The Templar's Secret (The Templar Series) (39 page)

Astounded,
Caedmon reread the first translation.

The Birth of Yeshua bar Yosef

Truly the heavens declare the glory of the Eternal One for great was the sign in the night sky! The star shone, radiant and gleaming, and it foretold of the Anointed One who would be born with the Fishes. The Magi had long awaited the One who would bring the Light of redemption and become a mediator between the Father and his Children.

Having
seen the sign, we set forth from the Kingdom of Parthia in a great caravan to that land that had been set aside for the Children of Moses. We travelled at night when the star was brightly visible to the town of Bethlehem where it had been foretold in the Book of Micah that the Anointed One would be born.

Guided by the Shekinah, we came upon a
dwelling that was set inside a deep cavern. Bearing our gifts, we entered the room where the infant slept in his mother’s arms, the father near at hand. The Nazorean Elders were also present and they welcomed us warmly for our arrival had been prophesied to them many years prior.

We then approached the family and presented our gifts to Yosef and his young wife Miriam. We offered frankincense to open the portal to God; gold to
honor the Anointed One’s elevated status; and myrrh to usher the Anointed One into the next life.

The Elders
then led us outside where their leader, a man named Zerah, spoke of how the Angel Gabriel had appeared to their ancient forbears with specific instructions so that they could fulfill the Divine Plan for the birth of the Anointed One. For seven generations they had assiduously purified themselves in advent of the birth. When they knew that the time was near, they took great care in selecting the perfect vehicle of conception who would bring the Anointed One into the world. Zerah gave assurance that Yosef and Miriam were both descended from a line of pious Nazoreans. When I made inquiry as to the nature of the preparations, Zerah revealed that when Miriam was four years of age, her mother Anna had brought her to the monastery at Mount Carmel where she was ritually dedicated and underwent eight years of training and study. She was one of many maidens who were similarly consecrated in the hopes that they would be perfected in mind and body should one of them be chosen. During this time, the consecrated virgins drank no wine nor did they consume the flesh of animals.

When Miriam was twelve years of age, she and the other virgins were led to the altar at the monastery to burn incense for their morning prayers. Suddenly there was a flash of light
ning in the sky and a golden halo of light formed around the young virgin Miriam. The Elders who were present at the altar knew that it was the sign from the Eternal One that He had selected Miriam to be the vessel to bring the Anointed One into the world. Three years would pass before she wed Yosef who had been carefully chosen by the Elders because he was a man of pious and righteous character.

Now that the Divine Plan had been fulfilled, the Nazorean Elders
were gravely concerned about the barbarous king who ruled Judea. Fearful that this wicked monarch would learn of the child’s birth, a plan was made to safeguard the family. Two of my brother Magi were to accompany Yosef, Miriam and the baby Yeshua to Egypt where the family would seek sanctuary with the Nazorean healers who lived on the banks of Lake Mareotis. Zerah and I then decided that I should return in twelve years’ time.

And so I did.

No sooner had Caedmon finished rereading the text from the first plate than Edie padded barefoot into the kitchen. Attired in a white silk robe, she appeared rested, but pale.

‘Heya, Big Red,’ she said, smiling warmly as she sat down beside him. ‘I don’t know about you, but the three-hour nap did me a world of good.’

Caedmon gestured to the laptop computer. ‘I received the translations of the two copper plates.’

She flicked a swatch of curly hair over her shoulder before pulling her robe more snugly across her bosom. ‘
And . . . ?’

‘
And I now have a much clearer understanding of the Templars and their beliefs concerning the historical Jesus.’ Curious to get her reaction, he spun the computer in her direction. ‘This is the translation of the first plate.’

‘
It’s subtitled “The Birth of Yeshua bar Yosef”,’ Edie remarked as she adjusted the computer screen, tilting it slightly.

‘Yeshua bar Yosef is
Aramaic for “Jesus son of Joseph”. Yeshua is, in fact, Jesus’ actual name and the one by which his family and, later, his disciples knew him,’ he explained. ‘Similarly, Miriam translates into the English name “Mary”.’

‘Well, then, let me have at it.’

Getting up from the table, Caedmon walked over to the counter and snatched the kettle from the electric plate. While Edie read the translated gospel, he poured the boiling water into the glass carafe. As the grounds steeped, he removed two mugs from the cupboard. Knowing Edie’s penchant for sweets, he rummaged through a drawer, managing to locate a tin of shortbread cookies which he placed on the table along with a sugar bowl and a small carton of milk.

As he plunged
the coffee, Edie looked up from the computer. Just as he expected, she had a flabbergasted expression on her face.

‘
Wow. I mean . . . wow,’ she reiterated, slack-jawed. ‘Do you think it’s true? That Yosef and Miriam were handpicked by the Nazorean priests to be the “vehicles of conception” for the prophesied Messiah?’

‘
What reason would Gaspar have to fabricate a lie?’ he countered. ‘That the Nazoreans planned so carefully is astounding. Clearly, the birth of the Anointed One was not a chance event.’

‘
If Gaspar’s account is to be believed, it also wasn’t a divine event either,’ Edie said pointedly, addressing the biblical elephant in the room. ‘Meaning that Jesus wasn’t conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin.’

‘Most Christians are unaware of the fact that in the first and second centuries, a d
ivine savior god born of a virgin was a popular pagan belief, Dionysus and Sol Invictus two of the more famous examples.’ Pouring the fresh-brewed coffee into two mugs, Caedmon carried them to the table and retook his seat. ‘Eager for converts, Paul’s protégé, a Gentile physician named Luke, described the immaculate conception at some length in his gospel, inventing a divine event that would compete with the prevailing pagan traditions. The Jews, however, never had an expectation that the prophesied Messiah would be a divine being.’

‘
Okay, so Luke was fishing for Gentile converts,’ Edie conceded as she poured a dollop of milk into her coffee. ‘But how do you explain the fact that in the Old Testament, the prophet Isaiah stipulated that the Messiah would be born of a virgin? “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel,”’ she recited, leveling him with a challenging stare.

‘And I’ll have you know that
Isaiah prophesied no such thing. Rather he prophesied that an
almah
would give birth.
Almah
is Hebrew for “girl”’ or “young woman”.’ Pausing, Caedmon took a sip of his coffee before continuing. The brew too bitter, he reached for the milk carton. ‘When the Church Fathers decided to create a divine Messiah, they intentionally mistranslated the original Hebrew text, thus corrupting Isaiah’s prophecy. While the Church wants us to believe that the lyrics of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” ring true, Gaspar would have us singing about a not-so-immaculate conception.’

‘It’s easy for you to make a mockery of this, isn’t it?’
Edie retorted, clearly taking exception to his last comment. ‘You don’t attend church service. Or even subscribe to a particular religion.’

Surprised by her
fervor, Caedmon carefully weighed his reply. ‘Here’s another possibility to consider: Miriam’s conception was absolutely “immaculate” in that the planning and foresight were impeccable. According to Gaspar, the Nazorean elders did everything possible to ensure that two pure and righteous individuals would bring a special child of destiny into the world.’ Opening the cookie tin, he passed it to Edie.

‘I’m almost afraid to ask what’s contained in the second translation.’

‘The second plate of the
Evangelium Gaspar
pertains to the “Lost Years”.’ Caedmon turned the computer in his direction and pulled up the next email attachment. ‘Those eighteen years from the time that the twelve-year-old Jesus had discourse with the high priests in the Temple to when he began his ministry at the age of thirty.’

Edie’s eyes popped wide open, her surprise plainly evident.
‘Do you mean that the
Evangelium Gaspar
actually contains information about those missing years in Jesus’ life?’

Caedmon
spun the laptop back in her direction. ‘Brace yourself.’

The Education of Yeshua bar Yosef

The First Lesson

When Yeshua bar Yosef was twelve years of age he was entrusted to me so that I could oversee his continued education.
Before this time, he had lived at Mount Carmel where the Brothers taught Yeshua from their library of sacred texts and had trained him in the healing arts.

We set out on the great trade route with a group of silk merchants who were making the return trip to their homeland. One night, Yeshua asked what he would l
earn once we arrived in the East. I explained that he would learn how to prepare and purify his mind, his body and his spirit to receive the Father’s greatest gift, that of enlightenment. Only in an awakened state could a man communicate with the Eternal One.

I then taught
Yeshua the first of many lessons: how the great prophet Zoroaster preached that the Heavenly Law of the Father is averse to the sacrifice of animals and that anyone who commits such wickedness shall be severely judged and punished. For this is a cruel act that causes the perversion of the mind and the loss of morality. The man who lives this Truth is a blessed child of the Father.

Yeshua is Mistaken for an Avatar

In Yeshua’s nineteenth year, we journeyed to the country of the Āryas
and the land of many deities that is called Jagannath. His arrival was met with much acclaim for he had grown in wisdom and stature. The Brahmin priests taught Yeshua the celibate virtues and the yogic practices that would enable him to change the lower forms of energy into a creative fire. In this way Yeshua moved closer to the Eternal One.

The priests in the temples
marveled at Yeshua’s righteousness and asked if he was an avatar, what they know to be an incarnation of the Supreme Being. And Yeshua said, ‘I am the Son of Man.’

Yeshua lived in peace with all men and this caused a great disturbance amongst the Brahmin priests who believed that the Holy Scriptures could not be taught to those men of low caste. And when they forbade Yeshua from
preaching to these lowly men, Yeshua refused to heed their command for he knew that the Father loved all of His Children.

The priests in the temple raged against Yeshua and they
planned his murder. But Yeshua was warned of this evil plot and we fled in the middle of the night. We then sought refuge with the monks who lived in the eastern mountains.

Yeshua Becomes Enlightened

While studying with the holy men who
adored the sublime Buddha, Yeshua spent many years reading the Sacred Rolls that contained the Wisdom of the Sutras. And he was drawn to that which spoke of the good we must do unto others as this is the sure path that leads to communion with the Eternal One. This was when he endeavored to live his life free of all violence and to forgive those who had wronged him in the past.

The llama at the
monastery taught Yeshua how to turn his gaze inward so that he could see that there were other worlds to behold. It was then that Yeshua began to comprehend that which had eluded him.

One day, Yeshua walked into the mountain forest for he sought communion with the Father. He had come to realize that the Father’s Kingdom was not to be found in the pages of a sacred text or in a beautiful temple. Nor did the Eternal One dwell in the Heavens above.
He now knew that the Eternal One dwelled within each man.

Yeshua remained in deep meditation for many days and many nights; and he was tempted by the Evil One who appeared in the guise of lust. But Yeshua spurned this temptation. Then the Evil One tried to lure him with the fear of death, but Yeshua had no fear for he was finally one with the Father and safe in his Father’s House. He now knew the inner peace that comes with enlightenment for Yeshua had become an awakened being.

And so his education was completed and, in his twenty-ninth year, Yeshua and I began the long westward journey back to the land of his birth.

Rione di Borgo, Rome, Italy

‘Heretical horseshit!’

Disgusted
, Cardinal Franco Fiorio glared at the translations that he’d been working on for the better part of the night. Essene elders selecting a ‘vessel’ was the very sort of sensationalism that would cause Catholics to doubt their faith. To question the validity of the canonical gospels.
Jesus, as the pre-existent Son of God, had been conceived through a divine fertilization of his mother Mary’s virgin womb!
That doctrine was beyond reproach. Beyond questioning even. At the First Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, the Church Fathers definitively determined that Jesus had been ‘Born of the Father before all ages.’
Et ex Patre natum ante ómnia sæcula.