ANIMAL AND HUMAN SACRIFICE IN THE BIBLE

ANIMAL AND HUMAN SACRIFICE IN THE BIBLE

Stay with me on this. I promise that we’re going somewhere important. The Bible says God was disgusted with animal sacrifice ... so he wanted a human sacrifice. So literal Roman Christianity came along, and said that God is not pleased by just killing just animals, he needs to have a human sacrifice. And so they misinterpreted the myths and parables of Jesus in the same way that the ancients misinterpreted the myths and allegorical metaphysics of Animal sacrifice. See this verse: 

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to me, says the Lord ... I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, and I delight not in the blood of bullocks , or of lambs or of the goats ... When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand ... And when you spread your hands, I will hide my eyes from you when you make many prayers. I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood."

The Book of Isaiah (OT)

God says: “I will hide my eyes from you ... your hands are full of blood.” So what are we to make of this statement from scripture? For the answer, we have to go beyond (meta) the literal and into the deeper message between the ink and paper. 

When you separate from thought ... you are sacrificing your animal nature. When you sacrifice your human nature ... you  become Divine, that is what these esoteric sacrifices are all about. It was misunderstood then, and even still today. The "old man" dies and the "new man" is reborn. The Christ (Divine Spark of God) resurrects from WITHIN you. Your negative animal base nature becomes loving, compassionate, joyful, caring, and unified with your Higher-Self. You have raised your consciousness to a higher vibration, and there’s no going back. As a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, there can be no return to the ways of old, and the existence you once had. 

All of the murders and sacrifices were intended to be allegorical and metaphorical. To "kill" everyone and save the young females was a surface story for a deeper message to keep and protect your creative aspect. The feminine is the creative principle in all of nature. God, Father, Source, Spirit, is masculine. Earth, Mother, matter, is feminine. The Divine seed is planted in the earth, and the begotten of God are brought forth into form ... manifest birth. Just as s seed is planted in the earth in order to grow. 

The Divine Feminine is the womb of the universe. The Divine Masculine is the void from which all unlimited and unbounded potentiality emanates. The ancient Wisdom of the early Pagan civilization has become lost through incorrect literal interpretation of the Sacred Inner Mysteries of The Ages. Question everything. Find the answers to the questions you seek. 

Just a thought,

Justin Taylor, ORDM. 

YOU ARE NOT YOUR EXPERIENCES

You Are Not Your Experiences

Life is filled with experiences, unfolding at each and every moment. Like a film, frame-by-frame, each moment is captured, as it’s own independent experience. Your next one depends on what you just experienced. Be thankful to every person that has come into your Life even for a brief moment. They had a message for you … and a lesson.

In the same way as we cannot reach 11 o’clock without first having a 10 o’clock … we move forward from where we just were. Step-by-step. The wheel of life spins across every peg before it comes to a stop. Clicking its way from the one, to the next … and before that, and before that, and so on. This is karma, cause and effect, in an eternal cycle. Evolution, devolution, involution, and revolution, physically and spiritually.

You are not the experience; you are the one who is experiencing. You are not what’s taking place, you are the witness. Just as you are not the car, you are the driver. But that YOU, is based upon a certain duality - for reference only. Spirit, versus ego. Spirit knows what is right for everything and everyone and acts accordingly, knowing the effects. Ego is led by it’s own selfish desires and acts accordingly … ignorant of it’s effects. When we make the right decision, everyone experiences benefits. When we make an error in our decision, everyone experiences consequences.

So each experience is a lesson. We either learn from it, grow, and move on … or we repeat it, remain in ignorance, and get stuck. It is important to remember each and every thing we witness through our experience, is not what we are … it is what we are to learn from. It is our teacher. We are here in earth school to evolve our Spirit and Species. The body decays and returns to the elements from which it came, and the Spirit/Energy returns also from which it came. We cannot create or destroy energy. This is Law. What is really you, always was and always will be.

When you make an improper judgment that your experience is who you are, it is a huge mistake. When in school, you are not your books, your tests, or your lessons; you are the one who is having that particular experience. When you begin to take ownership of your “mis-takes” or poor ignorant judgment, you will get stuck in a track of guilt and “sin.” Your “sin” is nothing more than missing the mark … missing the bull’s-eye of Truth and Right Thinking and Acting. In Greek, SIN is “hamartia” and literally means “missing the mark.” This was an Olympic Archery term. You are not punished FOR your sin as is commonly taught, but you are punished BY your sin … that is to say, you reap the effects of what it was you thought, said, or did; to cause the negative results.

As I said earlier, every person, and every thing that comes and goes in your life is your teacher, and is there for a reason and a purpose. They can also be your Messenger (Angel from the Greek). Thank these experiences and be grateful you have them because they are your teachers, and you are the student.

The only “mistakes” that we make in life are repeating in ignorance the lessons we have not learned. These events are no longer a “mistake”, they are now a choice. We are to learn by wrong thinking, and not repeat the same thought, act, or cause; if it does not lead to good and right benefit to not only ourselves, but to others.

Live your Life with no regrets. Take no ownership of your experiences, only responsibility for the decisions you made that led to them. Learn all you can learn … as above, so below. You are the Witness to it all ... the Watcher.

I will end with the Test of Three, sometimes credited to Socrates:

The first filter is TRUTH. 

Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to say or do is true?

The second filter is the filter of GOODNESS. 

Is what you are about to say or do, something that good?

The third is the filter of USEFULNESS or of BENEFIT. 

Is what you want to say or do going to be useful or beneficial?"

Take the time to respond, rather than react. Remember … in school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test, then you're taught a lesson.

Just a thought … 

Justin Taylor, ORDM.

EMERALD TABLETS AND THE KYBALION

Emerald Tablet And The Kybalion

An Egyptian legend, tells us about the The Emerald Tablet Of Hermes & The Kybalion, written by the thrice great Hermes Trimegistus (Thoth/Enoch). In the tablet, Hermes Trismegistus, discusses the process of creation, and the Law of One summarized in the quotation “As Above, So Below, As Below So Above.”

The Principle Of Correspondence

This Principle embodies the Truth that there is always a Correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of Being and Life. The old Hermetic axiom ran in these words: “As above, so below; as below, so above.” And the grasping of this Principle gives one the means of solving many a dark paradox, and hidden secrets of Nature.

There are planes beyond our knowing, but when we apply the Principle of Correspondence to them, we are able to better understand much that would otherwise be unknowable to us. This Principle is of universal application and manifestation, on the various planes of the material, mental, and spiritual universe, It is one of the Universal Laws.

The ancient Hermetists considered this Principle as one of the most important mental instruments by which man was able to pry aside the obstacles which hid from view - the Unknown. Its use even tore aside the Veil of Isis to the extent that a glimpse of the face of the goddess might be caught. Just as a knowledge of the Principles of Geometry enables man to measure distant suns and their movements, while seated in his observatory, so a knowledge of the Principle of Correspondence enables Man to reason intelligently from the Known - to the Unknown.

The Higher, The Colder

Since the dawn of civilization, human beings have always been in a lifelong quest for the very fabric of universal reality, - the Matrix (or Field of Consciousness). As you peer into the veil of reality through Science, Philosophy, and Religion ... they all seem to seek the meaning of Life. Religion seeks the Universal and loving "Father," while in Philosophy they seek the Person who is self existence and requires no other being for existence, and science seeks the first cause. “As you approach to the peak of the mountain all routes point to the same peak.”

We Are All Connected

Life is teamed up with countless creatures. There are creatures that crawl on the surface of earth, there are those who swim deep down in the abyss, and those who fly high in the blue sky … and yet they all eat, breathe, and give birth to their offspring. It is a continuous cycle. There are over a million types of bacteria invisible to the naked eye, yet a single one is as important as anything else in life, they are responsible in the process of a lot of things … like in the process of cheese manufacturing, making of a beer, decomposition of waste products, etc. In the chaos theory, a butterfly may be flapping it’s wings in New Zealand, and may cause a catastrophic tornado in Ecuador. This theory/process gets much deeper in Quantum Physics and String Theory.

Heaven And Earth

The heavens are portrayed on the earth. With the rotation of the earth on it’s own axis we get day and night. When the earth revolves around the sun, we get the seasons of the year. Some surgeons avoid surgery during the high tides simply due to the fact that the patient may have severe bleeding more so than during the low tides. In Astrology they believe that the planets affect people’s behaviour relative to their positions in the solar system. The sun provides all energy on earth and if it weren't for the sun, plants would not be able to break down carbon dioxide to provide us with oxygen and make simple sugar such as starch. Some micro-organisms respond to the temperature and pressure in the atmosphere as well.

The Footprints of Reflection

The decisions that we make every single moment plays a big role in shaping our lives, yet it’s not easy to notice, that thoughts are vibrational energy, the drift velocity of electrons vibrating in the neurons. As for now “vibration,” can be regarded as the very fabric of reality according to string theory. Vibrations is everywhere from the smallest particles to the largest heaven bodies, the six senses that we perceive through out sensory organs (in our brain) are all in the form of vibration. Waves and particles.

The electrons vibrate as well, In cosmology we see that everything revolves around bigger objects. Galaxies revolve around black holes, suns revolves around galaxies, planets revolve around the suns, even people with strong personalities have others with weaker personalities around them. When you move into the microscopic world, it behaves the same as electrons revolving around the nucleus. as you go up and down, in and out, you find the same pulsating phenomenon repeating itself.

Circle of Life

It is the same with Life. When you look into the cells, you see that there is always a nucleus that is the center of the cell. In the physical world you will find out that there has to be a source of water or at least food somewhere for Life itself to exist. Take a look at any huge city. There are always natural resources that tend to run that city. And on a much larger scale, as the earth spins on it’s own axis - we get day and night - and when it revolves around the sun, we get the seasons of the year. And, when the sun revolves around the galaxy we get the astrological ages. Everything has a pulsation, heart beat, breathing in and out, day and night, consciousness, etc. Since there is correspondence in everything, as everything reflects the other, we should treat each other as One, because we exist as part, AND The Whole. We are an individualized essence of the entire universe ... each being a piece of one complete puzzle.

Just a thought … 

Justin Taylor, ORDM.

1 JOHN 4:17 ESOTERIC VIEW

1ST JOHN 4;17 ESOTERIC VIEW

"By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment;

“… because AS HE IS, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD." (KJV)

“… because we live like Jesus here in this world.” (NLT)

You won't hear this verse being preached from the pulpits. Simply because if “as Jesus is, so are we in this world” ... then as Christianity believes Jesus to be God, then WE, are also God. There is no way to dispute this verse. If you are a believer that the Bible is the infallible Word of God, then you must believe this to be a true statement. 

Herein lies the problem of modern day Roman inspired Christianity. They take the Bible to be a literal and historical record of true events only, rather than the intention of the writers who delivered the original message with allegory, parables, and metaphors. These original Writers masked the hidden lessons or Truths, within a story, myth, or fable. They didn't have DVD's, movies, Internet, and recorders. They used a passion, a play, a drama, to speak the story mouth to ear until eventually they began to write it down. It had to be entertaining to the masses. It had to draw their attention and help them to remember the hidden Wisdom behind the myth by remembering the story itself. 

The Bible, although a magnificent literary and spiritual artifact, is a composite of multiple myths from multiple civilizations and belief systems gathered, collected, and personalized by the Hebrews in the Old Testament, and Hebrews, Greeks, Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, etc. in the New Testament. The stories have existed since before historical records had begun. But the names, places, people, and geography have been changed to fit the Hebrew people of the time. Then, Roman Empirical powers formed the New Testament myths by combining, editing, changing, adding to, revising, and essentially taking creative license to create a new unified or “universal religion” to bring the empire back together under one system of belief. Keep in mind that the Greek word for universal is “catholico” (Catholic). At the Council of Nicea in 325CE, Emperor Constantine and his council created what would become a new religion known as Christianity. 

Now, back to the original verse from 1 John 4:17. We have to go beyond the letter of the law, and into the Spirit. We also have to go back in time to pre-Roman Christianity. We have to find the “pearl of great price” hidden in the the text. We also have to look at “Jesus” (not yet Christ) as an archetype, or a reflection of each of us. His-story, is our-story.  The story of mankind, becoming awakened to the Divine within. “Jesus” became the Christ. All of us have within us the Divine Spark of God and “AS JESUS IS, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.”  

We have to awaken or resurrect this Divine within us (our boat/ark) ... which resides in the same way as the pearl lies deep within the oyster. Just as the Apostles went inside the boat to awaken Jesus during the storms and tempest they were experiencing ... so we go within our boat/body and awaken the Christ to carry us through our storms. This is the deeper teaching. It is the Divine within us that helps us to calm the rough seas and high winds we experience here in the Earth plane. 

Symbolically within the texts, we see the “INRI” symbol. This can be found above many crosses and crucifixes of Jesus and stands for the sacred fire. In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, Chapter 3, God reveals himself to Moses through the sign of a burning bush, which miraculously is not consumed by the flames. We also find in the OT Book of Deuteronomy 4:24 “For the LORD your God is a consuming fire ...” In Latin, that fire of the Lord is symbolized by the mantra written at the top of the cross, I.N.R.I., Ignis Natura Renovatur Integra, meaning “fire renews nature incessantly”. That fire is a solar fire; it is the cosmic Krestos, that in order to work, to manifest its power, it does it through the cross. 

Thus, this is something that we must analyze and comprehend, because the cross is formed by two beams, one vertical and the other horizontal. The vertical beam represents the masculine, positive, solar force that emerges from the abstract absolute space, and penetrates the universe when impregnating the matter, which is that other substance which in Sanskrit is called Akash. In other words, what in Sanskrit is called Prana is Christ, the positive energy, and Akash, the passive energy, from the same source. You will also see this symbolism in the Egyptian Ankh. Complete with its womb of the universe at the top of the cross. 

The union of the two originates the universe. So from this point of view, we have to understand that the cosmic Christ is universal and the origin of everything that exists, in any galaxy of matter or anti-matter. The cross is the intersection of Spirit and Matter ... positive and negative ... masculine and feminine. So from the crossing or union of these two forces appears that which we call the universe. Now, the objective for that energy to appear in the universe is to make Consciousness of its own entity in its different aspects. 

Jesus becoming the Christ (karest, christos, krishna, krestus) is an archetype of you and I also becoming one with Christ Consciousness ... the Divine. Jesus said to his followers “you shall do greater things than I.” How is this possible if Jesus is God, as Christianity believes? In the NT Book of John 17:21 Jesus is quoted as praying to the Father/Source and saying “I pray that they may all be ONE, even as Thou art in me, O Father, and I am in Thee; that they also may be in us ...” On a deeper esoteric level, and through modern Quantum Physics, we now know that this statement was nothing other than Truth. We are all one. We are tied together through universal unconsciousness ... the Field. The fiber of the Matrix of the entire universe. There are no "things" ... there is only IT. And we are all an individualized integral element and substance of the entire universal organism. 

The Beatles wrote and recorded a song called “I Am The Walrus.” The song's opening line, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together” which pretty much sums up the concept of Oneness with Source/God. The very word “Jesus” is the Greek (Ieasus) and Latin (Iesus) version of the Hebrew word Joshua (Yehoshua). They are all the same. And from the original Hebrew, the meaning of the word itself in it's entirety (YHSVH) means “God is Saviour.” Just as Yahweh, and Jehovah are transliterations of YHVH ... meaning I am that I am, or I exist. Not the name of God ... but actually being God. 

God is not a name, it is a title. Just as Jesus Christ is a title. The title would be something along the lines of “I AM anointed Saviour, or King.” So, God/Source IS the Saviour is what Yehoshua Messiah (Christ) means. That force within us all that saves us from our base nature ignorant and self-centered ego driven animal being, to the Divine and righteous knowing and illuminated Higher-Self that can connect to, and become part of ... God/Good/Source. Because ALL things have come from ONE SOURCE, all things contain the elements of that Source. This is simple logic. Just as anything made from water, contains water. 

So in closing, “Jesus The Christ” represents ALL of us. Because just as 1 John 4:17 clearly states ... “because AS JESUS IS, SO ALSO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.” The NT Bible is not merely the story of a man who walked the hills of Galilee, it is OUR story presented in myth in the same way thousands of years of previous civilizations related celestial astrotheology to mankind. Our story, is written in the stars ... and we are made of star stuff. Awaken, and be the Light of the World. 

Just a thought, 

Justin Taylor, ORDM. 

ASTROTHEOLOGY LESSON

ASTROTHEOLOGY LESSON

The word “Pastor” comes from Pa-stor, “Pa” meaning great or father, “Stor” or ASTER meaning Star (Greek word for stars is asteria). Therefore, the etymology of Pastor means the Great Star or the Father Star, or ... Sun God. 

“Minister and Ministry” come from Min and Aster. “Min” was the common ancient term and root of MOON whereas Aster, Stir, Stor all relate to STAR. Thus Minister is “MoonStar.” Monastery, monk, and month have the same origin. This is also where we get “Minute.” 

This is a title that derives from the lunar and stellar cults. This explains why there is a minute hand on a watch. The three hands of a watch relate to the THREE PLANETS associated with TIME. 

The slow hand is the hour hand, meaning “Horus,” representing the SUN. The minute hand is for Min, representing the MOON. And, the swift ticking second hand is for MERCURY, the planet which rotates fastest of all, both around the sun, and on its own orbit. This is why the figure of the god Mercury was depicted with wings on his shoes or feet.

Also, Have you ever wondered how the names of the Days of the Week originated? The Roman people, as did many other ancient civilizations, named the days of the week after the sun, moon and planets, which were considered to be gods.

Sunday Meaning: The Sun's day.

Monday Meaning: The Moon's day.

Tuesday Meaning: Tiw's day; the Old Norse's equivalent to planet and god of Mars. 

Note: Tyr, Old Norse Týr, Old English Tiw, or Tiu, one of the oldest gods of the Germanic peoples and a somewhat enigmatic figure. He was apparently the god concerned with the formalities of war—especially treaties—and also, appropriately, of justice.

Wednesday Meaning: Woden's day: the Old Norse's equivalent to Mercury. 

Note: Woden was widely known as a god of war, but he was important also as a god of learning, of poetry, and of magic. His wife was Frigg, and his children included Thor, Balder, and Tiw. He was identified with the Roman god Mercury, and among Germanic peoples Mercury's day became Woden's day (Wednesday).

Thursday Meaning: Thor's day: Old Norse's equivalent to Jupiter. 

Note: Thor was the most popular of all the gods. He was a god of war and fertility. He created thunder and lightning as he rode over the clouds in a chariot drawn by goats, swinging his hammer Mjöllnir.

Friday Meaning: Frigg's/ Frica's day: Old Norse's equivalent to Venus. 

Note: Frigg is the Queen of Asgard and the highest of the goddesses. She is the goddess of motherhood and is herself the mother of Balder, Hodor and Hermod. ... Frigg is also the goddess of marriage and her name comes from the verb “fríja” meaning “to love.”

Saturday Meaning: Saturn's day. 

Note: Saturn, Latin Saturnus, in Roman religion, the god of sowing or seed. ... In Roman myth Saturn was identified with the Greek Cronus. Exiled from Olympus by Zeus, he ruled Latium in a happy and innocent golden age, where he taught his people agriculture and other peaceful arts. In myth he was the father of Picus.

Astrotheology has played an important role in the history of civilization. Astrotheology is a field of study that explores the role that the stars, sun, moon, and other “heavenly bodies” have played in the formation of various religious systems. This field can study anything from ancient mythological systems utilized by Romans, Greeks, Egyptians, and Sumerians to more modern religions and the origins of various traditions and practices. 

The basic purpose of astrotheology is to study various religious concepts with regard to astronomical objects and how they have influenced these religions and mythological systems. Some of the most basic studies in this field involve ancient mythological systems that often ascribed divine origin or identities to various objects in the sky. From the descriptions above, you will notice that inn these systems, the moon was often described as a feminine figure and the sun was frequently given masculine traits. Various gods and goddesses in different systems were connected to different astronomical bodies, such as the names of nearby planets, and through astrotheology these practices can be better understood.

The observance and concept of God is ever present in the celestial heavens ... seen in annual recurring cycles. The Eternal Universe, regenerating itself, from within itself. A constantly recycling infinite mass of energy of which all of us are within, and a part of. Not as individual members ... things ... but as ONE thing. Eternal bound by the consciousness that brings Life to ALL form.

u·ni·verse

/ˈyo͞onəˌvərs/

noun

all existing matter and space considered AS A WHOLE; the cosmos.

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.”

~ACTS 17:28

Just a thought … 

Justin Taylor, ORDM.

MYSTICAL AND METAPHYSICAL INTERPRETATION

MYSTICAL AND METAPHYSICAL INTERPRETATION

The Mystical and Metaphysical ways of interpreting ancient sacred Scripture expresses that there was purposefully concealed and hidden within the scriptural allegories, a secret doctrine, a secret doctrine which came from the Ancient Masters under exacting conditions. By using allegory and metaphor, these ancient celestial myths kept the traditions alive through symbolism and buried literary treasure for those seeking higher enlightenment and deeper Truths. As St. Paul said, “the difference between milk and strong meat.” There were the masses who accepted scripture at face value, in a literal and historical sense only, and then there were those select initiates who wanted to understand the esoteric Truths beneath the surface stories. 

These deeper esoteric Truths were highly protected and reserved for approved candidates and initiates into the secret mysteries religions of the day. The secret path to enlightenment, to the Kingdom of Heaven. At the very center, the heart of these mysteries, was the descent of the Logos (the Word) and Divine Mind into all physical matter. Into humanity, as a spark of the Divine Source of all that is. Using the celestial methods of teaching, through myth and allegory, what was revealed was the metaphysical teachings of the descent and incarnation of the Soul into all of mankind … and the Spiritual Evolution and Involution ... the awakening of the dead within the flesh of man during this lifetime ... within every child of God/Source. 

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that CHRIST has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess CHRIST is not from God; this is the spirit of the ANTICHRIST … and now it is already in the world. You are from God … for greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world … The one who knows God listens to us; the one who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of Truth and the spirit of error.”

1 John 4:1-6

This descent or the “fall” of the Soul to Earth, describes metaphorically the descent of God, the Spirit, Divine Mind, Cosmic or Christ Consciousness into the realm of physical matter, or form. This is the temporary home of the Soul during this sojourn on Earth. We come to realize, and recognize this presence of God/Source within all of humanity as the indwelling CHRIST (KRST among the Egyptians, Christos among the Greeks, Krishna among the Hindus). This spark of God, is within each of us, awaiting the awakening and resurrection from the dead within every human being NOW, in this lifetime. This was Paul's original Gnostic Gospel before the Roman Church got their empirical pen and ink on it and changed everything around to suit them and their plans for world domination. Many of Paul's Epistles were later forged, and rewritten as anti-gnostic, and the Roman Church did it's best to rewrite the Ancient Wisdom and secret Mystery Schools that taught the God WITHIN, rather than their Saviour Jesus, who was the only one to become God in the flesh.

“ … because as He is, so are we in this world.”

1 John 4:17

“For IN HIM we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘WE are his offspring.’”

Acts 17:28

Judaism maintained it's Divine Truths about “the Christ” and the “Messiah” through Kabbalah. Paul taught it through Gnosticism, and his Christ and the Divine Spark that was found within each and every man. Paul never knew of a human Jesus. Never taught a word of Jesus' teachings ... never even quoted the Sermon on The Mount. Paul's Jesus, and Rome's Jesus, were clearly different concepts of the ancient celestial and Divine Christ. So many Epistles that have been ascribed to have been written by Paul, came from the quill of Church Scribes with alternative motives. The motives were not to empower people, but to overpower them and control then through this life, the afterlife, and the next life. Research that which you believe. You’ll find empowering lessons contained deep within the surface text. 

Just a thought ... 

~Justin Taylor, ORDM., OCP., DM.

HEBREW CONNECTION TO SATAN

HEBREW CONNECTION TO SATAN

Among the ancient beliefs of Zoroastrianism, the Persian Magi (Astrologers and Zoroastrian Priests) turned some Hindu concepts around, and with them the Asuras were good, and the Devas bad. “Ahura Mazda,” the god was good, his counterpart “Ahriman” was bad … the “devil” of sorts. So there was now evil and good. Therefore, there was between the god and the devil the waging of a perpetual war. And why not? Man has always been at war with himself, so why not the Gods as well?

Author Gerald Messandé wrote: “The early framework of the three monotheisms [Judaism, Christianity, Islam] had been erected. The Devil’s birth certificate was filled out by an Iranian prophet (Zoroaster).” Although, this is really only partly true, his full birth certificate was filled out by those who had changed the religion to what many contemporary followers of that faith believe today. And also, mixed in a bit from here and there, from among ancient myths and legends - and many other religions and philosophical systems - to create a conglomerate.

Now we move forward to the Hebrew Connection to all of this good/evil, god/satan stuff. Many years after all the changes to Zoroastrianism were made by the Magi, the Hebrew people came into contact with Zoroastrianism during the Babylonian rule, from 597 to 538 BCE. This was now a period after they had been exposed to numerous other beliefs and doctrines from other civilizations while under earlier Assyrian rule. Remember also, that the ancient Hebrews, were not always monotheistic. In their earlier times, they were polytheistic as many others before them were as well. There were Sky Gods, Nature Gods, etc. 

It is from this Babylonian exposure to Zoroastrianism, that Judaism acquired the belief in a dualistic cosmos being torn between the forces of good and evil. It was here that Judaism acquired the concept of angels and, more specifically, their seven Archangels (the Seven Attributes of Ahura Mazda). It was here also, that the Hebrews were exposed to the idea of the evil entity Ahriman (Satan/ha-satan) working directly against God and a Saoshyant (Messiah) who would come at the end of time (Frasho-kereti) to assure and guarantee the restoration of Divine Law to the world.

It is worth noting that the Hebrew word for “angel” is malach, meaning “messenger.” Also note, the same is true for the English word Angel, derived from the Greek word “Angelos,” which also means “messenger.” Throughout Biblical scripture, an Angel, is a messenger of God/Source who carries out the Divine will of the Almighty. There is not one example in the Hebrew scriptures where any Angel, Satan included, “opposes” God’s will. “Satan (or ha-satan)” in Hebrew means “adversary.” (or opposer/accuser)

Now, shortly after Satan’s “birth,” the idea of Hell gained wide acceptance. Prior to this, the official doctrine was that all Hebrew people who died went to Sheol. Sheol was a place of shadows where the world still existed but remained forever out of your grasp. Everyone went to Sheol whether or not they were wicked or holy. Our modern idea of ghosts emerged from this belief. But, technically, it was ultimately “the grave.”

The Persians are also responsible for the doctrines of a “final battle,” a “final judgment,” and the “resurrection of the dead.” From them, the Hebrews developed a scheme of world history, new beliefs about the end of time, and a more extensive set of beliefs concerning Angels. Frankly, the Hebrews had few original ideas.

In fact, all of what you will find in Old Testament scripture (allegory and metaphor) was nothing new or original. It had all been said before, and long before the Hebrews came along. They merely customized earlier stories with their own symbolism, rituals, geography, and names. The same goes for the Roman New Testament as well.

So, returning to where we were ... “Satan” gained a established place in late Hebrew and early Roman Christian thought to explain the sinister reality of sin and suffering in a world whose faith, was believed to be under the wise and beneficent guidance of the Almighty God/Source. Biblically speaking, this concept of Satan, was one of being a Prosecuting Attorney, under employ of the Court of God.

The conception of “the evil one” in his dual aspect of being the enemy of God, enemy of man … even a “fallen Angel” can be traced way back to its origins in much earlier religions, and is based entirely upon mythology. Just remember, under all of the stories, fables, metaphors, allegories, parables, and myth … is hidden much deeper lessons for the spiritual advancement of man. This evil one, is none other than the human ego. The one who chooses to either be in alignment with the default of goodness, or stand in opposition to it. 

The ancient Greek root word “mythos” is not as we see the word “myth” today. Today, we see see and use the word “myth” and the meaning we have attached to it is that “it never happened,” or “it’s just a meaningless fable, or urban legend.” But that was not the original concept by the Greeks. There was always something hidden under the guise of a myth that was much more important than the story itself. I will wrap this up with one of my favourite quotes from Joseph Campbell:

“A myth is something that never was, yet always is.”

Research everything you’ve been taught. Question everything you believe, and why you believe it. There is always something more to the story than meets the eye ... and the word. 

Just a thought ... 

Justin Taylor, ORDM.