 Explaining the mysteries of the past are difficult in any language, so with the translation of an ancient language into English, for example, you must consider the interpretations could be completely misunderstood altogether in certain contexts and if not noticed, the entire narrative is told falsely. It is hard to trace history because it is lost to us. The rise and fall of one culture may not agree with the previous culture that occupied the same region. The historicity of the previous occupants, therefore, is not maintained and this is why we see depictions, structures and artifacts all over the place that we can't understand. At one time, however, we try to forget in an effort to move forward and probably separated by cataclysmic occurrences. The life and time of Jesus, for example, is marred with suspicion. Jesus was the answer to prophecies that were told in the sacred text and for this reason, there were efforts to kill him right from birth. He had to lead a life in obscurity for his own protection. The belief in who he was spread as the people witnessed his actions upon his return to the Holy Land, but Jesus also warned the people that they should not test God as an apparent thirst for miracles lived among the people, a fascination that exploded in a sense of relief that the King of Kings did in fact live. When he was born, it is said that three wise men followed the star of Bethlehem to his birth. Some said this star was Venus as Jesus in Revelation 22.16 says, I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David and the bright morning star. Venus can be seen during the day and is the brightest natural object in the sky after the sun and moon. It is the brightest object that can be called a star. However, and bear with us here, the three wise men were guided by this star. God told them to follow the star and in some theoretical explanations, it refers that the wise men were Zoroastrian and that the star that guided them was in fact God known to the Zoroastrians as Ahura Mazda, but no clear written connections are made in this religion to Christianity. Others do say the star is a comet, but would it not make sense that the deity guided them after telling them to follow? The Bible does say they came from the direction of the Zoroastrian faith and according to the Bible, the so-called wise men were from Eastern parts and it was there that they had learned about Jesus's birth. The passage reads that after Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and asked, Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him. Matthew 2.1.2.9. But it must have taken a long time for these men to travel to Judea. When they eventually found Jesus, he was no longer a newly born baby in a stable. Instead, the men found Mary and the young child living in a house as it reads. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. Matthew 2.11. The Bible calls these men Magi or Astrologers, as it does not say how many there were, but it is generally believed to be three. The Oxford companion to the Bible explains, The connection between Magi and Astrology is reflected in the visitor's fascination with the star that had led them to Bethlehem. The Bible clearly condemns all forms of magic and the Babylonian practice of trying to get information from the stars. All the counsel you have received has only worn you out. Let your astrologers come forward, those stargazers who made predictions month by month. Let them save you from what is coming upon you, Isaiah 47.13. The information conveyed to these men did not lead to any good. It aroused wicked king Herod's jealous anger. This in turn resulted in the flight of Joseph, Mary and Jesus to Egypt and the murder of all male children in Bethlehem from two years of age and under. Herod had carefully ascertained the time of Jesus's birth from what he learned from the astrologers. When Herod realized he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi, Matthew 2.16. Great stars topped Christmas trees in Christian homes around much of the world. The faithful sing about the star of wonders that guided the wise men to a manger in the little town of Bethlehem where Jesus was born. Wise men 2,000 years ago told that the Messiah was to be born by God who instructs them to follow a bright celestial object that would guide them to the King and these wise men just happened to be from the east. King Herod asked the wise men where the star had emerged. King Herod had not heard of any such celestial object, but how could his own advisors have been unaware of a star so bright and obvious that it led the wise men to Jerusalem over a prolonged period of time? Can astronomy answer this question? In order to reach Bethlehem the wise men had to travel directly south from Jerusalem. Somehow the star in the east went before them till it came and stood over where the young child was. Now we have our second first Christmas astronomy puzzle. How can a star in the east guide our wise men to the south? The north star guides lost hikers to the north so shouldn't a star in the east have led the wise men to the east and if it is moving then it stops over Jesus. Doesn't that suggest a controlled vehicle or something like this? No star can do these things nor can a comet or Jupiter or a supernova or a conjunction of planets of any other actual bright objects in the night sky. But Matthew chose his words carefully and wrote star in the east twice which suggests that these words hold a specific importance for his readers. The Greek word for the wise men is magi. It is from this word that we get our word magician. At the time the boundary between those who attempted to perform occult experiments and those who perform legitimate science would have been blurred. For example early chemists were alchemists trying to change one substance into another by all sorts of methods including incantations but also including methods that we would recognize today as experimental chemistry. The wise men knew that this was not just any star it was his star that is the star of the Messiah. This also indicates that they knew the prophecies in Numbers 24 and Genesis 49 but where did the star appear? There is actually a great deal of ambiguity in the phrase star in the east. This could mean that they saw the star in the western sky while they were still in the east i.e. Babylon or it could mean that the star had appeared in the east. The word for east is Anatol. This actually means a rising of light and only means east by implication. This could imply that the phrase is referring to the Messiah as the morning star. This would fit for example with what Peter says in 2 Peter 1 19 and with Jesus' own declaration of himself in Revelation 22 16. The morning star is also a reference to the planet Venus when it appears in the morning but the star of the Messiah cannot be Venus or any other planet because of the motion and movement of the object leading the Lost History Channel to speculate on what it actually was and we would love to hear your thoughts on this confusing matter that is depicted in nativity scenes the world over. The story exists but the truth may be stranger than anyone ever thought it was possible. Comments below and as always thank you for watching.