Hi all,
From last week: We know the Romans thought the stars and planets were aligning to confirm Augustus was divine king and Rome the divinely appointed Empire. We know Israel had counted down the years from Gabriel's revelation that Messiah could be expected 483 years after the command to rebuild Jerusalem. Israel was expecting Messiah to make His appearance some 30 or so years before that date, 'in the fullness of time'* which is the time frame of Jesus' birth. *Galatians 4: 4
 
Some final star comments
Ignatius of Antioch was a disciple of the apostle John, and died a martyr about 30 years or so after John died of old age. (Ignatius was thrown to lions and mauled to death in Rome). He had written that a star had appeared in the constellation Virgo and its related constellation, Coma, the Desired, (the son of the virgin), saying, "It sparkled brilliantly above all stars." (I have a series called 'the Gospel in the Stars' with handout if interested in learning the true zodiac signs). 
 
Contributing to the 'star' theories are these: Ptolemy, about 150 years after Jesus, said the star was only faintly visible in his time. After his time no mention is made of it. It is also written in the historian Josephus that around the time associated with the birth of Jesus there were repeated conjunctions of Saturn and Jupiter in Pices, which was then known to be associated with Israel. Halley's comment was visible in 12BC, Egyptian records show a star appearing 5-2BC, and the Chinese reported a bright new star in 4BC. And so much more! 
 
It would seem there was a star that appeared around the birth of Jesus, but which faded from view so that it is not visible in our day. This renders some modern theories rather incomplete, for they are looking back at stars and planets of that day, but there is no way to calculate for a star which was momentarily visible for that time in earth's history, but is no more. 
 
My intent in providing this star background isn't to figure out what the Star of Bethlehem was, just that Rome saw things in the stars and planets that made them think Augustus was the divine king. Satan always counterfeits the true, and Israel was looking for the True. Who would think the Messiah, the Creator of the Universe, would be born in a stable instead of a palace? Jesus truly is what He claimed to be: "I am meek and lowly of heart." Matthew 11: 29
 
Now to what Luke tells us
If we can determine when Gabriel appeared to John the Baptist's father (Zechariah the priest), then we can move forward 6 months to when we are told, Gabriel visited Mary that she might be the mother of the Lord, and then move forward 9 months to Jesus' birth. So when did Gabriel appear to John the Baptist's dad?
 
Luke 1:5 tells us Zechariah was a priest in the course of Abijah. In I Chronicles 24 King David had organized the priests into 24 groups or courses, each course serving in a rotating manner through the year, and the course of Abijah was the 8th course. I find that interesting because 8 is the number of new beginnings, originally derived from the 8th day being the first day of the new week. John the Baptist was the start of something new...
 
The ancient practice was for each course to serve for 1 week in the first half of the year, and 1 week in the second half of the year. Additionally, all the courses served during Unleavened Bread/Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. (Deuteronomy 16:16)
 
IF Gabriel appeared to him in the spring time of service:
The first course and all the others served the first week of the sacred calendar, which is Unleavened Bread/Passover. The second course alone served the second week, and so on. In week 8 the course of Abijah served. Additionally, Zechariah would have served at Pentecost, so we add 9-10 weeks from Unleavened Bread to see when he was in the temple, which would be roughly late June time frame. Additionally, a priest could not have sexual relations for 2 weeks following his service in the temple, so that puts us to 11-12 weeks from Passover, which is the end of June or first week of July. 
 
In Luke 1: 26-33 we are told when Elizabeth, John the Baptist's mother, was 6 months pregnant Gabriel was sent to Mary that she might agree to carrying Messiah in her womb. 6 months from July puts us in December. Going forward 9 months puts Jesus' birth in September, roughly the time of the Feast of Tabernacles. 
 
That's IF Gabriel appeared to Zechariah during his first course of service in spring. IF Gabriel appeared to him in his autumn rotation, it would mean Jesus was born in spring, close to Unleavened Bread/Passover week. Is there cultural information as to whether 1st century Israel was looking for Messiah at Passover in spring or Tabernacles in autumn?
 
Besides the cultural expectations of Israel at that time, we need to look at things including the age group of children Herod ordered murdered, the life and death of Herod, when shepherds were in the fields, and more. So we'll close it out next week, until then, blessings,
 
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 

Hi all,
There are as many theories on when Jesus was born as there are theories on the Loch Ness Monster, but did you know the Bible comes very close to telling us when?
 
For me, I go to the core of things and that is why Jesus' birthday meant nothing to the apostles who lived with Him for some 3 1/2 years. Why did His birthday mean nothing through the 30 years of Acts, which documents the spread of disciples of Jesus throughout the Roman Empire? Why is there no mention of His birthday in any of the letters of the New Testament? And finally, why did only Matthew and Luke record the event and Mark and John did not? Clearly it wasn't important to them, and in the final analysis, it shouldn't be important to us either.
 
But it is helpful and educational to know the approximate time of His birth because it sets the context for the days in which He was born. It helps us understand the culture and society and politics of the day. 
 
Theories, theories
I am surprised at the boldness of some, the 'know it all' attitude of so many who assert with great confidence that He was born in such and such time of year because of such and such. Most of them however leave out other considerations to focus on their 'pet' belief.
 
There are theories based on the Star of Bethlehem ranging from the supernova the Chinese record in about 10BC that was visible in daytime even to the time of the resurrection. There are star theories about the constellations that were considered Jewish and the planets that crossed path with them. 
 
There are attempts at dating the time of Herod's death, date the time of the census which was why Joseph and Mary were in Bethlehem, and date when shepherds were in the fields with their flocks. 
 
Some careful researchers even understand that ancient Israelites being oriental, counted birthdays from conception, in what is known as 'age reckoning', not from birth. "Age reckoning" is still in use in parts of the Orient today - China, Tibet, Korea, and in some Japanese ceremonies. (Israel is considered Oriental, the Bible an Oriental book - the Far East and Middle East both oriental.)
 
And once in a while someone will consider the culture of the day that was looking for Messiah and what the Rabbi's taught about the season He would appear. 
 
Putting it all together
Can we put all these elements together? If we simply follow the clues Dr. Luke leaves us in his narrative, all these other things fall into place. But so few actually examine what Luke wrote.  
 
But first: Looking for Messiah
In Daniel 9:21 the angel Gabriel appears to Daniel, and tells him 70 weeks of years, or 490 years is the total until Messiah brings in everlasting righteousness.
 
In v25 Gabriel states that Messiah will come at week 69 or 483 years, and then 'die, but not for Himself.' Gabriel said the countdown of those 483 years to Messiah would start at the command to rebuild Jerusalem.
 
The command to rebuild Jerusalem came in 455BC from Artaxerxes in the 20th year of his reign. (Nehemiah 2:1-8) Counting 483 years forward from 455BC we arrive at the year 28 or 29AD - when Jesus died on the cross 'but not for Himself', just as Gabriel had said. 
 
Realizing that priests in Israel could not start their ministry until age 30 but could not be over age 50 (Numbers 4:3), ancient Israel started looking for Messiah to be born around the 10BC time frame. Israel was expecting Messiah!
 
Second: Star talk
From the Roman point of view several things were happening in the stars which would seem to point to their divine appointment as the heavenly blessed Empire. They considered the planets to be predictors of events as did much of Europe and the Orient. In that time frame from 10 to 3BC there was a 'gathering' of planets. Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, Venus, Mercury, all seemed to be gathering in the same general area of the sky, so they agreed there was a purpose for that and something was about to happen. 
 
In 3BC the path of Jupiter, which was to them the 'King planet', appeared over weeks to circle the 'King star' which was Regulus. That the King planet circled the King star seemed to confirm Augustus Caesar as 'the anointed king'. 
 
This circling of the King planet around the King star in 3BC was the 25th year of Augustus' rise to power as Caesar. It was the 750th (priestly/ceremonial) anniversary of the founding of Rome, and is the year the Senate of Rome conferred the title on Augustus of 'Father of the Country'. To Rome it seemed even the universe agreed Augustus was THE King and Rome had divine right to conquer the world. 
 
So when Rome was concluding the stars confirmed Augustus and Rome as divine, the True Messiah was being born in a humble stable in Israel. In another part of the world the 'wise men' saw the confirming of Gabriel's words to Daniel in the stars, which caused them to skip the celebrations in Rome, understanding the True King was in Israel. And that's where we'll pick it up next week. Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,
I started this series quoting Deuteronomy 29: 29: "The secret things belong to the Lord, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
 
That means we may not know why our loved one died, but what is revealed is how to walk with Him through it. 
We may not know why x event happened, but what is revealed is how to walk with Him through it. 
We may not know why x person is against us, but what is revealed is how to walk with Him through it.
 
In all things in life, what is revealed will lead us to walk with Him, to grow in Him, no matter what hits us. 
 
There are times, perhaps many times in life we feel like Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof, who said to God: "I know. I know. We are your chosen people. But once in a while, can't You choose someone else?"
 
Coming to the end of ourselves
Because there is a devil loose on the earth, and that earth is under the curse of sin, things are going to happen that are outside our knowledge and control. Bad things. Things that hurt us, things that bewilder and confuse us. Some of what we go through is self-inflicted. Some of what we go through is because someone we know did something that affected us greatly. 
 
Some of what happens to us is a mystery, a tragedy set in motion by someone we don't know or a mystery of nature. Many have been taught that our faith should prevent these unknown things from happening to us, and if they do happen, then something is wrong with us or our faith. 
 
Still others are taught if something happens to us we can rebuke the devil who is the cause of it in the first place and God will make it right. Or at least we can seek out someone who specializes in demonic or hidden things that explains the mystery to us. Many spend thousands of dollars a year going to this and that meeting looks for the one key, the one missing link to all things bad in their life. 
 
Up until now they are not known, and since the scripture says the Father won't hold back on what we do need to know, why are we fighting against God? Why not end our fleshly efforts and trust Him. Do what is right and we know to do in the natural, but end our fleshly efforts to manipulate Him into giving up what is a mystery to us, but a secret held in trust to Him?  
 
In the 1910's young girls were employed to paint radium based paint on watch faces so they would glow in the dark. They were encouraged to wet the brush to a fine point using their lips, which caused them to ingest a small amount of radioactive paint hundreds of times each day. They thought it was harmless. At that time people put radium in everything from lipstick to chocolate. People put radium saturated cloths on their backs and stomachs to rid the body of illness, and so much more. But about 10 years later these young women who painted watch faces started to die. It took years before they discovered the lethal effects of too much radiation and linked it to illnesses. 
 
We are ignorant but think ourselves wise
But until they discovered the link between radium and a myriad of illnesses, those illnesses were a mystery. Some blamed God, some blamed the devil, some thought someone had put a curse on them. Some asked why God allowed such a mystery illness to come upon their loved one. Some just didn't know and had to trust God. 
 
I wonder today what chemicals and chemical combinations we ingest that cause illnesses and conditions we are ignorant about? We are the same way: Some blame the devil, some blame God, some ask how a good God could allow their loved one to die. Some don't know and have to trust God. That will never change. We are puny humans who know little. 
 
For all our technology, only 5% of the ocean has been discovered. For all we know and have explored of the universe, we only know 4% of the universe. The other 96% is stuff scientists can't even see, know, or detect. And that 4% is a guess, for an infinite universe means we know so very little. 
 
So is it any surprise we don't yet know the effects of our synthetically made chemical world? The hot topic in the US now is the practice of 'vaping', and I've heard doctors say people who vape are laboratory guinea pigs because it is so new there are no studies of the effects of vaping. It will take decades to discover the effects of the practice. 
 
"...what is revealed is to us and our children that we may do all the words of this law." 
 
We should come a point that we end up simply trusting the Lord because He isn't sharing His secrets with us. That leaves us in the position as Paul noted: "We walk by faith, not by sight." (II Corinthians 5:7)
 
So why do we fight so hard against that which we cannot know? At what point do we accept that rebuking the devil didn't affect things. At what point do we stop investigating everything from demons to 'anointed' ministers who have specialized in this or that particular spiritual thing and just trust God, focus on growing in Him and doing what we know to do in the natural, trusting one day all will be revealed?
 
At the end of his life Paul wrote Timothy in what was then a private letter between the two: "...I know in whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I've committed to Him until that day." II Timothy 1:12
 
There were mysteries even Paul did not know. But what he did do was commit things and people and events in his life to the Lord for safe keeping until he got to heaven. He was persuaded that the Lord would keep these things safe in Him until that day. That isn't just faith, it is trust in the character and nature of our Lord and our Father. 
 
As Corrie ten Boom so famously said: "Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God." Amen sister!
 
New subject next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
 
 

Hi all,
In Genesis 15 when the Lord revealed to Abraham he was going to be a father and his offspring would become as numerous as the stars he could see, the Lord kept secret the fact that Sarah would be the mother. For whatever reason it was His secret - for the time being. 
 
In the next chapter not knowing God's secret that Sarah would miraculously be the mother, Abraham and Sarah try to figure out how they can 'help' God's promise come to pass: He said Abraham would be the father. It was past the time of life for Sarah to conceive, so clearly they reasoned, they needed a surrogate mother to make a baby with Abraham. (Genesis 16:1-3)
 
We can help God; Let's make a baby!
Abraham submits to Sarah's request for him to make a baby with Hagar, which resulted in Ishmael the father of the Arab people.
 
But in the next two chapters, 17 & 18, the Lord appears again and tells them that Sarah will indeed be the mother of the son of promise. He will bless and multiply Ishmael, but the promise is with Isaac. To this revelation they both laughed, resulting in the Lord naming the son Isaac, which means 'laughter'. (Genesis 17: 15-19; 18: 10-15)
 
Somewhere between the time of them laughing at the Lord, and Isaac's conception, Abraham and Sarah had a change of heart. They made a judgement of God. Hebrews 11: 11 tells us of Sarah: "Through faith Sarah received strength (ability) to conceive and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised." Of Abraham: "...he was fully persuaded that what He had promised, He would do." Romans 4: 21
 
We don't know why God originally kept secret from Abraham and Sarah that Sarah would be the mother of the son of promise. There is no chapter and verse in which God explains Himself. We can generally say it served His higher purpose, but in truth, we are ignorant as to all His reasons for keeping that a secret until after Ishmael was born. We can speculate, but we don't know why. 
 
God is God - but can we trust Him?
He is God after all. He answers to no one. And that is what is hard to accept. We want to know all the answers. Now. 
 
At some point we each judge God. We of faith are like Sarah and judge Him faithful. We transition over time from questions and anger at events unexplained, to trust that all the answers will be there on the other side. 
 
We who know Him can generally work through these tragedies and unanswered questions over time, even years and decades because we know Him, and trust He will one day make it right. But arriving at trust is often a long process. 
We may struggle all our lives with unanswered questions - and that is okay, it is normal. 
 
Each of us, often several times in a day on less significant things, make judgements of God that He is faithful. 
 
We may think to ourselves of a cruel co-worker, "He will get his in the end". We may pray, "Lord I forgive them, but I still want you to hold them accountable." We may have questions why someone did something that has changed our life dramatically, or why something happened that also changed our lives, and we shrug our shoulders and say, "One day we'll know." 
 
All those and countless other expressions which express grudging acceptance of something we have no answer for, are judgments on God like Sarah made: He is faithful Who promised. He must be faithful. It is the only way to get through life, to believe, to trust the integrity of His character and nature to make all things right in the end. As one told me: "Heaven had better be really, really, good because I've sure been through hell on earth."
 
Don't focus on the secret you'll never find the answer to this side of heaven: Focus on what you DO know
When Jesus started speaking parables how He is the true manna from heaven and people had to eat His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6, those were hard to understand. 
 
Many disciples stopped following Him. At one point He turned to the 12 and asked, "Are you too going to leave?"
 
Peter had seen all the Lord had done in terms of miracles and healings. He had seen the multiplication of bread and fish, and had heard all the teachings. If making a mental list of 'good things', those would be in that column. 
 
But in the other column was Jesus talking about how He was the true manna and how people had to eat His body and drink His blood to have eternal life, and with many people they knew walking away, there was peer pressure to also leave: The pressure of being associated with that weird teacher. 
 
Peter thought through both the understood and the confusing. He finally boiled it down to the essential core: "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." (John 6: 50-68) 
 
At some point Peter judged God as Sarah had, as you and I must do. When life confuses us as Jesus' parable did above, we must cut through the confusion to what we DO know: You have the words of enteral life. 
 
Every time we don't know the answer, every time God keeps a secret from us to be revealed later, we must make the same judgment on Him that Sarah did, that Peter did: "To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." Focus on what you DO know, not what you don't. Be thankful for what you know. Let the rest go until heaven. 
 
Closing it out next week, until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com

Hi all,
It was the first time Barb made the statement we've since repeated several times. We were driving and reviewing hardships in life we've gone through over the years, not all of which were self-inflicted. She said: 
 
"When I get to heaven I'm going to have a whole (whooooolllllle) lot of questions for the Lord."
 
We've even talked about whether everything will be explained all at once, or will we instantly know by divine download, or will He over time explain things to us as we remember things and questions arise? 
 
When our handicapped son, Chris, was about 20 he said the Lord told him, "He will walk through the mountains with me." From my vantage point as Chris' father, I assume some of the things talked about during that walk will be why Chris was born with the umbilical cord around his neck cutting off oxygen so that he was mentally about 4 years of age and needed a wheelchair all his adult life, and why He chose not to heal him - if things remain as they are now. 
 
I pray the Lord will answer those questions for him in a nice, long, walk that answers my son's questions he is sure to have once he is whole and in heaven. Barb and I may need one of those walks on the matter too, lol. 
 
Deuteronomy 29: 29 says this: 
"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things revealed belong to us and our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
 
The Hebrew word 'sathar' is translated 'secret', 'conceal', 'absent (knowledge)', 'hide' or 'to be undetected'. 
 
That God has secrets kept from us runs against human nature. From the creation when we were told to 'be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth', man has been exploring the unknown, trying to discover new things. It is frustrating enough when someone we know says they have a secret, but in this case the someone is God: "No. That's MY secret. You walk by faith." 
 
The fact Dt 29: 29 says there ARE secret things He keeps from us and then also tells us what is revealed to us is for the purpose of walking with God in obedience, should be our guide. Not every answer will be known this side of heaven. Not every problem can be solved. There are some things we just won't know this side of heaven. Rest in that. Cease from your efforts to beg, plead, cry, to God to get Him to tell you why. Rest. Trust. One day it will be known, but not this day. 
 
What IS revealed IS for us, and it is revealed that we may walk in obedience with Him. That is our focus, on the revealed things not on that which is hidden. Can you imagine what would happen if all of Christianity laid aside efforts to know what is secret in order to focus on the revealed, which is maturing in Christ. What that would be like? It sure would shut down a lot of Christian web sites, lol. Live in today. Plan, yes, we need to plan. But live in today. 
 
Here is a secret: No man knows the day nor hour, but my Father only. Matthew 24: 36
Most of us accept that Jesus' return is a secret the Father is keeping from us because the return of the Lord is 'out there' in the future. But when it comes to our lives in the here and now, tragedies, illnesses, crisis' - we want to know 'why'. That's normal. That's natural. But He keeps things from us for reasons hidden within His heart. 
 
When I was 5 and asked where babies came from, I got a different answer to that question when I was 12. I suspect not knowing things on this side protects us like 5 year olds until we are able to see the whole picture of those things on the other side in greater maturity.  
 
Unexpected death
In Luke 12: 17-20 Jesus tells the story of the man who had earthly riches but was poor towards God. The man said to himself that he needed to build bigger barns, and he took great comfort in the savings he was laying up for himself. But God said in v20; "You fool. This night your life will be demanded of you..." But the timing of his demise was a secret God alone knew until it came upon the man. That was God's secret. 
 
Abraham, Sarah, Hagar
In Genesis 15: 1-6 the Lord meets with Abraham and 'brings him forth abroad' to count the stars, stating that is how many his offspring will be. And God is emphatic, Abraham will have a son of his own body. 
 
What the Lord kept secret at that time, was that Sarah would be the mother. He didn't tell Abraham that bit of information in Genesis 15, choosing to keep it to Himself. The result was chapter 16, where Sarah is reasoning out that she is barren, God said Abraham would be the father, so obviously Abraham needed to make a baby with Hagar. It wasn't until the next chapter, 17, that the Lord revealed Sarah would be the mother.  
 
Why didn't He tell Abraham back in chapter 15 that not only would Abraham be the dad, but Sarah would be the mom? Couldn't the world have avoided a lot of conflict if Hagar had not gotten pregnant by Abraham? It was a secret to be revealed in His time. That's the nature of the holder of a secret, they can reveal it as they determine. 
 
This first of the series I'm just pointing out some of the secrets the Father keeps from us; next week, what is our part to play knowing there are secrets we aren't to yet know? Until then, blessings,
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com