In Evidence That Demands a Verdict, Josh McDowell lists 61 categories of prophecy fulfilled by the first coming of Jesus Christ. Of these, the first 15 have something to do with His origins and birth.
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The Wise Men were representatives of the Persian priestly clan, the Magi (originally one of the six tribes of the Medes). Some of their contemporaries believed in astrology and the black arts (the word "magic" comes from the same root as "Magi"). But these men were apparently true believers who knew and honored the Hebrew Scriptures. One can not help but wonder how they knew the Scriptures and why God revealed the "Christmas Star" to them.
One of the most fascinating aspects of the Biblical story of Daniel is that this young prophet who was able to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream about future world empires (Daniel 2 - See Evil World Empires), was honored by Nebuchadnezzar by making him the chief of his "Wise Men" (Daniel 2:48). From this position Daniel undoubtedly influenced many to believe in Jehovah and the Hebrew Scriptures. They were aware of the prophecies of a coming Messiah through whom all the world would be blessed.
Unlike the Jewish people, the Persians did study the skies to understand the course of the stars. Some believed in astrology - the wrong idea that the stars influence the activities of our day to day lives. Others, like these Wise Men, were true scientists who studied Astronomy. When they saw a fascinating series of conjunctions during a two year period of time, they related it to the Biblical teaching that God would use the stars as "signs" and seasons (Genesis 1:14) and the Messianic prophecy that a "star" would come out of the tribe of Judah. (Numbers 24:17).
Many theories have been proposed about the Christmas Star, but the most reasonable of these is the theory advanced by Ernest Martin in 1980 which was popularized by the Griffith Park Observatory in their popular program "The Christmas Star", and the book by the same name written by John Mosley. It can be shown scientifically that there were nine important conjunctions involving the planets Mercury, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, and the star Regulus ("the King star") in the years 3 and 2 B.C. The last of these striking events would have been placed in the sky so as to literally lead them from Jerusalem where the Wise Men had met with King Herod, to Bethlehem, just 5 miles away.
For much more detail, see the on-line
demonstration called "Star of Bethlehem".
See also:
The Christmas Star -Barry Setterfield
An interesting corrolary of this study is
the possibility that the stars originally
foretold the Gospel story for ancient
people who could not read but who
were fascinated by the skies. See The
Gospel In The Stars.
NAMES IN ALL CAPS INDICATE THE SEVEN PRESCRIBED FEASTS OF MOSES.
The three that have three asterisks (***) in front of them are the ones which every able male was expected to attend.
Note that of the seven prescribed feasts of Moses, the first three all have to do with the First Coming of Christ, the last three have to do with the Second Coming, and the one in the middle, Pentecost, is the birth date of the Church.
According to Colossians 2:16-17, holy days are a shadow of things to come.
Leviticus 23 -is the key passage which describes the seven feasts.
The feasts were figures of things to come. It is very surprising how many of the most important events in Jewish and Christian history have occurred on one of these dates, especially when one notices the correlation between the events and what the corresponding feast originally signified. The Jewish people had an old civil calendar that started in the month of Tishri, but when Passover was instituted, the month of Nissan became the first month of their religious calendar.
Note: For much more information on the many amazing events which were fulfilled on these various days, we recommend reading Grant Jeffrey's Appointment With Armageddon, and visiting Chuck Missler's site at Koinonia House We have noted some of the places where these two scholars have slightly different views from ours.
Nisan - First month of the new
(religious) calendar (Seventh month of
the ancient (civil) calendar)
(March/April)
First of Nisan - New Year
Tenth of Nisan
Sanctification of the Passover Lamb
Christ was "Cut Off" - Day of the Triumphal Entry
According to calculations by Sir Robert Anderson in his book The Coming Prince, sixty-nine "weeks" of years (prophetic years of lunar months = 360 days) occurred from March 14, 445 BC. in the reign of Artaxerxes Longimanus, until April 6, AD. 32. 1 Kings 8:2,65; Nehemiah 8:14-18.
Fourteenth of Nisan
*** THE PASSOVER SUPPER
Leviticus 23:4-5
The Last Supper - New Covenant
Luke 22:19-20
The Crucifixion -
John 12:23-24,27-28 later the same Jewish day (Day lasts from sunset to sunset)
Fifteenth of Nisan
THE FEAST OF UNLEAVENED
BREAD
Leviticus 23:6-8
Exodus journey from bondage of Egypt began
Exodus 12:41
Seventeenth of Nisan
FIRSTFRUITS
Exodus 23:19; Leviticus 23:9-14
Israel ate the firstfruits of the promised Land
Joshua 5:10-12
(Passover - 14th- Old corn - 15th, Last time Manna given - 16th, New fruit - 17th)
The Resurrection of Jesus Christ
1 Corinthians 15:20;
Matthew 27:52-53
Sixth of Sivan
(50 Days after Feast of Firstfruits)
***THE FEAST OF WEEKS
Leviticus 23:16,21
(Pentecost - 50 days) (Feast of Harvest)
Giving of the Holy Spirit to the Church Acts 2:1-4
Missler also feels this could be the date
for The Rapture. He shows this is the
only feast which allowed leavened
bread (Gentile flavor), and that this is
also known as the Feast of Harvest, and
that Jesus used "the harvest" as an
idiom to refer to the ingathering of
believers.)
Tammuz - Fourth Month
(June/July)
Seventeenth Day of Tammuz -
The Fast of Mourning
Zechariah 8:19
Av - Fifth Month
(July/August)
Ninth of Av
The Fast of Tisha Be-Av
Zechariah 7:5
Tishri - Seventh Month (First month of
the ancient (civil) calendar)
(September/October)
First of Tishri
ROSH HASHANAH
Ancient New Year's Day (Civil)
(The Feast of Trumpets)
Leviticus 23:23-24
Possible date for Rapture Missler thinks this is possible date
of Birth of Christ (Sept. 29 2 BC.).
(Missler, Personal Update,
September, 1995, p. 14 and
December, 1995, pp. 9-10.)
(Of course, ANY day is possible for The
Rapture. We can not know the day or
the hour, but this is a distinct
possibility.)
Third of Tishri
Fast of Gedaliah
Tenth of Tishri
YOM KIPPUR
The Day of Atonement
Leviticus 23:26-32
Fifteenth of Tishri
*** THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES
Leviticus 23:33-34, 42-43
Possible date of the Birth of Christ
The theme of the feast and the time
of year fits. It is also nine months after the
proposed date of Christ's
conception. (See Hanukkah below.)
Chisleu - Ninth Month
(November/December)
Twenty-Fourth of Chisleu(Kislev)
Day before Hanukkah
Recapture of the Temple and cleansing of Sanctuary (165 BC.)
Twenty-Fifth of Chisleu Possible date of the conception of
Christ Possible date of the visit of the
Magi (one year later)
Hanukkah
(Feast of Lights, Feast of Dedication)
Adar - Twelfth Month
(December/January)
Fourteenth and Fifteenth of Adar
Feast of Purim
This fascinating theory is that before there were written Scriptures, God may have used the clustering of stars that we call constellations as object lessons about His future plans for salvation and other prophetic subjects.
To learn more about this go to: The Gospel In The Stars
