OOPS OF THE DAY ~ December 19

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Oops of the Day

When Anna got old, she moved to the temple so they could take care of her in her old age and she could pray for them.

Luke 2:36-37

Christmas Fact of the Day

No!  When baby Jesus was presented at the temple by his parents,  Prophetess Anna was AGE 84 or more and had already lived at the temple all but about 7 of her adult years.  In fact, she lived through and survived these attacks on the temple and Jerusalem:

BC 63 – Pompey besieged Jerusalem and entered the temple.
BC 54 – Crassus looted the temple of all its gold.
BC 40 – When Herod was made King, Jerusalem closed its gates, so he had to attack and force his way in.

I think Anna needs to be preached about more.  She was an example of holding on to her faith, even if it meant no answer decade after decade.  Kind of reminds you of Sarah who waited until she was 89 before finally becoming pregnant.  

Sometimes, amazing things happen in people’s old age. Don’t they?

 

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

OOPS OF THE DAY ~ December 19

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Oops of the Day

The  shepherds who the angels appeared to on the night Jesus was born were respectable men.

Luke 2:8-20 I Samuel 17:34-36 – John 10:11 –  Genesis 46:33-34 

Christmas Fact of the Day

True, beloved King David had been a shepherd and Jesus called himself the Good Shepherd.  

But, no!  Shepherds were far from respected.  Shepherds were despised in many places.  The Jewish Talmud forbade shepherds from being witnesses.   Further, no aid was to be given to heathens or shepherds.  Shepherds were not even allowed in the temple proper. 

This was true even 1200 years before Jesus was born. In Egypt,  Joseph warned his father when he was introduced to Pharaoh, “Do not tell him you are a shepherd.  Every Egyptian despises shepherds.”

 

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

99 CENTS. The magi are puzzled when they enter Palestine. No excitement, no parades, no…

     The magi, having traveled all the way from Parthia in the east, are puzzled when they finally  cross the border. Life as usual in Palestine.  No excitement. No parades.  No banners.  The Jews stare at the long caravan of regal magi on plumed camels with silk saddles, wondering why these rich and stately foreigners are in their country….

     The magi arrive at Bethlehem about midnight. They have found it.  “Well, this is it, gentlemen,” Yasib says under his breath. “The King of all kings. The Priest of all priests. The one predicted centuries ago by Magi Daniel.”

              Hey, you magi, or whatever you unbelievers call yourselves. You’re not wanted here. This is our religion. Don’t go changing everything. You’ve got it all wrong.

(Excerpt from STAR SONG)

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SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ Oh, and one more thing about the wise men I meant to tell you.

I ended up writing a biblical historical novel about the wisemen.  I made Michel a descendant of Daniel (who knows?).  Michel wants to buy and restore the Garden of Eden, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers meet, where God walked with Adam and Eve.  He has hopes that God will return and walk the earth with people in his day.  Of course, the other wisemen laugh at him.

Most of the book is him and 9 other wise men traveling the then-known world trying to find the meaning of the star.  They run into barriers, handicaps, and dangers in their travels.  Further, they won’t give Michel’s God a hearing because he is invisible.  But eventually, they run out of religions and give his God a chance.  

If you want to read the first chapter, some reviews, and see some direct buy inks, just click ‘HOME” above.  It’s in the third row of books with the  INTREPID MEN OF GOD series.

Mum Katheryn

SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ December 17

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Surprise of the Day

So, if the wise men (magi) did not follow the star all the way from the East (today’s Iran Iraq, N. India) as the Christmas carol says, how did they figure out where to find Jesus?    

I’m glad you asked.

Matthew 2:2    Daniel 9:1; 24ff  –  Daniel chap. 10  –  Daniel chap.  11  –  Daniel 12:3


Christmas Fact of the Day

Yesterday I promised to tell you the answer to “HOW”?  Here it is:,

Pagans at that time believed a new star meant a new god had been born.  I think it took them so long to arrive (nearly 2 years, based on the age of babies Herod ordered killed)  because they investigated all the major religions of that time to find the meaning of that star. 

Each religion had its writings and government  archives in its main temple  (kings were “gods” at  that time).  That means  they traveled to all of them – N. India, Alexandria, Rome, ancient Turkey, and finally back to Ecbatana in today’s SW Iran, where their archives were kept.   (And, by the way, that’s where our Queen Esther was a hundred years after Daniel.)

We know from Daniel that the book of Jeremiah was stored in Babylon, which later was absorbed by Persia, and still later, Parthia. The wise men would have had access to Jeremiah’s book in the archives.   So, surely Daniel left his own writings behind along with Jeremiah’s.  In Daniel, they would have read (1) the prophecies and the timeline of the Messiah coming 490 years later, (2) the prophecies of world conquerors – Persia, Greece, Rome, and (3) a reference to righteous stars. With the writings of Daniel available to them, they would have been able to trace his origins back to being a prince in Jerusalem.  So, what better place to go in search of the newborn deity than Jerusalem?

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ December 16

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Surprise of the Day

The wise men followed the star as it moved all the way from “the East” to Bethlehem.

Matthew 2:1-2  –  Matthew 2:–  Matthew 2: 9-10

Christmas Fact of the Day

Hate to be a scrouge again about our Christmas carols.  But “We three kings from Orient are…following yonder star”  is not 100% accurate.  When they arrived in Palestine, they went directly to Jerusalem and probably wondered why there weren’t any celebrations.  Then they found out from King Herod (who was half  Jew and half  Arab and had to find out from the priests) that the prophesied newborn King had been born in Bethlehem, six miles away.

And then, they headed out toward Bethlehem.  

And then…  And then…  And then, they saw it!  Again!  The star had returned.  And they rejoiced! 

Why would they rejoice when they saw the star if they had been following it all the way from the East? 

P.S.  Tomorrow I’ll tell you how they figured out to go to Palestine in the first place.

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ December 15

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Surprise of the Day

The wise men from the East arrived to see the newborn baby Jesus sleeping in a hay trough the same night as the shepherds.

Matthew 2:7 – Matthew 2:9-11  –  Matthew 2:16

Christmas Fact of the Day

No!  Mary and Joseph had moved into a house by then.  It must have taken the wise men two years to get there.  Herod had all boy babies aged two and under in Bethlehem killed, according to the time when the wise men arrived and consulted with the mad king.

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

Joseph is bleeding. From the broken promise. The broken heart. The broken life.

Joseph sinks down to the floor with his etched picture of Mary. All broken. Crushed. Cut to the heart. Unhealable. Inconsolable. Betrayed with the ultimate betrayal.

Sprawling completely prostrate now, Joseph hits his fist against the floor. He is bleeding. Bleeding from the broken pottery. Bleeding from the broken promise. The broken heart. The broken life. “Oh, Mary… Oh, God…” he groans

(Excerpt from “The Other Father” chap 3 of STAR SONG)

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SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ December 12

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Surprise of the Day

The herald angels sang to the shepherds on the night Jesus was born.

Luke 2:8-13 –  Revelation  5:11-12

Christmas Fact of the Day

No!  Sorry to be a scrooge and all that.  But, just because a popular Christmas carol says, Hark! the Herald Angels Sing, doesn’t mean it’s so.  Luke said the angels declared, said, and announced, but they did not sing.  

Check out Revelation with all its appearances in heaven.  The great multitude with their robes made white in the blood of the lamb sang, but the angels said.

What a privilege God has given humans.  We can sing!  

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.

SURPRISE OF THE DAY ~ December 11

Things in the Bible not really in the Bible...and a few surprises

Christmas Surprise of the Day

What did Gabriel mean when he told Mary the Holy Spirit was going to overshadow her and then she would be pregnant with the Son of God taking on flesh?

  Luke 1:35 – John 1:1 & 14 – Genesis 1:2

Christmas Fact of the Day

 When you study the Holy Spirit, you find the Life-Giver (or re-Giver), the Animator, the Mover, the Implementor of  the Mind of God’s will.  

The Greek word translated in Luke as OVERSHADOW is the same Hebrew word translated in Genesis 1:2 as HOVER.  The same thing happened when God created the earth as when God came to Mary’s womb.  

You’re smart.  Read the Bible for yourself.  Find out for yourself.