The Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England, Dr. Rowan Williams has claimed that the Christmas story of the three wise men is nothing but a legend with little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was nothing to prove there were three of them or that they were kings.
The Archbishop stated that Matthew's gospel only reveals that the visitors to the newborn babe, Jesus, were wise men from the East and the account works quite well as legend, as does additional traditional thinking that Jesus was born in December because it fitted well with the Winter festival. The Church of England's leader argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus flanked by shepherds was misleading and a part of the Nativity legend.
Jimmy's Prophetic Prospective on the News
The Archbishop of Canterbury who allegorizes the Christmas Story found in the Bible and calls it a legend is setting the stage for Bible prophecy to be fulfilled.
The fact that the leader of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury, can call the Gospel accounts of the Christmas Story a legend says that this major Church leader is willing to forsake the literal interpretation of the Bible accounts of the birth of Christ. In order to say that any part of the birth of Jesus found in Matthew 1 or 2 is a legend states the obvious, the method of interpretation used to come to those conclusions would be the allegorical method and subject to the interpreter's belief, not the Bible as the main source of information.
Though I agree we have no evidence that there were only three wise men, there may well have been three hundred, in any case it is not legend but fact that they came to see the newborn babe who was with His mother Mary, Matthew 2:11. A close study of the account of the priest Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist and when he served at the Temple as recorded in Luke 1 will give absolute evidence that Jesus was indeed born in December. There is a good chance that there might well have been snow, but that report comes from weather history and not a Biblical account. The danger with the claim by the Archbishop of Canterbury that the Story of the Nativity is legend is the method of his interpretation of Scripture, he rejects the literal interpretation of God's Word. This places in danger the literal truth that Jesus who came the first time as prophecy indicated He would, will literally come the second time as foretold by Bible prophecy.
The birth of Jesus Christ as foretold in God's Word is proof that Bible prophecy will indeed be fulfilled.
