Two Wise Men from East & infant Jesus?

You can see from this map

http://www.bible-history.com/maps/roman_empire.htm...

that anything East of the Jordan River was "East" to the inhabitants of the Roman Empire during the time of Jesus.

Here's a much more professional map that tells the same story

http://www.biblestudy.org/maps/roman-empire-early-...

However many "magi" there were (the bible does not tell us), that leaves a **lot** of territory from which "wise men of the East" could have traveled. Certainly they may have been from India - but they could have equally been from any of the other very ancient civilizations between Canaan and India that existed at that time.

This map (click on the green) is the best I could find showing the mighty empires that lie between India and Rome at the time. In includes trade routes

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/silk/hd_silk.htm

Showing that India is no less likely than other locations - but no more likely, either.

Ahhh...here's an even better map showing the intermediate region

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Parthia_001ad.jp...

Anything from the Sabateans (South and East, from where the Queen of Sheba is believed to have come) to China (North and East and far distant) could be the home of the magi.

Jim, http://www.bible-reviews.com/

Well, first you have to realize that by the time the Wise men from the East arrived, Jesus was no longer an infant, but more of a toddler or very young child. We know this because of Herod's "orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were 2 years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi." (Matthew 2:16)

How many wise men were there? Tradition has it that 3 wise men from the east had visited, but Biblically-speaking, no number is mentioned. But from the context of how they knew about Jesus being born (the star & prophesy), shows that they knew the scriptures, and were probably either astrologers or astronomers. Either way, most likely educated in some form. Although there is neither any mention of their religious practices, nor their witness upon returning home, and as far as I can tell, they were neither ever mentioned nor heard from since.

As for who the men were, yes, we understand them as being from Iran, but not because they said they were from the east, but because of the gifts they'd brought, for such were precious elements of the Biblical days of Iran: Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh. But these elements also have a prophetic side to them. If I remember correctly, the Gold represents Jesus' royalty; I think the Frankincense represented His anointing, and the Myrrh as the incense they used for Jesus' burial. (Something like that).

Hope that was intelligent & thoughtful enough for you.

It's not two wise men from the east who who visited and payed homage to the infant Jesus and his parents,Mary and Joseph,but three,according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke.In Luke,they're also called kings.Even though neither gospel mentions their nationality,it's a historically proven fact that they came from the northern part of what was then called Persia,now known as Iran.

Did they make the trip to prove the greatness of Jesus Christ to the people of that era?No.They made the trip because they wanted to honor a couple of ancient Old Testament Jewish messianic prophecies and to pay homage to Mary,Joseph,and the baby Jesus.

Other than that,I don't think most of the people of that era would have been impressed.Why?Because most of them,especially the nations around the Mediterranean Sea,were a part of the Roman Empire,and,were Roman subjects,just living their lives on a day to day basis while being under the dominion and subjection of the Roman Empire.

They came from the orient and believed the old testament prophecy of the birth of Christ and were looking for the star that led them to Jesus, by the way, he wasn't in the manger 2 years after his birth, and they were warned in a dream by an angel from God not to go to Herod with the information he wanted. The people who did believe were Jews. Look at the new testament. The religion of the Jews was split because of Jesus. Some believed he was the Christ, that is literally anointed, and others are still looking for the promised Messiah. Saul who became Paul was a devout Jew....

3. There were three wise men. Yes, I do believe that the story was one of many that helped prove the true identity of Jesus. Also, I do not recall ever believing that India was so revered throughout the world and it's a bit arrogant to believe that the presence of an Indian man would validate the Son of God.

Scotgirl: I can see this is very important to you as you addressed the number, ignoring the rest of the question and making sure to address me specifically. I still stand by my answer.

We don't know how many wise men visited Jesus, since the Bible doesn't say. And it doesn't say where they were from, only "the East."

________

Adair: That is a traditional thought due to the number of gifts mentioned in the Bible, but we don't know there were three.

The wise men were identified as "magi", so they were obviously Jewish scholars from Babylonia, who carried that title.

They were NOT from India.

Christ spend his youth in India.The celebration of the birthday of Christ might lose a little sheen if we seriously pursue the question, where did Jesus spend 18 years of his life, between the ages of 12 and 30? Both history and gospels, are completely silent about the life of Jesus before his 30th year.

Many New Agers have claimed that Jesus went to India as a child to learn from Hindu gurus. He allegedly later went to Israel and performed miracles learned from these gurus, and taught doctrines He derived from them.!!!!

# Ancient scrolls reveal that Jesus spent seventeen years in India and Tibet...

# From age thirteen to age twenty-nine, he was a student of both Hindu and Buddhist holy men

# The story of his journey from Jerusalem to BHARATA(INDIA) was recorded by Brahman historians

Sometime during the fourteenth year of his life, the lad arrives in the region of the Sind (the Indus) in the company of merchants, 'and he settled among the Aryans(hindus), in the land beloved of God, with the intention of perfecting himself, The young Issa travels through the land of the five rivers (the Punjab), stays briefly with the 'erring Jains', 'and then proceeds to Jagannath'(JAGANNATH DHAM),'where the white priests of Brahma accepted him as their student and tought him VEDAS and GITA.At PURI JAGANNATH TEMPLE, Jesus ALSO learns to read and understand HINDU and BUDDHIST scriptures. After spending six years in Jagannath, Rajagriha, Benares and other holy cities, he returned to west...........

WE CAN SEE MANY SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HINDUISM AND CHRISTIANITY............

Interesting Parallels between the

Hindu/Buddhist temple and the Catholic Church.

Apsaras----------------------------------- Angels

Sants-------------------------------------- Saints

Halos--------------------------------------- Halos

Cave-temples---------------- ------------ - Catacombs

Chaitya hall floor plan----------------- - Cathedral floor plan

Rosary--------------------------------------- Rosary

Orders of monks/nuns------------------ Orders of priests/nuns

(in Buddhism)

Repetition in prayer---------------------- Repetition in prayer

Symbolism of wheel--------------------- Symbolism of wheel

Tree of life ----------------------------------- Tree of life

Use of relics (Buddhism)--------------- Use of relics

Temptation of the Buddha by Mara-- Temptation of Jesus by Satan

Circumambulation------------------------- Circumambulation

the main philosophy of Hinduism or hind sets of religions(Buddhism,Jainism,Sikhism) which is TRIMURTI(in Hinduism).it is called in Christianity TRINITY."amen" is also derived from Hindu's OM.