Bible's 'evil presences' highlighted by Kathie Lee Gifford shed dramatic light on present-day conflicts

Herod the Great occupies a mere blip in the biblical narrative, but historically he was a huge presence in the political landscape of the ancient world.  

He hobnobbed with the likes of Antony and Cleopatra, the ultimate power couple of their time.

A brilliant architect and politician, Herod was also, by most standards, evil.

That's why well-known television personality and author Kathie Lee Gifford became a little obsessed with him.

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Said Gifford in an interview, "I'm fascinated by these huge, huge, epic evil presences all through scripture, always juxtaposed against God's goodness and His hope."

Gifford has launched a series of books about those "evil presences" in the Bible. The first offering recently released is "Herod and Mary: The True Story of the Tyrant King and the Mother of the Risen Savior."

Gifford has done interviews about her new book from her hospital bed at TriStar Southern Hills Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee — as she did for Fox's "Lighthouse Faith" podcast. 

Gifford had an unexpected health setback a few weeks ago. After having a hip replaced, she fell and broke her pelvis. Gifford said, "I broke my pelvis in the front and the back … that's actually more painful than the hip." 

She's since been released from the hospital and has only praise for her physicians and medical care.  

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"It really is just amazing." she said. "I had two incredible, incredible, wonderful men who operated on me and said, 'I'm going to take good care of you, Kathy.'"

Now her focus is on telling the story of how God deals with evil in the Bible, in the world and in general.

"People are always asking me, 'Do you think there's more evil in the world today than there was before?'" said Gifford. 

"And I always say the same thing. If you look back all the way to the Garden of Eden at the beginning of everything, when God was walking in the cool of the night with Adam and Eve, evil was there in the form of the serpent ... Satan was there even then. So we shouldn't be surprised that there's still evil in the world."

Again, despite his brief appearance in the biblical narrative, Herod was an incredibly brilliant man. 

Even today, historians speak of his building projects, such as the temple in Jerusalem and the fortresses including Herodium and Masada. 

But he was also a paranoid villain who murdered, or ordered to be murdered, several members of his own family, including a wife he actually loved dearly — all because he was suspicious of those in his inner circle and desperate to hang onto his power.  

In the Bible, Herod appears only in the New Testament, in the Gospel of Matthew in the story of Jesus' birth. He issued the now-famous edict — the killing of children under age two because of a prophecy brought to him by the wise men that a new king would soon be born to the Jews. 

They saw "a star in the East."  

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In her book, Gifford purposely looks at how evil never thwarts God's plan A, His ultimate good. The contrast in power and prestige between Herod and Mary couldn't be more palpable.

Said Gifford, "When the world thought nothing more evil could be happening ... something far more glorious than anything that had ever happened in the world was happening in the womb of a little teenage girl from Nazareth."

Talking about Herod and Mary at this time of year may seem a little odd, since it's part of the Christmas story, the feel-good warmth of The Star of Bethlehem, "no room at the inn," shepherds in the field and so forth.  

But Gifford is adamant about explaining how evil working its way through the Bible or in our lives is nothing to fear, as God is always in charge. 

He was in charge in the Garden — and is still sovereign.  

Evil persists because humans are sin-based creatures, journeying through life on the whims of their own feelings and fears. Absent any course correction from a Divine and yet objective and absolute source, humans are doomed.

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Evil today appears to be more powerful than good — there is war in its quintessential form, but there are more subtle patterns. For instance, in the controversial Paris Olympics opening ceremony, where it presented a drag queen parody of Leonardo DaVinci's iconic painting, "The Last Supper."  

The composition captures the cornerstone moment in Christianity, a new covenant Jesus ushers in between God and man. Even Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reacted, saying to Pope Francis, "Under the guise of freedom of expression and tolerance, human dignity is being trampled on. Religious and moral values are being mocked."  

Then there's the just-released film "Deadpool and Wolverine." Social media is exploding as Christians note how it not only mocks Christianity but Jesus Himself. The lead character calls himself "Marvel Jesus" and is crucified on the screen. 

Author and conservative speaker Craig Huey commented, "This movie is intentionally blasphemous. It's evil and immoral."

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But there's also the not-so-famous summer release horror film, "Lumina," which — even though it got really bad reviews from RogerEbert.com — has a marketing slogan that should be a red flag to any person of faith. It tells viewers to "embrace the darkness and fear the light." 

The spiritually dark directive contrasts with the Bible's words, "God is light, and in Him there is no darkness."

Russian author and dissident Alexzander Solzhenitsyn's words were never so truer than today: "The battle lines between good and evil run through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?"

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Herod thought he could manage God by getting rid of the enemies he believed could thwart his power. It's a sad but cautionary tale. 

Herod's evil is what did him in. His licentious sexual appetite brought on him a diseased body and a demented mind. He died in agony, with no one to blame but himself.

By contrast, Mary, the faithful and simple Jewish teenager, obeyed God. Despite Herod's machinations, she gave birth to Jesus, whom Christians believe is God's promised Messiah.  

This is how God works. 

Said Gifford, paraphrasing scripture: "'In this world there will be trouble. But fear not. Don't let your heart be troubled. I have overcome the world' — and we know that He has. We need to be reminded of it."