So What About Jesus/Yeshua?

The Demiurge of the Greeks, the Ancient of Days and the Archangel of the Presence of the Jews, is a unique being among men and angels. When El sent forth the One Ray of Light from which everything we have in this universe, all the energy and all the matter, was formed, El created a being at the moment of the Universal Conception called Adam Kadmon, or the Primeval Man. He is the head of the first Universe called Atziluth, the Universe of Pure Thought. The Zohar creation story then tells us that El and Adam Kadmon created all that is in the first Universe and then Adam Kadmon precessed into the Second Universe called Briyah, Creation. In that universe, He became the Ancient of Days and he created the Archangels Michael, Gavriel, Raphael, Uriel/Ariel, Ashmodai, Ba'alzebul, and Hallel who were perfectly balanced on the fulcrum of Uriel/Ariel. Three and one half Archangels were givers and three and one half Archangels were receivers and so the universe which exists to give and to take was balanced. At this point, the Ancient of Days and the Archangels in all their glory precess to Yetzirah, the Third Universe of Formation. Here all the gods of old, the elementals, were created. Here the souls of man were created. Here the myriad of angelic choirs were created. In this universe, Adam Kadmon, the Ancient of Days, was called the Archangel Metatron and YHVH.

The creation of man was conceived as a method by which YHVH could regain perfection, be freed from the grossness of the Third Universe and ascend again to unite with El. He endowed man with free will and immortality. By limiting his earthly life, YHVH hoped to impel man to quickly find his Divine Nature and therefore be ready for his return to the Universe of Formation. They YHVH and the Archangels created Assiyah, the Universe of Being, our universe.

The first words of Gensis begin: B'resheit, bara elohim hashemayim v'et haaretz. That passage is has an alternate translation. B means From when added to the word after it. Resheit means literally the head from which we get Beginning. Bara means created. Elohim is literally the G-ds. Hashemayim is the Heavens and Haaretz is the Terra Firma we live on. Thus, one possible translation is: From the Head meaning from Metatron, the gods created the heavens and the earth. The gods are the Archangels for it says in Psalm 82, YHVH rises in the Divine Council, gives judgment in the midst of the gods. Once we know this alternative translation, we see that Zohar is correct. YHVH who is the Archangel Metatron, the Archangel of the Presence, along with the Archangels, who are his children, created the Heavens and Earth for man and gave man dominion over it.

We are told in Genesis that in the seventh generation from Adam, a man who was named from birth for his uniqueness was born. His name Initiated or Enoch. He walked on this earth for 365 years and then ascended into Heaven where he provided a body that was holy and allowed Metatron to take on physical form. That being, Enoch-Metatron decided to come to Earth to see the nature of man six more times. The second was Noach, the third Melchizedek, the fourth Yoshua son of Nun, the fifth Solomon the King, the sixth Yeshua the High Priest in the time of Zerubbabel, and the last time, Yeshua the Nasorean, son of Mary and Enoch, the Archangel.

Yeshua was proclaimed by the Angels to be the Son of El Elyon. In reality, he was the most perfect son of El Elyon, having both the spirit of YHVH and the flesh of Mary and his father, Enoch, the son of El Elyon. He was told by an angel after John's death that he was in fact the long awaited Melchizedek returned. He truly was King of Jerusalem and High Priest of El Elyon. When he ascended, he again held the High Priesthood and acted again as the only mediator between El and the Multiverse we live in.

It is a true statement that is made in Deuteronomy: Hear O Yisrael, YHVH, our G-d, YHVH is one. YHVH is not the true G-d. He is one as well; his name is El Elyon or El Shaddai. But YHVH is the most powerful being in the multiverse. He is the First One and will be the Last One. He is the Father of all, gods, angels, demons, elementals, ghosts, man, animals, plants, all that lives. He knows more, wants the good more, seeks the Light more, gives the Light more, and is the only G-d of the Hebrews. It is henotheistic statement which does not deny the existence of other G-ds, but proclaims his supremacy over them. And he is one. His spirit one. His flesh is seven, but his spirit is one.

So what about Jesus/Yeshua? He is not G-d, but just as Exodus 23:20 warns that you should not blaspheme him, he likewise will not forgive your sins if you deny him.

The High G-d El

Now that we have discussed authority, we need to discuss the concept of G-d and what that means. It was St. Thomas Aquinas who first began to designate the attributes of G-dhood. He said that G-d must be omnipotent, that is, all powerful; omniscient, that is, all knowing; and omnibenevolent, that is, all good. Does the Scriptures, that is, any of the scriptures, ever say that G-d is all these things? I think not. In fact, the G-d of scripture seems to have limits to his power, his knowledge, and his goodness. Perhaps the Scripture, archaeology, and mysticism can provide an answer to this problem.

There are beings in the world with great power. They have been given names by each culture. As we progressed in our religious teachings, some of these beings have been amalgamated into our religions in other forms. These beings are called elementals. An elemental is a preternatural being, with immense power, who was created by the True G-d and the Archangel of the Presence at the time when the souls of all sentient beings and the angels were created. They are immortal and although they can be "killed" it takes much to eradicate them. In the past some of these elementals have been given great names and called gods. Some with lesser powers have been called water nymphs, air sprites, salamanders, and fairies or brownies or leprechauns. They are aligned to the four elements: water, fire, earth, and air.

The Canaanite religion believed that there was a father god, the Creator. He was called El and given the titles Elyon, the Highest, and Shaddai, the Almighty. He had children and among his children were a god called Yahweh, another called Ba'al, and another called Ashirah. According to Genesis, Abraham worshiped a god named El. See Genesis 14:18. Exodus 6:2 makes the matter clearer; it says, "And the Elohim spoke to Mosheh and said to him, I am YHVH; I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as El Shaddai and not by my name, YHVH did I reveal Myself." The scholars talk about four writers of the Torah: the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly Source, and the Deuteronomist. It is clear from this passage that the Elohist was the earliest layer of the Torah. In rewriting the book of Exodus, the writer has to explain why he is using the name YHVH instead of El. Perhaps, the rather disingenuous attempt to gloss over this problem is too obvious. The G-d of Abraham, Yitzak, and Ya'akov was not YHVH. Therefore, all those things which have been attributed to YHVH are now up for grabs. Nonetheless, all of scriptural history is dependent upon understanding the relationship between El and YHVH. The archaeologists call the act of putting the attributes of El on YHVH, conflation. I think that implies something that is foreign to the scripture. The problem of El and YHVH can be solved differently and in many ways it satisfies the reason of man better.

The First Commandment in the Exodus version (Exodus 20) says: There shall not be for you any other gods besides me. The passage neither denies the existence of other gods nor gives a reason for this exclusivity. It merely says that this G-d brought the children of Israel out of bondage and therefore they should worship him alone. Now this god also in Exodus (23:20) introduces an Angel who has the Power of G-d. So, now we know that there is a G-d named YHVH, a G-d named El Shaddai, and an Angel with the Power of G-d. As late as the time of David, we still see this problem for it says in Psalm 82:1: El stands in the company of the gods, in the midst of the gods he judges. Clearly, the Great G-d is not YHVH, but El, who is called the Almighty and the Highest. Abraham did not worship YHVH, but El. So, the claim by YHVH through his prophet Mosheh, that he is the true G-d perhaps raises some doubts.

YHVH is shown to have emotions, limitations, and errors. He forgives and is wrathful. He builds and destroys. He shows that he is not perfect. But without doubt, he is powerful. So, what does that leave us.

Is it relevant that we do not worship the Great G-d, but rather his Son, YHVH? Is it important that YHVH might well be the Angel that leads the children of Israel? That Angel has the name of G-d on him, that is, he acts as G-d even though he is more like a prime minister.

The Kabbalah, specifically the Zohar, seems to answer the question. In the Zohar, we are introduced to the Ain Soph Aur, the Endless Light. This being is the source of all Light in the multiverses. He cooperates with another being called variously Adam Kadmon, The Ancient of Days, and the Archangel Metatron to create the visible and invisible universes that we live in. This Ain Soph Aur is above us and not apart of us and separated from us. He corresponds well to Newton's concept of G-d who is outside of the Universe and not a part of it. In the cosmology of Zohar, the Universe is governed by a council, much like the one in Psalms 82. The Council is led by YHVH whom the Zohar eventually reveals is the same as Metatron. He created with Ain Soph Aur the members of the Council and he governs them still. The other members of this Council are unnamed. Although the Zohar seems to limit them to nine other Archangels, there is no reason to believe that the other so-called gods are not a part of this council.

The Jewish sect called the Nasoreans, of which Yeshua was a member, believed in this Great God and in this somewhat lesser God who had all the authority of the Great God. They called him Yeshua, but they believed he was the reincarnation of Melchizedek who himself was the reincarnation of Enoch. That belief was widespread in the early Christian church as well and was enunciated by Arius of Alexandria and supported by a majority of the Bishops of the world including Eusebius of Caesaria, upon whom we are so dependent for early church history.

The idea of a Great God and his Lesser God, called the Demiurge, was well accepted among the Greeks as well and apparently Philo tried to explain standard Jewish doctrine to them in his writings.

Are we still bound by the political decision of King David which elevated YHVH to the Supreme God and ignored El? I think not. Both exist, both are powerful, both are worthy of adoration, but Truth is more important than anything else. It is time to rehabilitate El and recognize Him as the True G-d, the G-d of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Sola Scriptura

The Protestant response to apostolic succession, which was discussed in my last blog, was a claim that they would use Scripture Alone as their authority. Let us look at this flawed claim to authority.

The Dead Sea Scrolls include three different texts of books that eventually were canonized into the so-called Old Testament. The three texts include one that is very much like the Septuagint Greek version of scripture translated in Alexandria and used by the Greek speaking world and Yeshua and his disciples. Another text seems to be from the scriptural tradition which culminated in the Masoretic text proclaimed at Yavneh by the Pharisees in the last decade of the first century of the Christian Era. The third text is not reflected in the modern textual history. All three were common in the time of Yeshua and theoretically, he could have been aware of them.

If the Essene Theologians of the Nasorean Movement had been putting the Old Testament together, they would have included 1 Enoch, Jubilees, perhaps 2 Enoch and 3 Enoch, and certainly the Coming of Melchizedek and the Messianic Apocryphon. Their Old Testament would no doubt have included the Wisdom of Solomon, which is in the Apocrypha and in the Septuagint text. But, it is hard to imagine that the Maccabees would have made it in and it is doubtful that Judith would have made it in. Esther would have been out and Daniel would have been redacted.

The Septuagint included six books that are not in the Masoretic text and they include changes and additions to Esther and Daniel. All scriptural passages quoted by Yeshua come from this textual tradition.

The Pharisees set the Masoretic Text which is the Protestant Canon.

The Nasorean Sect, that is, the Jerusalem Church rejected all Pauline works and Mark, Luke and John. They would not have accepted Acts either. But, they probably would have included Thomas and may be the Gospel of Mary. Almost certainly, the Nasorean Sect would have include Didache, which was considered scripture by the Eastern church for five centuries. Eusebius questions James, Jude, and Revelations. Luther also questioned James.

So, how do we decide which Scripture is authoritative. The question is inspiration. Now, if one adopts the position that all scripture is an infallible statement that should be accepted literally, most modern people will not find scripture authoritative. However, if one looks at scripture as the Jews do, then there are four levels of understanding, each adding something to our final comprehension of the text. These levels are Pashat, the literal meaning; Remez, the figurative meaing; Drosh, the contextual understanding; and Sod, the hidden meaning. All together these meanings tell us the divine meaning, but any one alone is not sufficient to understand the text. How can rational people accept the claim that a flood covering the whole world was caused by raining? Such a claim denies the fact that rain comes from evaporation of water and the resulting distribution of the water on land. There is a finite amount of water. It cannot cover all the land. How can rational people accept the claim that technology is bad and a hunter gatherer lifestyle is better? How can rational people accept the command by G-d through Samuel to genocide? Surely, these statements are not to be taken literally. I have been inspired in writing, but although I knew at the time that I was writing under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, my mind was engaged, my prejudices were engaged, my thoughts were engaged.

Not only are there problems with which books are inspired and how we are to interpret the words of scripture, we have the problem of translations. Every translation is a political and doctrinal statement. Muslims forbid the translation of the Koran without the Arabic at the side of the translation. The same should be the law for translating the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts that became the English translation. Is it the translation that is inspired or the original? St. Jerome argued that the Septuagint was a divinely inspired translation from Hebrew and Aramaic into Greek, but there are many places in which the received Masoretic text and the underlying Hebrew text from which the Septuagint was taken disagree and come to different conclusions. Which text is inspired? Which text do we follow?

Ultimately, placing the decisions of authority directly on the backs of the believer is dangerous because most believers do not have the skills to read the original text, nor the inquisitiveness to seek other opinions on translation from Hebrew, a very lax language when it comes to accuracy in speech. The believer is taken away by his feelings, her emotions, there desire to make the text fit their needs.

Scripture without tradition is not reliable any more than politicians who became bishops. Where then do we find authority? The answer is unpalatable to many. In order to be authoritative in the Western tradition, one must be both a scripture scholar with knowledge of the original texts and languages and one must be a prophet with all the signs and wonders that surround a true prophet. In every age, there are people like this, but they remain hidden, silent. The Jewish faith teaches that they are the hidden pillars that uphold the universe and allow the Light to enter through our worldwide misapprehensions and lies. They are called Tzadikkim. There are never more than 36 nor less than 10 at any time. They are the appointed witnesses in every age of the truth of G-d.

It's All About Authority

I begin this blog by talking about authority. All religions make claims based upon authority and ultimately the person who speaks has to establish his authority to speak. I claim the authority to speak because I believe I have been called to a High Mountain to speak to the King of the Universes and he has given me an honest and unique perspective on religion in general and spirituality.

Zoroaster established his authority with the King of Persia by demonstrating miracles. Likewise, Moses showed forth magic and miracle to support his claim to speak for YHVH. Jesus likewise supported his claims to authority by signs and wonders. In fact, the Prophet must prove himself and he is proven by both what he says and what signs follow him. The early followers of Jesus, whom I will refer to throughout this blog as Yeshua, must have shown forth those signs. Luke records in Acts 3 the story of Peter healing the beggar at the Beautiful Gate. Likewise Paul cast out demons and performed miraculous acts to certify his authority. By the late Apostolic period, that is at the turn of the first century, the Markan Longer Ending says at Mark 16:17 that certain signs would accompany the believer. The signs that follow the believer are often considered miraculous as well.

By the end of the second century of the Christian Era, Tertullian talks about authority in this way: he says that apostolic authority devolves upon the episcopate directly from the Apostles, who are the official witnesses of Yeshua's life and ministry. In order to know that a person is a true bishop or "episkopus" in Greek, he must have three signs: traditio, communio, and potestas in Latin, that is, the Bishop must be in the Tradition of the Apostles, must have Communion by the laying of hands in a perpetual chain, and And AND, potestas, that is power, signs or miracles to prove him.

Christianity today and Judaism today make claims of authority. Let us look at Judaism first to see if they meet the requirements of authority. First, Judaism today claims that the Rabbim were given authority directly from Moses when he appointed the Sanhedrin. There is no indication that the seventy that were appointed by Moses formed an ongoing institution that continued from the time of Moses until the appearance of the Sanhedrin again in the late third century before the Christian Era. Second, the Rabbim do not perform the acts and signs of Moses so as to claim that he is their source. Third, they are not the hereditary priesthood appointed by Moses through his brother Aaron. Fourth, the Rabbim have not continued the institution of sacrifice which gave legitimacy to the entire Temple system. In fact, Rabbinism began with Rabbi Akiva and has no connection whatsoever to the Torahic institutions established by Moses. The Rabbim have even chosen to change whole sections of the Torah just as was prophesied by the Book of Daniel when the Rabbim began their pharisaical heresy, that is, they have changed the times and seasons on which the great feasts and fasts where to be done. They have even gone further an added feasts and fasts like Purim, Chanukkah, and the Fast of Av to commemorate the destruction of the Temple.

The Christians claim to authority is just as false. The Christian systems which are episcopal in government claim descent from the Apostles and yet while there is unquestioned communion back to the earliest apostolic times, there is no unity of tradition, and there is no power. No Christian bishop today is chosen because of his close adherence to biblical doctrine but rather his orthodoxy is decided by the accumulated errors of the ages. Lastly, no Bishop is ordained because of his signs, that is, the power to heal, to multiply, to raise the dead, to exorcise demons, and to speak prophesy. So what they say has no authority whatsoever.

There is a completely different source for authority besides Apostolic Succession. In Ephesians, the writer says: "So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of G-d, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Meshiach Yeshua himself as the capstone. " 2:19-20. Thus, there is a prophetic succession. Each apostle witnessed the life and teachings of Yeshua and passed those down to others. However, the Prophet is the servant of the Holy Spirit and in accordance with transmission from Elijah to Elisha it is known that Prophets can confer their authority on others. Some few in the world to day are prophets and some in the past separate from the apostolic succession have been true prophets and have passed on their authority. Those successions must be judged by the criteria set forth by Tertullian and this blog will not further comment on them.

It is appropriate to declare my authority. It is hard for the reader to judge the truth of a person's witness over the Internet and so it may be difficult for you to decide that I have authority to speak from my High Mountain. And, of course, the gospel says that even Yeshua was taken to the High Mountain by HaShaitan, Satan. Nonetheless, I will set forth my authority to speak.

First, a prophet must have a message. I have a message. First, I proclaim the necessity to recover the roots of our faith in the First Century, roots that will be found in the traditions and work of the Dead Sea Scroll community. I call myself as Nasorean and Yeshua likewise was called as Nasorean, so we are Nasoreans. I am a Torah observant Jew, but I am not a Rabbinical. Second, I believe that the Most High wants all of us to become Saints. The Holy Spirit gave me a message (112 pages long) on how to become saintly, called "Climbing Jacob's Ladder: A Lay Guide to Holiness".

Second, a prophet must tradition. I am a firmly in the Jewish tradition although I believe that Yeshua ha Meshiach had a vital role to play in salvation history. I am a Nasorean and am based in the scriptures found in the caves at the Dead Sea.

Third, a prophet must have power as proof of his message. I am a well known exorcist in Kansas City and beyond. I speak in tongues. I have raised the dead. I often lay hands for healing of the sick and see miraculous results. I have picked up snakes and not been harmed and have drank poison and lived. Lastly and most important, I have received messages about the future and about scripture which have been validated.

Fourth, I have followed the Path of Holiness as outlined in the Prophesy mentioned above and led others on that Path. I am now a Tzaddik and I led others to saintliness before they went to heaven.

Based upon these statements, I claim authority to speak and will not again mention my authority.