Two days ago I came upon this episode while channel surfing – by fate! The Curse of Oakland reviewed its trip to Europe. I communicated with Zena Halpern. We had at least one phone call. I do not recall the year. She might have been a member of my Gmail group, Templar-de-Rosemont. She had some important information she wanted to show me, but wanted me to sign a NDA.
John Presco
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt27493257/
Zena Halpern from The Curse of Oak Island died earlier this year
Wed Dec 05, 2018 at 2:20am ET
By Julian Cheatle
Researcher Zena Halpern, whose work and theories featured prominently on History’s hit show The Curse of Oak Island, passed away earlier this year.
The popular New York-based historian was a good friend of Rick Lagina, and had extensive knowledge of Oak Island after spending more than half a century investigating how members of the Knights Templar may have come to North America in the past.
Back on Season 4 of the show, she famously brought to light what was believed to be a 14th Century map of Oak Island, with possible links to the Templars. Last season she also presented a theory of how a mysterious lead cross found on the island could be a representation of the Goddess Tanit.
In 2017, she authored the book The Templar Mission to Oak Island and Beyond: Search for Ancient Secrets: The Shocking Revelations of a 12th Century Manuscript.
The Templar Mission to Oak Island
Quotes from Zena Halpern’s readers:
“I could not stop reading this book…”
“Thank you to all that helped share this journal.”
“The evidence that Ms. Halpern presents is truly surprising.”
“I think you’ll be highly impressed by this story 2000 years in the making.”
“A wonderful work of major historic importance.”
Zena Halpern has spent more than a
decade chasing down a fascinating story that has the potential to change history as we know it. It is the story, both of a secret 12th century Knights Templar mission to Oak Island and a mountain range in New York State, and of the efforts made by various secret societies over the centuries
to either conceal or uncover the reasons
for this mission.
Zena Halpern pulled together disparate evidence from unusual characters and researched other sources to prove or disprove this fascinating story.
This text is her life’s work. Some believe the story uncovered by her research to be a hoax. If so, it would be the most elaborate hoax in the history of hoaxes. And to what end? Who spends a century cobbling together false clues and fake artifacts just to have a laugh at an octogenarian’s expense?
Read on. Read her story. Read of the amazing journey to America by the medieval Templars. Read of the fascinating efforts over the centuries to both conceal the journey and later uncover its secrets. Read about the Vatican and the CIA—they all play a part in this adventure. Read about treasures and ciphers and betrayals, as well as Oak Island.
Her research is not complete, there’s perhaps 10% missing and unfortunately, now Zena is gone. There are still unanswered questions. But 90% will have to do.
A hoax? You be the judge.
Two Templar Maps
Posted on by Gretchen Cornwall
Two Templar Maps
Third blog in a series, connected to The Curse of Oak Island, History Chanel
My own research intersects with the discoveries in Nova Scotia, outlined in my book:
The Secret Dossier of a Knight Templar of the Sangreal.
The Matrix Map
The Obelisk map below is only one part of a global map I was given ten years ago now, by a British Templar descendant. It is validated by the Zena Halpern map and vice-versa; the two maps intersect with Talmont Castle exactly and also within 18.5 miles of Rochefoucauld Castle.
La Rochelle is south, down the coast from Talmont. It indicates that my Templar contacts ancestors knew of Oak Island and at some point were possibly conspirators with the Rochefoucauld family.
Caldbeck Cumbria, Cold Beck & Kolbec, Nova Scotia
It is possible that the Templars of Caldbeck in Cumbria, (Keystone of the Matrix Map), were on Oak Island before the Rochefoucauld voyage of 1347 and may have been related or with common knowledge, shared through the Templar network.
“Caldbeck and Caldbeck Fells are worth all England else…” Queen Elizabeth I
X marks the spot directly on the Altar of Saint Kentigerns or Saint Mungos,
Caldbeck Cumbria NY 325 400 Ordnance Survey Grid Reference
The Templar network fractured after the Order was criminalized by the King of France. Once Templars settled into their new host nations or stayed where they were, they became separated by political interests, but their traditions were handed down through the centuries.
Why is the Matrix Map Relevant?
It came out of the hands of a modern-day Templar Priest…
First and foremost, the Templars were Priests, Spiritual matters were the priority. The Templars are also Cistercians with swords, they are cousin Orders… Both Orders were created by the same brilliant man, Saint Bernard de Clairvaux.
All that they touched was anchored in the Realm of Spirit through Practicality on Earth. Divine Will, focused through the sword for peace and protection.
We have bodies that need to be tended through food, sleep, happy work-life balance and stewardship. The Templars lived communally and shared their knowledge within their lay-brother program, helping to spread their form of worship to the secular classes. It’s changed over the centuries, but the Templars are still with us today.
Spirit is Practical as we must be inspired with hope to live. All life is Spirit based, first, with physical expression, second; Flowing down from the Divine Mind of God through the Tree of Life to give us Life on earth. Our immune systems respond to hope where self-healing can take place and extra energy may be drawn from… That hope stems from our direct connection with the All That Is… We are all directly connected, but some listen with a bit more clarity than others…
Our own life force energy is sustained by the All. Without it, we cease to exist. The Templars know this… We are here to experience separateness and learn, it is actually quite the cosmic joke, as we are never separate. We’ve just forgotten…
Emanation of Creation streaming down through the Spheres of the Tree of Life to Earth and within the human being.
Templars would absorb knowledge from anyone, regardless of religion or background. This was used against them during their Inquisition trials of 1307-1314.
The above is the long and short of it as to why the following is important. So, if you can’t grasp the above, you won’t grasp the below. But I hope you’ll come with me anyway…
If you are struggling with these concepts, don’t worry, just step back and try to remember that this is the mindset of a hereditary priesthood, that value this so highly that they would pass this down to their children through the centuries.
The unseen energy of earth is directly attached to sacred-mathematics. Our ancestors in the ancient world harnessed and focussed earth energy, shaping civilization itself. Using it to understand astronomy. Notice in the Bible, the directions to build an Ark were very specific…. Cathedral building was very specific.
Math is important and sacred as it describes the divine nature of ourselves and surroundings. Harmonising technology with math, sacred geometry and the energy of earth, will move mountains.
Obelisk and Tree of Life
Tree of life and a Stelae from Ethiopia
The above images are at the heart of the wisdom tradition for the Templar Knight Order & the rebirth of the awakened human being and their counterpart locations on earth.
The Obelisk is the practical expression of the Spirit focused on earth. A Christianised version of this is the church tower. That is why Templars were so involved with medieval church and cathedral building projects. They were creating Earth-Spirit-Lines that they could tap into for knowledge and revitalization.
The Obelisk out of Egypt mirrors the human spine and is the central pillar of the Tree of Life. An Obelisk focuses energy from the earth, upward and contains it as does the human spine.
The Obelisk is capped by a pyramid to create a focal point for the energy. It is as ancient as the human being, if not more so, as all sentient life follows a repeatable central nervous system. It is the key to intelligent life. And…
…The knowledge of the central nervous system is the key to enlightenment. It was given to us so that we may communicate with the Great Divine. The Obelisk and Tree of Life are the tools of practice and instruction for Enlightenment.
Enlightenment is the stage where communion with the All that Is takes place…
An Obelisk collects local energy up a monument in the same way that a large pyramid functions and creates a city, national or global network.
Earth energy can be focused along veins that can be tapped and directed or created.
Back to the map…
At the time that I was shown the Matrix Map, I was slightly concerned about the S.E. corner of the trans-Atlantic Obelisk (Erasmus Obelisk) not connecting exactly with La Rochelle. But after seeing the Zena Halpern Map, I can appreciate why this is… It was meant to include Talmont and Rochefoucauld…
One must remember that the Bible is full of codes and number play. The Templars would have sought to express this in the landscape.
“You will find something more in woods than in books. Trees and stones will teach you that which you can never learn from masters.” Bernard de Clairvaux
A standing stone or obelisk on Oak Island
Jesus using a compass to measure creation
Along with Templar history, my book explains Quantum Mechanics, Sacred Geometry, Sacred Numbers and the concept, that if the earth is divinely created and ‘measured’ by God, then, Navigation is a Sacred Art to be respected.
The God Overview
The only way to understand this powerful relationship with the earth is that of an overview of a Godly Being, Astronaut or Remote Viewer.
Note the path from Rosslyn Chapel – 0 Caldbeck – to Newport Wales
The Matrix Map dovetails with the Ordnance Survey Map of Great Britain, a mathematical impossibility. Note Dover at 325 400, Royston Cave at TL 325 400, these are just a few Templar locations; the others may be found in my book.
Both Caldbeck and Rosslyn also intersect with the Ordnance Survey Map. How is this possible? We are dealing with synchronicity and the mind of God through the principle of Emanation as outlined in the Tree of Life as explained above, pun intended. There are no accidents, there are no coincidences…
Note, Rosslyn to New Castle Wales, across the Atlantic to Newport Tower:
The simplified version below:
The Divine Number 9
Note the coordinates of 45 degrees and with 54 degrees… Tesla knew the importance of the number 9 – Remember the legend of the Nine Unknown… Or the 4 & 5 Crowns which I cover in my book…
In Rosslyn Chapel, a large graffiti mark was found in the crypt, author Ashely Cowie believed it to measure significant places in Scotland.
The Comte, my Templar contact, believes it is much more than that… it is a navigational tool. One of many that the Templars used down the centuries. If we take it on board as such, we can see the relevance immediately.
Rosslyn Chapel Graffiti
1. Washington Monument 2. Newport Tower 3. Westford Knight 4. Ross Castle
5. Kolbec Nova Scotia & Roslin Nova Scotia
There are no accidents regarding the spelling of the place names above. Kolbec, literally means, cold stream and is based out of the Cumbrian dialect, spoken by King Arthur as covered in my book… It is a localized version of Old English.
The place names of Caldbeck in Cumbria are an intentional match for Kolbec Nova Scotia and also Coldbrook in Canada. Roslin Nova Scotia is a mirror of Rosslyn in Scotland. They were so named as to be remembered as significant in the preservation of Templar artifacts and history. Books and people fade, but placenames and stone stand the test of time. I was told that Templars fled to Caldbeck in Cumbria after the fateful day of Friday, October 13th, 1307.
The Secret Dossier of a Knight Templar of the Sangreal was published in 2015 in Kindle and again in hardcopy in October of 2016. Zena’s book followed in 2017 and I was unaware of her until I saw her on Oak Island and then purchased her book.
While this may not help to pinpoint an exact treasure buried centuries ago by the Templars, it does illustrate their mindset. Understanding a mindset can help to uncover treasures along the way. It is the ‘WHY’ behind their motives. The Matrix Map I was given, validates the importance of Oak Island as a Templar repository and the information discovered by Ms. Halpern.
Thank you for your time….
A final note on the Prime Meridian:
*The Prime Meridian that had been established in England in 1721 became accepted as the global P.M. at the International Meridian Conference in 1884 held in the USA.
France continued to use both Rose lines for many decades to follow. The history of this can be found in my book… The new Meridian does not invalidate either the Zena Halpern map or my own, as maps must be adjusted to the new lat-long in order to be understood/navigable in the modern context…
- Rosslyn Chapel photo credit image: https://www.rosslynchapel.com/about/the-da-vinci-code/
- Where possible I do try to credit the photographer. I would happily update my photo credits for any of the other pages on my blog, if you’ve spotted someone’s work that you know… Please inform me… Thank you in advance…
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Holy Grail Authors
Posted on July 18, 2021 by Royal Rosamond Press
My sixteen year old daughter coming into my life in 2001, was seen as a true miracle -that some wanted to intercept and -negate! I never met my cousin, Daryl Bulkley, who on Heather’s facebook, was bragging on her mother, a artist, who never had a show. This was after I stopped communicating with her after he aunt peed on the seat of the car Vicki Presco rented for us at the family reunion. Daryl is using Heather to get her needs met, and settle old scores. Her mother was snubbed by members of my family – which was news to me!
Daryl was a member of Rennes Le Hoax, the yahoogroup I founded that disputed the claims by some authors who like myself had read the book ‘Holy Blood, Holy Grail’ whose authors sued Dan Brown. Daryl thought the subject matter preposterous, and suggested I might be, unhinged. When Heather appeared, Daryl launched a campaign to drive a wedge in-between us, after all, I was not much of a father, had no money, and was on SSI. No way was I going to be a millionaire author of a No.1 Best Seller, so, best treat me like a nobody piece of shit. Of course her mother was destined to be somebody – for starters! The Brodericks owned – real talent! It was much easier to get along with Heather – than me! Many demons told her so.
I could have published at least one book before MY MIRACLE came into my life.
John Presco
President: Royal Rosamond Press
The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail – Wikipedia
Brown wins Da Vinci Code case
Staff and agenciesFri 7 Apr 2006 11.28 EDT
- A high court judge today rejected claims that Dan Brown’s bestselling novel The Da Vinci Code breached the copyright of an earlier book.
Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh had sued publishers Random House claiming that Mr Brown’s book “appropriated the architecture” of their book, The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail, which was published in 1982 by the same publishing house.
The claimants said Mr Brown – whose book has made him the highest-paid author in history – had “hijacked” and “exploited” their book, which took them five years to create.
But in his ruling this afternoon at the high court in London following a three-week trial, Mr Justice Peter Smith said the claim for copyright infringement had “failed and is dismissed”.
The claimants were ordered to pay 85% of Random House’s legal costs, which are estimated at nearly £1.3m, with an interim payment of £350,000 to be made by May 5.
The judge said that a comparison of the language in The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail and The Da Vinvi Code did show some limited copying of the text.
Brown wins Da Vinci Code case | Newspapers & magazines | The Guardian
The Grail Filing
Posted on November 20, 2018 by Royal Rosamond Press
Mediator and Arbitrator, JAMS Mediation, Arbitration & ADR Services
I am finding pages of the letter I sent Judge Richard M. Silver. Since they were not returned, I assume they are filed in the Superior Court of Monterey. Here is proof I was working on a novel about the Holy Grail four years before Dan Brown came out with The Da Vinci Code. Not wanting to give away my book, I am being cryptic. Here is mention of The Rose Line – my Rose Line! It is a genealogy.
I had been studying The White Goddess and the Bible. Like J.R.Tolkien, I am into names. Amazon and others are looking at the tedious notes Tolkien made.
It’s 6:42 A.M. Ten minutes ago I discovered Gandalf died, and came back to life. How did I miss this? I looking at site on Revelations, I read about a connection between Tolkien’s work and Revelations. In seeking the truth of how my sister died, I mention to the Court I am a Biblical Scholar. I can not understand why there is no official investigation, starting with interviewing the man who owned the house at Rocky Point. A month after Christine was dead, I asked Vicki Presco the name and phone number of the person that invited a world famous artist out to Rocky. She, refused to give it to me. Outrageous! I own every right to conduct an investigation.
Below is a good comparison between The Lord of the Rings and Revelations. I found a much better connection in the story of David.
John Presco
14 The Mirror of Galadriel. Gandalf returns to life, and remains in a trance.
It’s fairly clear that Gandalf dies, his spirit departs his body, and then returns to it when he returns to life. So he recovered all his worldly possessions that had remained on his body, when his spirit returned TO his body. His resurrection is a “miraculous,” or if you prefer, a magical event, so his body was restored sufficiently to allow him to return to life, but he still required healing, as he says of his arrival in Lorien:
“Thus is was that I came to Caras Galadhon and found you but lately gone. I tarried there in the ageless time of that land where days bring healing not decay. Healing I found, and I was clothed in White.”
Gandalf is in the same body he inhabited before his death; he needed healing after returning to life, and found it in Lorien, but, being in the same body, he still had all the possessions left on it. This included Narya.
http://www.pawcreek.org/lord-rings/
“Gandalf really ‘died’ and was changed…. ‘I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death’.” (The Letters of J. R. R Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, editor (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981), pp. 201-202.)
https://www.jamsadr.com/silver/
Hon. Richard M. Silver (Ret.) highly regarded for maintaining a balance between fairness and efficiency, has gained the respect of attorneys for his tremendous intellect, tenacity, and his ability to get to the heart of issues quickly. During his 25 years as a Superior Court Judge in Monterey County and since joining JAMS in 2002, Judge Silver has successfully negotiated or arbitrated hundreds of disputes. Judge Silver brings extensive experience in business and commercial disputes, real property and broker issues, construction defect and delay cases, family and probate matters, employment related disputes including wage and hour class actions, and complex personal injury actions.
Lord of the Rings Foreshadowing the Book of Revelation
World events make no sense unless you understand the “Book of Revelation.” This entire universe is on a pre-determined course set by the foreknowledge of its Creator. Whether it is the poetry of the poet, the business adventure of the money mad tycoon, the grand plans of the One World designers, the cinema creation of the movie makers, or the imagination of a J.R.R. Tolkien, it is all under the auspices of the “Beginning and the Ending.” The God of the Book of Revelation proclaimed, “I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8).
No book in the Bible makes more sense in today’s world than the grand closing of God’s Revelation. The Book of Revelation was designed to bring the church of Jesus Christ from the hour of its early beginning to the glory of its eminent future. The seven letters to seven churches in Revelation chapters two and three embodies the entire time from the beautiful beginning of the church to the apostasy of its waning hours. The saints will not be raptured in the glory of the church’s organizations and wealth, but in the grace of His holiness and imparted purity. Beginning in chapter four of Revelation, we have the future of His kingdom after the church age as it unfolds both on earth and in the Heavens. Our world is speedily racing in preparation for this incredible climax.
Big Problem With John’s Disciples
Posted on March 13, 2012 by Royal Rosamond Press
After Herod had John beheaded there was unrest amongst his followers who the fictional Jesus approaches while they were grieving, on the verge of revolt. No doubt there was a protest and revolt, but, it was not broadcast on the radio of T.V. The news of John’s murder was broadcast abroad in the Diaspora where the disciples of John preached in Synagogues about the Great Atonement at the End Days.
Now Jews were upset in Greece and Rome. An excuse had to be invented, such as, John TRANSFERRED the Holy Spirit over to his disciple Jesus (Jesus who?)while in prison, and thus the Holy Spirit that WAS in John, and now is in Jesus. When John’s teaching about the Jubilee caused the debt archives to be burned and the war with with Rome to begin – and after the Jews lost this war – here come Paul down the road to murder John’s followers, now claiming Jesus (as the Holy Spirit) TRANSFERRED this Holy Spirit over to him. Thus, there is a good chance most of the words that come out of Jesus’ mouth, came out of John’s mouth – only! The result, John’s Revolt has been put down, and a lie invented to keep it down, and at the same time go into the Diaspora and corrupt and placate a world wide revolt – something Herod feared BEFORE he went ahead and murdered John the Baptist – the real deal! Why didn’tJohn’s followers go over to Jesus? He is pure fiction!
Keep your eye on the ball, the Holy Spirit, which is a Gift of God, the meaning of the name John. Jesus means ‘savior’ a title that may have been applied to John by tens of thousands of Jews.
Christin leaders have said for two thousand years THE JEWS murdered Jesus because they did not recognize him – AS WHAT – God? The Jews recognized John the Baptist! Herod sees that he is a great prophet who performed miracles, and was capable of being resurrected from the dead – into another person. Did Herod believe in the RESUSCITATION? What is that?
Jon Presco
Copyright 2012
Acts 19:2-7 – Disciples of John the Baptist
April 5, 2011 in Luke / Acts, Observations on Acts | Tags: Acts 19, Holy Spirit, John the Baptist
Luke intended this paragraph to be read along with the previous unit, the introduction of Apollos as a disciple of John. Just as Luke contrasted Barnabas with Ananias in 4:36-28 and 5:1-2, Apollos and the other disciples of John stand in contrast One disciple heard John and accept Jesus as the Messiah (although not fully understanding the implications of the resurrection, most likely with respect for Gentile salvation), the other disciples heard John but were ignorant of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
The dozen disciples of John indicate that even 20 years after John’s death there was a movement amount the Jews that held John to be a prophet and in some way kept his teachings alive. Perhaps the gospel of John gives us a similar hint, especially if it can be show that John wrote from Ephesus near the end of the first century.
These disciples cannot be considered Christians at this point since they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. While Luke only uses “disciple” for believers in every other case in Acts, his use of μαθητής here is without a definite article, the such example in Acts. At the very least these are unusual Christians, perhaps “fringe” Christians, similar to the “unusual, fringes of Judaism described in the first half of the book. Paul’s question – did you receive the Holy Spirit – is equivalent to asked, “are you believers?” Not only have these disciples not received the Holy Spirit, they do not even know that there is a Holy Spirit!
Paul asked them “into whom” or “into what” they were baptized. The NIV obscures this a bit, interpreting the question as “who baptized you,” rather than “what was the medium in which you were baptized.” Witherington comments that the image of being immersed into the Holy Spirit was common in the early church, see Rom 6:3, 1 Cor 1:13, 15, 10:2, 12:13, Gal 3:27). His point is that the “whom” of this verse cannot refer to water; he sees the baptism of the Holy Spirit as entry into saving faith, while baptism in water is entry into the Christian community (Acts, 571).
Since they had been baptized “in John’s baptism,” Paul explains that John’s baptism was not enough, it was a “baptism of repentance,” which looked forward to the ministry of Jesus. One could not be saved at this point in history only by accepting the message of John, it is only through faith in Jesus that one can be saved (as Acts has made abundantly clear prior to this point in the book!)
As has happened at several points in the book of Acts already, there is a manifestation of the Holy Spirit (tongues and prophesy) after Paul lays hands on these disciples. There is no consistent “order of events” in Acts, sometimes the Spirit comes prior to baptism (10:44-48, Cornelius) and other times baptism is prior (19:1-7), and in the case of Apollos, there is no mention of a re-baptism or of the coming of the Spirit. Perhaps this is because he properly understood the message of John as pointing forward to Jesus, but that is not clear.
In fact, this is the only case of re-baptism in the New Testament, even the twelve were not re-baptized into the name of Jesus, they only had experienced the baptism of John (although one wonders about Matthew, since he was called to be an Apostle after John’s ministry.) The point of this brief narrative is to show that it is possible to have a limited knowledge of Jesus which is not enough to be saved – theologically there was nothing wrong with these disciples except that they did not quite believe enough. They did not believe something that was wrong, but they did not take their belief to the full extent needed for salvation.
Here is another problem for Applying Acts – what do we make of these disciples? Are these disciples “partial believers” who have participated in a ritual (John’s Baptism) but did not believe enough to be actually Christians? What is it that “saved” these disciples? In any case, it is the reception of the Holy Spirit which demonstrates they are in fact now Christians.
Disciples of John the Baptist
Like Christ, John the Baptist had disciples who followed him.
Andrew
Andrew was first a disciple of John the Baptist. He left John to become a disciple of Jesus. Andrew brought his brother, Simon Peter, to Christ.
John’s disciples fast
Jesus called Matthew the tax collector to be a disciple. Matthew, also named Levi, held a great feast which the disciples of John and Jesus attended.
John’s disciples were fasting, and asked Jesus why his disciples did not fast. Using 4 parables, Jesus showed that it was inappropriate for his own disciples to fast at that time.
The baptizers
Jesus began preaching near the Jordan river. His disciples were baptizing more people than John’s disciples. John’s disciples came to him with this concern.
John the Baptist told them that he was not the Christ, and that he would decrease as Jesus increased.
John’s messengers
After John the Baptist was imprisoned by Herod, he sent his disciples to Jesus with the question “Are you the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?”
Jesus responded with these encouraging words “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.”
Jesus commended John by telling the multitude that John was greater than any of the prophets.
Problem: John the Baptist still had disciples
Verses: John 3:25-28, others; Status: Minor
Like Jesus, John the Baptist was a historical figure who definitely existed. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the gospels do not present an accurate picture of John. I’d like to examine one problem, that of John’s disciples (this was brought to my attention by Paul Tobin).
All the gospels agree that John came to prepare the way for Jesus. For example, this is Luke 3:16:
John answered them all, saying, “I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. (ESV)
It would seem logical that, when Jesus arrived on the scene, John would point his disciples to him and instruct them to follow Jesus. And yet, there are verses where we are told that John still had disciples. For example, this is Matthew 9:14:
Then the disciples of John came to him [Jesus], saying, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” (ESV)
Mark 2:18 and Luke 5:33 also mention that the disciples of John were behaving differently from the disciples of Jesus.
In a different context, we are told at Luke 7:18-23 and Matthew 11:2-6 that John’s disciples were relaying messages between him and Jesus.
I’m not sure what to make of all this. On the one hand, being a disciple of John doesn’t rule out also being a disciple of Jesus. I think this could resolve the problem of the messengers: they could have been disciples of both teachers. Also, since John was thrown in prison, it’s possible that many of his followers were never told that they should be following Jesus. That might solve the fasting problem – if these disciples of John were still following the “old rules”.
Perhaps the most difficult problem is John 3:25-28:
Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness – look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ (ESV)
This passage sums up the whole problem. Why are these particular disciples – who should be aware that Jesus is the Messiah – still following John? Well, you might say that John’s followers loved him so much that they were unhappy to leave him. That seems possible. Alternatively, perhaps they hadn’t quite “got it” yet.
Even after his death, history records that John had many followers who were not Christians, but this can be explained away if we accept that not every follower of John would have been fully aware of all his teachings. It’s still a bit odd though.
In the end, I’ve not found any really sharp contradiction here, but it’s definitely a thorny issue.
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About Royal Rosamond Press
I am an artist, a writer, and a theologian.
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1 Response to Holy Grail Authors
Royal Rosamond Press says:October 19, 2021 at 3:15 pm (Edit)Reblogged this on Rosamond Press and commented:The affect Dan Brown had on the literary world was enormous. I was working on my Grail Novel since 1997. I communicated with published authors such as Margaret Starbird. I sent letters to the probate of Christine Rosamond Benton. Was Dan and others authoring modern day Pulp Fiction?Open Letter To Heisinger | Rosamond PressSteinbeck Searched For Arthur’s Grail | Rosamond Press
- https://rosamondpress.com/2021/08/27/open-letter-to-heisinger/
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