A) WHAT BABYLON HAS TO DO WITH THEM.

B) WHAT DANIEL HAS TO DO WITH THEM.

C) THE INFLUENCE OF DANIEL.

D) A LOOK AT HISTORY.

E) BY THE TIME OF HEROD.

F) THE EXACT NUMBER OF MAGI IS NOT THREE.

G) HEROD IS VERY NERVOUS.

H) HEROD WANTS TO KILL THE RIVAL KING.

I) THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAGI.

J) WHAT IS OF INTEREST TO US?

 

 

A) WHAT BABYLON HAS TO DO WITH THEM

 

 

The Babylonian empire, as we know, was conquered by the Medo-Persian Empire, which later became Persia, or the Persian Empire.  From out of this empire came what the Bible calls, “wise men,” Matthew 2:1, etcetera, and what the world knows as, “Magi.”  Now “Magi” is a Latinized form of “Magoi,” which is an ancient Greek transliteration of the Persian original (Herodotus 1:101).  Thus, they are called “Magi,” from the Latinized form of the Greek word “magoi,” which is transliterated from the Persian, which is a description for a select sect of priests.

 

In an interesting side note, our English word “magic” comes from the same root.  In fact, where we get our English word “magistrate” from, is the combination of both of these words, i.e., Priest-Magi put together to form the word, “magistrate.”

 

In Jeremiah 39:3, the prophet Jeremiah mentions “Rabmag,” which in its Assyrian form, is “Rab Mugi,” which means, “Commander,” or better, “Ruler of the Magi.”  Now if you know your Bible history, you would know that this is 70 years before the time of Daniel that the Magi appear upon the Biblical scene.

 

The Magi were a hereditary priesthood among the Medes.  Notice that I stated that they were originally a priesthood.  What many people miss, or do not realize, is that the prophet Daniel was appointed over that hereditary priesthood of the Magi (see Dan. 2:27 & 5:15).  It must be realized that this was a hereditary priesthood, and as such, for Daniel to have any part in it was not consistent with being of a hereditary relationship to it.

 

 

B) WHAT DANIEL HAS TO DO WITH THEM

 

 

So why was Daniel placed over this hereditary priesthood?  Because Daniel had gained favor with Darius, the Median King of Persia, and he put Daniel in charge of the Magi.  The reason why will become apparent as we continue along.  However, now we can better discern why it was that these “wise men” of the kingdom, or better, the “Magi,” were so upset with Daniel, and why it is that he ends up in the chicaneries of them, and eventually the “lion’s den” of the Bible’s description of their malice and conniving in the Bible’s Daniel, Chapter 6.

 

As stated earlier, the ancient Magi were a hereditary priesthood of the Medes credited with profound and extraordinary religious knowledge.  History teaches us that after some Magi, who had been attached to the Median court for their wisdom, also proved to be expert in the interpretation of dreams.  This is why Darius the Great established them over the state religion of Persia.

 

A study of the Magi brings out the fact that their key service to the Median kingdom was not astrology, or even astronomy, that being their second strength, but “dream interpretation.”  Moreover, in the Medo-Persian world, Darius the Great recognized that these Magi were very skilled in the art of “dream interpretation,” whereby, they became to be set up in the civil and political counsel to the state.   Now with this type of power, should they be questioned, they would end up investing their religious authority to back up their interpretations.  For proof of this in the Bible, let us remember that it was by a “dream” from our Lord that the Magi were warned not to go back and tell Herod where the infant Jesus was born, but to go home in a different direction (Mat. 2:12).

 

History also teaches us that the Magi not only eventually became the supreme priestly caste of the Persian Empire, but that they continued to be prominent during the subsequent historical periods of the Seleucid, Parthian, and Sasanian periods of this earth’s history.

 

Now I would like to stress something that I have already pointed out earlier.  And that is, since the Magi were known to be “dream interpreters,” and since they were attached to, or placed as being in the Kings court, what ultimately happens is that they become the King makers.  In other words, because of their ability through dreams to interpret who might be the best king for the kingdom, they are given the duty of deciding who will be the next King.

 

Now in this role, the role of Priestly decisions for the state, and King choosing for the state, it is this combination of duties which brings them to ultimate power.  In other words, they have the power over religion and the power over the civil and political livelihood of their kingdom.  Now it becomes even more apparent of their hate and distrust of Daniel, who most likely did not buy into their worldly wisdom, nor their interpretation of dreams for the setting up of the next proper king.  Therefore, for one of the duties given to Daniel to be the Chief of the Magi, as Jeremiah and the Book of Daniel put it (Jer. 5:5; Dan. 2:48), was an obvious problem to those who strived, connived, and coveted ultimate power.

 

Looking at Daniel again for a moment, his unusual, and only by the grace of God amazing career, included being a principal administrator in two world empires:  the Babylonian and the subsequent Medo-Persian Empire.  Therefore, when Darius the Mead appointed him, a Jew, over the previously held hereditary Median priesthood, the resulting repercussions resulted in various plots by those manipulative Magi interested in ultimate power, which eventually lead to the lion’s den experience of both Daniel and Darius, and helped Darius to a better understanding of these men and their conniving ways in regards to power.  This is why Darius has them thrown into the den of lions after finding his friend Daniel untouched by them the next morning.  Thus, what is left of the Magi is for Daniel to set up.

 

 

C) THE INFLUENCE OF DANIEL

 

 

It is at this point that the influence that Daniel had upon this particular group of subsequent Magi, who most likely had no part in their comrades scheming against Daniel, or that Daniel completely set up a new company of men.  Most of us believe from the Biblical account that Daniel did not have much of an influence upon them, except when we find them later looking for a particular “star” that would ultimately lead them to the promised Messiah.  However, history would teach us differently, in that the Magi’s system of worship turns out to be very similar to the Jewish forms of worship.

 

Examples Are:

 

They each had a monotheistic concept of One God and Creator;

They each had a concept of a God Who was the Author of all good and opposed to all that was evil;

They each had a hereditary priesthood, the Jews having the Levites, or Aaronic priesthood, and the Magi having the Magi priesthood, if you will, continuing through the priestly line, i.e., hereditary;

They each had One Mediator between God and man;

They each had a mediation only via a blood sacrifice;

They each depended upon divination, or better, hearing from God, via the priesthood;

And, they each had the same essential concepts between clean and unclean.

 

Also, in a study of the Persian Kings, we learn that many of the Persian kings were actually of Jewish blood.

 

Therefore, since the days of Daniel, both the Jewish Nation and the Persian Nation have had ties that have kept them intertwined.  In fact, even though both Nations were taken over by the Greeks, both were later to break free:  the Jews under the Maccabean leadership, and the Persians under the Parthian empire.  And, as we learn later, and what is all covered in Daniel, Chapter 11, comprising the rise of Mark Anthony and others of the four generals who split off from the Grecian breakup, these later become the rival of Rome to the east, i.e., the Parthian empire.  Now you can better see what was going on at the time of the visit of the Magi to a little town called Bethlehem, and how it could be so significant, even though the world was at war.

 

 

D) A LOOK AT HISTORY

 

 

Looking at history, let’s go to about B.C. 250, the Parthians have succeeded the Persian Empire, and by the 1st century B.C. the Parthians had taken over the entire Eastern portion of what was once held by Greece, i.e., Alexander The Great.  To understand this better, realize that Parthia is a rival of Rome.  Many wars were fought between the two in the middle of the 1st century B.C., but they were relatively inconclusive and no territory was added or subtracted from either party.

 

We need to understand that Judea is right in the middle between these powers, a buffer zone if you will.  Pompeo was the first conquer of Jerusalem during this period in history, in B.C. 63.  After this success he attached the Armenian outpost of Parthia.  In B.C. 55 Cresses lead a Roman legion against Parthia again and sacked Jerusalem.  And in a subsequent attack, he attacks Parthia proper.  However, he gets routed.  Parthia then counter attacked and captured Jerusalem and the outlying cities.

 

 

E) BY THE TIME OF HEROD

 

 

This is a little of what was going on when Herod is given jurisdiction over Palestine.  Mark Anthony reestablishes Roman rule in B.C. 37.  However, the Parthians came back against Jerusalem, and Herod himself had to flee back to Rome for safety.  Under the Parthians, Jewish sovereignty was reestablished and a Jewish garrison was erected to protect Jerusalem.

 

It is at this time that Herod secures from Augusts Caesar the title, “King Of The Jews.”  However, it was not until 3 years later that it was safe enough for Herod to go back and occupy his capital in Israel, i.e., Jerusalem.  The reason I have gone through all of this is to show you that Herod was in between two warring factions, and depending upon which way the political and military crusades were going, he needed to politically side along with them.  This is the setting.

 

The sudden appearance of the Magi certainly alarmed Herod and the populace of Jerusalem.  They were probably traveling in force, with every imaginable oriental pomp, and accompanied by adequate cavalry escort to ensure their safe penetration of the argued Roman territory.  It would seem to Herod as if these Magi were attempting to perpetrate a border incident, which could bring swift reprisal from Parthian armies.  Their request of Herod regarding the One Who has been “born King of the Jews,” Matthew 2:2, was a calculated insult to him, a non-Jew, who had contrived and bribed his way into that office as it was, and was well prepared, since he was an expert at it, to put down any rivals.

 

In a side note, the reason we think of the Magi, or the New Testaments “wise men,” as only composing three personages, comes down to us from our Roman Catholic friends who assume that there were only three in this party headed towards the little town of Bethlehem because of the “three gifts” mentioned as being given to our Lord, i.e., Gold, frankincense, and myrrh (Mat. 2:11; discussed later).

 

 

F) THE EXACT NUMBER OF MAGI IS NOT THREE

 

 

The exact number of this entourage from Persia is not known but was most likely at least a large party composed of more than just the Magi themselves.  This assumption became so well-known and propagated, that a song was composed that goes something like this, “We Three Kings of Orient Are.”  Did you notice that the song calls them “Kings” as opposed to the Bibles description of them as being “wise men?”  Herein lays another proof of their historical understood duties as Magi, or better, “magistrates,” and their duty of the inauguration of kings.

 

Again, it has been widely populated that there was only “three” of them based upon there only being three gifts mentioned in the Bible, “gold, frankincense, and myrrh,” Matthew 2:11.  The exact number of Magi could have been “three,” but we will not know that from the Biblical record.  What we can safely surmise is that there was a large contingent coming into Jerusalem on a specific mission to find the prophesied Messiah.

 

 

G) HEROD IS VERY NERVOUS

 

 

With this political background, you can better understand why Herod is so nervous and all Jerusalem with him (Mat. 2:3).  He does not know what is going on here with this great entourage coming into Jerusalem.  His reaction is thus very understandable.

 

Therefore, when the Magi come to Herod and ask, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?” Matthew 2:2, you need to understand that this is a calculated insult.  If you know your history, we know, and the Magi were well aware, that Herod was not “born” the king of anything.  He had contrived and bribed his way into this position.  He is a political appointee of Rome, and Rome is a long way away right now and not in a good position to send him any help.  Caesar Augustus is near his death bed and Rome does not have a strong military leader to succeed him or support a new Caesar.

 

Therefore, for the Magi to come in to Jerusalem and ask, maybe even demand, “Where is He that is born King of the Jews?”  Matthew 2:2, insinuates that they may want to replace Herod with a Jewish “born” king.

 

However, their next statement must have nearly floored Herod and those present, “for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him.”  Matthew 2:2.  This is confirmed in verse 3, “When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.”  Remember, Herod is not Jewish, he is an Edomitic, an Edomite.  He doesn’t know anything about any prophecies of Daniel’s telling of a forthcoming king.

 

So what does Herod do?  He gathers all of the chief priests and scribes “together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.”  Matthew 2:4.  And they are smart enough to recall a prophecy in the Book of Micah (5:2), stating that this newborn king would be born in Bethlehem.  In a side note, what these scribes leave out in quoting Micah is, “Who’s going forth has been forever.”  In other words, He is preexistent, there never was a time when He did not exist.

 

Then Herod, in Matthew 2:7, takes them aside and asks, “What time did the star appear?”  Then in verse 8, Herod“sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.”  It must have been at this point that the Magi informed Herodthat their purpose was to “worship” this newborn king.  Herod’s instincts are now on full alert to stifle this rival king.

 

 

H) HEROD WANTS TO KILL THE RIVAL KING

 

 

If you will consider properly, what Herod really asks the Magi was, Where is this King so I can kill Him (Mat. 2:8)?  Remember, it was understood by Herod that these Magi set up kings, and made kings.  They held all the top governmental offices; they composed the upper houses of any councils, i.e., magistrates; and their duties included absolute choice of the king of the realm.  Thus, this impacts Herod’s reaction when they arrive in Jerusalem requesting an audience with a newborn king; a king, by the way, that he assumes they have come to set up eventually to replace himself!

 

Hiding his concern and expressing sincere interest, Herod requested to the Magi that they are to keep him informed and let him know of the whereabouts of this new king to be, as he puts it, that he might come and “worship Him” also.  However, as we know, after finding the Babe and presenting their prophetic gifts (explained later), the Magi, “being warned of God in a dream,” Matthew 2:12, departed towards their own country, ignoring Herod’s request.

 

According to Matthew 2:16, Herod destroys infants, “from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently enquired of the wise men.”  When Herod discerns that the Magi have not returned to him with the information he requested of them, he calculates that these Magi must have taken at a minimum, 4 months to get to Jerusalem, and at maximum, 2 years, if they did some trading along the way.  Therefore, the later instruction to kill all the babies 2 years and under (Mat. 2:16), was just to cover his bases.  According to Matthew 2:11, the Magi came into the “house” of Joseph and Mary, meaning Christ could have been as old as 2 and not newborn.  We can know this for sure, because Jesus was born, as we know, in Bethlehem.  But by “house,” in Matthew 2:11, is meant Joseph’s “house” in Nazareth.  Jesus would have been a toddler when the Magi arrived.

 

Again, from my favorite Bible commentator we read:  “Although Herod received the wise men with apparent respect, yet the intimation by them of the birth of a king to reign in Jerusalem, excited his envy and hatred against the Infant Whom he thought might prove his rival, and drive him, or his descendants, from the throne.  A storm of opposition and satanic fury took possession of Herod, and he determined to destroy this Infant King.  Yet he put on a calm exterior, and requested a private interview with the wise men.  He then inquired particularly the exact time the star appeared.  He apparently hailed the supposition of the birth of Christ with joy, expressing a desire to be immediately informed by the wise men, that he might be among the first to show Him true honor by worshiping Him also.  The wise men were not able to read the heart of the tyrant Herod; but God, Who is acquainted with every emotion of the soul, with the intents and purposes of the heart, was not deceived by His hypocritical pretenses.  His power will protect and preserve the precious Infant Saviour from Satan’s devices, until His mission on earth is accomplished.”  1SP:23.

 

“The arrival of the magi was quickly noised throughout Jerusalem.  Their strange errand created an excitement among the people, which penetrated to the palace of King Herod.  The wily Edomite was aroused at the intimation of a possible rival.  Countless murders had stained his pathway to the throne.  Being of alien blood, he was hated by the people over whom he ruled.  His only security was the favor of Rome.  But this new Prince had a higher claim.  He was born to the kingdom.  Herod suspected the priests of plotting with the strangers to excite a popular tumult and unseat him from the throne.”  DA:61.

 

 

I) THE DEPARTURE OF THE MAGI

 

 

Continuing on in Matthew 2:9:  “. . .they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.”  Many an effort has been attempted in the Christian astronomical societies and theologians to find constellations or stars of the time to line up or triangulate in such a way as to point to Bethlehem.  They are still looking.  As Bible students we know what this “star” was.  “This light was a distant cluster of flaming angels, which appeared like a luminous star.”  2SP:20; DA:60.

 

The statement in Matthew 2:9, about the “star” now being “in the east,” must be explained.  The meaning is, this is where they saw it from, in that they were “from the east” (verse 1), thus that is where they first saw the star from their own country “in the east.”  Bethlehem is “south” of Jerusalem.  Therefore, “in the east” of verse 9, could be translated with supplied words, “when they were in the east.”

 

Here is what is interesting about that.  Why did the angels send the Magi to Jerusalem if they knew Christ was in Bethlehem?  The answer is easy.  To give every one of the Jews (for from Jerusalem word would spread quickly) that their opportunity to know that their Jewish Messiah has Come as prophesied by Daniel for the specific time that they should have known, and for which many other prophets had looked forward to.  Word of this should have gone out throughout all of Judea.

 

Matthew 2:11:  “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped Him.”  How did they know to worship Him?  We know that Daniel was put in charge of the Magi by Darius the Mead.  They must have had some training from him and some obviously believed and looked forward to the fulfilling of the Daniel, Chapter 9 prophecy.

 

 

J) WHAT IS OF INTEREST TO US

 

 

Now here is something of interest to us.  There is an inscription that has the same value of the “Rosetta Stone,” i.e., that there were three languages upon it, and as such, knowing the one language enables us to decipher the other two.  There was a huge wall, kind of like what we know today as to be a “bill-board,” that was created by Darius the Great, prepared in Idiomatic, Arcadian, and the Old Persian (Aramaic).  It is because of this that we can learn more about the Magi, because it is the link by which we can translate these other languages.  In particular, it speaks of a revolt of the Magi that got out of hand and how Darius put it down, i.e., what is of interest to us, is that this is most likely Daniel’s lion’s den experience; for the time line of this stone and its events is the same, i.e., around B.C. 522.

 

What is also interesting to note is what Bible Commentators refer to as the so called “silent years” of the Bible, i.e., the 400 years between the Old Testament and the New Testament which are not in the Bible.  But as it turns out, the Bible really is not silent at all, but is populated in advance with those 400 years comprising the entire Chapter 11(specifically beginning in verse 5), of the Book of Daniel.  In fact, it is so precise that some critics have said that this particular Chapter had to have been written at a later date for history to have been described so well.  However, Bible students know this phenomenon as, “Prophecy.”

 

So what we need to realize, and or remember, is that while the Roman Empire was coming on the scene and about to be moved into its heyday if you will, the Parthian empire was still going strong and battling Rome to stay in power.  In fact, in about B.C. 250, it had already become an independent kingdom.  Thus, even though the Parthian empires power and influence were decreasing by the time of our Lord’s birth, the Magi were still quite respected and admired (the example again being Herod’s reaction to them showing up into his kingdom).

 

The reason is, and not understood by most, is that Israel was controlled by the Parthian’s at this time of our Lord’s birth, the Romans only beginning to exert their authority in the region of Israel.  Rome would claim it, but the Parthian’s controlled it.  We know this by the historical fact that it took Herod a few years to even go to Israel and rule there, for fear of his life should he venture upon its soil as a Roman leader, or “magistrate” if you will; even though he was appointed as its ruler.  In fact, in an effort to fully take it over, this could be more the reason why a populous Roman Tax was called for at the time of our Lord’s birth.

 

As to the gifts of the Magi of “gold, frankincense, and myrrh,” Matthew 2:11, these were, as mentioned earlier, prophetic.  They speak of our Lord’s offices of King, Priest, and Savior.  Gold is for, and an emblem of royalty, and speaks of our Lord’s Kingship; Frankincense was a spice used in priestly duties, placing our Lord as High Priest; while Myrrh was an embalming ointment which well signifies our Lord’s death, i.e., as our Savior.