Contents
- Aryan Dominance
- Judaism Before Jesus
- Time of Jesus: Essenes & Nazarenes
- Cabbalists and Ngostics
- After Jesus: Paul versus Peter
- Apostacy and Christianity
- New Testament & Secret Doctrine
- Holy Roman Empire
- Retrospect: the Beast & Harlot
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Aryan Dominance
This chapter dealt with the philosophical, religious and cultural traditions that had influenced the Jews and Gentiles before, during, and after Jesus (c. 600 BC – 800 AD). It proposed that, in the same way that the Jews did not accept Jesus; the New Testament was a counterpoint to Jewish tenets. Then, like the Jewish Torah, the tenets of Jesus may have also been overlaid by redactions, mistranslations and misinterpretations by the Catholic Church; although the original doctrine may have been preserved elsewhere.
According to Prof Max Muller, “There was a time when the ancestors of the Celts, the Germans, the Sclavs, the Greeks and Italians, the Persians and Hindus, were living together beneath the same roof.”[1] They were Aryans, the descendants of Japheth, the second son of Noah. “The original identity of all these races has been established beyond doubt by comparative philology.”[2] Likewise, the pantheons of gods across the races were similar; the Greek Zeus and Latin Deus was the Sanskrit Dyaus, the “sky god.”[3] In Daniel 2: 36-39, except for the Semitic Babylonians (“head of gold”), the parts (empires) of the “immense image” were Aryans, namely, the Medes-Persians (“breast and arms of silver”), Greeks (“belly and thighs of bronze”) and Romans (“legs of iron”).
The Medes and Persians were Indo-European tribes that settled in the Iranian plateau (Greek Persis) in c. 1500 BC; the Medes on the northwestern, the Persians in the southwestern. In 612 BC, they allied with Chaldeans (Babylonian descendants) to defeat the Assyrians. In 537 BC, Cyrus, son of a Persian prince and a Medes princess, conquered the Babylonians.[4] The Greeks were descendants of the Dorians, which came from the North in 1100 BC, overrun the Achaeans and took over in Crete, Mycenae, Archon and Troy. After 400 years of dark ages, the Greek Civilization arose. Then, in 334 BC, Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and established “Hellenistic” centers of the Greek Empire. After the Greeks were the Romans, whose Indo-Aryan Latium ancestors traded with the Etruscans in Tuscany, Italy (c. 2500 BC). In 753 BC, Romulus (753-716 BC) founded Rome as its first King. In 509 BC, under Lucius Junius Brutus, the Romans rebelled and drove the Etruscans. The Roman Civilization grew, divided into two periods: the Roman Republic (509-31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC-476 AD).
Judaism before Jesus
Under the Persian Empire (c. 537-331 BC) and after the Babylonian captivity, were two Jewish migrations to Jerusalem, with contrasting traditions. In the first wave led by Zerubbabel in 534 BC, the spiritual kingdom and law were mandated: “I will put my law within them, and in their heart I shall write it” (Jeremiah 31:33). In the second wave (c. 444 BC), Nehemiah and Ezra emphasized the physical kingdom and Mosaic Law. They also established the “Members of the Great Synagogue,” which mandated the Canon of the Torah or the Hebrew Bible and considered un-canonized religious literature as either apocryphal or spurious. The ruling elite were the priestly class, with an assembly of the learned and pious Jews dictating the norm. The assembly ended with “Simeon the Just” (d. 310 BC). It was replaced by the Sanhedrin as the highest Jewish religious and legal authority, whose head was called Nessi or Prince.
Under the Greek Empire (c. 331-146 BC), Hellenistic Jews at Alexandria translated the Hebrew Bible into the now-extant Greek Septuagint between 275 and 100 BC.[5] In 168 BC, the Maccabees (or Hasmoneans), a priestly family, led a rebellion when Antioch IV, the Seleucid king of Syria, imposed the worship of Greek gods upon the Jews. By 165 BC, they recaptured the temple, earlier made into a pagan shrine, and rededicated it to the God of Israel. In 131 BC, Simon, the last of the Maccabean brothers, was formalized as ruler and high priest. After him were kings of an independent commonwealth for about a century.[6] From the 2nd century BC, Judaism was primarily divided between the Sadducees, the ruling priestly and wealthy conservatives, and the Pharisees, a more progressive lay party. The Sadducees strictly interpreted the scriptures, disregarded oral tradition and popular customs; they rejected the doctrines of resurrection, immortality and angels, which the Pharisees adhered to (Acts 23:8).
In 63 BC, internal dissentions gave Roman General Pompey the excuse to make Judea (Judah) a vassal of the Roman Empire, which governed through procurators. With Roman help, the Herodian dynasty ruled Judea until 70 AD. But burdened by excessive taxation, the Jews became restive and revolutionary groups like the Zealots emerged. The Sadducees collaborated with the Romans; the Pharisees had passive resistance.[7] Between the Maccabean period and the destruction of the Temple (70 AD), the apocalypses of Enoch, Baruch, Moses, Ezra and the Sibylline Oracles were written. They were neither part of the Canon of the Hebrew Bible, nor among the Apocrypha, but considered Pseudepigrapha or “books with false titles.” They bore the names of Old Testament prophets, but the real authors seemed to have known the final destruction of Jerusalem and the Roman dispersion of the Jews. They had similar themes: the coming of a Messiah, destruction of the Roman Empire and the establishment of the religion of the true God, to inspire the Jews.[8] According to Grand Rabbi Paul Haguenauer, “These writings are evidently the products of the painful and disastrous epochs of Judaism.”[9]
Time of Jesus: Essenes and Nazarenes
Jesus was born into the cultural milieu of differing Hebrew and Aryan traditions before King Herod (c. 73-4 BC) died. Yet, His teachings became the basis of a new “Christian” tradition.[10] Who were the earliest Christians?[11] They were (a) those whose belief systems were the cornerstone of that of Jesus - the Essenes and Nazarenes; and (b) those who believed that Jesus propagated their own - the Cabbalists and Gnostics. They believed that Jesus was a prophet; varying from seeing him as a “just man” or a vehicle of the Gnostic Christos (Greek “anointed”) and Sophia (“Divine Wisdom”).[12] After the death of Jesus, the groups joined together against the religious tyranny of the Jews.
In 1947, Dead Sea Scrolls were uncovered in caves of Wadi Qumran, near Jericho (on the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea). The scrolls were Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek manuscripts left by a Jewish community known as the Essenes, dated from the late 3rd century BC to mid-1st century AD (time of Jesus). They included parts of the books of Isaiah, Tobit, Ecclesiasticus, Jubilees, Enoch, 45 Hebrew psalms, and Essenes literature. The Community Rule and the Temple Scroll defined the Essenes goals, way of life, an ideal temple and laws for a sanctified people. The War Scroll described the apocalyptic battle of good and evil. The Testament of Amran, like Enoch, described angels.[13]
The Dead Sea Scrolls affirmed biblical stories, but from a different viewpoint. According to historian John Allegro, the Essenes overtly followed Judaism but also subscribed to Zoroastrianism, which may explain the visit of the three Magi (Persian wise men) to the infant Jesus in Bethlehem. Moreover, Mary, mother of Jesus, belonged to the Essenes.[14] By inference, Jesus was born to the sect. According to historian Will Durant, the Essenes did not oppose Jesus’ religious innovation. Likewise, Jesus condemned only Pharisees and Sadducees for their vices and hypocrisy. The Essenes believed in angels, the “Last Days;” common meals, property, ritual baths and baptism.[15]
In Matthew 2:22-23, after Herod died, Joseph brought his family from Egypt to Nazareth to fulfill the prophecy: “He shall be called a Nazarene.” Jesus was also baptized by John the Baptist, the “Great Nazar.”[16] Nazarene referred not only to a resident of Nazareth, but to a sect that existed before the laws of Moses. “Nazar” meant one who consecrated oneself to the service of God (Numbers 6). Among the sons of Jacob, Joseph fitted the description of nazar (Genesis 49:26). Samson was a nazarite (Judges 13:3-5; 24). In contrast to the Levitical priesthood, nazars were the “sons of the prophets” who held their “mysteries of life” assemblies in Nazara (Nazareth). Samuel and Jeremiah were nazars critical of the priests. They neither called Yahweh otherwise than Adonai, nor approved of sacrificial worship (1 Samuel 15:22; Jeremiah 7:21-24).[17]
The Persian “Naza-ruan” meant millions of years; like the Chaldean “Ancient of Days.” The nazars were consecrated to the “Aged of the aged.”[18] During Abraham’s time, He appeared as Melchisedek: “priest of the Most High God…and…King of Salem, that is, king of peace. He is without…beginning of days…. (and) end of life…a priest forever” (Genesis 14:18; Hebrews 7: 2-3; 6-7). He was not Yahweh: “And those descendants of Levi who received the priestly office have a commandment…to take tithes from the people…but this man who has not their genealogy received tithes from Abraham…” (Hebrews 7: 6-7). In Revelation 4: 2-5, He was “one seated on the throne.”
Jesus was “a priest forever, after the Order of Melchisedek” (Hebrews 5: 6; 10; 6: 20; Psalm 110:4). His role was apparently predicted in Daniel and restated in Revelation. Appearing to the Ancient of Days, He “was given dominion and glory and the kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is…everlasting…and his kingdom…shall not be destroyed” (Daniel 7: 13-14; Revelation 5: 6-10). In Hebrews 7: 11-15: “Now, if perfection has been attained through the Levitical Priesthood (for under it, the people received the law) what further need would there have been for another priest to arise after the order of Melchisedek, rather than one named after the order of Aaron?” He rejected the commandments of Yahweh, the “Jealous God” (in Exodus 20:5-6) and re-established the original law: “You have heard that it was said, love your neighbors and hate your enemies. But I say…love your enemies and pray for those who prosecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the just and the unjust” (Matthew 5: 43-45).
Cabbalists and Gnostics
Cabbala came from the Hebrew “kabal,” to “receive.” The Jewish Cabbalists had their Sepher Jezirah (“Book of Creation”), written in c.100 BC by Rabbi Akiba. This was followed by the Cabbala (Tree of Life), written by Simeon bar Yohai in c. 70 AD to unveil the hidden meanings of the Pentateuch. It was “a system of philosophy which embraces certain mystical interpretations of scriptures and metaphysical speculations concerning the deity, man and spiritual being.”[19] R. Eliezar collated Simeon bar Yohai’s treatises to compose the Zohar (Book of Splendour).[20] Using the Gematrian numerology system, Cabbalists maintained that the Zohar is the science for the inner mysteries, enabling a person to invoke universal powers (the archangels and spiritual hierarchy) against negative forces; a “geography of consciousness.” Cabbalists believed that the ultimate Godhead, Ain Soph, known as “I Am” (Yah) remained hidden. However, Yah somehow gave birth to a lesser God, Yahweh who communicated directly to the Jews.[21]
Gnosticism, from the Greek gnosis, “knowledge,” was a philosophical-religious movement in the Mediterranean from the 1st century BC to the 3rd century AD that synthesized oriental (Buddhism and Zoroastrianism) and Greek ideas.[22] The Gnostics also held that the universe was created by a lesser god who falsely believed that he was supreme. By a cosmic tragedy, the spiritual world was separated from the physical world and sparks (“monads”) of deity were trapped in the dungeon of the physical universe; above were Aeons or heavens (spheres). Man’s task was to struggle through the Aeons to re-unite with God. Liberation came through knowledge revealed by messengers (anointed ones). The Greek Logos, Hebrew Messiah and Hindu Viradj (son) were identical. The Greek Christos came from Sanskrit, “sacred” (e.g., Krish-na). It was an abstraction of the collective unity of the numberless spirit-entities that were direct emanations of God.
In 1945, a set of Gnostic documents were discovered in a jar near Chenosboskion, Upper Egypt. Called the Nag Hammadi Papyri, they included 49 treatises, including 5 duplicates bound in 13 leather volumes.[23] The documents were Coptic (Egyptian) translations from Greek originals (before the standard gospels) dated between the 3rd and 5th century AD. They included the Gospel of Truth, a treatise for Christian Life and Salvation, the Apocryphon of John, which reinterpreted the first chapter of Genesis; apocryphons, gospels and apocalypses attributed to Tomas, James, Philip, Paul, Peter and Mary; and Acts of Peter and of the 12 Apostles. Gnostics held that the Old Testament was the revelation of a subordinate divinity and did not contain the “Sophia” (Divine Wisdom). They accepted ancient prophets like Enoch, with Daniel abridged from Enoch. They believed that the Book of Revelation presented passages from Enoch and Daniel; and that the New Testament had lost its purity, with compilers guilty of interpolations.
The early Christians soon separated into the Cabbalists-Jewish and the Cabbalists-Gnosis. The first linked Judaism with the tenets of Jesus and was represented by Peter and James. The latter blended with the Nazarene and Gnostic sects and was linked to Paul. The battle between Yahweh (of the Jews) and the “Ancient of Days” (of the Essenes, Nazarenes and Gnostics) lasted until 312 AD, when Constantine I harmonized both into the Church of Rome. The Jews accepted neither Jesus, nor the New Testament.
After Jesus: Paul versus Peter
Paul (Saul) was born of a Greek father in Tarsus, Turkey and was a Roman citizen of Cilicia (Acts 23:24). He oppressed the Christians until 34 AD, when he had a profound vision on the road to Damascus that converted him to Christianity. About 51 AD, in a meeting of church leaders (some called the Apostolic Council) he defended the rights of Gentile Christians to be free from the Jewish Law and statutes, such as circumcision. His last 10 years were marked by conflicts with those of pro-Jewish loyalty. This led to a riot in Jerusalem and to his arrest. He was executed in Rome in 62 AD or later.[24]
The Apostle Simon Peter (or Cephas, the “rock”) also favored admission of the Gentiles into the church, but occupied a middle position between James who wanted to keep Christianity very Jewish and Paul who wished to minimize the requirements for Gentiles. In Galatians 2: 11, Paul accused Peter to his face: “For before certain men came from James, he ate with the Gentiles. But when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party.” In 2 Corinthians 11:4-11, Paul stated: “For if someone comes and preaches another Jesus than the one we preached…or accept a different gospel…you submit to it readily enough. I think I am not in the least inferior to these superlative apostles.” Further on, Paul remarked: “For such men are false apostles…disguising…as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (11:13-15). This statement had an affirmation in Mark 8:33. After Peter rebuked Jesus for His teachings, Jesus, in turn “rebuked Peter, and said, ‘Get behind me, Satan! For you are not on the side of God, but of men.’” Nothing was said about Peter after the meeting with James and Paul (Act 15).[25]
Paul was accused of injecting Jesus as sacrificial lamb in the Mosaic system and of “spreading” a different religion (from Jesus). Both accusations were unfounded. His epistles revealed his outright rejection of the Mosaic system and affirmation of the Nazarene. In Galatians 3:15-29, the promise was made to “Abraham and his offspring,” the offspring being Christ. The Law was given 430 years after through Moses by an intermediary (i.e., by angels) because of transgressions; this implied that Yahweh was not God. Paul was also accused as “a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes” (Acts 24:5). He defended: “But this I admit…that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the law or written in the prophets, having a hope in God…that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust” (24: 14-15). He referred not to Yahweh, but to the Nazarene “Ancient of Days” and the (original) law: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Galatians 5:14). Paul held true to the Nazarenes, with Jesus as the “anointed one.”
It was primarily Paul’s incessant travels, despite persecutions, to various parts of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, that “Christian” churches were established among Gentiles. But Peter, despite being known only to have been in Turkey and Babylon, became the head of the Roman Catholic Church based on the “Petrine Theory.” According to the theory, Jesus confirmed the position of the primacy of the “Church” to Peter alone, who “pass down in perpetuity to his papal successor.” The Eastern Orthodox Churches considered the theory as Apostasy, i.e., based on erroneous premises.[26]
Apostasy and Christianity
Jesus preached in Aramaic (i.e., modified Hebrew). After His death, most of His teachings were chronicled in Greek to cater to the Greek-speaking majority. The authors of the 27 books of the New Testament, except for John, James, Peter and Matthew, were not privy to His life.[27] First written was the Epistle of James (“the Lord’s brother”) in 45-50 AD; then the epistles of Paul in 50-60 AD. The four gospels and other letters followed, between 68 and 100 AD or beyond.[28] Other books were also written.
Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (c. 20 BC-50 AD), was a mystic philosopher who made an allegorical interpretation of the Bible within the context of Platonism, an attempt to reconcile Greek philosophy with biblical religion.[29] Thereafter, Gnosticism spread from Ephesus, led by Basilides, a disciple of the Apostle Matthew during the time of Emperors Trajan (98-117 AD) and Hadrian (117-138 AD). Basilides published 24 volumes of “Interpretation upon the Gospels” (not based on the present gospels, not yet extant then), which were burned; although some of his works were adopted by the Greek Church.[30] Valentinus was an Egyptian religious philosopher who founded the Roman and Alexandrian Schools of Gnosticism. The Gospel of Philip, one of the Dag Hammadi documents, was known as a Valentinian Gnostic treatise. It detailed initiation rites and the meaning of names, especially of Jesus. It also spoke of the natural birth of Jesus.[31]
From the close of the first century to the mid-second century, the “Apostolic Fathers” surfaced. They were religious writers who may have known an apostle or have been taught by disciples of the apostles; some of them referred to myth, mystic ideas and philosophy in their writing.[32] Among them were Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Papias of Hierapolis, and Polycarp of Smyrna. Also written during the period were works of unnamed authors, such as The Didache, the Epistle of Barnabas, the Martyrdom of Polycarp and the second letter of Clement. Clement cited the apocryphal works Wisdom and Judith and referred to the Egyptian mythical story of the phoenix as proof of the resurrection. Ignatius referred to the “Gospel of the Hebrews” and envisioned a new Christian congregation with just one bishop presiding “in the place of God.” Papias referred to the Christian Greek Scriptures. The Epistle of Polycarp referred to Tobit. Polycarp died a martyr’s death; the Martyrdom of Polycarp verged on idolatry, with his bones considered more precious than jewels.
Justin Martyr (c. 100-165 AD), head of a school of philosophy in Rome, in his “Defense of Christianity,” used only the “Gospel According to the Hebrews.” His works (which included “Apologies,” “Dialogue with Trypo” and “On the Resurrection”) were rejected and he was beheaded. His disciple Tatian (c. 170 AD) made the Syriac (Diatessaron) version of the Gospel.[33] Marcion (d. c.160 AD) of Synope in Pontus was linked with the Syrian Gnostic Cerdo. In his “Antithesis,” he upheld that the gospel of Jesus was entirely about Love, but was corrupted by “Judaizing” the original. He excluded the Mosaic Law and held that only Paul understood the original teaching. He collected 10 of the Epistles of Paul and an edited Gospel of Luke (purged of legalities and Old Testament references) as the real canon. His rejection of other gospels forced the Christian Church to define its “true canon” and to excommunicate him in c. 144 AD.[34]
New Testament and Secret Doctrine
St. Irenaeus (c. 140-200 AD) in Anatolia, the “Father of Catholic Theology,” fought Gnosticism primarily through his work, “Adversus Haereses” (Against Heresies).[35] He, not Paul, remodeled the Mosaic system to a religion based on the doctrine of recapitulation of all things in Jesus. He was first to systematize the religious traditions, which became the Catholic dogma. Tertullian (155-220), aligned with St. Irenaeus, held that God was of one substance, consisting of three persons.[36] Arius (250-336), an Alexandrian priest, held that the son was not a pre-existent son of God, but created as an agent through whom God created the universe. Arianism became widespread and caused disunity. To foster unity, in the 312 Edict of Milan, Roman Emperor Constantine I made Christianity the state religion. In 325 AD, he convened the first Council of Nicaea, which affirmed Jesus as “Son of God,” consubstantial as the Father. He also established serfdom and feudalism, demanded obedience as a matter of belief and faith, rather than reason. He started two new crimes: heresy and paganism.[37]
The canonization of New Testament books began in the 2nd century with the collected letters of Paul. From many gospels and epistles, Athanasius (295-373), Bishop of Alexandria apparently exerted influence as to the books to be accepted in the 325 Council of Nicaea; further trimmed down in 367 AD.[38] St. Jerome (Eusebius Hieronymus, 347-420), on the request of Pope Damasus (366-383) made the first Latin Bible (Vulgate), combining the Old Testament with 27 books of the New Testament. They were canonized in the 393 Council of Hippo.[39] But the “secret doctrine” of Jesus was purportedly contained in an original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew (also called the “Gospel According to the Hebrews”), which the Nazarenes kept.[40] St. Jerome, who did the Greek (then Latin) translation, found the original in the library collected at Caesarea by the martyr Pamphilus. Jerome admitted asking permission from Nazarenes at Beroea of Syria and that the original was nearly unintelligible, for it was arcane or a secret.[41]
Jerome expressed: “the evangel which the Nazarenes…use, which I recently translated from Hebrew to Greek…is called by most persons the genuine Gospel of Matthew…” He added: “It is remarkable that, while all church fathers say that Matthew wrote in Hebrew, the whole of them use the Greek text as the genuine apostolic writing, without mentioning what relation the Hebrew Matthew has to our Greek one! It had many peculiar additions which are wanting in our evangel.” Writing to the Bishops Chromatius and Heliodorus, Jerome aired: “a difficult work is enjoined, since the translation has been commanded me by your Felicities, which St. Matthew himself, the Apostle and Evangelist, did not wish to be openly written. For if it had not been secret, He (Matthew) would have added to the evangel that which he gave forth was his; but he made up this book sealed up in the Hebrew characters, which he put…in such a way that the book…might be possessed by the men most religious, who also, in the course of time, received it from those who preceded them. But this book they never gave…to be transcribed and its text they related some way and some another.”[42]
Jerome knew that the original Hebrew gospel was written by Matthew. He knew that it was held for centuries by the early Christians who accepted Jesus as Messiah, but not as God. Yet, he was silent. Why? Its acceptance was: “equivalent to reading the death sentence of the established church,”[43] which had mandated that Jesus was co-substantial as the Father. In a letter of St. Gregory of Nazianzen a friend-confidante to St. Jerome, was written: “Nothing can impose better on a people than verbiage; the less they understand the more they admire. Our fathers and doctors have often said, not what they thought, but what circumstances and necessity forced them to.”[44]
Holy Roman Empire
In Revelation 13: 1-2, a beast rose from the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems upon its horns and a blasphemous name upon its heads. In Revelation 17: 9: “the seven heads are seven hills on which the woman is seated; they are also seven kings, five of which have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he comes he must remain for a little while.” The empire during John’s time was the Roman Empire; the previous five were the Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, Persian and Greek. The seventh was the Byzantium Empire, with “feet and toes of iron and clay, a divided kingdom” (Daniel 2:41). Emperor Constantine I (306-337) moved to Byzantium (renamed Constantinople) in Asia Minor (Turkey). In 395 AD, the Roman Empire (iron) was divided into the West (Rome) and East (Byzantium). The west (iron) withered away in 476 AD; Byzantium (clay) was the “Second Roman Empire” (527 to 1453 AD).
In Revelation 13: 11, another beast rose from the earth, with “two horns like a lamb,” spoke like a dragon and exercised the authority of the first beast. Revelation 17:11-15 provided the explanation: “As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eight but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to perdition. And the ten horns…are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. These are of one mind and give over their power and authority to the beast; they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is the Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” For a century, the Byzantine Emperor was the Supreme Leader of Christendom who appointed the Pope. Then Pope Leo I (440-461 AD), emphasizing the divine nature of the papacy, led the Church break away from the East Roman Empire and established the seat in Rome. Outside Western Europe became Eastern Christianity. The churches in Rome (west) and the east were the “two horns like a lamb,” both anchored in Jesus (the “Lamb”). In 553 AD, Emperor Justinian convened the 2nd Synod of Constantinople that banned the tenets of reincarnation and other doctrines of Jesus; made the Bishop of Rome “head of all churches and of all the holy priests of God” (the Pope); rejected or destroyed contradictory books and documents; and launched the genocide of heretics and pagans.[45]
In 800 AD, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish King Charles as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (with ten kingdoms loyal to the Catholic Church).[46] According to Historian Will Durant: “The Church took over some religious customs…common in Pre-Christian Rome – the stole and other vestments of pagan priests, the use of incense and holy water in purifications, the burning of candles and an everlasting light before the altar, the worship of the saints…the law of Rome as a basis for canon law, the title of Pontifex Maximus for the Supreme Pontiff, and…the Latin language…The Roman Church followed in the footsteps of the Roman state.”[47] From the tenet of Love of Jesus, fear of God became the norm. Instead of the tenet of Jesus that “the kingdom of God is within oneself,” the people bowed to the Church as Savior outside oneself.
Retrospect: the Beast and Harlot
Revelation 17: 16-18: “And the ten horns…and the beast will hate the harlot… make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and giving over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman…is the great city, which has dominion over the kings of the earth.” The fall of the harlot Babylon may have referred to the dominance of the Aryans over the tribes linked to the Babylonians, i.e., the tribes of Sem and Ham, Noah’s first and third born, respectively (Isaiah 14: 22-23; Revelation 17-18). Abraham was Semitic-Babylonian from Ur (Genesis 10: 22; 11: 10-27). The Hamites were the Canaanites, Amorites (Babylonians) and Egyptians (Genesis 10: 6; 13; 16). The Holy Roman Empire (beast) destroyed Jerusalem (harlot); power had shifted from Jerusalem to Rome.[48] In Matthew 24:4-5, Jesus declared: “For many will come in my name, claiming that ‘I am the Messiah’ and will deceive many.” Nonetheless, the “kingdom that is not of this world” was re-established, with Love as the key to its gate. “Let those with wisdom understand.”
Bibliography/References
[1] Max Muller, The Language of the Seat of War in the East, quoted in Alexander Cannon, The Shadow of Destiny, the Aquarian Press, London, 1970, p. 145. The Indo-Aryans were the Brahmins (priests) and Kshatriyas (rulers and warriors) who settled in India. The Irano-Aryans settled along the Persian Gulf in Bactria, Parthia, Media and Persia. Those who moved west to Europe, the Indo-Europeans, became Keltics (Celts and Greeks), Teutonics (Nordic), Romans, Norsemen, Goths, Germans, Slavs and Lithuanians. Those who went to Turkey and Canaan became the Hurrians, Hittites and Kassites.
[2] See Chapter 4 – Yahweh and the Chosen People, for the lineage of Aryans from Japheth.
[3] Cannon, pp. 141-146 Dion Fortune, “Esoteric Orders and their Works,” Llewellyn Publications, Minnesota, 1978, p. 46-51. The Aryan race was characterized by the “development of intuition.”
[4] Blavatsky, p. 141, Joseph Gaer, What the Great Religions Believe, NY, Signet Book, 1963, pp. 162-171. Like other Aryans, the Persians adhered to polytheism. But in c. 600 BC Zoroaster promoted monotheism, with his sayings (Gathas) recorded in the Zend Avesta. In Blavatsky, Zoroaster, in its original form Zarathustra or Zuruastara was a generic term for one who worshipped the Sun (i.e., Inner Spiritual Sun). The word Guru-astara, the teacher of Sun-worship, became gradually transformed into Zuryastara or Zoroaster. Among Cabbalists, there was only one Zarathustra, but many guru-astars (spiritual teachers). In Gaer, by the start of the 18th century, adherents of Zoroastrianism in India called Parsees aroused interest. Scholars obtained a copy of the Zend Avesta and deposited it in the Oxford Library. After another 25 years, an English translation was made by Anquetil Dupperon. Zoroastrianism prospered only among the Persians and Parsis in India, but influenced Judaism and Christianity. Under the Persians, the Jews practiced their Jewish traditions. The Parsees had similar beliefs as the Jewish Pharisees (angels, resurrection and immortality). Possibly, the Pharisees adopted the dogma and name.
[5] Groliers, Vol. 16, “Septuagint,” p. 403; Septuagint referred to the tradition that it was the work of 70 scholars. It contained the Hebrew Bible, deuteron-canonical books (those not in the Jewish canonized version, but accepted by the Christian church) and the Apocrypha. Initially, the Greek version was widely used by Greek-speaking Jews; but its adoption by the Christians aroused hostility among the Jews, who ceased to use it after about 70 AD. It is still used by the Greek Orthodox Church.
[6] Grolier, Vol. 12, “Maccabees” p. 7
[7] Grolier, Vol. 10, “Judaism,” pp. 400-404; Vol. 14, “Pharisees,” pp. 354; Vol. 16, “Sadducees,” p. 234; Sadducees condemned Jesus; Pharisees were critics, but did not figure in His trial. The Sadducees kept the Jews together after the temple was destroyed in 70 AD (Matthew 23:27; 6:1-6; 16-18).
[8] Abdul Ahad Dawud, Muhammad in the Bible, Hazif and Sons, Karachi, 2001, pp. 275-6. Apparently, the idea “a messiah from the lineage of David” was developed during this period. The apocalypses, written earlier than the gospels, possibly influenced the latter. The Sibylline Oracles were written after the destruction of the Temple and before the Apocalypse of John. Their author/s placed the apocalypses side by side with the prophets Enoch, Solomon, Daniel and Ezra, and the names of Greek sages Hermes, Homer, Orpheus, Pythagoras and others, possibly to serve as propaganda for the Hebrew religion.
[9] Rabbi Paul Haguenauer, “Manuel de literature Juive” (Nancy, 1927), cited in Dawud, p. 293
[10] Interestingly, Buddha in South Asia and Zoroaster in Persia also countered the Aryan traditions. Buddha rejected the caste system in India; Zoroaster integrated the Aryan Mithra (Egyptian sun god) with the Medes Magi and the Achaemenian Persian’s Mazda.
[11] David Boyer, “Jerusalem to Rome, the Path of St. Paul,” in National Geographic, Dec 1956, pp. 707-759. After the death of Jesus, Antioch (southern Turkey) was the largest city after Rome (Italy) and Alexandria (Egypt). It was famous in Christian history for three things. It was the place where people were first called “Christians” (Acts 11:26). A cave in Antioch was considered the site of the oldest Christian Church. It was the city whose congregation sent Paul on his mission (Acts 13:1-3).
[12] Blavatsky, p. 197-98
[13] P. Gardner & G. Osborn, The Serpent Grail, Watkins Publishing, UK, 2005, p. 240; Grolier, Vol. 6, “Dead Sea Scrolls,” p. 41-42; 3 Enoch, trans. by H. Odeberg, Cambridge University Press
[14] John Allegro, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls, quoted in William Bramley, Gods of Eden, Avon Books, New York, 1990, pp. 127-8; M. B. Caravella, The Holy Name, Mysticism in Judaism, p. 10-11; Charles Potter, “The Great Religious Leaders,” cited in Gaer, p. 131. Potter inferred that the similarity of the teachings of Jesus with the Qumran scrolls implied that Jesus may have partly stayed in Qumran.
[15] Will Durant, Caesar and Christ (The Story of Civilization, Part III), quoted in Bramley, p. 127-128
[16] S. F. Dunlap, “Sod, the Son of Man,” London, 1896, p. 44, and Hieronymus, “Commentary to Matthew,” Book 2, Chapter 7, p. 13, both quoted in Blavatsky, pp. 180-185; John 1: 46. In Luke 4:34, a demon in a man cried: “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”
[17] Codex Nazaraeus, translated by M. Norberg from Syriac, 1815, Vol. II, p. 115; 305, quoted in Blavatsky, pp. 130-4, 137, 203, 323. The Codex Nazaraeus was dated 1042, but Dunlap found in Irenaeus (2nd century) quotations and references to this book, implying that it belonged to the 1st century.
[18] Blavatsky, p. 142; Gardiner and Osborne, p. 96. In Hindi, nazar meant sight or supernatural vision; nazaran was sight-seeing vision. The Hindustani nazar was also the Yoga term for “third eye,” the Ajna chakra; the Gnostic “Nazarean” meant “to envision” or “to behold.” All related to “enlightenment.”
[19] Julian Johnson, The Path of the Masters, p. 99
[20] Caravella, p. 15
[21] Colin Wilson, Mysteries, Perigree Books, N Y, 1978, pp. 394-395; Caravella, p. 12-15; Blavatsky, p. 224-225. Blavatsky: the Nazarene was a Cabbala within the Cabbala. See Chapter 14 - Mystic Traditions.
[22] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 8, “Gnosticism,” p. 332-333; Blavatsky, p. 147-169; Wilson, pp. 260, 321; among the Greek Gnostics were Socrates, Plato, Pythagoras and Philo Judaeus
[23] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 13, “Nag Hammadi Papyri,” p. 183
[24] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 13, “St. Paul,” p. 270. Paul, a non-Jew, was considered a Pharisee.
[25] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 13, “St. Peter,” p.337 and “Epistles of St. Peter,” p. 336; Geoffrey Reber, “The Christ of Paul,” NY, 1876, p. 123; Eusebius, “Ecclesiastical History,” Book III, c. 13; and Eliphas Levi, Science des Esprit, Vol. 3, Jena ed., quoted in Blavatsky, p. 124-127; James Charlesworth, Authentic Apocrypha, Texas, BIBAL Press, 1998, p. 47. Later sources said that Peter went to Rome, was martyred under Nero, and buried in Vatican Hill. Reber argued that “Peter” was “faked,” citing three reasons. First, there was no church in Rome until the reign of Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius (138-161 AD). Second, Linus was the second Bishop of Rome into whose hands, Peter purportedly committed the Church after building it; it could only be during the reign of Nero (54 - 68 AD), entering upon it in 69 AD (a year after Nero died). Linus held the post for 12 years, until his death in 81 AD. Thirdly, Peter could not have been in Rome in 64 AD; he was in Babylon (1 Peter 5: 13). Levi discussed the Sepher Toldos Jeshu, an ancient Hebrew manuscript cited by Martin Luther and published in Nuremburg and Frankfurt as part of a 1681 collection entitled “The Burning Darts of Satan.” Peter was a faithful servant who lived in austerity in a tower in Babylon. After he died, another preacher went to Rome and pretended that he altered the teaching of his Master. From Charlesworth: among the 4th century Syriac apocryphal works discovered (1862, the Codex Sinaiticus, St. Catherine’s Monastery, Sinai desert) was the Acts of St. Peter. In Peter 37, he was crucified upside down in Rome.
[26] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, “Papacy,” p. 222-226; Geza Vermes, The Authentic Gospel of Christ, p. 362; Blavatsky, p. 125. In 1179, the Pope derived authority from election by the Sacred College of Cardinals. The 1439 Council of Florence affirmed the Petrine Theory. The First Vatican Council (1870) defined it as a matter of faith and cited John 1:42; 21:51; Matthew 16:18; and Luke 22:32. In Matthew 16: 18 –19: “you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Vermes argued that other gospels did not mention “church” or Peter’s appointment, citing Matthew 18:18-20: “if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am in the midst of them.” The appointment was “made” only in Matthew and not by Jesus. Blavatsky cited a Greek Church tradition about Peter’s thrice denial of Jesus, which was edited out: “Verily, I say…Peter, thou shalt deny me throughout the coming ages, and never stop until thou shalt be old, and shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not.” It was re-inserted in John 21:18-19: “Truly…I say to you…when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go.” The verse, according to the Greek Church, was the apostasy from Christ by the Church of Rome.
[27] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, “Bible,” p. 103; Vol. 10, “Gospel of John,” p. 368; Geza Vermes, The Authentic Gospel of Jesus, Penguin Books, London, 2004, pp. 303; 305; 437-438.
[28] The prevailing opinion for the dates of the Gospels: Mark – 68-72 AD, Luke and Matthew – c. 85 AD, and John 95-100 AD. The first 3 were “synoptic,” i.e., could be compared, with Mark, a companion of Peter, considered as main source. Luke who also wrote Acts was a companion of Paul. Matthew, the apostle-tax collector, was cited in Mark 3, Matthew 10 and Luke 6. In earlier verses (Mark 2:13-14; Luke 5:27; except in Matthew 9: 9) the apostle-tax collector was Levi. John’s Gospel, three Epistles and the Revelation were written possibly by John the Elder, John’s disciple. Jude was written in c. 100 AD. The Epistles of Peter were written after his death between 100 and 125 AD.
[29] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, “Philo of Alexandria,” p. 372; Caravella, p. 11; Philo, like James, Peter, John and Matthew, was a contemporary of and outlived Jesus
[30] Walter Cassells, Supernatural Religion, an Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation, Vol. 2, “Basilides,” cited in Blavatski, p. 125; 155
[31] Martin Lunn, Da Vinci Code Decoded, Disinformation Company, Ltd., NY, 2004, p. 135
[32] The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of the Philippines, Inc., “The Apostolic Fathers –Truly Apostolic?” in The Watchtower, Manila, July 1, 2009, p. 27-29
[33] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, “Justin Martyr,” p. 414; Blavatsky, p. 182; Charlesworth, p. 25. Possibly, the word “martyr” was derived from Justin’s death. The Diatessaron was a single gospel narrative compiled from canonical and “extra-canonical” gospels. The original is non-extant, but known through translations, commentaries, and fragments.
[34] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 12, “Marcion,” p. 121; Blavatsky, p. 162-163; examples of “Judaizing” the New Testament text proven as misquotes: Matthew 27:9, passage from Zechariah 9:12-13 attributed to Jeremiah; Mark 1:2, passage from Malachi 3:1 ascribed to Isaiah; I Corinthian 2:9, passage lifted from apocryphal Revelation of Elias (as cited by Origen and Jerome); Jude 14-15 cited a missing Enoch 1:9
[35] Blavatsky, p. 326; J. Viau, “Egyptian Mythology,” in Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology, pp. 22. Heresy came from Harseisis, Greek for the Egyptian Hor-sa-iset, i.e., “Horus, the son of Isis.”
[36] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 10, “St. Irenaeus,” p. 235; Vol. 18, “Tertullian,” p. 193; Vol. 13, “Montanism,”p.255; Irenaeus advanced the apostolic succession from Peter and the “original sin”“without a single valid proof” Montanism was an apocalyptic movement by the Phrygian Montanus (c. 156 or 172); claiming revelation from the Holy Spirit, he preached the coming end of the world. Tertullian, after joining the Montanists in Africa in 207 AD, started his own sect.
[37] Grolier, Vol. 2, “Arianism,” p.223-226; Vol. 9, “Holy Spirit,” p. 279; Vol. 14, “Papacy,” pp. 222-226, Bramley, pp. 120-121; Athanasius, an advocate of the trinity doctrine, apparently instigated Arius’ murder and was banished by Constantine. Monotheism was upheld in the 351 Council of Sirmium; but the “Holy Spirit” was upheld as part of the Holy Trinity in the 381 Council of Constantinople. In 1054, “Filioque” was added to the Nicene Creed, i.e., the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son.
[38] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, “St. Athanasius,” p. 233.
[39] The 1546 Council of Trent called Jerome’s Latin version as Vulgate and made it the authentic text for Catholicism. A version in 1592 under Pope Clement VIII became known as the Sixtine Clementine Vulgate and was the basis for translations into the vernacular. 20th century textual criticism made it clear that the Vulgate needed revision. In 1979, Pope John Paul II approved the Nova Vulgata. The first (1979) edition contained the divine name Iahveh in Exodus 3:15 and 6:3. In the second (1982) official edition, “Dominus” (Lord) was put back in place of Iaveh. The Septuagint used YHWH, but the 2008 Liturgiam authenticam (Authentic Liturgy) issued by the Church appealed to the “immemorial tradition” of using the Greek “Ky’rios” (Lord) and that God’s name is “neither to be used or pronounced.” (Watchtower and Tract Society, “Even in a Dead Language, the Bible is Alive,” and “Vatican Seeks to Eliminate the Divine Name,” in the Watchtower, April 1, 2009, NY, pp. 20-23; 30)
[40] It is possible that the “Gospel According to the Hebrews” originally transcribed by Matthew in Hebrew-Aramaic is essentially the same as the “Epistle to the Hebrews.” The epistle, traditionally attributed to Paul, is the only letter not introduced by its author’s name. It is also the only NT book that referred to Jesus as a high priest in the Order of Melchisedek, an older and higher order than that of the Order of Levi ordained by Yahweh to Moses and Aaron. Melchisedek was the king of Salem to whom Abraham gave tithes to (Genesis 14:18; Psalm 112:4). In the Grolier Encyclopedia (“Epistle to the Hebrews,” Vol. 9, 2002, p. 185), “modern scholars suggest that it may have been written by another author.”
[41] Hieronymus, “De Viris,” illust. Cap.3; Dunlap, Sod, the Son of the Man, p.44 both cited in Blavatsky, p.182.
[42] Hieronymus, “Commentary to Matthew,” Chapter 5, p. 445; Dunlap, p. 44, quoted in Blavatsky, p. 182
[43] Ibid, p. 183
[44] Hieronymus, “Commentary to Matthew,” Book 2, Chapter 12, p. 13, cited in Blavatsky, p. 183
[45] Bramley, pp. 120-121; rejected writings were saved in the Apocrypha (hidden) by Essenes and Gnostics.
[46] Grolier Encyclopedia, Vol. 14, “Papacy,” p. 222-226 and Vol. 9, “Holy Roman Empire,” pp. 277-278; With the Holy Roman Empire, ten European kings gave their powers to the Pope: (1) Italy, (2) Germany, (3) Spain, (4) Great Britain, (5) France, (6) Bavaria, (7) Austria, (8) Holland, (9) Denmark, and (10) Poland. The beast “spoke like a dragon.” The Church became a tool for conquest. The beast “deceives those who dwell on earth, bidding them make an image of the beast” from the sea (Revelation 13:14).
[47] Will Durant, The Story of Civilization – Caesar and Christ, quoted in Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society, Mankind’s Search for God, Pennsylvania, 1990, p. 262
[48] Freer, Neil, Breaking the Godspell, New Falcon Publications, 1993, (
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