Who were the wise men?

Question from moody radio listener on openline December 16, 2017: I have wondered about the wise men and the birth story of Jesus. I have kind of seen them as possibly being astrologers. There are places in the bible that seems to me to stay away from astrologers. Mary and Joseph didn't seek them but they were visited by them and accepted the gifts they brought. Can you discuss these people and  maybe who you think they were and help us clear this up please? Answer from Dr Michael Rydelnik: I think to understand it, they were wise men from the East, Magi from the East, we don't know if there were three of them. They weren't kings, they were wise men and they came probably from the area that we considered Persia. About five hundred years before their arrival, there was a Jewish exile who was very influential among the wise men of the East, his name was Daniel. He gave very specific prophecies about the Messiah and the end of days. I do believe that he had a profound influence on that class of wise men, so that they were looking for the coming of the Messiah. I wouldn't call them astrologers but astronomers and as they looked at the stars, God gave them a special sign. Don't think it was a real star but it looked like a star to them but I do believe it's the shekinah glory of God. The reason I think that is stars don't move. They don't stop shining like the star did when they got to Herod, then start again to take them to Bethlehem, so I think it was the presence of God, the glory of God  as it moved. Sort of like the light that led the Jewish people in the wilderness at night. And so that's what I think they saw, that's what led them. They saw it because they were astronomers, not astrologers. They had a biblical faith because of the influence of Daniel.