One more Christmas is at hand, a time to celebrate and rejoice the birth of our Great God and Saviour Jesus Christ. For many of the so-called Christians, this is the time to wish “Happy Holidays”, while for some true faithful Christians this is a time to remember the birth of the Lord, The Creator of the Universe who humbled Himself and Lo! He is begotten in a Virgin’s womb and born in Bethlehem and laid in a manger. There was no room for the Creator of the Universe to lay His head!
This event is so unique that it divided the history of the world into two, Anno Domini and Before Christ. He was born as per the fulfilment of the Scriptures. The Place, the method and the very life He was to live were all declared before His birth. He is the born King of Jews! Presently we have changed the AD and BC as Before Common Era (BCE) and Common Era (CE)
At His birth – the historian Mathew records – a star appeared which the Wise men said as “His Star”. A very strange description of a star! We find it recorded in the book of Mathew 2:1&2, “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.” Again he records in verse 9 &10, “When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the Young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. In Verse 11 he records that, “they were come into the house, they saw the Young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down, andworshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
It is assumed that by the time the wise men came the Baby has grown into a Young Child of about two years. That is the reason we find King Herod ordering the death of boys from two years and under. (Mathew 2: 16). This is a fulfilment of the Scriptures. Jer. 31: 15.
As we focus on His star, we find there are a lot of explanations about its origin and nature. Some are experts suggest that it was the Halley’s Comet which passed overhead in 11 B.C. But that’s not true. Historians believe that the birth of Jesus' must be around 4 BC, It is because of the fact that Augustus Caesar died in 4 B.C., and he was alive when Jesus was born. So, the birth of Jesus has to be before 4th B C. In the Middle Ages the Christian monk, Archbishop James Ussher tried to set out and fix the date of birth of Christ. Later studies revealed that he lost almost four years in his calculation.
There are various theories behind the star which showed the wise men the location of the Great King. Some say that it was some sort of a meteor or a shooting star must have hung around for some time. But this cannot be true, because meteors or shooting stars last only for a few moments in our sky, whereas, this star was visible for about two years. Others believe that it might have been a supernova (a supernova is a dying star). It is highly luminous and causes a burst of radiation which is seen in the entire galaxy before fading away. The presence of this supernova could have been interpreted by the wise men as the birth of King of the Jews. However, a supernova is stationary. So, this cannot be true.
There are others who believe that Saturn, Jupiter and mars lined up together. This happens every 800 years. The wise men interpreted it as the Birth of the Great King. This cannot be true, as His star moved and it came and stood over Him in two years. To move along for two years and then come to stand at a particular place is not possible for the aforementioned planets. So, now one has to wonder what that special star was!
A brief explanation about stars.
There are various types of stars available for us today in the market, especially for Christmas. Normally we get stars with five points. The basic explanation of it is about an upward Trinity. They say The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit is glorified and in this upward positional star.
There are many other explanations as well. Some say the five-pointed star is based on the “Great Five elements” or the Pancha Maha-Bhoota according to the Hindu philosophy. Here they relate to the elements Prithvi (earth), Apas (water), Agni (fire), Vayu (air) and Akash (aether). While there are others who claim that the origin of stars is from Egypt. According to them, the stars might have originated from the way the Egyptians represented the star in their hieroglyphics. There are representations of the Spirit, and the four elements, Earth, Air, Fire, and water. There are also stars with 4, 6, 7, 8 and many more points. All these have various mythological meanings. All these stars are upward stars, which had three points upward and two points downward.
In today’s world, the stars have changed a lot. We find different variety of stars. But the most interesting of all is the inverted star.
By 1950 when Wicca (Witches International Coven Counsel Association is, a religion derived from Pre-Christian times, which practiced a benevolent reverence for nature and recognize two deities - variously viewed as mother and father, goddess and god) began to spread in Europe, the influence of the inverted star began in the western countries. It is said to represent the Satanism or the inverted trinity, The Lucifer, The antichrist, and the false prophet. Also the two upward points represent the horns of the horns of the satanic goat. These days we can even find this goat in the image. We are not sure whether this is an evil symbol or not, but one thing is sure the Satanists have adopted it and is using it as their symbol.
The star of Christ which the wise men saw in the east was leading them to the west up to Bethlehem to the place where the Young Child was. They lost their way in between when they sought the child according to their own wisdom and understanding. They sought for the Young Child in Herod’s Palace instead of the house where the Young Child was. When they sought His star diligently it led them and came and stood over the house where the Child was. So, what was His star? Allegorically speaking, “The star of Christ is that Person who leads the wise men to Christ”. The Bible says, “And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars forever and ever. Dan 12:3
Are you His Star? His star will never lead men away from the Lord but leads everyone to the Lord and stay close to the Lord always, never leaving or forsaking Him. .In the Present Christmas the hero of Christmas is not the Young Child nor His star nor the wise men, but another man, Santa Claus. He is a creation of the western civilization. He has nothing to do with Christ or His Church.
The wise men who followed the star of Christ came and offered their presents to the Young Child and worshipped Him, but fools who follow Santa Claus and the inverted star keep seeking the Lord, never to find Him.
Who are you following, His Star, or the manmade satanic inverted star and the hero Santa Claus?
Remember the wise men led by His star can only worship, and they will worship only the Young Child.
Sabu Varghese. Kochi
