Trilogy of the Magi

Kathryn Muehlheausler

Description

Wise men and women of all ages still seek Him! Trilogy of the Magi is the separate story of each royal magi of Christmas lore.

“There were many other signs that Jesus worked..., but they are not recorded in this book.”  — John 20:30

 

Even in our modern world, wise men and women of all ages still seek Him. Trilogy of the Magi is a book for all seasons.

In an inspirational trilogy, Kathryn Muehlheausler shares three stories of the royal magi of Christmas lore. Decades after Assyrian royal Melchior interacts with Herod, crowned in Rome as the King of the Jews, he is compelled to follow the star to Bethlehem and into danger. Balthazar’s adventurous life continues two decades after following the star when he is captured by a Bedouin tribesman who owes his life to Herod’s son. At first a prisoner and then regarded as a wise man, Balthazar experiences a crisis of faith after he impacts lives while revealing events in the magi’s travels and what they learned about the early life of Jesus. Thirty-three years after Dismas robs a family escaping to Egypt, King Gaspar and his servant Raheeb ponder if the man has fulfilled the child’s destiny. At the foot of Calvary, the angry criminal Daniel jibes at Gaspar though each needs help. Their fates intertwine in a desperate escape from Jerusalem. Weeks later, a shepherd with scars enters their camp; all experience an epiphany of faith.

Trilogy of the Magi is a beautiful and intriguing retelling of Christ’s life through three tales that offer unique perspectives of biblical figures during decades of events in the royal magi’s lives.

“A King’s Story is a beautifully written tale…a truly captivating, inspirational adventure ...”  — Joseph F. Classen, author of Hunting for God, Fishing for the Lord

Sujets

• Religious
• El Mesías
• Christian novel
• Messiah
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 07 février 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664288508
• Langue: English

Extrait

TRILOGY of the MAGI
KATHRYN MUEHLHEAUSLER
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2023 Kathryn Muehlheausler
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Scripture quotations marked (JB) are taken from the JERUSALEM BIBLE Copyright© 1966, 1967, 1968 by Darton, Longmand & Todd LTD and Doubleday and Co. Inc. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8849-2 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8851-5 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-8850-8 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2023900191
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 02/06/2023
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
How blest have I been during the writing and publishing efforts of this book. I thank my sons, Bret and Nick, for their expertise and support. I thank my sisters and friends for their editing, suggestions, and patience. I thank God that my prayers were answered—often in extraordinarily timely ways.
CONTENTS
Melchior’s Book
PrologueA Prophecy
Chapter 1The Rise of Herod
Chapter 2The Celestial Light
Chapter 3Yeshayah
Chapter 4The Journey Begins
Chapter 5And Then There Were Three
Chapter 6Behold Jerusalem
Chapter 7A Promised Messiah
Chapter 8Bethlehem
Author’s Notes for Melchior
Balthazar’s Book
ProloguePrisoners
Chapter 1The Past Returns
Chapter 2Beginnings
Chapter 3The Journey from the East
Chapter 4The Others
Chapter 5Renewed Hope
Chapter 6The Quest Continues
Chapter 7The Arrival
Chapter 8Newcomers
Chapter 9How Jesus Came to Be Born
Chapter 10Kateb’s Tale
Chapter 11What Now?
Chapter 12The Warning
Chapter 13Why Us?
Chapter 14The Crisis of Faith
Chapter 15I Believe He Lives
Author’s Notes for Balthazar
Gaspar’s Book
PrologueTwo Thieves
Chapter 1The Child’s Destiny
Chapter 2A Master and Magician
Chapter 3Solomon’s Temple
Chapter 4The Arrest
Chapter 5A Criminal
Chapter 6The King of the Jews
Chapter 7Raheeb
Chapter 8A Brother’s Fury
Chapter 9Revelations
Chapter 10The Good Shepherd
Author’s Notes for A King’s Stor y in Trilogy of the Magi

MELCHIOR’S BOOK

PROLOGU E A Prophecy
Near Rome, Italy, December 25, circa 4–1 BCE
Augustus Caesar reined in his high-spirited mount as he approached the falls of the Aniene River, where he hoped to find and question the sibyl about what lay ahead for him. Waking even before the sun rose on this late December morning, he had decided that he would test his fate this day. On leaving his estate in the R oman Campagna, where he currently resided outside the city of Tibur, he had given orders that no one was to accompany him from his home. Those orders would be obeyed since he was indisputably the most important person in Rome, which meant that up to this day, he was the most important person in the world.
Gathering his red cloak closer around him, he withstood a brisk gust of wind off the river. Straightening in his saddle, he reflected on his life up to this unique point, which had brought him to his current pinnacle of success. This was the true purpose of his visit to the prophetess—what would be his final fate?
In a bit of reverie, he considered with a degree of satisfaction the mostly fortuitous events of his life that had changed dramatically when his powerful maternal great-uncle Julius Caesar had named him heir. Long ago, however, the Roman leader had vowed to avoid a similar destiny from his uncle’s brutal assassination. He had no intention of his life ending in a pool of blood on the Senate floor. Hence, his purpose this day was to determine if he should accept the rumored honor the Republic’s Senate seemed about to confer on him.
Nudging his white stallion forward, Augustus moved toward the Tiburtine Falls where the sibyl lived. Another gust of wind tore his cloak loose, and as it waved in the misty air from the waters of the falls, he laughed aloud. Feeling powerful and invincible, he cantered forward to embrace the future. Godlike was a term he deemed could easily be applied to him. No man on this earth could rival his achievements and the glory that was his—and would be his in the years to come, if he had read the signs correctly.
Through his mind flitted other times when prophets had been aware of his family’s destiny. The prediction of the day of his Uncle Julius’ death on the Ides of March was such an event. His own destiny had been marked out by the seer Nigidius Figulus, who had told his father that his son would be the master of the world—at least, in so many words. As a young man, when he was still known as Octavian, he had consulted the sage Theogenes, who had foretold his ascent to imperial power. Flames had burst forth in other predictions related to his future—flames such as were said to only have occurred over the destiny of Alexander the Great, three hundred years earlier.
Cresting a slight rise in the land, suddenly Augustus reined in his fidgeting steed, jerking his mount to a standstill. He gazed forward to a cave where a woman in wispy gray garments stood—as if awaiting him. Almost impossibly, a ripple of fear seized the emperor of Rome. In childlike obedience, with no word spoken, he dismounted and bowed to the oracle. She beckoned him forward with a slight hand movement. He threw off his momentary anxiety and moved toward the still, almost gaunt figure. As he was about to speak, she raised her hand to forestall his words.
“I knew you would come this day.” Her raspy voice and tone of prophecy both chilled and excited Augustus.
At his raised eyebrow and look of inquiry, she stated, “You too feel the prophetic nature of this day.”
Silence reigned as she said no more. Encouraged by her words that this would indeed be a day of destiny, he boldly asked the central questions he desired to have answered: “Is anyone greater than me? Will I take my place among the gods?”
The Tiburtine sibyl gazed at him at length. In a dispassionate voice, she proclaimed, “Until a virgin gives birth to a child and yet remains a virgin—”
Suddenly, the sibyl halted and peered eastward to the distant dawn sky, followed by Augustus Caesar’s own look of awe as a magnificent starlike object shot across the heavens. She intoned, “Look! A sign of the future is revealed to you! One world is ending, and another is beginning. Ah—the king of future millennia, the true God of the world. His divinity is unrealized.”
She paused but continued to stare upward, as if she too were mesmerized by her own enigmatic words of prophecy. Then she slowly and solemnly prophesied, “I see him victor in the end over death. He will reunite all nations.”

In the years that followed, the greatest of all Caesars honored the sibyl’s prophecy that he undeniably knew applied to him. Rejuvenated in spirit, he felt that, as before in his life when renamed Augustus, he had been born anew. Interpreting the prophetess’s words to fit his circumstances, he erected a lasting legacy, calling it the Ara Primogeniti Dei —“Altar to the Firstborn of God.” Deified by all of Rome, Augustus Caesar quite naturally interpreted the sibyl’s fateful words favorably—for it was clearly impossible that a virgin could give birth to a child and yet still remain a virgin.

CHAPTER 1 The Rise of Herod
Rome, circa 40 BCE
Mark Antony speculatively peered at the two younger men seated near him. His new brother-in-law Octavian, at age twenty-three, was advising the thirty-three-year-old Idumean Herod that on the morrow, he should offer sacrifices to the Roman god Jupiter. A public ceremony was essential to give homage to this godhead for the honor the Senate was about to confer.
Antony had known Herod for almost two decades. He knew the younger man to be a crafty individual who always managed to wind up on the winning side in any political situation. Unfortunately—or fortunately—Rome’s far-flung empire required just such men of vision and cunning to run the various client kingdoms. Men like Herod could be counted on to back the might of Rome and her policies that would, in turn, keep them on their thrones as well.
Between Octavian and him, they had engineered the bestowal of the crown of Judea, Galilee, and Perea on Herod, which would be conferred two days hence. Having the Eastern provinces in hand, with the king beholden to Rome for his title, would help ensure peace in that troublesome part of the world.
Taking a sip of wine, Antony wondered if Herod would turn a cold shoulder on his religious Judean heritage and embrace Jupiter as the all-powerful father of the legion of Roman gods. How would Herod reconcile what Antony, and most of the world, considered the total absurdity of honoring a single deity—as the Jews did—with the current need to show his allegiance to all things Roman? After all, the gods had to be thanked fo