Ancient Truths? - Part 4 : From 3,000 BC to 100 AD
© 2020, John Lerwill
Dear Reader,
In his first book, 'The Book of Truth, A New Perspective On The Hopi Creation Story', he even traces the Hopi story back to Egypt and puts a new light on the murals, temples, and pyramids from that point of view, a view that rings true today.
In his second book, 'Stonehenge, If This Was East', Mills uses his knowledge of the Hopi Ceremonial Cycles to find ancient east at a number of unexplained ancient sites around the world. He then uses this knowledge to find true north and compares north to [writer] Charles Hapgood’s four North Pole locations in the past 100,000 years with amazing results—thus dating the sites and proving the Hopi Creation Story.
The good word well spoken,
The good deed well done.
Zoroaster's influence was considerable within Persia, and many accept that his teachings seem to pre-date that of others of a similar school, and it was from this tradition that the Magi appear. For my part, I tend to the thought that it was from this Persian source that the so-called 'Aryans' emerged and settled in the Harrapa Valley in (then) North India around 5,000 to 4,000BC. The 'Aryans' appear not to be a race but a people of a spiritual quality - being pure in their practical spirituality. Perhaps it was from within this framework that the rishis emerged and wrote down (from their considerable spiritual attainment and memory) the writings known as 'the Vedas', a primary set of scripture possessed by those whom we, of late, call 'Hindus' - formerly 'Bharatiyas': of the country of Bharat, as India was once known.
It was in Bharat that the renowned avatar Krishna appeared, and where he left his mortal coil in 3102 BC. It was a transcendental teaching dialogue between him and his cousin Arjuna that became famously enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita ("Song Of The Lord"), a book known as the essence of the Vedas (the scripture).
The early part of the second millennium BC saw the appearance of the Code of Hammurabi, a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia.
Dear Reader,
Reflections On Parts 2 and 3
Thomas O. Mills is a deep researcher and writer who has provided important perspectives on the history of the Earth, particularly through the teachings of the Hopi people of America. He has a deep respect for the Hopi people and believes their Creation Story can be proven. He also unveils intriguing data on pole shifts.In his first book, 'The Book of Truth, A New Perspective On The Hopi Creation Story', he even traces the Hopi story back to Egypt and puts a new light on the murals, temples, and pyramids from that point of view, a view that rings true today.
In his second book, 'Stonehenge, If This Was East', Mills uses his knowledge of the Hopi Ceremonial Cycles to find ancient east at a number of unexplained ancient sites around the world. He then uses this knowledge to find true north and compares north to [writer] Charles Hapgood’s four North Pole locations in the past 100,000 years with amazing results—thus dating the sites and proving the Hopi Creation Story.
Mills's empathy with Hopi wisdom is palpable, and in his last book he narrates the following insight into the Hopi concern for humanity and the present-day Climate Changes:
Interestingly, at one point the Earth's year was measured at 360 days, but then some celestial event happened that extended the year to our present 365.25 days.
John Michel was another esteemed writer who wrote very interesting books about Stonehenge and its mystical properties and noted that the geometry used at Stonehenge was also used in the Great Pyramid of Egypt and other megaliths. Michel also introduced us to gematria - the science of substitution of numbers for letters - and, further, illustrated how Biblical phrases (in the Greek language) can be interpreted into numerical values that have a mystical correspondence with numbers contained in megaliths such as Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid.
A long time ago, all science had an equal standing with sacred geometry and spiritual thought. It is only such a conception that can lead man to form a correct conclusion about his origin and the genesis of everything in the universe — of Heaven and Earth, between which he is a living link. Without such a unified and psychological link, and the feeling of its presence, no science can ever progress, and the realm of knowledge becomes limited only to the analysis of physical matter - of materialism, the philosophy that has latterly brought us to where we are.
The Zoroastrian Creed:
On three noble ideals be ever intent:
The good thought well thought,The Elders I knew, learned from their elders, the prophecies past down from their elders, all the way back to the Guardian Spirt (Kachina) known as Massau’u, who gave the Hopi permission to occupy this land after a great flood. He told them what signs to look for in the future to tell when this world event might happen again. Massau’u was the original prophet. The Elders alive today do not claim to be prophets or try to foretell things as if by some divine inspiration. They are just repeating what was told to them in the past by their fathers and grandfathers exactly the way it was told to them. Massau’u instructed the Hopi to repeat his stories to future generations and he also told them that it would be a very hard job for them to accomplish, as very few people would listen to his prophecy’s in times of plenty. This was their job, and that is why the Elders talk to us today. They do not claim to be prophets, they do not claim to be psychic or have any magical powers. We put those titles on them because they talk about future events and those events are coming true today, just the way Massau’u told them they would.
A group of traditional Hopi Elders decided in 1948 that Massau’u’s message was not being heard fast enough. They elected four members to represent the tribe, giving each a sacred prayer feather, in the hope that their words would be taken seriously. This was a huge step for the peaceful people as no tribe member wanted to be singled out by them using his own name in public. This was completely contrary to the Hopi way of life, living modestly in all ways, and at all times. ...
By 1992, only one of the four spokesmen was left, Thomas Banyacya, and he arranged to speak before the United Nations General Assembly on December 10th of that year. All he took with him was his scared prayer feather and the ancient stone tablet (the most sacred object that the tribe possessed) that Massau’u had given the Hopi when he greeted them, told them they could occupy this land and proved that he existed. I can only image the stress Thomas was under protecting this tablet on his journey and during his stay in New York City. He practised his speech for 44 years and was allowed to speak for 10 minutes before the group of delegates:
Nature, the First People and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud warnings. Today, December 10, 1992, you see increasing floods, more damaging hurricanes, hail storms, climate changes and earthquakes as our prophecies said would come. Even animals and birds are warning us with a strange change in their behaviour such as the beaching of whales. Why do animals act like they know about the earth’s problems and most humans act like they know nothing? If we humans do not wake up to the warnings, the great purification will come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds were destroyed.
Everyone at the Assembly heard Thomas Banyacya speak, but no one listened to the loud warnings he was talking about, or did anything about it. He passed away in February, 1999. ...
Today [says Mills], mankind is more concerned about who said what, when, and why. “How can we fix this global warming thing,” they say, “will it cost us any money, taxes, votes, or close any business?”
Ancient Knowledge
Relating to his book on Stonehenge, Mills noted (in relation to the 30 major stones in that megalith):- In our system, there are 360 degrees in a circle.
- 360 degrees divided by 30 stones = 12.
- In our Solar System the Earth moves through the precession of the equinox at 72 years per each degree: 360 times 72 = 25,920 years.
- 25,920 years divided by 12 = 2,160 years.
- 2,160 is the number of years in an age or each sign of the zodiac
- each large stone would be 25,920 divided by 30 = 864 years.
Interestingly, at one point the Earth's year was measured at 360 days, but then some celestial event happened that extended the year to our present 365.25 days.
John Michel was another esteemed writer who wrote very interesting books about Stonehenge and its mystical properties and noted that the geometry used at Stonehenge was also used in the Great Pyramid of Egypt and other megaliths. Michel also introduced us to gematria - the science of substitution of numbers for letters - and, further, illustrated how Biblical phrases (in the Greek language) can be interpreted into numerical values that have a mystical correspondence with numbers contained in megaliths such as Stonehenge and the Great Pyramid.
A long time ago, all science had an equal standing with sacred geometry and spiritual thought. It is only such a conception that can lead man to form a correct conclusion about his origin and the genesis of everything in the universe — of Heaven and Earth, between which he is a living link. Without such a unified and psychological link, and the feeling of its presence, no science can ever progress, and the realm of knowledge becomes limited only to the analysis of physical matter - of materialism, the philosophy that has latterly brought us to where we are.
From 3,000BC or Thereabouts
The matter of stone circles intrigues many people. It has long been known that many or most of those circles are related to the measure of astronomical phenomena in some way and for some purpose. Not only Mills and Michel have looked into the phenomena: the previously much-quoted Christian O'Brien spent much time investigating the circles of Bodmin Moor (Cornwall) and other stone circles with the results of his intriguing studies being made available in his book 'The Shining Ones'. Probably the first deep investigations into this subject were made, however, by Professor Alexander Thom, of whom the Society of Oxford University Engineers wrote on their website:Professor Thom was Head of the Department of Engineering Science from 1944 to 1961. His engineering career had been in aeronautics and aerodynamics, but he was a man of great versatility and practical skills, and from the 1930s onward he developed a passionate curiosity about the arrays of standing stones, mostly in Scotland and the North of England, but also the much more studied ones of Stonehenge and Avebury. He attributed the origin of this interest to a visit to the stones of Calanais (Callanish) in 1933, when cruising his yacht in the Hebrides. The Pole star being visible, he spotted that some stones defined an avenue aligned almost north-south. But when the stones had been erected, several thousand years earlier, the Pole star had been in a quite different place, as a result of the "precession of the equinoxes". So how did the builders establish which way was north?
Over subsequent years, and particularly in retirement, he surveyed hundreds of these arrays, mostly either circles or egg-shaped rings, but sometimes more subtle arrangements. From the statistical analysis of his measurements, he concluded that they had been erected by people who used a linear measurement unit of 0.829 m (2.72 ft), and that they preferred to lay things out using, wherever possible, integral numbers of this unit. He termed this unit the "megalithic yard", and concluded that multiples and sub-multiples of it were also used for various purposes. ...And...
Thom's work seemed to imply a much higher level of sophistication on the part of these early people than was consistent with previous research results. To which it could be replied that if they could erect these enormous stones, build seaworthy boats and navigate the treacherous seas around Northern Scotland, then they were no fools, and the size of their brains was the same as ours. But unlike the ancient civilisations around the Mediterranean, no written records survive, even if they ever had any. But [speaking of the remarkable memory capacity of people in those days and before, which we will return to] those whose culture does not include a written language develop their brains in other ways. The early bards of around 800 BC who preserved the Homeric sagas, Iliad and Odyssey (24 books in each!), did so purely by memorising them [my italics].Christian O'Brien's work has made it clear that his considered view (based on hard study and fieldwork) is that 'The Shining Ones' appeared in Europe after their long sojourn in the Middle East, with their purpose, again, being to uplift the peoples of these lands. After further time spent in Scandinavia, they were particularly prominent, it would seem, in the ancient pre-Celtic lands of Ireland, Wales and Cornwall (and probably Scotland) and would seem to have been the true originators of the stone circles of astronomical significance. As teachers of the people in all forms of farming, a primary use of many of those circles would be to help guide the farmer to learn of the change of the seasons, and related knowledge. But certain sites - Stonehenge included - clearly had greater significance. And all the sites were constructed utilising sound knowledge of geometry, a knowledge that would have been basic to 'The Shining Ones'.
The Spiritual Guides and Philosophers
Following the ultimately successful establishment of civilisations, which in turn was based on improved instruction in farming and sustainability, came the re-establishment of thought amongst humans and a return to attempting to realise one's true humanity. Perhaps the first grand spiritual philosopher of this age was Zoroaster/Zarathustra who may have lived as early as ca. 6,000BC, though there are those who believe he was active much more recently, ca. 500BC. However, my reading is that there was a much earlier man of the same name and that the person of that name in ca. 500BC was not the originator of the teaching.The Zoroastrian Creed:
On three noble ideals be ever intent:
The good word well spoken,
The good deed well done.
Zoroaster's influence was considerable within Persia, and many accept that his teachings seem to pre-date that of others of a similar school, and it was from this tradition that the Magi appear. For my part, I tend to the thought that it was from this Persian source that the so-called 'Aryans' emerged and settled in the Harrapa Valley in (then) North India around 5,000 to 4,000BC. The 'Aryans' appear not to be a race but a people of a spiritual quality - being pure in their practical spirituality. Perhaps it was from within this framework that the rishis emerged and wrote down (from their considerable spiritual attainment and memory) the writings known as 'the Vedas', a primary set of scripture possessed by those whom we, of late, call 'Hindus' - formerly 'Bharatiyas': of the country of Bharat, as India was once known.
It was in Bharat that the renowned avatar Krishna appeared, and where he left his mortal coil in 3102 BC. It was a transcendental teaching dialogue between him and his cousin Arjuna that became famously enshrined in the Bhagavad Gita ("Song Of The Lord"), a book known as the essence of the Vedas (the scripture).
The early part of the second millennium BC saw the appearance of the Code of Hammurabi, a well-preserved Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia.
In the same millennium, Phoenicia evolved, a Semitic-speaking Mediterranean civilisation. that originated in the Levant, specifically Lebanon, but also including coastal areas to the west of the Fertile Crescent. These people became known as great sea-faring people that certainly traded with places as far afield as Britain, and appear to have also left their mark in North America.
King Solomon lived in the early part of the first millennium BC and built his celebrated temple, constructed on geometrical lines.
Within the first millennium BC, we seem to find a host of men who became greatly significant in the world of thought in a period of increasing human consciousness. In Greece rose Pythagoras, who studied in Egypt and also - significantly - under the descendants of the aforementioned rishis, in India. In particular, Pythagoras is famed for his geometrical 'theorem', but this did not originate with him: it was brought back from India. India already knew about geometrical theorems such as this, as well as the concept of 'zero'. The five most ancient of Indian Shiva temples are constructed based on sacred geometrical principles and are almost perfectly aligned, north to south, built - of course - when no satellite technologies existed! But that principle can be observed at so many ancient sites in the world.
Pythagoras was famed for his considerable knowledge and prodigious memory, as well as his healing capability. He was obliged to move to Italy and there founded a school of practical philosophy.
In Greece, Pythagoras was soon followed by another great man - Socrates - and, in turn, he was succeeded by a pupil, Plato. There were many other Greek philosophers, but it was Pythagoras and Socrates that conveyed the essence of spiritual philosophy for that time and place. Britain has formerly favoured Aristotle more than the others, but that was perhaps because of 19th c. national leanings towards materialism, with which Aristotle would appear to have had some affinity.
But in the East during this period, there also appeared Laozi (Lao Tsu) in China, the Buddha in Nepal, and Mahavira (reviver of the Jain religion).
In the fourth century BC, there lived the phenomenon known as Alexander the Great. Famed for his considerable conquests during his relatively short reign, his travels took him to India, which he failed to subjugate and, indeed, was impressed by the Indian version of stoicism displayed by brahmin priests. He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, where a great library was established, only to be destroyed, first by fire started during a battle in the last century BC and then the deliberate destruction of its daughter library in 391AD following the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and their determination to destroy anything that didn't conform to their doctrine.
Back in Britain, the era around the second to the first millennium BC saw the arrival of the Druids, who are known to have travelled extensively and were greatly respected in Greece. Indeed, the typical education of a Druid would take up to 20 years and would cover a wide range of subjects including (but not only) astronomy and natural medicine. They understood nature.
In fact, the establishment of a secret metaphysical (or gnostic) doctrine seems to have occurred in Egypt in pre-10,000BC times, and that continuously remained in operation. In fact, secrecy was essential as the typical mindset of that time was not ready to accept higher truths, but those that were initiated into the teachings of that school quietly influenced the development of man's consciousness and proper civilisation.
One outcome of Egypt's secret society was a Jewish order called the Essenes, who were not only imbued with higher learning but were also Messianic in their objectives. Very much connected with the Essenes movement were John the Baptist and Jesus the Nazarene - not 'of Nazareth' as so frequently stated! The town of Nazareth appears not to have been in existence at that time! The Gospel of Philip, a third-century gnostic work outside of the canon of the church, claims that the word "Nazarene" signifies "the truth":
But the main testimony to the travels of Jesus lies in documents held in a Tibetan monastery and witnessed by a Russian traveller in the 19th c. Those documents have since been seen by others also, so there is not just one person's testimony. In those documents, the person of "Issa" is referred to, but this name is known to correlate to "Jesus". Indeed, Islam (Arabic) refers to Jesus as "Isa". The story related is that Jesus went to lands as far off as India and Persia, in addition to Egypt, to attain greater knowledge. There are also claims that during the latter part of his travels he was initiated into certain truths, including a mystical rite within the Great Pyramid. Thus, Jesus spiritually grew into being a son of God, and his greatest teaching was that each man can and should accomplish what he spiritually accomplished.
Now, the Essenes were prevalent in Palestine during the time of the Roman occupation, and following the demise of both John the Baptist and Jesus - who were the first patriarchs of the Jerusalem Church - considerable strife ensued. One outcome was that a party of the closest followers of Jesus, including Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdelene, and apparently also the son of Jesus, left by boat and, following a hazardous trip across the Mediterranean, arrived at Marseilles. While it is believed that Mary Magdelene remained there for the rest of her life, Joseph and Jesus's son went on to Britain where - at Glastonbury - they founded the first church outside Palestine, in 37AD. An article by me about this matter can be reached by clicking here. Joseph died in Britain.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Jesus's brother James had become the leader of the Jerusalem Church until his murder in 62AD, and his son - in turn - followed as leader until the destruction of the church by the Romans in 70AD. The Essenes were also finally routed by the Romans at Massada in 71AD, though they mainly elected to die by suicide. Remnants of the Essenes and the Jerusalem Church fled to Alexandria and to southern Iraq, where the Mandean tradition was born. As to the teachings of Jesus in Palestine, the Jerusalem Church had won its day against Paulian teachings, but following the destruction of that Church, Paul's teachings resurfaced so that by the end of the first century (100AD), Paulian Christianity was beginning to gain a foothold.
It is noteworthy, however, that one of Jesus's most spiritually close disciples, Thomas, was delegated by Jesus to take the message of Jesus to the Malabar Coast (SW India, today's state of Kerala). There, Thomas found a considerable affinity with the local people and his church has peacefully co-existed ever since, except that in the 17th c. that church came under the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church following the incursion of the Portuguese.
It is very interesting, however, that the Romans not only found such a problem with the Essenes, but they also decided that the Druids in Britain were equally troublesome, being spiritual brothers of the Essenes. The Romans, having finally demolished the Essenes movement in 71AD, did the same to the main body of Druids only a few years later, at Anglesey in 77AD. It is thought, however, that remnants of the Druidic tradition remained in Scotland and the north-east of England until ca. 300AD. Absorption into the early British church, however, would not have been insurmountable as the two traditions, in those days, were so close in ideas.
It is because of the imminent Roman subversion of the Essenes and the early church, however, that the early church leaders decided to hide much of their heritage, and thus the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library came to light in 1945 onwards. Not only that, but the old site of the Jerusalem Temple became the focus for the Knights Templar after the First Crusade (1096AD), to discover what had also been hidden there.
Thank you for visiting. I would be very glad to hear your point of view on any aspect! Please leave your comments.
Part 5 of this series will be about the history since 100AD.
King Solomon lived in the early part of the first millennium BC and built his celebrated temple, constructed on geometrical lines.
Within the first millennium BC, we seem to find a host of men who became greatly significant in the world of thought in a period of increasing human consciousness. In Greece rose Pythagoras, who studied in Egypt and also - significantly - under the descendants of the aforementioned rishis, in India. In particular, Pythagoras is famed for his geometrical 'theorem', but this did not originate with him: it was brought back from India. India already knew about geometrical theorems such as this, as well as the concept of 'zero'. The five most ancient of Indian Shiva temples are constructed based on sacred geometrical principles and are almost perfectly aligned, north to south, built - of course - when no satellite technologies existed! But that principle can be observed at so many ancient sites in the world.
 |
| Five Shiva temples |
In Greece, Pythagoras was soon followed by another great man - Socrates - and, in turn, he was succeeded by a pupil, Plato. There were many other Greek philosophers, but it was Pythagoras and Socrates that conveyed the essence of spiritual philosophy for that time and place. Britain has formerly favoured Aristotle more than the others, but that was perhaps because of 19th c. national leanings towards materialism, with which Aristotle would appear to have had some affinity.
But in the East during this period, there also appeared Laozi (Lao Tsu) in China, the Buddha in Nepal, and Mahavira (reviver of the Jain religion).
In the fourth century BC, there lived the phenomenon known as Alexander the Great. Famed for his considerable conquests during his relatively short reign, his travels took him to India, which he failed to subjugate and, indeed, was impressed by the Indian version of stoicism displayed by brahmin priests. He founded the city of Alexandria in Egypt, where a great library was established, only to be destroyed, first by fire started during a battle in the last century BC and then the deliberate destruction of its daughter library in 391AD following the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church and their determination to destroy anything that didn't conform to their doctrine.
Back in Britain, the era around the second to the first millennium BC saw the arrival of the Druids, who are known to have travelled extensively and were greatly respected in Greece. Indeed, the typical education of a Druid would take up to 20 years and would cover a wide range of subjects including (but not only) astronomy and natural medicine. They understood nature.
Events in the Middle East 0 to 100AD
The evolutionary developments of the previous 8,000 or so years affecting man's consciousness worldwide would seem to indicate their culmination in something, and this would appear to have coincided with the appearance of Jesus.In fact, the establishment of a secret metaphysical (or gnostic) doctrine seems to have occurred in Egypt in pre-10,000BC times, and that continuously remained in operation. In fact, secrecy was essential as the typical mindset of that time was not ready to accept higher truths, but those that were initiated into the teachings of that school quietly influenced the development of man's consciousness and proper civilisation.
One outcome of Egypt's secret society was a Jewish order called the Essenes, who were not only imbued with higher learning but were also Messianic in their objectives. Very much connected with the Essenes movement were John the Baptist and Jesus the Nazarene - not 'of Nazareth' as so frequently stated! The town of Nazareth appears not to have been in existence at that time! The Gospel of Philip, a third-century gnostic work outside of the canon of the church, claims that the word "Nazarene" signifies "the truth":
"Jesus" is a hidden name, "Christ" is a revealed name. For this reason, "Jesus" is not particular to any language; rather he is always called by the name "Jesus". While as for "Christ", in Syriac it is "Messiah", in Greek it is "Christ". Certainly, all the others have it according to their own language. "The Nazarene" is he who reveals what is hidden. Christ has everything in himself, whether man, or angel, or mystery, and the Father.... The apostles who were before us had these names for him: "Jesus, the Nazorean, Messiah", that is, "Jesus, the Nazorean, the Christ". The last name is "Christ", the first is "Jesus", that in the middle is "the Nazarene". "Messiah" has two meanings, both "the Christ" and "the measured". "Jesus" in Hebrew is "the redemption". "Nazara" is "the Truth". "The Nazarene" then, is "the Truth". "Christ" ... has been measured. "The Nazarene" and "Jesus" are they who have been measured.To what extent was Jesus "measured"? Well, it was documented that during the time of his absence from the Gospels of the New Testament, between the ages of 12 and 29, Jesus was abroad. There is folklore that amongst his travels he visited south-west Britain with his uncle, Joseph of Arimathea, not just because of Joseph's business interests in tin, but because of some affinity with the Druids. The Druids, note, were spiritual brothers of the Essenes, and even their leaders are said to have worn a similar garb.
But the main testimony to the travels of Jesus lies in documents held in a Tibetan monastery and witnessed by a Russian traveller in the 19th c. Those documents have since been seen by others also, so there is not just one person's testimony. In those documents, the person of "Issa" is referred to, but this name is known to correlate to "Jesus". Indeed, Islam (Arabic) refers to Jesus as "Isa". The story related is that Jesus went to lands as far off as India and Persia, in addition to Egypt, to attain greater knowledge. There are also claims that during the latter part of his travels he was initiated into certain truths, including a mystical rite within the Great Pyramid. Thus, Jesus spiritually grew into being a son of God, and his greatest teaching was that each man can and should accomplish what he spiritually accomplished.
Now, the Essenes were prevalent in Palestine during the time of the Roman occupation, and following the demise of both John the Baptist and Jesus - who were the first patriarchs of the Jerusalem Church - considerable strife ensued. One outcome was that a party of the closest followers of Jesus, including Joseph of Arimathea and Mary Magdelene, and apparently also the son of Jesus, left by boat and, following a hazardous trip across the Mediterranean, arrived at Marseilles. While it is believed that Mary Magdelene remained there for the rest of her life, Joseph and Jesus's son went on to Britain where - at Glastonbury - they founded the first church outside Palestine, in 37AD. An article by me about this matter can be reached by clicking here. Joseph died in Britain.
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem, Jesus's brother James had become the leader of the Jerusalem Church until his murder in 62AD, and his son - in turn - followed as leader until the destruction of the church by the Romans in 70AD. The Essenes were also finally routed by the Romans at Massada in 71AD, though they mainly elected to die by suicide. Remnants of the Essenes and the Jerusalem Church fled to Alexandria and to southern Iraq, where the Mandean tradition was born. As to the teachings of Jesus in Palestine, the Jerusalem Church had won its day against Paulian teachings, but following the destruction of that Church, Paul's teachings resurfaced so that by the end of the first century (100AD), Paulian Christianity was beginning to gain a foothold.
It is noteworthy, however, that one of Jesus's most spiritually close disciples, Thomas, was delegated by Jesus to take the message of Jesus to the Malabar Coast (SW India, today's state of Kerala). There, Thomas found a considerable affinity with the local people and his church has peacefully co-existed ever since, except that in the 17th c. that church came under the dominance of the Roman Catholic Church following the incursion of the Portuguese.
It is very interesting, however, that the Romans not only found such a problem with the Essenes, but they also decided that the Druids in Britain were equally troublesome, being spiritual brothers of the Essenes. The Romans, having finally demolished the Essenes movement in 71AD, did the same to the main body of Druids only a few years later, at Anglesey in 77AD. It is thought, however, that remnants of the Druidic tradition remained in Scotland and the north-east of England until ca. 300AD. Absorption into the early British church, however, would not have been insurmountable as the two traditions, in those days, were so close in ideas.
It is because of the imminent Roman subversion of the Essenes and the early church, however, that the early church leaders decided to hide much of their heritage, and thus the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library came to light in 1945 onwards. Not only that, but the old site of the Jerusalem Temple became the focus for the Knights Templar after the First Crusade (1096AD), to discover what had also been hidden there.
Thank you for visiting. I would be very glad to hear your point of view on any aspect! Please leave your comments.
Part 5 of this series will be about the history since 100AD.
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