Page 8 of 16

 

* PENTECOST*

20/20

A New Light Dawns!

7nbsp;

 As  ZEBEDEE, Simon Magus was owner and operator of the Gospel "Fishing Boat" of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

 As  LAZARUS, Simon Magus was one of Jesus' closest friends, along with his "sisters" MARY and MARTHA. But as SIMON the Canaanite, SIMON the Leper, SIMON the Pharisee, and especially SIMON ZELOTES, he was a major problem to the Essenes and to Jesus.  And therefore a COVER-UP became necessary.   As a leader of ZEALOTS, he was partly responsible for the Crucifixion of Jesus!

QUESTION: How was the HOLY SPIRIT redefined by Simon Peter and the Essenes (but mostly by Luke the author of Acts) to allow an AUTHORITARIAN CHURCH LEADERSHIP to take over the role of the HOLY SPIRIT during the Dark Ages and Middle Ages?

WITH ANGELS!

 

ANSWER: We cannot know this with any degree of certainty unless we know the dates of various happenings in Acts.

 Dr. Barbara Thiering PhD, pictured above with her book "Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls" has done just that, figured out these dates of events in Acts, and the following are the events, in order, with dates, using "Gospel Pesher techniques" to determine them.  (Read the book to discover these techniques)

 Crucifixion of Jesus 9 AM (old time)

removed from cross at 3 PM (new time)

Friday, March 20, 33 AD

 Appearance of Resurrected Jesus in Jerusalem

Monday, March 23, 33 AD Noon Meal

Luke 24:36 "And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, "Peace be unto you." (the blessing over the noon meal)  41 "And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? (the noon meal at the Essene gate in Jerusalem) 42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb. (the menu) 43 And he took it and did eat before them." (proving he was alive, human, and not a "ghost")

Feast of Pentecost - Acts 2:1

Sunday, June 21, 33 AD

Acts 2:1 "And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting."

Peter and "John" (Simon Magus) preaching together

Acts 2:43 "And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles."

June 21 until Sept. 1

2 1/2 months

Selling  of possessions and living together Acts 2:44-47

Healing of Lame Man (James) at the Beautiful Gate

Tuesday, Sept. 1, 33 AD

This is the HIGH POINT of Charismatic Experiences of a cooperative type before they were down-graded!

Trial of Peter and "John" (Simon Magus)  Acts 4:1-30

Tuesday evening 6 PM

Room "shaken" -- Holy Ghost outpouring  Acts 4:31

Wednesday, Sept. 2, 6 AM

Great Power (Simon Magus) and Great Grace (John Mark) form an alliance as an Anti-Agrippa party-

John Mark has been promoted to "Cardinal"!

Fri-Sat, March 19-20, 34 AD

 Acts 4:33

Barnabas (Jesus' brother Joses) gives his share of Essene money to support another Essene center in Caesarea - Philip joins him Acts 4:36-37

Mar. 20 until Sept. 35 AD

The Charismatic Essenes in the new center in Caesarea flourish under the Ministry of Simon Magus and Philip.

Simon Magus (as "Ananias") REFUSES to accept all of the financial reforms instituted at Caesarea, and continues to accept fees from the Eastern Essenes.

Peter is pro-Agrippa, while Simon Magus' party is anti-Agrippa -- The Herodian Essenes, who will later become the Christians, are rising in power because Agrippa is the friend of Gaius Caligula, soon to be Roman Emperor.

Peter uses this new power to excommunicate both Simon Magus  ("Ananias") and his consort Helena ("Sapphira"). Acts 5

Friday, Sept. 16, 35 AD

However, Simon Magus and Helena move back to Jerusalem and gain a lot of support in spite of Peter's efforts to destroy them politically and in the Essenes.

Acts 5:11 "And great fear came upon all the church ("great fear" is a coded reference to Simon Magus, who claimed to be able to use the great power of God), and upon as many as heard these things."

Simon is still able to perform miraculous healings by prayer!

Acts 5:12 "And by the hands of the apostles (an intentionally deceptive reference again to Simon Magus and Helena and their increasingly successful ministry) were many signs and wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.  13 And of the rest durst no man join himself to them; but the people magnified them.  14 And believers were the more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women.)

Here Luke is deceptively giving credit to Peter for what Peter's now adversary Simon Magus was doing!

Acts 5:15 "Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them."

Here the "shadow of Peter" is not Peter at all but instead Simon Magus!

Acts 5:16 "There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits and they were healed every one."

Healed by whom?  By "Peter's Shadow! By Simon Magus!

  And the hidden history, visible here in spite of Luke's cover-up, shows that Simon Magus' healing and Holy Ghost ministry was still going strong, both in the Jerusalem area and in Caesarea (Samaria) even until and after the conversion of Paul in 40 AD!

 

 

QUESTION: In what chapter in Acts is Simon Magus, the major miracle-working preacher of the Holy Ghost after Pentecost "transformed" into a "Magician" and "Sorcerer" by Luke?

ANSWER: In Acts chapter 8, starting with verse 9

 

WITH ANGELS!

   September, 37 AD

Simon Magus as a "Magician" and "Sorcerer

 

   Acts 8:5 "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.

    6 And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did,

    7 For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

    8 And there was great joy in that city. (Mary Magdalene, when she was pregnant was called "Great Joy" --- "great" for "great with child" and "joy" for the sexual intercourse which got her in this condition!).

     9 But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one:

    10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.

      11 And to him they had great regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

      12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

     13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.

Simon Magus (Zebedee of the Gospel years) is still catching men instead of fish, but now in Samaria, not in the Dead Sea, and now Philip, not Peter, is helping him!

 

  

    

  

 

QUESTION: How did Luke and Peter change the meaning of "Holy Ghost" from the power that was aiding Simon Magus and Philip to that of their organization and their new interpretation of Essenism, which would become the Christian Church?

 

   March 1, 38 AD to

Sept. 29, 39 AD

The "Holy Spirit" converted to be something else, Church organization and authoritarian Leadership!

 

     Acts 8:14 "Now when the apostles which were in Jerusalem (Simon Peter and his religious party, the pro-Agrippa group) heard that Samaria (the Essenes now based at the Caesarea center) had received the word of God (were preaching that Jesus is the Christ), they sent unto them Peter and John (another John, the brother of James, both the former "Sons of Zebedee")

   15 "Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the (newly defined) Holy Ghost."

    16 (For as yet he (the Holy Ghost now defined as a male person of great authority) was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.)

The New Ordination!

   17 "Then laid they (the representatives of what would later become the Christian Church) their hands on them (those of the Ceasarea Essene Center that were willing to "convert" ), and they received the (newly defined) Holy Ghost."

    18 "And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands (the new Christian ordination) the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money (part of his financial support),

    19 "Saying, Give me also this power (the power of your new organization, not Charismatic power derived with true interaction with Divine Beings), that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the (newly defined) Holy Ghost."

    20 "But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

    21 "Thou has neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.

    22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.

    23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.

    24 Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me.

    25 And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans."

   After this Philip, who was Simon Magus preaching partner at the Ceasarea Essene Center, was willing to cooperate with Peter in a venture we have no time to expose here.

    

   What allows me to put a date of March 1, 38 AD on this series of verses, Acts 8:14-25, is that Dr. Barbara Thiering PhD has determined from the "Gospel Pesher" meaning of these verses, combined with where they fit into the Essene History of this period, that this is what occurred on this date.

"Jesus and the Riddle of the Dead Sea Scrolls" -- Chronology -- page 255, bottom of page --

   "Sat. March 1, 38 AD Damascus -- Formal inauguration of the Damascus Center, in year 8 of the new dating from AD 31 as year 1 (Acts 9:33 "out of years 8"

    "Tue. Sept. 29, 39 AD Caesarea -Those who received the Mem baptism in AD 37 now receive full initiation, Samekh, two years later.  Peter and John from Qumran are again in fellowship with Caesarea.  They take part in the initiation ceremony (Acts 8:14-17) Simon Magus wants to continue the practice of simony, paying money for episcopal office, but Peter sternly rebukes him and seperates on this point. He also shows that he knows of a poison plot against Agrippa (Acts 8:18-24)

 

 

 40 AD --Simon Magus' "magical" reappearance as ANANIAS in Paul's conversion story.

 Acts 9:10 "And there was a certain man at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord---"

   17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him (Saul of Tarsus) said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto you in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and

be filled with the Holy Ghost."

  Assuming the Ananias of Acts chapter 9 to be the same Ananias of Acts chapter 5, and Simon the Sorcerer of chapter 8 verses 5-25, we'll need an explanation of why Jesus is now asking this Holy Ghost-filled teacher to perform his "magic" and "Sorcery" on Saul of Tarsus, so that he, the Apostle Paul, can spread it to us and the rest of the Gentile World!

 

 

 

 

At least THREE LEVELS of MEANING!

Dr. Bob Holt, MD notes that on the FIRST LEVEL of MEANING, the naive reading of Acts that most people, even College professors, are used to, and usually satisfied with --Ananias and Sapphira, 2 unknown converts, are really slain by the Holy Spirit separated by a 3 hour interval -- for the religious "crime" of lying to the Holy Spirit.  Peter is God's executioner, pronouncing sentence on them.  But to those of us not so naive, an explanation seems to be in order.
To these same naive readers, they may not notice that there are two persons named Ananias only four chapters apart, one in chapter 5 and one in chapter 9.   Some will consider this a coincidence, Ananias was a common name in those days.  Others will use conventional reasoning to convince themselves that the Ananias of chapter 5 is dead and buried.  Luke mentions his burial, and this is the Bible, so Luke cannot lie!

Others like myself, quite aware of Luke's literary tricks, will realize that both persons named Ananias are indeed the same person, otherwise Luke would have not named them at all, or named one of them with a different name.

Deciding that they are indeed the same person allows the critical reader to move on and discover the real issues, what Jesus and Luke want to teach those with eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind to connect the dots.   Not qualities that get you into anything but trouble in the Religious World.
   In between these two Ananias stories is this strange little story of a magician and sorcerer named Simon who has bewitched everyone in Samaria by convincing them all that he is either the Great Power of God or at least has control of enough of this power to cause great fear in everyone's hearts in that area.

     Our usual naive readers, those trusting Luke as a Bible author not to fool them in any way, will swallow all this at face value, no other explanations needed.   But there are still others of us not so naive. And sooner or later one of us will connect this sorcerer of chapter 8 with the Ananias of chapter 5 who "died" in an unusual way, and the other Ananias of chapter 9, who was specially chosen by Jesus Christ in a vision to cure Saul of Tarsus of his blindness.   Being Jesus, who throughout the Gospels was a rather clever and tricky sort of person, we should suspect that he's also trying to cure a lot of you naive readers of the Bible of your blindness also!
    Along came Dr. Barbara Thiering PhD and discovered the SECOND LEVEL of MEANING to these not properly explained oddities in Luke's reporting, and found to her joy and a lot of other people's distress, that the clever ESSENES were keeping track of their own history in a manner that they understood but other readers were fooled.  "Miracles" were not really miracles, and many of the conversations had a double meaning.  Simon the Sorcerer is not really a sorcerer at all, but is having rather ordinary disagreements with Peter about what fees should be collected from religious believers who want to advance to positions of more power and religious prestige.

   So, using Thiering's expertise, we're able to connect dates and real happenings with what Peter is saying here to not some evil sorcerer but to his former spiritual advisor and teacher Simon Magus, who he knew and was paid by as Zebedee in the days before he met Jesus and became one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles.
   Thiering admits that the surface stories and dialogs behind which these historical happenings are "hiding" also have some merit in that they teach ethical behavior and right living, but she fails to pursue her technique to the THIRD LEVEL I am seeing here.  A LARGER HISTORICAL MEANING that reveals not only HIDDEN TRENDS and MOTIVES of such otherwise untouchable icons of Christianity as Peter, Paul, and Jesus that would, if known, and publicly exposed, reveal them to be not so saintly as the Church has made them out to be.  Perhaps it's time to make some CORRECTIONS in the course set by these early leaders and guides of the Church before our current civilization run's aground like Luke's ship of his very last chapters.

 

 

For other examples of Simon Magus' type Holy Ghost, but not that of Peter's Church ---

Click Here!

Quit and Return to Main Index