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Misreading Judas: How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time
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Overview
This book received The New Pinnacle Award
The Gospel of Judas is the most important discovery in history. It bridges the gap between Eastern mystic teaching, Gnosticism, and the three Middle Eastern Abrahamic religions, informing all of them. Unfortunately, the Christianity-biased scholars assigned to its interpretation and those who have followed them do not understand it -- at all. They miss that Judas is the gnostic sacrifice, and that there is no traditional orthodox Jesus sacrificed - in the Gospel of Judas or in the Bible. Therefore, they miss the most important revelation of all time: that 'Jesus' didn't die to save anyone, and that he was in truth preceded and succeeded by other Masters of equal stature. Here from gnostic texts that only just recently arose from the desert sands of Egypt, phoenix-like, is the detailed story of how the New Testament canonical 'Betrayal of Jesus' became the inversion of the gnostic mastership installation story of James the Just, first-century savior. The true origin of the Christian message and its nullification of mystic Truth can now, at long last, be fully told.
Connecting verses from the Gnostic Apocalypse of James to the New Testament narrative showing that Judas was James in the Canonical Inversions:
First Apocalypse of James
"I have given you a sign" (NHC 24:10) "gave them a sign" [the "kiss"]
(Matt. 26:48).
"Cup of bitterness to the sons of light" (25:15) "let this cup pass from me"
(Matt. 26:39).
"This is the second Master" (30:25) "Those who seek enter through you"
(Second Apoc. 55:1) "I know whom I have chosen." (John 13:18).
"Then the disciples dispersed, but James remained in prayer" (30:25) "he
withdrew and prayed" (Luke 22:41).
"I am he who was within me" (31:15) "I know whom I have chosen" and
"I am he" (John 13:18-19).
"You have embraced and kissed me" (32:5) "He said 'Hail Master!' and
kissed him" (Matt. 26:49).
"You are aware and stopped this prayer" (32:5) "Sit here while I pray"
(Matt. 26:36).
"The flesh is weak" (32:20) "the flesh is weak" (Matt. 26:41).
"It will receive what has been ordained for it" (32:20) "thy will be done"
(Matt. 26:42).
"A multitude will arm themselves against you" (33:5) "band of soldiers with
weapons" (John 18:3, Mark 14:43).
Also by the author: The Bible says Saviors - Obadiah 1:21 from Xlibris Publishers
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781524627607 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | AuthorHouse |
| Publication date: | 09/17/2016 |
| Pages: | 120 |
| Sales rank: | 649,166 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.25(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Misreading Judas
How Biblical Scholars Missed the Biggest Story of All Time
By Robert Wahler
AuthorHouse
Copyright © 2016 Robert WahlerAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-5246-2760-7
CHAPTER 1
The Gospel of Judas
"Even when all the experts agree they may well be mistaken."
— Bertrand Russell (1872–1970)
No one, whether scholar or layperson, has presented the correct reading of the Gospel of Judas until now. The reason is that Western education is sorely lacking in the teaching of mysticism. Mysticism is the field of esoteric or spiritual teaching concerned with direct personal experience of the spiritual, or the Divine. The ultimate goal of mystic meditation is to merge oneself with God. No intervention is needed, no priesthood. Gnostics were mystics. Salvation from self to union with the Father was attained through mystic practice of His Name, or the esoteric Word, "who is the Son," not by any sacrifice of His. God is not so limited that He needs to sacrifice someone so that others may live. And Gnostic texts must be read as the mystic teachings that they are, not as an offspring or development from orthodoxy.
Judas as "the sacrifice" and as successor James the Just in the Gospel of Judas
Dr. Lance Jenott has one of the latest translations of the Gospel of Judas, so that is what will be referenced for presenting this text. It is universally agreed that the Gospel was originally composed in Greek and then translated into Coptic, before English. We will examine selected passages to rectify incorrect interpretations given by scholars. Where improvements are necessary, they will be noted. Additions or changes to the text are in [brackets]. Having a copy of the Meyer text and fragments (online) or Jenott's book at hand is advised.
The Gospel of Judas begins on page 33 of the Codex Tchacos; hence the notation of page 1 as 33. It concludes on page 58, so it is only 25 pages long.
33:1–6: "The secret discourse of the proclamation in which Jesus spoke with Judas Iscariot [the Word which is Unspoken, given to Judas by Jesus] during eight days prior to the three days before he kept Passover." The Coptic term for "secret discourse of the proclamation" is "Apophasis Logos," Greek loan words meaning, literally, "that word which is said without saying." It is the self-evident expression of the mystic Word, or "Name," of the Lord. It is "spoken" only in the metaphoric sense. It is imparted spiritually from Master to disciple. So much of the mystic message in spiritual writing is expressed in metaphor. If only Western readers would bear this in mind always! These are difficult concepts for us to grasp in even the best of circumstances — under the guidance of true mystics. Try to see beyond the words to the ideas and subtle truths that the authors sought to explain. The Apophasis Logos is the Name of the Lord. He is Word. This is the aspect of His Being that brings about salvation through "gnosis," or personal "knowing" within one's being. This has nothing to do with the written, or even the "spoken," word.
33:6–14: "When he [Jesus, the Apophasis Logos] appeared upon the earth, he performed signs and great wonders for the salvation of humanity. While some were walking in the path of righteousness and others were walking in their transgressions, the twelve disciples were called." Early mention of "passover," "sign," "walking," and "twelve disciples" all figure in tying this Gospel to the canonical 'Betrayal' and the Nag Hammadi gnostic Apocalypses of James, covered in section 2.
33:15–18: "And he began to speak with them about the mysteries above the world and what would happen up to the end." This means the end of their lives, not the end of the world. The world will not end anytime soon.
33:18–21: "On a number of occasions he did not show himself to his disciples, but rather as a child they would find him in their midst." This is not correct. Meyer is correct to note "hrot" may be a form of the Bohairic Coptic word "hort'f" for "apparition." Jesus appears in spirit form in meditation to his disciples "within them," not "in their midst" as a group. Mystic visionary experiences are internal and normally individual.
34:15–17: "Indeed I say to you, no race of the people among you will know me." The disciples are told by Jesus that they are not performing the correct "pious observances" and therefore will not be able to see the inner astral form of the Master.
34:25–35:1: "Your god who is within you and [his stars] have become contentious with your souls." The lesser god of the disciples, Yaldabaoth, is the one within them, and his astral minions (first heavenly aeon or region) are struggling for the attention of their minds.
35:2–5: "Let the [stable or focused] one among you people bring forth the perfect human and stand before my face." This is the first reference to the "perfect human," or inner Master, who will reappear again at the climax of the text, as well as on the next page as the "someone" replacing Judas. "Stand" is a Qumranism for righteousness.
35:10–21: "He [Judas] could stand before him, but not look into his eyes; instead he turned his face away. Judas said to him, 'I know who you are and whence you have come. You have come from the immortal realm of Barbelo, and he who sent you, I am not worthy to proclaim his Name.'" Judas is able to manifest the inner astral form of the Master, Jesus, within himself, but his concentration is not steady. So he cannot "look into his eyes." "I am not worthy to proclaim his Name" is referring to the Apophasis Logos.
35:21–27: "Now since Jesus knew that he (Judas) was considering something lofty [or holy], he said to him, 'Separate from them and I will tell you the mysteries of the kingdom; not so that you may go there, but that you will mourn deeply.'" "You," the counterpoint to the "perfect man" here, is the "lower self" or individual, "Judas." Jesus is telling him that this person, Judas, will have to be shed, and the process will bring some degree of consternation. It isn't exactly "so that" he will mourn or grieve, but just "that" he will. The following lines explain why he will mourn deeply.
36:1–4: "For indeed there is another who will take your place, so that the twelve [elements] shall be complete in their god." Originally, the scholastic team translating and interpreting the text had for this "twelve disciples." Now it is clear that this isn't a reference at all to the twelve disciples, but to the twelve elements that make up the complete human form. The idea here is to replace the lower propensities of the worldly man with the heavenly attributes of the mystic Master. Here we must undertake a brief examination of the makeup of man, as it is relevant to this ancient passage. The best way to comprehend what the Gnostics of the first century were attempting to do is to look into what modern mystics attempt to do: ascend on the Master's Apophasis Logos to the Pleroma (see also John 1:51). Bear in mind that the terminology of modern mystics will be different and just as novel to the non-initiate.
With all due respect to a bright young scholar, Lance Jenott has the timing of this passage and the one he says produced it reversed. In what we will see is a persistent assumption made by scholars, Jenott assumes that the counterpart story in the New Testament canon, in this case the Acts 1 replacement of Judas by Matthias bringing the number of disciples back to the original twelve, has to be what this author had in mind in the Gospel of Judas. It does not have to be so, and it will prove difficult, if not impossible, for the Gnostic story of replacement to have originated in Acts. First of all, Matthias is not mentioned in the Gospel of Judas, and he should have been, given the curious use of the word "someone" in the passage. What's wrong with "Matthias will replace you ..."? Secondly, there is no mention of the replacement of Judas in any New Testament Gospel; it occurs only in Acts, written in the second century. In fact, earlier, in Paul's letters, there isn't even any mention of Judas! It is quite possible that there was no Matthias when the Gospel of Judas was composed. Is it possible that there was no "traitor" Judas as well? We have no terminus a quo (earliest date possible) for the Gospel's composition in the original Greek, and, as noted earlier, it is possible that the final peripheral line about handing over Jesus for money was a later Christianizing gloss.
To provide some idea of what the "elements" might be, we turn to Swami Ji and his description of the heavenly stages through which the soul (Jiva) descends to this world and may then return after encountering a Master (Sat Guru). Paul refers to the first three of these in 2 Corinthians 12:2–4, and Jesus also mentions them in John 14:2. This is necessary to give the full picture of what the first-century Gnostics were addressing in the Gospel of Judas and in other texts from Nag Hammadi. Consider this our modern version of the Rosetta Stone for unpacking the teachings of the first-century Gnostics.
A succinct treatment of modern mystic teaching is found in Swami Ji's Sar Bachan. Swami Ji Maharaj is the affectionate name given by disciples to the great Param Sant (Highest Master) Seth Shiv Dayal Singh (1818–1878), of Agra, India. The teachings are called "Sant Mat," or "Teachings of the Saints." It can be found in entirety online here: http://www.scribd.com/ doc/30633238/The-Sar-Bachan-Prose-Swami-Ji-Maharaj#scribd
In the following excerpts, italics are original, and bracketed explanatory notes are my own.
This world is perishable and so are all worldly things. The wise man is he who realizes the transitory and illusory nature of this world and all things pertaining to it, and makes best use of this body by worshiping the Supreme Being, through Bhajan [hearing the "Word"] and Simran [repetition, mental devotion, using names of the archons]. He thus derives benefit from all that the Creator, through His grace, has placed in the body, and takes that priceless jewel, the essence of all — the Surat (the soul) to its real abode.
1. [The soul] has descended from the highest planes of Sat Nam and Radha Swami [the Lord]. But it has become entangled here by the mind [and senses and] now has no recollection of its real home. It finds itself so far away from that home it is very difficult to return to it without the grace of a perfect Sat Guru [Master, or "savior"].
What man should do now, is to take the Surat back to its source and real treasure house, Sat Nam and Radha Swami. Till this is done, one is not free from the pains and pleasures of this world. ...
Now, a description is given of the descent of the soul, and this will show how high and far is its Original Home. ...
11. The first and foremost region, which is the highest and the largest, which cannot even be called a stage or a region, is that of Radha Swami, Anami (Nameless), or Alek (Indescribable).
16. There are Five Melodies or Sounds [the "Five Seals" in Nag Hammadi's Trimorphic Protennoia and Gospel of the Egyptians] which can be made known to us by a perfect Master or Sat Guru. [Each region has its own distinctive Sound and its own characteristic secret — hence, "apophasis," meaning "said but not spoken." The five Shabds, or gnostic "Seals," mark the five regions. It is by "riding," or attaching oneself to the Dhun (Sound) of each region that the soul can, by degrees, ascend from one region to another, up to the highest stage. See John 1:51, 14:31, and "Jacob's Ladder."] The ascent of the spirit is not possible in any other way, especially in this age of Kali Yuga [the fourth and spiritually lowest of the four cyclical divisions of time in the Hindu tradition].
18. Like the six superior or heavenly regions from Sat Lok down to Sahasdal Kamal [depending on whether or not vast Sat Lok is even considered to be a "region"] there are six lower or physical regions below them in Pinda, which are in reality reflections of the heavenly regions. [All of them relate to Pinda, or the physical body, while the six superior regions are related to Brahmand — the heavenly regions — and beyond it. These are the twelve "regions," or "twelve realms of the twelve lights," in which reside the twelve "elements" of Judas in the Gospel of Judas 36:1–3 and 49:19.]
Now, with a modern mystic perspective in mind, we can return to the Gospel of Judas:
36:11–17: "When morning came, he appeared to his disciples, and they said to him, 'Teacher, where did you go and what did you do after you left us?' And Jesus replied to them, 'I went to another great and holy race [the Adamic generation in the highest heaven].'" Bart Ehrman, Professor at UNC, Chapel Hill, says that the reason Jesus was "betrayed," or handed over, by Judas was so that he could be freed from the constraints of his physical body. This passage, as Karen King and Elaine Pagels point out, is proof that he didn't need the help. This is a major flaw in the consensus faction's reasoning for why Jesus had to be "sacrificed" according to Gnostic reckoning. The consensus faction of scholars, Bart Ehrman, et al., is set against the "revisionist" faction, led by Louis Painchaud and April DeConick — arguing for the "good Judas" and the "bad Judas," respectively. There really is no scholarly 'consensus.' There is a split.
36:17–37:16: "His disciples said to him, 'Lord, what is this great race that is more exalted than us, and holy, and not in these realms [italics added — proof that Jesus is not constrained by physical limitations of his body]?' Now when Jesus heard this he laughed and said to them, 'Why are you pondering in your heart about the strong and holy race? Indeed I say to you, no one born of this realm will see [that] race; nor will any angelic army of the stars rule over that race; nor will any mortal human offspring be able to join it. For [that race] is not from [...]. But it is from the race of [the great] people [...], powerful authorities [...], nor any powers [of the realms] in which you are the kings." In spite of the lacunae, this is clearly the 'race' of the exalted redeemed.
37:21–44:14: The disciples relate a vision they have seen, and the scholars who have interpreted this are, for the most part, correct. Jesus says the ones they see debasing themselves and sacrificing animals are themselves — archetypal stand-ins for the apostolic church leaders that the Gnostics opposed. The "pillar of fire" that "falls quickly" (42:19) is in reference to the Mosaic passage in Exodus, where the pillar of fire that blocks the Egyptian charioteers at the Red Sea crossing is a salvific term. Similarly, the Adamic race will thereby be made immune to ill fate. ("They will not be moved by their stars" — 42:21–22.)
Exodus 14:24-25 says that "in morning watch" [3:00–6:00 a.m.] "the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down upon the host of the Egyptians and discomfited the Egyptians, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily." This is an extremely deep spiritual message. According to Dr. Randolph Stone, the Egyptians are a symbol for the mind, and the chariot wheels are symbolic of the chakras (mentioned in Sar Bachan 18–24 above). They "drove heavily" because the devotions of the Israelites in early morning meditation overcame (clogged) their lower energy-center desires. (Wheels, as in Ezekiel's fanciful visions with eyes and sparks of light, are a common symbol for these subtle internal energy centers.) The devotees were able to harness this psychic power to allow them to cross the Red Sea of passions, thus gaining entrance to "the Promised Land." The Master's "strong east wind" (14:21) is an analogy for the "Pneuma," or "wind of the Spirit" (same as in John 3:8 and the Nicodemus story of initiation). This wind holds back the waters until all are safely across. "Thus the Lord saved Israel that day from the hand of the Egyptians [their mind, their own desires]" (14:30). Every detail is symbolic — as in all other Old Testament, or Tanak, metaphoric lessons — of the devotee becoming self-realized. The manna in the desert, for another example, collected before dawn, before it could "melt", is the Logos, or Word, manifested within at the single eye and heard by concentration with the hearing faculty of the devotee, the Surat. The same pre-dawn time of day is noted in the 'walking on water' metaphor for meditation in Matthew ("Fourth Watch"-14:25). In 1 Samuel 3:10, the Lord "doing a thing in Israel, at which the two ears of everyone hearing it will [ring]" is also the hearing of the Word, Name of the Lord, or Apophasis Logos in meditation.
42:22–44:14: "After Jesus said this he left and [took Judas] Iscariot with him. He said to him, 'The water from the lofty mountain is [from] [...]" No doubt, this is "from the Lord" or similar: "But it came to water the garden of god and the [fruit] that will endure" (42:6–8). "Water" is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and "fruit" is the Adamic race of devotees. "Their souls will live and they will be taken up" (42:21–23). "'Indeed I say to you [pl.], [no ruler], no angel, [nor] power will be able to see those (realms) that [the great], holy race [will see].' And after Jesus said this he left" (44:8–14).
44:15–45:2: "Judas said, 'Teacher, just as you listened to all of them, now listen to me. For I have seen a great vision.' But when Jesus heard this he laughed. He said, 'Why are you so worked up, you thirteenth daimon? If you speak too, I shall bear with you.' Judas said to him, 'I saw myself in the vision. The twelve disciples were stoning me. They're chasing me [rapidly]. Yet then I came to the place where [I had followed] you.'" Much has been made of the reference here to "daimon." It could read either "spirit" or "demon." Some have said this belies the possibility that he is a good demon, but forever condemned. It doesn't — even if the "demon" is the bad kind, as this author thinks. This is a story of a transforming Judas. He is being "replaced by someone" — his Master (36:1), not Matthias.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Misreading Judas by Robert Wahler. Copyright © 2016 Robert Wahler. Excerpted by permission of AuthorHouse.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction, vii,I The Gospel of Judas, 1,
II The Nag Hammadi Library, 24,
III The New Testament: The Gospels as a Cover-Up of Mastership Succession, 58,
IV Other Sources of Support for Mystic Readings of Scripture, 81,
Conclusion, 87,
Summary, 93,
Bibliography, 101,
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