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26-NOV-2010

29

It would appear that one can call the wise men who visited Jesus by any name one would wish, but the tradition has it they were named Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior.

Here is the Bible Commentary article on the wise men: Wise men, Gr. magoi, which designated men of the various educated classes. Our word "magicians" comes from this root. But these "wise men" were not magicians in the modern sense of sleight-of-hand performers. They were of noble birth, educated, wealthy, and influential.

They were the philosophers, the counselors of the realm, learned in all the wisdom of the ancient East. The "wise men" who came seeking the Christ-child were not idolaters; they were upright men of integrity.

They studied the Hebrew Scriptures and there found a clearer transcript of truth. In particular, the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament claimed their attention, and among these they found the words of Balaam: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob," (Numbers 24:17). They probably also knew and understood the time prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 9:25,26), and came to the conclusion that the Messiah's coming was near.

On the night of Christ's birth, a mysterious light appeared in the sky which became a luminous star that persisted in the western heavens (see Desire of Ages, page 60). Impressed with its import, the wise men turned once more to the sacred scrolls. As they sought to understand the meaning of the sacred writings, they were instructed in dreams to go in search of the Messiah. Like Abraham, they knew not at first where they were to go, but followed as the guiding star led them on their way.

The tradition that there were but three wise men arose from the fact that there were three gifts (Matthew 2:11), but is without support in Scripture. An interesting, but worthless, legend gives their names as...
Gaspar, Balthasar, and Melchior. The unfounded idea that they were kings was deduced from Isaiah 60:3 (cf. Revelation 21:24).

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Sarah Rehfeldt30-Nov-2010 03:15
Full of reverence. Love the image, Laine!
Cindi Smith29-Nov-2010 21:50
Love these statues and the faith they had to find Jesus. The real reason for Christmas.
Faye White29-Nov-2010 19:02
A wise trio!
Colin Storey29-Nov-2010 18:41
Fantastic shot of the three wise men. v
LynnH29-Nov-2010 16:42
Lovely seasonal image!
Patricia Kay29-Nov-2010 16:21
Beautiful image of the Wise Men Laine...BV
Ali Majdfar29-Nov-2010 16:12
This is great! ~V
Guest 29-Nov-2010 16:11
Excellent Laine!!
J. Scott Coile29-Nov-2010 15:57
From lands afar...
Maaike Huizer29-Nov-2010 09:58
Great and perfect for the coming month.
Mieke WA Minkjan29-Nov-2010 07:11
lovely statues of the three wise men from the East!
borisalex29-Nov-2010 06:36
Are they already in Australia? They are supposed to be here on January 6th next year! :))
Beatiful series!
lou_rozensteins29-Nov-2010 06:27
Great information along with this image. Well done.
Janice Dunn29-Nov-2010 06:27
Ah yes, the 3 wise men / kings - it's a lovely statue
Guest 29-Nov-2010 05:44
Excellent.
Bryan Murahashi29-Nov-2010 04:51
Very nice capture for the season.
Laryl29-Nov-2010 03:38
wonderful image no matter what people believe or don't
sue anne29-Nov-2010 03:16
Very lovely of the three wise men.
Guest 29-Nov-2010 02:45
Excellent lights and composition! ~V
Frank Wilson29-Nov-2010 02:37
Great shooting!
carol j. phipps29-Nov-2010 01:17
Wise men still seek Him.
Jola Dziubinska29-Nov-2010 00:51
Wonderful statues, excellent capture, Laine. Love the soft colors. Vote.
Ann...28-Nov-2010 23:31
Excellent.
Yvonne28-Nov-2010 23:22
Wow, that is a superb piece of history of the Christian church Laine & lovely image.
Guest 28-Nov-2010 23:02
Lovely capture Laine.. V
Stephanie28-Nov-2010 22:42
Great series Laine! Lovely capture of these 3 very wise men! :)
Coleen Perilloux Landry28-Nov-2010 22:28
A lovely image. I guess nowadays you can believe just about anything you want to. Someone is always discrediting another. However, Christmas plays would sound strange with Three Wise Men being named Cecil, Pepe' and Oscar.
patou28-Nov-2010 21:29
Exellent belle prise !( v )
Johnny JAG28-Nov-2010 21:16
It's those clever dudes.
Knox O28-Nov-2010 21:15
three cheers for the wise men :>)
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