Britain's Connection to the Messianic Faith of the Early Hebrew

An angelic being holds the Shen sign representing eternal life over the deceased king.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley


In my first presentation I spoke about the presence of Anglo-Celtic priests in Britain at least as early as 46 A.D., well before Augustine’s 596 arrival to establish a Roman mission in Britain. The planting of the priesthood in England appears to have been the work of members of the Sanhedrin who were followers of Jesus Christ. Joseph Arimathea is a prime example. With this in mind, we should not be surprised that the ordination rules for Anglicans align closely with the Sanhedrin’s ordination rules.

Ossuary of Miriam, granddaughter of the High Priest Joseph Caiaphas.

 

Last week we explored the early Hebrew beliefs concerning the Son of God and their solar symbolism. The 6-prong solar symbol (shown above) that appeared on grave markers and ossuaries indicated hope for life after death. That symbol appeared on the bone boxes of Jewish rulers, including Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest who condemned Jesus. 

Dispersion of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b. 

Note the dark spot in the area of Lake Chad, Noah's homeland.

We also considered the DNA evidence for the wide dispersal of the early Hebrew across the Ancient Near East, parts of Europe, and especially Britain, where an estimated 70% of native British men share the same 20,000-year genetic heritage as the early Hebrew, Haplogroup R1b. (See map above.)

Coincidentally, these regions are where we find the distinctive 6-prong solar symbol.

In this presentation I hope to tie these threads together so that we may appreciate the deep roots of our Faith. Indeed, the Messianic Faith that we call “Christianity” is older than all other world religions by thousands of years.

Today we will consider what Genesis tells us about the dispersal of the early Hebrew and look at some of the earliest known Hebrew prayers that speak of their expectation that a Righteous Ruler would overcome death and lead them to immortality. Finally, we will look at the account of Abraham on Mount Moriah to better understand the nature of justification.

Let’s begin with a timeline. The oldest known site of Hebrew worship at Nekhen on the Nile dates to c. 4000 B.C. The oldest known Hebrew texts date to around the same time (4200-4000 B.C.). Abraham lived around 2000 B.C., which means that he had many Hebrew ancestors from whom he received a sacred tradition concerning a ruler-priest of his Hebrew caste who would overcome death and lead his people to immortality. Many of those Hebrew ancestors lived in the Nile Valley and were part of a very advanced ancient civilization.

The names above Asshur and Arpachsad are found in Genesis 10 and the names from Arpachsad and Asshur the Younger to Abraham are found in Genesis 11.

 

Genesis chapter 10 explains that Nimrod was a son of Cush. Cush represents the Nile Valley. Nimrod left the Nile Valley and began to build cities in the land of Shinar in Southern Mesopotamia. He married a daughter of Asshur, a Hebrew ruler in Mesopotamia. She was probably Nimrod’s cousin as suggested by the fact that she named her firstborn son after her father Asshur, a prerogative of the Hebrew cousin brides. The cousin bride’s naming prerogative is a distinctive feature of the marriage and ascendancy pattern of the early Hebrew. We find it earlier in the “begats” of Genesis 4 and 5.

The names Adah, Zillah, and Lamech the Elder appear in Genesis 4. The names Methuselah and Lamech the Younger, his firstborn son by his cousin bride Naamah, appear in Genesis 5.

Horus Names Among the Early Hebrew

Note the royal name Ar-Pacshad (Arpaxad). The "Ar" is likely a shortened Horus name as is suggested by the Nabataean King Harithath IV who bears the Horus name. In 2 Corinthians 11:32 King Harithath is called King Aretas. Horus is the later Greek word for the earlier Proto-Egyptian HR which means “Most High One”. In the ancient world, HR was regarded as the patron of kings.

Note that Abraham was a descendant of both Ham and Shem because their lines intermarried. This is an example of caste endogamy. The Hebrew were a caste of ruler-priests. They were organized into 2 ritual groups (moieties): the Horite Hebrew and the Sethite Hebrew. Some Horite Hebrew chiefs are listed in Genesis 36.

A great deal is known about both groups from texts and prayers that they wrote on the walls of royal tombs in the Nile Valley. Those have been translated and collected in a volume titled “Ancient Pyramid Texts”. Some of the prayers date as early as 6200 years ago. Most date to around 4000 years ago, the time of Abraham.

It is clear in The Ancient Pyramid Texts that the Horites and the Sethites maintained separate settlements. Utterance 308 addresses them as separate: "Hail to you, Horus in the Horite Mounds! Hail to you, Horus in the Sethite Mounds!"

Though separate groups or moieties, the Horite and Sethite Hebrew shared common religious practices and beliefs. They worshiped the same God whose symbol was the Sun, and they served the same king. However, the Horite temples and shrines were more prestigious. Utterance 470 strikes a contrast between the Horite and Sethite mounds and designates the Horite mounds as "the High Mounds."

Figurine of Seth found at Nekhen.

 

The totems of the Sethites and Horites have been found at Nekhen on the Nile, the oldest known site of Horite Hebrew worship (c.4000 B.C.). This figurine of Seth as a red-brown man with the head of a hippo was there. The hippo was the totem of the Sethite Hebrew, and the golden falcon was the totem of the Horite Hebrew.

A gold figure of Horus as a falcon was found at Nekhen. 

Among the early Hebrew green malachite was associated with HR and represented new life and the hope of resurrection. The Egyptian Book of the Dead speaks of how the deceased will become a falcon "whose wings are of green stone" (chapter 77). The Ancient Pyramid Texts speak of Horus as the "Lord of the green stone" (Utterance 301) and the land of the blessed dead is described as the "field of malachite." The prayers of the Nilotic Hebrew are the earliest known resurrection texts.

Note that these prayers are written in hope that the buried king might rise to new life. In his resurrection body he is to restore his settlements and cities, and open the door to the Westerners, Easterners, Northerners and Southerners (Utterance 587). He is to rule over the peoples, restore the former state of blessedness, and unite heaven and earth. The Messianic expectation found in Genesis 3:15 was expressed in Utterance 388 of The Pyramid Texts: "Horus has shattered the mouth of the serpent with the sole of his foot". In the Egyptian Book of the Dead, HR is called the "advocate of his father" (cf. 1 John 2: 1, "If anyone sin, we have an advocate with the Father...).

When seen from this perspective, the faith of the early Hebrew appears to be the foundation of the Messianic hope that is fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth, a direct descendant of the Hebrew ruler-priests.

The New Testament speaks about Jesus as the firstborn from the grave and by his resurrection He delivers to the Father a "peculiar people." He leads us to the Father where we receive heavenly recognition because we belong to Him. Here we find the language of a royal procession such as this: "When He ascended on high, He led captives in his train, and gave gifts to men.” Paul continues in Ephesians 4:8-10 - "What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the depths of the earth? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe."

A Horite Hebrew song found at the royal complex at Ugarit speaks of HR’s descent to the place of the dead "to announce good tidings." The text reads: Hr ešeni timerri duri - "below in the dark netherworld" and has the Hittite phrase Šanizzin ḫalukan ḫalzi - "to announce good tidings". (See Note 2 on page 2012.)

The early Hebrew expected the Righteous Ruler to rise on the third day. Utterance 667 says: "Oh Horus, this hour of the morning, of this third day is come, when thou surely passeth on to heaven, together with the stars, the imperishable stars."

Heavenly recognition for the early Hebrew was never an individual prospect. Heavenly recognition came to the people through the righteousness of the ruler-priest. Some early Hebrew rulers took this seriously and the worst were so earthy minded that they shed much blood enlarging their territories. All failed to be the Ruler-Priest who rose from the dead. None had the power to deliver captives from the grave and to lead them to the Father in heaven (Ps. 68:18; Ps. 7:7; Eph. 4:8). That would be fulfilled by Jesus, the Son of God, and this was revealed to Abraham on Mount Moriah.

Among the early Hebrew, the Son of God was pictured as rising with the sun as a lamb and setting in the west as a ram. As they ascended Mount Moriah, Isaac asked his father "where is the lamb" for the sacrifice? Abraham replied that God would provide the lamb, but God provided a ram instead.

Among the early Hebrew, the Son of God was shown riding with the Father on the celestial Sun boat. The boat of the morning hours was called Mandjet and the boat of the evening hours was called Mesektet. While the Son was on the Mandjet, he was depicted as a lamb. While on the Mesektet, he was a ram. Abraham would have understood the message of the ram provided by God on Mount Moriah, and he believed the promise, and believing, he was justified. We if don’t get hung up on chronological time, which does not pertain to God, we will see that the ground for justification is the same for all people throughout all human existence. Glory to God!

The Son of God was called the “Lamb” in his weaker (kenotic) state, and he was called the “Ram” in his glorified state. The solar arc spoke of the Son’s death and resurrection. This is what Jesus meant when he told the Jews, "Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it and was glad." (John 8:56)


Related reading: The Ram of God has been Provided; The Hebrew Were a Caste; The Oldest Known Religion; What Abraham Discovered on Mt. Moriah; Solar Symbolism of the Ancient Near East; Funerary Rites and the Hope of Resurrection; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; The Religious Symbolism of Green Malachite

Joseph Arimathea and the Priesthood in England

 

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

This post explores the start of the priesthood in England. It considers the historical, archaeological and anthropological data that suggests an early presence of Jewish priests in Roman Britain who were followers of Jesus Christ. These ruler-priests were members of the Sanhedrin and had authority to ordain priests for the Church. One of them was Joseph Arimathea, a mining expert whose excavated family sepulcher was where Jesus’ body was laid.

Hebrew ruler-priests were widely dispersed before the time of Abraham. As early as 4000 years ago they were in the Nile Valley, Arabia, Canaan, Sumer, northern Mesopotamia, and Anatolia in what is today southern Turkey. Horite Hebrew miners were excavating mines in Timna before ancient Egypt became an empire. Timna, the site of some of the world's oldest copper mines, is near Beersheba in modern day Israel. The Horite Hebrew were devotees of HR (Horus) and his mother Hathor. A temple dedicated to Hathor was discovered at the southwestern edge of Mt. Timna by Professor Beno Rothenberg of Hebrew University.

Dispersal of Y-DNA Haplogroup R1B

Genetic studies indicate that a significant minority of Jewish males carry Y-DNA Haplogroup R1b, the same Haplogroup to which approximately 70% of native British men belong. The point of origin of this haplogroup is the Fertile Crescent.

The early Hebrew priests served as prophets, scribes, smiths, stone masons, miners, and physicians. They performed circumcisions, a practice that persisted among the royal Anglo-Celtic families. They offered sacrifices at temples and prayers at sacred shrines where people came for healing. They performed ceremonies at circles of standing stones, and they ordained their high priests in a succession extending back well before the time of Abraham.

Depending on who is telling the story, accounts differ as to when the priesthood came to the British Isles. This article focuses on the earliest known activity of priests in England who were followers of Jesus Christ.

Tin deposits in Spain, France and southwestern England

 

Hebrew followers of Jesus were in England as mining experts, metal workers, and merchants during Jesus’ earthly life. They traveled the ancient tin route between the metal-rich shores of Britain, France, Portugal, the Mediterranean and North Africa. Tin was essential for bronze production. Paul's desire to go to Spain suggests that he knew Jewish believers there who would be helpful in efforts to spread the Gospel. Spain was part of the tin trade route between the Mediterranean world and Britain.

A 2025 study has revealed that tin mined 3,300 years ago in south-west Britain was a key resource for the Bronze Age civilizations in the Eastern Mediterranean. The study suggests that communities in Cornwall and Devon were part of a vast international trade system that supported ancient palaces and royal city-states of the Eastern Mediterranean.

These tin ingots were found off the coast of Israel. The tin came from Cornwall. Tin ingots from Cornwall dating to 2000 B.C. have been found in Israel and ingots from Cornwall dating to 1300 BC have been found at archaeological sites in Turkey and Greece. The tin trade brought together people from the Levant, the Nile Valley, Mesopotamia, and parts of Europe.

Joseph of Arimathea was a mining expert involved with the tin mined from the rich, alluvial deposits of Cornwall and Devon in the south of England. Mining in Cornwall and Devon began as early as 2150 B.C.

The Ding Dong mine is one of the oldest mines in Cornwall. An old miner told A. K. Hamilton Jenkin in the early 1940's: "Why, they do say there's only one mine in Cornwall older than Dolcoath, and that's Ding Dong, which was worked before the time of Jesus Christ." (Hamilton Jenkin, A. K. Cornwall and its People. London: J. M. Dent; p. 347) According to local legend, the Ding Dong mine was one of the places visited by Joseph Arimathea.

Note that I use the correct title for Joseph Arimathea, rather than “Joseph of Arimathea”. Arimathea is not a place. It indicates Joseph’s Hebrew lineage. The Ar prefix appears in the names of rulers and high-ranking priests. Examples include the Sumerian king Arwium of Kish, Artama, Archelaos, Artaxerxes, Ar-Shem, Artix, Areli, Araxes, Arviragus, a Jebusite named Araunah who sold a threshing floor to King David, and Arishen, a Horite Hebrew who ruled a territory in the central Zagros between 2400-2301 B.C. Ariaramnes was the great uncle of Cyrus the Great. The Ar prefix in Britain’s history is highlighted by King Arthur and Joseph Arimathea. Ar is likely a shortened Horus name, as Horus was regarded as the patron of ruler-priests and kings in the ancient world.

Ar-Mathea indicates that Joseph was a ruler-priest of the Hebrew clan of Mathea or Matthew. He was a relative of Jesus and the Virgin Mary and of the Evangelist Matthew.

The churches of the East acknowledge that Joseph Arimathea "traveled around the world, proclaiming the Gospel of Christ" and they belief that "he died peacefully in England."

Legends about Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin and a follower of Jesus, became elaborate in the Middle Ages. That was a time when the Roman Catholic Church funded parishes through the exhibition of relics and pilgrimages. Beyond the embroidered accounts, however, there is a kernel of verifiable historical truth. Joseph of Arimathea was in Cornwall, and probably in Devon also.

Anglicans maintain that the priesthood of the Church was well established in the British Isles before the Augustinian Mission arrived from Rome in 595 A.D

According to the Roman Catholic narrative, the only priesthood that has validity was planted in Britain by Augustine in AD 595. That narrative ignores the reality of Hebrew followers of Jesus who had authority to ordain priests in Britain in Jesus’ lifetime. The priesthood of the Church was well established in the British Isles before the Augustinian Mission arrived from Rome in 595 A.D.

The Roman Catholic Church claims to have brought the only legitimate priesthood to Britain. However, the priest disciples of Jesus Christ who came to Roman Britain were not Roman Catholics. They were Jewish believers whose rules for ordination align with the Anglican Church's rules for ordination, as will be demonstrated in this series.

Today resources are available that can help to construct a more accurate picture of how the Messianic Faith that we call "Christianity" came to thrive in Roman Britain before Augustine's arrival from Rome.

Related reading: The Ar Rulers; The Priesthood in England - Part 1; Hebrew Names and Titles; Horite and Sethite Mounds; The Hebrew Were a Caste; DNA Studies of Jews are Shallow; Solar Symbolism of the Ancient Near East

The Priesthood in England - Part 3

Alice C. Linsley

Given the evidence set forth in Parts 1 and 2 about the priesthood in England, we must consider the possibility of double validity: 1) succession through the priesthood, and 2) succession through the Apostles.

Among the Seventy, there were Jewish priests. One of them was Ananias of Damascus who laid hands on Paul and Paul received the charism of the Holy Spirit (Acts 9). This is exactly what the Church believes concerning Apostolic Succession, only Ananias was not one of the Twelve Apostles. This suggests greater continuity between the priesthood of old and the priesthood of the Church than is generally recognized.

I would like to expand on that. In the early centuries Christians in the Roman empire tended to stress the Resurrection of Jesus more than Baptism because they were baptized by blood (martyrdom). However, on the edges of the empire, Baptism was stressed more often. For example, in Armenia where icons of Ananias depict him baptizing Paul. This 12th century Italian icon is an example.

The Armeni origins have been traced to Neolithic populations of the Caucasus and to dispersed African populations, largely Sub-Saharan Nilotes (c. 3000 BC). Armenian DNA studies show they have a mixture of these gene flows. Findings in linguistics, DNA studies, migration patterns, routes of tin mining, toponyms, archaeology, and anthropology support the possibility of two streams of authority for the priesthood of the Church.

The Evidence from Cornwall

Oral tradition in Cornwall holds that the ruler-priest Joseph Arimathea came there in connection to mining. Joseph of the venerable (Ar) clan of Matthew (Ar-Mathea) was a mining expert who probably did assessments for the Romans. He may have had relatives and/or Hebrew business associates living in Cornwall and Devon, as evidenced by the many Semitic places names in that region of southern England.

Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, a council of ruling priests. In the ancient world, ruler-priests were responsible for metal work, surface and tunnel mining operations, and the construction of royal tombs.

No one knows when surface mining began in Cornwall and Devon, but it was well before 2150 B.C. Tin ore was mined in Cornwall as early as the Bronze age. Dolcoath dates from the late 1500's, but Ding Dong, with its proximity to the Nine maidens stone circle, is considered one of the oldest mines in Cornwall. An old miner told A. K. Hamilton Jenkin in the early 1940's: "Why, they do say there's only one mine in Cornwall older than Dolcoath, and that's Ding Dong, which was worked before the time of Jesus Christ." (Hamilton Jenkin, A. K. Cornwall and its People. London: J. M. Dent; p. 347)

Christopher Hawkins wrote a book titled Observations on the Tin Trade of the Ancients in Cornwall (1811) in which he noted that Cornwall was visited by metal traders from the eastern Mediterranean. One of those metal traders was Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin.

The legend concerning Joseph of Arimathea's connection to Britain has support from the sciences. Genetic studies have confirmed about 70% of native British men has Y-DNA R1b ancestry, which is the same genetic group as King Tut. 

An early population living in the region of Cornwall were Dam-oni which means red people. Dam-oni is likely a reference to the red skin. They were the builders of the great shrine city of Heliopolis, Biblical On.

A variant spelling is Dumnonii (shown on the map). The Dam-oni may have come from Carnac in Brittany because the stone monoliths in Damnonia are like those in Carnac, though smaller. On the Nile the ancient shrine at Karnak was built with huge stones by skillful craftsmen. 

Jews lived in Cornwall from before the Roman Period. They were as tradesmen, artisans, stone masons, metal workers, and miners. Among them were the priests who performed animal sacrifices, circumcision, and the Sun blessing ceremony (Birkat Hachama). Today rabbis perform the ceremony only every 28 years on a Tuesday at sundown, but in the ancient world this ceremony was probably performed by the Habiru at mid-winter, from which point the days would begin to lengthen, and at mid-summer, from which point the days would begin to shorten. The circle at Stonehenge was designed to help the priests know when to perform such ceremonies. The word Samhain is clearly related to the Arabic word for the Sun - shams. Ha-in is probably of Semitic origin also, and may be a variant of ha-on, referring to the sea-faring Ainu/Oni.

The inhabitants of Cornwall were involved in the manufacture of tin ingots. The area has prehistoric tin mines, stone monoliths, and iron age fortresses. This is the region where Joseph of Ar-Mathea is said to have visited, and the presence of Hebrew is evident in place names like Marazion, meaning "sight of Zion" or Menheniot, which is derived from the Hebrew words min oniyot, meaning "from ships." Menheniot was a center of lead mining.

The smiths of Cornwall also worked gold. This golden lunula from Cornwall dates to between 2400-2000 BC.

The Hebrew living in the British Isles also exhibited great skill in the construction of stone monuments, as did their ancestors who built monuments at Karnak and Heliopolis on the Nile, and stone fortresses like Meroe on the Orontes. Their ancestors probably built Göbekli Tepe and Catalhoyuk. Their mining expertise was evident in the construction of excavated tombs, stone tombs, and tomb mounds such as those found in Bosnia and the Tarum Valley of China. In Orkney the intricate and extraordinary cairn at Maeshowe (shown below) is chambered exactly like that of ancient royal tombs found in Bosnia.

Maeshowe in Orkney

Prehistoric cairns, henges, and brochs are found throughout the British Isles. Chambered cairns have been found in vast areas of Scotland, some dating to 5,000-6,000 B.C. Huge kerbstones have been found at the entrance of some cairns. These are shaped to fit a passageway leading to the burial chambers of high-status individuals. 

Stonework such as this required the skills of a specialized group of men. From ancient times this work was done by priests.

The pyramids, stone monuments, temples, shrine cities, and tombs of the ancient world show a remarkable similarity in their construction. They reveal accurate astronomical observations, as has been demonstrated through studies of Stonehenge. Fred Hoyle (California Institute of Technology) observes in his book on Stonehenge that men living 5000 years ago were "meticulous observers of the night sky" who "calculated with numbers" and "communicated sophisticated astronomical knowledge among themselves from generation to generation." From the earliest times, this was the work of priests and that has been shown time again by research into ancient sacred sites.

Men-an-Tol stone near Penzance in Cornwall

The motifs that appear on the stonework also connect the craftsmen of tombs, monuments and crosses to the ancient 6-prong solar symbol of the dispersed Hebrew. That motif is found on the ossuaries of the ruling families in Jerusalem and on some Celtic crosses. This is the ossuary of Miriam, a granddaughter of the High Priest Caiaphas.

Among the early Hebrew ruler-priests the Sun was the emblem of the High God. It is not surprising that solar symbols appear in Cornwall. St. Piran's Cross (below) is an example. Saint Piran was an early 6th-century Cornish abbot and the patron saint of tin-miners. Isotopic analyses have shown that tin from Cornwall was traded as far away as the Aegean and other eastern Mediterranean regions.

Related reading: The Ar Rulers; The Neolithic and Bronze Age Periods in Cornwall, The Priesthood in England - Part 1; The Priesthood in England - Part 2; The Priesthood in England - Conclusion; Was King Arthur a Descendant of Nilotic Rulers?; The Ancient Tumuli of Nobles; Stonework of the Ancient World