“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him” (Matthew 2:1-2).
The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men in the birth story of Christ. There is only a brief mention in the New Testament about these wise men coming. The Magi came to worship the one who had been born King of the Jews. But how did they know of this King and why would they pay him respect? One might honor and pay respect to a King, but to worship him gives evidence they knew more of this King. And there is more in the scriptures of old, we know that Daniel was in Persia, in the east, and prophesied about the coming of the Messiah.
During the Jews forced exile, Daniel the prophet was made chief administrator in the Babylonian kingdom. When the new King Belshazzar is weighted and found wanting by God, the Babylonian kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians. Taken into captivity once more, Daniel again distinguishes himself and King Darius looks to appoint him over the whole realm. King Darius is tricked by the governors of his kingdom who did not want Daniel to rule over them. They convince Darius to decree that the kingdom pay him respect by not worshiping any gods for thirty days; Daniel disobeys this decree and is thrown into the lion’s den.
The story of Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den is well known. Daniel is placed in the lion's den and left overnight, King Darius doesn't sleep and hopes for Daniel's deliverance, he goes to the lions den to find Daniel alive. After God's saving grace, King Darius writes a letter to all the peoples, nations and tongues magnifying the God of Daniel (Daniel 6:25-27) to be God of Persia. He would also be a wise man for the Persian King Cyrus, "So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian", v.28. This is significant; Daniel was not only among the Magi of Persia, second in charge in the kingsom he ruled over the magi, and Daniel’s God was decreed God of Persia. But wait there is more.
Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27). Looking back on Daniel's prophesy, Martin Luther in his "Preface to the Prophet Daniel" calculates the time span of the prophecy and comes up with 483 years. The prophecy begins when King Artexerxes I of Persia issues the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem's wall (Nehemiah 2:2-9). And ends with the destruction of the temple in 60 A.D. From this time span and other scriptures one can figure out a close date, within two years, of the birth of Christ. Looking forward, we know the Magi did, they came pretty close to his birth. The Magi knew of the coming of the Messiah, they studied the scriptures from the God of Daniel. But wait there is more.
The word Magi is a Greek word adopted from Persian. The same translation of Magi, wise men, is applied to the wise men that Daniel the prophet was made chief administrator over (Daniel 2:48). The word is from the Avestan, the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born. The Magi, a priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, were priests who gained an international reputation for astrology. In the west we know very little about Zoroastrianism, it flourished in Persia until the Arab invasion and rule of Islam some 1100 years after Daniel. Could the Magi, disciples of Zoroaster, be disciples of Daniel? Much more study of Zoroastrianism is to be done, there will be more.
The Magi are popularly referred to as wise men in the birth story of Christ. There is only a brief mention in the New Testament about these wise men coming. The Magi came to worship the one who had been born King of the Jews. But how did they know of this King and why would they pay him respect? One might honor and pay respect to a King, but to worship him gives evidence they knew more of this King. And there is more in the scriptures of old, we know that Daniel was in Persia, in the east, and prophesied about the coming of the Messiah.
During the Jews forced exile, Daniel the prophet was made chief administrator in the Babylonian kingdom. When the new King Belshazzar is weighted and found wanting by God, the Babylonian kingdom is given to the Medes and Persians. Taken into captivity once more, Daniel again distinguishes himself and King Darius looks to appoint him over the whole realm. King Darius is tricked by the governors of his kingdom who did not want Daniel to rule over them. They convince Darius to decree that the kingdom pay him respect by not worshiping any gods for thirty days; Daniel disobeys this decree and is thrown into the lion’s den.
The story of Daniel's deliverance from the lion's den is well known. Daniel is placed in the lion's den and left overnight, King Darius doesn't sleep and hopes for Daniel's deliverance, he goes to the lions den to find Daniel alive. After God's saving grace, King Darius writes a letter to all the peoples, nations and tongues magnifying the God of Daniel (Daniel 6:25-27) to be God of Persia. He would also be a wise man for the Persian King Cyrus, "So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian", v.28. This is significant; Daniel was not only among the Magi of Persia, second in charge in the kingsom he ruled over the magi, and Daniel’s God was decreed God of Persia. But wait there is more.
Daniel prophesied the coming of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27). Looking back on Daniel's prophesy, Martin Luther in his "Preface to the Prophet Daniel" calculates the time span of the prophecy and comes up with 483 years. The prophecy begins when King Artexerxes I of Persia issues the commandment to rebuild Jerusalem's wall (Nehemiah 2:2-9). And ends with the destruction of the temple in 60 A.D. From this time span and other scriptures one can figure out a close date, within two years, of the birth of Christ. Looking forward, we know the Magi did, they came pretty close to his birth. The Magi knew of the coming of the Messiah, they studied the scriptures from the God of Daniel. But wait there is more.
The word Magi is a Greek word adopted from Persian. The same translation of Magi, wise men, is applied to the wise men that Daniel the prophet was made chief administrator over (Daniel 2:48). The word is from the Avestan, the religious caste into which Zoroaster was born. The Magi, a priestly caste of Zoroastrianism, were priests who gained an international reputation for astrology. In the west we know very little about Zoroastrianism, it flourished in Persia until the Arab invasion and rule of Islam some 1100 years after Daniel. Could the Magi, disciples of Zoroaster, be disciples of Daniel? Much more study of Zoroastrianism is to be done, there will be more.