The Gods of Eden
by William Bramley
12
The Jesus Ministry
THE STORY MOST people know of Jesus is told in the New Testament. The New Testament, like much of the Old Testament, is in many places a greatly altered version of the original accounts on which it is based. In addition, probably less than 5% of all that Jesus and his original followers taught is found in the Bible.
Many of the changes and deletions to the New Testament were made by special church councils. The editing process began as early as 325 A.D. during the First Council of Nicea, and continued well into the 12th century. For example, the Second Synod [church council] of Constantinople in 553 A.D. deleted from the Bible Jesus's references to "reincarnation"—an important concept to Jesus and his early followers. Later, the Lateran Councils of the 12th century added a tenet to the Bible that was never taught by Jesus: the concept of the "Holy Trinity." The Christian church did not limit itself to changing a few ideas, it also rejected entire books. The church destroyed many documents and records which contradicted the radical changes that were made to Christian doctrine by these councils. Fortunately, the original writings which survived the editing process still offer valuable clues and insights into the life of Jesus.
Many writings rejected by the church councils found their way into a book known as the "Apocrypha" ("hidden writings").* The Apocrypha consists of writings which were adjudged to be of dubious origin or quality by the church. Some of the material was rightfully rejected. Other Apocryphal works, however, were omitted simply because they contradicted the official church version of Jesus's life on several crucial details. These are details which, if carefully researched, would offer a somewhat different outlook on the life of Jesus from the one presented in the authorized Bible.
According to the Apocrypha, the story of Jesus begins with his maternal grandparents, Joachim and Anna. Joachim was said to be a priest in a Hebrew temple. Joachim and Anna were happily married except for one problem: they had not been able to produce any children. This was a source of considerable embarrassment to them. Bearing children, especially sons, was quite important in that era.
One day Joachim was standing alone in the fields when an angel appeared. The angel was described as giving off a tremendous amount of light and striking fear into Joachim by its appearance. The angel canned Joachim and told him not to be ashamed any longer because an angel would cause Anna to become pregnant. The only stipulation for this honor was that Joachim and his wife must surrender their child to be raised by the priests and angels at a temple in Jerusalem.
Everything went according to plan. At the age of three, Joachim and Anna's little girl, Mary, was taken to the temple and left there. Mary was a beautiful child who remained devoted to the priests and angels for about the next eleven years. When Mary and her peers in the temple became 12 or 14 years of age (two different ages are given by two "different sources), it was time for them to go back out into the world and get married.
Mary was not free to pick her own husband, however. Her mentors chose one for her. The mate picked for Mary was a very old man by the name of Joseph. Joseph did not agree at first to the marriage because he was quite old and had already had children of his own. After efforts were made to change his mind, Joseph consented to the match and went to his home in Bethlehem to prepare his house for his new wife. Mary went to the home of her parents, Joachim and Anna, in Galilee to make herself ready.
While Mary was in Galilee, an angel named Gabriel appeared before her, announcing that she would give birth to the new Messiah. Mary was confused:
She said, How can that be? For seeing, according to my vow [of chastity], I have never had sexual contact with any man, how can I bear a child without the addition of a man's seed?
To this the angel replied and said. Think not, Mary, that you will conceive in the ordinary way.
For, without sleeping with a man, while a Virgin, you will conceive and while a Virgin you will give milk from your breast.
For the Holy Ghost will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, without any of the heats of lust.
So that to which you will give birth will be only holy, because it only is conceived without sin, and being born, shall be called the Son of God.
Then Mary, stretching forth her hands, and lifting her eyes to heaven, said, Take notice of the handmaid of the Lord! Let it be done to me what you have said.
MARY VII: 16-21
Several researchers believe that stories of "virgin births" may be based upon instances of artificial insemination. Virgin birth means only that the woman did not become impregnated by a man, but was caused instead to bear a child through the action of an "angel." If we consider that many New Testament "angels" are Custodians, artificial insemination becomes a distinct possibility.
The above conversation between Mary and her "angel" expresses a strong moral and spiritual belief connected to the act of conception. Impregnation by an "angel" was deemed holy and desirable, but conception by human means was often considered sin. To someone engaging in artificial insemination, there would be a practical reason for creating such a distinction. Artificial insemination helps guarantee control over the physical characteristics of a future baby, something that cannot be assured in random human mating. By artificially inseminating two or more generations in a row, the purity of the final product is greatly increased. This is practiced today by animal breeders who closely control the insemination and breeding of livestock from generation to generation in order to bring forth bigger, better, and purer animals. In this respect, it is significant that the human offspring of alleged virgin births were often described as physically unflawed and unusually beautiful in appearance. While some of this flattery was no doubt due to the tendency of followers to view their religious leaders in the best possible light, the stories of angel-induced pregnancies over consecutive generations, such as the tale surrounding Jesus, would strongly suggest a breeding effort. This discussion is not meant to cast disrespect on the personality of Jesus by suggesting that his body was bred like a cow, but that is the picture which emerges.
The disdain expressed to priests by Biblical "angels" for the human method of conception was apparently based upon mere practical concerns to ensure good breeding, but it was nevertheless taken to heart by early priests and became a major element of many monotheistic religions. In Biblical days, human beings were also heavily propagandized as very sinful to justify the barbaric treatment humans suffered at the hands of their Custodial "God" and "angels." By extending this concept of sinfulness to the human method of procreation, every person conceived through human sexual intercourse was to be considered born in sin and therefore spiritually condemned. What a frightful dilemma this created! Every time a man and woman 124 William Bramley conceived and gave birth to a child, they had condemned a spiritual being; yet the human drives which produce children are strong. The religious teaching of automatic spiritual condemnation because of human procreation generated a powerful conflict between the drive for spiritual freedom and the physical drive to reproduce. The result was intense anxiety on the subject of sex and an increase in non-procreative sexual activity such as homosexuality, autoeroticism, non-procreative forms of intercourse, pornography, voyeurism, and abortion. The irony in this is clear. Those religions which have most strongly condemned the "inherent sin" in all human beings have also been those which have most vocally opposed non-procreative sex.
These teachings had another important effect. They helped reduce human resistance to engaging in war. It is easier for a religious person to kill someone if he believes that the victim is inherently sinful.
Fortunately, most people today no longer believe that human conception is innately sinful, including most clergy. If anything, giving birth to children is seen as an event of happiness, and that is as it should be. Despite this, we still find some of the old ideas lingering. A small number of philosophers, psychiatrists, religious leaders and sociologists continue to proclaim that human beings are inherently "bad" or "evil," be it on religious or "scientific" grounds. This contributes little to our culture except to keep sexual anxiety and warfare alive.
After Mary's experience with the angel, Joseph travelled from his home in Bethlehem to pick up Mary in Galilee. To his chagrin, Joseph discovered that his young bride was already several months pregnant. Thinking that Mary had become a whore, Joseph made preparations to abandon her. An angel intervened and convinced Joseph that Mary was still a virgin. Joseph stayed with Mary in Galilee until her ninth month of pregnancy. In the ninth month, Joseph and Mary set off for Joseph's home in Bethlehem to have the child there. According to the Apocrypha, the couple did not reach Joseph's home in time. Mary went into labor near the outskirts of Bethlehem and a shelter had to be located for her immediately. What they found was a cave. In that cave young Jesus was born:
And when they came by the cave, Mary confessed to Joseph that her time of giving birth had come, and she could not go on to the city, and said, Let us go into this cave.
At that time the sun was nearly down.
But Joseph hurried away so that he might fetch her a midwife; and when he saw an old Hebrew woman who was from Jerusalem, he said to her, Please come here, good woman, and go into that cave, and you will see a woman just ready to give birth.
It was after sunset, when the old woman and Joseph reached the cave, and they both went into it.
And look, it was all filled with lights, greater than the light of lamps and candle, and greater than the light of the sun itself.
The infant was then wrapped up in swaddling clothes, and sucking the breast of his mother St. Mary.
INFANCY 1:6-11
The unusual lights in the cave indicate to some people the existence of high-tech lighting of some sort. This may not be surprising when we discover that other apparent high-tech phenomena surrounded the birth of Jesus, such as the so-called "Star of Bethlehem."
Nearly everyone in the Christian world knows the tale of the three wise men who followed a bright star to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem. Most Christians believe that this unusual star, known as the "Star of Bethlehem," was supernatural in origin—a creation of God. Some scientists, if they have not dismissed the story as a religious myth, believe the Star to have been Halley's comet making a low pass over Earth, or a rare alignment of Venus and a bright star. Several UFO writers, on the other hand, assert that the Star of Bethlehem was an aircraft which led the three wise men from their homes in Persia to Bethlehem in the same fashion that Moses and the Hebrew tribes had been guided by an airborne "Jehovah" earlier in history. Surprisingly, the Apocrypha itself best supports the UFO theory.
An Apocryphal book quotes one of the three wise men: We saw an extraordinarily large star shining among the stars of heaven, and so outshined all the other stars, that they became not visible. .. . PROTOEVANGELION 15:7
That rules out Halley's comet, which has never been so bright. An alignment of Venus and stars could not blot out all other stars in the above fashion. Not only did the Star of Bethlehem overwhelm all other stars, it moved:
So the wise men began their travel, and look, the star which they saw in the east went before them, until it came and stood over the cave where the young child was with Mary his mother.
PROTOEVANGELION 15:9
After leading the three wise men to Jesus's birthplace, this remarkably intelligent "star" accompanied them home again: "... the light of which they followed until they returned into their own country"
(Infancy 3:3).
The preceding passages offer additional evidence of Custodial involvement in the breeding and birth of Jesus. Who, then, were the three wise men? They are generally said to have been mystics and astrologers. Clearly they were indoctrinated in the Brotherhood messiah prophecies, else they would not have made the journey.
Significantly, they hailed from Persia—a stronghold of Zoroastrianism and Aryanism at the time. Many Christians believe that Jesus was born in an animal stall inside of Bethlehem city. In fact, it says so in the New Testament's Book of Luke. Proponents of the cave birth story, however, state that Jesus was not taken to the stall until several days after he was born. Mary had reportedly hidden Jesus there because of a threat to his life from King Herod, a local monarch who was alarmed by the Hebrew Messiah prophecies.
If it is true that Jesus was born in a cave, why would the writer of Luke and other early church leaders claim that Jesus's first bed was a manger? It was the intention of those who backed Jesus to proclaim him the Hebrew Messiah. For that assertion to be true, they needed to prove that Jesus was a direct descendant of Hebrew King David. Such a lineage was required by the Hebrew prophecies. A number of religious historians, however, have concluded that Jesus belonged to a Hebrew religious sect known as the "Essenes." Joachim, Anna, and Mary may have all been members of Essene temples. The cave birth would tend to reinforce that conclusion because the Essenes were well known for using caves as shelters and hospices. If Jesus was an Essene, he could not have been a descendant of King David. This is why:
The Essenes were outwardly Jewish, but they also studied the Zend Avesta of the Zoroastrian religion and reportedly practiced Aryanism. This would help explain the visit of the three Persian wise men to baby Jesus in Bethlehem. It further appears that being Aryan was a requirement to becoming an Essene. Jesus himself was white-skinned and redheaded. Because of the racial prerequisite to becoming an Essene, no true Essene could have been a direct descendant of King David because the Hebrew tribes had a different lineage.
Much of what we know today about the Essenes comes from a famous mid-20th-century archaeological discovery: the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Scrolls are a library of very old documents dating from the first century A.D. They were written by members of an Essene community and hidden by them in caves near the Dead Sea. The Scrolls were discovered in 1947 (or possibly 1945) by a young Bedouin tribesman.
According to historian John Allegro, who analyzes the Scrolls in his book, The People of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Essenes had many characteristics of a secret society. For example, a person's admission into the Essene Order was accomplished only after several years probation. The Essenes practiced initiation rituals in which they swore to never divulge their secret teachings. They also held confidential the names of the "angels" said to be living among the Essenes in their closed communities. Essene priests often called themselves "The Sons of Zadok" after high priest Zadok, who had served in the temple of Solomon.
In light of these discoveries, it is not surprising that several Brotherhood branches had claimed long before the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls that the Essene organization was a branch of the Brotherhood in Palestine, perhaps the Brotherhood's most important offshoot in that region. Albert MacKey's History of Freemasonry, published in 1898, confirms this by reporting that the Essenes had a system of degrees and used a symbolic apron.
There is much evidence that Jesus remained an Essene throughout his adult life. Historian Will Durant, writing in his work, Caesar and Christ (The Story of Civilization, Part III), points out that the Essenes were the only sect with a Jewish tradition that did not oppose Jesus's early attempts at religious innovation. Of the three major Hebrew sects existing in Palestine at that time, Jesus condemned only the Pharisees and the Sadducees for their vices and hypocrisy, not the Essenes. The Essenes and Christians shared many traits in common: they held similar beliefs about living in "The Last Days," shared common meals, owned property communally, engaged in ritual baths and baptisms, and had some organizational points in common. Remarkable similarities between several Dead Sea Scroll doctrines and New Testament writings have also been noted. Historians point to Jesus's close personal friendship to John the Baptist. Many baptismal and ascetic (self-denial) practices of the Essenes were shared by John. While John did differ in other respects from what we know today of standard Essene practices, the similarities are strong enough to suggest that John was himself an Essene. Finally, we have the active presence of "angels" reportedly guiding both the Essenes and Jesus's ministry.
Despite the strong evidence, some theologians still dispute that Jesus was an Essene. Their objections are based primarily on the fact that many of Jesus's teachings contradicted Essene ways. There was a good reason for that contradiction. Jesus, though an Essene, had come into contact with the Indian maverick movement and, as a result, had become a rebellious maverick himself. He tried to forge ahead with a religious philosophy which was often at odds with his Essene sponsors, and he would suffer for it.
Most New Testament information about Jesus's life covers only the three years immediately prior to his crucifixion. Those were the years of Jesus's public ministry. During that time, Jesus did not live inside the Essene communities for the simple reason that he was engaged in a traveling ministry which would occupy him until his crucifixion. Every Essene was given, or created for himself, a "calling" or life's goal to pursue. Jesus pursued his as a teacher on the road.
In both the New Testament and Apocrypha, the life of Jesus seems to be fairly well covered up until about the age of 5 or 6. Then, abruptly, there is a complete void of information about where Jesus went or what he did. We find in the New Testament one episode of Jesus appearing before Hebrew scholars at the age of 12, followed by an eighteen year silence in which Jesus's activities are unaccounted for. Suddenly, at about the age of 30, Jesus re-emerged and launched his short and tumultuous religious career. Where had Jesus gone, and what had he done, during the unknown years? [Read the Fourth Section of these Papers, and you will find out. 76 Papers starting with # 120DC]
https://urantiabook.org/120-The-Bestowal-of-Michael-on-Urantia/#ubf-paperTitle
Most Christians believe that Jesus spent his teens and young adulthood working for his father as a carpenter. No doubt Jesus did occasionally visit his father and learn carpentry on those visits. Many historians, however, feel that there was much more happening in Jesus's life and they have tried to discover what else Jesus might have done during those critical years when his thoughts, personality, and motives were developing. As it turns out, Jesus was being intensively trained for his future religious role.
It was common for Essene boys to enter an Essene monastery at about the age of 5 to begin their educations. This will account for Jesus's sudden disappearance from history at that age. Some researchers believe that Jesus was brought up and educated in the Essene community above Haifa by the Mediterranean Sea. He apparently remained there until his teens. At the age of 12, he made a trip to Jerusalem in preparation for his bar mitzvah the following year. It was during that trip that Jesus had the debate with Hebrew scholars. Jesus then vanished from history again. Now where did he go?
Several years ago I happened to see an intriguing film documentary by Richard Bock entitled, The Lost Years. This film regularly shows up on local American television stations around Christmas and Easter. It is well worth watching. The film suggests that Jesus journeyed to Asia where he spent his teens and early adulthood studying the religions practiced there. One source from which the filmmaker drew this remarkable conclusion was the "Legend of Issa," a very old Buddhist document purportedly discovered in the Himi Monastery of India by Russian traveler Nicolas Notovitch in 1887. Notovitch published his translation of the Buddhist legend in 1890 in his book, The Unknown Life of Jesus.
According to the Buddhist legend uncovered by Notovitch, a remarkable young man named "Issa" had departed for Asia at the age of thirteen. Issa studied under several religious masters of the East, did some preaching of his own, and returned to Palestine sixteen years later at the age of 29. The significant parallels between the lives of "Issa" and Jesus have led to the conclusion that Issa was, in fact, Jesus. If true, such a journey would certainly be omitted from the Bible because it contradicts the idea that Jesus had achieved spiritual enlightenment solely by divine inspiration.
If Jesus was an Essene and he travelled to Asia under Essene sponsorship, and if the Essenes indeed followed an Aryan tradition, we would expect Jesus to be sent to study under the Aryan Brahmans of the Indian subcontinent. According to the Legend of Issa, that is precisely what happened:
In his fourteenth year, young Issa, the Blessed One, came this side of the Sindh [a province in Western Pakistan] and settled among the Aryas [Aryans]. . . .'
Upon Jesus's arrival, "the white priests of Brahma welcomed him joyfully"2 and taught him, among other things, to read and understand the Vedas, and to teach and expound sacred Hindu scriptures. This joyful reception quickly turned sour, however, because Jesus insisted upon associating with the lower castes. That led to friction between the young headstrong Jesus and his Brahmin hosts. According to the legend:
But the Brahmins and the Kshatriyas [members of the military caste] told him that they were forbidden by the great Parabrahma [Hindu god] to come near to those who were created from his belly and his feet [the mythical origin of the lower castes];
That the Vaisyas [members of the merchant and agricultural caste] might only hear the recital of the Vedas, and this only on the festival days, and
That the Sudras [one of the lower castes] were not only forbidden to attend the readings of the Vedas, but even to look on them; for they were condemned to perpetual servitude, as slaves of the Brahmins, the Kshatriyas and even the Vaisyas.
But Issa, disregarding their words, remained with the Sudras, preaching against the Brahmins and Kshatriyas.
He declaimed strongly against man's arrogating to himself the authority to deprive his fellow-beings of their human and spiritual rights. "Verily," he said, "God has made no difference between his children, who are all alike dear to Him."
Issa denied the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the Puranas [a class of sacred writings]. .. .3
The white priests and warriors were so angered that they sent servants to murder Jesus. Warned of the danger, Jesus fled the holy city of Juggernaut by night and escaped into Buddhist country. There he learned the Pali language and studied sacred Buddhist writings ("Sutras"). After six years, Jesus "could perfectly expound the sacred [Buddhist] scrolls."4
The Issa legend has some remarkable implications. It portrays Jesus as a sincere religious reformer who found himself turning against the Custodial/Aryan traditions in which he had been raised. His sympathies went instead to the maverick Buddhists. The Buddhist influence in Jesus's teachings are evident in the Bible, as in Jesus's "Sermon on the Mount" which contains some philosophy strikingly similar to the Buddhism of his day.
After fifteen or so years in and about Asia, Jesus travelled back to Palestine via Persia, Greece, and Egypt. According to one tradition, Jesus was initiated into the higher ranks of the Brotherhood in the Egyptian city of Heliopolis. After completing that initiation, Jesus returned to Palestine, now a man of 29 or 30. Immediately upon his return, Jesus embarked on his public ministry.
The rift between Jesus and his Aryan hosts in India did not, at first, seem to adversely affect Jesus's relationship to the Essene Order. It did not take long, however, for trouble to erupt. Jesus did not share the ascetism of his Essene brothers and downplayed the importance of ritualism for achieving spiritual salvation. Jesus was surrounded by Essene sponsors who strongly believed in the coming of a Messiah and they were determined to have their investment, Jesus, proclaimed that new Messiah. Jesus forbade them to do so. According to historian Will Durant, Jesus "repudiated all claim to Davidic descent"5 and for a long time "forbade the disciples to call him the messiah.. . ."6 Most historians attribute those actions to the political climate of the time. Palestine was under Roman occupation and the Romans took a dim view of the Hebrew prophecies because of their political overtones. Jesus did not wish to run afoul of the Romans, or so the thinking goes.
There is, however, a much better reason why Jesus did not want to be proclaimed the Hebrew Messiah. He knew that the proclamation was untrue and he was being honest about it. Jesus wanted to bring to Palestine a genuine spiritual science of the type the mavericks were still attempting in India. Jesus therefore became a rebel inside of the very Brotherhood organization backing him. Jesus's greatest mistake was believing that he could use the channels of the corrupted Brotherhood network to spread a maverick religion, even if he had many close friends and loved ones in the Essene Order.
Jesus never had time to establish his maverick religious system because some of his Essene backers and, according to the Bible, even some Custodial "angels," quickly got him into trouble by proclaiming him the Messiah. It did not take the Romans and some Hebrew leaders long to arrest Jesus and put him on trial. The Hebrews objected to his unorthodox religious ideas and the Romans his alleged political pretensions. A mere three years after beginning his ministry, Jesus was reportedly nailed to a cross. Although there is evidence that Jesus did not die on the cross but survived to live out the rest of his life in seclusion, the crucifixion ended his public ministry and paved the way for his name to be used to implant the very Judgment Day philosophies he had opposed.* *A set of documents dating from around 400 A.D.—the Nag Hammadi scrolls—were discovered in Egypt in 1945. The scrolls are hand-inscribed copies of earlier original manuscripts. Many or all of those originals were written no later than 150 A.D., i.e. before the standard New Testament gospels were penned. Some scholars believe many of the Nag Hammadi scrolls to be as authentic, and less altered, than the accepted Gospels of the New Testament. According to the Nag Hammadi, Jesus was not nailed to a cross, but another man, Simon, had been cleverly substituted to suffer Jesus's fate. Whatever the truth of this might be, what is important to us is simply that the crucifixion signaled the end of Jesus's public ministry.
Jesus's problems cannot be blamed on his backers alone, however. Certainly Jesus's own errors contributed to his downfall. Despite his maverick leanings, Jesus was unable to entirely undo within himself a lifetime of indoctrination as an Essene. There is good Biblical and Apocryphal evidence that Jesus tried to mix Custodial dogma with maverick tenets. This will cause any honest attempt at spiritual reform to fail. The Bible also indicates that Jesus taught some of his lessons through a system of mysteries. Jesus's only hope had been to break completely with the Essene Order and its methods, but it is easy to understand why he had not done so. His life, family, and friends were too much a part of that organization.
Although Jesus had a large enough following to invite attention, he did not preach long enough to enter the history books of his own time. His fame grew after the crucifixion when his disciples traveled far and wide to establish their new apocalyptic sect. With the continued help of their Custodial "angels," Christian missionaries made Jesus a household name and created a powerful new faction that would further divide human beings into battling groups.
The successful effort to make Jesus the figurehead of a new Judgment Day religion brought about the most famous apocalyptic writing in the western world: the Revelation of St. John. This work, which is also known as the Book of Revelation or Apocalypse, is the last book of the New Testament. It leaves Christians with the same type of dire prophecy that the Hebrews had been left with at the end of the Old Testament: the coming of a great global catastrophe followed by a Day of Judgment. The Book of Revelation is well worth taking a closer look at.
13
Apocalypse of John
THE ALLEGED AUTHOR of Revelation was Jesus's personal friend and disciple, John (not to be confused with John the Baptist, a different person). John appears to have been the most influential of Jesus's disciples, and an earlier biblical text that is attributed to him, the Book of John, seems to come closest to conveying the strong mystical leanings of Jesus's backers and of the early Christian church. For these and other reasons, the name of John has been an important one to Christians and to a number of mystical organizations. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that John's name would be chosen to convey the final and most colorful apocalypse in the Bible. [It is NOT the Revelation of John, it states clearly in the opening verse...The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:DC]
The Revelation of St. John is the fifth and final work attributed to John to appear in the New Testament. Some scholars believe that Revelation was written by John while he was living in exile on the Greek island of Patmos many years after the crucifixion of Christ. Others are convinced that disciple John was not the author of Revelation because Revelation was not discovered until about two hundred years after John's lifetime. According to Joseph Free, writing in his book, Archaeology and Bible History, the linguistic qualities of Revelation are inferior in some ways to the Book of John. It is argued that if Revelation was written five years after the Book of John by the same person, Revelation should be linguistically equal or superior to the earlier work. Another point is that Revelation contains expressions from the Hebrew language that were not used in John's earlier writings. On the other hand, important similarities between Revelation and other books of John have been noted, especially in the repetition of certain words and phrases. Whatever the true authorship of Revelation may be, the impact of this work has been major.
Revelation is the first-person account of the author's bizarre meeting with a strange person he believed to be Jesus. Over a period of a day or two, the author also met a number of unusual creatures which showed him pictures of frightening future events. The author was told by those creatures that Satan (the "anti-Christ") would take over the world. This would be followed by the Final Battle of Armageddon during which the angels of God would battle the forces of Satan. The Final Battle would bring about the banishment of Satan from human society and the triumphant return ("Second Coming") of Jesus to reign over Earth for a thousand years.
The Book of Revelation is written in a wonderfully picturesque manner. It is filled with complex and imaginative symbolism. Because the pictures revealed to John were symbols, Revelation can be used to predict an imminent "End of the World" at almost any historical epoch. The prophecy is constructed so that the symbols can be interpreted to represent whatever historical events happen to be occurring at the time one is living. This is precisely what has been done with Revelation ever since it appeared, and it is still being done today.
The question is, what caused the author's "visions"? Was it lunacy? A propensity to tell tall tales? Or was it something else? The author seems sincere enough to rule out deceit. His straightforward manner of narration tends to eliminate lunacy as the answer. That leaves "something else." The question is: what?
Upon analyzing the text of Revelation, we discover something rather remarkable. It appears that the author had actually been drugged and, while in that drugged state, was shown pictures in a book by individuals who were wearing costumes and putting on a ceremony for the author's benefit. Let us look at the passages of Revelation which suggest this.
John begins his story by telling us that he was at prayer. From a further description, it seems that he was conducting his ritual outdoors during daylight hours. Suddenly, a loud voice resounded behind him. The voice commanded him to write down everything he was about to see and hear, and to send the message to the seven Christian churches in Asia [Turkey]. John turned around to see who was speaking to him and, lo and behold, there he saw what he believed to be seven golden candlesticks. Standing among the candlesticks was a person whom the author described as: . . .
one who looked like the Son of man [Jesus], clothed with a garment down to the foot, and wearing about the chest a golden girdle [support]. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as flame of fire; And his feet were like fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice was as the sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his appearance was like the sun shines in his strength. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. And he laid his right hand upon me ............. REVELATION 1:13-17
There are striking similarities between this new "Jesus" and the space age "angels" of earlier Biblical stories. The prophet Ezekiel, for example, had also met visitors with feet of brass. The above passage from Revelation suggests that John's "Jesus" may have been garbed in a one piece body suit extending from the neck down to metal 138 William Bramley or metal-like boots.* The creature's head was described as "white like wool, as white as snow," indicating an artificial head covering or helmet. John's claim that this creature had a voice "as the sound of many waters," that is, rumbling and thunderous, is also reminiscent of Ezekiel's angels and could have been caused by the rumbling of nearby engines or by electronic amplification of the creature's voice. The "two-edged sword" protruding from the creature's mouth easily suggests a microphone or breathing pipe. * The fact that the author mistook this creature for Jesus may be further evidence that the author was not the original disciple John. For convenience, however, I will continue to refer to the author of Revelation as John.
After John regained his composure, "Jesus" commanded him to write down the missives that "Jesus" wanted sent to various Christian churches. Those letters constitute the first three chapters of Revelation. The most interesting phase of John's experience then begins in chapter 4:
. .. / looked, and behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard, which sounded like a trumpet talking with me; said Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place hereafter.
And immediately I was in the spirit: and, look, a throne was set in heaven, and one [creature] sat on the throne.
And the one who sat looked to me like a jasper and sardine stone: and there was a rainbow around the throne looking like an emerald.
And all around the throne were twenty-four seats: and upon the seats I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white garments: and they had on their heads crowns of gold.
And out of the throne came lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
And before the throne there was a sea of glass like crystal: and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne were four beasts full of eyes in front and back. REVELATION 4:1-6
The above passage can be viewed as the author being taken up through the door of some sort of aircraft and finding himself face to face with its occupants, as told by someone incapable of understanding the experience. The quote contains two especially interesting elements: first, John said that a voice from above sounded like a trumpet talking with him. This strongly suggests a voice bellowing through a loudspeaker. Second, the "lightnings and thunderings and voices" emitting from the "throne" suggest that the throne had a television or radio set of some kind. A modern-day human might well describe the same experience this way: "Well, yes, I was lifted up into a rocketship. There I confronted the seated crew in their white jumpsuits and helmets. They had some radio or TV reception going."
The presence of seven candles and seven lamps indicates that a ritual had been prepared for the author. The ritual was replete with costumes, theatrics, and sound effects— all designed to deeply impress the message upon the author. This is what happened when John was shown the first scroll:
And I saw in the right hand of the one who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on the inside and on the back side sealed with seven seals.
And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loosen the seals of it?
And no man in heaven, nor in earth, nor from under the earth, was able to open the book nor to look upon its contents.
And I wept a great deal, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, nor to look upon its contents.
And one of the elders said to me, Weep not: look, the Lion [one of the animals there] of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has succeeded to open the book, and to loosen its seven seals.
And I saw standing between the throne and the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb in the manner of having been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out to all the earth.
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of the one who sat upon the throne.
And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each of them holding harps, and golden containers full of odors, which are the prayers of saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, You are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals of it: for you were slain, and have redeemed us to God by your blood from every family, language, people, and nation:
And have made us into kings and priests to God: and we shall reign on earth.
And I saw, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the beasts and the elders: and they numbered ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands;
Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and those that are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be to him that sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever.
And the four beasts said, Amen. And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshipped him that lived for ever and ever. REVELATION 5:1-14
The elders continued to fall at dramatic moments throughout the ceremony. Each time they did so, they made quite an impression upon John. Among their cries of "Amen!" and "Alleluia!", the author was given the somber task of writing down everything he was being shown and taught.
It has been pointed out that the experience John described is identical to mystical ritual, especially of initiation into the teachings of a secret society. For this reason, some people believe that Revelation is actually an account of an initiation ceremony typical of many Brotherhood organizations—typical even today. These observations are quite significant when they are coupled with the evidence that John's experience had an element of space opera. It reveals continued Custodial involvement in Brotherhood mysticism after the time of Christ and shows Custodians to be the ultimate source of apocalyptic doctrines.
In the above passage from Revelation, we observe that John reacted with strong emotions to what was going on around him. He was especially prone to weeping on relatively little provocation. He seemed unable to distinguish between ritual and apparent reality. This raises questions about his mental state. A careful reading of Revelation indicates that John's mind may have been influenced by drugs administered to him by the creatures. Modern psychiatry has discovered that a number of drugs can be used to deeply implant messages in a person's mind. This technique serves today as an intelligence tool in the United States, Russia, and elsewhere. The probable drugging of John is exposed in Chapter 10 of Revelation. The author was apparently outdoors again preparing to memorialize the latest revelations when an "angel" flew down from the sky holding something in its hand:
And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke to me again, and said, Go and take the little scroll which is open in the hand of the angel which stands upon the sea and upon the earth.
And I went to the angel, and said to him, Give me the little scroll. And he said to me, Take it, and eat it up; and it will make your belly bitter, but it will be in your mouth as sweet as honey.
And I took the little scroll out of the angel s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
And he said to me, You must preach again before many peoples and nations, and tongues, and kings. REVELATION 10:8-11
Most Christians believe that the little scroll offered to John was an actual document, the contents of which the author magically came to know by eating the scroll. Our clue that it was probably paper, or something else, saturated with a drug lies in John's testimony that the scroll was sweet to the taste but caused a bitter reaction in the stomach. Interestingly, an almost identical experience had been reported by Ezekiel:
And when I looked, a hand [of an angel] was put before me; and a scroll was in it;
And he spread it before me; and it had writing inside and out: and there were written lamentations, and mourning, and woe.
Additionally, he said to me, Son of man, eat what you are finding; eat this scroll, and go to speak to the house [people] of Israel.
So, I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that scroll.
And he said to me, Son of man, make your belly eat, and fill your bowels with this scroll that I give you.
Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey.
And he said to me, Son of man, go, get yourself over to the house of Israel, and speak with my words to them. EZEKIEL 2:9-10, 3:1-4
Many people mistakenly believe that John actually saw the future historical events he prophesied in Revelation. It has been pointed out by Christian and non-Christian scholars alike that John's "visions" of the future were simply illustrations drawn on scrolls. This is especially evident in John's "vision" of the Creature with seven heads and ten horns:
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads blasphemous names. REVELATION 13:1
The fact that actual words (blasphemous names) were written upon the heads of this creature reveal that John was looking at an illustration with labels—much like an old-fashioned political cartoon. Although the author does not specifically say so, it is likely that many other "visions" on the scrolls were labeled in a similar fashion.
There can be no doubt that, as literature, the Book of Revelation is a colorful, dramatic, and hard-hitting work. As the basis for a religious philosophy, however, it has all the pitfalls of the apocalypses which came before it. As we shall see, the prophecy made in Revelation has been fulfilled at least a half-dozen times in world history, complete with global catastrophe followed by "Second Comings." Not once has this brought about a thousand years of peace and spiritual salvation. All it has done is set the stage for the next catastrophe. Today, as we stand on a massive nuclear powderkeg, perhaps it is time to reevaluate the usefulness of apocalyptic belief before the world is plunged into yet another "final battle." Yes, spiritual salvation and a thousand years of peace are goals well worth having, and are long overdue, but there is no need to pay the price of an Armageddon to achieve them. 77S
14
The Plagues of Justinian
As WE LEAVE the time of Jesus and enter the A.D. years, history becomes firmer and personalities come into better focus. Documentation is better. Even so, the same historical patterns we have studied continue undiminished. To those who find what we have looked at thus far completely unbelievable, I can only share that feeling with full empathy. The view of history I am presenting seems to demand an understanding that the factors which lie at the bottom of human turmoil may be extremely bizarre factors, and perhaps that is why they have never been resolved.
After the lifetime of Jesus, the Christian church grew rapidly. In its early years, Christianity attracted a large number of genuine humanitarians who were enthused by the message Jesus tried to put forth. Early Christian leaders, despite the Essene influence, were able to promote a rather benign religion with many benefits. Jesus had not failed entirely. Early Christians gave people the hope that they could achieve spiritual salvation by acquiring knowledge, by engaging in ethical conduct, by unburdening themselves through confession of wrongdoing, and by making amends for those transgressions that caused a person to suffer guilt.
Given the benign character of the early Christian church, it did not need a harsh code of ethics. The severest punishment a person could suffer in most Christian sects at that time was excommunication, i.e., being kicked out. That was considered a very severe punishment, however (equivalent to our modern death penalty), because an individual was considered doomed to eternal spiritual deterioration if he or she was excommunicated. A priest was obliged to do everything he could to appeal to a person's reason before excommunicating him. The primary cause for excommunication was criminal or grossly immoral behavior.
For about the first three hundred years of its existence, Christianity remained an unofficial religion and was often persecuted. A number of political leaders eventually became converts and, under them, Christianity began to change. The humanitarian foundation created by Jesus eroded as Christianity became more political.
The political transformation of Christianity got its first big push in the West Roman Empire with the Christian conversion of its ruler, Constantine I the Great.* A number of historians believe that Constantine was already leaning in the direction of becoming a Christian because his father was a monotheist. Contemporaries of Constantine have noted, however, that Constantine's true conversion came as the result of a reported vision he had in 312 A.D. Several different accounts have been recorded of that vision. According to Socrates, who wrote about it in the fifth century A.D.: . . . * In the late 3rd century A.D., Roman emperor Diocletian appointed three additional Caesars (emperors) to help him govern the Roman empire. The empire was split into eastern and western divisions for administrative convenience, each with a separate emperor. From 324 to 337 A.D., however, Constantine ruled both the East and West Roman Empire as sole emperor.
as he was marching at the head of his troops, a preternatural vision transcending all description
* In the late 3rd century A.D., Roman emperor Diocletian appointed three additional Caesars (emperors) to help him govern the Roman empire. The empire was split into eastern and western divisions for administrative convenience, each with a separate emperor. From 324 to 337 A.D., however, Constantine ruled both the East and West Roman Empire as sole emperor.
appeared to him. In fact, at about that time of the day when the sun, having passed the meridian, began to decline towards the West, he saw a pillar of light in the form of a cross on which was inscribed "in this conquer." The appearance of the sign struck him with amazement, and doubting his own eyes, he asked those around him if they could see what he did, and, as they unanimously declared that they could, the emperor's mind was strengthened by this divine and miraculous apparition. On the following night, while he slept, he saw Christ, who directed him to make a standard [flag] according to the pattern he had been shown, and to use it against his enemies as a guarantee of victory. Obedient to the divine command, he had a standard made in the form of a cross, which is preserved in the palace until this day.. . . 1
The truth of Constantine's vision is disputed by those who would attribute it to mere legend-making. Others might view the aerial cross as an unusual reflection of the setting sun, followed by a dream. Some theorists might even argue that it was another manifestation of the UFO phenomenon with its continuing links to apocalyptic religion. Whatever the truth of the story is, Constantine's purported vision of a bright light in the sky followed by the appearance of "Jesus" the next night is stated to be the event which pushed Constantine into the arms of apocalyptic Christianity. He issued the famous "Edict of Milan" one year later. The Edict officially granted tolerance to the Christian religion within the Roman Empire, ending almost three centuries of Roman persecution.
Constantine was responsible for other significant changes to Christianity. It was he who convened, and often attended, the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. At that time, many Christians, such as the Gnostics, strongly resisted efforts by Constantine and others to deify Jesus. The Gnostics simply saw Jesus as an honest spiritual teacher. The Nicene Council met in large part to put an end to such resistance and to create a divine image of Jesus. With this purpose in mind, the Council created the famous Nicene Creed which made belief in Jesus as "the Son of God" a cornerstone of Christian faith. To enforce these often unpopular tenets, Constantine put the power of the state at the disposal of the newly "Romanized" Christian church.
Constantine's reign was notable for another achievement. It marked the beginning of the European Middle Ages. Constantine is credited with laying the foundation for medieval serfdom and feudalism. As in the Hindu caste system, Constantine made most occupations hereditary. He decreed that the "coloni" (a class of tenant fanners) were to be permanently attached to the soil on which they lived. Constantine's "Romanized" Christianity (which came to be known as Roman Catholicism) and his oppressive feudalism caused Christianity to move sharply away from the surviving maverick teachings of Jesus into a nearly complete Custodial system.
As time progressed and official changes to Christian doctrine continued to be made, two new crimes emerged: "heresy" (speaking out against established dogma) and "paganism" (not adhering to Christianity at all). In the earliest days of the Church, Christian leaders felt that people could only be made Christians by appealing to their reason, and that no one could be, or should be, forced. After Constantine, leaders of the new Roman orthodoxies took an entirely different view. They demanded obedience as a matter of law, and belief on the basis of faith alone rather than reason. With those changes came new punishments. No longer was excommunication the severest penalty of the Church, although it was still practiced. Physical and economic sanctions were also applied. Many devoted Christians became victimized by the new laws when they would not agree to the new Roman orthodoxies. Those victims correctly saw that the Church was moving away from Jesus's true teachings.
The new Christian teachings were given a great boost at the end of the fourth century A.D. by East Roman Emperor Theodosius I. Theodosius issued at least eighteen laws aimed at punishing those people who rejected the doctrines established by the Nicene Council. He made Christianity the official state religion and closed down many pagan temples by force. He ordered Christian armies to burn down the famous Alexandrian Library, which was a world book depository and center of learning. The Alexandrian Library contained priceless historical, scientific, and literary records from all over the world gathered over a period of seven hundred years. Although some of the library had already been ravaged by earlier wars, the destruction by Theodosius's army obliterated what remained. Because most of the documents were one of-a-kind, a great deal of recorded history and learning was lost.
Matters continued to worsen. By the middle of the sixth century A.D., the death penalty came into use against heretics and pagans. A campaign of genocide was ordered by East Roman emperor, Justinian, to more quickly establish the Christian orthodox. In Byzantine alone, an estimated 100,000 people were murdered. Under Justinian, the hunting of heretics became a frequent activity and the practice of burning heretics at the stake began.
Justinian also introduced more changes to Christian doctrine. He convened the Second Synod of Constantinople in 553 A.D. The Synod was neither attended nor, apparently, sanctioned by the Pope in Rome. At that time, in fact, many of the changes to Christian doctrine in the eastern Roman empire had not yet reached the Papacy, although they eventually would. The Second Synod issued a decree banning the doctrine of "past lifetimes," or "reincarnation," even though the doctrine was an important one to Jesus. The Synod decreed:
If anyone assert the fabulous pre-existence of souls and shall submit to the monstrous doctrine that follows from it, let him be anathema [excommunicated].2
In deference to that decree, all but very veiled references to "pre-existence" were taken out of the Bible. Belief in preexistence was declared heresy. This suppression was enforced throughout the western Christian world and in its sciences. The idea of personal pre-existence still remains, to a very large degree, a Western religious and scientific heresy.
Christianity was shaped into a powerful institution under the East Roman emperors. True to the pattern of history, "Romanized" Christianity was another Brotherhood faction that could be counted on to do battle with other Brotherhood factions, thereby helping to generate nonstop warfare between human beings. The new orthodox Christianity was placed in opposition to all other religions, including the East Roman Mystery Schools, which Justinian banned.
We have just observed a snowballing of historical events triggered by Constantine's vision. This period marked one of mankind's "End of the World" episodes, highlighted by religious "visions," cataclysmic genocides, and the creation of a new world social order promising, but not delivering, Utopia. Another important "End of the World" element was also present. A massive plague struck, accompanied by reports of unusual aerial phenomena.
Between 540 A.D. and 592 A.D., when Justinian was carrying out his Christian "reforms," a bubonic plague engulfed the East Roman Empire and spread to Europe. The epidemic began inside Justinian's realm, and so it was named "Justinian's Plague." Justinian's Plague was one of the most devastating plagues of history and many people at the time believed it to be a punishment from God. In fact, the word "plague" comes from the Latin word for "blow" or "wound." Plague has been nicknamed "God's Disease," i.e., a blow or wound from God.
One reason people thought plague to be from God was the frequent appearance of unusual aerial phenomena in conjunction with outbreaks of the plague. One chronicler of Justinian's Plague was the famous historian, Gregory of Tours, who documented a number of unusual events from the plague years. Gregory reports that just before Justinian's Plague invaded the Auvergne region of France in 567 A.D., three or four brilliant lights appeared around the sun and the heavens appeared to be on fire. This may have been a natural "sun dog" effect; however, other unusual celestial phenomena were also seen in the area. Another historian reported a similar event twenty-three years later in another part of France: Avignon. "Strange sights" were reported in the sky and the ground was sometimes as brightly illuminated at night as in the day. Shortly thereafter, a disastrous outbreak of the plague occurred there. Gregory reported a sighting in Rome consisting of an immense "dragon" which floated through the city and down to the sea, followed by a severe outbreak of the plague immediately thereafter.
Such reports chillingly suggest the unthinkable: that Justinian's Plague was caused by biological warfare agents spread by Custodial aircraft. It would be a repetition of similar plagues reported in the Bible and ancient Mesopotamian texts. By the time of Justinian's Plague, however, the Custodians were "invisible." They were hidden behind Brotherhood secrecy and veils of religious myth, yet they were apparently no less concerned about keeping their slave race oppressed. We will see a great deal more evidence of UFO activity associated with plagues in the upcoming chapter on the Black Death.
According to apocalyptic prophecy, an event like Justinian's Plague is supposed to herald the coming of a new "Messiah" or messenger from "God." Sure enough, such a figure did arrive. His name was Mohammed. He was born during Justinian's reign at a time when the Plague was still raging. Proclaimed in adulthood as the new "saviour," Mohammed became the leader of a new monotheistic apocalyptic religion: Islam. Like Moses and Jesus before him, Mohammed appears to have been a sincere man, but his new religion nevertheless became a faction which created new religious "issues" for people to endlessly fight over. Like Moses and Jesus, Mohammed was supported by the corrupted Brotherhood.
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Mohammed
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