Jesus Knew He is the Son of God

Jesus' name in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Dr. Alice C. Linsley

The early Hebrew believed in God Father and God Son and expected the Son of God to appear in the flesh. This is evident in the early texts of the Horite and Sethite Hebrew, some of which date to over 4000 years ago. 

Christianity emerged out of a belief that God made a promise in Eden concerning the Woman who would bring forth the Son of God (Gen. 3:15) and that He has fulfilled that promise in Jesus Christ. The Edenic Promise of Genesis 3:15 foretells how the Woman would bring forth a son who would crush the serpent's head and restore paradise. This early Hebrew expectation was expressed about 1000 years before Psalm 91 in the Pyramid Texts. "Horus has shattered (crushed) the mouth of the serpent with the sole of his foot" (Utterance 388).

 

A Horite Hebrew song found at the royal complex at Ugarit, speaks of HR (Horus) who descends 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 core beliefs of Christianity concerning the Incarnation by divine overshadowing (Luke 1:35), the Christ's proclamation of good tidings to the dead; the third-day resurrection, and the ascension to the Father can be traced to the beliefs of Abraham and his Hebrew ancestors. This faith predates all the world religions. Christianity's authority is rooted in the great antiquity of its central dogmas which have been preserved by divine oversight and which are found in the canonical Scriptures.

It has been said that Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God. That claim is false. Jesus never prevaricated about his identity. He claimed his divine Sonship by referring to the Hebrew Scriptures.

Matthew 22:41-46 

While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?” “The son of David,” they replied. He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.

This passage illustrates what the First Century Jews believed about the Messiah. When Jesus asked the Pharisees what they thought, they replied that Messiah is the son of David. They did not say Messiah (the Christ) is the Son of God because they did not believe that. Jesus, on the other hand, made that claim for himself when he referred to Daniel's vision and to various Psalms.

Daniel chapter 7 describes Daniel's vision of “one like a son of man,” that is, one who is human, yet “coming with the clouds of heaven” as only a Divine One could do. The "son of man" approached the Ancient of Days (Atik Yomin) and was led into his presence (7:13).

Clearly, Jesus identified himself as the fully human and fully divine one whose kingdom has no end. The Pharisees knew the book of Daniel. They recognized what Jesus was saying when he spoke of himself as the "Son of Man".

They also recognized that the citation is from Psalm 110:1 which reads: David says, “The LORD says to my Lord: 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool'” and they recognized this as a Messianic reference.

Some may have known that this was taken from a text dating to nearly 1000 years before Psalm 110. In the Coffin Texts, we read:

"I am Horus [HR], the great Falcon upon the ramparts of the house of him of the hidden name. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. I have removed my place beyond the powers of Set, the foe of my father Osiris. No other god could do what I have done. I have brought the ways of eternity to the twilight of the morning. I am unique in my flight. My wrath will be turned against the enemy of my father Osiris and I will put him beneath my feet in my name of 'Red Cloak'." (Passage 148)

Horus is the Greek for the early Horite Hebrew name HR which means "Most High One" in ancient Egyptian. HR was also called the son of the High God. The Father-Son relationship is expressed in the son's recognition of his Father in others. Horus was said to recognize his father in the deceased king. In a text dating to 2200 B.C. we read, "Horus is a soul and he recognizes his Father in you..." (The Pyramid Texts, Utterance 423)

In John 14, Jesus explains to Phillip, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father."

Luke 20:41–21:4 

Then Jesus said to them, “How is it that they say the Messiah is the Son of David? David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’ David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”

The Jewish elite were the most highly informed religious leaders of their people. It is difficult to believe that they did not understand what Jesus was claiming about himself. They knew that their Hebrew ancestors believed in God Father and God Son and that they expected the Son of God to appear in the flesh, yet they instructed the people to expect something different. They insisted that Messiah is a descendant of King David, and he would restore Israel's greatness. Their Messiah was too small and a projection of their own pride.

Jesus subdues the Father's enemies so that God's children might live and prosper. This is expressed in Psalm 2:12: "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him."

John the Forerunner called the Jews to repentance so that they might receive their Messiah. The priest Simeon recognized Jesus as the Messiah and knew that his appearing meant the fall and rising of many in Israel (Luke 2:34). The prophetess Anna also recognized the child Jesus as the Messiah, and she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luke 2:38). These are the three witnesses whose testimony is valid by Jewish law. 1 John 5:8 says: "And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one."

Anna represents the Spirit, John the Forerunner represents the water, and Simeon the priest represents the blood.

Related reading: Signs Given That We Might Believe; Where Judaism and Christianity Part Ways; Abraham's Faith Lives in Christianity; Horite and Sethite Mounds; Righteous Rulers and the Resurrection; Jesus Messiah in the Hebrew Scriptures; Jesus' Ruler-Priest Ancestors

David's Zion Found

Massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked 20 feet (6 meters) wide

The Israeli archaeologist Eli Shukron believes he has found the legendary citadel captured by King David. Shukron, who excavated at the City of David archaeological site for nearly two decades, says he believes strong evidence supports his theory.

"This is the citadel of King David, this is the Citadel of Zion, and this is what King David took from the Jebusites," said Shukron, who said he recently left Israel's Antiquities Authority to work as a lecturer and tour guide. "The whole site we can compare to the Bible perfectly."

There is no doubt that King David was a historical figure.  A written reference to the "House of David" was found in an archaeological site in northern Israel. However, archaeologists are divided on which sites in Jerusalem are identified with David.

Shukron's dig, which began in 1995, uncovered a massive fortification of five-ton stones stacked almost 20 feet wide. Pottery shards helped date the fortification walls to be 3,800 years old. They are the largest walls found in the region from before the time of King Herod, the ambitious builder who expanded the Second Jewish Temple complex in Jerusalem almost 2,100 years ago. The fortification surrounded a water spring and is thought to have protected the ancient city's water source.

The fortification was built 800 years before King David would have captured it from its Jebusite rulers. Shukron says the biblical story of David's conquest of Jerusalem provides clues that point to this particular fortification as David's entry point into the city.

Mount Zion today

I believe that Eli Shukron has found the citadel of David (Zion), but these things are difficult to prove definitively. Watch this video.

One of the impressive finds is a small golden bell, such as might have been worn on the hem of a priest's garment. This was recovered from the ancient sewer system. The bell's owner likely "walked in the street, and somehow the golden bell fell from his garment into the drainage channel," Shukron said.

The golden bell dates from the Second Temple period, and is an important relic. The Second Temple stood from about 515 B.C. until A.D. 70 when it was destroyed by the Romans. Herod, the builder of the Second temple, was of Edomite ancestry.


Zion or Sion?

Zi-on or Si-On means "Son of On." Joseph married the daughter of the priest of On. On was the premier Horite temple city of the ancient world. The royal pyramids of Giza, Abusir, and Saqqara were aligned to the obelisk of On (Heliopolis) in Egypt. Recently a 10,000 year obelisk was found in Judah. It also was east-facing.

The Edomites and the Jebusites built their "high places" where there were natural springs or permanent sources of fresh water. They were masters at building with large stones and creating underground water channels. Petra is an example of Edomite workmanship. The architecture there reflects Horite Hebrew (Akkadian "Abrutu") architecture.

The Edomites, like King David, are described in the Bible as having a red skin tone. This suggests that their ancestry is of exceptional antiquity. Melchizedek was the ruler-priest of Yerusalem (Yebu) in Abraham's time, and a kinsman of Abraham. Abraham ruled in the territory of Edom. Some of the rulers of Edom are listed in Genesis 36.

Related reading: Jerusalem Under the Jebusites; Horite Temples; Orientations of Nilo-Saharan Monuments; Yahu Seals; Royal Prayers; Petra Reflects Horite Beliefs; Edo, Edom and Idumea; Who Was Abraham?

Jerusalem Under the Jebusites

Stepped structure of the ancient Jebusite wall

Alice C. Linsley

Under Jebusite rule and earlier, Jerusalem was divided into two cities, the western part called Jeru (Yiru) and the eastern part called Salem (Shalem). Genesis speaks of Melchizedek, the righteous ruler-priest of Jerusalem (Jebu/Yebu). He was likely of the royal house/lineage of Sheba and a kinsmen of Abraham, the Horite Hebrew.

The Jebusites are listed as a people of Canaan in Exodus 3:8, Joshua 12:8, Deuteronomy 7:1, II Chronicles and I Kings 9:20. Genesis 15:19-21 provides this list: "the Kenites, the Kenizzites, Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Raphaim, the Amorites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites."

David purchased a threshing floor from the Jebusite chief Araunah and offered sacrifice there. This would have been located at a high elevation where the wind could carry away the chaff. Threshing floors were sacred places for the Jebusites, the Horite Hebrew, and other peoples in the R1b Haplogroup. It may be that Judah's intercourse with a shrine qadesh took place at Timnah, which had a temple dedicated to Hathor, the overshadowed one. Timnah was directly north of Abdullum in Jebusite territory. Judah went to Timnah to visit with his friend from Abdullum and to help with the harvest. The harvest was a time for the hieros gamos, or sacred marriage. Naomi told her daughter-in-law Ruth to approach Boaz at the threshing floor. 

The hieros gamos may have been a ritual in which it was hoped that the Messiah would be conceived. Among the Horite Hebrew devotees of Hathor this ritual likely did not involve sexual intercourse, but the expectation of solar overshadowing. The threshing floors often had the shape of a sun and the "woman" of Genesis 3:15 (not Eve) was excepted to conceive the Seed by divine overshadowing (cf. Gabriel's explanation to Mary in Luke 1). It appears that the stories of Judah-Tamar and the Boaz-Ruth share narrative elements that should be considered in greater depth.
Prince Rotimi Obadofin believes that the biblical Jebusites were Africans. He has written, “perhaps the Jebusites, that is the original of Jerusalem were Ijebu people of today, since Oke-Eri is owned and inhabited by Ijebu people.”

Eri is related to the huge archaeological monument of Eredo. Eridu is also the name of an ancient Sumerian city. In Akkadian Eridu means "home away from home."

Obadofin supports his position by suggesting that “since Queen of Sheba was said to be visiting home when she met king Solomon, I feel strongly that she must have been one of the descendants of those Ijebu (Jebusites) driven away from Jerusalem by king David." Read more here.


The Jebusites are an extant people

Today the Jebu are classified as Yoruba, but the term "Yoruba" applied only after the 18th century. The Jebu identify themselves as distinct from other Yoruba sub-groups by calling themselves Nago-Jebu. The Jebu are also called Ijebu, and in the Bible they are called "Jebusites."

According to African legend, the Yoruba migrated to the Atlantic coast of Nigeria from the east. Some stopped in the region of Lake Chad where they had kin in Bor'no (land of Noah). Their kin were likely the Kanuri tribe, which may explain why some Yoruba have tribal marks similar to those of the Kanuri.

In 1892, the New York Times reported on the Jebu tribe, which controlled the water systems of the Port of Lagos. The king of the Jebu levied taxes on all products carried through his territory. This is consistent with the biblical information concerning Abraham’s cattle-herding Proto-Saharan ancestors who controlled water systems in Central Africa, the Nile, Canaan, and Mesopotamia.

The Jebusites may be related to the Ijebu, an extant people of Nigeria and Benin. The biblical Jebusites were also related to the Edomites who are called "Edo." The Jebusites had close connections with the Horites of Edom whose rulers are listed in Genesis 36. Abraham's territory was entirely in ancient Edom. It extended between the settlements of his two wives. Sarah resided in Hebron and Keturah resided in Beersheba.

Related reading: Kushite Diversity and Unity; The Jebusites Unveiled; History Channel's Bible Series Scores a C; History Channel's Bible Series: Episode 2; Hazor's Destruction: Another Theory

Another Great Discovery in Bethlehem

Alice C. Linsley



Bethlehem has made the news again with the discovery of a 2700 year old clay seal.

Photo Credit: Clara Amit, courtesy of the Israel Antiquities Authority

Eli Shukron, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority said, "This is the first time the name Bethlehem appears outside the Bible,‭ ‬in an inscription from the First Temple period (1006-586 B.C.)‭, ‬which proves that Bethlehem was indeed a city in the Kingdom of Judah,‭ ‬and possibly also‭ ‬in earlier periods." (From here.) 

Only about 40 other seals of this kind from the first Jewish Temple period have been found, according to Shmuel Achituv, an expert in ancient scripts at Israel's Ben-Gurion University.

The dig is being underwritten by an right wing Zionist organization that hopes to see Jewish settlers populate the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan. 

In 2009, a 4,000-year-old tomb was discovered in Bethlehem during renovation on a local house. Construction workers were led to the tomb through a hole found near the Church of the Nativity. The tomb dates between 1,900 and 2,200 BC.

Pottery, plates and beads were retrieved from the tomb, along with the remains of two individuals. (From here.)

Todd Bolen, commenting on this find, has written: "Many tombs from this period, including intact ones, have been found throughout Israel. In fact, this period is primarily known from its cemeteries, with relatively few settlements discovered."




Bethlehem in the Bible

The Biblical information about Bethlehem ‭ tells the story of this ancient Horite settlement.

I Chronicles 4:4 lists Hur (Hor) as the "father of Bethlehem." The author of I Chronicles knew that Bethlehem was originally a Horite settlement.

Rachel, Jacob's cousin wife, was buried at Bethlehem. She gave birth to Joseph who married the daughter of the Priest of Heliopolis in Egypt (Gen. 41:45).  Heliopolis (Onn) was a Horite shrine city.

Bethlehem is where Ruth gave birth Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth is praised and likened to Tamar who gave birth to Perez and Zerah. Judah gained these righteous sons by Tamar after losing unrighteous sons. His kingdom was amplified through Perez from whom Israel's greatest king and the promised Messiah came.

Bethlehem is the hometown of King David, who tended the sheep of his father. Jesus comes from a long line of shepherd-priests, on both Joseph's and Mary's sides.  Joseph's family lived in Nazareth which was the home of the eighteenth division of priests, that of Happizzez (1 Chron. 24:15). His cousin bride was Mary. Mary’s father Joachim was a priest who kept flocks, according to the Protoevangelium of James. This may be why the Arabic name for Bethlehem is Bēt Laḥm, meaning "House of Meat/Flesh." In Christian belief, Jesus, the Lamb of God, gave of his flesh for the life of the world.

Horite priests maintained shrines at major water systems or at wells and also kept sheep. Moses tended the flocks of his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. It was at Jethro's well that Moses met his cousin wife, Zipporah. Likewise, Abraham's servant found Rebecca at a well, and Jacob first encountered Rachel at a well.

According to the prophet Micah, Messiah was to come from Bethlehem. The Bablyonian Talmud acknowledges that Jesus was born to Mary. In the Talmud, ignominious names are given to Mary and her Son. Mary is called "Charia" which means dung or excrement, and Jesus is called "Jeschu" which means May his name and memory be blotted out. Sanhedrin 106a acknowledges Mary's noblility but calls her a whore. “She who was the descendant of princes and governors played the harlot with carpenters.”

Mary was of the Horite priestly lines. She was "Miriam Daughter of Joachim Son of Pntjr (Panther) Priest of Nathan of Bethlehem." From the earliest predynastic times among the Egyptian Horites, ntjr designated the king. The name Panther or p-ntjr meant "God is King."



Related reading:  A Bit More on the Bethlehem Bulla; Horite Brides at Wells; Jesus Christ in Genesis; Horite Expectation and the Star of Bethlehem