Grace Bible Church
Pastor Teacher
Robert R. McLaughlin
Wednesday March 25, 2015
2PE 1:19-21, And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.
God gave Israel the most mathematically precise prophecy in the entire Bible so that they would know the day their Messiah was to be presented to Israel as their Redeemer.
Since Israel always sought to walk by sight, God still gave them what they desired in what we could call "The Ultimate Sight Prophecy."
Even though He knew that throughout their history they would be known as those who would still "reject His prophecies", He still was willing to give them one of the greatest prophecies ever given, if not, the greatest prophecy ever given in all of human history.
He knew that in 1CO 1:22, the Jews desired and lusted after signs and wonders, but He was still willing to give them to them.
The Christian church has never been given such a mathematically precise timetable as the Jews were, proving the superiority of the principle of walking by means of faith and not by sight.
JOH 20:29, Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen Me, you have believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed."
2CO 5:7, for we walk by faith, not by sight‑‑
JER 29:13, 'And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.
HEB 11:6, And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. Sir Isaac Newton once said that the entire validity and trustworthiness of biblical prophecy could be proven by this one incredible mathematical prophecy in DAN 9:24-27.
God answered their prayer, by giving them the most incredibly precise mathematical formula by which the Jewish people would know when and where their Messiah would be presented.
The majority of them missed out totally and completely concerning the details that were presented to them.
JOH 1:11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.
As a result they came under a curse which has worked out horribly against Israel for the past 2,000 years.
There was "A GROUP OF MEN" who were watching this prophecy and waiting for it to be fulfilled.
These men were known as the Wise Men as history records for us but even history misses out on the details concerning THEM, because they were really known as the Magi and were made up of more than just three.
Most of you know them as the Three Wise Men because of the fact they brought three distinct categories of gifts to our Lord when He was born.
They are called the "Three Wise Men" because they brought three important gifts which were also related to prophecy because the gifts they brought spoke of the prophetic kingship of our Lord, and also His death and burial.
Even the gifts which the Magi brought to Jesus suggests that they were being prompted or motivated by Daniel's prophecy.
MIC 5:2 "But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah (Ephrathah is simply another name for Bethlehem), Too little to be among the clans of
Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity."
JOH 7:42 states "Has not the Scripture said that the Christ comes from the offspring of David, and from Bethlehem, the village where David was?"
How could our Lord be born in Bethlehem and then also be called out of Egypt, MIC 5:2; HOS 1:1.
This is how the prophecy of the birth of Christ in MIC 5:2, and that God would call His Son out of Egypt, HOS 11:1, would be fulfilled.
1. Gold--Daniel said in 9:25 that the coming Messiah was to be a "prince". This term denotes royalty, a king. Gold was the perfect gift for a king.
2. Frankincense--God stipulated in Exodus 30:34-36 that frankincense was to be prepared for the "purpose of sacrificial fumigation" or the cleansing and putting perfume upon a corpse.
EPH 5:2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
In DAN 9:26, God revealed that Messiah would be "cut off" (sacrificially killed),
This frankincense gift could also point to Jesus Christ as the ultimate High Priest, an office which He assumed after His ascension into Heaven.
3. Myrrh--The Jews used Myrrh for embalming bodies for burial preparation.
It is extremely interesting that two of the three gifts which the Magi presented to baby Jesus related to His death and burial.
The Daniel prophecy contained all the information which the Magi needed to know to bring these gifts.
How did the Wise Men know that the star they saw in the Heavens was so special that they set out on a very long journey on camels to go present gifts to the coming King?
JAM 2:19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.
Just believing in the truth doesn't always count, it's knowing and trusting and relying and humbling yourself to the point of applying that really counts and matters.
These men were not even Jews; they were pagan worshippers of Zoroaster, a Pagan god that many Iranians' are followed back them are still following today.
Jesus said, "[these horrible judgments will come upon you] because you did not know or recognize the time of your visitation." (LUK 19:44)
If your spiritual eyes are open and receptive to the Spirit, your faith will be dramatically increased.
The Wise Men were Magi, an order of the Pagan Medo-Persian religious order of Zoroaster.
(1) The Magi were ancient interpreters of dreams and were astrologers (monthly prognosticators), enchanters, sorcerers, and magicians.
Whenever any pagan king of that day conquered another nation, he would take their best young men and their best "Wise Men" to his court to advise him.
The Magi had always held Daniel in very high esteem, because he had saved the lives of the Magi of Daniel's day.
That night, after much prayer from Daniel and his three friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, that God would reveal the dream to Daniel.
God did, and King Nebuchadnezzar spared the lives of Daniel, his three friends, and all the Magi. [Daniel 2:1-19]
They did not become believers in God as the only god of the universe; rather, they believed Him to be the most powerful god of that time period, and certainly very powerful during any age.
They still remained pagan polytheists which means a belief in more than one God.
They were worshippers of the legendary Zarathustra, whom many Satanists consider to be the forerunner of the real Antichrist, including a lot of those in Iraq and Iran who follow the Sun god.
The Magi knew of all Daniel's writings, and undoubtedly had copies of the Book of Daniel, and they knew of the prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27.
At the time of the appearance of the Star, they knew they were within a lifetime of this prophecy coming to pass.
When they saw the Star, their knowledge of this remarkably precise prophecy, plus the promptings of the Holy Spirit, caused them to embark on the very long journey to Israel to pay their homage to the Jewish Messiah.
God foretold to the exact day when the Jews would be officially presented their long-awaited Messiah! [Fulfilled to the letter, MAT 21:1-11.