The 3 Magi from Persia:Why Jesus was the chosen one

Hey guys,

So I am doing some research into the story of the 3 wise men and I have asked and answered many of my own questions but there is one, in particular, I am unable to.

The question: Why did the 3 wise men think that they would find the new king of the Jews in Israel. More specifically why did the morning star falling in the Ram constellation mean that there would be a new king?

Okay so that sounds like a weird question but let me explain myself. So I asked the question "who were the 3 wise men" So the best answer I got is that they were Persians that came from current day Iran. I know there are many other theories such as one was from India, another from England and another from somewhere else. But, let's assume that they were from Persia.

So now I know (well I can assume) they came from Persia. So then if Christianity was not the religion of the Persians (because their obviously predates Christianity) then what religion did they follow. Or why did they go to Israel to find the new king of the Jews?

So it seems like they might have been Zoroastrians. I know this religion is still alive in India and Iran but its very old and predates Christianity. So okay. Let's assume that the three wise men were from Persia and that they were Zoroastrians.

Then again, why did they believe that the king of the Jews would be found in Israel? So there is something I found from a documentary. The documentary said that Zoroastrians believed that when the morning star rises into the ram star constellation then that was a symbol of the king of the Jews or just a new king being born.

So that is as far as I got. I don't know why they would have held this belief. I know there is more to this story than I have managed to unravel. Also, I know that the story might not be true. For example, there might have not even been 3 wise men, they might have come from different countries or a bunch of other theories. So my question is specifically.

Why did the morning star falling in the Ram constellation mean that there would be a new king?

Dave-W said:

I thought they were Jewish satraps from Babylon in the mold of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego. A very large Jewish community continued in Babylon for at least the next 1500 years after Ezra and Nehemiah.

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So they might have been but as far as I know, that story comes from the book of Daniel which predates Jesus. I think that is another story entirely but I would have to research it.

But Mon

Monk Brendan said:

I guess because they tried to find him in Outer Mongolia, and couldn't.

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Are you saying that the three wise men travelled to Mongolia initially to find the king of the jews but couldn't?

Why would Israel be the next best bet?

sunshine100 said:

Hello and welcome

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Thanks

buzuxi02 said:

There are only 2 legitimate credible theories as from where the magi originated. The first as you say are from Persia and probable Zoroastrians. They were into astrology and believed stars were either Angel's or deities.

The second is they were Arabs from Arabia Felix. This is because Arabia was the global hub for spices and the spice trade ran through it (Google: Spice trade or Incense Route). Secondly the early Christians, such as Justin Martyr saw the wise men as fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 60:6 and Psalm 71:10.
As to why anyone thought it would be in that region, it could be that similiar prophesies as that of Numbers 24:17 were mentioned in their own writings.

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Thanks for the information! I didn't hear about that theory that they might be from the Arabia Felix.

Do you by any chance know why they would have wanted to follow the morning star to Israel if they were from for example Yemen in the Arabian Felix? Did they use the old testament of the Bible 2000 years ago in that area?

I know that Sheba was a kingdom during that time and also that they may have held other beliefs such as believing in Almaqah, who is considered a moon god.

But what exactly would make them think that the morning star would lead them to Jesus?

Isaiah 60:6 says "The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come; they shall bring gold and frankincense, and shall proclaim the praises of Jehovah". So that explains why they may have come from Sheba and might have gone to Israel to fulfil the prophecy. But my question is specifically why the morning star. Where does it mention the morning star predating the new testament?

The only mention I can find is in the Zoroastrian faith. But maybe there was some belief in the kingdom of Sheba in the Arabian Felix?

buzuxi02 said:

There are only 2 legitimate credible theories as from where the magi originated. The first as you say are from Persia and probable Zoroastrians. They were into astrology and believed stars were either Angel's or deities.

The second is they were Arabs from Arabia Felix. This is because Arabia was the global hub for spices and the spice trade ran through it (Google: Spice trade or Incense Route). Secondly the early Christians, such as Justin Martyr saw the wise men as fulfilling the prophecies of Isaiah 60:6 and Psalm 71:10.
As to why anyone thought it would be in that region, it could be that similiar prophesies as that of Numbers 24:17 were mentioned in their own writings.

Click to expand...

I also found a great explanation of one theory as to why they might have gone to find Jesus in Bethlehem. I have attached the document.