Think about this guys; The Magi told King Herod;
☆ “It is written by the prophet: In Bethlehem…in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.
• Matthew 2:5-6
That statement from them tells us specific information;
1. They knew the writings of Micah & Samuel (The prophets that wrote what they quoted.)
2. They had to have known about Daniel, since the star they were following was the star that Daniel predicted.
3. They must have studied all of the books of the Jewish prophets, because they were alert for the signs, knew what to do when they saw them, and acted immediately when they did.
Magi were important people and had significant roles in the Persian government.
Because of that, they would have been living in or near the capital city, most likely in Ctesiphon (near modern-day Baghdad), which was 40 miles away from Babylon.
From there, the distance to Bethlehem is about 1,110 km (690 miles).
But that’s only if you go directly through the Syrian Desert.
THAT was quite dangerous. So it’s much more likely that they would have followed the Euphrates River to Aleppo (or Beroea as it was known at that time) in Syria, and then turned south.
This would be a total one-way trip of 1,773 km (1,102 miles).
So;
If they rode fast and continuously, making about 30 miles a day, which was not unknown at the time, and could have been done, they could have done it in a little more than five weeks.
But these were dignitaries, and most likely, they would have chosen a more leisurely pace with occasional breaks.
This would put their likely minimum travel time in the area of eleven weeks or more.
But the Jewish Synagogue Leaders, Scribes, Pharasee’s and Sadducee’s in Jerusalem…ONLY 6 MILES AWAY...were not aware, ready, or concerned (except for Herod who wanted to murder any competitor to his throne) about the prophecy they must have known about.
The people who could have walked to Jesus in a couple hours, were less interested in the Savior of the world than those that rode 3 months on a camel for.
Is that YOU?
Do you know the scriptures, and are close enough to the body, but still not aware of the times around you?
Well, I humbly, with so much love, care and brotherly encouragement must tell you;
WAKE UP!
As the Magi saw the sign of the times for His birth, and HIS 1st coming;
The actions and events going on today show that the prophecies are all starting to align up for the 2nd coming.
Are you ready?
