Emmaus Road Ministries

For two millennia, great thinkers — astronomers, theologians, believers, even skeptics–have pondered the mystery of the Star of Bethlehem.  They speculated, “Was it a comet; a supernova; or some special celestial event orchestrated by God?”  No one really had a definitive answer. 🤔

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Then, in December of 1603, a young scientist named, “Johannes Kepler,” became intrigued by the planetary conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn.  He is believed to be the first to identify the so-called Christmas “Star” that guided the Magi to where Jesus was born, and with the most precise date of this historic event ever.

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This “Conjunction of Kepler,” as it has come to be known, is THE GREATEST ALIGNMENT OF THESE PLANETS OF ALL TIME!  In fact, it is often called “The greatest conjunction.” His calculations, by the way, have been confirmed by the highest authorities.

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Favorable To Israel.

The alignment of Jupiter and Saturn, according to ancient Jewish authorities {Josephus among them} has special reference to Israel.  It is a sign that is favorable to that tiny nation and an indication that God was about to cause great things to happen in Her favor.

It is also a sign that is favorable to His Church.  Israel’s blessing would come first. Then, when Jesus’/Y’Shua’s Church was born, blessing would come upon the Her.

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These three conjunctions occurring in the presence of a full moon made it a very bright night.  It is of great significance that they were aligned in the constellation of Pisces, “The Fish,” is symbolic of those who believe in the Jewish Messiah that we call, “Believers,” also known as the Church.

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This is not a coincidence! It was all orchestrated by God Himself. He created the stars, called them all by name, set them in motion, and orchestrates their movements. Yes, you read that right: PRESENT TENSE. He is still doing it!

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The story in the stars is not astrology. That is merely the devil’s pathetic attempt to pervert the Real story which tells of Jesus/Y’Shua and His work of redemption. Though we no longer need to refer to them to tell His story because we have the written Word, it is still there for all to see.

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(For more on the REAL Story, or to read the whole thing, you may follow the link below. But I have warn you: It is a 44-part series 😮:

https://emmausroadministries.international/2020/05/20/the-real-story-in-the-stars-part-1-the-heavens-declare-the-glory-of-god/)

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Let’s now revisit the story of the ancient kings who came to worship the newborn King.

This special alignment of planets in the presence of a full moon appeared THREE TIMES the year Jesus/Y’Shua was born. Talk about announcing His birth!  It is very likely that He was born when the 2nd conjunction appeared, which would have happened at the feast of Succot (Tabernacles) on October 5th.

The identity of these wise men in Matthew’s account is also not very clear. The account in Matthew only records that they saw His star “IN THE EAST.” The Greek text literally says they came “from the rising,” presumably “of the sun.”

*Since they were called, “Magi,” (presumably derived from the Persian word, “magus”), many scholars naturally concluded they were from Persia. Seems reasonable.

This assessment is further complicated, however, because the word could also have been derived from the Aramaic word, “Magusah.” This might possibly be a reference to a cult of pantheistic Zoroastrian priests, a group who also studied the stars.

*To further confuse everything, some scholars postulated they might have come from India. Still others believe they could have come from nearby Yemen as there were Kings from that country who were also Jewish. 🫨

Hold on…..there’s more! 😳

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*(Above information obtained from “What The Rabbis Know That I Never Learned In Church,” by Chaim BenTorah,” page 97)

The bottom line is…….We, uh….um…..well…..uh…..we actually don’t know how many there actually were……….or from whence they came.  🫨

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Here is another area of uncertainty: WHEN did they arrive? Was it two years later?…..A few days?…..The night of His birth? Again the original languages give veiled clues.

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Matthew 2:11 says, “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.”

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These men arrived after the birth of Jesus/Y’Shua and very likely found an infant, not a young child. Not only is their identity uncertain as well as the timing of their arrival but also what they actually presented to the child.

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*The two year thing (understandably) came from the fact that King Herod ordered all the children age 2 and younger to be killed. That makes sense that he was around 2 years old. But…..then there is the translation issue of the Greek word, “Paidon” which means “young child” in English. (The Greek word for infant is “brephos.”)

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Here’s the “However:” Matthew, who penned the gospel named after him, spoke Aramaic. The word in Aramaic for infant is tela, which means “little lamb.” Since there is no direct translation for “tela,” in Greek, the closest word the translator could come up with is paidon: young child. Jesus/Y’Shua could actually have been a newborn or an infant when these men came to worship.

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Not only is their identity uncertain as well as the timing of their arrival but also what they actually presented to the child. Read on…

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Matthew’s account also says that they told King Herod, “We have come to worship Him.” 

Notice the High Priest pictured above. He is placing holy anointing oil, which is composed of several special oils, on a golden plate before the ark of the covenant. This special blend of oils was ONLY to be used by the High Priest IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES in the presence of God and ONLY ONCE A YEAR.

*These wise men…whoever they were and from wherever they came…..would have been well acquainted with Jewish laws and customs and understood the above information.

Matthew mentions the three things that they brought with them: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. These are only two of the ingredients in this special only-to-be-offered-to-God oil, but here’s the thing: All the ingredients are not usually enumerated. They are simply the main ones. But the mention of these three would indicate that they were indeed in possession of this sacred oil.

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*Perhaps their “GIFT” was offering this oil poured out on a plate of gold and burned in His presence. Normally, burning this particular combination of incense was unlawful outside of the Holy of Holies. BUT SINCE THEY WERE IN THE ACTUAL PRESENCE OF GOD come down as an infant, it was absolutely acceptable!

*(Above information obtained from “What The Rabbis Know That I Never Learned In Church by Chaim BenTorah.”)

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Jewish Law.

What really blew my mind is the information below that I learned from Chaim BenTorah’s book.

Check this out: The angel came to these particular shepherds, not only because of who they were and where they worked. You see, it is a Jewish custom that the mother of a newborn offers a blessing called “HaGamel.” In order for her do so, there needed to be either ten male relatives or any ten men in attendance to receive the blessing, if relatives were unavailable. This is called a “Mynyan:” i.e., a quorum of ten. These elite shepherds, some of whom may have been present already, more than likely helped deliver this precious little boy. They also helped form part of the necessary quorum (ten men) in order for Him to be properly blessed according to Jewish law. The others in the field would have been called in to complete their number.

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 To study more in depth on the above subject, you may refer to the book by renowned Bible scholar and professor of ancient languages, “Chaim BenTorah” entitled “What The Rabbis Know That I Never Learned In Church.” You may follow the Amazon link below to check it out.

(In the book below, available at Amazon, is even more about the “Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh” that will shock, amaze, and bless you!)

(What the Rabbis Know That I Never Learned in Church https://a.co/d/bQwYstH) (Prepare to be amazed!)

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Why go through all the trouble of hiding the message about the Messiah? Because the devil down through history was constantly seeking to either prevent Jesus’ birth or kill Him after He was born. Remember the curse in Genesis 3? The “SEED of the woman” would come and crush satan’s head. He didn’t want his head crushed! He was desperate to stop God’s Champion. Fortunately for us, he isn’t a mind reader and didn’t have a score card to tell the players.

So, now you know how these elite shepherd-priests knew EXACTLY where Jesus was born and how to find him because God had written clues for those who would come to the birth of the Savior of the world so they would know it was really Him…..and He knew just who to tell!

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Even though the account of Jesus/Y’Shua’s birth is clouded in a bit of mystery, perhaps for such a time as this, when God is pouring out His grace, He is giving us amazing details to ponder. It may not be clarity, but one thing is certain: It is fascinating to contemplate!

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Other Appearances Of The Conjuction.
Whenever Jupiter and Saturn have appeared together down through history it has always marked some great event favorable to natural Israel.

Calculating back, Kepler noted that the first appearance of this conjunction was the revelation to Adam. Astronomers can trace this because of the predictable, measurable movements of the stars. The second appearance was at the birth of Enoch, a righteous man who walked with God and with whom He was so pleased that one day, he just walked right into heaven, instantly translated.  He did not see death. Enoch is a typology of the rapture generation.  When Jesus comes and calls His Church home, there will be an entire generation that, like Enoch, also will not see death.  Many of you reading this are part of that Enoch generation.

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The third appearance was the revelation of the Covenant of the Rainbow to Noah.  Then, at the birth of Moses, the great Deliverer of Israel from Egypt, it appeared a fourth time.

It also made an appearance at the birth of King Cyrus.  Remember him?  He was the good king of the Medo-Persians who helped the returning Jewish exiles rebuild the temple in Jerusalem.  Many believe him to be the son of Ahasuarus and Queen Esther.

BUT THE GREATEST APPEARANCE OF ALL WAS AT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST!   As you read above, this amazing planetary alignment occurred THREE TIMES in the year 7B.C. What if all 3 were a sign to the Wise Men who would burn incense in the worship of the birth of the Child Who created all things, Who had been born as a human. He came into the world to save us all. ♥️

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Other Appearances Of The Conjunction.

Down through Church history, it appeared at the birth of Charlemagne, the good emperor who was favorable to Christians.  Last of all, it appeared at the birth of Martin Luther who tacked his 95 theses to the Church door, restoring the truth of salvation by grace. All these are good signs that favor both Israel and the Church!

The most accurate records of celestial events in the world are found in the nation of China.  They both observed and recorded the occurrences of these celestial conjunctions.  They even have on record the three hours of darkness which covered the whole earth in April, the year Jesus died, corroborating the Biblical account.  Though they had no idea what caused the total eclipse at a time of year when they do not normally occur, they faithfully recorded it nonetheless.

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Isn’t God good?  We have questions, He inspires us in ways that help us find the answers.  What a beautiful account we have of the birth of our dear Savior, Jesus, told to us through signs in the night sky and by THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM.

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You may follow the link below to part 6 to continue this series:

A Very Special Baby: Christmas Series Part 6 of 7.