Greetings from branta-CLAUS

Hello, friends......


I challenge tradition when it's for the mere sake of tradition. Most of our cultural associations with Jesus are eurocentric and often contrived. I've been building on an alternate narrative for a while about Messiah's birth because maybe some of our immigrant friends feel left out of the story that is so much their's, too.....

Please allow me a little grace as I speculate.....I just want to start conversations. After all, the story of a mere 3 wise men gets repeated yearly, unchallenged. (I am open to anyone's scrutiny on what you are about to read.) Here goes....I suspect that Herod and all Jerusalem with him were disturbed (Matt. 2:3) because hordes of smelly gentiles from the remnants of the Per$!an Empire were pouring into town.....Wierd star gazing Zoroastrians at that!.....From that loathed far country, which was a bitter reminder of their captivity. Throughout the former empire, there likely remained a lot of partially true stories about what God did among the Jews in Daniel's time. Stories surely got spread even further along trade routes. I argue that the arrival of the Magi was a preview of Revelation 7:9. All of the modern major world religions with the exception of !slm, which would arise centuries later, were already rooted in the East. (But some of the raw materials of !slm were already present.) If you include !sl@m, these Eastern religions represent the vast majority of our modern human family. It seems God used their pagan astrology to draw the Magi to Bethlehem with the star. Not surprising.....I have heard of God even intervening in people's acid trips and bringing them to Himself. What an ingenious God! 

Also interesting is that Daniel calls Nebuchadnezzar "king of kings". (Daniel 2:37). Familiar with that term, the travelers were going to see the ultimate King of kings, who will be the One to rule every nation. 

I propose that there were many seekers from many provinces responding simultaneously to the star. I imagine spontaneous meetings on the ancient highways of the East. Imagine the sheer joy upon discovering their common destination. Imagine the conversations over public wells as their animals drank....."Where are you headed, my friend?......Are you going to see the King, too? Shall we travel together?" Perhaps along the way, while comparing their partially true stories, they pieced together a better understanding of Who the King was. The Holy Spirit orchestrates like this. There are modern accounts in persecuted lands of spontaneous praise and worship sessions assembling in forests. Nobody knew why the Spirit directed them there until they were there. A spiritual flash mob!!!

"The East" seems to be somewhat associated with godlessness. Remember when Cain was exiled to the Land of Nod, which was East of Eden? I don't know Hebrew, but from what I read, Nod is connected with aimless wandering. Maybe for the first time, aimless wanderers wandered in a straight line to the House of Bread. As the bumper sticker reads....."Not all who wander are lost!" Nod your head up and down if you agree. Nod the other way if you don't. Either way, we are family. 

I'm still considering the dimensions, but most of the Jews in Acts 2 coming to Jerusalem for Pentecost were "Eastern"....having settled in the provinces of the former empire. Maybe some had corrupted forms of Judaism as many   didn't seem to speak Hebrew. They came and heard the Gospel in their own languages via tongues. The Jews in Daniel's time, although in utter rebellion, left enough of a lasting Gospel witness to lay the foundation for the Magi coming. Israel's disobedience prompted God to let the smelly goyim (and some lowlife shepherds) see Messiah first. Could be apples to oranges but maybe this was an Old Testament preview of Romans 11:11........Speaking of Romans 11:11, I believe that if there is to be revival in the West, it will start among the least likely people who have recently moved to Western countries, where the Church is liberal, dying or dead. I expect a groundswell that will take the nominal/historical Church by surprise. Many will say, "What just happened? I want to be part of that!!!! Sign me up!" Our eurocentric Gospel has soured many on our message.

Watch the above video. This is the af tribe where the t....ban came from. Truth is stranger than fiction. Are you sitting down? The t....ban might actually be of Jewish heritage. They almost uniformly extreme and feared by other tribes. I know a guy from this tribe in STL who volunteered to me without prompting that his people might actually be Jewish. I am still puzzled, but they are not shy about it. It would be just like God to someday raise up these very dry bones and make them worshipers of Yahweh again! 

On another topic....the Mormon missionaries contacted me again after several months. Jaather Adams and I visited them last night at their "church". Their Scriptures are incongruous with the Bible. It would be akin to saying that the National Enquirer is necessary to interpret a medical textbook. Recently, I heard Reformed apologist James White speak. He said that the Mormons have a new translation of the Bible and cautiously declared, ".....it's pretty good!" Perhaps, just like the Worldwide Church of God now upholds doctrinal sanity, someday the LDS will move that way! Call me if you would like to join us. 314-221-7132.

The shirt I am wearing below is a one-of-a-kind made by a graphic designer friend. He liked the Christmas voicemail I used to have and said, "I'd like to put that on a shirt!" I love incarnation hymns and eggnog but I argue that God kept His birthday a secret because He didn't want people idolizing the day.....which they have (if you noticed). I think the Orthodox Church has this right as Easter is their big NT festival. 

For mercilessly messing with tradition and the bringing the nations to Messiah, 

Branta Claus