When does WW3 start?
Let's change the question and ask when did the gospel of Jesus Christ begin? We have four official accounts and if you want I'll include Romans which is considered the gospel according to Paul.
1. According to Matthew the gospel begins with the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham. So they begin with the promise spoken by God to Abraham and later to David.
2. According to Mark it begins when John the Baptist begins his ministry as a fulfillment of the prophecy that God would send His messenger before the Lord's face.
3. According to Luke it begins about 30 years earlier than Mark when Zacharias the priest learned that he would have a son named John.
4. According to John the beginning was the word that brought forth the creation. John tells us that Jesus is the incarnated word and that word was first manifested at the creation when God spoke all things into being.
5. For Paul in the book of Romans it begins for him when he begins serving the Lord in his spirit in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now there are ramifications for not realizing the when the gospel of Jesus Christ began.
Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
When Jesus was born we are told in Luke that the shepherds tending their flocks were visited by angels who told them and they went to Bethlehem and beheld Jesus. Bethlehem was not a big town, you would think everyone in that town heard about Jesus.
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
But after that we get this event more than a year later. According to this "all Jerusalem" was troubled by this event. It was "front page news". Bethlehem is only a few miles away from Jerusalem. Today we would consider it the suburbs. Surely they heard about this news as well and this would now be the second time they had heard that Jesus was born the king of the Jews.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. 5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, 6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
Maybe you don't want to believe some strange vision of the shepherds, maybe you don't want to believe these wise men coming from Babylon, but what about your own prophets and priests?
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. 8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also. 9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. 10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
Especially if these three witnesses are confirmed with a star in the heavens that God tells us only He controls.
11 And when they were 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 unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh. 12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way. 13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
Do you really think the Spirit will only warn Joseph? What about all the parents of the others small boys, if they were seeking God for guidance concerning Jesus Christ, why wouldn't they warn them as well?
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt: 15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
If anyone knows anything about small towns everyone in the town would know that Joseph and Mary are gone the next day. Let's be real, Jesus is by far the most famous baby Bethlehem has ever had. Who sneaks away at night? There were no street lamps, you are riding in a cart at night with a small child when it is most dangerous? They have been in Bethlehem for several years, both Joseph and Mary are descended from David's line so they had relatives in this town and they sneak away without telling anyone?
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
This is the consequence for those not paying attention. Jesus is the king, there are a lot of very powerful entities, the least of which was Herod, who want Him dead. Every Jew should have known that. You had two years to study the scriptures concerning the Messiah once you realized He was living next door.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, 18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
Why are they Rachel's children? Why not Leah's? David is descended from Judah and Judah was Leah's son. Leah had seven of Jacob's children while Rachel only had two. The Bible explains why she is considered the mother of all Israel despite only having two of Jacob's 13 children. The explanation is in Jeremiah and Genesis, I'll summarize it. There was a rivalry going on between Leah and Rachel. Eventually Leah, and the two maids all had little babies to care for and Rachel was looking like she would wind up childless. She makes a decision then that she wants to be part of the family and even if she doesn't have her own children she is the aunt to all these kids and she wants to celebrate them as well. Reuben brings home some wildflowers to his mom and so Rachel asks for some of the flowers so she could put them in her room as well. This is when Rachel learns that Leah blames her for marrying Jacob. She was being treated as an unwanted wife who deceived her husband into marrying her. So Rachel makes peace with her sister saying that if she could share in the children by being a loving aunt, then the flowers would be payment for Leah to sleep with Jacob that night. Jacob had made a payment for his wife and got deceived and now Leah can go tell him she has made payment for him so there is no deception and they can start afresh. This is why Rachel is the mother of Israel, she embraced all the children. All these parents of other 2 year old boys, were they jealous of Jesus? Did that jealousy blind their eyes? I believe that anyone who sought God during that time would have been warned. Yes, the death of these children fulfilled prophecy, but what was the prophecy really saying? We know Herod was jealous, but does anyone really believe he was the only one?
