Monday, April 25, 2005
Mathematicians From the East
Well, I’m pretty sure Daniel had no clue how awesome the Seventy Sevens were because of its complexity. But he wrote the prophecy down and things happened that no one could know, at the time, actually were according to Plan. Since the disciples and Gospel writers don’t refer to it, I suspect these blessed men and women never grasped these current events in full. With God, it’s plan A, all the way. In Zion’s Fire, issue Jan./Feb. 2002, there is a fascinating insight by Rev. Dan Hayden. Did you ever wonder why the wise men were so alert to the coming of a King? Why would they travel a long journey’s way to “follow a star”? One does not follow a star anyway. Stars don’t move! These magi were astronomers and astrologers, which indicates their origin as Babylon, a place where magi would study the stars, historically. This next part is so logical yet so new, obvious yet ‘revelationary’, old yet fresh…I wanted to shout! These men would have been studying Daniel, their predecessor and past chief of magi in Babylon! You know, like we study the classics…Pythagoras, Kepler, Plato, and St. Augustine! (Well, at least the scholarly do!) These guys had read Daniel. They did the math! They knew the time was near…and when they saw the star in the heavens, it was a sign from God. And it was! According to Daniel 1, Daniel was an Israelite, from Jerusalem (Hayden, p 17) Of course, the wise men are going to start with chapter 1, duh. Where else to go, looking for a Jewish King…this Anointed One or Messiah Daniel had foretold?! The star didn’t exactly “lead” them to Bethlehem…but nevertheless, God did use that star over Bethlehem to bring these scholarly men nigh to worship the newborn King. Reading Daniel 7:13-14 gives a clear picture of why these obscure travelers from Babylon would bow down and worship Jesus (Matthew 2:11). “As my vision continued that night, I saw someone who looked like a Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into His presence. He was given authority, honor, and royal power over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey Him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed.”
