fortydaysinthedesert

Linking Jesus of Nazareth to the "Birth" of Christ at the Jordan

Silent Years What Was Learned Age 30 Temptation[1] Tempter Outcome
Age 12:
The 2 Jesus boys experience a union, culminating in their becoming One, Jesus of Nazareth 		Ages 12 - 18

Judaism

In the learning received directly after the incident in the Temple at age 12 among the scribes and teachers, Jesus is taken under their wing where in the course of these years he learns the most important religious culture of the time had become rigid in lifeless intellectualism.

Jesus submits to the Baptism of John[2] in the River Jordan. Who was Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, becomes now Christ Jesus, the Son of God.

"If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread."

Ahriman

Ahriman will inaugurate an age of purely external observation of nature, and the more he deludes humanity into believing that only in this way will they get bread to eat, so much the more will he in reality give them stones instead of bread.

"Man does not live by bread alone."

Christ came to become man and share in the destiny which everyone must bear and sow a new seed of inward life.

Ages 19 - 24

Paganism

In the Mystery Centers of paganism, the gods were active through atavistic clairvoyance. Over time demons had replaced the gods that they had once sought for guidance. The degeneration of spiritual leadership had brought humanity into the danger of falling prey to a whole host of demonic beings.

"To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been delivered to me, and I give it to whom I will. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."

Lucifer

The glittering spirit of Lucifer appeared proudly before Him, gloating over the almost unlimited dominion he had obtained over the souls of men.

"It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve.'"

Christ came not to rule but to serve.

Ages 25 - 30

The Essenes

The Essenes were the most important representatives of ascetic occultism in their time. But Jesus saw they were, or had become, so isolated from the rest of the world that the knowledge they possessed was held back from a thirsting humanity in their community borne of egoism.

"If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here (the Temple parapet), for it is written,

"'He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,'

and

"'On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"

Lucifer & Ahriman

Cooperation Between Lucifer and Ahriman to goad Him into a misuse of divine powers over life-forces.

"It is said, 'You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

Christ sowed a seed that will grow in the future a new mastery of men over their own life and body.

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How Should We Then Respond?

When we look back to the turning point in human history, we should do so with a deep sense of awe. For we possess within ourselves today something — a power, a strength — that enables us, if we so choose, to move ever closer to what we are meant to become. Christ spoke to this goal when He said in His Beatitudes, "You, therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

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Notes

  1. After his Baptism, Jesus spent 40 days of loneliness in the Judean desert. The Cosmic Christ had just entered into a human sheath and sought to begin His journey in seclusion. During this time He experienced for the first time the categorical temptations of material life we all experience. Though it is depicted as though such temptations came from without, it is important to understand that they came from within. And so it is with each one of us during our own individual sojourn upon the earth.

  2. The closest thing we have today that reflects what it was like to experience the Baptism of John are recorded Near Death Experiences. When we are baptized today, even in full immersion, our bodily structure is far too hardened and brittle to allow, let alone withstand what those in John's day experienced; for several moments the etheric body was loosed from the physical body. This was representative of the initiation rites of the ancient Mystery Centers.