magi:
Isaiah said, “Those who divide the heavens, who gaze at the stars, who at the new moons predict what shall befall you. Behold, they are like stubble, the fire consumes them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame.” (Isaiah 47:13-14)
Or from Jeremiah chapter 10: “Thus says the LORD: ‘Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens because the nations are dismayed at them, for the customs of the peoples are false.'” (Jeremiah 10:2-3)
In the New Testament, generally speaking, the magi don’t receive much better treatment. Two turn up in the book of Acts – Elymas the false prophet in Acts 13, and Simon Magus in Acts 8, who tries to buy the Holy Spirit for money. Both receive rather short shrift from the Apostles.
Like their more ancient predecessors, these magi are not respected for their art by the early church. Theirs is not considered to be a valued component in the spiritual landscape that makes up of the Kingdom of God. Their spirituality is not affirmed as an authentic expression of godly intuition. Rather, the magi are considered to be members of an alternative religion.
They do not worship the God who made the heavens and the earth. They do not seek for God in the right way. Their predictions are not to be relied upon or even listened to. These magi are, from the Biblical point of view, superstitious pagan idolaters who are strangers to Bible truth and not remotely part of the people of God, and yet … when we gather around the baby Jesus at Christmas time, we notice that they are there too, and what’s worse, they are there because God invited them!
‘How did you know that the baby was