Thus God sent his own spirit as savior - the CHRIST-LOGOS. He is the the good shepherd and thaclete, our advocate. Through him man finds his way out of this demiurgic maze. The CHRIST-LOGOS guides us home safe. HE IS INVINCIBLE SPIRIT WHO CAN'T BE CRUCIFIED 1. 4. THE MANDAEANS THEIR GNOSTIC BELIEF IS THE CLOSEST TO TRUTH STILL EXISTING ON EARTH! The Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were nothing more than false messengers; as they revere John the Baptist to be the most honorable messenger of God. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. One of their religious texts has John the Baptist describe Jesus with ‘...and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (sacred) meal and abstained from the food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joins all races to him, and perverts and joins to himself a people, and they are called Christians’. According to the Mandeans John the Baptist, before ascending to the Abode of Truth, unmasked the Greek Christ who himself confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems, the Mandæans partly identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Because Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. The fundamental doctrine of Mandaeanism is generally characterized by nine features that appear in various forms throughout other Gnostic sects. The FIRST of these is a supreme, formless Entity. The SECOND of these is the dualistic nature of the theology; Mandaeans believe in a Father and Mother, light and darkness. Syzygy is found in nearly all cosmic forms throughout the Mandaean teachings. T he counter- 2. 5. types that create a world of ideas constitute the THIRD common feature. FOURTH, the soul is portrayed by the Mandaeans as an exile that must find its way home to its origin – the supreme Entity. FIFTH, the Mandaeans teach that the planets and stars are heavily influential of fate and are fashioned as various final destination places after death. SIXTH, a savior spirit is assigned to assist the soul on its journey to return to the supreme Entity, and ultimately to assist the soul on the journey through the false “worlds of light” after death. The SEVENTH feature of Mandaean beliefs involves a cult-language of symbol and metaphor; by composing in this language, ideas and qualities about their religion become personified. EIGHTH - the installment of sacraments and mysteries performed to aid and purify the soul. According to Mandaean scripture, the purpose of these sacraments is to ensure the rebirth of the soul into a spiritual body, and to ensure the soul’s ascent from the world of matter to the heavens. NINTH, the Mandaeans teach a religion of Great Secrecy. Full explanation of the previous features is only reserved for initiated members of the Mandaean faith that are considered fully capable of comprehending and preserving the gnosis. While some Gnostic sects of antiquity did not believe in marriage and procreation, the Mandaean people do indeed wed and conceive children. Consequently, the importance of family values and an ethically sound life are also highly regarded by the Mandaean Gnostics. An interesting note about the Mandaean faith teaches scholars that while they are in agreement with other Gnostic sects in regards to the idea that the world was created and governed to be a prison by archons, they do not view the world as cruel and inhospitable as other Gnostics do. They believe that God is the king of light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras, the most elevated of which is Abel the Brilliant. An emanation of God, Abathur, gave birth to Ptahil [cf. Ptah, the epyptian god of architects] the creator of the world. The earth is a dark place, created out of Ruha’s black waters but the waters would not solidify until they were mixed with a little light provided by Abel the Brilliant. He also supplied Adam’s soul from the Treasury of Life. Ruha is easily seen as Ruach, the breath of God in Genesis and the basis of the Holy Spirit (=the Paraclete/Logos). In Aramaic it means “wind”.It is a feminine noun, so can easily have been seen as a feminine principle, and logically, its place in the Catholic Trinity is the place for a Goddess (Father, Mother, Son). They consider Yahweh/Jehova to be an evil god. They see themselves in direct opposition to Yahweh. They turn the stories of the Old Testament on their head, so all the people who were killed by Yahweh in the Old Testament for supposedly being sinful become pious Mandaeans killed by an evil deity. They consider the people destroyed by 3. 6. the Flood as being Mandaeans, along with the populations of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the ancient Egyptians who opposed Moses in the Exodus story. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. The soul is an exiled captive on earth. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Read! Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About Jesus Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Christ MANDAEANS: FOLLOWERS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 The beginnings of Mandaism are unknown but there are clues in Mandæan books and their rituals and beliefs. Mandæan (Mandayya) means “to have knowledge”, from the Aramaic word for knowledge, Manda, the same as Gnosis, suggesting Mandaism is a survival of Gnosticism, and much in Mandæan cosmology seems to hark back to gnostic ideas. However, it is of interest to us because there is a possibility that the sect really does derive from John the Baptist, so offers a different view of the foundation of Christianity. With typical Christian arrogance and lack of scholarship, the Mandæan traditions about John are described by them as “confused”. The Mandæans are an interesting sect, quite neglected, is that called by some the Saint John’s Christians because they regard Jesus as a false messiah but revere John the Baptist. They call themselves Mandæans and are an old religious sect. The Mandæan tradition preserves traces of the earliest forms of a pre-Christian gnosis. Importantly, they look back to a still more ancient tradition which is claimed to be purer and wiser than that of the Jews. It is that of the Essenes who can be seen to have had a remarkable influence on the world far exceeding their numbers. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. The baptism of Jesus by John is acknowledged, but given a mystic explanation. Jesus is not shown as unknowing, answering test questions from John with deep moral insight. The Mandæan tradition has its origins are certainly in Jerusalem in Judæa, and suggests John had a deep knowledge of the inner meaning of the Law. For Mandæans, Allah (Alaha) is the False God, the True God being Mana, but the Mandæans seem to be the Sabians, the Baptizers, of the Quran. They perform elaborate baptismal ceremonies on all religious occasions and daily before sunrise. Their attachment to these lustrations gave them the name Subba or Sabians meaning 1 http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0255Mandaeans.php 4. 7. baptisers. The Essenes too were said to have welcomed the rise of the sun with ceremony and prayer. Note that Epiphanius identified Nazarenes with the “Daily Baptists” (Hemerobaptists). John the Baptist was himself baptised, while yet a boy, by God in His aspect of Manda d’Hayye and he then performed miracles of healing through baptism. In an account in the holy book, the Ginza, John baptised Manda d’Hayye – the true Messiah. Mandæan lustrations had to be in running water, yardna, (a word with same consonants as Jordan), not still water (like the Christians) which they disdained. Furthermore they were repeated immersions not just a single one by way of initiation as it is in Christianity. Again this is common ground with the Essenes, the difference arising because Jesus had decided there was no time for his converts to be fully initiated into Essene practises, so the initial baptism had to suffice provided that repentance was sincere. The Day of God’s Vengeance was too close. Mandæan Beliefs Mandæan cosmology does sound Gnostic. God is the King of Light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including the earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets [compare to the 7 Deadly Sins]. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras [=messengers of God]. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Abel the Brilliant, the Mandæan Saviour, once dwelled on earth, where he triumphed over the Archons who try to keep the soul imprisoned. He can thus assist the soul in its ascent through the spheres toward its final reunion with the Supreme God. Manda d’Hayye is “Knowledge of Salvation”, a phrase which occurs in the song of Zacharias in Luke (Lk 1:77), which we have surmised is Essene. Essene thought has the same concept or gets close to it, the scrolls speaking of the “Knowledge of God” and “His Salvation”. The Manda d’Hayye and the light-giving powers seek to direct men and women to good actions. The planets and the spirit of physical life incite them to error through Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other “false religions”. Those who lead a good life pass after death to a world of light, others undergo torture, but even the most evil will be purified in a great baptism at the end of the world—the equivalent of the Persian and Essene baptism with fire on the Day of God’s Vengeance. Gentile Christianity was founded before Paul among the Hellenised Jews of Palestine who were dispersed at the very start of the story by Hebraic Jews—Jews who rejected the ways and manners of the Greeks and regarded Hellenisation as apostasy. Paul naturally favoured this faction and, though the Hellenised Jews did not try to convert gentiles, Paul did. The Hebraic Christians and the Hebraic followers of John (both called Nazarenes or Nasoraeans) would have regarded this as quite unacceptable. The gospels tell us that the Jerusalem Church rejected Paul’s innovations, and the Mandæan works seem to say that the followers of John also rejected them. 5. 8. Enosh Uthra, the Good Man Mandæans consider the Jesus of the Christians as a false messiah but they accepted that there was a true messiah whom they called Enosh-Uthra. The word Uthra which literally means “wealth” seems here to mean “good” or “divine” because Enosh Uthra is the “divine” man or the “good man”. He came into the world in the days of Pilate, the king of the world, healed the sick and gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead. In this tradition, John does the same miracles as Jesus, contrary to the fourth gospel (Jn 10:41) that tells us “John did no miracle”. In Christian tradition, miracles are reserved for Jesus, in Mandæan tradition, for John. He taught a dualistic philosophy of truth and error, light and darkness, and life and death by burning fire which consumes all wrong—the very teaching of the Essene brotherhood. He ordained 365 prophets to teach, and sent them out from Jerusalem. Eventually, he ascended to the Abode of Truth and will return at the End. Like the Essenes and the Persians, the Mandæans were particular about Truth. Before Enosh-Uthra ascended to the Abode of Truth, he unmasked the Greek Christ who confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. In the occult tradition Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems the Mandæans partly, at least, identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. Thus for the Mandæans, Enosh-Uthra, John the Baptist - apparently an incarnation of Abel the Brilliant - looks rather like the Jesus of the gospels but the Byzantine Christ looks like Paul. It makes sense. If John and Jesus were successive Nasis out trying to heal the Simple of Ephraim, Jewish apostates, they will have had similar general characteristics, and their individual details might have been confused to some degree. Christians, for example, have tried to pretend that Jesus did not baptise when he plainly did. Confirming it is the fact that Mandæans do not have a clear distinction between Jews and Christians, a fact which harks back to the very earliest days of Christianity when the followers of Jesus were still Jews. In the Mandæan John-Book we meet the priest Zachariah and his aged wife Elizabeth except that her name has been corrupted to Enishbai (to reflect Enosh?). No Christian will believe that this is not taken from the first chapter of Luke, but if Luke was merely reflecting a small part of Essene history, the identity is due to their common origin. After John had spent 42 years baptising in the Jordan, the Christian Jesus (called here Nbou—Nabu, Nebo, Mercury, Hermes) sought baptism from him, but the spirit Enosh-Uthra did not require baptism (in fact, he will have been baptised by Zachariah who was his predecessor). Again, Mandæan tradition might support the idea that Jesus succeeded John as the Nasi, because John had no choice but to baptise Jesus—a voice from heaven ordered him. Why should 'God' have ordered John to baptise an evil spirit? It is an ineffectual way of explaining the plain fact that John did baptise Jesus, following erroneous 'divine' orders, but that in the Mandæan view Jesus turned out to be an evil changeling. Though John, like Jesus, was not really a miracle worker, like Jesus he performed healings —metaphorical ones in bringing apostate Jews back to God—and his own disciples, like Jesus’s, became convinced he was the Messiah after his death. The fourth century Clementine Recognitions 1:60 state that John’s disciples claimed that their master had been 6. 9. greater than Jesus and that John was the true messiah. Rivalry between John’s followers and those of Jesus was apparent even in the New Testament. Luke 3:15 confirms that John was thought a messiah: The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. This must have reflected John’s disappointment in Jesus Barabbas’s preparations for an uprising. Later Jesus failed and was crucified thus becoming a false prophet. John’s disciples will then have accused Jesus of being an imposter and claimed that John had exposed him. John the Baptist was known by the Mandæans as “Enosh”, the reborn grandson of Adam. Enosh in Hebrew means “Man”, as does Adam, so we have the curiosity that John the Baptist was the Man and Jesus was the Son of Man! This might have been a Jewish joke. If John the Baptist played the role of the priest at Jesus’s baptism as seems likely then it would have been his voice announcing his “beloved son” as the coronation liturgy required. Thus we have the irreverent titles: the “Man” and the “Son” of “Man” or, in Aramaic pronunciation, “nash” and “bar nash”. Did John the Baptist live longer than Jesus? The latest year of Jesus’s death is 33 AD. The Tetrarch Philip died in 34 AD on the day that John interpreted a dream for him. Herod Antipas killed John and later was defeated in battle in 36 AD by Aretas, king of the Petraean (Nabataean) Arabians, an event considered to have been retribution for John’s murder. John must therefore have been killed within a year of 35 AD, the very year that Simon Magus, a disciple of John, led a rebellion on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. Antipas was probably more absorbed by John’s potential for inflaming rebellion than he was by Salome’s dance or John’s criticism of his marital arrangements. So – was John the True Messiah? Although early Christians saw John as a forerunner of Jesus, the disciples of John and others did not quite see it that way. No doubt some of John's disciples did follow Jesus and some may have shifted allegiance to Jesus after John’s death, but many others continued in their allegiance to John without ever becoming followers of Jesus (the Sabeans/Mandaeans). John was not “a reed shaken with the wind” (Matthew 11:7). He was more like a mighty oak. He was not “a man clothed in soft raiment”; instead, he wore camel’s hair clothing. Jesus said of him, “A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” According to Mandaean thinking, John was 'the True Prophet', while Jesus, a disciple of John, was 'a rebel, and a heretic, who led men astray, and betrayed his Master John.' 7. 10. “... and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (Sacred?) Meal and abstained from the Food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted Mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joineth all races to him, and perverteth and joineth to himself a people, and they are called Christians.” Excerpt from The Haran Gawaitha Some Mandaeans believe that John the Baptist was Hibil-Ziwa. ‘Hibil-Ziwa’ was a Savior who entered the world of darkness and destroyed the evil spirits so that the faithful could obtain liberation before the end of the world. The following account of John the Baptist and Jesus from the mouth of Hibil Ziwa: “In those days a child shall be born who will receive the name of John; he will be the son of an old man Zacharias, who shall receive this child in his old age, even at the age of a hundred. His mother Erishbai, advanced in years, shall conceive him and bring forth her child. When John is a man, faith shall repose in his heart, he shall come to the Jordan and shall baptize for forty-two years, before Nebou shall clothe himself with flesh and come into the world. While John lives in Jerusalem, gaining sway over Jordan and baptizing, Jesus Christ shall come to him, shall humble himself, shall receive John's baptism and shall become wise with John's wisdom. But then shall he corrupt John's sayings, pervert the Baptism of Jordan, distort the words of truth and preach fraud and malice throughout the world.” Mandaean treatise While Christianity presents John to have baptized Jesus, symbolizing that Jesus is his Lord, Mandean religion tells about a messenger of light that was sent to Jerusalem in order to undress the lies of Jesus. Mandaean thought is also that John Baptized Jesus into his religion. Some of the Mandaeans believe that Judas Thomas was Jesus' twin brother, a belief that was apparently shared by the early Celtic and Egyptian Christians, but they also believe that it was this Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified. Because his resemblance to Jesus was sufficient to fool Pontius Pilate who knew what Jesus looked like and was legally obliged to witness the Roman punishment of crucifixion. Jesus then posed as Thomas for the rest of his life to avoid the taint of his failure. The Mandaeans also believe that it was Jesus, not Thomas, who was the source of the Gospel of Thomas and that ‘Jesus-Thomas’ continued to preach wherever he could that was beyond the reach of the Roman-Pauline church, ending up in India, where ungrateful Hindu priests burned him to death. For more information about Jesus in India visit our Jesus page of click here to an external link.The early church father Irenaeus wrote around 150 CE that Jesus remained on earth as a teacher for twenty years after his crucifixion. The Mandaeans tell of the founding of Jerusalem by a powerful female Goddess named Ru Ha who is viewed by them as evil. They say that Ru Ha worked evil on the Earth through 8. 11. several chosen men. Her greatest evil however, was realized through one final man. At her temple in Jerusalem, a young priestess was chosen to bear a special offspring. Her name was Miriam. We call her Mary. She brought forth the ‘child of Ru Ha’, the ‘Imunel’ (Immanuel) and he called himself, Jesus. He was baptized by John and taught much by him. He turned from John’s teachings and led the people astray, the Mandaeans claim. Is there any Biblical evidence supporting this? Mark 6:17: ‘For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18: For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19: Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.’ The above verse is very important. From it, we can see that Herod, counter to what you were led to believe, knew John was sent to perform a holy mission. He thought John a good man, and listened to him gladly. We are also told that John opposed Herod’s marriage to Herodias. John was very close to the King Aretas. His followers would later settle and remain in Arab lands. Mark 6:21: ‘And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22: And when the daughter (no name mentioned) of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23: And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24: And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25: And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26: And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27: And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28: And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29: And when his (John’s) disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 30: And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31: And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32: And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.’ Look at the above verses very carefully. Herod has promised his wife’s daughter anything, even half his kingdom. She consults with her mother Herodias and they decide for some unexplained reason to kill John, and remove his influence completely. Now notice that Herod is very sorry at having to do this. Not only from his affinity for John, but he is also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. Nevertheless, he 9. 12. carries out her wishes. Now look again at verse 30 above; ‘And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. These are Jesus’ followers who are now telling him why it was necessary to kill John. Note that the disciples who took John’s body were John’s disciples, not Jesus’. The disciples who took John’s body and the apostles who speak to Jesus are two separate groups. The taking of John’s body was not the actions the apostles were referring to. It was his execution, and what they had taught was a lesson to all those who would oppose them, not to interfere with their plans. Of interesting note and rendered in bold above is that Herodias’ daughter is not mentioned by name. All important people are named in every other place in the Bible. Why not her? She is certainly an important person. She was responsible for John’s death. Why did they remove her name? Her name is Salome. Mark 15:40 ‘There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 who, also when he was in Galilee, followed and ministered unto him...’ Mark 16:1 ‘And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.’ The Salome in the above verses, was one of Jesus’ most loved and trusted followers, is the same Salome we have been talking about. This is one of the main reasons the Sabeans despise the Christians, they believe that through the machinations of Jesus and his followers, their true messiah, John The Baptist was killed!!!! We learn a little about John from the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian born shortly after Jesus died. He says: Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was 10. 13. there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. Josephus implies that Herod executed John for political reasons, but as stated above Herod was sad at having to kill John not only from his affinity for John, but he was also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. We therefore disagree with Josephus’ statement, though to be sure it lends credibility to the Biblical version. False Prophet - Liar, Fraud!2 Jesus made several prophecies (24th chapter of Matthew) that later proved false. He predicted to the people of that ancient era the rapture (v. 31), the "end of the world" (v. 3,13), Judgment Day (v. 50-51), and THE Second Coming (v. 30), would all occur within their lifetime (i.e. within the First Century), they would live to see it all before they died. Jesus told them "ALL these things will happen before the people now living have all died." Another translation words it "some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens" while a third renders it "… while the people of this time are still living!" Elsewhere Jesus predicted to his disciples that he was "about to come …with his angels, and… reward each one according to his deeds (i.e. judgment day). I assure you that there are some here (i.e. in 33 AD) who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man [Jesus] come as King." Jesus promised that not only would The Second Coming occur within the lifetime of his First Century disciples, it would even occur within the lifetime of Caiaphas (who tried him) and the Roman soldiers (who crucified him). As evidence his disciples took him at his word, we find this doctrine being put into practice in the early Christian community. Believing the end of the world to be approaching, Jesus had told his disciples to get rid of all their possessions (as did the Millerites under similar delusions, in the 1840's). This they gladly did after Jesus' death. And the Apostle Paul ordered Christians not to waste time getting married for "considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is …don't look for a wife. …There is not much time left … For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer." These doctrines made sense because they trusted Jesus about the "end of the world" being imminent. Modern churches aren't so trusting; they've done a 180° on Paul (weddings now 2 http://www.jcnot4me.com/page23.html 11. 14. providing big revenue, and they love $$$ more than Paul), as well as a 180° on Jesus' command to impoverish oneself (teaching just the opposite- be a good Republican & stuff your pockets as much as you can while screwing the poor). C.S. Lewis, the popular Christian author, wrote in one of his last books "The World's Last Night"3 , that... "…there is worse to come. `Say what you like' we shall be told, `the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.' It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. …The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. …The facts, then, are these: that Jesus professed himself (in some sense) ignorant, and within a moment showed that he really was so." 3 Lewis, C.S. - The World's last Night. And Other Essays. p. 97 to 100 12. 15. THE GNOSTIC MANDAEANS The Mandaeans are indeed Gnostic, much more than ever assumed before according to the latest scholarship. Here are some of the Gnostic characteristics that permeate Mandaean culture: • A cosmology and cosmogony that could comfortably fit in the Nag Hammadi library or come out of the mouth of the Prophet Mani. • A negative view of astrology and fate. • An emanation theology that originates with a supreme yet alien God (the Great Life). • Powers of darkness that sabotage the soul’s ascent to the Great Life. • A concept of Gnosis (Mandaeans, after all, means Gnostic). • A view of the Platonic Demiurge that is less than positive. Furthermore (and just as fascinating), the Mandaeans possess the Gnostic propensity for deconstructing and inverting Abrahamic luminaries (like putting Cain or Judas in a positive role). The Mandaeans go even further, casting Gnostic heroes as villains! Here are some examples found in their sacred texts: • Sophia (called Ruha) becomes a ruthless demon queen terrorizing the cosmos. • Jesus is cast as an apostate Mandaean whose magical shenanigans end up destroying Jerusalem, the original home of the Mandaeans. Like many Gnostic sects, the Mandaeans viewed Moses in a negative light (basically a good fellow who was duped by rebellious angels); but they go even further, rooting for the Egyptians to chase the Israelites off the face of the earth. I understand that these mentioned gods and the overall Mandaean mythology may seem just bizarre to many. Yet there was a method to the madness of the Gnostics. In a New York Times article, William T. Vollmann wrote the ethos and purpose of Gnostic scriptures: „As a corpus, the scriptures are nearly incoherent, like a crowd of sages, mystics and madmen all speaking at once. But always they call upon us to know ourselves.“ To the Gnostic, finding that self-knowledge that liberates us from Samsara is a supreme endeavor. That is Gnosis, in essence. Reading books is a chief way to find any liberating information—not Facebook posts, tweets, or Netflix binge- watching. Lastly, reading carefully the story that is your life— partly ghostwritten by hating angels—is another avenue for liberation for you will understand the plot fully (if it’s not from a Kindle screen that makes referencing so difficult). After all, the idea of sitting in a bardo between realities reading a book seems like Paradise to me. But in a world of false wisdom and weird wars on all sides, reading anything deeply, gaining any valuable information is exceedingly difficult. The Mandaeans do hold genuine knowledge. 13. 16. I see a perversion: A heavily traumatized heart – incapable of love! 14. 17. I see a perversion: The CHRIST-LOGOS is invincible spirit, who cannot be crucified. That is why the Archons had to chain up spirit inseparable with the person of Jesus. Only this way the LOGOS could perish in agony. The Archons have successfully perverted the good news into the opposite through the implementation of a corpse on a cross as a symbol of freedom! 15. 18. I see a perversion: A jewish freedom-fighter who has shamelessly usurped God and the CHRIST-LOGOS. That is an act of megalomania and narcississm. And that's how souls get caught and stuck in the afterlife! 16. 19. I see a perversion: I see a masonic handsign that the Logos-Imposter is flashing. The use of two fingers is no ‘peace’ sign at all, but is representing the allegiance to Baphomet and his intended New World Slave-Planet. This is a fight against the essence of the soul – the CHRIST-LOGOS. OCCULT SYMBOLISM HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT. 17. 20. I see a perversion: An unbiblical phantom of Mary with a perforated heart. That's how gigantic streams of prayers get restraind and neutralized for sinister purposes! 18. 21. ACCUSATIONS OF MAGIC1 I. HEARING THE CHARGES A brief glance over the polemical materials which circulated in response to the spread of early Christianity reveals a sinister figure that appears time and time again; Jesus the magician. Although both the opponents and followers of Jesus recognised his abilities as a miracle- worker, they strongly disagreed on the source behind his miraculous powers. While Christian discourse stated that Jesus’ abilities resulted from his direct relationship with God, anti- Christian propaganda denied a divine source of Jesus’ powers and accused him of performing magic. Initially the followers of Jesus responded by fervently emphasising the divine source of his miraculous powers and as Christianity flourished and became increasingly mainstream, the opportunity grew for the new dominant Christian group to distance their hero from these allegations of magic and the voices of those who opposed Jesus gradually died away. Since a charge of magic was a popular polemical device employed against enemies in the ancient world, these stories may simply have been malicious rumours constructed by the hostile opponents of Christianity. Nevertheless, the damage caused by these allegations was far from minor and inconsequential as they had penetrated deep into the tradition and even infiltrated the Gospel materials themselves, prompting many a Christian apologist, and Gospel writer, to engage directly with these rumours and address them as serious accusations rather than frivolous conjecture. Most charges of magic that are found within the various polemical works tend to present a vague argument which lacks a clear explanation of the behaviours or words within the reports of Jesus’ life that were considered to bear magical connotations. Occasionally the charge is made a little more explicit and it is from these informative accounts that we can hope to construct an understanding of the elements of Jesus’ behaviour that warranted these seemingly outlandish claims. Vague fragments of charges of magic can be recovered from various cultures which have come into contact with the Jesus tradition; for example, the Mandaean literature describes Jesus as a magician and identifies him with the Samaritans. Equally the Quran provides an account of Jesus’ healings, raisings from the dead and his ability to make birds from clay and adds that ‘those who disbelieved among them said: This is nothing but clear enchantment’ (5.110).2 The majority of allegations are found within the Jewish tradition and the Christian apocryphal and apologetic texts, but the strongest charges are ultimately those made within the Gospels themselves. II. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN THE JEWISH TRADITION By the beginning of the second century AD, Jewish tradition had firmly woven an accusation of Jesus’ magical activity into its anti-Christian polemic. The Tract Sanhedrin, the fourth tractate of the fourth set of six series which comprise the Mishnah (compiled in the second century AD) and later included in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled in the sixth century AD), contains an intriguing passage in which Jesus’ hurried trial, as reported in the Christian Gospels, is extended to a period of forty days to allow people to step forward and defend him. As a 1 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/accusations-of-magic.html 2 This story is similar to that found in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus fashions twelve sparrows out of clay which fly away (The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, II). 19. 22. defence fails to emerge, the passage states that Jesus was executed as a sorcerer: ‘On the eve of the Passover Yeshu [Jesus] was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.’ (Sanhedrin 43a) The Talmudic claim that Jesus performed his miracles using magic, along with reference to his illegitimate birth and a shameful death, may simply be Jewish-Christian polemic intended to damage Jesus’ reputation and therefore the historical accuracy of this story is questioned. However, the Talmud contains two further references to Jesus and the practice of magic. The first is contained within the concluding line of Sanhedrin 107b which reads: ‘The Teacher said: ‘Yeshu practiced sorcery and corrupted and misled Israel.’’ It is difficult to relate this sentence to the historical Jesus himself as the story in which this statement is situated is set in the century before Jesus lived and the name ‘Yeshu’ was particularly common at the time. Nevertheless, this final line suggests that the story came to be associated with rumours of Jesus’ exploits that were in general circulation. The second allegation of magic within the Talmud states that Jesus learned magic in Egypt and cut magical formulas into his skin: ‘Did not Ben Stada bring forth sorcery from Egypt by means of scratches on his flesh?’ (Shab. 104b) Initially the source of this Egyptian influence appears to be the Matthean account of Jesus’stay in Egypt (Mt. 2:13-23). However, since Egypt was traditionally associated with magic in the Jewish tradition then it is possible that this story arose independently of Matthew’s Gospel and was invented by Rabbis seeking to discredit Jesus by associating him with Egyptian magic. [3 ] Furthermore, scratching symbols on the flesh was not a particularly common practice within ancient magic, although mention of the magical use of tattoos does occur in later Christian magical texts. [4 ] III. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC AND APOCRYPHAL MATERIAL Allegations of Jesus’ magical activities owe their survival in part to early Christian apologists who provide reference to the Jewish accusations that Jesus was a magician and thereby demonstrate that these charges were a common polemical tool in the ancient world. Tertullian and Justin Martyr are particularly vocal when discussing the charge in the second century; 3 Egypt is mentioned several times in the Talmud in association with magic. For example, b. Qiddushin 49b states that of the ten measures of witchcraft that came to the world, nine were given to Egypt. 4 For example, the magical text entitled ‘Spell of summons, by the power of god’s tattoos (Rylands 103)’ reads: ‘in the name of the seven holy vowels which are tattooed on the chest of the father almighty’. A similar statement is found in London Oriental Manuscript 6794 (‘Spell to obtain a good singing voice’): ‘I adjure you in the name of the 7 letters that are tattooed on the chest of the father’ (Translations from Marvin W. Meyer and Richard Smith (eds.) Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) pp. 231, 280). 20. 23. Tertullian explains that the Jews called Jesus a ‘magus’ [5 ] and Justin Martyr writes in his Dialogue with Trypho (c. 160 CE) that the Jewish witnesses to Jesus’ miracles considered him to be a sorcerer: ‘For they dared to call Him a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people.’[6 Similarly, the fourth-century Christian writer Lactantius wrote in his Divinae Institutiones that the Jews accused Jesus of performing his miracles through magical means, although Lactantius unfortunately does not elaborate on the grounds for these accusations.7 The fourth- century Christian apologist Arnobius helpfully provides an additional detail in his description of the Jewish allegations by stating that Jesus was accused of stealing the ‘names of the angels of might’ from the Egyptian temples. [8 ] The magical employment of names also appears in a story recounted in the Toledoth Yeshu, a medieval polemical report of the life of Jesus. In the Toledoth, Jesus learns the ‘Ineffable Name of God’ and the knowledge of this name allows its user to do whatever he wishes. Jesus writes the letters of the name on a piece of parchment which he inserts into an open cut on his leg and removes with a knife when returning home. When the people bring a leper to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the man and the man is healed. When they bring a dead man to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the corpse and the man returns to life. As a result of his miraculous powers, Jesus is worshipped as the Messiah and when he is eventually executed he pronounces the name over the tree upon which he is hung and the tree breaks. He is finally hung on a tree over which he does not, or is unable to, pronounce the name. The New Testament apocryphal works compound these charges of magic by including stories which portray Jesus as engaging in typical magical behaviour. For example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas depicts Jesus as a child performing a variety of magical feats; he models sparrows out of clay which fly away (2:2, 4) and even uses his power for destructive ends, such as killing his fellow children (3:3; 4:1) and blinding whoever opposes him (5:1). This destructive use of Jesus’ power is feared to the extent that ‘no one dared to anger him, lest he curse him, and he should be crippled’ (8:2) and Joseph urges to his mother ‘do not let him go outside the door, because anyone who angers him dies’ (14:3). Positive applications of Jesus’ power are demonstrated in the healing of a young man and a teacher (10:2; 15:4), the raising of the dead (9:3; 17:1; 18:1), the curing of his brother James’ snakebite (16:1), the filling of a broken jug with water for his mother (11:2) and the miraculous extending of a piece of wood in order to help his father make a bed (13:2). Accusations of magic made in the apocryphal materials often imitate and elaborate on those made by the Jewish people in the apologetic material discussed above. For example in the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions the scribes shout out: ‘the signs and miracles which your Jesus wrought, he wrought not as a prophet, but as a magician.’ [9 ] Similarly in the Acts of Pilate the Jewish people state that it is ‘by using magic he does these things, and by having the demons on his side’[10 ] and they claim that Jesus is a sorcerer since 5 Tertullian, Apol. 21.17; 23.7, 12. 6 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7. 7 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones 4.15; 5.3. 8 Arnobius, Against the Gentiles 43. 1. 9 Clement, Recognitions of Clement I. 58. 10 Acts of Pilate, 1.1 21. 24. he is able to send Pilate’s wife a dream.[11 ] The narrative also has the chief priests echo the words of Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15 with a more explicit charge of magic: ‘They say unto him: He is a sorcerer, and by Beelzebub the prince of the devils he casteth out devils, and they are all subject unto him.’12 IV. THE CHARGE OF MAGIC MADE BY CELSUS One of the most detailed allegations of magic is the charge made by Celsus, a pagan philosopher writing in the late second century. Although we do not have Celsus’ original text, the philosopher and theologian Origen set out to refute many of the central tenets of Celsus’ True Doctrine in his apologetic work Contra Celsum and since he generously quotes from Celsus’ text it is possible to reconstruct his argument from Origen’s citations alone. A fervent critic of Christianity, Celsus did not doubt that Jesus was a miracle-worker but he attempted to reinterpret his life as that of a magician, referring to him as a γόης (1.71) and claiming that Christians used invocations and the names of demons to achieve their miracles (1.6). Celsus also echoes the allegations made by the Talmud regarding Jesus’ early infancy in Egypt, suggesting that Jesus stayed there until his early adulthood and it was during his stay in Egypt that he acquired his magical powers: ‘After she [Mary] had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus… because he was poor he [Jesus] hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God.’13 When addressing Celsus’ comparison between Jesus and the Egyptian magicians, Origen quotes at length from Celsus’ fantastical description of the illusionary tricks and bizarre magical methods employed by these magicians: ‘‘who for a few obols make known their secret lore in the middle of the market place and drive out demons and blow away diseases and invoke the souls of heroes, displaying expensive banquets and dining-tables and cakes and dishes which are non-existent, and who make things move as though they were alive although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ And he says: ‘since these men do these wonders, ought we to think them sons of God? Or ought we to say that they are the practices of wicked men possessed by an evil demon?’’14 The concluding lines of this quotation from Celsus raise a question that is of central importance to our present study; if other magicians were actively engaging in activities similar to those attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, then how are we to separate the miracles of Jesus from the wonders produced by these magicians? 11 Acts of Pilate, 2.1 12 Acts of Pilate, 1.1 13 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.28. 14 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68. 22. 25. V. A CHARGE OF MAGIC WITHIN THE GOSPELS: WAS JESUS EXECUTED AS A MAGICIAN? There are two central allegations of magic made against Jesus by his opponents within the Gospels. The first is the Pharisees’ claim that Jesus is in possession of a demonic spirit through which he performs his miracles (Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15) and the second is Herod’s suggestion that Jesus possesses the soul of John the Baptist (Mt. 14:2//Mk. 6:14-29). Each of these charges require a thorough explanation of the belief-systems and popular superstitions that were characteristic of the ancient world-view in order for us to fully appreciate the weight that these charges would have carried for the early reader and therefore an examination of the allegations made within each of these passages will be postponed until later. However some scholars have proposed that a third charge of magic can be discerned in the terminology used in the trial narratives of the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew and therefore we must consider whether an allegation of magic is present in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial. All four Gospel authors agree that Jesus was brought before Pilate on the indictment that he had blasphemed against God and professed to be the Messiah. Although a formal charge of magic is not explicitly made in the trial accounts of the Gospels, some scholars suggest that allegations of magical practice may have influenced the trial proceedings or that the terminology used by the Gospel writers reveals that an official charge of magic is present within the text. For example, Morton Smith proposes that when the Jewish people accuse Jesus of being a κακοποιός (‘evildoer’, Jn. 18:30) this term is generally understood as referring to someone who is illegally involved in magical activity. Smith supports this theory by indicating that ‘the Roman law codes tell us that [‘a doer of evil’] was the vulgar term for a magician’ and quoting from Codex Justinianus IX. 18. 7 which mentions ‘Chaldeans and magicians (magi) and the rest whom common people call 'men who are doing evil’ (malefici).’[15 ] Smith also suggests that the word could refer to someone who encouraged the worship of false gods, a practice that would naturally incur a charge of magic. By translating the Greek term κακοποιός into its Latin equivalent ‘malefactor’, some scholars indicate that this latter term is clearly a technical expression for a magician. A second potential charge of magic is founded upon the use of the term πλάνος in Matthew 27:62. The word is typically translated as ‘deceiver’ or ‘impostor’ and it is often used to refer to evil spirits; for example, the demon Beliar is identified as a ‘deceiver’ in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs16 and the term is even applied to Satan himself in Revelation 12:9. The presence of πλάνος in Mt. 27:62 with specific reference to Jesus has led certain commentators, to suggest that the term pla,noj is to be interpreted here as ‘magician’. I would suggest that deception and magic were very closely related concepts in the ancient world and this accounts for Celsus’ association between the practice of magic and the performance of illusions when describing the activities of the Egyptian magicians who conjure up banquets which are ‘non- existent’ and make things appear alive ‘although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ [17 ] In addition, the correlation between magic and deception is made explicit in the Acts of Peter by those who accuse Paul of being a ‘sorcerer’ and ‘a deceiver’18 and 15 Smith, Jesus the Magician, p. 33. Smith reiterates this point on p. 41: ‘‘Doer of evil,’ as the Roman law codes say, was common parlance for ‘magician.’’ 16 Testament of Benjamin, 6:1. 17 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68. 18 Acts of Peter IV. cf also ‘Simon has used magic and caused a delusion’ (XVII). 23. 26. Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho states that the Jewish people called Jesus ‘a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people’.19 Regardless of whether the word ‘magician’ or any equivalent euphemism is used by the Gospel authors in the charges brought against Jesus at his trial, the very nature of the trial narratives within the Gospels indicates that the participants were fearful of Jesus’ magical potential. Perhaps the fears and superstitions regarding magic and supernatural powers that were held by both the Jews and Romans explains their united condemnation of Jesus and accounts for why the trial was such a hurried affair. The Mishnah specifies that trials at night are illegal and cannot take place before a festival (Sanhedrin 4:1), therefore, if these laws were effective at the time of Jesus’ trial, to hold proceedings at night and on eve of the Passover (Mk. 14:1-2, 12; Jn. 18:28) would have been strictly forbidden under Jewish law. Furthermore, the chosen method of execution does not correlate with a charge of blasphemy. The Talmud specifies stoning as a punishment for practicing magic (Sanhedrin 67b), but the Johannine trial narrative states that the Jews sought to stone Jesus because he claimed that ‘I and the Father are one’ and was therefore guilty of blasphemy (Jn. 10:30-31). The association between stoning and the charge of blasphemy is reinforced by the subsequent statement: ‘it is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you being a man, make yourself God.’ (Jn. 10:33). If a charge of blasphemy was made against Jesus, then why was this usual method of execution rejected in favour of crucifixion? Perhaps a verdict of crucifixion may have been passed as an emergency measure based on a fear of magic, certainly the seemingly prevasive fear of Jesus’ supernatural power that is present in the trial narratives of the Gospels suggests that charges of magic were rife within Jesus’ lifetime and they may even have contributed to his eventual execution. Furthermore, while the allegations of magic made by certain individuals, such as Celsus for example, could be dismissed as malicious anti-Christian propaganda, these accusations of magic are recorded by the Gospel writers themselves who are actively seeking to further the Christian message. Since it is unlikely that the evangelists would willingly invent a charge of magic, we may assume that they were fully aware that their early readers would be familiar with these allegations, hence their unavoidable inclusion in the Gospel narratives. The fact that certain allegations of magical practices remain in the Gospel materials as an ‘unavoidable inclusion’ not only indicates the extensive nature of these rumours but also raises the possibility that these allegations may have been based on authentic, first-hand observations made by those witnessing the behaviour of the historical Jesus. Therefore, having considered the various allegations of magic made against Jesus which derive largely from the materials produced by the opponents of Christianity, we will now turn to examine the Gospel narratives themselves to discern whether they contain evidence of magical techniques employed by Jesus that have survived the editorial process, perhaps due to the early reader’s familiarity with Jesus’ use of these techniques. To ensure that we are correctly identifying behaviour within the Gospels that would have carried connotations of magical practices for a first-century audience, we will return to the three main characteristics of ancient magic that have been established earlier in this chapter and use these as a ‘magical yard-stick’ against which we can compare the Gospels materials with the typical behaviour of the magician in antiquity. To begin this process, we will address the first of our three major indictors of magical activity and compare the behaviour of the magician, namely his self-imposed secrecy, against the suspiciously secretive behaviour of Jesus within the Gospels. 19 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7. 24. 27. WAS JESUS POSSESSED? 20 I. POSSESSED OR POSSESSOR? EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND HIS SPIRITUAL δύναμις WITHIN THE GOSPELS Morton Smith and Stevan Davies stand firmly at opposing ends of the theoretical and semantic spectrum with regards to their understanding of Jesus’ relationship with the Holy Spirit. Stevan Davies proposes that Jesus was possessed by the Spirit and therefore he should be recognised as a ‘spirit-possessed healer’. On the other hand, Morton Smith argues that Jesus was the dominant, controlling force in the relationship and consequently he had ‘possession of’ the Spirit. Smith’s theory is deeply unpalatable for Davies who outlines the disagreement as follows: ‘It was not the relationship: “possession of,” but the relationship: “possession by,” the fundamental difference being whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was thought to be in control of a spirit entity, or whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was sometimes thought to have been replaced by a spirit entity. And that makes all the difference in the world.’21 By elevating the passivity of the individual undergoing a possession experience and emphasising the dominant role of the new persona, Davies’ theory limits the degree of control that Jesus held in the subsequent application of his power and guards against the possibility that he was exerting control over a spirit through the use of magic. However, a brief analysis of the central characteristics of spirit-possession that are repeatedly cited in both ancient and modern studies into this phenomenon swiftly reveals that Davies’ ‘spirit-possessed healer’ is a highly improbable epithet for the Jesus of the Gospels and that it is Smith’s argument that is closer to the mark. II. SPIRIT-POSSESSION, THE DIVIDED SELF AND THE ‘STRANGE SOUL’ T. K. Oesterreich comments in his substantial volume Possession and Exorcism, a study of possession in both Christian and non-Christian contexts, that the concept of possession loses its relevance as cultures begin to abandon their belief in spiritual beings.22 Although the practice of divine possession is still advocated in our current religious clime by many Christian charismatic groups, a gradual disregard for the existence of spiritual bodies in our present-day culture clearly accounts for our generally dismissive attitude towards possession and our tendency to assign it to inferior or irrational forms of thinking. Thus we are inclined to associate spirit-possession with either the anthropological study of primitive ritual, or psychological disturbances belonging to the psychiatric school of mental illness, or we simply reduce it to the harmless and entertaining genre of the Hollywood shocker movie. Since the reality of demonic influences was widely recognised in antiquity, possession was much more 20 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/was-jesus-possessed.html 21 Stevan L. Davies, Jesus the Healer: Possession, Trance and the Origins of Christianity (London: SCM Press, 1995) p. 91. 22 T. K. Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism: Among Primitive Races in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times (New York: Causeway Books, 1974) p. 378. 25. 28. commonplace amongst the ancients and cases were treated with genuine caution. It is within this cultural framework of spirit-possession that Stevan Davies suggests that we can understand the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.23 Davies attempts to demonstrate that Jesus suffered from psychological episodes in which his original persona (Jesus of Nazareth) was subordinated or replaced by a new, temporary persona (the Spirit of God). During these possession episodes, Davies claims that Jesus was able to operate as a spirit-possessed healer. However, he ‘should not be identified as himself but as another person, the spirit of God.’24 A deviation from or replacement of the natural personality of an individual is generally considered to be a major indication of spirit possession. A change in personality is generally considered to result from either the temporary loss of the practitioner’s normal persona or ‘soul’, hence the anthropological term ‘soul-loss’, or the temporary possession of the practitioner by an external, supernatural power. It is most often the case that both changes occur simultaneously and the soul is replaced immediately by another. Oesterreich observes that in a state of typical possession, the normal and possessing personas cannot simultaneously exist alongside one another and so the original persona is replaced, the result of which is as follows: ‘The subject…considers himself as the new person…and envisages his former being as quite strange, as if it were another’s…the statement that possession is a state in which side by side with the first personality a second has made its way into the consciousness is also very inaccurate…it is the first personality which has been replaced by a second.’ 25 In accordance with this type of possession behaviour, Davies proposes that the observation of the people in Mk. 3:21 that ‘he is beside himself’ (ὃτι ἐξέστη) literally means that Jesus was ‘absent from himself’. [26 ] This phrase, therefore, is evidence that Jesus was possessed by an external entity in this instance. To support this possession theory, Davies examines Jesus’ reported behaviour in the Gospels and isolates passages in which he believes that Jesus is demonstrating typical traits of possession behaviour. Studies of both demonical and divine possession have identified a set of common behavioural patterns that are associated with the individual undergoing a possession experience. The first indication of possession is a change to the speech of the possessed and it is not uncommon in both ancient and modern reports of possession to encounter reference to an alternative persona speaking in the first person through the patient or an alteration in speech patterns, pitch or timbre.[27 ] In light of this, Davies directs his readers to Mk. 13:11 (‘for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit’) and suggests that this passage deals directly with alter-persona 23 Stevan Davies indicates that in the spiritual environment of Jesus’ time ‘the modality of possession…was commonly accepted’ and victims of demon possession and spirit-possessed prophets were an everyday encounter (Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 59). 24 Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 18. 25 T. K Oesterreich, Possession: Demonical and other (London: Kegan Paul, 1930) p. 39. 26 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 95. 27 Oesterreich writes: ‘At the moment when the countenance alters, a more or less changed voice issues from the mouth of the person in the fit. The new intonation also corresponds to the character of the new individuality…in particular the top register of the voice is displaced: the feminine voice is transformed into a bass one, for in all the cases of possession which has hitherto been my lot to know the new individuality was a man’ (Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism, pp. 19-20). 26. 29. spirit speech in which the words are not formulated by the individual himself but originate from the new, dominant persona that has acquired control of the speech of its host. [28 ] A second archetypal indication of possession is an increase in motor movements, known as motor hyper-excitement. When the possessing spirit replaces the original persona of the host it often takes control of the motor movements of the individual, thus exhibiting observable behavioural and psychological irregularities. [29 ] Evidence of the physical symptoms of possession in Jesus’ behaviour is proposed by Campbell Bonner, who suggests that in the account of the raising of Lazarus (Jn. 11:33) the statement ἐνεβριμήσατο τω πνεύματι καὶ ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν should be translated as ‘the Spirit set him in frenzy and he threw himself into disorder.’ [30 ] Bonner adds that the phrase in verse 38 ἐνεβριμώμενος ἑν ἑαυτω also seems to mean ‘in suppressed (or inward) frenzy’.31 I would suggest, however, that interpreting ἐμβριμάομαι as indicative of possession frenzy ignores the sense of anger and indignation that is associated with the term. For example, Arndt and Gingrich interpret ἐμβριμάομαι as ‘to snort with anger’ and propose that we should interpret the word as ‘an expression of anger and displeasure’.32 It appears that the presence of the term within this passage simply serves to indicate that Jesus was angry and does not signify that he was exhibiting motor hyper-excitement or any other physical manifestation of possession frenzy. If we are to recognise that the historical Jesus was subject to periods of spirit-possession and that he was exhibiting all the characteristic symptoms of a possessed individual, then we would expect to find evidence within the Gospels of an initial possession experience in which Jesus first encounters his possessing spirit. Stevan Davies suggests that the Gospel writers record this event and that it takes place at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mt. 3:1-17//Mk. 1:9-11//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34). III. THE BAPTISM AS THE MOMENT OF SPIRIT-POSSESSION The bizarre imagery of the descent of a dove and a voice coming from the heavens that are used by the Gospel authors when describing Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9-11//Mt. 3:1- 17//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34 [33 ]) are found nowhere else in the Gospels and they are generally considered to be a poetic vehicle through which the Gospel authors present a messianic moment, make revelations regarding Jesus’ divine identity and highlight his relationship with God. Stevan Davies claims that since the baptismal accounts provided by the Gospel authors meet John Meier’s criterion of multiple attestation (the story appears in Matthew, Mark, Luke 28 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 29, cf. p. 46. 29 Typical possession ‘is nevertheless distinguished from ordinary somnambulistic states by its intense motor and emotional excitement’ (Oesterreich, Possession, p. 39). ‘Muscle rigidity and loss of control of gross motor movements’ are mentioned by Davies (Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 33). 30 Campell Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, HTR 20. 3 (1927) p. 176. 31 Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, p. 176. 32 William Arndt and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957) p. 254. 33 Although the Johannine version of the baptism is recounted as a vision by John the Baptist, I am including it here as it retains the imagery of the descending dove. 27. 30. and John), the criterion of embarrassment (the story is not compatible with the interests of early Christianity) and the criterion of dissimilarity (there is no mention of a descending Holy Spirit in other Jewish or early Christian sources), the baptism accounts can therefore be considered to be a historically reliable record of events.[34 ] Davies then suggests that the baptism accounts essentially describe Jesus’ ‘initial spirit-possession experience’. [35 ] This adoptionist cum possession theory proposes that Jesus was not possessed by the Spirit prior to his baptism and that he underwent a ‘psychological transformation’[36 ] during which he was ‘anointed’ with the power to begin his messianic work.[37] To regard the baptism as the moment of the endowment of spiritual power is reminiscent of the first-century Gnostic doctrine of Cerinthianism and the second-century sect of the Ebionites, both of whom believed that Jesus did not have the Holy Spirit until his baptism and that it abandoned him at the crucifixion. A number of difficulties arise when proposing that the historical Jesus was spirit-possessed and these will be addressed below. However, connotations of spirit-possession may account for the sensitive treatment of the baptismal account by each of the Gospel authors. The author of Matthew has previously explained that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18-20) and therefore he does not require the baptism story to explain the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry. Nevertheless, the baptismal account is preserved in Mt. 3:1-17. The author of Luke separates Jesus’ baptism from the descent of the Spirit and the heavenly voice, preferring to introduce these later when Jesus is praying (Lk. 3:21-22). The author of John chooses to replicate the baptismal story, but he is clearly embarrassed by it since he turns it into a vision by John the Baptist (Jn. 1:32). Various attempts have been made to account for the appearance of the Spirit as a dove (ὡς περιστερά) in all four Gospels. One particularly persuasive explanation is that the Gospel authors are conforming the physical embodiment of God’s Spirit to the popular conception of spirits, or souls, as airy, bird-like entities. James Frazer observes that it was widely accepted in the ancient world that when a person died his soul would leave his body in bird shape and he adds that ‘this conception has probably left traces in most languages, and it lingers as a metaphor in poetry.’[38] In concurrence with Frazer’s comments, the depiction of the spirit or soul of the deceased as a bird is common in biblical, classical and modern literature. For example, James L. Allen Jr. writes in his study of the bird-soul motif in the writings of William Butler Yeats: ‘Because of its ability to rise above the earth a bird is a fairly obvious and appropriate symbol for a disembodied soul. The identification of soul with bird is…both ancient and widespread, the naturalness of such an association no doubt underlying its universality.’[39] 34 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 35 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148. 36 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 65. 37 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148: ‘If Jesus believed himself to be one who was anointed by God, it is anything but unlikely that the anointing in question was his initial possession experience.’ 38 J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Chapter III. 33-34. 39 James L. Allen, Jr., ‘Yeats’s Bird-Soul Symbolism’, TCL 6. 3 (1960) p. 117. 28. 31. There are various passages from classical literature in which the soul leaves the body in the form of a bird and one example of the early Christian use of this imagery in found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, in which the saint’s soul leaves his body in the form of a dove upon death. ‘So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, ordered an executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this, there came forth [a dove and] a quantity of blood.’ [40 ] Although it is possible that the Gospel authors adopted the simple literary device of a bird- soul as a means by which to represent the physical embodiment of the Spirit, other scholars have suggested that περιστερά, is an error in translation and that the word relates to the manner in which the Spirit descends. Regardless of whether the Gospel authors intended περιστερά, to indicate a physical dove or simply the Spirit’s mode of descent, a theory of spirit-possession would be greatly strengthened if the Gospel writers intended to portray this Spirit as entering ‘into’ Jesus following its descent, rather than simply resting ‘upon’ him. The connection between possession and the presence of a spirit within the individual is demonstrated in the Markan account of the Capernaum demoniac when the unclean spirit is said to be in (evn) the possessed man (Mk. 1:23). Certainly this in-dwelling nature of the Holy Spirit is suggested in the baptismal account provided in the Ebionite Gospel in which the dove comes down and enters into Jesus (peristera/j katelqou,shj kai. eivselqou,shj eivj auvto,n, Epiphanius, Adv. Haer. 30. 13). However, I would suggest that the terminology used by the Gospel authors cannot be used as a reliable indicator of spirit- possession since the terms ‘upon’ and ‘in’ are used interchangeably when depicting the reception of the Spirit in the Old Testament. For example, Isa. 42:1 reads ‘I have put my Spirit upon him’ whereas Ezek. 36:27 reads ‘and I will put my Spirit within you'. Since Jesus’ wilderness experience follows directly from his baptism in all three Synoptic Gospels, it is clear that the evangelists intend the two events to be linked together. With this in mind, Stevan Davies suggests that Jesus’ expulsion into the wilderness is the direct result of his prior gift of the Spirit at baptism and that the forceful nature of Jesus’ departure is reminiscent of the impulsive behaviour associated with the possessed. Therefore Davies proposes that the Gospel authors are describing a ‘spontaneous possession experience’. [41 ] The forcefulness of Jesus’ expulsion is evident in the terminology used in the Markan account. While Matthew and Luke employ the much softer avnh,cqh / h;geto (‘led’, Mt. 4:1; Lk. 4:1), a forceful, violent, external influence upon Jesus is evident in Mk. 1:12, in which the Spirit forcefully ‘drives out’ (ἐκβάλλει) Jesus into the wilderness.[42 ] 40 The Martyrdom of Polycarp, 16:1 (trans. J.B. Lightfoot). There is some disagreement concerning the mention of a dove here. For example, Eusebius does not mention the dove and many have thought that the text has been altered. Cf. also the martyrdom of St. Eulalia in Prudentius’ Peristephanon in which it is reported that a white dove left her mouth upon death. 41 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 42 The term ἐκβάλλει is typically used by the author of Mark in connection with the exorcism of demons, cf. Mk.1:34, 39, 43; 3:15, 22; 4:13; 7:26; 9:18, 28. 29. 32. OSIRIS, JESUS, AND MAGIC Fabré-Palaprat possessed an important document. This was the Levitikon—a version of John’s Gospel with blatantly Gnostic implications—which he claimed to have found on a second-hand bookstall. In short: the "Levitikon" claims, that "Our Lord was an initiate of the Mysteries of Osiris". The writings of the Neo-Templar Order have a close resemblance to the "Sepher Toledoth Yeshu", a Jewish text from around 1100 BC, which talks about Jesus as an initiate of the Kabbalah. Once again, this seems just a little too neat, but if the document is authentic, it throws some light on the real reasons for keeping much of the Gnostic knowledge secret. For theLevitikon, a version of St John’s Gospel that some date as far back as the eleventh century, tells a very different story from that found in the more familiar New Testament book of the same name. Fabré-Palaprat used the Levitikon as the basis for founding his Neo-Templar Johannite Church in Paris in 1828. The Levitikon , which had been translated from Latin into Greek, consists of two parts. The first contains the religious doctrines that are to be given to the initiate, including rituals concerning the nine grades of the Templar Order. It describes the Templars' ‘Church of John’ and explains the fact that they called themselves ‘Johannites’ or ‘original Christians’. The second part is like the standard John’s Gospel except for some significant omissions. Chapters 20 and 21 are missing, the last two of the Gospel. It also eliminates all hint of the miraculous from the stories of the turning of the water into wine, the loaves and fishes, and the raising of Lazarus. And certain references to St Peter are edited out, including the story of Jesus saying ‘Upon this rock I will build my church’. But if this is puzzling, the Levitikon also contains surprising, even shocking, material: Jesus is presented as having been an initiate of the mysteries of Osiris, the major Egyptian god of his day. Osiris was the consort of his sister, the beautiful goddess Isis who governed love, healing and magic—among many other attributes. (Distasteful though such an incestuous relationship may seem to us today, it was part of the Pharaonic tradition, and would have seemed perfectly normal to any worshipper in ancient Egypt.) The Levitikon, besides making the extraordinary claim that Jesus was an Osiran initiate, also stated that he had passed this esoteric knowledge on to his disciple, John ‘the Beloved’. It also claims that Paul and the other Apostles may have founded the Christian Church, but they did so without any knowledge of Jesus' true teaching. The Johannite Christians claimed to have been heirs to the ‘secret teaching’ and true story of Jesus, whom they refer to as ‘Yeshu the Anointed’. For them, not only was 30. 33. Jesus an initiate of Osiris, but he was merely a man, not the Son of God. Moreover, he was the illegitimate son of Mary—and there was no question of the miraculous Virgin birth. They attributed all such claims to an ingenious—if outrageous—cover story that the Gospel writers had invented to obscure Jesus' illegitimacy, and the fact that his mother had no idea of the identity of his father! As early as the second century, less then two hundred years after the death of Christ, Celsus, a Greek philosopher, literally accused Jesus of "having worked for hire in Egypt on account of his poverty, and having experimented there with some magical powers, in which the Egyptians take great pride." Later Jewish writers expanded upon this theme, claiming that Jesus brought forth "witchcraft from Egypt by means of scratches upon his flesh" and that he "practiced magic and led Israel astray." According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, Jesus was often accused by the Talmudists of performing magic: It is the tendency of all these sources to belittle the person of Jesus by ascribing to him illegitimate birth, magic, and a shameful death. Magic may have been ascribed him over against the miracles recorded in the Gospel. The sojourn of Jesus in Egypt is an essential part of the story of his youth. According to the Gospels he was in that country in his early infancy, but Celsus says that he was in service there and learned magic. According to Celsus (in Origen, “Contra Celsum,” i. 28) and to the Talmud (Shab. 104b), Jesus learned magic in Egypt and performed his miracles by means of it; the latter work, in addition, states that he cut the magic formulas into his skin. It does not mention, however, the nature of his magic performances (Tosef., Shab. xi. 4; Yer. Shab. 18d); but as it states that the disciples of Jesus healed the sick “in the name of Jesus Pandera” (Yer. Shab. 14d; Ab. Zarah 27b; Eccl. R. i. 8) it may be assumed that its author held the miracles of Jesus also to have been miraculous cures. Different in nature is the witchcraft attributed to Jesus in the “Toledot.” When Jesus was expelled from the circle of scholars, he is said to have returned secretly from Galilee to Jerusalem, where he inserted a parchment containing the “declared name of God” (“Shem ha-Meforash”), which was guarded in the Temple, into his skin, carried it away, and then, taking it out of his skin, he performed his miracles by its means. This magic formula then had to be recovered from him, and Judah the Gardener (a personage of the “Toledot” corresponding to Judas Iscariot) offered to do it; he and Jesus then engaged in an aerial battle (borrowed from the legend of SIMON MAGUS), in which Judah remained victor and Jesus fled. The accusation of magic is frequently brought against Jesus. Jerome mentions it, quoting the Jews: “Magum vocant et Judaei Dominum meum” (“Ep. 1v., ad Ascellam,” i. 196, ed. Vallarsi); Marcus, of the sect of the Valentinians, was, according to Jerome, a native of Egypt, and was accused of being, like Jesus, a magician (Hilgenfeld, “Ketzergesch.” p. 870, Leipsic, 1884). Or: „… As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people", was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam" „…Jesus performed all his miracles by means of magic …“ 31. 34. TOLEDOTH YESHU In the Toldoth Yeshua, Yeshu ben Pandera was a Jew who went to Egypt, became proficient in their magical arts, returned to Judea, went about healing many people and incurred the hostility of the religious upper echelon – the Sanhedrin. He was stoned to death at Lud [Al-Lud or Lydda] , and his body was "hanged on a tree" on the eve of Passover. The Toldoth Yeshua begins with, John of the house of David, getting engaged to Miriam, originally from Bethlehem, the daughter of a neighboring widow. A certain Pandera also had desires for Miriam. On a Sabbath night he came to Miriam during her period,raped her, and Yeshu was conceived. Miriam thought Pandera was her husband-to-be and yielded to him after a struggle, greatly astonished at the behavior of her fiancé'. When the real fiancé, John, came she made her anger clear to him. He immediately suspected Pandera and told Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetah of the incident. Miriam became pregnant, and since John knew that the child was not his, but was unable to prove who was guilty he fled to Babylon. Yeshu later became a student of Rabbi Joshua Ben- Perachia,was taken to Egypt where he studied magic. He later returned to Israel and The story continues with the adult Yeshu stealing the "Shem ha-Mephorash", or the name of God "which must not be pronounced", from the Temple's Holiest of Holies, and utilizing it to perform miracles. Yeshu is imprisoned, escapes and flees to Antioch and Egypt to learn more witchcraft. He later returns to Jerusalem,to steal the secret name of God which he had lost. Judas of Kerioth informed the leaders of Jerusalem of this and said that he would kneel down before this Yeshu so that they could distinguish him from his disciples, who were dressed in the same colors of clothing. Yeshu was taken captive and sentenced to be hanged on the Friday before Passover. After being buried, a gardener took his body and hid it in a ditch in his Cabbage patch. His disciples failed to find the body in the tomb they told Queen Helen that he had risen from the dead, and so she wished to put to death all the Sages of Israel. Rabbi Tanhuma Bar Abba - [possibly simile to Barabbas], however, found the body, which was then tied to a horse's tail and dragged to where the Queen was. Nevertheless, Yeshu's disciples spread the story of Jesus amongst the Gentiles. These disciples included 12 apostles who were said to be arduous persecutors of the Jews. Talmud and Rabbinical entries referring to Jesus Besides the Tol'doth Yeshu, there are several other passages in various sections of the Talmud and other ancient writings that may contain portions of the Historical Jesus proto-type to whom the God-man legend has attached itself to in the current age. Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover." .Jesus was "hung/crucified" on the eve of Passover as per the Gospel of John. II MOED, I Schaboath 104b: The “whore son practiced Egyptian magic by cutting into his flesh”. “ this whore-born son of Pandera.” In the Amoa, written in the late 3rd Century it records "And do you suppose that for Yeshu there was any right of appeal;? He was a beguiler, and the Merciful One hath said: 'Thou shalt not spare neither shalt thou conceal him,' It is otherwise with Yeshu, for he was near to the civil authority." - This passage could refer to Yeshu, as well as many other personalities appearing within various parts of the Talmud and related texts "...As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people," was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam." Jewish Encyclopedia 32. 35. Mary was called Stada in the Talmud, that is, a prostitute, because, according to what was taught at Pumbadita, she left her husband and commited adultery. This is also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud and by Maimonides. In Schabbath the passage referred to says: "Rabbi Eliezer said to the Elders: 'Did not the son of Stada practice Egyptian magic by cutting it into his flesh?' They replied: 'He was a fool, and we do not pay attention to what fools do. The son of Stada, Pandira's son, etc.' " as above in Sanhedrin, 67a. This magic of the son of Stada is explained as follows in the book Beth Jacobh, fol. 127 a: "The Magi, before they left Egypt, took special care not to put their magic in writing lest other peoples might come to learn it. But he devised a new way by which he inscribed it on his skin, or made cuts in his skin and inserted it there and which, when the wounds healed up, did not show what they meant." Buxtorf says (cf. Lexicon. Jud. in verbo Jeschu): "There is little doubt who this Ben Stada was, or who the Jews understood him to be. Although the Rabbis in their additions to the Talmud try to hide their malice and say that it is not Jesus Christ, their deceit is plainly evident, and many things prove that they wrote and understood all these things about him. In the first place, they also call him the son of Pandira. Jesus the Nazarene is thus called in other passages(10) of the Talmud where express mention is made of Jesus the son of Pandira. St. John Damascene(11) also, in his Genealogy of Christ, mentions Panthera and the Son of Panthera. "Secondly, this Stada is said to be Mary, and this Mary the mother of Peloni 'that certain one,' by which without doubt Jesus is meant. For in this way they were accustomed to cover up his name because they were afraid to mention it. If we had copies of the original manuscripts they would certainly prove this. And this also was the name of the mother of Jesus the Nazarene. "Thirdly, he is called the Seducer of the People. The Gospels(12) testify that Jesus was called this by the Jews, and their writings to this day are proof that they still call him by this name. "Fourthly, he is called 'the one who was hanged,' which clearly refers to the crucifixion of Christ, especially since a reference to the time 'on the eve of the Passover' is added, which coincides with the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. In Sanhedrin (43a) they wrote as follows: "On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus' "Fifthly, as to what the Jerusalem Talmud says about the two disciples of the Elders who were sent as witnesses to spy on him, and who were afterwards brought forward as witnesses against him: This refers to the two "false witnesses" of whom the Evangelists Matthew(14) and Luke(15) make mention. "Sixthly, concerning what they say about the son of Stada that he practiced Egyptian magical arts by cutting into his flesh: the same accusation is made against Christ in their hostile book Toldoth Jeschu. "Lastly, the time corresponds. For it is said that this son of Stada lived in the days of Paphus the son of Jehuda, who was a contemporary of Rabbi Akibah. Akibah, however, lived at the time of the Ascension of Christ, and for some time after. Mary is also said to have lived under the Second Temple. All this clearly proves that they secretly and blasphemously understand this son of Stada to be Jesus Christ the son of Mary. Mandaean and Johanite References to Jesus Mandaean Book of Adam: Jesus was the son of a devil, a perverter of the true doctrine, who disseminated iniquity and perfidy over the whole world. The Mandaean Book of John which predates and was incorporated into the modern “Gospel of St. John” used by Templar and Johanite Masonry. Jesus was the disciple of the Devil, who fooled John the Baptist. The “liar” Jesus tricked John into baptizing him by use of a satanic ruse that seemed to come from heaven. “Yahya (John) baptized the liar in the Jordan”, he baptized “the false prophet Yishu Meshiha (Jesus the Messiah), son of the devil Ruha Kadishta.” 33. 36. ISIS, VENUS AND MARY MAGDALENE Mary Magdalene – High Priestess and Sacred Prostitute Temples of the Goddess Isis existed throughout biblical times. One image shows Mary holding the alabaster jar and wearing around her waist what is known as the ‘Girdle of Isis’ or the Isis knot which was worn by priestesses of Isis. Many authors speak of Mary (or Mari) coming to her first menses and being sent to Egypt and the Temple of Isis to become initiated into the ways of the sacred Priestess. Here, she becomes Qadishtu and is taught the practice of sacred sexuality where she becomes the living vessel for the Goddess to enter in the ancient rite known as ‘hieros gamos’ or ‘sacred marriage’. The Da Vinci Code speaks of this sacred rite where through ritual sex, both parties are able to experience God/dess. In Babylon the Goddess Ishtar (=Isis/Isais) did not differentiate in bestowing her blessings and honoured the sexual act howsoever it be performed [Cunningham, E. Sacred Prostitution: The Whore and the Holy One]. “Who will plough my vulva?” calls Inanna in the old hymns…”Who will water the holy lap?”[From “The Courtship of Innana and Dumuzi” translated by Samuel Noah Kramer] It is only recently that a reinterpretation of various texts reveals that Mary Magdalene was indeed the partner and most favoured companion of Jesus. Writings from the Nag Hammadi library deliver up to us texts which reveal insights into the role of women and Mary Magdalene herself. The Gospel of Philip speaks of Mary Magdalene “as the most favoured companion of Jesus who loved her more than the other disciples and would kiss her often on the mouth”. [Meyer, M. The Gospels of Mary Magdalene (p49)] Venus, Mary Magdalene, and the Re-emerging so called "Sacred Feminine“ Mary the Light-Bringer The explicit links between Mary Magdalene and Venus perhaps point to Mary's true identity. In the south of France, where Mary Magdalene landed and established her ministry after the crucifixion, she was known as "Mary Lucifera" or "Mary the Light- bringer." [Picknett, Mary Magdalene, p. 95. ] Lucifer is now popularly associated with the devil, conflated with the figure of Satan, but to the ancient Romans, Lucifer (Latin for "light- bringer") referred to the Morning Star, aka Venus. Picknett explains: "This was a time- honored tradition: pagan goddesses were known, for example, as 'Diana Lucifera' or 'Isis Lucifer' to signify their power to illumine mind and soul … to open up both body and psyche to the Holy Light." [Picknett's The Secret History of Lucifer, which followed her book on Mary Magdalene, seeks to undo this conflation of Lucifer and Satan. See p. xiii. ] 34. 37. The planet Venus has a long history of association with the Divine Feminine. The oldest written story of the Goddess (as far as we know) is the myth of the Sumerian Inanna, Queen of Heaven, recorded on cuneiform tablets in approximately 2500 B.C.E. Shamanic astrologer Daniel Giamario (among others) has correlated the story of the Sumerian Goddess — her descent to the Underworld and her return — with the astronomical cycle of Venus (her synodic cycle). Every eight years, Venus traces the shape of a five-pointed star or pentagram in the sky, and ancient depictions of the Goddess often include the image of a pentagram, or sometimes an eight-pointed star. From Priestess to Prostitute Virgin also meant a sovereign, unmarried woman, often referring to a priestess dedicated to the Goddess. For thousands of years, Venus in her various guises — Inanna, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Isis — was worshiped in temples staffed by priestesses who, far from our modern interpretation of "virgin," participated in sacred sexuality with members of the community. The priestesses were called venerii and taught venia, sexual practices for connecting with the Divine. The Venusian priestesses, Picknett writes, "gave men ecstatic pleasure that would transcend mere sex: the moment of orgasm was believed to propel them briefly into the presence of the gods, to present them with a transcendent experience of enlightenment." It was mostly women (and some cross-dressing men) who led the sexual rites, because "it was believed that women were naturally enlightened." [Picknett, The Secret History of Lucifer, p. 59. ] There is an association between Venus and Pisces, the fish symbol of the early christians, that predates the Greek myth. The symbol for Pisces is said to come from the Vesica Piscis (literally, "the bladder of a fish"), an ancient geometrical figure consisting of two overlapping circles, where the perimeter of each circle intersects with the other's center. The Vesica Pisces has been associated with the Goddess for thousands of years, and more specifically, with the feminine power of giving birth — the almond- shaped figure formed by the overlapping circles symbolizes the vagina. The Vesica Piscis is the basic component of the so called Flower of Life, a hexagonal „666“ black-magic symbol, which binds us to our carbon-based earthly bodies! So when you see the Christian fish symbol on the back of a car, think, "Mary's vulva". Or alternatively: „Cosmic Void“ – abyss of the Black Sun! Thule, the Nazis and the Isais Revelations In 1220, Templar Komtur Hubertus Koch received an apparition of the goddess Isais (first child of goddess Isis and god Set). The Templars received over time the Isais Revelations, a series of prophesies and information concerning the Holy Grail. The Templars were ordered to form a secret scientific sect in southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy to be known as "Die Herren vom Schwarzen Stein" - The Lords of the Black Stone, in Italy as 35. 38. „Ordo Bucintoro“. The legend has the Ordo Bucintoro by way of its founder Antonia Contenta as the heir of the Templar’s secrets, one of them being visitations, Magickal instruction and a gift from the Goddess Ishtar. The hauntingly beautiful Goddess, sometimes boyish with a short crop, sometimes with long flowing hair told them to retire to the Untersberg Mountain and await further instruction. There she appeared to them multiple times over the next decade or so. She told them that mans physical body is naught but a temporal home constructed for and by his timeless soul to manifest its existence in this crude world of matter. This world of empty and endless distances between the other worlds, this world of death and decay is a kingdom of shadows created by a dark god to enmesh and snare the luminous spirit, which is the divine essence of every soul. The rightful residence of that lost soul is a place between life and death, what is now called the ethereal world. It is the world of the unborn and of the dead. It is the world of many worlds. Ishtar called it the Green World. Ishtar told them of a perpetual battle that raged across these unseen realms in the kingdoms of the sublime. She told them that this was the age of darkness but in the coming Age of Aquarius the light of the “Black Sun” will reveal these invisible worlds and man will be restored to greatness. Madam Helena Blavatsky, the foundress of the Theosophical Society, described this Luciferian energy as an aether stream that could be transformed into a physical force. Blavatsky was the Pioneer of the New Age Movement. Her “The Secret Doctrine” has key quotes in it: “Lucifer represents…Life…Thought…Progress…Civilization…Liberty…Independence…Lucifer is the Logos…the Serpent, the Savior”. pages 171, 225, 255 (Volume II) “The Celestial Virgin which thus becomes the Mother of Gods and Devils at one and the same time; for she is the ever-loving beneficent Deity…but in antiquity and reality Lucifer or Luciferius is the name. Lucifer is divine and terrestrial Light, ‘the Holy Ghost’ and “Satan’ at one and the same time.” page 539 The Planet Venus Blavatsky's description of „Sophia“ should give pause to those who invoke her as a female Third Person of the Godhead. In Isis unveiled, she said: „The very cosmogonies show that the Archaeal Universal Soul was held by every nation as the mind of the Demiurgic Creator, the Sophia of the Gnostics, or the Holy Ghost as a female principle. This may be the spiritual origin of „inclusive“ language for the Third Person of the Trinity.“ In the Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky added: „In the great Valentian gospel Pistis Sophia it is

THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE MAN DEANS

3. For Gnostics the material world is a creation of an evil Demiurge. That is why the physical body is seen as a prison for the soul. Our soul got caught in an angel trap, split up, and dispersed over dimen- sions and planets. Thus God sent his own spirit as savior - the CHRIST-LOGOS. He is the the good shepherd and the Paraclete, our advocate. Through him man finds his way out of this demiurgic maze. The CHRIST-LOGOS guides us home safe. HE IS INVINCIBLE SPIRIT WHO CAN'T BE CRUCIFIED

1. 4. THE MANDAEANS THEIR GNOSTIC BELIEF IS THE CLOSEST TO TRUTH STILL EXISTING ON EARTH! The Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were nothing more than false messengers; as they revere John the Baptist to be the most honorable messenger of God. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. One of their religious texts has John the Baptist describe Jesus with ‘...and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (sacred) meal and abstained from the food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joins all races to him, and perverts and joins to himself a people, and they are called Christians’. According to the Mandeans John the Baptist, before ascending to the Abode of Truth, unmasked the Greek Christ who himself confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems, the Mandæans partly identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Because Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. The fundamental doctrine of Mandaeanism is generally characterized by nine features that appear in various forms throughout other Gnostic sects. The FIRST of these is a supreme, formless Entity. The SECOND of these is the dualistic nature of the theology; Mandaeans believe in a Father and Mother, light and darkness. Syzygy is found in nearly all cosmic forms throughout the Mandaean teachings. T he counter-
2. 5. types that create a world of ideas constitute the THIRD common feature. FOURTH, the soul is portrayed by the Mandaeans as an exile that must find its way home to its origin – the supreme Entity. FIFTH, the Mandaeans teach that the planets and stars are heavily influential of fate and are fashioned as various final destination places after death. SIXTH, a savior spirit is assigned to assist the soul on its journey to return to the supreme Entity, and ultimately to assist the soul on the journey through the false “worlds of light” after death. The SEVENTH feature of Mandaean beliefs involves a cult-language of symbol and metaphor; by composing in this language, ideas and qualities about their religion become personified. EIGHTH - the installment of sacraments and mysteries performed to aid and purify the soul. According to Mandaean scripture, the purpose of these sacraments is to ensure the rebirth of the soul into a spiritual body, and to ensure the soul’s ascent from the world of matter to the heavens. NINTH, the Mandaeans teach a religion of Great Secrecy. Full explanation of the previous features is only reserved for initiated members of the Mandaean faith that are considered fully capable of comprehending and preserving the gnosis. While some Gnostic sects of antiquity did not believe in marriage and procreation, the Mandaean people do indeed wed and conceive children. Consequently, the importance of family values and an ethically sound life are also highly regarded by the Mandaean Gnostics. An interesting note about the Mandaean faith teaches scholars that while they are in agreement with other Gnostic sects in regards to the idea that the world was created and governed to be a prison by archons, they do not view the world as cruel and inhospitable as other Gnostics do. They believe that God is the king of light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras, the most elevated of which is Abel the Brilliant. An emanation of God, Abathur, gave birth to Ptahil [cf. Ptah, the epyptian god of architects] the creator of the world. The earth is a dark place, created out of Ruha’s black waters but the waters would not solidify until they were mixed with a little light provided by Abel the Brilliant. He also supplied Adam’s soul from the Treasury of Life. Ruha is easily seen as Ruach, the breath of God in Genesis and the basis of the Holy Spirit (=the Paraclete/Logos). In Aramaic it means “wind”.It is a feminine noun, so can easily have been seen as a feminine principle, and logically, its place in the Catholic Trinity is the place for a Goddess (Father, Mother, Son). They consider Yahweh/Jehova to be an evil god. They see themselves in direct opposition to Yahweh. They turn the stories of the Old Testament on their head, so all the people who were killed by Yahweh in the Old Testament for supposedly being sinful become pious Mandaeans killed by an evil deity. They consider the people destroyed by
3. 6. the Flood as being Mandaeans, along with the populations of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the ancient Egyptians who opposed Moses in the Exodus story. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. The soul is an exiled captive on earth. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Read! Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About Jesus Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Christ MANDAEANS: FOLLOWERS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 The beginnings of Mandaism are unknown but there are clues in Mandæan books and their rituals and beliefs. Mandæan (Mandayya) means “to have knowledge”, from the Aramaic word for knowledge, Manda, the same as Gnosis, suggesting Mandaism is a survival of Gnosticism, and much in Mandæan cosmology seems to hark back to gnostic ideas. However, it is of interest to us because there is a possibility that the sect really does derive from John the Baptist, so offers a different view of the foundation of Christianity. With typical Christian arrogance and lack of scholarship, the Mandæan traditions about John are described by them as “confused”. The Mandæans are an interesting sect, quite neglected, is that called by some the Saint John’s Christians because they regard Jesus as a false messiah but revere John the Baptist. They call themselves Mandæans and are an old religious sect. The Mandæan tradition preserves traces of the earliest forms of a pre-Christian gnosis. Importantly, they look back to a still more ancient tradition which is claimed to be purer and wiser than that of the Jews. It is that of the Essenes who can be seen to have had a remarkable influence on the world far exceeding their numbers. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. The baptism of Jesus by John is acknowledged, but given a mystic explanation. Jesus is not shown as unknowing, answering test questions from John with deep moral insight. The Mandæan tradition has its origins are certainly in Jerusalem in Judæa, and suggests John had a deep knowledge of the inner meaning of the Law. For Mandæans, Allah (Alaha) is the False God, the True God being Mana, but the Mandæans seem to be the Sabians, the Baptizers, of the Quran. They perform elaborate baptismal ceremonies on all religious occasions and daily before sunrise. Their attachment to these lustrations gave them the name Subba or Sabians meaning 1 http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0255Mandaeans.php
4. 7. baptisers. The Essenes too were said to have welcomed the rise of the sun with ceremony and prayer. Note that Epiphanius identified Nazarenes with the “Daily Baptists” (Hemerobaptists). John the Baptist was himself baptised, while yet a boy, by God in His aspect of Manda d’Hayye and he then performed miracles of healing through baptism. In an account in the holy book, the Ginza, John baptised Manda d’Hayye – the true Messiah. Mandæan lustrations had to be in running water, yardna, (a word with same consonants as Jordan), not still water (like the Christians) which they disdained. Furthermore they were repeated immersions not just a single one by way of initiation as it is in Christianity. Again this is common ground with the Essenes, the difference arising because Jesus had decided there was no time for his converts to be fully initiated into Essene practises, so the initial baptism had to suffice provided that repentance was sincere. The Day of God’s Vengeance was too close. Mandæan Beliefs Mandæan cosmology does sound Gnostic. God is the King of Light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including the earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets [compare to the 7 Deadly Sins]. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras [=messengers of God]. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Abel the Brilliant, the Mandæan Saviour, once dwelled on earth, where he triumphed over the Archons who try to keep the soul imprisoned. He can thus assist the soul in its ascent through the spheres toward its final reunion with the Supreme God. Manda d’Hayye is “Knowledge of Salvation”, a phrase which occurs in the song of Zacharias in Luke (Lk 1:77), which we have surmised is Essene. Essene thought has the same concept or gets close to it, the scrolls speaking of the “Knowledge of God” and “His Salvation”. The Manda d’Hayye and the light-giving powers seek to direct men and women to good actions. The planets and the spirit of physical life incite them to error through Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other “false religions”. Those who lead a good life pass after death to a world of light, others undergo torture, but even the most evil will be purified in a great baptism at the end of the world—the equivalent of the Persian and Essene baptism with fire on the Day of God’s Vengeance. Gentile Christianity was founded before Paul among the Hellenised Jews of Palestine who were dispersed at the very start of the story by Hebraic Jews—Jews who rejected the ways and manners of the Greeks and regarded Hellenisation as apostasy. Paul naturally favoured this faction and, though the Hellenised Jews did not try to convert gentiles, Paul did. The Hebraic Christians and the Hebraic followers of John (both called Nazarenes or Nasoraeans) would have regarded this as quite unacceptable. The gospels tell us that the Jerusalem Church rejected Paul’s innovations, and the Mandæan works seem to say that the followers of John also rejected them.
5. 8. Enosh Uthra, the Good Man Mandæans consider the Jesus of the Christians as a false messiah but they accepted that there was a true messiah whom they called Enosh-Uthra. The word Uthra which literally means “wealth” seems here to mean “good” or “divine” because Enosh Uthra is the “divine” man or the “good man”. He came into the world in the days of Pilate, the king of the world, healed the sick and gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead. In this tradition, John does the same miracles as Jesus, contrary to the fourth gospel (Jn 10:41) that tells us “John did no miracle”. In Christian tradition, miracles are reserved for Jesus, in Mandæan tradition, for John. He taught a dualistic philosophy of truth and error, light and darkness, and life and death by burning fire which consumes all wrong—the very teaching of the Essene brotherhood. He ordained 365 prophets to teach, and sent them out from Jerusalem. Eventually, he ascended to the Abode of Truth and will return at the End. Like the Essenes and the Persians, the Mandæans were particular about Truth. Before Enosh-Uthra ascended to the Abode of Truth, he unmasked the Greek Christ who confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. In the occult tradition Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems the Mandæans partly, at least, identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. Thus for the Mandæans, Enosh-Uthra, John the Baptist - apparently an incarnation of Abel the Brilliant - looks rather like the Jesus of the gospels but the Byzantine Christ looks like Paul. It makes sense. If John and Jesus were successive Nasis out trying to heal the Simple of Ephraim, Jewish apostates, they will have had similar general characteristics, and their individual details might have been confused to some degree. Christians, for example, have tried to pretend that Jesus did not baptise when he plainly did. Confirming it is the fact that Mandæans do not have a clear distinction between Jews and Christians, a fact which harks back to the very earliest days of Christianity when the followers of Jesus were still Jews. In the Mandæan John-Book we meet the priest Zachariah and his aged wife Elizabeth except that her name has been corrupted to Enishbai (to reflect Enosh?). No Christian will believe that this is not taken from the first chapter of Luke, but if Luke was merely reflecting a small part of Essene history, the identity is due to their common origin. After John had spent 42 years baptising in the Jordan, the Christian Jesus (called here Nbou—Nabu, Nebo, Mercury, Hermes) sought baptism from him, but the spirit Enosh-Uthra did not require baptism (in fact, he will have been baptised by Zachariah who was his predecessor). Again, Mandæan tradition might support the idea that Jesus succeeded John as the Nasi, because John had no choice but to baptise Jesus—a voice from heaven ordered him. Why should 'God' have ordered John to baptise an evil spirit? It is an ineffectual way of explaining the plain fact that John did baptise Jesus, following erroneous 'divine' orders, but that in the Mandæan view Jesus turned out to be an evil changeling. Though John, like Jesus, was not really a miracle worker, like Jesus he performed healings —metaphorical ones in bringing apostate Jews back to God—and his own disciples, like Jesus’s, became convinced he was the Messiah after his death. The fourth century Clementine Recognitions 1:60 state that John’s disciples claimed that their master had been
6. 9. greater than Jesus and that John was the true messiah. Rivalry between John’s followers and those of Jesus was apparent even in the New Testament. Luke 3:15 confirms that John was thought a messiah: The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. This must have reflected John’s disappointment in Jesus Barabbas’s preparations for an uprising. Later Jesus failed and was crucified thus becoming a false prophet. John’s disciples will then have accused Jesus of being an imposter and claimed that John had exposed him. John the Baptist was known by the Mandæans as “Enosh”, the reborn grandson of Adam. Enosh in Hebrew means “Man”, as does Adam, so we have the curiosity that John the Baptist was the Man and Jesus was the Son of Man! This might have been a Jewish joke. If John the Baptist played the role of the priest at Jesus’s baptism as seems likely then it would have been his voice announcing his “beloved son” as the coronation liturgy required. Thus we have the irreverent titles: the “Man” and the “Son” of “Man” or, in Aramaic pronunciation, “nash” and “bar nash”. Did John the Baptist live longer than Jesus? The latest year of Jesus’s death is 33 AD. The Tetrarch Philip died in 34 AD on the day that John interpreted a dream for him. Herod Antipas killed John and later was defeated in battle in 36 AD by Aretas, king of the Petraean (Nabataean) Arabians, an event considered to have been retribution for John’s murder. John must therefore have been killed within a year of 35 AD, the very year that Simon Magus, a disciple of John, led a rebellion on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. Antipas was probably more absorbed by John’s potential for inflaming rebellion than he was by Salome’s dance or John’s criticism of his marital arrangements. So – was John the True Messiah? Although early Christians saw John as a forerunner of Jesus, the disciples of John and others did not quite see it that way. No doubt some of John's disciples did follow Jesus and some may have shifted allegiance to Jesus after John’s death, but many others continued in their allegiance to John without ever becoming followers of Jesus (the Sabeans/Mandaeans). John was not “a reed shaken with the wind” (Matthew 11:7). He was more like a mighty oak. He was not “a man clothed in soft raiment”; instead, he wore camel’s hair clothing. Jesus said of him, “A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” According to Mandaean thinking, John was 'the True Prophet', while Jesus, a disciple of John, was 'a rebel, and a heretic, who led men astray, and betrayed his Master John.'
7. 10. “... and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (Sacred?) Meal and abstained from the Food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted Mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joineth all races to him, and perverteth and joineth to himself a people, and they are called Christians.” Excerpt from The Haran Gawaitha Some Mandaeans believe that John the Baptist was Hibil-Ziwa. ‘Hibil-Ziwa’ was a Savior who entered the world of darkness and destroyed the evil spirits so that the faithful could obtain liberation before the end of the world. The following account of John the Baptist and Jesus from the mouth of Hibil Ziwa: “In those days a child shall be born who will receive the name of John; he will be the son of an old man Zacharias, who shall receive this child in his old age, even at the age of a hundred. His mother Erishbai, advanced in years, shall conceive him and bring forth her child. When John is a man, faith shall repose in his heart, he shall come to the Jordan and shall baptize for forty-two years, before Nebou shall clothe himself with flesh and come into the world. While John lives in Jerusalem, gaining sway over Jordan and baptizing, Jesus Christ shall come to him, shall humble himself, shall receive John's baptism and shall become wise with John's wisdom. But then shall he corrupt John's sayings, pervert the Baptism of Jordan, distort the words of truth and preach fraud and malice throughout the world.” Mandaean treatise While Christianity presents John to have baptized Jesus, symbolizing that Jesus is his Lord, Mandean religion tells about a messenger of light that was sent to Jerusalem in order to undress the lies of Jesus. Mandaean thought is also that John Baptized Jesus into his religion. Some of the Mandaeans believe that Judas Thomas was Jesus' twin brother, a belief that was apparently shared by the early Celtic and Egyptian Christians, but they also believe that it was this Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified. Because his resemblance to Jesus was sufficient to fool Pontius Pilate who knew what Jesus looked like and was legally obliged to witness the Roman punishment of crucifixion. Jesus then posed as Thomas for the rest of his life to avoid the taint of his failure. The Mandaeans also believe that it was Jesus, not Thomas, who was the source of the Gospel of Thomas and that ‘Jesus-Thomas’ continued to preach wherever he could that was beyond the reach of the Roman-Pauline church, ending up in India, where ungrateful Hindu priests burned him to death. For more information about Jesus in India visit our Jesus page of click here to an external link.The early church father Irenaeus wrote around 150 CE that Jesus remained on earth as a teacher for twenty years after his crucifixion. The Mandaeans tell of the founding of Jerusalem by a powerful female Goddess named Ru Ha who is viewed by them as evil. They say that Ru Ha worked evil on the Earth through
8. 11. several chosen men. Her greatest evil however, was realized through one final man. At her temple in Jerusalem, a young priestess was chosen to bear a special offspring. Her name was Miriam. We call her Mary. She brought forth the ‘child of Ru Ha’, the ‘Imunel’ (Immanuel) and he called himself, Jesus. He was baptized by John and taught much by him. He turned from John’s teachings and led the people astray, the Mandaeans claim. Is there any Biblical evidence supporting this? Mark 6:17: ‘For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18: For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19: Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.’ The above verse is very important. From it, we can see that Herod, counter to what you were led to believe, knew John was sent to perform a holy mission. He thought John a good man, and listened to him gladly. We are also told that John opposed Herod’s marriage to Herodias. John was very close to the King Aretas. His followers would later settle and remain in Arab lands. Mark 6:21: ‘And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22: And when the daughter (no name mentioned) of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23: And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24: And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25: And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26: And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27: And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28: And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29: And when his (John’s) disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 30: And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31: And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32: And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.’ Look at the above verses very carefully. Herod has promised his wife’s daughter anything, even half his kingdom. She consults with her mother Herodias and they decide for some unexplained reason to kill John, and remove his influence completely. Now notice that Herod is very sorry at having to do this. Not only from his affinity for John, but he is also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. Nevertheless, he
9. 12. carries out her wishes. Now look again at verse 30 above; ‘And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. These are Jesus’ followers who are now telling him why it was necessary to kill John. Note that the disciples who took John’s body were John’s disciples, not Jesus’. The disciples who took John’s body and the apostles who speak to Jesus are two separate groups. The taking of John’s body was not the actions the apostles were referring to. It was his execution, and what they had taught was a lesson to all those who would oppose them, not to interfere with their plans. Of interesting note and rendered in bold above is that Herodias’ daughter is not mentioned by name. All important people are named in every other place in the Bible. Why not her? She is certainly an important person. She was responsible for John’s death. Why did they remove her name? Her name is Salome. Mark 15:40 ‘There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 who, also when he was in Galilee, followed and ministered unto him...’ Mark 16:1 ‘And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.’ The Salome in the above verses, was one of Jesus’ most loved and trusted followers, is the same Salome we have been talking about. This is one of the main reasons the Sabeans despise the Christians, they believe that through the machinations of Jesus and his followers, their true messiah, John The Baptist was killed!!!! We learn a little about John from the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian born shortly after Jesus died. He says: Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was
10. 13. there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. Josephus implies that Herod executed John for political reasons, but as stated above Herod was sad at having to kill John not only from his affinity for John, but he was also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. We therefore disagree with Josephus’ statement, though to be sure it lends credibility to the Biblical version. False Prophet - Liar, Fraud!2 Jesus made several prophecies (24th chapter of Matthew) that later proved false. He predicted to the people of that ancient era the rapture (v. 31), the "end of the world" (v. 3,13), Judgment Day (v. 50-51), and THE Second Coming (v. 30), would all occur within their lifetime (i.e. within the First Century), they would live to see it all before they died. Jesus told them "ALL these things will happen before the people now living have all died." Another translation words it "some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens" while a third renders it "… while the people of this time are still living!" Elsewhere Jesus predicted to his disciples that he was "about to come …with his angels, and… reward each one according to his deeds (i.e. judgment day). I assure you that there are some here (i.e. in 33 AD) who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man [Jesus] come as King." Jesus promised that not only would The Second Coming occur within the lifetime of his First Century disciples, it would even occur within the lifetime of Caiaphas (who tried him) and the Roman soldiers (who crucified him). As evidence his disciples took him at his word, we find this doctrine being put into practice in the early Christian community. Believing the end of the world to be approaching, Jesus had told his disciples to get rid of all their possessions (as did the Millerites under similar delusions, in the 1840's). This they gladly did after Jesus' death. And the Apostle Paul ordered Christians not to waste time getting married for "considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is …don't look for a wife. …There is not much time left … For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer." These doctrines made sense because they trusted Jesus about the "end of the world" being imminent. Modern churches aren't so trusting; they've done a 180° on Paul (weddings now 2 http://www.jcnot4me.com/page23.html
11. 14. providing big revenue, and they love $$$ more than Paul), as well as a 180° on Jesus' command to impoverish oneself (teaching just the opposite- be a good Republican & stuff your pockets as much as you can while screwing the poor). C.S. Lewis, the popular Christian author, wrote in one of his last books "The World's Last Night"3 , that... "…there is worse to come. `Say what you like' we shall be told, `the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.' It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. …The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. …The facts, then, are these: that Jesus professed himself (in some sense) ignorant, and within a moment showed that he really was so." 3 Lewis, C.S. - The World's last Night. And Other Essays. p. 97 to 100
12. 15. THE GNOSTIC MANDAEANS The Mandaeans are indeed Gnostic, much more than ever assumed before according to the latest scholarship. Here are some of the Gnostic characteristics that permeate Mandaean culture: • A cosmology and cosmogony that could comfortably fit in the Nag Hammadi library or come out of the mouth of the Prophet Mani. • A negative view of astrology and fate. • An emanation theology that originates with a supreme yet alien God (the Great Life). • Powers of darkness that sabotage the soul’s ascent to the Great Life. • A concept of Gnosis (Mandaeans, after all, means Gnostic). • A view of the Platonic Demiurge that is less than positive. Furthermore (and just as fascinating), the Mandaeans possess the Gnostic propensity for deconstructing and inverting Abrahamic luminaries (like putting Cain or Judas in a positive role). The Mandaeans go even further, casting Gnostic heroes as villains! Here are some examples found in their sacred texts: • Sophia (called Ruha) becomes a ruthless demon queen terrorizing the cosmos. • Jesus is cast as an apostate Mandaean whose magical shenanigans end up destroying Jerusalem, the original home of the Mandaeans. Like many Gnostic sects, the Mandaeans viewed Moses in a negative light (basically a good fellow who was duped by rebellious angels); but they go even further, rooting for the Egyptians to chase the Israelites off the face of the earth. I understand that these mentioned gods and the overall Mandaean mythology may seem just bizarre to many. Yet there was a method to the madness of the Gnostics. In a New York Times article, William T. Vollmann wrote the ethos and purpose of Gnostic scriptures: „As a corpus, the scriptures are nearly incoherent, like a crowd of sages, mystics and madmen all speaking at once. But always they call upon us to know ourselves.“ To the Gnostic, finding that self-knowledge that liberates us from Samsara is a supreme endeavor. That is Gnosis, in essence. Reading books is a chief way to find any liberating information—not Facebook posts, tweets, or Netflix binge- watching. Lastly, reading carefully the story that is your life— partly ghostwritten by hating angels—is another avenue for liberation for you will understand the plot fully (if it’s not from a Kindle screen that makes referencing so difficult). After all, the idea of sitting in a bardo between realities reading a book seems like Paradise to me. But in a world of false wisdom and weird wars on all sides, reading anything deeply, gaining any valuable information is exceedingly difficult. The Mandaeans do hold genuine knowledge.
13. 16. I see a perversion: A heavily traumatized heart – incapable of love!
14. 17. I see a perversion: The CHRIST-LOGOS is invincible spirit, who cannot be crucified. That is why the Archons had to chain up spirit inseparable with the person of Jesus. Only this way the LOGOS could perish in agony. The Archons have successfully perverted the good news into the opposite through the implementation of a corpse on a cross as a symbol of freedom!
15. 18. I see a perversion: A jewish freedom-fighter who has shamelessly usurped God and the CHRIST-LOGOS. That is an act of megalomania and narcississm. And that's how souls get caught and stuck in the afterlife!
16. 19. I see a perversion: I see a masonic handsign that the Logos-Imposter is flashing. The use of two fingers is no ‘peace’ sign at all, but is representing the allegiance to Baphomet and his intended New World Slave-Planet. This is a fight against the essence of the soul – the CHRIST-LOGOS. OCCULT SYMBOLISM HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
17. 20. I see a perversion: An unbiblical phantom of Mary with a perforated heart. That's how gigantic streams of prayers get restraind and neutralized for sinister purposes!
18. 21. ACCUSATIONS OF MAGIC1 I. HEARING THE CHARGES A brief glance over the polemical materials which circulated in response to the spread of early Christianity reveals a sinister figure that appears time and time again; Jesus the magician. Although both the opponents and followers of Jesus recognised his abilities as a miracle- worker, they strongly disagreed on the source behind his miraculous powers. While Christian discourse stated that Jesus’ abilities resulted from his direct relationship with God, anti- Christian propaganda denied a divine source of Jesus’ powers and accused him of performing magic. Initially the followers of Jesus responded by fervently emphasising the divine source of his miraculous powers and as Christianity flourished and became increasingly mainstream, the opportunity grew for the new dominant Christian group to distance their hero from these allegations of magic and the voices of those who opposed Jesus gradually died away. Since a charge of magic was a popular polemical device employed against enemies in the ancient world, these stories may simply have been malicious rumours constructed by the hostile opponents of Christianity. Nevertheless, the damage caused by these allegations was far from minor and inconsequential as they had penetrated deep into the tradition and even infiltrated the Gospel materials themselves, prompting many a Christian apologist, and Gospel writer, to engage directly with these rumours and address them as serious accusations rather than frivolous conjecture. Most charges of magic that are found within the various polemical works tend to present a vague argument which lacks a clear explanation of the behaviours or words within the reports of Jesus’ life that were considered to bear magical connotations. Occasionally the charge is made a little more explicit and it is from these informative accounts that we can hope to construct an understanding of the elements of Jesus’ behaviour that warranted these seemingly outlandish claims. Vague fragments of charges of magic can be recovered from various cultures which have come into contact with the Jesus tradition; for example, the Mandaean literature describes Jesus as a magician and identifies him with the Samaritans. Equally the Quran provides an account of Jesus’ healings, raisings from the dead and his ability to make birds from clay and adds that ‘those who disbelieved among them said: This is nothing but clear enchantment’ (5.110).2 The majority of allegations are found within the Jewish tradition and the Christian apocryphal and apologetic texts, but the strongest charges are ultimately those made within the Gospels themselves. II. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN THE JEWISH TRADITION By the beginning of the second century AD, Jewish tradition had firmly woven an accusation of Jesus’ magical activity into its anti-Christian polemic. The Tract Sanhedrin, the fourth tractate of the fourth set of six series which comprise the Mishnah (compiled in the second century AD) and later included in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled in the sixth century AD), contains an intriguing passage in which Jesus’ hurried trial, as reported in the Christian Gospels, is extended to a period of forty days to allow people to step forward and defend him. As a 1 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/accusations-of-magic.html 2 This story is similar to that found in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus fashions twelve sparrows out of clay which fly away (The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, II).
19. 22. defence fails to emerge, the passage states that Jesus was executed as a sorcerer: ‘On the eve of the Passover Yeshu [Jesus] was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.’ (Sanhedrin 43a) The Talmudic claim that Jesus performed his miracles using magic, along with reference to his illegitimate birth and a shameful death, may simply be Jewish-Christian polemic intended to damage Jesus’ reputation and therefore the historical accuracy of this story is questioned. However, the Talmud contains two further references to Jesus and the practice of magic. The first is contained within the concluding line of Sanhedrin 107b which reads: ‘The Teacher said: ‘Yeshu practiced sorcery and corrupted and misled Israel.’’ It is difficult to relate this sentence to the historical Jesus himself as the story in which this statement is situated is set in the century before Jesus lived and the name ‘Yeshu’ was particularly common at the time. Nevertheless, this final line suggests that the story came to be associated with rumours of Jesus’ exploits that were in general circulation. The second allegation of magic within the Talmud states that Jesus learned magic in Egypt and cut magical formulas into his skin: ‘Did not Ben Stada bring forth sorcery from Egypt by means of scratches on his flesh?’ (Shab. 104b) Initially the source of this Egyptian influence appears to be the Matthean account of Jesus’stay in Egypt (Mt. 2:13-23). However, since Egypt was traditionally associated with magic in the Jewish tradition then it is possible that this story arose independently of Matthew’s Gospel and was invented by Rabbis seeking to discredit Jesus by associating him with Egyptian magic. [3 ] Furthermore, scratching symbols on the flesh was not a particularly common practice within ancient magic, although mention of the magical use of tattoos does occur in later Christian magical texts. [4 ] III. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC AND APOCRYPHAL MATERIAL Allegations of Jesus’ magical activities owe their survival in part to early Christian apologists who provide reference to the Jewish accusations that Jesus was a magician and thereby demonstrate that these charges were a common polemical tool in the ancient world. Tertullian and Justin Martyr are particularly vocal when discussing the charge in the second century; 3 Egypt is mentioned several times in the Talmud in association with magic. For example, b. Qiddushin 49b states that of the ten measures of witchcraft that came to the world, nine were given to Egypt. 4 For example, the magical text entitled ‘Spell of summons, by the power of god’s tattoos (Rylands 103)’ reads: ‘in the name of the seven holy vowels which are tattooed on the chest of the father almighty’. A similar statement is found in London Oriental Manuscript 6794 (‘Spell to obtain a good singing voice’): ‘I adjure you in the name of the 7 letters that are tattooed on the chest of the father’ (Translations from Marvin W. Meyer and Richard Smith (eds.) Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) pp. 231, 280).
20. 23. Tertullian explains that the Jews called Jesus a ‘magus’ [5 ] and Justin Martyr writes in his Dialogue with Trypho (c. 160 CE) that the Jewish witnesses to Jesus’ miracles considered him to be a sorcerer: ‘For they dared to call Him a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people.’[6 Similarly, the fourth-century Christian writer Lactantius wrote in his Divinae Institutiones that the Jews accused Jesus of performing his miracles through magical means, although Lactantius unfortunately does not elaborate on the grounds for these accusations.7 The fourth- century Christian apologist Arnobius helpfully provides an additional detail in his description of the Jewish allegations by stating that Jesus was accused of stealing the ‘names of the angels of might’ from the Egyptian temples. [8 ] The magical employment of names also appears in a story recounted in the Toledoth Yeshu, a medieval polemical report of the life of Jesus. In the Toledoth, Jesus learns the ‘Ineffable Name of God’ and the knowledge of this name allows its user to do whatever he wishes. Jesus writes the letters of the name on a piece of parchment which he inserts into an open cut on his leg and removes with a knife when returning home. When the people bring a leper to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the man and the man is healed. When they bring a dead man to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the corpse and the man returns to life. As a result of his miraculous powers, Jesus is worshipped as the Messiah and when he is eventually executed he pronounces the name over the tree upon which he is hung and the tree breaks. He is finally hung on a tree over which he does not, or is unable to, pronounce the name. The New Testament apocryphal works compound these charges of magic by including stories which portray Jesus as engaging in typical magical behaviour. For example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas depicts Jesus as a child performing a variety of magical feats; he models sparrows out of clay which fly away (2:2, 4) and even uses his power for destructive ends, such as killing his fellow children (3:3; 4:1) and blinding whoever opposes him (5:1). This destructive use of Jesus’ power is feared to the extent that ‘no one dared to anger him, lest he curse him, and he should be crippled’ (8:2) and Joseph urges to his mother ‘do not let him go outside the door, because anyone who angers him dies’ (14:3). Positive applications of Jesus’ power are demonstrated in the healing of a young man and a teacher (10:2; 15:4), the raising of the dead (9:3; 17:1; 18:1), the curing of his brother James’ snakebite (16:1), the filling of a broken jug with water for his mother (11:2) and the miraculous extending of a piece of wood in order to help his father make a bed (13:2). Accusations of magic made in the apocryphal materials often imitate and elaborate on those made by the Jewish people in the apologetic material discussed above. For example in the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions the scribes shout out: ‘the signs and miracles which your Jesus wrought, he wrought not as a prophet, but as a magician.’ [9 ] Similarly in the Acts of Pilate the Jewish people state that it is ‘by using magic he does these things, and by having the demons on his side’[10 ] and they claim that Jesus is a sorcerer since 5 Tertullian, Apol. 21.17; 23.7, 12. 6 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7. 7 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones 4.15; 5.3. 8 Arnobius, Against the Gentiles 43. 1. 9 Clement, Recognitions of Clement I. 58. 10 Acts of Pilate, 1.1
21. 24. he is able to send Pilate’s wife a dream.[11 ] The narrative also has the chief priests echo the words of Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15 with a more explicit charge of magic: ‘They say unto him: He is a sorcerer, and by Beelzebub the prince of the devils he casteth out devils, and they are all subject unto him.’12 IV. THE CHARGE OF MAGIC MADE BY CELSUS One of the most detailed allegations of magic is the charge made by Celsus, a pagan philosopher writing in the late second century. Although we do not have Celsus’ original text, the philosopher and theologian Origen set out to refute many of the central tenets of Celsus’ True Doctrine in his apologetic work Contra Celsum and since he generously quotes from Celsus’ text it is possible to reconstruct his argument from Origen’s citations alone. A fervent critic of Christianity, Celsus did not doubt that Jesus was a miracle-worker but he attempted to reinterpret his life as that of a magician, referring to him as a γόης (1.71) and claiming that Christians used invocations and the names of demons to achieve their miracles (1.6). Celsus also echoes the allegations made by the Talmud regarding Jesus’ early infancy in Egypt, suggesting that Jesus stayed there until his early adulthood and it was during his stay in Egypt that he acquired his magical powers: ‘After she [Mary] had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus… because he was poor he [Jesus] hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God.’13 When addressing Celsus’ comparison between Jesus and the Egyptian magicians, Origen quotes at length from Celsus’ fantastical description of the illusionary tricks and bizarre magical methods employed by these magicians: ‘‘who for a few obols make known their secret lore in the middle of the market place and drive out demons and blow away diseases and invoke the souls of heroes, displaying expensive banquets and dining-tables and cakes and dishes which are non-existent, and who make things move as though they were alive although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ And he says: ‘since these men do these wonders, ought we to think them sons of God? Or ought we to say that they are the practices of wicked men possessed by an evil demon?’’14 The concluding lines of this quotation from Celsus raise a question that is of central importance to our present study; if other magicians were actively engaging in activities similar to those attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, then how are we to separate the miracles of Jesus from the wonders produced by these magicians? 11 Acts of Pilate, 2.1 12 Acts of Pilate, 1.1 13 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.28. 14 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68.
22. 25. V. A CHARGE OF MAGIC WITHIN THE GOSPELS: WAS JESUS EXECUTED AS A MAGICIAN? There are two central allegations of magic made against Jesus by his opponents within the Gospels. The first is the Pharisees’ claim that Jesus is in possession of a demonic spirit through which he performs his miracles (Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15) and the second is Herod’s suggestion that Jesus possesses the soul of John the Baptist (Mt. 14:2//Mk. 6:14-29). Each of these charges require a thorough explanation of the belief-systems and popular superstitions that were characteristic of the ancient world-view in order for us to fully appreciate the weight that these charges would have carried for the early reader and therefore an examination of the allegations made within each of these passages will be postponed until later. However some scholars have proposed that a third charge of magic can be discerned in the terminology used in the trial narratives of the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew and therefore we must consider whether an allegation of magic is present in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial. All four Gospel authors agree that Jesus was brought before Pilate on the indictment that he had blasphemed against God and professed to be the Messiah. Although a formal charge of magic is not explicitly made in the trial accounts of the Gospels, some scholars suggest that allegations of magical practice may have influenced the trial proceedings or that the terminology used by the Gospel writers reveals that an official charge of magic is present within the text. For example, Morton Smith proposes that when the Jewish people accuse Jesus of being a κακοποιός (‘evildoer’, Jn. 18:30) this term is generally understood as referring to someone who is illegally involved in magical activity. Smith supports this theory by indicating that ‘the Roman law codes tell us that [‘a doer of evil’] was the vulgar term for a magician’ and quoting from Codex Justinianus IX. 18. 7 which mentions ‘Chaldeans and magicians (magi) and the rest whom common people call 'men who are doing evil’ (malefici).’[15 ] Smith also suggests that the word could refer to someone who encouraged the worship of false gods, a practice that would naturally incur a charge of magic. By translating the Greek term κακοποιός into its Latin equivalent ‘malefactor’, some scholars indicate that this latter term is clearly a technical expression for a magician. A second potential charge of magic is founded upon the use of the term πλάνος in Matthew 27:62. The word is typically translated as ‘deceiver’ or ‘impostor’ and it is often used to refer to evil spirits; for example, the demon Beliar is identified as a ‘deceiver’ in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs16 and the term is even applied to Satan himself in Revelation 12:9. The presence of πλάνος in Mt. 27:62 with specific reference to Jesus has led certain commentators, to suggest that the term pla,noj is to be interpreted here as ‘magician’. I would suggest that deception and magic were very closely related concepts in the ancient world and this accounts for Celsus’ association between the practice of magic and the performance of illusions when describing the activities of the Egyptian magicians who conjure up banquets which are ‘non- existent’ and make things appear alive ‘although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ [17 ] In addition, the correlation between magic and deception is made explicit in the Acts of Peter by those who accuse Paul of being a ‘sorcerer’ and ‘a deceiver’18 and 15 Smith, Jesus the Magician, p. 33. Smith reiterates this point on p. 41: ‘‘Doer of evil,’ as the Roman law codes say, was common parlance for ‘magician.’’ 16 Testament of Benjamin, 6:1. 17 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68. 18 Acts of Peter IV. cf also ‘Simon has used magic and caused a delusion’ (XVII).
23. 26. Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho states that the Jewish people called Jesus ‘a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people’.19 Regardless of whether the word ‘magician’ or any equivalent euphemism is used by the Gospel authors in the charges brought against Jesus at his trial, the very nature of the trial narratives within the Gospels indicates that the participants were fearful of Jesus’ magical potential. Perhaps the fears and superstitions regarding magic and supernatural powers that were held by both the Jews and Romans explains their united condemnation of Jesus and accounts for why the trial was such a hurried affair. The Mishnah specifies that trials at night are illegal and cannot take place before a festival (Sanhedrin 4:1), therefore, if these laws were effective at the time of Jesus’ trial, to hold proceedings at night and on eve of the Passover (Mk. 14:1-2, 12; Jn. 18:28) would have been strictly forbidden under Jewish law. Furthermore, the chosen method of execution does not correlate with a charge of blasphemy. The Talmud specifies stoning as a punishment for practicing magic (Sanhedrin 67b), but the Johannine trial narrative states that the Jews sought to stone Jesus because he claimed that ‘I and the Father are one’ and was therefore guilty of blasphemy (Jn. 10:30-31). The association between stoning and the charge of blasphemy is reinforced by the subsequent statement: ‘it is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you being a man, make yourself God.’ (Jn. 10:33). If a charge of blasphemy was made against Jesus, then why was this usual method of execution rejected in favour of crucifixion? Perhaps a verdict of crucifixion may have been passed as an emergency measure based on a fear of magic, certainly the seemingly prevasive fear of Jesus’ supernatural power that is present in the trial narratives of the Gospels suggests that charges of magic were rife within Jesus’ lifetime and they may even have contributed to his eventual execution. Furthermore, while the allegations of magic made by certain individuals, such as Celsus for example, could be dismissed as malicious anti-Christian propaganda, these accusations of magic are recorded by the Gospel writers themselves who are actively seeking to further the Christian message. Since it is unlikely that the evangelists would willingly invent a charge of magic, we may assume that they were fully aware that their early readers would be familiar with these allegations, hence their unavoidable inclusion in the Gospel narratives. The fact that certain allegations of magical practices remain in the Gospel materials as an ‘unavoidable inclusion’ not only indicates the extensive nature of these rumours but also raises the possibility that these allegations may have been based on authentic, first-hand observations made by those witnessing the behaviour of the historical Jesus. Therefore, having considered the various allegations of magic made against Jesus which derive largely from the materials produced by the opponents of Christianity, we will now turn to examine the Gospel narratives themselves to discern whether they contain evidence of magical techniques employed by Jesus that have survived the editorial process, perhaps due to the early reader’s familiarity with Jesus’ use of these techniques. To ensure that we are correctly identifying behaviour within the Gospels that would have carried connotations of magical practices for a first-century audience, we will return to the three main characteristics of ancient magic that have been established earlier in this chapter and use these as a ‘magical yard-stick’ against which we can compare the Gospels materials with the typical behaviour of the magician in antiquity. To begin this process, we will address the first of our three major indictors of magical activity and compare the behaviour of the magician, namely his self-imposed secrecy, against the suspiciously secretive behaviour of Jesus within the Gospels. 19 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7.
24. 27. WAS JESUS POSSESSED? 20 I. POSSESSED OR POSSESSOR? EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND HIS SPIRITUAL δύναμις WITHIN THE GOSPELS Morton Smith and Stevan Davies stand firmly at opposing ends of the theoretical and semantic spectrum with regards to their understanding of Jesus’ relationship with the Holy Spirit. Stevan Davies proposes that Jesus was possessed by the Spirit and therefore he should be recognised as a ‘spirit-possessed healer’. On the other hand, Morton Smith argues that Jesus was the dominant, controlling force in the relationship and consequently he had ‘possession of’ the Spirit. Smith’s theory is deeply unpalatable for Davies who outlines the disagreement as follows: ‘It was not the relationship: “possession of,” but the relationship: “possession by,” the fundamental difference being whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was thought to be in control of a spirit entity, or whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was sometimes thought to have been replaced by a spirit entity. And that makes all the difference in the world.’21 By elevating the passivity of the individual undergoing a possession experience and emphasising the dominant role of the new persona, Davies’ theory limits the degree of control that Jesus held in the subsequent application of his power and guards against the possibility that he was exerting control over a spirit through the use of magic. However, a brief analysis of the central characteristics of spirit-possession that are repeatedly cited in both ancient and modern studies into this phenomenon swiftly reveals that Davies’ ‘spirit-possessed healer’ is a highly improbable epithet for the Jesus of the Gospels and that it is Smith’s argument that is closer to the mark. II. SPIRIT-POSSESSION, THE DIVIDED SELF AND THE ‘STRANGE SOUL’ T. K. Oesterreich comments in his substantial volume Possession and Exorcism, a study of possession in both Christian and non-Christian contexts, that the concept of possession loses its relevance as cultures begin to abandon their belief in spiritual beings.22 Although the practice of divine possession is still advocated in our current religious clime by many Christian charismatic groups, a gradual disregard for the existence of spiritual bodies in our present-day culture clearly accounts for our generally dismissive attitude towards possession and our tendency to assign it to inferior or irrational forms of thinking. Thus we are inclined to associate spirit-possession with either the anthropological study of primitive ritual, or psychological disturbances belonging to the psychiatric school of mental illness, or we simply reduce it to the harmless and entertaining genre of the Hollywood shocker movie. Since the reality of demonic influences was widely recognised in antiquity, possession was much more 20 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/was-jesus-possessed.html 21 Stevan L. Davies, Jesus the Healer: Possession, Trance and the Origins of Christianity (London: SCM Press, 1995) p. 91. 22 T. K. Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism: Among Primitive Races in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times (New York: Causeway Books, 1974) p. 378.
25. 28. commonplace amongst the ancients and cases were treated with genuine caution. It is within this cultural framework of spirit-possession that Stevan Davies suggests that we can understand the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.23 Davies attempts to demonstrate that Jesus suffered from psychological episodes in which his original persona (Jesus of Nazareth) was subordinated or replaced by a new, temporary persona (the Spirit of God). During these possession episodes, Davies claims that Jesus was able to operate as a spirit-possessed healer. However, he ‘should not be identified as himself but as another person, the spirit of God.’24 A deviation from or replacement of the natural personality of an individual is generally considered to be a major indication of spirit possession. A change in personality is generally considered to result from either the temporary loss of the practitioner’s normal persona or ‘soul’, hence the anthropological term ‘soul-loss’, or the temporary possession of the practitioner by an external, supernatural power. It is most often the case that both changes occur simultaneously and the soul is replaced immediately by another. Oesterreich observes that in a state of typical possession, the normal and possessing personas cannot simultaneously exist alongside one another and so the original persona is replaced, the result of which is as follows: ‘The subject…considers himself as the new person…and envisages his former being as quite strange, as if it were another’s…the statement that possession is a state in which side by side with the first personality a second has made its way into the consciousness is also very inaccurate…it is the first personality which has been replaced by a second.’ 25 In accordance with this type of possession behaviour, Davies proposes that the observation of the people in Mk. 3:21 that ‘he is beside himself’ (ὃτι ἐξέστη) literally means that Jesus was ‘absent from himself’. [26 ] This phrase, therefore, is evidence that Jesus was possessed by an external entity in this instance. To support this possession theory, Davies examines Jesus’ reported behaviour in the Gospels and isolates passages in which he believes that Jesus is demonstrating typical traits of possession behaviour. Studies of both demonical and divine possession have identified a set of common behavioural patterns that are associated with the individual undergoing a possession experience. The first indication of possession is a change to the speech of the possessed and it is not uncommon in both ancient and modern reports of possession to encounter reference to an alternative persona speaking in the first person through the patient or an alteration in speech patterns, pitch or timbre.[27 ] In light of this, Davies directs his readers to Mk. 13:11 (‘for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit’) and suggests that this passage deals directly with alter-persona 23 Stevan Davies indicates that in the spiritual environment of Jesus’ time ‘the modality of possession…was commonly accepted’ and victims of demon possession and spirit-possessed prophets were an everyday encounter (Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 59). 24 Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 18. 25 T. K Oesterreich, Possession: Demonical and other (London: Kegan Paul, 1930) p. 39. 26 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 95. 27 Oesterreich writes: ‘At the moment when the countenance alters, a more or less changed voice issues from the mouth of the person in the fit. The new intonation also corresponds to the character of the new individuality…in particular the top register of the voice is displaced: the feminine voice is transformed into a bass one, for in all the cases of possession which has hitherto been my lot to know the new individuality was a man’ (Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism, pp. 19-20).
26. 29. spirit speech in which the words are not formulated by the individual himself but originate from the new, dominant persona that has acquired control of the speech of its host. [28 ] A second archetypal indication of possession is an increase in motor movements, known as motor hyper-excitement. When the possessing spirit replaces the original persona of the host it often takes control of the motor movements of the individual, thus exhibiting observable behavioural and psychological irregularities. [29 ] Evidence of the physical symptoms of possession in Jesus’ behaviour is proposed by Campbell Bonner, who suggests that in the account of the raising of Lazarus (Jn. 11:33) the statement ἐνεβριμήσατο τω πνεύματι καὶ ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν should be translated as ‘the Spirit set him in frenzy and he threw himself into disorder.’ [30 ] Bonner adds that the phrase in verse 38 ἐνεβριμώμενος ἑν ἑαυτω also seems to mean ‘in suppressed (or inward) frenzy’.31 I would suggest, however, that interpreting ἐμβριμάομαι as indicative of possession frenzy ignores the sense of anger and indignation that is associated with the term. For example, Arndt and Gingrich interpret ἐμβριμάομαι as ‘to snort with anger’ and propose that we should interpret the word as ‘an expression of anger and displeasure’.32 It appears that the presence of the term within this passage simply serves to indicate that Jesus was angry and does not signify that he was exhibiting motor hyper-excitement or any other physical manifestation of possession frenzy. If we are to recognise that the historical Jesus was subject to periods of spirit-possession and that he was exhibiting all the characteristic symptoms of a possessed individual, then we would expect to find evidence within the Gospels of an initial possession experience in which Jesus first encounters his possessing spirit. Stevan Davies suggests that the Gospel writers record this event and that it takes place at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mt. 3:1-17//Mk. 1:9-11//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34). III. THE BAPTISM AS THE MOMENT OF SPIRIT-POSSESSION The bizarre imagery of the descent of a dove and a voice coming from the heavens that are used by the Gospel authors when describing Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9-11//Mt. 3:1- 17//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34 [33 ]) are found nowhere else in the Gospels and they are generally considered to be a poetic vehicle through which the Gospel authors present a messianic moment, make revelations regarding Jesus’ divine identity and highlight his relationship with God. Stevan Davies claims that since the baptismal accounts provided by the Gospel authors meet John Meier’s criterion of multiple attestation (the story appears in Matthew, Mark, Luke 28 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 29, cf. p. 46. 29 Typical possession ‘is nevertheless distinguished from ordinary somnambulistic states by its intense motor and emotional excitement’ (Oesterreich, Possession, p. 39). ‘Muscle rigidity and loss of control of gross motor movements’ are mentioned by Davies (Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 33). 30 Campell Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, HTR 20. 3 (1927) p. 176. 31 Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, p. 176. 32 William Arndt and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957) p. 254. 33 Although the Johannine version of the baptism is recounted as a vision by John the Baptist, I am including it here as it retains the imagery of the descending dove.
27. 30. and John), the criterion of embarrassment (the story is not compatible with the interests of early Christianity) and the criterion of dissimilarity (there is no mention of a descending Holy Spirit in other Jewish or early Christian sources), the baptism accounts can therefore be considered to be a historically reliable record of events.[34 ] Davies then suggests that the baptism accounts essentially describe Jesus’ ‘initial spirit-possession experience’. [35 ] This adoptionist cum possession theory proposes that Jesus was not possessed by the Spirit prior to his baptism and that he underwent a ‘psychological transformation’[36 ] during which he was ‘anointed’ with the power to begin his messianic work.[37] To regard the baptism as the moment of the endowment of spiritual power is reminiscent of the first-century Gnostic doctrine of Cerinthianism and the second-century sect of the Ebionites, both of whom believed that Jesus did not have the Holy Spirit until his baptism and that it abandoned him at the crucifixion. A number of difficulties arise when proposing that the historical Jesus was spirit-possessed and these will be addressed below. However, connotations of spirit-possession may account for the sensitive treatment of the baptismal account by each of the Gospel authors. The author of Matthew has previously explained that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18-20) and therefore he does not require the baptism story to explain the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry. Nevertheless, the baptismal account is preserved in Mt. 3:1-17. The author of Luke separates Jesus’ baptism from the descent of the Spirit and the heavenly voice, preferring to introduce these later when Jesus is praying (Lk. 3:21-22). The author of John chooses to replicate the baptismal story, but he is clearly embarrassed by it since he turns it into a vision by John the Baptist (Jn. 1:32). Various attempts have been made to account for the appearance of the Spirit as a dove (ὡς περιστερά) in all four Gospels. One particularly persuasive explanation is that the Gospel authors are conforming the physical embodiment of God’s Spirit to the popular conception of spirits, or souls, as airy, bird-like entities. James Frazer observes that it was widely accepted in the ancient world that when a person died his soul would leave his body in bird shape and he adds that ‘this conception has probably left traces in most languages, and it lingers as a metaphor in poetry.’[38] In concurrence with Frazer’s comments, the depiction of the spirit or soul of the deceased as a bird is common in biblical, classical and modern literature. For example, James L. Allen Jr. writes in his study of the bird-soul motif in the writings of William Butler Yeats: ‘Because of its ability to rise above the earth a bird is a fairly obvious and appropriate symbol for a disembodied soul. The identification of soul with bird is…both ancient and widespread, the naturalness of such an association no doubt underlying its universality.’[39] 34 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 35 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148. 36 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 65. 37 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148: ‘If Jesus believed himself to be one who was anointed by God, it is anything but unlikely that the anointing in question was his initial possession experience.’ 38 J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Chapter III. 33-34. 39 James L. Allen, Jr., ‘Yeats’s Bird-Soul Symbolism’, TCL 6. 3 (1960) p. 117.
28. 31. There are various passages from classical literature in which the soul leaves the body in the form of a bird and one example of the early Christian use of this imagery in found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, in which the saint’s soul leaves his body in the form of a dove upon death. ‘So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, ordered an executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this, there came forth [a dove and] a quantity of blood.’ [40 ] Although it is possible that the Gospel authors adopted the simple literary device of a bird- soul as a means by which to represent the physical embodiment of the Spirit, other scholars have suggested that περιστερά, is an error in translation and that the word relates to the manner in which the Spirit descends. Regardless of whether the Gospel authors intended περιστερά, to indicate a physical dove or simply the Spirit’s mode of descent, a theory of spirit-possession would be greatly strengthened if the Gospel writers intended to portray this Spirit as entering ‘into’ Jesus following its descent, rather than simply resting ‘upon’ him. The connection between possession and the presence of a spirit within the individual is demonstrated in the Markan account of the Capernaum demoniac when the unclean spirit is said to be in (evn) the possessed man (Mk. 1:23). Certainly this in-dwelling nature of the Holy Spirit is suggested in the baptismal account provided in the Ebionite Gospel in which the dove comes down and enters into Jesus (peristera/j katelqou,shj kai. eivselqou,shj eivj auvto,n, Epiphanius, Adv. Haer. 30. 13). However, I would suggest that the terminology used by the Gospel authors cannot be used as a reliable indicator of spirit- possession since the terms ‘upon’ and ‘in’ are used interchangeably when depicting the reception of the Spirit in the Old Testament. For example, Isa. 42:1 reads ‘I have put my Spirit upon him’ whereas Ezek. 36:27 reads ‘and I will put my Spirit within you'. Since Jesus’ wilderness experience follows directly from his baptism in all three Synoptic Gospels, it is clear that the evangelists intend the two events to be linked together. With this in mind, Stevan Davies suggests that Jesus’ expulsion into the wilderness is the direct result of his prior gift of the Spirit at baptism and that the forceful nature of Jesus’ departure is reminiscent of the impulsive behaviour associated with the possessed. Therefore Davies proposes that the Gospel authors are describing a ‘spontaneous possession experience’. [41 ] The forcefulness of Jesus’ expulsion is evident in the terminology used in the Markan account. While Matthew and Luke employ the much softer avnh,cqh / h;geto (‘led’, Mt. 4:1; Lk. 4:1), a forceful, violent, external influence upon Jesus is evident in Mk. 1:12, in which the Spirit forcefully ‘drives out’ (ἐκβάλλει) Jesus into the wilderness.[42 ] 40 The Martyrdom of Polycarp, 16:1 (trans. J.B. Lightfoot). There is some disagreement concerning the mention of a dove here. For example, Eusebius does not mention the dove and many have thought that the text has been altered. Cf. also the martyrdom of St. Eulalia in Prudentius’ Peristephanon in which it is reported that a white dove left her mouth upon death. 41 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 42 The term ἐκβάλλει is typically used by the author of Mark in connection with the exorcism of demons, cf. Mk.1:34, 39, 43; 3:15, 22; 4:13; 7:26; 9:18, 28.
29. 32. OSIRIS, JESUS, AND MAGIC Fabré-Palaprat possessed an important document. This was the Levitikon—a version of John’s Gospel with blatantly Gnostic implications—which he claimed to have found on a second-hand bookstall. In short: the "Levitikon" claims, that "Our Lord was an initiate of the Mysteries of Osiris". The writings of the Neo-Templar Order have a close resemblance to the "Sepher Toledoth Yeshu", a Jewish text from around 1100 BC, which talks about Jesus as an initiate of the Kabbalah. Once again, this seems just a little too neat, but if the document is authentic, it throws some light on the real reasons for keeping much of the Gnostic knowledge secret. For theLevitikon, a version of St John’s Gospel that some date as far back as the eleventh century, tells a very different story from that found in the more familiar New Testament book of the same name. Fabré-Palaprat used the Levitikon as the basis for founding his Neo-Templar Johannite Church in Paris in 1828. The Levitikon , which had been translated from Latin into Greek, consists of two parts. The first contains the religious doctrines that are to be given to the initiate, including rituals concerning the nine grades of the Templar Order. It describes the Templars' ‘Church of John’ and explains the fact that they called themselves ‘Johannites’ or ‘original Christians’. The second part is like the standard John’s Gospel except for some significant omissions. Chapters 20 and 21 are missing, the last two of the Gospel. It also eliminates all hint of the miraculous from the stories of the turning of the water into wine, the loaves and fishes, and the raising of Lazarus. And certain references to St Peter are edited out, including the story of Jesus saying ‘Upon this rock I will build my church’. But if this is puzzling, the Levitikon also contains surprising, even shocking, material: Jesus is presented as having been an initiate of the mysteries of Osiris, the major Egyptian god of his day. Osiris was the consort of his sister, the beautiful goddess Isis who governed love, healing and magic—among many other attributes. (Distasteful though such an incestuous relationship may seem to us today, it was part of the Pharaonic tradition, and would have seemed perfectly normal to any worshipper in ancient Egypt.) The Levitikon, besides making the extraordinary claim that Jesus was an Osiran initiate, also stated that he had passed this esoteric knowledge on to his disciple, John ‘the Beloved’. It also claims that Paul and the other Apostles may have founded the Christian Church, but they did so without any knowledge of Jesus' true teaching. The Johannite Christians claimed to have been heirs to the ‘secret teaching’ and true story of Jesus, whom they refer to as ‘Yeshu the Anointed’. For them, not only was
30. 33. Jesus an initiate of Osiris, but he was merely a man, not the Son of God. Moreover, he was the illegitimate son of Mary—and there was no question of the miraculous Virgin birth. They attributed all such claims to an ingenious—if outrageous—cover story that the Gospel writers had invented to obscure Jesus' illegitimacy, and the fact that his mother had no idea of the identity of his father! As early as the second century, less then two hundred years after the death of Christ, Celsus, a Greek philosopher, literally accused Jesus of "having worked for hire in Egypt on account of his poverty, and having experimented there with some magical powers, in which the Egyptians take great pride." Later Jewish writers expanded upon this theme, claiming that Jesus brought forth "witchcraft from Egypt by means of scratches upon his flesh" and that he "practiced magic and led Israel astray." According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, Jesus was often accused by the Talmudists of performing magic: It is the tendency of all these sources to belittle the person of Jesus by ascribing to him illegitimate birth, magic, and a shameful death. Magic may have been ascribed him over against the miracles recorded in the Gospel. The sojourn of Jesus in Egypt is an essential part of the story of his youth. According to the Gospels he was in that country in his early infancy, but Celsus says that he was in service there and learned magic. According to Celsus (in Origen, “Contra Celsum,” i. 28) and to the Talmud (Shab. 104b), Jesus learned magic in Egypt and performed his miracles by means of it; the latter work, in addition, states that he cut the magic formulas into his skin. It does not mention, however, the nature of his magic performances (Tosef., Shab. xi. 4; Yer. Shab. 18d); but as it states that the disciples of Jesus healed the sick “in the name of Jesus Pandera” (Yer. Shab. 14d; Ab. Zarah 27b; Eccl. R. i. 8) it may be assumed that its author held the miracles of Jesus also to have been miraculous cures. Different in nature is the witchcraft attributed to Jesus in the “Toledot.” When Jesus was expelled from the circle of scholars, he is said to have returned secretly from Galilee to Jerusalem, where he inserted a parchment containing the “declared name of God” (“Shem ha-Meforash”), which was guarded in the Temple, into his skin, carried it away, and then, taking it out of his skin, he performed his miracles by its means. This magic formula then had to be recovered from him, and Judah the Gardener (a personage of the “Toledot” corresponding to Judas Iscariot) offered to do it; he and Jesus then engaged in an aerial battle (borrowed from the legend of SIMON MAGUS), in which Judah remained victor and Jesus fled. The accusation of magic is frequently brought against Jesus. Jerome mentions it, quoting the Jews: “Magum vocant et Judaei Dominum meum” (“Ep. 1v., ad Ascellam,” i. 196, ed. Vallarsi); Marcus, of the sect of the Valentinians, was, according to Jerome, a native of Egypt, and was accused of being, like Jesus, a magician (Hilgenfeld, “Ketzergesch.” p. 870, Leipsic, 1884). Or: „… As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people", was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam" „…Jesus performed all his miracles by means of magic …“
31. 34. TOLEDOTH YESHU In the Toldoth Yeshua, Yeshu ben Pandera was a Jew who went to Egypt, became proficient in their magical arts, returned to Judea, went about healing many people and incurred the hostility of the religious upper echelon – the Sanhedrin. He was stoned to death at Lud [Al-Lud or Lydda] , and his body was "hanged on a tree" on the eve of Passover. The Toldoth Yeshua begins with, John of the house of David, getting engaged to Miriam, originally from Bethlehem, the daughter of a neighboring widow. A certain Pandera also had desires for Miriam. On a Sabbath night he came to Miriam during her period,raped her, and Yeshu was conceived. Miriam thought Pandera was her husband-to-be and yielded to him after a struggle, greatly astonished at the behavior of her fiancé'. When the real fiancé, John, came she made her anger clear to him. He immediately suspected Pandera and told Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetah of the incident. Miriam became pregnant, and since John knew that the child was not his, but was unable to prove who was guilty he fled to Babylon. Yeshu later became a student of Rabbi Joshua Ben- Perachia,was taken to Egypt where he studied magic. He later returned to Israel and The story continues with the adult Yeshu stealing the "Shem ha-Mephorash", or the name of God "which must not be pronounced", from the Temple's Holiest of Holies, and utilizing it to perform miracles. Yeshu is imprisoned, escapes and flees to Antioch and Egypt to learn more witchcraft. He later returns to Jerusalem,to steal the secret name of God which he had lost. Judas of Kerioth informed the leaders of Jerusalem of this and said that he would kneel down before this Yeshu so that they could distinguish him from his disciples, who were dressed in the same colors of clothing. Yeshu was taken captive and sentenced to be hanged on the Friday before Passover. After being buried, a gardener took his body and hid it in a ditch in his Cabbage patch. His disciples failed to find the body in the tomb they told Queen Helen that he had risen from the dead, and so she wished to put to death all the Sages of Israel. Rabbi Tanhuma Bar Abba - [possibly simile to Barabbas], however, found the body, which was then tied to a horse's tail and dragged to where the Queen was. Nevertheless, Yeshu's disciples spread the story of Jesus amongst the Gentiles. These disciples included 12 apostles who were said to be arduous persecutors of the Jews. Talmud and Rabbinical entries referring to Jesus Besides the Tol'doth Yeshu, there are several other passages in various sections of the Talmud and other ancient writings that may contain portions of the Historical Jesus proto-type to whom the God-man legend has attached itself to in the current age. Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover." .Jesus was "hung/crucified" on the eve of Passover as per the Gospel of John. II MOED, I Schaboath 104b: The “whore son practiced Egyptian magic by cutting into his flesh”. “ this whore-born son of Pandera.” In the Amoa, written in the late 3rd Century it records "And do you suppose that for Yeshu there was any right of appeal;? He was a beguiler, and the Merciful One hath said: 'Thou shalt not spare neither shalt thou conceal him,' It is otherwise with Yeshu, for he was near to the civil authority." - This passage could refer to Yeshu, as well as many other personalities appearing within various parts of the Talmud and related texts "...As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people," was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam." Jewish Encyclopedia
32. 35. Mary was called Stada in the Talmud, that is, a prostitute, because, according to what was taught at Pumbadita, she left her husband and commited adultery. This is also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud and by Maimonides. In Schabbath the passage referred to says: "Rabbi Eliezer said to the Elders: 'Did not the son of Stada practice Egyptian magic by cutting it into his flesh?' They replied: 'He was a fool, and we do not pay attention to what fools do. The son of Stada, Pandira's son, etc.' " as above in Sanhedrin, 67a. This magic of the son of Stada is explained as follows in the book Beth Jacobh, fol. 127 a: "The Magi, before they left Egypt, took special care not to put their magic in writing lest other peoples might come to learn it. But he devised a new way by which he inscribed it on his skin, or made cuts in his skin and inserted it there and which, when the wounds healed up, did not show what they meant." Buxtorf says (cf. Lexicon. Jud. in verbo Jeschu): "There is little doubt who this Ben Stada was, or who the Jews understood him to be. Although the Rabbis in their additions to the Talmud try to hide their malice and say that it is not Jesus Christ, their deceit is plainly evident, and many things prove that they wrote and understood all these things about him. In the first place, they also call him the son of Pandira. Jesus the Nazarene is thus called in other passages(10) of the Talmud where express mention is made of Jesus the son of Pandira. St. John Damascene(11) also, in his Genealogy of Christ, mentions Panthera and the Son of Panthera. "Secondly, this Stada is said to be Mary, and this Mary the mother of Peloni 'that certain one,' by which without doubt Jesus is meant. For in this way they were accustomed to cover up his name because they were afraid to mention it. If we had copies of the original manuscripts they would certainly prove this. And this also was the name of the mother of Jesus the Nazarene. "Thirdly, he is called the Seducer of the People. The Gospels(12) testify that Jesus was called this by the Jews, and their writings to this day are proof that they still call him by this name. "Fourthly, he is called 'the one who was hanged,' which clearly refers to the crucifixion of Christ, especially since a reference to the time 'on the eve of the Passover' is added, which coincides with the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. In Sanhedrin (43a) they wrote as follows: "On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus' "Fifthly, as to what the Jerusalem Talmud says about the two disciples of the Elders who were sent as witnesses to spy on him, and who were afterwards brought forward as witnesses against him: This refers to the two "false witnesses" of whom the Evangelists Matthew(14) and Luke(15) make mention. "Sixthly, concerning what they say about the son of Stada that he practiced Egyptian magical arts by cutting into his flesh: the same accusation is made against Christ in their hostile book Toldoth Jeschu. "Lastly, the time corresponds. For it is said that this son of Stada lived in the days of Paphus the son of Jehuda, who was a contemporary of Rabbi Akibah. Akibah, however, lived at the time of the Ascension of Christ, and for some time after. Mary is also said to have lived under the Second Temple. All this clearly proves that they secretly and blasphemously understand this son of Stada to be Jesus Christ the son of Mary. Mandaean and Johanite References to Jesus Mandaean Book of Adam: Jesus was the son of a devil, a perverter of the true doctrine, who disseminated iniquity and perfidy over the whole world. The Mandaean Book of John which predates and was incorporated into the modern “Gospel of St. John” used by Templar and Johanite Masonry. Jesus was the disciple of the Devil, who fooled John the Baptist. The “liar” Jesus tricked John into baptizing him by use of a satanic ruse that seemed to come from heaven. “Yahya (John) baptized the liar in the Jordan”, he baptized “the false prophet Yishu Meshiha (Jesus the Messiah), son of the devil Ruha Kadishta.”
33. 36. ISIS, VENUS AND MARY MAGDALENE Mary Magdalene – High Priestess and Sacred Prostitute Temples of the Goddess Isis existed throughout biblical times. One image shows Mary holding the alabaster jar and wearing around her waist what is known as the ‘Girdle of Isis’ or the Isis knot which was worn by priestesses of Isis. Many authors speak of Mary (or Mari) coming to her first menses and being sent to Egypt and the Temple of Isis to become initiated into the ways of the sacred Priestess. Here, she becomes Qadishtu and is taught the practice of sacred sexuality where she becomes the living vessel for the Goddess to enter in the ancient rite known as ‘hieros gamos’ or ‘sacred marriage’. The Da Vinci Code speaks of this sacred rite where through ritual sex, both parties are able to experience God/dess. In Babylon the Goddess Ishtar (=Isis/Isais) did not differentiate in bestowing her blessings and honoured the sexual act howsoever it be performed [Cunningham, E. Sacred Prostitution: The Whore and the Holy One]. “Who will plough my vulva?” calls Inanna in the old hymns…”Who will water the holy lap?”[From “The Courtship of Innana and Dumuzi” translated by Samuel Noah Kramer] It is only recently that a reinterpretation of various texts reveals that Mary Magdalene was indeed the partner and most favoured companion of Jesus. Writings from the Nag Hammadi library deliver up to us texts which reveal insights into the role of women and Mary Magdalene herself. The Gospel of Philip speaks of Mary Magdalene “as the most favoured companion of Jesus who loved her more than the other disciples and would kiss her often on the mouth”. [Meyer, M. The Gospels of Mary Magdalene (p49)] Venus, Mary Magdalene, and the Re-emerging so called "Sacred Feminine“ Mary the Light-Bringer The explicit links between Mary Magdalene and Venus perhaps point to Mary's true identity. In the south of France, where Mary Magdalene landed and established her ministry after the crucifixion, she was known as "Mary Lucifera" or "Mary the Light- bringer." [Picknett, Mary Magdalene, p. 95. ] Lucifer is now popularly associated with the devil, conflated with the figure of Satan, but to the ancient Romans, Lucifer (Latin for "light- bringer") referred to the Morning Star, aka Venus. Picknett explains: "This was a time- honored tradition: pagan goddesses were known, for example, as 'Diana Lucifera' or 'Isis Lucifer' to signify their power to illumine mind and soul … to open up both body and psyche to the Holy Light." [Picknett's The Secret History of Lucifer, which followed her book on Mary Magdalene, seeks to undo this conflation of Lucifer and Satan. See p. xiii. ]
34. 37. The planet Venus has a long history of association with the Divine Feminine. The oldest written story of the Goddess (as far as we know) is the myth of the Sumerian Inanna, Queen of Heaven, recorded on cuneiform tablets in approximately 2500 B.C.E. Shamanic astrologer Daniel Giamario (among others) has correlated the story of the Sumerian Goddess — her descent to the Underworld and her return — with the astronomical cycle of Venus (her synodic cycle). Every eight years, Venus traces the shape of a five-pointed star or pentagram in the sky, and ancient depictions of the Goddess often include the image of a pentagram, or sometimes an eight-pointed star. From Priestess to Prostitute Virgin also meant a sovereign, unmarried woman, often referring to a priestess dedicated to the Goddess. For thousands of years, Venus in her various guises — Inanna, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Isis — was worshiped in temples staffed by priestesses who, far from our modern interpretation of "virgin," participated in sacred sexuality with members of the community. The priestesses were called venerii and taught venia, sexual practices for connecting with the Divine. The Venusian priestesses, Picknett writes, "gave men ecstatic pleasure that would transcend mere sex: the moment of orgasm was believed to propel them briefly into the presence of the gods, to present them with a transcendent experience of enlightenment." It was mostly women (and some cross-dressing men) who led the sexual rites, because "it was believed that women were naturally enlightened." [Picknett, The Secret History of Lucifer, p. 59. ] There is an association between Venus and Pisces, the fish symbol of the early christians, that predates the Greek myth. The symbol for Pisces is said to come from the Vesica Piscis (literally, "the bladder of a fish"), an ancient geometrical figure consisting of two overlapping circles, where the perimeter of each circle intersects with the other's center. The Vesica Pisces has been associated with the Goddess for thousands of years, and more specifically, with the feminine power of giving birth — the almond- shaped figure formed by the overlapping circles symbolizes the vagina. The Vesica Piscis is the basic component of the so called Flower of Life, a hexagonal „666“ black-magic symbol, which binds us to our carbon-based earthly bodies! So when you see the Christian fish symbol on the back of a car, think, "Mary's vulva". Or alternatively: „Cosmic Void“ – abyss of the Black Sun! Thule, the Nazis and the Isais Revelations In 1220, Templar Komtur Hubertus Koch received an apparition of the goddess Isais (first child of goddess Isis and god Set). The Templars received over time the Isais Revelations, a series of prophesies and information concerning the Holy Grail. The Templars were ordered to form a secret scientific sect in southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy to be known as "Die Herren vom Schwarzen Stein" - The Lords of the Black Stone, in Italy as
35. 38. „Ordo Bucintoro“. The legend has the Ordo Bucintoro by way of its founder Antonia Contenta as the heir of the Templar’s secrets, one of them being visitations, Magickal instruction and a gift from the Goddess Ishtar. The hauntingly beautiful Goddess, sometimes boyish with a short crop, sometimes with long flowing hair told them to retire to the Untersberg Mountain and await further instruction. There she appeared to them multiple times over the next decade or so. She told them that mans physical body is naught but a temporal home constructed for and by his timeless soul to manifest its existence in this crude world of matter. This world of empty and endless distances between the other worlds, this world of death and decay is a kingdom of shadows created by a dark god to enmesh and snare the luminous spirit, which is the divine essence of every soul. The rightful residence of that lost soul is a place between life and death, what is now called the ethereal world. It is the world of the unborn and of the dead. It is the world of many worlds. Ishtar called it the Green World. Ishtar told them of a perpetual battle that raged across these unseen realms in the kingdoms of the sublime. She told them that this was the age of darkness but in the coming Age of Aquarius the light of the “Black Sun” will reveal these invisible worlds and man will be restored to greatness. Madam Helena Blavatsky, the foundress of the Theosophical Society, described this Luciferian energy as an aether stream that could be transformed into a physical force. Blavatsky was the Pioneer of the New Age Movement. Her “The Secret Doctrine” has key quotes in it: “Lucifer represents…Life…Thought…Progress…Civilization…Liberty…Independence…Lucifer is the Logos…the Serpent, the Savior”. pages 171, 225, 255 (Volume II) “The Celestial Virgin which thus becomes the Mother of Gods and Devils at one and the same time; for she is the ever-loving beneficent Deity…but in antiquity and reality Lucifer or Luciferius is the name. Lucifer is divine and terrestrial Light, ‘the Holy Ghost’ and “Satan’ at one and the same time.” page 539 The Planet Venus Blavatsky's description of „Sophia“ should give pause to those who invoke her as a female Third Person of the Godhead. In Isis unveiled, she said: „The very cosmogonies show that the Archaeal Universal Soul was held by every nation as the mind of the Demiurgic Creator, the Sophia of the Gnostics, or the Holy Ghost as a female principle. This may be the spiritual origin of „inclusive“ language for the Third Person of the Trinity.“ In the Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky added: „In the great Valentian gospel Pistis Sophia it is

3. For Gnostics the material world is a creation of an evil Demiurge. That is why the physical body is seen as a prison for the soul. Our soul got caught in an angel trap, split up, and dispersed over dimen- sions and planets. Thus God sent his own spirit as savior - the CHRIST-LOGOS. He is the the good shepherd and the Paraclete, our advocate. Through him man finds his way out of this demiurgic maze. The CHRIST-LOGOS guides us home safe. HE IS INVINCIBLE SPIRIT WHO CAN'T BE CRUCIFIED

1. 4. THE MANDAEANS  AND THEIR GNOSTIC BELIEF IS THE CLOSEST TO TRUTH STILL EXISTING ON EARTH! The Mandaeans believe that Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were nothing more than false messengers; as they revere John the Baptist to be the most honorable messenger of God. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. One of their religious texts has John the Baptist describe Jesus with ‘...and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (sacred) meal and abstained from the food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joins all races to him, and perverts and joins to himself a people, and they are called Christians’. According to the Mandeans John the Baptist, before ascending to the Abode of Truth, unmasked the Greek Christ who himself confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems, the Mandæans partly identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Because Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. The fundamental doctrine of Mandaeanism is generally characterized by nine features that appear in various forms throughout other Gnostic sects. The FIRST of these is a supreme, formless Entity. The SECOND of these is the dualistic nature of the theology; Mandaeans believe in a Father and Mother, light and darkness. Syzygy is found in nearly all cosmic forms throughout the Mandaean teachings. T he counter-
2. 5. types that create a world of ideas constitute the THIRD common feature. FOURTH, the soul is portrayed by the Mandaeans as an exile that must find its way home to its origin – the supreme Entity. FIFTH, the Mandaeans teach that the planets and stars are heavily influential of fate and are fashioned as various final destination places after death. SIXTH, a savior spirit is assigned to assist the soul on its journey to return to the supreme Entity, and ultimately to assist the soul on the journey through the false “worlds of light” after death. The SEVENTH feature of Mandaean beliefs involves a cult-language of symbol and metaphor; by composing in this language, ideas and qualities about their religion become personified. EIGHTH - the installment of sacraments and mysteries performed to aid and purify the soul. According to Mandaean scripture, the purpose of these sacraments is to ensure the rebirth of the soul into a spiritual body, and to ensure the soul’s ascent from the world of matter to the heavens. NINTH, the Mandaeans teach a religion of Great Secrecy. Full explanation of the previous features is only reserved for initiated members of the Mandaean faith that are considered fully capable of comprehending and preserving the gnosis. While some Gnostic sects of antiquity did not believe in marriage and procreation, the Mandaean people do indeed wed and conceive children. Consequently, the importance of family values and an ethically sound life are also highly regarded by the Mandaean Gnostics. An interesting note about the Mandaean faith teaches scholars that while they are in agreement with other Gnostic sects in regards to the idea that the world was created and governed to be a prison by archons, they do not view the world as cruel and inhospitable as other Gnostics do. They believe that God is the king of light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras, the most elevated of which is Abel the Brilliant. An emanation of God, Abathur, gave birth to Ptahil [cf. Ptah, the epyptian god of architects] the creator of the world. The earth is a dark place, created out of Ruha’s black waters but the waters would not solidify until they were mixed with a little light provided by Abel the Brilliant. He also supplied Adam’s soul from the Treasury of Life. Ruha is easily seen as Ruach, the breath of God in Genesis and the basis of the Holy Spirit (=the Paraclete/Logos). In Aramaic it means “wind”.It is a feminine noun, so can easily have been seen as a feminine principle, and logically, its place in the Catholic Trinity is the place for a Goddess (Father, Mother, Son). They consider Yahweh/Jehova to be an evil god. They see themselves in direct opposition to Yahweh. They turn the stories of the Old Testament on their head, so all the people who were killed by Yahweh in the Old Testament for supposedly being sinful become pious Mandaeans killed by an evil deity. They consider the people destroyed by
3. 6. the Flood as being Mandaeans, along with the populations of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the ancient Egyptians who opposed Moses in the Exodus story. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. The soul is an exiled captive on earth. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Read! Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Masks of Christ: Behind the Lies and Cover-ups About Jesus Prince, Clive and Picknett, Lynn: The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Christ MANDAEANS: FOLLOWERS OF JOHN THE BAPTIST 1 The beginnings of Mandaism are unknown but there are clues in Mandæan books and their rituals and beliefs. Mandæan (Mandayya) means “to have knowledge”, from the Aramaic word for knowledge, Manda, the same as Gnosis, suggesting Mandaism is a survival of Gnosticism, and much in Mandæan cosmology seems to hark back to gnostic ideas. However, it is of interest to us because there is a possibility that the sect really does derive from John the Baptist, so offers a different view of the foundation of Christianity. With typical Christian arrogance and lack of scholarship, the Mandæan traditions about John are described by them as “confused”. The Mandæans are an interesting sect, quite neglected, is that called by some the Saint John’s Christians because they regard Jesus as a false messiah but revere John the Baptist. They call themselves Mandæans and are an old religious sect. The Mandæan tradition preserves traces of the earliest forms of a pre-Christian gnosis. Importantly, they look back to a still more ancient tradition which is claimed to be purer and wiser than that of the Jews. It is that of the Essenes who can be seen to have had a remarkable influence on the world far exceeding their numbers. The Mandæan tradition’s rejection of the Christian messianic claim is that Jesus was the Deceiver Messiah, and they say this derives from John himself. The baptism of Jesus by John is acknowledged, but given a mystic explanation. Jesus is not shown as unknowing, answering test questions from John with deep moral insight. The Mandæan tradition has its origins are certainly in Jerusalem in Judæa, and suggests John had a deep knowledge of the inner meaning of the Law. For Mandæans, Allah (Alaha) is the False God, the True God being Mana, but the Mandæans seem to be the Sabians, the Baptizers, of the Quran. They perform elaborate baptismal ceremonies on all religious occasions and daily before sunrise. Their attachment to these lustrations gave them the name Subba or Sabians meaning 1 http://www.askwhy.co.uk/christianity/0255Mandaeans.php
4. 7. baptisers. The Essenes too were said to have welcomed the rise of the sun with ceremony and prayer. Note that Epiphanius identified Nazarenes with the “Daily Baptists” (Hemerobaptists). John the Baptist was himself baptised, while yet a boy, by God in His aspect of Manda d’Hayye and he then performed miracles of healing through baptism. In an account in the holy book, the Ginza, John baptised Manda d’Hayye – the true Messiah. Mandæan lustrations had to be in running water, yardna, (a word with same consonants as Jordan), not still water (like the Christians) which they disdained. Furthermore they were repeated immersions not just a single one by way of initiation as it is in Christianity. Again this is common ground with the Essenes, the difference arising because Jesus had decided there was no time for his converts to be fully initiated into Essene practises, so the initial baptism had to suffice provided that repentance was sincere. The Day of God’s Vengeance was too close. Mandæan Beliefs Mandæan cosmology does sound Gnostic. God is the King of Light who dwells in the uppermost world. The lower worlds including the earth is the home of an evil female spirit called Ruha who gave birth to countless spiritual beings, some good and some evil, but notably the Twelve, identified with the Zodiac, and the Seven, identified with the seven planets [compare to the 7 Deadly Sins]. So, between God and this world there are gradations of aeons called Utras [=messengers of God]. The evil rulers, the Archons, of the earthly realm and the lower heavens, obstruct the ascent of the soul through the heavenly spheres to reunion with the supreme God. The body is a tomb (soma sema) and the material world is a prison. All of the visible world is corrupt and will ultimately be destroyed. Only the Righteous can save their souls by always being moral, practising the prescribed ritual observances and acquiring revealed knowledge. Abel the Brilliant, the Mandæan Saviour, once dwelled on earth, where he triumphed over the Archons who try to keep the soul imprisoned. He can thus assist the soul in its ascent through the spheres toward its final reunion with the Supreme God. Manda d’Hayye is “Knowledge of Salvation”, a phrase which occurs in the song of Zacharias in Luke (Lk 1:77), which we have surmised is Essene. Essene thought has the same concept or gets close to it, the scrolls speaking of the “Knowledge of God” and “His Salvation”. The Manda d’Hayye and the light-giving powers seek to direct men and women to good actions. The planets and the spirit of physical life incite them to error through Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other “false religions”. Those who lead a good life pass after death to a world of light, others undergo torture, but even the most evil will be purified in a great baptism at the end of the world—the equivalent of the Persian and Essene baptism with fire on the Day of God’s Vengeance. Gentile Christianity was founded before Paul among the Hellenised Jews of Palestine who were dispersed at the very start of the story by Hebraic Jews—Jews who rejected the ways and manners of the Greeks and regarded Hellenisation as apostasy. Paul naturally favoured this faction and, though the Hellenised Jews did not try to convert gentiles, Paul did. The Hebraic Christians and the Hebraic followers of John (both called Nazarenes or Nasoraeans) would have regarded this as quite unacceptable. The gospels tell us that the Jerusalem Church rejected Paul’s innovations, and the Mandæan works seem to say that the followers of John also rejected them.
5. 8. Enosh Uthra, the Good Man Mandæans consider the Jesus of the Christians as a false messiah but they accepted that there was a true messiah whom they called Enosh-Uthra. The word Uthra which literally means “wealth” seems here to mean “good” or “divine” because Enosh Uthra is the “divine” man or the “good man”. He came into the world in the days of Pilate, the king of the world, healed the sick and gave sight to the blind, and raised the dead. In this tradition, John does the same miracles as Jesus, contrary to the fourth gospel (Jn 10:41) that tells us “John did no miracle”. In Christian tradition, miracles are reserved for Jesus, in Mandæan tradition, for John. He taught a dualistic philosophy of truth and error, light and darkness, and life and death by burning fire which consumes all wrong—the very teaching of the Essene brotherhood. He ordained 365 prophets to teach, and sent them out from Jerusalem. Eventually, he ascended to the Abode of Truth and will return at the End. Like the Essenes and the Persians, the Mandæans were particular about Truth. Before Enosh-Uthra ascended to the Abode of Truth, he unmasked the Greek Christ who confessed that he was one of the Seven, the deceiving planets—he was Mercury! That's wrong. In the occult tradition Jesus was actually identified with the luciferian Venus, the Morning Star. It seems the Mandæans partly, at least, identify the Christian Jesus with Paul, the apostle. Paul was declared to be Mercury in Acts of the Apostles. Thus for the Mandæans, Enosh-Uthra, John the Baptist - apparently an incarnation of Abel the Brilliant - looks rather like the Jesus of the gospels but the Byzantine Christ looks like Paul. It makes sense. If John and Jesus were successive Nasis out trying to heal the Simple of Ephraim, Jewish apostates, they will have had similar general characteristics, and their individual details might have been confused to some degree. Christians, for example, have tried to pretend that Jesus did not baptise when he plainly did. Confirming it is the fact that Mandæans do not have a clear distinction between Jews and Christians, a fact which harks back to the very earliest days of Christianity when the followers of Jesus were still Jews. In the Mandæan John-Book we meet the priest Zachariah and his aged wife Elizabeth except that her name has been corrupted to Enishbai (to reflect Enosh?). No Christian will believe that this is not taken from the first chapter of Luke, but if Luke was merely reflecting a small part of Essene history, the identity is due to their common origin. After John had spent 42 years baptising in the Jordan, the Christian Jesus (called here Nbou—Nabu, Nebo, Mercury, Hermes) sought baptism from him, but the spirit Enosh-Uthra did not require baptism (in fact, he will have been baptised by Zachariah who was his predecessor). Again, Mandæan tradition might support the idea that Jesus succeeded John as the Nasi, because John had no choice but to baptise Jesus—a voice from heaven ordered him. Why should 'God' have ordered John to baptise an evil spirit? It is an ineffectual way of explaining the plain fact that John did baptise Jesus, following erroneous 'divine' orders, but that in the Mandæan view Jesus turned out to be an evil changeling. Though John, like Jesus, was not really a miracle worker, like Jesus he performed healings —metaphorical ones in bringing apostate Jews back to God—and his own disciples, like Jesus’s, became convinced he was the Messiah after his death. The fourth century Clementine Recognitions 1:60 state that John’s disciples claimed that their master had been
6. 9. greater than Jesus and that John was the true messiah. Rivalry between John’s followers and those of Jesus was apparent even in the New Testament. Luke 3:15 confirms that John was thought a messiah: The people were in expectation, and all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ, or not. Mandæan tradition has it that John arrived in Jerusalem and exposed Jesus as an imposter, an incident that might be reflected in the New Testament when John in prison no longer believes that Jesus is the Messiah and sends a message asking whether he is the one or whether another is to be expected. This must have reflected John’s disappointment in Jesus Barabbas’s preparations for an uprising. Later Jesus failed and was crucified thus becoming a false prophet. John’s disciples will then have accused Jesus of being an imposter and claimed that John had exposed him. John the Baptist was known by the Mandæans as “Enosh”, the reborn grandson of Adam. Enosh in Hebrew means “Man”, as does Adam, so we have the curiosity that John the Baptist was the Man and Jesus was the Son of Man! This might have been a Jewish joke. If John the Baptist played the role of the priest at Jesus’s baptism as seems likely then it would have been his voice announcing his “beloved son” as the coronation liturgy required. Thus we have the irreverent titles: the “Man” and the “Son” of “Man” or, in Aramaic pronunciation, “nash” and “bar nash”. Did John the Baptist live longer than Jesus? The latest year of Jesus’s death is 33 AD. The Tetrarch Philip died in 34 AD on the day that John interpreted a dream for him. Herod Antipas killed John and later was defeated in battle in 36 AD by Aretas, king of the Petraean (Nabataean) Arabians, an event considered to have been retribution for John’s murder. John must therefore have been killed within a year of 35 AD, the very year that Simon Magus, a disciple of John, led a rebellion on Mount Gerizim in Samaria. Antipas was probably more absorbed by John’s potential for inflaming rebellion than he was by Salome’s dance or John’s criticism of his marital arrangements. So – was John the True Messiah? Although early Christians saw John as a forerunner of Jesus, the disciples of John and others did not quite see it that way. No doubt some of John's disciples did follow Jesus and some may have shifted allegiance to Jesus after John’s death, but many others continued in their allegiance to John without ever becoming followers of Jesus (the Sabeans/Mandaeans). John was not “a reed shaken with the wind” (Matthew 11:7). He was more like a mighty oak. He was not “a man clothed in soft raiment”; instead, he wore camel’s hair clothing. Jesus said of him, “A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet.” According to Mandaean thinking, John was 'the True Prophet', while Jesus, a disciple of John, was 'a rebel, and a heretic, who led men astray, and betrayed his Master John.'
7. 10. “... and he called the people to himself and spoke of his death and took away some of the mysteries of the (Sacred?) Meal and abstained from the Food. And he took to himself a people and was called by the name of the False Messiah. And he perverted them all and made them like himself who perverted words of life and changed them into darkness and even perverted those accounted Mine. And he overturned all the rites. And he and his brother dwell on Mount Sinai, and he joineth all races to him, and perverteth and joineth to himself a people, and they are called Christians.” Excerpt from The Haran Gawaitha Some Mandaeans believe that John the Baptist was Hibil-Ziwa. ‘Hibil-Ziwa’ was a Savior who entered the world of darkness and destroyed the evil spirits so that the faithful could obtain liberation before the end of the world. The following account of John the Baptist and Jesus from the mouth of Hibil Ziwa: “In those days a child shall be born who will receive the name of John; he will be the son of an old man Zacharias, who shall receive this child in his old age, even at the age of a hundred. His mother Erishbai, advanced in years, shall conceive him and bring forth her child. When John is a man, faith shall repose in his heart, he shall come to the Jordan and shall baptize for forty-two years, before Nebou shall clothe himself with flesh and come into the world. While John lives in Jerusalem, gaining sway over Jordan and baptizing, Jesus Christ shall come to him, shall humble himself, shall receive John's baptism and shall become wise with John's wisdom. But then shall he corrupt John's sayings, pervert the Baptism of Jordan, distort the words of truth and preach fraud and malice throughout the world.” Mandaean treatise While Christianity presents John to have baptized Jesus, symbolizing that Jesus is his Lord, Mandean religion tells about a messenger of light that was sent to Jerusalem in order to undress the lies of Jesus. Mandaean thought is also that John Baptized Jesus into his religion. Some of the Mandaeans believe that Judas Thomas was Jesus' twin brother, a belief that was apparently shared by the early Celtic and Egyptian Christians, but they also believe that it was this Judas, not Jesus, who was crucified. Because his resemblance to Jesus was sufficient to fool Pontius Pilate who knew what Jesus looked like and was legally obliged to witness the Roman punishment of crucifixion. Jesus then posed as Thomas for the rest of his life to avoid the taint of his failure. The Mandaeans also believe that it was Jesus, not Thomas, who was the source of the Gospel of Thomas and that ‘Jesus-Thomas’ continued to preach wherever he could that was beyond the reach of the Roman-Pauline church, ending up in India, where ungrateful Hindu priests burned him to death. For more information about Jesus in India visit our Jesus page of click here to an external link.The early church father Irenaeus wrote around 150 CE that Jesus remained on earth as a teacher for twenty years after his crucifixion. The Mandaeans tell of the founding of Jerusalem by a powerful female Goddess named Ru Ha who is viewed by them as evil. They say that Ru Ha worked evil on the Earth through
8. 11. several chosen men. Her greatest evil however, was realized through one final man. At her temple in Jerusalem, a young priestess was chosen to bear a special offspring. Her name was Miriam. We call her Mary. She brought forth the ‘child of Ru Ha’, the ‘Imunel’ (Immanuel) and he called himself, Jesus. He was baptized by John and taught much by him. He turned from John’s teachings and led the people astray, the Mandaeans claim. Is there any Biblical evidence supporting this? Mark 6:17: ‘For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother Philip’s wife: for he had married her. 18: For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife. 19: Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not: 20: For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.’ The above verse is very important. From it, we can see that Herod, counter to what you were led to believe, knew John was sent to perform a holy mission. He thought John a good man, and listened to him gladly. We are also told that John opposed Herod’s marriage to Herodias. John was very close to the King Aretas. His followers would later settle and remain in Arab lands. Mark 6:21: ‘And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; 22: And when the daughter (no name mentioned) of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. 23: And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. 24: And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. 25: And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. 26: And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. 27: And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28: And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. 29: And when his (John’s) disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. 30: And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. 31: And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat. 32: And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.’ Look at the above verses very carefully. Herod has promised his wife’s daughter anything, even half his kingdom. She consults with her mother Herodias and they decide for some unexplained reason to kill John, and remove his influence completely. Now notice that Herod is very sorry at having to do this. Not only from his affinity for John, but he is also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. Nevertheless, he
9. 12. carries out her wishes. Now look again at verse 30 above; ‘And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught. These are Jesus’ followers who are now telling him why it was necessary to kill John. Note that the disciples who took John’s body were John’s disciples, not Jesus’. The disciples who took John’s body and the apostles who speak to Jesus are two separate groups. The taking of John’s body was not the actions the apostles were referring to. It was his execution, and what they had taught was a lesson to all those who would oppose them, not to interfere with their plans. Of interesting note and rendered in bold above is that Herodias’ daughter is not mentioned by name. All important people are named in every other place in the Bible. Why not her? She is certainly an important person. She was responsible for John’s death. Why did they remove her name? Her name is Salome. Mark 15:40 ‘There were also women looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome; 41 who, also when he was in Galilee, followed and ministered unto him...’ Mark 16:1 ‘And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.’ The Salome in the above verses, was one of Jesus’ most loved and trusted followers, is the same Salome we have been talking about. This is one of the main reasons the Sabeans despise the Christians, they believe that through the machinations of Jesus and his followers, their true messiah, John The Baptist was killed!!!! We learn a little about John from the writings of Josephus, a Jewish historian born shortly after Jesus died. He says: Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was
10. 13. there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him. Josephus implies that Herod executed John for political reasons, but as stated above Herod was sad at having to kill John not only from his affinity for John, but he was also worried about retaliation from John’s followers, and from King Aretas. We therefore disagree with Josephus’ statement, though to be sure it lends credibility to the Biblical version. False Prophet - Liar, Fraud!2 Jesus made several prophecies (24th chapter of Matthew) that later proved false. He predicted to the people of that ancient era the rapture (v. 31), the "end of the world" (v. 3,13), Judgment Day (v. 50-51), and THE Second Coming (v. 30), would all occur within their lifetime (i.e. within the First Century), they would live to see it all before they died. Jesus told them "ALL these things will happen before the people now living have all died." Another translation words it "some of the people of this generation will still be alive when all this happens" while a third renders it "… while the people of this time are still living!" Elsewhere Jesus predicted to his disciples that he was "about to come …with his angels, and… reward each one according to his deeds (i.e. judgment day). I assure you that there are some here (i.e. in 33 AD) who will not die until they have seen the Son of Man [Jesus] come as King." Jesus promised that not only would The Second Coming occur within the lifetime of his First Century disciples, it would even occur within the lifetime of Caiaphas (who tried him) and the Roman soldiers (who crucified him). As evidence his disciples took him at his word, we find this doctrine being put into practice in the early Christian community. Believing the end of the world to be approaching, Jesus had told his disciples to get rid of all their possessions (as did the Millerites under similar delusions, in the 1840's). This they gladly did after Jesus' death. And the Apostle Paul ordered Christians not to waste time getting married for "considering the present distress, I think it is better for a man to stay as he is …don't look for a wife. …There is not much time left … For this world, as it is now, will not last much longer." These doctrines made sense because they trusted Jesus about the "end of the world" being imminent. Modern churches aren't so trusting; they've done a 180° on Paul (weddings now 2 http://www.jcnot4me.com/page23.html
11. 14. providing big revenue, and they love $$$ more than Paul), as well as a 180° on Jesus' command to impoverish oneself (teaching just the opposite- be a good Republican & stuff your pockets as much as you can while screwing the poor). C.S. Lewis, the popular Christian author, wrote in one of his last books "The World's Last Night"3 , that... "…there is worse to come. `Say what you like' we shall be told, `the apocalyptic beliefs of the first Christians have been proved to be false. It is clear from the New Testament that they all expected the Second Coming in their own lifetime. And, worse still, they had a reason, and one which you will find very embarrassing. Their Master had told them so. He shared, and indeed created, their delusion. He said in so many words, this generation shall not pass till all these things be done. And he was wrong. He clearly knew no more about the end of the world than anyone else.' It is certainly the most embarrassing verse in the Bible. …The one exhibition of error and the one confession of ignorance grow side by side. …The facts, then, are these: that Jesus professed himself (in some sense) ignorant, and within a moment showed that he really was so." 3 Lewis, C.S. - The World's last Night. And Other Essays. p. 97 to 100
12. 15. THE GNOSTIC MANDAEANS The Mandaeans are indeed Gnostic, much more than ever assumed before according to the latest scholarship. Here are some of the Gnostic characteristics that permeate Mandaean culture: • A cosmology and cosmogony that could comfortably fit in the Nag Hammadi library or come out of the mouth of the Prophet Mani. • A negative view of astrology and fate. • An emanation theology that originates with a supreme yet alien God (the Great Life). • Powers of darkness that sabotage the soul’s ascent to the Great Life. • A concept of Gnosis (Mandaeans, after all, means Gnostic). • A view of the Platonic Demiurge that is less than positive. Furthermore (and just as fascinating), the Mandaeans possess the Gnostic propensity for deconstructing and inverting Abrahamic luminaries (like putting Cain or Judas in a positive role). The Mandaeans go even further, casting Gnostic heroes as villains! Here are some examples found in their sacred texts: • Sophia (called Ruha) becomes a ruthless demon queen terrorizing the cosmos. • Jesus is cast as an apostate Mandaean whose magical shenanigans end up destroying Jerusalem, the original home of the Mandaeans. Like many Gnostic sects, the Mandaeans viewed Moses in a negative light (basically a good fellow who was duped by rebellious angels); but they go even further, rooting for the Egyptians to chase the Israelites off the face of the earth. I understand that these mentioned gods and the overall Mandaean mythology may seem just bizarre to many. Yet there was a method to the madness of the Gnostics. In a New York Times article, William T. Vollmann wrote the ethos and purpose of Gnostic scriptures: „As a corpus, the scriptures are nearly incoherent, like a crowd of sages, mystics and madmen all speaking at once. But always they call upon us to know ourselves.“ To the Gnostic, finding that self-knowledge that liberates us from Samsara is a supreme endeavor. That is Gnosis, in essence. Reading books is a chief way to find any liberating information—not Facebook posts, tweets, or Netflix binge- watching. Lastly, reading carefully the story that is your life— partly ghostwritten by hating angels—is another avenue for liberation for you will understand the plot fully (if it’s not from a Kindle screen that makes referencing so difficult). After all, the idea of sitting in a bardo between realities reading a book seems like Paradise to me. But in a world of false wisdom and weird wars on all sides, reading anything deeply, gaining any valuable information is exceedingly difficult. The Mandaeans do hold genuine knowledge.
13. 16. I see a perversion: A heavily traumatized heart – incapable of love!
14. 17. I see a perversion: The CHRIST-LOGOS is invincible spirit, who cannot be crucified. That is why the Archons had to chain up spirit inseparable with the person of Jesus. Only this way the LOGOS could perish in agony. The Archons have successfully perverted the good news into the opposite through the implementation of a corpse on a cross as a symbol of freedom!
15. 18. I see a perversion: A jewish freedom-fighter who has shamelessly usurped God and the CHRIST-LOGOS. That is an act of megalomania and narcississm. And that's how souls get caught and stuck in the afterlife!
16. 19. I see a perversion: I see a masonic handsign that the Logos-Imposter is flashing. The use of two fingers is no ‘peace’ sign at all, but is representing the allegiance to Baphomet and his intended New World Slave-Planet. This is a fight against the essence of the soul – the CHRIST-LOGOS. OCCULT SYMBOLISM HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT.
17. 20. I see a perversion: An unbiblical phantom of Mary with a perforated heart. That's how gigantic streams of prayers get restraind and neutralized for sinister purposes!
18. 21. ACCUSATIONS OF MAGIC1 I. HEARING THE CHARGES A brief glance over the polemical materials which circulated in response to the spread of early Christianity reveals a sinister figure that appears time and time again; Jesus the magician. Although both the opponents and followers of Jesus recognised his abilities as a miracle- worker, they strongly disagreed on the source behind his miraculous powers. While Christian discourse stated that Jesus’ abilities resulted from his direct relationship with God, anti- Christian propaganda denied a divine source of Jesus’ powers and accused him of performing magic. Initially the followers of Jesus responded by fervently emphasising the divine source of his miraculous powers and as Christianity flourished and became increasingly mainstream, the opportunity grew for the new dominant Christian group to distance their hero from these allegations of magic and the voices of those who opposed Jesus gradually died away. Since a charge of magic was a popular polemical device employed against enemies in the ancient world, these stories may simply have been malicious rumours constructed by the hostile opponents of Christianity. Nevertheless, the damage caused by these allegations was far from minor and inconsequential as they had penetrated deep into the tradition and even infiltrated the Gospel materials themselves, prompting many a Christian apologist, and Gospel writer, to engage directly with these rumours and address them as serious accusations rather than frivolous conjecture. Most charges of magic that are found within the various polemical works tend to present a vague argument which lacks a clear explanation of the behaviours or words within the reports of Jesus’ life that were considered to bear magical connotations. Occasionally the charge is made a little more explicit and it is from these informative accounts that we can hope to construct an understanding of the elements of Jesus’ behaviour that warranted these seemingly outlandish claims. Vague fragments of charges of magic can be recovered from various cultures which have come into contact with the Jesus tradition; for example, the Mandaean literature describes Jesus as a magician and identifies him with the Samaritans. Equally the Quran provides an account of Jesus’ healings, raisings from the dead and his ability to make birds from clay and adds that ‘those who disbelieved among them said: This is nothing but clear enchantment’ (5.110).2 The majority of allegations are found within the Jewish tradition and the Christian apocryphal and apologetic texts, but the strongest charges are ultimately those made within the Gospels themselves. II. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN THE JEWISH TRADITION By the beginning of the second century AD, Jewish tradition had firmly woven an accusation of Jesus’ magical activity into its anti-Christian polemic. The Tract Sanhedrin, the fourth tractate of the fourth set of six series which comprise the Mishnah (compiled in the second century AD) and later included in the Babylonian Talmud (compiled in the sixth century AD), contains an intriguing passage in which Jesus’ hurried trial, as reported in the Christian Gospels, is extended to a period of forty days to allow people to step forward and defend him. As a 1 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/accusations-of-magic.html 2 This story is similar to that found in The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, in which Jesus fashions twelve sparrows out of clay which fly away (The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, II).
19. 22. defence fails to emerge, the passage states that Jesus was executed as a sorcerer: ‘On the eve of the Passover Yeshu [Jesus] was hanged. For forty days before the execution took place, a herald went forth and cried, ‘He is going forth to be stoned because he has practised sorcery and enticed Israel to apostasy.’ (Sanhedrin 43a) The Talmudic claim that Jesus performed his miracles using magic, along with reference to his illegitimate birth and a shameful death, may simply be Jewish-Christian polemic intended to damage Jesus’ reputation and therefore the historical accuracy of this story is questioned. However, the Talmud contains two further references to Jesus and the practice of magic. The first is contained within the concluding line of Sanhedrin 107b which reads: ‘The Teacher said: ‘Yeshu practiced sorcery and corrupted and misled Israel.’’ It is difficult to relate this sentence to the historical Jesus himself as the story in which this statement is situated is set in the century before Jesus lived and the name ‘Yeshu’ was particularly common at the time. Nevertheless, this final line suggests that the story came to be associated with rumours of Jesus’ exploits that were in general circulation. The second allegation of magic within the Talmud states that Jesus learned magic in Egypt and cut magical formulas into his skin: ‘Did not Ben Stada bring forth sorcery from Egypt by means of scratches on his flesh?’ (Shab. 104b) Initially the source of this Egyptian influence appears to be the Matthean account of Jesus’stay in Egypt (Mt. 2:13-23). However, since Egypt was traditionally associated with magic in the Jewish tradition then it is possible that this story arose independently of Matthew’s Gospel and was invented by Rabbis seeking to discredit Jesus by associating him with Egyptian magic. [3 ] Furthermore, scratching symbols on the flesh was not a particularly common practice within ancient magic, although mention of the magical use of tattoos does occur in later Christian magical texts. [4 ] III. CHARGES OF MAGIC IN CHRISTIAN APOLOGETIC AND APOCRYPHAL MATERIAL Allegations of Jesus’ magical activities owe their survival in part to early Christian apologists who provide reference to the Jewish accusations that Jesus was a magician and thereby demonstrate that these charges were a common polemical tool in the ancient world. Tertullian and Justin Martyr are particularly vocal when discussing the charge in the second century; 3 Egypt is mentioned several times in the Talmud in association with magic. For example, b. Qiddushin 49b states that of the ten measures of witchcraft that came to the world, nine were given to Egypt. 4 For example, the magical text entitled ‘Spell of summons, by the power of god’s tattoos (Rylands 103)’ reads: ‘in the name of the seven holy vowels which are tattooed on the chest of the father almighty’. A similar statement is found in London Oriental Manuscript 6794 (‘Spell to obtain a good singing voice’): ‘I adjure you in the name of the 7 letters that are tattooed on the chest of the father’ (Translations from Marvin W. Meyer and Richard Smith (eds.) Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1999) pp. 231, 280).
20. 23. Tertullian explains that the Jews called Jesus a ‘magus’ [5 ] and Justin Martyr writes in his Dialogue with Trypho (c. 160 CE) that the Jewish witnesses to Jesus’ miracles considered him to be a sorcerer: ‘For they dared to call Him a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people.’[6 Similarly, the fourth-century Christian writer Lactantius wrote in his Divinae Institutiones that the Jews accused Jesus of performing his miracles through magical means, although Lactantius unfortunately does not elaborate on the grounds for these accusations.7 The fourth- century Christian apologist Arnobius helpfully provides an additional detail in his description of the Jewish allegations by stating that Jesus was accused of stealing the ‘names of the angels of might’ from the Egyptian temples. [8 ] The magical employment of names also appears in a story recounted in the Toledoth Yeshu, a medieval polemical report of the life of Jesus. In the Toledoth, Jesus learns the ‘Ineffable Name of God’ and the knowledge of this name allows its user to do whatever he wishes. Jesus writes the letters of the name on a piece of parchment which he inserts into an open cut on his leg and removes with a knife when returning home. When the people bring a leper to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the man and the man is healed. When they bring a dead man to Jesus, he speaks the letters of the name over the corpse and the man returns to life. As a result of his miraculous powers, Jesus is worshipped as the Messiah and when he is eventually executed he pronounces the name over the tree upon which he is hung and the tree breaks. He is finally hung on a tree over which he does not, or is unable to, pronounce the name. The New Testament apocryphal works compound these charges of magic by including stories which portray Jesus as engaging in typical magical behaviour. For example, the Infancy Gospel of Thomas depicts Jesus as a child performing a variety of magical feats; he models sparrows out of clay which fly away (2:2, 4) and even uses his power for destructive ends, such as killing his fellow children (3:3; 4:1) and blinding whoever opposes him (5:1). This destructive use of Jesus’ power is feared to the extent that ‘no one dared to anger him, lest he curse him, and he should be crippled’ (8:2) and Joseph urges to his mother ‘do not let him go outside the door, because anyone who angers him dies’ (14:3). Positive applications of Jesus’ power are demonstrated in the healing of a young man and a teacher (10:2; 15:4), the raising of the dead (9:3; 17:1; 18:1), the curing of his brother James’ snakebite (16:1), the filling of a broken jug with water for his mother (11:2) and the miraculous extending of a piece of wood in order to help his father make a bed (13:2). Accusations of magic made in the apocryphal materials often imitate and elaborate on those made by the Jewish people in the apologetic material discussed above. For example in the pseudo-Clementine Recognitions the scribes shout out: ‘the signs and miracles which your Jesus wrought, he wrought not as a prophet, but as a magician.’ [9 ] Similarly in the Acts of Pilate the Jewish people state that it is ‘by using magic he does these things, and by having the demons on his side’[10 ] and they claim that Jesus is a sorcerer since 5 Tertullian, Apol. 21.17; 23.7, 12. 6 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7. 7 Lactantius, Divinae Institutiones 4.15; 5.3. 8 Arnobius, Against the Gentiles 43. 1. 9 Clement, Recognitions of Clement I. 58. 10 Acts of Pilate, 1.1
21. 24. he is able to send Pilate’s wife a dream.[11 ] The narrative also has the chief priests echo the words of Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15 with a more explicit charge of magic: ‘They say unto him: He is a sorcerer, and by Beelzebub the prince of the devils he casteth out devils, and they are all subject unto him.’12 IV. THE CHARGE OF MAGIC MADE BY CELSUS One of the most detailed allegations of magic is the charge made by Celsus, a pagan philosopher writing in the late second century. Although we do not have Celsus’ original text, the philosopher and theologian Origen set out to refute many of the central tenets of Celsus’ True Doctrine in his apologetic work Contra Celsum and since he generously quotes from Celsus’ text it is possible to reconstruct his argument from Origen’s citations alone. A fervent critic of Christianity, Celsus did not doubt that Jesus was a miracle-worker but he attempted to reinterpret his life as that of a magician, referring to him as a γόης (1.71) and claiming that Christians used invocations and the names of demons to achieve their miracles (1.6). Celsus also echoes the allegations made by the Talmud regarding Jesus’ early infancy in Egypt, suggesting that Jesus stayed there until his early adulthood and it was during his stay in Egypt that he acquired his magical powers: ‘After she [Mary] had been driven out by her husband and while she was wandering about in a disgraceful way she secretly gave birth to Jesus… because he was poor he [Jesus] hired himself out as a workman in Egypt, and there tried his hand at certain magical powers on which the Egyptians pride themselves; he returned full of conceit because of these powers, and on account of them gave himself the title of God.’13 When addressing Celsus’ comparison between Jesus and the Egyptian magicians, Origen quotes at length from Celsus’ fantastical description of the illusionary tricks and bizarre magical methods employed by these magicians: ‘‘who for a few obols make known their secret lore in the middle of the market place and drive out demons and blow away diseases and invoke the souls of heroes, displaying expensive banquets and dining-tables and cakes and dishes which are non-existent, and who make things move as though they were alive although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ And he says: ‘since these men do these wonders, ought we to think them sons of God? Or ought we to say that they are the practices of wicked men possessed by an evil demon?’’14 The concluding lines of this quotation from Celsus raise a question that is of central importance to our present study; if other magicians were actively engaging in activities similar to those attributed to Jesus in the Gospels, then how are we to separate the miracles of Jesus from the wonders produced by these magicians? 11 Acts of Pilate, 2.1 12 Acts of Pilate, 1.1 13 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.28. 14 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68.
22. 25. V. A CHARGE OF MAGIC WITHIN THE GOSPELS: WAS JESUS EXECUTED AS A MAGICIAN? There are two central allegations of magic made against Jesus by his opponents within the Gospels. The first is the Pharisees’ claim that Jesus is in possession of a demonic spirit through which he performs his miracles (Mk. 3:22//Mt. 12:24//Lk. 11:15) and the second is Herod’s suggestion that Jesus possesses the soul of John the Baptist (Mt. 14:2//Mk. 6:14-29). Each of these charges require a thorough explanation of the belief-systems and popular superstitions that were characteristic of the ancient world-view in order for us to fully appreciate the weight that these charges would have carried for the early reader and therefore an examination of the allegations made within each of these passages will be postponed until later. However some scholars have proposed that a third charge of magic can be discerned in the terminology used in the trial narratives of the Gospel of John and the Gospel of Matthew and therefore we must consider whether an allegation of magic is present in the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ trial. All four Gospel authors agree that Jesus was brought before Pilate on the indictment that he had blasphemed against God and professed to be the Messiah. Although a formal charge of magic is not explicitly made in the trial accounts of the Gospels, some scholars suggest that allegations of magical practice may have influenced the trial proceedings or that the terminology used by the Gospel writers reveals that an official charge of magic is present within the text. For example, Morton Smith proposes that when the Jewish people accuse Jesus of being a κακοποιός (‘evildoer’, Jn. 18:30) this term is generally understood as referring to someone who is illegally involved in magical activity. Smith supports this theory by indicating that ‘the Roman law codes tell us that [‘a doer of evil’] was the vulgar term for a magician’ and quoting from Codex Justinianus IX. 18. 7 which mentions ‘Chaldeans and magicians (magi) and the rest whom common people call 'men who are doing evil’ (malefici).’[15 ] Smith also suggests that the word could refer to someone who encouraged the worship of false gods, a practice that would naturally incur a charge of magic. By translating the Greek term κακοποιός into its Latin equivalent ‘malefactor’, some scholars indicate that this latter term is clearly a technical expression for a magician. A second potential charge of magic is founded upon the use of the term πλάνος in Matthew 27:62. The word is typically translated as ‘deceiver’ or ‘impostor’ and it is often used to refer to evil spirits; for example, the demon Beliar is identified as a ‘deceiver’ in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs16 and the term is even applied to Satan himself in Revelation 12:9. The presence of πλάνος in Mt. 27:62 with specific reference to Jesus has led certain commentators, to suggest that the term pla,noj is to be interpreted here as ‘magician’. I would suggest that deception and magic were very closely related concepts in the ancient world and this accounts for Celsus’ association between the practice of magic and the performance of illusions when describing the activities of the Egyptian magicians who conjure up banquets which are ‘non- existent’ and make things appear alive ‘although they are not really so, but only appear as such in the imagination.’ [17 ] In addition, the correlation between magic and deception is made explicit in the Acts of Peter by those who accuse Paul of being a ‘sorcerer’ and ‘a deceiver’18 and 15 Smith, Jesus the Magician, p. 33. Smith reiterates this point on p. 41: ‘‘Doer of evil,’ as the Roman law codes say, was common parlance for ‘magician.’’ 16 Testament of Benjamin, 6:1. 17 Origen, Con. Cels. 1.68. 18 Acts of Peter IV. cf also ‘Simon has used magic and caused a delusion’ (XVII).
23. 26. Justin Martyr in his Dialogue with Trypho states that the Jewish people called Jesus ‘a magician (μάγος) and a deceiver (πλάνος) of the people’.19 Regardless of whether the word ‘magician’ or any equivalent euphemism is used by the Gospel authors in the charges brought against Jesus at his trial, the very nature of the trial narratives within the Gospels indicates that the participants were fearful of Jesus’ magical potential. Perhaps the fears and superstitions regarding magic and supernatural powers that were held by both the Jews and Romans explains their united condemnation of Jesus and accounts for why the trial was such a hurried affair. The Mishnah specifies that trials at night are illegal and cannot take place before a festival (Sanhedrin 4:1), therefore, if these laws were effective at the time of Jesus’ trial, to hold proceedings at night and on eve of the Passover (Mk. 14:1-2, 12; Jn. 18:28) would have been strictly forbidden under Jewish law. Furthermore, the chosen method of execution does not correlate with a charge of blasphemy. The Talmud specifies stoning as a punishment for practicing magic (Sanhedrin 67b), but the Johannine trial narrative states that the Jews sought to stone Jesus because he claimed that ‘I and the Father are one’ and was therefore guilty of blasphemy (Jn. 10:30-31). The association between stoning and the charge of blasphemy is reinforced by the subsequent statement: ‘it is not for a good work that we stone you but for blasphemy; because you being a man, make yourself God.’ (Jn. 10:33). If a charge of blasphemy was made against Jesus, then why was this usual method of execution rejected in favour of crucifixion? Perhaps a verdict of crucifixion may have been passed as an emergency measure based on a fear of magic, certainly the seemingly prevasive fear of Jesus’ supernatural power that is present in the trial narratives of the Gospels suggests that charges of magic were rife within Jesus’ lifetime and they may even have contributed to his eventual execution. Furthermore, while the allegations of magic made by certain individuals, such as Celsus for example, could be dismissed as malicious anti-Christian propaganda, these accusations of magic are recorded by the Gospel writers themselves who are actively seeking to further the Christian message. Since it is unlikely that the evangelists would willingly invent a charge of magic, we may assume that they were fully aware that their early readers would be familiar with these allegations, hence their unavoidable inclusion in the Gospel narratives. The fact that certain allegations of magical practices remain in the Gospel materials as an ‘unavoidable inclusion’ not only indicates the extensive nature of these rumours but also raises the possibility that these allegations may have been based on authentic, first-hand observations made by those witnessing the behaviour of the historical Jesus. Therefore, having considered the various allegations of magic made against Jesus which derive largely from the materials produced by the opponents of Christianity, we will now turn to examine the Gospel narratives themselves to discern whether they contain evidence of magical techniques employed by Jesus that have survived the editorial process, perhaps due to the early reader’s familiarity with Jesus’ use of these techniques. To ensure that we are correctly identifying behaviour within the Gospels that would have carried connotations of magical practices for a first-century audience, we will return to the three main characteristics of ancient magic that have been established earlier in this chapter and use these as a ‘magical yard-stick’ against which we can compare the Gospels materials with the typical behaviour of the magician in antiquity. To begin this process, we will address the first of our three major indictors of magical activity and compare the behaviour of the magician, namely his self-imposed secrecy, against the suspiciously secretive behaviour of Jesus within the Gospels. 19 Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 69. 7.
24. 27. WAS JESUS POSSESSED? 20 I. POSSESSED OR POSSESSOR? EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND HIS SPIRITUAL δύναμις WITHIN THE GOSPELS Morton Smith and Stevan Davies stand firmly at opposing ends of the theoretical and semantic spectrum with regards to their understanding of Jesus’ relationship with the Holy Spirit. Stevan Davies proposes that Jesus was possessed by the Spirit and therefore he should be recognised as a ‘spirit-possessed healer’. On the other hand, Morton Smith argues that Jesus was the dominant, controlling force in the relationship and consequently he had ‘possession of’ the Spirit. Smith’s theory is deeply unpalatable for Davies who outlines the disagreement as follows: ‘It was not the relationship: “possession of,” but the relationship: “possession by,” the fundamental difference being whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was thought to be in control of a spirit entity, or whether the identity of Jesus of Nazareth was sometimes thought to have been replaced by a spirit entity. And that makes all the difference in the world.’21 By elevating the passivity of the individual undergoing a possession experience and emphasising the dominant role of the new persona, Davies’ theory limits the degree of control that Jesus held in the subsequent application of his power and guards against the possibility that he was exerting control over a spirit through the use of magic. However, a brief analysis of the central characteristics of spirit-possession that are repeatedly cited in both ancient and modern studies into this phenomenon swiftly reveals that Davies’ ‘spirit-possessed healer’ is a highly improbable epithet for the Jesus of the Gospels and that it is Smith’s argument that is closer to the mark. II. SPIRIT-POSSESSION, THE DIVIDED SELF AND THE ‘STRANGE SOUL’ T. K. Oesterreich comments in his substantial volume Possession and Exorcism, a study of possession in both Christian and non-Christian contexts, that the concept of possession loses its relevance as cultures begin to abandon their belief in spiritual beings.22 Although the practice of divine possession is still advocated in our current religious clime by many Christian charismatic groups, a gradual disregard for the existence of spiritual bodies in our present-day culture clearly accounts for our generally dismissive attitude towards possession and our tendency to assign it to inferior or irrational forms of thinking. Thus we are inclined to associate spirit-possession with either the anthropological study of primitive ritual, or psychological disturbances belonging to the psychiatric school of mental illness, or we simply reduce it to the harmless and entertaining genre of the Hollywood shocker movie. Since the reality of demonic influences was widely recognised in antiquity, possession was much more 20 http://wasjesusamagician.blogspot.co.uk/p/was-jesus-possessed.html 21 Stevan L. Davies, Jesus the Healer: Possession, Trance and the Origins of Christianity (London: SCM Press, 1995) p. 91. 22 T. K. Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism: Among Primitive Races in Antiquity, the Middle Ages and Modern Times (New York: Causeway Books, 1974) p. 378.
25. 28. commonplace amongst the ancients and cases were treated with genuine caution. It is within this cultural framework of spirit-possession that Stevan Davies suggests that we can understand the relationship between Jesus and the Holy Spirit.23 Davies attempts to demonstrate that Jesus suffered from psychological episodes in which his original persona (Jesus of Nazareth) was subordinated or replaced by a new, temporary persona (the Spirit of God). During these possession episodes, Davies claims that Jesus was able to operate as a spirit-possessed healer. However, he ‘should not be identified as himself but as another person, the spirit of God.’24 A deviation from or replacement of the natural personality of an individual is generally considered to be a major indication of spirit possession. A change in personality is generally considered to result from either the temporary loss of the practitioner’s normal persona or ‘soul’, hence the anthropological term ‘soul-loss’, or the temporary possession of the practitioner by an external, supernatural power. It is most often the case that both changes occur simultaneously and the soul is replaced immediately by another. Oesterreich observes that in a state of typical possession, the normal and possessing personas cannot simultaneously exist alongside one another and so the original persona is replaced, the result of which is as follows: ‘The subject…considers himself as the new person…and envisages his former being as quite strange, as if it were another’s…the statement that possession is a state in which side by side with the first personality a second has made its way into the consciousness is also very inaccurate…it is the first personality which has been replaced by a second.’ 25 In accordance with this type of possession behaviour, Davies proposes that the observation of the people in Mk. 3:21 that ‘he is beside himself’ (ὃτι ἐξέστη) literally means that Jesus was ‘absent from himself’. [26 ] This phrase, therefore, is evidence that Jesus was possessed by an external entity in this instance. To support this possession theory, Davies examines Jesus’ reported behaviour in the Gospels and isolates passages in which he believes that Jesus is demonstrating typical traits of possession behaviour. Studies of both demonical and divine possession have identified a set of common behavioural patterns that are associated with the individual undergoing a possession experience. The first indication of possession is a change to the speech of the possessed and it is not uncommon in both ancient and modern reports of possession to encounter reference to an alternative persona speaking in the first person through the patient or an alteration in speech patterns, pitch or timbre.[27 ] In light of this, Davies directs his readers to Mk. 13:11 (‘for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit’) and suggests that this passage deals directly with alter-persona 23 Stevan Davies indicates that in the spiritual environment of Jesus’ time ‘the modality of possession…was commonly accepted’ and victims of demon possession and spirit-possessed prophets were an everyday encounter (Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 59). 24 Stevan Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 18. 25 T. K Oesterreich, Possession: Demonical and other (London: Kegan Paul, 1930) p. 39. 26 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 95. 27 Oesterreich writes: ‘At the moment when the countenance alters, a more or less changed voice issues from the mouth of the person in the fit. The new intonation also corresponds to the character of the new individuality…in particular the top register of the voice is displaced: the feminine voice is transformed into a bass one, for in all the cases of possession which has hitherto been my lot to know the new individuality was a man’ (Oesterreich, Possession and Exorcism, pp. 19-20).
26. 29. spirit speech in which the words are not formulated by the individual himself but originate from the new, dominant persona that has acquired control of the speech of its host. [28 ] A second archetypal indication of possession is an increase in motor movements, known as motor hyper-excitement. When the possessing spirit replaces the original persona of the host it often takes control of the motor movements of the individual, thus exhibiting observable behavioural and psychological irregularities. [29 ] Evidence of the physical symptoms of possession in Jesus’ behaviour is proposed by Campbell Bonner, who suggests that in the account of the raising of Lazarus (Jn. 11:33) the statement ἐνεβριμήσατο τω πνεύματι καὶ ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν should be translated as ‘the Spirit set him in frenzy and he threw himself into disorder.’ [30 ] Bonner adds that the phrase in verse 38 ἐνεβριμώμενος ἑν ἑαυτω also seems to mean ‘in suppressed (or inward) frenzy’.31 I would suggest, however, that interpreting ἐμβριμάομαι as indicative of possession frenzy ignores the sense of anger and indignation that is associated with the term. For example, Arndt and Gingrich interpret ἐμβριμάομαι as ‘to snort with anger’ and propose that we should interpret the word as ‘an expression of anger and displeasure’.32 It appears that the presence of the term within this passage simply serves to indicate that Jesus was angry and does not signify that he was exhibiting motor hyper-excitement or any other physical manifestation of possession frenzy. If we are to recognise that the historical Jesus was subject to periods of spirit-possession and that he was exhibiting all the characteristic symptoms of a possessed individual, then we would expect to find evidence within the Gospels of an initial possession experience in which Jesus first encounters his possessing spirit. Stevan Davies suggests that the Gospel writers record this event and that it takes place at Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mt. 3:1-17//Mk. 1:9-11//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34). III. THE BAPTISM AS THE MOMENT OF SPIRIT-POSSESSION The bizarre imagery of the descent of a dove and a voice coming from the heavens that are used by the Gospel authors when describing Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan (Mk. 1:9-11//Mt. 3:1- 17//Lk. 3:21-22//Jn. 1:32-34 [33 ]) are found nowhere else in the Gospels and they are generally considered to be a poetic vehicle through which the Gospel authors present a messianic moment, make revelations regarding Jesus’ divine identity and highlight his relationship with God. Stevan Davies claims that since the baptismal accounts provided by the Gospel authors meet John Meier’s criterion of multiple attestation (the story appears in Matthew, Mark, Luke 28 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 29, cf. p. 46. 29 Typical possession ‘is nevertheless distinguished from ordinary somnambulistic states by its intense motor and emotional excitement’ (Oesterreich, Possession, p. 39). ‘Muscle rigidity and loss of control of gross motor movements’ are mentioned by Davies (Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 33). 30 Campell Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, HTR 20. 3 (1927) p. 176. 31 Bonner, ‘Traces of Thaumaturgic Techniques in the Miracles’, p. 176. 32 William Arndt and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1957) p. 254. 33 Although the Johannine version of the baptism is recounted as a vision by John the Baptist, I am including it here as it retains the imagery of the descending dove.
27. 30. and John), the criterion of embarrassment (the story is not compatible with the interests of early Christianity) and the criterion of dissimilarity (there is no mention of a descending Holy Spirit in other Jewish or early Christian sources), the baptism accounts can therefore be considered to be a historically reliable record of events.[34 ] Davies then suggests that the baptism accounts essentially describe Jesus’ ‘initial spirit-possession experience’. [35 ] This adoptionist cum possession theory proposes that Jesus was not possessed by the Spirit prior to his baptism and that he underwent a ‘psychological transformation’[36 ] during which he was ‘anointed’ with the power to begin his messianic work.[37] To regard the baptism as the moment of the endowment of spiritual power is reminiscent of the first-century Gnostic doctrine of Cerinthianism and the second-century sect of the Ebionites, both of whom believed that Jesus did not have the Holy Spirit until his baptism and that it abandoned him at the crucifixion. A number of difficulties arise when proposing that the historical Jesus was spirit-possessed and these will be addressed below. However, connotations of spirit-possession may account for the sensitive treatment of the baptismal account by each of the Gospel authors. The author of Matthew has previously explained that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:18-20) and therefore he does not require the baptism story to explain the presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ ministry. Nevertheless, the baptismal account is preserved in Mt. 3:1-17. The author of Luke separates Jesus’ baptism from the descent of the Spirit and the heavenly voice, preferring to introduce these later when Jesus is praying (Lk. 3:21-22). The author of John chooses to replicate the baptismal story, but he is clearly embarrassed by it since he turns it into a vision by John the Baptist (Jn. 1:32). Various attempts have been made to account for the appearance of the Spirit as a dove (ὡς περιστερά) in all four Gospels. One particularly persuasive explanation is that the Gospel authors are conforming the physical embodiment of God’s Spirit to the popular conception of spirits, or souls, as airy, bird-like entities. James Frazer observes that it was widely accepted in the ancient world that when a person died his soul would leave his body in bird shape and he adds that ‘this conception has probably left traces in most languages, and it lingers as a metaphor in poetry.’[38] In concurrence with Frazer’s comments, the depiction of the spirit or soul of the deceased as a bird is common in biblical, classical and modern literature. For example, James L. Allen Jr. writes in his study of the bird-soul motif in the writings of William Butler Yeats: ‘Because of its ability to rise above the earth a bird is a fairly obvious and appropriate symbol for a disembodied soul. The identification of soul with bird is…both ancient and widespread, the naturalness of such an association no doubt underlying its universality.’[39] 34 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 35 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148. 36 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 65. 37 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 148: ‘If Jesus believed himself to be one who was anointed by God, it is anything but unlikely that the anointing in question was his initial possession experience.’ 38 J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, Chapter III. 33-34. 39 James L. Allen, Jr., ‘Yeats’s Bird-Soul Symbolism’, TCL 6. 3 (1960) p. 117.
28. 31. There are various passages from classical literature in which the soul leaves the body in the form of a bird and one example of the early Christian use of this imagery in found in the Martyrdom of Polycarp, in which the saint’s soul leaves his body in the form of a dove upon death. ‘So at length the lawless men, seeing that his body could not be consumed by the fire, ordered an executioner to go up to him and stab him with a dagger. And when he had done this, there came forth [a dove and] a quantity of blood.’ [40 ] Although it is possible that the Gospel authors adopted the simple literary device of a bird- soul as a means by which to represent the physical embodiment of the Spirit, other scholars have suggested that περιστερά, is an error in translation and that the word relates to the manner in which the Spirit descends. Regardless of whether the Gospel authors intended περιστερά, to indicate a physical dove or simply the Spirit’s mode of descent, a theory of spirit-possession would be greatly strengthened if the Gospel writers intended to portray this Spirit as entering ‘into’ Jesus following its descent, rather than simply resting ‘upon’ him. The connection between possession and the presence of a spirit within the individual is demonstrated in the Markan account of the Capernaum demoniac when the unclean spirit is said to be in (evn) the possessed man (Mk. 1:23). Certainly this in-dwelling nature of the Holy Spirit is suggested in the baptismal account provided in the Ebionite Gospel in which the dove comes down and enters into Jesus (peristera/j katelqou,shj kai. eivselqou,shj eivj auvto,n, Epiphanius, Adv. Haer. 30. 13). However, I would suggest that the terminology used by the Gospel authors cannot be used as a reliable indicator of spirit- possession since the terms ‘upon’ and ‘in’ are used interchangeably when depicting the reception of the Spirit in the Old Testament. For example, Isa. 42:1 reads ‘I have put my Spirit upon him’ whereas Ezek. 36:27 reads ‘and I will put my Spirit within you'. Since Jesus’ wilderness experience follows directly from his baptism in all three Synoptic Gospels, it is clear that the evangelists intend the two events to be linked together. With this in mind, Stevan Davies suggests that Jesus’ expulsion into the wilderness is the direct result of his prior gift of the Spirit at baptism and that the forceful nature of Jesus’ departure is reminiscent of the impulsive behaviour associated with the possessed. Therefore Davies proposes that the Gospel authors are describing a ‘spontaneous possession experience’. [41 ] The forcefulness of Jesus’ expulsion is evident in the terminology used in the Markan account. While Matthew and Luke employ the much softer avnh,cqh / h;geto (‘led’, Mt. 4:1; Lk. 4:1), a forceful, violent, external influence upon Jesus is evident in Mk. 1:12, in which the Spirit forcefully ‘drives out’ (ἐκβάλλει) Jesus into the wilderness.[42 ] 40 The Martyrdom of Polycarp, 16:1 (trans. J.B. Lightfoot). There is some disagreement concerning the mention of a dove here. For example, Eusebius does not mention the dove and many have thought that the text has been altered. Cf. also the martyrdom of St. Eulalia in Prudentius’ Peristephanon in which it is reported that a white dove left her mouth upon death. 41 Davies, Jesus the Healer, p. 64. 42 The term ἐκβάλλει is typically used by the author of Mark in connection with the exorcism of demons, cf. Mk.1:34, 39, 43; 3:15, 22; 4:13; 7:26; 9:18, 28.
29. 32. OSIRIS, JESUS, AND MAGIC Fabré-Palaprat possessed an important document. This was the Levitikon—a version of John’s Gospel with blatantly Gnostic implications—which he claimed to have found on a second-hand bookstall. In short: the "Levitikon" claims, that "Our Lord was an initiate of the Mysteries of Osiris". The writings of the Neo-Templar Order have a close resemblance to the "Sepher Toledoth Yeshu", a Jewish text from around 1100 BC, which talks about Jesus as an initiate of the Kabbalah. Once again, this seems just a little too neat, but if the document is authentic, it throws some light on the real reasons for keeping much of the Gnostic knowledge secret. For theLevitikon, a version of St John’s Gospel that some date as far back as the eleventh century, tells a very different story from that found in the more familiar New Testament book of the same name. Fabré-Palaprat used the Levitikon as the basis for founding his Neo-Templar Johannite Church in Paris in 1828. The Levitikon , which had been translated from Latin into Greek, consists of two parts. The first contains the religious doctrines that are to be given to the initiate, including rituals concerning the nine grades of the Templar Order. It describes the Templars' ‘Church of John’ and explains the fact that they called themselves ‘Johannites’ or ‘original Christians’. The second part is like the standard John’s Gospel except for some significant omissions. Chapters 20 and 21 are missing, the last two of the Gospel. It also eliminates all hint of the miraculous from the stories of the turning of the water into wine, the loaves and fishes, and the raising of Lazarus. And certain references to St Peter are edited out, including the story of Jesus saying ‘Upon this rock I will build my church’. But if this is puzzling, the Levitikon also contains surprising, even shocking, material: Jesus is presented as having been an initiate of the mysteries of Osiris, the major Egyptian god of his day. Osiris was the consort of his sister, the beautiful goddess Isis who governed love, healing and magic—among many other attributes. (Distasteful though such an incestuous relationship may seem to us today, it was part of the Pharaonic tradition, and would have seemed perfectly normal to any worshipper in ancient Egypt.) The Levitikon, besides making the extraordinary claim that Jesus was an Osiran initiate, also stated that he had passed this esoteric knowledge on to his disciple, John ‘the Beloved’. It also claims that Paul and the other Apostles may have founded the Christian Church, but they did so without any knowledge of Jesus' true teaching. The Johannite Christians claimed to have been heirs to the ‘secret teaching’ and true story of Jesus, whom they refer to as ‘Yeshu the Anointed’. For them, not only was
30. 33. Jesus an initiate of Osiris, but he was merely a man, not the Son of God. Moreover, he was the illegitimate son of Mary—and there was no question of the miraculous Virgin birth. They attributed all such claims to an ingenious—if outrageous—cover story that the Gospel writers had invented to obscure Jesus' illegitimacy, and the fact that his mother had no idea of the identity of his father! As early as the second century, less then two hundred years after the death of Christ, Celsus, a Greek philosopher, literally accused Jesus of "having worked for hire in Egypt on account of his poverty, and having experimented there with some magical powers, in which the Egyptians take great pride." Later Jewish writers expanded upon this theme, claiming that Jesus brought forth "witchcraft from Egypt by means of scratches upon his flesh" and that he "practiced magic and led Israel astray." According to The Jewish Encyclopedia, Jesus was often accused by the Talmudists of performing magic: It is the tendency of all these sources to belittle the person of Jesus by ascribing to him illegitimate birth, magic, and a shameful death. Magic may have been ascribed him over against the miracles recorded in the Gospel. The sojourn of Jesus in Egypt is an essential part of the story of his youth. According to the Gospels he was in that country in his early infancy, but Celsus says that he was in service there and learned magic. According to Celsus (in Origen, “Contra Celsum,” i. 28) and to the Talmud (Shab. 104b), Jesus learned magic in Egypt and performed his miracles by means of it; the latter work, in addition, states that he cut the magic formulas into his skin. It does not mention, however, the nature of his magic performances (Tosef., Shab. xi. 4; Yer. Shab. 18d); but as it states that the disciples of Jesus healed the sick “in the name of Jesus Pandera” (Yer. Shab. 14d; Ab. Zarah 27b; Eccl. R. i. 8) it may be assumed that its author held the miracles of Jesus also to have been miraculous cures. Different in nature is the witchcraft attributed to Jesus in the “Toledot.” When Jesus was expelled from the circle of scholars, he is said to have returned secretly from Galilee to Jerusalem, where he inserted a parchment containing the “declared name of God” (“Shem ha-Meforash”), which was guarded in the Temple, into his skin, carried it away, and then, taking it out of his skin, he performed his miracles by its means. This magic formula then had to be recovered from him, and Judah the Gardener (a personage of the “Toledot” corresponding to Judas Iscariot) offered to do it; he and Jesus then engaged in an aerial battle (borrowed from the legend of SIMON MAGUS), in which Judah remained victor and Jesus fled. The accusation of magic is frequently brought against Jesus. Jerome mentions it, quoting the Jews: “Magum vocant et Judaei Dominum meum” (“Ep. 1v., ad Ascellam,” i. 196, ed. Vallarsi); Marcus, of the sect of the Valentinians, was, according to Jerome, a native of Egypt, and was accused of being, like Jesus, a magician (Hilgenfeld, “Ketzergesch.” p. 870, Leipsic, 1884). Or: „… As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people", was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam" „…Jesus performed all his miracles by means of magic …“
31. 34. TOLEDOTH YESHU In the Toldoth Yeshua, Yeshu ben Pandera was a Jew who went to Egypt, became proficient in their magical arts, returned to Judea, went about healing many people and incurred the hostility of the religious upper echelon – the Sanhedrin. He was stoned to death at Lud [Al-Lud or Lydda] , and his body was "hanged on a tree" on the eve of Passover. The Toldoth Yeshua begins with, John of the house of David, getting engaged to Miriam, originally from Bethlehem, the daughter of a neighboring widow. A certain Pandera also had desires for Miriam. On a Sabbath night he came to Miriam during her period,raped her, and Yeshu was conceived. Miriam thought Pandera was her husband-to-be and yielded to him after a struggle, greatly astonished at the behavior of her fiancé'. When the real fiancé, John, came she made her anger clear to him. He immediately suspected Pandera and told Rabbi Shimon Ben Shetah of the incident. Miriam became pregnant, and since John knew that the child was not his, but was unable to prove who was guilty he fled to Babylon. Yeshu later became a student of Rabbi Joshua Ben- Perachia,was taken to Egypt where he studied magic. He later returned to Israel and The story continues with the adult Yeshu stealing the "Shem ha-Mephorash", or the name of God "which must not be pronounced", from the Temple's Holiest of Holies, and utilizing it to perform miracles. Yeshu is imprisoned, escapes and flees to Antioch and Egypt to learn more witchcraft. He later returns to Jerusalem,to steal the secret name of God which he had lost. Judas of Kerioth informed the leaders of Jerusalem of this and said that he would kneel down before this Yeshu so that they could distinguish him from his disciples, who were dressed in the same colors of clothing. Yeshu was taken captive and sentenced to be hanged on the Friday before Passover. After being buried, a gardener took his body and hid it in a ditch in his Cabbage patch. His disciples failed to find the body in the tomb they told Queen Helen that he had risen from the dead, and so she wished to put to death all the Sages of Israel. Rabbi Tanhuma Bar Abba - [possibly simile to Barabbas], however, found the body, which was then tied to a horse's tail and dragged to where the Queen was. Nevertheless, Yeshu's disciples spread the story of Jesus amongst the Gentiles. These disciples included 12 apostles who were said to be arduous persecutors of the Jews. Talmud and Rabbinical entries referring to Jesus Besides the Tol'doth Yeshu, there are several other passages in various sections of the Talmud and other ancient writings that may contain portions of the Historical Jesus proto-type to whom the God-man legend has attached itself to in the current age. Babylonia Sanhedrin 43a "On the eve of Passover they hanged Yeshu (of Nazareth) and the herald went before him for forty days saying (Yeshu of Nazareth) is going forth to be stoned in that he hath practiced sorcery and beguiled and led astray Israel. Let everyone knowing aught in his defense come and plead for him. But they found naught in his defense and hanged him on the eve of Passover." .Jesus was "hung/crucified" on the eve of Passover as per the Gospel of John. II MOED, I Schaboath 104b: The “whore son practiced Egyptian magic by cutting into his flesh”. “ this whore-born son of Pandera.” In the Amoa, written in the late 3rd Century it records "And do you suppose that for Yeshu there was any right of appeal;? He was a beguiler, and the Merciful One hath said: 'Thou shalt not spare neither shalt thou conceal him,' It is otherwise with Yeshu, for he was near to the civil authority." - This passage could refer to Yeshu, as well as many other personalities appearing within various parts of the Talmud and related texts "...As Balaam the magician and, according to the derivation of his name, "destroyer of the people," was from both of these points of view a good prototype of Jesus, the latter was also called "Balaam." Jewish Encyclopedia
32. 35. Mary was called Stada in the Talmud, that is, a prostitute, because, according to what was taught at Pumbadita, she left her husband and commited adultery. This is also recorded in the Jerusalem Talmud and by Maimonides. In Schabbath the passage referred to says: "Rabbi Eliezer said to the Elders: 'Did not the son of Stada practice Egyptian magic by cutting it into his flesh?' They replied: 'He was a fool, and we do not pay attention to what fools do. The son of Stada, Pandira's son, etc.' " as above in Sanhedrin, 67a. This magic of the son of Stada is explained as follows in the book Beth Jacobh, fol. 127 a: "The Magi, before they left Egypt, took special care not to put their magic in writing lest other peoples might come to learn it. But he devised a new way by which he inscribed it on his skin, or made cuts in his skin and inserted it there and which, when the wounds healed up, did not show what they meant." Buxtorf says (cf. Lexicon. Jud. in verbo Jeschu): "There is little doubt who this Ben Stada was, or who the Jews understood him to be. Although the Rabbis in their additions to the Talmud try to hide their malice and say that it is not Jesus Christ, their deceit is plainly evident, and many things prove that they wrote and understood all these things about him. In the first place, they also call him the son of Pandira. Jesus the Nazarene is thus called in other passages(10) of the Talmud where express mention is made of Jesus the son of Pandira. St. John Damascene(11) also, in his Genealogy of Christ, mentions Panthera and the Son of Panthera. "Secondly, this Stada is said to be Mary, and this Mary the mother of Peloni 'that certain one,' by which without doubt Jesus is meant. For in this way they were accustomed to cover up his name because they were afraid to mention it. If we had copies of the original manuscripts they would certainly prove this. And this also was the name of the mother of Jesus the Nazarene. "Thirdly, he is called the Seducer of the People. The Gospels(12) testify that Jesus was called this by the Jews, and their writings to this day are proof that they still call him by this name. "Fourthly, he is called 'the one who was hanged,' which clearly refers to the crucifixion of Christ, especially since a reference to the time 'on the eve of the Passover' is added, which coincides with the time of the crucifixion of Jesus. In Sanhedrin (43a) they wrote as follows: "On the eve of the Passover they hanged Jesus' "Fifthly, as to what the Jerusalem Talmud says about the two disciples of the Elders who were sent as witnesses to spy on him, and who were afterwards brought forward as witnesses against him: This refers to the two "false witnesses" of whom the Evangelists Matthew(14) and Luke(15) make mention. "Sixthly, concerning what they say about the son of Stada that he practiced Egyptian magical arts by cutting into his flesh: the same accusation is made against Christ in their hostile book Toldoth Jeschu. "Lastly, the time corresponds. For it is said that this son of Stada lived in the days of Paphus the son of Jehuda, who was a contemporary of Rabbi Akibah. Akibah, however, lived at the time of the Ascension of Christ, and for some time after. Mary is also said to have lived under the Second Temple. All this clearly proves that they secretly and blasphemously understand this son of Stada to be Jesus Christ the son of Mary. Mandaean and Johanite References to Jesus Mandaean Book of Adam: Jesus was the son of a devil, a perverter of the true doctrine, who disseminated iniquity and perfidy over the whole world. The Mandaean Book of John which predates and was incorporated into the modern “Gospel of St. John” used by Templar and Johanite Masonry. Jesus was the disciple of the Devil, who fooled John the Baptist. The “liar” Jesus tricked John into baptizing him by use of a satanic ruse that seemed to come from heaven. “Yahya (John) baptized the liar in the Jordan”, he baptized “the false prophet Yishu Meshiha (Jesus the Messiah), son of the devil Ruha Kadishta.”
33. 36. ISIS, VENUS AND MARY MAGDALENE Mary Magdalene – High Priestess and Sacred Prostitute Temples of the Goddess Isis existed throughout biblical times. One image shows Mary holding the alabaster jar and wearing around her waist what is known as the ‘Girdle of Isis’ or the Isis knot which was worn by priestesses of Isis. Many authors speak of Mary (or Mari) coming to her first menses and being sent to Egypt and the Temple of Isis to become initiated into the ways of the sacred Priestess. Here, she becomes Qadishtu and is taught the practice of sacred sexuality where she becomes the living vessel for the Goddess to enter in the ancient rite known as ‘hieros gamos’ or ‘sacred marriage’. The Da Vinci Code speaks of this sacred rite where through ritual sex, both parties are able to experience God/dess. In Babylon the Goddess Ishtar (=Isis/Isais) did not differentiate in bestowing her blessings and honoured the sexual act howsoever it be performed [Cunningham, E. Sacred Prostitution: The Whore and the Holy One]. “Who will plough my vulva?” calls Inanna in the old hymns…”Who will water the holy lap?”[From “The Courtship of Innana and Dumuzi” translated by Samuel Noah Kramer] It is only recently that a reinterpretation of various texts reveals that Mary Magdalene was indeed the partner and most favoured companion of Jesus. Writings from the Nag Hammadi library deliver up to us texts which reveal insights into the role of women and Mary Magdalene herself. The Gospel of Philip speaks of Mary Magdalene “as the most favoured companion of Jesus who loved her more than the other disciples and would kiss her often on the mouth”. [Meyer, M. The Gospels of Mary Magdalene (p49)] Venus, Mary Magdalene, and the Re-emerging so called "Sacred Feminine“ Mary the Light-Bringer The explicit links between Mary Magdalene and Venus perhaps point to Mary's true identity. In the south of France, where Mary Magdalene landed and established her ministry after the crucifixion, she was known as "Mary Lucifera" or "Mary the Light- bringer." [Picknett, Mary Magdalene, p. 95. ] Lucifer is now popularly associated with the devil, conflated with the figure of Satan, but to the ancient Romans, Lucifer (Latin for "light- bringer") referred to the Morning Star, aka Venus. Picknett explains: "This was a time- honored tradition: pagan goddesses were known, for example, as 'Diana Lucifera' or 'Isis Lucifer' to signify their power to illumine mind and soul … to open up both body and psyche to the Holy Light." [Picknett's The Secret History of Lucifer, which followed her book on Mary Magdalene, seeks to undo this conflation of Lucifer and Satan. See p. xiii. ]
34. 37. The planet Venus has a long history of association with the Divine Feminine. The oldest written story of the Goddess (as far as we know) is the myth of the Sumerian Inanna, Queen of Heaven, recorded on cuneiform tablets in approximately 2500 B.C.E. Shamanic astrologer Daniel Giamario (among others) has correlated the story of the Sumerian Goddess — her descent to the Underworld and her return — with the astronomical cycle of Venus (her synodic cycle). Every eight years, Venus traces the shape of a five-pointed star or pentagram in the sky, and ancient depictions of the Goddess often include the image of a pentagram, or sometimes an eight-pointed star. From Priestess to Prostitute Virgin also meant a sovereign, unmarried woman, often referring to a priestess dedicated to the Goddess. For thousands of years, Venus in her various guises — Inanna, Astarte, Ashtoreth, Isis — was worshiped in temples staffed by priestesses who, far from our modern interpretation of "virgin," participated in sacred sexuality with members of the community. The priestesses were called venerii and taught venia, sexual practices for connecting with the Divine. The Venusian priestesses, Picknett writes, "gave men ecstatic pleasure that would transcend mere sex: the moment of orgasm was believed to propel them briefly into the presence of the gods, to present them with a transcendent experience of enlightenment." It was mostly women (and some cross-dressing men) who led the sexual rites, because "it was believed that women were naturally enlightened." [Picknett, The Secret History of Lucifer, p. 59. ] There is an association between Venus and Pisces, the fish symbol of the early christians, that predates the Greek myth. The symbol for Pisces is said to come from the Vesica Piscis (literally, "the bladder of a fish"), an ancient geometrical figure consisting of two overlapping circles, where the perimeter of each circle intersects with the other's center. The Vesica Pisces has been associated with the Goddess for thousands of years, and more specifically, with the feminine power of giving birth — the almond- shaped figure formed by the overlapping circles symbolizes the vagina. The Vesica Piscis is the basic component of the so called Flower of Life, a hexagonal „666“ black-magic symbol, which binds us to our carbon-based earthly bodies! So when you see the Christian fish symbol on the back of a car, think, "Mary's vulva". Or alternatively: „Cosmic Void“ – abyss of the Black Sun! Thule, the Nazis and the Isais Revelations In 1220, Templar Komtur Hubertus Koch received an apparition of the goddess Isais (first child of goddess Isis and god Set). The Templars received over time the Isais Revelations, a series of prophesies and information concerning the Holy Grail. The Templars were ordered to form a secret scientific sect in southern Germany, Austria and northern Italy to be known as "Die Herren vom Schwarzen Stein" - The Lords of the Black Stone, in Italy as
35. 38. „Ordo Bucintoro“. The legend has the Ordo Bucintoro by way of its founder Antonia Contenta as the heir of the Templar’s secrets, one of them being visitations, Magickal instruction and a gift from the Goddess Ishtar. The hauntingly beautiful Goddess, sometimes boyish with a short crop, sometimes with long flowing hair told them to retire to the Untersberg Mountain and await further instruction. There she appeared to them multiple times over the next decade or so. She told them that mans physical body is naught but a temporal home constructed for and by his timeless soul to manifest its existence in this crude world of matter. This world of empty and endless distances between the other worlds, this world of death and decay is a kingdom of shadows created by a dark god to enmesh and snare the luminous spirit, which is the divine essence of every soul. The rightful residence of that lost soul is a place between life and death, what is now called the ethereal world. It is the world of the unborn and of the dead. It is the world of many worlds. Ishtar called it the Green World. Ishtar told them of a perpetual battle that raged across these unseen realms in the kingdoms of the sublime. She told them that this was the age of darkness but in the coming Age of Aquarius the light of the “Black Sun” will reveal these invisible worlds and man will be restored to greatness. Madam Helena Blavatsky, the foundress of the Theosophical Society, described this Luciferian energy as an aether stream that could be transformed into a physical force. Blavatsky was the Pioneer of the New Age Movement. Her “The Secret Doctrine” has key quotes in it: “Lucifer represents…Life…Thought…Progress…Civilization…Liberty…Independence…Lucifer is the Logos…the Serpent, the Savior”. pages 171, 225, 255 (Volume II) “The Celestial Virgin which thus becomes the Mother of Gods and Devils at one and the same time; for she is the ever-loving beneficent Deity…but in antiquity and reality Lucifer or Luciferius is the name. Lucifer is divine and terrestrial Light, ‘the Holy Ghost’ and “Satan’ at one and the same time.” page 539 The Planet Venus Blavatsky's description of „Sophia“ should give pause to those who invoke her as a female Third Person of the Godhead. In Isis unveiled, she said: „The very cosmogonies show that the Archaeal Universal Soul was held by every nation as the mind of the Demiurgic Creator, the Sophia of the Gnostics, or the Holy Ghost as a female principle. This may be the spiritual origin of „inclusive“ language for the Third Person of the Trinity.“ In the Secret Doctrine, Blavatsky added: „In the great Valentian gospel Pistis Sophia it is