Those of you who have a background in liturgical Christian churches know that today, January 6, is "Epiphany"...the 12th day of Christmas...in Koine Greek, it's ἐπιφάνεια, epiphaneia, or "manifestation" or "striking appearance"...
It's the day of the Theophany, which in Ancient Greek is (ἡ) Θεοφάνεια, Theophaneia, meaning "vision of God"...it's a Christian feast day that celebrates the revelation of God as a human being in Jesus Christ...in Western Christianity, the feast commemorates principally (but not solely) the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, and thus Jesus' physical manifestation to the Gentiles...
The Magi (or three Wise Men), who are celebrated on this day, may be my favorite Bible characters...they were persian magician/astrologers who, as far as we know, knew nothing of the Scriptures predicting the birth of a Jewish Messiah, and still found the Christ...they certainly didn't know that the Prophet Micah had said that He would be born in Bethlehem...
Now pertaining to Jesus – being born within [the town of] Bethlehem, of the Judean [district], during the days of Herod the king – note and consider this: Great ones (magi: from the Persian magus = great ones, who were often Persian priests; wise men; scholars; astrologers; royal advisors; or: magicians) from eastern regions birthed their presence into Jerusalem[Hebrew: City or Occupation of Peace and Wholeness]. They kept on saying, "Where is He being the one born 'King of the Judeans'? You see, we saw His star (or: luminous heavenly body; meteor; flame of light) in [its] rising (or: within the East, the place of rising; or: we, [being] in the east, saw His star), and we come (or: came) to do obeisance (or: to kiss toward, fall down and give reverence, worship and pay homage) to Him."
(Matthew 2:1, 2 - Jonathan Mitchell New Testament)
...somehow they knew about Him by charting the stars, or the zodiac, and were so excited about His birth that they travelled to a foreign country just to worship Him...not to convert to Judaism...not to learn about the Hebrew Scriptures...certainly not to become "Christians", because that concept didn't even exist yet...these three mysterious men transcended religious and national boundaries, and were not only enlightened in the magical arts, they were also global visionaries...they intuitively recognized who Jesus was as a baby in the same way that the pagan Roman Centurian recognized Him as an adult...
Now when the man Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the king, astrologers from the East came to Jerusalem to inquire about Him. These astrologers, or “Magi” originated from a religious caste among the Persians who were devoted to divination (or the practice of the magic arts) and to the interpretation of dreams. They came from Southern Arabia, where they had long maintained a tradition of Israelite Messianic expectation that had survived in the region since the days of the Queen of Sheba; and this tradition survived alongside their practice of astrology. When they came to Jerusalem, they began to ask around, “Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have charted His star in the East through our understanding of the zodiac and have come to worship Him.”
(Matthew 2:1, 2 - Matthew In The Now
"Epiphany" is also known as "The Day of the Lights"...the dictionary defines an epiphany as:
"a sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience"...
I love the way the Concordant Literal Version translates Matthew 2:1, 2:
Now, at Jesus' being born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, lo! magi from the East came along into Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He Who is brought forth King of the Jews? For we perceived His star in the East, and we came to worship Him."
How awesome is that?! "We PERCEVED His star in the East"...
Perception is everything...
The little cartoon at the top about "Breakfast at Epiphany's" cracks me up, but there is also a subtle truth to it...the more sensitive that you become to the phenomena of having an epiphany, so more you see EVERYTHING as a miracle...
The United Nations has named 2015 as 'The Year of Light'...my prayer for you today is that you will walk in revelation and enlightenment and a continual unveiling of truth, not just on January 6, but in every day of this New Year...I pray for you to have the ability to think outside the religious box, as the Magi did 2,000 years ago, that you are able to transcend borders, as they did, and that you will find a deeper revelation of God on your own terms by following their example...
LET THERE BE LIGHT!
HERE'S MATTHEW CHAPTER II FROM MY BOOK, 'THE GOSPELS IN THE NOW'*...
1. Now when the man Jesus was born as a baby in Bethlehem of Judea during the reign of Herod the king, astrologers from the East came to Jerusalem to inquire about Him. These astrologers, or “Magi” originated from a religious caste among the Persians who were devoted to divination (or the practice of the magic arts) and to the interpretation of dreams. They came from Southern Arabia, where they had long maintained a tradition of Israelite Messianic expectation that had survived in the region since the days of the Queen of Sheba; and this tradition survived alongside their practice of astrology.
2. When they came to Jerusalem, they began to ask around, “Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews? For we have charted His star in the East through our understanding of the zodiac and have come to worship Him.”
3. But when the news about these Arabic magicians got to Herod, it worried him greatly and, in fact, troubled all of Jerusalem with him.
4. So he called together all the people who were experts in the law, and in Messianic prophecy, and asked them where the Messiah was supposed to be born.
5. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” the learned men replied, “for this is what the prophet Micah has written:
6. ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not in any way the least among Judah’s rulers: for out of you will come a ruler who will be the Shepherd of my people Israel.’”
7. Then Herod called for a secret meeting with the Magi in an attempt to find out if what they knew from their astrological charts lined up with what the Scriptures had predicted.
8. But these magicians had no knowledge of the prophetic Scriptures, so he said to them, “Go to Bethlehem and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you locate him, report back to me so that I may go and worship Him.”
9. After they conferred with the king, they went on their way and could actually see the star ahead of them. It literally seemed to move, guiding them to Bethlehem until it appeared to stop over the place where the child was.
10. When they saw the star that they had anticipated for so long, they were absolutely overjoyed. Of all the signs and wonders that they had seen and performed, this was different…this was the most spectacular! And this was proof that the heavens really do declare the glory of God, as David had said, and that even those who were not of the seed of Abraham could see it, even without a knowledge of the Scriptures.
11. On entering the house, they saw the child with His mother Mary and instinctively bowed down and worshipped Him. While everyone else in Israel was oblivious, these Persian magicians were the very first to recognize and worship the King! Then they opened their treasures and presented Him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh, providing Him and His family with enough wealth to last a lifetime.
12. Then they were warned in a dream not to go back to see Herod and returned to their country by an alternate route.
13. After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for your child and wants to kill him.”
14. That very night, Joseph obediently got up and took his wife and baby boy to Egypt,
15. where they stayed until Herod died. So the prophecy came true, just as the Lord had promised and the prophet had said, “I called my son out of Egypt.”
16. When Herod became aware that the Magi had more or less tricked him, he was furious. He reacted by giving orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem that were two years old and younger. He based his horrible plan on what he had learned from the Eastern magicians.
17. So another prophecy came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said:
18. “In Ramah a voice was heard crying and weeping loudly. Rachel was mourning for her children, and she was inconsolable because they were dead.”
19. Finally, after King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in exile in Egypt.
20. The angel said, “Get up now and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are no threat to you now because they are dead.”
21. So Joseph obediently got up and left with them for Israel.
22. But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now the ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. So the angel spoke to him in another dream and told him to go to Galilee.
23. And, as a result, they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So yet another prophecy was fulfilled in this action, because the prophet had said, “He will be called a Nazarene.”
*AVAILABLE AT amazon.com AND jimswilleybooks.com
