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Bible Stories: The Three Wise Men and More |
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The best-selling book of all time, the Bible, is filled with stories of heroes with powerful psychic abilities. Often these people heard voices, saw images, or had dreamsall of which led to prophecies that were realized at a future date. In short, these heroes predicted the future. Of course, Biblical text itself never refers to these abilities as ''psychic," but they do fit the description. |
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Among the most obvious intuitive heroes in the Bible are those who received information through dreams. Remember the story of Joseph? He interpreted the Pharaoh's dream of seven thin cows consuming seven fat ones and seven thin ears of corn consuming seven fat ones to mean that the Egyptians would have seven plentiful years to store enough extra food to last through a seven-year famine. And that's exactly what happened. Joseph was known for having his own psychic dreams, too, which enabled him to predict (and often avert) future difficulties. |
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Perhaps the greatest visionary was Isaiah, who wrote many sections of one of the greatest prophetic books contained in what is now called the Old Testament. He predicted the downfalls of many neighboring nations, all of which came to pass. Isaiah also described an apocalypse that many people believe is yet to come. |
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Other spiritual leaders received direct verbal messages from God. Noah was told to build a big boat, which he did despite the ridicule of his neighbors, who then watched as he floated safely away when the floods began. Abraham also received verbal messages from God, as did Moses. Jonah heard a voice telling him to go to Ninevah as a prophet, and when he refused, a huge fish swallowed him until he was ready to change his mind. |
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The New Testament begins with stories of various visions and portents. The best-known story is probably the one about the wise men, who traveled from the East by studying the stars. They followed a particular star that announced the birth of a king. Meanwhile, Mary was visited by an angel who foretold Christ's birth. And shepherds had visions of angels predicting his birth. The end of the New Testament contains one of the most prophetic scriptures, the book of Revelations. It is based on the dreams and visions experienced by Paul, who was converted to Christianity after experiencing a vision so intense that it caused Paul's temporary blindness. |
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As Christianity spread, it slowly incorporated the practices of paganism into its religious ceremonies. For example, people uttered Christian prayers as they gathered herbs for good luck. Gradually, practices that were not incorporated into the Christian religionsuch as divinationbegan to be viewed as suspicious or superstitious. |
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