Matthew 2 - October 2

Matthew 2:1-2 says, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."”

How did the wise men know when the Messiah would be born? Certainly these men had to have some prophetic background to know that this star was a sign of Christ’s appearance. …I believe the answer is in Daniel 9:25-27. Daniel wrote that there were be 69 weeks (of years) (which is 483 years) from the time of the command to rebuild Jerusalem until the time Messiah would be “cut off.” These “wise men” were men who studied the Scripture in a way to understand it. They knew it was the time when He could have born since Daniel's prophecy foretold that He would die in about 33 years from that time. They were also watching the “signs of the times;” they knew the star wasn't an ordinary star, but a sign. Lets follow the same pattern of studying to show ourselves approved unto God while keeping our eyes open to specific things the LORD desires to show us. So many were blind to Jesus Christ's first appearing, and many are blind to the nearness of His second coming.