Interpreter Radio Show — February 11, 2024: Discussion

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Abstract: An early Christian text called the Revelation of the Magi presents itself as a history of the Magi before and after the birth of Jesus Christ. This text offers important insights into how the early Christian world may have conceptualized how other nations outside of Israel similarly looked forward to the advent of the Messiah, how they worshiped God, and how they knew who their Savior would be. The Book of Mormon similarly presents itself as text written by early believers in Jesus Christ. It is centered primarily around two civilizations outside the land of Israel who knew who Jesus was, worshiped him, and prophesied about him. Both texts begin with similar premises, and each shares a remarkable level of consistency in matters of doctrine and narrative. Furthermore, the Revelation of the Magi contains citations from a book of Adam that have striking similarities to details revealed in other Restoration scripture regarding Adam and his children. While the Revelation of the Magi is not scripture, it is nonetheless a text that many modern readers will find beneficial in highlighting beliefs of early Christians.

 
In 2008, a significant early Christian text was translated into English for the first time.1 This text, called the Revelation of the Magi, is purportedly a first-person retelling of the Magi’s experiences as [Page 236]they worshiped God, waited for the advent of his Son, traveled to Bethlehem to meet the newborn Savior, and continued to worship him following his birth. Since the initial dissertation, Landau has published more accessible copies.2 (Citations herein of Landau’s text use the abbreviation Rev. Magi, followed by chapter and verse numbers.3)
This text is fascinating, and it has received more detailed attention since its publication in English. However, it is still relatively obscure compared to other prominent Christian apocryphal writings such as those found at Nag Hammadi or the so-called Infancy Gospels. While these texts are not scripture for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or most Christians generally today), they are nonetheless fascinating and provide important windows into early Christian beliefs and attitudes. The Revelation of the Magi is a document that could be especially interesting to modern readers of the Bible, particularly Latter-day Saints.
The Nature of Christian Apocryphal Writings
To fully understand and appreciate the Revelation of the Magi, it is also important to understand the world in which it arose. While many Christians consider the biblical canon closed, this attitude largely arose well past what we consider “biblical times,” and many early Christians were composing texts they believed to be inspired and worthy of reading in churches. In fact, it was not until the second or third centuries that ...

“One Drop of Salvation from the House of Majesty”: An Analysis of the Revelation of the Magi and Restoration Scripture

David R. Seely spoke at the 2021 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses Conference on Saturday, April 24, 2021. 
Based on the works of theorists like Hans-Georg Gadamer and Paul Ricouer there has emerged a model of hermeneutics based on the exploration of the three worlds of the text: the world BEHIIND the text which is the history and culture from which the text emerged; the world OF the text—how the text presents its story, the characters and action in the narrative and the structure and form of the text; and the world IN FRONT of the text which is the world in which the reader interprets the text and decides how to proceed. Much study has been done in all three of these areas, but I do not know of an extensive review and exploration of the World OF the text in terms of how the Book of Moses presents is story and message including its formal and structural characteristics, its narrative strategies and character description, and its rhetorical features. This study will explore the Book of Moses with a close reading of the text applying some of the methods of literary criticism including rhetorical, genre, and narrative criticism to better define the literary features and enhance the power of the narratives that are part of the World OF the Text of the Book of Moses.
All of the conference presentations were filmed, and both video and audio recordings of each presentation are available. Videos, audio recordings and transcripts are available at https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2021-book-of-moses-conference/videos/.  The videos are also available on the Interpreter Foundation YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/theinterpreterfoundation. A YouTube playlist is available at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRMn4gyXMWLtulXZ-y4mAph138aNdAWlw. 


Presented at:
2021 Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses ConferenceSaturday April 24, 2021https://interpreterfoundation.org/conferences/2021-book-of-moses-conference/


Conference Proceedings:
Tracing Ancient Threads in the Book of Moses: Inspired Origins, Temple Contexts, and Literary Qualities, Volumes I and II at https://interpreterfoundation.org/books/ancient-threads-in-the-book-of-moses/


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Interpreter Radio Show — February 11, 2024: Discussion

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