I'm from India. Recently, there was the feast of 3 kings at one of the Roman Catholic churches in my neighborhood. I inquired of them about the feast and I was told it's about the 3 kings who visited Jesus, shortly after his birth. There are others who claim that they were 3 astrologers from India. There are still others who claim that they were the disciples of Zoroaster, from Persia. There's a recent theory that they came from Philippines (this is based on the theory that Sheba/Seba mentioned in Psa 72:10, 15; is Philippines.)
Let's read the relevant scriptures again:
Mat 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise menG3097 from the east to Jerusalem,
Mat 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
How did they arrive at the number 3?
It's fairly easy, they counted the number of gifts brought by the wise men!
Mat 2:11 ... they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
What there were only 2 wise men, one bringing gold and the other frankincense and myrrh? What if there were 10 wise men, 6 of them bringing gold, 2 bringing frankincense and the other 2 bringing myrrh? (Or any other number of men and any other permutation and combination?)
There are folks that named the 3 wise men as Patisar, Caspar and Melchior, without even realizing that the there's nothing to prove that there were 3 wise men!
They weren't “wise men”, “kings”, “astrologers” or “sorcerers”
The Greek word translated as “wise men” in Mat 2:1, 7, 16 is used in Acts 13:6, 8 as well. But, alas!, the King James Bible got “sorcerer” as the singular form of “wise men” (other versions have it as “magician”).
Here's the Strong's entry for the Greek word translated as “wise men” in Mat 2:1, 7.
G3097, μάγος (magos, mag'-os) Of foreign origin [H7248]; a Magian, that is, Oriental scientist; by implication a magician: - sorcerer, wise man.
This word is used 8 times in the book of Daniel in the Greek Septuagint, to make a mention about some kind of courtiers at the court of the Babylonian kings. (Dan 1:20; 2:2, 10, 27; 4:7; 5:7, 11, 15;). Courtiers could be skilled men, but it's quite unlikely that they were kings!
The following scriptures are cited from the Apostolic Bible Polyglot (ABP), which has the English translation of the Greek Septuagint. Please note that:
- G3097, the Greek word mentioned above is always rendered as “magi”. Let's ignore it, as we are in the pursuit of arriving at the best possible Biblical definition.
- G4680 (σοφός, sof-os'), obviously is the Greek word for “wise men”, as it is rendered so for 22 times in the New Testament. (Examples: Mat 11:25; 23:34; Luk 10:21; Rom 1:14, 1:22;)
- There's another word for “astrologers”, which isn't listed in Strong's Lexicon, but is listed as G1048.1 in Apostolic Bible Polyglot's Lexicon, of which I don't own a copy.
Dan 2:27 And Daniel answered before the king, and he said, The mystery which the king asks is not of wise menG4680, magiG3097, enchanters, astrologers, to announce to the king.
Dan 5:7 And [yelled the king] in strength to bring the magiG3097 and the Chaldeans, and the astrologers. And he said to the wise men G4680 of Babylon, Whoever should read this writing, and [its interpretation should make known] to me, purple shall be put on him , and the necklace of gold upon his neck, and as third in my kingdom he shall rule.
Dan 5:15 And now there entered before me the wise menG4680 magiG3097 and astrologers that [this writing they should read], and the interpretation they should make known to me. But they were not able to announce to me.
The purpose of the wise men's visit.
It's unambiguously stated that the purpose of “the wise men” was to worship “he that is born King of the Jews”. Let me ask you this:- why should the Hindu astrologers worship “he that is born King of the Jews”?
- why should the disciples of Zoroaster worship “he that is born King of the Jews”?
- (I don't know whether anyone who were keen about worshiping “he that is born King of the Jews” in Philippines during those days.)
Are India and Persia the only places to the east of Jerusalem?
The only reason folks associated east with India or Persia is the statement “we have seen his star in the east”. It's a typical Christian naivety to think that India or Persia are all about astrologers. It's again inanity to think that anyone who observes the movements of celestial objects is an astrologer. In fact, most of the astrologers can't even identify most of the clusters of stars visible to naked eyes.
While astrologers work with their charts and almanacs, it's astronomers who observe the movement of celestial bodies.
Within a distance of 48 kilometers or 28.6 miles from Jerusalem, yes, towards the east of Jerusalem, was Qumran, where Essenes, a Jewish sect, lived. It's obvious they had interests in astronomy. They were waiting for the arrival of the Messiah, the King of the Jews.
Isn't it likely that “the wise men” who came to “worship the King of the Jews” were Essenes from Qumran?
How does the singular form of “wise men” become “sorcerer”?
The same Greek word translated as “wise men” is used in Acts 13:6, 8, in its singular form, but, instead of translating it as “wise man”, they rendered it as “sorcerer”!
Act 13:6 And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcererG4680, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus:
Act 13:7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God.
Act 13:8 But Elymas the sorcererG4680 (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith.
Let me rephrase the story for you.
There are 3 persons involved in the narrative (let's ignore Barnabas, as he has no role in it).- Sergius Paulus, a Roman deputy (proconsul) in Paphos, Cyprus. Pliny, the Roman author who wrote books of historical value has mentioned Sergius Paulus as someone with a keen interest in astronomy. He could have been writing a book on astronomy or related topics. (Sergius Paulus is acknowledged in the second book of Pliny's Natural History. The book is about cosmology and astronomy and has nothing to do with astrology or sorcery, as presumed by many Biblical scholars.)
- Barjesus. BarJesus means: son of Jesus / Joshua, can't be his name. Acts 3:8 says his name is interpreted as Elymas, which isn't a Hebrew or Greek name or word. Apparently, the name has its origins in the Arabic word: Ulama, which means “learned men” or “scholars”.
Let's ask ourselves: what's the role of a sorcerer in the office of a Roman deputy or proconsul? The fact that Pliny has acknowledged Sergius Paulus in a book on cosmology, and the “wise men” (μάγος, G3097) were scholars in astronomy, tells us that Barjesus could have been a scholar in astronomy and was present in the place of Sergius Paulus as a subject expert or consultant.
Isn't it quite likely that there were frequent discussions among Sergius Paulus and Barjesus, both learned men, about various topics, including spirituality and God? I presume that Sergius Paulus was familiar with Barjesus' (a Jew) beliefs about God and Christ (Messiah).
We are told that he was a: - Jew
- False prophet
- Sorcerer (it should be wise man", Mat 2:1)
- Saul, who came to be known as Paul, during the course of this narrative.
Barjesus, a Jew, could have introduced Christ (Messiah) as someone who elucidates the Law of Moses to Sergius Paulus. Now, Saul presents Jesus as Christ, a great spring of grace, which doesn't line up with the beliefs of BarJesus. He was present while Saul was preaching and a simple gesticulation, winking of his eyes or another gesture could have reminded Sergius Paulus that concept of Christ as explained by Saul doesn't match with their previous discussions.
Why is Barjesus called a false prophet?
Both Paul and Barjesus were Jews, both believed in Messiah. The issue was the difference in their concept of Messiah.- Paul presented Jesus, who has already come as the Messiah (Christ).
- Barjesus believes that the Messiah hasn't come, as Jesus wasn't the teacher of the Law of his Messianic beliefs.
- He is termed as a false prophet as he believes that the Christ, who already come, as someone who has to come in the future.
Saul becomes Paul, and a disgraceful act.
While reading the following passage, please note that this is the very first time the name Paul (“small or little”) appears in the scriptures and the very last time his name Saul (“desired”) is used (except in allusions to past events).Act 13:9 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him,While I also rejoice in the fact that an influential person like Sergius Paulus believed, even if it were in your power to cause physical harm to your theological opponent, would you have have done it? (I wouldn't have, either). Though Paul (Saul) isn't the author of the Acts of the Apostles, I believe that he felt embarrassed about this disgraceful act and that's why he accepted a new name, Paul.
Act 13:10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
Act 13:11 And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.
Act 13:12 Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.
In Christ,
Tomsan Kattackal
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