star on the tree

[martyd]

when i was a jw i was taught that the star that guided the wise men was of satan,the reasoning is that it brought them to herod first denoting an evil intent in following the star.i now dont believe this because  prophecy had to be fufilled.young boys had to be slaughtered and jesus would need to move to egypt in order to be called out of egypt.in this way the star was used.how do bible students view this matter? is the jw view a carry over from pastor russell or more of their self-proclaimed "new light"?

[Linda]

when i was a jw i was taught that the star that guided the wise men was of satan,the reasoning is that it brought them to herod first denoting an evil intent in following the star.i now dont believe this because  prophecy had to be fufilled.young boys had to be slaughtered and jesus would need to move to egypt in order to be called out of egypt.in this way the star was used.how do bible students view this matter? is the jw view a carry over from pastor russell or more of their self-proclaimed "new light"?

I'm not a Bible Student and no longer a JW so I give my own thoughts on the matter. Everything in the Bible has a purpose. The NT does not connect the star to Satan, I therefore cannot firmly conclude that it was from Satan. But neither does the NT directly connect the star to Jehovah God, I therefore cannot firmly conclude that the star was of divine origin either.

It is interesting, though, that foreigners should be among the first to recognize the coming of the Messiah, the first in scripture to bring him kingly gifts, and the first to indirectly cause his generation great harm.

[sister1977]

According to Scriptures, the star that shone was to guide the sheperds, I believe it was Gods way of showing light to shine on his son.No evil involved with the star.I was never a jw baptized wise & I never heard them say this,but then again I never attended every week either.

[RR]

No martyd, the star of satan was Rutherford's idea.

RR

[victormr]

*** w82 12/15 pp. 8-9 Jesus Christ—Little Baby or Reigning King? ***

Who really were these “wise men” that were guided, not by the instructions of an angel, but by a star? They were Magi, or astrologers. And although astrology is popular among many people, God condemns it.—Isaiah 47:12-15.

As the Bible record shows, those astrologers were not at first directed by the star to Jesus in Bethlehem but to murderous King Herod in Jerusalem. Now, if God had used the star to guide the astrologers, would he have directed them first to Jerusalem so that they would come in contact with that dangerous king? Obviously not!

When the star finally led the astrologers to Jesus, God stepped in and warned those men in a dream not to go back to Herod. God thereby saved the life of Jesus. How do we know? Because when Herod learned that the astrologers had fled without reporting to him, he sought to kill Jesus. But by then God had provided for Jesus’ escape. So that star was actually a scheme of Satan the Devil to have Jesus killed!

[RR]

We assume that there were three wise men because of the three gifts that were given: gold, incense, and myrrh (Matthew 2:11). However, the Bible does not say there were only three wise men. There could have been many more. Tradition says that there were three and that their names were Gaspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, but since the Bible does not say, we have no way of knowing whether the tradition is accurate.

It is a common misconception that the wise men visited Jesus at the stable on the night of His birth. In fact, the wise men came days, months, or possibly even years later. That is why Matthew 2:11 says the wise men visited and worshiped Jesus in a house, not at the stable.

We know that the magi were wise men from "the East," most likely Persia, or modern-day Iran. This means the wise men traveled 800 to 900 miles to see the Christ child. Most likely, the magi knew of the writings of the prophet Daniel, who in time past had been the chief of the court seers in Persia. Daniel 9:24-27 includes a prophecy which gives a timeline for the birth of the Messiah. Also, the magi may have been aware of the prophecy of Balaam (who was from the town of Pethor on the Euphrates River near Persia) in Numbers 24:17. Balaam's prophecy specifically mentions a “star coming out of Jacob.”

The wise men were guided to look for the King of the Jews by a miraculous stellar event, the "Star of Bethlehem," which they called "His star" (Matthew 2:2). They consulted with King Herod in Jerusalem concerning the birth of Christ and were so directed to Bethlehem (Matthew 2:4-8). They followed God's guidance joyfully (Matthew 2:10). Their gifts for Jesus were costly, and they worshiped Him. God warned them in a dream against returning to Herod, so, in defiance of the king, they left Judea by another route (Matthew 2:12).

So, the magi were men who 1) read and believed God's Word, 2) sought Jesus, 3) recognized the worth of Christ, 4) humbled themselves to worship Jesus, and 5) obeyed God rather than man. They were truly wise men!

[bro tom]

Thank you Rolando.  That was very well explained.

Bro Tom

[balaji]

Yes you right. Magi not apart of christ. They are not servants of satan because they are instructed by angels to go out of herod. They asked herod to give chance of fulfill prophesy of baby murders

[martyd]

thanks rr-the december dawn magazine also gives some credability to the magis divine studies.leave it to the wts to presumptously know it all where it is mere speculation on their part.