Revelations from the Word

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The Morning Star

by Jean-Louis Coraboeuf

"When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshipped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way" (Matthew 2:9-12).

The Wise Men came from the East following a star which led them to the place where Jesus was. What is astonishing, is that after following the star which guided them, "they saw the star and they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy". In the Scriptures, the star, kokab in Hebrew, means 'a bright star' (Genesis 1:16), 'a human being' (Genesis 37:9), 'an angel' (Isaiah 14:13) and 'the Messiah' (Numbers 24:17). In the New Testament, the star, aster in Greek, means 'a bright star' (Matthew 24:29), an 'angel' (Revelation 1:20) and 'Jesus' (Revelation 22:16). So, after following a star (a bright star or an angel) which led them to the place where Joseph and Mary were with the little child, the Wise Men discovered "the Star" (the Messiah), who brought them very great joy.

The Wise Men were looking for the King of the Jews who had just been born to worship Him for they had seen "his star in the East" (Matthew 2:2). Thus was fulfilled the prophetic word spoken by Balaam "A star [kokab] shall come forth from Jacob, a sceptre shall rise out of Israel and shall crush the forehead of Moab and destroy all the sons of Sheth (Seth)" (Numbers 24:17 AMP). Jesus came the first time to conquer all the enemies of the Kingdom of God (Moab) by dying on the cross. He will come a second time to destroy all the sons of man (according to Rashi, Seth represents all men, that's to say the sons of the first Adam) who have sown destruction on the earth (Revelation 11:18).

Jesus confirmed Himself that He was 'this Star' come from Jacob, "I, Jesus… I am the root and offspring of David and the bright morning star [aster]" (Revelation 22:16). The morning star is the name given to the planet Venus which appears in the East, just before the sun rises, as a herald announcing the imminent arrival of a new day. Jesus Christ is "the bright morning star", the hope of a new era, the Millennium. The will of God is that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will have eternal life and will be resurrected on the last day – on his return (John 6:40). "To receive the morning star" (Revelation 2:28) is to have the hope of being resurrected with Jesus Christ and to come to reign with Him on the earth during the establishment of his Kingdom.

The Wise Men were filled with great joy when they saw the star, the little child, the Messiah of Israel, the King of the Jews, the hope of salvation for all of humanity. Jesus is the second Adam, the first born of the new creation (1 Corinthians 15:45). When we accept Jesus Christ into our hearts we become a new creation, and we have this great joy of not being destroyed with the violent ones who will be taken from the earth, but to live for ever with Jesus Christ.