High Stakes (15 page)

Magdalene, on the other hand, was very proactive in the community, teaching women to give spiritual advice and even what we might call the sacraments. They performed baptisms, counseled and even performed marriages. They also studied other religions, theologies and even philosophies that were available, in a type of study group, with open discussions on the merits or fallacies of each.

Women were the first priests; even historians agree on this fact. Strangely enough, women were also becoming spiritual teachers in other parts of the world, which also led later on to the Holy Inquisition. This secured once and for all that all women should keep their place or be branded as witches or heretics. France does play another part in the Joan of Arc saga, which is a book in itself. There was a lot of spirituality that came out of France, due in no small way to the teachings of Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

After spending more than forty years in France, Jesus died at around the age of eighty-six, which was very old for that time. Magdalene lived twenty years beyond him, into her nineties. Magdalene was venerated by the local populace almost as a saint or pope would be later on. She healed, did good works, taught and gave sermons. One of their sons went to Greece and the other went to Rome, but Sarah and Esther stayed in France. With Magdalene's help, they set up small and sometimes large conclaves of Gnostics that spread to Spain, Portugal, the British Isles and even to the Far Eastern countries such as India. These Gnostics didn't take hold in India and the Far East as they did in Europe, perhaps because they had been so steeped in their own religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. Despite their failure there, they were not persecuted in any way, as there is perhaps nowhere on this earth where religions reside side by side with as much tolerance as they do in India. Oh, there have been some insurrections and persecution, for man will be man, but nothing like the seemingly endless conflict between the people of Israel and the Palestinians. In India you will see temples, mosques and churches sitting right next to each other.

When Jesus and Magdalene left this plane, they were aware of their Charts and knew that it would be years before their true story would be told. Above all, their lives were dedicated to the true God without dogma or fear. But theirs is probably one of the greatest love stories of all time, surpassing Hèloïse and Abelard or Romeo and Juliet. They were totally dedicated to each other and of one mind in loving God and bringing forth truth.

Those who knew the truth were fiercely protective of it, and from that protection secret societies eventually evolved because of the persecution of the Church. The Church, which really wanted supreme patriarchal power, was out of control because no one person or group was strong enough to stop it. It already ruled kings and the nobility, had vast amounts of land and holdings and was extremely wealthy. Corruption was running rampant and the Church was clearly abusing its power with the overthrow of kings, and persecuting Gnostics and other sects and religions with crusades and the Inquisition. Holy wars and torture and death became its tools…all in the name of God. So secret societies were formed and went underground to protect the lineage of the Holy Bloodline and to preserve freedom of worship beyond the reach of the Church. True, some of them became corrupt with power in their own right, but that still didn't affect what they knew; they just used that power wrongly.

Christ's life was basically peaceful and happy after he went to France, and he was farseeing enough to know that no matter how long it took, the truth would eventually come out. He did know it would be in our time, not his, that it would be many hundreds of years. He also knew that when this truth was revealed there would be controversy because of the power of the Church and all the lies and deceptions; but in the final analysis it would be like anything else—that those who believe will, and those who don't, won't.

Those of us who believe in the divinity of Christ and follow his words and teachings know that his suffering and even his necessary self-imposed exile were not in vain; that what he was against was existing religions that were so dogmatic in nature that they completely missed the true nature of God. He probably didn't realize that his teachings would be corrupted by men who would build a powerful, wealthy and huge religion that would control with dogma and fear. Jesus didn't go to church or temple and tried to teach everyone to seek and find the truth in their own temple without hate, remorse or fear. He brought us the true God, but those after him formed an organization that decided that money, power and politics were more important, and they became even more rabid in seeking these things.

It seems the pendulum has to swing wildly before it finally centers itself. I am by no means trying to put myself above anyone else. God knows I've written enough about my life and blunders, but I have to say that, in writing this book, I felt our Lord with me every step of the way. It was as if, should I hesitate about what I knew, Jesus would say, “Don't be afraid, the truth will come out.”

We Gnostics are Christians through and through, and if I or any of the others who believe this way had come out with this at any other time but now, we would have probably been burned at the stake or tortured. I try, as all Gnostics now and down through the eons of time have done, to live a good life, love God and then go home.

E
LIGION FOR MANY
is a great source of solace and a chance to worship their perceived God or Divinities as they choose. There are certainly many truths in all religions, but there are also obvious fallacies that are based on mythology, dogma and tradition. Since time primordial humankind has always found the need to worship some being or power that is greater than himself/herself; whether it was the ancient caveman who worshipped the sun or perhaps a strong beast or even some aspect of nature, or the pomp of some religious practice or ceremony. One of the first things that were noticed by humankind was the duality that existed in creation…from the duality of the male and female in nature to the duality of behavior, which was classified as good and evil. It is the latter that we will concentrate on, as it has its greatest impact in the formulation of the religions of mankind.

From time immemorial on this earth humankind has always recognized power in its many guises, whether it was the chief of the tribe, king or queen, religious leader, political leader or even Mother Nature. Ancient man looked at natural disasters as omens or the wrath of some god or another—why else would an earthquake or volcano or flood destroy their homes? Today we look at those beliefs and most of us realize that they were not caused by any god but by the forces of nature that from time to time create a disaster. Our scientists tell us that certain climatic or atmospheric conditions cause storms, which in turn can intensify into hurricanes, cyclones, floods, etc. We accept this, acknowledge the wisdom of science and now hold a healthy respect for Mother Nature rather than giving sacrifice to a wind god, a fire god or a god who is venting his wrath. Times change, and education and discoveries in science have given us a different perspective…or have they?

New scientific discoveries and more education change our way of thinking and outlook on life almost every day. We progress from antiquated beliefs such as that the world is flat to the common knowledge that the Earth is an insignificant planetary sphere in what appears to be an unendingly large universe made up of trillions of planets and suns that have incomprehensible distances between them (whew!). New discoveries in medicine have changed our outlook on illness and disease. No longer can we say, as ancient man did, that illness or disease is caused by the gods taking out their vengeance or that evil demons have inhabited the body. Science and technology have opened up new worlds of knowledge to us, and one could say that is both good and bad. We have marvelous instruments of technology that help us in our daily living, medical treatment and medicines that have extended our lives and eased our suffering; but we also have weapons of mass destruction that can annihilate millions in the blink of an eye. New advancements in civilization bring many good things, but they also create new problems for us all to solve. This doesn't mean that change is bad, but we have to adapt to change and its potential problems more quickly than ever before.

Conversely, if we refuse to change certain problem areas in our planetwide society, those problems may lead to more dissension, more wars and bloodshed and more human suffering. Problems such as racial, ethnic or religious bigotry; famine and disease; fighting over land and natural resources; population control; and environmental issues are not going away and must be fixed. How do we solve these still existing problems derived from the nature of man? Certainly neither one individual nor even one nation is going to solve these woes, because you are dealing with inherent emotions and beliefs such as: greed, vengeance, judgment, ethnic and religious beliefs, apathy, nationalism (both political and religious), the quest for power, hypocrisy and a general lack of spirituality. On the surface it would appear to be almost hopeless that even one of these problems will be solved, let alone all of them. Nations and groups and individuals have been trying for years to solve them, with very little success. One of the cornerstones of society that could fix or lessen these problems is religion. But therein lies a problem.

There is no area of human endeavor that is more diversified than the religions of humankind. They are also archaic, steeped in traditions and dogmas and—perhaps worst of all—refuse to change or are very slow to change. I guess you might say that all of the major religions put forth the concept that their founders knew best and still basically adhere to their fundamental beliefs whose origins range from about fifteen hundred years to over four thousand years ago. Very few, if any, have made any radical changes to their dogma or beliefs, even though many have been found to be archaic and meant for people in ancient times. Steeped in stubbornness and tradition, most religions refuse to change in a world that needs new infusion from religion on modern-day problems. A prime example of this lack of change is the apocalyptic writings that still reside in most religions today.

Let's first explore the meaning of the word apocalypse. Most people think that it means “the end of the world,” but in actuality it means to reveal or disclose to certain privileged people (messengers or messiahs) information either about God or the future that is hidden from the mass of humankind. Although Judeo-Christian-Islamic tradition interprets the Apocalypse to be the end of the world as we know it, there are significant reasons why they do so. Beliefs such as the resurrection of the dead, judgment day, heaven and hell, are all made explicit in the apocalyptic literature of all of these religions and are an integral part of their philosophies to “control the masses with fear.”

Think about it: religions use these apocalyptic writings to promote the premise of Satan or the devil, a place of eternal suffering which is called hell, and the real kicker, that everyone's soul will be judged and will either go to hell or go to heaven for eternity. Of course, if you follow your religion faithfully and do what the clerics tell you to do, you just might be able to go to heaven if you give them enough money, adhere to their faith and dogma and certainly don't explore or educate yourself to reveal their hypocrisy and untruths to free yourself from being controlled by fear.

The Eastern religions of Hinduism and Buddhism are not harsh and fear-based like the Judeo-Christian-Islamic religions in their apocalyptic literature. Hinduism and Buddhism (a literal offshoot of Hinduism) believe in what they call “Pralay,” which is the ending of the world by natural means such as disasters caused by Mother Nature. With all the environmental problems we have, such as global warming and a progressing polar tilt, this seems to me to hold the most probability for an ending of the world, if indeed that comes to pass. Christ said several times that no man can predict the end of times and I agree with this statement, as ultimately God is the one to determine our fate.

With that in mind, let's examine the New Testament Book of the Revelation or the Apocalypse (depending upon which version of the Bible it is in). This book is also referred to as the Revelation of Saint John the Divine, the Apocalypse of John, or the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, the Messiah. This book is very controversial because not only is it a book based on fear, but there is constant debate as to whether or not it is absolute truth.

The truth is that none of it applies to today's world any more than it did during the time it was written or the time of the Black Plague, or World War I or II. There isn't any truth in the so-called Rapture, unless you want to look at it as people coming to the truth about love, peace, no bigotry or judgment or war. In fact, the so-called Rapture is not even in the Book of Revelation and is only mentioned in Thessalonians I (4:13–17), which is purported to be a letter from Saint Paul, the self-proclaimed disciple (Pauline Christianity again). Do not let yourself be drawn into any group that paralyzes you with fear or envelops you into any insane cult or church that refers to the Rapture and being one of the “chosen ones” who will ascend into heaven with Christ. Realize again that God does not have human qualities to play favorites. We are all His/Her children and life is pain and learning enough.

Once in a while I will get a person at my door handing out literature on the Jehovah's Witnesses (who believe in the Rapture and that only a certain number of souls will be saved). At one time they actually gave out the number of souls that would be saved and I always used to ask them, “Which number are you?” with tongue in cheek. Since that time, they changed it to an “undetermined” number of souls. I certainly don't mean to disparage any church or belief, but sometimes conservative churches or religions make themselves look foolish.

Another belief that many hold is that the Antichrist is in the Book of Revelation. The truth is that the Antichrist is not mentioned in Revelation and is only mentioned in two places in the Bible: John I (2:18–22) and John II (1:7). The problem here is that many Christian scholars have inserted through interpretation the presence of the Antichrist, but the Book of Revelation, again, does not actually mention him.

Every century has predicted the end of days. I myself feel we are not at the end of the world, just the end of this schematic of people coming in to perfect themselves. I know the world will survive, but I'm sure much of humankind won't. We are in a warming trend and a progressive polar tilt. We have destroyed our atmosphere with smoke, pollution, etc., but the world will have its revenge on us. What I also base this on is that about 90 percent of people are on their last life. Never in over fifty years of doing readings, has it been that high. Why? Because this part of our learning process is over. I'm sure we go on learning on the Other Side or on other planets, but, again, I do believe what our Lord said, that no man can predict the end of times or no one can predict the end of the world. The world is one thing; human life is another.

The “John” who was the writer of the Book of Revelation is generally believed by most scholars to have been the apostle John the Beloved (John the Divine), but in actuality no one really knows who the writer of this book was. This is the case with all the canonical gospels and is also the reality here. What we do know is that it was a dream, or at least was purported to be a dream, and there was a reason for this. Many people in that time put much faith in dreams and if they didn't the author could fall back on the excuse that “it was only a dream.” Either way, this “John” was hedging his bets that he wouldn't get any repercussions. It is much like Nostradamus writing in couplets that were cleverly designed so he wouldn't be persecuted in the time of the Inquisition.

Many historians, and even some theologians, feel this was nothing more than an anthology or symbolic writing of what was going on politically at the time. It is likened to other books like
Gulliver's Travels,
which was a treatment of the political climate at the time of its writing. Many believe, and Francine confirms this, that Revelation was written during the bloody period of Nero's reign, which would put it in the period 64–68
A.D
. (
C.E
.). The early Church hotly debated whether or not it should include the book of Revelation in the Bible. It was put in just before the Bible was canonized and redone by the Church about 350
A.D
. The early Church leaders felt it put the frosting of fear on the cake, so to speak, and gave them writing to back up their dogmas of the resurrection of the dead, judgment, hell, heaven and Satan.

If someone today was afraid of reprisal and were to write about Bush, Clinton, Nixon, etc., or whoever they felt was corrupt, unfair and given to greed and temptation, they would write a symbolic treatment in the form of a metaphorical essay or book. Whether it's the monster that rises from the sea (the leader or Nero, Roman in this case) or the seven seals (like the seven plagues in the time of Moses or the Seven Hills of Rome), the symbolism is readily apparent. If indeed the writing was apocalyptic and not a symbolic analogy on the Romans, the world should have ended at that time.

The Book of Revelation seems to take precedence over so many of the books of the Bible. Remember, again, the author is unknown (as most all the writers of the Bible are), but Francine says he was a citizen of Rome who had a dream about what was going on in the political and religious climate of the day, around 64
A.D
.

The first, second and third chapters of Revelation are instructions and admonitions—supposedly they were written to seven bishops in Asia who presided over seven churches. The following chapters are prophecies of things to come, particularly about the end of the world. The book of Revelation supposedly was written in Greek on the island of Patmos, where this “John” was supposedly banished by the Roman emperor. He starts out by bemoaning the fact of his banishment, but says that his words come directly from God in the form of this revelation from Jesus Christ.

In the letters to the bishops of the seven churches, the writer rails against the sins of mankind and also seems to admonish the churches. In chapter 2:9, in his letter to the church at Smyrna, it says:
“I know thy tribulation and thy poverty, but thou art rich; and that thou art slandered by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.”
In his letter to the church of Pergamum he writes in 2:13,
“I know where thou dwellest, where the throne of Satan is; and thou holdest fast my name and didst not disown my faith, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was slain among you where Satan dwells.”
He goes on to reprimand each of the seven churches, saying for example in 2:20–21 to the church at Thyatira,
“But I have against thee that thou sufferest the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach, and to seduce my servants, to commit fornication, and to eat of things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time that she might repent, and she does not want to repent of her immorality.”
Each church is given a reprimand and it gives one the feeling that he is referring to the churches as if they are a potential Sodom and Gomorrah (cities that God supposedly destroyed because they lived in sin). After he rails against the churches and what he feels is wrong with the religion of the day, he launches into a not very well disguised tirade against politics by using symbology. It was one thing to spout religious principles, but against politics you were courting death. Remember, this whole book is supposedly Jesus relating all of these words to the unknown author John. This reveals a slight inconsistency, for as we read in the gospels, Christ is not interested in politics.