Doctrine of the Essenes

Gauracandra · April 22, 2001

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>

jijaji wrote:

I don't buy it either...but keep in mind this massive world-domination campain of Christianity was the result of the original church teachings being highjacked by the ROMANS.

The Church became the outlet for the Romans conquer and destroy tendency...while they repressed the original teachings.

The Essenes and other mystical groups hold that Jesus(Yoshua)traveled to India.

Muslims make that same claim.

He also had contact with the Tibetian Buddhists.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I wanted to follow up on this and figured it might be a good idea to start a new thread. First, I don't want to be misjudged because I have a lot of respect for Christianity and the teachings laid forth by Jesus Christ. But I find this very interesting what you have written jijaji. Perhaps you could share what you know of the philosophy of the Essenes.

The current Christian church is today almost totally devoid of mysticism. But this wasn't always so. After Christ died two camps emerged vying for leadership of the fledgling religion. On the one hand was a group led by Jesus's brother Joseph who felt that what was important was the message of Jesus. Another group emerged (and eventually won control) that felt it was the body of Jesus that mattered. Actually one of the things I most appreciate about the teachings of Jesus, is that even today if you read them they can still be controversial ("The meek shall inherit the earth" Whats up with that? )

Anyways, back to the mystical roots of Christianity. I don't know much about the Essenes, but there was a rapid movement that was sweeping Europe at one point called the Cathars. They were so popular that many in the Catholic church were concerned and eventually plotted to have every one of them killed off. I saw a program about them on the Discovery channel a few years ago. I may be a bit fuzzy on the details but here is some of their philosophy. First, I'm almost 90% positive they were vegetarian. They also don't believe Jesus physically died. They felt that Jesus was all along spirit, and when they nailed him to the cross it was kind of like Ravana stealing chaya sita (the shadow of sita, not the real sita). They believe that he never physically touched the ground, and that each of us could "become" as enlightened and mystical as Jesus.

I have also always been curious about some of the other gospels that were excluded from the Bible (such as the Gospel of Mary Magdalene). Anyways, if you have any information of the Essenes please share it. I'd be interested.

Gauracandra

jijaji · April 22, 2001

By Rt. Rev. Michael Robinson

May 18, 1995

Introduction

Peace be with you and welcome to the Essene mystery school.We will commence with a study of the Essene aspects of the historical development of what came to be known as Christianity.

We live in an infinitely complex universe, filled with unimaginable potential. The amount of information we have available to us in the 20th century is incredible. Information once secret and hidden, is now in public domain. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library, at the end of the 1940’s, doors have been opened to students of religion, undreamed of since the early centuries of the Christian era. And in fact, the Dead Sea Scrolls offer a look into the communities from which Christianity emerged, information never before available. Seekers of knowledge can learn (for now) without the fear that haunted for so many years, the free thinkers who wanted to Know, rather than to accept blindly the religion of others. From its inception and through its development, Christianity has meant many things to many people. Despite the attempt of various groups to solidify it into one doctrine, the story of Jesus is not likely to have been viewed exactly the same by any two people. At no point in history has the Christian faith stood as a singular form of thought, without various interpretations. There is no one religion that stands apart from the others as a repository of all truth. They all interact with each other, absorbing the wisdom of the past into the needs of the present. Despite the extensive amounts of research relating to the evolution of the Gospels, the average person is still ignorant of the difference between the historical and the mythical.

This organization of Essenes is an eclectic group of Truth seekers. We study and accept the aspects of Truth within the doctrines of the various teachers and religions of the world, but we do not worship them as Gods. Our devotion is singular and directed to the Most High creator God (Yahweh Elohim) the All Parent and Divine Universe. And we express this through our reverence to the Essene/Nazirene Master Yahushua the Messiah of the Spiritual Israel, and True Teacher of the Way. To us he is the embodiment of Love, Peace and Compassion, and the world teacher of Righteousness. After he left the planet, the seed planted grew, and the spirit of his being, already endowed with the power of the Messiah, absorbed the allegorical truths embodied in the universal mysteries of the Christ.

In the “Gospel of the Holy Twelve” Yahshua teaches; “ Truth, One and absolute, is in God alone, for no man, neither any body of men, knoweth, who is the All in All. To men is Truth revealed, according to their capacity to understand and receive. The One Truth hath many sides, and one seeth one side only, another another, and some see more than others, according as it is given to them... Be faithful to the light ye have, till a higher light is given to you. Seek more light, and ye shall have abundantly; rest not, till ye find. God giveth you Truth, as a ladder with many steps, for the salvation and perfection of the soul, and the truth which seemeth to-day, ye will abandon for the higher truth of the marrow. Press ye unto Perfection. Whoso keepeth the holy Law which I have given, the same shall save their souls, however differently they may see the truths which I have given...Faith without charity is dead. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.”Lec.XC

As already stated, from the beginning there was never just one interpretation of the teachings of the Messiah. The Master himself often taught his disciples individually according to their capacity, and the missions for which they were being prepared. If we could look at the Gospels as literal historical fact our job would be easier. But this is not possible, the Gospels contain too many deviations from the history of the 1st century, as well as obvious signs of tampering. Understand, the Gospels contain much in the way of valuable history, but not all of what is said can be taken as fact. What the Gospels offer, is a synthesis of Spiritual Truths drawn together from the ancient world. These doctrines of evolving religious Truth were then brought to life in the person and teachings of the Messiah Yahushua. However, many facets of the historical life of the Messiah were replaced by the allegorical life of the spiritual savior, who had been evolving in the hearts of humankind.

For two thousand years Christian have worked, on one hand to enlighten the world with the doctrine of Love, while the other hand sought to dominate those that followed and eradicate those who would not. With the exception of Mystic Christianity, most Christians took on a very limited and prejudiced view of the worlds religions. Determined to show that Christianity was the only true faith, they proved themselves wrong with each act of forgery, repression and censorship. No one individual or group has the monopoly on the truth, if Buddha, Krishna, Mithras, Bacchus and Osiris teach many of the same truths, and in some cases, lived remarkably similar lives to that of Jesus Christ, wouldn’t the rejection of the mysteries of one nullify the truth of the other? We offer thanks to the Almighty wherever we find truth, but we recognize that it is the Truth eternal that we revere not the package in which it is wrapped. If the world chose to concentrate on the Unity of the Truth inherent to most of the world’s religions, the walls of separation would come down. Differences of interpretation and expression should be seen as personal prerogative (within the boundaries of the True Law, such as “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”), not as reasons to subvert the fundamental principles of those Laws (such as, harming those who will not surrender to forced indoctrination).

The Sacred Names

In his writings, the great Jewish historian Josephus relates that the Greeks had a penchant for changing Hebrew names into Greek format without concern as to the loss of meaning. Hebrew words are designed as mathematical constructs which set off vibrational patterns relative to the nature of the words. The Greek format, therefore, did not necessarily represent the same meaning as the replaced Hebrew words.

The Messiah was born to a Hebrew culture, speaking Aramaic and being called by name in that language. It is most unlikely that the Messiah would have been called Jesus in his life, as that name developed over time. It is probable that the name Iesous (the Greek form of the name Jesus) was not used, in relationship to the Messiah until the middle of the 1st century when Paul (who had changed his name from the Hebrew Saul) began preaching the “Gospel” to the Gentiles in Greek. It is reasonable to believe that other Evangelists from the Nazirene community would have commenced (by the end of the 1st century) teaching the gospel in Greek to their fellow Hebrews of the Diaspora (the dispersion of the Hebrews from Egypt to India), but it seems unlikely that they would have changed the Saviors name.. To his people the Master was born, Yehushua Ben Yoseph (Joshua son of Joseph, in English). The name Yahushua, rendered more simply, over time as Yehshua, translated means Savior from Yahweh. Hebrew is read from right to left, the first three letters of both names are the same. (Insert Hebrew Charactures) Yahweh is the tetragramaton YHWH the fourfold name of the Most High as revealed in the Old Testament. Around the time of their captivity in Babylon (about 500 B.C.E.)the Jews determined that the tetragrammaton was to sacred to be pronounced, it is at this time that the sacrificial system gained dominance in the religion of the Jews. Since it is our belief that the sacrificial system of bloodshed is against the Law of God, it is easy for us to see why use of the Sacred Name in relation to such a cult would be blasphemy. I doubt many Jews made such a connection, but some did. Because of the aversion of the Jews to speak the Sacred Name the Master would probably have been called Yehshua or Yeshua by his people, but we believe that he is the Messiah so the correct pronunciation would be Yahushua. The Essenes felt that the Sacred Name was ineffable and spoke it only in their holiest ceremonies. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the writings identified as particularly Essene, the names El and Elohim are used most often for the name of God.

EL - (God singular) Signifies God as the “First Great Cause of all, the Mighty One, the Most High”. (occurs about 250 times in the Bible)

ELOAH - (God singular “Presents God as the supreme object of worship” (occurs about 56 times)

ELOHIM - (God, plural of Eloah) “In the beginning Elohim created the Heavens and the Earth” “And God said, Let Us make man (plural) in Our image (singular). (occurs about 2500 times)

JEHOVAH - (The Lord) Signifies “He that always was, that always is, and that ever is to come.” (occurs about 7000 times)

EHYAH ASHER EHYAH - (I am that I am) Literally “I will be that I will be” “The Ever-existing One”

EL SHADDAY - “God Almighty or God All Sufficient” (occurs 48 times)

From the preface of “The Restoration of Original Sacred Name Bible”

Names of the Most High replaced in the Bible ,by the appellations God or Lord

In the Qabalistic table of correspondences relating to the Hebrew alphabet (from, A.Crowley, Liber 777), Yod is “the Virgin man. Secret seed of All. Secret of the Gate of initiation.” the Father, He’- “The Mother is the Daughter.” Vau- “The Sun. Redeemer. The Son is but the Son.” and the finial He’- “The Daughter is the Mother. In the Hermetic writings of A.E. Waite, “One is Being, two is Movement, three is Life - one is Mind, two is Thought, three is Word.” The four resumes the second (feminine) principle and brings about the first whole and perfect number, bringing balance and Unity to the Tetragramaton. The name then equates numerically to the four elements and the four cardinal directions.

Many still feel the Name is too sacred to speak, most don’t know it at all, and a few believe that it is time to restore the true name of the Most High. As to the latter, they believe in being specific, feeling that the Sacred Name was wrongly hidden, and call into question the use of ambiguous terms like lord which could refer to any deity. Is the Tetragramaton the Sacred Name of the Most High? Should the Name be spoken? My research has only taken me far enough to say, that as the commandment teaches we should never use the Sacred Name in vain or idle conversation. By using terms like Most High, and Almighty, or as the Essenes did, El and Elohim we can indicate that we are speaking about the highest concept of the God head without using ambiguous titles, or inappropriately using the Sacred Name. Would the Almighty reveal the Sacred Name if we were not to know or use it in our worship? The answer would seem to be, to use Reverence and Respect.

The Teutonic appellation of God is a generic name for deity; when capitalized it relates to the supreme being, but this is a descriptive term and not the name of the Most High. We should be clear in our hearts and minds, and in our dealings with others as to who our Heavenly Parents (plural form of a singular concept) are, and what the true name of the Savior is.

The Greek name for Jesus, Iesous (Savior), shows a remarkable similarity to the masculine form of the name of the healing goddess Iaso, pronounced Ieso in Ionic Greek. There is also a strong connection with the names of the sons of Zeus (Iasus, Iasion, and Iasius). Another spelling of the name is Ihsous, the IHS became associated with Iesous as Savior of humanity, but IHS was already a title of Bacchus. The Romans further corrupted the name to Iesus, which was later altered to Jesus after the letter J was added to the English Language, about 500 years ago.

The Master said “I come in my Fathers name”, in Hebrew this connection is easy to see, as shown above. If the name of the savior in Greek contains the name of the Father, what would it be? Io the healer\savior, or the name distinguished by sound sus, sous, or Zeus. Could Jesus then be the - savior from Zeus? Or is it just a name meaning savior in Greek? This may be stretching things a bit too far, but it is noteworthy. In the name Yahushua we find the first three principles of the Tetragramaton; Yod the Father, He’ the Mother, Vau the Divine child. The Shin and Ayin represent the word Shua, or Savior. Therefore the name Yahu-shua could be translated; the Divine child of the All-Parent, who is Savior and Redeemer.

The Savior’s Title

In Hebrew the Masters title is Mashiach (Anointed) In Aramaic it is Mesiha, the Greek transliteration is Messias which is translated as Christos. The title Christos however, was closely associated with Chreston, Chrestos, and Krista, which were already in use referring to pagan deities such as Osiris, Mithras, and Krishna. Early orthodox writers even went so far as to directly call the followers of Jesus, by the name Chrestoi. It would seem no small coincidence that the name Jesus and the title Christ both have so many similarities to the names of the pagan deities they meant to replace, or should we say assimilate. In esoteric doctrine, the Christ is the Love and Wisdom of the Most High, waiting to be unveiled in the hearts of each individual. The Christed One embodies a perfect balance of the male and female energies, and represents the compassion of the Most High for all creatures, human and animal.

In recent times corrections were made, names like Eliseus, Isaias, and Helias (remarkably similar to Sun deity Helios), were restored to a form closer to the original Hebrew, Elisha, Isaiah, and Elijah. But the incorrect name and title of the savior were retained.

It is reasonable to accept that both Yahushua Messiah and Jesus Christ existed in their own right. The Nazirene Yahshua, as supported by history, was a man justified by righteousness, a healer, teacher and mystic, nonviolent vegetarian communitarian revolutionary, showing humankind the Way to Life. Touched by the hand of the Most High at the Baptism, he was blessed by the indwelling Word and elevated to the office of Messiah, that he might fulfill the Law. The Jesus Christ of the 2nd century gospels, particularly Luke, while developing the evolved indwelling or Christ spirit, prepared the way for Gentile interpreters to assimilate the myths, and rituals of numerous pagan sun deities into the story of Jesus. Thus the gospel was made more acceptable to the gentile converts, leaving behind the historical Yahshua. By the beginning of the 2nd century pressures of the pagan world had not only altered the message of the True teacher but had also become hostile to the Nazirene followers of the Way, and to the Jews in general. Through folklore, forgeries and a liberal interpretation of history the doctrines of the “Great Church” were formulated, the Gentile Jesus Christ came into prominence, and the Nazirene followers of the Messiah were denounced as heretics.

The Virgin Birth

As we believe that all things are possible with the Most High, the birth story of the Gospels could most certainly be true. However, the direct followers of the Messiah knew nothing of this miraculous birth, and this included his family. None of the Nazirene sects believed in the Gentile version of the virgin birth, as is made clear in the writings of the early Church Fathers. To better understand a few questions should be asked. First, why would the Most High place the “Hand Maid of the Lord” in such a compromising situation? She could have easily ended up stoned to death or ostracized for conceiving out of wedlock (a serious taboo in that time and place). If Mary was the ever virgin, as told to us in the early Infancy narratives, having proved herself a virgin before her family and the Priests in Jerusalem, how is it that no one remembers this when the Master begins his ministry? Next, why would the Elohim want to work outside of an already miraculous creation? Each of us are the product of three converging lines. The genetics of the Father the genetics of the Mother join together to create a being who’s the culmination of all their ancestors, going back to the beginning (if such can be found). So each new being has a part within them, of all who came before them in their bloodline. To this being is joined the Soul which is sent by the Holy Spirit of the Most High, to continue its process of evolving. Each of us then become the product of the seed of humanity and the seed (Soul) from the Holy Spirit. It would therefore seem unnecessary for the Almighty to subvert creation, because the specially evolved Soul (Son) can be placed in the desired material form according to the Will of the Creator.

If the virgin birth took place as mentioned in the Gospels, why did the early Church Fathers of the 2nd-4th centuries have to support it with forgeries? Works such as the Protevangelium of James, and Pseudo Matthew, (which probably contain a small amount of real history), were so poorly constructed that they are more useful for disproving then proving the virgin birth. The original Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, as well as the Gospels of Mark and John have no such birth stories. Only in the Greek Matthew (written for Hellenized diaspora Jews and reformulated at the beginning of the 2nd century) and Luke (compiled and readapted about the same time and specifically formulated for a Gentile audience) do we find such a birth. Why are the direct followers of the Messiah ignorant of this birth while 2nd century Gentile Christians uphold the concept so vehemently? It would seem that the answer related to the audience being addressed. Apart from the mistranslation of the word virgin in Isaiah (which meant young women, as opposed to a woman that has not had sexual relations), there are no virgin births in Hebrew stories or history, nor was such an event expected in that way. In fact the Hebrews showed a strong interest in generation. However, in the Gentile pagan pantheon many savior gods were born of virgins, such as Mithrus, Horus, and Bacchus. Even Zoroaster was virgin born. Since the feminine aspect was removed from the God head by the early Church Fathers, Mary was elevated to fill the position of the Goddess, particularly replacing Isis. It is Isis the Queen of Heaven, who gives us the mystery of the virgin birth, for although she gave birth to all living things, foremost being the Sun, she remained forever a virgin. The name of Isis in Hebrew is the Yod followed by the Shin and Ayin or Shua (savior).

It is our contention then, that the virgin birth was adopted by the early Christians for the benefit of pagan converts. In the same way Old Testament scripture were applied to Jesus to prove his Messiahship, numerous attributes of various Sun deities were incorporated to prove that Jesus was also Sol Invictus, the Unconquerable Sun, and Christ. Taking the middle ground, in his book “The Secret Teachings of All Ages” Manly Hall writes, “It is by no means improbable that Jesus himself originally propounded as allegories the cosmic activities which were later confused with his life”. Thus Jesus became superior to both the Hebrew Messiah and all past Sun deities, by fulfilling all the prophecies as well as all the mysteries of the Sun, and being (at least in part) a real person. This is not an attempt to discount the miracle of the Messiah’s birth, but sometimes with deep reflection that which is considered ordinary contains the greatest mysteries of all.

Nazir

Evidence indicates Yahushua the Messiah was born in Palestine, to Mariam and Yoseph, towards the end of the reign of Herod the Great, about 7 B.C.E., to a sect of Essene’s, or followers of the Way. It cannot be clearly determined whether the appellation Nazarene was related to a sect that the Master was born into, such as the Nasaraeans, or as later history reveals, to a religious party, based on Davidic Messianic followers of the Way, or perhaps both. It should be noted, that no historian of the time mentions anything about a town of Nazareth, this includes Josephus who carefully mapped the entire area during the revolt of 64-73 A.D.. In fact no such town was known until the 8th century. Professor Szekely in his book “The Essene Origins of Christianity”, points out that “the Greek text says Nazeraios or Nazarenos,” inhabitants of a town would be called, “Nazarethanus”. (Keep in mind that the Hebrew alphabet does not use consonants so NZR and NSR are the forms being used.) The Professor goes on to say that “ecclesiastical scribes knew the origin of the word and were well aware that it was not derived from Nazareth. On the contrary, they knew very well that Nazareth was taken from the word Nazir.”

Nazir-holy ones, Nasi-prince, Nasar-obedient ones, Nozrei ha-Brit the keepers of His Covenant, and Nozrim, the Hebrew terminology denoting the followers of Yahshua, all are sect names for a holy people, indicating that later scribes were trying to cover the connection between Yahshua and his Essene predecessors. The reason for this becomes apparent in the 4th century when the Catholic Church decided that Jesus as God was, therefore the source of all Christian teaching. This is blatantly false (as already shown by the pagan myths which encrusted early Christianity), and only appeared to be true after an extensive eradication program carried out by the Romans over a number of centuries. With the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls it has become obvious that most of the teachings of Yahshua were derived from the Essenes, whose various communities had already put into practice the life style which the Master taught. There is no doubt that the Messiah brought originality to the teachings, and deviations from mainline Essene thought, but the Way underlying his message was well established.

If the Nazirene title relates to the birth of Yahshua, we should investigate the Nasaraeans, the church father Epiphanies, writing early in the 4th century, in his “Panarion”, against heresies, gives us a picture of this sect. (Epiphanies actually does history a favor in many respects, in his arrogant and often hostile polemics against the branches of the Christian tree, he actually passes on some valuable historical information, which otherwise would have been lost or destroyed). The Nasaraeans were Jews by nationality, had acquired circumcision and kept the Sabbath. “They acknowledged Moses and believed that he had received legislation, not this legislation, however, but some other. And so though they were Jews who kept all the Jewish observances, they would not offer sacrifices or eat meat. They considered it unlawful to eat meat or make sacrifices with it. They claimed that these books are fictions, and that none of these customs were instituted by the fathers.” Also important, is that this sect was active, according to Epiphanies, prior to the Christian era. Whether the Master was born to this group or not is, of course debatable, however a continuity of thought between this group and other Essene groups can be made, and an association between them and the “Followers of the Way” very conceivable.

Many scholars associate the Nasaraeans with the Mandaeans. The Mandaeans were followers of John the Baptist, who had left the Jerusalem area before the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.), most likely during the persecutions by the Saulian gestapo (About 36-37 A.D.), and began to migrate east. Over the centuries they evolved, absorbing Persian ideas and most probably coming into contact with the Elchasaites, whose book of “The Hidden Power” seems to have influenced many of the so called Jewish Christians sects. Eventually the Mandaeans ended up in Iran where they still exist in this century. The priest class of the Mandaeans are still called Nasoraeans “observants”, even to this day. Whatever the origins of the Mandaeans, we must concede a movement that considered John as a Messianic figure. A movement presenting enough of a challenge to the Christian movement to necessitate the need for the writer of John’s Gospel, at the end of the 1st century, to categorically place the Baptist into a secondary position after Jesus. If the Nasaraeans are connected to the Mandaeans and thus to Yohanan (John the Baptist) who was a cousin of Yahshua, a connection can be established to support a Nasaraean relationship to Yahshua, by virtue of his family ties with Yohanan.

As already noted, the first followers in Jerusalem, under the direction of Yahshua’s brother Yacob (called James) were called Nazorenes. It could very well be that the term came into use during the ministry of Yahshua (Branch Davidians). Due to the linguistic anomalies already outlined it seems unlikely that the town of Nazareth existed as it is portrayed in the gospels. It seems more likely that the Nazirene’s community was named after the Nazir’s, rather than they being named after a town. The sight of present day Nazareth shows signs of having been occupied in one form or another from 900 B.C.E. to 600 A.D., so a community of Nazirenes could easily have lived there. And certainly after the Messiah began his teaching, Nazirene communities grew up in the areas where the disciples taught.

The Immaculate Conception

The birth of Yahshua, as foretold, is the mystery of the Immaculate conception. In a book on the secret sects of Syria, the Masonic writer Bernard Springett quotes from an ancient document; “But Jehovah prospered the seed of the Essenians, in holiness and love, for many generations. Then came the chief of the angels, according to the commandments of GOD, to raise up an heir to the voice of Jehovah. And in four generations more, an heir was born, and named Joshua, and he was a child of Joseph and Mara, devout worshippers of Jehovah, who stood aloof from all other people save the Essenians.” Accordingly, Essene prophets who were attuned to the will of the Almighty, by virtue of their Holy meditations and their lifestyle of Righteousness, prepared for generations, the arrival of the Messiah of Peace. Genealogies were consulted and candidates were chosen and raised to a holy life. Pure diet, free of the taint of death and blood, as well as training in the Essene mysteries, brought forth children of a Holy nature, from which new candidates were chosen. Legend tells us Mariam was raised in a Temple with a group of these chosen virgins. As the stars had foretold the coming of the Piscean age, Mariam was joined with Yoseph, a rightful heir in the line of David his father. By the selection of the Most High through the agency of the Archangel Gabriel,(perhaps speaking through an Essene priest, who worked as a channel) the human couple prepared the seed for the growth of a highly developed soul, sent to bring Light into the darkness of the world.

The Star and the Magi

On May 29 of the year 7 B.C.E. the first phase of a planetary conjunction took place and was visible throughout the Mediterranean. On October 3rd, the Jewish Day of Atonement, the second stage signaled the time for the holy men of Mesopotamia to prepare for a journey to the East. As the summers heat began to wane, the final calculations were verified for the time of the third and final conjunction. Preparations were made and the journey of the Wise men to Palestine, began. Who were these Chaldean Wizards? They had to have been Astrologers and Philosophers, as well as students of the Hebrew Prophecies. Perhaps the Gospels description of the Kings is the best we can do. However, I don’t believe that it would be improbable to consider that our Wise men were, or had some connection with diaspora Essenes, who saw in the stars the fulfillment of their Prophecies. We can at least expect that the Essenes of Palestine were watching the astrological events with anticipation. On December 4th 7 B.C.E. the planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Mercury came together for the third and last time in the constellation of Pisces. Since Saturn is the ruling planet of the Hebrew people (according to astrologers) and this conjunction signaled the commencement of the Piscean Age, which was the advent of the Messiah, it is quite reasonable to assume that this conjunction sets the stage for the Star of Bethlehem. There is still much debate among scholars as to the date of the birth of the Messiah. The 25th of December is a date highly suspect due to its connection with a number of saviors from mythology. Other dates have been argued, but none fit into the framework of history and science as well as the Planetary conjunction in the constellation of Pisces.

The Early Years

We are told little, by the Gospels, of the early years of the life of Yahshua. One of the first events is the flight to Egypt, to escape the wrath of Herod. This is the story of the “slaughter of the innocents”, although history left no record of the murder, which wiped out a generation of the male descendants of David in Bethlehem, it was certainly within the character of Herod the Great to have done such a thing. It is of great interest to us that the family of Yoseph fled to Egypt were a large community of Essenes, called Theraputae, existed. This is the only time the Gospel records take the Master out of Palestine.

Evidence has arisen in the last couple of centuries to support the idea that Yahshua traveled and studied the world’s religions. In the 1880’s the Russian explorer Nicolas Notovitch uncovered a scroll in Tibet pertaining to the life of Issa. The Tibetans considered this to be an incarnation of the divine Buddha, who was born in Palestine and later traveled to India. Notovitch discovered this to be a story of the life Jesus. He made a copy to bring to the world. This was not received, however, with open arms.

In the “Gospel of the Holy Twelve” the training of Jesus is described; “And Jesus, after he had finished his study of the law, went down again into Egypt that he might learn the wisdom of the Egyptians, even as Moses did. And going into the desert, he meditated and fasted and prayed, and obtained the power of the Holy Name, by which he wrought many miracles. And for seven years he conversed with God face to face, and he learned the language of birds and of beasts, and the healing power of trees, and of herbs, and of flowers, and the hidden secrets of precious stones, and he learned the motions of the Sun and the Moon and the Stars, and the powers of letters, and the mysteries of the Square and the Circle and the Transmutation of things, and of forms, and of numbers, and of signs.” This sounds like a well rounded Essene education. This Gospel goes on to say, “And after a time he went into Assyria and India and into Persia and into the land of the Chaldeans. And he visited their temples and conversed with their priests, and their wise men for many years, doing many wonderful works, healing the sick as he passed through their countries.”

It is of course not necessary for Yahshua to have traveled the world, the Essenes could have provided the necessary training. By the beginning of the 1st century the Essenes of Palestine had evolved enough to know the basis of the Truth of the worlds transcendental Religion. Whether the Essenes had adopted Zoroastrian, Pythagorean elements, as Dr. Larson suggests, or whether Zoroaster and Pythagoras, learned from the tablets of Enoch, long held by the Essenes, as suggested by the translator of the “Book of Enoch”, Richard Laurence, the result is the same. The Essenes (circa, 200 B.C.E. to 70 A.D.), had become a storehouse of sacred learning. If the Master had traveled, first hand experience with other teachers and adepts of the great religions, would have been obviously beneficial.

Other legends have Yahshua traveling the Mediterranean in the company of his Uncle Joseph of Arimathea, who was a wealthy tin merchant, with holdings all over the known world. The debate about the travels of Yahshua can not be solved conclusively with the information presently available to us. But we can consider as fact, that the Essenes had advanced knowledge of healing, agriculture, astrology, philosophy, and spirituality. The Essenes had grown over the centuries, absorbing the Truth wherever they found it, as well as developing the mysteries passed down to them for generations. In the finial analysis it would seem that the bulk of Yahshua’s learning came directly from the Essenes.

The Ebionites, sect of the poor, were the descendants of the Jerusalem church and the Nazirenes. The Ebionite Yahshua, was the True Prophet, the new Moses bringing into fulfillment at Golgotha the covenant of Sinai, the only one to completely fulfill the law. Yahshua fulfilled the law, not as the Son of God but as Son of Man. Thus consecrated for Messiahship he was endowed with the power of God and in the “waters of baptism was called the Son of God”. Yahshua son of David after the flesh, Son of God after the indwelling of the spirit at the baptism. In the earliest versions of the baptism story, after the descending of the spirit, a voice from heaven proclaims, “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, this day have I begotten thee.”

The Nazirene/Ebionite communities clearly knew nothing of a supernatural birth and rejected the idea of Jesus the vicarious atoning sacrifice. The Nazirene Yahshua could not have taught these, nor would his followers have supported the pagan love for blood sacrifice and virgin born gods. They understood the true nature of the sacrifice made by the Son of Man. To Yacob and the early church, the risen Yahshua was the “apocalyptic angelic figure of the Son of man who comes down out of the clouds of heaven, the one who brings the era of salvation, will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

Ananga · April 26, 2001

Does anyone know about that book that claims Jesus survived the crucifixion and lived out the rest of his life in India? Is there any credibility to the author's claims?

Gauracandra · April 26, 2001

I don't know that Jesus went to India, but certainly it is not out of the question. Here are some reasons:

1. Jerusalem is relatively not far from India. Certainly in those days it would have taken alot of time to travel, but was not impossible, as trading routes can easily prove.

2. The Bible discusses the life of Jesus from birth until around age 12. Then Jesus just disappears, only to appear again at age 30. There is a missing 18 years. Three years later at the age of 33 Christ is cruxified. So his entire preaching mission lasted only 3 years. That makes what ever happened in the prior 18 years extremely important in understanding who he was. Could he have travelled across land to India? It certainly isn't out of the question.

3. It is a proven fact that after Christ died one of his Apostles (I think St. John) went to South India to preach. He was eventually killed by Brahmin priests there. The Catholic church accepts this, and his burial place is located in South India to this day. If one of Christ's disciples could make it, couldn't Christ have made it as well.

These are just a few thoughts on this issue.

Gauracandra

jijaji · April 26, 2001

Check it out now ..check it out..!

http://www.tombofjesus.com/

;^)>

amanpeter · April 27, 2001

I stayed for a few days with someone in LOs Angeles who claimed to have personally visited the grave of Lord Jesus Christ in Kashmir, India. Also, I have a book called "Jesus Lived In India" which includes many pictures.

Gauracandra · April 27, 2001

Upon reading this posting further, I realized I did not answer the question on the table by Ananga. I was answering the question "Did Jesus ever go to India?" where as the real question is "Did Jesus survive the cruxifiction and then go to India?". This I don't know. It is true that the Muslims hold the view that Christ did not die, but survived the cruxifiction. On what basis they make this claim I don't know. And there are also those that claim that Jesus died in Kashmir. But just a quick note on this. There are similar claims that he went to Japan and died (and there is a 'tomb of jesus' in Japan), and if you are Mormon then you believe he died (I believe) and then came to the Americas to preach to Native Americans. My point being, that I don't think anyone really knows what happened afterwards. I have read articles in the past that have made pretty good arguments that he did go to India, and also Tibet (based on testimony in Tibetan books) but regarding if he survived the cruxifiction I don't know.

Gauracandra