ADN

mire, gold and ... another one which i am not remembering at the moment.

what do they mean?

(started the topic, because i was talking to a deeply "religious" friend of mine just now and she said that all these presents were some kind of omen of good things to pursue. i heavily protested the "gold one" in my simple perception of the matter and mentioned that would be a very big mistake to accept that as something divine given the trouble it has caused throughout the ages.)

so... question is: what were / are they? what do they mean?

Oooh damn, I love this topic already...I know raum is going to have an alchemical orgasm when he reads this...I'm sure he knows exactly what this means...

In the meantime, which scripture does this refer to..? I'd all but forgotten about it myself, and would like to come along for the ride...Was the other gift incense..?

The three gifts were gold, myrhh, and frankincense. I'll get to their meanings later if raum doesn't beat me to it. Can't stay on too long right now.

QUOTE(AYHJA)Oooh damn, I love this topic already...I know raum is going to have an alchemical orgasm when he reads this...I'm sure he knows exactly what this means...

In the meantime, which scripture does this refer to..? I'd all but forgotten about it myself, and would like to come along for the ride...Was the other gift incense..?
the three "wise men" offered these to Jesus when he was born (don't ask me the exact canon reference though /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" /> ). we all have taken it for granted that it were just gifts. I never gave it a lot of thought up to now and figured that these could be anything - although i have read some explanation some time). I believed that they could've as well given him a teddy bear so to speak. Yesterday i was confronted with the argument: "look, Jesus was given gold when he was born, indicating that it is not a bad thing to pursue in life". I protested heavily but ran out of ammunition...

I know now that they do have a meaning. I suppose so to say the least and I wonder how much their original significance is misinterpreted anno 2006.

raum to the rescue indeed. hehe.

in any case: best wishes to all of you! don't drink and drive (even if that is only because of the high fines you can get given)! and enjoy new year's eve! /wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

Gold was given because Jesus was a king
Myrhh was the spice used during burial in those days. It kind of shows some forshadowing of what was to come.
Frankinscence was just another common spice during those days. I forget what's so special about that one

I answered this but its not here,.. hmm?

frankencense and myrrh, are together called Jerusalem incense. (three parts frankencense to five parts myrhh) they are the scents that were burned in the Holy of Holies (Qadosh ve-ha Qadosihim), where The Lord manifested within the Temple of YHVH attributed to Solomon. These incenses were burnt on an altar inlaid with gold.

By bringing the gold, frank, and myrrh, they indicate that they were preparing for the manifestation of the very same Lord.

vertical,
raum

Symbolically, there is a whole lot that can be said about these three significant gifts given to Jesus. The main points as I have always understood them:

a. Gold
Given to Kings. Symbol of his Soverienty

b. Frankincense
Special incense offered to God only (Exodus 30:34) etc. Used by Priests. Symbol of Divinity

c. Myrhh
Used as a healing balm. (Sacred anointing oil Exodus 30:23) John 19:39 indicates that it was used for embalming the dead, showing he would suffer and be broken for man's healing. Symbol of his Humanity

God I love this forum...