Christmas mystery: where the wise men came?

We all remember the gospel story of the birth of Jesus Christ.
We know that this happened in the city of Bethlehem, in the cave where they kept cattle.
Also read in the Gospel of the three wise men:

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, the wise men came to Jerusalem from the east and say where that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him. Upon hearing this, King Herod was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born? And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet: 
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah, are not least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who upaset my people Israel. 
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them what time the star appeared, and he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the child, and when you find it, let me know, so that I may come and worship him. 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. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and went into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him; and opening their treasures, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into another by their country. Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2

Based on this text, we can assume that the wise men came to the King who was born in Bethlehem. Traditionally, and depict this event:

We see that those who drew these pictures, no doubt: the wise men came to Bethlehem, and even on the same night when Christ was born. Shows a cave, animals, baby in a manger ... Although it is written that the wise men came to the house.
But read on:

When they were gone, - an angel of the Lord appeared 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. He got up, took the child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt: 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. Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent and slew all the male children in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the wise men.   Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 2
Question: why Herod ordered the destruction of babies in Bethlehem from two years old? The answer here: time which he had ascertained from the wise men.  

Hence, Herod did not know exactly when he was born his rival, the new King of the Jews. He only knew that the birth was going to happen in Bethlehem, and the time when the star appeared in the sky, behind which were the wise men. Therefore, he admitted that the star, the news of the birth of the new King, maybe even two years ago. What did the the wise men two years - it is clear - they were in the way, followed the star from afar, from the East (as the researchers believe - from Persia). But it is clear that the Holy Family might not be as much time in the cave with the animals. Yes, and a child aged two years, does not require a finding in a manger :)
Here we have to remember why and how Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem? They came from Nazareth in the census because of their race comes out of this town. Of course, after the census and the birth of a child, they had to go back to Nazareth. Not immediately - because according to the law of Moses on the eighth day of a newborn baby boy should be cut off, and after days of purification to come to the temple:

And when eight days were fulfilled to circumcise the child, gave him the name Jesus, named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb. 
And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 
as prescribed in the law of the Lord, Every male that opens the womb, to the Lord; 
And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 2

After Jerusalem Joseph and Mary was no more need to go back to Bethlehem, so they are back to where they came from:

And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth. The Gospel of Luke, chapter 2

So Herod was wrong in thinking that the new King of the Jews still is still in Bethlehem, but the wise men and more followed the star that led them exactly to the child, that is - in the home of Joseph and Mary in Nazareth!

LEBANON. Tyr: the prophecy has come true!

It is time to talk about the Bible prophecies were fulfilled in the fate of nations and peoples, cities and civilizations.
Here's a riddle: the city of Tyre. In ancient times, was the largest commercial city in the Mediterranean. The Bible mentions many times. And now he is in Lebanon, on the beach. Many ruins remained around there, what to see, but ... it ruins the later, Roman buildings.

Roman ruins in Tyre

And the biblical Tyre left no stone unturned, literally. In its place now - smooth rock. How could this happen?
It was like:

In the eleventh year, on the first day of the first month, the word of the Lord to me: 
Son of man, because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, "and! well! he crushed - the gates of the peoples; He appeals to me; Fill; He is devastated, "- for thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will - on you, O Tyre, and will raise up against you many nations, as the sea causeth his waves to come. 
And they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her a bare rock. Place for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea will be; for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD: and it shall become a spoil to the nations. And her daughters which are in the field shall be slain by the sword, and they shall know that I am the LORD. For thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen, and his army, and much people. Thy daughters he beat a sword and want a fort against thee, and against thee nasyplet shaft and put shields against you; and thy walls pridvinet battering rams and your towers will destroy their axes. From the set of his horses their dust shall cover thee, and the noise of the horsemen and chariots wheels thy walls shall shake, when he shall enter into thy gates, as men enter into a broken city. Hoofs of his horses he istopchet all your street, and your people will break the sword, and thy down to the ground. 

And plunder your riches, and make a prey of thy merchandise, and destroy thy walls, and break thy pleasant houses: and thy stones and thy timber and thy will be thrown into the water. 
And the noise of thy songs, and the sound of your harps will not be heard. I will make you a bare rock, you'll place to spread nets upon; thou shalt be built no more: for I the LORD have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD. 
Ezekiel, Chapter 26

The first part of Ezekiel speaks specifically about the Babylonian king.
And turned it in 586 BC (about a year). But by the time of Nebuchadnezzar troops entered the city, the inhabitants of Tyre fled with all the goodness of the island, which was not far from the shore. It saved them because Nebuchadnezzar had no ships to cross - he was advancing on dry land.

Further, for 240 years, the city of Tyre remained destruction, and its residents continued to live on the island. And in 333 BC granted to them ... Alexander the Great! But, having come to the place of glory of Tyre, he found there only ruins. On the island, he also could not attack -
residents were warned about his offense and built a powerful underwater barriers (artificial reefs), these fences were so arranged that the tides could not bring them with sand. Alexander understood - when you try to attack from the sea, ships, he would lose the fleet. Here residents relax, they say, it worked! Had passed! But they underestimated the resourcefulness of Alexander:
for the first time in the history of military sieges and he came up with an original way to get them, to build a road between the mainland and the island, and to make her army to the island to get to the treasure.
But, imagine, in those days, when there was no mining trucks and mining machines, which take as much Fabric? Very simple: Fabric ... they took out of the city of Tyre, lay in ruins.
Alexander sent to this business all his huge army, and they, stone by stone, brick by brick, timber for log, all carried and thrown into the sea. And it still was not enough! Then they scraped the whole earth, to hard rock, and also thrown into the sea.
So exactly, in fine detail, the prophecy of Ezekiel! At the site of Tyre remained bare rock.
Think about it: the prophet, who lived long before these events, could not by itself come up with such a story. This God has determined in advance and announced, to teach a lesson to those who gloats over the suffering of others and even tries to extract from it the benefit:
because Tyre said concerning Jerusalem, "and! well! he crushed - the gates of the peoples; He appeals to me; Fill; for it is spoiled. "..
Так его жители, наследники славы Тира, пали от меча Александра и его войска, а все их сокровища, накопленные за много столетий торговли и процветания, достались завоевателям.

So its inhabitants, the heirs of glory of Tyre, with the sword of Alexander and his army, and all their treasures accumulated over many centuries of trade and prosperity, went to the conquerors.

So Alexander forever changed the geography of the Mediterranean coast of Lebanon: the island turned into a peninsula :)

That is on the peninsula and is a modern small Lebanese city of Tyre. But this place used to be just an island and not a place of ancient Tyre. So the prophecy that Tyre will be no more built up, also celebrated. At the site of the ancient Thira no nothing, just rock on which now, as in the prophecy was written, the fishermen dried network.