Epístola de Judas

De Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

 

Saltar a: navegación, búsqueda

Un trozo del Codex Sinaiticus, conteniendo el Epístola de Judas (Judas 1:9)‎.

La Epístola de Judas es uno de los libros de Nuevo Testamento de la Biblia. El autor se identifica como Judas, el hermano de Santiago (Judas 1:1), que podría ser también por tanto, "hermano de Jesús" (Mateo 13:55). Algunos han afirmado que Judas Tadeo el apóstol había sido el autor. Pero ya en la época de Orígenes (siglo III) había dudas en la Iglesia sobre su autoría y durante la reforma protestante reaparecieron estas dudas.

A partir de principios del siglo XX cada vez más teólogos empezaron a proponer que había sido escrito por otro autor a principios del siglo II. Por las referencias al Antiguo Testamento y otros libros y por la apropiación del nombre de Judas, la mayoría de los teólogos piensan que la epístola fue escrita en Palestina.

La referencia más antigua que se tiene está el canon de Muratori del año 170.

Este libro fue declarado canónico desde el Concilio de Nicea I en 325.

Contenido  [ocultar]  1 Supuestos sobre la persona de Judas 2 Contenido 2.1 Uso de los apócrifos 3 Semejanzas con la segunda epístola de San Pedro 4 Enlaces externos

[editar] Supuestos sobre la persona de Judas

• Algunos teólogos protestantes suponen que Judas era un hermano o hermanastro de Jesús.
• En la Iglesia católica suponen que era un primo de Jesús e hijo de Cleofás.
• En la Iglesia ortodoxa oriental suponen que Judas era un hermanastro de Jesús nacido de otro casamiento.
• En una parte de Siria suponen que Judas era el apóstol Tomás, hermano de Jesús.

[editar] Contenido

1. Judas se dirige a los cristianos en general (Judas 1-2) y se preocupa por su salvación común (Judas 3).
2. Una amonestación para los falsificadores de la doctrina (Judas 3-4) y ejemplos de personas castigadas en el Antiguo Testamento (Judas 5-16).
3. Incitación a amar a Dios, fortalecer la fe y ayudar a hermanos y hermanas que tienen dudas (Judas 17-23).
4. Promesa y alabanza (Judas 24-25).

[editar] Uso de los apócrifos

El autor demuestra un conocimiento de los libros apócrifos: hace referencia al Libro de Henoc en el versículo 6 (1 Henoc 21:10) y lo cita expresamente en los versículos 14-15 (1 Henoc 60:8 y 1:9); cita quizás la Asunción de Moisés en el versículo 9 y se basa en el Testamento de los Doce Patriarcas (Neftalí 3:4-5) al relacionar los temas de los versículos 6 y 7.

• Judas 14 "a estos hombres profetizó Enoc, séptimo desde Adam, diciendo: He aquí, el Señor es venido con sus santos millares"
• 1 Henoc 60:8 "Enoc, séptimo desde Adam"
• 1 Henoc 1:9 "He aquí, el Señor es venido con sus santos millares,"

1 Henoc 1:2-10 es una expansión de las palabras de Moisés en Deuteronomio 33:2-4, y no de las palabras del Enoc de Génesis 5.^[1]

La frase de Judas es inusual; En grego esto Enoc profetizó a estos hombres (autoi) e no sobre ellos (peri auton).

[editar] Semejanzas con la segunda epístola de San Pedro

Judas 3-18 se parecen mucho a los de 2Pedro 1:5 y 2Pedro 2:1-18. Esto sugiere que uno de los escritores conocía la otra epístola. La mayoría de los teólogos suponen que Pedro usó la epístola de San Judas como fuente, dado que ésta es más corta y tras el análisis minucioso de los textos. Un argumento para suponer lo contrario es que Pedro predice que van a venir falsificadores de la doctrina y Judas dice que ya han venido. Además, Judas 18 cita 2Pedro 3:3 diciendo que son palabras de los apóstoles:

• 2 Pedro 3:3 Ante todo, sepan esto: que en los últimos días vendrán burladores con su sarcasmo, siguiendo sus propias pasiones,
• Judas 18 quienes les decían: "En los últimos tiempos habrá burladores que irán tras sus propias pasiones impías."

1. ↑ Nickelsburg 1 Enoch

Judas Tomás, otro hermano de Jesús

La literatura que se desarrolló en torno a Santiago no es la única que se relaciona, por lo menos en un comienzo, con un hermano de Jesús. Lo mismo sucedió con los libros que se adjudican a Judas Tomás. Vamos por parte. Además de Judas Iscariote encontramos entre los doce apóstoles a un Judas (hermano o hijo) de Santiago en Lc 6,16 y Hch 1,13. ¿Hermano o hijo de cuál Santiago? No lo sabemos. Nuestras fuentes no son claras al respecto. Es interesante constatar que Marcos y Mateos no nombran a Judas entre los doce, pero si nombran a un tal Tadeos que la tradición ha relacionado con Judas para distinguirlo del Iscariote (Mc 3,18; Mt 10,3). Por otra parte, en la presentación del remitente de la Carta de Judas leemos: Judas, siervo de Jesucristo y hermano de Santiago. Por último, en Mc 6, 1-5 (Mt 13,53-58) se nombra entre los hermanos de Jesús a un tal Judas. Por lo tanto, aunque no hay absoluta claridad por la diversidad de fuentes, podemos afirmar la posible existencia de una tradición muy antigua que habla de un tal Judas hermano de Jesús y de Santiago. Sin embargo, nada nos dice de una unión entre este personaje y Tomás.

 

Respecto a Tomás, éste aparece en la lista de los doce apóstoles en Mt 5,3; Mc 3,18; Lc 6,15, y Hch 1,13. Juan en 11,16 lo llama Tomas el mellizo (didimo). Lo interesante es que una versión de 14,2 del Evangelio de Juan (la versión siriaca curetoniana) habla de Judas Tomás. Por otra parte, el dicho 1 del Evangelio de Tomás habla de las palabras secretas que pronunció Jesús el viviente y que Judas Tomás el mellizo (didimo) consignó por escrito. En los Hechos apócrifos de Tomás especifica hablando de Judas Tomás el mellizo del Señor.

 

A partir de estos datos algunos autores señalan que en un principio al nombre de Judas se le agregó el sobrenombre de Tomás para diferenciarlo del Iscariote, y que éste era el hermano de Jesús. No lo podemos saber con certeza. Lo mismo se podría decir de Tadeos como el nombre de Judas para diferenciarlo del Iscariote según la lista de los discípulos de Mateos y Marcos. Lo que sí es cierto es que de manera bien temprana una rama del cristianismo identificó a Judas hermano del Señor con Tomás o el mellizo de Jesús, y que ha partir de esta tradición nacieron varios documentos muy reveladores de la historia del cristianismo en Siria y Persia: El Evangelio de Tomás, los Hechos apócrifos de Tomás, y el Libro de Tomás el atleta.

 

¿Pertenecen todos estos documentos a un mismo grupo de comunidades? En otras palabras, ¿podemos hablar de un cristianismo tomasiano? Se discute al respecto. Personalmente no lo creo. No se puede negar las similitudes entre estos escritos, como tampoco podemos omitir las diferencias. Más apropiado es pensar un término medio. La figura de Tomás fue muy importante especialmente en una región determinada: la Siria y la Persia cercana a Odesa. Desde allí, y con un background similar, surgieron sucesivamente estos escritos, cada uno desde distintas comunidades y respondiendo a problemáticas diferentes. Vale la pena en la siguientes entradas introducir algo de estos escritos.

http://tomachosj.blogspot.com/2010/02/judas-tomas-otro-hermano-de-jesus.html

BET EMET MINISTRIES

Hebrew For "The House Of Truth"

Craig M. Lyons Ms.D., D.D., M.Div.

bennoah1@verizon.net

TRACING THE SUN THROUGH THE ZODIAC & GEMINI...COULD THIS BE THE ORIGIN FOR THE "JESUS STORY" #7

GEMINI & JESUS: MAY 21-JUNE 21

We ended the last article looking at the correlations between the "Jesus Story" in the New Testament and the path of the Sun through the Zodiac, in particular the constellation Taurus as it parallels the depiction of the "Jesus Story" taken chronologically throughout the New Testaments' depiction of Jesus Christ. We have traced the "Jesus Story" not only through the Heavens as it parallels the path of the Sun through the Zodiac when "personified" and "allegorized" but have seen the genius of the Creator to inscribe upon the Heavens above His will for mankind and their "Spiritual Evolution". We have traced the Sun through the previous Houses of the Zodiac and when "personified" and with the aid of "anthropomorphic" language we have seen how the "Evolution of the Soul in matter" has been told through the "myths" and "legends" of sungods. The irony of this whole thing is that the "Jesus Story" is the story of the birth, life, growth, and death of the Soul in this physical realm we call "life". This "Jesus Story" is a "plan-o-gram" for mankind to follow and emulate as were many of the prior "sungod" stories as well. We have seen beginning with Capricorn that man was born into this physical world with the necessity of a "2nd birth" which is symbolized as we move to the House of Aquarius where we find the symbolic immersion into a "watery womb" or a "watery tomb" in baptism where as Judaism teaches man receives the "Soul that comes down from Heaven" and is "born again". We saw that this imagery of being "born again in water" is accompanied with "repentance" as seen in the immersion of John the Baptist and his "baptism of repentance". We saw that the language of John is very important as he lays out the desired growth of man's Soul; for it must increase as the power of his flesh decreases. We immediately move from this even in our spiritual growth to a full-blown war with our soul as we must fight the "darkness" within seen in the allegory of "Jesus' Temptation" with the Devil. This is but a picture of the Sun and its eternal battle with "darkness" again symbolized in the "Jesus Story" in Jesus' temptation where the "spirit" and "flesh" battle continuously. The Soul is intended to increase in strength over our flesh as we live out our lives and continually reflect more of the light of God daily as does the Sun in it new ascending path in the Heavens. We saw as we moved to Pisces that as we grow "spiritually" we must feed ourselves "the bread that comes down from Heaven" before we can feed others and become "fishers of men". Thus the symbolism of Pisces which stresses again the need for this bread due to the "intersection" in Heaven of these "two fish" or "2 natures in man; spiritual and fleshly". As we live a life of repentance unto good works we accomplish such a goal when fed the true "manna" of God. We then followed God's Sun into the Constellation of Aries where we first met up with the idea of "sacrifice" in relationship to the Lamb of God. We learned from this that God was teaching us that we are to become "living sacrifices", holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service while at the same time we are not conformed to this world continue to be transformed by the renewing of our minds in order that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:1-2...KJV). We next found ourselves at the Spring Equinox were we learned that this is a special time with God and man which speaks God's Harmony and peace to all Creation. We also learned that this is the Harvest time when the Earth brings forth her fruit. We made note of the need for our fruit in our lives that comes through good works and obedience to the Commandments of God were according to Judaism we find and receive our atonement. As living sacrifices according to the Hebrew Scriptures we accomplish our own atonement. As we moved with the Sun into the Constellation of Taurus we saw the repeated emphasis upon "sacrifice" and continued fruitfulness on a large scale; a scale large enough to reach the world with this true message of maturation of man's Soul. We camped a little while here as we contrasted the Houses of Aries and Taurus for parallels between them and the unbelievable similarities between the "personified Sun" as "Mithra" and as "Jesus" in the New Testament. We move must move on with the Sun as it never sleeps and move with it into the House of Gemini and learn the next "Spiritual Lesson" that God has for us as we learn of the maturation of the Divine within matter; ie., our Souls.

Now we continue to go more deeply as we trace the Sun in its path through the Zodiac as it leaves Taurus and enters the constellation of Gemini. We by now are familiar with the astronomical concept that the Sun goes on a journey through the Zodiac during the 12 months of the year. We have been following this journey of the Sun and we have seen how uncannily the path of the Sun through the Zodiac matches up with the chronological depiction of "Jesus" and the journey that Jesus takes during his life and ministry as depicted by the writers of the New Testament. We have seen that according to the writers of the Synoptic Gospels that Jesus' ministry is said to last a year. We have also seen that the Sun completes its circuit of the Zodiac in a year. This is not a coincidence. We now look at the constellation Gemini to see the continuing struggle of the Sun against the darkness and note the parallels to the depiction of Jesus and his ministry as recorded in the New Testament.

The constellation of Gemini has been seen as twin figures by cultures throughout the world, back into prehistory. The 'Two Stars', referring to its very bright suns, which the Greeks recognized as Castor and Polydeuces, were named for the younger and elder forms of the god Horus by the Egyptians. To the Romans they were Hercules and Apollo. Often perceived as twin boys, the lore sustains that they were placed in the night sky by Jove to honor and exemplify the fidelity of their brotherly love. In other instances they were seen as a sister and brother or two angels, then within later Christian traditions, as Adam and Eve.

Stories of hero twins are also related throughout the world. For the Greeks their was Castor and Polydeuces, also known as the Dioscuri, or Heavenly Twins. They were the children of Zeus and Leda, queen of Sparta (yes...you may call them: 'sons of the swan.'), thus also the brothers to the infamous Helen, late of Troy. The exploits of these twins are many, and all heroic. In their youth they sailed with Jason to retrieve the Golden Fleece. To the Romans, who knew them as Castor and Pollux, the twins were invoked on the field of battle to assure victory. For centuries beyond they were held as guardians to sailors on extended or risky voyages.

LETS LEARN SOME ASTRONOMY BEFORE WE LOOK AT THE THEOLOGY

We have not up to this time spent a lot of time with the Summer Solstice but our time has come as we find the Sun struggling to rise to the zenith of its path across the Heavens where it will eventually reach the apex of its path which is the Summer Solstice. Let us not forget the Sun, since raised from the dead at the Winter solstice has been ascending in the Sky on its way to its zenith. Associated with this path of the Sun across the Sky is the constellation Gemini. The constellation Gemini is traditionally depicted as two men (the twins). The two brightest stars in Gemini, Castor and Pollux (north of the bright star Procyon in Canis Minor), are two of the brightest stars in the sky and were identified by the Greeks with two children, in most accounts the twin sons of Zeus and Leda. As indicated by the "twins of Gemini" this is a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches onward to its zenith. This path of the Sun to its zenith in the Sky ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. It is at this time that the Sun is at the peak of its strength. In the northern hemisphere the Summer Solstice is the longest day of the year (near June 22) when the Sun is farthest north. The Summer solstice is the longest day of the year, respectively, in the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset on this day is a maximum for the year. It is the time of the greatest light. The dates of maximum tilt of the Earth's equator correspond to the Summer solstice and Winter solstice, and the dates of zero tilt to the Vernal equinox and Autumnal equinox. People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the Summer solstice. On this day, typically Jun 21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer.

Let us not forget that the seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the Sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the Sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the Sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. As mentioned above the time of the year when the Sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the Summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. On the Summer Solstice, which occurs on June 21, the Sun is at its highest path through the sky and the day is the longest. Because the day is so long the Sun does not rise exactly in the east, but rises to the north of east and sets to the north of west allowing it to be in the sky for a longer period of time. After the Summer solstice the Sun follows a lower and lower path through the sky each day until it reaches the point where it is in the sky for exactly 12 hours again. This is the Fall or Autumn Equinox. Just like the Spring Equinox, the Sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west on this day and everyone in the world will experience a 12 hour day. After the Fall Equinox the Sun will continue to follow a lower and lower path through the sky and the days will grow shorter and shorter until it reaches its lowest path and then we are back at the Winter Solstice where we started.

The Summer solstice typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, Jun. 21 which is the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about Dec. 21 and is the Winter solstice which is the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum. We get the word "Solstice", from the Latin for "Sun stands still", in astronomy, either of the two points on the ecliptic that lie midway between the equinoxes (separated from them by an angular distance of 90°). For several days before and after each solstice the Sun appears to stand still in the sky, i.e., its noontime elevation does not seem to change from day to day. At the solstices the sun's apparent position on the celestial sphere reaches its greatest distance above or below the celestial equator, about 23 1/2° of arc. At the time of Summer solstice, about June 22, the Sun is directly overhead at noon at the Tropic of Cancer.

Now that the technical information is out of the way we now focus on the fact that in pre-historic times, Summer was a joyous time of the year for those Ancient people who lived in the northern latitudes. The snow had disappeared; the ground had thawed out; warm temperatures had returned; flowers were blooming; leaves had returned to the deciduous trees. Some herbs could be harvested, for medicinal and other uses. Food was easier to find. This is the time of the first harvest, which usually consisted of the herbs planted during the Vernal Equinox. Other crops had already been planted and would be harvested in the months to come. Although many months of warm/hot weather remained before the fall, they noticed that the days were beginning to shorten, so that the return of the cold season was inevitable. Midsummer has been one of the important solar events throughout the evolution of humankind. It was an indicator that the year was about to begin waning, thus winter would be again returning. Although not all the ancients were as precise in the calculations from an astronomical point, you can be sure that they were keenly aware of the Sun's progression, and did most assuredly know when Solstice was upon them, as the Sun appeared to stand still in its northern progression.

The ancients knew that life came from the Sun, it was life giving, life supporting, without it life would be lost. The Sun was viewed as the Ancient's "Savior" of sorts. The journey of the Sun impacted life at every level in the course of time, only relatively recently with the advances of electricity, greenhouses, transportation networks, has human reliance on the passage of the Sun been lessened. Even with this dependence lessening, in this technological age, necessity of the Sun and its path is crucial to our existence, however it is not as apparent today to many. Midsummer is the time when the Sun reaches the peak of its power, the earth is green and holds the promise of a bountiful harvest.

NOW SOME THEOLOGY

We say in the previous article that Jesus, in the form of the personified Sun, passed through Taurus and in so doing likewise passed across the Milky Way which is that starry band of millions of stars that lies like a lake across the sky. We saw that at this point in the "Jesus Story" Jesus crosses "the lake" and we as expected found the allegorical story of Jesus walking on water.

Answer for yourself: What happens as the Sun moves past Taurus and the Milky Way?

On the star map provided I want the reader to look to the bottom right and locate the "Hyades" which is part of the Constellation of Taurus. If you draw a diagonal line ascending from bottom right to upper left you come to another Constellation named Gemini. This path between the "Hyades" in Taurus and ascending to Gemini is called the "Ecliptic" and this is the path of the Sun as it moves through the Zodiac in the Heavens. In our study it is important to note as seen in the reference above Sun crossing the "water" or "milky way" in the Heavens which is later retold in the "personified Jesus Story" as Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee and walking on water. After the Sun crosses the Milky Way it moves into the constellation Gemini called "the twins" Castor and Pollox (the two bright stars in Gemini are named Castor and Pollux).

Answer for yourself: What do we find Jesus doing in the gospels right after crossing the lake? We find an account of Jesus healing the sick but how many? How many people is Jesus healing? He is only healing "two".

If our premise holds we should expect to find Jesus associated with "two" (Castor and Pollox) people and that is exactly what we find. In the "Jesus Story", after crossing the lake (which we saw was Jesus as the personified Sun crossing the Milky Way), Jesus heals two demon possessed men.

Matt 8:28-34 28 And when he was come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. 29 And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before the time? 30 And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine feeding. 31 So the devils besought him, saying, If thou cast us out, suffer us to go away into the herd of swine. 32 And he said unto them, Go. And when they were come out, they went into the herd of swine: and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters. 33 And they that kept them fled, and went their ways into the city, and told every thing, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils. 34 And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus: and when they saw him, they besought him that he would depart out of their coasts. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Does the New Testament mention Castor and Pollux? It sure does

Answer for yourself: Is this just a coincidence that Jesus meets two men that need to be healed or is this again symbolic for the constellation Gemini as the Sun moves through the Zodiac?

Acts 28:11 11 And after three months we departed in a ship of Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was Castor and Pollux. (KJV)

We made mention earlier of the connection of the Harvest with this time of the year around Summer when the Sun enters Gemini. This is a time of increase or doubling as the Sun continually rises in the Sky to its Zenith and its peak of strength. This is especially so noting the connection of Shavuot, or Pentecost, with the sign of Gemini. In Matt. 12:1 we find Jesus and his disciples going through the fields full of grain plucking the heads of grain to eat. As you can see the seasons are advancing.

Matt 12:1 1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungered, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat. (KJV)

We find in the "Jesus Story" the masterful strength portrayed by Jesus in his teachings where he pronounces that like the Sun his strength is without limit and beyond contest:

Matt 12:8 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (KJV)

No one can challenge Jesus and win or try to usurp his power for none can win for we find Jesus in all his glory and majesty in his ministry portrayed at this time which is keeping in symbolism of the Sun moving to its Zenith where its light is at its greatest. This great power of the "personified Sun" in the allegory of the "Jesus Story" is seen in Jesus ability to control the "darkness of the physical realm" as witnessed in the many accounts of the miracles of Jesus over "demons" in the New Testament. Let us not forget what we previously learned about the "Devil" being "personified darkness".

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Matt 12:23-24 23 And all the people were amazed, and said, Is not this the son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Is Jesus being challenged by these evil Pharisees accurate to Jewish theology and Jewish history? No not really as we show in other articles where Jesus was likewise supposedly challenged by the Pharisees for healing on the Sabbath and eating of the Sabbath. Jewish law allows for both healing on the Sabbath as well as plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath when one's life is endangered and we find Jesus in the text fleeing from Herod Antipas. This action would be perfectly permissible by Jewish Law but the writers of the New Testament had to show the opposition to Jesus and did so by misrepresenting the Pharisees. This dualism between light and darkness and it constant and eternal struggle is pictured in these false representations of the Pharisees.

We mentioned previously that at the Solstices, both the Winter and the Summer Solstices, the earth's tilt reaches it maximum and begins to retrograde and along with this it appear that the Earth has remained motionless or "dead" once again in 3 years. In keeping with the parallel of the personification of the Sun and the life and evolution of the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament we should expect to find at this particular time in the ministry of Jesus some reference to "death for 3 days".

Answer for yourself: Do we find such a reference in sequence to the events in the life of this Jesus as found in the Gospel account of a death for 3 days? We sure do!

Matt 12:38-40 38 Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. 39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (KJV)

Here we find, in sequential order in the Gospels mind you, Jesus' reference to the Summer Solstice and the 3 days of death of Jonas where he is in the belly of the big fish. This teaching of Jesus occurs when the Sun is in Gemini which is the time of the Summer Soltice. This death of Jonas is likened by Jesus to his own coming death at the next Solstice which is 6 months away, the Winter Solstice, were like Jonas he will remain dead for 3 days like the Sun is dead for 3 days before being resurrected again.

Answer for yourself: Is this just a lucky coincidence that when the Sun remains "dead" in the Heavens and Sky for 3 days, at the Summer and Winter Solstice, we find Jonas dead for 3 days and later Jesus dead 3 days?

We find associated with this event the challenge of those bad Pharisees that seem to be constantly challenging Jesus in the "Jesus Story" just like the Sun is constantly challenged by the darkness continually in its rise to its zenith of strength at the Summer solstice in Gemini.

John 3:19-21 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God. (KJV)

Jesus, as the personified Sun, conquers the evil of the religious leaders of Israel. This shows his greater strength over his adversaries just like the Sun shows its maximum strength in rising to its zenith in the Sky at the Summer solstice. But we are not finished yet.

Answer for yourself: Are there more contests of strength over darkness that are associated with this sabbath account in the New Testament? Yes there is.

Jesus, as the personified Sun, again shows his unbeatable power over demons as he cures a man with withered hand in Matt.12:9-14.

Matt 12:9-14 9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue: 10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days. 13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other. 14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. (KJV)

Again we have a Sabbath account where to those not familiar with Judaism it appears that healing on the Sabbath is a crime. Not so. The only deeds prohibited on the Sabbath as types of "work" not allowed are those categories of work associated with the building of the Temple and "healing the sick" is not one of them. Again we have the tragic misrepresentation of Judaism as a harsh religion when it is not but at the same time the Pharisees are made to appear evil when they were not.

Answer for yourself: What lies behind these unhistorical accounts?

More to the point we find the eternal struggle of light versus darkness in this depiction just like we find in the path of the Sun in its rise to its zenith at the Summer solstice. Notice we are moving through the Gospels in chronological sequence in the life and ministry of Jesus just like the Sun in move in sequence in its path through the Heavens and not surprisingly the "Jesus Story" is in step with the Sun's increasing and ascending path through the Sky.

Next we see this eternal struggle in the next account of healing a man who is blind and mute in Matt. 12:22.

Matt 12:22 22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw. (KJV)

Answer for yourself: Again I ask you is this a coincidence that Jesus, as the light of the world, cures a man blind who epitomizes the great power of darkness in the world? Again as I see it having studied Comparative Religion now for over ten years and before us in the Gospel accounts of the "Jesus Story" is the age old battle of the Sun against the darkness whom we call the "darkness-evil", "dark-evil", "d-evil", the "devil".

But we are not finished yet.

As the Sun approaches Gemini and enters into the sign of Gemini we experience a time of increasing or doubling as the Sun reaches its zenith in the Sky. The Sun's path through the constellation of Gemini ends on the Summer solstice when days are the longest and nights the shortest. The Sun is at the peak of its strength.

At its zenith, the Sun straddles over its descent into darkness. The Pharisees are made to call him the prince of demons.

Matt 12:24 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. (KJV)

In the gospel of John the first time we meet Thomas he is identified as "the Twin," (in Greek Didymos) and this is repeated in John 21:2. This "name" for Thomas is not recorded in the other three New Testament gospels, and the fourth gospel does not explain whose "twin" Thomas is. But in the Syrian Church, there is no doubt that Thomas is the "twin" of Jesus.

This astounding belief comes from the gospel of Thomas, which begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." Some Syrian manuscript versions of John 14:22 identify the disciple Judas (the Judas who isn't Judas Iscariot) as "Judas Thomas," and in the Syrian Christian tradition the apostle Thomas and "Didymos Judas Thomas" or "Judas Thomas" are understood to be the same person.

Answer for yourself: Were you aware that Ancient legends suggest that St. Thomas the Doubter was Jesus twin brother? How is this connected to the "Jesus Story"?

Well let us begin taking notice that the name Thomas Didymos means "twin" in two different languages. That means it was so important to some people that he's called that twice, just to make sure we know. Interesting, right? I think so.

Answer for yourself: Are you aware that one of Jesus' disciples was named the same name as an astrological sign? Are you aware that one of Jesus' disciples was names after the constellation Gemini? Coincidence, you say? Maybe so, maybe no. Let's jump into the myth surrounding the zodiac sign of Gemini and see what we can find and then you decided if this is but coincidence.

Answer for yourself: Can you guess what you get when you translate "didymai" (plural form of didymos) into Latin! You get "Gemini"!

Answer for yourself: Don't you think it rather strange that we have an Ancient Church tradition that connects Jesus and Gemini? Could this be more evidence that links the "Jesus Story" with the Sun passing through the Zodiac?

In classical Greek mythology, the stars in the constellation of Gemini were named Castor and Pollux, known collectively as the "Dioscuri" or "Sons of Zeus." Although Leda was mother to both, the twins had different fathers. Pollux was the son of the chief Olympian God, Zeus, who had changed himself into a swan in order pursue the lovely Leda. Thus, Pollux was immortal. Castor was not immortal therefore being the son of Leda's husband, Tyndareus, King of Sparta, he was destined to die. So now we have a pair of twins, one who is divinely conceived and one who is born of an earthly father. This is very interesting and should make you wonder at what is coming next. To me, this already triggers all kinds of Christology that is associated with the "Jesus Story" but lets not jump the gun here and get back to Gemini.

This dual structure of the hero reappears in the archetypal motif of the Twin Brothers, one mortal, the other immortal, the most obvious instance being the Greek myth of the Dioscuri [Castor and Pollux]. Their mother, in the same night, conceived the immortal son in the embrace of Zeus and the mortal son in the embrace of her husband Tyndarus. Again, Herakles [Hercules] was begotten by Zeus, and his twin brother by Amphitryon. We are also told that the mother of Theseus was impregnated in the same night by Poseidon and King Aegeus... (Erich Neumann, The Origins and History of Consciousness, p. 136).

Answer for yourself: Did you notice we have the same story again but this time about Hercules? Is there some kind of pattern forming here? It sure would seem so. Apparently, this idea of twins - one divine, one earthly - shows up around the world in almost every nation "under the Sun".

Answer for yourself: Did you know that one of these twins is sacrificed in order to ensure a better world and this idea comes up again and again from nation to nation as well?

Answer for yourself: Is it possible then that Jesus and his twin, Thomas Didymos, are yet another example of this ancient mythological theme? I think it's not only possible, but extremely likely.

Answer for yourself: Is it but coincidence that we find that Jesus was the son conceived in Mary by God, in the form of the Holy Spirit, and this would make Thomas, the earthly son, conceived by Joseph (paralleled to Castor and Pollux)?

Answer for yourself: So what have we seen? We saw that the Sun is moving Northward in the sky to its zenith at the Summer solstice where its power and might is the maximum and likewise we see the strength of Jesus exhibited in his tackling the whole of the Jewish religious establishment over issues like healing on the Sabbath and plucking and eating grain on the Sabbath which likewise shows his power and authority over darkness of the Pharisees. But we are coming to a turning point in the ministry of Jesus; whereas his ministry has been largely successful up to now we will find that once Jesus, as the personified Sun, lips over the zenith a the Summer Solstice it is literally all downhill for Jesus from then on as his ministry is in decline exactly like the Sun it the Sky as both move toward their ultimate death.

But we are not finished.

Now me move on to Jesus' transfiguration at the Summer Solstice. One night, during dinner with his disciples, Jesus foretells of his suffering (that he will be betrayed by one of them), death, and resurrection. To prove this is all true and voluntary, Jesus then leads three of his disciples to a very high mountain (symbolically halfway between Heaven and Earth), where he undergoes the Transfiguration from Jesus to the Christ figure, the true Son of God. He then comes down from the mountain and begins his priestly ministry (Mat. 17:1-13, Mark 9:2-13, Luke 9:28-36).

Matt 17:1-13 1 And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the Sun, and his raiment was white as the light. 3 And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. 4 Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. 5 While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid. 7 And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise, and be not afraid. 8 And when they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9 And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead. 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first come? 11 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12 But I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they listed. Likewise shall also the Son of man suffer of them. 13 Then the disciples understood that he spake unto them of John the Baptist. (KJV)

In the "Jesus Story" we find Jesus transfigured on a mountain in front of his disciples, Peter, James and John. Note the parallel to the story that Jesus goes to a high mountain top and shines brightly, just as the Sun is high in the sky and shines warmly and brightly during the Summer months.

Answer for yourself: Are you aware that several other savior-gods were likewise transfigured on mountain tops? We can begin at the beginning with Osiris as usual. G. Massey explains in his The Historical Jesus or the Mythical Christ, on page 78, the mythical meaning of the transfiguration. Massey relates that the scene on the Mount of Transfiguration is obviously derived from the ascent of Osiris into the mount of the moon. The sixth day was celebrated as that of the change and transformation of the solar god into the lunar orb, when he re-entered on that day as the regenerator of its light. With this we may compare the statement made by Matthew, that "after six days Jesus" went "up into a high mountain apart; and he was transfigured," "and his face did shine as the Sun, and his garments became white as the light."

 In Egypt the year began soon after the Summer Solstice, when the Sun descended from its midsummer height, lost its force, and lessened in its size. This by now we should know from our studies. This represented Osiris, who was born of the Virgin Mother as the child Horus, the diminished infantile Sun of Autumn; the suffering, wounded, bleeding Messiah, as he was represented. Osiris, killed by his brother Set, himself personified Darkness, descended into hell, or hades, where he was transformed into the virile Horus, and rose again as the Sun of the resurrection at Easter.

Massey goes on to explain that after such glory exhibited by the Sun at the Winter solstice we even see in the above passage the hint of the decline of the Sun who has just reached its triumph in the Sky as Jesus, as the personified form of the Sun, forecasts his inevitable death at the soon coming Winter solstice.

Taken "literally" then we miss the hidden truths of the "Inner Mysteries" intended only for the initiates into the "mystery" behind the "Jesus Story". We grew up as Christians and followers of "the Christ" in the Outer Mysteries of Christianity taking everything we read "literally"; never realizing that the Ancients had a hidden meaning in the Inner Mysteries reserved for only the few who desired such higher truths from God.

Answer for yourself: Does any of this sound familiar to you? Could the "Jesus Story" be the original "Osiris Story" and we not know it? And are both nothing more than personifications of the Sun and its path through the Zodiac and the stars?

So we move on to the next article in this series as we follow the Sun in its path in the Heavens out of Gemini into Cancer and see if our pattern of the life and ministry of Jesus in the "Jesus Story" can follow the path of the Sun through the Zodiac as it reaches its Zenith and we should expect soon to see Jesus' transfiguration and we will as we read that his "face shined like the Sun".

Let us continue with the next article in this series.

If you so desire, Bet Emet Ministries offers a comprehensive CD of all our Websites. Included with the CD is a "study plan" to assure the proper Spiritual evolution of your Soul and its proper development through following the in-depth studies. There is an order in which these numerous websites should be "studied" in order to maximize your learning and spiritual growth. Just click on this link for the details as to how you may obtain the CD that consists of the ministry's fifteen websites, or should I say, books that were written over the last fifteen years. Many of these sites are actually books, consisting of hundreds of pages of knowledge that the Roman Church intended you never come to know.

In our CD of all our websites contained on one disk we provide a "study plan" for the student and give detailed instructions as how to study these websites "in order" to facilitate one's study. Please inquire for the CD for such thorough study will take you some time if you ever hope of cracking the "Jesus Puzzle" and coming to the answer of the question: "Who do men say I am?" Hidden in this study is the manner by which you, a Christian, can come to the point in your life where the true power and demonstration of the Power of God in your life can be found and experience, where you can "say" to the mountains in your life "be gone" and they really flee. Just ask my wife who raised the Christ to life in her life, in a few short months, to reverse a disease process in her body and is alive today when medical science said otherwise. A mistaken literal and historical understanding of the sacred Scriptures "killeth," but a "mystical" and "metaphysical" understanding of the true indwelling Christ in you, as the real St. Paul teaches, raises you from the dead in this Earthly life and gives you the power and demonstration of the Power of God in your life. No tricks here, but just truth, truth kept from us by less than truthful group of men that changed the original understanding of the Ancient Wisdom to keep humanity ignorant and in fear, thus selfishly controlling them when they no longer had enough swords to do so. Don't let this ignorance of the truth continue in your life. It is time to experience the resurrection of Christ from the dead in you NOW!

• Bet Emet Ministries
• Rev. Craig Lyons Ms.D., D.D., M.Div.
• 902 Cardigan
• Garland, Texas 75040
• Home: 972-496-4238
• Cell: 972-480-7690
• E-Mail: bennoah1@verizon.net

Tranquilos, que nadie se asuste... no vamos a sufrir una invasión de demonios del averno (al menos eso espero ). Me he permitido la licencia de usar ese titular por un motivo concreto. Hoy, 21 de junio, es la fecha en el hemisferio norte (en el sur ocurre al contrario) del solsticio de verano. Arranca oficialmente la estación más calurosa del año y hoy el día tiene más horas de luz que ningún otro.

Como ya comentamos en el blog en su momento, los antiguos romanos contaban entre su nutrido panteón de dioses con la figura de Jano (Janus en latín), el dios de los solsticios. Era también el dios de las puertas, de todos los inicios y de los finales. Poseía una rica iconografía –de la que algún día hablaremos más a fondo–, en la que lo más destacado era su representación con dos rostros, cada uno de ellos mirando en direcciones opuestas. De ahí que se le denomine también como Jano bifronte.

En lo que respecta a la temática de este blog, lo que más nos interesa de él es que los collegia fabrorum (las cofradías de constructores romanos) le rindieron una devoción especial, siendo su patrón.

Como decía más arriba, se consideraba a Jano el dios de los solsticios, las «puertas solsticiales» o «puertas del cielo». Así, el solsticio de verano era llamado janua inferni, la "puerta del infierno" o de los hombres, y el solsticio de invierno, janua coeli, la "puerta de los dioses". Además de patrón de los constructores, Jano era para los romanos el dios de la iniciación a los misterios. Era la «puerta», no sólo solsticial, sino también iniciática.

Esta devoción se transmitió a los canteros medievales y pasó a la iconografía y la religión cristiana bajo el culto a los dos «san Juan»: el Bautista, que tiene su festividad el 24 de junio (solsticio de verano), y el Evangelista, que tiene su festividad el 27 de diciembre (solsticio de invierno). Hay casos muy significativos en este sentido, en los que esta pervivencia es evidente. Jean Hani, profesor emérito en la Universidad de Amiens, menciona un notable ejemplo en la basílica francesa de Saint-Remi, en Reims: «En una vidriera aparece un único san Juan, que engloba en una sola figura al Precursor y al Evangelista, fusión subrayada por la presencia, sobre la cabeza, de dos girasoles (los dos solsticios) dirigidos en sentido opuesto: una especie de Jano cristiano, en suma».

No es el único caso. Otro día hablaremos de la presencia de zodiacos en iglesias y catedrales medievales. Hoy es suficiente con comentar que junto a algunos de estos zodiacos, generalmente esculpidos en las fachadas de los templos, y a ambos lados de Cristo, aparecen en ocasiones los "dos Juanes". Están marcando, de este modo, las fechas de los solsticios. ¿Qué simboliza esto? Como bien explica de nuevo Hani:

Del mismo modo que ellos ‘abren’ los dos períodos de la historia marcados por las dos venidas del Salvador, igualmente, en el plano cósmico, ‘abren’ las dos fases del ciclo anual, símbolo reducido del ciclo universal del tiempo y la historia; y en esta función, han reemplazado, desdoblándolo por así decirlo, al Jano bifronte, del que los Collegia fabrorum, antepasados de los constructores de catedrales, celebraban la fiesta en los dos solsticios.

Además, la división en la janua inferni y la janua coeli aparece también en algunas representaciones medievales del Juicio Final, en las que se divide la escena en dos partes: por un lado, los condenados que van al infierno –descienden, igual que el Sol a partir del solsticio de verano, o janua inferni– y, por otro, aquellos que se salvan –ascienden, al igual que el Sol tras el solsticio de invierno, o janua coeli.

En los templos medievales las representaciones de Jano son bastante habituales –además de los casos mencionados–, sobre todo en los zodiacos. Os pongo las imágenes de varios ejemplos. La primera corresponde a una representación del dios existente en la catedral de Amiens, en una serie de los trabajos de los meses. La segunda y la tercera proceden de la catedral de Chartres, también en Francia. En ésta última imagen Jano –aunque no se aprecia en la fotografía– está rodeado de símbolos del zodiaco.

Por supuesto, y como algunos de vosotros ya habréis adivinado, este culto a Jano, y más tarde a los «dos san Juan» en las logias medievales, se conserva en la masonería actual, pues tanto las fiestas solsticiales como los dos «Juanes» tienen gran importancia.·.

Eso es todo. ¡Feliz solsticio! y ¡Feliz noche de San Juan el sábado! (ojito con las hogueras)

http://arssecreta.com/?tag=jano