The Disciples of Christ - forward
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"The veiled threats of cowards echo eternally in the valley of their weakness...While the brave climb to glorious peaks fashioned only by their actions.."
"Speak not of death to me friend...Lest ye taste the poison of your own putrid language".
There are 4 pages in this series. They addresses the murder of the disciples, the ones Christ chose to be his trusted 'brothers' and deliver his message to the world.
The Disciples
Our Lord gave them the "keys of the kingdom," and by the gift of his Spirit equipped them to be the founders and governors of his church (John 14:16,17,26;;615:26,27; 16:7-15). As representatives of his church, he commissioned them to "preach the gospel to every creature" (Matt. 28:18-20) ). After his ascension, he gave them supernatural gifts, as he promised, enabling them to perform their duties (Acts 2:4; 1 Cor. 2:16; 2:7; 7, 10,13; 2Cor. 5:20; 1 Cor. 11:2).
But the gospel of Jesus says 'they will be hated and prosecuted'. And they were! Your reasoning should question why? And by whom? If you have any doubt to this just read the 'Acts' of Paul. He hunted them down, he prosecuted them....and he made you believe a lie.
Note; For those of you that enter this site from a search engine
This is not a religious site. However it is research based including facts
in print in the Catholic encyclopedia (links provided). The historical records
we found do not agree with the King James bible NT version of Jesus' life
and we are absolutely sure that the Vatican keeps these facts hidden and
of cource they are highly secret. The original Knights Templar knew this over
1000 years ago and they have (also hidden) records to prove it.. records
they found under Solomon's Temple. These records and others we found show the
hidden history of Jesus and the disciples.
During our research we found that the catholic records prove Jesus was Gnostic. Pronounced "Nos-tic", and he never intended to start what we have come to know as the christian religion. If you want the truth, we found it - but it's up to you to investigate this for your self. The Jesus story found in the new Testament of Paul is nothing more than a combination of all the pagan religions since Babylon. They mostly contain Greek and Roman legendary gods who also were 'hanged from a tree' died and rose again or had a virgin mother. The historical facts and examples about this are on Christ's mission.
That, however doesn't mean that Jesus wasn't a real person. He was, but his teachings have been distorted and his life and what he stood for was lied about by the Romans so they could use it to control the people. Paul wrote many books in the NT, but they did not contain any of the real teachings of Jesus. On the Jesus pages we have links to the War Scroll by Josephus. This is the real story of a 'freedom fighter' named Jesus.
New Testament forgery?
Let us, just for few minutes, forget some of what Luke, Mark says is truth. Why?, because Mark, and Luke were never real disciples or followers of Jesus. The work of Matthew was edited and does not contain the full story of 'the raising' of Lazerus, which is not the same as the origional version. The only person alive at the time that wrote a chapter for the NT is John, the Evangelist. Legend has it that John was taught by Jesus himself. The Gospel of John is not like the others, not copied and does not contain virgin birth stories or anything about the resurrection. You need to question why here also because John is considered by scholars to be the most accurate of the 4 gospels.
With that in mind, let us consider written historical records of the citizens of Israel including some nasty Romans, so-called Popes, (more Romans) the words we found in the catholic encyclopedia, and other religious orders that existed in the time of Jesus. These 'other' religious orders have left us with much more accurate information than the NT of the KJ bible. There are however, words that give allegorical hints to the real lessons Jesus taught. These coded phrases were missinterupted by the Greek and Roman writers and some were even used to concoct lies about the real Jesus and what he taught. If you read all of the 'Jesus' Pages, we'll tell you what they are...
Background - The Exile
The people of Isreal and the northern kingdom were soon over-run and captured by the Assyrians in 721 BC.
After conquering Syria, Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylonia, went on to seize Israel and later Judah. Having successfully laid siege to Jerusalem, he imposed a series of puppet kings to govern it. This unsatisfactory state of affairs continued for the next ten years until the Jews revolted, and Nebuchadnezzar finally decided to crush all remaining resistance. The city of Jerusalem was taken in 597 BC.
King Nebuchadnezzar had appointed a 'puppet king' to rule over Jerusalem , however he ( Zedekiah )sided with the Egyptians as to what was to happen to Judah and Jerusalem. This plan failed but Zedekiah held out in Jerusalem for two years, then in 586 BC., the city fell and the temple was destroyed.
With the revolt suppressed, Nebuchadnezzar's forces sacked Jerusalem itself, stripping the Temple of all its gold sheeting and valuable artefacts. The latter, presumably, having been reproduced over the years to replace those seized by Ramesses II some three centuries previously. The Babylonians then broke up the two pillars, the laver and sacrificial altar before burning down the structure which had stood for over 370 years. They followed this by dismantling the citadel walls so thoroughly that little trace of them was left.
Babyloanian king Nebuchadnezzar had over 43,000 people taken to Babylon but treated them decently. They were given food and allowed to live amoung the people of Babylon.
They found the religion to be similar to their own since it was originally brought to Babylon by the Sumerians. The gaps in the stories of the flood and creation seemed to come together as one with their own. Cuneiform tablets that recorded trade with King Jehoiachin and his five sons have been recovered from this area in Iraq.
Ezekiel was a priest of the temple and the destruction was no great surprise. He saw it as punishment on Isreal for their wicked ways including the worship of 'pagan' idols and Egyptian gods. Ezekiel's wife had died on the very evening that the city fell and this he felt was a sign from God. He began to feel that he alone needed to rebuild the temple which would resurrect the people and the nation of Isreal. Ezekiel would be the new 'architect' of the temple but the images of lions, multi-faced men and anything else that was even related to the old Egyptian ways, had to go. Recall above the date of the 're-write' of the "Old Testament" ..580BC.
Ezekiel had many visions , the one that changed Isreal forever is remembered here; Ezekiel fell into a trance, and saw a man clothed in fire and light who put forth his hand, seized Ezekiel by the forelock and transported him back to the inner gate of the temple. He was then taken to a door of the court and commanded to dig a hole in the wall through which he sees a remarkable sight. He sees mural paintings of mythological things, pictures showing practices of Egyptain origin. Ezekiel 8:12, Seventy elders are engaged in 'secret mysteries', with censers in their hands.
The elders of the Temple of Solomon were presently in the room with
Ezekiel. Ezekiel is accusing them of conducting private ceremonies in the
temple in the dark. Ezekiel becomes outraged by the Egyptain images, naming
the culprit as King Josiah, who history has recorded as having the walls of
the temple repaired and redecorated in the mid part of the previous century.
The vision goes on to declare that the
images must be destroyed and those who worship idols must be killed. This
alludes to complete distruction of anything Egyptian. This may be the reason
Seqenenre Tao II's name or any part of the story connecting to him or Egypt
had to be changed.
Ezekiel had another vision in 573 BC, where he is transported to the site of the new temple. He meets a man who has a ten foot four inch measuring reed in his hand. He is told to pay close attention because he will have to report everything he sees to the exiles.
The main gate to the temple faces east, in direct line with the main approach. There are seven steps up to the main temple area. There are three guard rooms facing each other; all of which are a perfect square and of the same dimensions. There is a second threshold and the vestibule of the gate that leads to the court. Along the wall of the court, to a depth of the length of the gates, there is a large pavement with symmetrically arranged chambers, thirty in all.
The inner court has two rooms at the sides of the north and south gates. These are used by the priests. The court is a perfect square and the vestibule of the temple is ten steps higher than the inner court, there on which are the pillars, Boaz and Jachin, which now play an important part in Masonic ritual.
The vision concludes with the return of Yahweh as he rises out of the east like a star and enters through the gate of righteousness in the east. The Star was Venus, the East represents the rising Sun. This is also representative of the 'Master' who sets in the East in the lodge room.
The requirements of the priests and the rules for the community were then given. The new priests were to be the sons of Zakok and they must wear white linen garments when they entered the inner court. A representation of this garmet is worn at Masonic instalations. They could not shave their heads or allow their hair to grow long. No wine was to be drank before entering the temple and they must marry a virgin of Isrealite birth. No alcohol is allowed in the lodge.
They could not have personal possessions. Coins or metal objects are taken from a initiate before he enters the lodge room. They could not come in contact with the dead. The people were then given the laws of the foods they could not eat, which were; crabs, lobsters, shellfish, sharks, snakes, lizards, hares, camels, badgers, bats, pigs and any swarming insect.
On October 12, 539BC., the city of Babylon was taken by the King of Persia, King Cyrus. He allowed the Jews ( a word meaning member of the tribe of Judah ) to return to their homeland along with the treasures that Nebuchadnezzer had captured.
According to the book The Book of Hiram, by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas; The Babyloian exile brought change within the ranks of the Jews. The Jews who were seized and taken into the cities of the Babyloians had mourned the loss of their city and it's temple, but they quickly acclimatised to their new circumstances in various cities. and they prospered as part of a successful empire. They must have identified with their new masters, because they too aspired to understand the heavens and their meaning for mortal man.
It has always struck us as strange that after three generations the Babyloians suddenly let the Jews return to their homeland. There was alot of political turbulance after the death of Cyrus the Great and only when Darius came to the throne were 42,462 people sent back to Jerusalem. Writing of this event six hundred years later, Josephus felt he understood Darius' motivation.
Darius was a Zoroastrian, and his God was Ahura Mazda (the Sun god and Lord of Wisdom ) Not Yehweh, the local God of Jerusalem. Josephus' view was moulded by his own belief in a single god. It is certain that the Jews who were taken into captivity believed that many gods existed, and that Yehweh was in control in Israel but not other places such as Babylon. When they were in other lands the Jews would pay their respects to the local god. By the time they were released they had aquired the idea of a single, all powerful God from the Zoroastrians who were themselves monotheists, believing in a cosmic dualism of Truth (Asha) being opposed by the Lie across the entire universe.
According to the record left by Josephus, Darius set a riddle, the correct
answer to which would permit the rebuilding of the holy Temple of the Jews.
The question was about the relative strengths of four possible contenders;
kings, women and wine. The correct answer was given and, interestingly, those
few words are the only written inscription in the entire structure of Rosslyn,
built by William St Clair as a final manifestation of the Jerusalem Temple.
They appear on a cross lintel in the south of the building in medieval Latin;
WINE IS STRONG, A KING IS STRONGER, WOMEN ARE EVEN STRONGER BUT TRUTH
CONQUERS ALL
This classic Zoroastrian sentiment gave new life to the Jerusalem temple. As the Jews returned from captivity, only a few of the most elderly would ever set sight on the city of Jerusalem before. Even the people taken in the second wave exile were fourth-eight years older than when they left. A new generation of city rulers must have welcomed them with caution and, no doubt, distrust. Were these sons and grandsons of the old power base seeking to resume life where their forefathers left off?
The books concludes that at this point that the divide between 'nature' and the 'astral' became a polarised issue. The followers of the 'nature' principals were focused on the tradition associated with Moses, while the returning elite 'astral' cult was dedicated to the astral teachings of Enoch. For the royal Enochian line the astral aspects were central to achieving the greatness of their nation through their long-term plans, which would be fulfilled by the leadership of their promised messiah who would arise at a preordained moment in the future. And they knew that the moment would be marked by the appearance of the Divine Shekinah, the light that shows the presence of God.
Zerubbabel is said to have built his new Jerusalem Temple on top of the ruins of the old one, and life in Jerusalem returned to normal. However the astral ideas were being merged with the cult of Yahweh. Then another great influence occured, and that was the culture of the Greeks.
The serious intrusions of the Greek culture (Hellenism) begin with the conquests of Alexander the Great in 331 BC, which put Jews on the defensive. A civil war broke out in Israel in 165 BC, between Jewish Hellenisers and resistant Israelites. The Maccabean revolt began as a civil war; it ended as a successful war for Judaen political independence from Syrian occupying forces led by Antiochus Epiphanes.
Members of the Hasmonaean priestly family who led the revolt proclaimed themselves hereditary kings and high priests despite the fact that they were not the ancient high priestly linage. This caused outrage amongst the true priesthood, who set up their own community at Qumran at the lowest place on the surface of the earth in an attempt to maintain the purity of their own traditions. The Qumran community was originally a difficult alliance of Zadokite and Enochian priests formed in the aftermath of a shared disillusion with the Maccabean authority in Jerusalem. One clear implication is that a previously unidentified Enochian group also continued in it's pure form, as well as the hybrid form centered on Qumran.
Phily, the Roman historian and judge, wrote of the people of the Qumran Community; On the West coast of Lake Asphaltitus (the Dead Sea) are settled a number of the Essenes, at some distance from the noisome odours that are experienced on the shores itself. They are a lonely people, the most extraordinary in the world, who live without women, without love, without money, with the palm trees for their only companions.
Josephus wrote:They have an inviolable attachment to liberty; and say that God is their only Ruler and Lord. They do not value dying, any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the deaths of their relations and friends, nor can any such fear make them call any man Lord"
They also spread their beliefs by taking children to teach them; They neglect wedlock, but choose out other persons' children while they are pliable, and fit for learning; and they esteem them to be of their kindred, and form them according to their own manners.
Further Hippolytus, in the Refutation of Heresies, tells us more specifically what the children were taught; They lead (these adopted children) into observance of their own particular customs, and in this way bring them up impel them to learn science".
In the Second degree of the Masonic initiation, the candidate is told, "You are permitted to extend your researches into the more hidden mysteries of nature and science."
The Real Followers of Christ
Unfortunately there were only a few. The connections we found are; The Zodokites, The Sons of Light, the Sons of Truth, the Sons of Zadok, the Children of God, the Pharisaics, The Melchizedek Priesthood, The Eblonim ( the poor ) the Hassidim or Hasidim ( The Essenes ) and the Nozrim ( The Nazareans ). These are all one and the same. An elite group who seperated it's self from all others.
Like the Order of Knights Templar, these priests of Qumran held ritual initiations, wore only white linen and held all things in common. And like original freemasonry the initiation period for membership took three years to become a full member. It is known that the Essenes retained elements of Sun worship, as they praised the 'Sun of Righteousness'. They would have been criticised by Ezekiel, who had told them that 'they turned their back towards the temple of the Lord, and their faces towards the east; as they worshiped the sun towards the east'. The Jerusalem authorities did not like their traditions either, because they eventually passed a law forbiding the practice of kneeling towards the Sun at dawn, on pain of death.
The Qumranians did worship the sun and had a solar calander. The Jews
on the other hand had a lunar calander. The two butted heads as the Qumranians
claimed to be more accurate when celebrating festivals having them on the
right days, as opposed to the Jewish calender. Sundials, which were actually
rocks with groves cut in them have been found in the ruins of the Old Solomon's
Temple right through later timesint the caves of the Qumran community. The
sundial to the left is not ancient. If we look at Stonehenge, we see a more
ancient version. In fact there is evidence that Enoch had something to do
with Stonehenge. We get into this on
Passage, page 8
In the Old Testament, the High Priest of David and Solomon is called Zadok. This was either a personal name or an official title. ( we found it to be a title associated with the magi and Zoroaster which we discuss on The Magi.) It is associated with the Messiah, the anointed one, the rightfull king. More specifically, he is associated with the Davidic Messiah. This 'rightful ruler' was named 'Jesus'. This is also a title given to their 'governor' or High Priest. It was not a proper name....So there was more than one person called 'Jesus'.
The Zealots
Judas of Galilee, usually credited with founding the Zealots at the dawn of the Christain era, is also a 'zealot for the law' - and is attended by a high priest called Zadok. In the 'Acts of the apostles' 21:20, the Nazareans in Jerusalem - the so-called 'early Christians' are again described quite precisely, as being 'zealots for the law'.This group is a fundamentalist dynastic priesthood associated with the principal of a Davidic Messiah and extended from the second century B.C. through the period covered by the Gospels and the 'Acts of the Apostles'.
This priesthood is at war with the Romans. It is also at war with the "Herodian" Sadducees. This priesthood is variously called Zealot, Essene, Zadokite and a number of other things - including, by their enemies, 'outlaws', and 'brigand'. They are described by Eisenman as 'violently apocalyptic' which is the same description used for John the Baptist.
Jesus was crucified between two other men, described as thieves in the English translations of the Bible. However, if we go back to the original Greek text, we find that they are not called thieves at all there but are described as lestai. which, strictly speaking, translates as “brigands” but which was, in Greek, the official name for the “Zealots,” the Judaean freedom flghters who were dedicated to ridding Judaea of its Roman occupation (Matthew 27:38) The Romans considered them to be terrorists.
The Zealots were not just seeking some kind of political land grab but had a less venal motive: they were concerned, above all else, with the legitimacy of the priests serving in the Temple of Solomon and, in particular, with the legitimacy of the high priest --who was, at the time, appointed by the Herodiain rulers.” They wanted priests who were “Sons of Aaron,” priests of the bloodline of Aaron, the brother of Moses, of the Tribe of Levi, who founded the Israelite priesthood and was the first high priest of Israel. “The sons of Aaron” had become the term used to describe the sole legitimate line of priests in ancient Israel.
The undeniable implication of Jesus’s placement between two condemned Zealots at Golgotha is that, to the Roman authorities, Jesus was also a Zealot. As was Barabbas. the prisoner released under what is described as a feast-day amnesty by Pilate. The prisoner was described in Greek as a lestes (John 18:40) There really seem to have been a lot of Zealots around Jesus.
This observation also extends to Jesus’s disciples: one is called Simon
Zelotes (Simon xeloten) -- Simon the Zealot (Luke 6:IS). Furthermore,
a particularly nasty group of assassins within the Zealot movement were called
Sicarii after the small curved knife- a sica that they carried to
assassinate their opponents; Judas Iscariot was clearly Sicarii (whether
active or former we do not know). This suggestion of Zealot militancy takes on
an added significance when we recall the events preceding the arrest of Jesus
in the Garden of Geth. According to Luke’s Gospel, as Jesus and his disciples
were gathering, Jesus told his immediate entourage to arm themselves: “He that
bath no sword, let him sell his garment and buy one.” He was told that they had
two swords. “It is enough,” replied Jesus (Luke 22:36-38). Here Jesus is
described in a context defined by the strong and often violent Judaean desire
for liberation from Roman rule. To see it as anything but that is to ignore
too much of the texts.
The Jesus Papers - Michael Baigent
The legitimacy of the High Priesthood of Zadok was resuscitated by the Maccabeans, the last dynasty of Judaic kings, who ruled Israel from the second century B.C. until Herodian times when the Roman Emperor Herod attempted to legitimise himself by marring a Maccabean princess, then proceeded to murder her and her sons, thus extingushing the Maccabean line.
This group is otherwise known as the Nazarean Party - the so-called and misnamed 'first Christians'. Jesus was a member of this party as were all of the disciples. It was political as well as religious because the ruling religious party also controlled and administered 'the law'.
The Pharisees taught that righteous people would live again after death ( Acts 23:8 ) while the wicked would be punished for eternity. Not many Jewish groups accepted this view. Instead they accepted the Greek and Persian idea that death permanentely seperated the soul from the body.
When a comet appeared in 66 BC, many Jews expected the coming of the Messiah, and accepted war against the Romans. This is also mentioned in Roman sources, because the ruler it seemed to refer to could also be identified with the emperor Vespasian. For example, Suetonius writes in his Lives of the Twelve Emperors There had spread over all the Orient an old an established belief that it was fated at that time for a man coming from Judaea to rule the world. This prediction, referring to the emperor of Rome, as it turned out, the Jews took to themselves, and they revolted accordingly. (Suetonius, Vespasian 4.5)
The most famous reference to Bileam's prophecy is, of course, the story about the 'star in the east' that was seen by the Magicans (Magi) when Jesus was born. It is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew (2.1-12), which was written after c.75 CE. However, Jesus was not born on December 25th, nor was He born in 1 A.D.
This prophecy seems to have become more popular as the
years passed. Some examples from the first and second centuries
CE may suffice. To start with, the Jewish philosopher Philo of
Alexandria (15 CE - after 50) writes:
"For there shall come a man, says the oracle, and leading his
host to war he shall subdue great and populous nations, because
God has sent to his aid the reinforcement which befits the godly."
The 'prince of the congregation' seems to be have been a common shorthand indicating one of the two Messiahs that the sect at Qumran expected, the war leader who is sometimes called the 'Messiah of David' or the 'Messiah of Israel'. The words 'came to Damascus' refer to the members of the Qumran sect, who had entered a 'new covenant' in Damascus. It is also possible that these words refer to the sect's founder, the 'Teacher of righteousness'.
From Messiah to Christ The Hebrew word mâšîah means 'anointed one' and may indicate Jewish priests, prophets and kings. During the sixth century BC, the exiled Jews in Babylonia started to hope for a special Anointed One who was to bring them home; several written prophecies were fulfilled when the Persian king Cyrus the Great did in fact allow them to return. In the second century BC, the Jews were again suffering from repression, and the old prophecies became relevant again.
Some people were looking forward to a military leader who would defeat the Seleucid (Sadducee) or Roman enemies and establish an independent Jewish kingdom; others, like the author of the Psalms of Salomo, stated that the Messiah was a charismatic teacher who gave the correct interpretation of Mosaic law, was to restore Israel and would judge mankind. Jesus of Nazareth was considered a Messiah; a century later, Simon bar Kochba. The idea of an eschatological king has been present in Judaism ever since. .. from Messiah II
Every written record we have, including the Gospels, says Jesus was the bloodline heir to the throne of David. This linage can be traced back to 'Jesse', Saul, David, Solomon, ect.. He was the actual legitimate King of the Jews whose Judian heritage had been replaced in the temple of Jerusalem with the Sadducee priesthood.
Saul/Paul, a Roman citizen, acting on behalf of this priesthood and armed with warrants from the High Priest, undertakes to hunt them down as far away as Damascus ( Qumran ) and Syria. Rome was threatened by the legitimate priests of the Zakok ( Pharisee ) priesthood, thereby ordering all of them arrested and cruisified if any insurrection erupted. The Romans did not interfear which the 'church' however because this would have created even more unrest and hatred of their control. However, the Sadducee priesthood is the puppet of Rome and they can have disruptive Jews or Greeks arrested and charged with sedition. In turn they could have the arrested person 'excommunicated'. This was very serious much as it is in the catholic church today...but to these dedicated freedom fighters, it meant death. You were thrown out of the church as a member. To them this was a 'spirtual death'. Then only a high priest could 'rescue you'. We explain this further shortly.
In the records of Josephus we find there was a "Jesus" ( amoung several others ) who was a freedom fighter. But there were prophecies to be fulfilled and this Jesus saw to it they were.
We also discussed on 'The Lies of Paul' page the difference between what the Sadducee's taught and what the Pharisees taught and believed. There was a split in the priesthood. Thus the Zealots and the Pharisees strongly opposed the Sadducees. Then we have the Hellenists ( Greeks ) who supported James ( Jesus's brother - 'James the less' ).
After the Maccabeans
drove the Syrians out of Palestine,
the Hellenstic Jews went into hiding.
They formed a new sect called Sadducees or saddig. This
means 'righteous' or that it comes from the priestly name Zakok,
since the Sadducees were connected with the temple priesthood.
We also found there were two different sects of
Essenes possibly resulting from this 'split'( see below ).
"The Sadducees mainly represented the wealthier and more aristocratic circles in
Jewish society, and their first leaders came from families that were close to the pre-Hasmonean
high priesthood. The Sadducees opposed the upholding of the oral law as a source of legislation
equal in authority to the written. Although the Sadducees were a minority group, there were an
extremely powerful one as a result of their social standing and wealth."
- The Jews in Their Land (David Ben-Gurion Editor}
"The Sadducees [Zedukim: priests] were the highest priests, but their beliefs were
rather conservative and in favor of...collaboration with the Romans."
- Luigi Pareti, The Ancient World
"But the doctrine of the Sadducees is this: That souls die with the bodies; nor do they regard the observation of any thing besides what the law enjoins them; for they think it an instance of virtue to dispute with those teachers of philosophy whom they frequent: but this doctrine is received but by a few, yet by those still of the greatest dignity. But they are able to do almost nothing of themselves; for when they become magistrates, as they are unwillingly and by force sometimes obliged to be, they addict themselves to the notions of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise bear them." - Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Bk XIII, I, Sn 4
"Sadducees accepted only the written law [from Genesis to Deuteronomy], a rather
different attitude to those who accepted that twenty-two books were special...They
denied any authority to the practical traditions of conduct which Pharisees accepted.
According to Acts' author, they also denied the existence of angels and a resurrection.
Both these beliefs were late arrivals in texts outside the main law. Probably, a Sadducee
did not reject the psalms and the prophets altogether, but was wary about any bits of these
books which went beyond the theology of the law or Pentateuch."
- Robin Lane Fox, The Unauthorized Version
Written history tells us that all the Essenes did not all live at Qumran, but were spread through out the city. Only one distinct sect lived at Qumran. This particular Sadducee sect accepted only the written laws of Moses, and condemed any teaching that was not based on the written word. They rejected the Pharisaic belief in angles, demons, and resurrection after death. Thus they opposed Jesus when He agreed with the Pharisees. The Sadducees adopted the beliefs of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who said that the soul dies with the body. However they taught that each person was the master of his own fate.
The 'split'; After they drove the Syrians out, the
Maccabees reconsecrated the Temple but, successful as
the Jews were against Antiochus, internal social damage had
been done because the campaign had necessitated fighting on the
Sabbath. A core of ultra-strict Jewish devotees known as the
Hasidim ( Pious Ones ) strongly objected to this and, when the
triumphant House of Maccabaeus took control and set up their own
King and High Priest in Jerusalem, the Hasidim not only voiced
their opposition but marched en masse out of the city in
order to establish their own 'pure' community in the nearby
Wilderness of Qumran. Formerly called Sekhakha, building work
started around 130 BC. This sect became known as Qumran
Essenes or simply the "Q". ..more pictures on Ancient Essene Life
An aged priest named (Matthias) Mattathias became the leader of this rebellion, his call for freedom fighters was the declaration: "Let everyone who is zealous for the Law and takes his stand on the Covenant come out and follow me." Matthias was succeeded by his son Judas Maccabee ("The Hammer"),160 BC, whose small band brought down the wrath of Antiochus. (We included this to prove there were 'freedom fighters', priests, and they are surnamed 'Matthias').
The Apostles
...AND Iesus went up into a mountain to pray. And when he had
called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against
unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease. Now the names of the twelve
apostles are these who stood for the twelve tribes of Israel:
The links provided are all from the Catholic Encyclopedia but are
not necessarily complete, ie., they do confirm the apostles
were Gnostic... Proof on the next page.
Peter,
called Cephas, for the tribe of Reuben;
James,
for the tribe of Naphtali;
Thomas,
called Dydimus, for the tribe of Zabulon;
Matthew,
called Levi for the tribe of Gad;
John,
for the tribe of Ephraim;
Simon,
for the tribe of Issachar.
Andrew,
for the tribe of Joseph;
Nathanael,
for the tribe of Simeon;
Thaddeus, for the tribe of Zabulon;
Jacob,
also called James ( James the Less ) for the tribe of Benjamin;
Jude,
for the tribe of Dan;
Philip,
for the tribe of Asher.
And Judas Iscariot, a Levite, who betrayed
him, was also among them (but he was not of them). And Matthias
and Barsabbas were also present with them.
"Then he called in like manner twelve others to be Prophets, men of light to be with the Apostle and shew unto them the hidden things of God. And their names were Hermes, Aristobulus, Selenius, Nereus, Apollos, and Barsabbas; Andronicus, Lucius, Apelles, Zachaeus, Urbanus, and Clementos.
The Disciples; Overview
There was a church on Mount Carmel that only the Nazarines attended. The word 'Nazarine' is the key to the truth. Fact; There was no town called Nazereth in the time of Jesus.
In the NT the word apostles designate a small group who hold the highest position in the Church and are charged with its most responsible functions. The number seems to echo the 12 tribes of Israel which the Twelve will judge (Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30); the apostles are the foundations of the New Israel of the Church. But no replacement is mentioned after the death of James the son of Zebedee. The Twelve were not considered a perpetual institution, since the conditions of membership could not be met except by the first generation of Palestinian Christians known as Zealots.
The Twelve are in the first place
disciples; but they are specifically chosen by Jesus to be His
constant companions, and they are submitted
to a full instruction in the truth which He proclaims. (Anotherwords
if you didn't hear it from them directly, you need to presume
anything else - taught by anyone else is a lie! )
They teach and preside over the fellowship of the primitive community. However you will notice they
are not witnesses to the resurrection as described in the Gospels. But they speak in the name of
Jesus and perform signs and wonders in His name. Their's is the ministry of the word. They impose
hands on the Seven (deacons) to authorize them to care for the distribution of goods. They came
identified with Jerusalem as their residence, even after the Jerusalem community was scattered
by persecution. With the elders of the Jerusalem Church they formed the supreme
legislative body of the Church. The mission of the Twelve is rendered operative by the gift of the
Spirit after the so-called ascension of Jesus.
He (Jesus) said to them,
"You (the 12 apostles) have been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but for those outside,
everything is given in parables so that they may see and not perceive, and hearing,
they may hear but not understand." (Mark 4:11-12)
This is literal. It says no one else will understand and that is what it means! Also note this expression, "convert and be healed" in which healing is equated with conversion. The Essenes took this to mean that people were blind, deaf and hard of heart because they were unrighteous and would not take the trouble to learn the mysteries which God had given them in the scriptures. Taking this literally, they accepted nothing at face value and sought the hidden meaning in the scriptures. Only God’s righteous took the trouble to do this and it was against God’s will for them to bandy their discoveries about, so they kept them to themselves, in turn couching their own truths in an allegorical language which could be understood by other Essenes but not by anyone else, particularly the Romans.
In Mark 3.23, the writing of this evangelist told us that Jesus spoke in parables, further proof that Jesus was an Essene. For the Nazarenes he was the "Master", the Maskil, whose duty was to impart knowledge with discretion and keep it secret from the wicked. We can conclude from this that the parables were allegorical and not, as theologians stoutly maintain, simple stories or that they were literal. If you still do not believe it read Matthew 13:14-15 where Jesus uses the above quotation from Isaiah to explain why he was teaching in parables.
Santa Clause, Easter eggs, Halloween: These hallmark ceremonies of mainstream Christianities have their origins in paganism and are not consistent with the teachings of Christ or the practices of the early church.
How did Christianity deteriorate to this level of paganism and materialism?
Another hallmark of modern Christianity is the belief that all is required of his disciples today is to believe on him and accept him as their savior and their eternal life is assured. Regardless whether one studies the teaching of the Catholic Church or the Protestant Churches that came out of her, the belief systems of these mainstream organizations can be summarized as follows: “When someone is born, they get a soul that has never existed before, and unless that individual accepts Christ as their savior before they die, their soul goes to Hell.” This means that anybody who belongs to any other religion is doomed to eternal torment. Another interesting dilemma posed by this theology is that anybody who lived and died before the time of Christ is also doomed to Hell. How could they accept Christ if Christ hadn’t lived yet?
Yet when one studies the teachings of Christ, as recorded in the New Testament, he never claimed that he came to die for the sins of mankind or even that he came to save everyone at that time. In actuality, he on purposely cloaked his teaching in parables to prevent the masses from understanding the true meaning of his teachings.
So what was Christ's Message if it wasn't "I have come to die for your sins?" His true message about who he was and who we are is more amazing than you can imagine. The message Christ preached was not new. It was a very old message about who Christ was and who we are.
Ancient writings were discovered in 1945 which revealed more information about
the concept of reincarnation from the sect of Christians called "Gnostics". This sect was
ultimately destroyed by the Roman orthodox church, their followers burned at the stake
and their writings wiped out. The writings included some long lost gospels, some of which
were written earlier than the known gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The Gnostic
Christians claimed to possess the correct definition of "resurrection" - based on Jesus'
secret teachings, handed down to them by the apostles. The existence of a secret tradition
can be found in the New Testament:
"He [Jesus] told them, ' The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, they may be ever seeing but
never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn
and be forgiven!'" (Mark 4:11-12)
"No, we speak of God's secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began." (1 Corinthians 2:7)
"So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God." (1 Corinthians 4:1)
A fragment of the Secret Gospel of Mark, one of the Gnostic texts discovered, describes Jesus performing secret initiation rites. Before the discovery of Gnostic writings, our only knowledge of it came from a letter written by Church Father Clement of Alexandria (150 AD - 211 AD), which quotes this secret gospel and refers to it as "a more spiritual gospel for the use of those who were being perfected." He said, "It even yet is most carefully guarded [by the church at Alexandria], being read only to those who are being initiated into the great mysteries." Clement insists elsewhere that Jesus revealed a secret teaching to those who were "capable of receiving it and being molded by it." Clement indicates that he possessed the secret tradition, which was handed down through the apostles. Such Gnostics were spiritual critics of the orthodox Church of what they saw as not so much a popularization as a vulgarization of Christianity. The orthodox church stressed faith, while the Gnostic church stressed knowledge (gnosis). This secret knowledge emphasized spiritual resurrection rather than physical resurrection. Indeed, the Gnostic Christians believed reincarnation to be the true interpretation of "resurrection" for those who have not attained a spiritual resurrection through this secret knowledge.
The New Testament talks about this gnosis (knowledge): "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues." (1 Corinthians 12:7-10)
"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." (Colossians 1:9)
The first-century Jewish historian Flavius Josephus states that the Pharisees, the founders of rabbinic Judaism for whom Paul once belonged, believed in reincarnation. He writes that the Pharisees believed that the souls of bad men are punished after death but that the souls of good men are "removed into other bodies" and they will "have power to revive and live again." The Sadducees, the other prominent Jewish sect in Palestine, did not emphasize life after death and according to the Bible "say there is no resurrection" (Matthew 22:23). From what we have just discussed, it is clear that what Matthew really states is that the Sadducees "say there is no reincarnation".
The following are some the secret teachings of Jesus from the Gnostic gospels that
affirm reincarnation, revealing the secret knowledge:
"Watch and pray that you may not be born in the flesh, but that you may leave the bitter
bondage of this life." (Book of Thomas the Contender)
"When you see your likeness, you are happy. But when you see your images that came into being before and that neither die nor become visible, how much you will bear!" (Gospel of Thomas)
In the Book of Thomas the Contender, Jesus tells the disciple Thomas that after death those who were once believers but have remained attached to things of "transitory beauty" will be consumed "in their concern about life" and will be "brought back to the visible realm".
In the Secret Book of John, reincarnation is placed at the heart of its discussion of the salvation of souls. The book was written by 185 AD at the latest. Here is the Secret Book of John's perspective on reincarnation:
All people have drunk the water of forgetfulness and exist in a state of ignorance. Some are able to overcome ignorance through the Spirit of life that descends upon them. These souls "will be saved and will become perfect," that is, escape the round of rebirth. John asks Jesus what will happen to those who do not attain salvation. They are hurled down "into forgetfulness" and thrown into "prison", the Gnostic code word for new body. The only way for these souls to escape, says Jesus, is to emerge from forgetfulness and acquire knowledge. A soul in this situation can do so by finding a teacher or savior who has the strength to lead her home. "This soul needs to follow another soul in whom the Spirit of life dwells, because she is saved through the Spirit. Then she will never be thrust into flesh again." (Secret Book of John)
Another Gnostic text, Pistis Sophia, outlines an elaborate system of reward and punishment that includes reincarnation. The text explains differences in fate as the effects of past-life actions. A "man who curses" is given a body that will be continually "troubled in heart". A "man who slanders" receives a body that will be "oppressed". A thief receives a "lame, crooked and blind body". A "proud" and "scornful" man receives "a lame and ugly body" that "everyone continually despises." Thus earth, as well as hell, becomes the place of punishment.
According to Pistis Sophia, some souls do experience hell as a shadowy place of torture where they go after death. But after passing through this hell, the souls return for further experiences on earth. Only a few extremely wicked souls are not allowed to reincarnate. These are cast into "outer darkness" until the time when they are destined to be "destroyed and dissolved".
The Gnostics claimed their terminology was sprinkled through the Epistles. For example, the author of Ephesians uses the words "awake", "sleep" and "dead" in a Gnostic sense: "But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: "Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you." (Ephesians 5:13-14)
"Men will turn away in rebellion, and there will be a re-establishment of the reign of righteousness, perversity being confounded by the judgements of God. This is what scripture implies in the words, "Who says to Zion, your God has not claimed his Kingdom!" The term Zion there denoting the total congregation of the "sons of righteousness" that is, those who maintain the covenant and turn away from the popular trend, and your God signifying the King of Righteousness, alias Melchizedek Redivivus, who will destroy Belial. Our text speaks also of sounding a loud trumpet blast throughout the land on the tenth day of the seventh month. As applied to the last days, this refers to the fanfare which will then be sounded before the Messianic King." (The Last Jubilee)
Melchizedek was the High Priest described in the Bible. It is interesting to note that some early Christians believed Melchizedek to be an early incarnation of Jesus. If this is true and the above passage of the Dead Sea Scrolls can be believed, then the passage is very likely referring to Jesus Himself and His second coming.
The Dead Sea Scrolls indicate that the Jewish mystical tradition of union with God went back to the first, if not the third, century before Christ. Jewish mysticism has its roots in Greek mysticism which espouced reincarnation. Some of the hymns found with the Dead Sea Scrolls are similar to the Hekhalot hymns sung by the Jewish mystics. One text gives us unmistakable evidence of Jewish mysticism. It is called "Songs of the Sabbath Sacrifice". Also, fragments of 1 Enoch, which is considered the oldest evidence of Jewish mysticism, were also found with the Dead Sea Scrolls. Since Jewish mysticism existed in the third century before Christ, as Enoch indicates, then it would certainly have been present in first-century Judaism. As stated earlier, this twin idea of divine union and reincarnation can be found in early Christianity and one can easily conclude that it was the key to the heart of Jesus' message.
Reincarnation has been a tenet for thousands of years for certain Jews and Christians. The Zohar is a work of great weight and authority among the Jews. In II, 199 b, it says that "all souls are subject to revolutions." This is metempsychosis or a'leen b'gilgoola; but it declares that "men do not know the way they have been judged in all time." That is, in their "revolutions" they lose a complete memory of the acts that have led to judgment. The Kether Malkuth says, "If she, the soul, be pure, then she shall obtain favor.. . but if she hath been defiled, then she shall wander for a time in pain and despair. . . until the days of her purification." If the soul be pure and if she comes at once from God at birth, how could she be defiled? And where is she to wander if not on this or some other world until the days of her purification? The Rabbis always explained it as meaning she wandered down from Paradise through many revolutions or births until purity was regained.
Under the name of "Din Gilgol Neshomes" the doctrine of reincarnation is constantly
spoken of in the Talmud. The term means "the judgment of the revolutions of the souls."
And Rabbi Manassa, son of Israel, one of the most revered, says in his book Nishmath
Hayem: "The belief or the doctrine of the transmigration of souls is a firm and infallible
dogma accepted by the whole assemblage of our church with one accord, so that there
is none to be found who would dare to deny it. . . . Indeed, there is a great number of
sages in Israel who hold firm to this doctrine so that they made it a dogma, a fundamental
point of our religion. We are therefore in duty bound to obey and to accept this dogma
with acclamation . . . as the truth of it has been incontestably demonstrated by the
Zohar, and all books of the Kabalists." more..see
Lost Doctrines
and Reincarnation Proof
We further offer the Gospel of Thomas as proof of the allegorical teachings Gospel of Thomas
In the Community Rule (Dead Sea Scrolls), the Master chants in his song of blessings to God:
My eyes have gazed on that which is everlasting, on wisdom concealed from men, on knowledge and wise design hidden from the sons of men. (Which means sons of the devil and that included anyone outside the community and this included Paul, Mark and the NT Luke as you will see shortly.)
The poem goes on to say that God has given these secrets to His elect as an everlasting possession. The Damascus (Qumran) Rule has similar phrases:
With the remnant which held fast to the commandments of God, He made his covenant with Israel forever, revealing to them the hidden things in which all Israel had gone astray.
In Isaiah 48:6 is God’s promise to reveal hidden things (nasar), yet another clue on the word Nazarene - 'a revealer of hidden things'. It was the duty of the Master to instruct the sectaries in these mysteries of amazing truth, that they may walk perfectly together in all that has been revealed to them. Nevertheless, earlier in his song the Master promises: I will impart knowledge with discretion. Thus, though the Community Rule prescribes that all novitiates will be taught the things hidden from Israel without fear that he will become an apostate (and reveal them elsewhere), for the men of deceit, the Master was obliged to maintain a spirit of secrecy and to conceal from them the knowledge of the truth and righteous judgement that was required for a proper understanding of the law and the prophets.
Taking this further we can see that Mark was himself playing the same game, whence our treatment of his gospel. Christians have been happy to recognize that some of the meaning of the parables has been lost because the context has been lost in time. This in it's self is very important. We contend that the context is that of an Essene sect working to help God bring in the Jewish kingdom of God on earth (not the later invention of a mystical kingdom of God in some other dimension as Paul proclaims). Once this is realized the gospel becomes much more transparent.
"And then he called twelve who should be Evangelists, and twelve
who should be Pastors. A fourfold twelve did he call that he
might send them forth to the twelve tribes of Israel, unto
each, four"...
from
Iesus Sendeth Forth The Twelve and their Fellows
The chrism is superior to baptism, for it is from the word "Chrism" that we have been called "Christians," certainly not because of the word "baptism". And it is because of the chrism that "the Christ" has his name. For the Father anointed the Son, and the Son anointed the apostles, and the apostles anointed us. He who has been anointed possesses everything. He possesses the resurrection, the light, the cross, the Holy Spirit. The Father gave him this in the bridal chamber; he merely accepted (the gift). The Father was in the Son and the Son in the Father. This is the Kingdom of Heaven... from the Gospel of Philip in the Nag Hammidi
Continued on Death of the Disciples
Matthew 13:35, "I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
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