As time went on, they grew again to be a force to be reckoned with.  Among its military strengths was the Cataphracti – not a chariot cavalry, but a highly mobile mounted cavalry, the finest in the world – which decimated the Roman armies it encountered.

55 BC – The Roman Crassus took three legions against the Persians at Carrhae; the legions did make it back – in tatters, minus their commander and 30,000 troops.

Persia responded by invading Armenia, Syria and Palestine.

Rome reasserted itself and placed Antipater, Herod’s father, in charge of Palestine.

40 BC – Rome, and Antipater, had to run from another Persian invasion.

37 BC – Mark Antony repeated Crassus’ folly with similar results, although Mark Anthony survived

Persia swept Rome out of Palestine, reestablishing Jewish sovereignty, placing a Jewish garrison in charge of Jerusalem, and chasing Herod into the arms of the Roman Senate (who then appointed him as “King of the Jews”).

34 BC – Herod, with Rome’s help, after 3+ years of war finally sat on the throne in Jerusalem.  The city had now been conquered seven times between 55 and 34 BC.

So now came the Magi.  These high officials in the Persian government, crossing robber-infested desert and then plunging deep into enemy territory, required an elite escort of the Cataphracti.  Herod and his father had both fled for their lives in previous invasions, now the enemy was literally already on his doorstep and all Herod had in Jerusalem was a small garrison.  The larger Roman force was stationed too far away by the Mediterranean Sea, and besides they were away fighting an uprising.

Despite all that they were taught by Daniel there was one important prophecy the Magi apparently did not have: Micah 5:2,  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.”  So disregarding Rome’s title for Herod, they wanted to know where the *real King by birth* was to be found.

Herod was an Idumaean – the offspring of Esau (nicknamed Edom), Jacob’s brother – and God had said that the throne belonged only to the line of David.  This puppet king of heathen Rome had murdered even those in his own household in his paranoid desire to hold on to his power.  In fact, Caesar Augustus reportedly quipped that it would be safer being Herod’s pig (Greek hus) than his son (Greek huios) – the pig, an unclean animal, would never be slaughtered, whereas a number of Herod’s sons were “disposed of.”

Yes, Herod was agitated.  If Persia was on the march, he was in grim danger.  Jerusalem wasn’t too keen on all this either because they were staring at yet another possible siege, or that Herod might go on another purge – who will die next?  Their concern was legitimate, because when Herod was later on his deathbed, he ordered all the Jewish clan heads to Jerusalem, whom he then locked up in the hippodrome with the command to kill them when he died, so that his death would have mourning, even if not for him.  The deaths were never carried out.

The priests and scribes provided the missing prophecy and Herod, feigning enthusiasm, sent the Magi on to Bethlehem, happy to see that their attention was less on him and more on the birth of his Rival – a Rival Whom he would dispose of when he could.  What is surprising was that not one priest nor scribe were even curious enough to follow along to see this Baby Who had caused such a commotion!

Many things in this story catch our interest.  The faith, understanding, humility, and boldness of the Magi were quite obvious.  How humbling for these powerful Magi to be found in a backwater village, going house to house like beggars, seeking information about a Baby of Whom nobody had paid much attention, and about Whom the Magi had no clue.  These great king-makers of Persia had not merely sent an embassy but came in person, bearing their own gifts, to pay homage to a Baby Who had nothing to do with their own empire.

Their gifts are a bit startling as well and demonstrated their familiarity of the prophesies taught to them by Daniel: the gold was no surprise, since it was the symbol of kings.  But frankincense was an incense; in religious terms, its smoke symbolized prayer.  And myrrh was often a spice used in preparing a body for burial – a burial item at a birthing party for a new-born King?

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Despite all their earlier involvement for the sake of Israel, the Persians never seemed interested in occupying the conquered territory and enlarging their empire.  Yes, military and political reasons may be advanced as to why not, but  most importantly it was not God’s plan that Persia should own Palestine.  If they had, then the spread of Christianity would have become much more difficult.

The Roman empire provided many assets for those sent to bring the Good News [Gospel] to the world: there was a common language, the slang Greek called Koine, capable of handling spiritual and philosophical ideas; there was the unique period of few major wars called the Pax Romanum (the “Peace of Rome”); the empire covered a huge territory in Europe, Britain, north Africa and Asia Minor with the freedom to travel throughout; there was an excellent main road system under the protection of the Roman legions; the Mediterranean Sea was virtually clear of pirates; the empire had a common basic legal structure; it provided a common monetary system; they had a Greek translation of the Old Testament called the Septuagint; and even the privilege of Roman citizenship which Paul could invoke.

Apostles and missionaries who entered Persian territory likewise found ease of travel and access because of the favorable attitude toward the Jews to be found there, as mentioned at the beginning of this post.  The early missionaries could use: an interstate road system with a “pony express” mail service; a water link around the empire from the Indus River to the Red Sea; here was where the Synagogues were first established; and they already had a translation of the Old Testament into Aramaic.  Even more so, according to Acts 2:9, at Pentecost there were Persians, Parthians and Medes present, some of whom would return home bringing the Good News with them.

But if Persia ended up occupying Palestine, the difference would have been dramatic.  Yes, the Persian empire would have been wide open to the missionaries all the same.  However, crossing into a hostile Roman empire would have been severely difficult for a Church headquartered in an enemy land.  Perhaps even St Paul’s Roman citizenship rights might have been nullified.

But Persia never attempted to occupy Palestine, and the early Christians had full freedom to travel and preach in both empires.  The reality was that even with Palestine under the control of the Romans, there had been no hesitation for the Magi to come, humbly worshiping and paying tribute to “the One born King of the Jews.”

Although history could be viewed as merely happenstance and twists of opportunities, there was a greater plan at work along with the hand of God shaping the conditions for the sake of the early Church, so that everything was just right in preparation for the greatest of all events, and for the spread of the greatest Good News that this world (much less this universe) has ever seen.

Next: Epilogue

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who were the Magi?  Why did they come to see Jesus?  What caused them to start their journey?  These are the topics which will be discussed throughout this series, based on research I had done for my book *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*.  The attempt here was to keep each topic short, however that was not always possible, and Topic V, although not specifically dealing with the Magi, was added to include the missing major festival of Passover into the consideration.  The topics will be posted daily here in the following order for eight days, and also will be included on my Blog, *lindespirit.com* (the specific blog address for each topic is listed with each day’s post).

I. The Magi – Who were they?  [p=1257 – same address as below, simply insert this location instead]
II. The Magi – Zoroaster meets Yahweh  [p=1260]
III.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet  [p=1268]
IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 1    [p=1271]
V.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 2   [p=1275]
VI.  The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended  [p=1278]
VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear

The Magi Series – VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear

VIII. The Magi – Epilogue

Again we start back at the time of the Babylonian Captivity.  The Rabbis had a dilemma: on the Day of Preparation for Passover, the slaughter of the lambs was to take place in the two hours of the evening, after which the lamb would be roasted whole [Exodus 12:9] (Justin Martyr (c. 165) stated that two wooden spits had to be placed at right angles to each other, stretching the lamb out on a cross).  Not a bone of the lamb was to be broken [Exodus 12:46; Numbers 9:12; see Psalm 34:20; John 19:36], cooked for a people ready to travel immediately.

But if the Sabbath fell on a Saturday, as it did in 33 AD, and the evening was when the *Sabbath* began – cooking was forbidden on the Sabbath!  How could this be made to work?  The decision was to move the slaughter up to 12:30 PM – already in the day’s slide toward the evening, but with enough time to do the necessary roasting.

John noted that after Jesus was whipped and Pilate presented Him to the crowd,  “Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour [that is, 12 noon our time].  He said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’” [19:14].  After washing his hands, Pilate issued the order to crucify Jesus.  Allowing about a half hour to get to Golgotha, the One Whom John the Baptist had announced as “the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world” [John 1:29] was being executed just as the Passover lambs began dying.

In the heavens, the sun was in the middle of the constellation of the Lamb or Ram, where one might imagine the heart would be.  During the hours of the slaughter of the lambs, that heart literally went completely black – the sun turned off “from the sixth hour [noon] to the ninth hour [3 PM]” [Matthew 27:45; Mark 15:33;  Luke 23:44].  It wasn’t an eclipse, since the moon was on the opposite side of the earth about to be eclipsed itself.  Not only did the Gospel writers speak of a darkness and an earthquake while Jesus hung on the cross, secular writers did as well.  Phlegon spoke of a “greater and more excellent eclipse” darkening the Sun, where the stars were visible in the sky – the Lamb constellation became visible with its heart now a black hole.

The Role of 40

Throughout the Bible, “40” identifies a time of preparation and purification, for example, Israel’s 40 years wandering in the wilderness; Jesus’ fasting for 40 days before Satan’s temptation, even Mary’s 40 days of purification before she could present the Baby Jesus in the temple.  Unlike the 40 years in the wilderness which brought God’s People into submission to His will, the refining time of 40 years after Jesus’ death sadly, conclusively exposed the Jews’ inflexible rebellion.

Jesus died on the Day of Preparation, 33 AD;  on the Day of Passover Nissan 15 [April 10], *73 AD* – *40 Hebrew years to the *next* day* – Rome broke into the fortress of Masada, and although the *People* of Israel did continue, the *nation* of Israel ceased for almost 1,900 years.

But what about the destruction of Herod’s Temple three years earlier on the August 10 [9^th of AV],  70 AD?  John identifies three Passover celebrations in regard to Jesus’ ministry:

33 AD – John 19:14 – when Jesus was crucified
32 AD – John 6:4

[Note: Some feel that John 5:1 is another Passover, but it is called “a feast” or “the feast”, the usual designation for Khag HaSukkot (the Festival of the Booths) – see topic IV. Crowning of the King – Part 1]

31 AD – John 2:13
30 AD – assuming the “40 years to the day” holds also for the destruction of Herod’s Temple, the 9^th of AV, 30 AD (which was also the memorial of the fall of the first temple in 423 BC) would correspond to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.    Perhaps it was when John the Baptist had pointed to Jesus as ‘the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!” – the beginning of the end of the Old Testament sacrificial system.

At our point of time, in 2033, it will be the 2000th anniversary of Jesus’ death.  2000 is the result of multiplying 40 times 50 – the significance of 40 we are aware of, but what about 50?  God had commanded that every 7^th year was to be a Sabbath year, in which the land in particular was to be put into the hands of the Lord – no plowing, no harvesting, so that it could rest.  Apparently Israel did not trust that God would take care of them for that year because II Chronicles 36:21 identified one reason why Israel went into captivity was “to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths.  As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.”

In addition, every fiftieth year was to be an additional Sabbath year, the Year of Jubilee, a time when Israel would reset their whole society and would literally start fresh again with God and each other.  Obviously if Israel ignored the Sabbath Year, so also they would the Year of Jubilee.  Still, it shows that God is very conscious of the passage of time.   A read-through of the history in the Books of Moses has little gems like “Now the sojourn of the children of Israel who lived in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years.  And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred and thirty years – *on that very same day* – it came to pass that all the armies of the LORD went out from the land of Egypt” [Exodus 12:40-41].

We don’t know what the 40 x 50 = 2000th year anniversary of Jesus’ death will bring.  But I suspect it will not merely pass by without the Lord putting a big arrow to it.  Perhaps there will be anniversary fireworks.

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The Day of the Resurrection was the feast of the First Fruits, the second harvest celebration of the festival year (the first festival was the Ingathering of the fruits and vegetables, the third was Pentecost when all harvests were finished).  This one signaled the change of harvests – the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest.  Up to this point the farmer could not eat of the new harvest; and, in fact, it had just been the time of the Unleavened Bread.  But now the harvests were available for food, and leaven could start being used again. Was this also a marker of the passage from the harvest of the Old Testament to the harvest of the New Testament?

About this time, perhaps on this day, the Great Ages switched from the Age of the Lamb/Ram (which by no coincidence began in Abraham’s time) to the Age of Pisces the Fish.  Pisces had always been where two were tied together into one constellation – for the early Christian, was this not alluding to two natures (God and man) joined in the Person of Jesus; and the two Covenants (the Old and the New) also tied together in Him?  The letters of the Greek word for fish, ichthus, formed an anagram for “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior” – a simple confession of faith -, while the fish had been the early Church’s secret symbol to recognize each other especially during persecution.

Aquarius

Presently, as the Age of Pisces draws to its close, “the Age of Aquarius, the Water-Bearer,” stands next in line.  Ignoring modern astrologers, looking in the Bible there are many references in regard to the End Time to water, and especially to “Living Water.” “The Sacrifice of the Red Heifer” [Numbers 19] involves “Living Water” as an antidote to death’s contamination of the Israelite’s life; Jehovah describes Himself as “the Fountain of Living Waters” [Jeremiah 2:13; 17:13] and in Zechariah [14:8] the End Time will be characterized by “Living Waters shall go out from Jerusalem.”  In fact, Ezekiel 47 describes an ever increasing flood of water pouring out from under the Temple threshold.

In the New Covenant is the climax: “For I will pour Water on the thirsty one, … I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring” [Isaiah 44:3], as Jesus declares: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his innermost being will flow rivers of Living Water (but this He said concerning the Spirit…)” [John 7:38-39].  One of the main characteristics of Revelation’s New Jerusalem is “the pure river of the Water of Life (or Living Water)” [22:1].

These three ages were considered as a continuum: the forefoot of the Lamb/Ram rested on the knot tying the two fish together, which were considered as swimming in the waters of Aquarius.

Again, the signs in the sky must be taken with the bronze serpent Moses raised in the wilderness [Numbers 21:5-9] in mind.  Despite it being the sign of the amazing grace and forgiveness God had against the rebellion of Israel, eventually it had been entirely perverted into a false god which Judea burned incense to [II Kings 18:4].  However Jesus stepped back to its original meaning to emphasize its strong message of grace, mercy and forgiveness to any who look to Him for salvation [John 3:14-15].  So also the signs in the sky must always be interpreted according to the known history of God’s promises and activity, building up to the coming of Jesus.

Next: Herod’s Fear

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who were the Magi?  Why did they come to see Jesus?  What caused them to start their journey?  These are the topics which will be discussed throughout this series, based on research I had done for my book *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*.  The attempt here was to keep each topic short, however that was not always possible, and Topic V, although not specifically dealing with the Magi, was added to include the missing major festival of Passover into the consideration.  The topics will be posted daily here in the following order for eight days, and also will be included on my Blog, *lindespirit.com* (the specific blog address for each topic is listed with each day’s post).

I. The Magi – Who were they?  [p=1257 – same address as below, simply insert this location instead]
II. The Magi – Zoroaster meets Yahweh  [p=1260]
III.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet  [p=1268]
IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 1    [p=1271]
V.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 2   [p=1275]
VI.  The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended

The Magi series – VI. The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended

VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear
VIII. The Magi – Epilogue

Purim (Esther)
Jupiter closed in to its second Regulus encounter at about 51 arc minutes separation, and that evening The Feast of Purim (Adar 14) began.  This is the story of Esther, and although not a God-commanded festival, it commemorated a wonderful salvation from Haman’s attempted genocide of the Jews: “he who designed the destruction of God’s People, at the seeming moment of his triumph, was himself destroyed by the very instrument he thought would bring him victory.”

It was a vivid expression of Genesis 3:14, “Jehovah God said to the serpent: ‘… On your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life.’”  The snake is the only animal which can unhinge its jaw to swallow something literally too big for its mouth.  At the cross, Satan, who had long wanted God to be out of his way, appeared to be getting his heart’s wish: he was putting God (the Son) to death on the cross.  His hatred of God’s People would be complete by removing all hope and life from them.  At the moment of Jesus’ death, when Satan’s mouth was opened wide in apparent triumph, he closed on a mouthful of dust and was himself defeated by the cross.

Was Daniel contemporary to Esther?  He may have survived to the time of Haman (Esther’s arch enemy), which would mean he could have identified Purim’s message in the triple conjunction’s description of Who Jesus would be and what He would be about.  Or the Magi themselves might have recognized on their own.

 Jupiter meets Regulus – Third Encounter – May 9, 2 BC

Shavuot (Pentecost)
On May 9 (Sivan 6-7), Jupiter and Regulus were at 42 arc minutes separation.  Khag HaShavuot (The Festival of Weeks, Exodus 34:22, Deuteronomy 16:10) or Pentecost (the “Fiftieth” Day) culminated the seven-week “Counting of the Omer” begun on the second day of Passover (which for Christians in 33 AD would become the Day of the Resurrection, Easter Day).  There were two connections: fifty days after their Exodus from Egypt, Israel stood at the base of Mount Sinai, there to receive the Torah; and, as all the grain harvests were now concluded, it is also Khag HaKatsir (the Festival of Reaping, Exodus 23:16), and Yom HaBikkurim (The Day of the First Fruits, Numbers 28:26).

What was this Torah that Israel received at their first stop in the wilderness?  “Torah” has been often translated simply as “the Law,” but it actually means “Teachings” or “Instructions” or “Doctrines.”  Although it ultimately comprised all five Books of Moses (the first five books of the Bible or “the Pentateuch”), the last three books had not yet been lived.  So just what does Moses receive at that time on the mountain?  It was the books of Genesis, and Exodus (which included the Passover/Exodus event itself, the basic laws for the new nation, and the blueprint for the Tent of Meeting for worshiping the Lord).

Shavuot was the reminder of the precious relationship with Jehovah that His People had through Covenant, and celebrated His bounty in the harvest that was at hand.  It was the initial day of the nation of Israel as God’s redeemed People, and it is also now the initial day of Christians as God’s also redeemed New Testament People.

For those who knew the Festival Year and watched the signs, the triple conjunction described that the New King would be the Creator, Re-Creator, the supreme King, the final Judge, the Sin-Bearer Who removes sin as far as the east is from the west.  There was the family in the stable visited by shepherds, the celebration of the bounty which came after the wilderness preparation, and the reminder of how the gates of heaven shall be finally opened to unite families once again.  Satan would be defeated by the very instrument which was to bring him victory.  The beginnings of the Old and the New Testament Peoples of God would culminated in a wonderful harvest of souls.  Linked to the Festival Year, the signs in the heavens became nature’s celebration of Him “Who is born King of the Jews.”

The heavens declare the Glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork.

Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard.

Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. In them He has set a tabernacle for the sun,  [Psalm 19:1-4]

 

Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from the heavens; Praise Him in the heights!

Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts!
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Praise Him, sun and moon; Praise Him, all you stars of light!

Praise Him, you heavens of heavens, And you waters above the heavens!

Let them praise the Name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.. [Psalm 148:1-5]

June 17, 2 BC, Venus and Jupiter – the Bright Star

Jupiter had now taken its leave from Regulus and set its sights toward Virgo.  The feminine Evening Star Venus joined Jupiter on June 17, 2 BC, at an astonishing distance of 35 arc seconds.  For about three hours before they drop below the western horizon, they were joined into a magnificent bright single star (had they overlapped they would have been dimmer), probably also made larger by the lens of the atmosphere near the horizon (just like the Moon can look many times larger near the horizon).

Throughout all this, “His star” would have been centered on Jupiter in all its different connections, and through the festival year of the Jews, Who Jesus was and what He would be about was clearly identified.  The sequence would span just under one year, although Herod likely wanted to have a good overlap to guarantee Jesus would be included in the death of the innocents.

Never Again
In the 10,000 years before and the 10,000 years after (I checked), Jupiter would never again “Crown The King” – it would never have a triple conjunction with Regulus again.  And, of course, there then would be no similar connection to the Festival Year either.

Only one festival was not touched so far in “Creation’s Ballet for Jesus,” and although it dealt not with the birth but the death of Jesus, it played a powerful and essential role, and so it is included in the next post.

Next: Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who were the Magi?  Why did they come to see Jesus?  What caused them to start their journey?  These are the topics which will be discussed throughout this series, based on research I had done for my book *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*.  The attempt here was to keep each topic short, however that was not always possible, and Topic V, although not specifically dealing with the Magi, was added to include the missing major festival of Passover into the consideration.  The topics will be posted daily here in the following order for eight days, and also will be included on my Blog, *lindespirit.com* (the specific blog address for each topic is listed with each day’s post).

I. The Magi – Who were they?  [p=1257 – same address as below, simply insert this location instead]
II. The Magi – Zoroaster meets Yahweh  [p=1260]
III.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet  [p=1268]
IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 1    [p=1271]
V.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 2
.  http://lindespirit.com/?p=1275
VI.  The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended
VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear
VIII. The Magi – Epilogue

This perhaps is the most startling element in this discussion.  First a little background information:

A conjunction simply means that stars and/or planets are in the near neighborhood of each other.  However when they are very close vicinity it can be most impressive.

Triple conjunctions occur every year in regard to each outer planet.  When the earth first comes from behind the sun, against the backdrop of far-away space, a distant planet may be observed as passing, for example, a star.  As the earth approaches mid-sun, the distant planet, in relation to the star, appears to stop and go backwards (only a trick of perspective) and has a second conjunction with that star.  The planet then stops again, and goes forward, passing the star for the third time, as the earth heads to go behind the sun.

Leo, considered the King Constellation, has the bright King Star, Regulus.  Although Saturn is the “Old” King Planet, Jupiter is the “New” King – within the context of the coming Messiah, Yahweh of the Old Testament is the Old King, and Jesus is the New King.  Venus has a unique role: when it is the Morning Star it is a masculine virgin; when it is the Evening Star it is a feminine virgin.

As the Heavenly Christmas Ballet began on August 12, 3 BC, in Leo, Jupiter and the masculine Venus met in a very close conjunction – 4 arc minutes apart.  This would suggest the joining of “the New King” Jupiter, the God-nature, with Venus as His human nature.  The month was Elul, a time of repentance and preparation for the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Succoth, reflecting John the Baptist’s cry, “Repent! … ‘Prepare the way of the LORD; make His paths straight’” [Matthew 3:2-3].

On August 22, the Sun (Supreme Father) entered Virgo (Virgin).  On September 1,  Mercury (the Messenger) drew close to Venus, then sped ahead, entering the constellation Virgo on September 4, followed the next day by the masculine Venus.   Meanwhile Jupiter was about to “crown the King” (the star Regulus) with a triple conjunction.

Jupiter meets Regulus – First Encounter – September 14, 3 BC

On September 14, Jupiter and Regulus were 20 arc minutes apart, in the middle of some very important celebrations and events.  September 10 was Tishri 1, Rosh HaShanah (The Head of the Year), the Jewish “New Year” 3759 (Tishri, the seventh month for a new year’s celebration? That’s because Nissan, the month of the Passover, had become the designated first month in Exodus 12:2).  Rosh HaShanah was considered the “birthday” of creation as well as the “anniversary” of the world’s renewal, when Noah had first looked out on dry ground [Genesis 8:13].

It was Yom HaDin (The Day of the Trumpets), when heralded with trumpets kings were crowned (an intriguing thought as Jupiter begins to “crown” Regulus),  but also was the “pre-anniversary” of Judgment Day when the Lord will assume full kingship over the earth, bringing judgment against evil and the enemies of His People [Zechariah 9:14-15] – therefore it is Yom Teruah (The Day of the Awakening Blast or The Day of the Awakening Shout) meant to jolt the Jew from sluggishness.  This celebration was also when the gates of heaven were “opened,” a sort of “All Saints’ Day” in which those who have passed on were remembered with a resurrection emphasis, the fulfillment being the actual reuniting on the day of THE Last Trump.

Yamim Nora’im  (The Days of Awe) or Aseret Yamei T’shuvah (The Ten Days of Repentance) followed with the emphasis of examining one’s life and repenting for all wrongs committed during the previous year.  The first Sabbath during these ten days was Shabbat Shuvah (The Sabbath of Return), recalling Hosea 14:1’s cry, “Shuvah Yisrael – Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God.”   In 3 BC, this was the 14^th – the exact day of the first Jupiter and Regulus conjunction.

Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), September 19, was the capstone of the repentance period.  God defined the Sabbath as “a SIGN between Me and you … that I, Jehovah, sanctify you” [Exodus 31:13; also Ezekiel 20:12, 20].  That’s why there was to be no work on the Sabbath – the sanctification was God’s work alone.  However, the Day of Atonement was a “Sabbath of Sabbaths,” that is, everything that the Sabbath was, this day was even more so.  Normally allowed activities were not allowed on this day, not even eating.  When it came to atonement, humanity was utterly helpless.  They could only watch as the atonement was accomplished for them.

And what a visual object lesson!   The scapegoat Azazel (“Very Removed”), after the High Priest confessed Israel’s sins on it, was driven into the wilderness [Leviticus 16:8, 20-22].  In a dramatic display of atonement, Israel watched what the Psalmist described “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” [Psalm 103:12]!   One did not make himself right with God, but rather he was made right because of God’s action.  How easily the relief from this day’s activity would lay the foundation for the Jubilee Year which, every 50 years started, on Yom Kippur [Leviticus 25:9].
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The final festival for this first conjunction was Sukkoth/Asif (Tishri 15-22 – September 24-October 1).  For five days each Jewish family constructed a sukkah, “booth,” a shelter of tree branches and other flimsy material, as a reminder of the frail dwellings used by the Israelites in the wilderness after the Exodus.  However, the Khag HaSukkot (the Festival of the Booths) had a companion, Khag HaAsif (the Festival of the Ingathering), the fruit harvest celebration.  Not only did the family “rough it” in this hut for a week, they also celebrated the bounty that the Lord had provided now in their Promised Land.

Sukkoth, “the Feast” [I Kings 8:2, 8:65; 12:32; II Chronicles 5:3; 7:8] or “the Feast of the Lord” [Leviticus 23:39; Judges 21:19], saw King Solomon dedicate the Temple [1 Kings 8; 2 Chronicles 7]; was the first feast after the return from captivity [Ezra 3:2-4]; and had a Messianic link in Zechariah 14:16, where all nations “shall go up from year to year to worship the King, Jehovah of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.”  John uses the “tent” imagery in regard to Jesus’ presence [John 1:14; Revelation 7:15; 21:3].  *We* think it will be heaven when we can be with God; but according to Christmas, Immanuel (“God is with us”), and John, to God heaven will be when He can do the “tenting” with us again.

An interesting side note is found In Genesis 33:17, “Jacob journeyed to Succoth, built himself a house, and made *booths* for his livestock; therefore the place is called Succoth” – a stable is a “sukkah”! Traditionally, as the family camped for the seven days of this festival, each day an “exalted guest” was welcomed into the family’s sukkah – one of each of the seven shepherds of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David.  A family in a stable visited by shepherds – and this was rehearsed every year!

Traveling on, Jupiter slows down, stops, and now returns to meet Regulus a second time.

Next: Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year  – Crowning the King Part 2

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who were the Magi?  Why did they come to see Jesus?  What caused them to start their journey?  These are the topics which will be discussed throughout this series, based on research I had done for my book *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*.  The attempt here was to keep each topic short, however that was not always possible, and Topic V, although not specifically dealing with the Magi, was added to include the missing major festival of Passover into the consideration.  The topics will be posted daily here in the following order for eight days, and also will be included on my Blog, *lindespirit.com* (the specific blog address for each topic is listed with each day’s post).

-I. The Magi – Who were they?  [p=1257 – same address as below, simply insert this location instead]
-II. The Magi – Zoroaster meets Yahweh  [p=1260]
-III.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet  [p=1268]
-IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 1

The Magi series – IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King – Part 1

-V.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 2
-VI.  The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended
-VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear
-VIII. The Magi – Epilogue

Indeed, in the background of these astronomers/astrologers, there was a wise and knowledgeable man, a proven prophet, yet even more than a prophet, since he brought with him the knowledge accumulated through centuries of prophecy and of God’s activity!  They had been introduced to the Jewish festival year, the history in the Torah (the Books of Moses), and especially the prophecies which would play such a key role in their search of the One born “the King of the Jews.”

Daniel would be familiar with the Lion of Judah [Genesis 49:9; Numbers 24:9]; Balaam’s prophecy of Numbers 24:17, “A Star shall come out of Jacob, a Scepter shall rise out of Israel”; Isaiah 7:14’s  “Behold, the young woman/virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His Name Immanuel”; Isaiah 60:3’s “The Gentiles shall walk to Your light, and kings to the brilliance of Your dawning”; and of Daniel’s own prophecy in chapter 9, concerning the timing of the Messiah, the Prince, Who would be “cut off” [v 26].

But why did the Persian Magoi make such a perilous trip at all? There were 3 reasons. Firstly, the Hebrew prophet Daniel had been held in high regard in the Persian court. In Daniel 9, the Magoi had the prophecy of Messiah’s sacrifice as a man cut off at age 35 (in the midst of his years). They knew that this event would occur 483 Babylonian years of 360 days after a specific decree. Backtracking 35 years gave a birth date for Messiah of 448 Babylonian years or 442 actual years after the decree. As It turned out, that decree was Issued by the Persian king Artaxerxes in his 20th year which was 445/444 BC. The Magoi consequently knew the time of Messiah’s birth as around 3/2 BC on our Calendar. [Barry Setterfield, The Christmas Star (http://www.ldolphin.org/birth.html)]

[Note: There was no year “0” – only *point* “0”; the next day after December 31, 1 BC was January 1, 1 AD.  If Jesus was born later in 1 BC, then when He died on the Day of Preparation, 33 AD, He was in His 33rd year.]

Who would have taught the Magi the connection between the sign in the sky (the Star) – and the Light of the world lying in a manger?  Driven by the rejection of the fortune-telling astrologers, we automatically disallow anything to do with the stars.  Yet in Genesis 1:14 God says that the heavenly objects are for “signs” – the Hebrew “OTH” often was used to describe physical evidence of Covenant, such as the scars resulting from the cuts made by Covenant participants who mingled their Blood, or a rock cairn as a monument of such a mutual commitment.  What would qualify as a “sign” in the heavens?

This is where constellations with their respective stars come in.  Consider how In especially the earliest sky maps: Virgo, was always emphasized as a virgin, was also always depicted as bearing the Seed (the brightest star of the constellation) – the sheaf of wheat in her arm – and the other arm held *The Branch.*  Martin Luther observed that since throughout the Bible children are called the seed of the man, when the Lord talked about *the seed of the woman* in Genesis 2, it meant Mary had to be a virgin mother.  Of its “decans” (three minor constellations associated with a main one), the first is that of a child who was Coma (“the Desired One,” “the Desired of Nations”).

The constellation Scorpio was always depicted in conflict with its decan Ophiuchus, which was a man wrestling a monstrous serpent, holding it immobile, with one foot about to crush Scorpio’s head, while the other foot is raised as if stung by the scorpion’s deadly tail.

In regard to Gemini,, in Hindu mythology, Yama and his twin sister Yami, later his wife, were the first couple to inhabit the earth – which really is not far off the mark, since Adam and Eve had exactly the same DNA except for the gender chromosomes: the two “X” of Eve and the “X-Y” of Adam.  They were also the symbols of the fall: the female was considered the goddess of death, while the male was the lord of the underworld.

What were the skymap image-concepts for?  In a visit to a cathedral in Germany where Martin Luther preached, a tour guide pointed out how there was a rich content of symbolism in the stained glass windows, in various carvings, and so much more in that church.   Since few at that time knew how to read, and even fewer had access to a copy of the Bible (even those chained to the library wall were rare), the cathedral itself became the “poor man’s Bible” – that was where he could be encouraged and comforted (at least in theory), as wherever he looked he was reminded of the stories, the personalities, and the doctrines (e.g., forgiveness, judgment, Baptism, Holy Communion) of the Christian faith.

So also in the world of the first chapters of Genesis, or perhaps after the flood, or after Babel, when there were no books commonly available – there was always the sky, and that would be with them wherever they went.  There above them were persons, themes, and doctrines, as reminders and encouragement for any believer.  All they would have to do is look up, perhaps before drifting off to sleep.  In fact, the gift of the signs may yet still be useful when the endtime future suffering Jesus’ warned about starts to come true.

The “signs” in the heavens were not Satan’s idea.  The Bible’s oldest book, Job (contemporary to Abraham?), refers to the signs of the sky [38:31-32: the Pleiades, the belt of Orion, the Mazzaroth [Jewish Zodiac], the Great Bear; also 9:9] without condemnation.  There are strong images in many of them particularly reflecting Genesis 2-3

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So, yes, note the corruption in II Kings 23:5:  “Then he removed the idolatrous priests … and those who burned incense to Baal, to the sun, to the moon, to the constellations, and to all the host of heaven” (which is why modern astrology has come to the state it is now).  Yet as Jesus still took the bronze serpent back to its original meaning, so also could the prophet Daniel teach the Magi what the signs in the heavens were actually about, as he equipped them to search for Him Who was born King of the Jews..

Next: Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year  – Crowning the King Part 1

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Who were the Magi?  Why did they come to see Jesus?  What caused them to start their journey?  These are the topics which will be discussed throughout this series, based on research I had done for my book *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*.  The attempt here was to keep each topic short, however that was not always possible, and Topic V, although not specifically dealing with the Magi, was added to include the missing major festival of Passover into the consideration.  The topics will be posted daily here in the following order for eight days, and also will be included on my Blog, *lindespirit.com* (the specific blog address for each topic is listed with each day’s post).

I. The Magi – Who were they?  [p=1257 – same address as below, simply insert this location instead]
II. The Magi – Zoroaster meets Yahweh  [p=1260]
III.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet

The Magi Series – III. The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet

IV.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 1
V.  The Magi – Astrology/Astronomy meets the Jewish Festival Year – Crowning the King Part 2
VI.  The Magi – Creation Mourns the Death of Its Creator and the Nation of Israel is Ended
VII.  The Magi – Herod’s Fear
VIII. The Magi – Epilogue

What about the accounts in Daniel, Ezra and Nehemiah where the kings of Persia referred to “the one God” and “the Most High God” (for example, Daniel 6:25-27; Ezra 1:2-4)?  If they worshipped a pantheon, would it not be most unusual to have such an exclusive confession of an One Supreme God (“He is the Living God”)?  Were these accounts merely tailored by the Biblical authors to promote a monotheistic view?  Yet Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and Darius, king of Persia, experienced the power of a God who stepped into their histories without apology or need for permission from any other god.

In researching for *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus,* I was surprised by Persia’s national religion during the time of Daniel to Ezra and Nehemiah: Zoroastrianism which, at least in the beginning, was monotheistic.  In it all other gods were demoted, leaving only one uncreated Creator, Ahura Mazda (“the Wise Lord”), the only One worthy of worship, Who with his seven Spentas created the material and the spiritual universe.  Through His holy spirit, the Spenta Mainyu, He created the world, mankind and all that is good in it; through the six other spirits, the Amesha Spentas (“holy immortals”), the rest of universe was created.  Ahura was the source of “The Truth” (“asa”), but He was not necessarily omnipotent (all-powerful), and was referred to as “the Better.”

His creation of law, order and truth was threatened by an inferior god, Angra Mainyu, a creature perhaps above the Spentas or parallel to Spenta Mainyu, who by free will chose evil and therefore was responsible for “The Lie” (“druj”), and who seemed to have creative ability as well, only he created the negative things.  The conflict between “The Truth” and “The Lie” (good and evil) was carried out not by these gods personally, but by their respective creations.  Although Ahura would ultimately win and this dualism would cease, the outcome depended heavily upon mankind who by its support could speed up the inevitable victory of the good.

Each human was given “free will” to choose which side he/she would be on, which once made could not be reversed.  The follower of “The Truth” (the “ashavan”) must avoid lies, support the poor, perform several kinds of sacrifices, and so on, thereby achieving integrity and immortality.  “The Truth” was portrayed by the ordered society of the herdsmen and farmers, “The Lie” by the thieving and destructive nomads.

There would be a Last Judgment, where those who followed “The Lie” would be condemned both by their conscience and then by Ahura to Hell and those of “The Truth” would enter Heaven.

So it was no stretch of credulity when the kings would refer to “a Most High God” and “the Living God.”  Sadly the monotheism gradually devolved into a three god troika, and then became more of a pantheon.  However, by the time of Jesus, the old Zoroastrianism possibly had a resurgence.

This religion on the surface had many similarities to the worship of Jehovah, yet there also were glaring differences, notably in the area of forgiveness, grace, mercy, and conversion.  One had to hope that the abundance of one’s “good deeds, good words and good thoughts” would be greater than the negative in their lives.  There was none of the idea behind Leviticus 17:11,  “For the Life of the flesh is in the Blood; and *I [God] have given it for you upon the altar* to make atonement for your souls; for it is the Blood that makes atonement, by reason of the Life.”

It is easy to see why the synagogue, with its emphasis on weekly reading portions of Moses and the prophets and on teaching, rose to such importance during this time of the captivity, especially since there was no access to a personal copy of the written divine Scripture.  The essential differences had to be constantly held in front of the Jews lest they lost the treasure which the Old Testament held.

Still, Zoroastrian’s common ground of monotheism (along with the significant differences) would provide Daniel much fertile ground for productive discussions with those who were under his charge.  At the same time the Magi would have a genuine curiosity as to what the Old Testament had to say in contrast to the Persian religion.

Next: Astrology/Astronomy and a Living Prophet

oooooo

Austin Becker
Curious about your sources for Zoroastrianism. I’ve never seen anything to the effect of it being monotheistic, tritheistic, or polytheistic. It is a dualistic religion. Angra Mainyu/Ahriman is seen as an evil god of equal power to Ahura Mazda.

James Lindemann
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/…/zoroa…/history/zoroaster_1.shtml

These are two among others. It seems that yes Zoroastrianism was dualistic as Judeo-Christian might be called dualistic, but in all three religions, there is/was one supreme God.

Austin Becker
James Lindemann, Christianity is not dualistic. Only the Gnostic heresy was dualistic. Zoroastrianism is not monotheistic, but henotheistic. They believe in two gods, but only worship the one. Your sources are simplistic. They might be useful for the ignorant who simply desire a simple introduction to Zoroastrianism. They are not sufficient for making bold assertions about the nature of the religion.

James Lindemann
Austin Becker
Ahura Mazda (“the Wise Lord”)
his seven Spentas
Spenta Mainyu,
Amesha Spentas (“holy immortals”)
Angra Mainyu

So what is the difference between Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu? What is the meaning when both are referred to as “Mainyu” – is this a similarity of class?  I tend to refer to CS Lewis’ Screwtape Letters, where he remarks that Satan is not the equal of God, but rather the equal of perhaps Gabriel. Ultimately it seems to be a conclusion that ultimately Angra Mainyu will be defeated and sent to Hell – it cannot be an expectation unless the condemning God is greater than Angra.

The use of “dualism” was simply following your lead. Sorry to have mentioned it.

A point of this post was simply to identify that rather than Daniel’s leadership challenged against a pantheon of gods, what happened at his time was that there was enough of a similarity between the religions, that there could be productive discussion between the leader and those who were his charge. But at the same time it was also the reason why the synagogue arose, because there was enough of a similarity to confuse the Jewish congregation, therefore the synagogue was a tool to keep them mindful of the danger, especially when the Jewish history was one of syncretism which led to the captivity in the first place.

I really had and have no desire to get into the religion any deeper than to identify these two points.

When I researched these things for my book, *Creation’s Ballet for Jesus*, I discovered that there was quite a story to be told about this group of visitors, some of which will be covered in the following posts.

There really is no mystery to these visitors from the east.  Dictionaries and historical sources tell us that the name comes from the Persian empire, which at the time of Christ’s birth was a monster empire to the East of the Roman world.  There was a lot of friction between the empires and Rome did not fare very well against Persia – which is the reason why we don’t hear too much about it, since our history is dominated by the Roman perspective.  This conflict will surface later in our topics.

Rome’s concept of science revolved around its practical, efficient, and mechanical genius, as seen in their ability, for example, to formulate a cement which could set up under water, or to build roads which still bear traffic after thousands of years .  However the more abstract sciences were viewed with suspicion, such practitioners were considered as charlatans and slight-of-hand tricksters – or *magi*cians doing *magi*c.  It was an epithet that crept into the book of Acts: Elymas [Acts 13: 6, 8] and Simon (Simon “Magus”) [Acts 8: 9, 11] were Rome’s view of the “Magi.”

Did the Magi practice the occult arts?  Persons with “secret” knowledge were often advisors to kings in ancient days, already in Joseph’s and Moses’ times, but the Magi would not be involved in the dark arts, especially if they shared Zoroaster’s rejection of the evil god, Angra Mainyu.  Rather, consider the word “*magi*strate,” that is, having the level (strata) of a Magi – a word which refers to a judge or an administrator. That is quite a contrast to the negative concept of the “Magi,”  and this actually more accurately reflects the original use of the name.

The Persian word Magus, equal to the Hebrew chakam, meant “having great intelligence, wisdom and prudence.”  One of the six major “houses” of Persia, they were a hereditary scientist-priest caste of the Medes (known today as the Kurds), widely respected, the repository of Persian religious lore and learning, and religiously comparable to the Levites and Aaron’s descendents in Israel.  The Jewish philosopher Philo, a contemporary of Jesus, wrote:

Among the Persians there is a body of the Magi, who, investigating the works of nature for the purpose of becoming acquainted with the truth, would at their leisure become initiated themselves and initiate others in the divine virtues by very clear explanations.

Some have called the Magi “astrologers,” a term which today is connected to a fantasy understanding of the heavens.  Actually, throughout millennia, “astrology” was the sole name for the science of the heavens.  It was only “recently” during the time of Johannes Kepler at the end of the 16^th century AD, when “astronomy” separated off on its own.  Therefore no mere “astrologers,” rather on a level comparable to their contemporary Chinese astrologers/astronomers, the Magi were as fully scientists in this and in all the sciences of the day.

Godly astrology may well have had its roots as far back as Seth, son of Adam.  Even Job and the Psalms refer to specific constellations and the Mazzaroth (the Hebrew Zodiac).

As priests, they would also be the keepers of the Zoroastrian religion, and would be familiar with Zoroastrian prophecies that a sign in Virgo would herald a world Ruler Who would come from the root of Abraham.  Ernest L. Martin [*The Star that Astonished the World*, Chapter II: “Who Were the Wise Men?” [http://www.askelm.com/star/]] identifies that a number of non-Jewish writers mentions the expectation that a world ruler was to come from Judea.

Although one might think of the Magi as king-makers in the Persian Empire, their failed brief revolt around 520 BC ended with Darius becoming king and their power was somewhat decreased.

During the Parthian Dynasty (in the centuries prior to Jesus’ birth), there seemed to be a revival of sorts of this group.  Persia at that time ruled through a King and the Megistanes (related to “magistrate” and roughly equivalent to a Parliament) plus advisers.  The Megistanes’ Lower House were the “Sophoi” or “Wise Ones,” while the Upper House were the “Magoi” or “Great Ones,” who as keepers of the faith gave civil and political counsel with religious authority, based on the knowledge of the mysteries of the heavens, of the configurations of heavenly bodies, and of the marvels of the earth sciences.

Next: Zoroaster meets Jehovah

“Male and female” are immediately identified at the Bible’s first mention of the origin of humanity:

Genesis 1:26-27

Let Us make man in Our Image, according to Our Likeness
God created man in His own Image; in the Image of God He created him;
male and female He created them.

Genesis 5:1-2

In the day that God created man, He made him in the Likeness of God;
He created them male and female

These two genders are almost everywhere in nature.  Bugs have them.  Flowers and trees have them.  Animals have them.  This is something which should easily be merely assumed.  So why, when the human is described as being created in God’s Image and Likeness, are they emphasized?  Is this a mere listing of attributes (“Image and Likeness of God”; and “male and female”) or are they being linked?

In Genesis 2, as with no other species, the creations of the man and then of the woman are separate accounts, emphasizing that they are distinct although sharing the same nature (via the “rib”).  When verse 7 records “the LORD God … breathed into [the man’s] nostrils the breath of life,” again what is shared by no other species is that humans were meant to bear something from the depths of God Himself

They are to carry the Image and Likeness of God.  It must be noted that an Image, as in a reflection of a mirror or captured in a photograph, although the Original is readily recognizable, still is very limited because of the substance of the reflecting material.  As much as an Image can reveal, there is also far more which it can never reveal about the Original.  For this reason, God’s Image (especially the now fallen Image) does not *define* God – a mistake which can be seen, for example, in the mess exposed by the Greek and Roman “big human” gods.

Why two genders?  In the late nineteenth century, stereoscopes had two sets of lenses, one for the right eye and one for the left eye, through which a person looked at a double photograph with the right picture very slightly different from the left one. The result was to see the photograph’s subject in 3-D – an effect similar to today’s specially made 3-D movies when using glasses with a red lens on one side and a blue on the other.  Although a single eye can indeed manage very well in life, still two points of view provide something beyond that one eye’s limit to height and width: now *depth* is revealed.

The man and the woman are meant to be God’s stereoscope of His Image and Likeness.  There are deliberate differences between them, for example, the biology of the body is fit to a specific gender from conception: body shape, endocrine systems, procreation equipment, brain formation, to name a few.  Yes, there is obvious considerable overlap in what both can do, as when there are shared tasks such as nurturing the family.  Yet even there, gender differences are revealed as these tasks are performed: in terms of mental, physical, emotional, logical, and other perspectives.

The differences must be valued in that they are placed into the male and the female by God Himself, because it is through both points of view that He reveals Himself, His methods, concerns, interests, values and balance – important depth in regard to how the Image and Likeness of God is to be displayed to this universe.  In other words, there is a specific spiritual reason why human males with their masculinity and human females with their femininity exist.

St Paul makes a sad point about the current situation [I Corinthians 13:12 KJV]:

For now we see through a glass, darkly;
but then [at His Second Coming] face to face:
now I know in part;
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The image-mirror has been encrusted over by human rebellion.  Still, God is greater than that which tries to obscure His Image, so there are signs, hints, yearnings, traits, fulfillments, contentments which surface, pointing to His design placed into the genders.

This God-bestowed gift of masculine and feminine is why there has been of late such a vehement attack on human gender.  In this end time, Satan is desperately determined to destroy anything of significant value in the Lord’s creation, as, for example, in modern feminism’s baffling attempt to erase feminism in favor of a unisex masculinity.  As St Paul put it (Ephesians 6:12):

For we do not wrestle against [merely] flesh and blood,
but against principalities,
against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

We need to be aware of this enemy, but also from where our power must come, the resurrected King over all (Colossians 2:15):

Having disarmed principalities and powers,
He made a public spectacle of them,
triumphing over them in [the cross and the subsequent resurrection].

When the Holy Spirit brings us closer to what is God’s original intent for male and female, our joy is to put aside annoyance at differences, and instead to discover and to celebrate how in them the Image of God is revealed in its depth to our families, our world, and the universe.

There is more on this in

IN THE IMAGE OF GOD: Male and Female He Created Them
James Lindemann

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When St Paul speaks of renewing the mind, does seemingly harmless Eastern Meditation fit into his thought?  Eastern Meditation, coming from Hindu roots, is centered on quieting the mind and focusing on a single sound.  Often one hears “Om” intoned, or more accurately, the three letters “AUM” – signifying the Hindu three key gods: “A” invokes Brahma, the creative side; “U’ invokes Vishnu, the preserver and sustainer of everything; and “M” invokes Shiva, representing the destructive aspect of the divine, who eventually dissolves all things back into the void.

Oscillating between the opposites of sound (the “AUM”) and silence, first the sound then even the thought of “AUM” is mentally suppressed, so that mind and intellect cease to intrude into the state of “pure awareness.”  After all, if one is listening carefully to hear the stillness, that is, the sound of the void, then it can’t be busy thinking.  Repeating then especially “AUM” is important in reaching the sixth stage of yoga, that is, union with the source of the divine

The idea of the divine is that everything in existence, living or non-living, from rocks to plants to people, comprises the impersonal Absolute, the “Brahman;” and all living beings, regardless of any distinction or position or attribute or shape, exists in and are connected by the one “Atman,” or universal soul.  This means there is divinity in every being and since all existence revolves around a single reality, therefore the goal of life is to transcend being an individual and attain to the true inner nature, which is the divine and pure essence of Brahman within.

Significantly then, Biblical meditation is entirely opposed to Eastern Meditation.  In the first place the concepts of the divine couldn’t be farther apart.  The God of the Bible stands outside of and far different from His creation, having a specific plan, purpose and destination intended for it from the beginning.  He defines His Glory, firstly as His goodness, whereas Brahman, since it contains all things, is therefore both the good and the bad.  Considering human brutality and cruelty in evidence throughout history, as in the recent riots in the States, one would hope that the center of all life would not be the source of but rather the Refuge from and Victor over evil, which God shows Himself to be.

God stands above all history, which makes the Bible unique.  God tells humans what He will do even thousands of years in advance – and then does it.  He is not a mere Karma dispassionately settling accounts for evil.  In contrast, His Glory is characterized as mercy and grace, patiently temporarily looking past human rebellion as He calls them to repentance and forgiveness, seeking for them a different and more fulfilling life and eternity.

God’s will is that humans as individuals should be placed into an extraordinary relationship with Himself, described as the close interaction between a Father and His beloved children, and even as found in the intense mutual faithfulness of Covenant.  Just as marriage vows demand both choice and commitment, so also God describes His relationship in terms of a steadfast deliberate love – as opposed to the Hindu Brahman which, being merely a reservoir which holds all creation, really has no concept for a self-sacrificing love.

This moves us to the critical difference between the two systems of belief, which is, of course, Jesus.  There is no Hindu god who selflessly, voluntarily suffered the whole of divine rejection and death, the judgment (more than mere Karma) deserved for every act of rebellion from all humans from all time.  In sacrificing Himself just once, He nullified for all time any need for the endless cycles of reincarnation and their futile attempt for self-perfection.  He is the only comfort and solution resolving the stinging rebuke of Romans 3[:10,12,23] that “There is none righteous, no, not one; … There is none who does good, no, not one … for all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God,.”  

After His witnessed death, His not reincarnated but resurrected living body was actually observed by over 500 people before His return to the throne of heaven.  This physical human body, soul and spirit taken on in the first Christmas will never be divided from the unbounded nature of God the Son.  This Savior is Whom we gratefully have chosen to follow, knowing that He has unimaginably good things He will share with us now and for eternity.

Realizing these differences in belief is significant in regard to what Biblical meditation encompasses.  It is based upon a substantial and solid reality, upon a God Who is revealed as one God in three Persons – capital “P” Persons complete with specific personalities and activities.  Therefore – and it is a key “therefore” – since we deal with a Personal God, not some “void” (which is a description of Brahman), a God Who will interact with us on a personalized level forever, Biblical meditation has nothing to do with an empty mind.  God insists that we focus, not on “nothing” or a “void,” but on the wealth of wonderful and positive things springing up in our relationship with Him.

Consider for example Psalm 1[:2], where the godly man’s “delight is in the Law of the LORD, and in His Law he meditates day and night.”  The word “Law” is an unfortunate choice for the Hebrew word TORAH – TORAH really has the sense of “teachings.”  It is the title which covers the first five books of the Bible, which, yes, do include the Ten Commandments and other rules and regulations.  However, the Book of Genesis and other important tidbits of God and human history are also included, which broadens the content from merely a list of “do’s and don’t’s”.
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Think of what is there!  Imagine meditating on the wonder of Creation!  Thrill to the Divine Mind Who figured out the intricacies of light, matter, energy.  Wonder at the complexity of atomic matter which came into being suddenly, yet has taken how many centuries to begin to unravel its secrets.  Be astounded at the interrelated systems within the cell when without any one of them the cell could not survive nor reproduce.  Be in absolute awe at the amazing code in DNA, in which the information in one cell’s strands would fill hundreds of printed volumes of encyclopedias.

Consider the beauty of the cheetah running, the interplay of the muscles and bones, as it tops100 kilometers (60 miles) an hour.  Study the marvelous design of birds totally fitted for flight.  Wonder at the construction of the feather, to be so light weight and yet complex for aerodynamics.  Admire the beauty of the colors in the feather which often depend on a light source’s angle as to what color is seen.  Be humbled by the design of the butterfly wing, the moth wing, and the colors along with the patterns which refuse to be attributed to chance.

Stand speechlessly as to what humans were created to be, with the brain’s incredible capacity, with its ingenuity and creativity, along with the understanding it can have; how humans were equipped and fully intended to represent God to all Creation.  Watch silently God’s disappointment, expected but still sad, at how humans replaced their specialness with an arrogance which has only destroyed them.  And yet wonder at how God immediately stepped in with hope and a plan foretelling a Son, a Messiah, a Christ Who will rescue any and all who contritely come to Him.

This only covers the first three chapters of the Law or TORAH!  There are yet chapters to come in which a particular human was singled out and honored to be the ancestor of the One Who would redeem all humanity.  Not in some mere nicey-nice sentiment, Yahweh God placed Abraham into an impossible relationship where this man, not even close to being an equal with the Creator, yet in Covenant was treated as an equal, in a relationship which still exists today for those who in Baptism seek and value that unique connection to the Creator.

Psalm 77[:12] declares “I will also meditate on all Your work, and talk of Your deeds”; and in Psalm 143[:5] “I remember the days of old; I meditate on all Your works; I muse on the work of Your hands.”  Paul summarizes Biblical meditation in Philippians 4[:8]:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things.

Hindu meditation with its empty mind indeed has a peacefulness with its nothingness, but at the same time leaves a person vulnerable to Satan’s deceptions and influences.  Recall last week’s Gospel in regard to the SyroPhoenician woman, who despite her well-meaning worship of Astarte, ended up with a demon-possessed daughter whom only Jesus could heal.

On the other hand, Paul indicates that one comes out of Biblical meditation filled with wonder, appreciation, delight, amazement, gratitude, and especially hope for life and for spiritual life.  One has renewed strength from seeing what God is capable of doing, wants to do, has done, and will do.  He realizes the involvement of God in all the world around him, seeing God’s endless wonders put on unabashed display before all to see.

Of course, though, the basis for the amazement and gratitude has a root cause identified in the verse prior to Paul’s quote: “The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  That peace comes not from an empty mind, but rather by plunging into life with the security of a personal God Who would share abundant life with us here where we live; of an anchor in a cross in which full forgiveness is received by those who submit to God’s answer to our rebellion; and of a confidence rooted in a verified resurrection which powerfully established Jesus’ Lordship over death and over Satan’s vain attempts to turn our lives into nothings.

Then, rather than the blankness of a void, Jesus gives us a tangible reality with the words, “this is My Body, … this is My Blood” – just one more confirmation of how He does not deal with us merely philosophically, but is involved in a real world presence and enduring experience.

It is quite a choice presented when Paul bids us in the text for today, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  Because of what God has given to us in His Word, both in the written word and in the Word made flesh, we are not consigned to the empty void of Brahman, but instead can be filled to overflowing with the exhilaration of dwelling in the goodness, the Covenant, the grace, the mercy, the steadfast Love, the faithfulness, the forgiveness, and the justice of a personal and involved God, the God of our salvation.

My dad’s sermon startled me.  I have been scanning files into the computer over the last years and so there are about 30 files which give background and ideas for sermons on the lessons today,.  There 10 in regard to the Gospel lesson alone.  But it was my Dad’s notes which drew me back.  All the other studies emphasized, quite rightly, the woman’s faith and the technique used by Jesus to reveal it.  But Dad asked the one question nobody else did: how did she and her daughter get into the predicament they were in?  So, although some ideas will be mine, the thought for this sermon began with my Dad.  I quote from him:

The Bible is a book that disturbs many of our common notions.  It is hard to believe that the Jews and the Arabs are relatives, both are participants in the Covenant of Abraham since Ishmael was circumcised into the Covenant also – and he is the father of the Arabs.  The SyroPhoenician woman in our Gospel was of the  people in Canaan who had once been in the Covenant, but had forsaken it and had turned to worshiping other gods.

She worshiped Astarte, the goddess of the earth.  Worship of this goddess occurred in temples dedicated to her, also at sacred mountains, rivers, groves of trees, and even rocks.  Besides the prayers, burning incense, offerings of animal sacrifices, and so forth, women prostituted themselves in her honor, and during times of distress, humans, mostly children, were sacrificed.

Both [Jew and Arab] point up something to which we pay little attention in our day – there is a line that separates those who are of God and those who are not.  It is the reason for the constant and heavy emphasis upon the distinction between the way of the Lord and the world-system.

The world-system consists of the political, cultural, and any other means that does not serve the Lord and His purpose. …

As we understand this distinction, we can go one step further – and recognize that there are two kingdoms – the Kingdom of God and that of the devil, or the kingdom of darkness.  St Paul reminds us that we have been delivered from darkness into the Kingdom of His Son.  A great problem today is that men have created areas of grayness, whereas God has only either black or white.

Many people, even Christians, try to walk in the gray areas.  If it is not “of God,” but doesn’t have “Satan” written all over it, then many people act as if there is some sort of third, neutral, helpful, innocent power in the universe.  Therefore to them it is OK to “experiment” with “white witchcraft,” horoscopes, tarot reading, crystal ball gazing, Eastern meditation, Ouija Boards, séances and talking with the dead, along with all sorts of psychic phenomenon.

However, consider how Anton LeVey, founder of the Church of Satan, agrees with God’s Word as he wrote in his Satanic Bible: “There is no such thing as white witchcraft.  All witchcraft draws upon occultic power and that power does not come from God.”  Also consider J.  Gordon Melton’s comment: “The magical world consists of mighty cosmological forces that magicians must control and subdue, or to which they fall victim” [“Witchcraft: An Inside View,” Christianity Today (Oct 21 1983)].  Think of that; humans who can’t master their own lives and world are going to subdue “mighty cosmological forces”!  With that in mind, now consider Dell Publishing House’s “Everyday Witchcraft” (at that time, a 25¢ check-out-counter booklet!):

Various malign influences are always loose in the atmosphere.  No matter what you do or don’t do, one day these forces may decide to focus on you or your family.  However, when you start practicing witchcraft the chances of drawing the attention of these mischief-makers increases greatly.

When one does not walk in God’s ways and live with Him as King and Head, then there is no protection against demons, the messengers of the evil one, from gaining entrance.  Each dabbling in the power which is not of God has effect: clouding the mind, which is the spiritual battleground between God and Satan; increasing vulnerability to deception, stirring up rebellion through lust and greed, and even actually shutting down in regard to whatever is Godly.  There is no third, benign power – if it is not of God, then it is of Satan.

So many parents harm or introduce evil to their children by ignoring the influence of popular culture – such as music which despises God’s principles, ethics which has turned from a godly life to a high-sounding but self-serving way of life, schools which teach that we are basically purposeless animals, laws which condone the murder of innocents through abortion, and politics which pit social class against social class and people-group against people-group.

The woman in the Gospel had seen what her religion had brought her to.  Regardless of her pure intentions, she had innocently opened doors to the kingdom of darkness, to the invasion of demons, evil spirits – doors which SHE COULD NOT SHUT – and a demon had taken possession of her daughter.  Her eyes had been opened by the grace of God, she realized that her child was in deep trouble, and nothing that her religion offered could help or comfort her.  She desperately turned to the One Whom many people talked about in those days – Jesus.

Some have criticized Jesus’ standoffish behavior at the beginning of the episode.  Yet after seeing last week how God used harsh and challenging circumstances in order to reveal the tremendous depth and tenacity of Job’s faith, it is clear from His later praise of this Gentile – non-Jewish – woman’s faith that His task was to reveal that faith, not because of any sophisticated content but rather to demonstrate how of what she did know, she would not let go.
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One might compare her faith with that of the black slaves in the south US during the slavery years.  By and large they had no education, no extensively developed theology.  However, for example, as the negro Spiritual songs show, there is much evidence to the powerful yet simple faith and comfort in what they did know about Jesus.  So also with the SyroPhoenician woman of our lesson.

Remarkably, the woman, as much of an outsider as she was, still understood that she was coming to not only the “Lord” but also to the “Son of David.”  Sometimes we throw around these titles without understanding what their impact has, especially to this woman.

Remember that she was an Arab follower of Astarte, not a fallen Israelite who had the vestiges and history of the faith of the forefathers.  And now, vividly demonstrated, the trust she had throughout her life was proved to be empty.  Everything she believed in, everything she thought was superior as life’s guiding light had not only been shown false, but was actually deadly and destructive.  Some at this point might simply turn off toward religion, but she couldn’t with her daughter in very real danger.  She had to find an answer.

Somewhere, somehow along the way, she had heard about Jesus.  It could have been how Jesus cast out demons “with a word” [Matthew 8:16].  Perhaps it was the healing of the demoniacs of the Gadarene, one whose name was “Legion,” who couldn’t be bound even with chains [Matthew 8:28-34, Mark 5:1-20; Luke 8:26-39].  Maybe it was in regard to the twelve who were authorized to cast out demons in His Name [Matthew 10].  There was no doubt about it, here was no fake god like Astarte, but rather He was indeed “the Master,” “the Lord,” “the Superior” – not in legend, but in such reality which demonstrated He was able to help her.

But also imagine the humility for a descendant of Ishmael to admit that God’s chosen prophesied Redeemer of this world was a Child of Isaac!  “Son of David” was a term packed with identifying the ultimate Ruler of all God’s People, the ultimate King over all creation, and the only Savior equipped to destroy Satan’s power and dominion.  Arrogance had been driven out in her desperation, and in humility she was prepared to let “the Lord” take over the controls of her and her daughter’s lives.

The challenge in this Gospel lesson is not easy: it requires us to come to that same humility and even desperation to be free from the control of Satan.  That’s no easy task when we are constantly bombarded by so many different ways in which Satan wants to dig his fingers into our lives and move us farther and farther from following “the Lord” – “the Lord,” the way the woman understood Him

She had come to the place where there just was no one else who had the credentials to be in charge of her life.  It is the same question we must also face.  If “the Truth” is to make us free – “free indeed” – as Jesus describes [John 8:32.36], then we also have to come to the place where there is no Lord like this Lord, Who deserves the title, not only in His power over demons, but also in His absolute authority over life and death, as well as over our individual lives.  It is to resolve whether He can truly make us be alive.

As we enter His presence here today, we face the One Who calls us to repentance and then deals with our rebellions and sins with such finality that we can walk away from them and never look back.  No longer can Satan blackmail us, once Jesus has dealt with our sin.  No longer can Satan put a ring in our noses to lead us whichever way he chooses.  Although it sometimes does include driving out Satan and his influences, we are also given different values, perspectives and a determination to turn our faces away from lingering fascinations with what Satan uses to trap us back under his control.

And here in this place we have something just as wonderful as that woman had, because we too have Jesus, “the Lord,” “the Son of David,” standing before us in His Sacrament, in His Body and Blood – something tangible to gather around and to together realize His strength to battle against Satan’s deceptions and power plays which can appear so overwhelming, but at the word of “the Word made flesh” must flee away.

And in the end, even though trials are not pleasant, even when “the Lord” seems to not respond as quickly as we would like, in the end may He bring us all to the place where He can with great pride say also to us, “O believer, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire!” in the battle to have victory over Satan.