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Was Mary Magdalene the wife of Prophet Jesus?
Peace Brother Kannte.

Yes...There is an ancient city named “Nazeret” in Ethiopia, about 40 miles south of the capital city of Addis Ababa. Not too far from Nazeret is a city called "Megdela," which was the birthplace of the Biblical "Mary Magdalene." Therefore it could it be that the Biblical Jesus of Nazereth and Mary Magdalene are in reality Isa of Nazeret and Miriam of Megdela, Ethiopia...which leads me to believe that they were husband and wife...

(As you can see, from "Magdalene" to "Megdela" is linguistically an extremely short step...as is "Nazareth" to "Nazeret.")

Again, thanks for sharing that, Aqil.

Very interesting.

Magdalene is a word for "Watchtower". Nazarite also means "Watchtower". Mary was in the spiritual line of David and Solomon who are personifications of Ptah/Thoth who are the original Nazarite building the Hill/Watchtower/Pyramid from which life sprang. The Egyptians were decendants from Ethiopia so the name may be after them.

Dan Brown author of "The Da Vinci Code" talked about secret information in the picture of Mona Lisa. Brown says:

Mona Lisa =
Amon-L'isa

Brown says Amon's counterpart was Isis whose ancient pictogram was once called L'isa.

I don't believe M&M gave birth to a daughter to Jesus. Jesus was a symbolic, spiritual figure based on Egyptian characters. There are no bloodlines just grapevines of knowledge being passed to "knowers".

Bishop James Spong speculates that Jesus may have been married. And of course, he says, the woman he was married to was Mary Magdalene, whom the church has painted with a wide-scarlet brush down through the centuries.

Bishop Spong says that such negative views of Mary Magdalene are pure nonsense. "The only indications that Mary Magdalene even had problems," he says, "are a short Gospel passage that says she was a sinner and another passage that says Jesus cast seven demons out of the woman."

But Bishop Spong sees other positive indications that Mary Magdalene could have been the wife of Jesus. For instance, when the Gospel writers list the contingent of women who followed Jesus and the disciples from town to town, Mary Magdalene is always mentioned first.

Given the many prohibitions on single Jewish women in those days, Bishop Spong says that the women following Jesus could have been mothers, wives or prostitutes. Bishop Spong thinks that Peter and some of the other disciples had wives who followed along. What then was the role of Mary Magdalene?

The Bible says the women “provided for them out of their means.” And in every account Mary Magdalene is the central figure. Even at the tomb after the crucifixion, the focus is on Mary Magdalene. She tells an angel inside the tomb that someone has taken away her “Lord,” which would have been a common reference to a husband in those days, Bishop Spong says. And when she sees a mysterious figure outside the tomb whom she believes is a gardener, she lays claim to the body of Jesus which, of course, would be the duty of a man’s wife.

He talks about the narrative that describes the moment after the resurrection when Jesus sees Mary and greets her by name. Mary responds, “Rabboni,” an intimate reference to Jesus’ teaching role. Apparently, Mary then moves toward Jesus to embrace him, and Jesus says, “Do not embrace me” or: “Do not cling to me.” In Orthodox Jewish sects, the bishop says, women did not embrace men unless they were married – and then only in the privacy of their homes.

Bishop Spong contends that the wedding at Cana in Galilee was actually the wedding of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. The bishop notes that the only likely time that Jesus’ mother and all of his friends would be at the same wedding was when Jesus himself got married. And he wonders why Jesus’ mother became so upset when the wine was running low. Probably because she was the hostess of her own son’s wedding.

Bishop Spong charges that the real Mary Magdalene was excised from holy stories as a way of denying women their true sexual nature. “By the turn of the 1st century, there was in the life of the Christian church a clear need to remove Mary Magdalene, the flesh-and-blood woman who was at Jesus’ side in life and in death, and to replace her with a sexless woman, the virgin mother. The record of history is that this was accomplished by portraying Mary Magdalene as a prostitute...and thus assassinating her character...

Bishop Spong, is saying the same thing almost word for word as Sir Laurence Gardner (mybe Spong has read Gardner's work?), and sounds like he is in agreement with Sir Laurence Gardner.

Bishop Spong charges that the real Mary Magdalene was excised from holy stories as a way of denying women their true sexual nature. “By the turn of the 1st century, there was in the life of the Christian church a clear need to remove Mary Magdalene, the flesh-and-blood woman who was at Jesus’ side in life and in death, and to replace her with a sexless woman, the virgin mother. The record of history is that this was accomplished by portraying Mary Magdalene as a prostitute...and thus assassinating her character...

The question is: why did the Roman Church, "[deny] . . . women their true sexual nature," as Biship Spong, points out? The answer can be found in Sir Gardner's work.

Sir Gardner writes,

"Because women become wives and lovers. The very nature of MOTHERHOOD is a perpetuation of BLOODLINES. It was this that bothered the Church: a taboo subject-motherhood, bloodlines. This image had to be separated from the necessary image of Jesus.

The only way for the Roman High Church to restrain the heirs of Mary Magdalene was to discredit Mary herself and to deny her bridal relationship with Jesus.

Only by removing Jesus from the frontline could the Popes and cardinals reign supreme. When formally instituting Christianity as the state religion of Rome, Constantine declared that "he alone" was the true "Saviour Messiah", not Jesus! As for the Bishops of Rome (the Popes), they were granted an apostolic descent from St Peter – not a legitimate Desposynic descent from Jesus and his brothers, as was retained within the Nazarene Church.

[T]he Grail bloodline-a bloodline which had been ousted from its dynastic position by the Popes and Bishops of Rome . . . had elected to reign supreme by way of a contrived "apostolic succession."

So as Sir Gardiner, points out the Roman Church, denied women their true sexual nature, for the political and theological usurpation and supplanting of the Desposynic descent from Jesus of his children (from Mary Magdalene) as heirs to lead and continue the religious and theological movement that he founded and started.

no, Jesus was not married.

Why wasn't he, Jehiah?...

The Da Vinci Code

This is a bunch of bunk.Mary Magdalene and offspring of jesus are said they headed to France when the Romans persecuted the Essene/Nazarite society in 70’s ad. This is the foundation of the holy grail story which claims that the Jesus bloodline became the merovingians in France. well thats crap because these people didn’t exist and note the source of this story, the librarian of the Vatician Library of the Roman church in Rome. The bloodline/Vine/knowledge was symbolic. this blood was merely symbolic of the blood, which flowed in the ancient rituals in which lambs were sacrificed at the spring equinox .

Dan Brown converts Mary Magdalene into Isis of Egypt. The logic is that you can’t get truth from fiction. Magdalene means “Watchtower” which equals Nazarite. The original Nazarites are linked to Netzer=Shoot of the Egyptian goddess Net/Isis and Osiris who went around the world teaching manking the Vine/knowledge and wheat.

The Merovingian dynasty ruled France for 300 years -- from the 5th to the 8th centuries. It is also true that most of Europe's monarchs have been from the Merovingian lineage from the Middle Ages until today. We have discussed at length the ancient heresy which considered the Merovingian bloodline to be the descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. But, who really were the Merovingians? Where did they actually come from? Can we trace their history back to Mary Magdalene? Or does it go back further, to the days of the Old Testament?

To find the answer, we must research ancient history and trace the migration of nomadic tribes. Merovee was king of a Germanic tribe called Franks. His name "echoes the French word for 'mother' as well as both the French and Latin words for 'sea'." 1.

According to the legend reported in HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, Merovee was born of two fathers. It was said that his expectant mother went swimming one day in the Mediterranean Sea and was attacked be a dreadful sea creature who impregnated her with a divine seed. Not only was Merovee the son of Clodio, King of the Franks, he was also supposedly the son of a beast of Neptune. It was believed that in his veins flowed a co-mingling of two different bloods; the blood of a Frankish ruler and the blood of a mysterious aquatic creature. Since that, of course is not possible, it was suggested that the story of the sea creature may have been symbolic of his lineage, leading to the development of the legend that he was of the offspring of Mary Magdalene.

It is believed to this day by the people in Provence, a district in southern France, that Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary Magdalene and Martha, landed there when they sailed across the Mediterranean to France, escaping the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 2. So, the belief that the mother of the Merovingian dynasty came from the Mediterranean Sea (or from across the sea) may have originated from this symbolic fairy tale. She is still considered today, by those who ascribe to the belief of the 'holy bloodline,' to be the progenitor of Merovee - 400 years removed.

A clue to where the Merovingians possibly originated is found in ancient Norse mythology. Merovee claimed to be descended from Odin, one of the gods worshipped by the Teutonic people of northern Europe -- after whom Odin's Day (also called Woden's Day), or Wednesday, was named. Note the spelling of the word "Odin." Is it possible - could this be another way of spelling Dan, or could the name have evolved from the Israelite Lost Tribe of Dan? We shall analyze the possible Merovingian/Israelite connection in this chapter.

In order to explore that premise, perhaps we should begin with a story from Greece -- of the battle between the Spartans and the Trojans. Keep in mind, the kings of the Merovingian dynasty claimed to be descendants from those ancient tribes.

According to the ancient Greek treatise, THE ILIAD, by Homer, the founder of Troy was named Dar-dan-us. 3. The name is strikingly familiar. It contains the name of Dan! It was said that Dardanus was the son of Zeus. Dardanus had a son named Erichthonius, who had a son named Tros, who was the namesake of the ancient Trojans and of their capital city, Troy.

Tros had three sons, Ilus, Ganymede, and Assaracus. Priam, the reigning king of the Trojans, was of the line of Ilus. Aeneas, founder of the Roman Empire, as a prince of the royal house of Assaracus. Ganymede was the great-grandson of Dardanus, the founder of Troy. According to Homer's ILIAD (Book V), 4. Zeus kidnapped the prince, Ganymede. Zeus wanted Ganymede to be a special cup-bearer to the gods (which may be a clue to the origin of the legend of the so-called Holy Grail).

The ILIAD does not relate how Zeus carried off Ganymede, but there is an ancient Roman mosaic showing Ganymede, the Trojan prince, being carried off by Zeus, who had taken the form of an eagle! Here is a possible clue to connect the progenitors of the ancient Trojans with the tribe of Dan, who had adopted the eagle as their insignia.

Zeus was sometimes pictured as an eagle, but at other times he was pictured as a serpent to whom offerings of honey were made. Here appears yet another clue. We have the symbol of a snake (the first insignia of Dan) to whom offerings of honey were made! The honey could be a reference to the bees in Samson's riddle -- again, it smacks of the tribe of Dan.

According to Greek mythology, Zeus was the son of Cronus, the sun god. Zeus was born in Arcadia, near the capital city of the Spartans. When he reached manhood he overthrew his father Cronus and won the universe. He then divided it with his brothers according to lots: Hades drew the nether world, Poseidon the sea and the waters, and Zeus the heavens.

The Spartans lived in Laconia, near Arcadia, in the southern Greek peninsula called Peloponnesus. Over the centuries some of the group migrated northeast across the Aegean Sea to build the ancient city of Troy. There came a time when Paris, the Trojan prince, fell in love with Helen, wife of the Spartan king, kidnapped her and removed her to the city of Troy. By the way, Paris was the one after whom the capital of France was named. There is also a city in France named Troyes, after the ancient Trojan capital -- for the Merovingian French royalty claimed descent from the Trojans.

According to the legend, the battle between the Spartans and the Trojans raged for 10 years. Then the Spartans hit upon an idea. They built a huge hollow horse, left it outside the walls of Troy, boarded their ships and pushed off into the Aegean sea. As they sailed out of sight, the people of Troy emerged to inspect the horse. They were warned that it might be a trick, but they wouldn't listen. They pulled the Trojan horse inside their city, and that night celebrated their victory over the Spartans. However, inside the horse, Spartan soldiers had been hidden, and under the cover of darkness, the Spartan ships returned.

While the people of Troy celebrated, the Spartan warriors crept out of their hiding place and opened the gates of the city allowing their army to enter. According to the account, the Spartans rescued Helen, killed many of the Trojans, and set fire to the city. Here's a side note: Aeneas, a Trojan prince, escaped the city and went to central Italy, where his offspring bore the twin boys Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

Over the centuries some of the Spartans migrated into southern France, and some of the surviving Trojans moved north and west into Germany, Belgium and northern France, following the Danube River, and eventually settled in the region that became known as Austrasia in the province of Lorraine. 5. The lineage of the Merovingian kings, therefore, may have been rooted in the Trojans.

In the apocryphal book of I Maccabees there is an account about the Spartans of southern Greece - claiming that they were related to the Jewish people and were, in fact, of the stock of Abraham. A letter from the king of the Spartans to the Jewish high priest in Jerusalem is most revealing:

"Areus, king of the Spartans, to Onias, the high priest, greetings.

"It has been discovered in a document concerning the Spartans and Jews that they are brothers, and are of the race of Abraham" (I Maccabees 12:20-21).

Unfortunately, the "document" referred to in the letter does not exist today. If it did, however, it might have provided the missing link necessary to connect the Spartans to the tribe of Dan. However, Flavius Josephus also records the letter in his writings:

"We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Jews and the Spartans are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham. It is but just, therefore, that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demotoles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is foursquare; and the symbol is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws." 6.

The Spartan letter followed the invasion of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian general who sacrificed a sow upon the brazen altar of the Temple. In the course of events, Onias died, but his successor, Jonathan, wrote a letter of reply to the Spartans of southern Greece:

"Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, to the Spartans their brothers send greetings.

"In the past a letter was sent to Onias, the high priest from Areus, one of your kings, stating that you are indeed our brothers, as the copy subjoined attests.

"Onias received the envoy with honor, and accepted the letter, in which a clear reference was made to friendship and alliance.

"For our part, though we have no need of these, having the consolation of the holy books in our possession.

"We venture to send, to renew our fraternal friendship with you, so that we may not become strangers to you, for a long time has elapsed since you sent us the letter.

"We may say that constantly on every occasion, at our festivals and on other appointed days, we make a remembrance of you in the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and fitting to remember brothers." 7.

What relation the Spartans were to the Jews is not given. We can only surmise the possibility that they could have been from the tribe of Dan.

King Merovee supposedly possessed magical powers. He and his royal offspring wore their hair long as a symbol of their magic (similar to Samson). It was also said that they had the power to heal by the laying on of hands and that such power could be found in the tassels that hung as fringes on the bottom of their garments. This indicates a possible Hebrew heritage, for such power was believed to be in the fringes of the talliths worn by Israelites. You may recall the woman at Capernaum who touched the hem (fringes) of our Savior's garment and was healed of a 12-year infirmity.

Thus, we may consider not only a so-called Christian connection, but we are told of a more significant Israelite custom as well. These are two important clues: One, he wore his hair long like Samson, the Danite, with the belief that it gave him magical power, and two, he wore a tallith as did the ancient religious Israelite people. Is it possible that Merovee's forefathers were Israelites, of the stock of Abraham -- perhaps even from the tribe of Dan? That brings us to another clue.

When the tomb of Childeric 1, son of Merovee, was discovered and opened in 1653, there were found among the items in his tomb, 300 miniature bees made of solid gold. In Chapters 3 and 5 we mentioned the bees. We said that Napoleon had these 300 golden bees sewn onto his coronation robe -- worn when he crowned himself Emperor of France. When he married Marie-Louise (Habsburg) of Austria, she wore a royal robe with the bees interwoven throughout. The bees may well represent a very important clue as to the lineage of the Merovingian dynasty. (See pages 58-59.)

Four symbols are used in the Bible concerning the Danites -- a serpent, an eagle, a lion, and the bees. In the story of Samson, we find the famous riddle of the bees who made honey in the carcass of a lion which had been killed by Samson. 8. The symbolic nature of the bees could represent the concept that the descendants of the tribe of Dan would one day try to bring about the destruction of the tribe of Judah, whose symbol was the lion, and from the carcass of the lion the tribe of Dan would attempt to produce the golden age of a world empire, symbolized by the honey. 'The Merovingians claim of coming from the tribe of Judah (through Mary Magdalene and Jesus Christ) is not true. The lie may have been advanced because the symbol of Judah was the lion. However, I believe the Merovingians were from the tribe of Dan.

The eagle's wings detached from the back of the lion in the 7th chapter of Daniel may also be an ancient symbol for the tribe of Dan, which broke away from the tribe of Judah in the last chapters of the book of Judges:

"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it" (Daniel 7:4).

On a map of ancient Israel, the territory of Dan appears like a wing attached to the shoulder of the territory of Judah. Among the possible interpretations of Daniel's vision one must consider the story of Dan leaving its original territory and moving north into Lebanon.

When Moses gave his prophecies of the 12 tribes, he said that Benjamin would "dwell between the shoulders of Judah" (Deuteronomy 33:12), and that Dan, "as a lion's whelp, would leap from Bashan" (Deuteronomy 33:22). Bashan was located in ancient Lebanon. That Mosaic prediction came to pass when the tribe of Dan was deprived of its territory adjacent to Judah, moved north to Lebanon, and established its territory in Bashan. From there the Danites made a symbolic leap into obscurity. It is my opinion that they could have landed in Europe.

To follow the possible migration of the Danites, we must go back to the early pages of the Bible to the days following the death of Samson. 9. During those days, the tribe of Dan lived in the territory west of Jerusalem, over toward the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and down through the valley of Sorek to the borders of the Philistines. After the death of Samson, the men of Dan were deprived of their territory. Not only did Samson's death create a possible difficulty for the Danites, but the sin of the tribe of Benjamin at about that time also created a precarious situation for the tribe.

The story is given of the wife of a Levite who had been molested by the Benjamites. When her husband discovered her corpse, he cut it into pieces and sent it to the other tribes demanding that they avenge the rape of his wife. The battle that followed almost annihilated the Benjamites. In the war, however, the tribe of Dan also suffered. Flavius Josephus, a first century Jewish historian, described it:

"Now it happened that the tribe of Dan suffered in like manner with the tribe of Benjamin; and it came to do so on the occasion following: --- When the Israelites had already left off the exercise of their arms for war, and were intent upon their husbandry, the Canaanites despised them, and brought together an army, not because they expected to suffer by them, but because they had a mind to have a sure prospect of treating the Hebrews ill when they pleased, and might thereby for the time to come dwell in their own cities the more securely; they prepared therefore their chariots, and gathered their soldiery together, their cities also combined together, and drew over to them Ashkelon and Ekron, which were within the tribe of Judah, and many more of those that lay in the plain. They also forced the Danites to fly into the mountainous country, and left them not the least portion of the plain country to set their foot on. Since then, these Danites were not able to fight them, and had not land enough to sustain them, they sent five of their men into the midland country to seek for a land to which they might remove their habitation. So these men went as far as the neighborhood of Mount Libanus, and the fountains of the Lesser Jordan, at the great plain of Sidon. . . 10.

Thus, we have the migration of the tribe of Dan. Having been pushed out of their territory west of Jerusalem, they went north into Lebanon. The story is found in Judges 18. According to the chapter, the tribe of Dan established an idolatrous religion -- the worship of the sun and moon. The summation of their move is given in the book of Judges:

"And they called the name of the city Dan, after the name of Dan, their father, who was born unto Israel; howbeit, the name of the city was Laish at the first.

"And the children of Dan set up the graven image; and Jonathan, the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, he and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the day of the captivity of the land" (Judges 29-30).

According to the story, the tribe of Dan moved into Lebanon, where they lived for at least the next 600 years. In the year 721 B.C., the Assyrians took the northern ten tribes captive. Though there are no historical documents to prove that the tribe moved westward into Europe, the question remains: What happened to the tribe of Dan?

According to THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, the Celts, in 400 B.C., divided Ireland into small kingdoms called tuatha. 11. Celtic mythology claims that the most important race was the "Tuatha de Danann, or People of the Goddess Danu." Some have suggested that this name may refer to a connection to the ancient tribe of Dan. The Tuatha de Danann was "the source of most of the divinities that the Irish people worshiped before they became Christians in the A.D. 400's." 12.

Now, I am not an adherent of "British Israelism." It is not my purpose to try to promote the idea that the Europeans were the lost ten tribes of Israel. However, it is not impossible that at least the tribe of Dan could have migrated northwest -- to eventually establish the thrones of Europe. I have no hard evidence that the name Denmark comes from Dan or that the Danube River is so named after the ancient tribe. I am simply pointing out the possibility, for the tribe of Dan is considered by Jewish rabbis to be a lost tribe.

The lineage of the Merovingian kings has not been historically established. But, we are relating in this chapter why we believe they probably descended from the early Spartans, which, according to the apocryphal book of I Maccabees, claimed to be of the stock of Abraham, father of Israel. Could they have come from the tribe of Dan? Could the name of the Danube River be derived from that ancient tribe? And could the country of Denmark also be so named? Why should we be so interested in the tribe of Dan? What part would that ancient tribe have to play in the fulfillment of prophecy? For the answer, we must go to the 49th chapter of Genesis and consider the story of the dying Jacob, who gathered his 12 sons around his bed to give prophecies of that which would befall each of them in the last days. He spoke of Judah as a lion and said that the scepter shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh come -- which is taken to be a prediction of the coming Messiah. But then he spoke of Dan:

"Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward" (Genesis 16-17).

Here we see the trail of the serpent and are reminded of the prophecy to Adam and Eve that the serpent shall bruise the heel of the Messiah - the seed of the woman. The dying Jacob referred to Dan under the insignia of the serpent.

These symbols take us back to the ancient zodiac. To Judah was given the insignia of Leo, the Lion, and to Dan was given the insignia of Scorpio, the seed of the serpent. The reference by the dying Jacob could be a prediction that the offspring of Dan may one day produce Mr. 666, who will attempt to sit upon the throne of this world.

In Revelation 7 the 144,000 Israelites are listed. All of the tribes are given but the tribe of Dan. By the time we reach that point in world history (the time of Revelation 7), the tribe of Dan is missing. The implication is that Dan will produce the great usurper, the antichrist.

I have long believed that the tribe of Dan would somehow be involved with the rise of the antichrist -- even while other theologians were suggesting that the future man of sin would be a Gentile -- perhaps from Syria, Egypt, or even Rome.

I had no concrete proof to support my theory. I could not pinpoint the whereabouts of the offspring of Dan, for the ancient tribe slipped into obscurity some 3,000 years ago. Further, there is no scripture which specifically states that the future world ruler will be from that ancient Israelite tribe. I based my theory upon the implications of a few prophetic Scriptures.

The prophet Daniel predicted the coming of a future usurper, indicating that he could be an apostate Israelite, who would forsake the traditional religion of his forefathers:

"Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all" (Daniel 11:37).

Daniel indicated that the future world ruler would not regard the God of his fathers. That may be a reference to his lineage. He will have no regard for the God of the rabbis. Furthermore, it may be more than a coincidence that the Lord chose a man named Daniel to write one of the greatest prophetic books in the Bible. His very name, Dan-i-el, may, in itself, be a clue concerning this one about whom Daniel wrote. More than any other Old Testament Book, Daniel describes the coming world ruler who will persecute the Jewish people with a vengeance. It just might be a man from the tribe of Dan who will try to eliminate the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

If the predictions that "Dan shall judge his people" and "Dan shall be a serpent" are accurate, most of the suffering of Israel down through the centuries has been plotted and perpetrated by the lost tribe of Dan. The question is, can we prove it? Were the leaders of imperial Rome the offspring of the tribe of Dan? Was the Syrian general, Antiochus Epiphanes, who sacrificed a pig upon the brazen altar (168 B.C.) an offshoot from the tribe of Dan? Was Alexander the Great a Danite? And what about the thrones of Europe who persecuted the Jewish people over the past 1,600 years? Do they belong to that ancient tribe?

In these prophecies of the dying Jacob we can see the trail of the serpent who beguiled Eve in the Garden of Eden. God placed a curse upon the serpent and his seed. He said:

"I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15).

It is quite remarkable that the dying Jacob gave the symbol of the serpent to Dan and declared that he would judge his people.

There is an ancient apocryphal writing called the "Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs" in which Dan was supposed to have made certain predictions concerning his offspring. The writing is apocryphal, and has been dated by scholars to have been written around 150 B.C. Fragments of the apocryphal writing were found in the Qumran caves, and are a part of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

The "Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs" are purported to be the final utterances of the twelve sons of Jacob -- modeled after Jacob's last words in Genesis 49. Just prior to death, each of the sons is depicted as gathering his offspring around him and prophesying those things which would befall each tribe in the future. According to the testament of Dan, he gathered his sons around him when he was 125 years old. Among the many things he had to say were these startling words:

"I read in the Book of Enoch, the Righteous, that your prince is Satan. . ." 13.

Because of this statement, Jewish scholars, some 150 years before Christ, linked the tribe of Dan with the antichrist -- "your prince is Satan." Furthermore, in the apocryphal writing, Dan was made to say, "I know that in the last days you will defect from the Lord, you will be offended at Levi, and revolt against Judah; but you will not prevail over them." 14.

Finally, upon Dan's death, the writer concluded, "Dan prophesied to them. . .that they would go astray from God's law, that they would be estranged from their inheritance, from the race of Israel, and from their patrimony; and that is what occurred." 15.

As the ancient writing indicated, the Danites lost their inheritance of territory after the death of Samson. Migrating north into Lebanon, they eventually lost their identity. Dan became a lost tribe.

When Moses built the Tabernacle, he was instructed to choose two men to head up the project. They were Bezaleel of the tribe of Judah and Aholiab of the tribe of Dan (Exodus 31:1-6). These two men were chosen to do the design work with the gold, silver, brass, stone, wood, and fabric. In choosing these two men, I believe God was laying out a prophecy of those two tribes who would eventually fight over the possession and disposition of the sanctuary. Just as the Messiah has His roots in the tribe of Judah, the antichrist may have his roots in the tribe of Dan.

When the Tabernacle was completed, it was placed in the center of the camp. Each of the tribes were positioned around it -- three to the east, three to the south, three to the west, and three to the north. Furthermore, each tribe was instructed to display their insignia:

"Now the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron saying,
"Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house; far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch" (Numbers 2:1,2).

The symbols of the tribes were given according to the constellations in the ancient Egyptian zodiac. The tents of the tribe of Judah were pitched to the east of the Tabernacle under the symbol of the lion. Alongside Judah were the tribes of Issachar and Zebulon. On the south side lay the tents of Reuben, Simeon and Gad. On the west side Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin pitched their tents. And on the north side were Asher, Naphtali, and Dan:

"The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies, and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer" (Numbers 2:25).

This specific position of the Danites on the north side of the camp may be prophetic of their eventual location at the extreme north end of the nation -- at the Lebanon border. It may also be connected to the prophecy given by Isaiah concerning the fall of Lucifer:

"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north" (Isaiah 14:12-13).

The notes of the Open Bible say the north side means, "in the place of control." Could it be that the tribe of Dan, who was situated on the north side of the congregation was the target of Lucifer?

To Dan was given the symbol of Scorpio, which, in the ancient Egyptian zodiac was a snake. However, when the time came to hoist the symbol of the snake, Ahiezer refused and chose instead the symbol of an eagle. According to Unger's Bible Dictionary:

"Dan's position in the journey was on the north of the Tabernacle, with Asher and Naphtali. The standard of the tribe was of white and red, and the crest upon it, an eagle, the great foe to serpents, which had been chosen by the leader instead of a serpent, because Jacob had compared Dan to a serpent. Ahiezer substituted the eagle, the destroyer of serpents, as he shrank from carrying an adder upon his flag." 16. It may prove worthwhile to consider the possible connection to the tribe of Dan whenever an eagle is used as the symbol of subsequent leaders or nations.

Here are the clues which could connect the tribe of Dan with the political leaders of the Greeks, the Romans, the Germans, the French -- all of the thrones of Europe, including the leaders of ancient Czarist Russia. Not only have those nations displayed the symbol of the eagle, but their colors have primarily been white and red, the colors of the Danites. It may be more than coincidence that the Knights Templar wore white uniforms displaying a red cross on the chest.

Dan was the largest tribe in Israel in the days of the Tabernacle. Their population numbered 157,600. After conquering Canaan, Dan was the last tribe to receive any land. Though they were the largest tribe, they received the smallest amount of territory -- west of Jerusalem, down to the Mediterranean coast. After the death of Samson, however, they were deprived even of that, and had to migrate north into southern Lebanon. There, they captured the city of Laish and changed its name to Dan. Thus, we have the term in the Old Testament -- "From Dan to Beersheba."

The ancient name "Laish" means "a lion,"which fulfills the prophecy of Moses in Deuteronomy 33:22 when he said:

"Dan is a lion's whelp: he shall leap from Bashan."

The city of the lion (Laish) was located in the ancient province of Bashan, in the territory of Lebanon. From there, however, according to the prediction of Moses, Dan was to make a historic leap. In fact, the tribe vanished over the next 400 years.

In I Chronicles 1-8, the Israelite tribes are listed -- all, that is, but the tribe of Dan. The date for writing the first eight chapters of the Chronicles has been placed at 1056 B.C. By then, Dan had become a lost tribe. They were not listed among the tribes of Israel. We do not have to wait until we get to Revelation 7 to eliminate the tribe of Dan. It was apparent in the first of the Chronicles. The big question remains, what happened to the tribe of Dan? Where did they go with their symbol of an eagle as a killer of snakes? We previously mentioned a letter, written by the king of the Spartans to the high priest in Jerusalem, wherein he claimed to be of the "stock of Abraham." We also related a similar statement written by the historian, Flavius Josephus.

According to Josephus, the symbol of the ancient Spartans was an eagle with a dragon in his claws. The dragon, by the way, was synonymous with the snake among the early cultures. This is an incredible clue linking the tribe of Dan with the Spartans of southern Greece. It is curious to note that the Spartans claimed to be brothers to the tribes of Israel, of the stock of Abraham -- displaying the symbol of an eagle and its enemy, the snake.

When Herod the Great built the magnificent temple in the years before the birth of Christ, he placed a huge eagle above the gate. Flavius Josephus wrote of it:

"Herod had caused such things to be made, which were contrary to the law, of which he was accused by Judas and Mathias; for the king had erected over the great gate of the temple, a large golden eagle, of great value, and had dedicated it to the temple." 17.

Herod the Great had placed an eagle (a symbol of the tribe of Dan) above the temple in the years just prior to the birth of Christ. How significant! For the mysterious tribe of Dan appears to have laid claim to the temple, just as they may again, someday, when the antichrist commits the abomination of desolation. When Herod the Great became extremely ill, a group of patriotic Jews pulled down the golden eagle. Josephus wrote:

"And with such discourses, as this did these men excite the young men to this action; and a report being come to them that the king was dead, this was an addition to the wise men's persuasions, so, in the very middle of the day they got up on the place, they pulled down the eagle, and cut it into pieces with axes, while a great number of the people were in the temple." 18. Needless to say, they were arrested and executed for destroying what may have been a Spartan eagle.

Now, the question remains, how do we know the Spartans were the offspring of the tribe of Dan? Even though they admitted to being brothers to the children of Israel, of the stock of Abraham, what further clues can we gather to help detemine their lineage?

Aside from the fact that the Spartans wore long hair as a symbol of their power (like Samson) there is a legend written about the son of Belus, king of the Spartans -- in which is given the story of one named "Danaus," who arrived in Greece with his daughters by ship. According to the legend, his daughters called themselves Danades. They introduced the cult of the mother goddess, which became the established religion of the Arcadians and developed over the years into the worship of Diana. . .The Spartans so loved their king that they called themselves Danaans -- long before they adopted the name of Spartans.

Also in the legend is a record of the arrival of "colonists from Palestine." Please note, the man who headed the expedition was named Danaus. He may well have been of the tribe of Dan, and thus would have been the progenitor of the ancient Spartans.

In 1928, the ancient Canaanite city of Ugarit was discovered in northern Syria, about a half-mile inland from the coast of the Mediterranean. In the years following, a team of archaeologists, digging at the site, uncovered hundreds of cuneiform tablets dating from about 1200 B.C. One of the tablets recorded a legend. It told of a king called Aqhat, the son of a man named Danel and his wife Donatiya. The names of these two parents may well be a clue to the ancient tribe of Dan which lived in the area in the 12th century B.C.

According to the legend, Kothar-wa-Khasis (the god of crafts) made a beautiful bow for Aqhat, which drew the attention of Anath, the goddess of war. Anath desired the bow for her arsenal, but Aqhat rejected her offers for it. In the story, Anath had Aqhat killed by one of her cohorts, Yatpan, who assumed the form of an eagle. In the ancient legend, the eagle ate Aqhat. His father, Danet, retrieved Aqhat's remains from the stomach of the eagle, and buried his son. Aqhat's sister, Pigat, then went to Yatpan the eagle to revenge her brother's death. Meanwhile, Danel entered a seven year period of mouming for Aqhat. " 19. In the cuneiform text, the story ends here, but many scholars feet there is probably more to the legend.

And why was the legend written? No one is certain. But it could possibly be symbolic of the tribe of Dan, consumed by the eagle, who sets out to get revenge, looking forward to that future day when they will enter a seven year period of mourning. The overtones are apocalyptic. The story seems somewhat prophetic of that future seven year period when the tribe of Dan will seek revenge upon the children of Israel for letting them be driven from their land.

Is it possible that the Danel of the Canaanite legend is the same as Danaus in the ancient Spartan legend? If they are not the same man, they may still be of the same tribe.

By the way, not only did the Spartans wear their hair long like Samson, ascribing a special magical significance to it, but even Alexander the Great, the youthful king of Macedonia, wore his hair long. When Alexander approached the city of Jerusalem with his army, the Jewish high priest welcomed him with open arms. Jerusalem was the only capital city which did not come under the sword of Alexander. Is it possible that Alexander the Great was of the tribe of Dan? Was he perhaps an Israelite of the stock of Abraham?

After the death of Alexander, his world kingdom was divided by his four generals. One hundred fifty years later, Antiochus Epiphanes, leader of the Greek province of Syria, invaded Jerusalem and sacrificed a pig upon the brazen altar. Josephus called him the "little horn" of Daniel's prophecy -- a prophetic type of the antichrist. 20. The designation has led many scholars to believe the future antichrist will be a Syrian. But, though Antiochus Epiphanes may have been a Syrian general, his lineage goes back to the Greek general who fell heir to part of Alexander's kingdom. Antiochus Epiphanes may have been from the tribe of Dan.

The father of Alexander was Philip II, who, in 359 B.C., became the king of Macedonia and quickly conquered the entire Greek peninsula. In later years, Philip called a meeting at Corinth of representatives from all the Greek city states (with the exception of Sparta). And the delegates to this league of Corinth sat on a council called the "Synhedrion." As incredible as it may seem, the parliament of ancient Greece was called by the same name as the parliament of ancient Israel. They were called the "Sanhedrin."

Is it any wonder that though the Old Testament was written in Hebrew, the New Testament was written in Greek? It may be more than a coincidence that the Hebrew alphabet, with its Aleph, Beth, Gimmel is remarkably similar to the Greek alphabet with its Alpha, Beta, Gamma. Though the Greeks were a mixture of ancient tribes (as was all of Europe for that matter), their political leaders may well have been Danites who migrated from the land of Israel over a thousand years before the birth of Christ. Perhaps from the ancient Spartans came the rulers of most of the thrones of Europe -- who carried with them the symbol of the eagle.

The symbol of imperial Rome was a single headed eagle, but after Constantine divided the empire in the 4th century A.D., and moved his throne to Constantinople, a two headed eagle evolved as the symbol of the Byzantine Roman Empire.

In the ninth century, most of the thrones of Europe were established, including a huge Jewish kingdom, known as Khazaria - kingdom of the Khazars. It was located above the Black Sea and offered a refuge for all of the tribes of the Diaspora. Could the Khazars have been Danites? Strangely enough, there are four major rivers that ran through the kingdom of the Khazars emptying into the Black Sea. There is the Danube, the Dnister, the Dnieber, and the Don. It appears to have been a common thing for the people of Dan to name their rivers by their ancient forefather. Even the Jordan river that weaves like a snake along the eastern border of the land of Israel is named after the ancient tribe of Dan. Jordan means "the going down of the Dan."

The kingdom of the Khazars may have been a refuge for all of the tribes, but their political leaders ruled under the symbol of the two headed eagle. With all of that evidence, one is tempted to conclude that the lost tribe of Dan has thus been found. Some scholars believe that the prophet Ezekiel was referring to the prophet Daniel when he dampened the hopes of his people for deliverance, in Ezekiel 14:12-23, by saying that an individual will be saved only if he is righteous. To stress the point, Ezekiel wrote:

"Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job were in the land, they should deliver but their own souls by their righteousness."

Scholars have no problems identifying Noah and Job in the Bible, but who is the Daniel mentioned by Ezekiel? Is he the great prophet contemporary with Ezekiel? Or is he the Danel of the Canaanite legend? In the book of Daniel, the prophet's name is spelled in the Hebrew, Dny'l. But in Ezekiel's passage, Daniel is spelled Dn'l - exactly as the name Danel is spelled in the ancient Canaanite legend. It is possible, then, that Ezekiel made reference not to his contemporary, but to the ancient tribe of Dan who was predicted to judge the children of Israel. Ezekiel, nevertheless, declared that his people would not escape the judgment meted out by the Babylonians.

In Revelation 4:7, a description of four living creatures is given -- each seeming to represent a quarter of the ancient zodiac:

"And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle."

The lion, calf, and man seem to represent the constellations of Leo, Taurus, and Aquarius, but the eagle has replaced Scorpio. The symbolism is powerful. Aquarius, the water bearer, may be a picture of the first coming of Christ to pour out the Holy Spirit (symbolized by the water) upon his people. Leo appears to be a picture of the second coming of Christ to judge the offspring of Dan (symbolized by the snake, Hydra).

On the other hand, Taurus, the bull, and Scorpio, the transformed eagle, may represent the tribe of Dan and its quest for the throne. The name Taurus means "the coming Judge." That is the description given of Dan by his dying father, Jacob, in Genesis 49:16, "Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel."

The symbol of the eagle has replaced Scorpio in the book of Revelation, which may be another indication of the tribe of Dan who refused the symbol of the snake and adopted the symbol of the eagle in the days of Moses.

On the Gabbatha, or pavement at the fortress of Antonia, where our Savior stood before Pilate on the day of his crucifixion, there is an inscription carved in stone. It was discovered in the archaeological dig made at the site in the early 1930's, and is considered to mark the spot where our Savior was mocked by the Romans as "King of the Jews."

Among the pictures carved in the pavement, there is a symbol of Scorpio -- used as an insignia of the brutal Roman army. The symbol may have been used interchangeably with the Roman eagle. Both may be a clue to the progenitors of the Romans, who came from the Trojans, who came from the Spartans, who admitted to being brothers to the Jewish people (and of the stock of Abraham) 150 years before the birth of Christ.

There is an ancient prophecy given in the apocryphal book of II Esdras which has baffled scholars for hundreds of years. The book was written during the Babylonian captivity and was published between the Old and New Testaments for many years. However, it is not regarded as an inspired part of the Bible. We cannot consider the validity of its doctrine, but can get a glimpse at early Jewish theology from a reading of it.

In chapter 11, Esdras, a captive rabbi in Babylon, dreams a dream -- which enlarges upon the eagle plucked from the back of the lion found in Daniel's vision:

"Then saw I a dream, and, behold, there came up from the sea an eagle, which had twelve wings, and three heads. 21.

In the vision, the prophet is told that the wings represent a dynasty of kings who would rule in succession and that the three heads represented the development (worldwide expansion) of the empire, with its various divisions. Verses 29 through 35:

"... behold, there awaked one of the heads that were at rest, namely, it that was in the midst; for that was greater than the two other heads.

"But this head put the whole earth in fear, and bare rule in it over all those that dwelt upon the earth with much oppression; and it had the governance of the world more than all the wings that had been.

"And after this I beheld, and, Io, the head that was in the midst suddenly appeared no more, like as the wings.

"But there remained the two heads, which also in like sort ruled upon the earth, and over those that dwelt upon the earth, and over those that dwelt therein.

"And I beheld, and, Io, the head upon the right side devoured it that was upon the left side." 22.

The passage is remarkable in view of the history of the Roman Empire. The head in the middle could be a prophecy of Imperial Rome, which ruled the world for 666 years. Please note: the head disappeared on its own. It was not killed. Such was the demise of Imperial Rome. The empire simply disintegrated in the fourth century.

The other two heads of the eagle could represent the succeeding Holy Roman Empire which was split under the leadership of Constantine. The division destroyed its imperial power and weakened Roman rule. Over the centuries, the Church at Rome devoured the Eastern Orthodox Church, which ruled from Constantinople. For nearly a thousand years, the power of the Holy Roman Empire was unchallenged.

The implications of the visionary eagle are incredible. It may well represent the historical development of the Roman Empire. May I point out that the Habsburg Dynasty provided most of the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire from 1273 to 1806. And before that, in A.D. 496, King Clovis, the grandson of Merovee, was crowned emperor of the Western Roman Empire following the death of Constantine, and the division of the government. As incredible as it may seem, the family crest of the Habsburg Dynasty is a two-headed eagle.

Could the vision of Esdras be accurate after all? His three headed eagle appears to be an uncanny portrayal of the history and development of Roman rule -- or perhaps we should say, of Merovingian rule, for the Roman Empire was started by Aeneas, a Trojan prince, whose ancestors were Spartans, who claimed to be of the stock of Abraham!

In the vision of Esdras, he saw a lion come out of the woods and declare that the last head of the eagle represented the fourth dreadful beast of Daniel's vision. You may recall, Daniel's fourth beast had 10 horns, representing a ten nation European confederation which would attempt to establish the final world government, and whose leader would be the antichrist.

In chapter 12 of the ancient prophecy, the destruction of the eagle is described. A lion came out of the woods to proclaim an interpretation of the eagle. According to the prophecy, the lion represented the Messiah.

"And it came to pass, whiles the lion spake these words unto the eagle, I saw,

"And, behold, the head that remained and the four wings appeared no more, and the two went unto it, and set themselves up to reign, and their kingdom was small, and full of uproar.

"And I saw, and, behold, they appeared no more, and the whole body of the eagle was burnt, so that the earth was in great fear..." 23.

In the final stages of the eagle, two leaders are predicted to reign over a small kingdom full of uproar. That may be a picture of the proposed world government during the short seven years of the Tribulation Period. Finally, the eagle will be burned, and all the world will be in great fear. Could that be a prediction of nuclear war? The description seems to fit with the other prophecies of the Bible.

The symbol of ancient Spartan Greece was an eagle. The symbol of ancient Trojan Rome was an eagle. The symbol of Germany, which also claimed descent from the Trojans, was an eagle, and the symbol of the Habsburg dynasty, which provided the emperors of the Holy Roman Empire for 500 years was an eagle. In fact, the name Habsburg means "hawk's castle." The hawk is a part of the same family as the eagle. There are 260 kinds of eagles. Furthermore, the type of eagle which lives in the Middle East is called the "hawk eagle." This may be one of the most important clues to tie their dynasty back to the ancient Israelite tribe of Dan.

Under Roman domination, the Jewish people suffered unmercifully. But the leaders of the cruel Roman oppression may have been from the tribe of Dan. The Jew has suffered in the various countries of Europe down through the centuries, but those European kings may well have ben from the tribe of Dan.

They also suffered under the pograms or massacres of the Russian Czars who came from an ancient tribe known as Varangians, whose symbol was the double headed eagle. The ninth century Varangians, who established the Czarist throne of Russia may well have ben Merovingians of the ancient tribe of Dan. In fact, the symbol of the Russian bear may have come from the ancient Spartans who lived in the province of Arcadia in southern Greece. The Word Arcadia means "the people of the bear."

Perhaps, one day, a descendant of the tribe of Dan will surround Jerusalem with an army, enter the Jewish sanctuary on the Temple Mount, commit the prophetic abomination of desolation, establish a throne on the sacred site and declare himself to be god!

Yes, the prophecy of dying Jacob may be ultimately fulfilled -- as he said, "Dan shall judge his people."

The Lost Tribe of Dan



CHAPTER 6

1. Baigent, et al., HOLY BLOOD, op. cit., p. 235.
2. Gurney, KINGDOMS OF EUROPE, op. cit., p. 52.
3. Homer, THE ILIAD, Trans. W.H.D. Rouse (New York: Mentor Books, 1960), p. 62.
4. Ibid.
5. Baigent, et al., op. cit., pp. 238-239.
6. Flavius Josephus, THE WORKS OF JOSEPHUS, Trans. William Whiston, A.M. (Lynn, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, 1980), Antiquities of the Jews, Book XII, Chapter IV, par. 10, p. 256.
7. THE APOCRYPHA (London: Oxford University Press), I Maccabees 12:6-1 1.
8. THE HOLY BIBLE, King James Version, Ed. Rev. C.I. Scofield, D.D. (New York: Oxford University Press, 1945), Judges 14:8.
9. Ibid., Judges, Chapters 16-21.
10. Josephus, WORKS OF JOSEPHUS, op.cit., Antiquities, Book V, Chapter 111, verse 1, p. 113.
11. "Ireland," THE WORLD BOOK ENCYCLOPEDIA, op. cit., p. 336.
12. "Mythology/Celtic Mythology," WORLD BOOK, op. cit., p. 822.
13. H.C. Kee, "Testaments Of The Twelve Patriarchs," in THE OLD TESTAMENT PSEUDEPIGRAPHA, Vol. 1, ed. James H. Charlesworth (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), p. 809.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid., p. 810.
16. Merrill F. Unger, UNGER'S BIBLE DICTIONARY (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966), pp. 235-236. 17.Josephus,op. CiL,Antiquities,Book XVII, ChapterVl, par. 2, p. 364.
18. Ibid., par. 3, p. 364.
19. "Ugarit," ZONDERVAN PICTORIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE BIBLE, Ed. Merrill C. Tenney (Grand Rapids, NU: Regency Reference Library, 1976), Vol. 5, p. 840.
20. Josephus, op. cit., Antiquities, Book X, Chapter XI, par. 7, p. 227.
21. THE APOCRYPHA, op. CiL, 11 Esdras11:1, p. 38.
22. Ibid., pp. 38-39.
23. Ibid., 11 Esdras 12:1-3, p. 39.

Why wasn't he, Jehiah?...
Where was he married in the Quran or the Bible, Aqil?

Where was he married in the Qur'an or the Bible, Aqil?
I cannot show you in the Qur'an or the Bible where it says Jesus was not married. However, there are several Biblical scholars that support Bishop Spong's position. History tells us that Origen, the famous 3rd century theologian, read too literally a remark by Paul and, in a flush of enthusiasm for a permanently celibate life, took a knife and castrated himself. Far too late he knew he had solved nothing for, while the urge was still there, he had done away with his means of satisfying it.

The theologian's extraordinary action was but an extreme example of the remarkable revulsion against sex that was sweeping through the Church in the train of Virgin worship. So desirous was it to set Mary far above all other women, that they denigrated and reviled other women in the most degrading and often disgusting terms, placing first male celibacy and finally male virginity as not only desirable, but necessary states if one were to live in Christ.

It is altogether frightening to read the concepts of many of the early great men of the Church, and to realize that these concepts clearly revealed their originator's mental and sexual hang-ups, and how often - instead of with Christian love - their minds had seethed with hatred. Often, it was the concepts of such men - although most others were of opposite character - that formed the basis of some subsequent doctrine, boasting of much faith and little reason, that still imposes the heavy burden of its incredibility on the faithful of the 21st century.

It is to two of these women-haters - the 2nd century heretics Tatian and Basilides - that we owe the historically unfounded - and socially and religiously unlikely belief - that Jesus had never married, expressed as the dogma of his Perpetual Virginity. At the same time as this absurdity was sprouting in the Church, their contemporary Marcion was hacking away at sex. He limited the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist to virgins, widows and married couples "who agree together to repudiate marital consummation." But the frustrated Marcion - who personally never indulged -went to what would seem to be the outer limits of faith by prohibiting marriage for all Christians. In his day, you had your choice, married or Christian. One couldn't be both...

In later centuries, bowing both to the wind and the inevitable, the Church relaxed Marcion's policy - which might have de-populated the world - and settled for marriage for the weak in the flock and celibacy for the strong and therefore Holy others. This, of course, was later expanded into the demand that the congregation marry, while for the clergy, nothing changed. Certain of them must have rubbed their hands with glee!

What the Doctrine of Jesus' Perpetual Virginity did was more than harm irreparably this aspect of his historical life, it took him completely out of the world of Judaism because, to this extent, it denied that he had ever existed as a human...which is nonsense.

To a very large extent marriage is what Judaism is all about. The sacrifice of the male foreskin was more than a covenant with God; its sexual overtones became a sacred promise that the male penis would be put to God's service in the generation of children. Now whether the Church likes it or not, that was what Jesus' circumcision on the 8th day was all about. Though unable to speak, he offered up his foreskin in a holy promise to God and, if we are able to believe the Church, he broke that promise!

In Jesus' day every Jewish father was bound by the Torah and the duties it imposed; his obligation to his son was five-fold: "He must circumcise him, redeem him; teach him the Torah; teach him a trade, and find a wife for him." Not only was marriage both legally and socially demanded, but avoidance was considered a curse and childlessness a mark of God's distinct disfavor.

With a boy who was a man at 13, he was expected to marry at some age between 16 & 20. If, however, he still failed to marry, the Holy One said: "Let him rot!" This was no light curse either, because an unmarried man was such a rarity that he was avoided, and probably became an outcast. Being both a creature of his time and a man of the people, it seems almost fantastic to have written a doctrine denying Jesus' sexuality, when the laws and customs of the land saw to it that a youth's sexuality was put to proper use at the very first opportunity...and, moreover, there is abundant evidence that Jesus was no exception.

Although the first 30 or 40 years of his life appear to be blank, they are not so completely blank that we don't have an important record of one of its major events. While all the "laundry marks" have been editorially removed to conceal the identity of the chief participants in the function, the circumstances of the wedding at Cana are such that it can be confidently asserted that the bridegroom was none other than Jesus himself. That he was indeed married is made quite certain by the revelation in Luke 8:1-3... that he wandered about the country with an entourage which included "many women who ministered unto him of their substance."

This phrase actually means that Jesus and his disciples were being financially supported - and kept - by this group of women among whom were a mysterious Susanna, a runaway wife named Joanna, and Mary called Magdalene, whom a persistent Biblical tradition insists was a harlot. Most importantly, it is this very group that makes it absolutely certain that Jesus was a married man.

The situation must be looked at, not from the point of view of 21st century-sexual liberalism, but from that of 1st century Judaism, which permeated and controlled the Jew's every action, thought and word. A thing was either sanctioned by the Law or it was not, and what Jesus was doing - if he were unmarried - was a scandal, if nothing more. As he said, he came not to change but to fulfill the Law...of which not one "yod" should pass away. It is for certain that he observed not only the letter, but the spirit of the Law. It is forgotten by those who would see Jesus as the sexless, virginal, supernatural being into which doctrine has transformed him, that he preached not continence, but chastity and the full honoring of marriage. He wasn't against sex; he was against the unlawful and improper use of it.

However, as he was in the intimate company of this group of women (and the Church does not deny it), then we must accept this as a certain guarantee that not only was he married, but that his wife was a member of the party -which she was. The true significance of the marriage at Cana can be seen only after its strange elements have been sifted through the mesh of Jewish social and religious customs applicable to that era. The great "non-event" begins in 2nd chapter of John 2:1-2:

"And the third day there was a marriage in Kana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there; and both Jesus was called, and his disciples, to the marriage."

Whose marriage was it? We don't know, because we are not told. Despite the astonishing fact that Jesus' mother is the hostess - thereby making it certain that either the bride or groom was one of her own children - the happy couple is never identified. Why?

Not even when the ruler of the feast compliments the groom on the wine does he even open his mouth. Nor does he confess that Jesus was the provider. Surely his silence might have been expected to inspire a homily on the subject of man's ingratitude. However, the ruler's praise: "Thou hast kept the good wine until now" clearly shows that it was the bridegroom's duty to provide the wine. Not only was it Jesus who supplied it...his mother Mary expected him to. Why? At what kind of wedding does a guest have this responsibility? Obviously, Jesus must have been something more than a mere guest...

What do you think, Jehiah?

In the Gnostic tradition, particuliarly in the Nag Hammadi Papyrus of Khemit. Mary Magdalene is Identified as Sophia i.e. the greek word for wisdom. The other half of the Gnosis

In the Hebrew she is known as the Shekinah, Identical to Sophia as the consort of YHVH.

Unfortunately, Christianity and to a lesser degree... Modern Judaism and Islam have done a great injustice, by sweeping this fact under the cosmic rug of Enlightenment.

THere can be NO God without the Goddess

In the Gnostic tradition, particuliarly in the Nag Hammadi Papyrus of Khemit, Mary Magdalene is identified as Sophia, i.e., the greek word for wisdom. The other half of the Gnosis.

In the Hebrew she is known as the Shekinah, identical to Sophia as the consort of YHVH.

Unfortunately, Christianity, and to a lesser degree...modern Judaism and Islam, have done a great injustice by sweeping this fact under the cosmic rug of Enlightenment.

There can be NO God without the Goddess.
God is the Creator of the Universe and all that is contained therein...including the female principle, which was first defined by man as "goddess."

The word "Shekinah" is of Hebraic origin, meaning "dwelling" or "presence." In Judaism the word is used in the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible) and elsewhere to indicate the manifestation of the presence of God among people.

Whenever the Hebrew text speaks of the presence of God in a way that implies certain human limitations, the Targum paraphrases by substituting the word "Shekinah" for the word "God" (e.g., “And I will cause my Shekinah to dwell,” in the Targum). Although the Shekinah is rarely intended by the rabbis in the Talmud as an intermediary between God and people, the word is sometimes used in such a manner that it cannot be identical with God, e.g., “God allows his Shekinah to rest.”

The medieval Jewish philosophers, however, wishing to avoid the problems of anthropomorphic interpretation of this concept, posited a separate existence for the Shekinah, which played a minor role at best in their systems. In the kabbalah and other mystical works of the later medieval and modern periods, the Shekinah is given far more importance, and is often treated as the consort of God who can only be reunited with God through human fulfillment of all the divine commandments, which would likewise signal the messianic age.

See S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909, repr. 1961); G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1946, repr. 1961); R. Patai, The Hebrew Goddess (1967).

God is the Creator of the Universe and all that is contained therein...including the female principle, which was first defined by man as "goddess."

The word "Shekinah" is of Hebraic origin, meaning "dwelling" or "presence." In Judaism the word is used in the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible) and elsewhere to indicate the manifestation of the presence of God among people.

Whenever the Hebrew text speaks of the presence of God in a way that implies certain human limitations, the Targum paraphrases by substituting the word "Shekinah" for the word "God" (e.g., “And I will cause my Shekinah to dwell,” in the Targum). Although the Shekinah is rarely intended by the rabbis in the Talmud as an intermediary between God and people, the word is sometimes used in such a manner that it cannot be identical with God, e.g., “God allows his Shekinah to rest.”

The medieval Jewish philosophers, however, wishing to avoid the problems of anthropomorphic interpretation of this concept, posited a separate existence for the Shekinah, which played a minor role at best in their systems. In the kabbalah and other mystical works of the later medieval and modern periods, the Shekinah is given far more importance, and is often treated as the consort of God who can only be reunited with God through human fulfillment of all the divine commandments, which would likewise signal the messianic age.

See S. Schechter, Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909, repr. 1961); G. Scholem, Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism (1946, repr. 1961); R. Patai, The Hebrew Goddess (1967).

There is no God without the Goddess.

For the un-initiated, one should be very aware that western religion has gone out of its way to eradicate the notion of the "holy spirit" i.e. femine principle, from the equation of God/Goddesshead.

Our ancestors in Khemit were keenly aware this balance in nature, so much so that even temples left standing today, were erected using a sophisticated system of "balance".

It is no co-incidence that the gnostic scripts found in Nag Hammadi Egypt. THe foundations of Gnosticism are rooted in the Metu Neter. The Sophia of the Gnostics is Identified with Egyptian Goddess Meht Urt, i.e. mother of Ra because she was equated with the privevil waters from which the sun emerged.

In short the tremendous emphasis on Maat by our ancestors, as a Template for the soul to return to the stars... Sept, also known as the Constellation orion, one final time.

Thanks for your input Aqil

Ashe

Your welcome Sekhemu...to some extent the gendered activities of Egyptian deities mirrored the lives of their mortal worshippers. Thus, the kings, rulers, fighters and administrators of the gods tend to be male, while goddesses serve as queens, nurturers, childbearers, and protectors of the gods. Some goddesses served merely as characterless consorts to gods, but others assumed special functions.

Isis not only embodied the idea of motherhood but was also endowed with exceptional magical powers.Hathor was a popular goddess associated with music, dancing, and pleasure, but also had a wrathful aspect that could threaten to destroy humanity. The sky was the body of the goddess Nut, while storms were personified by goddesses like Sakhmet and Tefnut. Divine personifications of abstract concepts tended to be goddesses, the best-known being Ma'at, the personification of truth, order, and the like. Goddesses were often identified with animals that embodied qualities associated with the deity.

The coming of Greek religion in the Graeco-Roman period brought new gods and goddesses, and new religious traditions to Egypt...but the old traditions remained active; indeed, the two were often combined. Thus, the Greek goddess Aphrodite was worshipped alongside the Egyptian goddess Isis, and the attributes of the two were merged in Isis-Aphrodite. By the 4th century Christianity had gradually supplanted the older religions, but the iconography of early Christianity adapted many earlier forms, and the old Egyptian gods and goddesses were still evoked in magical texts.

Throughout ancient Egyptian history, roles in religious employment were connected to the gender of the employee. In general, men were in charge of temples and their administration, but women filled a variety of religious offices in the Pharaonic period, especially as priestesses associated with the cults of such goddesses as Hathor. By the New Kingdom, however, the priesthood had become part of the state bureaucracy, which excluded women.

As if to compensate, we find an increase in the number of elite women associated with temples as "musicians" of a particular deity. In the Graeco-Roman period, women filled various priestly roles. Under Christianity, however, they were again excluded from formal religious office in Egypt. Female officiants were often associated with the cults of female deities, although by far the most common female religious titles relate to the worship of male gods. Similarly, male priests often officiated for goddesses.

Perhaps the best-attested religious practices of the ancient Egyptians are those connected with death and burial. The Egyptians conceived of the afterlife as an extension of their daily life on earth that had to be carefully planned for. The dead body was prepared and protected, both through physical embalming and through funerary texts designed to ensure a smooth transition to the afterlife. Artifacts of the Egyptian preparations for life after death show this to have been an endeavor open to both men and women. Preparations for the afterlife also invoked the specific protection of goddesses such as Isis and Nut; in general, goddesses tended to serve as protectors of the dead.

Ashe

Some Of Yashua's Disciples Were There At The Wedding . If The Wedding Was Not Yashua's Own , Why Was He And His Disciple Invited ? Or Who Were These Person That Was Were So Important That Yashua Went To Their Wedding ? Yashua Seemed To Disagree With Every Other Ritual In The Scriptures Saying That They Exaggerated . How Come He Went To This Wedding ? The Law ? There's No Mebtion After This . Of A Marriage ; Yet , Revelation Speak Of The Marriage Of The Lamb In Symbolism This Is What It Says Revelation 19 ; 7 , So Let Us Be Happy And Rejoice And Glorify Him Because The Wedding Of The Lamb Had Indeed Come And His Bride Is Ready . She Was Given Pure WhiteLinen To Wear Because The White Linen Is The Dress Of The Righteous . So He Said To Me ; Write Blessed Are All Those Who Were Called To The Feast Of The Dinner For The Wedding Of The Lamb . And He Said To Me This Is The Word Of He Who Is Above , The Heavenly One Which Is Facts Beyond Any Doubt , That Can Be Found In Their Mistranslation With The Same Meaning In Revelation 19 ;7 , Through The Tenth Verses , They Refer And They Perfer To Identify With The New Jerusalem Coming Down Like A Bride Prepared For He Groom Revelation 21 ; 2 , Where They Read ; And Their Came To Me One Of The Seven Eloheem Which Had The Seven Bowls Full Of Seven Last Plagues , And Spoke With Me Saying Come Here I Will Show You The Bride . The Lamb'd Wife , Symbolically Speaking Of The Holy City Coming Down From Heaven .
Revelation 21 ; 2 And I Quote . And I Ecoannace Saw The Holy City , The New City Of Peace Descending Down From The Skies ( MotherShip ) From Being With The Thehos And Is Prepared Just Like A Bride Adorned For Her Mate .
Yet In The Nineteenth Deagree , It Begins ; And A Voice Came From The Seat Saying Glory Is For Our Creator , O All You Servants And All You That Fear Him Both Young And Old . And I Heard It As If It Were The Voice Of Many Crowds And As The Voice Of Many Waters And As The Voice Of Strong Thundering Saying Praise Be Yahuwa The Adonai Al Shaadi The Almighty Ruler . So Let Us Be Happy And Rejoice And Glorify Him Because The Wedding Of The Lamb Has Indeed Come And His Bride Is Ready . It Is Clear For Those Who Can See That This Was Talking About An Event That Had Come And That The Other Was Talking About An Incident To Come . All The Heavens Was Prepared For The Wedding Of Yashua / Jesus For It Was The Laws Of His Heavenly Father That States '' Therefore Shall A Man Leave His Father And His Mother And Shall Cleave Unto His Wife ''
Genesis 2 ;24 And I Quote . The Highest Law States; A Male Living Being Is Suppose To Leave His Tribe ( Cuthites The Hindus ) And To Join His Wife'sTribe
( Cu****es The Dogon ) ; And They Will Become The Same Tribe , Adamites ;...
This Law Would Apply To Yashu'a / Jesus As Well If He Claims One Jot Or One Title Should Not Be Removed From The Law . If It Declares That The Law Came By Way Of Moses Before Yashu'a And Moses , Abraham , Noah , And Adam All Married And Had Wives , So The Law Would Apply To Yashu'a As Well . The Law Is The Law , Yashu'a Said I Did Not Come To Change The Law Of Moses But Merely To Fulfill It . Matthew 5 ; 17 And I Quote ; Think Not That I Am Come To Destroy The Law Or The Prophet I Am Not Come To Destroys But To Fulfill .
Moses ( Thutmose ) Son Of Amram And Jochebed / Abraham Son Of Terah And Nuwna / Noah ( Utnafishtim ) Son Of Lemek And Kamiyla / Adam / Kadmon .
If He Was The Heavenly Father , He WouldImpose These Laws As Found In The Scriptures That He Revealed To His Prophets . Is Not That So ? Or You Show Me Another Incident Where Yashu'a And His Disciples Go To A Wedding Reception .
Who Was The Wedding At Cana Prepared By ? The Wedding At Cana Was Prepared By Mary The Mother Of Yashu'a For Yashua To Marry , Mary Of Magdalene . This Was Yashu'a Wedding . What Was His Mother Mary Doing There In This Remote Town To Her Own Home ? Why Are The Names Of The Bride And The Bride Groom Removed From Your Bible ? The Problem With Biblical Scholars Is That When Translating , They Pick And Choose Which Words They Want To Translate . I Cannot Keep Stressing To You That Names Are Just Titles , So They Can Be Translated Too . The King James Version Of The Bible ( 1611 A.D
Was Done By William Shakepare . What I'm About To Show You Is Going To Shock You . And You Won't Be Able To Call It A Coincedence . Open Your King James Version Of Your Bible Which They Say Was Done By 46 Scholars , And LQQk At Psalm 46 . If You Count Down From The First Word , , The 46 Word Up , You're Going To Read The Word ''' SHAKE '' Though The Waters Thereof Roar And Be Troubled , Though The Mountian '' SHAKE '' With The Swelling Thereof Selah .
And If You Count From The Last Word '' SPARE '' He Maketh Wars To Cease Unto The End Of The Earth ; He Breaketh The Bow , And Cutteth The '' SPEAR '' In Sunder ; He Burneth The Chariot In The Fire .
Put These Two Words Together And You'll Have The Name Of The Person Who Proofread And Was Responsible For The Language It Originally Was In The ''' THEES And '' THOUS , That Man Was William Shakespare . If You Read His Plays , You'll See That He Wasn't By Far A Good Christian . So The King James Version Which You Are Holding In Your Hand And Has Been Passed Down From Those You Love So Much . Is A Poor Translation . This Is Why They Never Encouraged You To Master The Hebrew Language Or Even The Greek Language Because If You Had . You Would See Through All The Lies . Now Let Me Walk You Through This Story With The Proper Transliterations / OverStanding So That You Can Check It For YourSelf . Throughout The Whole Life Of Yashu'a , Mary Is Never Mentioned As An Associate Of Mary Of Magdalene . And Then , At The DayLight Hours Of The Tomb , They Are Together . At The Day Of The Cross . They Are Together , But No Other Place Are They Together . But When She Becomes Her MOTHER - IN - LAW , They Have Pain In Common . Just As Ruth And Her MOTHER - IN - LAW . Now Let's LQQk At The Scriptures Two Days Later . That Is After Yashua / Jesus Met Who ? Philip And Nathaniel . There Was A Wedding In The Town Of Cana In Galilee. Yashua's Mother Was There And Yashu'a And His Disciples Had Also Been Called To The Wedding . For It Was A Surprise To Him . A Surprise That His Mother Prepared Or There'd Be No Point In Mentioning An Unrelated Wedding To Their Family , Let Alone To Make TheStatement Yashua / Jesus Mother Mary Was There . What About The Life Of Yashua Of 2000 Years Ago . Yashua / Jesus Of 2000 Years Ago , Whose Name Would Be Yashua Bar Miriam In Aramic / Hebrew Or As The Muslims Say Isa Ibn Maryam Or Isa Al Masiyh .
Was Born In Bethlehem June 26 , 7A.D. And Died In Egypt At The Age Of 120 Genesis 6 ; 3 ;...He Was Taken Up Into Heaven By The ELOHEEM / ANUNNAQI To His Heavenly Father '' I Am From Above '' John 8 ; 23 And I Quote , And He SaidTo Them . You Are From Beneath ; I Am From Up High ; You Are Of This World ; I Am Not Of This World .
Yashua Was The Son Of Mary , Daughter Of Amram And Hanna , And The Holy Ghost ( Angel, That Is Zodokite , Angelic Order ) Gabriyel Son Of Rasiy'el And Zamma'el . Who Came To Her As A Physical Man . And His Adopted Father Was Joseph , Son Of Jacob And Hadhbith , Matthew 13 ;55 , Luke 4 ; 22 , John 1 ; 45
He Didn't Have A Halo , Nor Have Shoulder Length Hair . He Was Was A Nazarene , Matthew 2 ; 23 , Which The Koran Calls Al Nasriy . Koran 2 ; 62 . And According To Acts 24 ; 5 He Was A Nazarite . Yashua Son Of Mary And Gabriy'el Husband Of Mary Magdalene / Mary Mother Of Yashua Daugher Of Imram And Hanna / Gabriy'el Father Of Yashua Son Of Rasi'el And Zamma'el / Imram Father Of Mary / Hanna Mother Of Mary / Rasiy'el Mother Of Gabriy'el / Zamma'el Father Of Gabriy'el ;.... Let's Get Back To The Point ; Now At The Wedding We Have This Story ; When The Wine Had Given Out , Yashua's Mother Mary Said To Him '' They Have No Wine Left '' John 2 ;3 And I Quote , And When They Ran Short Of Wine The Mother Of Jesus Said To Him Jesus There Is No More Wine .
POINT TO BE MADE ! Why Is Mary Takeing Control Of The Catering Of A Wedding SheIs Merely Invited To ? Why Is She Concerned With HowMuch Wine TheGuest Of The Bride And The Bride Groom Have ? Point To Be Made ! Jesus , In Her Eyes , Was Merely Her Son , Not A Perfomer Of Miracles At This Point Why Would She Tell Him , Who Was Merely A Guest ? In Fact , Concerning Mary And Whether Or Not She One Of His Followers , He Made This Very Statement ; Behold , My Mother And My Brethren For WhoSoEver Shall Do The Will Of My Father , Which Is In Heaven , The Same Is My Brother , And Sister , And Mother , And This Statement Was Made After One Said To Yashua ; Brhold , Or Simply LQQk ! There Is Your Mother And Your Brothers . He Made It Clear That At That Point They Didn't Believe And Were Not Doing The Will Of His Father . So Mary His Mother Would Not Have Called On Yashua To Perform The Turning Of Water Into Wine Because She , At That Point , Did Not Know . Nor Believe That He Come Do It According To Your Scriptures . Why Was Mary So Concerned With The Wedding ? If She Was The Organizer Of The Wedding For Jesus , Then It Would Make Sense For Her To Be Concerned With Why There Is No More Wine Left In This House . AndBecause The Wedding Was Jesus's , Being The Head Of The House , She Would Inform Him Of This Problem . And It Reads , Yashua Coonay , Said To Him . They Have No More Wine Left . And When They Wanted Wine . Yashua 's Goonay , Said Unto Him They Have No Wine . Jesus Said Unto Her . Goonay . Which In Greek Means '' A Wife , Or A Woman . '' What Have I To Do With You . My Hour Is Not Yet Come ? This Is Clearly A Bitter Statement . For In Greek The Word One Would Use To Call And Respect Their Mother Is .. Maytare . So Yashua Would Have Never Spoke Bitterly To Mary His Blessed Mother , He Was Speaking To His Goonay , The Greek Word For '' Wife '' For Mary Of Magdalene Was At A Lost At What To Do , At This Wedding . So She Confronted Mary Of Magdalene And Told Her To Go Ask Yashua / Jesus .And Says ; What Have I Do With You ( Goonay ) . Simply What And I To Do About It . You're The One That Organized The Wedding ? He Adds ; Mine Hour Is Not Yet Come ( John 2; 4 )
John 2; 4 ( Modern Greek Script )
Ee - Ay - Sooce ( Jesus ) Is Leg-o ( Saying ) To Goo-Nay
( Confidante Wife ) Tis ( What ) ? Moo ( My ) Ho - Rah
( Hour ) Is Oo - Po ( Not Yet ) Hay - Ko ( Arriving )
Jesus Is Saying To Her . Wife What ? My Hour Is Not Yet Come .
Simply . My Time Has Not Yet Come . Speaking Of His Miraculous Power . Then The Story Continues . So Jesus's Mother Said To The Deeakonos . The Greek For '' Servants . '' WhatSoEver He Says Unto You Do It . Only The Mistress Master Of Ceremony Could Tell The Servants Was They Should Listen To .
If This Was Not Yashua's / Jesus Wedding . Why Would Mary Have The Power To Tell The Servants In Another Person's House And Wedding To Listen To Yashua? Remember These People Were Not His Followers , He We Merely Invited According To You To This Wedding . Yet , An Honest Heart And An Intelligent Mind Can See That Mary , Having The Power To Tell The Servants What To Do . Makes Her The Master Of Ceremony . There Were Six Stone Water Jars , After The Manner Of The Purifying Of The Judahites . The Judahites Have Rules Of Ritual Washing And For This Purpose Six Stone Water Jars Were There . Each One Large Enough To Hold About One Hundred Liters . Or Nine Gallons Of Water . That Would Be Fifty And Four Gallons Of Water . This Was A House For A Very Large Family , Or It Was Prepared To Receive A Large Guest List . So Yashua / Jesus Takes It Upon Himself . As You Were Led To Believe In Another Man's Wedding , In Another Man's Home . Yashua Says Unto Them ; Fill The Water Pots With Water . Make Note In Your Mind . This Means All Fifty And Four Gallons Had To Be Empty And Used That Because The Law Says They Must Wash With Fresh Water . There Was A Very Large Crowd There . And After Yashua / Jesus Ordered The Servants To Fill Them . The Servants Filled These Jars Up To The Brim ; That Is The Top . And I Ask ; Where Are The Familes Of The Brides Of The Grooms If This Is Not Mary And Yashua's ? Why Have They Not Stepped In And Made Their Voices Heard ? Why Have Not The Father Stepped In To Try To Solve This Problem ? There's No Mention Of Anyone Involved Save Mary . Jesus And The Servants . So After He Told Them To Fill Them To The Brim , He Ordered Them , Now Draw Water Out And Take It To The Man In Charge . Take It To The Governor Of The Feast Not The Parents , But The Head Caterer Called An Arkheetree' Kleenos . In Greek And Means '' Superintendent Of The Dining Room , A Table . Master'' This Is Not The Father Of The Bride Or The Groom . So The Servants Obeyed The Groom , Which Was Yashu'a ( Jesus ) So The Head Caterer Called The Noomfeeos . Which In Greek Means '' The Bride Groom '' . And Said To Him ; Everyone Else Serves Their Best Wine First . And After The Guest Have Had Plenty To Drink , He Serves The Ordinary Wine . But You Have Kept The Best Wine Until Now . The Servants Knew That Yashua Was Responsible For This Wine . And That The Head Caterer Could Not Have Been Talking To A Groom Who Would Not Have Known Also Where The Wine Had Come From Without Saying ; I Know Nothing Of This Wine . Because It Was Not Just The Wine , But It Was Obviously A Better Grade Wine Than They Originally Served . The Bridegrooms And His Family , Who Would Have Paid For , The Wine And The Wine Bibber Would Have All Know That . This Was Not Their Wine And There Would Have Been A Complaint . So The Servants Directed The Head Caterer To The Bridegroom , Which Was Yashua . And The Head Caterer Complemented Yashua For His Mannerism . Yashua Performed This First Mircale In Cana In Galilee , There He Revealed His Glory , And His Discples Had Faith In Him . After This Yashua And His Mother , Brother , And Disciples Went To Capernaum And Stayed There A Few Days . This Act Is Commonly Called A '' Honeymoon '' For Mary Magdalene Was Also One Of Jesus's Disciples . The Place Called Capernaum Was The City In Galilee Where Mary Lived . So Jesus , His New Wife , And Mother And Disciple Went To Her House For A Private Reception And Honeymoon , A Very Common Practice .

:karate:

Revelation 21 ; 2 And I Quote . And I Ecoannace Saw The Holy City , The New City Of Peace Descending Down From The Skies ( MotherShip ) ROFL ROFL This is your best Fairy Tail by York yet.SO instead of a camel Jesus came to his wedding on a space ship> No wait lol He had his wedding catered by the space ship Galactia!!!!
Seriously I am amazed at your "Tablet"
Jesus wasnt getting married here,in saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, Jesus was replying to her unspoken thought to the expectation she cherished in common with her people.
She hoped that He would reveal Himself as the Messiah, and take the throne of Israel. But the time had not yet come. Not as a King, but as "a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief", had Jesus accepted the lot of humanity.
But though Mary had not a right conception of Christ's mission, she trusted Him implicity. To THIS FAITH, Jesus responded. It was to honor Marys trust, and to stregthen the faith of His disciples, that the first miracle was performed. The deciples were to encounter many and great temptations to unbelief. To them the prophecies had made it clear beyond all controversy that Jesus was the Messiah.They looked for the religious leaders to recieve Him with confidence even greater than their own. They declared among the people the wonderful works of Christ and their own confidence in His mission, but they were amazed and bitterly disappointed by the unbelief, the deep- seated prejudice, and the emnity to Jesus, displayed by the preists and rabbis. The Savior's early miracles strengthened the deciples to stand against this opposition.
In no wise disconcerted by the words of Jesus, Mary said to those serving at table, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." This she did what she could do to prepare the way for the work of Christ.
Beside the doorway stood six large stone water jars, and Jesus bade the servents fill these with water. It was done. Then as the wine was wanted for immediate use, He said,"Draw out now, and bear unto the "governor" of the feast." Instead of water with which the vessels had been filled, there flowed wine. Neither the "ruler" of the feast nor the guests generally were aware that the supply of wine had failed. Upon tasting that which the servents brought, the "ruler" found it superior to any he had ever drunk before. Turing to the bridegroom, he said," Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."
As men set forth the best wine first, then afterwards that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which offers may please the eye and fasinate the sences, but it proves to be unsatifying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which has began with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disguist. The gifts of Jesus are always fresh and new. The feast that he provides for the soulnever fails to give satisfaction and joy.
The gift of Christ to the marriage feast was a symbol. Not His marriage to Mary.The water represented baptism into His death; the wine, the shedding of His blood for the sind of the world. The water to fill the jars was brought with human hands, but the word of Christ alone could impart it to life giving virtue.This is the real story. Not a fairy tale of Jesus getting married. Peace. :heart:

Revelation 21 ; 2 And I Quote . And I Ecoannace Saw The Holy City , The New City Of Peace Descending Down From The Skies ( MotherShip ) ROFL ROFL This is your best Fairy Tail by York yet.SO instead of a camel Jesus came to his wedding on a space ship> No wait lol He had his wedding catered by the space ship Galactia!!!!
Seriously I am amazed at your "Tablet"
Jesus wasnt getting married here,in saying to Mary that His hour had not yet come, Jesus was replying to her unspoken thought to the expectation she cherished in common with her people.
She hoped that He would reveal Himself as the Messiah, and take the throne of Israel. But the time had not yet come. Not as a King, but as "a Man of Sorrows, and acquainted with grief", had Jesus accepted the lot of humanity.
But though Mary had not a right conception of Christ's mission, she trusted Him implicity. To THIS FAITH, Jesus responded. It was to honor Marys trust, and to stregthen the faith of His disciples, that the first miracle was performed. The deciples were to encounter many and great temptations to unbelief. To them the prophecies had made it clear beyond all controversy that Jesus was the Messiah.They looked for the religious leaders to recieve Him with confidence even greater than their own. They declared among the people the wonderful works of Christ and their own confidence in His mission, but they were amazed and bitterly disappointed by the unbelief, the deep- seated prejudice, and the emnity to Jesus, displayed by the preists and rabbis. The Savior's early miracles strengthened the deciples to stand against this opposition.
In no wise disconcerted by the words of Jesus, Mary said to those serving at table, "Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it." This she did what she could do to prepare the way for the work of Christ.
Beside the doorway stood six large stone water jars, and Jesus bade the servents fill these with water. It was done. Then as the wine was wanted for immediate use, He said,"Draw out now, and bear unto the "governor" of the feast." Instead of water with which the vessels had been filled, there flowed wine. Neither the "ruler" of the feast nor the guests generally were aware that the supply of wine had failed. Upon tasting that which the servents brought, the "ruler" found it superior to any he had ever drunk before. Turing to the bridegroom, he said," Every man at the beginning does set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now."
As men set forth the best wine first, then afterwards that which is worse, so does the world with its gifts. That which offers may please the eye and fasinate the sences, but it proves to be unsatifying. The wine turns to bitterness, the gaiety to gloom. That which has began with songs and mirth ends in weariness and disguist. The gifts of Jesus are always fresh and new. The feast that he provides for the soulnever fails to give satisfaction and joy.
The gift of Christ to the marriage feast was a symbol. Not His marriage to Mary.The water represented baptism into His death; the wine, the shedding of His blood for the sind of the world. The water to fill the jars was brought with human hands, but the word of Christ alone could impart it to life giving virtue.This is the real story. Not a fairy tale of Jesus getting married. Peace. :heart:
Who Were The Disciples Of Yashua ?
Yashu'a had twelve disciples altogether , Yashua called twelve men to discipleship , out out of the twelve two of them wrote their version of the crucifixion . John Son Of Zebedee's account is fact , Where as the other , Gospel's accounts are tales . The other two writers of the Gospels , Luke , And Mark , Weren't Disciples , How was it that the apostle Barnabas , who was a secret disciple of Yashu'a , recorded that Yashu'a didn't die on the cross , Yet Paul did not write an account of it considering he and the apostle Barnabas were very close and traveled together ? wouldn't this have been an important part of Yashua's Life . Why is it Peter has no record of thecrucifixion and he was there to see everything that happened . He never even recorded the fact that he denied Yashu'a three times . In Pauls book . He mentions something about the crucifixion . But he doesn't actually say that Yashu'a died on the cross . The fact is , The synoptic gospels are are writings of what these men were told by way of mouth , And as I have just proven . to you , None of the disciple were present and Mark andLuke weren't disciples at all . Thestory does not stop there , Jesus and Mary of Magdalene had A son , who they named Simon . And he became known as Simon Bar Jesus. Simply translated from Aramic Simon The Son Of Jesus , If you read the second degree of John , The whole Chapter , be it in ; Greek , Hebrew , Aramic , Syriac . Arabic , Or Latin . The facts will still remain the facts . The wedding of cana was the wedding of Jesus to Mary of Magdalene
Mary Madgalene , The Wife Of Jesus Of 2,000 Years Ago ( Matthew 27;56 ) . During the very same Honeymoon where the marriage was Consummated . Mary Magdalene , Daughter of Manaham and Zarullah . Became Pregnant . And when the time for delivery came she gave birth to a son ; And they called his name Simon . Simon Bar Jesus Is The Bar Jesus Of Acts . He's Mentioned Twice In There , Once Under The Name Simon ( Acts 8;9 ) , And One Under The Name Bar Jesus ( Acts 13 ;6 ) . He Was Called A Magician , And A Sorcerer . They're Giving Him Maily There Attributes Of His Father . Simon Bar Jesus was product of the marriage that the Christian Claimed Never Happened . He was born September Seventeen In Twenty And Eght A.D. Yashu'a Aspirations Of HisSon Becoming A Great Teacher . Which He . Simon Went Of Into The Indebt Study Of Mysticism And The Kabalah , A Book Of Heretics By Yashua's Own Words . ( Simon Bar Jesus Son Of Yashu'a And Mary Magdalene ) .
He warned his son again and again that these were Undesirrables , Until his son grew up and left to go live amongst them . Unable , like most children , to respect the wishes of the parent . He got caughtt up in the rituals and practices of Kabalahism and became known as a sorcerer . A Great Pain To Yashua .

He lived within a community . There havebeen many different accounts written in which people have spoken about The Essene , But littleisknown about this strictly spiritual comminity . The Order Of The Essene was made of men who remained to themselves from other Societies , But they never give you real depth of an Essene . The Essenes Are called by many names , such as The Magi , The Elders , The Wisemen Hanif , Etc , Communities of The Essene Were set up all around the world , But all are linken together as one . There were also Different Schools Og Thought , Meaning each has A Master over it and they were taught a slightly different doctrine depending on where they were from . The Essenes , Who were Therapeuts '' One Who Minister '' . As They Were Called In Tama - Re ( Egipt ) . Were theones behind the scenes to bring King David , Son Of Jesse And Hilmah back to life in the Privacy of the palace . They had created a massive plot to disrupt the leadership that had taken place in Jerusalem by what they called The Children Of Darkness . The also assisted from behind the scene Yashu'a / Jesus Of 2,000 Years Ago .. In all of his undertaking . The Essense were behind Yashu'aWhole life . Their order , The Ancient Mystic Order Of Melchizedek called The Sons Of The Desert .
Hebrew 6; 20 And I Quote , Whither the forerunner is for us entered , even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchisedec ;....
Called The Sons Of The Desert , Received their rituals from Tama - Reye / Egiptian And Sumerian practices . They Were Holders Of Great Mysteries within theirorder and much Symbolism was used within their community . They were the ones who gathered to record and presetve The Scriptures of old in Canisters . The site of The Essence was called Zion , or simply the little Jerusalem away from JerusalemThe Holy Tablets Chapter 15 , Tablets 3 Verse 6 - 34 And I Quote , The Magi were a group of mystics known by many different names . They lived in communities set up all around the world . These Magi or wisemen were linken together as one through theorder of the Essenes .
The Essenes were very strict , observing daily prayers , foretelling the future and being well learnt in the Scriptures . Logging the motion and movement of the stars The Essenes followed the Levitical purity laws strictly and avoided contamination by the outside world . They saw the Jerusalem of theirday governed by the Pharisees , the Sadducees , the Sanhedrin andthe false Kohen Priest as children of wickedness . thus , they removed themselves to the mountains of the Jordan to form the New Jerusalem , Mount Zion . .They received their laws from Leviticus , one of the scrolls received by Moses . They kept themselves isolated and lived for , of and by each other . No one had individual proprety and they all shared in the ownership rights . If one member visited another communitity he or she was treated with utmost hospitality and concern . Their livelihood was sowing and planting . Some were herdsmen bee keepers writers and healers . So worked as handicrafts , writers and healers using roots and herbs . They raised the locust plant which was a part of their diet . This is the same locust which Yuhanna the baptist ate in the wilderness with wild honey . The Essenes were ascetic and advocated a vegetarian diet . Some of the Essenes were astrologers . Their System of astrology has passed on from the Ancient Mystic Order of Melchizdek , of which they were a branch . They were to log the birth of an indivdual . This was called solar biology , For you would not only be what sign you were born under . But Because Your Father Was One Sign And Your Mother Another Sign . The 33 And 1/3 rd Chromosome That Come Through Your Father Put His Sign Into You . And The 33 And1/3 rd Chromosome That Came From Your Mother Put Her Sign In You . And Then The 33 And 1/3 rd That Makes Up The Sign You Were Born Under Means That That Each Person Is Born With 3 Signs Equally Manifesting In Their Character . The Essenes Believed In Selective Birth For Selected Characters . So The Essenes Were Holder Of Great Mysteries Within Their Order And Much Symbolism Was Used With Their Community ;...It is said that Archeologist have found between Jericho , Masada . And Qumran . A community type of Living in an Oasis . An Oasis Is A Fertile Or Green Spot In A Desert Or Wasteland Made By The Presence Of Water . Upon finding The Dead Sea Scroll Between The
Click here: AOL Web Search: Results for "Dead Sea Scroll By Hershel Shanks"
YearsOf 1951 A.D. And 1956 A.D. Archeologists Excavated These Ruins Which Proved To Be Headquarters Of A Close Knit Family Of Community . In the Ruins they found agricultural implements such as pruning hooks . Large quantities of date seeds and charred remains of Palm Tree Trunks used as ceiling beams . The agriculture stations found indicate that The Brotherhood Of The Essene had a large amount of land under cultivation and it was irrigated by water from numerous springs in the area . Yashua ( Jesus Of 2,000 Years Ago ) . , As an Essene had the position of A Priest , And Priests , were not allowed to Mary However , Jesus became very fond of Mary of Magdalene . Who he had exorcied of Seven Demons ( Mark 16 ; 9 ) . And married her in the years 28 A.D. In Cana in Galilee , Where the reception took place in Bethany at Yashua
( Jesus own house ) . At age 29 , He and his wife left to go study at the mystical schools in Jordan amongst The Essenes and to visit his cousin . Yuhanna Al Mikwah ( John The Baptist ) , Son Of Zacharia and Elizabeth . However , Because The Essenes Considered Him Too Opinonated , He Was Temporarily Outcasted From The Order . The reason why this was not recorded was because The Essenes vowed Celibacy ; And it would have been a travety to hear that one of their own had defected and married other than with the approval of The Rabb .
The head of the order for the sole purpose of Reproduction . Yashua and Mary of Magdalene had a son , Who they name Simon , and became known as Bar Jesus ( Acts 13 ; 6 ) . A great pain to Yashua / Jesus of 2,000 Years Ago . For he did not respect his father wish . Members of The Essene Brotherhooh rescued Yuhanna Al Mikwah and his mother Elizabeth and brought them to Zoan when Herod The Great Slew Zacharia because he refused to reveal the whereabout of his son . Yuhanna Al Mikwah / John The Baptist spent half of his life with The Essenes and the other half by himself in the Wildernes ( Acts 13 ; 6 ) .
Acts 13 ; 6 And I Quote ; < Deh > and when they had < Dee - er - khom - ahee
Gone through the < Nay- sos > Islands < Akh'-ree > until , to < Paf-os > Boiling ; hot a town of cyprus they < Hyoo-ris-ko > found a < Tis > certain < Mag-os > Wise man A < Psyoo - dop- rof - ay - tace > A false newbearer A < Ee - oo - dah - yos > Of the tribe of judah < Hos > whose < On - om - ah > Name Is
< Bar - ee - ay - sooce > Son of Jesus .
'' Barnabas , Symeon , Manaen , Herod , Tetrarch , And Saul Went All The Way To The Island Of Paphos Where They Met A Certain Learn Man Named Son Of Jesus , One Of The Tribe Of Judah Who Claimed To Be A Newbearer
( Simon Bar Jesus Son Of Yashua And Mary Magdalene / Mary Magdalene Wife Of Yashua / Jesus / Yuhanna Al Mikwah / John The Baptist / Zacharia Father Of Yuhanna / John The Baptist / Elizabeth , Mother Of Yuhanna / John The Baptist ) ..
Jesus Also had association with The Knights Templar . Andtheir order considered him a Brother Knight In Which they help a Great Secret as found in A Book Called ''' Genesis , The First Book Of Revelations '' . By David Wood . Page 113 < If Jesus survived , if Magdalene was The Wife . If he had children children and if they fled from Jerusalem to The Languedoc , Then many apparently unrelated pieces of the puzzlecome together , I feel certain we will find the evidence we need in the Secret Locations Of The Geometric Temple At Rennes - Le - Chateam . I am also convinced that this was known to theVatican .That They Censored The Gospels . Almost Out Of Recognition , Is generally agreed . But there is every possiblity that they shut the gate only . to find that the horse had already Gone . There ismuch to suggest that this was fully Realized Until Evidence Came To Light That TheNights Templar Help A Great Secret . The Nights Templar Considered Jesus To Be A Brother Night . ''
The Knights Templar , who were known as A Religious Military Order Of Knighthood , Devoted themselves to the protection of Pilgrims who migrated to The Holy Land . The Heart of The Old Knights Templar was in a Country Town called Rennes - Le - Chatean In France Legends as deep within this French Community . One of which is Surrounding The Ark Of The Covenant . The Ark Was Believed To Have Been Removed By The Templars At The Time Of The Crusades . However . There Was No Ark Found And The Knights Templar Arrived In Jerusalem And Calimed Their Mission In The Holy Land Was In Search Of The Ark Of The Covenant . :horse:

Yashua / Jesus Of 2000 Years Ago , Whose Name Would Be Yashua Bar Miriam In Aramic / Hebrew Or As The Muslims Say Isa Ibn Maryam Or Isa Al Masiyh .
Was Born In Bethlehem June 26 , 7A.D. IssaEl, could you perhaps explain to everyone how you teacher York came up with this birthday??? Also, isnt it true IssaEL that everyone in his cult is given a "passport" and a new birthday listed as June 26?

The Merovingian dynasty ruled France for 300 years -- from the 5th to the 8th centuries. It is also true that most of Europe's monarchs have been from the Merovingian lineage from the Middle Ages until today. We have discussed at length the ancient heresy which considered the Merovingian bloodline to be the descendants of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. But, who really were the Merovingians? Where did they actually come from? Can we trace their history back to Mary Magdalene? Or does it go back further, to the days of the Old Testament?

To find the answer, we must research ancient history and trace the migration of nomadic tribes. Merovee was king of a Germanic tribe called Franks. His name "echoes the French word for 'mother' as well as both the French and Latin words for 'sea'." 1.

According to the legend reported in HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, Merovee was born of two fathers. It was said that his expectant mother went swimming one day in the Mediterranean Sea and was attacked be a dreadful sea creature who impregnated her with a divine seed. Not only was Merovee the son of Clodio, King of the Franks, he was also supposedly the son of a beast of Neptune. It was believed that in his veins flowed a co-mingling of two different bloods; the blood of a Frankish ruler and the blood of a mysterious aquatic creature. Since that, of course is not possible, it was suggested that the story of the sea creature may have been symbolic of his lineage, leading to the development of the legend that he was of the offspring of Mary Magdalene.

It is believed to this day by the people in Provence, a district in southern France, that Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary Magdalene and Martha, landed there when they sailed across the Mediterranean to France, escaping the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. 2. So, the belief that the mother of the Merovingian dynasty came from the Mediterranean Sea (or from across the sea) may have originated from this symbolic fairy tale. She is still considered today, by those who ascribe to the belief of the 'holy bloodline,' to be the progenitor of Merovee - 400 years removed.

A clue to where the Merovingians possibly originated is found in ancient Norse mythology. Merovee claimed to be descended from Odin, one of the gods worshipped by the Teutonic people of northern Europe -- after whom Odin's Day (also called Woden's Day), or Wednesday, was named. Note the spelling of the word "Odin." Is it possible - could this be another way of spelling Dan, or could the name have evolved from the Israelite Lost Tribe of Dan? We shall analyze the possible Merovingian/Israelite connection in this chapter.

In order to explore that premise, perhaps we should begin with a story from Greece -- of the battle between the Spartans and the Trojans. Keep in mind, the kings of the Merovingian dynasty claimed to be descendants from those ancient tribes.

According to the ancient Greek treatise, THE ILIAD, by Homer, the founder of Troy was named Dar-dan-us. 3. The name is strikingly familiar. It contains the name of Dan! It was said that Dardanus was the son of Zeus. Dardanus had a son named Erichthonius, who had a son named Tros, who was the namesake of the ancient Trojans and of their capital city, Troy.

Tros had three sons, Ilus, Ganymede, and Assaracus. Priam, the reigning king of the Trojans, was of the line of Ilus. Aeneas, founder of the Roman Empire, as a prince of the royal house of Assaracus. Ganymede was the great-grandson of Dardanus, the founder of Troy. According to Homer's ILIAD (Book V), 4. Zeus kidnapped the prince, Ganymede. Zeus wanted Ganymede to be a special cup-bearer to the gods (which may be a clue to the origin of the legend of the so-called Holy Grail).

The ILIAD does not relate how Zeus carried off Ganymede, but there is an ancient Roman mosaic showing Ganymede, the Trojan prince, being carried off by Zeus, who had taken the form of an eagle! Here is a possible clue to connect the progenitors of the ancient Trojans with the tribe of Dan, who had adopted the eagle as their insignia.

Zeus was sometimes pictured as an eagle, but at other times he was pictured as a serpent to whom offerings of honey were made. Here appears yet another clue. We have the symbol of a snake (the first insignia of Dan) to whom offerings of honey were made! The honey could be a reference to the bees in Samson's riddle -- again, it smacks of the tribe of Dan.

According to Greek mythology, Zeus was the son of Cronus, the sun god. Zeus was born in Arcadia, near the capital city of the Spartans. When he reached manhood he overthrew his father Cronus and won the universe. He then divided it with his brothers according to lots: Hades drew the nether world, Poseidon the sea and the waters, and Zeus the heavens.

The Spartans lived in Laconia, near Arcadia, in the southern Greek peninsula called Peloponnesus. Over the centuries some of the group migrated northeast across the Aegean Sea to build the ancient city of Troy. There came a time when Paris, the Trojan prince, fell in love with Helen, wife of the Spartan king, kidnapped her and removed her to the city of Troy. By the way, Paris was the one after whom the capital of France was named. There is also a city in France named Troyes, after the ancient Trojan capital -- for the Merovingian French royalty claimed descent from the Trojans.

According to the legend, the battle between the Spartans and the Trojans raged for 10 years. Then the Spartans hit upon an idea. They built a huge hollow horse, left it outside the walls of Troy, boarded their ships and pushed off into the Aegean sea. As they sailed out of sight, the people of Troy emerged to inspect the horse. They were warned that it might be a trick, but they wouldn't listen. They pulled the Trojan horse inside their city, and that night celebrated their victory over the Spartans. However, inside the horse, Spartan soldiers had been hidden, and under the cover of darkness, the Spartan ships returned.

While the people of Troy celebrated, the Spartan warriors crept out of their hiding place and opened the gates of the city allowing their army to enter. According to the account, the Spartans rescued Helen, killed many of the Trojans, and set fire to the city. Here's a side note: Aeneas, a Trojan prince, escaped the city and went to central Italy, where his offspring bore the twin boys Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome.

Over the centuries some of the Spartans migrated into southern France, and some of the surviving Trojans moved north and west into Germany, Belgium and northern France, following the Danube River, and eventually settled in the region that became known as Austrasia in the province of Lorraine. 5. The lineage of the Merovingian kings, therefore, may have been rooted in the Trojans.

In the apocryphal book of I Maccabees there is an account about the Spartans of southern Greece - claiming that they were related to the Jewish people and were, in fact, of the stock of Abraham. A letter from the king of the Spartans to the Jewish high priest in Jerusalem is most revealing:

"Areus, king of the Spartans, to Onias, the high priest, greetings.

"It has been discovered in a document concerning the Spartans and Jews that they are brothers, and are of the race of Abraham" (I Maccabees 12:20-21).

Unfortunately, the "document" referred to in the letter does not exist today. If it did, however, it might have provided the missing link necessary to connect the Spartans to the tribe of Dan. However, Flavius Josephus also records the letter in his writings:

"We have met with a certain writing, whereby we have discovered that both the Jews and the Spartans are of one stock, and are derived from the kindred of Abraham. It is but just, therefore, that you, who are our brethren, should send to us about any of your concerns as you please. We will also do the same thing, and esteem your concerns as our own, and will look upon our concerns as in common with yours. Demotoles, who brings you this letter, will bring your answer back to us. This letter is foursquare; and the symbol is an eagle, with a dragon in his claws." 6.

The Spartan letter followed the invasion of Jerusalem by Antiochus Epiphanes, the Syrian general who sacrificed a sow upon the brazen altar of the Temple. In the course of events, Onias died, but his successor, Jonathan, wrote a letter of reply to the Spartans of southern Greece:

"Jonathan the high priest, the senate of the nation, the priests, and the rest of the Jewish people, to the Spartans their brothers send greetings.

"In the past a letter was sent to Onias, the high priest from Areus, one of your kings, stating that you are indeed our brothers, as the copy subjoined attests.

"Onias received the envoy with honor, and accepted the letter, in which a clear reference was made to friendship and alliance.

"For our part, though we have no need of these, having the consolation of the holy books in our possession.

"We venture to send, to renew our fraternal friendship with you, so that we may not become strangers to you, for a long time has elapsed since you sent us the letter.

"We may say that constantly on every occasion, at our festivals and on other appointed days, we make a remembrance of you in the sacrifices we offer and in our prayers, as it is right and fitting to remember brothers." 7.

What relation the Spartans were to the Jews is not given. We can only surmise the possibility that they could have been from the tribe of Dan.

King Merovee supposedly possessed magical powers. He and his royal offspring wore their hair long as a symbol of their magic (similar to Samson). It was also said that they had the power to heal by the laying on of hands and that such power could be found in the tassels that hung as fringes on the bottom of their garments. This indicates a possible Hebrew heritage, for such power was believed to be in the fringes of the talliths worn by Israelites. You may recall the woman at Capernaum who touched the hem (fringes) of our Savior's garment and was healed of a 12-year infirmity.

Thus, we may consider not only a so-called Christian connection, but we are told of a more significant Israelite custom as well. These are two important clues: One, he wore his hair long like Sam