The Wise Men

Overview

In Matthew 2 we find an interesting account – wise men from the East come to Jerusalem seeking a Child who they believed to be born King of the Jews. Not only that, but they indicate that they were tipped off by a star and have brought gifts and intend to worship the Child indicating that they believe this child to be somehow connected to the divine. In the past, this account always confounded me. What in the world could they have seen in the sky that would have made them believe all of this with such conviction that they travel hundreds of miles from their homes in search of Him? Surely there was more to this story that somehow involved them having more information to know what star to look for, or when to look. And, why would they think the child, a child of another ethnic group and a different culture would be worthy of their worship? They weren’t Jews, so why would they care if someone was born King of the Jews? These things didn’t make sense to me. Now, I believe they do.

Who Were They?

While we simply can’t know for sure who they were, the leading theory for the identity of these men is that they were most likely Zoroastrian priests from Persia. This is incredibly significant and connects a lot of dots in the story with a little historical context. Zoroastrianism is named after a significant figure in their history named Zoroaster who is believed to have lived around the 6th century BC. Now, at this point I’ll state outright that Zoroastrianism is a false religion. However, the things of note in relation to the beliefs of the wise men is that Zoroastrians believe in a messiah-figure they call “Saoshyant”. This figure is subject of a variety of prophecies that will be very familiar to Christians and make the wise men’s intentions plain:

• Birth marked by a celestial sign - either a star or a column of light.
• Miraculously born of a Virgin
• Will commune with God at the age of 30
• Will be associated with raising the dead & resurrection
• — This is why Myrrh which was used for burial preparations is included in their gifts.
• Will defeat the embodiment of evil
• Will administrate final judgement
• Will restore all creation to a perfect & righteous state

Sound familiar? I thought so. Many scholars believe that Judaism and Christianity were influenced by Zoroastrianism. This is where they and I part ways. Instead, I argue the opposite. I believe that the Zoroastrians were influenced by Judaism and very specifically Daniel.

The Connection to the Biblical Prophets

The history of the Jewish people involves a series of World powers conquesting them. Around 600 BC Babylon conquered Israel and we find this in 2 Kings 24. Then, in Daniel 1-6 we see that Daniel and his companions remain faithful in captivity and are put into scholarly circumstances in Babylon where they begin to garner favor. It’s during this time that Daniel and Jeremiah receive prophetic visions from God with Daniels’s being the more significant for this page. AIn the same timeframe that Jeremiah is prophesying that God “knows the plans He has for Israel” (Jeremiah 29:11), Daniel receives a vision of a 490 year plan for the Jewish people that culminates in the arrival and death of the Messiah (Daniel 9:24-27). This is the clue we’re looking for. Because the result is Babylonian wise men become informed of the Torah and new revelations directly from the lips of a prophet of God. The Bible (and secular history) then tell us that the Babylonians were conquered by the Medes & the Persians. It’s in this window that revelations from God to Daniel could have been transmitted to Babylonian “wise men” and to Persian “wise men”. Corroborating this notion is that while Zoroastrianism has roots as far back as 1500 BC, it isn’t until much later during the Achaemenids (the Persian “group” who conquered Babylon) that the writings associated with Zoroaster about the Messiah were written. So, the order of events was: Babylon conquered Israel, Jews were held in captivity in Babylon, Daniel receives visions from God in a scholastic environment in Babylon, the Medes & then the Persians conquer Babylon, and both the Jews and the Zoroastrians believe they have revelation of a Messiah. Both groups come away with specific prophecy surrounding the Messiah including a timeline of when to expect Him.

If we stopped here, it would seem that either Zoroastrianism or Judaism could be the “correct” religion except for two crucial points. The visions originate from Daniel. And, we see that at the appointed time it’s the Zoroastrians coming to Jerusalem seeking the Messiah, not the Jews going to Persia. And, of course we see that the fulfillment of these prophecies surrounding the Messiah are all fulfilled by Jesus Christ of Nazareth who taught that He and the Father God are one. This gives apparent legitimacy to the Jewish prophets and Christians.

Going back to the wise men in Matthew 2, we find that if they were in fact Zoroastrian priests, then they were likely watching for a celestial sign within a specific time-frame seeking the messiah that was prophesied hundreds of years earlier. Believing they had a true revelation from God, when they saw a sign in the sky they knew where to go - Jerusalem. They came to seek the miraculous birth of a divine baby born of a virgin who would be the king of the Jews. They were wise, but didn’t know how right they were.

More Information

Like the wise men, I believe the signs are there that we have arrived at the prophetic "season" of the end times with the second coming of the Messiah on the near horizon. Check out the Millennial Days Page or the Why 2025? Page.