Did the famous wise men of the Holy Bible first see Jesus as a babe in a manger the night He was born in Bethlehem?
Millions of Christians think so, but according to the Bible itself, it's simply not the case.
"That is not in your Bible, folks. We're just talking about the words on the page," said Joe Kovacs, author the No. 1 best-seller, "Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told."
Kovacs, a Christian championing Bible truth, was interviewed Friday morning by Denver's top-rated radio host, Peter Boyles of KHOW-AM, to discuss the actual history of Christmas and why so many people are confused about the events surrounding the birth of God in the flesh.
A 12-minute clip of the extraordinary program can be heard by clicking the play button below.
Hear WND's Joe Kovacs and KHOW Radio's Peter Boyles discuss the Bible truth about Christmas |
Kovacs noted in his explanation:
Now in the Gospel of Matthew, different from the Gospel of Luke, it talks about a different time frame of events and it mentions that there were wise men from the East and they were asking King Herod who was in charge at that time about "Where is he that is born King of the Jews?" (Matthew 2:2) He was already born by the time that they were arriving, and King Herod didn't even know about this. This is how private of an event it was. And it doesn't say three wise men in your Bibles, folks. It just says wise men. So it could have been two, three, five, 20 or 170. We don't know for sure because the Bible doesn't tell us.
But this unspecified number of wise men first encountered Jesus not as a babe in a manger, according to your own Bible. They saw Jesus as a young child in a house. Those are the words on the page. When you actually crack open your own Bible [to Matthew 2:11], and I encourage you to do this ...
It says "And when they were come into the house" – not a barn, not a stable, not a manger – "they saw the young child" – not a babe, not a baby, not an infant, not a newborn – they saw a young child with Mary his mother and they fell down and worshipped him. So those are the words on the page. You have an unspecified number of wise men coming to see a young child in a house, not a babe in a manger.
Not only are the words different in English, they're different in the original Greek texts, because in Luke, the gospel where Jesus was born, where the shepherds saw Him, they were seeing a "brephos," which means newborn baby, or baby or infant. But in Matthew, it's a different Greek word. It's "paidion," and it means young child, and is never translated in your Bible as babe or baby or infant or newborn.
So people really need to separate the gospels of Matthew and Luke. They are different time frames. Luke is the night He was born. Shepherds were there in Bethlehem, going there on instructions from the angel. Matthew is some time later. We don't know how much later, but it could have been up to maybe a year and a half, two years afterward when Jesus is a young a child. Jesus may even have been speaking a few words and thanking them for the gifts that He received from these wise men. And that's the biblical truth of the matter.
(To hear the fascinating, 30-minute interview in its entirety, click here. Kovacs joins the program at 7:09 into the show, which may take a few moments to load.)
In addition to what Kovacs mentioned on the air, there's even more evidence to demonstrate the wise men came later, perhaps even a year or more after Jesus was born.
"Matthew tells us that God specifically warned the wise men, as well as Joseph and Mary, to go nowhere near Jerusalem because King Herod was looking to slay Jesus," says Kovacs.
Here it is direct from the King James Bible:
"And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him." (Matthew 2:12-13)
Note again that Jesus is described here as a "young child."
But here's the critical, astonishing part in case you never put the pieces together. Luke indicates that Joseph and Mary went directly into Jerusalem just after Jesus was born!
Read it in your own Bible:
"And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; ... And to offer a sacrifice." (Luke 2:22-24)
"How come no one ever talks about these two very different scenarios?" asks Kovacs.
"In Matthew – the account involving the wise men – Jesus' mother and father are fleeing with their son for their very lives to escape the assassin-wannabe named Herod. But in Luke, Joseph and Mary are shown leisurely taking baby Jesus directly into the hornet's nest of Jerusalem where Herod himself lived and was looking to murder Him! It's more than obvious that Luke's Gospel talks about the newborn Jesus, but Matthew is recounting events perhaps many months later, when Jesus was a young child, what we'd call a toddler!"
And to top it all off, remember the reaction of Herod, when he realized the wise men were not coming back to him to tell him where Jesus was.
"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)
"The Bible goes out of its way to indicate Herod clearly believed that Jesus was not a newborn babe by the time the wise men had arrived," says Kovacs. "He slaughtered all the young boys up to two years old."
So, add up the Bible evidence for yourselves:
- No verse ever mentions any wise man at the manger the night Jesus was born
- The wise men met Jesus for the first time as a young child in a house, not a babe in a manger
- Jesus and his parents are shown in Luke to be offering up a sacrifice in Jerusalem where Herod lived within 41 days of Jesus' birth
- Jesus and his parents are shown to be fleeing from Herod for their survival by direct instruction from God
- The wise men also heeded God's warning and avoided seeing Herod in Jerusalem after they met Jesus
- Herod slew all the male children up to two years old
"I think it's absolutely clear the wise men never made it to the manger the night Jesus was born in Bethlehem," says Kovacs. "It's time to return to the Bible facts and put away the nonsense fables once and for all."
"Shocked by the Bible" has become an instant smash since its release, skyrocketing to No. 1 in three Bible-related categories several times on Amazon.com with readers giving it high praise, and the author being interviewed on dozens of radio shows. It also zoomed to No. 1 on the WND Best-Seller list, and has already been translated into the Korean language, and will soon be produced in Russian as well.
It's a fun, fresh, journalistic look at what's actually found in the pages of the greatest book of all time, as well as what's not there. For instance, did you know:
- The ultimate destiny of human beings is much more glorious than just gaining eternal life and floating around on clouds all day
- The Bible never specifically mentions the day, month, year or even season Jesus was born
- The Bible doesn't say Jesus died on a Friday, or rose from the grave Sunday morning.
(Jesus Himself said He'd be in the grave for three days and three nights, not one day and two nights. Remember, Jesus' followers found an empty tomb Sunday morning. He was already gone!) - There were not just two of every kind of animal aboard Noah's Ark, and the vessel is not said to have landed on "Mount Ararat." It was the "mountains of Ararat."
- Jesus made appearances on Earth in the Old Testament
- Jesus said no one has gone to heaven except Himself
"Yes, I'm a Bible-believing Christian and am among the biggest fans of the Bible of all time," says Kovacs. "My goal is to educate people about the solid truth of Scripture and to stop the spread of erroneous information. I want people to crack open their Bibles and see with their own eyes what's actually printed on the pages, and what's not. It's shocking!"
Those who have read the entire book are jumping for joy over "Shocked by the Bible." Just look at these glowing reviews:
- "I'm drawn to this book. It is so well put together. I started reading it
and didn't put it down for two days to finish it. ... This guy is
incredible." - Peter Boyles, KHOW radio host, Denver
- "Kovacs has done his homework. In 'Shocked by the Bible,' he explodes certain
common concepts, brings shocking stories and revelations to light and
gives the reader motivation to dig deeper into the very Word of God. A
valuable resource for today's jaded but biblically illiterate
audience." - Carolyn R. Scheidies, Author's Choice Reviews
- "Since the professing church is unwilling to look intently at the Scriptures,
embrace it all in context, [God] is using a believing investigative
journalist to apply his gift and experience to be a witness to the
Truth of what He said and established in His Word. Joe Kovacs is that
man. ... I recommend 'Shocked by The Bible' by Joe Kovacs because of
his journalistic approach to the Bible. He is not trying to proselytize
anyone to his particular brand of religion. His agenda appears to not
go beyond just a journalistic look at Scripture in order to get
straight facts into peoples' hands that they might make an informed
decision." - Banner Kidd, Torah Perspective
Kovacs holds nothing back as he quotes directly from the Holy Bible to address incredible issues.
For instance:
- The word "Easter" has vanished from modern Bible translations. And you won't find a single mention of Easter eggs, but you will find God warning His people not to have anything to do with a pagan fertility goddess, whose name is synonymous with "Easter"
- The practice of decking a tree with silver and gold is actually condemned by God
- God sought to kill Moses, shortly after telling him to lead the Israelites to freedom
- Animals had meaningful discussions with people
- The Bible calls the devil "god"
"Shocked by the Bible" will even make you laugh as it dares to look at the issues you'll rarely, if ever, hear in church or on TV or radio shows:
- There's a character in the Bible called a "dumb ass"
- Underwear didn't disintegrate despite 40 years of heavy use
- The worst case of hemorrhoids in history is recorded
And these are merely the beginning of hundreds of facts that will stun even those who thought they had a strong knowledge of the Bible.
"If you've never been into the Bible, or even if you have, there's no need to fear," says Kovacs. "I make it quick, easy and fun for you to find out the juiciest, most interesting stuff that never seems to get mentioned in church. And I'm not talking about trivial facts and difficult names no one can pronounce."
Kovacs, the executive news editor of WND, has written countless reports in his 27-year news career. Many have
focused on biblical issues such as chariot wheels said to be found in the Red Sea, searches for Noah's Ark and
the Ark of the Covenant, and controversies over Christmas and Easter holidays as well as the Saturday-vs.-Sunday
Sabbath.
He has received many awards for news excellence from the Associated Press and United Press International. He's run television, radio and print newsrooms in the U.S., as well as Budapest, Hungary. Kovacs is also regarded as
one of the premier creative headline writers in the news business today.
To interview Joe Kovacs, author of "Shocked by the Bible," please contact him.
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