An occult investigation and analysis of some parables from the NT gospels
Guest article by John Temple
In the eighth of his articles on the Search for Truth, John Temple continues his investigation of the hidden wisdom in the Bible by examining some parables from the gospels
Introduction
In this further investigation of the hidden wisdom in the Bible I propose to analyse a few parables from the New Testament gospels. If you have not read my previous articles on this subject, you should do so, to familiarise yourself with the basic principles of occult symbolism, allegory and mythology discussed and explained in them. As with my previous investigations, I would like to assure any devout Christians who may have stumbled upon this article that they will lose nothing of value by reading it. On the contrary they may gain a deeper insight into their faith and its mysteries. I tender the same assurance to occultists, many of whom have told me over the years that they "don't do Jesus" because they were put off by Sunday school or compulsory religious instruction classes.
I discuss the relation of the historical figure of Jesus to the mythical Christ in my afterword. This draws on the work of Gerald Massey, who did so much during his lifetime to restore the High Wisdom of ancient Egypt from the stygian darkness into which it had fallen. Although his books were published over 120 years ago and have been largely ignored by both scholars and truth-seekers alike, they are especially relevant today when many are trying to reconcile the true teachings of Christ with the dogmas of the Church in their personal search for Truth.
The source of the gospels
No one knows for certain when the gospels were written or by whom. Although Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are generally accepted as the authors of these four books, this does not mean they wrote them, nor shall we probably ever know who did. What we do know is that there are four main written sources behind the first three gospels: St John's Gospel being in a different category. These four sources are:
Mark's Gospel
A collection of sayings and some narrative, known as Q, from the German Quelle, meaning 'source'.
A source drawn upon by Luke—known to scholars as 'L.'
A source drawn upon by Matthew—known as 'M'.
Matthew uses Mark, Q and M. Luke uses Mark, Q and L. So in Mark we have one of the original written sources. Matthew and Luke copy it and also alter it, as anyone may discover for themselves by comparing them. But none of this matters in the slightest. What matters is that we have the gospels, which are very beautiful Teachings indeed, though, as readers of my previous articles will know, few realise just what is concealed in plain sight within their narratives. So, without further preamble, let us have a look at a few of the better-known parables, and using the keys I have discussed in my previous articles, see what we may discover within them. I will begin with the parable of the loaves and fishes, which, on the face of it, seems a most implausible 'miracle', no one has ever replicated, except perhaps in the fictional doings of wizards!
Giovanni Lanfranco — The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes — oil on canvas ca. 1620-1623
Loaves and Fishes
"And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full. And they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children" (Matthew 14:19-21).
As I discuss in my afterword, the gospel narratives are derived in large part from the wisdom teachings of ancient Egypt, and the parable of feeding the five thousand is no exception. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, the deceased declares: "I am the Lord of Bread in Annu (Heliopolis). My bread in heaven is the bread of Ra; my bread on earth was that of Geb." Unlike the Biblical parable, which in transmogrifying spiritual truths into earthly events, distorts the meaning of the allegory, the Egyptian text draws a clear distinction between material knowledge (the bread of Geb, God of the Earth) and spiritual wisdom (the bread of Ra). Sometimes this consists of seven loaves, at others of five, and each is significant. Five loaves are the bread of earth, and seven the bread of heaven, for five is the number of the man of earth, but seven the number of the man of Heaven, or liberated Higher Self.
Whereas both these numbers occur in the Egyptian Ritual, the miracle in the Gospel of Matthew is wrought with five loaves. Whether this change was deliberate to indicate that Jesus reserved the hidden wisdom for his chosen disciples, and only imparted its outer garment in parables to the multitude (the 5,000), is open to question. It could just as easily have been due to the ignorance of those who compiled the gospels, very few of whom had any knowledge of the Mysteries. In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, Osiris eats under the sycamore tree of Hathor. He says: "Let him come forth from the earth. Thou hast brought these seven loaves for me to live by, bringing the bread that Horus makes. Thou hast placed, thou hast eaten rations. Let him call to the Gods for sustenance." This is the spiritual allegory that is reproduced as a material miracle in the gospels, when Jesus looked up to Heaven, blest the bread and fed the multitude with the loaves and fishes.
That this is the correct interpretation we find confirmed in many places in the gospels, such as the well-known verse from Luke which has been included in the Lord's Prayer: "Give us day by day our daily bread" (Luke 11:3). Only the most literally-minded zealot would interpret this as a plea to God to provide material sustenance, for that is the duty of men, unless we choose to regard the Father of All as some kind of Heavenly baker who has nothing better to do than to provide humanity with fresh baguettes on a daily basis! Luke tells us: "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" (Luke 14:15), whilst John says: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world" (John 6:51). What else can this mean but spiritual food?
By 'flesh' John refers not to the Church's dogma of transubstantiation, but to the work of the True Teacher who sacrifices their life that others might live. The words 'Day by day' are a concealed reference to our many incarnations, during which we receive our 'daily bread', meaning the knowledge and wisdom we gain during our many lifetimes, for this is the greatest teaching of all. But bread has many other meanings too. The gospels tell us: "It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs" (Matthew 15:26). "They wash not their hands when they eat bread" (Matthew 15:2). The first of these verses is a clear injunction not to give that which is holy unto the unworthy. The pure in heart and mind are often called 'children' in the Bible, for they alone are worthy to receive the hidden 'manna' from God; that is the occult, or hidden wisdom, which it is not lawful to impart to the multitude. The second verse warns us of the danger of approaching the True Teachings with unclean minds and hearts.
The gospels also have much to say about leavened and unleavened bread, that is bread with or without a raising agent, such as yeast. Not all spiritual teachings are necessarily good or wholesome as the authors of this website discuss in their excellent investigation of Tibetan Buddhism. Indeed, it is fair to say that Tibetan Buddhism consists of the bread of the Buddha leavened by the sorcery and superstition of primitive Lamaism. Which is why Matthew warns us to "take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees" (Matthew 16.6). Both these sects symbolise the distortion of the words of the True Teachings and the True Teacher. But 'leaven' may also refer to the interior spirit that gives life to the True Teachings without which they become a dead letter. Paul refers to this in his letter to the Galatians, when he says: "A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." What of the "twelve baskets full" that were left over after the distribution of the bread? This may be a concealed numerological allusion to the 12 signs of the Zodiac, which require and receive spiritual nourishment in a different manner, according to the characteristics of each sign.
Having considered some of the meanings of bread let us see what we may discover about fish, the better to understand this parable. One of the earliest symbols of Christ was the fish, and we still see this today, often stuck on the boots of cars belonging to Christians, though I doubt whether many of them realise just how old this symbol is, or how universal. In the third century B.C., Berosus, a Babylonian priest wrote about Oannes, a mythical being, half man and half fish, who taught mankind wisdom and every art and science. "When the sun set," says Berosus, "it was the custom of this Being to plunge again into the sea, and abide all night in the deep." This incident is faithfully reproduced in the gospels when Jesus as Ichthys or the Fish instructs men by day, but retires by night to the lake of Galilee, where he demonstrates his solar nature by walking the waters at night, or at the dawn of day. In actual fact, Oannes was the first messenger from God to Man in Dr Kenealy's chronology, as you can read in our review of The Book of God—The Apocalypse of Adam Oannes.
The gospels tell us that Jesus' disciples being on board a ship, "when even was come, in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went unto them walking upon the sea." Now the fourth watch began at three o'clock, and ended at six o'clock, that is around dawn, which was the proper time for a solar god to appear walking upon the waters, or coming up out of them as the Fish-man, or fisherman. Oannes is said to have taken no food whilst he was with men: "In the daytime he used to converse with men, but took no food at that season." So Jesus, when his disciples exhorted him to eat replied: "I have meat to eat that you know not of. My meat is to do the will of Him that sent me." This is a perfect copy of the character of Oannes, who took no food, but whose time was wholly spent in fishing, or teaching men.
It will now be clear that the parable of the loaves and fishes is an allegory about the True Teacher and his teachings. The teacher being the 'two fishes' in his dual character of the Saviour discussed in my afterword, and the teachings the 'loaves' which were miraculously multiplied as soon as they were distributed among the five thousand. For everyone who receives the True Teachings and understands them cannot fail to share them, whether directly in the case of their own disciples, or indirectly in the way of good deeds, kind thoughts and compassion for all. As we have already seen, numbers play an important part in this parable. Five is the number of the senses of man as well as man himself. The Pythagoreans called this number 'Equilibrium', because it divides the perfect number 10 into two equal parts. So we safely say the five loaves and the five thousand who consume them symbolise the multitude and the spiritual nourishment they gain from the teachings imparted to them. It is also worth mentioning that the sign of Pisces is composed of two fishes, not one, each pointing or pulling in the opposite direction. I leave my readers to explore the symbolism of this for themselves.
The ship was tossed with waves
Immediately after the feeding of the five thousand the narrative moves abruptly to a ship "tossed with waves, for the wind was very contrary." Taken literally, this change seems rather unlikely, and so it is, for just as the loaves and fishes were no ordinary articles of food, so too, is this no ordinary 'ship', 'wind' or 'sea'. As I have pointed out in my previous investigations, there is hardly a single word in the Bible that does not have a hidden meaning. Sometimes this is obvious, more often it is not. Moreover, such words often have a double, triple, or multiple meaning, so adding to the difficulty, but also the sheer joy of discovering what they may mean. To do so it is essential to consider the ideas they represent, not their obvious, literal meaning. We all know what a ship is but rarely stop to consider the idea it represents, which is a vehicle of some kind. Similarly, 'sea' represents a fluid substance, not necessarily one that is either wet or salty. The 'astral light' is such a fluid, as in Space, in which the stars and planets swim as ships on their mysterious errands, buffeted by electromagnetic currents of all kinds which even science calls 'winds'.
We may apply the same correspondences to the microcosm—man, who travels in a 'ship' through the sea of earthly life, tossed by the winds of good and bad fortune and his own passions and desires, as well as those of others. He too, must pilot his ship through treacherous currents, avoiding the shoals that might ground his vessel and the rocks of calamity that might wreck it. This way of thinking is alien to most people today, who know nothing of symbols except the 'logos' used to advertise things of little value no one needs and tires of no sooner they have acquired them! Not so among our ancestors, who saw the world around them as nothing but a series of symbols and allegories behind which lay concealed the great mysteries of Man and the Universe.
In the degree that we learn this new way of seeing (which is so very old), so shall we comprehend the hidden meaning in the Bible and other sacred books. And in time, with patience and practise there will then be no secrets in our outer or inner world we cannot unravel, for the language of Truth is one of symbols, not of intellectual reasoning and speculation. Armed with this knowledge and the insight it brings the parable of the ship and the sea will be clear to you, for until we become the captain of our own ship, we will continue to be 'buffeted' by the winds of our own ignorance, doubts, fears and lack of faith, as the disciples were before Jesus—the Christ principle within us all—opened their eyes to the truth.
Figurative figs
We find parables about fig trees in all four gospels. The most well-known is recounted in Luke 13: 6-9. "A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." Here we have a concealed allegory about the True Teacher (the 'dresser'), the owner of the vineyard (the 'Lord' or God if you wish), and the barren tree (the pupil or student). Now, 'three years' was the amount of time the students of Pythagoras devoted to their preliminary studies under his tuition. Hence, the number three was called "the cause of good counsel, intelligence, and knowledge," all of which qualities are needed if the pupil is to benefit from the True Teachings. The dresser asks for a fourth year, after which he concedes that the unfruitful pupil may be dismissed. The Pythagoreans called the number four "the greatest miracle." A better description of the acquirement of Gnosis it would be hard to find. Theon of Smyrna, an initiate of the Greek Mysteries, wrote that the third part of initiation was the reception of the True Teachings and the fourth the end and design of the holy revelation.
A more enigmatical parable about figs is found in the gospels of Matthew and Mark. Both accounts are quite short but contain significant differences; Matthew first: "Now in the morning as he returned into the city, he hungered. And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And presently the fig tree withered away" (Matthew 21: 18-19). Now Mark's version: "And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: and seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it" (Mark 11:12-14). Matthew adds two extra verses which give every appearance of having been added by some meddling cleric. "And when the disciples saw it, they marvelled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done. And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive" (Matthew 21:20-22).
These extra verses seem to have little connection with the preceding narrative or Mark's account which omits them. Don't forget what I said earlier: "in Mark we have one of the original written sources. Matthew and Luke copy it and also alter it." It is wholly incompatible with the character and teachings of the Saviour to encourage his disciples to curse anything, yet these verses seem to suggest exactly that. For this reason I incline to the view that they are a priestly interpolation to bolster the Church's dogmas. But why curse the poor tree at all and what does it mean? Before we can answer these questions a short botanical digression is needed. Figs generally appear before the leaves, and, because they are green they blend with the foliage right until they are almost ripe. Moreover, depending on local conditions and climate, fig trees often produce two or three crops each year. Although this explains why one might expect a fig tree in leaf to carry ripe fruit, it doesn't explain why Jesus curses it because on this occasion it did not. Childish petulance born of disappointment is not a characteristic one associates with the Saviour!
This tells us we are dealing with an allegory and not a real event. Let us examine the elements of the story. Firstly, Jesus is hungry. Secondly he sees a potential source of nourishment. Mark uses the word 'haply', meaning by chance or accident. The True Teacher is always seeking worthy disciples so that the age-old Truths might be preserved and promulgated. He accidentally alights on a potential candidate but finds no fruit, only leaves. That is to say it is not the right time for the tree (candidate) to bear fruit, so he rejects, not 'curses' him. The 'cursing' was either added to the story later to conceal the allegory or a mistranslation of the original text. Like so much of the Bible, it is impossible to say which.
Angling for the Fish of the Wise
The Gospel of John, as I said earlier, is in a different category to the other three gospels. Whoever the author or authors were, it is clear that it is the work of an Initiate, for it contains some of the most profound truths to be found anywhere in the Bible, of which the following parable is a perfect example. "Simon Peter saith unto them, I go a fishing. They say unto him, we also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship immediately; and that night they caught nothing" (John 21:3).
Of course they caught nothing, as we shall see. For what we have here is an allegorical drama taking place in the higher astral realms, not on earth. But let John continue: "But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then Jesus saith unto them, Children, have ye any meat? They answered him, No. And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes" (John 21:4-6).
The first attempt which ended in failure was made at night, the second, which brought in such a rich harvest took place during the day in the presence of the Lord after the disciples cast their net on the right side of the ship. Could anything be clearer? Have we not all fished in the 'night'—that is to say in the dark things of this world? Many more fish on the left side of their ship, meaning the lower self. You should now be able to profitably extend my interpretation yourself. The next verse is also replete with hidden meaning: "Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea." Have you discovered what it means? No? Then this time I will tell you and when I have done so you will say it was all so very simple a child could understand it! The 'Lord' is Simon Peter's own Soul, of whom he has become aware. Having done so, he realises his ignorance (nakedness) and clothing himself in his spiritual body ('fisher's coat') ascends into the higher realms of Light, there to angle for the fish of the wise or spiritual truth. But read these verses in context yourself and see what you can make of them, for there is a treasure-trove of wisdom to be mined from them.
The Resurrection of Osiris — funeral chapel of Meri-Sesheta, 18th Dynasty
Raising the Dead
Several people have asked me over the years whether Jesus really did raise the dead to life. My invariable answer is 'yes—and no.' Yes, in the sense that the True Teacher and the True Teachings can and do give people a new lease of life when formerly they dwelt in complete ignorance of any higher reality or any spiritual aspiration. Yes too, in the resurrection of the dead Lazarus, which, as we shall see, is a distorted copy of the Mysteries of Osiris. No, in the sense that it is impossible to restore a truly dead physical body to life once the Higher Self has left it for good. Like so many parables, the story of Lazarus has been copied directly from the Egyptian mythos and turned into an historical event in the Gospel of John, chapter 11, verses to 1-44.
If you have your King James Bible to hand I suggest you look up these verses so you can follow my interpretation as we go along. I said earlier that there is hardly a single word in the Bible that does not have a hidden meaning. This is true of the word 'Lazarus' which is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Eleazar. This name consists of two elements, 'El', meaning God, and 'azar' meaning support. So we may say it means 'supported by God'. Please remember this. In Egyptian 'ras' meant to rise up while 'aru' was a name for the mummy or corpse. Now 'r' and 'l' were interchangeable letters in Egyptian, as well as in many other ancient languages. In the course of humanizing the Egyptian mythos into Biblical fact, 'Ras-aru' was rendered 'Lazaru', which, with the addition of the Greek terminal 's' becomes Lazarus. Finally, Osiris was written 'Asar' in Egyptian, which, with the transposition of 's' into 'z' forms the middle four letters in the word 'Lazarus'.
Once we know that Lazarus is Osiris it follows that Jesus here takes the place of Horus in the drama of the spiritual resurrection which has been converted into historical fact in the Biblical parable. This becomes even clearer when we read verses 1-6. "Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. . .When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. . .When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was."
Note that Lazarus had two sisters: Mary and Martha. So did Osiris; his sister-wife Isis (Mary) and her sister, Nepthys (Martha). Both mourned over the dead Osiris, as you will remember from my investigation of the esoteric meaning of Easter. Now why does Jesus say Lazarus' sickness is 'not unto death'? Because there is no death anywhere in God's Universe, only change! The change from mortal life in the body to immortal life in the spirit is 'for the glory' of the god within each one of us—our own Higher Self—which is thereby freed from the vicissitudes and illusions of corporeal existence which we might well call a 'sickness'. Moreover, we are all sons or daughters of God in our Higher Selves, for each is a Horus, or Christ, imprisoned in matter to learn the lessons only material life can teach us. This is why Jesus—or Horus—waits 'two days still in the same place where he was' before coming to the rescue of Lazarus. That 'place' is in a higher realm, not on earth. For you should know, dear reader, that no one dies alone. We are all met at the time of our passing by a guide or guides, who will—if we are worthy and have earned the reward—lead us to our own place. Whether that place is one of transcendent beauty and peace or ugliness and strife depends on us as you can read in the article about life after death written by the authors of this website.
For we must remember that Horus not only represents the actual Saviour in the drama of the resurrection, but also those who act on His behalf in the higher and lower realms. There are countless grades of such guides or helpers, of which our own Higher Self is one, for each one of us is a 'Horus' in our Higher Self, just as each one of us is an 'Osiris' who descends into corporeal life to learn the lessons of material existence in a physical body. Unless we grasp that the Egyptian gods and goddesses stand for various occult principles, laws and functions which may be regarded from several different aspects at every level of manifestation, it is impossible to understand the Egyptian Mythos and Eschatology.
Without such understanding, the parable makes no sense. Why wait two days to heal the sick Lazarus? Why not go to his aid at once? So we may be certain that what we have here is a mutilated fragment of the genuine Mystery Teachings on the spiritual resurrection of man. For it is vitally important to remember that we are dealing with an allegorical drama enacted in the spiritual realms, not a historical event on earth. Verses 9-16 are all concerned with sleeping and dying, for it is not without good reason that sleep has been called the 'little death'.
Verses 17 to 28, which I examined in my previous investigation into the esoteric meaning of Easter, are a faithful copy of the Egyptian doctrine of the resurrection of Osiris. "Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die." These exact words were spoken by Horus thousands of years before in Egypt. Verses 31-32 reproduce the point in the drama when Isis and Nepthys mourn over the dead body of Osiris: "The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, she goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." This last verse may have been interpolated into the parable to reinforce the Church's dogma of the so-called 'resurrection' on the 'last day' when the dead shall rise from their coffins much like zombies in the best traditions of Hollywood movies, for as I explained earlier, it is quite impossible to reanimate a truly dead body.
The 'Jews' of the Biblical parable are a direct copy of the Aiu in Egypt, the followers of the God Iu-em-Hetep or Prince of Peace, who mourned over the death of Osiris, whilst 'Mary', as we have seen, is none other than Isis who was called 'Meri' in Egypt, meaning 'beloved'. Jesus here takes the place, or acts the part of Horus. In verses 33-42 Jesus is troubled and laments over the corpse of Lazarus. Unless we accept the thesis that the whole story is a copy of the Mystery plays of Osiris that were enacted in Egypt thousands of years before, Jesus' grief over his disciple's death is inexplicable. "Jesus wept. . .Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave." Why should the Son of God mourn over his departed disciple, who was now, even according to the Church's own dogmas, residing with the Blessed in Paradise? Perhaps he was grieving for himself? If so, how was he any wiser than the rest of us deluded mortals, who weep over the loss of our loved ones? If even we, who are so very foolish and ignorant, know that grief is only a form of selfishness, however unpalatable that truth may be to some, what are we to make of a Master who suffers from the same weakness?
This is the fatal flaw in the Church's mutilation of the high wisdom it filched from the hated 'pagans' and rewrote for its own temporal purposes; the seal of its unholy impostures which it has stamped upon the canon of sacred writ. This is the reason why the following verses omit the bier upon which the corpse of Osiris was placed in the Egyptian drama of the resurrection, and why the Church has substituted a cave in place of it. "Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it." When, in the previous verse we encounter: "And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?" we are transported back to Egypt where it is Horus who opens the eyes of his father Osiris! In this and similar ways have the truths of the Mysteries been concealed from the eyes of all but the few who possess the keys to unlock them; keys which I have now placed in your hands so that your eyes may be opened!
"Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days." One hopes this verse is another interpolation by some priestly 'editor', no doubt to reinforce the dogma that it is the physical body of Lazarus which Jesus raised from death. And what a life! 'Stinking' is not too harsh a word to describe life on earth for the many millions whose only 'enjoyment' lies in sickness, poverty, pain and oppression. But once we know that Lazarus is a distorted copy of Osiris, Mary is Isis, Martha her sister Nepthys, and that Jesus is Horus, all becomes clear, or at least I hope it does, or I am a poorer writer than a speaker, for I have lectured on this same topic for more than thirty years.
And so Jesus makes Lazarus come forth "bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin," just as Horus made Osiris come forth as the mummy swathed in bandages in the Egyptian original of the gospel copy. Even the most 'doubting Thomas' must concede that one is borrowed from the other, and as Osiris predates Christianity by many millennia it is not difficult to say which came first! From this it follows that, as I discuss in my afterword, the parables of Jesus set down in the gospels have been taken from Mystery Teachings of Egypt. In the process, whether by design or accident, much of the wisdom of the Egyptian original has been stripped from them. If this investigation has opened your eyes to the presence of this wisdom in the gospels and encouraged you to seek it out for yourself using the keys we have discussed together my labours will be amply rewarded.
The Search for Truth
In this unique series of twelve articles, the author explores and investigates the many links between Religion and the Occult, focusing especially on the hidden meaning concealed within the Bible and its many correspondences with the Wisdom Teachings of ancient Egypt.
In late November 2024, a slightly different collection of these twelve articles approved and edited by the author was published by Aula Lucis in a limited edition hardcover book. See the review on our Occult Books page for more information. While each article can be read on its own, they form an ascending scale of revelation, the full import of which will only become clear when they are studied in their proper sequence, in the order of publication listed below.
Searching for Truth. The moving and true story of one seeker's troubled and eventful journey of spiritual discovery as related to the author.
Who are the REAL illuminati? The author dispels the many misconceptions surrounding the mysterious 'illuminati' and attempts to discover who the occult masters who are said to 'rule our lives' really are and what they do.
Esotericism in the Nativity. An investigation of the Bible story of the birth of Jesus, revealing the many layers of hidden meaning it contains, and the historical parallels between Jesus and the many saviours of other religions.
If God is good why does he allow evil?. An investigation of the problem of Good and Evil from the perspective of Occult Science and some important extracts from the Oera Linda Book which shed light on this age-old question.
Hidden Wisdom in the Bible. Why and how it was concealed, and the tools the sincere seeker needs to dig it out. In his afterword the author examines the hidden meanings within the Biblical parable of the prodigal son
Esoteric meaning of Easter. An investigation of the true significance and esoteric meaning of Easter, the resurrection of Jesus, and the parallels between the Christian and ancient Egyptian religions.
Hidden meaning in the Book of Proverbs. An investigation of the origins of the Biblical Book of Proverbs and the hidden meaning in it, and their close similarity to the maxims found in the ancient Egyptian Teaching of Ptah-Hetep
The sayings of the Saviour analysed (this article). An occult investigation and analysis of some parables from the NT gospels, the real origins of Christianity and its close connection with the wisdom teachings of ancient Egypt.
The metaphysics of Talent. An analysis of the hidden meaning in the parable of the talents in the New Testament, what talent is; whence it comes, where it leads, and its right and wrong use.
The power of Prayer. An investigation of the nature, purpose and power of prayer, the many misconceptions surrounding it, and an analysis of the occult truths contained in the Lord's Prayer.
Facts and fictions of the Church. An investigation of the origins of the Christian Church, some of its doctrines and dogmas, and the so-called 'heresies' which threatened its survival in the early centuries of our era.
The Mystery of Jesus. An investigation of the evidence for the existence of the historical figure of Jesus and the occult truths concealed in the Sermon on the Mount.
'John' (no relation)
About the author
John Temple is the pen-name of a writer who has studied and practised the occult sciences for more than 60 years. He graduated from Cambridge University with a first in Theology and Religious Studies and was ordained as a Minister in the Anglican Church in 1957. He left the Church in 1972 and has since lectured to students around the world on a wide variety of occult, religious and mystical subjects.
John retired in 2002 and now lives quietly in London with his wife, two Yorkshire terriers and a talkative African Grey Parrot called John, shown in typically meditative mood at left.
The historical Jesus and the mythical Christ within
In his afterword, John Temple examines the real origins of Christianity and its close connection with the wisdom teachings of ancient Egypt.
I am deeply indebted for some of the content of this afterword to an essay bearing the same title written by Gerald Massey. Those who wish to know more about this greatly underrated scholar are referred to the Links page of this website for further information.
H. P. Blavatsky held Massey in high esteem for his meticulous scholarship and unswerving devotion to the search for Truth, and she quotes copiously from his writings in The Secret Doctrine. In building on his work I have endeavoured to shine a clearer light upon those mysteries which he laboured to reveal whilst correcting some of his mistranslations of ancient Egyptian papyri and the misconceptions arising from them.
But this is in no way intended as a criticism of Massey's scholarship, which remains unequalled in its depth and verisimilitude. When he erred he did so for two very good reasons. Firstly, because he was not an Occultist and so lacked the training without which it is impossible to fully elucidate the Mystery Teachings of the ancient Egyptians. Secondly, because the science of Egyptology was still in its infancy when he wrote his essay in 1888. At that date neither E. A. Wallis Budge's translation of the Papyrus of Ani (published in1895) or his Egyptian hieroglyphic dictionary (published in 1920) were available to him.
As I mention in my investigation at left, the teachings of Jesus set down in the Bible have been drawn in large part from the wisdom teachings of ancient Egypt. Gerald Massey did more than anyone before him in investigating these parallels and the relationship the historical person of Jesus bears to the Christ principle we find embodied in Osiris, Horus and the saviours of many different religions from around the world.
For we are in search of Truth in these investigations, not speculation, religious dogma or fantasy. Those who prefer the latter may stop reading now, for nothing I have to say is likely to dispel their cherished beliefs. Nor is it my intention to persuade or 'convert' such readers, who are fully entitled to their beliefs, whatever they may be. Those, on the other hand, who possess an open and enquiring mind and are dissatisfied by the teachings of the Church about Jesus, will welcome the clarifying light these researches shed upon the subject.
This leads on to a question many people have asked me over the years: was there ever such a Teacher as Jesus was represented to be—as an earthly man? My personal view is that there probably was a great Teacher named Jesus—a very common name in those days—around whom the gospel narratives were later woven. He was probably an Essene—a strict Jewish sect, and he may have shared the fate of other martyrs who spread the Word of Light; or tried to do so.
But despite the very latest research and a mountain of books there is no actual proof of any of this, no matter what some scholars and writers may claim, and as I have no wish to add to the speculations surrounding this subject there I must leave it for the moment, though I intend to return to this question in a future article in this series. Madame Blavatsky neatly sums up the enigma of the historical Jesus and his relation to the Mythical Christ with her customary acuity in her Collected Writings, Vol. IX, pages 203-225:
"Jesus is a deified personification of the glorified type of the great Hierophants of the Temples, and his story, as told in the New Testament, is an allegory, assuredly containing profound esoteric truths, but still an allegory. . .Every act of the Jesus of the New Testament, every word attributed to him, every event related of him during the three years of the mission he is said to have accomplished, rests on the programme of the Cycle of Initiation, a cycle founded on the precession of the equinoxes and the Signs of the Zodiac."
The use of the word 'mythical' is not intended to suggest that Christ did not or does not exist. As Blavatsky tells us, he is a personification of the character and deeds of every Messenger who has ever, or will ever bless this earth with their holy presence. Each of these messengers is overshadowed by, and enacts the will of the Christ principle, who is the third person of the true Divine trinity of Father, Mother and ever-coming Son. Ever-coming, because there is literally no end to these messengers, whose births and lives all share the same characteristics, as I discussed in my investigation of the Nativity.
The mythical Christ was never human, nor can he be, no matter how many corpses are nailed to wooden crosses. He is the allegorical prototype of the Universal Saviour of whom the historical Jesus was the earthly representative.
Dogma of the Virgin Birth
Massey shows us that the Church's dogma of the virgin birth was directly copied from the ancient Egyptian mythos in which Queen Mut-em-ua, who flourished some 3,600 years ago, is represented as giving birth to the future Pharaoh, Amenhetep III, without human intervention. As we can be tolerably sure that the ancient Egyptians knew quite as much about sexual reproduction as we do, we may safely say that they intended this portrayal to be allegorical not literal.
This virgin birth can still be seen depicted upon the walls of the Holy of Holies within the temple of Amen-Ra at Thebes. The first scene shows Thoth, the Scribe of the Gods, in the act of hailing the Virgin Queen, and announcing to her that she is to give birth to the coming son. In the second scene the god Khnum accompanied by the Goddess Hathor breathe life into the babe. In the transposition of Egyptian mystery into historical fact these two deities have been merged into one by the Church in the form of the Holy Ghost.
In the third scene we behold the Queen seated on the birthing stool with the newborn child supported by one of the wet-nurses. The fourth scene is that of the Adoration of the new-born King. Here the child receives homage from the gods and gifts from men. We even find the Wise Men kneeling beside the child in the guise of worshippers, bearing presents in their left hands and extending the gift of life with their right in the form of the sacred ankh. So now you know where the Wise men were 'borrowed' from!
The child thus announced, incarnated, born and worshipped, was the pharaonic representative of Iu-em-Hetep, which name means 'Prince of Peace', the ever-coming Son of his Father, which was Amen-Ra in one phase of the Egyptian mythos and Ptah in another, both emblematical of the Heavenly Father, as Mut-em-ua was emblematical of the Virgin Mother of the Gods—Hathor. These scenes, which were mythical in Egypt, have been faithfully reproduced as historical in the canonical gospels, where Jesus is also called the 'Prince of Peace', showing his identity with Iu-em-Hetep and the correspondence between the two different narratives.
Casini, the French astronomer, demonstrated that the date assigned for the birth of the Christ is an astronomical epoch in which the conjunction of the moon with the sun happened on the 24th March at the meridian of Jerusalem, the very day of the Vernal or Spring Equinox. The following day (the 25th) was the day of the Incarnation, according to Augustine, but the date of the birth, according to Clement of Alexandria. For two birth days are assigned to Jesus by the early Church Fathers, one at the Winter Solstice, the other at the Vernal or Spring Equinox.
As they cannot both be historical, we are compelled to conclude that they were copied from the two birthdays of the double Horus in Egypt. For, as you will recall from my previous investigations, there were two Horuses in Egyptian theology. One was the tender child of twelve years with his finger in his mouth, signifying that he spoke in parables, and the other, the adult Horus of thirty years who came to avenge Osiris and wage war upon the powers of darkness.
Plutarch tells us that Isis was delivered of Horus the child around the time of the Winter Solstice whereas the festival of the adult Horus followed the Vernal Equinox. Hence, the two seasons of the year, one in December and the other in March, were both assigned to the historical birth of Jesus by the Church, who either did not know the true significance of the two characters of the Saviour, or chose to conceal them.
The birthplace of Horus—the Egyptian messiah—at the Vernal Equinox was figured in Apt, or apta, meaning the corner in Egyptian. But apta is also the name of the crib and the manger; hence the child born in Apta, was said to be born in a manger; and this Apta as crib or manger is the Zodiacal sign of Cancer, as I discuss in my investigation of the Nativity. The birthplace was also indicated by the Star in the East which the Wise Men followed. When the birthplace was in the Zodiacal sign of Taurus the Bull, Sirius was the star that rose in the East to tell where the young sun-god was reborn. For this reason the Egyptians called it the 'Star of Horus.'
During the course of the precession of the equinoxes the vernal birthplace passed into the sign of Pisces, and the Messiah who had been represented for over 2,000 years by the Ram or Lamb of Aries, and previously by the Bull of Taurus, was now imaged as the Fish, or the 'Fish-man,' called Ichthys in Greek. The original Fish-man—known as An in Egypt and Oan in Chaldea—may well date from the previous cycle of precession, or 26,000 years earlier, showing just how old the doctrine of the Messiah is.
We have now seen that the Christian religion was not founded on a man, but on a divinity; that is, a Divine prototype. Far from being derived from the ideal of humanity, the Church's Christ was made up from the features of many different gods and underpinned by the mythology of Horus, the Egyptian Messiah. No one who honestly examines the evidence can come to any other conclusion than that the Church's doctrine of atonement and redemption is founded on its misinterpretation of the Egyptian mythos and that its prophecy of a 'second coming' can only be explained astronomically, never fulfilled historically.
The mythical messiah was Horus in the Osirian mythos; Khonsu in that of Amen-Ra; and Iu-em-Hetep in the cult of Ptah; and all mean the same and represent the same ever-coming Saviour. Ever-coming, because, as we have seen, there is no end to the appearance of the human representatives of the Christ principle on earth.
As we saw earlier, Iu-em-Hetep means he who comes in or with peace. This is the character in which Jesus is announced by the angels. When Jesus comes to his disciples after the resurrection it is as the bringer of peace. Yet he also tells his disciples: "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword" (Matthew 10:34). The same message was proclaimed thousands of years earlier in Egypt by Iu-em-Hetep who says: "I am the living image of Atum, proceeding from him as a sword."
Both characters belong to the mythical messiah in the Egyptian mythos, who also calls himself the "Great Disturber." The Christ of the canonical gospels has several prototypes. Sometimes the copy is derived from one original, and sometimes from another. The character of the Christ depicted by Luke is very different from that found in the Gospel of John. In Luke he is the Great Exorciser, casting out demons. John does not mention possession or obsession at all. What are we to make of this?
The answer lies in the different characters of the Egyptian Messiah. The Great Healer in the Gospel of Luke may be found in the god Khonsu, the Divine Healer, the supreme one amongst all the other healers and saviours, especially as the expeller of possessing spirits. In the Egyptian papyri he is called the "Great God, the driver away of possession."
In ancient Egypt the year began soon after the summer solstice, when the sun descended from its midsummer height and lost its force. This natural phenomena was reproduced in the Egyptian mythos by the death of Osiris; the suffering, wounded Messiah, who descended into hell and rose again as the sun of the resurrection at the Vernal Equinox as I discuss in my investigation of the Esoteric meaning of Easter.
Osiris furnished the dual type for the Mythical Christ which was later made historical in the gospels. The two characters of Horus as the tender child of 12 years and the all-powerful adult of 30 years who comes to wage war against the forces of evil are faithfully reproduced in the Gospel of Luke. The apostle describes the Christ-child's baptism and anointing at the hands of John the Baptist and the descent of the Holy Spirit, adding "And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age" (Luke 3:23).
Like the Horus the Child, Osiris also comes down to earth; enters material life and becomes mortal. He is born like the Logos, or 'as a Word.' His father is Geb, the Egyptian God of the Earth, whose consort is the Goddess Nut, one of whose names was Meri, the beloved Lady of Heaven, and these two are the prototypes of Joseph and Mary in the gospels. Osiris suffers vicariously as the saviour, redeemer, and justifier of men at the hands of Set as Jesus suffered at the hands of Herod.
In the Egyptian original of the Biblical copy there is constant conflict between Osiris and Set—the Egyptian Satan. At the Autumn Equinox, the devil of darkness began to dominate; this was the Egyptian Judas, who betrayed Osiris to his death at the last supper as I discussed in a previous article. On the day of the Great Battle which took place at the Vernal Equinox, Osiris conquered as the ascending god, the Lord of the growing light. Both these struggles are portrayed in the gospels. In the one Jesus is betrayed to his death by Judas; in the other he overcomes the temptations of Satan.
So I could continue, citing many more proofs that the historical figure of Jesus is simply a deified personification of the glorified type of the Mythical Christ as Blavatsky explains in the passage quoted earlier.
We have now seen that the Church's doctrine of an historical Jesus is founded upon the Mysteries of Osiris in which Horus was the ever-coming Son and Messiah, the solar hero, the greatest hero that ever lived in the mind of man—but note this well—not in the flesh. With few exceptions, the miracles attributed to Jesus were never literal, because he was never human. From the descent of the Holy Ghost that overshadowed Mary, to the ascension of the risen Christ, the subject-matter, the characters, occurrences, events, acts, and sayings recorded in the gospels bear the unmistakable impress of the Ancient Mystery Teachings, not the stamp of human history as we have seen in my analysis of the gospel parables.
Whether you choose to accept my thesis or not does not matter in the least. As I said in my introduction it is not my purpose to convince anyone, nor deprive devout Christians of the comfort of their religion. Yet I hope that my thinking readers will have gained a deeper understanding of the Christian religion and the truths—buried and distorted as they may be—within it which signpost the way to ancient Egypt and its Sacred Mysteries.
I hope that I have also shown that it is not necessary to throw the baby out with the bath water; or in this case the Christ-child with the dogmas the Church has engrafted upon the sacred mystery of the Mythical Christ. One can believe with all one's heart and mind in the divinity of Christ—as I do—without subscribing to the irresponsible fairy-tales the Church has erected around Him.
At the end of this sidebar you will find a list of the further contributions I have made to this website as well as some suggestions for further reading about the subjects discussed in my investigation and this afterword. It only remains for me to reiterate my deepest thanks to Gerald Massey without whose Herculean labours in Biblical scholarship I would never have found the True Christ and this article could not have been written.
Further contributions by John Temple
John Temple has written several further articles and afterwords for us. These are listed in order of publication below, oldest first. All these contributions are well worth reading in their own right as well as extensions to this series of articles on The Search for Truth.
A Modern Easter. In his afterword to this satirical story by Gabrielle Annunziato, John Temple unveils the hidden meaning of the Last Supper.
The Mystery of Love. In his afterword John Temple examines the many references to Love in the Bible.
The Importance of Being Humble. In his afterword to this article by Seán Mac Gréine John Temple examines some known and unknown quotations about humility.
Folly and Wisdom. The wisdom of Folly and the foolishness of Wisdom. Afterword: an analysis of the book of Ecclesiasticus in the Old Testament Apocrypha.
Star Children. An occult analysis and appreciation of a short story by Charles Dickens.
Mr Tilly's Séance. An appreciation and occult analysis of a ghost story by the novelist E. F. Benson.
The anatomy of Sin. An occult investigation of the theological concept of Sin and its origins, and the macabre custom of sin-eating.
An unwritten story unwrapped. An occult appreciation of a short story by Rudyard Kipling and his friendship with Rider Haggard.
