Y'know, I always find this strange. The answer is surprisingly simple. The three Magi were probably... Magi! What I mean by that is, they were Zoroastrian clergymen - the word for which is Magi. The reason the word Magi came to be associated with magic is because the that's how the Greeks understood Zoroastrians - as a group of wise philosopher-magicians - and they passed that understanding down through ages unto the Romans. In actuality, the Zoroastrians were one of the earliest religions to institute the worship of a single God, whom they referred to as Ahura Mazda. It was of Persian origin, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of Persia prior to the Muslim conquests, and Cyrus the Great was a Zoroastrian. When he freed the Jews from captivity, he viewed the Jewish religion and the Zoroastrian religion as very compatible, and even identified the Jewish God with Ahura Mazda (literally "The Wise Lord"). Because of the mutual respect between the Zoroastrians and the Jews, they ended up trading a few ideas - among them being the resurrection at the end of time, whose earliest formulations in recorded history are of Zoroastrian origin. The Zoroastrians were and are masters of astrology, because they identified the stars with the heavens, and believed that if one were to understand the happenings on Earth, they must also understand the happenings in heaven. Hence, it's not too hard to make the final connection here that the Magi were infact Zoroastrian clergymen, well versed in astrology and familiar with Jewish texts, who saw the signs and heeded them.
The Nabateans were "in the east" they would have had the Hebrew scriptures. Herod was part Nabatean. Franensence and Myhr were items of trade which made the Nabateans wealthy, bringing a lot of gold.
I always found the arrival of the Zoroastrians significant - because Christ was the Messiah for the Jews, but with the presence of the Magi at the scene of the nativity, it showed that Christ was not just the Messiah for the Jews but the whole world ~ for other religions as well. I first read about Zoroastrians (and magi) on the Catholic New Advent Encyclopaedia, and it was absolutely mind blowing!~ Especially since the Encyclopaedia was written in 1910 or something, and yet hardly any Christian Pastor/Priest ever talks about the Zoroastrian clergymen, besides from what is narrated in the Bible.
You explain this nicely and exactly as I've learned from my own research through the years. Dr Chuck Missler had a nice series of messages describing the nativity and broke down the Magi like this, stating they were probably part of a secret cabal dating back to the Prophet Daniel during the Medo-Persian empire. They may picked up clues that Daniel left in his prophecies plus other prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures through the millennia.
There's actually a debate among theologians as to whether Judaism and Zoroastrianism were part of the same religion at one point because the similarities are so close but the names are changed. Would be interesting to find out if they were simply different ways to worship Yahweh.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH Psychedelic rock? Well... if you've ever taken Magi mushrooms... you will understand that the true meaning of Christmas is "Dude... everything spirals, dude..." and "Whoa... those lights are pretty, dude!!!" and "Uh, oh... dude... uh, oh... I think we're in trouble, dude...uh, oh!"" Don't take Magi mushrooms... especially not this Christmas!!! Jesus Christ was not a mushroom... to be clear.
A biblical scholar once speculated that the Magi were 1) not 3 in number but a many with a large retinue and 2) were likely descended from the Persians who served and whom some loved Daniel. Their knowledge of scripture and their implied watchfulness for certain signs led him (the scholar) to lean heavily on this assumption. Daniel had many servants in Persia, he was a powerful man who, through our Father and creator, foretold many things, he was also a student of prophecy and studied Isaiah extensively (his knowledge of the 70 years in captivity as foretold by Isiah and Jeremiah. Anyway, it's all speculation but it does make sense, the fact that Daniel was revered in Persia even up to the modern age, lends some weight to this assumption. Something to think about.
I've heard that the north star, which is know as the king star was in alignment with the constellation Leo, which is a lion and the Jews are known as the lion of Judah, so king of the lion of Judah, king of the Jews. If it was people from the time of Daniel, it could have been this is what they were looking for. If that were the case, the prophecy of Jesus birth in the stars was unique. I think astronomers can verify that this happened at the time of Jesus birth.
@@jeremybeavon4476 I think you’re probably referring to the triple constellation of Jupiter with Regulus. (The North Star is the one star that does not move in the night sky, so it can’t conjoin with any other star or align with anything it isn’t already aligned with). But there was an event where Jupiter (the king planet) made conjunction with Regulus (the king star), which is in the constellation Leo (kingly overtones there as well, the Lion being the emblem for the royal tribe of Judah). Because of Jupiter’s shifting retrograde motion, the constellation happened three times within a year - Sept 10, 3 BC; Feb 7, 2 BC; and May 8, 2 BC. There was also a conjunction of Jupiter with Venus on June 17, 2 BC. I think there’s a good case to be made that these are the signs that drew the Magi’s attention. Against the theory is the fairly popular consensus that king Herod died in 4 BC, but there are some inconsistencies in both the narrative and the manuscripts of Josephus that leave the possibility open that Herod died in 1 BC instead.
you are correct Harley ... that's what happened , many of these wise men were very familiar with the Bible and the History of Daniel , Ezekiel , etc etc ..... Daniel was standing there when Persia conquered Babylon !!!!! You can bet they knew the stories of Daniel , and Daniel 9 is a timeline prophecy for the messiah .... Thos magi studied the prophecies with an open mind , the pharisees did not , they were greedy and wanted riches and power , not a savior from sin
Totally agree with you about Daniel having an impact on the Persian empire...he was there 70 years! And once God saved him from lions den ( as well as his 3 friends saved from furnace) the king changes his ways and makes a decree that they now serve the God of Daniel. So of course Daniel's teachings would have impacted the generations to come in Persia.
I love the magi, they were worshipping pagan Babylonian/Sumerian gods but found the son of the true god before anyone else. God uses everyone in his plans, even those who would be against him.
And the other first people to find him were shepherds, working in the middle of the night doing a dirty job nobody was fond of. Not priests or kings or the wealthy. Poor people and outsiders. I think that's pretty awesome.
@@LaboratoryGoblin Exactly!! Unbelievably powerful. Ancient elite pagan globalists studying the occult arts and sciences, travel across continents to worship, alongside local shepherds, some of the lowliest of local societies.
@@MonstersNotUnderTheBed I believe the Magi were from modern day Iraq if the timeline lines up. So they wouldn't have crossed continents, but that two year journey would have been a long one.
those magi KNEW about Daniel and studied his writings .... Daniel 9 is a timeline prophecy for the messiah and those men studied it .... Babylon and Persia were very familiar with the history of Daniel , I guarantee that
Not true it all actually. At the time that this happened, There was a large Jewish community living in Babylon. Intellectuals, nobles and the like. So these are most likely Jewish princes guided by prophecy.
This is my grudge with most nativities... I believe the Shepherds are far more important on the night of the birth, and the Magi come into the story WAY later....
Yes they would be late to the party but they are of still significance and where else would you be able to talk about them then? The nativity scene tries to do a lot of things at the same
@@EvanMoon the trouble isn't that the exist in the story for the convenience of linking him to a recognized kingship (though I shudder at the thought of rearranging things for the sake of convenience), but the main problem is that they usually overshadow the shepherds. God wanted the shepherds there, sent angels to tell them to be there, and told them this was for them. Dirty stinky outcast shepherds were intended to be the front and center witnesses to the coming of their Messiah. Those shepherds are the main point of that story, not the Magi. Remove them from the nativity, and the downtrodden still witness the arrival of the Messiah. Remove the shepherds though, and the marginalized are cast aside yet again... Magi didn't even get an invitation... No telegram, no phone call, no angel... They just showed up on their own, which is fine for linking him to kingship, but that isn't what that night was about.
The Magi may be related to the family line of Balaam the son of Beor, who first saw and predicted the Star about 1,400 years before the Magi. Balaam was also from the East, and he came from a family line of seers/magicians/astrologers.
Hello Matt I’m from Puerto Rico and as part of our Holidays celebration we celebrate the Three Wise Men on Jan 6. Is Christian celebration and if you are a kid you can to get grass from the backyard on Jan 6th eve into a shoe box leave it underneath the Christmas tree (Santa’s cookies and milk equivalent) and you get toys next day. Thanks for this informative video! Happy Holidays!!
About the Magi, from the Greek "Magoi", from the Persian "Majoosian". My understanding is that the Majoosians were the priestly tribe of the Medes (mentioned by Herodotus). There is said to be a Zoroastrian prophecy that "Behold, a god-king will be born in west. You will find your way to him by following a star, and when you find him, bring him gifts and worship him." Navigation by stars was actually quite common in that time among those familiar with travel in desert areas of the Middle East. It is said that these wise men later returned to meet Jesus much later in life, and that they brought His teachings back to Persia with them. However, their followers consider themselves distinct from Christians. In AD 614, a Sassanian army of Jews and Persians captured Jerusalem after a brief siege. Some Persian soldiers then entered a church for the purpose of ransacking it, but stopped when the recognized the Magi on a mural.
Indeed. By the first century, the term "Magi" in Greco-Roman tradition seems to have been used as a catch-all expression for any kind of Middle Eastern priesthood, but more specifically it probably refers to the Zoroastrian priesthood of Aryan/Persian culture. Since astrology/astronomy was highly popular (and very likely a key part of Zoroastrian faith) at the time - and had been for a three or four centuries before that, then there would have likely motives for such priests to investigate significant astronomical omens.
That fact that Daniel was chief of the wise men (magi) in Babylon and left a book that literally prophesied the exact year of Messiah's birth (seventy sevens prophecy of Daniel 9) probably had something to do with it. Daniel also makes it plain that Messiah would be divine (Daniel 7) and he would die (cut off, but not for himself), explains their understanding of him as King (gold), Priest (Frankincense), and Myrrh (burial herb).
Yeshua Tempted By Satan Thus preparing himself further for the mission set before him, Yeshua retreated into the wilderness to contemplate his role of the promised Redeemer and Savior of the righteous seed of man. For there was strength in the wilderness which possessed every nature of God, and Yeshua looked unto the holy creations of his Father and did receive enlightenment and spirit. And Yeshua, while there in the desert, was tempted by Satan. And the wild animals of the desert were everywhere about him, but all became subject unto him, for all sensed him the Holy Christ of the True God. And there among the wild beasts, his only companions, Yeshua fasted and prayed unto his Heavenly Father. And it came to pass that afterwards he was hungry and exhausted, and it was at this time and place that the tempter came unto him and said, "If thou be the true Son of God, command that these stones be made bread, so that thou may eat and be filled, for is it not written concerning thee, that thou will feed on the finest of wheat and honey, and out of the rock with pure waters ye shall be satisfied?" But Yeshua answered the tempter and said: "Yea, but it is also written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every law that proceedeth out of the mouth the True God, even The Eternal All." And the devil was silent for a time and said not a word unto Yeshua. But later he appeared again unto Yeshua with a woman of overwhelming beauty and comeliness...and said unto him, "Do take her as thine own, for her desire is upon thee, and thou shalt have love and happiness and much joy all thy life, and even see thy children's children, for yea, is it not written, “It is not good for man that he should be alone.” And Yeshua, with voice raised, said unto the devil, "Get thee behind me Satan, for it is also written, Be not led away by the mere beauty of a woman, for all flesh is as grass and the flower of the field; the grass withereth and the flower fadeth away, but the Law of the Eternal One endureth forever. For I tell you what you already know of me, that I come to heal the spiritual ills of man, for he that is truly born of God, keepeth the seed within, for he knoweth the good from the evil and the light from the darkness. I restoreth all things to their original root, that all things may know that the True God is above the evil of the world, for by thy ignorance, mankind suffereth much and the entire creation sighs and cries and awaits freedom from bondage, yea even from the slavery of sin that ye have imprisoned them." And again Satan was silent for a time, but re-appeared the third time saying: "Come, let us go up into the holy city, where I shall set you on the very pinnacle of the Temple, for surely here in thy God's House, if thou be the Son of God and cast thyself downward, all that is written will take place; for it says: “He shall give his holy angels charge concerning thee; and in their hand they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash they foot against a stone.” And once again Yeshua said unto Satan: "It is also written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God nor put His Holy Law to the test. For ye well know the All Power of the Father and yea, the Holiness of His Laws, but because ye imagined the impossible dream, ye so set up a kingdom over the Most High, and ye fooled many angels and most of mankind. Thus ye also realize, thy time is limited; for thy evil and wrongdoing shall bring unto ye, thy seed, but also my seed unto God. Do what ye must do, Satan, and do quickly, for thy judgment is at hand, and ye shall no way escape thy punishment which thou hast prepared for thyself and all those who love your lie." And again Satan remained silent and went away angry, but after a time, did return for the fourth time and offered Yeshua all the power and glory of his world, for yea, the power and authority was his to grant to any he chose. And he said unto Yeshua, "Come hither, for I have much to show unto you, and much to grant." And he took Yeshua up into an exceedingly high mountain range, wherein all the earth and its valleys could be seen in the vast distance. And it was upon this mountain, that Satan viewed 12 cities and their peoples, yea the kingdoms of the world and every material desire in them, all in a moment of time. And boasting in his great power, the Arch prince of evil said unto Yeshua, "All this power and all this authority, yea and all the glory therein as found in my world as you see yet to come, I will give unto thee freely, for ye well know that all ye see is delivered unto me for a time, and lo, to whosoever I will, I give it freely. For is it not written, 'Thou shalt have dominion from sea to sea, so thou shalt judge thy people with righteousness and the poor with mercy, and make a full end of oppression.' If thou therefore wilt worship me, Yeshua, all shall be thine.” And Yeshua looked at Satan, the father of every lie and false god of every evil and lust, and said: "Again I say unto you, ignorant one, ye know scripture well, even as ye hath written much and corrupted the sacred truths. But hide not behind thy twisted interpretation of holy things, for thou art in darkness and seeth not the light as holy men see and know. Because of thy deviation, the Holy Law fleeth from thee, for what is holy and pure hath no fellowship with evil and sin. For there is no light in darkness and no truth in a lie, and ye hath taught the lie as truth and saith unto thy angels, thou alone art God, and there is no one else, but Holy Wisdom spake unto you and said, You lie, Satanail, for the Eternal All is above the Rest. For thou knowest it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Eternal All and Him alone shalt thou serve in all purity of heart.' For ye knoweth well, ye have the authority over this world for a time, but the age cometh when all things shall enter into the Rest, and thy power and authority shall cease, yea even as every evil work shall cease and be no more. For in the beginning ye did offer Adam all things also, but when he chose the good over the evil, which ye thought not he would, ye sought after to destroy him and his seed, yea even causing a flood to ruin all things of the holy creation. But I spake unto Adam and Adam unto his sons, and Noah prepared an ark with mine angels and did save a holy remnant of the creation, and mankind did flourish after the flood. But the time draweth nigh when the righteous shall inherit the earth, and those of Humane Love will prosper in all things, and ye shall be no more over them, nor have power to corrupt the creation." Satan at hearing these things spoken by Yeshua, remained silent for a short time, then decided to end the temptations, and thus departed from Yeshua, knowing for a certainty this was the Son of God, knowing good from evil, and light from darkness. ... And behold, many Holy Angels of God came and ministered unto Yeshua with many songs and prayers to the glory of all that is sacred and pure, in that Yeshua warded off the temptations of Satan and yielded not to wicked authority.... And after a time, Yeshua returned from the wilderness and his parents happy to see him made him a feast, and they gave unto him the gifts, which the wise men had presented, to him as a babe in the manger. And Mary spake, saying: "These things have we kept for thee, Yeshua, even to this day." And she gave unto him the frankincense, and the myrrh, and the gold. And Yeshua took of the frankincense; of the myrrh he gave unto Mary Magdalene; but of the gold he gave unto his parents to distribute among the combines of the brothers and sisters, those of the holy way. And much happiness and joy did they experience at the feast, for the spirit of peace was with them in all they did and spoke. And they did eat the produce of the earth and drank the juice of the ripened fruits, even as the Holy Law commandeth. .
The Babylonian Maji were trained by Daniel and had the scriptures. They not only seen the sign of the star, but knew from Daniels prophecy that the King Yeshua would arive at a specific year. Thru the scriptures they were waiting for the KING to be born and nailed it!!!
Bro that was so good I subscribed. I found it to be totally thoughtful and led me to think about this and completely different ways thank you very much
I'm glad i found someone who makes the more in depth thinking about the bible interesting. Every time i asked a pastor or tried to do it myself the answer was almost always "well that's just how it is i guess". Now i'm able to learn more and enjoy it.
Magi was a term for Zoroastrian priests. Zoroastrian religion also had a prophesized messiah, called saoshyant, the benefiter. Some early Christians, part of those now called Gnostics, had a theology similar to Zoroastrianism.
You can see basic info on Magi, Zoroastrianism, and Saoshyant on Wikipedia. As you can on early Christian groups such as Cerdosians and Marcionites who had theology similar to Zoroastrianism, as did Manicheanism a bit latter, which explicitly accepted Zoroaster as a prophet.
Do we know for sue , that the Maji were pegan gentiles ? Or were they descendants of formerly displaced tribes of ancient Israel ? Perhaps the knew enough to go check it out.
I think Herod must've been more bothered by the Magi considering the "Messiah fever" (I think you talked about this) of those times. The Magi visiting Jesus is such a beautiful scene and even if it technically happened after the Nativity I'm glad its included in Nativity scenes and remembered on Christmas.
Love the video - I’m glad to see that your info lines up with what my dad and I found while working on fiction books to tell a realistic story of the Magi.
crazy yesterday i heard about the connection to magi and modern magic and was doing some research this morning on it and now u post this video🙏blessings brother
A nice follow up to this video would be if you talked about the three gifts the Magi brought. I've heard the gifts themselves carried special meaning... (Gold = royalty, frankincense and myrrh =spices for burial). I'd be interested to hear what you have to say. thanks for the content.
Love your clips. Always love your structuring and personality to keep engagement. I read the Isaiah sections you cited. The Isaiah Ch 18 seems to be talking about Ethiopia or a place south of Egypt. Looking through some Bible commentary with my Blue letter Bible app most mentions other connections, but nothing necessarily to Magi in Matthew and Luke
I've been reading Daniel and was curious about how he was chief over the wisemen, magicians, etc without defiling himself and then came across the magi. I've never heard that word until today so started diggin a bit. I love how you explained a lot!!! I also read your about me on your main channel page and definitely understand how that feels when your faith seems to fall apart and I am glad that you are back and seeking God and digging deep. He is a gracious Father and He is so good!!!! ☺️
I like the theory that the sign they followed was the sign of the alignment of the constellation Virgo with Draco beneath, and the sun and moon. The reference is made in Revelation 12 to the virgin giving birth with the dragon waiting to consume the child and the sun and moon at her feet.
I enjoy your videos! I just offer that the best scholarship today suggests these ‘magos’ were Nabataean “wise men”. Nabataeans (officially and generally) were worshipers of The God of Israel at the end of the BC period. The Nabataeans were traders and very wealthy, and their capital Petra was located southeast of Jerusalem on the trade routes connecting Arabia-Egypt-Judea. Also of interest is Petra where many Christians were welcomed when they fled for safety when they saw “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” in or about 65 AD. I could go on, but you are the research guys 😉. TK of Shiloh Church in Summerset, SD USA.
The thing that cooks my noodle a bit about Matt 2 is that when the magi were told not to go back to Herod, Joseph wasn't also told to leave. Bethlehem is something like 5 miles from Jerusalem. The day the magi leave without returning, Herod is going to hear. That means Joseph's dream to leave is the night after the magi leave.
The Greeks considered the 'magi' the wise men among the nations (aka the gentiles) and celebrate 'Epiphany' as the manifestation of God to non-Jews. The Gospel writer draws on this to signal to the Hebrew audience (as Matthew seems to do so, often citing the OT) that this is the Lord's Anointed to whom all nations will come to pay homage. As for how many and who these were, we know that the unspecified number and origins imply 'however many and from all over', but their 'gifts do carry clear significance to the Priestly (incense), Kingly (gold) and Prophetic (myrrh) nature of the Anointed One. All the Christmas play stories and invented embellishments aside, it has OT biblical typology embedded in it, that a ruler should pursue Israel's saviour and slaughter babies (Moses), and that out of Egypt, will come the Saviour to shepherd Israel (also alluded in ancient Coptic liturgy, cf Hosea 11:1). In Cairo, I visited the sites in the Jewish quarter where tradition held the 'Holy Family' sojourned. Oh, and when Matt said 'Holy Family' I nearly choked! Rare to hear an Evangelical use that term, as it affirms the sanctification of both the parents as well as the Child Jesus.
Er. Your Nativity set is unconventional! :D All kidding aside great explanation of who the Magi may have been and why there were there and why it mattered enough to be written down.
More seriously: there's a bedouin tribe around what used to be ancient Saba who say they're descended from those Magoi, bringing the three gifts typically found in the region -- gold, Frankincense, and myrrh. The reason they went was connected with the legend of the Queen of Sheba returning to bear Solomon's son (from which comes eventually the massive Islamic appreciation for Solomon and the inheritance claims of various groups in Arabia and East Africa): they saw an astrological indication that a legitimate king of the Jews had been born, and naturally went to Herod the Great. Why him (aside from sitting on the throne)? Because Herod's parents were from Edom (Esau's lineage) and, more importantly, Arabia (though I don't recall who was which). It was on the basis of his Arabian parent descending (supposedly) from Solomon that Herod had parlayed Augustus into recognizing him as king of the region in return for loyal service in securing the land trade routes in the region against raids by the Edomites and other border tribes nearby (since obviously Herod had political connections there, too. And armies to thwap them with if they got out of hand.) This theory also sort-of explains why Herod can sort-of get away with not being directly blamed for the Bethlehem massacre: he has contacts to convince a caravan group from Edom to try a raid in Bethlehem while leaving the area, where things just (cough) get out of hand leading to the slaughter of the innocents (entirely on purpose of course). So he sends soldiers, but not Levites nor Roman guards. This also explains Josephus' mystery of why Herod lost his "friend of Caesar" status and had to get it back by leading a retribution raid against Idumea late in his life, by which he regained his status shortly before his death (possibly triggered by the strain of personally leading the punitive strike campaign): he was supposed to be able to politically stop such things, and had somehow super-failed to do so in a staggering way. As to why they're called Magoi: that's a loan word from Chaldea, of course, but like "rabbi" it just means "great ones" and could be borrowed by other cultures (like for example the Jews, pertinently!) It can even apply to kings, and this theory explains why the visitors came early to be regarded as kings: they would have been local chieftains traveling to pay homage to the true Son of David. (And then finding a lot more than they were expecting!)
I have heard that they were spiritual successors or descendants of Daniel. Glad that you touched on that, but where could we go for more information on that particular point.
Look in the Catena Aurea by Thomas Aquinas or in Lapide's Commentary on Matthew. They both have references to what the early Church Fathers wrote on the subject.
GREAT INFORMATION! And I feel more connected to the story and time now. To think they may have been motivated to go, knowing that THEY could be a part of a prophetic fulfillment...I’d go too!
Dr. Michael Heiser, OT scholar, did a study on this. In my opinion, it is the best and most coherent explanation of the Magi. I recommend checking him out.
While reading a book on the travels of Marco Polo, I came upon a reference to Polo visiting a monastery in Persia where a flame was kept burning in perpetuity by those responsible tending the flame. According to the flame keepers, when the Magi visited Jesus who was a young boy at the time (not a baby), they gave Jesus a series of gifts and He in return gave them a black rock. On the way back to their homeland(s) they discussed the black rock and were a little perturbed that this was the boys response to their gifts. So, they threw the rock to the ground and immediately the ground opened up and a flame appeared. They captured the flame and brought it back to Persia with them to keep it burning till that time. How does this tie into the Book of Daniel, Daniel by his close association with the Persians would have given them much information about the coming King ...Jesus... and what signs to look for at His coming.
Dr. Chuck Missler had a nice series of messages on the nativity that breaks down the possible origins of the Magi. Just like you mentioned in the video, they had knowledge of the Hebrew scripture prophecies, including the ones from Daniel, who was around them during the Medo-Persian empire, combined with their understanding of astrology, divination and dream interpretation (which are condemned practices by the Jews and Christians surprisingly). The Histories of Herodotus also describes the Magi of ancient Persia and their abilities to interpret dreams, signs and prophecies and cast spells (Histories Book Seven) .
In Mexico we celebrate BOTH Christmas and January 6, which i recently found out by wishing a Greek lady a Merry Christmas and she answered "oh thank you but we celebrate that on Jan 6" My mind was BLOWN by this revelation. Why did the Spaniards give us that tradition without explaining why we do it? WEIRD!!
She was most likely Eastern Orthodox the other half of the church when it split in 1054 in the Great Schism. They celebrate Christmas later because they follow the old Julian Calendar for their religious celebrations, whereas most of the West follow the Gregorian Calendar named for its originator Pope Gregory.
Hi Matt... Thank you for the time and thought that you put into your videos. Would you be willing to do one on the subject of Christian Universalism? It was the predominant view of the early church for the first 500 years. They believed that any future judgement was restorative and not punitive and that God's love will win over even the most hardened heart. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive" (Paul) in "the restoration of all things" (Peter). I'd love your thoughts on it, please.
This is pretty cool! I made a video about Christmas myths because I feel like we look at the christmas stuff with waaaay too many cultural biases. However your video was ten times more awesomererer 👍🏻 Nicely done!
I've worked with a theory of the Magi for some years now especially after reading books like “The Gospel in the Stars” by J.A. Seiss (1882) and “The Witness of the Stars” by E.W. Bullinger (1893). These books show that the Mazzaroth of the Bible which is secularly known today as the zodiac, declares the gospel story from the birth of Christ in Virgo (the seed of the virgin) to His second coming in Leo (the conquering lion). And you see many similarities in the narratives of astronomy across several traditions, especially the Mesopotamian ones. I believe that after God told Eve that her seed will bruise the head of the serpent, she and her husband told her children of the promise and used the stars in the night sky as a bedtime storybook, of course culling from their conversations with Christ when He walked with them in the garden every evening. I think that these stories must have been passed down several generations and even corrupted by idolatrous doctrines to this very day. However, when the protagonist of the Mazzaroth arrived, the Magi could not help but recognize what the star and their stories were all about. That's my theory.
Seems logical. If God created all physical reality, it would make sense to point towards Logos incarnate. The only factor is deception, that prism that takes the one true source of truth/light and refracts the light into a rainbow of alternate colored light.
they had the Bible , and the writings of Daniel to study ..... Daniel 9's prophecy of the Messiah ..... They did more than just look at the stars .... But I do know of what you speak of .... I think it was more "knowing of Daniel and his writings" than astrology .....
A miraculous and joyful feast of The Nativity and Incarnation of The Word of God to you Matt, and all your family, and all who help you with your channel, and also to all of us who subscribe to your channel. Thank you Matt for all the wisdom you impart to us.
I would point out that they are one half of the two groups who acknowledge and worship the Infant Jesus, the other being the shepherds. Both the very wise and the very simple can see the hidden truths, but those who are only lukewarm in their pursuit of knowledge are left out.
Sry, but as a Persian I think I have to explain what exactly the Magi (Moq in Persian - Majous in Arabic) means. In Ancient Persia during Medes, Achaemenids, Arascids and Sassanid era, alongside Zoraostrianism there was an old Indo-European religion Named MehrParasti (Mithraism in English) that was prevalent in northern greater Iran between Caucasus, south shore of Caspian sea and western Part now called Kurdistan. They were worshippers of Mehr or Mithra, the sun god, who was born in the yuletide (Yalda ceremony December 21st night) and created the life by killing a holy cow. It's priests were Magi who were later cursed by Zoroastrian priests (Mobad) and Mithra demofed to the role of lesser god, or worker of the one true god, Ahoora Mazda (alongside other proto-Persian gods like Anahitha). The magis would have knowledge about astrology, magic (the word came from their name) and ancient ceremonies and herbal remedies. It's also to be noted that Jesus was born during the Arascids of Parthian Empire who were from the tribe of Parthia in northeast Iran and we're Mithraists, many of Parthian emperors had Mithra in their name (like Mithradat) so magis had more liberty in that era rather than the later Sassanid era. I think this story was added later to the scripture, as the birth date of Jesus and Christmas moved to Yuletide and its symbols (Pine tree, red colour, Magi red dressed bearded man with Phrygian hat). It seems that due to the popularity of mithraism in the roman Army and empire, the church decided to replace the birth of Mithra with Jesus and also add this passage to the bible to declare that the Sooshiants (Messianic figure) of Persian religions was Jesus, the Magi recognized him, this Mithraism is obsolete and they should convert to the Christianity. Sry for my bad English and long comment.
It is good to have discussions. Your contribution is good for all to know. Much of the traditions of Christianity come from the Mithra religion. You are correct. I had forgotten about that.
This story of the three Magi reminds me a lot of the Dragon Gate Priests' story in "Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard" (Cleary, Kaiguo, Shunchao, 1998). There are three priests from a secret sect of Taoism who travel from town to town in search of their next student. Eventually one of the children in the homes they travel to will feel inspired to come find them. The child in the book is the author and he explains how he was always very talented at hide and seek as a child, and relates it to a sort of psychic power. In my opinion it's likely some sort of Kabbalistic, or Kundalini type lineage of "secrets" and Jesus was a Rabbi that shared this magical stuff with his students. A lot of stuff in history from East to West was amalgamated through the Persian Empire. All this is theorizing for fun! Cool video!
The best teaching I have heard on this is from the late Dr. Chuck Missler. His two-part series called "The Christmas Story" goes into great detail about the Magi. The Magi's knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures came directly from Daniel. The Magi, both in Persia and Babylon were political kingmakers and their positions were hereditary. When Daniel was named "Rab Mag" (Head of the Magi), it was highly unusual. Since Israel of the New Testament time was a buffer state between the Roman and Parthian empires, positions of power and authority could change in an instant. The group of magi that entered Roman territory would have had a full military escort fully capable of protecting the magi. You notice that when they magi enter Jerusalem, the Bible states people were concerned. Herod himself was most likely shaking in his boots, as any kind of incident with these traveling dignitaries would be seen as a border incident that could be met with retaliation by the Parthians. As we know, Herod was appointed to his position by Rome. It actually took three years after he was appointed before he could actually take the position, as the Parthians held Jerusalem at the time. The magi telling Herod they were looking for "the one born king of the Jews" was a direct insult to Herod, since he was not Jewish.
Matt, what do you think about the proposed connection between the Magi and today's Kurdish people? I've heard the theory that the Magi were of the Medes and that the Kurds are descendants of the Medes. I even read a tract that proposed that the ancestors of today's Kurds were the first people to worship Jesus. Thank you for posting the awesome video!
I'm offended that you had a picture of Gandalf flash up when you said they weren't conjures of cheap tricks: "Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!" - Gandalf
yes they did , and you can be sure they had Daniel's writings there too ..... they knew the entire story of Daniel very well ..... Daniel was the head wise man for both Babylon and Persia , he was surely known by all scholars in the Persian Kingdom
Thanks Mat, great stuff, love they way you present your material. I think the gold not only signified divinity, deity and royalty which are spiritual things, but also God being a very practical God knew this small family would need a good deal of money to go to Egypt. Also, I think the Frankinsence as well as representing Christ the great high priest and intercessor, would also have served a prctical use. The journey would've been dusty, dirty and smelly and God being a practical as well as spiritual God gave them the equivalent of perfume, cologne and deoderant to smell sweet. And though myrrh represented mortal death and suffering it also has healing ability in antiseptic and anaesthetic ways. Just a few ponderings. Happy Christmas.
Not only were the Magi impressed by Daniel, he was in a way one of them. He was a part of the royal court in both Babylon and Persia and served the kings of both. Was one of the three governors of the Medo-Persian Empire. Made a president of the wise men (Magi) by Darius after the Lion's Den incident, and was well known throughout the empire. Because of his influence and position, the Magi would've been very familiar with the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah, from Daniel's to the messianic prophecies of the Major and Minor prophets.
Read the book of Daniel. He was put in charge of the Magi for decades. He wrote prophecies about the coming of the messiah that we know from the book with his name. But it's also likely that he wrote other prophetic instructions while in his position as head of the Magi that were only available to them. Daniel put a time span on his prophecy so people would know when the messiah was to come. The Jews didn't pay attention to it, but that group of heathens did.
I have one little info for this topic. I know of a study by István Hahn from 1892. He studied the early christian oral traditions of Syria. What he found was that not just the old tetament prophets predicted the birth of Jesus. He says there was a tradition that the first king on Earth: Nimrod had predicted the Saviour long before Daniel and the others. The Magi coming from Babylon (and the general direction of Babylon) where Nimrods kingdom was, it was said that they studied the scriptures of Nimrod and found the prophecy. What I want to say with all of this is the promise of salvation is not just a jewish story someone would stumble upon in a library one day. It is a more widespread tradition with different details and versions and a lot more "colour". By the way, if there where wise men coming to Bethlehem that faithful day, they where probably pathian. Because for like 240 years before an c.-230 years after the Parthian empire existed in that region in the neighborhood of the Roman empire. And while the population would have remained persian in some precenage, the parthians probably would have not let the old enemies' priest-scolars to work in the important city of Babylon.
The most obvious answer to me, not necessarily the right answer but the most obvious, is that these magi are descended from the order that Daniel established during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. We know that the order that was present when Daniel was taken were all killed so a new order would need to be created. If they were originally led by Daniel, they would have access to, and likely understand, the Hebrew texts to include not only the prophecy about when and where but also about what specifically to bring with them as gifts. Again, this isn't *necessarily* the right answer but it does make the most sense to me.
Y'know, I always find this strange. The answer is surprisingly simple. The three Magi were probably... Magi! What I mean by that is, they were Zoroastrian clergymen - the word for which is Magi. The reason the word Magi came to be associated with magic is because the that's how the Greeks understood Zoroastrians - as a group of wise philosopher-magicians - and they passed that understanding down through ages unto the Romans.
In actuality, the Zoroastrians were one of the earliest religions to institute the worship of a single God, whom they referred to as Ahura Mazda. It was of Persian origin, Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion of Persia prior to the Muslim conquests, and Cyrus the Great was a Zoroastrian. When he freed the Jews from captivity, he viewed the Jewish religion and the Zoroastrian religion as very compatible, and even identified the Jewish God with Ahura Mazda (literally "The Wise Lord"). Because of the mutual respect between the Zoroastrians and the Jews, they ended up trading a few ideas - among them being the resurrection at the end of time, whose earliest formulations in recorded history are of Zoroastrian origin.
The Zoroastrians were and are masters of astrology, because they identified the stars with the heavens, and believed that if one were to understand the happenings on Earth, they must also understand the happenings in heaven. Hence, it's not too hard to make the final connection here that the Magi were infact Zoroastrian clergymen, well versed in astrology and familiar with Jewish texts, who saw the signs and heeded them.
I wonder about ancient connections between proto-zoroastrian beliefs and Melchizedek
The Nabateans were "in the east" they would have had the Hebrew scriptures. Herod was part Nabatean. Franensence and Myhr were items of trade which made the Nabateans wealthy, bringing a lot of gold.
I always found the arrival of the Zoroastrians significant - because Christ was the Messiah for the Jews, but with the presence of the Magi at the scene of the nativity, it showed that Christ was not just the Messiah for the Jews but the whole world ~ for other religions as well.
I first read about Zoroastrians (and magi) on the Catholic New Advent Encyclopaedia, and it was absolutely mind blowing!~ Especially since the Encyclopaedia was written in 1910 or something, and yet hardly any Christian Pastor/Priest ever talks about the Zoroastrian clergymen, besides from what is narrated in the Bible.
You explain this nicely and exactly as I've learned from my own research through the years. Dr Chuck Missler had a nice series of messages describing the nativity and broke down the Magi like this, stating they were probably part of a secret cabal dating back to the Prophet Daniel during the Medo-Persian empire. They may picked up clues that Daniel left in his prophecies plus other prophecies in the Hebrew scriptures through the millennia.
There's actually a debate among theologians as to whether Judaism and Zoroastrianism were part of the same religion at one point because the similarities are so close but the names are changed. Would be interesting to find out if they were simply different ways to worship Yahweh.
I love the way Matt is dramatizing the story , and making it much more interesting and humorous.
My heart BREAKS for those who thought the video was over and clicked “back” too soon.
Also, fantastic LOTR/Cheap Trick mashup. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Mine as well. They'll never know they missed out on discovering the true meaning of Christmas.
@@MattWhitmanTMBH Psychedelic rock? Well... if you've ever taken Magi mushrooms... you will understand that the true meaning of Christmas is "Dude... everything spirals, dude..." and "Whoa... those lights are pretty, dude!!!" and "Uh, oh... dude... uh, oh... I think we're in trouble, dude...uh, oh!""
Don't take Magi mushrooms... especially not this Christmas!!!
Jesus Christ was not a mushroom... to be clear.
A biblical scholar once speculated that the Magi were 1) not 3 in number but a many with a large retinue and 2) were likely descended from the Persians who served and whom some loved Daniel. Their knowledge of scripture and their implied watchfulness for certain signs led him (the scholar) to lean heavily on this assumption. Daniel had many servants in Persia, he was a powerful man who, through our Father and creator, foretold many things, he was also a student of prophecy and studied Isaiah extensively (his knowledge of the 70 years in captivity as foretold by Isiah and Jeremiah. Anyway, it's all speculation but it does make sense, the fact that Daniel was revered in Persia even up to the modern age, lends some weight to this assumption. Something to think about.
I've heard that the north star, which is know as the king star was in alignment with the constellation Leo, which is a lion and the Jews are known as the lion of Judah, so king of the lion of Judah, king of the Jews. If it was people from the time of Daniel, it could have been this is what they were looking for. If that were the case, the prophecy of Jesus birth in the stars was unique. I think astronomers can verify that this happened at the time of Jesus birth.
@@jeremybeavon4476 I think you’re probably referring to the triple constellation of Jupiter with Regulus. (The North Star is the one star that does not move in the night sky, so it can’t conjoin with any other star or align with anything it isn’t already aligned with). But there was an event where Jupiter (the king planet) made conjunction with Regulus (the king star), which is in the constellation Leo (kingly overtones there as well, the Lion being the emblem for the royal tribe of Judah). Because of Jupiter’s shifting retrograde motion, the constellation happened three times within a year - Sept 10, 3 BC; Feb 7, 2 BC; and May 8, 2 BC. There was also a conjunction of Jupiter with Venus on June 17, 2 BC. I think there’s a good case to be made that these are the signs that drew the Magi’s attention. Against the theory is the fairly popular consensus that king Herod died in 4 BC, but there are some inconsistencies in both the narrative and the manuscripts of Josephus that leave the possibility open that Herod died in 1 BC instead.
you are correct Harley ... that's what happened , many of these wise men were very familiar with the Bible and the History of Daniel , Ezekiel , etc etc ..... Daniel was standing there when Persia conquered Babylon !!!!! You can bet they knew the stories of Daniel , and Daniel 9 is a timeline prophecy for the messiah .... Thos magi studied the prophecies with an open mind , the pharisees did not , they were greedy and wanted riches and power , not a savior from sin
Totally agree with you about Daniel having an impact on the Persian empire...he was there 70 years! And once God saved him from lions den ( as well as his 3 friends saved from furnace) the king changes his ways and makes a decree that they now serve the God of Daniel. So of course Daniel's teachings would have impacted the generations to come in Persia.
Daniel 2:48. Daniel was put in charge of the Magi by Nebuchadnezzar.
I love the magi, they were worshipping pagan Babylonian/Sumerian gods but found the son of the true god before anyone else. God uses everyone in his plans, even those who would be against him.
And the other first people to find him were shepherds, working in the middle of the night doing a dirty job nobody was fond of. Not priests or kings or the wealthy. Poor people and outsiders. I think that's pretty awesome.
@@LaboratoryGoblin Exactly!! Unbelievably powerful. Ancient elite pagan globalists studying the occult arts and sciences, travel across continents to worship, alongside local shepherds, some of the lowliest of local societies.
@@MonstersNotUnderTheBed I believe the Magi were from modern day Iraq if the timeline lines up. So they wouldn't have crossed continents, but that two year journey would have been a long one.
those magi KNEW about Daniel and studied his writings .... Daniel 9 is a timeline prophecy for the messiah and those men studied it .... Babylon and Persia were very familiar with the history of Daniel , I guarantee that
Not true it all actually. At the time that this happened, There was a large Jewish community living in Babylon. Intellectuals, nobles and the like.
So these are most likely Jewish princes guided by prophecy.
This is my grudge with most nativities... I believe the Shepherds are far more important on the night of the birth, and the Magi come into the story WAY later....
Agreed.
Yes they would be late to the party but they are of still significance and where else would you be able to talk about them then? The nativity scene tries to do a lot of things at the same
@@EvanMoon the trouble isn't that the exist in the story for the convenience of linking him to a recognized kingship (though I shudder at the thought of rearranging things for the sake of convenience), but the main problem is that they usually overshadow the shepherds. God wanted the shepherds there, sent angels to tell them to be there, and told them this was for them. Dirty stinky outcast shepherds were intended to be the front and center witnesses to the coming of their Messiah. Those shepherds are the main point of that story, not the Magi. Remove them from the nativity, and the downtrodden still witness the arrival of the Messiah. Remove the shepherds though, and the marginalized are cast aside yet again... Magi didn't even get an invitation... No telegram, no phone call, no angel... They just showed up on their own, which is fine for linking him to kingship, but that isn't what that night was about.
Almost two years later. By then Mary was moved to a house.
This is why the magi in my nativity are in the next room over from the manger scene
The Magi may be related to the family line of Balaam the son of Beor, who first saw and predicted the Star about 1,400 years before the Magi. Balaam was also from the East, and he came from a family line of seers/magicians/astrologers.
Great video brother. The kids and I look forward to your videos. Thanks for the work you do.
Thanks Adam - I have a lot of fun with stuff like this.
Hello Matt I’m from Puerto Rico and as part of our Holidays celebration we celebrate the Three Wise Men on Jan 6. Is Christian celebration and if you are a kid you can to get grass from the backyard on Jan 6th eve into a shoe box leave it underneath the Christmas tree (Santa’s cookies and milk equivalent) and you get toys next day. Thanks for this informative video! Happy Holidays!!
My family had this tradition back in Cuba too. (The grass and water were for the Magi's camels).
It's a second Christmas 🥰
7:38 "Come, let's go find Farangar, my court wizard... he's been looking into these dragons, and rumors of dragons."
About the Magi, from the Greek "Magoi", from the Persian "Majoosian". My understanding is that the Majoosians were the priestly tribe of the Medes (mentioned by Herodotus). There is said to be a Zoroastrian prophecy that "Behold, a god-king will be born in west. You will find your way to him by following a star, and when you find him, bring him gifts and worship him." Navigation by stars was actually quite common in that time among those familiar with travel in desert areas of the Middle East.
It is said that these wise men later returned to meet Jesus much later in life, and that they brought His teachings back to Persia with them. However, their followers consider themselves distinct from Christians.
In AD 614, a Sassanian army of Jews and Persians captured Jerusalem after a brief siege. Some Persian soldiers then entered a church for the purpose of ransacking it, but stopped when the recognized the Magi on a mural.
Indeed. By the first century, the term "Magi" in Greco-Roman tradition seems to have been used as a catch-all expression for any kind of Middle Eastern priesthood, but more specifically it probably refers to the Zoroastrian priesthood of Aryan/Persian culture. Since astrology/astronomy was highly popular (and very likely a key part of Zoroastrian faith) at the time - and had been for a three or four centuries before that, then there would have likely motives for such priests to investigate significant astronomical omens.
That outro was magical! Felt like a throwback to a younger TH-cam....
Amazing video Matt.. you got it all covered in unbelievable time!!
That fact that Daniel was chief of the wise men (magi) in Babylon and left a book that literally prophesied the exact year of Messiah's birth (seventy sevens prophecy of Daniel 9) probably had something to do with it. Daniel also makes it plain that Messiah would be divine (Daniel 7) and he would die (cut off, but not for himself), explains their understanding of him as King (gold), Priest (Frankincense), and Myrrh (burial herb).
yep ..... you nailed it
Yeshua Tempted By Satan
Thus preparing himself further for the mission set before him, Yeshua retreated into the wilderness to contemplate his role of the promised Redeemer and Savior of the righteous seed of man. For there was strength in the wilderness which possessed every nature of God, and Yeshua looked unto the holy creations of his Father and did receive enlightenment and spirit. And Yeshua, while there in the desert, was tempted by Satan. And the wild animals of the desert were everywhere about him, but all became subject unto him, for all sensed him the Holy Christ of the True God. And there among the wild beasts, his only companions, Yeshua fasted and prayed unto his Heavenly Father. And it came to pass that afterwards he was hungry and exhausted, and it was at this time and place that the tempter came unto him and said, "If thou be the true Son of God, command that these stones be made bread, so that thou may eat and be filled, for is it not written concerning thee, that thou will feed on the finest of wheat and honey, and out of the rock with pure waters ye shall be satisfied?" But Yeshua answered the tempter and said: "Yea, but it is also written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every law that proceedeth out of the mouth the True God, even The Eternal All." And the devil was silent for a time and said not a word unto Yeshua. But later he appeared again unto Yeshua with a woman of overwhelming beauty and comeliness...and said unto him, "Do take her as thine own, for her desire is upon thee, and thou shalt have love and happiness and much joy all thy life, and even see thy children's children, for yea, is it not written, “It is not good for man that he should be alone.” And Yeshua, with voice raised, said unto the devil, "Get thee behind me Satan, for it is also written, Be not led away by the mere beauty of a woman, for all flesh is as grass and the flower of the field; the grass withereth and the flower fadeth away, but the Law of the Eternal One endureth forever. For I tell you what you already know of me, that I come to heal the spiritual ills of man, for he that is truly born of God, keepeth the seed within, for he knoweth the good from the evil and the light from the darkness. I restoreth all things to their original root, that all things may know that the True God is above the evil of the world, for by thy ignorance, mankind suffereth much and the entire creation sighs and cries and awaits freedom from bondage, yea even from the slavery of sin that ye have imprisoned them." And again Satan was silent for a time, but re-appeared the third time saying: "Come, let us go up into the holy city, where I shall set you on the very pinnacle of the Temple, for surely here in thy God's House, if thou be the Son of God and cast thyself downward, all that is written will take place; for it says: “He shall give his holy angels charge concerning thee; and in their hand they shall bear thee up lest at any time thou dash they foot against a stone.” And once again Yeshua said unto Satan: "It is also written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God nor put His Holy Law to the test. For ye well know the All Power of the Father and yea, the Holiness of His Laws, but because ye imagined the impossible dream, ye so set up a kingdom over the Most High, and ye fooled many angels and most of mankind. Thus ye also realize, thy time is limited; for thy evil and wrongdoing shall bring unto ye, thy seed, but also my seed unto God. Do what ye must do, Satan, and do quickly, for thy judgment is at hand, and ye shall no way escape thy punishment which thou hast prepared for thyself and all those who love your lie." And again Satan remained silent and went away angry, but after a time, did return for the fourth time and offered Yeshua all the power and glory of his world, for yea, the power and authority was his to grant to any he chose. And he said unto Yeshua, "Come hither, for I have much to show unto you, and much to grant." And he took Yeshua up into an exceedingly high mountain range, wherein all the earth and its valleys could be seen in the vast distance. And it was upon this mountain, that Satan viewed 12 cities and their peoples, yea the kingdoms of the world and every material desire in them, all in a moment of time. And boasting in his great power, the Arch prince of evil said unto Yeshua, "All this power and all this authority, yea and all the glory therein as found in my world as you see yet to come, I will give unto thee freely, for ye well know that all ye see is delivered unto me for a time, and lo, to whosoever I will, I give it freely. For is it not written, 'Thou shalt have dominion from sea to sea, so thou shalt judge thy people with righteousness and the poor with mercy, and make a full end of oppression.' If thou therefore wilt worship me, Yeshua, all shall be thine.” And Yeshua looked at Satan, the father of every lie and false god of every evil and lust, and said: "Again I say unto you, ignorant one, ye know scripture well, even as ye hath written much and corrupted the sacred truths. But hide not behind thy twisted interpretation of holy things, for thou art in darkness and seeth not the light as holy men see and know. Because of thy deviation, the Holy Law fleeth from thee, for what is holy and pure hath no fellowship with evil and sin. For there is no light in darkness and no truth in a lie, and ye hath taught the lie as truth and saith unto thy angels, thou alone art God, and there is no one else, but Holy Wisdom spake unto you and said, You lie, Satanail, for the Eternal All is above the Rest. For thou knowest it is written, 'Thou shalt worship the Eternal All and Him alone shalt thou serve in all purity of heart.' For ye knoweth well, ye have the authority over this world for a time, but the age cometh when all things shall enter into the Rest, and thy power and authority shall cease, yea even as every evil work shall cease and be no more. For in the beginning ye did offer Adam all things also, but when he chose the good over the evil, which ye thought not he would, ye sought after to destroy him and his seed, yea even causing a flood to ruin all things of the holy creation. But I spake unto Adam and Adam unto his sons, and Noah prepared an ark with mine angels and did save a holy remnant of the creation, and mankind did flourish after the flood. But the time draweth nigh when the righteous shall inherit the earth, and those of Humane Love will prosper in all things, and ye shall be no more over them, nor have power to corrupt the creation." Satan at hearing these things spoken by Yeshua, remained silent for a short time, then decided to end the temptations, and thus departed from Yeshua, knowing for a certainty this was the Son of God, knowing good from evil, and light from darkness. ... And behold, many Holy Angels of God came and ministered unto Yeshua with many songs and prayers to the glory of all that is sacred and pure, in that Yeshua warded off the temptations of Satan and yielded not to wicked authority.... And after a time, Yeshua returned from the wilderness and his parents happy to see him made him a feast, and they gave unto him the gifts, which the wise men had presented, to him as a babe in the manger. And Mary spake, saying: "These things have we kept for thee, Yeshua, even to this day." And she gave unto him the frankincense, and the myrrh, and the gold. And Yeshua took of the frankincense; of the myrrh he gave unto Mary Magdalene; but of the gold he gave unto his parents to distribute among the combines of the brothers and sisters, those of the holy way. And much happiness and joy did they experience at the feast, for the spirit of peace was with them in all they did and spoke. And they did eat the produce of the earth and drank the juice of the ripened fruits, even as the Holy Law commandeth.
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Thank you Matt, you’ve brought richer texture to the birth of Jesus account. Blessings to you and yours as well as a Merry Christmas!
The Babylonian Maji were trained by Daniel and had the scriptures. They not only seen the sign of the star, but knew from Daniels prophecy that the King Yeshua would arive at a specific year. Thru the scriptures they were waiting for the KING to be born and nailed it!!!
Last time we saw these guys they tried to make Daniel take the mark of the beast (lions)
Pastor Allen has a video exactly about this.
Excellent! This is wonderfully insightful! Thank you!
Thanks a ton Cathy!
This is very interesting, I enjoy topics like this that don't get much attention but definitely should. great video!!
Excellent commentary! And great questions raised. There is much to contemplate here!
Thank you Matt, was not aware of the old testament references to magi bringing gifts, wow.
The song is going to be stuck in my head forever.
Bro that was so good I subscribed. I found it to be totally thoughtful and led me to think about this and completely different ways thank you very much
“BILBO BAGGINS!!! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!” -Magi
I'm glad i found someone who makes the more in depth thinking about the bible interesting. Every time i asked a pastor or tried to do it myself the answer was almost always "well that's just how it is i guess". Now i'm able to learn more and enjoy it.
Someone nominate that track for a Grammy.
This was outstanding! You need more views and subs! Merry Christmas everybody 🤗
Magi was a term for Zoroastrian priests. Zoroastrian religion also had a prophesized messiah, called saoshyant, the benefiter. Some early Christians, part of those now called Gnostics, had a theology similar to Zoroastrianism.
Interesting!
Any sources?
You can see basic info on Magi, Zoroastrianism, and Saoshyant on Wikipedia. As you can on early Christian groups such as Cerdosians and Marcionites who had theology similar to Zoroastrianism, as did Manicheanism a bit latter, which explicitly accepted Zoroaster as a prophet.
I love that a careful reading of scripture tends to challenge our religious conventions. “Gentile Space Wizards” should go on a t-shirt.
Thanks for coming up with my new indie rock band name! "Pagan Space Wizards." First song is a cover of that intro song. 😅
Couldn't help but notice the 10 minute bible hour is 13 minutes long.
13 minutes of great study. Thanks for the great video.
Love the Cheap Trick reference-excellent band!
dude. another home run! hope you are well!
Excellent work brother. Thank you
Do we know for sue , that the Maji were pegan gentiles ?
Or were they descendants of formerly displaced tribes of ancient Israel ?
Perhaps the knew enough to go check it out.
I think Herod must've been more bothered by the Magi considering the "Messiah fever" (I think you talked about this) of those times.
The Magi visiting Jesus is such a beautiful scene and even if it technically happened after the Nativity I'm glad its included in Nativity scenes and remembered on Christmas.
Love the video - I’m glad to see that your info lines up with what my dad and I found while working on fiction books to tell a realistic story of the Magi.
crazy yesterday i heard about the connection to magi and modern magic and was doing some research this morning on it and now u post this video🙏blessings brother
Matt, I’d love a behind the scenes of how you research all of this. So appreciative of you!
A nice follow up to this video would be if you talked about the three gifts the Magi brought. I've heard the gifts themselves carried special meaning... (Gold = royalty, frankincense and myrrh =spices for burial). I'd be interested to hear what you have to say. thanks for the content.
I believe those weren't the gifts but books of philosophy, astrology, geography or the like
The frankincense was a priestly thing...and Jesus is called our "high priest".
Jeff just wrote a new Christmas classic.
Wow, you almost hit 10 minutes with this one! I don't know if that means you're getting any better or worse at your job, Matt. Still love you!
Love your clips. Always love your structuring and personality to keep engagement.
I read the Isaiah sections you cited.
The Isaiah Ch 18 seems to be talking about Ethiopia or a place south of Egypt.
Looking through some Bible commentary with my Blue letter Bible app most mentions other connections, but nothing necessarily to Magi in Matthew and Luke
I've been reading Daniel and was curious about how he was chief over the wisemen, magicians, etc without defiling himself and then came across the magi. I've never heard that word until today so started diggin a bit. I love how you explained a lot!!!
I also read your about me on your main channel page and definitely understand how that feels when your faith seems to fall apart and I am glad that you are back and seeking God and digging deep. He is a gracious Father and He is so good!!!! ☺️
I like the theory that the sign they followed was the sign of the alignment of the constellation Virgo with Draco beneath, and the sun and moon. The reference is made in Revelation 12 to the virgin giving birth with the dragon waiting to consume the child and the sun and moon at her feet.
Thx as always Matt for this and all the other info!
I enjoy your videos! I just offer that the best scholarship today suggests these ‘magos’ were Nabataean “wise men”. Nabataeans (officially and generally) were worshipers of The God of Israel at the end of the BC period. The Nabataeans were traders and very wealthy, and their capital Petra was located southeast of Jerusalem on the trade routes connecting Arabia-Egypt-Judea. Also of interest is Petra where many Christians were welcomed when they fled for safety when they saw “Jerusalem surrounded by armies” in or about 65 AD. I could go on, but you are the research guys 😉. TK of Shiloh Church in Summerset, SD USA.
The thing that cooks my noodle a bit about Matt 2 is that when the magi were told not to go back to Herod, Joseph wasn't also told to leave. Bethlehem is something like 5 miles from Jerusalem. The day the magi leave without returning, Herod is going to hear. That means Joseph's dream to leave is the night after the magi leave.
Maybe God was giving Herod up to last moment to not commit evil?
Wow!! I love the way you get right to the point.
AMAZING GUITAR RIFF AT THE END OF VIDEO.. CANT FIND THE REST OF THIS SONG IN THEIR DISCOG ..IS THERE MORE TO THIS SONG ? ♥♦♥♦♥♦♥♦♥
The Greeks considered the 'magi' the wise men among the nations (aka the gentiles) and celebrate 'Epiphany' as the manifestation of God to non-Jews. The Gospel writer draws on this to signal to the Hebrew audience (as Matthew seems to do so, often citing the OT) that this is the Lord's Anointed to whom all nations will come to pay homage. As for how many and who these were, we know that the unspecified number and origins imply 'however many and from all over', but their 'gifts do carry clear significance to the Priestly (incense), Kingly (gold) and Prophetic (myrrh) nature of the Anointed One. All the Christmas play stories and invented embellishments aside, it has OT biblical typology embedded in it, that a ruler should pursue Israel's saviour and slaughter babies (Moses), and that out of Egypt, will come the Saviour to shepherd Israel (also alluded in ancient Coptic liturgy, cf Hosea 11:1). In Cairo, I visited the sites in the Jewish quarter where tradition held the 'Holy Family' sojourned. Oh, and when Matt said 'Holy Family' I nearly choked! Rare to hear an Evangelical use that term, as it affirms the sanctification of both the parents as well as the Child Jesus.
Er. Your Nativity set is unconventional! :D All kidding aside great explanation of who the Magi may have been and why there were there and why it mattered enough to be written down.
More seriously: there's a bedouin tribe around what used to be ancient Saba who say they're descended from those Magoi, bringing the three gifts typically found in the region -- gold, Frankincense, and myrrh. The reason they went was connected with the legend of the Queen of Sheba returning to bear Solomon's son (from which comes eventually the massive Islamic appreciation for Solomon and the inheritance claims of various groups in Arabia and East Africa): they saw an astrological indication that a legitimate king of the Jews had been born, and naturally went to Herod the Great. Why him (aside from sitting on the throne)? Because Herod's parents were from Edom (Esau's lineage) and, more importantly, Arabia (though I don't recall who was which). It was on the basis of his Arabian parent descending (supposedly) from Solomon that Herod had parlayed Augustus into recognizing him as king of the region in return for loyal service in securing the land trade routes in the region against raids by the Edomites and other border tribes nearby (since obviously Herod had political connections there, too. And armies to thwap them with if they got out of hand.)
This theory also sort-of explains why Herod can sort-of get away with not being directly blamed for the Bethlehem massacre: he has contacts to convince a caravan group from Edom to try a raid in Bethlehem while leaving the area, where things just (cough) get out of hand leading to the slaughter of the innocents (entirely on purpose of course). So he sends soldiers, but not Levites nor Roman guards.
This also explains Josephus' mystery of why Herod lost his "friend of Caesar" status and had to get it back by leading a retribution raid against Idumea late in his life, by which he regained his status shortly before his death (possibly triggered by the strain of personally leading the punitive strike campaign): he was supposed to be able to politically stop such things, and had somehow super-failed to do so in a staggering way.
As to why they're called Magoi: that's a loan word from Chaldea, of course, but like "rabbi" it just means "great ones" and could be borrowed by other cultures (like for example the Jews, pertinently!) It can even apply to kings, and this theory explains why the visitors came early to be regarded as kings: they would have been local chieftains traveling to pay homage to the true Son of David. (And then finding a lot more than they were expecting!)
I have heard that they were spiritual successors or descendants of Daniel. Glad that you touched on that, but where could we go for more information on that particular point.
Look in the Catena Aurea by Thomas Aquinas or in Lapide's Commentary on Matthew. They both have references to what the early Church Fathers wrote on the subject.
@@brucebarber4104
Thanks. I'll be sure to read through that part of the Catena Aurea.
GREAT INFORMATION! And I feel more connected to the story and time now.
To think they may have been motivated to go, knowing that THEY could be a part of a prophetic fulfillment...I’d go too!
Wow! What a way ❤❤❤. What a profound explanations.
This was really timely, since I've been prepping a sermon on the Magi! Also, I love the Dad-Blues-Rock theme song!
"Pagan Space Wizards" = several iterations of the Doctor.
Dr. Michael Heiser, OT scholar, did a study on this. In my opinion, it is the best and most coherent explanation of the Magi. I recommend checking him out.
I love this channel.
You have a talent, so interesting.
While reading a book on the travels of Marco Polo, I came upon a reference to Polo visiting a monastery in Persia where a flame was kept burning in perpetuity by those responsible tending the flame. According to the flame keepers, when the Magi visited Jesus who was a young boy at the time (not a baby), they gave Jesus a series of gifts and He in return gave them a black rock. On the way back to their homeland(s) they discussed the black rock and were a little perturbed that this was the boys response to their gifts. So, they threw the rock to the ground and immediately the ground opened up and a flame appeared. They captured the flame and brought it back to Persia with them to keep it burning till that time. How does this tie into the Book of Daniel, Daniel by his close association with the Persians would have given them much information about the coming King ...Jesus... and what signs to look for at His coming.
Dr. Chuck Missler had a nice series of messages on the nativity that breaks down the possible origins of the Magi. Just like you mentioned in the video, they had knowledge of the Hebrew scripture prophecies, including the ones from Daniel, who was around them during the Medo-Persian empire, combined with their understanding of astrology, divination and dream interpretation (which are condemned practices by the Jews and Christians surprisingly).
The Histories of Herodotus also describes the Magi of ancient Persia and their abilities to interpret dreams, signs and prophecies and cast spells (Histories Book Seven) .
Ever since your podcast on this... My Bible students call them space wizards 😂
Love how you think!!! Amazing
In Mexico we celebrate BOTH Christmas and January 6, which i recently found out by wishing a Greek lady a Merry Christmas and she answered "oh thank you but we celebrate that on Jan 6" My mind was BLOWN by this revelation. Why did the Spaniards give us that tradition without explaining why we do it? WEIRD!!
She was most likely Eastern Orthodox the other half of the church when it split in 1054 in the Great Schism. They celebrate Christmas later because they follow the old Julian Calendar for their religious celebrations, whereas most of the West follow the Gregorian Calendar named for its originator Pope Gregory.
Thanx, Matt🌹🌹🌹
Hi Matt... Thank you for the time and thought that you put into your
videos. Would you be willing to do one on the subject of Christian
Universalism? It was the predominant view of the early church for the
first 500 years. They believed that any future judgement was
restorative and not punitive and that God's love will win over even the
most hardened heart. "As in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made
alive" (Paul) in "the restoration of all things" (Peter). I'd love
your thoughts on it, please.
This is pretty cool! I made a video about Christmas myths because I feel like we look at the christmas stuff with waaaay too many cultural biases.
However your video was ten times more awesomererer 👍🏻 Nicely done!
I've worked with a theory of the Magi for some years now especially after reading books like “The Gospel in the Stars” by J.A. Seiss (1882) and “The Witness of the Stars” by E.W. Bullinger (1893). These books show that the Mazzaroth of the Bible which is secularly known today as the zodiac, declares the gospel story from the birth of Christ in Virgo (the seed of the virgin) to His second coming in Leo (the conquering lion). And you see many similarities in the narratives of astronomy across several traditions, especially the Mesopotamian ones.
I believe that after God told Eve that her seed will bruise the head of the serpent, she and her husband told her children of the promise and used the stars in the night sky as a bedtime storybook, of course culling from their conversations with Christ when He walked with them in the garden every evening.
I think that these stories must have been passed down several generations and even corrupted by idolatrous doctrines to this very day. However, when the protagonist of the Mazzaroth arrived, the Magi could not help but recognize what the star and their stories were all about.
That's my theory.
Seems logical. If God created all physical reality, it would make sense to point towards Logos incarnate. The only factor is deception, that prism that takes the one true source of truth/light and refracts the light into a rainbow of alternate colored light.
they had the Bible , and the writings of Daniel to study ..... Daniel 9's prophecy of the Messiah ..... They did more than just look at the stars .... But I do know of what you speak of .... I think it was more "knowing of Daniel and his writings" than astrology .....
A miraculous and joyful feast of The Nativity and Incarnation of The Word of God to you Matt, and all your family, and all who help you with your channel, and also to all of us who subscribe to your channel. Thank you Matt for all the wisdom you impart to us.
I would point out that they are one half of the two groups who acknowledge and worship the Infant Jesus, the other being the shepherds. Both the very wise and the very simple can see the hidden truths, but those who are only lukewarm in their pursuit of knowledge are left out.
Excellent take, very based wisdom
I would like the full song please.
I subscribed to to Ironwood Rhino podcast. Good stuff.
I’m so lost. How is divination wicked but the magi were good? My brain hurts now. Gotta pray 🙏
This is a fascinating subject, and some documentary was made on this subject a couple of years ago.
Sry, but as a Persian I think I have to explain what exactly the Magi (Moq in Persian - Majous in Arabic) means.
In Ancient Persia during Medes, Achaemenids, Arascids and Sassanid era, alongside Zoraostrianism there was an old Indo-European religion Named MehrParasti (Mithraism in English) that was prevalent in northern greater Iran between Caucasus, south shore of Caspian sea and western Part now called Kurdistan. They were worshippers of Mehr or Mithra, the sun god, who was born in the yuletide (Yalda ceremony December 21st night) and created the life by killing a holy cow. It's priests were Magi who were later cursed by Zoroastrian priests (Mobad) and Mithra demofed to the role of lesser god, or worker of the one true god, Ahoora Mazda (alongside other proto-Persian gods like Anahitha). The magis would have knowledge about astrology, magic (the word came from their name) and ancient ceremonies and herbal remedies. It's also to be noted that Jesus was born during the Arascids of Parthian Empire who were from the tribe of Parthia in northeast Iran and we're Mithraists, many of Parthian emperors had Mithra in their name (like Mithradat) so magis had more liberty in that era rather than the later Sassanid era.
I think this story was added later to the scripture, as the birth date of Jesus and Christmas moved to Yuletide and its symbols (Pine tree, red colour, Magi red dressed bearded man with Phrygian hat). It seems that due to the popularity of mithraism in the roman Army and empire, the church decided to replace the birth of Mithra with Jesus and also add this passage to the bible to declare that the Sooshiants (Messianic figure) of Persian religions was Jesus, the Magi recognized him, this Mithraism is obsolete and they should convert to the Christianity.
Sry for my bad English and long comment.
It is good to have discussions. Your contribution is good for all to know. Much of the traditions of Christianity come from the Mithra religion. You are correct. I had forgotten about that.
This story of the three Magi reminds me a lot of the Dragon Gate Priests' story in "Opening the Dragon Gate: The Making of a Modern Taoist Wizard" (Cleary, Kaiguo, Shunchao, 1998). There are three priests from a secret sect of Taoism who travel from town to town in search of their next student. Eventually one of the children in the homes they travel to will feel inspired to come find them. The child in the book is the author and he explains how he was always very talented at hide and seek as a child, and relates it to a sort of psychic power. In my opinion it's likely some sort of Kabbalistic, or Kundalini type lineage of "secrets" and Jesus was a Rabbi that shared this magical stuff with his students. A lot of stuff in history from East to West was amalgamated through the Persian Empire. All this is theorizing for fun! Cool video!
Good overview.
I'll pray the Angelic Salutation on your behalf 🌹🙏🏻
The best teaching I have heard on this is from the late Dr. Chuck Missler. His two-part series called "The Christmas Story" goes into great detail about the Magi. The Magi's knowledge of the Hebrew scriptures came directly from Daniel. The Magi, both in Persia and Babylon were political kingmakers and their positions were hereditary. When Daniel was named "Rab Mag" (Head of the Magi), it was highly unusual.
Since Israel of the New Testament time was a buffer state between the Roman and Parthian empires, positions of power and authority could change in an instant. The group of magi that entered Roman territory would have had a full military escort fully capable of protecting the magi. You notice that when they magi enter Jerusalem, the Bible states people were concerned. Herod himself was most likely shaking in his boots, as any kind of incident with these traveling dignitaries would be seen as a border incident that could be met with retaliation by the Parthians. As we know, Herod was appointed to his position by Rome. It actually took three years after he was appointed before he could actually take the position, as the Parthians held Jerusalem at the time. The magi telling Herod they were looking for "the one born king of the Jews" was a direct insult to Herod, since he was not Jewish.
Want to read more about this Revelation ch12 with Genesis Ch1 for more context on Stars and other celestial bodies
Wow you are good at explaining things
Matt, what do you think about the proposed connection between the Magi and today's Kurdish people? I've heard the theory that the Magi were of the Medes and that the Kurds are descendants of the Medes. I even read a tract that proposed that the ancestors of today's Kurds were the first people to worship Jesus. Thank you for posting the awesome video!
Yeah, what he said. Brilliant comment.
Signed,
Definitely Not Andrew’s Wife
@@jenniferlawrence1372 Thank you, Jennifer! If you have any spare time, will you marry me?
@@andrewlawrence1834 What, AGAIN??????
0:18 that "nativity set" killed me
I'm not religous in the slightest but I find the topic so interesting.
Thankyou, Matt.God bless you. The Magi believe God is all Good.
Yay! Such a great Advent topic!
To God be all the Glory 🛐
hahahhaha!! Pagan Space Wizards!!! Youbare messed up!! hahhaha. Thank you so much brother - I needed that!! ❤
And great song! 👍
Came for the hilarious thumbnail, 👽 stayed for the video quality. 👍🏻😀
I appreciate all of that feedback.
I'm offended that you had a picture of Gandalf flash up when you said they weren't conjures of cheap tricks:
"Bilbo Baggins! Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks!" - Gandalf
Hey Matt, do you think perhaps their forefathers' exposure to Daniel and his prophecies further informed them of more details of the coming Messiah?
yes they did , and you can be sure they had Daniel's writings there too ..... they knew the entire story of Daniel very well ..... Daniel was the head wise man for both Babylon and Persia , he was surely known by all scholars in the Persian Kingdom
I'd be interested in hearing more on this subject, if there is any
Thanks Mat, great stuff, love they way you present your material. I think the gold not only signified divinity, deity and royalty which are spiritual things, but also God being a very practical God knew this small family would need a good deal of money to go to Egypt. Also, I think the Frankinsence as well as representing Christ the great high priest and intercessor, would also have served a prctical use. The journey would've been dusty, dirty and smelly and God being a practical as well as spiritual God gave them the equivalent of perfume, cologne and deoderant to smell sweet. And though myrrh represented mortal death and suffering it also has healing ability in antiseptic and anaesthetic ways. Just a few ponderings. Happy Christmas.
Not only were the Magi impressed by Daniel, he was in a way one of them. He was a part of the royal court in both Babylon and Persia and served the kings of both. Was one of the three governors of the Medo-Persian Empire. Made a president of the wise men (Magi) by Darius after the Lion's Den incident, and was well known throughout the empire. Because of his influence and position, the Magi would've been very familiar with the Jewish prophecies of the Messiah, from Daniel's to the messianic prophecies of the Major and Minor prophets.
Read the book of Daniel.
He was put in charge of the Magi for decades. He wrote prophecies about the coming of the messiah that we know from the book with his name. But it's also likely that he wrote other prophetic instructions while in his position as head of the Magi that were only available to them.
Daniel put a time span on his prophecy so people would know when the messiah was to come. The Jews didn't pay attention to it, but that group of heathens did.
January 6th is my favorite day of the year... thanks for sharing! Paz e bem.
I have one little info for this topic. I know of a study by István Hahn from 1892. He studied the early christian oral traditions of Syria. What he found was that not just the old tetament prophets predicted the birth of Jesus. He says there was a tradition that the first king on Earth: Nimrod had predicted the Saviour long before Daniel and the others. The Magi coming from Babylon (and the general direction of Babylon) where Nimrods kingdom was, it was said that they studied the scriptures of Nimrod and found the prophecy. What I want to say with all of this is the promise of salvation is not just a jewish story someone would stumble upon in a library one day. It is a more widespread tradition with different details and versions and a lot more "colour". By the way, if there where wise men coming to Bethlehem that faithful day, they where probably pathian. Because for like 240 years before an c.-230 years after the Parthian empire existed in that region in the neighborhood of the Roman empire. And while the population would have remained persian in some precenage, the parthians probably would have not let the old enemies' priest-scolars to work in the important city of Babylon.
That was great, thanks.
The most obvious answer to me, not necessarily the right answer but the most obvious, is that these magi are descended from the order that Daniel established during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. We know that the order that was present when Daniel was taken were all killed so a new order would need to be created. If they were originally led by Daniel, they would have access to, and likely understand, the Hebrew texts to include not only the prophecy about when and where but also about what specifically to bring with them as gifts. Again, this isn't *necessarily* the right answer but it does make the most sense to me.