The KJV Holy Bible

 

Matthew Chapter Two

 

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,

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.

21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee:

23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Matthew: The Hostility of the Ego and the Incubation of the Spirit

"Matthew Chapter Two reveals the immediate, chaotic psychological aftermath of spiritual awakening. The birth of the Solar Consciousness (the Christos) is not met with universal internal peace, but with violent resistance. The entrenched, worldly ruling ego (Herod) instantly perceives the new spiritual faculty as a lethal threat to its sovereignty. This chapter details the crucial alchemical necessity of hiding and incubating the fragile new divine awareness deep within the subconscious matrix (Egypt) until the violent, reactive forces of the old lower nature exhaust themselves and perish."

 

 

Verses 1-6: The Illumination of the Higher Faculties and the Terror of the Ego - "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, 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. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him." 

The "wise men from the east" represent the highest, most refined intellectual and intuitive faculties of the mind. The "East" is the esoteric direction of the rising sun and spiritual illumination. They are guided by a "star"—the direct, focused point of light from the Higher Self. However, they first arrive at Jerusalem, the established center of the worldly mind, ruled by Herod. Herod represents the false, tyrannical lower ego that governs through fear and material attachment. When Herod hears that a true, divine King (spiritual sovereignty) has been born, he is completely terrified, and the entire established mental structure ("all Jerusalem") is shaken with him. The lower ego knows its reign is coming to an end.

 

 

Verses 7-12: The Alchemical Gifts and the Bypassing of the Ego - "And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother... they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way." 

The higher faculties locate the pure spiritual spark resting within the purified subconscious (Mary). They offer the three ultimate alchemical elements required for the Great Work: Gold (representing Solar purity, divine intelligence, and perfected consciousness), Frankincense (representing the volatile, ascending air element, spiritual aspiration, and the priestly function), and Myrrh (representing the dense earth element, bitterness, preservation, and the inevitable death of the old self). After consecrating the Christos, the higher faculties are warned by the Divine not to report back to the lower ego. They return via "another way"—esoterically meaning the awakened mind creates entirely new neural and energetic pathways, deliberately bypassing the old, toxic control structures of the false ego.

 

 

Verses 13-15: The Flight into the Matrix - "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... that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son." 

This is a profound Hermetic repetition of the Genesis blueprint you just formatted! The newborn spiritual consciousness is too fragile to engage in direct combat with the entrenched, violent lower ego (Herod). The protective intellect (Joseph) is commanded to take the Christos down into Egypt (the deep, dark, protective sanctuary of the material/subconscious matrix). Just as Joseph in the Old Testament preserved the vital energy in Egypt, the new Joseph preserves the spiritual seed there. The Divine must incubate in the density of the subconscious until it is strong enough to emerge and command the system.

 

 

Verses 16-18: The Violence of the Dying Ego - "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..." 

When the lower ego (Herod) realizes it has been bypassed by the higher faculties, it lashes out with blinding, destructive rage. The "slaughter of the innocents" represents a period of extreme internal mental turmoil. The dying ego aggressively attacks and destroys every new, pure, or innocent thought (the children) that arises within the conscious mind, desperately trying to eliminate the spiritual threat and maintain its worldly dominance. It is a harsh alchemical phase of psychic resistance and spiritual dryness.

 

 

Verses 19-23: The Exhaustion of the Lower Nature and the Humble Return - "But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life... he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth:" 

Eventually, the aggressive, lower animal ego (Herod) completely exhausts its vital energy and dies. The false self cannot sustain its own violence forever. Once the threat is gone, the Higher Self signals the intellect to bring the Solar Consciousness out of the subconscious matrix. However, instead of returning to the center of worldly power (Judea), the Christos is directed to Nazareth in Galilee—a region representing obscurity, humility, and quiet discipline. The Great Work continues, but the spiritual consciousness will now grow in silence and humility, preparing for the day of its active ministry.