CSN - LightWing Messages - In Honor of the Light - Sunday - 12/10/2023
The Magi Visit the Messiah
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.”
When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
“‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 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. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” Matthew 2:1-15 (New International Version)
FOUNDER’S MESSAGE:
Thanksgiving is normally considered the beginning of the long holiday season that takes us up to the New Year’s celebration. Much of the focus at this time of year tends to be centered on family and others people hold dear. It is fitting that this is so and the holidays provide the opportunity to consider the value of loved ones in a more enlightened set of traditions.
This past week, on December 8, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah commenced, and it will last for eight days. It is the Festival of Lights and has a rich tradition rooted in Hebrew history, which is revealed in the Bible. Our first featured message for this edition is about Chanukah and offered by one of our Jewish authorities, Dr. Richard Moss. It is entitled: “Chanukah, Christmas, and Western Civilization.” It was written by Dr. Moss in 2019, before the COVID plannedemic, before the election controversies in 2020, before J-6, and before the invasion of Hamas into Israel. If one considers all the bad things that humanity has been through just in the past three years, it may seem like calamities of biblical proportions. In many considerations, they are. However, the holiday time can offer an opportunity, for those who seize it, for a bit of a respite from much of the tribulation in the world at this time. Dr. Moss offers relevant points that may be much more relevant today than four years ago.
The second message this week was one I wrote in 2018 about the Christmas Star or the “Star of Bethlehem,” as it is also known. My message in that year was based upon some research on astronomers who were curious about the reality of the “Star” and speculating, but by running computer simulations, could demonstrate scientifically how this phenomenon was not just a myth but likely more than a simple star.
This “Star” became an object of interest that year as various Christian oriented scientists, like Australian astronomer, Dave Reneke, had run computer simulations and had identified an unprecedented series of planetary conjunctions during the years of 3 B.C and 2 B.C. Reneke’s sky-mapping software program provided a simulation of planetary movements that offered a plausible view of heavenly events that could be referred to as the appearance of a star to people of earth who only understood the sun, the moon, and stars because planets (as we know them today) would not be discovered for more than 1,000 years down the road.
Actually, various theories had been proposed since the turn of the new millennium. In 1987, Mr. John Mosley, then program supervisor for the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, published The Christmas Star, and had offered several scientific scenarios for the "Star of Wonder." We offer a link to a formal paper he published in 1981, which is a quite detailed article on the “Star” and the birth of Jesus. Additionally, Dr. Frederick Larson had offered his scientific perceptions about the “Star” in an entertaining film entitled: The Star of Bethlehem, which he shared a bit about on CBN here: The Star of Bethlehem.
Our Zoom call this past Wednesday represented only a brotherhood of men for most of the call. It is possible the women were frightened away because they may have felt “outnumbered.” But their perspective is valued. In studying the American Indian tribes that are still affluent, there are three main ones that seem to be still healthy and holding on to the older traditions. Those three tribes are matriarchal, where women are held in leadership roles and held in high esteem for their spiritual insights and wisdom. The Iroquois, the Souix, and the Navaho are the three tribes in which women are genuinely valued in the community. It should be known that the ladies’ perspectives are truly valued and we hope more women readers would join us on the Wednesday calls.
We are grateful when any of our readers are willing to offer comments or check in with us on our Zoom sessions. They usually discover like-minded thinkers and people with good hearts. And referencing good hearts, our Zoom call this Wednesday will feature a discussion on the preparations for the upcoming holidays – not just the decorations, but the conditions of our hearts in such toxic times. Readers can join us this coming Wednesday! They can be part of the conversation or can just listen. Readers who are not on our standing list to receive the Zoom link to the call, just reach out and please send an email request to this address: d.jamzon@gmail.com We’ll honor the request and add you to our regular mailing list.
CSN LightWing Mission – Zoom call Wednesday 12/13/23 at 5:00pm PST
Generally each Wednesday at 5pm PST (6pm MST; 7pm CST; and 8pm EST).
These words are being freely offered to you – intended to shine light unto our paths, as written: “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.” Proverbs 29:18 - KJV
As always, we hope our readers would consider all the messages in this edition relevant or meaningful, and if readers know others who might value them as well, please consider being one of our official LightWing messengers and pass this newsletter on to those whom you feel would be able to welcome it. Or simply, please receive it yourselves. Happy holidays!
May God bless our readers and all of their loved ones. May God bless All His Children!
May we humble ourselves, seek His face, seek His truth, seek His love, self - reflect, repent, and put on the whole armor of God in order to end the wicked ways of the world in which we live. In order to thrive in God’s Kingdom, we need to expose and eliminate the culture of evil around us. May we return to His blueprint for a Land of the Free and rebuild our Republic.
Chanukah, Christmas, and Western Civilization
The Two Holidays Are Central to Understanding America
By Richard Moss, MD
December 24, 2019
Chanukah, the festival of lights, is a Jewish holiday that commemorates the victory of the Maccabees (or Hasmoneans) over the powerful armies of the Seleucid (Greek) Empire under King Antiochus IV. King Antiochus, in 167 BC, in a show of force, forbade important Jewish observances such as keeping the Sabbath and circumcision and dedicated the ancient temple in Jerusalem to Zeus. In the town of Modi’in, Antiochus’ soldiers forced a village elder named Matityahu to sacrifice a pig before a pagan altar. Matityahu refused. When another Jew complied, he killed him and another Greek official. This sparked a three-year rebellion against the Greeks and their Jewish allies, some of whom accepted Greek or Hellenic culture.
Matityahu and his sons, the Maccabees, fought to maintain the ancient ways of the covenant. At first, the Maccabees and their motley fighters employed guerilla tactics but eventually formed regular forces and routed the Greeks. In 164 BC, the Maccabees entered Jerusalem and rededicated the temple, removing pagan influences, thus the name “Chanukah” or rededication.
It was a most unlikely victory. But because of it Judaism survived. Without this victory, history would have been profoundly altered. In the absence of Judaism, Christianity, which followed more than a century later, would never have emerged.
Chanukah is a victory of religious liberty, of the weak over the strong, of righteousness over tyranny, of light over darkness, a miracle. But there was another miracle. Jewish tradition holds that when it was time to light the Menorah in the Temple, there was only enough pure oil for a single day, but it lasted eight days after which it was replenished. And the men that had been soldiers and were now priests and scribes knew that their victory over the mighty Greek army was not just by force of arms but through divine providence. That God walked among the defenders of Judaism.
After the Greeks fell away, there was a brief interlude of Jewish independence in Israel but then the Romans conquered the Holy Land in 63 BC (Pompey). Life under Roman rule was difficult and there was another rebellion in 70 AD. General Vespasian destroyed the Jewish kingdom and King David’s ancient capitol fell for a second time. Many Jews died or were enslaved. There rose again a savior in 135 AD, Bar Kochba, but in the end his rebellion too crumbled before Rome’s might (Emperor Hadrian). Jerusalem and the Temple were ploughed under with salt and hundreds of thousands of Jews were slaughtered. Jerusalem was resettled. Rome renamed Israel, Palestina, reaching back to Israel’s ancient foes the Philistines to conceal its Jewish past. The exiles went forth as slaves and rootless wanderers. And the long night began.
But the Chanukah flame continued to burn in the hearts of the Jewish people who dreamed of returning to Israel and Jerusalem. For 2,000 years it burned in villages and cities across the seas and the continents. And the exiles returned to reclaim their patrimony. In 1948, out of the ashes of the Holocaust, the modern state of Israel was born, its fledgling forces defeating the five Arab armies that attacked it at the moment of its birth with the intent of annihilation, another miracle. And so the Chanukah lights continued to burn in Israel, sometimes flickering but still illuminating, nearly 70 years later.
With Christmas upon us, there is also a light that burns for Christians, under assault in the West by the secular left and around the globe especially within the Muslim world. It is symbolic that in the darkest time of the year, Christian teaching tells that the logos or the word was made flesh in the form of a newborn baby, the baby Jesus, a Jew, under a star, a light for the world to drive away the darkness and bring redemption and hope.
That Chanukah and Christmas are closely linked in the calendar is fitting for the message they each bring. The two faiths, Judaism and Christianity, taken together as the Judeo-Christian tradition, is the foundation of Western and American civilization. Western nations are the greatest in the world because they are informed by Judeo-Christian principles. It is in the West where human rights, liberty, the rule of law, democracy, music and the arts, science and technology have flourished and where slavery was ended. These are the nations that inhabitants from the rest of the world seek to live. It is in Western nations where citizens are most free and enjoy the greatest prosperity. It is not an accident.
We must dedicate ourselves to preserving America, the West, and Western civilization, by preserving its Judeo-Christian tradition. The light of Chanukah and Christmas must continue to burn, and illumine the night, pushing away the darkness that is always present, the norm for most of history. They should guide us and our nation and the West for all time. It distinguishes us from the rest: our values, our devotion to truth, knowledge, goodness, beauty, and reason, the belief in the sanctity of the individual made in the image of God, while rejecting the moral and cultural relativism of the post-modern left and the totalitarian threat of unreformed Islam and the Chinese Communist Party. We must rededicate ourselves in our current battle as the Maccabees did against the Greeks and as Israel did against the Arab armies that sought its destruction in 1948 and has done ever since against its many enemies.
The spirit of Chanukah and Christmas should inspire us. Happy Chanukah and Merry Christmas to all.
Dr. Richard Moss is a board certified head and neck cancer surgeon and was a candidate for Congress in 2016 and 2018. He graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine and has been in practice in Jasper and Washington, IN for over 20 years. He has written A Surgeon’s Odyssey and Matilda’s Triumph available on amazon.com. Find more of his essays at richardmossmd.com. Visit Richard Moss, M.D. on Facebook, Twitter, GAB, GETTR, Parler, and Instagram.
Christmas and the faith to follow a ‘star’ to the glory of Christ
By Dennis Jamison 12/23/2018 (updated 2023)
And they were saying, “Where is The King of the Judaeans who has been born?” For we have seen his star in The East and we have come to worship him.” Matthew 2:2
Each year at Christmas millions of Christians in America celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, their savior. However, to many Americans, Santa Claus has seemingly become more important. Spiritual values have given way to a more material reality. It is an astonishing reversal of the original intent or value of the holiday.
Honoring Christ over Santa
However, if Christians consider carefully, did the values of giving and helping others originate with Santa or with Jesus? Is it easier for Americans to believe in Santa Claus than to honor Jesus Christ?
While many of the traditions surrounding the Christmas holiday have given way to more material aspects of the celebration, and doubt about the historical Jesus has begun to taint the holiday for many good Christians, it remains a special time of year in which it becomes much easier to believe. Christians still find this holiday time a special, often a miraculous time, of the year despite the world around them.
Practicing Religion vs Christianity: The Bible’s role in faith
One of the miracles at the intersection of faith and reality is the Christmas Star. Many theories exist regarding the Star of Bethlehem, yet it still captivates the attention of many believers and non-believers. Moreover, despite the disbelief of the non-religious, astronomers have calculated how such an event might have occurred. The possibilities provide a framework of logic to shed a bit of light upon what many skeptics have debunked in recent times.
To Christians, the Christmas Star, or the Star of Bethlehem, is a most significant part of the events surrounding Jesus’ birth. The light from the star served as an ancient navigational guidance system – a GPS – for the Magi. The star guided these most prestigious guests to where they would meet the most prestigious infant. Without the star, would such a meeting have been possible? Without faith, would the Wise Men have followed the star,
A Historical Star Event
The book of Numbers in the Old Testament referred to a star that would precede the arrival of a great leader of the people of Israel. “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth. Numbers 24:17 But, that is a bit vague and a stretch for the logic to fit. However, Balaam, an ancient prophet of Mesopotamia also spoke of the prophecy of Christ. The prophecy also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Some accounts of the Magi’s journey credit them as studying celestial bodies from the ancient Institute of Astrology at Sippar near Babylonia. Many ancient peoples kept astronomical records. Additionally, the Chinese were adept at cataloging celestial phenomena. Such historical records of celestial events provide evidence that verifies current astronomical data. This provides a better understanding of the Christmas Star.
Scientific Possibilities of the Star
To follow the star, the Magi would have had to see it stand out from a background of stars in the night sky. It also would have to have been visible for at least the duration of the Magi’s journey or approximately six to eight weeks.
Astronomers have ruled out ordinary stars as well as meteors and comets. While providing spectacular light shows, meteors are a brief flash, not the constant light of the Wise Men’s star. Comets emit a show as they move across the night sky. However, historical records reveal sightings of only two comets, both appearing many years before Jesus’ birth.
Also ruled out are novae (brightening stars) or supernovae because no historical records indicate such occurrences at the time. However, in considering the possibility of planets or groupings of planets called conjunctions, astronomers have come closer to identifying significant astronomical events that fit with the Bible story.
Conjunctions of Planets
Historical records and contemporary computer simulations like those of Australian astronomer, Dave Reneke, have identified an unprecedented series of planetary conjunctions during the years of 3 B.C and 2 B.C. Reneke’s sky-mapping software program is able to simulate planetary movements of 2,000 years ago.
From August 1st in 3 B.C., Jupiter rose in the eastern sky at sunrise; and, after twelve days, Venus and Jupiter stood together in the rays of the morning sun. On September 14th, and in 2 B.C., on February 17th and May 8th, Jupiter was very close to Regulus, one of the brightest stars in our solar system.
An Unusual “Star”
However, the most dramatic event was when the two brightest planets, Jupiter and Venus, appeared to collide on June 17th in 2 B.C. Coming so close together, they would look as one spectacular light in the night sky.
Then, on August 27th, there was the grand conjunction of planets with Jupiter and Mars very close together and Venus and Mercury being very close in the eastern sky at dawn.
Later, Jupiter moved westward. The Magi followed. After six weeks, they would have seen Jupiter in the pre-dawn sky on the Meridian due south of Jerusalem appearing directly over Bethlehem just above the southern horizon.
Reaching its farthest western point in its orbit around the sun, it would have appeared to stop and stay above Bethlem in continuing its orbit around the other side of the sun.
Remember, 2,000 years ago people on earth saw anything in the night sky as a star. There was no knowledge of the planets. There was no study of astronomy as we know it today. However, there was stargazing and recordings of star movements.
Science today can be utilized to look into the past in many ways, and faith-filled contemporary astronomers can view such dramatic events fitting the biblical account in Matthew.
* News on the Christmas Star (A Bit of History) -
From Canada Free Press: Star of Bethlehem, Hebrew Astronomy, & Christmas: A Scientific Perspective – 12/25/2011
From International Planetarium Society: Common Errors in "Star of Bethlehem" Planetarium Shows –
The Thinking Believer: The BEST explanation for the Star of Bethlehem – 12/11/2022
From Reading Through History: The Star of Bethlehem – 12/11/201
Onward and Upward!
From Jonathan Cahn: The Hanukah End Time Mystery: The Apostasy – 12/9/2023
From Joshua Aaron: Hanukkah LIVE in Jerusalem / Gather the Nations with Israel – 12/7/2023
From World Outreach Church with Allen Jackson: God’s Authority in the World | Pastor Allen Jackson – 12/6/23
From Sam Tsui: We Three Kings (Sam Tsui ft. Yasmeen Al-Mazeedi & Jason Pitts) | Sam Tsui – 11/29/2017
From Tim Sheets of The Oasis Church: Knowing Him – 11/26/23
From Anna Hawkins - O Come, O Come Emmanuel by Anna Hawkins - Filmed in Israel (Hebrew & English) - 11/30/2015
From The Blacksmith Chronicles: MARIO MURILLO PROPHETIC WORD ✝️ OBAMA SAYS MOST INSULTING THINGS I EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE – 12/10/23
From Joshua Aaron: THE BLESSING / HA BRACHA LIVE at the Garden Tomb, Jerusalem - 2/24/23
From The Victory Channel - FlashPoint: FlashPoint LIVE Pasadena, CA Highlights & Special Guests – 12/1/23
From MattNickleMusic: O Holy Night (A Capella) | MattNickleMusic - 12/23/2015
From Rabbi Jason Sobel Official: 🕎 Should Christians celebrate Hanukkah? | Chanukah Repost night 1 – 11/29/22
Podcast - From PragerU: The Amazing History of Christmas – 12/9/23
Podcast - From Dutch Sheets Ministries: The Secret to Releasing God's Power | Give Him 15 Daily Prayer with Dutch | December 6, 2023
Jonathan Cahn Prophetic: The Stunning Mystery that Predicted the Hamas Invasion! – 12/5/23
Podcast - From The American Minute with Bill Federer: American Minute for December 10 – The treaty ending the Spanish American War was signed on this day in 1898.– 12/9/21
Recommended Reading…
From Kingdom Winds: I'll Be Home for Christmas – 12/9/23
From Canada Free Press: How Many Christmases? – 12/9/23
From The Christian Post: Why Christians celebrating Christmas should embrace the Advent tradition – 12/9/23
From Canada Free Press: What was Christmas like 75 years ago? I remember – 12/23/2006
ICYMI > From Christianity Daily: Finding Peace and Serenity in a Busy World: 7 Ways to Embrace Tranquility – 6/17/23
* News From Our Israeli Friends -
From Dr. Henry Abramson: Who was Judah Maccabee? (Jewish Biography as History) by Dr. Henry Abramson – 10/21/2015
From Wine-Dark Sea Stories: The Wars of the Maccabees: How Hanukkah Began | A Tale from Ancient Judea – 11/20/21
From Rabbi Simon Jacobson at Meaningful Life Center: Military Strategies Lessons Learned From Chanukah – 12/6/23
From Australia / Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC): The world willl "have to decide between evil and good": President Herzog talks with Douglas Murray – 12/9/23
From Memories at the Front: ISRAEL FOUND THE HIDING PLACE OF THE HOSTAGES! IT TURNS OUT THEY WERE THERE ALL ALONG! ISRAEL GAZA! – 12/9/23
From TruthScape Media: HOSTAGE RESCUE OPERATION FROM ISRAEL! ISRAELI SOLDIERS ENTERED SECRET TUNNELS! HOSTAGES ARE THERE
From Australia / Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC): "We know that all Hamas senior leaders hide underneath the civilian population.": IDF spokesperson – 12/9/23
From Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) - The Caroline Glick Show In Focus: The Making of Sadistic Terrorists: An Interview with Dr. Mordechai Kedar – 12/7/23
What affects one, can affect all!
* News From The Growing Free Union -
From Kingdom Winds: Awaken to Warfare, They Are in Your Backyard! - 10/31/23
From The RightSide Broadcasting Network (w/video): Praying for America | The Trump Movement! – 12/07/2023
From Bloomberg Quicktake: Harvard, UPenn Presidents Grilled in Congress on Antisemitism – 12/9/23
From FOX News: Are Harvard and MIT next after UPenn president's resignation? – 12/9/23
From WCVB Channel 5 Boston: Congressional letter demands presidents of Harvard, MIT resign amid testimony – 12/8/23
* News From the States –
News From California -
From Faithwire: ‘Does It Get More Cowardly?’: Newsom Cancels California Christmas Tree Lighting Over Pro-Palestinian Protest – Faithwire - 12/6/23
News From Louisiana -
From The RightSide Broadcasting Network: Judge OVERTURNS Election Over Too Many Illegal Votes - 12/8/23
News From Pennsylvania -
From The Christian Post: UPenn loses $100M donation amid calls for president to resign: 'Appalled' – 12/9/23
News From Tennessee -
From Faithwire: Tennessee Lawmaker Introduces Age-Verification Bill to Protect Children From Pornography – 12/8/23
WSMV 4 Nashville: NWS: "Catastrophic" tornado outbreak hits the Mid State – 12/10/23
WSMV 4 Nashville: Ft. Campbell soldier goes door to door helping Clarksville community – 12/10/23
News From Washington state -
From PJ Media: West Coast, Messed Coast™ a Stunning Thing Happened After Hamas Supporters Took Over UW – 12/8/23