mounted Warriors to protect the Homage . Their Region was between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. They would Never ride across the Desert, the Northern route has water almost all the way, over to Lebanon. Then a straight shot down to Jerusalem. Then there is the TREASURE, and those little boxes, would have been an insult to the NEW KING. And with a hundred armed Warriors in the land protecting them from Thieves. There was enough Treasure, to support them between Construction Jobs in Egypt.
Now they rode into Jerusalem with those 100 of the fiercest warriors, WHILE ISRAEL'S ARMY WAS OFF FIGHTING A WAR, AND ALL KING HEROD HAD WAS HIS PALACE GUARD. NO WONDER WHY HEROD PANICKED AND GAVE SECRET ORDERS TO KILL ALL 2 YEARS OLD BOYS, AND BELOW, TO BE KILLED, BY HIS PALACE GUARDS.
After listening to sermon Dr. John MacArthur on the subject of the Magi, Decades ago. I decided to check out his information, via the Computer. That research, was a result of serious Bible Study and Serious History Study, to come to that same conclusion. His information, proved to True.
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!