Goldie Ghamari - The Three Wise Men were Iranian Zoroastrians from the Persian Empire

00:00:00.000 Did you know that the three wise men who visited Jesus Christ when he was born were most likely

00:00:05.200 Zoroastrian priests from the Persian Empire? Let me show you what I'm talking about. Before the

00:00:11.040 Arab-Muslim invasion of 650 AD, Persia was actually Zoroastrian. In fact, Zoroastrianism

00:00:18.080 is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. Now I'm sure you're probably already

00:00:24.160 familiar with the most famous Iranian Zoroastrian, Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian

00:00:29.900 Empire. According to biblical texts, and also according to Iranian history, Cyrus the Great

00:00:36.440 freed the Jews from their Babylonian enslavement, took them back to the promised land, and helped

00:00:40.980 them rebuild the second temple of Jerusalem. And even though Cyrus the Great was Zoroastrian,

00:00:46.580 according to the book of Isaiah, he's referred to as the Lord's anointed. And in the Hebrew Bible,

00:00:52.300 he's also referred to as the Messiah. But what you probably didn't know is that the three wise men

00:00:59.040 who visited Jesus Christ when he was born were probably Zoroastrian priests from the Persian

00:01:04.260 Empire. There is an even more famous example of this, and it happened centuries later in 4 BC.

00:01:10.220 Persia is about to play a key part in the announcement of the coming of the Messiah.

00:01:15.040 In Matthew 2, the Magi, aka the wise men from the east, traveled to Jerusalem following a star

00:01:21.800 asking, where is this newborn king of the Jews? Okay, it's mega important that we don't forget

00:01:28.140 that their nationality isn't directly mentioned. But evidence points to the ancient lands of the

00:01:34.460 Medo-Persian Empire, modern day Iran. And these men, scholars of astronomy and prophecy, likely

00:01:40.020 studied Daniel's writings, including the 70 weeks prophecy. And if you're a Bible student, you'll

00:01:45.720 know that it outlined the timeline of the Messiah's arrival. Again, my friend, we cannot say for

00:01:51.300 certain that's what guided them but we do know that they recognized the

00:01:54.900 significance of the star and they journeyed across deserts bearing gift of

00:01:58.880 gold frankincense and myrrh each symbolically representing Christ's

00:02:03.600 kingship divinity and final sacrificial mission of dying upon a cross for the

00:02:09.240 sins

00:02:11.560 There are many great inventions from Persia

00:02:21.640 that are living testaments to an extraordinarily rich civilization.

00:02:28.300 Almost every child in the western world knows about the three kings or the three wise men.

00:02:35.880 They were traveling from the east to venerate Jesus on his birth.

00:02:41.560 They followed a star that led them to Jesus.

00:02:46.100 In Christianity, the three kings are venerated as holy.

00:02:51.740 They are celebrated with the apparition of the Lord, Epiphany, on the 6th of January.

00:02:58.820 But did you know the three kings were religious scholars, known as the Magi,

00:03:05.780 revered Persian astronomers and astrologics?

00:03:10.020 They studied the stars and planets, interpreting the meaning behind cosmic events.

00:03:17.540 The earliest and most credible report on the three kings is written in the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew 2.12.

00:03:27.680 It says, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem at that time of King Herod,

00:03:33.620 The three magicians from the east, led by the star of Bethlehem, came to Jerusalem and asked,

00:03:41.740 Where is the newborn, the new king of the Jews?

00:03:45.920 We saw his star rise and have to come to pay homage to him.

00:03:51.400 And then they entered the house.

00:03:54.240 And when they had opened their treasures, they presented him gifts,

00:03:58.820 such as gold, frankincense and myrrh.

00:04:03.620 The word magi is the plural of Latin word magus, borrowed from the Greek, this again derived from old Persian magis.

00:04:14.940 The term refers to the Persian priestly caste of Zoroastrianism.

00:04:19.980 As part of their religion, these priests paid particular attention to the stars and gained an international reputation for astrology, which at that time was highly regarded as a science.

00:04:35.900 Now, of course, this is disputed, and there are people from various lands, including Pakistan, China and India, who claim that the three wise men came from their lands.

00:04:47.200 However, it's pretty common knowledge amongst us Iranians that the three wise men were actually Zoroastrian priests from the Persian Empire, and I'll explain why.

00:04:56.580 I actually found a really interesting article written by someone named Dr. Hormoz Shariat, who's the founder and president of Iran Alive Ministries,

00:05:05.760 a Christian ministry that uses satellite broadcasting and the internet to reach Iranians in occupied Iran with the gospel.

00:05:13.020 He's also an ex-Muslim convert to Christianity.

00:05:17.020 In 2017, he wrote an article called Three Reasons Why the Magi Were Persian.

00:05:22.620 The first piece of evidence that he relies on is the word magi is a Persian word.

00:05:28.840 The magi were not kings, but were dignitaries and advisors in the court of Persian kings.

00:05:34.580 They were high priests of the Zoroastrian religion.

00:05:37.840 The Persian kings respected them, valued them, and sought their advice in their decisions.

00:05:44.680 The second piece of evidence. Images in the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem depict the Magi as

00:05:51.120 Persians. The Church of Nativity was erected in AD 329 by Empress Helena, Constantine's mother,

00:05:59.200 in the area believed to be where Jesus was born. In AD 614, a mosaic of the Magi on the floor of

00:06:06.320 the church saved it from destruction by a Persian rampage. The mosaic depicts the Magi in Persian

00:06:12.960 clothing. A 9th century synod in Jerusalem quoted this example to show the utility of religious

00:06:19.900 images. This early image does not prove the identity of the Magi, but it shows an early,

00:06:26.400 widespread understanding of who they were. And finally, the Magi were familiar with the prophecies

00:06:33.260 of the Old Testament. As we can see in Matthew 2, the Magi were not just following a star out of

00:06:39.580 curiosity. They had great pre-knowledge about this birth and the identity of Christ. They knew who

00:06:46.840 they were seeking and what to do when they found him, worship. When they saw the star, they knew

00:06:53.320 instantly that it was pointing to the Christ child. They told Herod, we saw his star. They knew that a

00:07:00.860 child would be born around that time and were expecting it. They knew Jesus was a king, asking

00:07:06.260 Herod, where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? They also knew that the child was not

00:07:12.220 only a king, but was God. They proclaimed, we have come to worship him. Zoroastrians believe there is

00:07:18.860 only one God and he alone must be worshipped. The name of God in Zoroastrian books is Ahura Mazda,

00:07:25.680 meaning the good Lord. But how did these men know about the coming king? The answer is easy,

00:07:31.760 Daniel. Daniel was, and is even now, respected in Persia as a prophet from God. His book,

00:07:38.840 written in Iran, was available and revered by Persians. Not many people know that for centuries,

00:07:44.480 many who lived in Iran were true believers in the God of the Bible. This was not just because

00:07:49.700 of Daniel, but also because of Nehemiah, Habakkuk, and Esther. At the end of the book of Esther,

00:07:55.600 we read that many Persians came to know the God of Israel. The Bible also says that when Persian

00:08:01.340 King Cyrus set the captive Jews free, only a small number went back to their land. They returned at

00:08:07.940 several stages, and the total number of those who returned are estimated to be only around 50,000

00:08:13.380 people. Therefore, millions of Jews stayed in Persia and lived there for centuries. It is

00:08:20.100 probable that the high priests of the Persian kings were required to know the Old Testament

00:08:25.060 and especially the prophecies of Daniel. That is the reason why these magi were so knowledgeable

00:08:32.120 about who Jesus was and the timing of his birth. Now, of course, there are a lot of opinions on

00:08:37.860 this, but it seems to me like the most accepted theory is the one that the three wise men were

00:08:43.660 in fact Zoroastrian priests from the Persian empire. And it makes sense given how much Persia

00:08:50.460 is referenced in both the Hebrew and Christian Bibles. The Persian empire has been around for

00:08:57.020 thousands and thousands of years, well before the invention of Islam. And that is why there's such a 0.87

00:09:03.460 strong historical tie between Persians, Jews, and Christians. And the fact that the Persian

00:09:10.320 Empire has been around for thousands of years, and the fact that Zoroastrianism is one of the

00:09:15.200 oldest monotheistic religions in the world, I mean, it makes sense that you see these strong

00:09:20.860 connections between Zoroastrians, Christians, and Jews. Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

00:09:25.340 I'd love to hear from you.

Goldie Ghamari - December 24, 2025

The Three Wise Men were Iranian Zoroastrians from the Persian Empire

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