THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL WRITINGS OF THE SANHEDRIN AND TALMUD OF THE JEWS

THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL, AND HISTORICAL WRITINGS OF THE SANHEDRIN AND TALMUD OF THE JEWS.........

1844 By: Reverend W. A. Mahan

Here is another book review from the Swift Library. At first glance the title might distract your interest. However it is by a Christian Minister and since the book was reprinted in 1923 then perhaps Judean became Jew as is most often the case. This minister did not stress the difference between Jew and Israel but he pointed out recorded facts and they are quite interesting.

Since we have given you the plans of our enemy for this 'New Age' we as well as this Christian minister are always looking for conformation of the Historical fact that there was such a ONE as...YAHWEH in the flesh as YAHSHUA‑Saviour...called Jesus of Nazareth. In this small book written by this Christian minister we believe he found these old records which he was looking for.

Our Author thinking that no event of such importance to the world, as the death and Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth could have inspired without some record being made of it by..His enemies, the courts, legislators, and historians, then our Author set out to investigate this subject, to see what he could find as to old records. After consulting many various histories, and corresponding with many scholars, our Author persuaded two learned men, Dr. McIntosh and Dr. Twyman, to go with him to Rome to that Great Vatican Library, and then on to Constantinople to the Library established in that city by the Christian Emperor Constantine. These three men would take with them scribes to help record what they would find. At the Vatican Library there in Rome our Author and his friends were escorted into a great room at least 300 feet square. Here they saw many men who were priests and officers busy copying the papers brought to them by the officers. In this great room there were hundreds of paintings and our Author noticed hundreds of 'glass eyes' with golden lids and lashes, and was told that these eyes were to represent...The All Seeing Eye...but they were also the Light of this great room. Pastor Mahan said he thought he almost saw those many eyes...wink.

The text our Author and friends ask for were brought to them and most of the Scribes and Dr. Twyman were to stay here in Rome to copy from the great books while Dr. McIntosh and Reverend Mahan would go on to Constantinople to the Great Library..the St. Sophia Library. Dr. McIntosh tells us that all those Talmuds which we have been told that were burned by Gregory VI were the Talmuds of Babylon, but the records of the Talmud of Jerusalem, and the records of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin were safe and in this St. Sophia Library in Constantinople. Therefore we tell never get discouraged thinking the old records are destroyed for YAHWEH has a habit of preserving those records of the development of His plan.

Now;...our Author tells us that the Hebrew word...'Lamod' signifies to teach, or to teach by tradition. In otherwords the child learns from the father. From this word..'Lamod' comes the word Talmud. Thus in the beginning what the word Talmud meant was..TO TEACH BY TRADITION. Our Author tells us that today there are many volumes of the Jewish Talmud taken from this old scroll found there in Constantinople called 'The Jerusalem Talmud'. The Jewish Rabbis however have written and revised and added information they have decided is needed, and they in the beginning took from this old scroll which is described as about 20" wide and rolled around a Windlass. It was written on parchment or papyrus. Our Christian minister Author and his friend began to study this old scroll and here in this little book were some of the things they found which our Author thought would be of much interest to the people of North America.

(Quote)

The most important part of this Scroll or Talmud is the Mishna, from its name we know this is 'The Law given to Moses for the Israel nation. It contains the laws of nations which the Sanhedrin of Israel thought were compatible with the laws of YAHWEH (God). The Author and his friend also found a book of 'the law' which was translated and compiled by Hillel...and this was a very useful reference book.

The next part of the Scroll was the 'Tosephta' which in Hebrew means 'Treatment', and this contained mainly the rituals of the Temple service. Our Author reports that this part contains the finest system of morals in the world. And he uses the word Hebrew as he describes the 'works' of this Ancient Scroll.

Next came the 'Mechilta' meaning government in Hebrew language. This tells of the organization of the Sanhedrin, and its power..the higher Sanhedrin consisting of 70 members where as the lesser Sanhedrin contained 24 members. These two legislative bodies had control of the whole Israelite Commonwealth. There was the court of the Elders and Priests..consisted of 12 men, with the High Priest of Israel as chairman. It decided all appeals and could not be appealed from. (Unquote)

As you know when Jesus of Nazareth was tried in Jerusalem the Israelites had lost control of their nation, and the Temple now standing in the city of Jerusalem was Herod's Temple..a ONE WORLD TEMPLE. The Israelites no longer controlled their Sanhedrin and the number was greater than 70 as well at this time. Edomites..Herodians..Cainanites were now in control of this Temple alto Israelites still went there and we would say..this again was a case of 'Good Figs' caught in the 'Bad Figs' religion. The Jews had also lost control of most of the nation, for Rome now had 100 soldiers stationed in Jerusalem, but they still controlled the Temple for Rome had a tendency not to interfere with the religion of the areas they took over. Our Author as he and his friend studied the Ancient Scroll tells us that the Israelite government if it had been in control of the land would (quote) have a criminal brought before the final court, and even there they went thru a preliminary trial in order if possible to bring the criminal to an acknowledgment of his crimes. Why the hurry then in the trial of Jesus of Nazareth, holding his trial at night? He should have been sent to the Roman authorities for their approval. After that sent back to the Sanhedrin with the charges all written out, and the names of the witnesses by which these things had been proven...also written down. If the Sanhedrin approved then the prisoner was sent back to the High Priest for his final trial. This last court of 12 men required by the Israelite law..would see that this court would fast and pray for one whole day before the trial commenced. Then they were required to bring the Urim and Thummim out of the Holy Place where they were kept, and place them before the High Priest who was closely veiled thus symbolizing God doing his work in secret or quietly. (Unquote)

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You will remember that the Urim and Thummim were no longer in the Temple at the time of The Christ..hadn't been for a long time.

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But there was also more to this system of finding a prisoner guilty... (Quote) A final delay of any conviction was when two men stood at the door ..one with a red flag, another sat on a white horse some distance on the road which led to the place of execution. These men constantly cried the name of the criminal, and his crime, asking who were the witnesses, and called upon any person who knew anything in favor of this one condemned, asking them to come forward and testify. After the testimony was all taken then the 11 men of this High Court cast lots and showed their decision to the High Priest who then went to the basin, and washed their hands in token of the innocence of the court, thus testifying that the criminals own action had brought about condemnation on himself. This was a signal, and the soldiers then took the criminal to the place of execution and put him to death. Our Author thought this long drawn out Israelite custom would surely have discouraged people from committing crimes. Our Author calls attention to what happened as Jesus of Nazareth was tried, and he stresses that the soldiers who brought Jesus before the High Court were Jewish soldiers..that it was the Jews who cried for the death of YAHSHUA‑Jesus and when they saw Pilate wash his hands they went wild. Our Christian minister then asks:.. (Quote) If Jesus as a man turns this act into a blessing, would that change the guilt and intention of the first party? (Unquote)

As our Author and his friend studied the Mechilta of Israel they saw that the Israelite commonwealth was divided into districts, such as Galilee and Judea. Each district had its own courts, its legislatures presided over by a Magistrate, who was an officiating Priest. If anyone would read the Mechilta they would see that the Government of the United States of America was based on this outline, and realize that the laws of this Israel nation were all dictated by the God of Heaven, and maybe then we should appreciate them the more.

The Saphra means in the Hebrew language..Corner Stone..or foundation Rock ..just showing that all these laws were founded upon God's word or authority. Our Author tells us that he would liked to have read these old records found here in Constantinople for a full year and reported on the content to Americans, for he is sure they would have been interested. But perhaps this report he has put together will stir American scholars so these things will be brought before the reading world. Our minister Author also warns the reader not to trust the printed copies of the Jewish Rabbis..but to go direct to the original manuscripts and see what is written by those authors.

There is one more old book of Israelite records that they found and this was the Sephri which was a chronological and biographical work. It is most important because it gives the history of the Great events, gives the names of the actors in each event, and gives detailed account of births, lineage, deaths, as well as the wise sayings of such as Abraham, Joshua, Moses, Daniel, Solomon and many others. Our Author believes this great work would be of deep interest to the American people, if it could only be published. However today there is still the great possibility it would be corrupted, however the old record is there.

Then there is the Pesikta and the Midrasham...these are sermons, and wise sayings of great men of all ages, the decisions of the Greater Sanhedrin on points of law, doctrines, and many other questions of grave importance.

Now; bear in mind that these old records are in this Talmud from the Israel Sanhedrin, in Jerusalem. The Books by Hillel II were compiled soon after the destruction of the Holy City so that they might be preserved. We are not told as to the year these records were made, but we would surmise that it was soon after the Israelite Temple was destroyed. Our Author tells us that other translations were made by the Jews to be used in their dispersion and these were called..'The Nagad' and the 'Kikhil' and the 'Midrash ..all were prepared by Jewish Priests from the Israelite Original, but you would not expect them to say anything in favor of the Christian religion or its origin. In their writings we would not expect to find anything about Jesus of Nazareth, but this does not mean those records are not to be found for you can go to the original and find the truth.

Our Author tells us that 'The History of Josephus' as read in this country is merely an extract translated from the manuscripts originally by Ben Gorion a Jewish Rabbi, and then by Havercamp of Amsterdam in 1726. No wonder the book by Josephus is titled..'The History of the Jews' even tho Josephus himself says he was from the royalty line of the Asmonanians...Israel. But then so many translations of the old records has had Jewish help..and our Author now gives us such an example:..This is from a 'so called' reformed Jewish Priest..an enemy of the Christian church. This Priest tells us..Yes..Jesus of Nazareth was crucified and at that hour there was a terrible earthquake, and a mist arose and covered that area for three hours. Yes,..Jesus was the son of Mary..a virgin..was worshiped by the Magi, was taken into Egypt, yes the babes were murdered in Bethlehem, and there was a baptism by John, and the descent of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. And as to those MIRACLES THAT JESUS DID..NEVER DOUBT AS TO THE FACT THAT HE DID MIRACLES, BUT THOSE ARE ATTRIBUTED TO THE ART OF MAGIC HE LEARNED WHILE IN EGYPT. (Unquote)

Oh! come on now, learned them in Egypt as a baby? At least He confirmed many of the events which did happen. Our Author tells us that these absurd things are not found in the records unless the Jews tried to use them against the Christian religion.

Pontius Pilate is said to have sent an account of all things relating to The CHRIST to Rome and the Roman Emperor Tiberius asked the Senate to enroll The Christ among the Roman gods. The Emperor threatened to punish the accusers of the Christians. (Quote)..search the commentaries, or public writings and you will find that Nero was the first who raged with the Imperial sword against this sect..called the followers of The Christ then rising at Rome. Our Author suggests that if there was no such records would these men have made such appeals. And if they were not there could such things have been forged or palmed off on the Roman Senate? It seems that to but ask this question is enough.

There are many, many records of the events as Our Saviour walked the earth ..a man among men. They are there to be discovered when Israel removes the blinders from her eyes.

While in Constantinople looking for historical records as to this ONE called Jesus of Nazareth, Reverend Mahan saw something else very interesting. It seems that Constantine the Roman Emperor was a great lover of the Christian religion. And Constantine had 50 copies of the Scriptures made and placed in the public library for preservation. These big books were so large that it took two men to open one page at a time. And our Author found one of these volumes with the Emperor's name upon it. He received permission to look thru it and found it to be written on the finest of parchment in a large Latin characters and very easy to read. The book was about 2 1/2 by 4 feet by two feet thick and was bound with gold plate..the finest of gold plate on the front. A 12 inch by 16 inch cross with a man hanging on the cross was on the front of the book with the Inscription..'JESUS THE SON OF GOD, CRUCIFIED FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD.' As far as Reverend Mahan read there was nothing significantly different than our Bible except maybe more clearly written.

On the front page of this great Bible was Constantine's letter telling of his instructions for the making of the 50 copies of sacred Scripture. Our Author then asks:..if there never was such a man as Jesus of Nazareth called Jesus The Christ, if he was never born at Bethlehem, if HE never had any disciples, if there was no record of any of these things then why would an Emperor have 50 copies of this Scripture made?...some are still available thus we know they were made.

The next report given us by our Author is a recorded interview with one called Jonathan...remember our Author told us not to look to the writings of the Jewish Rabbis for truth. In this report we find some perhaps mix up but still many interesting things so will give you an outline of this report.

Jonathan son of Heziel went to interview the Shepherds and others as to what occurred the night The Christ child came to earth. Jonathan then made his report to the Masters of Israel..servants of the true God. The Shepherds told him that the night was cold, some made fires to warm themselves, the sheep and some of the Shepherds were asleep..than all at once everyone was awake and asking:..'What does all of this mean?' All at once it was as Light almost as day and the air seemed filled with human voices, saying:...'Glory Glory to the MOST HIGH GOD..Happy are thou Bethlehem for God hath fulfilled His promise to the Fathers, for in thy chambers is born THE KING that shall rule in righteousness.'

The Shepherds said this singing would rise up to the heavens, then sink down in mellow tones and roll along the foot of the mountains, and then die away in the most soft and musical manner. Then begin again high up in the heavens, and descend then once more. The Light would seem to burst high in the vaults of the sky then descend in softer rays and Light up the hills and valley. At first the Shepherds said they were afraid but as they listened to the music it seemed to calm their fears and fill their hearts until they only wanted to give thanks. They said this strange Light was also over Bethlehem, some saw it and some did not. Some said a star had fallen. Then Jonathan learned that in Bethlehem a Priest came out of the Temple and began shouting and clapping his hands and people gathered around him. He told the people that 1400 years before God had appeared to Abraham, and told him that in time he would give a Saviour to Israel to redeem them from their sin. One of the signs of HIS coming would be that Light should shine from above and Angels would announce His coming. That people should rejoice as the Virgin brings forth her first born. Then the Older Israelites went into the Temple in Bethlehem and remained there praising and giving thanks.

A report also was found confirming the coming of the Wisemen. Thus all the words spoken by the prophets in regard to the works of God on earth have been fulfilled with the birth of the child of Elizabeth and now this babe born to Mary. The whole chain of prophecy is fulfilled in this babe, but the development is only commencing..thus said the report. For ages Israel has stood, hope never dying in the Hebrew hearts, and has been the only appointed source of knowledge of the true God preserved. And this day she stands as the great factor, and center around which all nations of the earth must come for instructions to guide them, that they may become better and happier. If these secret scrolls from God by the hand of Moses are to be lost to the world this would be worse than putting out the sun, moon, and stars of night, for this would be a loss of sacred Light to the souls of men.

Reading all the scrolls of God we find that the totality of all the prophets go to bear out this idea...that all have reference to this babe of Bethlehem...for only God Himself could give such prophecies, and then make them come true. Who but God could cause this Light to come down out of the heavens, and send Angels to declare that this is HE who was born King in Judea.

In the next report the men read...Gamaliel was sent to interview Jesus of Nazareth as well as Joseph and Mary and others connected with this family. There are some tampering with this report and I will give you an example soon, however the theme is here, the facts as we know them are here. Mary was a Virgin, both she and Joseph had been visited by Angels and also Elizabeth as well, and she also produced her child on time. We are also given the name of Mary's mother which was Anna...altho I disagree as to her lineage.

As to Jesus there were many different ideas as to who He was. One man said that many of the statements of Jesus were like sealed letters, not to be opened but by time. Again a Grain of mustard was to grow into a great tree, and all His ideas seemed to refer to the future; like the parent helping the child with his burden of today, by telling the blessings of tomorrow, and by making today the seed corn of tomorrow; keeping the action of today under Moral control by making the morrow the day of judgment. One man stated that Jesus was a young man who was the best judge of human nature he had ever seen. That at times He would tell men their thoughts and expose their bad principals, and while He had all these advantages of life, He seemed not to care for them, not use them abusively. Another man said the young women were fascinated with Jesus but He never seemed to notice. However Jesus seemed fond of Martha and Mary of Bethany, and when asked where to find Jesus...he thought probably at Bethany. As for himself, this man said he was satisfied that this Jesus is The Christ. Describing Jesus he said:...'If you ever meet him you will know HIM. While He is nothing but a man, still there is something which distinguishes Him from every other man. He is the picture of His mother, His hair is a little more golden than hers, though it is as much from sunshine as anything. He is tall, His shoulders a little dropped, His complexion toughened by exposure.' Now; I will give you an example of what I call add on's to this report: ...Speaking of Jesus...(Quote) His eyes are large and a soft blue, but rather dull and heavy. His nose is that of a jew...in fact he reminds me of an old fashioned Hebrew in every sense of the word.

Gamaliel traced Jesus from His conception to that present time, and here in his report to the Masters of Israel he told them that he had reached the conclusion that this Jesus of Nazareth was the Saviour Israel was looking for. That Jesus fulfills the prophecies of Isaiah 7:14..'Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel'..and Jeremiah 31:22..'How long wilt thou go about o thou backsliding daughter (Israel) for the LORD hath created a new thing in earth. A woman shall compass a man.' (or we would say..a woman shall conceive of the spirit) and another..Micah 5:21 'But thou Bethlehem Ephratah tho art a little city among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall HE come forth unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel; whose going forth have been from of old, from everlasting.'

Gamaliel then says:..Here O Israel, here is the city, the Virgin, the office, His manner of life, and the hunting of HIM by the Sanhedrin. And one more thing:..Genesis 49:..'A captive shall not depart from Judah, nor a law maker from him until Shiloh come, and gather his people between his feet and keep them forever.' (Unquote)

The next report found in the great scroll in Constantinople in October 16, 1883 was the report of Caiaphas to the Sanhedrin concerning the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Remember that Caiaphas at the time of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus was the High Priest at this One World Temple built by Herod...built there in Jerusalem on the same spot where once stood the Israelite Temple. At this time in History the Edomites and Herodians were in charge of the Temple. These people were now posing as Israelites due to their acceptance of the rite of circumcision. Thus they claimed to be Abrahams children since they had accepted circumcision back in the days as the last of the Israelite High Priests...actually Hyrcanas circumcised the Edomites and brought them into the nation of Israel where already intermarriage was being practiced.

Caiaphas however was a Cainanite‑Herodian mixture in lineage and the High Priest of this Temple of Herod, and now the High Priesthood was bought and sold, no longer inherited as was the Israelite custom. Here we have this man now in control of the Temple as High Priest trying to explain just why Jesus of Nazareth was not accepted by the Jews, and why He was crucified. Caiaphas said that it was not on account of personal malice, envy, or hate, that existed in his own nature, nor for the want of a willingness upon his part to conform to the law in its strictest sense that effected his decision. In fact he said that he knew little personal knowledge of the Nazarene, and most of what he knew was from outside sources. It was not because Jesus claimed that HE was the Son of God, or because He prophesied, or ignored the Jewish Temple. There was a cause, a more weighty matter back of all these events that controlled his actions in this matter. Caiaphas then goes on trying to explain the Ancient Hebrew Faith which you see that he does not have to much understanding of, and he talks about God having several names which can be found only in the 'Ark' of the Temple. We know of course that the Israelite 'Ark of the Covenant' was not in this..Herod's Temple..It had been gone from Jerusalem for many years. The Totten books and the Swift Ministry have traced these possessions of Israel for you. Just what type of an 'Ark' the Jewish Rabbis had made for their Temple we do not know but Caiaphas is trying to explain that Jesus used some name that no one is supposed to be able to pronounce, and this caused so much dissension among the Jews. Caiaphas tells us that only Jesus could pronounce that name, but He had to steal it out of their Temple.

Now; We have told you the name of the God of the Jews..in the tape messages from the Old Big Book, and we are not told here whether the name Jesus used was the name of their god, but this was a very touchy subject to Caiaphas.

Next Caiaphas says that according to the Book of Leviticus a special order was made by YAHWEH to Moses that we should offer the bullock, a ram, flour and oil, and the people should fast for 7 days, for this was to be an atonement for the sins of the people. But unless Moses was deceived and then deceived his people,...or Jesus of Nazareth is a false teacher...for now Jesus comes saying 'Repent' (turn in your thinking)..as tho a man's crime would make restitution to the offended party. (Unquote) Caiaphas not being a child of spirit could not understand what Jesus was saying or who He was. Caiaphas then says:..(Quote) 'God said to Abraham ..each and all that were circumcised should be saved. Thus Caiaphas is now claiming 'Circumcision' as a mark of the covenant making them Abraham's children where as here comes YAHSHUA (Jesus) saying:..Repent, change your way of thinking, the old covenant is fulfilled..finished..I bring a new Covenant and the symbol of the New Covenant is 'Communion and Baptism'. Jesus is also teaching that common bread and wine are to used instead of this once a year ritual of roasting a Lamb and eating it with unleavened bread. This is an altogether different doctrine than that taught at this One World Temple of the Jews. In Argument Caiaphas says:..'Jesus calls himself the SON OF GOD, claims He was born in earth of a Virgin, that HE and HIS FATHER are ONE, they are Equal..but if He is right then the Father is wrong. If they are ONE their teaching should be the same. If we were to tolerate the teaching of Jesus then the Romans will say all of our former teachings are false, and the world will lose confidence in our god, and confidence in our claim of being a religious people. If we had accepted the teachings of the Nazarene it would cut off, and block the way of all Jews into Heaven. Further more the Nazarene ignores this Holy Temple built by our Fathers. This Temple is the bond of the Jews. This Temple is where men can come to be blessed. It is here where the foolish can learn wisdom, where the soul can be fed, but Jesus completely ignored this Great Temple. In fact he said that the Priests had made it a ...'Den of Thieves'. My argument is that if this Temple be destroyed, or forsaken by the Jews, we as a nation are finally ruined.

Another thing..Moses said:..'The LORD thy God is ONE God'..'I am God alone'...could I a Priest let someone come and pervert our religion? Could I stand by and let this Temple be destroyed? Could I stand by and see all of these ordinances we have acquired be perverted by an imposter? (Unquote) Caiaphas goes on with his explanation saying that this teaching of Jesus was well qualified to fool the common people. And many had now forsaken the Temple, and were failing to pay their tithe which supported the Priests of the Temple. Jesus was teaching that now you did not have to go to this Temple to worship God, and Jesus now had more followers than Abraham, and they were becoming very hostile to the Jews. If it had not been for the Roman soldiers on that day of Crucifixion Caiaphas felt that there would have been one of the bloodiest insurrection ever known in the Jewish Commonwealth. One of the guards informed Caiaphas that there were several hundred thousand people around the hill, and altho two others were crucified the same day, still it was this Jesus of Nazareth who was the main attraction. The people cried:..'What has HE done...take Him down' and the soldiers had to push back the crowd. But when the Nazarene gave up the Ghost (Spirit) it proved to the Jews that HE was just a human body, all HE had said was a sham. And even if this had been the ONE who was to die for many then Caiaphas claimed that he was only accomplishing God's Holy purpose, which exonerates him from guilt. Caiaphas then says that it seemed to him that after Jesus of Nazareth spent two years in Egypt that He must have learned the art of Magic there, and this would explain His miracles which people testify to, but He must have learned that Art in Egypt. When John the Baptist was at large, the Jesus in the role of an itinerant teacher and physician roused the people of Galilee to 'Repentance of sin'..to bring about a restoration of the Kingdom of Heaven. He met with the same resistance as did John the Baptist among the Jews but among the other people it was another story. The cures He wrought appeared as miracles to His followers, but seemed most ridiculous to the Wealthy and intelligent Jews. (Unquote)

Caiaphas then tells of how Jesus disregarded the laws of Levitical cleanness which was so important to the Shammite Jews. If fact Jesus ate with unclean sinners, publicans, and lepers, and even permitted harlots to touch HIM, while His disciples went so far as to eat without washing themselves. In fact HE now looked upon the whole of the Levitical instructions, the Temple, Sacrifice, and Priesthood as no longer worth the life of the animal. (unquote)

Caiaphas not being an Israelite would not understand that the Old Covenant is finished, a New and better Covenant was brought by Jesus. After all the Jews had only their part of the old Covenant to cling to which they thought they had taken by accepting Circumcision. Here then was Jesus destroying the Jewish theology and establishing the New Covenant which they had no part in, with their claim of Circumcision.

Caiaphas said (quote) that Jesus seemed to be resorting to the Ancient method of allegorically explaining things for He wrote many good and wise things which the Egyptian Hebrews were acquainted with. But Jesus had no education, however He could raise the crowd to a fever pitch when HE wished to. He would say such things as:..'Pay your taxes'..it is only Caesar's money you use to pay, which is unlawful for you to have, because of its idolatrous effigies. In fact the conduct of Jesus was so 'strange and incompatible' with the interest of the Jews as a nation, and it seemed to me that He was a subject employed by the Romans to keep the Jews submissive and obedient to all the Roman tyranny and abuse. (Unquote) As you noticed..Jesus was so far..Right..from the teaching of the Jews at the Temple..no wonder there was great conflict.

Caiaphas goes on to say:..the reprimands of Jesus were so severe against the Rich and the highly educated that they turned against him, and brought all the power they had, both of their wealth and talent, so that I (Caiaphas) saw that a bloody insurrection was brewing fast. It seemed to me that the whole Jewish theocracy was about to be blown away as a bubble on a breaker. At this time both the doctrine, and the religion of the Jews was spreading to Rome, and that seemed to alarm Rome, and they abolished the Jewish religion from Rome. There never was a better man however than Hyrcanas for the Jews enjoyed great peace during his administration. (Unquote)

We have told you about the race mixing during that administration and the circumcising of the Edomites and the taking of them into Israel as equals, to the Jews this was of course good, but for Israel it meant disaster. Caiaphas tells us that he ordered Jesus to stop teaching, unless HE taught the doctrine as the Jews taught. But Jesus sent word to Caiaphas that HIS Doctrine was not of this Word (order) but had reference to the World (order) to come.

Caiaphas sums up his report to Pontius Pilate the Governor of the Roman Province by listing the charges which were brought against this Jesus of Nazareth by the High Court of the Jews. (Quote)

1. He is charged with teaching the doctrine that there are more gods than one, which is contrary to the teaching of the Jewish law, and He positively refused to desist in the presence of this court.

2. He teaches that HE is a God..all of which is contrary to the Jewish law, and He is very visible, and convincing. After being required to desist by this court, most positively, HE affirms is the SON of GOD. 3. He teaches that the Holy Ghost cannot come until HE goes away which is also contrary to the teaching of the Jews.

4. He teaches that Baptism is the Seal of God instead of circumcision which was established by the decree of God with Abraham, and HE has refused to stop this teaching as ordered by this court. When asked why HE did this, all HE would say was:..'Hitherto I work, and My father works!.' HE has abrogated the Priesthood, and set the Temple to naught, which is the very life blood of the Jewish faith. All these things and more did this Jesus of Nazareth do, and these charges were written by my scribes and sent with the officers to Pilate for his consent. (Unquote)

In this report Caiaphas says that he has been getting all the reports as to what happened at the time of the Resurrection. The countryside was in an uproar and threats had been made on his life, as well as on the life of Pilate. The Captain of the guard advised Caiaphas that he should banish Peter and John to the Isle of Crete or put them in prison to shut them up. Caiaphas said he was sorry he put a guard at the tomb because the very thing they had sought to prevent had happened. Caiaphas had Peter and John and some of the women brought before him. They all tell their stories as to how the stone was rolled away, and how Jesus of Nazareth then appeared to His disciples and Caiaphas wondered if this could be true? The stories are so different than when Jesus of Nazareth met the Schammites before the Crucifixion, for HE repelled them until they shunned HIM like you would a wolf. If HE was a King in Judea He would surely have to become popular with the Jews, yet He did nothing to endear Himself to them. The Apostles told Caiaphas about seeing Jesus walk on water, and to calm the wind and the waves. Told of how He had power over death, and Caiaphas saw the trust and confidence in these men and women and he was disturbed. But he heard this same story from others and Caiaphas was thrown into great agitation as tho dreading something terrible. It seemed to be as a weight around his heart even tho he thought he had acted with the best of intentions for his nation. However it seemed that he could not rest night or day, and he locked his door and gave orders that no one was to come in without first giving notice. His wife and Annas her father came to him, and then into the room came YAHSHUA and as He stood before Caiaphas, he said his breath stopped and his blood ran cold, and he was in the act of falling when YAHSHUA spoke saying...'Be not afraid, this is the work of the Father (Spirit). I am the Lamb for all. This last Lamb you have slain is the ONE appointed before the foundation of the world. This is the last sacrifice...it is for you also if you will accept, and Caiaphas fell on his face as tho dead. As Annas lifted him up...Jesus of Nazareth was gone, tho the door was still locked. Caiaphas then tells the Sanhedrin that he will no longer act as Priest, they will have to appoint someone else in his place for he will serve no longer.

As to whether that report is true..or someone just wanted to 'save' Caiaphas I do not know but it was there in the Ancient Scroll.

Another report our Author found in this Sanhedrin and Jerusalem Talmud was written and bound between two Cedar boards and was signed by one named Ben Eli. This report seems compatible with out history and our Author thought it might be interesting to you. It seems that some men came to Jerusalem, and appeared before the Sanhedrin. These men were in search of the Christ Child. One man was from Greece and he told a strange story. It seems that he left the schools of learning and went to the northern part of their nation along the coast to meditate, and try to find answers from this Great God that he remembered from somewhere. One day as this Greek gentleman sat meditating and watching the sea he saw a ship passing by and all of a sudden he saw a man flung overboard. The man swam to shore and the Greek welcomed him and he learned that this gentleman was a Hebrew. As they talked the Greek learned that this Great God of his prayers really existed. He learned that this Great God had for ages been the law maker and king, and that the Hebrew prophets in ages past had walked and talked with this God, and that this ONE would come again, and they were to look for HIM in the land of Judea where he would be born KING.

Here then was the Greek in Jerusalem talking to those now in charge of the Ancient Israel Sanhedrin but they said:..'no there is no one here for you...we Jews are now the chosen people, there is nothing for the rest of the world.' The Greek tells the Sanhedrin that one night as he sat in his cave opening he saw a star begin to burn slowly as tho in the Sea, then it arose and stood over his door, and he fell down and slept and he dreamed. In his dream he heard a voice say:..Oh! Greek, thy faith hath conquered...Blessed art thou..come thou shalt see HIM that is promised, and you shall be a witness, and the occasion of testimony for HIM. In the morning arise and go where the spirit guides you. He then hailed a passing ship and came to the land of Judea, and now stood before the Sanhedrin telling his story.

The Sanhedrin then was dismissed for the day, and the next morning came a Hindoo (Aryan) from the far east...a Hindoo from Hindustan or northern India, and he told this story:....'My people were the first to walk in the fields of knowledge. The 4 Vedas are the primal fountains of religion, and useful Intelligence. From them came the 'Upa‑Vedas' which were delivered by Brahma (the name of the Great God of the Aryans). These records deal with medicine, archery, architecture, music and the arts. The 'Ved Angas' revealed by inspired Saints, were devoted to Astronomy, grammar, pronunciation then charms, religious rites, and ceremonies. Such are the great books of sacred ordinances. They are death to me now yet thru all time they will serve to Illustrate the budding genius of OUR RACE.

The Hindoo teach a supreme God called Brahm...the two great ideas..God and the soul absorbed all the forces of the Hindoo (Aryan) mind. In India there are many gods, but Brahm is said to be the Author of Our Race. Brahm divided the course of creation into four casts. First he peopled the world below, and the heavens above, next he made the earth ready for man nearest in likeness to Himself, highest, noblest, sole teachers of the Vedas, which at the same time flowed from his lips in finished state, perfect in all useful knowledge. The Brahmin (Adamites) could not enter a lower order. If he violated the laws of his own cast he became an outcast. I was born a Brahmin, my life consequently was ordered down to its least act, its last hour. I am one of the 'Twice Born', one of the first order, and I must not violate this rule. A Brahmin's life at first is a students life. The second order is when I was ready to marry and become a Householder. At last after years of Life..I stood in Perfect Light, the Principal of Life..the link between the soul and YAHWEH (God) to find this Light I followed the Ganges to its source far up in the Himalayas. When I came to the source of the three rivers where our Ancestors took up their first abode, I prayed for YAHWEH to come, and take me in death. Yet a light began to glow out on the waters of this lake, and it moved toward me, and finally stood over my head. A voice then spoke to me saying:..'Blessed art thou oh son of India, the redemption is near at hand. Thou shalt see the Redeemer, and be a witness that HE hath come. Put your trust in the spirit, and follow, and you shall see HIM, and speak to HIM, and worship HIM.'

Next came the Egyptian in front of this Sanhedrin and he told his story:...'There are many distinctions I might claim for Our Race, but I will mention only one, that is...history (of the Adamic race) begins with us. Ours is the privilege to claim the first records that tell of the origin of this Race of men (Adamites). It is ours to boast of the first Light of the Holy religion which came from YAHWEH (God) unto (Adam) man. Religion is merely the Law which binds man to his creator. Perfection is YAHWEH (God), and simplicity is perfection. From our mingling of people we have divided God until our values are lost.

Again the men of the Sanhedrin became restless, they had no interest in listening to this story. However the Egyptian still wanted to talk, and he then tells the Sanhedrin how the three had gone to the Palace and asked Herod where this King of Israel was to be born. A scribe standing by is said to have pointed out that it was in Bethlehem where HE was to be born ...'Thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judea, art not the least among the Princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule My people...Israel. At this the three noticed the evil eyes of King Herod resting on this parchment from which the scribe Hillel had just read this famous quote. Herod seemed to be very angry and he remarked that he was King under Caesar and he remarked:..'You Hebrews can be controlled further by fiction than any people I ever saw.' Then Herod stomped out of the room with his officers following him and with a sneer on his lips. But that night the three were laying out under the stars and they thought of how they at one time were listening for the voice of God, and a sign from heaven so as to know what to do. Suddenly came Palace guards to summon them ..Herod wanted to speak with them once more. As they were seated at Herod's feet he asked:..'What question did you put to the officers at the North Gate?' The three men answered:..'Where is HE that is born King in Judea?' 'Oh!' Herod exclaimed:..'I see now why the people are so excited. Is there another king here in Judea?' The three in unison replied:..'There is an Almighty God, and we saw His star, we each had a dream, and a voice told us to follow where the spirit led.' Herod smiled and replied:..'If I were to govern by dreams I might tear the world apart'. And with this he arose and left his throne. The guide led the three men back to the outside, and they left, taking the road recently traveled by Joseph and Mary. Then again came this Light, and it moved forward before them, then hovered over a house upon the slope of the hill near the little town of Bethlehem. The three entered and found the young mother and child. They bowed down and gave gifts to the mother for the child. As they came out of the house the Light was gone, which told them that their mission was ended for that time. The three men told of going back to their own countries and telling their people what they had seen, and how some laughed and some wept for joy, but the old Hebrews that were scattered thru out their countries, each to whom they related these facts held their breath in silence.

And now the three men related that this was their story of what had happened in their life..and now here they stood once more 30 years later before this Sanhedrin and now they asked:..'If ye be masters of Israel here in this Sanhedrin, you now have heard our stories of 30 years ago, and we now ask you:...'Where do we now find HIM..this child of Promise?' The signs of the times are fulfilled, the prophetic word is now complete. In the Oak Woods of Britain, the Druids wait. In Egypt it is the same, where as in Greece they still pause in their philosophy looking, and searching. The world waits for a true God. Here in Jerusalem however you seem to be praying for a king to conquer, not a God to worship.'

A young member of the Sanhedrin stood and cried:..'Where is HE..this child born 30 years ago, have you tried to find him?' Yes, the strangers replied:..We went to Bethlehem and found a village still in mourning. It seems that Herod had slain the youngest of each family...30 years ago, and they tell us that one escaped. But...NO..HE cannot be dead. We believe He is the truth..the only truth. The hills may turn to dust, the seas be drunk with the south winds, but HIS word shall stand. We have seen Him as He promised, but the Redemption, the second promise we have not seen. The Redemption..the work for which 'the child' was born..so long as the promise abides, not death itself can separate HIM from HIS work, until it be fulfilled, or at least it be in the way of fulfilling. This Saviour, we saw was born of a woman, in nature like us, and subject to our ills, even death. But not for Himself, but for us. This the way He is to fulfill Redemption..to die for us. What good is there in the death of a lamb, a bullock, yea, even of the first born. They have no redeeming qualities. The purity of the Law requires a sacrifice as pure and Holy as the law itself. But how long can you live on signs? Where is the sacrifice that can save us all? WE shall see HIM.'

But then what better way to take care of HIM in His young life, than to pass HIM into obscurity? Therefore we say:...'HE is not dead, HIS work is not done, and HE will come to do His work.'

There was a pause, and then the Egyptians spoke again:..'As I sat in my house in Egypt a few weeks ago I thought..this child must now be about 30 years of age. In what city would He begin HIS work and I thought..go back to Jerusalem, for HE will come..I know HE will come. The Redemption will not be for political purposes, to pull down rulers and governments to empty thrones. HE that comes is the Saviour of souls.'

One of the Sanhedrin members spoke up saying:..'I cannot understand this king of a king.' The Egyptian replied:..Do not forget that it is from the very ways of the World (order) that we are to be redeemed from.' But others of the Sanhedrin replied:..'A king implies a kingdom, he must be a warrior ..a kingdom will be a power against Rome.' 'No' replied the Hindoo:..'This is a kingdom on earth, altho not of earth. It is a kingdom as sure a fact as our hearts beat, and we journey thru it from birth to death, without seeing it...as yet.'

From the shadows then arose an old Hebrew Priest and he said:..'Come with me gentlemen, we will go and read of HIM who is King of this Kingdom.' They went to a chamber and the Priest took forth an Ancient Scroll and began to read:...(Quote) 'But thou Bethlehem into thy borders shall a Virgin come, even unto Bethlehem, the least among Israel; yea out of thee shall HE come forth to rule Israel.' Then reaching for another scroll he read:..'Behold the day will arise..unto David..a righteous branch..a King shall reign, and shall prosper, and shall execute judgement and justice in the earth. In HIS days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely. In His day's out of Judah shall come a king, and the Prince of the MOST HIGH shall reign forever. HE was confined in a Virgin's womb until the time appointed, when HE came forth. There was a Light upon earth, and the Heavenly hosts came down to worship HIM. His dominion is an Everlasting dominion which shall never pass away, and HIS Kingdom shall never be destroyed. The Promise of YAHWEH to Jacob was a law under which our people have not ceased to prosper, to multiply even in captivity. They grew under the feet of the Egyptian yoke; the clench of the Romans has been but wholesome nurture to us. Do not speak of the Israelites of Jerusalem as being all of Israel. Jerusalem is but a stone in the Great Temple of YAHWEH (God)..count the many of Persia, the brethren of Egypt and Africa, count the Hebrew colonists in the West, in Britain, and Spain, in the Isles of the sea, even in the regions beyond the Caspian Sea. Those even in the land of Gog and Magog who send gifts yet to the Temple, count them all for you will find an army ready for this King.'

A great commotion then arose in Jerusalem and everyone flocked to see the cause of this commotion, and they found a courier had arrived bearing a letter which stated that a prophet had appeared. It seemed that this prophet had been in the wilderness for years but now the writer of this letter stated that..'We believe that he is a prophet, for the burden of his speech is that he is to prepare the way for 'ONE' who is to take the world by storm. Some people call this man John the Nazarite, the son of Zacharias and say he is sent before the Messiah, and that crowds are gathering on the south bank of the bend in the Jordan River as tho waiting for some great event.

The three strangers who had come hunting the Saviour along with others then go out to the Jordan, and here some of the crowd tell them that this prophet is teaching a new doctrine which the Jewish Rabbis do not like nor understand, that the prophet calls it Repentance and Baptism. This John the Baptist was strange of appearance, with long sun scorched hair, and eyes that show. It was said that he had spent his childhood in the caves with the Essenes. As the people watched they begin to notice that a stranger was sitting close to the waters edge. His undergarment was without sleeves, and reached to his knees. He had on a loose robe of beautiful texture with flowing sleeves, with bands of blue silk, and a girdle of white linen about his waist. His hair was long and wavy, inclined to be a golden color. He wore it parted in the front. His eyes were a dark blue full of softness with long lashes. And as the people watched HE approached the Nazarite, then suddenly a voice came out of the Heavens:..'This is my SON (Issue) Hear ye HIM.' As the baptism progressed the opinions of the people, especially among the Jews was varied. The Jews could not believe that a man in obscurity could ever be king. As for the man from Egypt he fell to his knees and said:..'I thank my God that I have lived to see the day when once more I have seen HIM.' Here at the Jordan he had seen the spirit more white and beautiful than ever, then a dove descended upon the head of this 'ONE', and he had heard the spirit speak.

The day then came when those of the Sanhedrin were told that:..'HE will come to the Temple tomorrow. HE has 12 men with HIM. They are fishermen, tillers of the soil, one a publican, all of the more humble class of men. They travel on foot, careless of wind, cold, rain or sun. Seeing them stop for the night, to see them break bread, reminds one of the Shepherds in their encampments.

One of the members of the Sanhedrin spoke out:..I have a poor opinion of one who has power to convert stones into gold, and yet sees the poor suffer for bread, and then tells them that the foxes and birds are better off than HE here in earthly goods. He has a right to be poor by choice, but I do not admire the spirit, if He prefers poverty over riches for himself, He has small sympathy from me if He does not help when He could do so very easily. Another member spoke up:..'I have no use for HIM..if He stands idle while Rome is destroying Our Temple because people are taxed until they cannot afford to buy the things for sacrifice. I am beginning to think He is a Roman god for of all people He hates the Jews the most. If He expects to find toleration from this Sanhedrin He will have to quit calling us hypocrites, and serpents, while He makes Pilate one of His associates.' Thus spoke some who had no understanding, but the Egyptian, the Hindoo, and the Greek were still fulfilling their work as witnesses, and now they reported what they had witnessed. They had seen HIM cure a man of Leprosy. They saw HIM heal ten lepers, just by telling them to obey the law, that it was violation of law which caused all their troubles. In the act of obedience they would be healed, as he always told them to go show themselves to the Priest as the law requires, and in that act of obedience they were healed.

The Egyptian made the statement that Jesus accounts Faith is the most masterful act of obedience, for Faith in the sense HE puts it..controls the whole of man. He preaches Baptism instead of circumcision. HE was baptised Himself as the Beginning of the New Covenant. He seems to be God Himself, for HE is capable of doing all that God could do. It seems that Circumcision was right for Abraham and his followers, but today it is different for His people. It seems that now Baptism suits them better than Circumcision. The Priest of the Temple then broke in on this witnessing as he said: ..'But does HE not teach that this Temple is no use, that the sacrifices are worthless? Does HE not teach that repentance is worth more than all other things? Does HE not assail our Priesthood, and go as far as to insult them, and call them bad names?'

The Egyptian witness replied:..'I think HE looks upon these things in the Light of the Spirit of God. HE in His wisdom can see the insufficiency of these things. HE can see the unholiness of the Priest, and of the Temple service. HE said that the Priests and Doctors of Law have so interpreted the Scriptures until it is hard for a poor man to live. He is required to give to the Temple service a portion of all he has, and to the service of God a greater portion of his time. The commands have grown so fast that there is not an hour, or a minute of the hour but there is some command to be complied with, so that a man is kept in a momentary dread of his life until life has become a burden, if he serve the God of Heaven. This is the reason so many are becoming tired, and quitting the Temple Worship!' As the Egyptian spoke one might have seen the disquiet of most of the Sanhedrin. They almost gnashed their teeth. The President arose and stated: ..'We must take some action now. If we let this go on our hold on this country will be broken, our priests will have to go into the fields to pick berries; the Temple will be deserted, and Rome will overrun our country.' It was then decided that the High Priest and the Court of the elders would reprimand this Jesus of Nazareth. They would have Him desist from teaching these different doctrines, He must confine Himself to the doctrine of this Jewish Faith, and conform to their interpretation of the rituals as taught by Moses. HE was not to teach Baptism as a sealing ordinance. HE was to cease His condemnation of the Temple and the Priesthood. If HE refused to obey their orders, HE was to be arrested, and brought to final trial, and if the High Court of the Elders, and the High Priest of this Temple deemed HIM guilty HE must be put to death.

The three witnesses...The Egyptian, the Hindoo, and the Greek then quietly withdrew from the Sanhedrin as the Jews plotted their strategy. Their work of witnessing was done, they had done their work well...the enemy had been told altho they did not Hear.

The day finally came when the whole world seemed to be coming to Jerusalem for the Passover, and the Nazarene also would come to Jerusalem. The people were excited for HE came riding on the colt of an ass, and it seemed a strange voice said:..'Hail Master'..and then the people began to chant and to shout...'Hosanna to HIM who comes in the name of YAHWEH', This cry kept up for an hour, as men, women, and children of all the nations and tongues shouted: 'Hosannah...to the son of David.'

As the Messiah moved thru the streets to the Temple He noticed merchants all around selling all kinds of sacrifices, to those coming from a far country who could not bring their sacrifices with them for this Passover feast. The Messiah then offered one more insult to the Priests as HE took up a goad and used it to order these Merchants to leave..saying:..'This is a house of Prayer, not a House of trade.'

The Shammaite school of scribes was enraged that such behavior be tolerated, but the Priests high on the Temple steps were afraid of the multitude that cried Hosanna and wanted to crown HIM..King.

But this was not to be and later in private the Messiah would introduce HIS disciples to the sacrament of simple bread and wine. He told His disciples that this was to be in commemoration of HIS own death. The shedding of HIS own blood for the sins of the world..and as He was talking the one disciple (Judas of Iscariot) slipped away and went to the High Court and sold HIM.

Our Author Ben Eli..goes on explaining as to what happened at that time:..After the supper was over, the New Feast introduced and explained, then Jesus of Nazareth and His disciples went to the mountain to rest and wait for developments. After the symbolic 'Cup of clear water' had played its part then the Guard of the High Priest came and took Jesus of Nazareth ...took THE MESSIAH to the house of Annas. Now Annas was not the High Priest but he was the controlling head here in Jerusalem. Then Annas sent HIM to Caiaphas the High Priest and quickly the scribes and priests of the Shammaite school gathered altho none of the Hillel school of Israel were notified. Here of course of the conduct was set by Annas who had been appointed for that purpose showing the difference in the law of the Jews, and the laws and doctrines of Israel. Annas the leader of the Jews made his pleading and then Caiaphas asked Jesus if He was willing to cease teaching as He had been doing. Jesus answered:..'If you had known me you would have known my Father, but I know who you are...ye are of your father the devil. I do the will of My Father (spirit), and you are of your father the devil and you will do his works.'

At this, the whole court became incensed, and Annas said:..'What need we of further evidence? We have heard His blasphemy ourselves..let us..away with such a Blasphemer...away with HIM.'

A scribe then came forward to read slowly, showing that this had been prepared ahead of time. (Quote)

'To Pontius Pilate..Governor of Judea by Roman authority..Greetings: We the High Court of the Jews find Jesus of Nazareth guilty of the following:

1. Teaching that HE is god which is contrary to the doctrine of the Jews.

2. HE teaches men to have Faith in HIM as we would in God, and that is contrary to the doctrine of the Jews.

3. HE insists on teaching repentance instead of a Holy Life which is contrary to the doctrine of the Jews.

4. HE has perverted the Holy Temple which is forbidden by the laws of the Jews.

5. HE teaches common bread and wine to be used in the Passover which is contrary to the laws of the Jews.

6. HE has blasphemed in the presence of the High Priest which is forbidden by the laws of the Jews.

7. HE most positively refuses to desist from His wicked and perverse ways when reprimanded by this High Court.

8. HE teaches Baptism for Circumcision, which is contrary to the laws of the Jews.

Therefore it is the unanimous decision of this court that HE should die to save this nation from bloodshed, and ruin, to save us from heresy, false doctrine and perverse ways. Signed by Caiaphas the High Priest. The witness from Egypt tells us that as the mob assembled for the crucifixion that Elders, Rabbis, and some of the Sadducees came into the crowd and served as promoters to the rabble, and every so often they would cry:. ..'Crucify..Crucify'...and then the mob would cry the same. The Egyptian witness followed HIM to the Cross and watched as they nailed Him to the Cross, and we are told that after a bit it became dark, then came the earthquake, and as the ground shook people were filled with dread. As the Master was pronounced dead we are told here that at the foot of the Cross lay this elderly Egyptian witness who had seen 'HIS STAR' those 30 some years and had been HIS witness all this time. Now he lay dead there at the foot of the Cross..but perhaps HIS MASTER had said:..'Follow Me.' Here in this report we also read of the demand of a guard at the tomb of Jesus of Nazareth, and the report as to what happened on the 3rd., morning.

The report to Caiaphas was that there first came a great sound as thunder would make, the heavens flashed with brilliant Light and again the earth quaked and reeled to and fro, and it seemed as tho the air was filled with voices, while all around the sepulcher were ones being dressed in shrouds, who shouted and sang praises. Then soon came the women who were friends of the Nazarene and they found the body gone, but two Angels were sitting there and they told them that HE had Risen from the dead. They were to go and tell the Disciples, and this started the chain of events as that report spread. Soon thousands went to the tomb, the crowd then gathered into small groups and some thought His death was a sham, that HE who has been visiting earth for some time. The crowd then went back to their homes as the controversy grew, and one of the guards on duty that night at the Tomb could not be induced to venture out for weeks.

Then came the report that this same Jesus of Nazareth was seen by two of His disciples in a small country town, and they did not know Him until He revealed Himself. They saw no nail prints in His hands, but they knew HIM, and then HE left them. Later it was reported that He came to another disciple and said:..'Reach forth thy hand and feel the wounds in my side and hands, and believe.' This was not necessary for Thomas now knew His LORD and His God. But it revealed the fact that HE was seen quite often after the Resurrection by His disciples. About a month later HE assembled them on a mountain top, and after He had preached to others as well telling them they must show HIS works to all flesh, that HE had died for them, and would prepare places for them and await their coming, a bright Light like unto a fire began to kindle around His feet. The Light grew larger and brighter until it seemed as a bright cloud, and it bore HIM off until HE was out of sight.

Ben Eli in conclusion finished his report this way:..(Quote) 'I would say to the readers of these lines, that I am not disheartened, for I believe that the day will come when the doctrine which Jesus taught will become the ruling doctrine of the world. Just this one precept taught by HIM is enough to change the world:..'As ye would have me do unto you..do the same yourself.' This rule alone 'carried out' would do more good than all the philosophy of the Hillelite school, or the Shammaite laws though by a thousand Sanhedrin. Ben Eli.

One more report to confirm our Authors contention that Jesus of Nazareth was a Historical personage is this next report by Pilate of the arrest and trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.

This report was in the Vatican Library of its 560,000 volumes and our Author had seen and read this report called 'The Acts of Pilate' and he thought it did not add much to the teaching of Christianity but it would be interesting to have a copy for His Library. Thus he set out obtaining a copy of this letter to Tiberius Caesar, the Emperor of Rome. In this Letter Pilate tells of the trouble he has had since he became the governor of Judea. Pilate as he arrived in Jerusalem had ordered a splendid feast prepared and he invited the Tetrarch of Galilee and the High Priest of the Temple and their officers to the feast. At the appointed hour no one appeared. Pilate considered this an insult to him and to his government. A few days later the High Priest came to pay a visit. He appeared to Pilate as deceitful, and pretended that his religion forbade him to sit at the table with the Romans. Pilate described him as sanctimonious, saying that his countenance betrayed his Hypocrisy. Pilate then warned his nation to beware of the High Priest of Judea.

Of all the cities of this country Jerusalem was the most difficult to govern, it seemed because of those who ruled in the Temple. Pilate soon heard rumors about this ONE..Jesus of Nazareth, and he learned that Jesus was more a friend of Romans, rather than of the Jews. Pilate was one day to see this Jesus of Nazareth, and he could not help but notice the difference between Him and the Jews. Jesus with his golden colored hair and beard gave an appearance of a Celestial aspect, and he appeared to be about 30 years of age, and Pilate states that never had he seen a sweeter or more serene countenance which made the great contrast to the Jews mixed in the listening crowd, with their black beards and tawny complexions.

Pilate's secretary was a man by the name of Manluis, he was an Ancient inhabitant of Judea and he spoke Hebrew fluently. Pilate sent Manluis to listen closely as to what Jesus was saying, then report back to him. After this Pilate did not restrict Jesus in any way, in fact he extended to Him his protection, altho it perhaps was not acknowledged or even necessary. However Jesus was at liberty to speak, assemble, address HIS people, choose disciples, and so forth without any hindrance from Rome. This provoked the Jews very much, and it was true that Jesus was hard on them, especially the leaders as HE called them 'A Den of Vipers'.

Pilate received more and more complaints against Jesus and he was afraid the Jews would stone him as they had other prophets. Pilate remember was of Roman and Spanish blood, he was an Aryan, and an official of the Roman Government, but he was a bit hesitant for some reason in summoning Jesus of Nazareth to come to him. Finally Jesus was sent for and Pilate reports that as Jesus came then he (Pilate) felt as tho his feet were fastened to the floor with iron bands, and he trembled in every limb. Then Jesus walked up to Pilate and by a signal seemed to say:..'I am here'..altho He said not a word. Pilate as he became able to speak tried to tell Jesus that he had let Him have this freedom of speech for these three years, but now he tries to warn Jesus that powerful enemies have raised up against him, and they are even blaming Pilate for not stopping Jesus from talking. Pilate tells Jesus that he must be more circumspect and moderate in his disclosures in the future, and even be more tender to these his enemies, or he (Pilate) will have to use the law to stop this liberty he has allowed Jesus.

The Nazarene calmly looked at Pilate and replied:..(quote) Prince of earth your words proceed not from true Wisdom. Say to the torrent to stop in the midst of the mountain gorge, it will upset the trees of the valley, and the torrent will answer that it obeys the laws of nature, and the Creator. God alone knows whither flow the waters of the torrent. Verily I say unto you..before the Rose of Sharon blossoms the blood of the JUST shall be spilt.' (unquote) Pilate tries to assure Jesus that he will protect Him, that his Pretorium would be an asylum day or night for Jesus. But of course this was not to be and Jesus assured Pilate that 'What was written in the Book of the Prophets must be accomplished.' (quote) 'Prince of earth I came not to bring war into the world, but peace, love and charity. I was born on the same day on which Augustus Caesar gave Peace to the Roman world. Persecution proceeds not from me. I expect it from others, and will meet it in obedience to the Will of the Father (spirit). It is not in your power to arrest the victim at the foot of the Tabernacle of expectation.' (Unquote)

So saying...Jesus of Nazareth disappeared from Pilate's sight. Now; a son of Herod...the Herod who had killed the babies in Bethlehem ruled in Galilee, and he would have put Jesus to death immediately, but he was afraid of Jesus for some reason he could not explain. Therefore Herod turned to Pilate trying to find out what Pilate thought of the Nazarene.

When Pilate replied that he thought Jesus was a great philosopher, and it was the intention of Rome to leave Him alone, let Him do as He wished, then Herod smiled maliciously and saluted with ironical respect, and departed. As the day approached for the Passover feast day, Pilate learns that the Treasurer of the Temple has been bribing people so they will cry for the death of the Nazarene. A Roman Centurion had been insulted so as to prove there was trouble. Pilate only had a handful of veteran soldiers here in the city in the midst of this rebellion, and he was unable to control the seditious rabble, as they cried...'Crucify HIM..Crucify HIM'..speaking of Jesus of Nazareth.

The Herodians and the Sadducees hated the Nazarene, and they hated the Roman yoke. Pilate had proposed using part of the Treasure of the Temple to erect edifices for public utilities. The Shammah (false Pharisees) were also enemies of Jesus, and being to weak to act by themselves had joined the Herodians, and the Sadducees, and all three groups now plotted against the Nazarene, and daily caused disorder and confusion in the city of Jerusalem.

Then Jesus was taken, at night, and dragged before the High Priest and condemned to death. Caiaphas then sent HIM to Pilate, and Pilate saying that Jesus was a Galilean, thus stalling events, sent HIM to Herod. But the wily Herod sent Him back to Pilate. The wife of Pilate then came to him and begged Pilate not to touch Jesus of Nazareth for He is Holy. She had seen Jesus in a vision, and Jesus was walking on the water, and flying on the wings of the wind. All the fishes of the lake, and even the tempest were obedient to HIM. Once more they brought Jesus back before Pilate and the mob followed. Pilate asked the people in a severe tone what they demanded and the mob replied:..'Death to the Nazarene'. Pilate asked:..'For what cause?' They replied:..'HE has prophesied the ruin of the Temple, HE calls Himself the SON OF GOD, the Messiah..King in Judea.' Pilate replied:.. 'Roman justice punishes not such offenses with death.' But the rabble cried:..'Crucify HIM..Crucify HIM'.

The only one calm in the midst of this multitude was Jesus of Nazareth, as Pilate sought for ways to protect Him from these relentless persecutors. Then Pilate thought of a ruse..perhaps this would work. It was a custom to deliver a prisoner on such an occasion, and perhaps the rabble would choose Barabbas...the one who had raided the caravans coming into Jerusalem...perhaps they would allow him to be the scapegoat and this would allow Jesus to go free. But the rabble led by the Jews would have none of this. Pilate reminded them that according to Hebrew Law which they now professed to follow...that no criminal judge could pass sentence on a criminal unless he fasted one whole day, and then the sentence must be confirmed by the Sanhedrin, also no criminal could be executed on the same day his sentence was pronounced, and then on the day of his execution the Sanhedrin was to review the whole procedure, and other procedures must be followed after that to see if anyone will testify in the criminals favor. Even on the way to His execution the prisoner has a right to turn back three times, and plead anything new in his favor. Pilate urged all these pleas, hoping it might awe the accusers into subjection but they still cried:..'Crucify HIM ...Crucify HIM.'

Pilate then ordered Jesus to be scourged, hoping this might satisfy HIS accusers, but this only increased their fury. Finally realizing he could not stop this Crucifixion as Jesus had earlier told him, then Pilate washed his hands of the whole ugly situation, testifying that Jesus of Nazareth had done nothing to be worthy of death. After all it was the Life of the Nazarene that these wretches thirsted for. 'LET HIS BLOOD BE UPON US AND UPON OUR CHILDREN!' Matthew 27:25.

The crowd then seemed to roll in moving waves from the Pretorium to the Hill ..Golgotha as the rabble kept up the cry:..'Crucify HIM..Crucify HIM'. As Jesus was thus taken to the hill an air of sadness seemed to envelope Pilate, his guards were sent to the hill with the calvary and the Centurion as Pilate sought to display a shadow of power, and Pilate was alone as he listened to the Clamor from Golgotha.

Pilate reports that a dark cloud seemed to settle over the Temple, and over the city, as tho covering with a veil these dark events. Many were the signs in the heavens and on earth, and Dionysus the Areopagite is reported to have exclaimed:..'Either the author of nature is suffering or the Universe is falling apart.' While these appalling scenes of nature were transpiring there was an earthquake, and after that shaking was over, and aged Hebrew, formerly of Antioch, was reported to be dead. Whether he died from alarm or grief is not known but he had been a strong friend of the Nazarene.

Toward the first hour of the night Pilate tells us that he threw his mantle about himself and went down into the city, and toward the gate leading to Golgotha. The sacrifice had now been consummated, the crowd was returning from the hill altho they seemed to still be agitated, taciturn, gloomy and also seemed stricken by fear. Pilate saw his Roman cohort pass by mournfully, the Standard bearer having veiled his 'Eagle' in token of grief, and he then heard Jewish soldiers murmuring strange words he did not understand. Sometimes as he stood watching Pilate saw groups of men and women who would halt, and look back at the mount, and remain almost motionless as tho expecting some new thing to happen. As Pilate returned to the Pretorium he saw an aged man in a supplant position, and behind him were several Roman Soldiers in tears. The old gentleman then threw himself at Pilate’s feet weeping bitterly. Pilate in his report said he had never seen such a complete division of feelings, both on the extreme. There were those who betrayed HIM and sold HIM, and testified against HIM and kept up the cry:..'Crucify HIM..Crucify HIM', we will have his blood', and then they slunk off cowardly and washed their teeth with vinegar while on the other hand here was this aged man weeping bitterly. 'Father' said Pilate as he regained control of his own feelings:..'who are you, and what is your request?' 'I am Joseph of Arimathea', answered the weeping man. 'I beg you upon my knees..for the permission to bury the body of Jesus of Nazareth.' Permission was granted immediately and Pilate also sent Manluis with a few soldiers to help so the Jews would not hinder.

When a few days later the Sepulcher was found empty and the disciples were saying that Jesus had ridden from the dead as foretold, this report created more excitement in the country. Pilate in his report states that Malciu had placed his Lieutenant Ben Isham and 100 soldiers around the Sepulcher. The men reported that about the 4th., watch, they saw a soft but beautiful Light over the Sepulcher. Then the whole place lighted up and there seemed to be crowds of dead, in their grave clothes, and all were shouting, and filled with joy while all around, and above as well was the most beautiful music ever heard. The whole air seemed to be full of voices praising God. At this time there seemed to be a reeling, and swimming of the earth, and the Lieutenant and many of the men said they felt sick, and faint, and were unable to stand on their feet, and then their senses left them, and when they awoke they were lying on the ground face down. Pilate asked the Lieutenant if he could have been mistaken about the Light? No, he was an officer of the Roman Empire and had not fallen asleep, altho he had allowed some of his soldiers to sleep. When asked as to how long this scene lasted he was told..about one hour. The soldiers did not go into the Sepulcher because they were afraid, as soon as their relief came they all went to their quarters.

The soldiers reported that 'Yes' they had been interrogated by the Temple Priests, who wanted them to say that all this was the results of an earthquake, and all were asleep. They then offered money to the soldiers if they would report that the Disciples had come and took the body away. But the soldiers had seen no Disciples, didn't even know the body was gone until they were told. When asked his private opinion as to who this Jesus of Nazareth really was, Pilate was ready to believe this was no ordinary human being. After all He could change water into wine, change death into Life, disease into health. He could calm seas, still the storms, call up a fish with a silver coin, in its mouth. He did all these things, and even the Jews testified that HE did them, which created enmity against HIM. He was not charged with any criminal offense, nor of violating any law, nor of wrong doings to any individual or persons, all these facts were known to thousands as well as to HIS friends and his foes..therefore (quote) I Pontius Pilate am almost ready to say as did Manluis at the Cross...Truly this was the Son of God.

In closing his report Pilate stated that these are the facts in the case as near as he can give them. Since Antipater Herod had said many hard things against HIM, then Pilate had made this report more lengthy.

The next report our Author records was found in the Vatican library as well, and it was marked..'Herod’s defense before the Roman Senate in regard to his conduct at Bethlehem.

This would be the report of Herod the Great at the time of the birth of Jesus...(Quote)

'Noble Romans...in this case where of I am accused...these Hebrews are of all people the most superstitious and no more to be trusted than the Hindoo (Aryans). They have taught themselves to believe there is but ONE God, and He dwells in a foreign world, so they neither see nor hear him, nor in any way approach HIM by their senses. They believe HE is unchangeable, that HE dwells apart from them, that he manifests himself thru some spirit, or Light, or thunder, or some strange and uncommon phenomena. Since they are so superstitious they can be made to believe anything. As a foundation for all this foolishness, they have a book, and a set of men called Priests who read and expound this book for them. To show how far they may be led, these Priests tell them that thousands of years ago..One man..Moses died, and went where this strange God dwelt. When he had been gone 40 days he came back and brought this book that was written by their God for establishing their government. To prove this whole thing is a forgery, the whole book is only for the benefit of the Priests. The poor have to work continually, and sometimes almost starve to keep the lazy Priests and furnish them and their women with the best of the food, garments and wine. The people are told that the best of the flour and the oil must come to the Temple, to be offered in sacrifice. I often tell them they could keep a thousand Caesars for much less than the upkeep of their God and his Priests.

Here in Judea and Galilee there are all kinds of sects. There are the Essenes, and their garb is of the Levitical type garments. Their tables are their altars, and their meals are their only sacrifice. Then there is the Sadducees, and they reject all the traditions of the (true) Pharisees. As to this great excitement at Bethlehem..three strange looking fellows called on my guards at the gate and asked them where they might find this babe that was born King in Judea. My guards reported to me and I ordered these strangers brought into court. I asked hem where they were from and one said he was from Judea. I told them that I rule the Judeans and under Augustus Caesar. They said that this ONE would rule when I was gone. They told me they had dreamed the same night about the birth of this babe, but I told them the devil played with our brain while we sleep. One of them drew a parchment roll from his pocket and read in Hebrew language:..'Thou Bethlehem, least among the kingdoms of the world, out of thee shall come a man that shall rule all people.' I asked him who had written that and he replied:..'The God of the Heavens.' I asked him where he got the parchment and he said it was the law of the Covenant of the Hebrews. He also said a Star had traveled before them all the way to Jerusalem. I told him that his God was mistaken, that Bethlehem was not a kingdom of Judea. I told them that they were superstitious fanatics, and ordered them out of my presence.'

It seems that the king of Arabia came into battle, and the people of Judea blamed the defeat of the Judean army on the beheading of John the Baptist. But this Herod had the excuse that his act in beheading John the Baptist was for the greater good to the greatest number of people. Herod thus states..the facts are..John the Baptist had set up a new mode of religion altogether different from the Jewish religion now that the Jews ruled in Judea. John the Baptist was teaching Baptism instead of Circumcision. This had been the belief and custom of the Israelites when the Jews took over. According to the Jews way of thinking, since god had appeared to Abraham and told him with His own lips that all you had to do was to be circumcised, and you were a part of Israel such as David, Solomon, Isaac, Jacob and the Prophets, then has God now found that he is wrong, has his wisdom failed him, or is he wavering in his purpose? Isn't this a natural conclusion of a sensible man? This is the way Herod was thinking..and this is the son of Herod who killed the babes in Bethlehem. Thus this Herod said that John the Baptist had no authority from God for what he was doing such as Abraham did. All John the Baptist could say was:..'He who sent me to baptize is true'...however John did not seem to know who really sent him. Herod goes on saying:..(quote) God had ordered Solomon to build the Temple, and made promises to who ever came to that house with his offerings, and his prayers..that they would be heard, and answered:..this had been the place of meeting for the Judeans for hundreds of years. They think this Temple is the next place to heaven.

Now; see the difference:...

1. John the Baptist has no authorized authority.

2. John changes god's place of worship.

3. He changes the doctrines.

4. He changes the mode of applying for salvation.

It was the idea of many of the learned men in Judea that John wanted to be a great man. His appearance however turned many away, and the Jews thought the Temple worship was dying because of his teachings. Therefore Herod said he thought it better to execute one to save many from a worse fate, this was the reason for the deed, it was not done just to please the whim of a dancing girl.

As to what Pontius Pilate says in regard to my cowardice and disobedience in the case of Jesus of Nazareth..I (Herod) will say this in my defense:...I was informed by the Jews that this was the same Jesus that my father aimed to destroy in His infancy; for I have my fathers report as to how the strangers came, and he..since he could not learn who this child was..born King in Judea, thus he had the make children killed. Afterwards my father learned his mother had taken this babe and fled into the wilderness. But as to judging this slaying of the children, if there is a life of happiness beyond this life for innocency to dwell in, those infants as well as the Rachel's should be thankful to my father.

As to Pilate saying that Jesus was a Galilean he is mistaken. Jesus of Nazareth was born in Bethlehem of Judea as the records show. As to citizenship He had none. He was a wild fanatic who had taken up the doctrines of John the Baptist. He had learned sooth‑saying while in Egypt, learned it to perfection. I tried to get Him to show some miracle while in my court but He was to sharp to be caught in a trap. This is my defense..signed Herod Antipas II.

Our Author brings us one more report as found in the old records. There were of course schools of scribes in Jerusalem at the time of The Christ. There was the Shammah school of the Jews and the Hillel school of the Israelites to name two of them, and this report is the Hillel Letters regarding God's providence to the Judean Israelites by Hillel III. Will give you an outline of what these letters report as they are quite interesting. (quote) .....

Now; I am not as of now a follower of the Nazarene who has created so much strife here in Judea. I do not endorse this new doctrine of Baptism, but I also think we should not be hasty in forming conclusions. I hear Peter and John as they preached and I saw as they came out of the Temple..a man laying there, had lain there at this gate for years, but the disciples heard his cry for help. Peter said he had nothing to give but..'In the name of Jesus..the Son of God I say unto thee, rise up and walk'. And the man sprang to his feet and was seemingly sound, and he commenced praising God. This caused a great disturbance so the police came and took Peter and John to prison..saying they were 'Peace breakers'. This has been the custom of the Jews, if something is not done exactly as their Priest thought it should be done, then you are not to do it. But this act of Peter and John with the impotent man..looked like the power of YAHWEH manifest in the flesh. Here was the power the Israelites wanted in order to reinstate their kingdom. This is the power which followed the Israelites in the past which was the mark which distinguished Israel from other nations of the earth. This was the power of Jesus of Nazareth, and because HE did not work according to Jewish rule they condemned Him to death. It was not that His works weren't good, but because HE did not do them according to Jewish custom. Peter preaches a sermon about a Rich man (quote) who had one son. It seems his son had been trying to build a house for a long time. However he was houseless, and exposed to all dangers and much trouble, but he wanted a house, and the more he worked the less he accomplished for himself. The father then wove him a seamless robe, showing it was not made by hands. He presented the robe to the son to show him that he loved him. The son was delighted with the beautiful robe, and accepted with many thanks. There was mutual joy in both the father and the son. The father said: 'I delight to dwell with my children when they live in the manner suited to me, and this robe is all my own work. Be content, and do not soil the robe, for it is so white and clean. A little dirt and filth will contaminate until it will to be fit to be seen. As long as you keep it unspotted from the world (order) it will distinguish you from this world (order), and make you a welcome visitor into the company of all who are dressed in this same robe. However this robe is merely the outward showing of the principles that lives within; these principles are only developed by the outward appearance. Even tho it will be admired by those who will reject it, still they must respect it. They will covet it, but because they are..not like you..this is a cause of envy everywhere.

This said Peter...is the way our God and Father has prepared Holy habitation where our immortal souls may live and be happy thru all Eternity. He gave us this Holy Spirit, to renew and beget within us this Love of YAHWEH so that we serve HIM and obey His commands and bring honor to His Name. Peter then continued:..'All we need do is accept..who will do this? And two or three hundred cried:..'We Will!'

Hillel II then says:..I am going to make a most thorough examination of all these things. If God has provided an easier, and a better plan to save men's souls than this run by the Jewish economy..this buying of sacrifice and so forth..the I will look into it. Peter's way of looking at this situation shows God in such a lovely Light, it makes me lone HIM more.

LETTER NO. II

Hillel in this letter is looking backward in time to the days of Ezra, Nehemiah and Haggai, to the time of the last of the Prophets. Then he says that it has been 500 years, and great changes have come about since some of Israel came back after the 70 years of captivity to begin again a National Existence once more in Old Judea, and Palestine. Israel's acquaintance with the rest of the world was limited in those days. But now as Jesus of Nazareth hung on the Cross there were words written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin nailed above His head. As the Prophets closed their writings 500 years before the Greek was scarcely a known language, was confined to a small corner of Europe. And Rome from whence came the Latin..this was but a struggling city on the Tiber River. Thus we believe that God so arranged the existence of several nations of earth in such a manner so as to promote the recognition, the establishment, and the propagation of true religion, the knowledge, and worship of the true God.

In his reminiscing Hillel recalls that at the time of Abraham the nations generally had fallen into idolatry. But to Abraham..YAHWEH was pleased to make himself known, and to promise he would make of him and his seed a great nation, and thru him and his seed all the nations of the world would be blessed. To accomplish this purpose YAHWEH selected the spot in which he and his family were to be placed, and no spot on earth could have been more opportune for the purpose. The land of Canaan, late called Judea, and Palestine a land about mid way between Asia, Africa, and Europe, on the great highway of nations, equally assessable to all parts of the then known world.

In the time of Abraham this was not known, but Judea was to be the radiating point of the true Faith. Chaldea and Egypt were the only considerable nations in the time of Abraham. At that time there was not such a thing as a written formula for government, or for worship service, this did not occur until the time of Moses. Divine communication was before this confined to individuals. Into Egypt the posterity of Abraham was sent as if to school, not in Divine things but in the knowledge of those things which makes life comfortable.

Then Moses was raised up and schooled to be the leader of those who would in time outline the true religion on earth. This religion would be inscribed in letters:...'Thou shalt have no other god before me; thou shalt not make unto thee any graven images, or the likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or in earth beneath; thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them.'

For this to be realized and carried out then Israel would need to be separate from the rest of the world (order). And with all the seals, signs, and God's special judgments, it took 1400 years to do it, so prone are we to worship the things that are seen instead of the unseen. This is one of the reasons for our desolation. We thought to much of our Holy city and its temple. Always brethren this has been our trouble. To secure this worship of the One true God we were forbidden to marry with foreigners, for this purpose our sacrifices were all offered in one place, and by one family of Priests, lest we wander away and become corrupt by association with idolaters. For this purpose we were forbidden certain kinds of food such as were offered in sacrifice to heathen deities. Whenever we worshiped the true God, obeyed his laws, then peace and prosperity was our life. However when we forsook our God then came weakness, poverty, and subjection to foreign nations as to the lot of Israel. The event which exerted the most decisive influence upon this National existence of Israel was the erection of Solomon's Temple at Jerusalem. The Ark for nearly 400 years was almost the only bond of our national union. It contained the fundamental articles of our nations constitution. It was a charter form God for a nations establishment and independence. It was a declaration of principals which was borne before Israel like a banner proclaiming to the world for what we were to live, to fight, and to die for. It was our confession of Faith, which we held up before the world as sacred, true and vital, for the best interest of humanity, and the only hope of our final success.

Once abandon this and we are lost, disgraced, fallen. On the tables in that ARK there remained age to age as a memorial of the purpose of our national existence; and how mightily it has worked in earth. Once the Philistines took the 'ARK', brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdad. They took the Ark of God and put it in the house of the Dagon (Dragon), set it by Dagon, and the next day behold Dagon was fallen upon his face to earth in front of the ARK of YAHWEH (God)'. They set him up in place, but the next morning Dagon was again face down before the ARK only this time the head of Dagon and the palms of his hands were cut off, only the stump of Dagon remained. Thus is all idolatry to fall before THE WORD of the Almighty. Here in the land of Israel many times strange hands, and the 'true religion' was about to be extinguished when once again the Almighty intervened to vindicate his honor, reestablish His worship and triumph over the threat to overthrow.

The Temple built by Solomon was a splendid edifice, calculated to awaken the curiosity, to attract attention and command respect of the world. It furnished a splendid place of convenience, beauty and dignity for the celebration of our daily sacrifice, and our national rites. It made more interesting our three yearly festivals when all the males were obliged to present themselves before their God. It gave us what we all needed at this time, a fixture to our religion, a local habitation to our religious applications and associations. It connected the sentiment of religion with another no less strong; that of Patriotism, and enlisted both in the maintenance and defense of the National institutions of Moses; and it also led to the formation of a national literature which gave expression to these two most powerful sentiments of the human heart, and came forward to strengthen them in each succeeding generation. Still the Mosaic institutions assisted by the magnificence of the Temple service failed to knock out all 'Idolatry' completely. It sprang up occasionally, and the Almighty allowed the Temple to be overthrown; and His people carried into captivity and His worship suspended for 70 years. However the very measure of Divine severity was the means of establishing the true worship on a more firm basis. Altho Jerusalem was overthrown, and the Temple razed to its foundation, the Israelites carried the TRUE JERUSALEM in their hearts, and so it is today, altho our holy city is no more, yet the Holy Temple of Our God lives, and will continue to live forever. No matter where we roam, we like our Fathers before us, we have had time to reflect upon the cause of this calamity. They had the Book of Moses as their companion in their exile, and were able to read as to what would happen if they forsook the worship of The True God, and they saw the fulfillment of these threatenings and idolatry was forever cured. As they turned back to their God they returned to rebuild their Temple, the daily sacrifice was resumed, and Israel was again in her place. But the children of Israel then fell and once more Israel as a nation was scattered and Jerusalem was in ruins.

The Third Letter:.........

Since all nations of the world lacked the knowledge of the true god except Israel, it was necessary for the Israel nation to extend this knowledge to all the world which was brought about by the following plan:....

1. By the diffusion of the Greek language.

2. By the conquest of the world by the Romans.

3. The scattering of Israel among the nations of the world wherein Israel would learn a new language, and the knowledge of the True God would be infused into a new medium and spread from land to land.

The Great Design of our God was to use our misfortunes as well as our prosperity, and God's purpose of preparing the world for the advent of a higher life, and greater attainments in Godliness. Wherein Israel worshiped in Jerusalem or by the river of Babylon, knowledge of the True God went with them. Jerusalem was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar 500 years before the Messiah, and the remnant of the people carried to Babylon where as the main body had been removed before this. Yet in captivity Daniel rose like Joseph, by early wisdom, piety, and integrity from slavery to be the chief minister of state, and thru him Cyrus was prompted to restore our people to Jerusalem. 50,000 to 100,000 Judahites did not live in Babylon, Media, and Persia 70 years for nothing. The reason for this was that these people were not so far from the paternal hearthstone of the hu‑man (Adamic) race. In this period Zoroaster appeared..a second Moses..availing himself of the Light of true revelation. He taught the theology of Moses, and his theology was so simple and sublime, and so constant, at the same time with the best conception of mankind. It was from Moses that Zoroaster derived the idea of one 'Living God' the maker of heaven and earth. He also brought out this idea of both good and evil spirits.

The Persians then marched west into Greek territory, these same people were warring each other but also they were changing ideas. These Greeks then marched east to the Indus and there was another great mixing of this (Adamic) people, as well as religious ideas under the command of the God of the Heavens, and the Israel religion was translated into the Greek language.

The Fourth Letter:........

Alexander the Great did more in 12 years to affect the future conditions of the world than any man who ever lived. He was used in the hand of God for lasting good to mankind. He received an education from one of the greatest minds that ever lived. Wherever he went Greece went with him. Wherever he went the poems of Homer, the sublime soul of Plato, and the practical wisdom of Socrates went also. Schools of philosophy sprang up in this path, universities and academies of learning came forth. He went to the Euphrates, on to the Indus and into Egypt, and the Greek language came also. As Alexander the Great approached the Holy city the High Priest of Israel went with him. Many favors were shown to the Israelites of Jerusalem. He built the great city of Alexandria in Egypt and invited Judahites to come to live, and a large colony was formed there. The Scriptures were translated into Greek, or Israel would have lost her knowledge altogether. Under Alexander’s program..from Egypt the Israel Scriptures went out to the world.

Rome was growing in the west but it took the Romans 500 years to conquer Italy, then 200 more years passed before they were able to march east, and become masters of the whole known earth. The Roman conquest then reached the Holy land, but the Grecian letters and Roman arms were founded on the mission of Moses, and altho the Romans were said to have conquered like savages, still they ruled like sages, and did not try to change the religious practices of the lands they conquered.

The Fifth Letter:........

The nature of a cause must correspond with the nature of the effect, and certainly be known by it. When we see a beautiful painting we think this is a creation of intelligence. When Aristipuss was cast on to a shore where it appeared there were no inhabitants, he wandered about until he found some mathematical diagrams traced in the sand, and he said:..'Courage my friends ..I find traces of man.' Thus it is with Israel..we see the finger of God pointing, and intelligence has been given to the world. Knowing the past, present, and future men have realized that vice should be punished, for it is viewed with displeasure by the Father. The great men of the old world, poets and philosophers have entertained such opinions in all times. They all take for granted..ONE Superior being, with all other inferior beings as being responsible to HIM.

This is not only the last and highest conclusion of human intelligence, but the counseling voice of the Most Ancient tradition. God Himself is an object of none of the senses, and the wisest of men wanted that authority which was necessary for the propagation of truth. They wanted certainty for themselves, and authority for others. Thus it is 'Certainty' and 'Authority are very things which are necessary to make a religion powerful in the world.

When religion was in the hands of the philosophers (thinkers) it did not guide or restrain mankind, it was only a matter of opinion. Thus a religion..one which shall take hold of faith, and control the conduct of mankind must have 'certainty' and 'authority', but neither can be obtained without Revelation, inspiration, and miracles. Had Moses received no Divine aid even tho he uttered the same truths, and laid down the same precepts it would have rested only on his own reason. No man in high religious matters can have full confidence in himself without conscious Divine inspiration. Thus it was reasonable that being sent of God Moses would lead his people out of Egyptian captivity.

Certain of the existence of a god, yet uncertain of the mode of his existence, it was natural that the human mind should run into a thousand errors. One great source of corruption was the Priesthood. It seems natural that men should chosen to conduct religious services. Thus a Priesthood seemed necessary but there is nothing more dangerous to a nation than to have a Priesthood that is governed by the Political parties of the nation. This was done by all nations except Israel as established at Mt. Sinai. Here the Priest was governed by the laws of Moses and it was impossible for the Priest, or anybody else to change them. Israel in the time of Solomon then was an Example for the World (order).

The Sixth Letter:.......

The mind must think, and the heart must worship, and the soul feels the need of guidance and communion with God. It is necessary for Israel as our daily food. Therefore this religion had its sacred rites by which the heart speaks to God, and God communicates to the heart. In the absence of written records of faith, then ceremonies and form which have conventional meanings become symbolic of certain truths.

The Patriarchal religion of Israel consisted almost entirely of prayer and sacrifice. The Mosaic religion which came with the written form of government and worship added to prayer and sacrifice a written code of duty, a formal declaration of truths and principals which lay at the foundation of the whole Institution.

The Patriarchal elements rested on the heads of families:..'All these words which I commanded thee this day thou shall teach them to thy children, and shall talk to them when thou sitteth in thy house.' And since the written laws were scarce and hard to find it was said:..'And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thy hand, and as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house, and upon thy gates.' With the Levites the people were taught the whole law, and in the Hebrew (Israel) commonwealth then CHURCH AND STATE were closely amalgamated. The code of Moses prescribed a religion and a civic duty. But since books were scarce the Levites were to teach the people of Israel the law of their God. This was then carried out thru all channels of Israelite Life. The Tabernacle in the Wilderness was intended as a perpetual memorial of God, a symbol of His presence. It called the people from idolatry and reminded them that their worship was to be directed to YAHWEH above and alone. Its services and those afterward of the Temple were revealed each morning and each evening so that no Israelite would feel that the duties of adoration and gratitude could be omitted for even a single day. If we transfer these imposing ceremonies to the Temple we find that this House of YAHWEH was the rallying point of Israel's political power, the seat of her religion, and the heart of her National affections.

The Temple was built by Solomon more than 1000 years before the time of Christ's ministry. It was built on Mt. Moriah, in the South East part of Jerusalem, and it was built for worship alone. It was intended as a place of National worship. It consisted of four enclosures, one with another on three sides, but having a common fourth wall. Only one of these was covered with a roof in our sense of the term, this was the Holy of Holies where the ARK, the Cherubim and the Mercy Seat were to be found.

The outer enclosure into which all nations were permitted to enter was very large. The second was called the court of women into which all nations were permitted to enter was very large. The second was called the court of women because women were permitted to go no further. Within this was the Court of Israel surrounded on three sides by the housing of the Priests, and the Great Altar was located here, upon which the daily sacrifice was offered, morning and evening.

But these are all gone, the city, the Temple, the doctrines, the Priests, the law and even the nation of Israel...all gone. Oh! people of Israel, altho you be thousands of miles away, look back to what you once had, for you cannot forget your land, your religion and your God. He is the God of Abraham, and is still merciful, and will remember to keep his promises, his covenant made with our Fathers.

The Seventh Letter:..........

Not only was the expectations of a remarkable personage universally prevalent among the Israelites here in Judea at the time of the appearance of The Messiah..The Christ, but the phraseology was already in use which designated what he was to be and to accomplish. There was at this time a Messianic phraseology derived from different parts of the Old Testament which embodied and expressed all their anticipations. This much was certain...there was a Messiah, there was to be a new dispensation. No one knew quite what He was to be, therefore imaginations ran wild. The Priests interpreted such passages as this from the 31 chapter of Isaiah as connected with the days of the Messiah:...'Behold the days come, saith YAHWEH, that I will make a new covenant with the House of Israel, and with the House of Judah. Not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. This shall be the covenant I will make with the House of Israel..I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it on their hearts, and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man, his neighbor saying..know YAHWEH, for they shall know me, form the least to the greatest and I will forgive their iniquity; and remember their sins no more.' This seems to have been the expectations of the 'Woman at the well', of Jacob, as well as the Universal expectations from Moses on to the Disciples.

Peter in one of his first discourses after the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth cites the promise of Moses to the Israelites just before his death as applicable to The Christ:..'A Prophet shall the LORD thy God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me, he shall ye hear in all things what so ever he shall say unto you.' These were the sentiments of those who had seen the miracle of the feeding of the 5000 with the few loaves of bread and fishes. The men watching this miracle said:...'This is the prophet who should come.' Others thought this great personage to come was to be a king, greater than any who had sat upon the Israelite throne. One of the questions the disciples asked was:...'Wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?' Others were even disputing as to who would be the great est in this restored kingdom.

Nathaniel said:..'Thou art the Son of God, thou art the king of Israel.' In the second Psalm the person described is represented as exalted to be king on Mount Zion..but in Judea? They referred to the second chapter of Daniel:..'In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms; and shall stand forever.'

In Judea as John the Baptist began to preach, the Jews were in control of the temple of the Israel kingdom was no more in this old land, altho there were some of Israel still there. But even Gamaliel and other teachers were a bit confused at this sudden switch from the old covenant to the New. Then John the Baptist said:..'Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.' This Nazarite with his strange manner of dress and his food such as found in the fields and woods was literally, a 'voice crying in the wilderness':..saying 'prepare ye the way of YAHWEH as YAHSHUA make straight in the desert a highway for our (Israel's) God.' Some thought John might be the Messiah.. but no..John told us that he came to introduce the Messiah, to point HIM out to Israel.

Jewish authorities came out from Jerusalem to see who this John the Baptist was, and John told them that he was sent to prepare the Israelites for the great message they were about to receive from their God. John's appearance produced the desired effect, he came as a man of poverty in contrast to the official dignitaries. He must have recalled to the minds of his Israelite countrymen the days when Elijah in a like simplicity, but with great authority stood up as a prophet of God, the champion of their Faith. Some indeed took him to be Elijah risen from the dead, who their traditions said was to come to anoint and inaugurate THE MESSIAH. Then Jesus of Nazareth came to be Baptised, to call attention to the New covenant. John protested still he did as he was ordered and baptism was installed as the symbol of the New Covenant. John informed the people that he would baptize with water where as YAHSHUA (Jesus) would baptize with the Holy Spirit. People came to John the Baptist asking:..'What shall we do?', and John told them:..'Repent, turn in your thinking.' In fact here was the basics of Christianity..'Accept and be baptised.' In this kingdom of Israel which was to be reestablished there was a place for all of Israel, not just those in Judea. 'Think not that you belong to the kingdom of god merely because you are descendants of Abraham'..a discrimination was about to take place here in Judea. (We would say between true Israel and those who only claimed to be). Baptism would be the symbol of this reestablishment of the kingdom of Israel, not the symbol of circumcision which the Jews claimed as their part of the old covenant. Those who now changed their way of thinking could now accept their Messiah.

The Baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist was essentially the same, one into a profession of the belief in the Messiah yet to come, and the other into a profession of belief, in the Messiah already come. John's baptism then began to do what his words had begun to predict..separate the righteous (those of spirit) from the wicked (without begotten spirit) to prepare Israel for Eternal Life, and begin to establish the kingdom of God whose initiatory rite was Baptism. Thus it was said that the kingdom of God came without observation, while men were saying:...'Lo here and Lo there'..the kingdom of God was in the midst of them.

But John the Baptist was thrown into prison for preaching this New doctrine. This good and Holy man lived just long enough to see the rising of this New Dispensation for which he was sent to prepare the way. John became a Martyr for the truth, altho his dying human eyes caught scarcely a glimpse of the Glory that was yet to be revealed.

Now; there is no subject which literature approaches with such difference as the personal character and history of THE CHRIST. There is no theme on which language is found so inadequate and imperfect. A person..in human form with every attribute of humanity except sin, exhibiting perfect goodness in combination with infallible wisdom, clothed with extensive power over physical nature, and a knowledge of futurity at once extensive and circumstantial; the declared end and object of a trial of miracles running back to the very foundation of the world. Himself the beginning and of course a New World Order of things to come, embracing the whole world, and all succeeding times. His doctrine designed to sway the minds of millions, to form their opinions, to mold their character, to shape their expectations, to reign in their minds, and judge their actions, to convict and purify their consciences, and to cleanse them from sin, and prepare them for HIS own society, the presence of God in the spiritual world. What men have thought of the person of Jesus of Nazareth, what HE actually was, did, taught, and brought to pass are entirely different. (Unquote) Then Hillel II continued:...We read of Jesus that immediately after his baptism and inauguration by John that He retired into solitude, where he is said to have passed 40 days in preparation, doubtless for the great work in which he was to engage. He returned to the World (order) to bring forth His New Doctrine which seemed to some a New Religion. Different from everything which had gone before??? No not quite since the program was perfect from the beginning. It was to grow from the Divine mind, and mold things according to its unalterable purpose. The law was given to Israel, thru Moses, but Grace and truth came by Jesus The Christ. The Plan was Divine but such was the ignorance and blindness of much of mankind that it was not recognized. The plan..the system existed in HIS mind, thus how could the new be made to supersede the old? Remember the Israel religion was already there, keep what is sound and incorporate it with the new, and this is exactly what Jesus did. The Israelites understood the meaning of this calling of Messiah..and His being called the Son of Man..as well as the phrase.. 'The Son of God'. Their expectation of the reappearance of the Kingdom was an exciting concept in which the glorious truths of the New Covenant were found in this the Messianic phraseology of that time.

The Ministry of Jesus we understand began in Galilee at the Marriage Feast of Cana where He turned water into wine, and soon multitudes gathered around HIM, Israel was listening.

In the recorded discourse with Nicodemus the famous words:..'Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.' These words need to be read with others such as:..'The wind bloweth whither it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell where it cometh, and whither it goeth;..so is everyone that is BORN OF SPIRIT.' (Unquote) Jesus then passed thru Samaria and held the interesting conversation with the woman at the well, a descendent of Jacob. The fame of His miracles and His doctrine increased until no building would hold the crowds, therefore HE preached from a ship, to the crowd on shore; and from a raise in the ground so His voice could be heard by the multitude.

(Quote)From the Sermon on the Mount Israelites as they listened were cured of their errors. The kingdom of Israel belonged to the humble, the quiet, the contented, they were thus not the wealthy, the political leaders..no.. 'Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake.' This new doctrine of Baptism and Communion was not only for this time of Messiah, which would be short, but here He was choosing assistants to carry on His work after HE was gone. They were to go out into the world (to Lost Israel) and HE chose not those from the Rabbinical schools, that were flourishing there in Judea at that time. Those He called He would teach, for they were not to add anything to what He had taught. Their office was simply that of witnesses as to what He had said, done and suffered. 'Ye shall bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning.' After His Resurrection He said to them:..'Thus it is written, and thus it behooved the Messiah to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance and remission of sins shall be preached in HIS NAME among the nations beginning at Jerusalem, and ye are witnesses of these things. Ye shall receive power after the Holy Spirit shall come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth.'

You then realize that the qualities most necessary to a witness are 'Simplicity, integrity, and courage'. Thru them the world received the Gospel. The more transparent the medium thru which we receive it, the less coloring it takes from the minds thru which it was transmitted. The consequence is that we have the most simple, and childlike narrative that the world has ever read. We do not see the historians at all..we see only Jesus the Christ, His doctrine, His character, His life and His miracles. The Gospels thus were the testimony of the Apostles. Jesus left nothing written, and without their testimony we would not know what HE taught. Peter said:..'We are witnesses of all things which He did both in the land of Judea, and in Jerusalem..of this ONE that they slew and hanged on a tree. This ONE..the Spirit raised up on the third day and He was seen openly, but not by all people, but unto witnesses..chosen before of God, even to us who did not eat and drink with HIM after HE arose from the dead.'

When the Saviour bowed His head upon the Cross and said:..'It is finished' the Gospel was complete..nothing was to be added to it, and nothing was to be taken away from it. The duty of the Apostles was to take it to the world (where Israel was scattered). The comforter..which is the Holy Spirit would teach them all things, would bring to their remembrance whatsoever He had said to them. They would occasionally be instructed as to what to do, but never to preach any new doctrine which had not been taught by THE CHRIST HIMSELF.

It may seem strange to those who are accustomed to dispute about words and phrases that Christ should have left nothing written, nothing which we can identify as the words which He spoke. But we believe we are justified in asserting that no matter what was written it would not have satisfied.. human language being so ambiguous. It is true with Christ's plainest words and instructions. We believe things are thus better as they are..what more competent witness could we possibly have than those who were with Him in His ministry, and at the Cross, who ate and drank with Him after He arose?? What more unobjectionable testimony than that of John who had been one of the disciples of John the Baptist then who saw the inauguration of the New Covenant, leaned on His bosom, and shared His most intimate friendship? As collateral proof, what more authentic than the memories of Luke and Mark who were constant companions of the Apostles, and heard them rehearse over an over the wonderful story of the teaching and miracles of Jesus? Considered in this Light..as human testimony..those understanding the principles of evidence most thoroughly tell us that their evidence is more weighty and satisfactory, and when understood there is no variations one with the other.

Even the words printed above His head as He hung on the Cross seem to be different in their testimonies. John says that the title on the Cross was (YAHSHUA) Jesus of Nazareth, the King of Israel..while the others are slightly different, but the meaning is the same. The first three Gospels have given us The Christ's prayer, in His agony, in the Garden of Gethsemane but each in different words. Yet no man in his sober senses would think of doubting the actual occurrence of that tremendous account. If anything in all the History of the past can be said to bear the native impress truth, it is this whole transaction. (Unquote)

This ends the letters of this scholar Hillel III. For an in-depth study of the agony in the Garden of Gethsemane we suggest that you read the booklet 'The Symbol of the Cup'...from the Sermon by Wesley A. Swift. These most interesting letters by Hillel III were found in Constantinople in what was called the Jerusalem Talmud, but always remember the original meaning of the word Talmud. We feel that this Christian minister back in 1844 recorded in this little book an interesting outlay of the events way back in our history. We must go back to the knowledge of our forefathers and establish truth for today. Hindoo mentioned we would have not understood if not for 'The Round Towers of Ireland'....Interesting? (E.R.M.)