Interpreting Interpreter: Magi-cal Insights

This post is a summary of the article ““One Drop of Salvation from the House of Majesty”: An Analysis of the Revelation of the Magi and Restoration Scripture” by Spencer Kraus in Volume 61 of Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-day Saint Faith and Scholarship. All of the Interpreting Interpreter articles may be seen at https://interpreterfoundation.org/category/summaries/. An introduction to the Interpreting Interpreter series is available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/interpreting-interpreter-on-abstracting-thought/.

The Takeaway

Kraus outlines the early Christian text Revelation of the Magi, exploring the common elements that text shares with the Book of Mormon and modern revelation, including affirmations that divinely granted knowledge of Christ was available outside of Jerusalem, and that the words and language of the earliest patriarchs were recorded and transmitted across generations.

The Summary

In this article, Spencer Kraus provides an analysis of a recently translated (or at least relatively so) early Christian text, the Revelation of the Magi—a retelling of the experiences of the Magi as they awaited the birth of the Savior and worshipped him following his birth. As with the many texts that arose in the centuries after Christ’s death, the text gives us a chance to apply the thoughts of Joseph Smith regarding the study of apocryphal works, searching for the elements within that have the potential to substantiate faith. After providing a brief overview of the contents of the text, which spans 32 chapters, and providing an estimate as to its date of authorship (extending to at least the 5th century AD, based on direct references to it from works of that period, and perhaps as early as the 3rd century, based on the similarities of its liturgy to others of that era), Kraus examines its potential connections to both the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scripture. These ties include:

- The church being led by twelve leaders. The text purports to tell the story of twelve magi, rather than the traditional three, subordinate to the Apostles, but with a mandate to spread their revelatory knowledge to the people, creating a possible parallel with the twelve Nephite disciples in the Book of Mormon.

- A prophecy regarding a star. The Magi refer to a prophecy given to Adam regarding a light, overshadowing even the sun, that would mark the birth of the Savior. The detail in that prophecy exceeds the brief account in Matthew, and shows similarities with the prophecy of Samuel in the Book of Mormon. Both the Magi and the Book of Mormon describe fear-centered reactions to the appearance of that star.

- A repudiation of Original Sin. The Magi includes a declaration that the posterity of Adam aren’t responsible for his transgression in the garden, and emphasizes God’s mercy to anyone to repents. Similar declarations can be found in the Book of Mormon.

- Pre-mortal encounters with Christ. The Magi records a vision of the Savior prior to his birth, where his hand appears and he speaks to them. This theophany, occurring in the context of a sacred mountain, calls to mind the experiences of the Brother of Jared, as well as Christ’s words to Nephi, son of Nephi presaging his own birth in 3 Nephi 1.

- Visions of Christ’s ministry. The Magi records two instances where Christ’s ministry is seen in vision, including views of his pre-mortal and post-mortal experiences, such as his descent to Sheol to redeem the dead. Similar prophetic accounts of Christ’s ministry are recorded in the Book of Mormon.

- The fulfillment of the Mosaic law. The Magi records that the past ordinances or “mysteries”; were fulfilled by Christ, just as the Book of Mormon indicates that the law of Moses should no longer be kept following Christ’s mortal ministry.

- Christ’s death marked by destruction. The Magi includes predictions of darkness and an earthquake at the time of Christ’s death, and though these events are recorded in a minor way in Matthew, the Book of Mormon sees these predictions fulfilled at scale.

- Creation being for the benefit of God’s children. The Magi notes that “all the worlds came into being for your sake”, similar to sentiments recorded in 1 Nephi 17:36, 2 Nephi 26:24, and D&C 104:15.

- Truth being revealed to all people. Kraus notes the Magi’s somewhat unique approach to universal salvation, with Christ being seen “in every land”. The Book of Mormon is a key example of that teaching, and records similar ideas.

- The planting of the word of salvation. The Magi includes a declaration that the Lord “planted the word of salvation in us”, which recalls Alma’s comparison of the word with a seed in Alma 32.

- Rebaptism following a new dispensation. The Magi participate in the ordinance of baptism following the savior’s death, similar to how the Nephites received the authority to baptize in the new dispensation following Christ’s resurrection.

- Reference to scripture recorded by Seth. The Magi references a commandment for Seth to “set down in a book” the knowledge he received, paralleling the book of remembrance kept by Seth as recorded in Moses 6:3-5.

- Ordinances performed by Adam and Seth. The Magi describes ordinances performed that were revealed to Adam and Seth, again in the context of a divine mountain. Similar ordinances are referenced in Moses 5:59.

- Prophecies of Adam concerning his descendants. As suggested above, the Magi records prophecies given to Adam about what would happen to his seed, as also recorded in D&C 107:56.

- References to multiple worlds. The Magi suggests that multiple worlds were created and saved by Christ, recalling similar declarations in Moses 1:33 and D&C 76:24.

After noting an interesting implication for the Revelation of the Magi and the timing of Christ’s birth, Kraus concludes as follows:

[These] many similarities may indicate that early Christians had some beliefs strikingly similar to the doctrines revealed in the Book of Mormon and other Restoration scripture. Indeed, it could be said that, just as the Father told the Magi, this serves as a witness that many people received “(only) one drop of salvation from the house of [majesty]” to bring them to their Savior, Jesus Christ (Rev. Magi 15:1; parentheses and brackets in original)… It is my conclusion that it remains outside of the realm of possibility for Joseph Smith to have known all this of his own accord. That he was able to reveal scriptures that so closely and consistently match ancient texts not discovered until well after the publication of his revelations and translations, the source of Joseph’s knowledge must be found elsewhere in the realms of the divine.

The Reflection

Kraus provides a useful look at the content of an interesting early Christian text. One piece that would be a nice future addition is a sense of whether the Magi records traditions of the magi passed down from earlier generations, or whether many of these elements had their origin in the Magi text. If these ideas began in the 3rd Century, I’m not sure how much they help the Book of Mormon’s case—at best they would be coincidences, and, at worst, evidence that these ideas could be invented independently across centuries of Christian tradition. Ultimately, it may be impossible to know when these ideas first came forward, which I think helps emphasize Joseph’s counsel toward the apocrypha. Yes, they contain some useful and true ideas, but the uncertainty surrounding them means that they could lead us to pitfalls and blind alleys as often as not. Nevertheless, Kraus has done a commendable job outlining some fascinating possibilities—I perhaps will be tempted to pick up the Revelation of the Magi the next time I find a good hole in my reading schedule.

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