Revelation of the Magi

Revelation of the Magi: The Lost Tale of the Wise Men's Journey to Bethlehem by Brent Landau

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


When it comes to the stoy of the three magi who travelled to Bethlehem to witness the birth of Jesus not too much is mentioned in the Bible. THis text part of a larger group of working copied by a Syriac monk in Southern Anatolia m,ade it's way to Egypt and then finally there was a copy in the Vatican. Not too much was said about thjis manuscript that was first authored in what is believed to be fthe second century.



The Magic are descended from Seth, Adams third son. They come from the land of Shir which is at the farthest point in the east. There are three of them and they meditate on GOD in silence without saying any word. They were given a book by Seth in which Adam taught that because of his sin he was driven away from Eden and the bright star that shone above the tree of life stopped shining. Adam seem to place a lot of teh blame on Eve for his mistake of eating from the forbidden tree. In any case Seth was taught that when the star returned back to the sky the savior would have arrived. As they meditate in the cave of treasure located on the mount of victory they see the star. It shines brighter than the sun and the moon. It smooths their way to Bethlehem gettig rid of all teh obstacle, but the star is visible only to them. Upon making their way to Behtlehem they address the annointed one and give him gifts of Frankinsence, myrhh and gold. Jesus addresses them and they speak to Joseph. Mary accused them of absconding with the baby but theey reply that Jesus is everywhere. They travel back to their land and amidst celebration. People eat their food and behold Jesus. During this first part of the story Jesus's name is never menmtioned. He is referred to ass the star. Every religion and revelation is depicted or believed as to having come from Jesus himself , the only difference being in degrees of clarity.



The last part seems to have been tacked on and there is a difference in text. THomas mentions Jeus like 20 times and he gives them all a formal conversion and tells them to missionize. The original meaning of the text was that Jesus would missionize in spiritual form.



The book made for light reading and I finished it in one morning. It gives the reader a different dimension of Christianity one that is too often over looked and that is the Middle Eastern persective. Enjoy a quick read.



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