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Back to Lessons of the Morning Star
Resurrection: Our Elect Sister -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The children of your elect sister send you their greetings." (The Second Letter of John) Christians, Muslims, some small Jewish groups, and even some Pagans, believe that Jesus rose to heaven, what they call the resurrection. There are various beliefs in the resurrection and I hope to introduce you to a few of them. To begin the early Christian writings have no mention in the divinity of Jesus, nor do they mention the resurrection, or his being a son of God. Early writings such as the Didache, Pre-Markan Passion Narrative, and the Letters of his brothers James and Jude, do not mention a resurrection. Rather the Didache and Pre-Markan Passion end with Mary Magdalen at the side of his grave. The Letters of James speaks of his teachings of action, and places emphasis on the word "dead" quite a few times. The Letter of Jude rages against new and false teachings. What are some of the beliefs of Resurrection. It is key to remember we are speaking of a time 2,000 years ago. A time when the understanding of medicine was simple, if someone had a dream, or awoke from a coma, it was believed they had arisen from the dead. The Gospel of Mary speaks of a dream that Mary has of Jesus after his death. Could this be the beginnings of a spiritual resurrection. A young woman filled with love having a dream of her friend. Did the term resurrection initially have a spiritual meaning, perhaps connected to the cruelty of the persecutions? There are others who believe Jesus did not die on the cross. That he was given a sedative, and taken down by the Roman soldier at his side, who was also mentioned as the first Roman convert to Christianity. Some believe that he survived the crucifixion to reappear in Rome to Peter where he was crucified a second time. Others believe he survived the crucifixion and then went to India to unite the 7 tribes of Israel. In India he is said to have died at 87 years of age. There exists an ancient Indian Jewish community that claims to have his tomb, with the footprints of a male who had been crucified next to the tomb. The tomb is positioned as a Jewish tomb of the time Jesus lived. Others believe that Joseph of Aramathea had the influence to bribe Pontius Pilate to have Jesus removed from the cross and entombed. Roman custom after a crucifixion would be to have the body flung into an open area for the animals to consume. Being entombed after a crucifixion would be quite special, but there are other aspects of the crucifixion that were unusual for the time. Pagan belief would accept the resurrection of a God or Goddess, and would also accept the astrological calendar. The rights of spring, Alban Eilir, 21 March, the coming of the Spring Equinox, the coming of light. Our own Temple belief follows. As the first Jewish Christians, the family of Jesus, passed with time, and the new faith began to spread the belief began to encompass new ideas that did not conform to the early teachings of Mary and Jesus. Early Christianity was not uniform, there existed several schools of thought. The two main groups were that of Mary Magdalene who was chosen by Jesus to continue his mission, and that of her archrival Peter. The belief of Mary conformed closely to the early Jewish Christian teachings of the family of Jesus. That of Peter to a belief in Jesus as a God. During the Roman Persecutions, the belief of Peter took prominance. As Christianity spread it came into contact with new cultures, and new people. New ideas were incorporated, and new cultures, primarily Pagan, were injected into the old. Thus Christianity became a blend of the original Christian beliefs, and the political hierarchy of the Pagan cultures it came into contact with, the Gods of Rome and Greece. Like James and Jude, John warns believers from straying from the true faith, and from denying the humanity of Jesus. John also lives an interesting life. He travels to Greece, and Ephesus in Turkey, with Our Lady Mary Magdalene, and Mary the Mother of Jesus. The Second Letter of John quoted sounds very much like the warnings we read in the Letter of Jude: "Many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh; any such person is the deciever and the antichrist!" We find key information in the Second and Third Letters of John. To help you understand, if you read the preface to the Third Letter of John, it states that in the first century a Christian Missionary was dependant on the hospitality of the local Pagan authorities. To reject the missionary was to reject the message, and many of the early Christians were put to death for the message. In the Third Letter John writes to Gaius in a diplomatic attempt for hospitality for believers after they had been rejected by Diotrephes. Christians are forced to describe Jesus as "God's Emissary", to place Pagan characteristics on Jesus, to seek the hospitality of Diotrephes, and remission from the growing persecutions. The Second Letter of John is clear, to quote: "The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever." The Second Letter of John ends quoted: "The children of your elect sister send you their greetings." John knew the original teachings of Mary and of Jesus. He traveled with both, and after the crucifixion he went with Mary Magdalene and Mary the Mother of Jesus to Ephesus. He issues the same warnings against the false teachings as James and Jude, yet he lives long enough to see the need for diplomacy to end the persecutions against the faithful of Our Lady, our elect sister. This spring I hope you will experience the spiritual resurrection of Our Elect Sister, Our Lady Christ, her prophet Jesus, who preceded her, and those who so loyally follow the teachings of our Temple. Blessings with our Sister Mary, and Her Prophet Jesus, Morning Star |
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Copyright 2008 Maiden of Light Holy Orthodox Temple |
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