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Spiritual Warfare
MATTHEW 2:16, 'Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.'
MATTHEW 2:16-23
Satan was the real motivator of Herod's actions. Ever since the Lord first prophesied that a man would bruise his head, Satan has been seeking out this 'seed' of the woman (Gen. 3:15).
It appears that Satan is able to perceive when the Lord is making a major move in the earth. In the days of Moses, Satan moved Pharaoh to kill all the male children of the Israelite slaves, and here he motivates Herod to...
Herod's Folly
Mt. 2:13, '...for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.'
MATTHEW 2:13-15
Herod had ruled over Judaea for nearly forty-three years at the time of these events. He had the title of King conferred on him by the Roman senate at the recommendation of Antony and Octavius. His accomplishments included the building of the temple in Jerusalem which was one of the most magnificent structures in the world. Most people would have thought that Herod had it 'made'.
However, history reveals that Herod was extremely paranoid. He actually killed his wife and one of his sons because he feared they would take the kingdom from him. All his power and fame couldn't buy him the peace that the angels proclaimed (Lk. 2:8-14). His...
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Believe The Word
Matthew 2:1, 'Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem.'
MATTHEW 2:1-12
How could this be? The greatest event in the history of God's dealings with mankind was taking place and the leaders of God's people didn't even know about it. Foreigners who were unfamiliar with the covenants of God perceived what God was doing more than His own chosen people! (Eph. 2:12)
The apparent answer to this is that these Persian wise men were more in tune to the prophecies of scripture than the Jews were. Daniel had been promoted to be the head of all the wise men of Babylon (Dan. 2:48). While in Babylon, Daniel had come through the lions'...
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God's Choice
Luke 2:37, 'And she [was] a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served [God] with fastings and prayers night and day.'
LUKE 2:36-40
Let's suppose that Anna was fourteen years old when she married. She would have been 105 years old. Yet she was still fasting and praying night and day! Satan tries to convince us that God won't use us. He may cite things like age or lack of abilities, or failures that we've had. But just like Anna, there are many scriptural examples of the Lord using those who would be considered unusable by worldly standards.
Moses was eighty years old before he began to fulfill God's plan for his life and he worked right up until he was 120 years old....
Revelation Knowledge
Luke 2:26, 'And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ.'
LUKE 2:25-35
Simeon didn't receive this knowledge through the normal method of learning. This knowledge was revealed to him directly from the Holy Spirit. This revelation knowledge which comes only from God is distinctly different than knowledge acquired through study. Man's knowledge is based on observation. It cannot give perfect instruction about the future. God's knowledge can. Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we can know things to come (Jn. 16:13).
When dealing with God, revelation knowledge is essential. The Lord's ways are not always our ways (Isa. 55:8). A fear of...