One For Israel - The Magi and the Star

December 17, 2025 | S25 E1220 | 28:12

Join Dr. Erez Soref in Why Israel?—a powerful journey through the greatest love story ever told: God’s covenant relationship with Israel and His invitation to the nations. This profound love still transforms lives today.

#StarofBethlehem #Messiah #Magi #Christmas #Israel #JewishHistory #JewishTradition #Christianity #Gospel #Hope #Salvation #ErezSoref

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| One For Israel - The Magi and the Star | December 17, 2025

The king of this universe has been born!
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The star was a very important symbol
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Connected to royalty.
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Is it possible that daniel
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Passed the knowledge of the jewish messiah
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To the magi he led?
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The case of herod
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Would be absolutely impossible
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In the parthian empire.
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The hopes and fears of all the years
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Are met in thee tonight.
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I am dr. erez soref.
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I was born and raised in the heart of israel,
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But i never heard the gospel message
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Until on a journey abroad,
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My eyes were opened to the jewish messiah.
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From that point,
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My life has been dedicated
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To bringing this gospel back to my people israel,
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Equipping them to reach israel
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And the world.
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Together, as jews and gentiles,
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We are one in messiah, one for israel.
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2,000 years ago
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A group of mysterious men from the east
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Set out in pursuit
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Of the glory of god.
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They followed a star
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Across deserts and kingdoms
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Until it led them to bethlehem,
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To a child,
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To bow before the king of the jews
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And the king of kings.
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In our nativity scenes
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We see three wise men with camels
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Bowing before a manger.
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But the real story is far more fascinating.
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Why would foreign priests risk the journey
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To honor a jewish king?
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What stirred in their hearts and drove them
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To bow down before yeshua?
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And has that same hope stirred in your heart?
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Today we will explore how hope in god's promises
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Has moved people around the world
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To search out the king of kings
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Born in the humble village of bethlehem.
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The gospel of matthew tells us:
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"after jesus was born
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"in bethlehem in judea,
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"during the time of king herod,
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"magi from the east
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"came to jerusalem and asked,
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"where is the one
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"who has been born,
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"king of the jews?
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"we saw his star when it rose
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"and have come to worship him."
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In the world of that day,
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Rome ruled israel and everything to the west.
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But east of israel, much of the land
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Belonged to the parthian empire.
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One of the most respected groups in parthia
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Was the magi,
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Priestly advisors and aristocrats
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Who traced their roots back hundreds of years,
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Even to the time of daniel.
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They were famous as kingmakers and dream interpreters.
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Their insight advised kings and kingdoms
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And established whole dynasties.
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They helped to shape the political climate
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Not only of parthia,
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But also had influence as far as rome.
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In fact, a group of parthians,
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Likely magi,
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Had traveled to judea
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Only decades before yeshua.
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They had crowned a jewish maccabee priest,
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Antigonus ii,
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As both high priest and king over judea.
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However, it was herod the great
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That soon had this king overthrown and killed.
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By the time of yeshua's birth,
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Herod was king over israel.
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Herod wasn't jewish by blood.
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His family were edomites who had converted to judaism.
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During his reign, he built magnificent projects
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Throughout israel.
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The most remarkable was his expansion of the temple,
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Making it more impressive than even solomon's.
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But while herod made things look good
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On the outside,
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He was not the king israel was longing for.
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Israel longed for a king like david,
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Josiah, or hezekiah,
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Leaders who brought the nation back to god,
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Who led in repentance for spiritual revival.
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Instead, herod's rule was marked
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By his lust for power,
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His deep insecurity, and cruel brutality.
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Rome favored him as a puppet ruler,
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But many of his own people despised him.
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So imagine that scene in matthew.
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A group of mysterious magi
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Dignitaries from the eastern world power,
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Arrived in roman territory.
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They likely came with an armed caravan.
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Matthew says that herod and all jerusalem
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Were troubled.
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They had good reason to worry.
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This could mean war.
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The last generation of magi
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Had opposed herod's rise to power.
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Less than 40 years ago,
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Herod had killed the men that the magi appointed king.
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And now these king makers arrived,
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Saying they came to worship the one
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Born king of the jews, not herod.
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He wasn't born king.
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He had schemed and murdered his way to power.
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They were looking for a son of david,
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A king by birth.
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Would the magi try to take herod's crown?
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In a panic,
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Herod called the chief priests
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And bible experts of the day
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To see if there was anything to the magi's claims
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Of a soon coming king.
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The priests read micah's prophecy:
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"but you, bethlehem ephrathah...
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"out of you will come for me
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"one who will be ruler
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"over israel,
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"whose origins are from of old,
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"from ancient times...
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"he will stand and shepherd
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"his flock in the strength
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"of the lord, in the majesty
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"of the name of the lord
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"his god."
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The messiah, shepherd of israel,
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Born in bethlehem.
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It's remarkable how the priests
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Had such deep theological knowledge,
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But something prevented them
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From embracing what their hearts should have longed for.
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And herod,
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He actually believed
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What these scriptures said
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About the messiah's coming.
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But his jealousy caused him to rage
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Against the anointed one.
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Both the priests and herod
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Had access to this profound truth.
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But somehow they couldn't bring themselves
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To welcome him.
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It's possible for us to know something in our minds,
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But miss it in our hearts.
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We can hear the christmas story every year
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Until it becomes a mere tradition.
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But just think about the wonder.
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The savior of your soul, the king of this universe,
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Has been born, and he is alive.
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It's not a fairy tale or a myth.
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We can pursue, follow, and bow down to him.
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Or we can stay seated
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On the throne of our own lives.
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Herod and the priests had the chance
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To welcome god's anointed one.
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But instead, herod only saw this child
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As a usurper.
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He asked the magi to go to bethlehem
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As his ambassadors and report back.
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But he was already plotting
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To destroy this threat to his rule.
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The famous carol says:
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"the hopes and fears of all the years
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"are met in thee tonight."
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The goodness of yeshua brings us great hope.
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But for some, it seems to bring fear.
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Why?
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Because if yeshua is king,
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It means that i am not.
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Our messiah's kingdom
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Shatters the world's man-made powers
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And structures.
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When we come to him,
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He shakes the foundation of our lives,
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And he begins to build our lives
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On the rock of his lordship.
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But many would rather cling to their own thrones.
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Yeshua said:
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"whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
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"but whoever loses his life for my sake
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"will find it."
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Let us embrace yeshua's coming,
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First and future, with expectation, hope and joy.
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Let earth receive her king.
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But a curious mystery remains in our story.
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How did the foreign magi
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Even know to expect a jewish messiah?
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And why follow a mysterious star
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All the way to israel?
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All the way to israel?
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The magi had heard the news.
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A great king, the messiah of israel,
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Had been born.
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They had seen his star in the sky,
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So they traveled to jerusalem.
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When they arrived, they may have expected
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Fanfare and celebration.
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Perhaps they expected to see a city preparing
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A palace for its newborn ruler.
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Maybe they thought
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They would see jewish men
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Taking up arms,
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Ready to defend their new king
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Against any potential attack.
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Instead, they found an insecure king herod
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Who had claimed his throne by force.
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A man who had no knowledge
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Of the promised messiah they were searching for.
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No one seemed to be aware
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That he was even born.
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And those who did know the prophecies
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Didn't bother to join the magi on their journey.
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Matthew tells us that when the magi left herod,
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The star moved south
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And hovered over a house in bethlehem.
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When the magi saw the star, they rejoiced.
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They arrived and entered into the home
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Where young yeshua was staying.
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And when they saw him, they worshipped.
00:10:10.075 --> 00:10:12.711
What they had journeyed in search for
00:10:12.711 --> 00:10:14.946
Had been found.
00:10:14.946 --> 00:10:16.214
They bowed and offered treasures,
00:10:16.214 --> 00:10:18.249
Gifts to honor a king, priest, and savior.
00:10:18.249 --> 00:10:22.921
It's a wonderful freedom when, like the magi,
00:10:23.822 --> 00:10:27.625
You can cut through all the noise
00:10:27.625 --> 00:10:29.728
And mixed motivation of man.
00:10:29.728 --> 00:10:31.796
When you can focus on the light and the darkness.
00:10:31.796 --> 00:10:35.066
When you see yeshua revealed.
00:10:35.066 --> 00:10:37.702
As the old song goes:
00:10:38.203 --> 00:10:40.705
"the things of earth grow strangely dim
00:10:40.705 --> 00:10:43.942
"in the light of his glory and grace."
00:10:43.942 --> 00:10:46.911
And out of the heart that truly sees,
00:10:46.911 --> 00:10:49.681
Flows worship.
00:10:49.681 --> 00:10:52.283
But how did these gentile kingmakers
00:10:53.051 --> 00:10:56.354
Know about the jewish messiah
00:10:56.354 --> 00:10:58.289
When herod didn't?
00:10:58.289 --> 00:11:00.425
The magi had been around for centuries.
00:11:00.425 --> 00:11:03.428
It was an exclusive class.
00:11:03.428 --> 00:11:05.663
A hereditary priesthood
00:11:05.663 --> 00:11:07.198
Passed on from father to son.
00:11:07.198 --> 00:11:09.868
600 years before yeshua,
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A young jewish man named daniel.
00:11:12.270 --> 00:11:14.906
Daniel was taken as a captive to babylon.
00:11:14.906 --> 00:11:18.276
God had given daniel the interpretation
00:11:18.276 --> 00:11:20.712
Of king nebuchadnezzar's dream.
00:11:20.712 --> 00:11:23.214
Displaying a greater knowledge than the pagan magi priests.
00:11:23.214 --> 00:11:27.819
Because of this, daniel was promoted
00:11:27.819 --> 00:11:31.122
And made chief of those magi.
00:11:31.122 --> 00:11:33.725
This was shocking.
00:11:33.725 --> 00:11:35.126
A slave in captivity!
00:11:35.126 --> 00:11:37.028
Someone like that was never made a magi.
00:11:37.028 --> 00:11:39.697
Not to mention their chief.
00:11:39.697 --> 00:11:42.033
That would be like a gentile
00:11:42.033 --> 00:11:44.235
Being chief priest at the jewish temple.
00:11:44.235 --> 00:11:48.039
During his years as a chief magi
00:11:48.740 --> 00:11:51.075
For the babylonians and then the persians,
00:11:51.075 --> 00:11:53.945
God gave daniel
00:11:53.945 --> 00:11:55.079
Visions of kingdoms
00:11:55.079 --> 00:11:56.815
That would rise and fall.
00:11:56.815 --> 00:11:58.750
And of a moment when god's kingdom would come.
00:11:58.750 --> 00:12:02.387
Daniel was even given a timeline
00:12:02.387 --> 00:12:05.089
For when the messiah would be cut off
00:12:05.089 --> 00:12:08.059
For the sins of the people.
00:12:08.059 --> 00:12:09.794
483 years after a persian decree
00:12:09.794 --> 00:12:14.132
To rebuild jerusalem.
00:12:14.132 --> 00:12:16.868
That prophetic timeline soon became a countdown
00:12:16.868 --> 00:12:20.772
To the messiah's birth.
00:12:20.772 --> 00:12:22.841
Jewish people of the day did the calculations
00:12:22.841 --> 00:12:25.810
From daniel's vision
00:12:25.810 --> 00:12:27.178
And determined that the messiah would be born
00:12:27.178 --> 00:12:30.181
Right at the start of the first century,
00:12:30.181 --> 00:12:33.051
Exactly when yeshua came.
00:12:33.051 --> 00:12:35.687
Is it possible that daniel,
00:12:36.287 --> 00:12:38.489
The jewish chief of the magi,
00:12:38.489 --> 00:12:40.792
Passed the knowledge of the jewish messiah
00:12:40.792 --> 00:12:42.861
To the magi he led?
00:12:42.861 --> 00:12:44.462
Their traditions, teachings and legacy
00:12:44.462 --> 00:12:47.465
Were carefully handed down to each new generation
00:12:47.465 --> 00:12:50.835
For hundreds of years.
00:12:50.835 --> 00:12:53.004
Is it conceivable that they knew the timeline
00:12:53.004 --> 00:12:56.207
And they knew the promise?
00:12:56.207 --> 00:12:58.276
Not only would messiah be king of the jews,
00:12:58.276 --> 00:13:01.346
But according to prophecy,
00:13:01.346 --> 00:13:02.947
He would also be a light for the gentiles.
00:13:02.947 --> 00:13:06.384
Maybe one night, an expectant gentile magi
00:13:06.384 --> 00:13:10.788
Looked up into the dark sky and saw a new light.
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And remembering daniel,
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He knew that time had come for israel's king.
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Welcome to the hebrew university of jerusalem.
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My name is michael shenkar.
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We're here at mount scopus,
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Looking on the old city of jerusalem.
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The meeting between king herod and the magi
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Would have taken place there at the royal palace.
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My research, part of my research,
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Focuses on ancient iran, on pre-islamic iran,
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On the achaemenid, parthian and sasanian empires.
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During the 1st century bce
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And the 1st century ce,
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The world here in the middle east
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Is basically a bipolar world
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Of the two empires.
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We're talking about the two great empires,
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The roman state to the west
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And the parthian empire in the east.
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The greek original of the gospel of matthew
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Uses the term magoy,
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Which comes from old persian, the language of the achaemenids.
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It basically originally designated
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The tribe of priests,
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Of ritual specialists in iran and in persia.
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It is possible that the magoy, the magi,
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Which appear there,
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Indeed referred to persians
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And thus to zoroastrian priests.
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They were, of course,
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Professional religious specialists,
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Very much like the judean priests
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During the second temple period.
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The magi were also closely connected with astrology
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And foreseeing the future.
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And, of course, babylonia,
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Which was an important center of the parthian empire,
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Was perceived by the greeks and other people
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As the center of astrological science.
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The star was a very important symbol
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Connected to royalty
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In the ancient near east in general,
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Especially in the hellenistic period.
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In particular, in iran and in zoroastrian religion,
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The star also has important significance.
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Astral symbolism appears frequently on parthian coins.
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We have a moon crescent and the star or a sun.
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Then i describe this bipolar world
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Of the two superpowers,
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We must remember
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That the relations between rome and parthia
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Were not always hostile.
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So the people obviously moved in this region
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From parthian empire to the roman empire.
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It is also important to remember
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That the people living
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On both sides of the border shared...
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In the two empires,
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They shared a similar language, aramaic.
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They often shared a similar also ethnic background
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And they had much in common.
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And we should also remember
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That there was a large and very important
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Jewish community in the parthian empire.
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It is this community centered in babylonia,
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In mesopotamia,
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That from the very end of the parthian period
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And especially from the sasanian period,
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Produced the babylonian talmud.
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The parthian empire was an empire of aristocracy.
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It was ruled by aristocracy
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And the gap between the nobles
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And the common people was huge.
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Unlike anything that we know
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In the classical world in greece and rome,
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The jews and the parthians were close allies
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Because they had a common enemy,
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The romans.
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The case of herod
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Would be absolutely impossible
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In the parthian empire.
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As someone rising from a relatively humble origin
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And becoming a ruler,
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It could only be possible
00:17:44.262 --> 00:17:47.431
Within the framework of the roman culture
00:17:47.431 --> 00:17:52.036
And this is something that perhaps
00:17:52.036 --> 00:17:54.305
Also contributed
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To his initial connections with rome
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While matityahu antigonus went to the parthians
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And he had behind him his lineage, his royal origin
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And this is also why herod was always accused
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Of being lowborn.
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The magi realized that it would be better for them
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Not to report back to herod,
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But to break their promise and to go home
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Without disclosing the place
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Where jesus was found.
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The magi in persia
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May have known daniel's prophecies
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Of the messiah, who would be the king of the jews
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And savior of the world.
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And those magi followed his star.
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But in the book of numbers,
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The bible tells of an even earlier foreign prophet
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Who also looked up and saw messiah's star.
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His name was balaam.
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His name was balaam.
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Magi, gentile wise men from the east.
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These were kingmakers,
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Dream interpreters who recognized
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The true king of the jews,
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Who followed his star to bow down.
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But this wasn't the first time
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A gentile seer came from the east
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And spoke of a star connected to israel's messiah.
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In the book of numbers, we meet balaam,
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A gentile prophet.
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He was famous for giving oracles.
00:19:34.147 --> 00:19:36.149
The ones he blessed were blessed
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And the ones he cursed were cursed.
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The king of moab hired balaam
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To curse israel as they came out of egypt.
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Balaam went to meet that king,
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But he was warned by god's angel
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To speak only the words god would give him.
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When balaam arrived to speak over israel,
00:19:53.533 --> 00:19:56.202
God would not allow him to curse.
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Instead, god put blessing in his mouth.
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Balaam looked on israel and saw god's love for them.
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His spirit came on him.
00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:08.181
He spoke of their destiny as a people
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And the promised one to come.
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He said:
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"the prophecy of the one
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"whose eye sees clearly,
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"the prophecy of the one
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"who hears the words of god,
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"who has knowledge
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"from the most high,
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"who sees a vision
00:20:23.229 --> 00:20:24.297
"from the almighty,
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"who falls prostrate
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"and whose eyes are opened.
00:20:27.334 --> 00:20:29.536
"i see him, but not now.
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"i behold him, but not near.
00:20:31.805 --> 00:20:34.240
"a star will come out of jacob;
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"a scepter will rise
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"out of israel."
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A star represented a ruler chosen by heaven,
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A light from god.
00:20:44.217 --> 00:20:45.719
A scepter spoke of authority.
00:20:45.719 --> 00:20:48.288
Thousands of years before the magi bowed before yeshua,
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This prophet from the east bowed down.
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With his eyes open wide,
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Balaam saw it in the distance.
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A king from israel connected to a star.
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The magi and balaam, both gentiles,
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Saw the star pointing to israel's king.
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Sadly, balaam resisted god and led israel into idolatry.
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But the magi humbled themselves and worshipped.
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2,000 years after the gentile magi
00:25:32.739 --> 00:25:35.742
First followed a star,
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We see people from every nation
00:25:37.777 --> 00:25:40.046
Following after king yeshua.
00:25:40.046 --> 00:25:42.982
But still, many of his people,
00:25:42.982 --> 00:25:44.917
My people,
00:25:44.917 --> 00:25:45.985
Need to hear this message of hope
00:25:45.985 --> 00:25:48.021
And light today.
00:25:48.021 --> 00:25:49.722
Will you join with us
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To give the greatest gift
00:25:51.557 --> 00:25:53.192
To israel?
00:25:53.192 --> 00:25:54.327
The gift of yeshua.
00:25:54.327 --> 00:25:59.432
This christmas,
00:25:59.799 --> 00:26:01.267
As we remember the coming of the king,
00:26:01.267 --> 00:26:03.936
Looking to the star,
00:26:03.936 --> 00:26:05.538
Remember to pray for the nation
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To whom yeshua came,
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For israel to recognize
00:26:09.275 --> 00:26:10.610
Their hope,
00:26:10.610 --> 00:26:11.678
That they would see his star,
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His light,
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Shining in the midst of darkness.
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And as the gentiles looked on
00:26:16.983 --> 00:26:19.352
And looked for the king,
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Let my people look to the one
00:26:21.020 --> 00:26:23.956
Born king of israel.
00:26:23.956 --> 00:26:23.956

One For Israel - The Magi and the Star

December 17, 2025 | S25 E1220 | 28:12

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