“God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”(John 3:16).
Jesus Christ- The Son of God, God, who appeared in the flesh, who took upon Himself the sin of man, by His sacrificial death made his salvation possible. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is called Christ, or Messiah (χριστός, μεσσίας), the son (υἱός), the son of God (υἱὸς θεοῦ), the son of human (ἱὸνθρώπου), the lamb (ἀμνός, ἀρνίον), the Lord (κ Ukrainian) παῖς Θεοῦ), Son of David (υἱὸς Δαυίδ), Savior (Σωτήρ), etc.
Testimonies of the Life of Jesus Christ:
- canonical gospels ( )
- individual sayings of Jesus Christ that were not included in the canonical Gospels, but are preserved in other New Testament books (Acts and Epistles of the Apostles), as well as in the writings of ancient Christian writers.
- a number of texts of Gnostic and non-Christian origin.
By the will of God the Father and out of compassion for us, sinful people, Jesus Christ came into the world and became a man. By His word and example, Jesus Christ taught people how to believe and live in order to become righteous and worthy of the title of children of God, participants in His immortal and blessed life. To cleanse our sins and overcome, Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose again on the third day. Now, as the God-man, He is in heaven with His Father. Jesus Christ is the head of the Kingdom of God founded by Him, called the Church, in which believers are saved, guided and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Before the end of the world, Jesus Christ will come to earth again to judge the living and the dead. After that, His Kingdom of Glory will come, a paradise in which the saved will rejoice forever. So it is foretold, and we believe it will be so.
How we waited for the coming of Jesus Christ
AT The greatest event in the life of mankind is the coming to earth of the Son of God. God has been preparing people for it, especially the Jewish people, for many millennia. From among the Jewish people, God put forward prophets who predicted the coming of the Savior of the world - the Messiah, and by this laid the foundation of faith in Him. In addition, God for many generations, starting from Noah, then - Abraham, David and other righteous people, pre-cleansed that bodily vessel from which the Messiah was to take flesh. So, finally, the Virgin Mary was born, Who was worthy to become the Mother of Jesus Christ.
At the same time, God and political events ancient world directed to ensure that the coming of the Messiah was successful and that His grace-filled Kingdom spread widely among people.
So, by the time of the coming of the Messiah, many pagan peoples became part of a single state - the Roman Empire. This circumstance made it possible for the disciples of Christ to travel freely throughout all the countries of the vast Roman Empire. The widespread use of one common Greek language helped Christian communities scattered over great distances to maintain contact with each other. The Gospels and the Apostolic Epistles were written in Greek. As a result of the rapprochement of the cultures of various peoples, as well as the spread of science and philosophy, beliefs in pagan gods were severely undermined. People began to yearn for satisfactory answers to their religious questions. Thinking people of the pagan world understood that society was reaching a hopeless dead end and began to express the hope that the Transformer and Savior of mankind would come.
The earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ
D For the birth of the Messiah, God chose the pure virgin Mary, from the family of King David. Mary was an orphan and was cared for by Her distant relative, the elderly Joseph, who lived in Nazareth, one of the small towns in the northern part of the Holy Land. The Archangel Gabriel, having appeared, announced to the Virgin Mary that She had been chosen by God to become the Mother of His Son. When the Virgin Mary humbly agreed, the Holy Spirit descended on Her, and She conceived the Son of God. The subsequent birth of Jesus Christ took place in the small Jewish town of Bethlehem, in which King David, the ancestor of Christ, had previously been born. (Historians attribute the time of the birth of Jesus Christ to 749-754 years from the founding of Rome. The accepted chronology “from the Nativity of Christ” begins from 754 years from the founding of Rome).
The life, miracles and conversations of the Lord Jesus Christ are described in four books called the Gospels. The first three Evangelists, Matthew, Mark and Luke, describe the events of His life, which took place mainly in Galilee - in the northern part of the Holy Land. The Evangelist John, on the other hand, supplements their narratives by describing the events and conversations of Christ, which took place mainly in Jerusalem.
Film "CHRISTMAS"
Until the age of thirty, Jesus Christ lived with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, in Nazareth, in the house of Joseph. When He was 12 years old, He went with His parents to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover and stayed in the temple for three days, talking with the scribes. Nothing is known about other details of the Savior's life in Nazareth, except that He helped Joseph carpentry. As a man, Jesus Christ grew and developed naturally like all people.
In the 30th year of his life, Jesus Christ received from the prophets. John's baptism in the Jordan River. Before beginning His public ministry, Jesus Christ went into the wilderness and fasted for forty days, being tempted by Satan. Jesus began his public ministry in Galilee by choosing 12 apostles. The miraculous transformation of water into wine, performed by Jesus Christ at the wedding in Cana of Galilee, strengthened the faith of His disciples. After that, after spending some time in Capernaum, Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover. Here, for the first time, He aroused the enmity of the elders of the Jews, and especially of the Pharisees, by driving the merchants out of the temple. After Easter, Jesus Christ called His apostles together, gave them the necessary instruction, and sent them to preach the approach of the Kingdom of God. Jesus Christ himself also traveled the Holy Land, preaching, gathering disciples and spreading the doctrine of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus Christ revealed His divine mission to many miracles and prophecies. Soulless nature unconditionally obeyed Him. So, for example, at His word the storm stopped; Jesus Christ walked on water as on dry land; having multiplied five loaves and several fishes, He fed a crowd of many thousands; He once turned water into wine. He raised the dead, cast out demons, and healed countless sick people. At the same time, Jesus Christ avoided human glory in every possible way. For His need, Jesus Christ never resorted to His almighty power. All His miracles are imbued with deep compassion to people. The greatest miracle of the Savior was His own Sunday from the dead. This resurrection He defeated the power of death over people and initiated our resurrection from the dead, which will take place at the end of the world.
Evangelists wrote down many predictions Jesus Christ. Some of them were already fulfilled during the life of the Apostles and their successors. Among them: predictions about the denial of Peter and the betrayal of Judas, about the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ, about the descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles, about the miracles that the apostles will perform, about persecution for the faith, about the destruction of Jerusalem, etc. Some prophecies of Christ related to the last times are beginning to be fulfilled, for example: about the spread of the Gospel throughout the world, about the corruption of people and about the cooling of faith, about terrible wars, earthquakes, etc. Finally, some prophecies, such as, for example, about the general resurrection of the dead, about the second coming of Christ, about the end of the world and about the terrible judgment, have yet to be fulfilled.
By His power over nature and His foresight of the future, the Lord Jesus Christ testified to the truth of His teaching and that He really is the Only Begotten Son of God.
The public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ continued for more than three years. The chief priests, scribes, and Pharisees did not accept His teaching and, envious of His miracles and success, looked for an opportunity to kill Him. Finally such an opportunity presented itself. After the resurrection of the four-day Lazarus by the Savior, six days before Easter, Jesus Christ, surrounded by the people, solemnly, as the son of David and the king of Israel, entered Jerusalem. The people gave Him royal honors. Jesus Christ went straight to the temple, but when he saw that the high priests had turned the house of prayer into a "den of thieves," he expelled all the merchants and money changers from there. This aroused the wrath of the Pharisees and the chief priests, and at their meeting they decided to destroy Him. Meanwhile, Jesus Christ spent whole days teaching the people in the temple. On Wednesday, one of His twelve disciples, Judas Iscariot, invited the members of the Sanhedrin to secretly betray their Master for thirty pieces of silver. The chief priests happily agreed.
On Thursday, Jesus Christ, desiring to celebrate the Passover with His disciples, left Bethany for Jerusalem, where His disciples Peter and John prepared a large room for Him. Appearing here in the evening, Jesus Christ showed His disciples the greatest example of humility, washing their feet, which the servants of the Jews usually did. Then, lying down with them, He celebrated the Passover of the Old Testament. After the supper, Jesus Christ established the New Testament Pascha - the sacrament of the Eucharist or Communion. Taking the bread, He blessed it, broke it, and, giving it to the disciples, said: Take, eat (eat): this is my body, which is given for you," then, taking the cup and giving thanks, gave it to them and said: " Drink from it all, for this is My Blood of the New Testament, which is shed for many, for the remission of sins.» After that, Jesus Christ spoke to His disciples for the last time about the Kingdom of God. Then He went to the garden of Gethsemane and, accompanied by three disciples - Peter, James and John, went deep into the garden and, falling to the ground, prayed to His Father until bloody sweat that the cup of suffering that was coming to Him would pass.
At this time, a crowd of armed servants of the high priest, led by Judas, burst into the garden. Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. While the high priest Caiaphas was calling the members of the Sanhedrin, the soldiers took Jesus to the palace of Annas (Ananas); From there He was led to Caiaphas, where His judgment was already held late at night. Although many false witnesses were called, no one could point to such a crime for which Jesus Christ could be sentenced to death. However, the death sentence took place only after Jesus Christ recognized himself as the Son of God and the Messiah. For this, Christ was formally accused of blasphemy, for which, according to the law, the death penalty followed.
On Friday morning, the high priest went with the members of the Sanhedrin to the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, to confirm the verdict. But Pilate at first did not agree to do this, not seeing in Jesus a guilt worthy of death. Then the Jews began to threaten Pilate with a denunciation of him to Rome, and Pilate approved the death sentence. Jesus Christ was given to the Roman soldiers. Around 12 noon, along with two thieves, Jesus was taken to Golgotha - a small hill on the western side of the Jerusalem wall - and there he was crucified on the cross. Jesus Christ meekly accepted this execution. It was noon. Suddenly the sun went dark, and darkness spread over the earth for three whole hours. After that, Jesus Christ loudly called out to the Father: “My God, My God, why did You leave Me!” Then, seeing that everything had been fulfilled according to the Old Testament prophecies, He exclaimed: Done! My Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit! and, bowing His head, gave up his spirit. Terrible signs followed: the veil in the temple was torn in two, the earth shook, the stones disintegrated. Seeing this, even a pagan - a Roman centurion - exclaimed: Truly He was the Son of God.» No one doubted the death of Jesus Christ. Two members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph and Nicodemus, secret disciples of Jesus Christ, received permission from Pilate to remove His body from the cross and buried Joseph in the tomb near Golgotha, in the garden. The members of the Sanhedrin ensured that the body of Jesus Christ was not stolen by His disciples, sealed the entrance and set up guards. Everything was done hastily, since the Easter holiday began in the evening of that day.
On Sunday (probably April 8th), the third day after His death on the cross, Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead and left the tomb. After that, an angel descended from heaven rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb. The first witnesses of this event were the soldiers guarding the tomb of Christ. Although the soldiers did not see Jesus Christ risen from the dead, they were eyewitnesses to the fact that when the Angel rolled away the stone, the tomb was already empty. Frightened by the Angel, the soldiers fled. Mary Magdalene and other myrrh-bearing women, who went to the tomb of Jesus Christ before dawn to anoint the body of their Lord and Teacher, found the tomb empty and were honored to see the Resurrected Himself and hear from Him a greeting: “ Rejoice!» In addition to Mary Magdalene, Jesus Christ appeared to many of His disciples in different time. Some of them even got to feel His body and make sure that He is not a ghost. For forty days, Jesus Christ talked several times with His disciples, giving them final instructions.
On the fortieth day, Jesus Christ, in view of all His disciples, ascended to heaven from the Mount of Olives. As we believe, Jesus Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father, that is, he has one authority with Him. Secondly, He will come to earth before the end of the world, so that judge the living and the dead, after which His glorious and eternal Kingdom will begin, in which the righteous will shine like the sun.
About the Appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ
The Saints the apostles, writing about the life and teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ, did not mention anything about His appearance. For them, the main thing was to capture His spiritual appearance and teaching.
In the Eastern Church there is a tradition about " miraculous image» Savior. According to him, the artist sent by the King of Edessa Abgar several times unsuccessfully tried to sketch the face of the Savior. When Christ, having called the artist, applied his canvas to His face, His face was imprinted on the canvas. Having received this image from his artist, King Abgar was healed of leprosy. Since then, this miraculous image of the Savior has been well known in the Eastern Church, and copies-icons have been made from it. The ancient Armenian historian Moses of Khorensky, the Greek historian Evargy and St. John of Damascus.
In the Western Church there is a tradition about the image of St. Veronica, who gave the Savior going to Calvary a towel to wipe His face. An imprint of His face was left on the towel, which later fell to the west.
In the Orthodox Church, it is customary to depict the Savior on icons and frescoes. These images do not seek to convey exactly His appearance. They are more like reminders symbols, raising our thought to the One Who is depicted on them. Looking at the images of the Savior, we remember His life, His love and compassion, His miracles and teachings; we remember that He, as omnipresent, abides with us, sees our difficulties and helps us. This sets us up to pray to Him: “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on us!”
The face of the Savior and His whole body were also imprinted on the so-called "," - a long canvas, in which, according to legend, the body of the Savior taken from the cross was wrapped. The image on the shroud was seen only relatively recently with the help of photography, special filters and a computer. Reproductions of the face of the Savior, made according to the Shroud of Turin, have a striking resemblance to some ancient Byzantine icons (sometimes coinciding at 45 or 60 points, which, according to experts, cannot be accidental). Studying the Shroud of Turin, experts came to the conclusion that a man of about 30 was imprinted on it, 5 feet, 11 inches tall (181 cm - much taller than his contemporaries), slender and strong build.
Bishop Alexander Mileant
What Jesus Christ taught
From the book of Protodeacon Andrei Kuraev “Tradition. Dogma. Rite."
Christ did not perceive Himself as merely a Teacher. Such a Teacher who bequeaths to people a certain "Teaching" that can be carried around the world and through the ages. He not so much "teaches" as "saves". And all of His words are related to how exactly this “salvation” event is related to the mystery of His own Life.
Everything that is new in the teaching of Jesus Christ is connected only with the mystery of His Own Being. One God has already been preached by the prophets, and monotheism has long been established. Can it be said about the relationship between God and man in words higher than the prophet Micah did: “Man! told you what is good and what the Lord requires of you: to act justly, to love works of mercy, and to walk humbly before your God” (Micah 6:8)? In the moral preaching of Jesus, practically any of its positions can be referred to as "parallel passages" from the books of the Old Testament. He makes them more aphoristic, accompanies them with amazing and amazing examples and parables - but in His moral teaching there is nothing that would not be contained in the Law and the Prophets.
If we carefully read the Gospels, we will see that the main subject of Christ's preaching is not calls for mercy, for love, or for repentance. The main object of Christ's preaching is Himself. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6), “Believe in God, and believe in Me” (John 14:1). “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12). “I am the bread of life” (John 6:35). “No one comes to the Father, only by Me” (John 14:6); “Search the Scriptures; they testify of Me” (John 5:39).
What place in the ancient scriptures does Jesus choose to preach in the synagogue? “Not prophetic calls for love and purity. “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for the Lord hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor” (Isaiah 61:1-2).
Here is the most disputed passage in the Gospel: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me” (Matthew 10:37-38). It does not say here - "for the sake of truth" or "for the sake of Eternity" or "for the sake of the Way". "For me".
And this is by no means an ordinary relationship between a teacher and a student. No teacher claimed so completely to power over the souls and destinies of his students: “He who saves his soul will lose it; but he who loses his life for my sake will save it” (Matthew 10:39).
Even at the Last Judgment, the division is made according to people's attitude towards Christ, and not just according to their degree of observance of the Law. “What have they done to me…” - To me, not to God. And the judge is Christ. In relation to Him there is a division. He doesn't say, "You were merciful and therefore blessed," but, "I was hungry and you gave Me food."
Justification at the Judgment will require, in particular, not only an internal, but also an external, public appeal to Jesus. Without the visibility of this connection with Jesus, salvation is impossible: but whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before my Father in heaven” (Matthew 10:32-33).
Confessing Christ before people can be dangerous. And the danger will not be for preaching love or repentance, but for preaching about Christ Himself. “Blessed are you when they reproach you and persecute you and slander you in every way for me(Matthew 5:11). “And they will lead you to rulers and kings for me” (Mt 10:18). “And you will be hated by all for my name; whoever endures to the end will be saved” (Mt 10:22).
And the reverse: “Whoever receives one such child in my name he receives me” (Mt 18:5). It doesn't say "in the name of the Father" or "for the sake of God." In the same way, Christ promises His presence and help to those who will gather not in the name of the “Great Unknowable”, but in His name: “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them” (Mt 18:20).
Moreover, the Savior clearly indicates that this is precisely the novelty of the religious life that he brought: “Until now you have asked nothing in my name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete” (John 16:24).
And in the last phrase of the Bible there is an appeal: “Hey! come, Lord Jesus!” Not "Come, Truth" and not "Overshadow us, Spirit!", but - "Come, Jesus."
Christ asks the disciples not about what people think about His sermons, but about “Whom do people say I am?” Here the matter is not in the acceptance of the system, the doctrine, but in the acceptance of the Personality. The gospel of Christ reveals itself as the gospel of Christ, it carries the Message of a Person, not a concept. In terms of current philosophy, we can say that the gospel is the word of personalism, not conceptualism. Christ did nothing that could be spoken of, distinguishing and separating it from His Self.
The founders of other religions acted not as an object of faith, but as its intermediaries. Not the personality of Buddha, Mohammed or Moses was the real content of the new faith, but their teaching. In each case it was possible to separate their teaching from themselves. But - "Blessed is he who is not tempted about me” (Mt 11:6).
That most important commandment of Christ, which He Himself called “new,” also speaks of Himself: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” How He loved us - we know: to the Cross.
There is another fundamental explanation of this commandment. It turns out that the hallmark of a Christian is not love for those who love him (“for don’t the Gentiles do the same?”), but love for enemies. But is it possible to love the enemy? An enemy is a person whom I, by definition, to put it mildly, do not like. Will I be able to love him on someone's orders? If a guru or preacher says to his flock: Tomorrow at eight o'clock in the morning start loving your enemies - is it really the feeling of love that will be revealed in the hearts of his disciples at ten minutes past eight? Meditation and training of the will and feelings can teach one to treat enemies indifferently, without affect. But to rejoice at their successes as one's own person is unaccommodating. Even the grief of a stranger is easier to share with him. And it is impossible to share the joy of someone else ... If I love someone, any news about him makes me happy, I rejoice at the thought of meeting with my loved one soon ... The wife rejoices at her husband's success at work. Will she be able to meet the news of the promotion of someone she considers her enemy with the same joy? Christ performed the first miracle at the wedding feast. Speaking about the fact that the Savior took our sufferings upon Himself, we often forget that He was in solidarity with people and in our joys...
So what if the commandment to love our enemies is incomprehensible to us - why does Christ give it to us? Or does He not know human nature well? Or does He just want to destroy us all with His rigorism? After all, as the apostle confirms, the violator of one commandment becomes guilty of the destruction of the whole law. If I violated one paragraph of the law (for example, I was engaged in extortion), references to the fact that I have never been involved in horse theft will not help me in court. If I do not fulfill the commandments about loving enemies, what good is it for me to distribute property, move mountains, and even give the body to be burned? I am doomed. And doomed because Old Testament turned out to be more merciful to me than the New Testament, which proposed such a “new commandment” that subjected to its judgment not only the Jews under the law, but all of humanity.
How can I fulfill it, will I find the strength in myself to obey the Teacher? No. But - "It is impossible for people, but it is possible for God ... Abide in My love ... Abide in Me, and I - in you." Knowing that it is impossible to love enemies with human strength, the Savior unites the faithful with Himself, just as branches are united with a vine, so that His love opens and acts in them. “God is Love… Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden…” “The Law obligated to that which it did not give. Grace gives what it obliges” (B. Pascal)
This means that this commandment of Christ is inconceivable without participation in His Mystery. The morality of the gospel cannot be separated from its mysticism. The teaching of Christ is inseparable from church Christology. Only direct union with Christ, literally communion with Him, makes it possible to fulfill His new commandments.
The ordinary ethical and religious system is the way that people follow to reach a certain goal. Christ begins with this goal. He speaks of life flowing from God to us, not of our efforts to lift us up to God. What others work for, He gives. Other teachers begin with a demand, this one with the Gift: "The kingdom of heaven has come upon you." But that is precisely why the Sermon on the Mount does not proclaim a new morality and new law. It heralds the entry into some completely new horizon of life. The Sermon on the Mount not so much expounds a new moral system as it reveals a new state of affairs. People are given a gift. And it says under what conditions they can not drop it. Bliss is not a reward for deeds, the Kingdom of God will not follow spiritual poverty, but will be co-dissolved with it. The link between state and promise is Christ Himself, not human effort or law.
Already in the Old Testament, it was quite clearly proclaimed that only the coming of God into a person’s heart can make him forget all past misfortunes: “Thou hast prepared, by thy goodness, O God, for the needy to have thy coming into his heart” (Ps. 67:11). Actually, God has only two dwelling places: “I live in the heights of heaven, and also with a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and revive the hearts of the contrite” (Is. 57, 15). And yet, the comforting anointing of the Spirit, which is felt in the depths of a contrite heart, is one thing, and the Messianic time, when the world is already inseparable from God, is another thing ... Therefore, “blessed are the poor”: the Kingdom of Heaven is already theirs. Not “will be yours”, but “your is”. Not because you found it or earned it, but because It itself is active, It itself found you and overtook you.
And another gospel verse, which is usually seen as the quintessence of the gospel, also speaks not so much about good relations between people, but about the need to recognize Christ: “By this everyone will know if you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” So what is the first sign of a Christian? — No, not “to have love”, but “to be My disciple”. “Because everyone will know that you are students, that you have a student card.” What is your main attribute here - the possession of a student card or the very fact of being a student? The most important thing for others is to understand that you are Mine! And here is my seal. I chose you. My Spirit is on you. My love abides in you.
So, “the Lord, having bodily appeared to people, first of all demanded from us the knowledge of Himself and taught this, and immediately attracted us to this; even more: for the sake of this feeling He came and for this He did everything: “For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth” (John 18:37). And since He Himself was the truth, he almost did not say: “Let me show Myself” (St. Nicholas Cabasilas). The main work of Jesus was not His word, but His being: Being-with-people; being-on-the-cross.
And the disciples of Christ - the apostles - in their sermon do not retell the "teachings of Christ." When they go out to preach about Christ, they do not retell the Sermon on the Mount. There are no references to the Sermon on the Mount either in Peter's speech on the day of Pentecost, or in Stephen's sermon on the day of his martyrdom. In general, the apostles do not use the traditional student formula: "As instructed by the Teacher."
Moreover, even about the life of Christ, the apostles speak very sparingly. The light of Easter is so bright for them that their vision does not extend to the decades preceding the procession to Golgotha. And even the event of Christ's resurrection the Apostles preach not only as a fact of His life, but as an event in the life of those who accepted the Paschal gospel - because "the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you" (Rom. 8, eleven); “And if we knew Christ according to the flesh, now we know it no more” (2 Corinthians 5:16)
The apostles say one thing: He died for our sins and rose again, and in His resurrection is the hope of our life. Never referring to the teaching of Christ, the apostles speak of the fact of Christ and His Sacrifice and of His influence on man. Christians do not believe in Christianity, but in Christ. The apostles preach not Christ the Teaching, but Christ the Crucified - a temptation to moralists and madness to Theosophists.
We can imagine that all the evangelists would have been killed along with St. Stefan. Even in our New Testament, more than half of the books were written by one ap. Pavel. Let's set up a thought experiment. Suppose all 12 apostles are killed. There are no close witnesses to the life and preaching of Christ. But the risen Christ appears to Saul and makes him his only apostle. Paul then writes the entire New Testament. Who would we be then? Christians or peacocks? Could Paul be called the Savior in this case? Paul, as if foreseeing such a situation, answers quite sharply: why “you say: “I am Pavlov”, “I am Apollos”, “I am Cyphus”, “and I am Christ's”? was Paul crucified for you?” (1 Corinthians 1:12-13).
This apostolic focus on the mystery of Christ himself was inherited by the ancient Church. The main theological theme of the 1st millennium is not disputes about the “doctrine of Christ”, but disputes about the phenomenon of Christ: Who came to us?
And at her Liturgies, the ancient Church thanks Christ not at all for what modern textbooks on the history of ethics are ready to render Him reverence for. In ancient prayers, we will not find praise like: “We thank You for the law that You reminded us of”? “We thank You for the sermons and beautiful parables, for wisdom and instructions”? “We thank You for the universal moral and spiritual values preached by You.”
Here, for example, “The Apostolic Ordinances” is a monument dating back to the 2nd century: “We give thanks, our Father, about the life that You revealed to us by Jesus, Your servant, for Your Servant, whom you sent for our salvation as a man, whom you also deigned suffer and die. We also give thanks, Our Father, for the honest blood of Jesus Christ, shed for us and for the honest body, instead of the images of which we offer, as He appointed us to proclaim His death.
Here is the Apostolic Tradition of St. Hippolyta: “We thank Thee, O God, through Thy beloved Servant Jesus Christ, whom in the last times Thou hast sent us as Savior, Redeemer, and Messenger of Thy will, Who is Thy Word, inseparable from Thee, by Whom all things were created according to Thy will, whom Thou sent from heaven into the womb of the Virgin. Fulfilling Your will, He stretched out His hands to free those who believe in You from suffering... So, remembering His death and resurrection, we bring You bread and a cup, giving thanks to You for deigning us to stand before You and serve You.” …
And in all subsequent Liturgies - up to the Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, which is still celebrated in our churches, thanksgiving is sent for the Sacrifice of the Cross of the Son of God - and not for the wisdom of preaching.
And in the celebration of the other great Sacrament of the Church, Baptism, we receive a similar witness. When the Church entered into her most terrible battle - into a face-to-face confrontation with the spirit of darkness, she called on her Lord for help. But—again—How did she see Him at that moment? The prayers of ancient exorcists have come down to us. Due to their ontological seriousness, they have hardly changed over the millennia. When approaching the sacrament of Baptism, the priest reads a unique prayer - the only church prayer addressed not to God, but to Satan. He commands the spirit of opposition to leave the new Christian and no longer touch him, who has become a member of the Body of Christ. So what kind of God does the priest of the devil conjure? “Forbids you, devil, the Lord who came into the world, dwelling in people, may he destroy your torment and crush people, Even on the tree, conquer the opposing forces, Even destroy death by death and abolish the one who has the power of death, that is to say to you, the devil ...”. And for some reason there is no call here: “Fear the Teacher, who commanded us not to resist evil by force” ...
And so, Christianity is a community of people who have been struck not so much by some parable or Christ's lofty moral demand, but as a collection of people who have sensed the mystery of Golgotha. In particular, this is why the Church is so calm about “biblical criticism,” which finds insertions, typos, or distortions in biblical books. Criticism of the biblical text may seem dangerous to Christianity only if Christianity is perceived in the Islamic manner - as the "religion of the Book." “Biblical criticism” of the 19th century was able to give rise to anti-church triumphalism only under the condition that criteria important for Islam and, to some extent, Judaism were transferred to Christianity. But after all, even the religion of Ancient Israel was built not so much on some kind of teaching inspired from Above, but on historical event Testament. Christianity, all the more so, is not faith in a book that fell from heaven, but in a Person, in what she said, did, and experienced.
For the Church, it is not so much the authenticity of the retelling of the Founder's words that is important, but rather His life, which cannot be faked. No matter how many insertions, omissions or defects crept into the written sources of Christianity, this is not fatal for it, for it is built not on a book, but on the Cross.
So, has the Church changed the “teachings of Jesus”, transferring all its attention and hope from the “commandments of Christ” to the very person of the Savior and the Mystery of His Existence? The Protestant liberal theologian A. Harnack believes that yes, she did. In support of his idea that ethics is more important in the preaching of Christ than the Person of Christ, he cites the logic of Jesus: “If you love Me, keep My commandments”, and from it he concludes: “To make Christology the main content of the Gospel is a perversion, this is clear speaks the sermon of Jesus Christ, which in its main features is very simple and puts everyone directly before God.” But love me, and the commandments are also mine...
The Christocentrism of historical Christianity, so obviously different from the moralistic reading of the Gospel by people of little religion, is not to the liking of many of our contemporaries. But, as in the 1st century, Christianity is now ready to arouse antipathy among the pagans with a clear and unambiguous evidence of their faith in the One Lord, Incarnate, Crucified and Resurrected - “for us for the sake of man and for our sake of salvation”.
Christ is not only the means of revelation through which God speaks to people. Since He is the God-Man, He is also the subject of Revelation. And what is more, He turns out to be the content of Revelation. Christ is the One who enters into communication with man, and the One about whom this communication speaks.
God did not just tell us from afar certain truths that He considered necessary for our enlightenment. He Himself became a man. He spoke about His new unheard-of closeness with people with each of His earthly sermons.
If an Angel had flown in from Heaven and announced some message to us, then the consequences of his visit could well have been contained in these words and in their written fixation. The one who accurately remembered the angelic words, understood their meaning and passed them on to his neighbor, would exactly repeat the ministry of this Messenger. The messenger is identical to his commission. But can we say that the commission of Christ was reduced to words, to the announcement of certain truths? Can we say that the Only Begotten Son of God performed the ministry that any of the angels and any of the prophets could have performed with equal success?
- Not. The ministry of Christ is not limited to the words of Christ. The ministry of Christ is not identical with the teaching of Christ. He is not only a prophet. He is also a Priest. The office of a prophet can be wholly recorded in books. The ministry of the Priest is not words, but action.
This is the question of Tradition and Scripture. Scripture is a clear record of the words of Christ. But if the ministry of Christ is not identical with His words, then the fruit of His ministry cannot be identical with the gospel fixation of His sermons. If His teaching is only one of the fruits of His ministry, then what are the others? And how can people become heirs of these fruits? It is clear how the teaching is transmitted, how it is fixed and stored. But the rest? That which was super-verbal in Christ's ministry cannot be conveyed in words. This means that there must be another way of participation in the ministry of Christ, in addition to Scripture.
This is Tradition.
1 Let me remind you that, according to the interpretation of Clement of Alexandria, this word of Christ is about being ready to refuse to follow social prejudices (naturally, even if these prejudices induce parents to raise their son in the spirit of opposition to the Gospel).
“The miracles of Christ could be apocryphal or legendary. The only and main miracle, and, moreover, already completely indisputable, is He Himself. To invent such a Person is just as difficult and unbelievable, and it would be wonderful, as to be such a Person ”(V. Rozanov. Religion and Culture. vol. 1. M., 1990, p. 353).
3 More detailed analysis For Christocentric passages of the Gospel, see the chapter "What Christ Preached" in the second volume of my book Satanism for the Intelligentsia.
Christianity is not made by hands, it is the creation of God.
From the book "The Un-American Missionary"
If we affirm that Christ is God, that He is sinless, and human nature is sinful, then how could He be incarnated, was it possible?
Man is not sinful from the very beginning. Man and sin are not synonyms. Yes, God's world people have remade into the familiar world-catastrophe. But still the world, the flesh, humanity in themselves are not something evil. And the fullness of love lies in coming not to the one who feels good, but to the one who feels bad. To believe that the incarnation will defile God is like saying: “Here is a dirty barracks, there is a disease, an infection, ulcers; how can a doctor risk going there, he can get infected?!” Christ is the Physician who came into a sick world.
The Holy Fathers gave another example: when the sun illuminates the earth, it illuminates not only beautiful roses and flowering meadows, but also puddles and sewage. But the sun is not defiled because its beam fell on something dirty and unsightly. So the Lord did not become less pure, less Divine because he touched a man on earth, clothed himself in his flesh.
How could a sinless God die?
The death of God is indeed a contradiction. “The Son of God died - this is unthinkable, and therefore worthy of faith,” Tertullian wrote in the 3rd century, and it was this saying that subsequently served as the basis for the thesis “I believe, because it is absurd.” Christianity is indeed a world of contradictions, but they arise as a trace from the touch of the Divine hand. If Christianity were created by people, it would be quite straightforward, rational, rational. Because when smart and talented people create something, their product turns out to be quite consistent, logically of high quality.
At the origins of Christianity stood, undoubtedly, very talented and smart people. It is equally undoubted that the Christian faith nevertheless turned out to be full of contradictions (antinomies) and paradoxes. How to combine it? For me, this is a "certificate of quality", a sign that Christianity is not made by hands, that it is God's creation.
From a theological point of view, Christ as God did not die. The human part of His “composition” passed through death. Death happened “with” God (with what He perceived at earthly Christmas), but not “in” God, not in His Divine nature.
Many people easily agree with the idea of the existence of a single God, the Most High, the Absolute, the Higher Mind, but categorically reject the worship of Christ as God, considering it a kind of pagan relic, the worship of a semi-pagan anthropomorphic, that is, human-like, deity. Aren't they right?
For me, the word "anthropomorphism" is not a dirty word at all. When I hear an accusation like "your christian god- anthropomorphic”, I ask you to translate the “accusation” into understandable, Russian language. Then everything immediately falls into place. I say: “Excuse me, what are you accusing us of? Is it that our idea of God is human-like, human-like? Can you create for yourself some other idea of God? Which? Giraffe-like, amoeba-like, Martian-like?
We are people. And therefore, whatever we think about - about a blade of grass, about the cosmos, about an atom or about the Divine - we think about it humanly, based on our own ideas. One way or another, we endow everything with human qualities.
Another thing is that anthropomorphism is different. It can be primitive: when a person simply transfers all his feelings, passions to nature and God, not understanding this act of his. Then the pagan myth turns out.
But Christian anthropomorphism knows about itself, it is noticed by Christians, thought out and realized. And at the same time, it is experienced not as an inevitability, but as gift. Yes, I, a man, have no right to think about the Incomprehensible God, I cannot claim to know Him, and even more so to express it in my terrible short language. But the Lord, in His love, condescends to the point that He clothes Himself in the images of human speech. God speaks in words that are understandable to the nomadic nomads of the 2nd millennium BC (which were the Hebrew forefathers Moses, Abraham...). And in the end, even God Himself becomes a Man.
Christian thought begins with the recognition of the incomprehensibility of God. But if we stop there, then religion, as a union with Him, is simply impossible. She falls into a desperate silence. Religion acquires the right to exist only if the Incomprehensible Himself gives it this right. If He Himself declares His desire to be found nevertheless. Only when the Lord Himself goes beyond the boundaries of His incomprehensibility, when He comes to people, only then can the planet of people acquire a religion with an anthropomorphism inherent in it. Only Love can cross all the boundaries of apophatic decency.
If there is Love, then there is Revelation, an outpouring of this Love. This Revelation is given to the world of people, beings that are rather aggressive and slow-witted. So, it is necessary to protect the rights of God in the world of human willfulness. This is what dogmas are for. Dogma is a wall, but not a prison one, but a fortress one. She keeps gift from barbarian raids. Over time, the barbarians will become the guardians of this gift. But for starters gift have to be protected from them.
And that means that all the dogmas of Christianity are possible only because God is Love.
Christianity claims that the head of the Church is Christ Himself. He is present in the Church and leads it. Where does such confidence come from and can the Church prove it?
The best proof is that the Church is still alive. Boccaccio's Decameron contains this evidence (it was transplanted onto Russian cultural soil in famous work Nikolai Berdyaev "On the dignity of Christianity and the unworthiness of Christians"). The plot, let me remind you, is the following.
A French Christian was friends with a Jew. They had a good human relationship, but at the same time the Christian could not come to terms with the fact that his friend did not accept the Gospel, and he spent many evenings with him in discussions on religious topics. In the end, the Jew succumbed to his preaching and expressed a desire to be baptized, but before Baptism he wished to visit Rome in order to look at the pope.
The Frenchman perfectly imagined what Renaissance Rome was, and in every possible way opposed the departure of his friend there, but he nevertheless went. The Frenchman met him without any hope, realizing that not a single sane person, having seen the papal court, would wish to become a Christian.
But, having met with his friend, the Jew himself suddenly started a conversation that he needed to be baptized as soon as possible. The Frenchman could not believe his ears and asked him:
Have you been to Rome?
Yes, he was, - the Jew answers.
Did you see dad?
Have you seen how the pope and the cardinals live?
Of course I saw it.
And then you want to be baptized? - asks even more surprised Frenchman.
Yes, - replies the Jew, - just after everything I have seen, I want to be baptized. After all, these people are doing everything in their power to destroy the Church, but if, nevertheless, she lives, it turns out that the Church is still not from people, she is from God.
In general, you know, every Christian can tell how the Lord controls his life. Each of us can give a lot of examples of how invisibly God leads him through this life, and even more so it is obvious in the management of the life of the Church. However, here we come to the problem of Divine Providence. There is a good one on this subject. piece of art It's called "The Lord of the Rings". This work tells how the invisible Lord (of course, He is outside the plot) builds the whole course of events so that they turn to the triumph of good and the defeat of Sauron, who personifies evil. Tolkien himself clearly stated this in the comments to the book.
The earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ is a real and undoubted historical fact, confirmed by undoubted historical data, to such an extent undoubted that there are few historical facts that have a similar degree of historical reliability. We consider it necessary to draw the attention of readers to this in view of the fact that at present special efforts are being made by unbelievers to undermine the historical truth of the Gospel, the real existence of the Gospel Christ. An unbiased study of the Gospel and the Apostolic Epistles, as well as the original Christian literature dating back to the first century of Christianity: the writings of the direct disciples of the Apostles, clearly confirm the historical fact and all the circumstances of the earthly life of the Son of God. From an examination of the first Christian writing of the 1st and 2nd centuries of Christianity, the living historical image of Christ the Savior emerges with all clarity, without which it becomes completely incomprehensible and inexplicable the tremendous impression that Christianity that arose in the Jewish and pagan world makes. There is no action without a corresponding reason. Without Christ there could be no Christianity. An impartial examination and study of the early Christian literature, which appeared from the very first century of Christianity, with all certainty reveals the reality of the incarnation and incarnation of the Son of God, who was born and lived on earth during the reign of the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius, in the conditions of the entire historical situation of that time, as it is revealed before us in the gospel and the apostolic acts and epistles written in the first century of the Christian era. In brief but exhaustive terms, Prof. arch. G. Florovsky describes in his beautiful book (“Was Christ Once”) the era of early Christianity, and the impression made in the Jewish and pagan world by the divine personality and life of Christ the Savior. This impression was twofold: for some, both the personality, and the life, and the teaching of the Lord aroused a feeling of boundless malice and hatred for Him, which led to His death on the cross; in others, on the contrary, they produced feelings of boundless love and devotion for Him to the point of being ready to suffer and die for Him. This fact alone speaks of the historical reality of the life and work of the Lord. The first centuries of Christianity are completely filled with the impression of His unparalleled personality. He became, by prophecy righteous Simeon, the subject of controversy, the cause of the fall and revolt of many in Israel and in the pagan world, and the beginning of salvation for all peoples, which enlightened the Gentiles with light, and to the glory of the native Israeli people.
This world fire could not ignite in humanity if it did not have a specific reason for itself in the person of the God-Man. Prof. Florovsky writes: “The Savior was met in the world with doubt, distrust and outright malice. He was rejected, betrayed, abused and killed. He predicted to His disciples sorrow, hatred and persecution in the world. All this was indeed fulfilled, and, nevertheless, all this did not prevent the victory and triumph of Christianity, strong not by human, but by divine truth. Better to say, all this contributed to the enthusiastic veneration of Christ the Savior, which embraced more and more groups of people who were ready to go to torment and death for Christ. And the point here is not even persecution by the state authorities. Much more significant is the deep social resistance that manifested itself in explosions of popular hatred (“lions of Christians”), in slanderous slanders against Christian communities, in a polemical struggle against Christian teaching. The person of Christ, namely His person, was the focus of all the preaching of Christianity. The apostles preached about the "historical Jesus", proceeded from the fact and events of His real life, and based themselves on this. All the emphasis lay on a certain single historical event, all inscribed by His closest disciples and eyewitnesses. The gospel is a historical story, but at the same time more than a historical story, not only because it was not written on the impulses of simple historical curiosity, not only to remind us of the past, but above all because it describes and depicts incomparable and permanent events that are more than mere events. In the four canonical Gospels attested by the Church, the image of the God-Man is depicted with all the fullness of historical realism.
The historical image of the God-man is drawn and drawn against the real background of the life of that time. His disciples, interlocutors and enemies stand before us as if alive. This is a story about what happened, an image of real events, meetings, conversations, without silence, and about the mistakes and shortcomings of the apostles themselves. The narrators, according to the word of the Teacher, act as witnesses about Him, with all simplicity and sincerity, describing what they witnessed, what they saw and heard. They draw the image of Christ as the Teacher and the Miracle Worker, and as the Accuser and the Judge. Through the historical visibility all the time shines through that which is visible only to the gaze of faith, which during the life of the Savior few saw and recognized, and, perhaps, they recognized and saw only when Christ was resurrected. The historical image of the God-Man, who was born on earth, who lived and taught among people, is the content of the Gospel story, and this is its mysterious originality. In the Gospel, a holistic and unified image is given: in our perception it often doubles and falls apart, just as it doubled in the minds of those who contemplated Christ Himself with sensual eyes, until the heart began to see through faith. Everything in the gospel is about the same thing. And only those who grasp with one glance this integral and living unity will understand the Gospel to the end, and will see in it what the Evangelists traced in it, precisely that single image at once and the historical and divine image of God who became Man, and man who was God, who has invariably been preserved and preserved by the Church since the time of the apostolic sermon, as an apostolic tradition, the tradition of self-evident ones.
The Gospel can be called a historical icon, more precisely - four icons. And these four icons do not quite coincide with each other; even with a superficial observation, it is not difficult to notice the "disagreements of the Evangelists." But one must remember how Christian antiquity treated them (these disagreements): it never tried and did not try to erase, or at least mitigate these apparent “contradictions”; the history of the gospel text knows nothing of such "biased corrections." This is to talk about the imaginary nature of these contradictions and disagreements, which in no way violate the unity of the whole. In the Church, attempts at a gospel code have never been successful, although such have been made since the first centuries of Christianity. But starting with the "Diatessaron" of Tatian (Tatian) in the second half of the second century, and ending with the experience of Bishop. Theophan the Recluse and others in the 19th century - these attempts were not significant and did not take root in church practice. The image of Christ is kept in the Church in four reflections. And in all - one face, One Face. The earthly plan of the Gospel story is cut through and penetrated by the heavenly. Divine reality always shines through historical evidence. Unbelievers and those who doubt this presence of divine reality often confuses, prevents them from recognizing the historical authenticity of the Gospel story. It seems to them that something that is so unlike our ordinary reality cannot be taken or written off from nature. Hence the temptation to "correct" the Gospel story, to purify it from the admixture of the miraculous element, to make it more ordinary. This reflects the biased denial of the Gospel miracle and the Gospel mystery, the mystery and miracle of God-manhood. No amount of evidence can break such a denial. Here, in the Gospel, a preconceived notion (for example, about the impossibility of a miracle) is faced with a fact that it does not want to see and acknowledge, and therefore simply denies its reality as an impossibility. In advance, the divine dignity and God-manhood of Christ are doubted or completely rejected, and therefore it seems impossible and improbable in His earthly history everything that does not happen, that is unusual and impossible in the history of ordinary people. But the gospel is not the history of man. And yet, it is still a story, a description of what happened. It was special and unprecedented, the one and only: "God appeared in the flesh, and found himself in the image, like a man." And therefore the Gospel is at once the Gospel of the Son of God, and the story of the Son of David. In the life of the God-man, one should expect in advance something unusual, not similar, and different from the life of only people, to foresee the gap and removal of ordinary human boundaries. Doubt opposes the Evangelical evidence only by a biased denial of the possibility of God-manhood and the Incarnation in general. From the fact that Jesus was a man, it is hasty and unfounded to conclude that He was only a man and not God, and on the basis of such an imaginary and hasty conclusion - to deny, suspect or reinterpret everything that in the story about Him cannot be related to ordinary, albeit wonderful person. With such a dissection of the Gospel story, its historical authenticity is indeed lost. The story of "Jesus of Nazareth", told within the limits of one humanity, is not a story at all, but a fiction, because it does not correspond to the depicted reality. What happened? In search of pure, “unvarnished” truth, a distortion of genuine historical truth resulted. The gospel is an icon of the God-man. In ayansh, divine dignity does not disappear and human features are blurred. They retain all their clarity and completeness. This is the mysterious originality of the Gospel image, which conveys the miraculous face of Christ. In Christ was the fullness of mankind - therefore, Christ could be taken for "only a man", for not everyone was intelligible signs of the Divine in Him. The scribes said that "He has Beelzebub, and that he casts out demons by the power of the prince of demons." Even His neighbors, His "brothers" did not believe in Him (John 7:5). And when He preached in the synagogue in His native city of Nazareth, those who listened “They were astonished and said: Where did He get such wisdom and strength from? Is he not the carpenters' son? Isn't His Mother called Mary? And His brothers - Jacob, Josiah, and Simon, and Judas? And are not His sisters all among us? Where did he get all this from? And they were offended by Him."(Matthew 13:54-57; Mark 6:2-7).
In Him was the fullness of humanity - hence the indisputable clarity and liveliness of His Gospel image as a person. As a man, He got tired, slept, thirsty, hungry, rejoiced, mourned, responded to the joys and sorrows of people, became angry... The Gospel is full of living people, depicted in the fullness of their personal identity, sometimes expressed in a few words. The gospel faces appear before us so clearly and vividly that such an image can only be taken from nature, from reality. And the images of Zechariah and the Forerunner, and the image of the Most Pure Virgin, and the images of the disciples, and the gloomy images of the traitor and bishops, and the images of often nameless believers and healed (for example, vivid image Samaritan women, the image of the man born blind in the Gospel of John), flowing to Jesus, they all bear evidence of their authenticity, their life reality in themselves. Of course, the clarity and descriptiveness of a story in itself does not fully ensure its historical authenticity. But in the Gospel story there is something more than just living visualization. There is a disinterested, free immediacy of the story, directly testifying to its reality. It is difficult to prove this, but it is even more difficult to doubt it, unless there is a preconceived will to doubt. It is clearly felt that all the Gospel events are told from living memory and living impression. To give examples would be to retell the entire gospel. Consider two or three cases. Bright realism captures the Lord's conversation with the disciples on the way to the country of Caesarea Philippi, Peter's solemn confession, and immediately his cowardly contradiction (Matt. 15, 13-23). Or a story about how, immediately after the Savior’s words about the suffering and death coming to Him in Jerusalem, the mother of the sons of Zebedee, James and John, came to Him with a request to give them a place on the right and left side of Himself in the Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 20 , 20-24; Mark 10, 35-40); or the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, full of such dramatic details and such important revelations. The last days of the Lord are described in undeniable realistic detail. Such, for example, is the mention of a young man who followed the soldiers after the capture of Christ in the garden of Gethsemane; or a meeting already on the way to Golgotha with Simon of Cyrene, who bore the cross of Christ, or the request of Pilate's wife not to do evil to "The Righteous Tom", or the presence of Mary Magdalene and Mary Cleopova (Mother of God) at the tomb where Christ was buried. You can’t invent all these details - they are taken directly from life, reported by eyewitnesses. The gospel story is everywhere accompanied by such separate realistic details, names, nicknames, names of places, cities, etc., which give it a vivid and undoubted vital, concrete reality. The historical comparison of the external details of the Gospel story with other sources on the history and life of Palestine at that time, in general and in general, convincingly shows the historical and everyday accuracy of the Gospel image. But, of course, the reliability of the Gospel is not based on this coincidence. The inner content of the Gospel and the very image of Christ transcend these outer limits. The historical realism of the Gospel also comes out clearly in the speeches of Jesus Christ. He speaks like a Jew in the language and manner of His time and people. There is a vivid historical flavor in His speeches. In content and meaning, His preaching exceeds the Old Testament measure. It confuses not only the blind guardians of the letter of the law, but also such learned and pious "teachers of Israel" as Nicodemus was, and at the same time, in it, in the preaching of Christ, there was "the fulfillment of the law and the prophets." From all that has been said, it is clear in what a vivid and clear historical framework, under Herod, the pair of Jews, and under Pontius Pilate, the Roman ruler, in the reign of the Roman emperor Tiberius, the earthly life of the Savior flowed in Judea and Galilee.
After all that has been said, there is no need for us to cite external testimonies about Christ from pagan writers of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd centuries—Josephus Flavius, Tacitus, Suetonius, Pliny, Lucian, Celsus, and others—who did not see, did not know, and did not hear the Savior personally. The historicity of the life of the Lord and His preaching is fully confirmed by what has been said, just as His image is outlined with all clarity. It is more important for us to focus our attention on subsequent Christian literature, from which we will see whether and to what extent the subsequent Christian society preserved the memory of the Bright Face of Christ and His preaching. To our happiness and joy, Christian literature from the time of the apostles has continuously stretched to all subsequent centuries, giving us the opportunity to clearly see how holy the apostolic tradition about Christ the Savior has been preserved in the Church. Consideration of the writings of the men of the apostles, i.e. the direct successors of the holy apostles, apologists, i.e., those who left written works in defense of Christianity in the 1st, 2nd and 3rd centuries, and subsequent fathers and teachers of the Church show us that the image of Christ, in all His inviolability and holiness, was preserved and transmitted by them subsequent generations, and thus forever remained unchanged in the mind of the Church, and remains so to this day.
Prot. Sergiy Chetverikov († 1947)
THE TIME OF THE ARRIVAL OF CHRIST“If we trace the historical appearances of the Great Teachers, we will see,” says H.I. former Teachings completely lost their original purity and were already distorted beyond recognition. (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.1, dated 06/30/34)
Before the coming of Christ, the entire ancient world was in decline. Corruption in the Roman Empire was the result of a perversion of religion, morality and consciousness of the masses.
Birth of Christ
Birth of Christ is a huge event for the Earth.
The birth of the Messiah was predicted by the prophet Balaam a thousand years before the advent of Christ. The Prophet called him "The Rising Star".
In the "Revelation of John the Theologian" Jesus is called the "star of light and morning."
The great poet Virgil, who died nineteen years before the birth of Christ, wrote that the Virgin would come, who would give the world a Son, and that if He did not change the whole world at once, He would noticeably soften and ennoble hearts, and thereby would already lead the world away from the spiritual and physical suicide and give humanity Hope and the Path of Salvation!
For that Virgil in the first centuries of Christianity was called a Christian before Christ.
The arrival of Jesus was preceded by the Star of Bethlehem, leading the Magi with gifts to Him and His Mother. In the New Testament Gospel of Matthew we read:“When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, magicians from the east came to Jerusalem and said, ‘Where is he who is born king of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east and have come to worship him.” (Matthew 2:1-2)
“What kind of Star is this?.. Of course, this is the Decree of the Brotherhood to welcome Jesus and save and transfer some funds to a poor family.” (J. Saint-Hilaire. Cryptograms of the East. Novosibirsk, 1996. P. 37)
The Magi were sent with the message to immediately leave the family of Jesus, since King Herod planned to kill all the babies of the age of Christ in order to fulfill the satanic plan and prevent the Savior from appearing on earth.
About the life of JESUS CHRIST
Little Jesus was taught, first of all, by Mother.
In the book of teachings "Elevated", we read: “The story of the Mother of the Great Pilgrim, who was no less great than Her Son, knows little. Mother was from a great family and gathered in herself refinement and loftiness of spirit.
She laid the first higher thoughts in the Son and has always been a stronghold of achievement. She knew several dialects and thereby facilitated the path of the Son. She not only did not interfere with long-distance journeys, but collected everything necessary to facilitate wanderings ... It was the Mother who knew about the secret of walking, and the Son told her his decision, strengthened by the Testaments of the Teachers. (Elevated, 147)
About the unknown period of the life of JESUS from 12 to 29 years
There were more than three hundred different writings about Jesus, and only four of them were included in the New Testament - the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The rest are apocrypha*, that is, books that are not part of the Biblical canon (or the Bible).
E.P. Blavatsky, a deep connoisseur ancient wisdom East, wrote that the meaning of the word "apocrypha *" is hidden, secret; but what is hidden can often be truer than what is revealed.
Four Famous Gospels(1. Matthew, 2. Mark, 3. Luke, 4. John) do not give us information about where was Christ between the twelfth and thirtieth years of his life.
“... One of the oldest monasteries in Ladakh, happily not destroyed during the invasion of the Mongols and during the persecution of Buddhism by ignorant hordes”, (N.K. Roerich.Altai - Himalayas. Riga: Vieda, 1992, p. 111), stores the so-called Tibetan Gospel*.
"TIBETAN GOSPEL" * - Apocrypha, according to which Jesus Christ lived in India and Tibet before his preaching. For the first time, Europeans became aware of this apocrypha after the publication of its French. translation by N.Notovich. According to Notovitch, he found a Tibetan manuscript called The Life of St. Issy" in the Buddhist monastery of Hemi (near Lhasa). In the 20s. the artist N.K. Roerich got acquainted with this manuscript. The age of the manuscript has not been determined.
In addition to the well-known canonical events, the Tibetan Gospel tells about an unknown period in the life of Jesus from 12 to 29 years old, which, according to this Gospel, He spent in India, in the Himalayas, preaching among the Hindus.
N.K. Roerich wrote in his travel diary: “The Buddhist monastery preserves the teachings of Jesus, and the lamas pay respect to Jesus, who passed and taught here.
If anyone will doubt too much about the existence of such documents about the life of Christ in Asia, then it means that he does not realize how widespread the Nestorians were in their time and how many so-called apocryphal legends they spread in ancient times. And how much truth they keep apocrypha*!» (Roerich N.K. Altai - Himalayas. Riga, 1992. S. 81 - 82)
Apocrypha* - (from other Greek - hidden, secret, secret) - a work that was not included in the number of canonical books of the Old and New Testaments approved by church councils. E.P. Blavatsky, a deep connoisseur of the ancient wisdom of the East, wrote that the meaning of the word "apocrypha" - hidden, secret but what is hidden can often be more true than what is revealed.”
The Tibetan Gospel "The Life of Saint Issa, the best of the sons of men" says:“... The divine child, who was given the name Issa, began from a very young age to speak about God, one and indivisible, persuading lost souls to repent and be cleansed of the sins of which they were guilty.
People came to hear Him from everywhere and marveled at His words, which proceeded from the lips of children. All Israelites agreed that the Pre-Eternal Spirit dwells in this child.”
“In manuscripts that are about 1500 years old, one can read: “Issa (Jesus) secretly left his parents and, together with merchants from Jerusalem, went to the Indus, to improve and study the laws of the Teacher.
He spent time in the ancient cities of India Jagarnath, Rajagriha, Benares. Everyone loved him. Issa lived in peace with the Vaishyas and Shudras whom he taught.
But the Brahmins and Kshatriyas told him that Brahma forbade approaching those created from his womb and feet. Vaishyas can listen to the Vedas only on holidays, and Shudras are forbidden not only to be present at the reading of the Vedas, but even to look at them. Shudras are only bound to eternally serve as slaves of Brahmins and Kshatriyas.
But Issa did not listen to the speeches of the Brahmins and went to the Sudras to preach against the Brahmins and Kshatriyas. He strongly opposed the fact that man arrogates to himself the right to deprive his fellow man of human dignity.
Issa said that a man filled the temples with abomination to please stones and metals, a man sacrifices people in whom a particle of the Higher Spirit lives. A person humiliates those who work in the sweat of their brow in order to gain the favor of a parasite sitting at a luxuriously decorated table. But those who deprive the brothers of common bliss will be deprived of it themselves, and the brahmins and kshatriyas will become the sudras of the sudras, with whom the Supreme Spirit will abide forever. The Vaishyas and Shudras were astonished and asked what they should do.
Issa said: "Do not worship idols. Do not always consider yourself the first and do not humiliate your neighbor. Help the poor, support the weak, do no harm to anyone, do not desire what you do not have, but what you see in others." Many, having learned about these words, decided to kill Issa. But Issa, warned, left these places at night.
Then Issa was in Nepal and in the Himalayan mountains ... "Do a miracle" - the servants of the temple told him. And then Issa said: “Miracles began to appear from the first day the world was created. Whoever does not see them is deprived of one of the best gifts of life. But woe to you, opponents of people, woe to you if you expect Him to testify to His power miracles."
Issa taught not try to see with your own eyes the Eternal Spirit, but feel it with your heart, and become a pure and worthy soul...
"Not only do not perform human sacrifices, but also do not slaughter animals, for everything is given for the benefit of man. Do not steal someone else's, because it would be theft from your neighbor. Do not deceive, so that you yourself are not deceived. Do not worship the sun, it is only part of the world ". "While the peoples had no priests, the natural law governed them, and they kept the integrity of the soul." “And I say: beware of everything that leads astray from the true path and fills people with superstitions and prejudices, blinding the sighted and preaching the worship of objects.” (N.K. Roerich.Altai - Himalayas. Riga: Vieda, 1992. S. 82-83)
“Such a lofty and close to all peoples image of Jesus is preserved by Buddhists in their mountain monasteries.” (Roerich N.K. Altai - Himalayas. Riga, 1992. p. 85)
Helena Ivanovna Roerich in the book “Cryptograms of the East” also reveals some part of the path of the Great Pilgrim to the East: “I was also instructed to accompany Him, where I myself could not yet enter.
We left on a white camel at night and by night marches reached Lagor, where we found, it seemed, a follower of the Buddha who was waiting for us.
I have never seen such determination, for they have been on the road for three years. And for three years He stayed where I could not enter.». (J. Saint-Hilaire. Cryptograms of the East)
Persecution of CHRIST
"Issa turned 29 years when he arrived on his return to the land of Israel." (Roerich N.K. Altai - Himalayas).
The remaining church gospels narrate rather sparingly that Christ and His disciples were persecuted, that spies were following the movements of the Great Pilgrim; the Jewish authorities were looking for an excuse to seize the impudent freethinker and kill him.
People note " Palm Sunday- Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. To the enthusiastic cries of the people on a young donkey, Jesus rode into Jerusalem. Then the crowd greeted Christ with cheers: Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” - a few days later she shouted: “Crucify Him!” (N.D.Spirina "On the Great Sacrifice", 1994.04.24)
Hosanna* (Hebrew) - Prayer for help, save, we pray
Last Supper
Passover is coming. At the Last Supper on Thursday, all the disciples of Jesus Christ gathered.
"It is wrong to think that Christ, approaching Judas, did not know where the free will of this disciple would lead. No, He knew. He also knew his end, for Judas not approached him for the first time. Christ knew who was hiding under the guise of Judas. Judas was an old traitor, and more than once he betrayed Christ. But it has long been said that it is the genies who build temples. By the crucifixion of Christ, Judas gave the world a new God ». (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2 05.07.38)
“The magnet of hatred is strong and for its manifestation does not need hostility from its victim, it feeds on its ardent envy and malice. Jesus did not harbor distrust and hostility towards Judas, to whom the treasury was entrusted, but the hatred and malice of Judas were endured and brought to him from the depths of centuries and culminated in an unheard-of betrayal. ( E.I. Roerich. Letters to America. M., 1996. III. 06/28/1948)
Christ knew this. “He also knew his end... (...) ... The crowds, with their cries, led the great Teacher under special suffering. Crowds, the same crowds, shouted about the kingdom, and they hurried to the execution. (...) It is impossible to imagine what kind of karma fell on so many madmen! (...)
The Teacher could pass the Path of achievement without the roars of the crowds, but it was those healed by Him who filled the space with threats and curses. This manifestation of free will can be called by many names, but it will still remain free will. It is right to regard free will as the highest gift, but how wisely one should use this precious treasure! (Letters of Helena Roerich. T. 2. 07/05/1938)
Prayer of JESUS CHRIST in the Garden of Gethsemane
The Last Supper ends with Christ's departure to the Garden of Gethsemane and His fervent prayer to God.
What did Jesus Christ pray for on the night of Holy Thursday on the eve of Bloody
Fridays?
Matthew and Mark tell of Jesus praying three times:
- First time He prayed for the cup of suffering to be turned away from Him - “ let this cup pass from me; however, not as I want, but as You»;
- Second time already expresses direct submission to the will of God (an angel was sent to Luke to strengthen Him in this will) and exclaims - “ My Father! if this cup cannot pass me by, so that I do not drink it, Thy will be done”;
- Third time He repeats his second prayer and returns to the disciples to say about the approach of the traitor: “ Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let's go; behold, he who betrays me has come near».
“Father! Oh, that You would deign to carry this cup past Me! However, not My will, but Yours be done.” (Gospel of Luke (22:40-46)
When praying, Christ did not think about his sufferings, He " prayed not for himself, but for people». (G.A.Y. 1964 260)
Jesus asked to carry a terrible back blow past, because He knew about the reincarnation of people and the law of Karma. He knew about the inexorable karmic blow that would fall on all participants and accomplices in the crime, on everyone who in one way or another would be involved in what could happen tomorrow, on fateful Friday.
He foresaw the future suffering of earthlings, if only people did not come to their senses from madness. No, Jesus was not thinking about himself the night before the crucifixion.
Jesus prayed not about Himself and was horrified by what would follow in the future for the humanity of the planet.
“NOT ABOUT HIMSELF that night He grieved.
He didn't pray for himself...
He was not afraid for HIMSELF.
Should he forget that night that there is still such a Law, when children pay with their blood for the hatred of their fathers.
But how heavy will be for the planet His, Christ's, shed blood!
What fury will the arrow of Backstrike pierce the ages to come!”
(L. Dmitrieva)
Judgment on JESUS CHRIST by the Jewish High Priests
The denial of the Apostle Peter and the death of Judas
Trial of JESUS CHRIST by Pilate and execution
The Jewish high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death at the Sanhedrin, could not carry out the sentence themselves without the approval of the Roman governor. According to some scholars, the Sanhedrin recognized Jesus as a false prophet based on the words of Deuteronomy: “but the prophet who dares to speak in my name what I did not command him to say, and who will speak in the name of other gods, put such a prophet to death” (Deut. 18:20-22)
After unsuccessful attempts by the chief priests to accuse Jesus of a formal violation of the Jewish law (see the Old Testament), Jesus was handed over to the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.
At the trial, the procurator asked: Are you the King of the Jews?". This question was due to the fact that the claim to power as the King of the Jews, according to Roman law, qualified as a dangerous crime against the Roman Empire. The answer to this question was the words of Christ: “You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” (John 18:29-38)
Pilate, finding no fault in Jesus, bent over to let him go, and said to the chief priests: "I find no fault in this man." (Luke 23:4)
The decision of Pontius Pilate aroused the excitement of the Jewish crowd, directed by elders and high priests. Trying to prevent riots, Pilate turned to the crowd with a proposal to release Christ, following the old custom of releasing one of the criminals at Easter. But the crowd shouted: "Let him be crucified" . (Matthew 27:22)
As a last attempt to save Jesus from death, Pilate ordered to beat Him in front of the crowd, hoping that the dissatisfied would be satisfied with the sight of the bloodied Convict. But the Jews declared that Jesus certainly “must die because he made himself the Son of God. Pilate, hearing this word, was more afraid.
And again he entered the praetorium and said to Jesus, Where are you from?
But Jesus gave him no answer.
Pilate says to Him: Are you not answering me? Don't you know that I have power to crucify You and I have power to let You go?
Jesus answered: you would have no power over me, if it had not been given to you from above; therefore more sin on him who delivered me to you.
From that [time] Pilate sought to let Him go. And the Jews cried out: If you let him go, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself a king is opposed to Caesar.” (John 19:7-12)
“On every holiday, he released them one prisoner, whom they asked for. Then [someone], named Barabbas, was in bondage with his accomplices, who during the rebellion committed murder. And the people began to shout and ask [Pilate] for what he had always done for them. He answered and said to them: Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you? For he knew that the chief priests betrayed him out of envy. But the chief priests aroused the people [to ask] that they better let Barabbas go. Pilate, answering, again said to them: what do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews? They cried out again: Crucify Him.<…>Then Pilate, wanting to do what was pleasing to the people, released Barabbas to them, and having beaten Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. (From Mark (Mark 15:6-15)
Fearing people, Pilate issued a death sentence - he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, and he himself " washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous". To which the people exclaimed: "His blood is on us and on our children". (Matthew 27:24-25)
“Then the soldiers of the ruler, having taken Jesus into the praetorium, gathered all the regiments against him, undressed him, put on him a purple robe; and having woven a crown of thorns, they put it on his head, and gave him a reed in his right hand; and, kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying: Hail, King of the Jews! and they spat on him, and taking a reed, they struck him on the head. And when they mocked Him, they took off the purple robe from Him, and clothed Him in His garments, and led Him to be crucified…” (Matthew 27:27-31)
According to the verdict of Pontius Pilate, Jesus was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem on Mount Golgotha, where, according to the gospel story, he himself carried his cross. Two thieves were crucified with him.
The crucifixion and death of JESUS CHRIST
Despite the most difficult death suffering, already on the cross Christ said a prayer for his tormentors:
“Father! forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34)
And the sun went dark, and darkness came, and the earth trembled.
If only the executioners could even imagine the greatness of the One whom they tortured!
"The prayer of Christ, which no one heard, was the prayer of the heart for the good of all mankind." (Letters of Helena Roerich. Vol. 2. 01/18/1936)
Christ's prayer for the tormentorsfull of mercy and even justice, for, indeed, what could hired executioners know and understand in the greatness of the One Whom they tortured? Who were they ordered to torture? Verily, not hired tormentors, but their instigators took upon themselves karma the bitterest. Likewise, Pilate, who washed his hands and showed NON-RESISTANCE to the greatest evil where it was in his power to stop it, prepared for himself the most difficult fate.
"The records of the lamas say that Jesus was killed not Jewish people, but representatives of the Roman government." (N.K. Roerich. Altai - Himalayas. S. 82)
Resurrection of Jesus Christ
ON THE QUALITIES OF JESUS CHRIST
The description of Christ by a contemporary has been preserved - Proconsul of Galilee Publius Lentulus - in his letter to the Roman emperor Tiberius Caesar.
“In our days there lives a man endowed with truly great virtues, named Jesus, whom the people consider the prophet of Truth, and his disciples say that He is the son of God, the creator of Heaven and Earth and all things that are and were on Earth; Truly, O Caesar, every day we hear amazing things about this Jesus, he raises the dead, heals the sick...
There is so much majesty in His face that all who see Him are forced to love Him or fear Him. The expression of His face is very calm, He has a very peculiar and serious look, beautiful clear eyes; it is amazing that His eyes shine like the rays of the sun, no one can stare at His Face, because when it shines, it inspires fear, and when it radiates a soft light, it causes tears;
He evokes love for himself, His face is joyful, although serious; it is said that no one has ever seen him laugh, but they have seen him weep.
Conversation with Him is very pleasant, but He rarely speaks; and when one approaches Him, one finds in Him great modesty in manner and in all personality. He is the most beautiful person imaginable, much like his mother, who has a rare beauty. Such a beautiful maiden has never been seen in these parts.
With his learning, he is admired by the whole city of Jerusalem, he knows all the sciences and has never studied anything. He walks barefoot and bareheaded. Many laugh at His appearance, but in His presence, speaking to Him, they tremble and admire. It is said that a man like Him was never heard of in these parts. And we have never heard such advice, such sermons as this Christ teaches. Many consider Him divine...
They say that this Jesus never harmed anyone, but on the contrary, those who know Him, who met Him, claim that they received great blessings and health from Him ... "
In the book "Supermundane" it is said about Christ: "... He knew how to speak briefly and simply." (Elevated, 160)
“... In the simplest words, He gave instructions to the whole essence of life. It was precisely the value of His feat that lay in simplicity. This simplicity was not invented for the people, but the beauty was that the highest was expressed the simplest words. You have to constantly turn the complex into the simple. Goodness is expressed only in simplicity ... " (Elevated, 150)
“Wisely He gave a simple word to the people about the foundations of life.” (Elevated, 146)
"AND Christ worked very hard. By carpentry and pottery he earned his livelihood. This side of the life of the Great Teacher is almost not noted in the selected Scriptures, but it is preserved in the apocrypha and, of course, in esoteric records. (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2 11.02.38)
Apocrypha tells that the feet of Christ "burned like a simple drover", (J. Saint-Hilaire. Cryptograms of the East. P.42) when He walked through the burning desert.
“He did not need earthly property. All His short life passed in continuous wanderings and preaching activities.
His clothes consisted of a simple homespun chiton, sewn by the hands of the Mother. Truly, Christ was not of this earthly world, but of the Higher, Fiery World.” (Lights of the World. Part 2. Novosibirsk, 1994)
“He did not refuse to attend holiday meetings and talked about everyday needs.
Only a few noticed how much wise advice was given with a smile and encouragement. And his smile was beautiful. Even the students did not always appreciate this sincerity.
They sometimes condemned when, in their opinion, the Teacher paid too much attention to an insignificant person. Meanwhile, beautiful vessels opened under such smiles.
There were also condemnations for conversations with women, but the Teaching was guarded by women.
They also condemned the presence of the so-called pagans, forgetting that the Teacher came to the people, and not for one sect.
I mention such condemnations, because they made the Image of the Great Wayfarer even more humane.
If He did not come into contact with life and did not suffer, then His feat would lose its greatness.
No one thought what sufferings were caused to Him by contact with various disordered radiations.». (Overground, 152)
“He gathered all the Light in himself. He was filled with renunciation of selfhood and earthly property. He knew the Palace of the Spirit and the Fiery Temple.” (World Fiery part 1, 589)
THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST. OBJECTIVES AND SIGNIFICANCE OF HIS FEAT
Christ's death on the cross was not the end, but only a stage in His yet unfinished spiritual Mission on Earth. He resurrected, as he promised, not in a physical body, but in a subtle body, for “corruptible cannot become incorruptible” - this was said by Christ himself.
“Now none of the intelligent or enlightened people doubts that Christ was resurrected not in his physical body, but in a subtle body, or a body of Light. Does not the Apostle Paul confirm this with his repeated sayings - “corruptible cannot become incorruptible” or “we will not die, but we will be changed”, etc.
It is also emphasized in the Gospels that Christ, after his death on the cross or his resurrection, usually, when he appeared, became visible suddenly and just as suddenly disappeared. It is these sudden appearances and disappearances (as it is now scientifically established) that are so characteristic of the temporary materialization of the subtle body.
In the Gnostic literature one can find indications that it was during such appearances that Christ conveyed to the disciples the secrets of the other world. (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2 03.12.37)
Meaning of the Sacrifice of Christ
- Jesus Christ went out to preach knowledge to the crowds and accepted a shameful death on the cross for this, so that Imprint this feat in the minds of people with Your sacrifice and thereby preserve Your Teaching.
- “... In the fact that Christ, desiring show the strength of the spirit over physical matter, took the cup of achievement and sealed the covenant with his blood, brought to them, there is no more love than if someone lays down his life for his friends" ».
“His task was to make the way with human feet and hands and show people, what in the greatest love for humanity, one can sacrifice oneself and endure the most severe torments for the desire to bring people the light of the Truths they constantly forget”. (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2, from 01/26/39)
- Only death could overcome death. Otherwise, how would people believe that it does not exist if the Resurrection had not been revealed after death?
“There is no lie in the lines of the Gospels that speak of the resurrection and ascension of Christ. There is only the thoughtlessness of followers and readers, or the misleading of their flock by selfish and ignorant princes of the church.
It is absolutely wild to imagine that Christ thought to prove the existence of an afterlife by the fact that, having subjected himself to a most painful death, he would again come to life in the same body. Not, not a meaningless resurrection in a physical body was the goal of Christ. Christ wanted to prove the conscious existence of man in the Supermundane World and in a shell corresponding to that World.
After His crucifixion, Christ decomposed His physical body into atoms, therefore His body was not found. .
“After the crucifixion, Christ in his subtle body repeatedly appeared to the disciples and for eleven years taught Mary Magdalene the mysteries of the supermundane. The records of Mary Magdalene after her death were kept by the Apostle John.
Jesus Christ trampled down death by His death.
- Only a victim! The sacrifice made by the High Spirit could save mankind from spiritual fall! Only the Sacrifice of the High Spirit could balance the situation that had developed at that time on Earth.
Incredibly painful is the entry into dense rough matter for the Greatest Spirit. "But only being in matter may have been give people a new commandment and offer an atoning sacrifice for their sins, the consequences of which otherwise, having fallen upon their parents, would have buried them under them.(N.D. Spirina "On the Great Sacrifice"April 24, 1994)
Jesus Christ sacrificed himself for the Salvation of Mankind, although only a select few can take advantage of this GREAT SACRIFICE.
The Teachers expect only one thing from us - that we take advantage of Their Sacrifice, so that it is not in vain. ». (N.D. Spirina "On the Great Sacrifice" April 24, 1994)
« So if His great example and feat kindled a flame in our hearts, and we fulfill His covenant, then we can say that He did not suffer in vain, and the Chalice that He accepted, precisely, sealed the Covenant.
But if we imagine that whatever we do, whatever crimes we commit, the shed blood of Christ forever saved us from the power of the devil then, verily, we shall be these very devils! Nobody can save another.Only by one's own efforts does the spirit rise into the predestined beautiful worlds ». (Letters of Helena Roerich. Vol. 2. 06/8/1936)
- Jesus Christ - Teacher of Light, who accepted a shameful death, gave birth to such causes, powerful and lasting effects that acted and grew over millennia.
The infinitely beautiful Image of Christ has become the leading one for two millennia of human history. His name did not leave indifferent any aspiring consciousness.
His Teaching gave the world hundreds of saints .
- « As having power, He also entered the Subtle World, giving people an example of how the spirit that conquered the world should behave. "Be of good cheer," He said to the disciples, "for I have conquered the world." (G.A.Y. 1969 165. (Guru)
-
"Is Christ the crucified thought about the salvation of His Soul.
Even in a small way, try to be like Him. Compassion, compassion, compassion, We call, we call to you already many times - be like that. (Call 07/25/1922)
- The plan of Christ is being fulfilled on the planet. He is accepted by the Masters.
“Christ was the Greatest. Loving Him, we love all the Great Teachers of mankind. He is the true Messiah of all nations and the Great Avatar of Vishnu in our Manvantara." (H.I. Roerich - E.A. Gubareva, dated 11/18/1948)
Followers of the Living Ethics Teaching consider Jesus Christ one of the greatest Teachers of mankind. His appearance on Earth is an exceptional event for the entire planet.
“We are not yet able to evaluate its significance and contain it with our consciousness,” since “to cover all the facets of the feat of Christ and His Teachings is beyond the limits of human capabilities.” (Spirina N.D. Complete collection of works. T. 4. Novosibirsk, 2011. P. 201).
*****
“... A powerful confession of Vivekananda is heard: “If I met Jesus on my way, I would wash His feet with the blood of my heart” (N.K. Roerich. Altai - Himalayas. S. 46)
"Vivekananda... asked the so-called Christians, 'If you love the teachings of Jesus so much, why don't you follow him in anything?'" (N.K. Roerich. Altai - Himalayas. S. 21)
TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST
Living Ethics says: “... Going to the nations, you need to have idea of the lowest consciousness.
... You need to stock up on all resourcefulness, so that even to catch the human sound in the animal roar». (World Fiery part 2, 323)
Going among the people, Jesus speaks from the smallest consciousness. He does not push anyone away from Himself, neither rich nor poor.
one. " Christ gave two main commandments:
- On the love of God ("Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind") and
- About love for your neighbor. ("Love your neighbor as yourself"
All his other teachings and parables are only a further disclosure of these two concepts on which the world rests.
And the simpler the precepts, the more difficult they are to fulfill.
In the first case , required complete detachment from oneself, selfless love for God with all the heart, and with all the soul, and with all the mind;
second - equating oneself with everyone else and with everything else. For by neighbor is meant all created being - and all beings, and all nature, and our planet, and the Cosmos.
In the presence of love, there is no indifferent attitude towards anything and anyone, but there is desire for good and good to everyone and everything as to oneself.
And in this second love, a person enters the entire universe as its particle, dissolves in it; and everything that happens in this universe is done with it itself.
A striking example of this merging with everyone was given by Christ in the words that pierce the soul: "... What you did to one of the least of My brothers, you did to Me." (Mat. 25:40)." (N.D.Spirina. "Living Ethics about Christ", 1993)
2. Jesus Christ Taught the Immortality of the Spirit
“By the time of the coming of Christ, the understanding of the immortality of the soul was lost and forgotten. Death, as the final destruction, stood in the perspective of everyone, there was no meaning in life. “And the people sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, and light shone on them.”
The light that shone was the resurrection of Christ after three days of death. He trampled down the concept of death, and the light of Truth, the light of true knowledge, shone again on people.
“Christ is risen, and we will rise again,” said those who believed in Christ.
"Death, where is your sting?!" - exclaimed those who knew the truth of immortality; and earthly death was not terrible for them.
3. Jesus Christ Taught Eternity and Detachment
“That’s not how people live. How can I stop the destructive storm? How can I open the sky to people? Why are they cut off from the Eternal Being to which they belong? (Cryptograms of the East 2. From the Life of Christ)
Jesus Christ "directed human consciousness to the highest." (Elevated, 150).
“The teacher said: “Brothers, decisively for everything you find considerable time but to the Highest you leave only brief moments. If you were to give to the Highest only the time spent on meals, then you would have already become teachers.” Thus He taught the vital benefits of turning to the Highest.” (Elevated, 156).
From the legend “The Descent of Christ into Hell”: “The teacher turned in the lower layers of the astral world and said: “Why do you forever tie yourself to the earth with thoughts about the earth?” And many rebelled and rose up higher. (Illumination, 2-VIII-2)
The Teaching of Living Ethics says: “If the consciousness of mankind could compare the eternal with the transient, then there would be glimpses of understanding of the Cosmos, for all the values of mankind are based on an eternal foundation. But mankind was so imbued with respect for the transient that it forgot about the Eternal. ... When they understand that the spirit is eternal, then both infinity and immortality will enter into life.” (The Fiery World, III, 363).
“His teaching impelled people to the possibility of the spirit. (...) ...He could do anything.
He walked on water like dry land, healed with one touch, revived the dead, but people demanded more and more evidence. Many agree to become righteous, but first give us a guarantee of earthly goods. “His path was empty, for the people, having received a gift from Him, hastily scattered.” (J. Saint-Hilaire. Cryptograms of the East. P.47)
4. Jesus taught to resist evil
“Non-resistance to evil is the admission of the invasion of chaos, as a result of which all kinds of disasters and the death of multitudes often occur.
Unfortunately, it is customary to consider the Teachings of Christ as the teachings of non-resistance to evil. This is the greatest delusion. Exactly Christ severely denounced all evil, all hypocrisy and negligence towards good.
But one must be able to recognize where resistance to evil is possible, and what measures are applicable in each case, unreason in choosing them can lead to even greater disaster or decay.
You also need to know that every spiritual Master takes an oath not to strike those who encroach on His life. So and Christ could not resist the brute force directed against Him. But He resisted evil with his every word, every action, when it not concerned him personally». (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2 01/26/39)
Helena Ivanovna Roerich writes: “It is customary to depict Christ as some kind of all-forgiving non-resistance, but such a representation is, first of all, blasphemous.
Didn't Christ himself say: "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."(from Luke, 12, 51).
Also, the historical words about beating on the left and right cheek gave rise to many misconceptions. Indeed, if what has been said is taken bodily, then nonsense will result. But the covenant was given in spiritual sense, exactly, with an internal balance, the attempts of evil cannot harm. (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1932-1955, dated 06/23/38)
"Now, as He did Christ? Didn't He drive out the merchants in the Temple with a whip? And how severely He reproved the Pharisees and scribes! Will we reproach Him for contradicting Himself, understanding His words “forgive your enemies” as non-resistance to evil? No, it's time to illuminate the Teachings of Christ in its true sense, and not in the narrow ecclesiastical interpretation imposed on us.
There are many places in the Gospel that can only be explained by the laws of Karma and reincarnation..
... In all the Teachings it is forbidden to repay evil for evil, but righteous indignation and spiritual resistance to evil are indicated everywhere. Everywhere one speaks of the Sword of the Spirit and of the highest Justice. Only cowardice can see justice in connivance and in allowing the dark to trample on everything that is light. There are many paragraphs in the Teaching that point to effective resistance to evil. (Letters from H.I. Roerich to America, vol. 1, dated 10/22/1934)
“When the Lord said that he was bringing the earth not world, but the sword, then no one understood the Great Truth. Purification of the spirit by fire is this sword! Is it possible to manifest cleansing without smashing? Is it possible to purify aspiration without destroying litter? Is it possible to manifest an achievement without striving of the spirit? Only the sword that smashes the self brings the spirit to the Higher World. He who rests on a false world builds, verily, self-destruction. Thus, the command of the Lord about the sword gives an image of purification. (Infinity part 2, 569)
“... We must resist evil, if we don't want to be swamped by a wave of evil."(Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.1 05/26/34)
5. Christ taught to expand consciousness
"Remember how Christ taught about the expansion of consciousness. He repeated: "Open your eyes and ears." Not only to His teachings He offered to open the ears, of course, He pointed out how deep the meaning can be assimilated with an expanded consciousness. But you can't put a rope in the eye of a needle. A big message doesn't fit in a small ear." (Roerich E.I. Letters. 1929-1938 v.2 05.04.38)
Helena Ivanovna Roerich wrote: "Spirituality is achieved only by the purification of thoughts and labor, strive along this highest and shortest path ... Let us remember that this is a formidable struggle that the human spirit is destined to wage for the striving for truth and perfection dear to it ... New Epoch will shine with a new understanding of the DOCTRINE OF CHRIST.
6. About women
Christ spoke of the great role of women: “Honor the woman - the mother of the universe; in it lies the truth of creation. She is the foundation of everything good and beautiful... Bless her... She is your only friend and support on earth. Do not subject her to humiliation, by doing this you will only humiliate yourself. By doing this, you will lose that feeling of love, without which nothing here on earth exists. (N.K. Roerich.Altai - Himalayas. Riga: Vieda, 1992)
"Christ for 11 years after his resurrection in a subtle body, he taught Mary Magdalene the secrets of the Supermundane World. So it was. The writings of Mary Magdalene have almost all disappeared, only fragments remain, and now you can find them in Gnostic literature. Similarly, the "Gospel of John" was written by Mary Magdalene, she alone was a highly educated disciple among the followers of Christ. If it were not for Mary Magdalene, it is unlikely that anything would have come down to us from the true words of Christ. (Letters of H.I. Roerich to America v.4 11/13/1948)
7. On the Importance of Applying the Testaments of Christ in Action
“The importance of applying the covenants given for our salvation is repeatedly taught in the gospel. “Not everyone who says to me: “Lord! Lord!” will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in Heaven,” says Christ.
This saying also makes it clear that the mechanical repetition of the Name does not produce the desired spiritual results.
Indeed, it is much easier to repeatedly repeat the sacred Name or mantras, repeat prayers a certain number of times, bow down, than to show at least a small measure of sympathy for one's neighbor and kindle true love for the Highest in one's heart. By this substitution of the authentic for the imaginary, people deceive themselves and deceive others and lead them away from the path indicated by the precepts of the Great Teachers.
Christ likens the one who fulfills the commandments to a man who built his house on a stone (on the basis of cosmic laws), and neither winds nor floods could demolish it; but the one who hears and does not perform - who built a house on the sand, and that house was demolished by the storm of life - "and his fall was great." (N.D. Spirina "Conversation on Easter Day")
"... No mechanical communion can save our souls, for "faith without works is dead"". (Letters of Helena Roerich. Vol. 2. 06/8/1936) Without a spiritual impulse in us, no rite has any meaning.
Christ said: "Do not pray in any way, but in the spirit."
The roots of all beliefs are not in rites, but in the foundations. And the matter is decided by the conscious and voluntary entry of a person onto the evolutionary path intended for him, the path of labor on himself and the tireless struggle with his imperfections so that the Divine could triumph in him.
Little has been preserved in the church canonical gospels of indications of the posthumous appearances of Christ, it was then that He gave the main part of His Teaching.
Judging by apocryphal sources, Christ informed his disciples about the structure of the Universe, about the existence of the Subtle and Fiery Worlds, about the Cosmic Hierarchy and its eternal struggle with the forces of darkness, about the structure of man.
AT Gospels of Mary Magdalene Christ directly affirms the universal unity of the World, says that any division into spirit and matter is conditional, reports that the Son of Man is his immortal Spirit, and those who live for their Spirit, and not only for the physical body, will gain final liberation from the carnal and merge with the Heavenly Father.
Christ taught that true truth, which was hidden from people and distorted... He purified the ancient precious pearl of Knowledge and gave it to the world.
He said that God is not only with man. God is in every person. And the purer the human soul, the more it is filled with love for people, the closer it is to God.
And the road to God, to God the Father, does not pass through priests at all. And not through the temple.
He said that the Kingdom of God is within the person himself, although the road to it is not easy. This Kingdom of the Spirit is taken "by force". And this battle is the most difficult and unusual - it is a battle of a person with himself, with his egoism, with various shortcomings of his own nature, with unworthy desires and thoughts. Such a Kingdom of God cannot be bought with any amount of money.
“Whoever wants to follow Me, let him renounce his will and let him be ready for all the hardships and sufferings of the flesh for every hour, then only he will be able to follow Me. Because the one who wants to take care of his carnal life will deprive himself of the true life. And whoever refuses to be a slave of the flesh, doing the will of the Heavenly Father, will save the true life. For what is the benefit to a man if he gains the whole world, but destroys or damages his own life.
“He also said: “When you turn from your whole heart, you will feel, as it were, a strong thread connecting with the Great Heart.”
He also said: “Do not disturb each other when you see that someone is deep in prayer. You can harm a person, you can break his heart with unreasonable interference.
He also said: “Know how to show purity, and rinse your mouth after each meal. Do not get drunk, for in madness man is worse than the last animal.”
He also said: "Do not eat meat, if possible."
So you can find in the apocrypha many hints about all aspects of life. In addition to the apocrypha already found, several more can be discovered. Let's not judge the time of the recordings, because they were copied and translated more than once.
Also, let's not forget that the established scriptures are chosen at random from the many available. Thus, one should treat with attention everything that has come down from past centuries. Also, let's not forget that in later centuries the Apocrypha were not written down, and they belonged to centuries not very distant from events. Let us not treat only negatively, for even now fragments of ancient scriptures are being found.” (Elevated, 156)
“The Teacher also said: “Beware of bad thoughts, they will turn on you and settle on your shoulders, like a disgusting leprosy. But good thoughts will rise up and lift you up. You need to know how much a person carries within himself both the healing light and the darkness of death.
He also said: “We part here, but we can meet in the vestments of Light. Let's not worry about the bazaars, because in the realm of Light, clothes are given out at will. Let's not be sad when our best friends are waiting for us with joy.
He also said: "Let's not regret what wears out quickly, for strong clothes are already ready for us."
He also said: “You are used to being afraid of death, because you were not told about the transition to a better world.”
He also said: “You need to understand that good friends will work together there too.”
Thus, the Great Pilgrim constantly taught eternity and the power of thought. But such covenants were understood only by a few. It is even impossible to imagine how small the number of those who memorized the words of the Teacher was! Meanwhile, He knew how to speak briefly and simply.” (Elevated, 160)
“The Great Wayfarer himself taught the need for balance. It may be asked - did He point to cosmogony? He only affirmed the existence of many worlds and directed thought to the Highest. Such a statement was necessary for the people, because in the future people considered the small Earth to be the only abode of mankind. And now many are trying to limit thinking only to the Earth. Thus the Teacher called to realize the greatness of the Universe. (Elevated, 169)
"He also taught on the superiority of knowledge over ignorance. Knowledge is the result of great labor. People cannot succeed if they do not hasten in cognition. But only a few can help the people in knowledge, and we will render honor to those persons. Each of them not only read what had already been written, but also contributed a drop of their own knowledge. Such a drop there is the gift of Infinity. (Elevated, 174)
He said, "Be perfect as your Heavenly Father." (Matthew 5:42-48)
"Whoever receives me, receives the one who sent me."
"My Teaching is not mine, but the one who sent me."
“I can do nothing of Myself, for I do not seek My Will, but the Will of the Father Who sent Me.” “No one has seen God anywhere, for God is Fire,” and this Fire is in each of us.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT OF JESUS CHRIST
THE BURNING OF THE HOLY FIRE IN JERUSALEM
MATERIALS USED
Books of the Teaching of Living Ethics
Facets of Agni Yoga
Letters from Helena Ivanovna Roerich
N.K. Roerich "Altai - Himalayas"
J. Saint-Hilaire. Cryptograms of the East
Report by N.D. Spirina “On the Great Sacrifice” (SibRO, 1994)
Report by N.D. Spirina "Living Ethics about the Teachings of Jesus Christ" (SibRO, 1993)
Report by N.D. Spirina "Conversation on Easter Day" (SibRO, 1991)
Report by O.A. Olkhovaya "Resurrection of the Spirit" (SibRO, 2003)
Report by O.A. Olkhovaya “... New era will shine with a new awareness of the Teachings of Christ "(SibRO, 2012)
Chronology of the earthly life of Jesus Christ
Victor I. Spiny
Ukraine, Sevastopol
06.01. – 01/07/2010
Email: [email protected]
The whole history of mankind was divided by the arrival of Jesus into the world into periods “before the birth of Christ” and “after the birth of Christ”. His appearance on Earth is considered a turning point in human history. Therefore, it is important to know which historical period in fact, the son of God lived among mere mortals.
All known studies on the time of the earthly life of Jesus Christ did not give an exact answer to the questions of the date of His birth and crucifixion, and speak only of the erroneous views of various authors on this topic.
For those who want to know the historical truth, this work provides an exhaustive answer to this important ancient question of Christian civilization.
As it turned out, the exact date of the birth of Jesus Christ, in the Summer of 5500 from Adam, is reported by the Chronicle of the Tale of Bygone Years, which indicated the exact coordinate of the countdown in the calendar of Ancient Russia: Summer 6360 from Adam, identical to 842 AD, the year of the death of Theophilus, Emperor of Byzantium, whose son Michael III was crowned king that year.
It was these events in the year 842 of the new era that served as a guide for the chronicler in the river of historical time, for linking the Old Russian calendar to the European time of our days.
From which it follows that the number of years "5518" is the beginning of a new era, European time, for chronology in Russia, because, 6360 - 842 = 5518.
Therefore, Summer 5518 is the beginning of a new era, European time, in the history of Kievan Rus in Tauris.
And since Jesus Christ was born in 5500 years from Adam, then this is the Nativity of Christ, which was in 18 BC.
From the difference in 5518 - 5500 = 18 years, it follows that Jesus Christ already lived 18 years before the beginning of the new era, and the apologists of the Christian civilization understood this only in 2009 AD.
Thus, it is established that Jesus Christ lived 18 years before the new era!
From this it follows, and we can say with full confidence that Jesus Christ was born under King Herod I the Great, who ruled from 37 BC. to 4 BC e., in the 19th year of the reign of the king.
Therefore, the Evangelist Matthew is right, testifying: “When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, the Magi from the East came to Jerusalem and said: “Where was the King of the Jews born? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.”
A note should be made here: the Father of the Child was a celestial, but not Joseph, and not David, and not Abraham, but rather the one who was the father of Isaac I, since the fatherhood of celestials, in descendants, as a rule, gave Kings on Earth.
Therefore, the born Infant, barely born, immediately had to become the King of the Jews.
The Evangelist Matthew correctly calls the Child a Child, until the time of the flight of Joseph and Mary with Jesus to Egypt.
Because from Egypt to the land of Israel it was far from being the “Baby” that returned, but a boy at the age of 14, at least if the return was in the 4th year BC, immediately after the death of Herod I the Great.
Or the “Child” returned from Egypt at the age of 24 (!) if the return was in the 6th year of the new era.
It depends on what year the Holy Family returned from Egypt.
The fact is that the return from Egypt was in the days of Archelaus, king of Judea, son of Herod the Great.
Archelaus reigned, after the death of Herod I the Great, from the 4th year BC to the 6th year of the new era, inclusive.
What do we read from the Evangelist Matthew: “After the death of Herod, behold, the Angel of the Lord appears in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and says: “Get up, take the “Baby” and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the souls of the “Baby” have died” .
Joseph got up, took the "Child" and His Mother, and came to the land of Israel.
When he heard that Archelaus reigned in Judea, instead of Herod, his father, he was afraid to go.
But, having received a revelation in a dream, he went to the borders of Galilee, and, having come, he settled in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken through the prophets would come true, that He would be called a Nazarene.
In the days of the birth of Jesus Christ, there was only one person, the only person, a historical person, and his name was Herod I the Great, who ruled from 37 to 4 BC.
Attention should be paid to the words of the Angel of the Lord, who appeared in a dream to Joseph:
“Get up, take the Child and His Mother and run to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod (the Great) wants to look for the Child in order to destroy Him.”
Attention should also be paid to the words of the Angel of the Lord, who appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt:
“Get up, take the “Child” and His Mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the souls of the “Child” have died.
Here is evidence that not only Herod I the Great was looking for the soul of the Baby, but also his servants, soldiers, could still be alive after the 4th year BC, and, as they did not fulfill the orders of King Herod the Great, they could still search for souls Baby.
Archelaus, the king of Judea, the son of Herod the Great, who also had to worry about the fate of the royal throne, for his primacy to be king of Judea, could also search for the soul of a baby.
But now, in the 6th year of the new era, the position of the king of Judea, Archelaus, the son of Herod I the Great, was shaken, since he was summoned to Rome that year, where the emperor Augustus demoted him and sent him into exile, and ordered the king's property to be confiscated.
In the 6th year of the new era, the Holy Family returned from Egypt, when Archelaus was still king, and had not yet been removed.
Therefore, Joseph was afraid to go to Judea, and went to the borders of Galilee, and, having come, he settled in a city called Nazareth.
A note should also be made here:
Thus, the historical persons and events mentioned in the gospel narratives turned out to be closely connected by one year - the 6th year of the new era.
Here are their names:
Herod I the Great, King of the Jews (37-4 BC),
Census in Judea (6 - 7 AD) by Quirinius,
ruler of Syria
Archelaus (4 BC - 6 AD), king of Judea,
son of Herod I the Great,
Anna (6-15 AD), high priest, father-in-law of the high priest
Nika Caiaphas (19-36 AD),
Sulpicius Quirinius (6-10 AD), legate of the Roman Empire,
Herod II Antipas (4 BC - 39 AD), ruler of Galilee,
Herod III Agrippa (AD 37), grandson of Herod I the Great.
Late and modern "researchers on the verge of the impossible" have no reason not to believe the "Gospel of Matthew", whom we see as a disciple of Jesus Christ, for this is Matthew the publican to whom Jesus said "follow me."
And "researchers on the verge of the impossible" should read the said Gospel more carefully.
One cannot agree with those who, while reading the Gospel of Matthew, are mistaken about the time of the birth of the Infant, not knowing the king on the days of his birth.
Indeed, from all of the above, it becomes clear that it was during the reign of King Herod I the Great, in the days of his reign, in 18 BC, that the infant Jesus Christ was born.
From the presented chronology of events, all authors, both ancient and modern, who have studied the period under consideration, must understand that Jesus Christ lived on Earth for 51 years, but not 33 years.
After all, it is known that in the 33rd year of the new era, in the 19th year of the reign of Tiberius - Caesar, Jesus Christ was crucified.
And it happened on the 1st of April, Friday, and He died at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. And on April 3, Sunday, Jesus was resurrected at 4 pm.
I personally came to this conclusion, but not the Evangelist Luke.
Evangelists can also make mistakes, like the Evangelist Luke, who first begins to preach the gospel “for health”, and a little later, and without any explanation, abruptly switches to the presentation “for the repose”.
Thus, the Evangelist Luke writes, addressing the flock a thousand years ahead:
“.. in the days of Herod, the King of the Jews (i.e., Herod I the Great) there was a priest named Zacharias, and his wife from the family of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth.”
Here “the days of Herod, king of Judea are the days of Herod I the Great, the 19th year (!) of his reign, or the 18th year BC!
To this should be added the following: Elizabeth was cloned by the seed of a representative of the forces of the Kingdom of Heaven, since "her husband Zachariah was old, they had no children, for Elizabeth was barren, and both were in advanced years."
But, nevertheless, "Elizabeth conceived in the womb, and" you are Zechariah, you will be silent and will not be able to speak until the day it comes true "
(so as not to chat too much, said the Angel of the Lord!)
“In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee, called Nazareth, to the Virgin, betrothed to a husband, the name of Joseph, from the house of David, the name of the Virgin, Mary.
The angel, entering to her, said: “Rejoice, Blessed One! The Lord is with you, blessed are you among women."
And Mary arose during these days, and went with haste into the hill country, to the city of Judah, and entered the house of Zechariah, and greeted Elizabeth.
When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby jumped up in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
And whence is it to me that the Mother of my Lord should come to me?
“And Mary was with her about three months and returned to her house.
The time has come for Elizabeth to give birth, and she gave birth to a son.
Here you should pay attention to the phrases, and the concepts of their meaning in the gospel:
“coming in to her” and “rising up Mary”?!
From everything it becomes clear that Jesus Christ was born six months later than John the Baptist the Forerunner.
“But the child of Elizabeth grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the wilderness until the day of his appearance to Israel.”
But here, in the Evangelist Luke, we find the only reliable date in accordance with the chronology of the new era regarding the life of the prophet John the Baptist, but not in relation to Jesus Christ.
This testimony has only an indirect relation to Jesus Christ.
And to John the Baptist - direct.
Here it is:
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea, Herod was tetrarch in Galilee (Herod II Antipas),
Philip, his brother, tetrarch in Iturea and the region of Trachonites, and Lysanias tetrarch in Abilene,
Under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, there was a word of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness.
It was then, at that time, in that year, and not before, that John, the son of Zechariah, received from God a blessing to serve as the Baptist.
And, only after that blessing of God, John began his ministry:
"And he (John) went through all the country around the Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins."
And it was the 29th year of the new era!
08/19/14 of the new era + the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar is the 29th year of the new era,
Where August 19, 14 AD is the date of the death of Emperor Augustus and the beginning of the reign of Tiberius Caesar.
As it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, who says: "the voice of one crying in the wilderness."
John the Baptist?!
Not said.
Evangelists don't say that.
Or?! It was the voice of the Creator of the Kingdom of Heavenly Forces in the desert:
“Prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight.
Let every valley be filled, and let every mountain and hill be lowered, crookedness straightened and uneven paths, made smooth, and all flesh will see the salvation of God.
According to the text that we now know, which says that the 28th year of the new era passed and the 29th year of the new era began, and then John received a blessing from God for the ministry of Baptism.
Until that time, there was no activity of the ministry of Jesus Christ, since the Baptism of Jesus did not yet take place, it did not take place physically.
Here and now, the Evangelist Luke speaks only of John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Jesus Christ, but not of Jesus Christ, as they thought before and still think now, about this date:
“In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate ruled in Judea, Herod (II Antipas) was tetrarch in Galilee ...” ...
"... under the high priests Anna and Caiaphas, there was a word of God to John, the son of Zechariah, in the wilderness."
It seems that we should agree that over trifles there will be no word of God to John, as well as to any mortal.
“The Gospel of Luke” begins as follows: “As many have already begun to compose narratives about events that are completely known between us, as they conveyed to us that which was from the very beginning by eyewitnesses (Matthew and John) and ministers of the Word (Jesus Christ), then it was decided to me, according to careful study of everything first, describe in order ... "
…. “... to you, venerable Theophilus, so that you learn the solid foundation of the teaching in which you were instructed.”
Here it should be noted whether the Evangelist Luke addresses the emperor of Byzantium Theophilus, who ruled until 20.01.842 of a new era?
Isn't he the latest evangelist here?!
Because, the solid foundation of that teaching of Jesus Christ, he, Luke, sets out quite confidently, but as for the chronology of the years of the life of Jesus Christ and the date of His birth,
Here is the Evangelist Luke, if, of course, he and his name are genuine, and not someone's pseudonym, or if this is not a censor or a church editor,
Moreover, he is rather uneducated in matters of history, which are not so important to him, Luke the Evangelist, the author,
But his dating is incorrect and distorts information to people so that no one understands anything about the date of birth of the Savior,
Therefore, he is godlessly mistaken in the date of birth of the Infant, when Luke the Evangelist writes:
“In those days a command went out from Caesar Augustus to make a census of all the earth. This census was the first in the reign of Quirinius over Syria.
And everyone went to sign up in their own city.
Joseph also went from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, called Bethlehem, because he was from the house and family of David, to register with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was pregnant.
Yea, and she gave birth to her Firstborn Son, and swaddled Him. And she put Him in a manger, because there was no place for them in an inn.”
Here again, attention should be paid to the error of the Evangelist Luke, who presents his error as the truth.
He also writes from the beginning that under King Herod I the Great of Judea, in 19-18 BC,
Mary conceived in the same year as Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist,
Forerunner of Christ, and her husband was Zechariah,
And only in the 6th year of the new era, Mary gave birth, under the emperor Augustus,
Commanded Quirinius to make a census of the population and property in the Syrian province of Judea, including in the land of Galilee.
Here is the information we have:
And Maria was 24 years pregnant! (according to Luke).
And only in the 25th year from conception, Mary gave birth (to Luke).
As you can see, the church did not finish watching here, did not take into account the chronology of the years of history.
Luca what? “Zhihav out of the blue, what’s up?”, confused in the facts?
Unless, of course, it is he, and not some "expert-researcher from the field of the impossible" messed everything up.
Where is the evidence from Luke?! Where did they get these testimonies?
“In the days of Herod, king of the Jews, there was a priest from the line of Abiev, named Zechariah, and his wife from the family of Aaron, her name was Elizabeth”?!
Well, Luke has a statement to preach the holy gospel: “according to a thorough study of everything, first, describe in order” ...
I will not judge from Luke: “about the solid foundation of the doctrine in which I was instructed” ...
But in matters of the chronology of world history, "Luke" does not fit into any framework, it is mistaken.
It is probably no coincidence that in ancient times, educated people understood that the Evangelist Luke, or the one who hides under his name, was either mistaken or told a lie to believers.
In a word, Luka was a cunning.
However, thanks to the reliable testimony of the Gospel of Luke, on another date,
We have established that John the Baptist, the Forerunner of Christ,
Received the blessing and authority to be baptized in water and water, in the 29th year of the new era.
And for this we are grateful to him, Luka.
But, in continuation of the development of events of that date in Luke,
Consider the Evangelist Mark the Holy Gospel, which specifically tells us about the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ after being baptized by John
“The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as it is written by the prophets:
“Behold, I am sending my angel before you, who will prepare your way before you.”
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord,
Make straight paths for Him."
And here it is necessary to explain.
In this, in Mark we read: “the voice of one crying in the wilderness”, “prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight”. Rather, it should be understood in the sense that humanity of the time of Herod I the Great, Herod II Antipas, Herod III Agrippa is still that humanity that has not reached a sufficiently high civilization in its development, sufficient to understand the world around it and highly moral relations between people .
So, Jesus Christ will do a lot of good deeds: heal, raise from the dead, turn water into wine, feed five thousand hungry people with five loaves. Food products will be revealed from the air, from the surrounding material environment, and yet, for all that, earthly humanity, in the person of the Jews, and the Jews will condemn them to death and bring Jesus Christ, the Son of God, from among the living. Moreover, it is completely in vain, not knowing that this is vain work, and that before there was Abraham, there was Jesus Christ. "I am"! That there is no death for the God-like. That the Son of God is immortal. That all this tragic performance with the crucifixion and taking on sins is needed only to show the sons of the earth that the Gods are stronger than death. And that people are also Gods, that they are descendants of the Sons of Men. This is the reason and meaning of the appearance of Christ to the people! Jesus Christ is immortal, for he is righteous and philanthropic, merciful and omnipotent, therefore he performs miracles in the world of people.
In the Holy gospels of the evangelists, there is only talk about the power of the heavenly forces and the Kingdom of Heaven, that God will create children for Abraham from stones.
So, the evangelist Mark speaks briefly, clearly, fundamentally and specifically, testifying: “John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the land of Judea and Jerusalem came out to him. And they were all baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins. John wore clothes made of camel's hair and a leather belt around his loins, ate locusts and wild honey. And preaching, saying: “The strongest of me is coming after me, in whose presence I am not worthy, bending down to untie the strap of my shoes. Him I baptized with water, and He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
And it was the 29th year of the new era! "And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized by John in the Jordan."
And as he was coming out of the water, immediately John saw the heavens open and the Spirit,
like a dove descending on Him."
Immediately after the baptism of Jesus Christ from John the Baptist, as the Evangelist Mark reports in the Holy Gospel: “And a voice came from heaven: “You are My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
One must understand the voice from heaven as a parting word and blessing from the Father to the Son, as an inspiration to the Son to accept earthly passions in order to correct death itself and move humanity towards greater humanity and love for one's neighbor. So the Kingdom of Heaven sends the Son of God and the Messiah to Earth to help us, from the limits of the Universe.
It was the 29th year of the new era in Judea, when, having been baptized by John in the Jordan, Jesus Christ received the authority of Holiness, the Son of God and the Power of the Messiah.
Thus, after 46 years from the date of birth, Jesus Christ received the rights and powers and the Power of the Son of God to work miracles:
Heal hopelessly sick people, resurrect from the dead, turn water into wine,
Feed thousands of people with five loaves,
And everything else and more
What the evangelists write out so carefully, literally repeating each other.
Without continuing the chronology of the life of the Jew Jesus Christ until his 46 years,
It can be assumed
That he lived an ordinary earthly life,
He was considered the son of the carpenter Joseph,
Probably, he worked as a carpenter, than he earned his living and food.
Probably had a family and offspring.
Probably his wife was Mary Magdalene.
But the Christian hierarchs and evangelists did not say a word about this, so as not to reveal the true essence of the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
To resolve the problem facing us of the question of the chronology of the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
Let us turn to the Holy Gospel from the Evangelist John,
Witness and eyewitness, moreover, beloved student,
Of which Jesus says, "I want him to remain until I come."
(From the cross!? Or the second coming?!).
“This disciple testifies of this, and wrote this.
And we know that his Testimony is true.
Jesus created many other things, but if I could write about them in detail, I think that the world itself would not contain the books that were written.
Here are the testimonies from John that we believe to be authentic,
As the closest disciple of the Great Teacher:
"The Passover of the Jews" of the 29th year of the new era was approaching.
This was the first calendar year of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the year of the beginning of His ministry.
Then, in the year 29 AD, for the first time He manifested himself as the Messiah:
“Jesus came to Jerusalem and found that oxen, rams and doves were being sold in the temple, and money changers were sitting.
And he made a scourge of ropes, drove them all out of the temple, also sheep, and oxen, and scattered money from the money changers, and overturned their tables.
And he said to the sellers of pigeons: “Take this from here.
And do not make my Father's house a house of trade."
To this the Jews said, “By what sign will you prove to us that you have authority to do this?”
Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."
The Jews said to this:
“This Temple took forty-six years to build, and in three days You will raise it up?”
And He spoke about “the temple of His body”, about His Faith.
It can be assumed that here we have an indication of the age of the earthly life of Jesus Christ at 46 years, since we already know that Jesus lived 18 years before the new era and 28 years in the new era, therefore the number of years of his life on Earth, on that time was forty-six years.
It is spoken here indirectly, in parables, and, allegorically, in order to create mystery and consistency for the affirmation of faith in Jesus Christ.
“The Passover of the Jews, the feast of the Jews” of the 30th year of the new era was approaching.
It was the beginning of the second year according to the calendar of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the first year of His ministry had already passed.
Then, in the 30th year of the new era, it was:
“Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a multitude of people were coming to him, said to Philip: “Where can we buy bread to feed them?
Philip answered him:
“Two hundred denarii will not be enough bread for them, so that each of them gets at least a little.”
One of His disciples, Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, says to Him:
“Here one boy has five barley loaves and two fish, but what is this for such a multitude?”
Jesus said, "Tell them to lie down."
There was a lot of grass in that place.
So the people sat down, about five thousand in number.
Jesus, taking the loaves and giving thanks, distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to those reclining, also the fish, as many as they wanted.
And when they've had enough
Then he said to his disciples: “Gather up the remaining pieces so that nothing is lost.”
And they gathered and filled twelve baskets with pieces of five barley loaves left over from those who had eaten.
Then the people who saw the miracle performed by Jesus said:
"It is true, that is the prophet who is to come into the world."
Jesus, having learned that they wanted to come, accidentally take Him and make Him king, again withdrew to the mountain alone.
It was the third year in the calendar of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
And it was the second year of His ministry.
When, in the 31st year of the new era, it was:
“Then his brothers said to him:
“Get out of here and go to Judea.
For Your disciples to see the works that You do.
For no one does anything in secret, and seeks to be known himself.
If You do such things, then reveal Yourself to the world,
For even his brothers did not believe in him.
To this Jesus said to them:
“My time has not yet come, but there is always time for you.
The world cannot hate you, but they hate me,
Because I testify of him that his deeds are evil.
You will go to this feast,
And I will not go yet, to this holiday,
Because My time has not yet come.
Having said this to them, he remained in Galilee.
It was the fourth year in the calendar of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and it was the third year of His ministry.
Then, in the 32nd year of the new era, it was:
“And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon's porch.
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him:
“How long will You keep us in ignorance?
If You are the Christ, tell us directly.
Jesus answered them:
“I told you, and do not believe, the works that I do in the name of my Father, they testify of me.
But you do not believe, for you are not of my sheep,
As I told you
And I know them, and they follow Me.
And I give them eternal life,
And they will never die.
And no one will snatch them out of My hand. my father
who gave them to me,
Most.
And no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.
“Jesus spoke again to the people and said to them again:
"I am the light of the world, whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
Then the Pharisees said to him:
"You testify of yourself, your testimony is not true."
Jesus answered them:
“If I testify to Myself, My testimony is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going.
You judge according to the flesh, I do not judge anyone.
And if I judge, then My judgment is true,
Because I am not alone, but I am the Father who sent me.
And it is written in your law that the testimony of two men is true.
I testify of myself
And the Father who sent me testifies of me.
Then they said to Him, “Where is your Father?”
Jesus answered:
“You do not know me or my Father,
If you knew Me, you would also know My Father.”
These were the words Jesus spoke at the treasury when he taught in the temple.
And no one took Him, because His hour had not yet come.
Again Jesus said to them:
"I'm leaving
And you will look for me
And you will die in your sin.
Where am I going,
You cannot go there."
Here the Jews said:
“Will He kill Himself,
What does it say, "where I go, you cannot come"?
He told them:
"You are from the bottom,
I am from above
You are of this world
I am not of this world.
That's why I told you
that you will die in your sins,
For if you do not believe,
What is it I
You will die in your sins."
Then they said to Him, “Who are you?”
Jesus told them:
"From the beginning, Being,
As I tell you.
I have a lot to say
And judge you
He who sent me is true,
And what I heard from Him
That's what I say to the world."
They did not understand what He was saying to them about the Father.
So Jesus said to them:
“When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that it is I
And that I do nothing of Myself,
But as my Father taught me,
Ak and I say
He who listens to Me is with Me.
Father left me alone
For I always do
Whatever He pleases"
.
When He spoke this, many believed in Him.
Then Jesus said to the Jews who believed in Him:
“If you continue in my word,
Then you are truly My disciples,
And know the truth
And the truth will set you free."
They answered him:
“we are the seed of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone, how can you say: “you will be made free”?
Jesus answered them:
“Truly, truly, I say to you:
Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.
But the slave does not stay in the house forever,
The Son abides forever.
So if the Son sets you free,
You will be truly free.
I know that you are Abraham's seed,
However, you are looking to kill me,
Because My word does not fit in you.
I say what I saw with my Father,
And you do what you saw with your father.”
They answered Him, “Our father is Abraham.”
Jesus told them:
“If you were the children of Abraham, then you would do the works of Abraham.
And now you're looking to kill me,
The person who told you the truth
Which he heard from God: Abraham didn't do it.
You are doing the works of your father."
To this they said to Him: "We are not born of fornication, we have one Father, God."
Jesus told them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me.
Because I came from God and came, for I did not come from Myself, but He sent Me.
Why do you not understand My speech? Because you can't hear My words (you don't understand, your mind is still childish for perception of the world of the stellar expanses of the Universe). Your father is the devil.
And you want to fulfill the desires of your father.
He was a murderer from the beginning and did not stand in the truth, for there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a lie, he speaks his own, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
But when I speak the truth, do not believe Me.
Which of you will convict Me of iniquity?
If I speak the truth, why don't you believe Me?
Who is from God, he listens to the words of God.
You do not listen because you are not from God.”
To this the Jews answered and said to Him: “Do we not say the truth, that You are a Samaritan and that a demon is in You”?
Jesus answered:
"There is no demon in me,
But I honor my Father
And you dishonor me.
However, I do not seek My glory: there is one who comes and one who judges.
Truly, truly, I say to you:
Whoever keeps my word will never see death.”
The Jews said to Him, “Now we know that the demon is in You.
Abraham died and the prophets
But You say: “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.
Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died? and the prophets died:
"what are you doing yourself"?
Jesus answered:
“If I glorify Myself, then My glory is nothing.
My Father glorifies me
Of whom you say He is your God.
And you didn't know Him
And I know Him
And if I say that I do not know Him,
I will be a liar like you.
But I know Him and keep His word.
Abraham your father was glad to see my day, and he saw it and rejoiced.”
To this the Jews said to him:
“You are not yet fifty years old, and you saw Abraham”?
Jesus told them:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, first,
Than Abraham was
I am".
Then they took stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple, passing through the midst of them, and went on.
If in the year 2010 of the new era we wish to know the truth,
The earthly age of Jesus Christ,
That is the 32nd year of the new era, as the current year of the new era, add up with the years lived by Jesus before the new era,
And this is 18 years of His life.
Thus, in 32 AD. the age of Jesus Christ was approaching 50 years of age, because: 32 + 18 = 50 years of earthly time.
Since we believe that it is for this purpose that John Chrysostom informs us, as the closest disciple, eyewitness and witness of the Teacher, telling us the age of Christ.
After all, John deliberately tells us through the mouth of the Jews: “You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?”
Agree, a 32-year-old man will not be told by the Jews that his age is close to 50 years old!
Something else, but the Jews knew the age of Jesus Christ. They could not help but know, because they knew his family well, Father Joseph and His Mother Mary.
Moreover, the Jews knew well His brothers and sisters.
And Jesus was the eldest Son among the children of Mary.
After all, Mary, being 24 years in Egypt, with Joseph, gave birth to her sons and her daughters in Egypt.
You will not affirm the Church,
That His Mother Mary, at the age of 42, at least returning from Egypt, gave birth to sons and daughters to Joseph, already in Galilee, in the city of Nazareth,
Upon return from Egypt after 6 AD
Joseph could not have been celibate for 24 years.
So from Egypt in the 6th year of the new era, not only Joseph and Mary, His Mother and the “Baby”, 24 years old, returned, but also His brothers and His sisters.
To find out the month of His birth, you need to know two things: the month and date of the Jewish holiday of Renewal and the exact time of the appearance of Halley's comet over Judea in the Middle Eastern sky in 18 BC.
The Jews, considering themselves the standard of the human race, nevertheless, remained in the heresy of earthly ignorance, and completely forgot the stellar origin of their ancestors of aliens who arrived from heaven to Earth,
Then, due to degradation, ignorance and fanaticism, more than once stones were grabbed to beat Him,
Then Jesus answered them:
“Many good works have I shown you from my Father,
For which of them do you want to stone me?"
The Jews answered Him, “We do not stone You for good deeds, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
Jesus answered them: “Is it not written in your Law: “I said: Are you gods?
If He called those gods to whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be violated: “To him whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world, do you say: “You blaspheme, because I said:“ I am the Son of God?
If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe Me, but if I do, then when you do not believe Me, believe My works, in order to know and believe that the Father is in Me and I in Him.
Then again they sought to seize Him, but He evaded their hands, and went again beyond the Jordan, to the place where John had previously baptized, and remained there.
"The Jewish Passover was approaching" 33 AD.
It was the fifth year in the calendar of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
The third year has passed and the fourth year of His ministry has begun.
Then in the 33rd year of the new era it was:
“And many came to Jerusalem before the Passover to cleanse themselves.
Then they looked for Jesus, and, standing in the temple, they said to each other:
“Do you think He will come to the feast?”
And the chief priests, Annas and Caiaphas, and the Pharisees, gave orders that if anyone knew where He would be,
That would have announced in order to take Him.
Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, showed by deed that, having loved His beings in the world, He loved them to the end.
And during the supper, when the devil had already put in the heart of Judas Simon Iscariot to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the supper, took off outerwear and, taking a towel, girded himself. …
This I command you, that you love one another.
If the world hates you, know that it hated me before.
If you were from the world, then the world would love its own,
And how you are not of the world, but I have chosen you from the world,
That's why the world hates you.
Remember the word that I told you:
"A servant is not greater than his master."
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you too.
If they kept my word, they will keep yours.
But all this will be done to you for my name,
Because they don't know me.
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin,
And now they have no excuse for their sin.
Those who hate me hate my Father also.
If I had not done works among them, as no one else has done,
They would have no sin.
But now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father.
But, may the word that is written in their Law come true: "They hated Me in vain."
When Jesus meets Pilate:
Jesus to Pilate:
“For this I was born and came into the world to bear witness to the truth,
Everyone who is from the truth hears my voice.”
Pilate said to Him, "What is truth?"
And Pilate said to the Jews: “Behold, your King!”
But they cried out, "Take it, take it, crucify Him."
Pilate says to them: "Shall I crucify your king?"
The chief priests answered: "We have no king but Caesar."
Then, finally, he handed Him over to them to be crucified.
And they took Jesus and led
And carry your cross
He went to the Place of Execution,
Hebrew Golgotha.
They crucified him there
And with him two others.
Then it was the Friday before Easter and the sixth hour.
The Gospel of Matthew testifies:
“From the sixth hour there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
“And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom,
And the earth shook
And the stones scattered
And the coffins opened
And many bodies of the Saints who had fallen asleep were resurrected.
And coming out of the graves
After His resurrection, they entered the holy city.
And they appeared to many."
The Gospel of John testifies:
“When the Comforter comes,
whom I will send to you from the Father,
Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father,
He will testify of Me."
“Now I go to Him who sent Me,
And none of you asks Me: "Where are you going?"
But because I told you this, your heart was filled with sorrow.
But I tell you the truth:
It's better for you that I go.
For if I don't go,
The comforter will not come to you.
And if I go, I will send Him to you,
And He, when He comes, will convict the world
About sin
And about the truth
And about the court:
About the sin that you do not believe in Me.
Of the truth, that I am going to my Father, and you will no longer see me.
About the judgment, that the prince of this world is condemned.
There is much more I have to tell you, but you cannot contain it.
When He comes
spirit of truth,
That will guide you into all truth.
For he will not speak of himself,
But will say
What will hear
And the future will announce to you.
He will glorify Me, because He will take from Mine and proclaim to you.
Everything that he takes from Mine and proclaims to you.”
Here is an addition to the above, which can not be said.
"For no one does anything in secret,
And he is looking for himself to be famous,
Because,
"No prophet is accepted in his own country."
Evangelist Matthew testifies:
“At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard a rumor about Jesus and said to those serving with him: “This is John the Baptist, he has risen from the dead, and therefore miracles are done by him.”
For greater clarity on the question of the duration of the ministry of Christ after the beheading of John the Baptist, let us say the following:
The birthday of Herod II Antipas was in the month of May 32 CE. e., and
That that May day was the last day for John the Baptist,
Forerunners of Christ.
Since it was on that day of his birth that the king executed the prophet.
After the death of the prophet John the Baptist, the ministry of Jesus Christ, already without John the Baptist, continued until the last day of March in the month of 33 AD,
That is, the service lasted more than 10 months.
For we firmly established
That the ministry of Christ began at His Baptism by John, in the 29th year of the new era, and ended with the crucifixion of the Savior on April 1, 33 of the new era.
Consequently, the gospel of Jesus Christ, His ministry, was interrupted by the crucifixion in the fourth year of His ministry.
The Ministry of Jesus Christ was in: 29,30,31,32 and 33rd AD.
And there was the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in the year 33 of the new era, on Friday, April 1, literally on the eve of the Jewish Passover, which that year was on Saturday, and on April 3, on Sunday, Christ was resurrected.
And now, based on the foregoing, let's give the exact years of earthly life and the Gospel of Jesus Christ:
In the year 18 BC, in the city of Bethlehem, Judea, a Baby was born, in the Summer of 5500!
18 BC - 6 AD, the years of the life of Jesus in Egypt,
Summer (5500 - 5524).
06 AD - 28 AD, the years of the worldly life of Jesus,
Summer (5524-5546).
AD 29 - Jesus was baptized by John, and at 46 became the Messiah, Summer 5547..
29 AD, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, was the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Messiah,
Summer 5547.
AD 30, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, was the year of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Summer 5548.
31 AD, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, was the second year of His Gospel, Summer 5549.
32 AD, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, was the third year of His Gospel, Summer 5550.
33 AD, on the eve of the Jewish Passover, was the crucifixion of Christ, on Friday, April 1st, and, on Sunday, April 3rd, Christ was resurrected, in Summer 5551.
About the eastern star, which, after the birth of the Child in Bethlehem, led the Magi and showed them the way.
This is Halley's comet, which in 18 BC. was in the earthly sky, and accurately indicates the year of the Nativity of Christ, just as that year of the Nativity of Christ points to Halley's comet, on the 18th BC.
And this is it, the star, because its trajectory has a southeast beginning, with a vector to the northwest.
Even without the help of the calculations of astronomy, as the science of the movement of celestial bodies, it can be argued that in 9726.784615 BC
Or at a very close time,
A satellite from the retinue of Halley's comet torpedoed the island of Atlantis in the Black Sea.
And he sank the island, which became the bottom of the sea, having a hole in the diameter of about 30 km,
And, the contours of that hole from the fall of a celestial body have the shape of a flange elongated in the direction of the flight path: from the southeast to the northwest.
This statement suggests that it is enough to look at the map of the depths of the Black Sea and the colors of the shading of the depths in tones, and it will be seen, at a glance,
Terraces of the collapse of the body of the island,
fault contours,
Depth contours
And the residual contour of the island of Atlantis,
Lying at the bottom of the sea
Actually, the bottom of the sea.
And we will also see a hole lying at a distance of 55 km in the sea,
South of the city of Sudak in the Crimea.
The coordinates of the hole in the sea are easy to find on the map of the south of Crimea, setting aside on a scale of 55 km. from Sudak.
This is the prehistoric mystery of Plato's legendary island Atlantis in the Black Sea.
Probably, at the bottom of the sea under the hole, there should be voids formed by an explosion of enormous power with the ejection of huge masses of the earth's interior, which formed the Second Ridge from sedimentary rocks at the foot of the Crimean mountains.
After the explosion, rocks from the skies of the atmosphere fell out in a circle from the epicenter in a shell-like shape.
Hades must be found - the underground kingdom of the dead, where Odysseus, the hero of the Homer poem, descended, Hades is an ancient witness.
To some extent, ancient myths and poems also tell the truth, they must not only be read, but also understood.
Now about Halley's comet and the birth of Jesus Christ in 18 BC.
Those two events complement each other, as they are interconnected, and took place at the same historical time.
Knowing the year of Jesus' birth in the year of the eastern star,
We very easily and simply determine the average value of the period of revolution of Halley's comet in its orbit.
Namely: 1985.4 + 18 = 2003.4 years, this is the total time of years before the event at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, this is the time during which the comet made 26 complete revolutions.
From here, we find the period of its circulation: 2003.4:: 26 = 77.05384615 years - one revolution.
Knowing from Plato, about the message of the Egyptian priest Solon, who was in Egypt in 570 BC, where Solon received information that
that the island of Atlantis perished a little over 9,000 years ago.
And, having gathered together the whole sum of the years reported by Plato, and knowing the period of its circulation,
We assumed that Halley's comet, before the birth of Jesus Christ, made 126 complete revolutions in orbit since the day of the death of Atlantis,
And after the birth of Christ - another 26 turns.
Thus, from the day of the death of Atlantis to the events at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on April 26, 1986, the comet completed 152 complete revolutions.
Consequently, 77.05384615 x 152 = 11712.18462 years have passed since the death of Atlantis in the Black Sea until the catastrophe in April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
Based on this, we find
In what year BC was there a global catastrophe,
To have an idea of that tragedy,
In European time
11712.18462 - 1985.4 = 9726.784615 years.
Thus, by inference, it is determined that Atlantis died 9726.784615 years BC in the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula is the remaining part of Atlantis.
As follows from everything, that it is possible to extract the possible from the impossible,
If you direct your thoughts in the right direction.
So, the eastern star, Halley's comet, testifies to the birth of the Infant Jesus in 18 BC,
And the Baby Jesus, by his birth, bears witness to the eastern star,
Halley's comet (!) which appeared in the sky of the Earth in 18 BC,
What the magi of the "New Testament" testified to.
At the end of this study, attention is drawn to the fact that
That the source of the study was "The New Testament of Our Lord Jesus Christ",
Published by the Moscow Patriarchate in 1989
With the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia PIMEN.
But it is also impossible not to mention
What is known about Jesus Christ after his crucifixion, from other sources.
Therefore, the following information is provided
Which complete the pages of the life of Jesus Christ.
In the northern part of India, at an altitude of more than 2000 meters above sea level, there is the Kashmir Valley and the city of Srinagar - its capital.
The city is located near Lake Vular.
In this city there is a place of pilgrimage - a tomb, which is about 2000 years old.
The guards keep order, and ensure that those who come take off their shoes, and women cover their heads.
An inscription was made on the grave: "HERE IS THE FAMOUS PROPHET YUSU, THE PROPHET OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL" ("Ziarat Yjusa").
Proof of this are the books of the state archive of Srinagar.
They contain records with dates,
who inform about
What did the rulers send to find out from the stranger who appeared who he was and where he came from?
A man in a white robe answered calmly and with a smile:
“I was born a young woman.
I preached in Palestine and taught the truth.
They called me the Messiah.
They did not like me and my teaching, and they condemned me.
I suffered a lot in their hands."
A study of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ by the Romans provides such information.
After the Roman soldiers left the place of execution,
The supporters of Jesus took him down from the cross,
And they managed to heal Him.
After Healing Jesus
With a few students went on a long journey,
Since in the Roman Empire
It was not safe for him to stay.
His life was in danger.
Jesus and his disciples arrived in India.
Perhaps in India, His brother Thomas was with Him.
Kashmiri reports say that
Jesus lived and taught people to a ripe old age.
Suppose Jesus lived 80 years of his earthly life,
Then His death came in 62 AD.
According to the calendar of Ancient Russia, Jesus was born in 5500 Summer from Adam
And he died, and ascended to the Father, in Summer 5580.
Since, 5580-5500 = 80 years of the earthly life of Jesus.
But it can be assumed
That Jesus lived 77 years
And His death was in the next coming of Halley's comet,
The circulation period of which is 77 years.
That is, Jesus died as an earthly man,
In 59 AD,
Or according to the account "from Adam", in Summer 5577.
Because 5500 + 77 = 5577 years.
In this way,
This study of the chronology of the life of Jesus Christ,
Allows the reader to comprehend the given documentary data,
See different testimonies about Him,
And understand
Who was Jesus Christ really.
But what His life
And teaching played a huge role
In the development of human society on Earth,
We must admit.
As should be recognized, the fact
That Jesus Christ is
-
most great person,
who ever lived.
Jesus, who showed himself a powerful and attractive personality, who showed the world such high ethics and such an inspiring vision of the brotherhood and love of all people.
Jesus, who by his dynamic teaching and by the fact that his way of life conformed to his teaching,
It's been so powerful for two thousand years
And so steadily affects people's lives.
The historical result of the activity of Jesus Christ has
More important influence and significance,
Than the deeds of any other historical figure.
The new era of European time, recognized by the main civilizations of the world, began with His Birth,
In reality, 2028 years ago.
And this reference coordinate in the chronology of time
Should be the basis of today's calendar
And requires the addition of an additional 18 years
By the current year of Christian civilization:
(2010+18)=2028 years.
The above study
Initial data of the true calendar of Christians
For humanity
Found.
To be or not to be Reform, that is the question!
The life of Jesus Christ is still the subject of contemplation and gossip. Atheists claim that his existence is a myth, while Christians are convinced of the opposite. In the 20th century, scholars intervened in the study of the biography of Christ, who made strong arguments in favor of the New Testament.
Birth and childhood
Mary, the future mother of the holy child, was the daughter of Anna and Joachim. They gave their three-year-old daughter to the Jerusalem monastery as God's bride. Thus, the girls atoned for the sins of their parents. But, although Mary swore an oath of eternal fidelity to the Lord, she had the right to live in the temple only until the age of 14, and after that she was obliged to marry. When the time came, Bishop Zachary (confessor) gave the girl as a wife to the eighty-year-old old man Joseph, so that she would not violate her own vow with carnal pleasures.
Joseph was upset by this turn of events, but did not dare to disobey the clergyman. The new family began to live in Nazareth. One night, the couple had a dream in which the Archangel Gabriel appeared to them, warning that the Virgin Mary would soon become pregnant. The angel also warned the girl about the Holy Spirit, who would descend for conception. On the same night, Joseph learned that the birth of a holy baby would save the human race from hellish torments.
When Mary was carrying a child, Herod (the king of Judea) ordered a census, so the subjects had to appear at their place of birth. Since Joseph was born in Bethlehem, the couple went there. The young wife endured the journey hard, as she was already eight months pregnant. Due to the accumulation of people in the city, they did not find a place for themselves, so they were forced to go outside the city walls. Nearby there was only a barn built by shepherds.
At night, Mary is relieved of her burden by her son, whom she calls Jesus. The birthplace of Christ is the city of Bethlehem, located near Jerusalem. Things are not clear with the date of birth, as sources indicate conflicting figures. If we compare the reign of Herod and Caesar Rome Augustus, then this happened in the 5th-6th century.
The Bible says that the baby was born on the night when the brightest star lit up in the sky. Scientists believe that such a star was a comet that flew over the Earth in the period from 12 BC to 4 BC. Of course, 8 years is not a small spread, but due to the prescription of years and conflicting interpretations of the Gospel, even such an assumption is considered a hit on the target.
Orthodox Christmas is celebrated on January 7, and Catholic Christmas on December 26. But, according to religious apocrypha, both dates are incorrect, since the birth of Jesus fell on March 25-27. At the same time, the pagan day of the Sun was celebrated on December 26, so the Orthodox Church moved Christmas to January 7. The confessors wanted to wean the parishioners from the "bad" holiday of the Sun, legitimizing the new date. This is not disputed by the modern church.
Eastern sages knew in advance that a spiritual teacher would soon descend to Earth. Therefore, seeing the Star in the sky, they followed the glow and came to the cave, where they found the holy baby. Entering inside, the wise men bowed to the newborn, as to a king, and presented gifts - myrrh, gold and incense.
Immediately, rumors about the newly-appeared King reached Herod, who, angry, ordered the destruction of all the babies of Bethlehem. In the works of the ancient historian Joseph Flavius, information was found that two thousand babies were killed on a bloody night, and this is by no means a myth. The tyrant was so afraid for the throne that he even killed his own sons, to say nothing of other people's children.
From the wrath of the ruler, the holy family managed to escape to Egypt, where they lived for 3 years. Only after the death of the tyrant, the spouses with the child returned to Bethlehem. When Jesus grew up, he began to help his betrothed father in the carpentry business, which later earned him a living.
At the age of 12, Jesus arrives with his parents for Easter in Jerusalem, where for 3-4 days he has spiritual conversations with the scribes who interpreted the Holy Scriptures. The boy amazes his mentors with his knowledge of the Laws of Moses, and his questions baffle more than one teacher. Then, according to the Arabic Gospel, the boy withdraws into himself and hides his own miracles. The evangelists do not even write about the child's later life, explaining that zemstvo events should not affect the spiritual life.
Personal life
Since the Middle Ages, disputes about the personal life of Jesus have not subsided. Many were worried - whether he was married, whether he left behind descendants. But the clergy tried to keep these conversations to a minimum, since the son of God could not become addicted to earthly things. Previously, there were many gospels, each of which was interpreted in its own way. But the clergy tried to get rid of the "wrong" books. There is even a version that mentions of family life Christ is not included in the New Testament on purpose.
Other gospels mention the wife of Christ. Historians agree that his wife was Mary Magdalene. And in the Gospel of Philip there are even lines about how the disciples of Christ were jealous of the teacher for Mary for a kiss on the lips. Although in the New Testament this girl is described as a harlot who took the path of correction and followed Christ from Galilee to Judea.
At that time, an unmarried girl had no right to accompany a group of wanderers, unlike the wife of one of them. If we remember that the resurrected Lord first appeared not to the disciples, but to Magdalene, then everything falls into place. In the Apocrypha there are indications of the marriage of Jesus, when he performed the first miracle, turning water into wine. Otherwise, why would he and Our Lady worry about food and wine at the wedding feast in Cana?
In the time of Jesus, unmarried men were considered a strange phenomenon and even ungodly, so a single prophet would not have become a Teacher in any way. If Mary Magdalene is the wife of Jesus, then the question arises as to why he chose her as his betrothed. There are probably political influences at play here.
Jesus could not become a pretender to the throne of Jerusalem, being a stranger. Having taken as his wife a local girl belonging to the princely family of the Benjamin tribe, he already became his own. A child born to a couple would become a prominent political figure and a clear contender for the throne. Perhaps that is why there was persecution, and subsequently the murder of Jesus. But the clergy present the son of God in a different light.
Historians believe that this was the reason for the 18-year gap in his life. The Church tried to eradicate heresy, although a layer of circumstantial evidence remained on the surface.
This version is also confirmed by a papyrus published by Karin King, a professor at Harvard University, in which the phrase is clearly written: “ Jesus said to them, "My wife..."
Baptism
God appeared to the prophet John the Baptist, who lived in the desert, and ordered him to preach among sinners, and those who wanted to be cleansed from sin should be baptized in the Jordan.
Until the age of 30, Jesus lived with his parents and helped them in every possible way, and after that he was enlightened. He strongly desired to become a preacher, telling people about divine phenomena and the meaning of religion. Therefore, he goes to the Jordan River, where he is baptized by John the Baptist. John immediately realized that before him was the same youth - the son of the Lord, and, perplexed, objected:
“I need to be baptized by You, and You come to me?”
Then Jesus went into the wilderness, where he wandered for 40 days. Thus, he prepared himself for the mission to atone for the sin of the human race through an act of self-sacrifice.
At this time, Satan is trying to prevent him through temptations, which each time became more sophisticated.
1. Hunger. When Christ was hungry, the tempter said:
"If You are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread."
2. Pride. The devil lifted the man to the top of the temple and said:
“If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, because the angels of God will support you and you will not stumble on stones.”
Christ denied this too, saying that he did not intend to test the power of God for his own whim.
3. Temptation Faith and wealth.
“I will give you power over the kingdoms of the earth that is devoted to me, if you bow down to me,” Satan promised. Jesus answered: "Get away from me, Satan, for it is written: God must be worshiped and only he must be served."
The Son of God did not give up and was not tempted by the gifts of Satan. The rite of Baptism gave him strength to fight the sinful parting words of the tempter.
12 apostles of Jesus After wandering in the desert and fighting the devil, Jesus finds 12 followers and gives them a piece of his own gift. Traveling with his disciples, he brings the word of God to the people and performs miracles so that people would believe.
Miracles
- Turning water into fine wine.
- Healing the paralyzed.
- Miraculous resurrection of the daughter of Jairus.
- Resurrection of the son of Nain's widow.
- Calming the storm on the lake of Galilee.
- Healing of the demon-possessed Gadaria.
- Miraculous nourishment of the people with five loaves.
- Walking of Jesus Christ on the water surface.
- Healing of the daughter of the Canaanite.
- Healing of ten lepers.
- The miracle at Lake Gennesaret is the filling of empty nets with fish.
The Son of God instructed people and explained each of his commandments, incline to God's teaching.
The popularity of the Lord grew every day and masses of people hurried to see the miraculous preacher. Jesus bequeathed the commandments, which later became the foundations of Christianity.
- Love and honor the Lord God.
- Don't worship idols.
- Do not use the name of the Lord in empty talk.
- Work six days, and pray on the seventh.
- Respect and honor your parents.
- Do not kill another or yourself.
- Do not commit adultery.
- Do not steal or embezzle someone else's property.
- Don't lie and don't be jealous.
But the more Jesus won people's love, the more the people of Jerusalem hated him. The nobles were afraid that their power would be shaken and conspired to kill the messenger of God. Christ triumphantly enters Jerusalem on a donkey, thereby reproducing the legend of the Jews about the solemn coming of the Messiah. The people enthusiastically welcome the New Tsar, throwing palm branches and their own clothes at his feet. People expect the age of tyranny and humiliation to end soon. With such a pandemonium, the Pharisees were afraid to arrest Christ and took a waiting position.
The Jews expect from Him victory over evil, peace, prosperity and stability, but Jesus, on the contrary, invites them to give up everything worldly, to become homeless wanderers who will preach the word of God. Realizing that nothing would change in power, people hated God and considered him a deceiver who destroyed their dreams and hopes. An important role was also played by the Pharisees, who incited a rebellion against the "false prophet". The environment is getting more and more tense, and Jesus is step by step closer to the loneliness of Gethsemane.
Passion of Christ
According to the Gospel, it is customary to call the passions of Christ the torments endured by Jesus in the last days of his earthly life. The clergy compiled a list of the order of the passions:
- The Entry of the Lord into the Jerusalem Gates
- Supper in Bethany, when a sinner washes Christ's feet with peace and her own tears, and wipes her with her hair.
- Washing the feet of his disciples by God's son. When He and the Apostles came to the house where it was necessary to eat the Passover, there were no servants to wash the guests' feet. Then Jesus himself washed the feet of his disciples, thereby teaching them a lesson in humility.
- The Last Supper. It was here that Christ predicted that the disciples would reject him and betray him. Shortly after this conversation, Judas left the supper.
- The road to the Garden of Gethsemane and prayer to the Father. At the Mount of Olives, he appeals to the Creator and asks for deliverance from the threatening fate, but does not receive an answer. In deep sadness, Jesus goes to say goodbye to his disciples, expecting earthly torments.
Judgment and crucifixion
Having descended from the mountain in the dead of night, he informs them that the traitor is already close and asks his followers not to leave. However, at the moment when Judas arrived with a crowd of Roman soldiers, all the apostles were already fast asleep. The traitor kisses Jesus, supposedly welcoming, but thereby showing the guards the true prophet. And they shackle Him and take Him to the Sanhedrin to do justice.
According to the Gospel, this happened on the night from Thursday to Friday of the week before Easter. Anna, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, was the first to interrogate Christ. He expected to hear about witchcraft and magic, thanks to which crowds of people follow the prophet and worship him like a deity. Having achieved nothing, Anna sent the captive to Caiaphas, who had already gathered elders and religious fanatics.
Caiaphas accused the prophet of blasphemy because he called himself the son of God and sent him to the prefect Pontius. Pilate was a just man and tried to dissuade the audience from killing a righteous man. But the judges and confessors began to demand that the guilty be crucified. Then Pontius offered to decide the fate of the righteous man to the people gathered in the square. He announced: "I consider this man innocent, choose for yourself, life or death." But at that moment, only the opponents of the prophet gathered near the court, shouting about the crucifixion.
Before the execution of Jesus, 2 executioners were beaten with whips for a long time, torturing his body and breaking the bridge of his nose. After the public punishment, he was put on a white shirt, which was immediately saturated with blood. A wreath of thorns was placed on the head, and a sign with the inscription: “I am God” in 4 languages on the neck. The New Testament says that the inscription read: “Jesus of Nazareth is the King of the Jews,” but such a text would hardly fit on a small board, and even in 4 dialects. Later, the Roman priests rewrote the Bible, trying to keep silent about the shameful fact.
After the execution, which the righteous endured without uttering a sound, he had to carry a heavy cross to Golgotha. Here the hands and feet of the martyr were nailed to a cross, which was dug into the ground. The guards tore off his clothes, leaving only a loincloth. Simultaneously with Jesus, two criminals were punished, who were hanged on both sides of the sloping crossbar of the crucifix. In the morning they were released, and only Jesus remained on the cross.
At the hour of Christ's death, the earth trembled, as if nature itself rebelled against a cruel execution. The deceased was buried in a tomb, thanks to Pontius Pilate, who was very sympathetic to the innocent-executed.
resurrection
On the third day after his death, the martyr rose from the dead and appeared in the flesh to his disciples. He gave them final instructions before his ascension to heaven. When the guards came to check whether the deceased was still there, they found only an open cave and a bloody shroud.
It was announced to all believers that the body of Jesus had been stolen by his disciples. The pagans hastily covered Golgotha and the Holy Sepulcher with earth.
Evidence for the Existence of Jesus
Having become acquainted with the bibles, primary sources and archaeological finds, one can find real evidence of the existence of the Messiah on earth.
- In the 20th century, during excavations in Egypt, an ancient papyrus containing verses from the Gospel was discovered. Scientists have proven that the manuscript dates back to 125-130 years.
- In 1947, the oldest scrolls of biblical texts were found on the coast of the Dead Sea. This find proved that parts of the original Bible are closest to its modern sound.
- In 1968, during archaeological research in the north of Jerusalem, the body of a man crucified on the cross, John (son of Kaggol), was discovered. This proves that then criminals were executed in this way, and the truth is described in the Bible.
- In 1990, a vessel with the remains of the deceased was found in Jerusalem. On the wall of the vessel, an inscription was engraved in Aramaic, which reads: "Joseph, son of Caiaphas." Perhaps this is the son of the same high priest who subjected Jesus to persecution and judgment.
- In Caesarea in 1961, an inscription on a stone was discovered, associated with the name of Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea. He was called precisely the prefect, and not the procurator, like all subsequent successors. The same record is in the Gospels, which proves the reality of biblical events.
Science has been able to confirm the existence of Jesus by corroborating the testament stories with facts. And even a famous scientist in 1873 said:
“It is extremely difficult to imagine that this vast and wonderful universe, just like man, arose by chance; this seems to me the main argument for the existence of God.”
New religion
He also predicted that at the turn of the century a New Religion would emerge, bringing light and positivity. And so his words began to come true. The new spiritual group was born quite recently and has not yet received public recognition. The term NRM was introduced into scientific use as a contrast to the words sect or cult, which obviously carry a negative connotation. In 2017, there are more than 300 thousand people in the Russian Federation who are attached to any religious movement.
Psychologist Margaret Theler compiled a classification of the NRM, consisting of a dozen subgroups (religious, oriental, interest, psychological, and even political). New religious trends are dangerous because the goals of the leaders of these groups are not known for certain. And also the bulk of the groups of the new religion is directed against the Russian Orthodox Church and carries a hidden threat to the Christian world.