MISSING PIECES OF THEE BIBLE PUZZLE

Missing Pieces of The Bible Puzzle

I'm not sure if you know this or not, but there are well over 50 versions of the Bible in the English language alone. Considering the fact that the Bible has been translated into more languages than any other book on Earth, in addition to the fact that many of these languages also have many different translations of the Bible, you realize that there are probably hundreds, if not thousands of different versions of the Bible. What is even more difficult for most people to believe is the fact that most of these versions of the Bible are not only incomplete, but have been heavily edited multiple times, and also have many parts that are straight up forgeries.

Understand that both the Old Testament and the New Testament are missing several books. These missing books are called apocrypha (meaning in Greek "hidden away, not for public knowledge, secret, obscure). The Book of Enoch is a good example of Old Testament apocrypha. This book is referenced several times in the OT but it is not actually a part of the OT, at least not in the western Christian canon. In the Ethiopian Coptic Church and other ancient oriental Christian denominations, the Book of Enoch (as well as other OT apocrypha) are included in the Bible. The NT also has a great number of books missing (the Gospels of Mary Magdalene, Thomas, Judas, etc).

Traveling back in time for a moment, we also must understand that Christianity was initially seen as a threat to the Romans, the emperor Constantine realized the power the movement had, and decided to take advantage of it. FULL advantage. To make a very long and detailed story short, by the hand of Constantine, Christianity was standardized and made into the official religion of the Roman Empire by the emperor Constantine at the First Council at Nicaea in 325 CE. This is more than 300 years after Jesus supposedly died.

There were several different early Christian groups, including the Gnostics, the Neoplatonists, and the Arians, all of whom practiced their own versions of “Christianity.” At the Council at Nicaea, these opposition groups were squashed and declared heretical and blasphemous. Ultimately, the Christian Bible was officially canonized in 397 AD, at the Third Council of Carthage. Most western/European denominations of Christianity are based on ancient Roman Christianity and the ancient Roman interpretation of the biblical books. Theirs being literal and historical, rather than the intended allegory and esoteric interpretations of the scriptures.

The inclusion of some books and the exclusion of others was not arbitrary. There are hundreds of books that for some reason or another were left out of the official Roman version of the Bible. Many of these books emphasize the path to salvation, the nature of man, and the importance of knowledge. And many of these books directly contradict text that was obviously written to suit the Roman agenda. The Holy Roman Catholic (Greek word for universal) Church had no interest in self empowerment and enlightenment for its commoners and rabble. They wanted control. And Roman Christianity got what they wanted.

There were countless early Christian and Gnostic texts that were not included in Constantine's Bible for various reasons. Theists have come up with all sorts of reasons as to why these books were not included, but they fail to realize that almost all of these reasons could be applied to the official Scripture as well. The fact of the matter is, certain books were excluded because they did not match the teachings of the organized religious leaders. Period.

These ancient texts contained things that the clergy wanted to conceal from the people. Things that were held back from the public and only for the upper echelon. To this day, many so-called "Christians" know nothing of the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Nag Hammadi codices, and the other Gnostic and early Christian scriptures. These texts are hidden in plain sight, their veracity and authenticity deemed questionable by the powers that be. But make no mistake about it - the apocrypha are indeed relevant and important to the understanding of the real story behind Christianity. And the Gnostic texts are highly important. In fact, Paul was a Gnostic and never knew a human Jesus. His Christ, was the inner spark of God Consciousness within each of us. He actually only wrote 7 of the 13 Epistles accredited to him. The rest were anti-gnostic forgeries by the church.

The stories that are found in the Bible, both in the OT and the NT, are merely ancient pagan stories reconstructed and re-told for the ancient Canaanites. The Great Flood, Jesus’ miracles and life and death, all of those stories can be found in the religious and spiritual traditions of the Egyptians, the Arabians, the Mesopotamians, and so on. All of these civilizations had existed much longer and earlier than the Canaanites. In fact, Abraham, said to have been the father of the Hebrews/Canaanites, scripturally ... was said to have been a Sumerian (Mesopotamian) from the land of Ur. It is highly likely that Abraham was none other that a Hebrew version of Brahman. In Hinduism, Brahman is "the unchanging reality amidst and beyond the world", which "cannot be exactly defined". Many researchers believe Abraham to be fictional and based upon the teachings for Brahman.

All one has do is study these ancient religions and the truth of their commonalities becomes very clear. There are, of course, differences, but they are minute. Latin, Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian are all different languages ... but in order to get the Truth of the allegories and metaphors, one must go back to the original Greek and Hebrew.

Unfortunately, most people know little about their own religion, let alone ancient Egyptian, Arabian, and Mesopotamian religions. Even those who do look into these ancient religions often get caught up in how they are different rather than how they are alike.

The ancient Holy Land was a crossroads for many different cultures, so it is only natural that Canaanite/Hebrew culture and religion were heavily influenced by other cultures and religions. When seeking even deeper research, one can even see the many, many similarities between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian religions, despite the fact that these two regions lie on opposite ends of the spectrum.

When Constantine proclaimed Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, he kept many of the Pagan traditions intact. Christmas was originally a Pagan celebration of the winter solstice (Saturnalia), and Easter (Ishtar) was a pagan celebration marking the Spring Equinox (the “rebirth” or resurrection of nature after the cold winter months - similar to the “resurrection” of Jesus).

Even Jesus is said to be an allegory referencing the Sun God. Indeed, there are countless documented similarities between the Christian Sun God Jesus and the Sun gods of different religions. Of course, you will not find too much official information related to any of this because no Christian wants to hear that their god is really a pagan deity. When you look at the Zodiac wheel, you'll see the sun surrounded by the 12 houses/months. This is also Jesus, the sUn of God surrounded by his twelve apostles in celestial Astrotheology.

All of this means that Christianity ultimately derives many of its practices from numerous Pagan traditions. It could even be argued that proto-Christianity was a Pagan religion itself. Modern Christians are genuinely unaware that they are really praying to the Egyptian Sun God Amen-Ra when they praise Jesus and say “Amen.”

The Bible is a book of allegories. It is known that Jesus spoke in parables. What this means is that what is on the surface is merely a superficial example of a deeper lesson. This is what true myth is. Those who take the Bible literally are the flock (i.e., the sheep, the masses), and those who truly understand the lessons are the Disciples. There are Outer Mysteries, and there are Inner Mysteries. Milk, and meat.

The Bible is also a book of wisdom, but it is only one piece of the puzzle. The Torah, the Qur’an, the Tao Te Ching, the Hindu and Buddhist texts, and countless other ancient texts are all pieces of the same puzzle. Though they may differ exoterically, they are all essentially identical below the surface (esoterically). All of them contain the idea that the Spirit of the Most High/Almighty/God/Source permeates everything in the Universe. Everything is, quite literally, One. The Most High is not outside of us, it IS us. Not just within us ... but US. The Hindus call it Brahman. The Taoists call it the Tao. Some call it the All, some the One, some the Grand Architect. Some even call it God.

Once we realize that “We are gods, and all of us are children of the Most High,” just as Jesus was said to have quoted psalms (ye are little gods) ... we will realize that our earthly fate is in our own hands. This is the esoteric meaning of the Bible in condensed form, but it is something you will not likely hear from the podiums, pulpits, or the church leaders. We have been taught the "official version" of the story for so long that we cannot wrap our minds around the fact that this official version is nothing more than a hoax having taken ancient spiritual Wisdom and converting into a controlling literal historical presentation.

This is not just my opinion, and it is not up for debate. Only stubborn and naïve “faith”-driven people will try to deny it. They have some regurgitated excuses ready for every discrepancy, every contradiction in the Bible, and they are hesitant to study the Bible from a non-religious perspective. There are literally thousands of Christian Apologists out there whose job it is to defend the faith and defend their version of dogma and doctrines based upon their version of scriptures. My question for you is this. Why would anything that is True ... need to be defended. It just needs to be presented. A Lion needs no defense, it just needs to be turned loose.

The official story is a fabrication that was created in order to construct a “one size fits all,” easily digestible religion and to keep the masses from knowing their true Divine nature and their true boundless potential. The Bible clearly states that Man’s nature is the same as that of Jesus, and every human being has the potential to become anointed (what is called “enlightened” in other traditions). To truly become like Christ (Greek for anointed one or King) - anointed and enlightened - we must open our minds and hearts and be willing and ready to learn the Truth ... at ANY cost.

That means no "blind faith" and "literal interpretations" of allegorical myths ... and no stubborn and close-minded prejudice. If we want to understand the value in the Bible or any other ancient Wisdom scripture, we have to learn to read between the lines. If we want to understand the Bible, we can’t just crack it open and read it. Joseph Campbell described "myth" as "something that never was, yet always is." The True teachings are hidden beneath the surface. Remember, "the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life."

Just a thought ...

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

Mant thanks to Dante McAuliffe.