Catholics know what happened on The First “Ephipany”.
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Question 1: “What happened on The First Epiphany?”
Answer: “The First Epiphany is The Christian Holy Day that commemorates the first manifestation of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. They were the Three Wise Men who appeared from Babylon, the unholy city that had once held the Tribes of Israel captive.”
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Question 2: “How did The Three Wise Men know when to begin the three months of travel to Bethlehem?”
Answer: “Jewish people lived in Babylon with their Prophecies about the Future. Astronomers also lived in Babylon. They maintained carefully written records of the constellations moving across the clear, night skies for the preceding 2,000 years of The Past. When the Jewish Prophesy that God was coming to earth in Human Form was connected to a specific alignment the Gentile Astronomers could see in their Star Charts, three of their Wisest Men began their three-month journey to Jerusalem.”
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Question 3: “When they got to Jerusalem, had predictions from The Prophet Isaiah 60:1-6 come True? ‘Rise up in splendor, Jerusalem! Your light has come, The Glory of The Lord shines upon you See, darkness covers the earth and thick clouds the peoples (minds), but upon you The Lord shines!’”
And, did The Psalms make similar predictions?”
Answer: “Prophecies from Psalm 72:1-13 came true! ‘We see that every nation on earth will adore You! The King’s Son will be endowed with Justice, there will be profound peace from sea to sea, kings of Tarshish, the isles, Arabia, and Sheba whall bring tribute, He shall rescue the poor, lowly, and afflicted. Every nation on earth will adore You!’ ”
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Question 4: “What was the result of Jewish Prophets meeting Gentile Astronomers?”
Answer: “The Catholic Church! St. Paul, the most obedient Jewish person in Judea, saw what he told us in Eph 3:2-6 about God’s New Testament! Much to the dismay of The Jerusalem Establishment, Paul realized that God had made the Gentiles ‘co-heirs’ and ‘co-partners’ with the Twelve Tribes!
‘Brothers and sisters: You have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for your benefit, namely, that the mystery was made known to me by revelation.
It was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed to His Holy Apostles and Prophets by the Spirit: that the Gentiles are coheirs, members of the same body, and copartners in the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.’
Being ‘co-heirs’ and co-partners’ is what brought The Wise Men to Jerusalem and on to Bethlehem in Mt: 2:2: ‘We saw the star at its rising and have come to do Him homage.’”
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Question 5: “What happened when King Herod and The Jerusalem Establishment heard that?”
Answer: “‘All of them were ‘greatly troubled’! The incomes of every person in Jerusalem depended on a continual flow of donations from the Twelve Tribes scattered around the world. Josephus reports in his incredible book, ‘The Jewish Wars’, that a million Jewish Pilgrims brought a month of income into Jerusalem at every Passover. Jerusalem may have been the richest city on earth. People whose incomes and positions were threatened by being reduced from ‘heirs’ to ‘co-heirs’ were, to put it mildly, ‘troubled’!”
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Question 6: “Did Herod and the others pretend to want to help God’s Will be done?”
Answer: “Catholics still learn from their lies! Their carefully orchestrated fraud was clear: ‘Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, (Micah 5:2) In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it has been written through the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; since from you shall come a ruler, who is to shepherd my people Israel.’”
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Question 7: “Was that orchestrated public ceremony The First Anti-Catholic Fraud?”
Answer: “Yes! After putting on that show, King Herod told his greatest lie behind closed doors:
‘Then Herod called the magi secretly and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, ‘Go and search diligently for the child. When you have found him, bring me word, that I too may go and do him homage.’”
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Question 8: “Why did Herod tell that lie?”
Answer: “Herod owed his position to Caesar. He knew the Wise Men were from Babylon, part of the Parthian Empire for the preceding 250 years, and Rome’s most powerful enemy.
Herod knew: ‘I must ingratiate myself with Caesar and with the high priests, scribes, and every other person empowered by The Jerusalem Establishment. I will pretend to seek God’s Living Truth so that I can kill the Promised Messiah and show my friendship to earthly concerns who keep my crown on my head!’”
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Question 9: “Did God save His Son from Herod and The Jerusalem Establishment?”
Answer: “After The Three Wise Men honored Jesus and Mary and gifted them with the resources to pay for their trip to Egypt, ‘God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod, and they departed for their country by another way.’
Joseph may have used the leftover ‘gold, frankincense, and myrrh’ to become a successful builder in Nazareth, home of huge developments by Herod’s successors and others.
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Question 10: “What did Herod do when his deception did not fool God?”
Answer: “Mt. 2:16 tells us that Herod killed every baby in Bethlehem under 2 years old. Herod is God’s great lesson to Catholics about every political figure who profits from serving evil while pretending to serve God.”
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Today’s Simple Rhyme: “Liars never want to know / ‘Telling lies condemns my soul.'”
