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About The Bible
About The Bible
A Journey of Discovery
Bettye Johnson
NOTICE TO THE READER This is a free E-Book. You may download it, however do not sell it or pass it along to anyone else.
Copyright Bettye Johnson 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or Transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, Including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and Retrieval system, without the written permission of Bettye Johnson.
http://www.magdalenescrolls.com http://bettyejohnson.com
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction
Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 In the Beginning The Power of Twelve The Great Deluge The Great Exodus The Evolution of the Old Testament What Jesus Taught The Disciples The Contemporaries Mary Magdalene Unanswered Questions The Meaning of Amen Bettye's Comments Bibliography About Bettye Writers Digest Commentary
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INTRODUCTION
What the blank do we know about the Bible? There are those who think they know a lot about the Bible and have reputations as being experts, but are they really experts? I have been on an odyssey for many years researching and learning what the Bible is all about. I am an ordained minister of Divine Science now retired. I discovered another history of the Bible while researching the background for my book Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls. Since its publication, I have continued to research and over the years have learned that most of the Bible is all about distorted history, false claims, codes and much more. I have discovered that most experts have missed the broader picture. It has been the unobvious obvious. The DaVinci Code has triggered an interest in wanting to know what these characters of history are all about and this includes, Mary Magdalene, Jesus, the Catholic Church, and religion along with Leonardo DaVinci. Who is right? Who is wrong? It depends on what and whom one wants to believe. There is even a greater interest with the revelation of the Gospel of Judas, which has recently been re-discovered. In doing research, I learned that most of the documents, which biblical scholars base their views on contain truths and half-truths as well as lies. I have kept in mind that in ancient times there were no computers and no spell check. Anyone who has written a book knows how valuable editors are and even then, a glitch manages to get by. In ancient times, not all the scribes were well educated. Research is very much like unraveling a puzzle or one could say it is following Ariadnes Web. James Cameron who wrote the Introduction to The Jesus Family Tomb wrote a profound statement: "I came to realize that
Bettye Johnson
November 2011
IN THE BEGINNING
The beginnings of the Bible begin with the Old Testament. In the Book of Genesis, there is a verse about the creation of the human and it states, Let us make man in our image (Genesis 1:26). This one verse should cause bells to ring in our brain. However, most theologians and so-called experts ignore it and claim it is a mistranslation or scratch their heads while thinking what the blank is this all about? The late Zechariah Sitchen questioned much of the Hebrew Bible when he was a young boy and as he wrote, the rabbi told him not to question and only to accept. This began Sitchen on a trail to find out more about the beginnings of the Hebrew Bible and this led him to the Sumarian Tablets. He wrote numerous books on the findings of our ancient history going all the way back to Genesis. In Genesis, the Elohim are mentioned and Annunaki alluded to as giants. Much of Genesis was taken from the Sumarian tablets. From my research, I conclude that the Sumarian tablets and the Old Testament are intertwined as coming from the original source with bits and pieces of information. The word Elohim is from the Hebrew and most theologians and religions allege it means the Jewish and Christian God. However, this is a misinterpretation because Elohim is derived from the word eloah, which is feminine. It comes from eloah goddess plus im, which makes it a plural ending. To remove the ah and adding im, this becomes plural and through the ages the patriarchs of the Jewish religion and Christian religions have assumed it means a male God. From the website of Hebrew4Christians, it gives Eloah as the singular
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intermarriage and the skin hues have gotten lighter except in places of Ethiopia. The third son of Noah named Japheth took his family to what is now Europe, Scandinavia, and due to the climate their skin became white. The O.T. is in actuality filled with clues. There also appears to be two gods with the most predominant one being Jehovah. Who is Jehovah? He certainly is not the God. In the O.T., there is a god that is mean and evil and who causes plagues, death and destruction. There is also a god that is loving and in the Book of Micah 6:8, He has shown you, O man, what is good, And what the Lord requires of you: Only to do justice And to love goodness, And to walk humbly with your God. This is important because it is implying to walk humbly with your God, meaning that God is within each individual. Perhaps this was Enki giving instructions. Many researchers of the O.T. and the Sumerian texts have concluded Jehovah was the Annunaki god Enlil and on the surface, it would appear to be so. He had a dislike for
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discovered the ancient city of Harappa and other cities in and near the Indus Valley. The people of that era had huge planned cities with straight streets; brick homes with private baths and each house had its own bathroom and private well. The sewers ran under the streets. These sites are dated approximately 5,000 years ago. Perhaps this was one of the 12 sectors because Inanna was a member of the Council. China could also be another one of the 12 sectors. There have been skeletons found that are dated 3 million years ago. The first written documents were created and began around 3600 years ago.
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If one could honestly say this upon death, then a life was lived righteously. This was written before the time of Moses. The current O.T. version of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 21-23, is supposed to have been written by Moses. It is time for each of us to move from a slave mind into a spirit mind. This excerpt from the Egyptian Book of the Dead mentions the gods repeatedly because these gods are the Annunaki who gave them the human form, and gave them a creed to live by.
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THE DISCIPLES
The Catholic Church named Peter as the first Pope of Rome posthumously and following him and early so-called popes were also named posthumously. There is no authentic documentation that Peter was the one chosen by Jesus to head his church. The word church did not come into being until a few hundred years later. The word church evolved from the original word ecclesia, which is Greek for gathering. Jesus probably never meant for anyone to establish a church in his name. What he wanted, if people would read the texts from Nag Hammadi, would be that people lived what he taught. The name Peter meant rock and a rock is dense and heavy. Therefore, this is another interpretation, which is Peter was slow to understand and therefore Jesus would have to build his teachings so that even the densest of minds could understand. There is so much that hidden from the public such as Thomas Didymus being Jesus twin brother. If one visits the small church at Rennes-le-Chateau in France, one would notice the two statues flanking the altar. One is Mother Mary holding a baby and the other is Father Joseph holding another baby. Each is holding a twin. Most researchers have ignored this. The Book of Thomas is the writings of the twin of Jesus. The newly revealed Gospel of Judas gives an entirely different picture of Judas Iscariot. He was not a traitor. By order of Jesus, he was asked to betray him. There is little understanding of what an Initiate chooses to do in order to become God/Man realized or God/Woman realized into a Christ. Judas sacrificed his own personal beliefs in order to assist Jesus into becoming. Judas should be respected as a hero.
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CONTEMPORARIES OF JESUS
Few researchers of the Bible have delved into the two contemporary teachers of Jesus. One whose name is Simon Magus has very little history. However, the revered Catholic theologian, Irenaeus was allegedly a disciple of the Apostle John. Irenaeus lived from 115 202 C.E. and since the Church had never been formed until the Council of Nicea in 323 C.E., I doubt that he was part of a church that had not be created. Irenaeus is alleged to be one of the founders of Gnosticism. It is also doubtful that he was a disciple of the Apostle John. SIMON MAGUS Simon Magus called himself Son of God, which could mean that both he and Jesus were Sons of God each a son of the God within. The followers of Simon were known to cast out demons, lay hands on for healing and perform magical rituals. He was a Samaritan and according to the New Testament, Samaritans were avoided by the Jews, i.e. the parable on The Good Samaritan. He was known to levitate, to heal, and do most of the miracles that Jesus did. Simon had a female companion named Helen who traveled with him and I find it interesting that they have labeled her as a 'prostitute.' One of the popes also labeled Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. From his teachings came the formulations of the Simonians. "The Simonians were a Gnostic sect of the 2nd century which regarded Simon Magus as its founder and traced its doctrines, known as Simonians, back to him. The sect flourished in Syria, in various
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APOLLONIOUS OF TYANA The second great contemporary of Jesus was Apollonius of Tyana. Unlike Simon Magus, there is more information regarding his birth and upbringing. Records show that he was born in 4 B.C. and this does make him a contemporary of Jesus. The legend is that his birth was marked by great wonders. He received a gift of physical beauty, as were most of the males in Greece. He grew up in the province of Cappadocia and his father was a wealthy man, therefore he was surrounded by luxury. Growing up in this atmosphere, he enjoyed it. When he was fourteen, he became aware of the existence of two paths and chose the path not of riches, but to use his mind and seek knowledge. From what is known, he became a student of the Epicurean master Euxenes at Aegae where there was a temple of Asclepius. The priests were doctors and philosophers of the Pythagorean School. Apollonius traveled with a man named Damis who was his companion for the rest of his life. Having learned from the Pythagoras School, he went on to be initiated in the Hermetic School in Egypt. Could Jesus, Simon Magus and Apollonius attended the same school? It is a possibility. Apollonius was a noted traveler and traveled to India and it is reported that after his last visit that the borders were closed and thus began the dark ages with the fall of Rome and the rise of Christianity. He traveled often to Rome and be befriended many
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Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalenes history has been almost eradicated. In the New Testament, there are 12 times that her name is mentioned, according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. It is assumed that when other women are mentioned that she is one of the unnamed women. Now is the time for the revelations of Mary Magdalene to be known. There are clues and these are what I have strived to decipher from the clues and false trails laid down by the Catholic Church and the Christian churches. I chose to write about Mary Magdalene in Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls because I sensed her time had come to be resurrected and her greatness known. Her name conjures different images for people. We can thank the authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail for bringing it out into the open that Mary Magdalene and Jesus was married and they had children. This was in the 1980s and the book created a minor furor. There have been a number of fictionalized books written about her and the problem with those is that they use the New Testament gospels as the foundation for their plot and never give her the status she deserves. The DaVinci Code has been instrumental in shedding new information regarding her life however it really isnt new information. My book Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls gives a portrait of the Magdalene that is in all probability the closest to what her life was like. In my research, I have connected dots that others have missed.
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UNANSWERED QUESTIONS
It is a time to wonder why the Church suppressed almost all knowledge of Mary Magdalene and venerated the mother Mary as a virgin. There was no virgin birth and the Church fathers knew this. It served their purpose to stay in control of their flock. There has been almost no true knowledge of the life of Mary Magdalene except for a few references to her in the N.T. She certainly is not mentioned as being a whore or prostitute. That came later when Pope Gregory in the 5 th century declared her to be so, or that Mary Magdalene was the wife of Jesus and a great teacher in her own right. She bore him two children. So why anyone should be surprised that there was actually a Pope Joan? All through the ages, the Catholic Church has been rife with lies, fraud, pedophiles, transvestites and homosexuals as priests and popes. The Christian churches have also echoed what the Church perpetuated. It is time to wake up and see the other side. There is also a trend of modern day authors to use the Old Testament as proof of genealogy regarding Jesus and his bloodline. In my research, I have found almost nothing regarding the era from one C.E. until approximately the 5th century that would indicate a thread linking to a genealogy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Perhaps the Merovingian lineage is a link to the lineage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, however if one researches history, there could be more than one line. As for Jesus being the Messiah based on his lineage from King David, if one would think of how extensive this lineage is it would be quite large. King Solomon was the son of King David according to the O.T. The Queen Makeda of the country named Sheba paid a
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BETTYE'S COMMENTS
It was in 1978 when I began seeking some meaning to my life when I met a beautiful soul named Mary Peters. She introduced me to a new reality that some will label New Age or New Thought. I became a sponge soaking up what I was learning. Even though I grew up in the Methodist faith, I had no attachment to it. When I married and had children, I would take them to church now and then. They showed no attachment to religion. I taught them to be honest, do not lie, do not cheat and to be kind to others. Today, they are living what I taught. In 1980, I was asked to attend an evening class of a ministerial Divine Science School and I liked what I heard. In the fall of 1980, I enrolled as a student and in 1981 became an ordained minister of Divine Science. I learned much from this experience. It was a stepping stone to more knowledge. In 1982, my husband and I attended a spiritual week of workshops with Dr. Brugh Joy and David Spangler in Asilomar, California. One evening we were introduced to three people who would channel their entities. I was not into channeling and I lay back on the floor. (We had no chairs). The first two bored me and the third was a petit blonde from Tacoma, Washington. I did not realize that she was actually leaving her body until much later. The entity Ramtha took over her body and the moment 'he' said 'Indeed,' I sat up like a bolt of lightning. I cannot remember what he said, however I knew that I knew him and that he was a Master Teacher. In 1988 I became a student of the Ramtha School of Enlightenment, an Academy of the Mind, and I am still a current student applying what I have been taught and researching what I enjoy doing.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIRKS, Walter and GILBERT, R.A., The Treasure of Montsegur, The Aquarian Press, UK, 1987 BUSHBY, Tony, The Bible Fraud, The Pacific Blue Group, Inc., Hong Kong 2001 BUSHBY, Tony, The Secret in the Bible, Stanford Publishing Group, Queensland, Australia, 2003 BUSHBY, Tony, The Crucifixion of Truth, Joshua Books, Queensland, Australia, 2004 CHURCH, J.R., Guardians of the Grail, Prophecy Publications, Oklahoma City, OK, Revised Edition: September 1989 DORESSE, Jean, The Secret Books of the Egyptian Gnostics; Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT. 1st U.S. Edition, 2006. EHRMAN, Bart D., Lost Christianities, Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2003 EHRMAN, Bart D., Peter, Paul, & Mary Magdalene, Oxford University Press, New York, New York 2006. ELLIS, Ralph, Tempest & Exodus, Edfu, Books, Cheshire, U.K. 2nd edition 2006
ELLIS, Ralph Jesus Last of the Pharaohs, First published by Edfu Books, Cheshire in UK
1998, Adventures Unlimited, Kempton, Illinois, USA 1998. 4th Edition 2006 ELLIS, Ralph, King Jesus, Edfu Books, Cheshire, UK, 2008 ELLIS, Ralph, Solomon Falcon of Sheba, Edfu Books, Cheshire, U.K. 2002 FOX, Emmett, The Sermon on the Mount, Harper& Row, Publishers, New York and Evanston, USA 1938, 3rd Edition
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What the Blank Do You Know About the Bible GADALLA, Moustafa, Historical Deception, The Untold Story of Ancient Egypt, Tehuti
Research Foundation, Greensboro, NC, USA, 1999, 2nd edition GADALLA, Moustafa, The Ancient Egyptian Roots of Christianity; Tehuti Research Foundation, Greensboro, NC, USA 2007 GAFFNEY, Mark H., Gnostic Secrets of the Naassenes, Inner Traditions, Rochester, Vermont, 2004 GARDNER, Laurence, The Magdalene Legacy, Element, An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers, London, UK, 2005. GOODRICH, B.J., The Book of Jubilees, reprint from an edition, Oberline, Ohio 1888 HASKINS, Susan, Mary Magdalene, Myth and Metaphor, Harcourt Brace & Co., Orlando, Florida 1993 HOPKINS, Marilyn, SIMMANS, Graham & WALLACE-MURPHY, Tim, Rex Deus, Element Books Limited 2000, Boston, MA USA JACOBOVICI, Simcha and PELLEGRINO, Charles, The Jesus Family Tomb, Harper Collins, New York, New York. 2007 JOHNSON, Bettye, Secrets of the Magdalene Scrolls, Living Free Press, Rainier, WA. 2nd edition 2005 KASSER, Rodolphe, MEYER, Marvin and WURST, Gregor, The Gospel of Judas, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. 2006
Kenyon, J. Douglas, Edited by, Forbidden History, Bear & Company, division of Inner
Traditions International, Rochester, Vermont, USA 2005
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Osman, Ahmed; Christianity an Ancient Egyptian Religion; Bear & Company, Rochester,
Vermont, division Inner Traditions, International. 1998. Originally published in UK in 1998 by Century under title, Out of Egypt: The Roots of Christianity Revealed. 1998 OSMAN, Ahmed, The Hebrew Pharaohs of Egypt, Bear and Co., Rochester, VT, 2003, 2nd Edition OSMAN, Ahmed, Moses and Akhenaten, Bear and Co, Rochester, VT., 2002, 2nd Edition PICKNETT, Lynn, PRINCE, Clive, The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ. Simon & Schuster, Touchstone, New York, New York 1998 PICKNETT, Lynn, Mary Magdalene, Christianity's Hidden Goddess, Carroll & Graf Publishers, UK, 2003 PICKNETT, Lynn & PRINCE, Clive, Turin Shroud, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, NY 2004, 1st U.S. Edition.
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Sabbah, Messod and Roger; Secrets of the Exodus; Helios Press, Imprint of Allworth,
Communications, New York 2003; First published in French by Jean-Cyrille Godefroy, 2000; First published in English by Thorsons, 2002 SALIBI, Kamal S., Who Was Jesus?, I.B. Tauris and Co. Ltd, New York, NY, 2nd Edition 2002 SCHERMAN, Katherine, Birth of France Warriors Bishops and Long-Haired Kings. Random House, Inc. New York, 1987. SITCHIN, Zecharia, The Earth Chronicles: The 12th Planet, Book I; The Stairway to Heaven, Book II; The Wars of Gods and Men, Book III; The Lost Realms, Book IV; Genesis Revisited; When Time Began, Book V; The Cosmic Code, Book VI; The End of Days; Divine Encounters. SITCHIN, Zecharia, There Were Giants Upon the Earth, Bear & Co., Rochester, VT. 2010 STRONG, James, S.T.D., LL.D., Strong's' Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, 1890, First edition printed April 1894. Thirty-sixth printing 1977. Abingdon, Nashville. TABOR, James D., The Jesus Dynasty, Simon & Schuster, New York, New York, 2006. THE HOLY BIBLE, Standard Edition, Thomas Nelson, Publishers, Nashville, Camden, New York, 1901. TWYMAN, Tracy R., The Merovingian Mythos. Dragon Key Press, Portland, Oregon, 2004.
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http://www.magdalenescrolls.com
http://bettyejohnson.com
To the Journey!
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