Judas
Iscariot,
gospel or
treason?
The
importance of self-knowledge
Gospel
means glad tidings. In the New Testament of the Jewish-Christian
Bible, four of these gospels are included in the form of mythical
stories about the resurrection of the human being, the journey home
of the prodigal son. They have no historical value whatsoever, but
refer exclusively to processes in the human being and aspects of
developments in the human soul. As Hermes says to Tat:
‘You
ought. O Soul, to get sure knowledge of your own being, and of its
forms and aspects. Do not think that any one of the things of which
you must seek to get knowledge is outside of you; no, all things
that you ought to get knowledge of are in your possession, and
within you.’1.
Numerous
gospels, treatises, revelations and other kinds of writings
circulated during the first centuries of our era. Some of them were
rooted in much older texts from Egypt and even from India, others
originated from that time. Their content varied considerably, from
well-known apocryphal texts like The Gospel of Truth, The Gospel of the Holy Twelve and The
Gospel of Mary to, for example,
The Gospel of the Magical Arts, The Gospel of Jesus the Sun, The
Gospel of Helena (Emperor Constantine’s mother), The
Teachings of Peter, The Letter of Seneca to Paul, to thirty six
scrolls that were called Acts and were written by a man called Fabricius.
The four familiar gospels from the Bible were compiled at a
later date and adapted by unknown writers by order of those who, at
the time, tried to create a basis for their Church. These and other
gospels were not written by historical persons called Judas, John,
Mark, Thomas, Mary, Phillip, or whatever name they may have had.
There isn’t any proof for this. The names given to the canonical
writings were derived from the names of the apostles of Jesus and
these gospels were then ‘marketed’ by the Church as original
manuscripts.
Around 475 AD, a presbyter called Theodoret, supervised the
establishment of churches in Rome, and he wrote the following about
the widely diverging Christian texts: ‘I have also found myself
more than two hundred such books in the churches which have been
received with time; and having gathered them all together, I caused
them to be laid aside, and introduced in their place just four
Gospels for the bishops to use.’2.
Many Church authorities knew that these writings were
falsifications, but nevertheless called them ‘divine’. This was
actually openly admitted. Bishop Victor from Tunnunum in North
Africa, who died around 569 AD, said: ‘In the consulship of
Messala, at the command of the Emperor Anastasius, the Holy Gospels,
as written by Idiota Evangelista (meaning the evangelists
themselves), are corrected and amended.’3.
Historical
records of the early centuries reference a body of people called
today the ‘early church fathers’, a term that ‘commonly
applies to the church writers of the first six centuries. However,
that phrase is a vague generalization only […] A misconception
among Christians today is that apostles passed on Jesus Christ’s
message to these men, a theory invalidated by both church and
historical records.
For the first three hundred years the primitive church had no
organization and the clergy […] were generally called presbyters
[…] The original meaning of ‘‘presbyter’‘ […] simply
meant ‘old man’, and a contraction of it resulted in the Old
English word ‘preost’, which today is ‘priest’. […]
The best of the presbyters could read and write. In Greek they
were called ‘episkopos’ […] subsequently this became
‘bishop’ today. They ruled the other presbyters who would only
repeat stories and who, of course, added to them. […] Those who
received the gift of public speech ultimately possessed all
authority in the primitive church […] The transmission of both Old
and New Testaments was oral, exactly as the gospels are read out in
churches today.
Second-century documents written by Celsus revealed that it was
commonly accepted in his time that presbyter’s manuscripts were
ever-changing compilations of ancient myths and fictional tales, and
in those early years there was a great diversity of opinion amongst
presbyters about what stories should be ‘publicly read’. Celsus
recorded this comment about the essence of the Presbyterian texts:
‘They lard their lean books with the fat of old fables… and
still the less do they understand… and they write nonsense on
vellum… and still be doing, never done.’5.
A guide for
the psyche
The original Gnostic texts may be interpreted as descriptions
of stages of consciousness, states of growth, understanding and
realisation, and of life experiences symbolised by names of persons,
countries, regions or cities with a particular meaning, but which,
in fact, all occur within the human being at a certain moment. The
way back to original divinity can never be placed outside the human
being.
In short, the gospels contain a description (or parts
thereof) of the prodigal human being on the way back to his
fatherland. This is a quest and a path of development of the human
being with three phases: John-Jesus-Christ. In other words, of the
purified (physical) human being, the soul figure and the spirit-soul
human being. Or, put differently again, the path of development of
seeking, realisation and resurrection. It is a path that leads right
through all natural, inner and spiritual resistances. And any human
being, who asks himself honestly who he is and what he is doing on
this earth, experiences the voice of his conscience at the
appropriate moment. Then, for a brief moment, the divine spark gets
some space in the prison of this material life, and the universal
light power, which we call Christ, illuminates his heart.
Every human being then also experiences the anger of his
imprisonment, of Herod, whom he also carries within himself, but
also the power of a Baptist and of Jesus.
Every human soul suffers under the oppression of matter, but
must nevertheless seek the origin of this suffering in his own self.
Then he also sees the Pharisees and the other scribes, the countless
blind, cripples, beggars and lepers. He discovers that the tax
collectors and whores also live in him, and also Pilate, Saul,
Peter, John, Mary, and Judas who must sell Jesus to the world. For
the human being who can grasp it, the meaning of the gospels is
clearly etched in his soul. But who is able to do so, who knows
himself and therefore his true nature, his soul? Who possesses such
inner wealth? Perhaps a humble path of experience and purification,
and conscious of being deprived of this original knowledge, offers
an opening for the current human being to gain this insight and this
maturity.
At this moment, between 30 and 60 apocryphal gospels are
known in the Christian world -- depending on the way we count them
-- in addition to the four canonical gospels. The Gospel of Judas
has once again turned the theological world upside down. From
various statements in dailies and weeklies, it is nevertheless
evident that everybody is trying to explain this find, which defies
all previously taken points of view, to their own advantage. Quite a
bone to chew on by the theologians!
The official point of view is that these Coptic texts,
according to experts translated from Greek, were found in Egypt
around 1975 and ever since travelled the world as adventurous
merchandise for the highest bidder, until they were bought by an
American foundation in 2005.
Shortly
before Easter 2006, the texts have been published as the
rediscovered Gospel of
Judas. It is indeed a rediscovery, because they purportedly
must already have been known by the persecutor of heretics, Irenaeus
of Lyon, as his manuscript Adversus
Haereses (Against heretics) from 180 AD shows, in which he
discards them as a fraud, because they did not fit the politics of
the developing church. The Gospel of Judas was most likely
known already in 120 AD.4. It concerns one of the many
‘heretic’ Gnostic writings from original early Christianity that
were banned by the Church.
Mythical Christianity was turned into a personified story,
Jesus into a martyr and God into an almighty man in heaven. Like
everywhere else in history, it is the account of the victor, because
all Gnostic groups and dissident thinkers from the beginning of our
era were persecuted, eliminated, murdered and their writings
destroyed or confiscated. What really happened was something
entirely different.
Since the middle of the last century, the truth about this is
brought to light, both literally and metaphorically, ever more
clearly and rapidly. An example is The Gospel of Judas,
probably found already in 1947 in Al-Minya in Central Egypt.
Again glad tidings, showing that Judas was apparently not a
traitor and that,
therefore, the so-called holy church fathers must have tampered a
lot with the texts of the other gospels to make it appear so. The
meaning of Iscariot is explained by some as derived from Keriot (a
place near Hebron), while others say that Judas was born in the
distant land of Iscariot, where the Iscariotites lived, who, like
the Canaanites, lived in seclusion and formed a rather isolated
Jewish-Gnostic group.
The
Greek word hairesis was a word indicating that one had taken
sides, was adhering to a philosophy of life. It was neutral and not
loaded emotionally. Also in the Bible the word was used in a neutral
way. In the first century, it generally became a negative concept,
signifying a dissident concept of faith.
The Greek hairesis became sectae in Latin
(heresy-sect). In present times, heresy is more synonymous with
‘religious dissidence’ than with ‘sect’.
Heresy is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine
maintained in opposition of, or considered to be contrary to the
catholic or Orthodox teachings of the Christian Church, or, by
extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system,
considered orthodox.7.
The flight of
the feathered serpent
In 1953, The flight of the feathered serpent was
published in Mexico, a book that, partly in the form of a story,
throws an entirely different light on the, very often misunderstood,
significance of Judas Iscariot in this very special Christ drama. On
the whole, it is probably no less important than the recent texts on
Judas Iscariot published with so much ado. The question remains if
the author of this book had any knowledge of these texts. A few
passages from this remarkable book are quoted below:
‘Jesus said to Judas concerning the other disciples:
‘‘They are sleeping peacefully, because they found a part of
what they were seeking. But you, Judas, have not found yours and
your cup will be bitter in drinking. Yet, your reward will be great
in heaven. A great storm will come over all of us and there will be
unrest in peaceful hearts. But yours will be tossed to and fro in
its loneliness and will only find peace in the joy of the Lord when
the law has been fulfilled’’.’
‘Jesus spoke to Judas: ‘‘My kingdom is not of this
world. If it were so, I would already have worn a crown on my head
more splendid than that of Solomon. But you will see me crowned in
the way the world crowns every Son of Man. On that day you will
weep, but the flood of your tears will be a hidden stream in the
greatest depth of the water of the rivers; one that -- instead of
flowing to the sea -- leads to a source lying higher than the
mountain tops. In that stream you are living and through that stream
you will serve, to enable others to sail also upstream of the river
of fate’’.’
‘An unimaginably great light surrounded us (up to three
times). And I, Judas, heard great words of truth, spoken in the
kingdom of heaven. I knelt at the feet of my rabbi and said:
‘‘Now I know who you are.’’ But my rabbi put his hand over
my lips, looked at me lovingly and said: ‘‘Judas, beloved of my
heart. Remain silent of what you have seen, for my hour has not yet
come. It is necessary that fate be fulfilled and you will help me
accomplish it.’’ Many beautiful words of truth he imparted to
me, without speaking them with his mouth, but so that afterwards
they were etched into my heart.’
‘Jesus spoke: ‘‘Judas, from now on I will call you my
friend. Yet, the world will understand with difficulty who you are
in reality and in spirit. But the hour has come for me to wash your
feet. For concerning the things that must come quickly, every human
being has the choice to react in two ways, that is, to accept his
servitude consciously or to resist it. The human being prefers to
deny the truth, so as to see only one aspect of God. And mistakenly
he then starts to believe that he knows Him in His entirety. But you
and I will now fulfil righteousness just as all righteousness of the
Father must be fulfilled. Happy is he who can understand what now
lies in your heart, Judas’’.’
‘Blessed are you, my rabbi, Son of God. For you are the
‘‘yes’’ to humanity, whereas I am the ‘‘no’’. I now
see you as the light that drives away the darkness. I will be your
reflection in that darkness in the human soul, so that they will
know which path to follow and which one to avoid…’
‘Rabbi, rabbi of my heart. I see the night approach and how
I will have to lose myself in the darkness for man to be saved. Hand
me this cup if it is your will and that of our Father who is in
heaven. Help me to endure the agonies awaiting me.’
‘And when he reached me his hand with the sop invitingly, I
accepted it. His eyes looked at me compassionately and mine were
bathed in tears because my soul trembled of fear. Full of compassion
he said to me: ‘‘What you must do, do it quickly’’.’
The story continues in telling us that he is of different
blood than Jesus. He was made of clay, of the dust of the earth, as
Genesis 2 expresses it. In his heart, he longed to heat his clay to
become a pure vase for the great unseen. He had tasted in his heart
the kiss of eternity.
How remarkably similar -- particularly with regard to their
meaning -- are these words from 1953 to the words of the recently
rediscovered Gospel of Judas, in which Jesus says to Judas: ‘You
are the disciple who has truly understood me. You will surpass all
the others (disciples). For you must sacrifice the man that covers
me.’6.
The
necessity of treason
In an article published in the 1970’s in the
monthly periodical De Topsteen (The Topstone), a predecessor
of the current Pentagram, J van Rijckenborgh says about King Arthur and his twelve
knights that it is always necessary that one knight plays the role
of traitor. In the Arthur legend, this role has been assigned to
Mordred. Just as in the gospel, also in pre-Christian religious
history a Judas figure always fulfils a very necessary role. ‘It
is therefore really necessary,’ J van Rijckenborgh explains,
‘that the human being begins to understand this activity of the
higher, new life. The Arthur legend, just as the Christ drama, must
be placed in the life of the individual human being.’
The author continues: ‘He or she who wants to become an
Arthur or Jesus human being, must, fully aware of his task and
calling and at the right psychological moment, have the courage to
say to Mordred/Judas, while seated at the round table with his
twelve knights/disciples, that is, in his private life field with
its twelve active forces: What you want to do, do it quickly […]
Thus it is Judas who leads his master to Golgotha, and hangs
himself after this work is accomplished, that is to say, turns
himself to higher good, just as in esoteric philosophy the sorrow of
the twelfth house becomes the passage to the new birth in the first
house […] The most characteristic property of earthly nature is
self-maintenance. For the human being who tries to make higher life
serve his ordinary ambitions for salvation, one of the twelve
knights/disciples has to forge the link. Higher life gives itself
captive, resulting in the death of Mordred/Judas. Earthly nature
loses and ruins itself through self-maintenance. In the Arthur
story, the king is wounded and must withdraw to Avalon. Avalon
means, I will return.
Orthodox Christianity expects the second coming of the Christ
in the distant future, but the human being who is going to look into
God’s depths, knows that this second coming is, cosmically, a
daily event in the clouds of heaven, and individually in the
respiration field, when he evokes this power in whatever way. […]
The concept of a ‘‘round table’’ refers to an
esoteric-scientific process, in which the candidate, together with
the twelve pairs of cranial nerves that control the entire physical
body, begins to work consciously with the twelve soul powers, begins
to eat consciously of the bread of the Presence and is prepared to
call up the powers of the Holy Spirit for breaking up his
dialectical life. […] Thus the myth of the round table becomes an
encounter of the candidate with his twelve disciples in a specific
phase of his spiritual development, in which will be spoken
emphatically and powerfully: what you want to do, do it quickly.’9.
In the book The Living Word by
Catharose de Petri, the
Judas mystery is expressed as follows: ‘The
more you grow, the more you will become aware of the appalling power
of delusion. Just as Judas betrayed Jesus to the scribes, so the
delusion is one of the twelve forces on your path of life, and this
force will continually betray you until you see through its essence
to the fullest extent. Then it will flee like Judas, and, relieved
of its pernicious influence, you will once again tie yourself to
delusion to collaborate in the liberation of humanity of which you
are an inextricable part.
If you cannot give up Judas, if you cannot release yourself
from delusion, you will continue to rotate within the circle of your
twelve possibilities. But should you succeed in liberating yourself
from that, the broken link will form the possibility for the ascent
to a higher spiral of life. […] See here the greatest victory next
to the deepest disillusionment. This is a struggle every human being
who wants to realise Jesus the Christ in his deepest self will have
to live through.’10.
It is perhaps not a coincidence that the texts of the Gospel
of Judas recently (re)appeared on the scene, now that humanity must
demonstrate in this beginning Age of Aquarius, whether it has
discovered and understood the true knowledge in his soul.
After 2000 years, we seem to be ready for it again. Perhaps
we may say that the time has come in which humanity learns to
understand this. Yet, only those who in their daily inner life are
true followers of Jesus the Christ, will be able to unveil and
experience this mystery within themselves. In this context, it is
also important that a human being realises that the divine light
impulse of this era, which carries the name of Christ, can only be
realised in his heart, in his soul. As long as experiencing
Christianity by humanity is external, the significance of Judas
Iscariot will certainly remain a great mystery.
Notes:
1.
Hermes Trismegistus, De Casigatione Animae, Cap. 12, verse 5,
(transl. by W. Scott). Hermetica, vol. IV, Clarendon Press, Oxford,
1936.
2.
Tony Bushby, The Crucifixion of Truth. Joshua Books,
Maroochydore, Australia, 2004, p. 175.
3.
Ibid, p. 175.
4.
Ibid, p. 48-49.
5.
Interview with prof. H v Oort by L Dros in daily Trouw, dated
6-4-2006.
6.
Translated from the Dutch text of: Armando Cosani, The Flight of
the Feathered Serpent.
7.
www.wikipedia.org/heresy
8.
Interview with prof. H v Oort by L Dros in daily Trouw, dated
6-4-2006.
9.
Address by J van Rijckenborgh, De Topsteen, 1979.
10,
Catharose de Petri, The Living Word, chapter 39. Rozekruis
Pers, Haarlem, The Netherlands, 2000.
©
Lectorium Rosicrucianum 2006.
From Pentagram No
6, 2006 |