AUTHENTIC
CHRISTIANITY
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But become makers of the message -
and not just hearers misleading yourselves For if anyone is a hearer of the
message and not a maker he is like a man assessing the face of his 'Genesis'
in a mirror [Jm.1:22-23] |
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website to be of some interest then you may also like to read:
Why Call Me God? : The Gospel Seen with a Single
Eye
published by
Capabel Press in September 2009.
The book
explains the ancient 'mystery' concealed behind the text of the gospels at
the time they were first composed.
The riddles of
Greek scripture are soon unravelled to expose the devastating plot which
must have been familiar to the Gnostic authors.
Analysis then
shows that the deeply challenging message of the gospels is not what the
Christian churches say. It is something very different
and now
explained in this groundbreaking book.
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Chapter 15 : A Stone for
Stumbling ?
Copyright
Notice
As the basis for my work I have used the
Nestlé-Aland 26th Edition Greek text. Copyright on this is reserved as
follows :
..... Novum Testamentum Graece, Nestlé-Aland 26th edition
(c)1979, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, Stuttgart;
..... The Greek New
Testament, 3rd edition (c) 1975, United Bible Societies, London
This is the
Greek text underlying most modern English translations since 1881, including
the New American Standard and New International Versions. Certain words within
the Nestlé text proper are enclosed in square brackets [ ] or double
brackets [[ ]]. These reflect those places where the critical text editors
consider the inclusion or omission of such text to be in question.
This
text is only available for NON-COMMERCIAL personal/scholarly and educational
use.
I have also used the CATSS LXX editions of the Septuagint Old Testament
prepared by the TLG (Thesaurus Linguae Graecae) Project directed by T. Brunner
at the University of California, Irvine and made available through the Center
for Computer Analysis of Texts (CCAT) at the University of Pennsylvania 'for
the use of students, teachers and scholars in study and education
contexts'.
This text is only available for NON-COMMERCIAL
personal/scholarly and educational use.
Unless otherwise noted, the remainder of what is presented in this
document is my original work. Copyright on this is reserved as follows
:
..... Authentic Christianity, 4th edition : (c) 2004, Target Technical,
York, UK
All rights are reserved - except that this text is made
available without charge for NON-COMMERCIAL personal/scholarly and educational
use.
15.1
Introduction
For anyone who hopes to penetrate the
'mysteries' of Judaeo-Christian scripture, the evidence considered in this
chapter may prove to be of interest. Scripture is fiction - but no picnic. Its
themes can be hard to follow - and for some the ultimate conclusions may come
as little short of startling.
In the gospels we hear of a 'Father', mysterious, unseen. Much hinges
upon the identity of this person - but who exactly is it ? Properly
addressed, this question resolves itself into two. First, who do the authors
expect that a hasty reader may suppose it to be ? Second, who do
the authors themselves hold it to be ? The answers here may differ, for
those who configure a 'mystery' do not seek to shield their readers from the
challenge they construct. It is their whole purpose that the reader should be
exposed to it.
Then we hear of numerous 'spirits'. Some are 'holy', others 'unclean' -
and some may qualify on both counts. We hear of stones, of tables and of bread
- of serpents and of Satan. And Jesus himself is portrayed as 'son of god',
also 'son of man'. Actually in Greek the latter is 'o uioV tou anqrwpou' ( 'the son of the
Person' ), an enigmatic title if ever there was one [ but prob.
alludes to the 'Person' of Gn.1:26 seq ].
Scripture is about 'knowing knowledge of good and evil '
[Gn.2:9, 2:17, 3:5, 3:22]. It relies upon the theme (established in ancient
philosophy) that invariably evil will encompass the careless, overwhelming
them, all unwitting. For these persons it may be that what they think to be
good is not good at all, but merely evil which masquerades as good [see
2Cor.11:14] - and has them completely surrounded
[see Lk.19:42-44, 21:20]. The scriptural authors clearly perceive that
it is through confusion, through deception, even by impersonation, that mankind
may be outwitted. As for the psychology of religion, they are experts. Like
examiners today, they seek to expose the weakness of a candidate. They
recognise evil to be stunningly crafty and write accordingly, allowing it free
rein in their texts.
At Gn.4:2 we are introduced to Cain and Abel. "And it happened that
Abel was a herdsman of flocks, but Cain was working the earth".
Later Cain meets his brother Abel 'in the plain' - and he kills him
[Gn.4:8]. Conceptually this 'plain' may represent what (in our age) we
might call 'a level playing field'. And with its being level, it is evil
which 'wins the day' [ref: Gn.4:14-15]. For this is the
'day of the lord' [see 1Th.5:2] -
and we find that Abel, the true 'good shepherd', is done away with,
shortly to be replaced by Seth whose name may suggest that he is 'the
appointed one' [Gn.4:25].
And 'appointed' Seth may be, but he is no herdsman. For Eve says
"God has appointed me another seed instead of Abel, for Cain slew
him" [MT Gn.4:25]. The Hebrew word used here for 'another' implies a
difference from Abel, not mere substitution. Then the word 'seed' (used
earlier at Gn.1:11-12, 1:29, 3:15) is intrinsically an 'earthy' one (see
Gn.13:16). Its use here points to Seth being a 'worker of the
earth', another alike to Cain. Then we notice that Seth's son, Enos,
also takes after Cain : for 'he expected to call upon the name of the
lord god' [Gn.4:26].
Do you see the pattern ? That which is good is extinguished ... to
be replaced by what is 'appointed'. The substitute, selected, appointed
... overlays the good foundation beneath. Thus the 'lord
god' takes the place of 'God' - and Seth takes the place of Abel.
One of the few superlatives in scripture is used of that token of evil,
'ofin', the serpent, the one we
encounter by the fruit tree. At Gn.3:4 this fount of all
deception says to the woman 'ou qanatw
apoqaneisqe ...' ( "By death you shall not die ..." ). But
notice the prior description of this one as 'fronimwtatoV pantwn twn qhriwn' ( most
sagacious of all the beasts ) [Gn.3:1]. These authors surely hope for
their readers to learn from what they have written - and what they may learn is
how to prevail# over evil. Death indeed spares no man.
Then this is the counterpart of the same scriptural theme. For evil to
be overcome, a substantial effort will be required - both intellectual and
spiritual. Before you get to know the truth, you must first want to know
it. And even then it does not come easy. You will need courage, and you must
work at it - the more so if you lack a sound teacher. For scripture is
manifestly confusing and it is filled with temptations, the promise of
eternal life being just one. There is a traditional saying amongst religious
Jews :
- As for the evil one, drag him to
the house of studies.
- If he is stone, melt him. If he
is iron, shatter him.
So the challenge presented to the reader is this. Are you able to
prevail# against the onslaught of deception which these
ancient texts thrust in your path ? Obscurity is merely a sign of this
embedded challenge, a feature fully deliberate on the part of the authors. Then
who can understand the plot ? Like any good puzzle, to work it out demands
care, meticulous care. Notice that Cain is admonished for his failure rightly
to discriminate [Gn.4:7]. For in giving his allegiance to the wrong god,
he has made a colossal mistake. What is evil looks to evil - but Abel (who is
good) looks to God.
And lest anyone should doubt that what we encounter is obscurity,
deliberately configured, that the texts of scripture are designed and
executed to test the reasoning and the discrimination of the reader in
the matter of dividing good from evil, let me reproduce (again) the opinion of
Augustine of Hippo as he set it down in Latin some 1600 years ago [ 'De
Doctrina Christiana, 2:6:7; 4:8:22 ] :
Book 2 : Chap. 6. Use of the Obscurities in
Scripture which arise from its figurative language
7. Sed multis et multiplicibus obscuritatibus et
ambiguitatibus decipiuntur, qui temere legunt, aliud pro alio sentientes,
quibusdam autem locis, quid uel falso suspicentur, non inueniunt : ita obscure
dicta quaedam densissimam caliginem obducunt. Quod totum prouisum esse
diuinitus non dubito ad edomandam labore superbiam et intellectum a fastidio
reuocandum, cui facile inuestigata plerumque uilescunt.
But hasty or careless readers are caught out by the many
and manifold obscurities and ambiguities, substituting one meaning for another
- and in some places (which for instance may be suspected to be false) they
cannot hit upon even a fair interpretation. Some of the expressions are so
obscure as to shroud the meaning in the thickest darkness. And I do not doubt
that all this was divinely arranged for the purpose of subduing pride by toil -
and for preventing a feeling of squeamishness in the intellect (which does
generally hold in small esteem what is discovered without difficulty).
Book 4 : Chap. 8. The obscurity of the sacred
writers, though compatible with eloquence, not to be imitated by Christian
teachers
22. Sed nos etsi de litteris eorum, quae sine
difficultate intelleguntur, nonnulla sumimus elocutionis exempla, nequaquam
tamen putare debemus imitandos nobis eos esse in his, quae ad exercendas et
elimandas quodammodo mentes legentium et ad rumpenda fastidia atque acuenda
studia discere uolentium, celandos quoque, siue ut ad pietatem conuertantur ,
siue ut a mysteriis secludantur, animos impiorum, utili ac salubri obscuritate
dixerunt.
Sic quippe illi locuti sunt, ut posteriores, qui eos recte
intellegerent et exponerent, alteram gratiam, disparem quidem, uerum tamen
subsequentem in dei ecclesia reperirent. Non ergo expositores eorum ita loqui
debent, tamquam se ipsi exponendos simili auctoritate proponant, sed in omnibus
sermonibus suis primitus ac maxime ut intellegantur elaborent et, quantum
possunt perspicuitate dicendi, ut aut multum tardus sit, qui non intellegit,
aut in rerum, quas explicare atque ostendere uolumus, difficultate ac
subtilitate, non in nostra locutione sit causa, qua minus tardiusue quod
dicimus possit intellegi.
But although I take some examples of eloquence from those
writings of theirs which there is no difficulty in understanding, we are not by
any means to suppose that it is our duty to imitate them in those passages
where, with a view to exercise and to train the minds of their readers, and to
break down the squeamishness and stimulate the zeal of those who are willing to
learn, whilst also keeping in ignorance the minds of the impious that either
they may be converted to piety or shut out from a knowledge of the mysteries,
from one or other of these reasons they have expressed themselves with a useful
and wholesome obscurity.
They have indeed expressed themselves in such a
way that those who in after ages understood and explained them aright ...
(etc). The expositors of these writers, then, ought not to express themselves
in the same way, as if putting forward their expositions as of the same
authority; but they ought in all their deliverances to make it their first and
chief aim to be understood, using as far as possible such clearness of speech
that either he will be very dull who does not understand them, or that if what
they say should not be very easily or quickly understood, the reason will lie
not in their manner of expression, but in the difficulty and subtlety of the
matter they are trying to explain.
|
Then here is a similar opinion set down in English almost 1500 years
later. It is from the pen of a clergyman in New York - published in the
'Tribune' late in the 19th century :
taken from: J Ralston Skinner, 'Key to the
Hebrew-Egyptian Mystery' : App. VII, p.304
A second difficulty is akin to the first, and can be easily
compared with it. It is the obscurity of the text. It does not appear to
contradict itself, but its very meaning is a puzzle. The ordinary reader sees
only a chaos, and either looks over the passage until he finds some plain words
to satisfy him, or he performs the dangerous task of guessing where he has no
data, and so makes the Scripture to speak falsely. To overcome this difficulty
we need all the appliances which are requisite in reading the alleged
discrepancies of the Word, and these are to be used in an intenser degree.
History and geography must be ransacked and arranged in the mind; the oriental
habits and styles of thought must be familiarized; bigotry and narrowness must
be abandoned for a broad view of the race and a generous sympathy for human
development everywhere. Especially are the two languages of scripture to be
carefully studied - the sterility of Hebrew, whose obscurity lies in its
poverty, and the flexible and beautiful Greek, whose obscurity lies in its
richness.
|
- Matthew :
- 40N 7 13 eiselqate dia thV stenhV
pulhV oti plateia h pulh kai eurucwroV h odoV h apagousa eiV thn apwleian kai
polloi eisin oi eisercomenoi di authV
- 40N 7 13 Enter in through the narrow gate. For broad (is) the gate,
and spacious the way which leads to destruction - and many are those
entering in through it.
- 40N 7 14 ti stenh h pulh kai
teqlimmenh h odoV h apagousa eiV thn zwhn kai oligoi eisin oi euriskonteV
authn
- 40N 7 14 How narrow the gate and restricted the way which leads to
life - and few are those finding it !
Notice that this 'narrow way' is not said to lead to
'eternal life' - but merely to 'life'. |
- 40N 7 15 prosecete apo twn
yeudoprofhtwn oitineV ercontai proV umaV en endumasin probatwn eswqen de eisin
lukoi arpageV
- 40N 7 15 Beware of the false prophets, those who come to you in
sheep's clothing - but inwardly are rapacious wolves.
The scriptural authors must have expected that the 'obscurity' with
which they wrote would have this result : that many, failing to resolve
the sinister 'mystery' enshrined in their texts, would live out their lives
upon this 'spacious way that leads to destruction'. Never would these
persons realise the solution to the 'mystery', never explain it to their
children. I myself was indoctrinated from childhood in the tradition of the
Roman Catholic church. Yes, it almost happened to me.
For with the forceful extinction of the gnostic tradition in the world
of Roman influence, the 'narrow way' was all but deleted for those who lived
after the 3rd century CE. Now, for the vast majority, the truth was
inaccessible. Then how fortunate that the primary texts of scripture were
preserved, riddles and all, in Hebrew and in Greek - right into the 21st
century. Thus it would still be possible to prise them open. By "putting out
into the deep ... things of Satan" [Lk.5:4 ... Rv.2:24], this ancient 'mystery'
could still be resolved - by any person sufficiently diligent, yet not
(as Augustine hints) too 'squeamish'.
----- o -----
- John :
- 43N 1 10 en tw kosmw hn kai o
kosmoV di autou egeneto kai o kosmoV auton ouk egnw
- 43N 1 10 He was in the world and the world happened through him - and
the world did not know him.
Yes, this 'genuine light' is the one which dazzles the
world. As a result its true identity is not widely known, nor
that of the 'Father'. And how many have been led astray - over all the
centuries. |
- Is.6:9; Mt.13:14; Ac.28:26 :
- poreuqhti kai eipon tw law toutw
akoh akousete kai ou mh sunhte kai bleponteV bleyete kai ou mh
idhte
- Go and say to this people : "With hearing, you will hear, but
not understand. And seeing, you will see, but not
perceive".
Not only dazzled, but hard of hearing as well. Could the proper
rôle of the scriptural author be stated more clearly ? This is to be
a wholesale puzzle, a deceptive 'mystery'. Intended as a major challenge to the
reader, it is destined to lead many astray. |
Then setting aside all presumption, let us begin again from the outset.
Let us 'start over'. And this time let us read carefully, watching out
for anything which could be the cause for our stumbling. Are you with me so far ?
15.2 Why did your Face
Fall ?
The book of Isaiah deals extensively with a
character identified as 'lord Sabaoth' - whose directions to the prophet we
have just heard (click to review). The full title appears
62 times in the Masoretic (Hebrew) text of this book - and 53 times in the LXX
Greek (where the remaining references are abbreviated as 'lord').
- In Hebrew he is
( YHWH SBAHTh ), the name Sabaoth arguably invoking the verb
( I glorify ), as also the noun
( Sabbath {7} ).
This is the title for one of the seven archons in the gnostic
'Hebdomad', the group of secondary 'gods' identified in the various traditions
of Gnosticism. In the extra-canonical 'Apocryphon of John' this archon is said
to have the face of a dragon (other evidence suggests that of a snake). Either
way, the tradition identified at Rv.12:9 then gives him a decidedly sinister
provenance (see also discussion at
Chapter 5.4).
But it is important to notice what is said about him as the plot
thickens at Is.8:14. Here the LXX Greek text differs substantially from the
Hebrew, a feature of interest because it yields two perspectives on the same
theme. The Hebrew text presents its warning in an unconditional format :
- JPS 1917 Edition Masoretic Text : (c) 2003 Mechon Mamre :
Is.8:14
- 23O 8 14 And he shall be for a holy one - but for a
stumbling stone and for a
rock to trip upon ...
The LXX (Greek) was authoritative for the later
Greek-speaking world (gospel authors included). Here the same verse is
expressed using a conditional clause :
- 23O 8 14 kai ean
ep' autw pepoiqwV
hs estai soi eiV agiasma kai ouc wV liqou
proskommati sunanthsesqe autw oude wV petras
ptwmati ...
- 23O 8 14 And if you should have been persuaded about
him, he shall be to you for a holiness - and (then) you will not
encounter him as a stone for stumbling, nor
as a rock for falling ...
The Hebrew text indicates that this is indeed 'a holy one' -
but a major hazard besides. Then the Greek variant allows for two classes of
reader. The first embraces those 'persuaded about him' : a hazard he may
be, but these are the ones who do not encounter him as such. Then have
they been deceived in some way ? The most efficacious trap is that which
the quarry cannot resist - and fails altogether to recognise.
A second class (those 'not persuaded') includes those who do pay
attention to the numerous warnings embedded in scripture. They can solve the
riddles. Then they are aware of the trap - which now poses no risk to them.
To grasp the significance of this 'stone'
we need to read widely and with some care - for here we have a dispersed
riddle, developing through the successive texts of scripture. Let us begin with
Isaiah, then move on to some other passages which appear to be linked :
LXX Isaiah :
- 23O 8 12 mhpote eiphte sklhron
pan gar o ean eiph o laoV outoV sklhron estin ton de fobon autou ou mh fobhqhte
oude mh taracqhte
- 23O 8 12 Lest perhaps you should say "Hard !", for each one what
if you say "This people is hard !". But (as for) its fear, do not be
afraid - nor be disturbed.
- 23O 8 13 kurion auton agiasate
kai autoV estai sou foboV
- 23O 8 13 (The) lord [Hebr: YHWH
Sabaoth], make him holy, then he shall be your fear
- 23O 8 14 kai ean
ep' autw pepoiqwV
hV estai soi eiV agiasma kai ouc wV liqou
proskommati sunanthsesqe autw oude wV petras
ptwmati o de oikoV iakwb en pagidi kai en koilasmati egkaqhmenoi en
ierousalhm
- 23O 8 14 And, if you should have been persuaded about
him, he shall be to you for a holiness - and (then) you will not
encounter him as a stone for stumbling, nor
as a rock for falling. But the house (of)
Jacob (is) in a snare - and (stuck ?) in a cavity**, those
seated in Jerusalem
- 23O 8 15 dia
touto adunathsousin en autoiV polloi kai pesountai kai suntribhsontai
kai eggiousin kai alwsontai anqrwpoi en asfaleia onteV
- 23O 8 15 Through this, many shall become weak in themselves -
and they shall fall. They shall be crushed together and shall get near and
shall go astray, persons existing in safety !
- 23O 8 16 tote faneroi esontai oi
sfragizomenoi ton nomon tou mh maqein
- 23O 8 16 Then they shall be evident - those sealing the law for (it)
not to be understood
- 23O 8 17 kai erei menw ton qeon
ton apostreyanta to proswpon autou apo tou oikou iakwb kai pepoiqwV
esomai ep' autw
- 23O 8 17 And you shall say "I remain for the god who turns away his
face from the house of Jacob - and I shall be persuaded about
him".
- .....
- 23O 28 16 dia touto outwV legei
kurioV idou egw embalw eiV ta qemelia siwn liqon
polutelh eklekton akrogwniaion entimon eiV ta qemelia authV kai o pisteuwn
ep' autw ou mh
kataiscunqh
- 23O 28 16 Through this, thus says (the) lord : "Look, I shall toss
into the foundations (of) Zion a luxurious stone, a selected top corner, honourable in its
foundations. And the one believing in this (matter) was certainly not
prevailed over# ".
The scriptural authors write with great care. A corresponding care
should benefit their readers. This top cornerstone is described as 'luxurious'. An
elect stone of this kind may overlay (and
so conceal) older foundations of a different kind. Notice how it is described -
as 'honourable in its foundations', not as 'honourable in its own
right'.
Indeed this stone is declared
to be the cause for many to 'become weak', to fall, to go astray
...
The many who will go astray are the ones for whom
'the law has been sealed for it not to be understood'. Then, if
we are not to be badly misled, it is imperative that we discover how to break
open this 'seal upon the law'.
Remember too what Simeon says of the Christ child : "Look, this one is found for (the)
fall and resurrection of many in Israel - and for a contradictory
sign" [Lk.2:34].
An exhibitionist god, taking the rôle of impostor, may
overlay (and so conceal) the prime God beneath. |
LXX Genesis :
When Cain first appears on the scene we are told 'he was
working the earth' [Gn.4:2]. But in later scripture we are
clearly informed 'his works were evil' [1Jn.3:12].
The Anglican church tradition of 'Harvest Festival' seems to have
its origins within the Romantic movement of the 19th century. But, as with the
eucharist itself, this rite is surely maintained in error by persons suffering
the giddy confusion which so often settles upon a reader who has yet to
penetrate the 'mystery ', who has yet to break the
'seal '. Of them it may still be said : "They had
not understood about the breads" [Mk.6:52]. But all they need to do is to
read carefully - and to reason things out.
In the convention of scripture 'working/eating the earth' is the
rôle assigned to the worm [Gn.3:14], the mythical creature equated with
Satan [Rv.12:9]. When Adam too is cursed the same rôle is assigned to him
[Gn.3:17-19, 3:23]. So we may ask whether Cain 'inherits' his occupation from
the serpent - or from Adam ? Which of these is to be understood as the
'Father' ?
Probably the two are equivalent. In practice it makes no
difference. Once he succumbs to the serpent's trick, it becomes impossible to
distinguish Adam from the serpent. Either way, Cain inherits this earthy trait,
the same exhibited in turn by Noe [Gn.9:20-21], by Melchizedek when he brings
'bread and wine' [Gn.14:18] - and by Jesus in the gospels [eg. Mk.6:41,
8:6, 14:22-25].
Now at LXX Gn.4:7 Cain is informed that he has made a
mistake - a mistake in connection with his sacrifice. This
'sacrifice' is an offering 'from the fruits of the
earth [Gn.4:3] to which 'God (sic) ... paid no attention'
[Gn.4:4-5]. But what is the nature of Cain's mistake ? Is he unable to
distinguish between God and the 'lord god', the rock over whom he stumbles - and as a result he brings
the wrong kind of offering ?
Is it not when a person stumbles, when he trips his foot upon a
stone, that he 'falls upon his
face' ?
Then let us pay close attention to the story ... |
- 01O 4 3 kai egeneto
meq' hmeraV hnegken kain apo
twn karpwn thV ghV qusian tw kuriw
- 01O 4 3 And it happened with (the) days that Cain brought from
the fruits of the earth a sacrifice for the lord.
- 01O 4 4 kai abel hnegken kai
autoV apo twn prwtotokwn twn probatwn autou kai apo twn steatwn autwn kai
epeiden o qeoV epi abel kai epi toiV dwroiV autou
- 01O 4 4 And Abel brought both he from the firstborn of his flock -
and from their fats [Hebr: dairy/milk]. And God (sic) looked upon
Abel and upon his gifts
- 01O 4 5 epi de kain kai epi taiV
qusiaiV autou ou prosescen kai eluphsen ton kain lian kai sunepesen tw
proswpw
- 01O 4 5 (but) upon Cain and upon his sacrifices he did not pay
attention. And it grieved Cain very much - and he fell to the face
- 01O 4 6 kai eipen kurioV o
qeoV tw kain ina ti perilupoV egenou kai ina ti sunepesen to
proswpon sou
- 01O 4 6 And the lord god said to Cain "Why did you become
sorrowful ? And why did your face fall ?
Why did you become sorrowful ? And why did your
face fall ? These questions echo through all subsequent scripture.
Cain has stumbled - he has stumbled badly. But he is blind to his
mistake. His attentions are directed to the 'lord god'. For him, this god
manifests all the attributes of God. But when he brings his 'sacrifice',
'fruits of the earth', there is no response from God. What could be
wrong ? He has no idea, none whatever.
Turning to the gospels, at the Passover meal it is now
Jesus who breaks bread and offers wine. Yes, these are 'fruits of the
earth'. Shortly it is Jesus who becomes 'perilupoV' (sorrowful) [Mt.26:38; Mk.14:34]. And in the
very next verse it is Jesus who 'falls upon his face' [Mt.26:39]
- or [Mk.14:35] he 'falls upon the earth'.
Thus Jesus and Cain act alike. Each brings 'from the fruits of
the earth', each becomes 'sorrowful', each then 'falls upon his
face'. Could it be that Jesus too has 'tripped upon the
stumbling-stone', falling to his face as he
prays to the mysterious 'Father' [Mt.26:39,42;
Mk.14:36] ?
Cain responds with jealousy. 'Resurrected' upon his more
favoured brother, he promptly kills him. For Cain was the first-born [Gn.4:1].
He does not expect to be ignored by God. But he has failed to grasp the nature
of his own mistake.
Jesus too responds with 'resurrection'. Like Cain, he is
'o prwtotokos' (the first-born)
[eg. Lk.2:7]. And, thinking back, we realise that before the 'public
life' of Jesus gets under way, John the Baptist is the one eliminated
(like Abel before him) - this time at the hands of a 'king' who (again) is said
to be 'perilupoV'
(sorrowful) [Mk.6:26]. Prior to this John has struggled to identify Jesus in
public - but in the text of the gospels he expresses himself only in riddles.
Then his imprisonment and death serve to prevent him from making any more
explicit identification. This frees Jesus to proceed with his
'works'.
As with Abel and Cain, John and Jesus are opposites. That which is
good is extinguished ... to be replaced by what is 'appointed'. The
parallels here are surely striking, hardly adventitious. These gospel authors
are following a plot which has been very well defined beforehand.
It is the plot set out in Genesis - with Jesus taking the part of
Cain. |
- 01O 4 7 ouk ean orqwV prosenegkhV
orqwV de mh dielhV hmarteV hsucason proV se h apostrofh autou kai su
arxeiV autou
- 01O 4 7 Did you not make a mistake [alt: did you not sin] - if
you were bringing (your sacrifices) rightly but not
distinguishing [alt: dividing, punctuating] rightly ? Wait
quietly (until) towards you (is) his aversion [ie. until he turns away
from you] - and (then) you shall take first place over him."
- 01O 4 8 kai eipen kain proV abel
ton adelfon autou dielqwmen eiV to pedion kai egeneto en tw einai autouV en tw
pediw kai anesth kain epi abel ton adelfon autou kai apekteinen
auton
- 01O 4 8 And Cain said to Abel, his brother "Let us go into the
plain". And it happened with their being in the plain - and Cain (was)
resurrected upon Abel, his brother, and he killed him.
Yes, Cain has made a mistake. He has failed to
distinguish - to distinguish between God and
'the lord god', between 'milk, butter & honey'
and 'bread, wine & figs', between the tokens of
good and the tokens of evil.
For the slaughter of his brother he is now cursed again. What he
says in response evokes accurately the predicament of Jesus (as set out in the
gospels). Look at Pilate's comment at Lk.23:4,14; Jn.19:4,6; Ac.13:28 .
Here Pilate is depicted as knowing who Jesus is, as grasping the
futility of having him killed (for he is a god). All the same Jesus is killed,
lynched by those whose problem remains that they have failed entirely to
recognise who he is - for they have missed the signs [Gn.4:15].
Cain's prediction applies to Jesus : 'Each one finding me shall
kill me' - for 'I shall be hidden from your face'. |
- 01O 4 13 kai eipen kain proV
ton kurion meizwn h aitia mou tou afeqhnai me
- 01O 4 13 And Cain said to the lord "My accusation (is) greater
than (will allow) my acquittal
- 01O 4 14 ei ekballeiV me
shmeron apo proswpou thV ghV kai apo tou
proswpou sou krubhsomai kai esomai stenwn kai tremwn epi thV ghV kai estai
paV o euriskwn me apoktenei me
- 01O 4 14 If you throw me out today from
(the) face of the earth, I shall be hidden also from your face. And I
shall be contracting [alt: sighing] and shivering upon the earth - and
it shall be that each one finding me shall kill me".
LXX Exodus (the 'lord' speaks to Moses) :
- 02O 33 20 kai eipen ou dunhsh
idein mou to proswpon ou gar mh idh anqrwpoV to proswpon mou kai
zhsetai
- 02O 33 20 And he said "You will not be able to see my face - for a
person may not see my face and live".
- 02O 33 21 kai eipen kurioV idou
topoV par' emoi sthsh epi thV
petraV
- 02O 33 21 And (the) lord said "Look, (there is) a place by me : you
shall stand upon the rock.
- 02O 33 22 hnika d' an
parelqh mou h doxa kai qhsw se eiV ophn thV petraV
kai skepasw th ceiri mou epi se ewV an parelqw
- 02O 33 22 Whenever my glory goes by then I shall place you in a
cavity** of the rock - and shall
cover you over with my hand until I go by
- 02O 33 23 kai afelw thn ceira kai
tote oyh ta opisw mou to de proswpon mou
ouk ofqhsetai soi
- 02O 33 23 And I shall take away the hand - and then you shall see the
things behind me. But my face shall not be revealed to you".
Romans :
- 45N 9 31 israhl de diwkwn nomon
dikaiosunhV eiV nomon ouk efqasen
- 45N 9 31 But Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive
at a law
- 45N 9 32 dia ti oti ouk ek
pistewV all wV ex ergwn prosekoyan tw liqw tou
proskommatoV
- 45N 9 32 Why ? Because, not from faith but as from works, they
stumbled over the stone of stumbling
- 45N 9 33 kaqwV gegraptai idou
tiqhmi en siwn liqon proskommatoV kai
petran skandalou kai o pisteuwn ep autw ou
kataiscunqhsetai
- 45N 9 33 Just as it has been written "Look, I place in Zion a
stone of stumbling and a
rock of scandal. And the one
believing in this (matter) will not be prevailed
over# ".
- .....
- 45N 11 7 ti oun o epizhtei israhl
touto ouk epetucen h de eklogh epetucen oi de loipoi epwrwqhsan
- 45N 11 7 What then ? That which Israel sought, this did not come
about. But the selection did come about - and those remaining were
Petrified.
- 45N 11 8 kaqwV gegraptai edwken
autoiV o qeoV pneuma katanuxewV ofqalmouV tou mh blepein kai wta tou mh akouein
ewV thV shmeron hmeraV
- 45N 11 8 Just as it has been written, "God gave them a spirit of
stupor, eyes which did not see and ears which did not hear - until the 'today' day" [see: Is.6:5, 6:10;
Gn.4:14-15]
- 45N 11 9 kai dauid legei genhqhtw
h trapeza autwn eiV pagida kai eiV qhran kai eiV
skandalon kai eiV antapodoma autoiV
- 45N 11 9 And David says "May their table become for them a snare and a pursuit - a
scandal and a retribution to them [see: Ps.69:22]
The 'city of David' was Bethlehem [Lk.2:4] : its meaning in
Hebrew, "House of Bread". |
1 Corinthians :
- 46N 10 1 ou qelw gar umaV agnoein
adelfoi oti oi patereV hmwn panteV upo thn nefelhn hsan kai panteV dia thV
qalasshV dihlqon
- 46N 10 1 For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that our
fathers all were under the cloud, and all went through the sea
- 46N 10 2 kai panteV eiV ton
mwushn ebaptisqhsan en th nefelh kai en th qalassh
- 46N 10 2 And all were baptised into Moses - in the cloud and in the
sea
- 46N 10 3 kai panteV to auto
pneumatikon brwma efagon
- 46N 10 3 And all ate the same spiritual food
- 46N 10 4 kai panteV to auto
pneumatikon epion poma epinon gar ek pneumatikhV akolouqoushV
petraV h petra de hn
o cristoV
- 46N 10 4 And all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from
a following spiritual rock - and the
rock was the
Christ.
The immediate reference here is surely to the mysterious
'space-filled' manna [Nb.21:5] - and to the rock at Choreb, yielding water when
Moses strikes it [Ex.17:6].
But remember that at Gn.28:18 Jacob (soon to be named 'Israel')
takes the stone from under his head, sets it up as
a pillar, and pours oil upon the top of it. With this action he 'anoints' the
stone. Thus symbolically this
stone is the Christ - for the name Christ means simply 'anointed one', from the Greek verb
'criw' (I anoint).
The text referring to Joseph at Gn.49:24 confirms the sinister
significance of this. The Greek (LXX) refers to 'o katiscusaV israhl' (the one prevailing
over# Israel) [see Gn.32:24-30]. But the Hebrew
(Masoretic text) is more explicit, citing instead the 'evil stone of Israel' :
- JPS 1917 Edition Masoretic Text : (c) 2003 Mechon Mamre :
Gn.49:24
- 01O 49 24 But his bow sat firm, and the limbs of his hands were
made supple, from the hands of the 'mighty one' of Jacob, from there, (the)
'evil stone of Israel'
|
- 46N 10 5 all ouk en toiV
pleiosin autwn eudokhsen o qeoV katestrwqhsan gar en th erhmw
- 46N 10 5 But with the majority of them God was not well
pleased - for they were (left) strewn in the desert.
- 46N 10 6 tauta de tupoi hmwn
egenhqhsan eiV to mh einai hmaV epiqumhtaV kakwn kaqwV kakeinoi
epequmhsan
- 46N 10 6 And these things became for us examples, that they should
not come to be our evil desires - just as those (persons) also
desired.
Then drinking from the 'spiritual rock' which is 'the Christ' is
not what pleases God. It is not to become one of our 'evil
desires'. Is that now clear ? |
----- o -----
- From the 'Apocryphon of John' (trans. Frederik
Wisse) :
- The teaching of the saviour, and the revelation of the
mysteries and the things hidden in silence, even these things which he taught
John, his disciple.
And it happened one day, when John, the brother of James -
who are the sons of Zebedee - had come up to the temple, that a Pharisee named
Arimanius approached him and said to him "Where is your master whom you
followed ?". And he said to him "He has gone to the place from which he
came". The Pharisee said to him "With deception did this Nazarene deceive you
(pl.), and he filled your ears with lies, and closed your hearts (and) turned
you from the traditions of your fathers".
When I, John, heard these things I turned away from the
temple to a desert place. And I grieved greatly in my heart, saying "How then
was the saviour appointed, and why was he sent into the world by his Father,
and who is his Father who sent him, and of what sort is that aeon to
which we shall go ? For what did he mean when he said to us 'This aeon to
which you will go is of the type of the imperishable aeon', but he did not
teach us concerning the latter, of what sort it is.
|
Luke :
- 42N 4 3 eipen de autw o diaboloV
ei uioV ei tou qeou eipe tw liqw toutw ina
genhtai artoV
- 42N 4 3 But the devil said to him "If you are a son of
God, say to this stone that it may become
bread"
Mark :
- 41N 3 11 kai ta pneumata ta
akaqarta otan auton eqewroun prosepipton autw kai ekrazon legonteV oti su
ei o uioV tou qeou
- 41N 3 11 And the unclean spirits, when they saw him,
fell down for him and cried out, saying that "You are the son of
God !"
- .....
- 41N 6 41 kai labwn touV pente
artouV kai touV duo icquaV anableyaV eiV ton ouranon euloghsen kai
kateklasen touV artouV kai edidou toiV maqhtaiV
[autou] ina paratiqwsin autoiV kai touV duo icquas
emerisen pasin
- 41N 6 41 And taking the five breads and the two fish, looking up into heaven, he blessed and
broke the breads : and he gave to [his]
learners so that they would set before them - and the two fish he divided amongst all
- 41N 6 42 kai efagon panteV kai
ecortasqhsan
- 41N 6 42 And they all ate, and were filled
- 41N 6 43 kai hran klasmata dwdeka
kofinwn plhrwmata kai apo twn
icquwn
- 41N 6 43 And they took up twelve fragments full of [small]
baskets - and from the fish
Perhaps you spotted the serpent
[ ofin ] - concealed as a
fragment of the Greek word for 'baskets' ? |
Revelation :
- 66N 12 9 kai eblhqh o drakwn o
megaV o ofiV o arcaioV o kaloumenoV diaboloV kai o
satanaV o planwn thn oikoumenhn olhn eblhqh eiV thn ghn kai oi aggeloi autou
met autou eblhqhsan
- 66N 12 9 And he was thrown out (from heaven), the great dragon, the
ancient serpent, the one called devil and
Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown out into the earth - and
his angels were thrown out with him.
Matthew :
- 40N 7 9 h tiV estin ex umwn
anqrwpoV on aithsei o uioV autou arton mh
liqon epidwsei autw
- 40N 7 9 Or what person is there out of you who, (when) his son asks
for bread, will not give him a
stone ?
- 40N 7 10 h kai
icqun aithsei mh ofin epidwsei autw
- 40N 7 10 Or then he asks for a fish, will not give him a serpent ?
Mark :
- 41N 6 52 ou gar sunhkan
epi toiV artois all hn autwn h kardia
pepwrwmenh
- 41N 6 52 For they had not understood about the
breads - but for them the heart was
'Petrified'.
Then in summary :
- The stone, the rock, the 'lord
god', was the 'stone of stumbling'. It was a trap, a snare,
the means for many to be deceived.
- The cause of Cain's downfall, it was the cause of Jacob's and
Joseph's as well - the 'evil stone of Israel'.
- This rock then appears as the 'lord god' of
Moses, the 'lord Sabaoth' of Isaiah.
- And this rock was also the Christ. But it is to be a
secret, they are 'not to tell anyone' [Mt.16:20] (then many will stumble
over it).
- And to perpetuate the rôle, Jesus then names Simon as
Rock (in Greek, Peter : in Aramaic,
Cephas) [Mt.16:18; Jn.1:42].
- But, for some, their ears did not hear - nor did their eyes
see.
- As with Cain before them, their table is to become a
snare - a scandal and a retribution to them. This means their food, their diet
- the very things they offer and eat.
- In the convention of scripture Jesus is a 'son of God'. And
just as the devil suggests, the stone is now to become
bread.
- Thus the stone of stumbling becomes the bread of
stumbling ...
- ... but they had not understood about the breads ...
any more than they had done about the stone.
- Instead, for them the heart was 'Petrified' - which means
(ironically) that the heart, the locus for reasoning [Mk.2:6, 2:8; Lk.3:15,
9:47, 24:38], was hardened like stone.
Furthermore :
- Scripture is clearly designed and structured to 'put the reader to
the test'.
- This 'test' is both an intellectual and a spiritual one.
- Its languages are Hebrew and Greek (with some allusion to
Aramaic).
- The entire scheme of scripture has been conceived and executed as an
attempt (if it be possible) to deceive the world. This is consistent with the
conviction of Gnosticism that 'every human soul must pass the adverse
influence of the gods of the Hebdomad before it could ascend to the only good
God beyond'. Indeed the scriptures themselves serve to make this concept a
reality.
- Those 'reading hastily' do surely risk being led astray :
Augustine was not mistaken on this point.
- This is not a matter to be taken lightly. The risk is real, it is
substantial, and it continues through history from one generation to the next.
Each person harking to the message of scripture is a potential candidate for
deception.
- The tradition and style of scripture is thus a gnostic one, the full
message concealed from casual access.
- For this is its underlying theme. Masquerading as God, the prideful
creator of the cosmos seeks to lead astray the whole of his
creation.
- Riddles are de rigeur. These provide the means to conceal the
truth from those who cannot solve them. It follows that to uncover the truth
you will have to work at it, whether you like it or not - hardly a convention
to favour the idle !
- Do not be resentful. Settle down to study - and solve the riddles.
These are hard to fathom. But it will help if you can learn some Greek and read
from the primary texts.
- Do not rely upon translations of scripture (apart from the LXX
itself, which would be better regarded as a re-write than as a translation).
Many existing translations, even to Latin, are inaccurate at critical points
and fail to convey the original meaning. The logical sense of a passage may
even be reversed by the translator - no doubt through a mixture of confusion
and wishful thinking. For those who find it difficult to believe what is
actually written in scripture are many.
- Numerous riddles rely upon the minutiae of the original text - as
with anagrams and arithmetic equivalents. These cannot be resolved from any
translation, however literal.
- Ever since the fourth century CE the 'church' established in the
western world has upheld the gospels as if they were records of history,
denying also the risk of deception. But this is the stance of those poorly
informed, of those who have yet to penetrate 'the mystery of the
kingdom of God', of those who should have known better, of those
of whom we may even suppose that "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes which
did not see and ears which did not hear" [Rm.11:8] ...
... for the
answer to the 'mystery' is that kingship is the status not of
God, but of Satan, the 'jealous god', the
one who would turn all attention to himself. Power, glory, authority - in
scripture these are cast as the attributes of Satan (see Lk.9:32; Jn.1:14). Yes,
'Isaiah said these things when he saw his glory ' [Jn.12:41].
- Scripture is altogether myth - though dressed up to resemble a record
of history. Moreover these texts are intrinsically gnostic. As such they
constitute a coordinated attempt to deceive the reader, the basis of the trick
being the impersonation (in the narrative) of the prime God. For this
the remedy, the defence, is to pay careful attention to what is actually
written, to remember well, to examine the anomalies, to engage your powers of
reasoning, to resolve the riddles.
- Some two millennia after the gospels came into the public domain,
extensive ignorance still prevails#. On the one hand, this
tragic situation demonstrates the timeless cleverness of the authors : on the
other, the confusion which besets all human life, the ignorance, the
carelessness, the pride, the widespread folly of mankind.
- Then this is the challenge - to understand the duplicitous wisdom of
ages past, for so long preserved in the Judaeo-Christian scriptures. The
stone is tossed into the foundations [Is.28:16] of
Zion. It is important to understand about this stone. Otherwise you may misconstrue everything -
as many indeed have done before you.
15.3 A god against
God ?
The concept of an opponent to God, an evil god
against God, pervades all of scripture. But direct titles for this
'person' are rare to find in the texts of the 'Old Testament'. One
example seems to be at LXX Nb.22:21 where we encounter Balaam's donkey, a
creature portrayed as commendably perceptive. Compared with his mount, Balaam
himself is slow to recognise what is wrong. But eventually Balaam's eyes are
opened - and the 'angel of God ' says to him "idou egw exhlqon eiV
diabolhn sou" (Look ! I emerged
into a devil for you !)
[Nb.22:32].
This opponent, this 'devil ', is now manifested as :
- ... ton aggelon kuriou
anqesthkota en th odw kai thn macairan espasmenhn en th ceiri
autou
- ... the angel of a lord, stood across in the way, and the
dagger drawn in his hand
The 'dagger' (a short sword) resembles (in its shape) the cross
where Jesus will die.
Then this description evokes perhaps Gn.3:24 - and even Gn.4:8 (where
the dagger is Cain's). And then, turning to the texts of the 'New Testament',
we find that it is Jesus who confers upon the twelve 'exousian pneumatwn
akaqartwn' (authority for unclean spirits) [Mt.10:1] - and goes
on to tell them [Mt.10:34] :
- 40N 10 34 mh nomishte oti hlqon
balein eirhnhn epi thn ghn ouk hlqon balein eirhnhn alla
macairan
- 40N 10 34 "Do not suppose that I came to cast peace upon the earth. I
did not come to cast peace, but a dagger"
In Revelation we find that 'the dragon, the
ancient serpent' is identified as 'a devil and Satan, the
deceiver of the whole world ' [Rv.12:9; 20:2]. He is 'thrown down
to the earth - and his angels thrown down with him'. This is surely a
reference to the crafty serpent of Genesis Chapter 3, the equivalence between
'the serpent' and 'the devil' being long established in both
Jewish and Christian traditions. The mythical garden of Paradise is his
alternate domain, its central feature 'to
xulon thV zwhV' (the tree of life)
[Gn.2:9].
The gospels are in many ways extremely sinister. In the narrative this
'god against God ' features at times quite explicit. There are
sixteen references to 'satan' in the four gospels - and fourteen more to
'the devil '. Throughout these texts he remains a trickster. For
recognition we may be forced back at times upon the sayings he lets slip - or
upon those personal traits which give him away. For in his quest to deceive he
may seek to impress. Then he may exhibit the attributes of a god in the hope of
being embraced as God. This style is what we know as impersonation.
We may do well to remember 2Cor.11:14 :
- 47N 11 14 kai ou qauma autoV gar
o satanaV metaschmatizetai eis aggelon fwtoV
- 47N 11 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel
of light
----- o -----
Now amongst the Greek texts of the gospels we find the words 'exousia' (authority)
and 'doxa' (glory). Along with their
corresponding verbs, they occur with the following incidence :
|
Matthew |
Mark |
Luke |
John |
exousia (authority) |
10 |
10 |
17 |
7 |
doxa (glory) |
9 |
4 |
22 |
34 |
Total : |
19 |
14 |
39 |
41 |
Table 1 : Incidence of 'exousia, doxa' in the 4 gospels
These words find more use in Luke and in John - with a strong bias in
the fourth gospel towards the use of 'doxa' (glory).
By exploring how they are used in connection with Jesus, I hope to
assess the mind of the scriptural author on the origin of such attributes,
drawing out their significance. Dying on the cross, Jesus is offered 'oxoV'
(vinegar) - for by now the wine is turning sour. Notice that the letter
'x' ( X ) is common
to each of these words. In Greek it holds also the number value
60. Then hear Jesus' last words :
- Matthew :
- 40N 27 46 peri de thn enathn wran
anebohsen o ihsouV fwnh megalh legwn hli hli lema sabacqani tout estin
qee mou qee mou inati me egkatelipeV
- 40N 27 46 But around the ninth hour Jesus cried up with a loud voice,
saying "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani". That is "My god, my god, for what
have you abandoned me ?".
- The false equivalent rendered here in the Greek text of the gospel is
abstracted from Ps.22. But the words ascribed to Jesus are the Hebrew "Eli,
Eli, lema sabachth-ani", thus :
- "My god, My god, why do you glorify me ?"
Yes, the gospels are certainly interesting, but we do need to read
carefully - both in Hebrew and in Greek. For, as the Hebrew here indicates,
Jesus has been 'glorified' - just as Satan promises at Lk.4:6 [click here]. But the substituted phrase in Greek reveals how
the status of Jesus now matches that first ascribed to Cain. He is altogether
ignored - and still he cannot understand why :
- LXX Genesis :
- 01O 4 4 ..... kai epeiden o
qeos epi abel kai epi tois dwrois autou
- ..... And God (sic) looked upon Abel and upon his gifts
- 01O 4 5 epi de kain kai epi tais
qusiais autou ou prosescen kai eluphsen ton kain lian ...
- 01O 4 5 (but) upon Cain and upon his sacrifices he did not pay
attention. And it grieved Cain very much ...
I fancy the scriptural authors hold that ultimately Satan abandons all
those unwise enough to embrace his 'offer' - attractive as it always does seem.
Then with these last words spoken by Jesus they construct a finale with truly
Faustian overtones.
15.4 Let the Stones
become Bread
In each of the 'synoptic' gospels Jesus is
'led by the spirit in the desert' for forty days of testing.
Consistently the verb 'peirazw' is
used - which makes it pretty clear that Jesus is being tested,
tried out, examined or assessed. And
surely this must be in preparation for the part he is to play in the coming
narrative. But who is this examiner ?
In Matthew and in Luke the 'testing' takes place 'under
the devil ' : in Mark it is 'under Satan'. The two names
seem to be equivalent - but what is striking is that consistently we have the
Greek preposition 'upo'. Used here
with the genitive case, it certainly means 'under'. Abbott &
Mansfield's 'Primer of Greek Grammar' indicates that this is "often
with a notion of dependence" [Syntax, 52]. Then it seems clear that
Jesus is in some way subject to this personification of evil - for he submits
to the test. But how should this be ?
It is of key importance that we should grasp correctly the nature of
this relationship. Now it is the long standing presumption of the established
Christian church that Jesus himself is good, obeying the will of the 'Father' -
and that here he withstands the blandishments of Satan, his evil opponent. But
is there any evidence for this ? There are many 'sleights of hand' in the
texts of scripture : we may do well to step cautiously. Those paying full
attention will realise that we do not know the identity of this
mysterious 'Father' [Mt.11:27; Lk.10:22]. Then which father would send his son
into the desert to be assessed by the devil ?
Let us turn to the texts which relate how the 'testing' of Jesus
begins. In the gospels attributed to Matthew and Luke this is where we
encounter the first explicit reference to 'the devil ' - right at
the start of Jesus' public life. In the Markan narrative 'the
devil ' is never mentioned as such : instead we have the first use of
the Hebrew title 'SaTaN' (meaning 'enemy'). Then let us see how
these texts go. The square brackets [ ] indicate variants present in the
source text :
- Matthew :
- 40N 3 16 baptisqeiV de o ihsouV
euquV anebh apo tou udatoV kai idou hnewcqhsan
[autw] oi ouranoi kai eiden [to] pneuma [tou] qeou katabainon
wsei peristeran [kai] ercomenon ep auton
- 40N 3 16 And, baptised, Jesus came up immediately from the water -
and look ! The heavens were opened [to him] and he saw a spirit of a god
[the spirit of God] coming down as if a pigeon [and] coming upon him
- 40N 3 17 kai idou fwnh ek twn
ouranwn legousa outoV estin o uioV mou o agaphtoV en w eudokhsa
- 40N 3 17 And look! A voice out of the heavens saying "This is my son,
the beloved, in whom I was pleased"
- 40N 4 1 tote o ihsouV anhcqh eiV thn erhmon upo tou pneumatoV peirasqhnai upo tou diabolou
- 40N 4 1 Then Jesus was brought up into the desert under the
spirit to be tested under the devil
- 40N 4 2 kai nhsteusas hmeras tesserakonta kai
nuktas tesserakonta usteron epeinasen
- 40N 4 2 And, fasting forty days and forty nights, afterwards he was
hungry
- 40N 4 3 kai proselqwn o
peirazwn eipen autw ei uioV ei tou qeou eipe ina oi liqoi outoi artoi
genwntai
- 40N 4 3 And, coming, the one testing said to him "If you are a
son of God, say that these stones may become bread"
Here we have the first challenge "... say that these stones may
become bread". And if you look carefully you will see that within four
verses there are concealed not only 5
pieces of bread [ as ] but also 2
fish [ cq ]
(for the basis and significance of this, see the analysis of the stories of the
'Feeding of the 5000/4000' set out at Chapter 3).
In this sense the 'stones' may be those of the scriptural
text itself (recalling the words of the covenant set down by the finger of
god upon two plaques of stone entrusted
to Moses). Then this anagram riddle provides one sense in which these
stones 'become' bread
- for the inscribed text yields concealed forms of 'food'. |
- Mark :
- 41N 1 10 kai euquV anabainwn ek
tou udatoV eiden scizomenouV touV ouranouV kai to pneuma wV peristeran
katabainon eiV auton
- 41N 1 10 And immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens
tearing and the spirit like a pigeon coming down into him
- 41N 1 11 kai fwnh egeneto ek twn
ouranwn su ei o uioV mou o agaphtoV en soi eudokhsa
- 41N 1 11 And a voice came out of the heavens "You are my son, the
beloved. In you I was pleased"
- 41N 1 12 kai euquV to
pneuma auton ekballei eiV thn erhmon
- 41N 1 12 And immediately the spirit cast him out into the
desert
- 41N 1 13 kai hn en th erhmw
tesserakonta hmeras peirazomenoV upo tou
satana kai hn meta twn qhriwn kai oi aggeloi dihkonoun autw
- 41N 1 13 And he was in the desert (for) forty days (of) testing
under Satan. And he was with the wild beasts and the angels ministered
to him
The text in Mark is shorter and simpler, lacking the detailed
riddles of Matthew and Luke.
Wild beasts and angels are the attendants of Satan. |
- Luke :
- 42N 3 21 egeneto de en tw
baptisqhnai apanta ton laon kai ihsou baptisqentoV kai proseucomenou anewcqhnai ton ouranon
- 42N 3 21 But it happened with the entire people being baptised, and
from Jesus being baptised and praying (for) heaven to be opened up
- 42N 3 22 kai katabhnai to
pneuma to agion swmatikw eidei wV peristeran ep auton kai fwnhn ex ouranou
genesqai su ei o uioV mou o agaphtoV en soi eudokhsa
- 42N 3 22 And (for) the spirit, the holy one, to come down in
bodily form as a pigeon, upon him. And there came a voice from heaven "You are
my son, the beloved. In you I was pleased."
- .....
- 42N 4 1 ihsouV de plhrhV
pneumatoV agiou upestreyen apo tou iordanou kai hgeto en tw pneumati en
th erhmw
- 42N 4 1 But Jesus, full of a holy spirit, returned from the
Jordan and was led in the spirit in the desert
- 42N 4 2 hmeras tesserakonta peirazomenoV upo tou diabolou kai
ouk efagen ouden en taiV hmeraiV ekeinaiV kai suntelesqeiswn autwn epeinasen
- 42N 4 2 (for) forty days (of) testing under the devil. And he
did not eat anything within 'those days' - and, from their completion, he was
hungry
- 42N 4 3 eipen de autw o diaboloV
ei uioV ei tou qeou eipe tw liqw toutw ina genhtai artoV
- 42N 4 3 But the devil said to him "If you are a son of God, say to
this stone that it may become bread"
- 42N 4 4 kai apekriqh proV auton o
ihsouV gegraptai oti ouk ep artw monw zhsetai o anqrwpoV
- 42N 4 4 And Jesus answered him "It has been written that 'Not on
bread alone shall the Person live' " [Dt.8:3]
- 42N 4 5 kai anagagwn auton
edeixen autw pasas tas basileias thV oikoumenhV en stigmh cronou
- 42N 4 5 And, taking him up, he showed him all the kingdoms of
the world within a moment of time
Now see if you can follow this riddle.
First of all, there is nothing to eat within 'ouk efagen ouden en taiV hmeraiV
ekeinaiV' (he did not eat anything within those days).
With the use of the preposition 'en', the endings of the feminine words here are all
forced into the dative case (ending -aiV) : thus they fail to yield any 'bread' [ as or aV ].
But then 'he was hungry' [ epeinasen ] ...
and immediately 'bread' appears
[ as ].
Read on a few verses and now Jesus shows his examiner, the devil,
that he knows how to feed the people. For he points out 'pasas tas basileias thV
oikoumenhV' (all the kingdoms of the earth) - and look ! Just three
words yield 5 pieces of 'bread' [ as ] - and all clustered together 'en stigmh cronou' (within a moment of
time) ! Isn't that clever ?
If you don't understand the basis for this elegant 'digram'
riddle, then I commend you to the analysis of the stories of the 'Feeding of
the 5000/4000' set out at Chapter
3. There the Greek scriptural shorthand for bread is derived.
And if you consider improbable such a use of implicit
digrams, take a look at Prof. Bruce Metzger's book 'Maunuscripts of the
Greek Bible' [Ref.1]. On p.36 he lists the several explicit digrams
and trigrams which it is well known were employed in Greek scripture of the
early centuries CE. They were called by Ludwig Traube 'Nomina Sacra'. A word
such as 'uioV' (son) was
contracted using the first letter in conjunction with the last -
thus 'uV'.
By analogy it is perfectly reasonable that a word such as 'artoV' (bread) should be recognised in the contracted
form 'aV' - or 'as' (in the uncial texts of early
scripture there would have been no distinction between these two
forms). |
----- o -----
Later in the story Jesus is speaking to the 'seventy' he himself has
appointed [Lk.10:1 seq.]. The number seventy may evoke Gn.4:24. But the
narrative here appears to recall the prior description of Jesus own baptism
:
- 42N 10 18 eipen de autoiV
eqewroun ton satanan wV astraphn ek tou ouranou pesonta
- 42N 10 18 But he said to them "I beheld Satan falling
like lightning from heaven
- 42N 10 19 idou dedwka umin thn
exousian tou patein epanw ofewn kai
skorpiwn kai epi pasan thn dunamin tou ecqrou kai ouden umaV ou mh
adikhsh
- 42N 10 19 Look, I give you authority to tread over serpents
and scorpions - and upon all the power of the enemy. And certainly nothing will
do you injustice".
Notice the anagrammatic repetition within 10:18 itself. The words for
'pigeon' [ peristeran ] and
for 'lightning' [ astraphn ] share
between them six letters. Thus is 'Satan' linked with the lightning which
'comes down', the lightning with the pigeon - and the pigeon with the
mysterious 'spirit' which also 'comes down' upon Jesus. Then we may suspect
that this spirit was an 'unclean' spirit, even Satan himself.
Now in the narrative it is Jesus who first sees "the heavens tearing"
and "the spirit like a pigeon coming down into him" [Mk.1:10]. The same
'spirit' then provides for him to be 'tested/assessed under
Satan'. And yes, it is Jesus who later, in
the context of training his own followers, says this : "I beheld
Satan falling like lightning from
heaven" [Lk.10:18].
A thoughtful reader may well suspect that this story of Jesus' baptism,
the story which marks the start of his 'public life', is a deliberately oblique
description of his adoption by the forces of evil. This 'spirit', 'coming
upon him from the Father', is a manifestation of the devil -
whose willing agent Jesus now becomes.
But, over all the centuries, how many readers have been able to reason
this out ? If the number had been significant then the history and culture
of western Europe might have developed quite differently.
----- o -----
Now let us consider further the identity of this 'spirit' which
comes upon Jesus at his baptism. Perhaps you remember how the flood was brought
to an end :
- 01O 8 1 kai emnhsqh o qeoV tou
nwe kai pantwn twn qhriwn kai pantwn twn kthnwn kai pantwn twn peteinwn kai
pantwn twn erpetwn osa hn met' autou
en th kibwtw kai ephgagen o qeoV pneuma epi thn ghn kai ekopasen to udwr
- 01O 8 1 And God was reminded of Noah and of all the wild beasts, and
all the pastoral beasts, and all the birds, and all the creeping things which
were with him in the ark. And God brought a spirit upon the earth - and the
water abated.
It is with the baptism of Jesus that "the waters" are to abate once
again - and "the dry" (the earth, the desert) is to be exposed. This is the
same sequence previously noted at Gn.1:9 and at Gn.8:13. And, just as before,
it is when the flood recedes that the pigeon first appears on the scene :
- 01O 8 8 kai apesteilen thn
peristeran opisw autou idein ei kekopaken to udwr apo proswpou thV
ghV
- 01O 8 8 And he [Noah] sent off the pigeon behind it [the raven] to
see if the water had abated from (the) face of the earth
Yet in the baptism narrative of the gospels we are not exactly told that
we have a pigeon - but what is implied is that we have something which is
alike to a pigeon, which in some way or other is similar. So for
those with a keen eye, here are some words which are similar to one
another in that they share the six letter group 'speira', the root for the Greek word : 'speiraw' (I sow) :
- peristera (a
pigeon)
- peirasw (I shall test)
- o speiraV (the one sowing)
- o peripatountos (the one walking about)
- en tw paradeisw (in
Paradise)
The concepts 'peristera' (a
pigeon) and 'peirasw' (I shall test) are linked explicitly in
each of the passages above - for the spirit comes down as a
pigeon to lead Jesus in the desert for forty days of
testing. The two words are also related in the way they are
spelled.
Moreover a pigeon has a cereal diet, another conceptual link to
'o speiraV' (the one sowing). For the pigeon may
seek to eat the seed which is sown [a notion made explicit at Mt.13:4; Mk.4:4;
Lk.8:5].
Then the number value of 'o speiraV' (the one
sowing) is 666, the same value given at
Rv.13:18 for "the number of a person, the number of the beast". And at
Mt.13:39 'o speiraV' is equated explicitly with 'o ecqroV' (the enemy, this term being the
Greek equivalent for the Hebrew word 'satan') and explicitly with
'o diaboloV' (the
devil). So our first impression of this 'spirit', so consistently
likened to 'a pigeon', is hardly a favourable one.
Now let us recall where the last two of these words have their origin in
scripture :
- Genesis :
- 01O 3 8 kai hkousan thn fwnhn
kuriou tou qeou peripatountos en tw paradeisw to deilinon kai ekrubhsan o te adam kai h
gunh autou apo proswpou kuriou tou qeou en mesw tou
xulou tou paradeisou
- 01O 3 8 And they heard the voice of the lord god walking about
in Paradise towards evening. And they hid - both Adam and his woman - from
(the) face of the lord god in the midst of the tree of Paradise
Perhaps you are beginning to see where all this points ? The one
whose voice was heard 'walking about in Paradise' and whose face was to
be found 'in the midst of the tree of Paradise' was the 'lord god', alias the serpent, 'the one called a devil and Satan,
the deceiver of the whole world' [Rv.12:9]. And yes, Jesus does represent
that Paradise is the location for his 'kingdom' - as we finally learn
when he is dying on the cross :
- Luke :
- 42N 23 42 kai elegen ihsou
mnhsqhti mou otan elqhV eiV thn basileian
sou
- 42N 23 42 And he said to Jesus "Remember me when you come into your
kingdom".
- 42N 23 43 kai eipen autw amhn soi
legw shmeron met emou esh en tw
paradeisw
- 42N 23 43 And he said to him "Truly I say to you,
today you will be with me in
Paradise".
The scriptural author writes in line with the tradition of Genesis. For
him, Paradise is where Adam was cursed to "eat earth". It is the 'kingdom' of
the serpent.
At Lk.3:22 we have a father (the voice speaks of his son), a son (Jesus
himself), and a spirit (likened to a pigeon). Then here is the basis for the
curious concept of a triune god (the Trinity).
By anagrammatic association, the 'bodily form' taken by this 'spirit'
may well be 'o speiraV' (the one sowing) - a title established
at Mt.13:39 for the devil.
15.5 A New
Covenant
To keep this analysis as simple as possible, I
shall continue by using principally the gospel attributed to Luke (but the
theme in Matthew is in many ways similar).
At his baptism a mysterious voice refers to Jesus as 'son' [Lk.3:22].
The owner of this voice is addressed in return as 'father' [eg. Lk.10:21;
22:29; 22:42]. But who knows the full identity of these two characters ?
In fact the identities are never spelled out. This is quite typical of the
method of scripture - where the resulting uncertainty provides so readily for
the reader to be led astray. Look :
- Luke :
- 42N 10 21 en auth th wra
hgalliasato [en] tw pneumati tw agiw kai eipen
exomologoumai soi pater kurie tou ouranou kai thV ghV oti apekruyas tauta apo sofwn kai sunetwn kai apekaluyas auta nhpioiV nai o pathr oti outwV eudokia egeneto
emprosqen sou
- 42N 10 21 In that same hour he rejoiced in the spirit, the holy one,
and said "I acknowledge, Father, lord of Heaven and Earth, that you hid these
things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to infants. Yes, 'The
Father', for thus it became pleasing before you.
- 42N 10 22 panta moi paredoqh upo
tou patroV mou kai oudeiV ginwskei tiV estin o uioV ei mh o pathr kai
tiV estin o pathr ei mh o uioV kai w ean boulhtai o uioV
apokaluyai
- 42N 10 22 Everything has been given away to me under my father - and
no one knows who the son is, except the father - and who the father
is, except the son and he to whom, if he should wish, the son may reveal
(him)".
And look, Jesus seeks even to conceal his own identity :
- Mark :
- 41N 1 34 kai eqerapeusen pollouV
kakwV econtaV poikilaiV nosoiV kai daimonia polla exebalen kai ouk hfien lalein
ta daimonia oti hdeisan auton
- 41N 1 34 And he healed many (of those) badly having various diseases
- and cast out many demons. And he did not allow the demons to speak because
they knew him.
- .....
- 41N 3 11 kai ta pneumata ta
akaqarta otan auton eqewroun prosepipton autw kai ekrazon legonteV oti su
ei o uioV tou qeou
- 41N 3 11 And the unclean spirits, when they saw him,
fell down for him and cried out, saying that "You are the son of
God !"
- 41N 3 12 kai polla epetima autoiV
ina mh auton faneron poihswsin
- 41N 3 12 And repeatedly he reprimanded them - so that they should
not make him known
When an author configures the identity of key players in his narrative
as a 'secret', what is his purpose ? Just who is to be kept in
ignorance ? Who is to be disadvantaged - and why ? And how curious :
it is the demons, the unclean spirits, who are the ones
with inside knowledge.
----- o -----
Perhaps what follows will help you to understand, will help the penny to
drop. Here is the promise of the 'New Testament', the new 'covenant' -
linked by the quotations from Deuteronomy to the earlier promise of the first
'covenant' .
In each case the deal is done in the desert. And who is the one making
this commitment to Jesus ? Yes, it is 'the one called a devil and
Satan, the deceiver of the whole world' [Rv.12:9], the examiner, the
impostor, the opponent of God.
- Luke :
- 42N 3 21 egeneto de en tw
baptisqhnai apanta ton laon kai ihsou baptisqentoV kai proseucomenou anewcqhnai ton ouranon
- 42N 3 21 But it happened with the entire people being baptised, and
from Jesus being baptised and praying (for) heaven to be opened up
- 42N 3 22 kai katabhnai to pneuma
to agion swmatikw eidei wV peristeran ep auton kai fwnhn ex ouranou genesqai su ei o uioV mou o agaphtoV en soi
eudokhsa
- 42N 3 22 And (for) the spirit, the holy one, to come down in bodily
form as a pigeon, upon him. And there came a voice from heaven "You are my son,
the beloved. In you I was pleased."
Jesus was the son, as it was supposed, of Joseph
...
The inserted genealogy (for all its significance) may here
distract our attention. But do not let us be distracted. |
- 42N 4 1 ihsouV de plhrhV
pneumatoV agiou upestreyen apo tou iordanou kai hgeto en tw pneumati en th
erhmw
- 42N 4 1 But Jesus, full of a holy spirit, returned from the Jordan
and was led in the spirit within the desert
- 42N 4 2 hmeras tesserakonta peirazomenoV upo tou diabolou kai
ouk efagen ouden en taiV hmeraiV ekeinaiV kai suntelesqeiswn autwn epeinasen
- 42N 4 2 (for) forty days (of) testing under the devil. And he
did not eat anything within 'those days' - and, from their completion, he was
hungry
- 42N 4 3 eipen de autw o diaboloV
ei uioV ei tou qeou eipe tw liqw toutw ina
genhtai artoV
- 42N 4 3 But the devil said to him "If you are a son of God, say to
this stone that it may become
bread"
- 42N 4 4 kai apekriqh proV auton o
ihsouV gegraptai oti ouk ep artw monw zhsetai o anqrwpoV
- 42N 4 4 And Jesus answered him "It has been written that 'Not on
bread alone shall the Person live' " [Dt.8:3]
- 42N 4 5 kai anagagwn auton
edeixen autw pasas
tas basileias thV oikoumenhV en stigmh cronou
- 42N 4 5 And, taking him up, he showed him all the kingdoms of
the world within a moment of time
Remember Cain's sacrifice, a sacrifice for the lord
god, a sacrifice from the 'fruits of the earth' ? Well now
it is Jesus who produces the bread.
Next comes the promise ... the promise of the
'New Covenant' ... |
- 42N 4 6 kai
eipen autw o diaboloV soi dwsw thn exousian
tauthn apasan kai thn doxan autwn oti emoi paradedotai kai w ean qelw didwmi
authn
- 42N 4 6 And the devil said to him "To you I shall give this
authority, in its entirety,
and the glory of them. For it has
been given away to me - and to whomsoever I wish, I give it.
- 42N 4 7 su oun ean proskunhshV
enwpion emou estai sou pasa
- 42N 4 7 Then if you will worship in my presence, it shall all
be yours".
Here is the devil's promise, yes authority and the glory pertaining to 'all the kingdoms
of the world'. He claims these as his - to give to whoever he likes.
His promise is conditional, though. We will need to watch as the
narrative develops. Does Jesus worship in his presence ? Upon this much
indeed depends.
Addendum at 9th January 2006 : It appears that a
transfer of authority from God to
Satan is here considered by the author as
'fait accompli'. But is there a passage in prior scripture which
justifies this ? It may not be so easy to spot, but I think it is at
Gn.1:27-28 with the introduction of the 'lord god' - who from that point on is
to lord it 'incognito' over the
earth, revelling in his newfound glory,
convinced that he himself is the only god
[qv. Is.6:1-10; 44:6-8] :
- LXX Genesis :
- 01O 1 26 kai eipen o qeoV
poihswmen anqrwpon kat' eikona
hmeteran kai kaq' omoiwsin kai
arcetwsan twn icquwn thV qalasshV kai twn peteinwn tou ouranou kai twn kthnwn
kai pashV thV ghV kai pantwn twn erpetwn twn erpontwn epi thV ghV
- 01O 1 26 And God said "Let us make A PERSON ACCORDING TO OUR
IMAGE and according to likenesses : and let THEM rule (over) the fish of the
sea and (over) the birds of Heaven - and (over) the pastoral beasts and (over)
all the earth - and (over) all the creeping things which creep upon the
earth"
- 01O 1 27 kai epoihsen o
qeoV ton anqrwpon kat'
eikona qeou epoihsen auton arsen kai qhlu epoihsen autouV
- 01O 1 27 And God made 'THE PERSON'. According to (the)
image of a god he made HIM. Male and female he made THEM.
- 01O 1 28 kai
huloghsen autouV o qeoV legwn auxanesqe kai plhqunesqe kai plhrwsate thn ghn
kai katakurieusate authV kai arcete twn
icquwn thV qalasshV kai twn peteinwn tou ouranou kai pantwn twn kthnwn kai
pashV thV ghV kai pantwn twn erpetwn twn erpontwn epi thV ghV
- 01O 1 28 And God blessed THEM, saying "Grow and
multiply and fill the earth and lord
over it. And rule (over) the fish of the sea and (over) the birds of heaven -
and (over) ALL the pastoral beasts and (over) all the EARTH - and
(over) all the creeping things which creep upon the earth"
And look, this androgynous 'lord
god' may be identified subsequently by the food he prefers. For here
is the diet prescribed for him by God ...
it is cereals and fruit => bread and wine :
- 01O 1 29 kai eipen o qeoV
idou dedwka umin pan corton sporimon speiron sperma o estin epanw pashV thV ghV
kai pan xulon o ecei en eautw karpon spermatoV sporimou umin estai eiV
brwsin
- 01O 1 29 And God said "Look, I have given to YOU [pl.] every
GRASS spreading SEED to propagate which is above all the EARTH - and every TREE
which has within itself FRUIT (having) SEED to propagate. For you it shall be
for eating.
|
- 42N 4 8 kai apokriqeiV o ihsouV
eipen autw gegraptai kurion ton qeon sou proskunhseiV kai autw monw
latreuseiV
- 42N 4 8 And Jesus, answering, said to him "It has been written 'The
lord your god you shall worship and him alone shall you serve' "
[Dt.6:13]
This 'lord god', the god of Abraham and the Exodus, is the one for
whom Cain brings 'fruits of the earth'. But the works of Cain are evil
[qv.1Jn.3:12] - as also is the 'lord god' for whom he brings his
'sacrifice' ?
Addendum at 9th January 2006 : The author has Jesus
quote from Deuteronomy here - a verse which now appears intended to gratify the
devil, for whom "the lord your god" is merely an alternate
title ? |
- 42N 4 9 hgagen de auton eiV
ierousalhm kai esthsen epi to pterugion tou ierou kai eipen autw ei uioV ei tou
qeou bale seauton enteuqen katw
- 42N 4 9 And he brought him into Jerusalem and he stood upon the ridge
of the temple. And he said to him "If you are a son of God, throw yourself down
from here
Jesus now arrives at the temple (the very place for worship) in
the presence of Satan - whose temple this actually is (for we must now suspect
that Satan is the 'lord god', though we may not yet have divined it
fully). Already the condition for the promise looks like being filled, the
condition for the 'New Testament'. |
- 42N 4 10 gegraptai gar oti toiV aggeloiV autou enteleitai peri sou tou
diafulaxai se
- 42N 4 10 for it has been written that 'He will charge his angels
concerning you - to guard you'
- 42N 4 11 kai oti epi ceirwn
arousin se mhpote proskoyhV proV liqon ton
poda sou
- 42N 4 11 and that 'Upon hands they will raise you, lest ever you
should trip your foot upon a stone' "
[Ps.91:11-12]
There is heavy irony here - for the stone (the 'lord
god', also the Christ)
was the stone of stumbling, the same
that now becomes bread. |
- 42N 4 12 kai apokriqeiV eipen
autw o ihsouV oti eirhtai ouk ekpeiraseis
kurion ton qeon sou
- 42N 4 12 And, answering, Jesus said to him that it has been said 'You
shall not test out the lord your god' [Dt.6:16]
- 42N 4 13 kai suntelesas panta peirasmon o diaboloV apesth ap autou acri
kairou
- 42N 4 13 And, completing every test, the devil departed
from him - until (another) time
Jesus is now approved by the devil, qualified to commence the
'works' of his public life.
The time for the devil's 'return' turns out to be in Luke Chapter
22. Here the above exchanges are finally realised (see Section 15.7
below). |
15.6 The Promise takes
Effect
Events now develop apace. John the Baptist has
issued his guarded warnings - largely in the form of riddles [Lk.3:1-18]. But
these were hardly welcome. Promptly he has been silenced, imprisoned and
executed [Lk.3:20]. Like Abel before him, he is eliminated from the scene. Thus
has the stage been cleared.
With baptism, the 'spirit' has come upon Jesus - and the devil has
deployed his promise. There is no reason to delay. Look, the sinister promise
is being fulfilled already :
- Luke :
- 42N 4 14 kai upestreyen o ihsouV
en th dunamei tou pneumatoV eiV thn galilaian kai fhmh exhlqen kaq olhV thV pericwrou peri autou
- 42N 4 14 And Jesus returned (below) in the power of the spirit into
Galilee - and fame went out down the whole of the surrounding area concerning
him
- 42N 4 15 kai autoV edidasken en taiV sunagwgaiV autwn doxazomenoV upo pantwn
- 42N 4 15 And he taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all
Here is the synagogue, once again the place for worship. And here,
right on cue, is the promised glory. In the
text just nine verses have elapsed since the promise was first
declared ! |
----- o -----
Within a few more verses Jesus moves on to (fictional) Capernaum.
And now look ... |
- 42N 4 31 kai kathlqen eiV
kafarnaoum polin thV galilaias kai hn didaskwn autouV en toiV sabbasin
- 42N 4 31 And he came down into Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and he
was teaching them on the Sabbaths
- 42N 4 32 kai exeplhssonto epi th didach autou oti en exousia hn o logoV autou
- 42N 4 32 And they were extra-struck in connection with his teaching -
for his 'logos' [alt: his message] was within authority
Here too is the authority
which the devil has promised. And is that not a curious saying ...
- "... his 'logos' was within
authority" ?
But yes, it is so, arithmetically. For the Greek word
'logoV' (message) has the
number value 373, whilst the word 'exousia' (authority) has the value 746, an
exact ratio of 1:2. Thus his 'logos' may be found (twice)
within 'authority'.
This is an 'isopsephia' riddle - and evidently links with the
fourth gospel's use of the word 'logoV' to refer to the person of Jesus himself. |
- 42N 4 36 kai egeneto qamboV epi
pantas kai sunelaloun proV allhlouV
legonteV tiV o logoV outoV oti en exousia kai
dunamei epitassei toiV akaqartoiV pneumasin kai exercontai
- 42N 4 36 And amazement came upon all and they spoke together to one another,
saying "What (is) this 'logos' ? For within authority and power he gives
instructions to the unclean spirits - and they come out !"
- 42N 4 37 kai exeporeueto hcos peri autou eiV panta topon thV
pericwrou
- 42N 4 37 And an echo about him went out into every
place of the surrounding region
Notice 3 x's in the last
2 verses - and the reversed "echo" of 'satan' (satan) embodied within the word 'pantas' (all)
in v.36 - as well as in subsequent verses. |
- 42N 4 38 anastas de apo thV sunagwghV eishlqen eiV thn
oikian simwnoV penqera de tou simwnoV hn
sunecomenh puretw megalw kai hrwthsan auton peri authV
- 42N 4 38 But, rising up from the
synagogue, he entered into the house of
Simon. But a mother-in-law of Simon was afflicted with a great fever and they
begged him about her.
Note also 'hcos' (an
echo) found in the word 'sunecomenh' (afflicted), this being the only anagram
source for the word 'hcos' arising
in the whole chapter. |
----- o -----
Recapitulating, at Lk.4:6-7 the devil speaks to Jesus thus :
- "To you I shall give this authority, in its entirety, and the
glory of them.
For it has been given
away to me - and to whomsoever I wish, I give it
Then if you will worship in
my presence, it shall all be yours".
And who can fail to notice that the very attributes Satan has promised
have been promptly delivered - right here in this
narrative ? Then we observe that the authority Jesus exercises is
authority over the unclean spirits, a sinister power
indeed !
----- o -----
Now, at Lk.10:21-24, Jesus confirms (with his prayer overheard) that the
one he addresses as 'Father', so-called
'lord of Heaven and Earth', is the very
same under whom 'everything has been given away' to him. But we know
already that the one who promised everything to Jesus was the
devil - and we have seen for ourselves the
evidence that this promise has taken effect.
There is no escape. If we suspected it before, it is now certain.
The one whom Jesus addresses as 'Father' must be the devil himself :
- Luke :
- 42N 10 21 en auth th wra
hgalliasato [en] tw pneumati tw agiw kai eipen exomologoumai soi
pater kurie tou ouranou kai thV ghV oti apekruyas
tauta apo sofwn kai sunetwn kai apekaluyas auta nhpioiV nai
o pathr oti outwV eudokia egeneto emprosqen
sou
- 42N 10 21 In that same hour he rejoiced with[in] the spirit, the holy
one, and he said "I acknowledge, Father,
lord of Heaven and Earth, that you hid these things from the wise and
understanding and revealed them to infants. Yes, 'The
Father', for thus it became pleasing before you.
- 42N 10 22 panta moi paredoqh
upo tou patroV mou kai oudeiV ginwskei tiV
estin o uioV ei mh o pathr kai tiV estin
o pathr ei mh o uioV kai w ean boulhtai o uioV
apokaluyai
- 42N 10 22 Everything has been given away to me under my
father - and no one knows who the son
is, except the father - and who the
father is, except the son and he to whom,
if he should wish, the son may reveal (him)".
- 42N 10 23 kai strafeis pros tous
maqhtas kat idian eipen makarioi oi ofqalmoi oi blepontes a blepete
- 42N 10 23 And turning to the disciples privately, he said "Blessed
(are) the eyes which see what you see
- 42N 10 24 legw gar umin oti
polloi profhtai kai basileis hqelhsan idein a umeis blepete kai ouk
eidan kai akousai a akouete kai ouk hkousan
- 42N 10 24 For I say to you that many prophets and kings wished to see
what you see, and did not see - and to hear what you hear,
and did not hear".
Yes, that does seem to be true. How hard it can be for people to
hear the message of scripture, to accept the tortuous message of the gnostic
author - when all along they had thought of Jesus as good. Many will say : "It
could not be so !".
But those who can keep an open mind will reply "Oh yes, it
could". And truly I think there is no escape. This is the message
of scripture, whether you knew it or not, whether you like it or not.
Then the Christian church (as so long established) is completely
mistaken, altogether taken in. And if not best described as
satanic, then one may speak of this
organisation more kindly as being incompetent in scripture - and
so false in all its claims. |
In summary :
- At Lk.3:22 Jesus is addressed by 'a voice from heaven' : "You
are my son".
- Authority and
glory are the expressed attributes which,
says the devil, are assigned entirely in
his gift.
- These he promises to Jesus.
- It is clear that Jesus is the committed agent of the the one he now
addresses as 'Father'.
- Our suspicions are aroused when immediately Jesus proceeds to
demonstrate the very attributes the devil
has promised him.
- Our suspicions are confirmed when Jesus acknowledges the 'Father'
as the source of all that has been given to him - when we know that these
things were first promised to him by the devil. Then the 'Father' must be the devil.
----- o -----
In the fourth gospel we find this matter efficiently confirmed. The name
of Cain is never mentioned explicitly in any of the gospels. But here Jesus,
taking the part of Judah, alias Cain, refers to himself as 'ekeinoV' (that
one). Here we have an allusive euphemism, a scripture writer's
device which allows us to hear the name of 'kain' (Cain) without
it being actually written into the text. Remember Is.6:9 "With hearing, you
will hear, but not understand ..." ? Well this is an excellent
example of how it may be achieved. And now what Jesus says makes complete
sense.
Be sure to appreciate that Jesus is speaking to Judaeans, and notice
that it is to "those Judaeans who did believe in him" [Jn.8:31
seq.]. This is what he says :
- John :
- 43N 8 43 dia ti thn lalian thn
emhn ou ginwskete oti ou dunasqe akouein ton logon ton emon
- 43N 8 43 "On what account do you not know the talking which is
mine ? Because you are not able to hear the 'logos' [the speech] which is
mine.
- 43N 8 44 umeiV ek
tou patroV tou diabolou este kai taV epiqumiaV tou
patroV umwn qelete poiein ekeinoV anqrwpoktonoV hn ap archV kai en th
alhqeia ouk esthken oti ouk estin alhqeia en autw otan lalh to yeudoV ek twn
idiwn lalei oti yeusthV estin kai o pathr autou
- 43N 8 44 You are from the father, the
devil - and you wish to make the desires of your
father. That
one was a man-killer from the beginning - and he does not remain
in the truth because truth is not in him. When he speaks the lie, he speaks
from his own. For he is a liar, and his father.
- 43N 8 45 egw de oti thn
alhqeian legw ou pisteuete moi
- 43N 8 45 But because I say the truth, you do not believe
me."
Cain, of course, is the 'man-killer'.
Need I highlight the complex irony in all this ? Here Jesus
speaks the truth.
In the oblique convention of the gospel Jesus (the 'logos') is
Cain - and 'the father' is indeed 'the devil'.
And here Jesus tells the truth ... but they do not believe
him ! |
- 43N 8 46 tiV ex umwn elegcei me
peri amartiaV ei alhqeian legw dia ti umeiV ou pisteuete moi
- 43N 8 46 Which out of you reproves me about sin ? If I say (the)
truth, through what do you not believe me ?
- 43N 8 47 o wn ek tou qeou ta
rhmata tou qeou akouei dia touto umeiV ouk akouete oti ek tou qeou ouk
este
- 43N 8 47 The one who is from God hears the words of God. Through this
you do not hear - because you are not from God".
So there you have it. They believed in him, but they
did not believe him.
And how should this be ? Simple. Not being from God, they did
not hear the words of God. |
- .....
43N 8 58 eipen autois ihsous
amhn amhn legw umin prin abraam genesqai egw
eimi
- 43N 8 58 Jesus said to them "Truly, truly, I say to you, before
Abraham was born, I AM".
These words 'egw eimi'
are first used by Cain in his denial at Gn.4:9.
The words are then employed in the texts of scripture as his 'trademark'
[see Chapter 7.6, Ego
Eimi and also Chapter
13.3, Appendix 1].
Cain then goes 'hidden from your face' [Gn.4:14]. But throughout
all subsequent scripture we hear his voice. |
15.7 The Chickens come
Home to Roost
Following Jesus' baptism - and his sinister
possession by 'a spirit' [Lk.3:21-22] - the author of the gospel attributed to
Luke develops, over several chapters, his narration of what is usually known as
'the public life' of Jesus.
Now, with the imminent culmination of this 'public life', the time has
come for Satan to 'give Jesus away'. Accordingly the author writes that
"Satan entered into Judas" [Lk.22:3]. And, "seeking a good chance to give him
away in the absence of the crowd" [Lk.22:6], it is Judas who now directs the
preparation of the private Passover meal [Lk.22:8-13].
In celebrating this feast, Jesus next commissions his followers to take
over the rôle which he himself is about to relinquish. And here once
again is Satan, explicitly identified in the narrative, his conditions laid
down in an anagram riddle. This 'sower' riddle serves to associate [Lk.22:31]
the wheat (siton) used to make the unleavened bread for the
feast [Lk.22:7] with the very name Satan (satan) ...
He says "But you are those who have continued with me in my testings
...", a phrase which is sure to recall the scenario of Lk.4:1-13. There Jesus
was being "tested under the devil" [Lk.4:2] - in the course of which he was
"promised a kingdom" [Lk.4:5-7] - with all it entailed. You will remember that
the scene closed with the devil "departing from him ... until (another) time"
[Lk.4:13].
Now the interrupted scene resumes - but with a difference. For this time
it is 'the son' who repeats, to his own followers, the devil's promise
made to him : "I appoint to you ... a kingdom ...".
Responsibility for the satanic 'New Covenant' is to be transferred to
those who follow Jesus :
- Luke :
- 42N 22 28 umeiV de este oi
diamemenhkoteV met emou en tois peirasmois
mou
- 42N 22 28 "But you are those who have continued with me in my
testings
- 42N 22 29 kagw diatiqemai umin
kaqwV dieqeto moi o pathr mou basileian
- 42N 22 29 And I appoint to you, just as my father appointed to me, a
kingdom
If you remember, at the start of Jesus' public life it was the
devil who promised to Jesus in its entirety
the authority and the glory pertaining to 'all the kingdoms of the
world' [Lk.4:6-7].
Subsequently Jesus addresses the source of these 'powers' as
'Father' [Lk.10:21].
Now he seeks to transfer these 'kingdom' powers to his own
followers. In doing so he refers yet again to the
devil as 'my
father' [Lk.22:29].
Solving the riddles of scripture may be likened to completing a
jigsaw puzzle. Piece by piece the whole picture builds up ... and then, quite
suddenly, we realise what is going on.
Yes, this can come as quite a surprise. But once you have seen the
solution, there is no doubt of it - and no going back. |
- 42N 22 30 ina esqhte kai pinhte
epi thV trapezhV mou en th basileia mou kai
kaqhsesqe epi qronwn tas dwdeka fulas krinonteV tou israhl
- 42N 22 30 That you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. And
you will sit upon thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
- 42N 22 31 simwn simwn idou o
satanas exhthsato umas tou siniasai wV ton
siton
- 42N 22 31 Simon, Simon [twice], look !
Satan demanded you [pl.] for
sifting like the wheat
Again this serves to inform us that it is Satan with whom Jesus has been in
communication |
- 42N 22 32 egw de edehqhn peri sou
ina mh ekliph h pistiV sou kai su pote epistreyas
sthrison touV
adelfouV sou
- 42N 22 32 But I pleaded about you that your [sg.] faith might
not vanish. And you [sg.], when you [sg.] recover, support
your brothers".
- .....
- 42N 22 38 oi de eipan kurie idou
macairai wde
duo o de eipen autoiV ikanon
estin
- 42N 22 38 But they said "Lord, look ! Here are two
daggers". He said to them, "It is sufficient".
- 42N 22 39 kai exelqwn eporeuqh kata to eqoV eiV to oroV twn elaiwn
hkolouqhsan de autw kai oi maqhtai
- 42N 22 39 And coming out, he went, according to habit, to the Mount
of Olives. But his disciples also followed him.
Once again the location is Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives being
outside the walls but opposite the temple.
The word 'macairai' (daggers)
conceals the word 'aima' (blood) [
see Is.34:6, explained towards the end of Chapter 2,
Section 2.5 ] - whilst 'ikanon' (sufficient)
conceals Cain's own name 'kain'. |
- 42N 22 40 genomenoV de epi tou
topou eipen autoiV proseucesqe mh eiselqein eis
peirasmon
- 42N 22 40 But coming upon the place, he said to them "Pray that you
do not enter into testing".
- 42N 22 41 kai autoV apespasqh ap autwn wsei liqou bolhn kai qeis ta
gonata proshuceto
- 42N 22 41 And he was withdrawn from them as if a
stone`s throw - and placing the knees, he
prayed
Jesus is brought to his knees ... and there once again is
the stone.
And he prays to the 'Father'
... who is the stone ... |
- 42N 22 42 legwn
pater ei boulei parenegke touto to pothrion
ap emou plhn mh to qelhma mou alla to son ginesqw
- 42N 22 42 Saying "Father,
if you are willing, take away this cup from me. Nevertheless not my will, but
yours be done".
- 42N 22 43 [[wfqh de autw
aggeloV ap ouranou eniscuwn
auton
- 42N 22 43 [[ But an angel from heaven appeared to him,
strengthening him
Right on cue, here is the angel which at Lk.4:10-11 [click here] Satan foretold. As with Cain at Gn.4:5, Jesus
has now stumbled over the 'stone of
stumbling'. The condition set at Lk.4:7 [click
here] is clearly fulfilled. He worships on his knees before the 'Father'. The game is given away - completely.
And as for the angel, remember 2Cor.11:14
: "Satan himself is disguised as an
angel of light".
We have now exposed the core riddle of the gospels - which are
certainly gnostic texts through and through ! |
- 42N 22 44 kai genomenoV en agwnia
ektenesteron proshuceto kai egeneto o idrwV autou wsei qromboi
aimatoV katabainontoV epi thn
ghn]]
- 42N 22 44 And becoming in agony he prayed for longer - and his
sweat became as if (it were) drops of blood falling down upon the
earth ]].
This evokes for us a curse. It is the old curse upon Adam at
Gn.3:19 "In the sweat of your face you shall eat your bread until your
return to the earth from which you were taken. For you are earth - and to earth
you shall return". |
- .....
42N 22 60 eipen de o petroV
anqrwpe ouk oida o legeiV kai paracrhma eti lalountoV autou efwnhsen
alektwr
- 42N 22 60 But Peter said "Person ? I do not know who you are
talking about !" And at once, while he was still speaking, a cock
crowed
15.8 Riddles Reveal the
Truth - Suddenly
- Matthew :
- 40N 7 7 aiteite kai doqhsetai
umin zhteite kai eurhsete krouete kai anoighsetai umin
- 40N 7 7 Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find,
knock and it will be opened to you.
- 40N 7 8 pas gar o aitwn lambanei kai o zhtwn euriskei kai tw
krouonti anoighsetai
- 40N 7 8 For each one asking receives - and the one seeking finds -
and to the one knocking it will be opened.
- 40N 7 9 h tiV estin ex umwn
anqrwpoV on aithsei o uioV autou arton mh
liqon epidwsei autw
- 40N 7 9 Or what person is there out of you who, (when) his son asks
for bread, will not give him a
stone ?
- 40N 7 10 h kai
icqun aithsei mh ofin epidwsei autw
- 40N 7 10 Or then he asks for a fish, will not give him a
serpent ?
Luke :
- 42N 11 9 kagw umin legw aiteite
kai doqhsetai umin zhteite kai eurhsete krouete kai anoighsetai
umin
- 42N 11 9 And I say to you, ask and it will be given to you, seek and
you will find, knock and it will be opened to you.
- 42N 11 10 pas gar o aitwn lambanei kai o zhtwn euriskei kai tw
krouonti anoig[hs]etai
- 42N 11 10 For each one asking receives : and the one seeking finds :
and to the one knocking it will be opened.
- 42N 11 11 tina de ex umwn ton
patera aithsei o uioV icqun kai anti icquoV
ofin autw epidwsei
- 42N 11 11 But which out of you, when the son asks the
father (for) a fish, even in
exchange for a fish will give him a serpent ?
- 42N 11 12 h kai aithsei won
epidwsei autw skorpion
- 42N 11 12 Or even he asks (for) an egg, will give him a
scorpion ?
- 42N 11 13 ei oun umeiV ponhroi
uparconteV oidate domata agaqa didonai toiV teknoiV umwn posw mallon o
pathr [o] ex ouranou dwsei pneuma agion
toiV aitousin auton
- 42N 11 13 Then if you, being evil, know to give 'good gifts' to your
children, how much more will the father from heaven give a holy spirit to
those asking him ?
Luke :
- 42N 21 34 prosecete de eautoiV
mhpote barhqwsin umwn ai kardiai en kraipalh kai meqh kai merimnaiV biwtikaiV
kai episth ef umaV aifnidios h hmera
ekeinh
- 42N 21 34 "But take care lest your hearts may be made heavy in
debauchery and intoxication and (the) cares of living - and it may come upon
you sudden, that 'day'.
- 42N 21 35 ws pagis epeiseleusetai
gar epi pantas tous kaqhmenous epi proswpon pashs ths ghs
- 42N 21 35 For like a snare it will come upon all those seated upon a
face of all the earth.
Notice the word 'ofiV'
(serpent) concealed as an anagram within the word
'aifnidios' (sudden).
The 'day' of the lord may remind us
of the threat uttered by Cain at Gn.4:14 "If you throw me out today from (the) face of the earth ...". |
1 Thessalonians :
- (considered the earliest text of the whole 'New Testament' set) :
The 'day' of the lord is like a thief in the
night [a theme echoed at 2P.3:10] ...
- 52N 5 2 autoi gar akribws oidate
oti hmera kuriou ws klepths en nukti outws
ercetai ...
- 52N 5 2 As for these, you know full well that (the) 'day' of (the) lord (is) like a thief in the
night. It comes like this ...
- 52N 5 3 otan legwsin eirhnh kai
asfaleia tote aifnidios autois efistatai oleqros wsper h wdin th en
gastri ecoush kai ou mh ekfugwsin
- 52N 5 3 Just when they are saying "Peace and safety", then
sudden calamity will come upon them - like
the birth pangs for one pregnant. And they will certainly not
escape !
That 'day' again - and once more the
serpent concealed. And surely we have seen before
that word 'asfaleia' (safety)
- and used with manifest irony ! Click here to see
just where ... was it something to do with that 'stone
for stumbling' ? |
----- o -----
Scripture is certainly interesting - and certainly it is very
clever.
Unfortunately the Christian church has maintained, now for some
seventeen centuries, only a shallow interpretation of it - an interpretation
which is obviously false, manifestly contra-indicated by a full and
careful reading of this same scripture. What an irony ! For it is
clear that this so-called 'church' has altogether failed to penetrate the
'mystery' of its own scriptures, it has failed to break the 'seal'. Then
it is the assembly of those deceived. For in these texts the authors clearly
write to depict Jesus as a satanic figure - and the 'Father' as Satan himself.
Yet who knows it ?
With the forceful extinction of the gnostic tradition in the early
centuries CE it most certainly does appear that the truth was obscured. The
establishment, in the place of this tradition, of what we know as the
'Christian' church must then rank as one of the most unfortunate episodes in
the history of Europe, then of the civilised world. For the authority of this
'church' was never more than that of those confused, of those entirely
deceived.
But how it struggles on, this satanic 'church' - ever persistent in its
blind and bigoted ignorance, unthinking, unrepentant, prideful. Yes, pride,
arrogance, ignorance, these are the attributes of Satan, the one postulated as
'deceiver of the whole world' ! And this 'church' has, in its ignorance,
followed Cain's mistaken example and picked the wrong god - a god it does not
even "know".
Could it be time at last to call a halt to this manifest folly ?
For these scriptures are merely gnostic myth, filled with tricks and clever
riddles. Carefully configured in times of antiquity, they still achieve in our
age what they were first designed to do. They deceive the greedy and the
credulous - yet yield a sound reward for the careful reader. Yes,
Augustine was surely correct. But what a price we have paid - with thousands of
years of religious conflict, a struggle entirely wasted.
How easily are people led astray - those not paying proper attention to
things ! Then the remedy is that of the Jewish sage :
- As for the evil one, drag him to
the house of studies ...
In scripture the serpent is a token of evil and his claims are false
[Gn.3:4; Jn.11:25-26]. Death spares no man.
But the truth may be told - by those who know it.
15.9
Postscript
This site is still 'under construction'. So
please forgive its shortcomings ! There is always more which might be done.
If you would like to make any comments (favourable or otherwise) or have
any corrections to offer, then I would be delighted to hear from you - and
please accept my thanks in advance. Please use this e-mail address :
15.10
References
[1] Metzger, Bruce M., "Manuscripts of the
Greek Bible", Oxford University Press, 1981, : ISBN 0-19-502924-0, p.36