CHAPTER XVII

THE UNKNOWN LIFE OF JESUS
V
2? A®| CCORDING to the stories in the Chris- IfZ¥\s| tian Bible, the life of Jesus the Christ ends 4| or culminates with the Ascension. Vari- ous other sacred books, originally forming the library of sacred writings from which the present Books of the Bible were selected, con- tained accounts and incidents of the Life of Jesus not presented in the selected ones, and for this reason they were rejected. These rejected Books of the Bible constitute a separate volume, and are used today by a great many ecclesiastical authori- ties because of the interesting lights they throw upon many other important incidents of the life of Jesus and His Apostles.
The Ascension, as described in the previous chapter of this book, was wholly a mystical and psychic event, and there is nothing in the original accounts of it to warrant the belief that Jesus arose physically or in His physical body in a cloud into the Heavens. The words of Jesus that He would go unto His Father, or return to His Father in
Heaven, most certainly did not mean to indicate [ 283 ]
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that His physical body would rise, nor did He intend to intimate precisely when or how this re- turn of His spiritual being would occur. This important event in the life of Jesus must be viewed in the mystical and spiritual sense, the same as His statements regarding the necessity for being born again in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. He distinctly explained that in the case of rebirth through Repentance, He did not refer to a rebirth of the physical body during the earthly lifetime of any individual. The idea of the Ascension has, however, become misunderstood as a spiritual doc- trine, and has developed into a belief in the resur- rection and ascension of the physical body; this misunderstanding, encouraged by theological sup- port, is responsible for the rejection of many of the Christian doctrines on the part of those who cannot conceive of these things in a physical and material sense.
The description of the Ascension, as given in the Books of Mark and Luke are slightly different, for in one we read that Jesus was received up into Heaven, and in the other we read that He was carried up into Heaven. In the Book of Acts, the wording is that He was taken up to Heaven and a cloud received Him out of their sight. In carefully analyzing these three accounts we note that the
cloud which surrounded Him and “received Him [ 284 }
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out of their sight” has a spiritual significance which all students of mysticism will appreciate. Among the work of the masters of Tibet, Egypt, and India today, and even in the work of Masters of the Brotherhood in the Western world, the formation of clouds or bodies of mist which can be called out of the invisible to surround a person, and thus shut him out of the sight of others, is a demonstration often performed to prove the operation of many Cosmic and spiritual laws. It is not my intention to intimate that the cloud which descended upon Jesus and shut Him out of the sight of the Disciples or Apostles was of the same nature as that mystic cloud which the Masters today draw around them when they wish to fade out of sight gradually and disappear temporarily. I believe that the disap- pearance of Jesus was unique and has not been duplicated by any of the great Masters or Avatars since His time; but I wish to call attention to the fact that disappearing in this sense or in this man- ner should not carry with it the idea that because the cloud or mist arose after Jesus had disappeared, that Jesus Himself, either physically or spiritually, arose with the clouds into the Heavens. Not being able to see Him after the clouds started to rise, it was natural for the Disciples to assume that He was in the cloud. Later when they wrote their
records, and knew that this incident actually ended [ 285 J
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His public appearance only, they stated their im- pressions as though Jesus had actually disappeared in the cloud, as they believed at the time.
We find, in going over the ancient records, that Chrishna, who was crucified and saved from the dead, was also credited by his followers with hav- ing ascended into Heaven. The ancient description says that at the time of the ascension a great light enveloped him, and he disappeared in the light. They also assumed that Chrishna returned with the light as it rose from the earth and returned to Heaven. The records also show that Buddha’s last appearance was on the top of a rock on a mountain in the presence of his followers, when a great light surrounded him, and he also disappeared in the light. Buddha’s followers claimed that he rose to the celestial regions; and for several centu- ries after this occurrence, impressions in the rock were shown to pilgrims as being those of the feet of Buddha where he stood when the ascension occurred. Zoroaster, another one of the great Avatars, was also credited in all the pre-Christian accounts with having ascended to Heaven at the end of his earthly career. The Egyptians cele- brated the resurrection and ascension of Adonis, for many centuries preceding the Christian era. In fact, the festivals in honor of the resurrection and
ascension of Adonis were observed in Alexandria, [ 286 ]
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Egypt, the very cradle of Christianity, in the time of St. Cyrio, bishop of Alexandria, A.D. 412, and at Antioch, the ancient capital of the Greek kings of Syria, during the time of Emperor Julian, A.D. 361-363. Even the children of Israel wor- shipped Adonis under the Jewish designation of Tammuz, and there was an altar in his name in the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. Several of the Psalms of David were parts of the liturgical serv- ice employed in the worship of Tammuz, especially the 110th Psalm. On this point, Dr. Parkhurst, the eminent Jewish authority, says in his book called The Hebrew Lexicon: “I find myself obliged to refer Tammuz, as well as the Greek and Roman Hercules, to that class of idols which were origi nally designed to represent the promised Saviour (Christ Jesus) the desire of all nations. His other name, Adonis, is almost the very Hebrew word ‘our Lord,’ a well-known title of Christ.”
At least twenty other ancient Avatars and gods of the people are credited in the ancient writings with having risen from among the dead (not out of death) and having ascended into Heaven as the closing incident of their public careers. It is to be noted that in most cases there is no intimation that the disappearance of an Avatar from public sight, and the ascension of his spirit to the invisible realm,
meant a bodily ascension into the heavens, or a [ 287
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cessation of physical existence on the earth plane. We note that in the ancient teachings regarding the great Avatars, the emphasis was always put upon the fact that the Divine spirit or spiritual light of the Avatar returned to God or to the celestial regions, and the light of the world went out. These ancient peoples, whom Christianity called pagans, had no idea of intimating that the physical body rose or disappeared, except that it remained out of the sight of the public. Contrary to this, we have the gradual development, in the Christian doctrines, of the idea of the resurrection and the ascension of the body in a physical form. Such an idea was not in the original and early Christian doctrines, but was added in the later centuries, when so many other Christian doctrines were invented or made theologically necessary, as explained in an earlier part of this book. This change of interpretation of the resurrection and ascension has caused much of the argument in modern times against the acceptance of the Chris- tian doctrines in their entirety.
The disappearance of Jesus from public sight, closing His public work and public mission as The Christ, was not the end of His existence on the earth plane in the physical body. This is definitely stated in so many ancient and reliable records that
it is surprising that the Holy Fathers of the Chris- [ 288 }
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tian church attempted to make His ascension a physical fact, and proclaim it the end of His earthly career. In many of the discussions of the Council of the church in the first centuries after Christ, there were frank admissions on the part of the greatest of the authorities that Jesus lived to be fifty, sixty, or even seventy years of age. In some of these early discussions, the matter of Apostolic succession was taken up and seriously analyzed for many years; and during those discussions much evidence in the way of writings and the word-of- mouth traditions was submitted to show that after the Ascension Jesus had labored with His Apostles, It was not until the doctrine of the Resurrection of the body and the Ascension of the body in a physical sense appeared to be an important theo- logical necessity that these early church fathers decided, in their high Councils, to eliminate all references to the activities of Jesus after the Ascen- sion, and make the Ascension appear to be the culmination of His physical existence, as well as of His Christly mission.
The ancient records of the Great White Brother- hood and other records in the Rosicrucian archives clearly show that after Jesus retired to the monas- tery at Carmel He lived for many years, and car- ried on secret sessions with His Apostles and de-
voted Himself, through meditation and prayer, to [ 289 J
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the formulation of doctrines and teachings which His Apostles should give to the world.
The original twelve Apostles of Jesus were all Gentiles and selected from among those who were living in Galilee. Perhaps it has never occurred to the average Christian student to look into the lives of the Apostles and note that all of them were living in Galilee at the time of their selection to form the private council of the Christ movement. Of the twelve, all but three, Lebbeus, Paul, and Judas, were of Aryan blood and were members of the Essene Brotherhood. Lebbeus and Judas were of the Jewish race but had adopted the Gentile religion by becoming heretics and abandoning much of the Jewish doctrines. After the passing of Judas, and others, the vacancies in the Council of twelve Apostles were filled by other Gentiles of the Essene Brotherhood selected by the Council itself.
The Council of Apostles met at the monastery, and the members practically lived in the environs of the monastery because of the daily sessions that were held in what might be called the Apostolic school or college. It was this college or school that was the basis for the later establishment of a simi- lar college in the Roman church.
According to the records, Jesus appeared but
once a week before most of the Apostles, and this [ 290 J
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was always on a Sabbath when a ceremony of a mysterious nature was held, and all who were not away on missionary work indulged in a Symbolic Feast. During the other days of the week, sessions were held for the purpose of instructing the Apostles in their work, and these were presided over by the several High Priests of the monastery.
It is this phase of the work of Jesus with His selected Apostles that constitutes the great un- known period of His life. Only a few outstanding facts are given in the records regarding the closing years of His life and His association with the Apostles. We find that about ten days after the retirement of Jesus from public life His Apostles were assembled at a place in Jerusalem for the pur- pose of establishing the first congregation of the movement which was to be organized and known as the Christine Church.
Jesus Himself had no part in the foundation of this movement; for it appears in the records that the Apostles anticipated only a public assembly for the purpose of continuing the Christ teachings; but so large a congregation assembled, and the power of the Holy Spirit became so manifest, that the enthusiasm of the men and women and the prayers and cries of the repenting ones attracted the attention of scoffers and others. Therefore, it
was found advisable to organize the work of the [ 291}
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Apostles into a definite movement, having a defi- nite name and a regular place for meeting. There is nothing in the records to show that Jesus agreed to this plan, or gave it any consideration, since His contact with the public was ended and His interests were solely in instructing and guiding the Apostles in their own personal development and comprehension of His teachings, so that they might be proficient in their work. Ever since the occasion of the ascension, when the Holy Ghost came upon the Apostles and granted to them the same au- thority to carry on His work, as He had carried it on, Jesus considered the Apostles His successors as public messengers. Whatever plans they made to facilitate and improve their work with the pub- lic seem to have received no comment from Jesus, so far as we can find in any of the records.
After a year had passed, the movement of the Christine Church developed to such an extent that it was organized in a wider sense so as to include an inner circle, devoted exclusively to the preserva- tion of the Christ teachings and the maintenance of certain traditions and symbols. It was at this time that the cross, as a Christian symbol, was adopted; but strange to say, it was not adopted with a crucified body upon it, but a rose.
The Essene Brotherhood, as a part of the Great
White Brotherhood, had always used the cross as [ 292 }
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a symbol. This device originated as a mystical or esoteric symbol, in the days of Amenhotep IV, Pharaoh of Egypt, who used the cross in his mys- tery schools as an emblem of the body of a man with arms outstretched, representing the physical man with his sufferings and trials of earthly life. The cross at that time had not been used before for the purpose of crucifixion, but was used in the mystical sense because man’s body with arms out- stretched suggested it, especially when facing the sun at sunrise in making the usual mystical, morn- ing salutations; for at such a time the shadow of man’s body thrown upon the sand was in the form of a cross. And the fact that this shadow was but a passing thing, an unreal thing, and merely of temporary existence, suggested itself as emblematic of man’s physical body and physical existence. In many of the ancient writings of the mystery schools of Egypt, and even in some of the hieroglyphic writings on the walls of these mystery schools the cross was carved or painted in connection with esoteric principles.
At a time between the adoption of the cross as a symbol of man’s physical body and the formation of the Christine Church, a rose was added to the cross as a second element in the mystical symbol. The rose was likened unto the soul in man, because
of its gradual unfoldment, beautiful perfume, and [ 293 J
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The rose was also placed upon a cross as a symbol of the crucifixion, like unto the dove, the sun, and the serpent. The crucified rose became the official symbol of the Rosicrucians, but was used by the various branches of the Essene and Great White Brotherhoods before its official adoption as a universal emblem. The emblem of the early Templars was a red rose on a cross, adopted by them because of its use by the Essenes, In some of the early mystical manuscripts, we find this rose referred to as the Nauruts, Natsir, or rose of Isuren, of Tamul, or Sharon, or the Water Rose, the Lily, Padma, Pena, Lotus—crucified in the heavens for the salvation of man. Jesus the Christ was called The Rose, and The Rose of Sharon, or of Isuren. In this we see the relationship of the Rosicrucian emblem to early Christian mysticism.
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richness of color and manifestation of maturity. By adding the rose to the cross, the esoteric mean- ing of the combined symbol was that the soul-per- sonality evolves and becomes rich in experience and manifestation through the sufferings, trials, tribu- lations, and incidents of the physical body and physical existence. Thus the rose and the cross became an emblem of soul expression through human, physical experience. We can see in this mystical symbology a beautiful reason for the combination of the rose and cross as the emblem for the Christine Church. Later in the history of Christianity, Jesus Himself was called “the Rose,” the “Rose of Sharon,” the “Beautiful Rose,” and the “Holy Rose”; and the rose on the cross was interpreted by many to represent the soul of Jesus on the cross, in all of its beauty and maturity, un- crucified. It was not until many centuries later that the Holy Fathers of the church, in their high Councils, established the cross with the crucified body upon it as an emblem of the Christine movement.
The inner circle of the Christine Church also formed itself into a militant organization for the preservation of its sacred symbol, the cross, and later adopted a name which translated into Latin would read Militia Crucifera Evangelica. ‘This
militant organization, which was to include those [295 }
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who would be selected in every country to repre- sent it and carry on its activities, was to protect its sacred emblem from being adopted by other unauthorized organizations, and especially to pro- tect it from being misused and misrepresented in matters that were not truly according to the Christ principles. This militant organization finally in- cluded the Hospitalers and the Knights of the Cross, and similar organizations, which were carry- ing on humanitarian activities in the name of the cross and in the name of the Christ principles. For many centuries the organization remained a very secret and little-known body of several hundred men, controlling and directing the activities of a number of other allied organizations; and during the time of the Crusades for the redemption of the Holy Land from the control of infidels and pagans, the Militia directed and controlled the important activities of the armies. It is interesting to note, also, that after many centuries had passed, the organization suddenly became a nonsectarian body of defenders of the Cross, through a convention called at Luneburg, in Hanover, on July 27, 1586, and which was sponsored by Henry IV, King of France, Queen Elizabeth of England, the King of Denmark, and the potentates of many lands. At this convention the ancient records of the organ-
ization were revealed, and the doctrines of the [ 296 J
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Organization and of the Essene Brotherhood and the Great White Brotherhood were reviewed and adopted as the rules and regulations, teachings, and practices of the Militia. All these things were then compiled into one great book of almost two thou- sand pages which was completed in the year 1604, and officially called the Naometria. The Militia be- came an important organization in the prevention of further wars and forms of persecution in the name of religion. Membership in the Militia even- tually became an honor resulting from unusual and distinguished service rendered in behalf of the pure symbolism of the cross, and in behalf of man’s mystical and religious development.
Early in the formation of the inner circle by the Apostles in Palestine, members thereof were dele- gated to go to various lands and spread the work of the newly formed church. Peter was sent into Jerusalem, Antioch, and Rome. The elder St. James worked also in Jerusalem. St. John, after some missionary work in Jerusalem, centered his activities in the establishment of a church at Ephe- sus. St. Paul aided, first at Antioch, and then at Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, Troas, Philippi, Thessa- lonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and other cities. The other Apostles labored first as assistants in the
new churches, and then went off to other lands; [297]
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and thus the Christine Church had its foundation among the most advanced nations.
In the meantime Jesus outlined and perfected the doctrines and teachings which He had received through inspiration during the days of His Christ- hood, and in the confinement of His sanctum out- lined these teachings to the High Priests and the Apostles who came to see Him from time to time.
Most of these doctrines and teachings were pre- served by the Apostles and especially by the High Priests of the Brotherhood, and from these pre- served writings the Brotherhood extracted many of the teachings which it now uses throughout the world. An outline of the secret teachings of Jesus, as revealed in His public and private sessions with His Apostles, Disciples, and officers of the Brother- hood, constitutes a wonderful volume of the princi- ples of metaphysics and spiritual law. Perhaps these will be given to the public in time, for they would prove of inestimable value to the student of Christianity and to the student of mysticism.
The ultimate passing or transition of the great Master Jesus is recorded in the ancient records as having occurred peacefully and in the presence of the brethren of the Brotherhood in the monastery at Carmel. His body remained in a tomb on the
mount for several centuries; but it was finally re- [ 298 }
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moved to a secret sepulchre guarded and protected by His brothers.
Thus endeth the story of the Great Initiate— the Messiah and the Son of God—the AMEN of the world, Lord and Redeemer.
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APPENDIX SOME INTERESTING CRITICISMS V
Immediately following the issuance of the first edition of this book and throughout the world wide sale of the first and second editions, many letters were received by the author making critical comments regarding the contents of this book. Many of these comments will be interesting to the reader.
Naturally, it was expected that this new version of the old stories of the life of Jesus, and the pres- entation of some hitherto unpublished facts re- garding His life, would bring forth many serious objections on the part of Christian orthodoxy, and many critical comments from two classes of per- sons—the defenders of the faith, and the careless students of Christian theology. It was never be- lieved by either the author or the publishers that any of the Christian priesthood or clergy would approve of and endorse the book. Yet this very thing did happen in a great many cases.
One of the interesting facts revealed by the let- ters of criticism received and by the critical com-
ments about the book published in various news [301]
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paper articles and magazine contributions, is that many eminent Christian clergymen who should not have attempted to criticize the book without first becoming well versed in Christian history, rushed into print with their condemnations of the book, and centered their arguments in one sweep- ing rebuke. Taking all of these rebukes and melting them, so to speak, into one mould, we find the fol- lowing words typical of the expression used:
“The author of The Mystical Life of Jesus pre- sents us with a unique story which challenges many of the statements contained in the Gospel records, but absolutely fails to give any Christian authority for a single challenging statement that he makes.”
Other clergymen have privately and publicly denounced the book with the statement that “the author quotes no Christian records, nor any part of the Gospel records to substantiate the state- ments he makes.”
Such criticism of the book is unfair, or at least disqualified, for the book itself claims to be a ver- sion different from that generally held by the Christian authorities relating to the life of Jesus, and common sense would tell one that an entirely different book with challenging statements in it could not rest upon quotations taken from the
Christian Bible or the Christian writings. [ 302]
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The author feels that if in writing about the life of Jesus he were limited to quotations from the Christian histories, and to statements made in the Christian Gospels, there would be no need of writing another book, for the Christian faiths have given to the world as interesting and attractive his- tories of Jesus as their inner light would permit. To merely re-quote the Gospels would be equiva- lent to attempting to paint the lily. If no facts had been discovered which were contrary to the state- ments in the Christian Gospels and no further facts found which were absent in the Christian records, there would have been no need to pre- pare another book dealing with the life of this great Son of God.
It seems strange, however, that these Christian fathers could find no other points upon which to base their sincere objections to the book. The vari- ous chapters of this book make many challenging statements which if untrue should have been pointed out by the critics of the book as falsehoods and as unsubstantiated statements, but which if true should have forced the orthodox Christians to admit that this new book contained newer light and newer knowledge.
Why, for instance, should all of these clergy-
men in writing their condemnations of this book [ 303 }
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refuse to answer or explain away the statement that Jesus did not live in Nazareth, and was not a Nazarene by virtue of His association with a city that did not exist in His lifetime? Not one of the thousands of criticisms published about this book by the orthodox defenders of Christian rec- ords contains a single comment regarding this point. Yet, if the point raised about Nazareth in this