Three Wise Men And A Star

[Starise]

Many here have probably read the Christmas story many times over the years and while some of the details, such as when the wise men actually arrived with the gifts they bore, how old Jesus was when it happened and other such details, one point stands out. They looked for and followed a star.

While they were called wise men in English translations a more accurate term would be Magi. It has been said this is where we get the term Magician from. Very real attempts have been made to tie these men to more esoteric Babylonian gnostic traditions. In reality they were both scripturally wise men and men of the sciences. They knew a thing or two about astronomy. They were apparently highly respected men since they had access to the palaces of kings and the king's ear. 

I am looking for information on where they recieved their intel that a star would indicate the birth of Christ. Maybe there is a passge in the OT somewhere? Somehow, not one of them but three of them were convinced a star was going to be their direction to where Christ was.

Now, we all know you can't really follow a 'star' in the way we now understand stars. My thinking on this is anything lit up in the sky at that time was called a star. Neither am I implying it was a space ship. Trying to keep things as rational as possible.

It COULD have been a star in the modern sense and they used it to triangulate a direction in the same way ancient mariners guided their ships in the open ocean. Yet, how did they know a star was going to indicate the whereabouts of Christ? How did they identify it among the other stars? Where did they get their information that A. They needed to look at a star as a guide and B. It would point them to the Messiah?

 

And this was really an afterthought. Here is a song I made awhile back about the wise . I played it on an Irish Bouzouki, but the instrument is derived from and sounds like the middle eastern version. 

 

[Justin Adams]

19 hours ago, Starise said:

It would point them to the Messiah?

See Dr. Heiser's podcast about Yeshua's birth in 9/11 3Bc. It is written in the stars and it seems that those men followed in that past time.

They were naked eye astro guys and very, very clever.

There were just 'wise me' and THREE gifts (not three wise men). They probably found the child when he was approx 2 years old because he was then in a house and not a stable.

[Starise]

6 minutes ago, Justin Adams said:

See Dr. Heiser's podcast about Yeshua's birth in 9/11 3Bc. It is written in the stars and it seems that those men followed in that past time.

They were naked eye astro guys and very, very clever.

There were just 'wise me' and THREE gifts (not three wise men). They probably found the child when he was approx 2 years old because he was then in a house then and not a stable.

Thanks Justin, I will look into this more. This is beginning to look more like astrology. That particular persuasion has been taken over by modern day witches, fortune tellers and such.

Do you believe there as once a legitimate form of star reading? There must have been some documented information they had pertaining to the stars.

[farouk]

We were looking at Matthew 2 in church last night...........

The wise men rejoiced exceedingly.....

So can we, if we trust the Savior Who was born at Bethlehem and died at the Cross for sinners.

C H Spurgeon said, There is more glory in the Cross than in the manger.....

[Mr. M]

56 minutes ago, Starise said:

While they were called wise men in English translations a more accurate term would be Magi. It has been said this is where we get the term Magician from. Very real attempts have been made to tie these men to more esoteric Babylonian gnostic traditions.

The magicians of Babylon were placed under Daniel. He taught by the scriptures.

Daniel 9:2 In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years,

whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years

in the desolations of Jerusalem.

Daniel 10:21 But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth.

[Jayne]

How many wise men?  Could have been 50. Could have been 2.  The Bible doesn't say.

I've always been taught and believe that these men came from where Daniel had been during the Exile.

This might help.  Or not.

"The Magi, How Did They Know" | Palm City New Hope (pcnh.church)

[Justin Adams]

43 minutes ago, Starise said:

Thanks Justin, I will look into this more. This is beginning to look more like astrology. That particular persuasion has been taken over by modern day witches, fortune tellers and such.

Do you believe there as once a legitimate form of star reading? There must have been some documented information they had pertaining to the stars.

Oh yes. Listen to Dr. Heiser who explains it all. Even Synagogues had zodiacs. It was the way they kept up with the seasons. Hower, whichers and fortune telling was anathema to them just like the early church. They knew God created the stars for telling times and seasons. They hated the pagan ideas though.

[Neighbor]

12 minutes ago, Starise said:

Thanks Justin, I will look into this more. This is beginning to look more like astrology. That particular persuasion has been taken over by modern day witches, fortune tellers and such.

Do you believe there as once a legitimate form of star reading? There must have been some documented information they had pertaining to the stars.

Hi, May I inject for a moment that it may have been born of their awareness of astronomy rather than  a practicing of astrology.

Yes there still is a legitimate form of star reading, wise men have looked up for a long long time now.

"Then God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years (Genesis 1:14)."

The calendars used by man to mark the proper times of feasts and sacrifices are luna calendar based.  Man needs to have awareness of the seasons and the times which are "clocked" by the heavens.  Those men of old that had lives so much longer than ours today I think did learn a whole lot more than we do today about many things pertaining to time and eternity to come.

 

Kind of a footnote: maybe of some interest; the wise men may have indeed followed that "star" in the east, but was it possible for them to travel east from their location and get to their destination? If so where would they have been coming from?

For a little fun;  https://hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/questions/38157/did-the-wise-men-see-the-star-of-bethlehem-at-the-east

[farouk]

29 minutes ago, Jayne said:

How many wise men?  Could have been 50. Could have been 2.  The Bible doesn't say.

I've always been taught and believe that these men came from where Daniel had been during the Exile.

This might help.  Or not.

"The Magi, How Did They Know" | Palm City New Hope (pcnh.church)

@Jayne You are right; we don't know how many wise men there were............

They seemed to have a measure of Godly fear and wisdom...........

(Do you think they were truly justified by faith? ..... again, we don't know; my 2c......)

[AnOrangeCat]

36 minutes ago, Starise said:

Do you believe there as once a legitimate form of star reading? There must have been some documented information they had pertaining to the stars.

There certainly were, though what forms the magi knew of and were using are unknown. But amongst other things the stars were used as a means of navigation by both land and sea. Certain simple forms of it didn't even require any tools and could just be done with the human hand and a good set of eyes.