Location of the Jewish Temple and the Via Dolorosa: A Hebrew Catholic Opinion

 

Location of the Temple according to the 5th theory

Today there are five major theories circulating about the location of the Jewish Temple. The first theory, which was also believed by some Jewish and Christian authorities of the past, is that the Temple and the Holy of Holies was located where the present Muslim mosque of the Dome of The Rock stands. The second theory, which also had the support of some Jewish and Christian authorities of the past, is that the Temple and the Holy of Holies were in the area of the Al Kas fountain between the Dome of the  Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque. At this location the Al Kas fountain could be today on the spot of the Holy of Holies or the Bronze Sea or Laver.

The Temple Mount today showing the Dome of the Rock an the Al Aqsa Mosque. The red numbers represent the location of the Jewish Temple according to the five theories.

The third theory is that the Temple and the Holy of Holies was to the north of the Dome of the Rock where the Dome of Spirits is today. The fourth theory is that the Temple and Holy Holies were not on the Temple Mount but to the south over the Gihon Spring. This forth theory believes that the whole Temple Mount was the Antonia Fortress which they believed was a city that housed a legion of 6,000 Roman soldiers. The fifth theory is that the Temple was where the Al Aqsa mosque is today and that the Temple platform extended further south than the present Temple Mount. This theory is proposed by Norma Robertson.

Location of the Temple in Red according to the 2nd theory

After examining the evidence of all five theories I believe the second one to be the correct one but I also think the fifth theory has alot going for it especially in regards to the aqueduct and water sources which is also a strength for the 2nd theory. According to the Book of Acts the Antonia Fortress was a barracks where St Paul preached not the city complex that the fourth theory proposes. In fact it was a barracks for 600 Roman soldiers not 6,000. We know that the original Temple had been a threshing floor which would also make theory four incorrect as it would not be built over the Gihon Spring as it would pollute the water source. Theory one is also wrong as threshing floors are built in valleys not on hilltops. The fortress Antonia was also south of the moat so the present so-called Antonia Fortress at the school at beginning of the traditional Via Dolorossa could not have been the location of the Roman Antonia Fortress. Theory three would seem to be impossible as it borders right on the moat and leaves no room for the Antonia Fortress. Between the Western Wall (Kotel) and the Temple was a beautiful Rose Garden which would best fit the area of trees today seen in the Al Kas fountain area.

Location of the Temple according to the 2nd theory

The Dome of the Rock  and the Al Aqsa Mosque are built on the foundations of the Roman Temple to Jupiter build by the Emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century very similar to the Temple of Jupiter in Lebanon. It is believed that the statue of Hadrian on a horse once stood where the Al Kas Fountain is today which was believed to be the Holy of Holies of the Jewish Temple (Abomination of Desolation?). Is this the source of the legend of Mohammed ascending to Heaven on his horse from the Temple Mount? For Jews and Judeo-Christians it invoked the image of the false Messiah of Dan who was visualized as a rider on a horse with a serpent at his heels (Genesis 49:17).

The location of the Temple according to the fifth theory

The original Via Dolorosa started at the Garden of Gethsemane and Jesus was taken across the Kedron Valley to the south side of the Temple to the House of Annas, then the House of Caiaphas, then to Pilate's residence at the Antonia Fortress, then to Herod's residence. These places are all located in the west (except the Antonia Fortress) in the area known as the Upper City. They are located in today's Jewish and Armenian Quarters. It also possible that Pilate was resident in Herod's Palace and that Herod was resident in the Hasmonean Palace (near Shonei Halakhot and haSheshelet streets) which is about half way from Herod's Palace and the Antonia Fortress (Dome of the Rock location). In this case the soldier would have taken Jesus away to the Antonia fortress for his flagellation and after Pilate's judgment they returned there to be crowned with thorns and collect his Cross. 

From Herod then Jesus was taken back to Pilate at the Antonia Fortress (Dome of the Rock). This is the real location of the First Station of the Cross and Jesus was led out of the western gate of the Antonia Fortress compound heading up a street that parallels today's Baruq Street (but probably 20 feet down below the present street) and the ancient Western Wall. Some believe that the gate here is the Iron Gate near the Little Kotel (possibly the real second station of the Cross). This street heads towards the north-west until the 4th station that is under the Church of the Spasm. From there it joined a street heading back towards the south-east before turning up a street heading west for the Ephraim Gate on the Wall of Second Temple Jerusalem and then outside the city to Golgotha. Thus the traditional Stations are roughly correct from the 4th station onwards but 20 feet under the ground.

A rough outline of the original Via Dolorosa on a modern map

A Different Worldview

As a sanguine choleric I am interested in the bigger picture of the History and over the years I have developed a rather large and wide ranging insight into world history that differs from that accepted by modern academia. For me the Messiah Yeshua and his people the Jews or Israelites are at the centre of History but this is not an insular history but a world encompassing history.
 
History is not always what one has been taught to believe has happened in the past. Emmanuel Velikovsky demonstrated this point convincingly in his numerous works. Australia’s history before British colonisation is a case in point. Overcoming the blindness engendered by the scientific errors of uniformitarian and Darwinian evolution opens up a whole new way of looking at the past. The theories of uniformitarianism and Darwinian evolution masquerades as science, they are in reality science fantasies. Using the faculty dating methodologies based on evolutionary assumptions, that see change as very slow and gradual, causes problems of immense proportions. This has led to an overly critical approach to many literary and historical sources. Emmanuel Velikovsky’s writings have led to a revival in some quarters of the older form of understanding geology –that of Catastrophism.
 
Thus I do not accept the subjective and circular dating methodologies used by modernist scientists and historians. I have thus had to set out on a herculean task of dating archeological discoveries and genetic evidence using a different paradigm which is perceived through the idea that mankind and his history is no more than about 6,000 years and a population bottleneck occurred about 4,500 years ago with the Deluges of both Earth and Mars and the restarting of civilisation from almost scratch.
 
I was amazed to discover that the last great Catastrophe occurred about 500 years ago around 1530 and that the world and its populations were very different especially in the southern hemisphere before 1530. Also around 1606 certain Catastrophic geological events occurred in some portions of the earth. The evidence is there hidden in our histories and I discovered a whole new world when reading Marco Polo, Benjamin of Tudela, Friar Odoric, Sir John de Mandeville and others. I found past historians proved to be much more accurate than they had previously been credited by our modernist scholars.
 
I am still learning and discovering evidence hidden in plain sight about the true history of man and of the Israelites. It is an exciting journey and many are unable or unwilling to look at other possibilities. Some of the conclusions I have arrived at are indeed hard to believe unless one looks at the overall view which then fits together like a jigsaw. A new Catholic generation of scholars and scientists are needed that are ready to challenge the modernist academia of our times and look at history through the eyes of faith in the Messiah and the infallible nature of Scripture. Instead of doubting Scripture first, give the doubt to historical or scientific stories that differ from Scripture. It is not the "facts" or evidence that is the problem but the evolutionary and atheistic interpretations or stories that one creates from the evidence that has led moderns astray in their perception of the world and its history. Unfortunately we have had Catholics in recent decades bending over backwards to fit in and be accepted by modern academia rather than forging their own paths. 

A new day will dawn when our present civilisation finally crashes and burns from its own decadence and rot from within and after a period of tribulation and chastisement a new way of thinking will occur and the sciences and the arts as well as theology and philosphy will reach a new and fresh summit that draws on the best and true of the past generations purified from the modernist errors of perception.

The Woman Clothed with the Sun, September 23 2017 and the Warning and Miracle of Garabandal in 2018

 
8:30 pm Jerusalem time September 23, 2017.

2018 is the 101st anniversary year since Our Lady appeared at Fatima. In Judaism the number 101 refers to the tears of the Mother and Our Lady of Akita wept 101 times and it is also the number of the name Michael in Hebrew gematria. The number 18 is also very significant in the apparitions of Our Lady of Garabandal as well as in Judaism. 18 is connected in Judaism with Chai (חי) that means life as well as resurrection. In this blog post I outline some possible scenarios or speculative interpretations based on the Catholic prophecies.

On October 13 1917 Our Lady's miracle of the Sun occurred. Could this special alignment of the heavens on 23 September 2017, in possible fulfillment of Revelations 12, be when the Child (who is often interpreted to mean a special Pope in old Catholic commentaries) is given as a special Pope through the merits of Our Lady's sufferings of the birth pangs at the foot of the Cross? The sign of the Dragon occurs on December 13 2017 (Hanukah) which may be the start of a major persecution of the Church. If we count 1260 days from December 13, 2017 we get to 26 May 2021 for the end of this period of persecution.
 
The year 2017-18 (Jewish year of 5778) may turn out to be interesting year if these speculations happen with a possible economic collapse in August 2017 (or February 2018 or August 2018), outbreak of civil wars or disturbances in Western Europe in July 2017 (or possibly June or July 2018), and the possible death of the two Popes with the first coming of the comet on September 16 2017 and the election of a new Pope on September 23 2017 followed by this new Pope (Pius XIII) fleeing Rome on December 13 2017 and the persecution of the true Catholics and the rise of a heterodox Church in Rome and the return of communist governments to Europe. Then possibly the Warning or comet possibly on March 22 2018 or earlier followed by the Miracle on April 12 2018 (the 13th day of Omer).

 Some believe the warning will come from 3 weeks to 3 months before the miracle and some link this with the coming of the comet. In Judaism the coming of a comet is linked to the Jewish month of Shevat (which is from Jan 17-Feb 15 in 2018) as well as the 25th day of the sixth month (either 25 Elul [Sep 16 2017 or Sep 5 in 2018] or 25 Adar [March 12 in 2018]). While of course all of these events will happen someday it may not be this or next year and not according to this sequence or timetable.
 
It is also not clear whether the warning and miracle are in the same year or different calendar years. Apparently a friend of Marie Loli said that the Warning would be in an even year and others say that Conchita said that the Miracle would be in an odd year. Others believe they will both occur in the same calendar year. The Pope after Pius XIII will not be elected until January 2021 and will either be a French Pope or a Frankist (Jewish) Pope or a Pope called Francis II or he could be all three or just two. Alternatively he could be a French Jewish Pope called Leo XIV. He will ally with the future Great Monarch Henry who may reign for 56 years (Holzhauser). The Great Monarch will be Henri V of France and Henry VIII as the Holy Roman Emperor. The coronation of the promised Great Monarch (who begins as a Knight and Duke) as the King of France has been connected with a year when Saturn is in Aquarius which will next occur in 2020- if this is so then a lot is going to happen in the next 2-3 years.

It would seem that the message of Our Lady of La Salette that after 25 years of total peace (possibly around 2050) a forerunner of the 4th Antichrist (Gog) will arise and it is in this period that the 4th Antichrist or Beast may be born. This is the 4th Antichrist who the Great Monarch will battle with at the end of his reign around 2081. However there are other possible scenarios if the Era of Peace promised at Fatima is not the Millennial Peace of Scripture.

If the paragraphs of the message to Melanie is interpreted sequentially then the period of Sardis ends in paragraph or section 20 and we are presently living in 2017 in sections 17-18. We now await section 19: 

19. ‘France, Italy, Spain and England will be in war; blood will flow in the streets; Frenchman will fight with Frenchman, Italian with Italian; subsequently there will be a general war which will be appalling. For a time, God will no longer be mindful of France or Italy, because the Gospel of Jesus Christ is no longer known. The wicked will deploy all their malice; they will kill themselves, they will massacre themselves mutually even in the houses.’

It would seem that Russia and the Islamists will attack Europe during this vulnerable period which we also lead to the rise of the Great Monarch as well as the 3rd Antichrist. This 3rd Antichrist (of the Tribe of Dan) will be born in Russia according to some Russian prophecies and others link his rise to power in Assyria and/or Syria. There are some old English prophecies that speak of a King George the son of George who will probably arise at the time of the 4th Antichrist and lead England into a time of peace. Could this refer to a son of the present Prince George of Cambridge who is now a little boy and the possible future King George VII and could then have as a son the future King George VIII? Or were these prophecies fulfilled in our Queen's father George VI? 

It is possible that section 19 of the the message of La Salette refers to World War 2 and that this is the period of George son of George and the time of the first Antichrist (Hitler) and the second Antichrist (Stalin) and the 25 years of abundant peace refers to a period before the start of the Islamist War in 1991 with the first Gulf War. The forerunner of the Antichrist could refer to Osama bin Laden and the birth or coming of age of the 3rd Antichrist (Dan or Armillus) in 1998.  Others believe the Antichrist was born in June 1966 and Jeanne Dixon believed the Antichrist was born in February 5 1962 . There is a prophecy that the Antichrist will be 55 years old when he assumes power. If the 1966 scenario is true then he will be 55 in four years time in 2021, if the 1962 one is true then he is 55 in 2017. Does this assumption of power begin with the hidden power at the beginning of the 7 years of Great Tribulation or his public coming to power 3 and half years into the Great Tribulation? Others believe the events such as the Pope going into exile will not occur until 2038. 

I personally think that many events will not occur until the Lord has taken our beloved Queen Elizabeth II to her reward.



Daniel Matson writes:
"...The sign of Revelation 12 has many details that are common, but uncommon when all put together. The first part of the sign is the woman clothed with the sun. This happens every year, but it narrows the time down to one month around the autumnal equinox. That woman is represented by Virgo--the virgin. She is clothed by the sun from mid-September to early October. September 23, 2017 meets these requirements.
 
The next requirement is that the moon must be under the feet of Virgo. With the sun in Virgo and her feet to the east, the moon must be a few days past new moon. Since the Hebrew Calendar is lunar and the Feast of Trumpets (September 21, 2017) is on the new moon, September 23-25 places the moon in the correct position. This happens every year on the Hebrew Calendar as long as the new moon did not occur too early or too late in relation to the equinox, which would put the sun too high or low in Virgo. Here it is perfect. The requirement of the moon and sun narrows it down to a few days of the year. The rest of the parts of the sign must then coincide with this time if we are able to observe this sign.

On September 23, 2017 there are four planets in the vicinity that complete the sign and its ultimate uniqueness. Mercury, Venus, Mars, and Jupiter play their parts. Above the head of Virgo is the constellation Leo. In Leo at this time there will be Mars, Venus, and Mercury. With Leo being a constellation of nine principle stars, the three wandering stars make it twelve at this time. Thus the garland of twelve stars is upon the woman. For three planets to be in Leo at this time with all of the other preconditions makes this rare. Combined with the final piece of the picture below is what makes this sign difficult of not nearly impossible to replicate anywhere close to the time in which we live. How rare? A search 150 years before and 150 years after September 23, 2017 produced no results..."

The Mystery of the Levirate Marriage; Spilling of Seed and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

Ruth and Boaz with Naomi and their son Obed who is the yibum son of Mahlon

The concept of a Levirate marriage hides a great mystery in Judaism. It is considered one of the deepest mysteries of the Jewish mystical tradition along with the mystery of the Red Heifer. In a sense these two mysteries are connected in that they refer to the mystery of reparation or rectification or atonement for sin. Rebbe Nachman revealed some of this mystery to his closest disciples but ordered it to be concealed from others due to them not having proper spiritual understanding so that they would distort such mysteries. Unfortunately this has occurred anyway and has been mixed with the avoda zara (foreign) teachings of reincarnation of Eastern religions by some Jews.

Rebbe Nachman calls his disciples (those who share in his charism, spirit or neshama) to understand the mystery of the Levirate marriage not in its outward literal sense but to go into the very deepest roots of its mystery and perceive its hidden light.  Rebbe Nachman also connects this mystery to his reparation of the nocturnal emission or spilling of seed in vain. The Sabbateans misunderstood this teaching in Kabbalah and sought to, on a literal level, through the use of sexual acts, to attain the spiritual dimension of this mystery which led to perversion. The Frankists and Rebbe Nachman of Breslov sought to remedy or repair for this perversion and return this mystery to its original pure level of light.

The Bible calls for a literal Levirate marriage when one's brother is married but dies without a son then his brother or another close relative marries the widow and the child born to them is considered legally to be the son of the deceased husband. On a literal level this protects widows from becoming destitute with no husband and no son. However there is a deeper meaning to this marriage and we see such Levirate marriages in the ancestry of the Messiah. 

The first mention is actually before the giving of the Torah and the law of Levirate marriage in the story of Judah, his sons and Tamar and this story also links this mystery to the spilling of seed in vain. King David and the Messiah will descend from this highly irregular union of Judah and Tamar. Their eldest son Phares (Peretz) is considered the first born son of Judah's first born son Er and takes precedence over the other sons of Judah. He receives the neshama or charism of Er as the first born son who will be the father or ancestor of the Kingly line of the Messiah. 

The next time we encounter the Levirate marriage is in the story of Naomi, Ruth and Boaz in which we see that it applies not just to brothers but also to other male relatives. Ruth's first husband Mahlon is a cousin of Boaz. Mahlon is the first born heir of Elimelech (the husband of Naomi) who is most likely the eldest son of Salmon and Rachab. Boaz by marrying Ruth in a Levirate marriage attains the kingly birthright for his son Obed ahead of his more senior relatives. While this kingly birthright of the first born usually passes to the eldest son it can on occasion under divine direction go to the younger or youngest such as in the case of Jacob and Esau and Ephraim and Manasseh. Jesse received the kingly birthright but God through the prophet Samuel transferred the kingly birthright to Jesse's youngest son David. 

The next levirate or yibum marriage according to Jewish tradition was with Solomon's older brother Nathan whose widow Hephzibah had a yibum son with Solomon. The Zohar states that the Messiah will descend from Hephzibah the wife of Nathan the son of David.  It would seem that the kingly birthright blessing was divided at this time with the yibum son of Nathan called Mattata receiving the promise of  being the ancestor of the Messiah while Rehoboam received the earthly throne of David blessing. This blessing was reunited when Jeconiah's childless wife married the Nathanite heir and Shealtiel was the yibum son born of this union. This is why Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel appear in both the genealogies of Luke (descent from the yibum son of Nathan) and Matthew (from Solomon's son King Rehoboam).

The levirate marriages are alluding to the virginal nuptial union in the Divine Will. Yeshua said that those who do the will of God are his mother, brother, sister etc. The Zohar and Talmud teach through the levirate marriage that at the spiritual root of this mystery one' s wife becomes one's mother and one's father becomes their son.Yeshua also alludes to this when he asked the Jewish people who was King David referring to when he called the Messiah who is to be his son Lord. How can his son be his Lord? In a levirate marriage the new husband allows his son to be reckoned as his brother's son. God the Father in the mystery of the incarnation allows his Son to be reckoned as the Son of Joseph. 

This is meant to be understood in a spiritual manner not as reincarnation. The mystery of the levirate however does allude to the mystery of the resurrection and especially the mystical/spiritual resurrection in the Divine Will. As one inherits certain traits of certain ancestors through biological dna so we receive spiritual traits or charisms we can call neshama (a level of the soul) or spiritual dna from our ancestors and other souls. St John the Baptist shared the neshama (charism/spirit) of Elijah the Prophet. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov received the neshama or charism of Rabbi Simeon ben Yochai as well as certain aspects of the neshama of Moses and Mashiach ben Yosef as well as the neshama of his great grandfather the Baal Shem Tov.

We can also receive the negative traits of our ancestors and others which we need to do reparation for in the Divine Will. Rebbe Nachman sought to do reparation for the sins of the Jewish Sabbateans in which he offered up himself to great suffering of soul and body to repair for such a great sin as lustful thoughts and actions called nocturnal emissions or spilling of the seed in vain. Unfortunately due to the veiled language many Jews had misunderstood this teaching and in the time of Rebbe Nachman the youth and others were burdened with guilt over innocent nocturnal emissions as well as masturbation. Like the Baal Shem Tov, Rebbe Nachman taught that emissions of semen in one's sleep were not considered a sin just as a child wetting himself in the night is not a sin. Rebbe Nachman as a true chasid had a heart of chesed (mercy/loving kindness) and he wanted to help the young men who believed they had committed an almost unforgivable sin by masturbating, due to a false understanding of what spilling the seed in vain meant. He proposed a merciful remedy in which one would wash and recite ten psalms which would make reparation for any sinfulness involved in masturbation or lustful thoughts. The linking of masturbation with the more serious sins against life was also due to a faulty understanding of biology of the past among Jews that saw the semen or seed of the man as actual embryos who were being killed.

The actual sin of spilling of seed in vain in fact refers to one willfully trying to negate God's command to be fruitful and multiply by treating another human being as an object of lust as did Er who didn't want Tamar to lose her figure and Onan because through selfishness he didn't want to give his brother an heir. It is the refusal to obey God's command to generate and nurture life that makes this such as serious sin equal to bloodshed. It is the choosing of the way of death rather than the way of life. This can be symbolised by Cain and Abel- those who choose the way of death received the neshama of Cain and those who choose the way of life receive the neshama of Abel (the voice of the blood of Abel) which desires to make reparation for the sinful acts of his brother Cain whose acts can then be restored to wholeness in the divine Will. Of course it is only by giving to all souls and all acts the blood of Yeshua the Messiah that any reparation is possible.

On a more mystical level the spilling of seed in vain refers to those human acts done in the selfish human will that in a sense become the offspring or seed of evil (the demonic). The levirate marriage is entered into out of pure love for the welfare of the woman and for the memory of one's brother or close relative thus being closer to the idea of a Josephite marriage. The offspring or seed of the mystical levirate marriage or virginal spousal unions are acts done or redone in Divine Will which repair and rectifies the fallen seed. It is believed by many Breslovers that Rebbe Nachman entered into a second marriage that was a "Josephite" marriage after the death of his first wife.

Our Lady who is the mystical Red Heifer and the Mystical Levirate Bride takes on the sins of all and repairs the damage done through them through the blood of her Son the Messiah. As the Woman of Israel she is the embodiment of the neshamot of all the Matriarchs of Israel like Tamar, Ruth, Hephzibah the wife of Nathan etc. Each of the Matriarchs of Israel also receive the neshama of Our Lady who is their sister in the order of Creation, their daughter in the order of history and their mother in the order of the Divine Fiat. In a similar manner St Joseph and Yeshua are the brothers in the order of creation, sons in the order of history and fathers in the order of the Divine Fiat to the Patriarchs of Israel. 

St Joseph is also both the virginal father and the son of the Messiah Yeshua. In a sense Yeshua in Joseph and Joseph in Yeshua was the model on which God gazed when he created Adam and he gazed at the model or icon of Our Lady in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit in Our Lady Miriam in the creation of Eve. Thus St Joseph and Our Lady Miriam were the father and mother of Adam and Eve in the order of grace as well as biological son and daughter of Adam and Eve.

The power of the praying of the ten Psalms is the power of praise  in ten different ways. It is the praise and focusing on the Lord that brings true reparation and healing to those souls wounded by their sins. Rebbe Nachman wants to get his young men and all people away from focusing on their sins and back on God who is all merciful and ready to forgive so that they can become Tzadiks and repair for others and for those others sins. There is great power for reparation and healing in joyful heart-felt praise. If we can chant or sing them while dancing in child-like playfulness and joy- then that is even better. This is true Tikkun Olam (repair of the world).

Reincarnation and Reb Abraham Chazan: A Hebrew Catholic Understanding

Jewish "Bishops" of Jerusalem and St Judas Cyriacus: A Hebrew Catholic Insight

Icon of  St James the Just of Jerusalem looking more like a Gentile than a Jewish Tzaddik

Eusebius writing in the 4th century gives a list of 15 Jewish Christian or Hebrew Catholic Bishops of Jerusalem. It is claimed that the last of this list of Bishops is Judas a great grandson of St Jude and that the list ended in 135 with the defeat of Bar Kokhba. However some have commented that this list seems very long for such a short period. In fact this list that Eusebius uses may be the list of the Jewish Bishops or Abbots (Nasiim) (and Abbesses (Nessiyot)) of Jerusalem up until the time of Pope Sylvester I and Constantine when the Jewish Bishops broke with Rome. Eusebius has been given a list of the leaders of the Order of Sion in Jerusalem and of the Greek Gentile Bishops of Jerusalem. He doesn't realise they don't follow one another but that from 135 until his time they are two lineages of leaders- one Greek and the other Jewish.

"...The first, then, was James, the so-called brother of the Lord; the second, Symeon; the third, Justus; the fourth, Zacchaeus; the fifth, Tobias; the sixth, Benjamin; the seventh, John; the eighth, Matthias; the ninth, Philip; the tenth, Seneca; the eleventh, Justus; the twelfth, Levi; the thirteenth, Ephres; the fourteenth, Joseph; and finally, the fifteenth, Judas. These are the bishops of Jerusalem that lived between the age of the apostles and the time referred to, all of them belonging to the circumcision..."

The term Abbot developed from the title for the Jewish Christian Nasi of Abba Abbot (the father of fathers) and the Nessiya as Abbess as Imma Abbot (the mother of fathers). The Cenacle in Jerusalem was to become the mother house or Messianic Synagogue of the early Jewish Church of the circumcision. This was the place called Zion from which the mystery of the Eucharist would radiate out to the four corners of the earth. At the time of Constantine the Jewish Church broke with the Pope and Rome after the visit of eight Jewish Christian Bishops (all belonging to the descendants of the Holy Family) to Pope Sylvester I around 318 AD. For a number of years the mother Church on Mt Zion was not in unity with the Gentile Church in Jerusalem and St Cyril of Jerusalem was unable to preach from there in 348 (see Bargil Pixner "Church of the Apostles Found on Mt Zion"). 

 The eight Jewish Christian Desposyni Bishops or Exilarchs or Abbots that met with Constantine and Pope Sylvester represented the eight leading Jewish Christian Sees ruled by the descendants of Jesus relatives of the Royal House of David. The names of the eight Desposyni Bishops are not their actual names but the name of the founder of their Abbot or Bishop's See or Seat. In a sense these eight are the eight Jewish Christian Patriarchs of the Jewish Church of the Circumcision. 

The Jewish Christians were often ruled by a Davidic Abbot or Abbess who may or may not also be a Bishop (Hegmon Parnas or governing overseer) or Priest (Chazan Parnas or the congregational liturgical overseer) or Rabbi (Teacher/ Catechist/Scribe) or Monk (Abba /Abouna) or Nun/ Deaconess (Imma/ Amah) or Deacon (Shamash). The Hebrew word parnas was Presbyteros (priest) in Greek and Hegmon means Governor or Bishop which is Episcopus in Greek. The Jewish Church modeled itself on the Synagogue or Rabbinic structure which in turn was modeled on the Temple structure. The Hegmon Parnas paralleled the Kohen ha Gadol (High Priest) of the Temple, the parnasim the priests (kohenim) and the  shamashim the Levites. In the beginning neither the traditional Jewish Synagogue nor the Messianic Kehilla saw themselves as competing with the Temple but as complementing it. In fact the early Jewish Christians attended the Temple and participated in its rituals as well as the traditional synagogue and also their own Messianic Eucharistic (Bereikah) gatherings.

 

In the far West there were the three Sees of Tara, Avalon and Camelon. Tara was the Irish See and House of Nathan. Nathan was a grandson of St Joseph of Arimathea who took the Gospel from Britian to Ireland and was the Rosh Galuta Erani. Avalon was the Southern British See and House of Joseph. This Joseph was St Joseph of Arimathea a paternal relative of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosh Galuta or Golus of Britain (Britti). Camelon (Camelot) was the See and House of Phares. This Phares was a son of Nathan and greatgrandson of St Joseph of Arimathea who took the Gospel to Scotland and was the Rosh Galuta Scotti. 

Scholars speak about the three British Bishops that attended the Council of Arles in 314 AD Eborius, Restitutus and Adelphius. Many think that Eborius of Eboracensi (Hibernia)was the Bishop of  York (Eboracum) however it is more likely that this was the Bishop representing Hibernia where the Heber Lords reigned in the South of Ireland (known as Heber or Eber's Portion) representing the See of Tara (moved to Munster (Kenmare) in the South due to the revival of paganism in the North and the persecution of Christians). Bishop Restitutus of London represents the See of Glastonbury and its Episcopal province was called Londonium after its principal city Londinium (Lud/ London). Bishop Adelphius of Colonia (Camelon/ Camelot) in Scotland is the third Bishop from the British Isles. This Episcopal region or province of Scotland in olden times was known as Leudonia (Lothian).

However it would seem that the Jewish Bishops of Tara (Hibernia) and Camelon (Scotia) along with Restitutus the Bishop of London attended the Council of Nicea in 325. Restitutus may have represented the Abbot or Abba Abbot of Avalon (Glastonbury) at Nicea or it is possible that Restitutus represented the Gentile Church in Britain that remained loyal to Rome and that Glastonbury (Glas Isle) in solidarity with his five eastern Davidic Patriarchs remained out of communion with Rome.

There were five Desposyni Jewish Christian Sees in the East. Jerusalem was the Jewish See and House of Jacob/ James. This Jacob was St James the Just the cousin of Jesus. Antioch was Jewish See and House of Zachary. This Zachary was also the 4th Jewish Christian (Nazarenean or Notzrim) Nasi (Abbot) of Jerusalem. Alexandria was the Jewish See and House of Matthias. This Matthias was also the 8th Nazarean Nasi of Jerusalem. Kinyani in Iraq was the See and House of Yochanan/ John. This John was also the 7th Jewish Christian Nasi (Abbot) of Jerusalem. Takhte Sulieman (Soleyman) or Sarras in Persia was the See and House of Simeon. This Simeon was also the 2nd Nazarene Nasi of Jerusalem and a younger brother of St James the Just.  This James and Simeon should not be confused with the Apostles St James the Less and St Simon Zelotes as has been done in the Western Church. While there were other Jewish Christian Bishops these eight Davidic sees were of special honour as having been founded and manned by the Desposyni Davidic Abbots or Bishops descended from the Holy Family of Jesus' blood relatives.

The Indian stories tell us that the famous Davidic Jewish Christian Thomas of Kanah was born in Edessa. It is possible that there was a Kinyani Yeshivah in southern Iraq and another one in Syria at Emesa. Emesa is named for the School of Emmaus there. Thomas of Kanah (Cana) was said to have been accompanied to India by Mar Joseph a Bishop of Edessa. Here we see that St Thomas of Kanah or Kinyani is the lay Abbot or Nasi of the community with Bishop Joseph under him in the model of the early Church among the Jews. 

From the fourth century the monarchical Greek Bishops supplanted the original Jewish Christian Bishops or Abbots. The story of Thomas and Joseph as leaders of the Jewish Christian Church may reflect this exile of the Jewish Christians firstly to southern Iraq (Babylonia) and then India. Gradually many of the Jewish Christians assimilated back into the Jewish synagogue and communities while others came under the control of the Gentile Bishops and assimilated into a Gentile ruled Church. 

Thus Jacob (James) who visited Pope Sylvester was most likely Judas of the list of Eusebius as the Successor of St James or Jacob the Just. This Judas is also known as St Judas Cyriacus and was a descendant of the Judas who was a great grandson of St Jude. He had been a Bishop to the Jewish Christian community in Ancona in Italy before being called to Jerusalem to succeed the Jewish Christian Abbot Joseph of Jerusalem. 

This Joseph may be the same person as Count Joseph of Tiberias who was the Davidic Abbot or Nasi of the Order of Sion centred in Jerusalem. It is not clear if Joseph who was not a Bishop or Priest remained as the Abbot or Davidic Nasi of the Jewish Church until his death in 356 or whether he resigned in 315 after bringing Bishop Judas Cyriacus from Ancona and Joseph then moved to Tiberias to lead the Church there. It may have been that St Judas Cyriacus was the chief Bishop of the Community and Count Joseph the Davidic Nasi or Abbot. St Judas Cyriacus may have succeeded to the position of Abbot on the death of Count Joseph in 356. 

Or it is also possible that when the Jewish Church split from Rome in 318 Count Joseph joined the Gentile Church while Judas Cyriacus led the Jewish Church. Joseph had formerly been a Rabbinic scholar, a member of the Sanedrin and a close associate and possibly a member of the Jewish Nasi of the House of Hillel's family. Joseph may have been descended from the House of Hillel on his mother's side and through her claimed Davidic status. 

Joseph was born around 280 and he became a shaliach of the Jewish Nasi Gamaliel IV and was present at his death bed in 298, with Gamaliel's son Judah III and grandson Hillel II, when the Nasi asked for Christian baptism. Joseph after this started to explore the Gospel and was baptised and became the Jewish Christian Nasi or Abbot (Abuna/ Abba) around 299 on the death of the Jewish Christian Nessiya or Abbess Ephres (Efrat). Joseph met the Emperor Constantine around 330 and for his loyalty to Rome (after the break with the Jewish Church) he was made a Count (Komes). He at this stage of Church history was considered to be an orthodox Catholic eventhough he practiced Jewish observances as did the Jewish Church that had broken from Rome in 318 but reconciled in 394 but then subservient to the Gentile Church. The regime of assimilation to Gentile rule and customs in regards to Jews in the Church increased in intensity.

St Judas Cyriacus was associated with St Helena the mother of the Emperor Constantine in her search for the true Cross. He has been the substance of many legends. He was killed in a riot in Jerusalem during the reign of Julian the Apostate around 363. His body was preserved and given by the Empress Galla Placidia to Ancona and is still in the Cathedral of Ancona named for him until today. St Kyriacus the Anchorite was a descendant of St Judas Cyriacus. St Judas Cyriacus' grandson Alexander became the Bishop of Corinth and his son John who also became a priest was the father of St Kyriacus the Anchorite. 

Relics of the Body of St Judas Cyriacus of Jerusalem in the Ancona Cathedral

It would seem that the last Jewish Christian Bishop of Jerusalem St Porphyry stepped down in 394 and recognised the Gentile Bishop of Jerusalem John II. St Porphyry was from a Jewish Christian family of Thessalonica who came to Jerusalem to be the Jewish Bishop or Patriarch (Rosh) of the Order of Sion. He was afterwards appointed as Bishop of Gaza. It would seem that from the 5th century the distinct Jewish Church assimilated in the West with the Gentile Church and only some pockets maintained in secret their Jewish traditions especially among those families of Davidic lineage.

The Gentile Church has modeled its structures on that of Roman government. Maybe it is time for a radical change to a structure more in harmony with the original Jewish one of the Church of the Circumcision and its later developments in the Gaelic or Celtic Churches of Ireland and Britain before the advent of St Augustine. The Irish Church preserved the Jewish model of the Church  much later than other regions and due to the strong Jewish Christian roots they were often accused of being Judaisers by other Catholics because of their adherence to many of the laws of the Old Testament.

The Bishops and Priests should be the true servants of the people of God rather than their Gentile- style Lords. The Gentile Church has a real problem with clericalism which Pope Francis and others have pointed out many times. Vatican II was meant to rid us of clericalism and give the laity a full place in the life and mission of the Church. Unfortunately clericalism never went away and we have had a form of liberal and modernist clericalism in recent years, that is now being replaced by a rampant and virulent traditionalist or "orthodox" clericalism. We love and need our deacons, priests and bishops but we need them for the full sacramental life and as prayer intercessors and servants, not as administrative rulers and careerists who lord it over the flock rather than shepherding them.

Jewish Christian Abbots (and/or Bishops) of Jerusalem of the Order of Sion. (An Abbot must be of Davidic status (paternal or maternal) but a Bishop did not.)

1. James I the Greater (32-44) First Nazarene Nasi of Jerusalem and one of the 12 Apostles.
2. James II the Just (44- 62) Nazarene Nasi of Jerusalem the "Brother of the Lord" (meaning cousin) and an Apostle and Bishop.
3. Simeon I the Just (62–107) The brother of St James the Just and one of the "Brothers of the Lord". While his brother was the Nasi of Jerusalem he was the founder of the Jewish Christian Davidic See of Sarras in Persia, and on the death of James he was called to lead the Jerusalem Church. He was the leader that led the remove and return from Pella during the Wars with Rome.
4. Justus I Judas (107–113) A son of St Jude and ancestor of St Judas Cyriacus.
5. Zaccheus (Zoker/ Zachary) (113–121) One of the two grandsons of St Jude who was brought before the Emperor Domitian. He was sent by Justus I to be the first Davidic Abbot of the Jewish Christians of Antioch. He afterwards moved to Jerusalem as Abbot on the matyrdom of Justus. His brother James or Jacob was the Jewish Christian Nasi of the Galilee.
6. Tobias (121–135) May have been the head of the Jewish Christian Yeshivah at Edessa and a disciple of the teachings of St Thaddeus before coming to be the Davidic Abbot of Jerusalem. A great grandson of Joseph (Joses) one of the "Brothers of the Lord". He was killed at the time of the Bar Kokhba wars with Rome.
7. Benjamin I bar Yafet (135–152) He was a Jewish Christian Rabbi and Torah scholar who was respected by both the Jews and Jewish Christians (Nazarenes). A grandson of Simeon Breac (Rav Berechiah). In his time the first Greek Bishop of Jerusalem was instituted with Bishop Marcus (r.135-156) appointed by the Gentile Metropolitan of Ceasarea to serve the Gentile Catholics as the Jewish Catholics were keeping hidden and low key after the Kokhba revolt.
8. John I (152–176) A grandson of Rav Berechiah. John was sent by his cousin Benjamin I as the first Nazarene Nasi of the Jewish Christians of Kinyani in Iraq (Babylonia) and he later returned to Jerusalem as the Nasi or Abbot.
9. Matthias I (176–198) A son of Rabbi Eleazar ben Mattai. Matthias was sent as the first Jewish Christian Nasi of Alexandria in Egypt by John I. He later left Egypt to become the Jewish Christian Nasi or Abbot of Jerusalem on the death of John I.
10. Philip (198–226) He was also the Nasi or Abbot of Alexandria before he came to Jerusalem and the son of Matthias I of Jerusalem. His daughter Eugenia was also the Jewish Christian Abbess of Alexandria after her father went to Jerusalem. She later moved to Rome to be the Abbess of the Jewish Christian community in Rome. The legend of her so-called cross dressing originated in her habit of donning the Tallit and Tefillin as the Abbess.
11. Senecas (226-241) She was the Jewish Christian Abbess of Jerusalem and the daughter of the Abbess Eugenia of Alexandria and Rome.
12. Justus II (241–270) He was the son of Senecas the Abbess of Jerusalem.
13. Levi (270–281) He was the son of Justus II.
14. Ephres (Efrat) (281–299) She was the Nesiya or Abbess of Jerusalem and the daughter of Levi and the mother of Judas Cyriacus.
15. Count Joseph I (299–315) He was the Nasi or Abbot but not a Bishop of the Jewish Church. The Jewish Christian Nasi of Tiberias.
16. St Judas Cyriacus (315–363) Bishop and Abbot of Jerusalem
17.  Alexander (Aharon) (363-385)
18. Porphyry (Peretz) (385-394)

St Catald and the Great Monarch: A 7th Century Prophecy

 St Catald the Irish Archbishop of Taranto in Italy in the 7th century

I was reflecting on some of the Catholic prophecies on the coming of the Great Monarch. One I have read many times struck me anew. If Prince Harry is the future Great Monarch then this would mean the era of peace would not begin until after the 15 September 2024 when he turns 40. St Catald or Cataldus was an Irish monk of the 7th century who visited Jerusalem and became an Archbishop in Italy. He prophesied:

"The Great Monarch will be in war till he is 40 years of age; a King of the House of Lily, he will assemble great armies and expel tyrants from his empire. He will conquer England and other island empires. Greece he will invade and be made king thereof. Colchis, Cyprus, the Turks and barbarians he will subdue and have all men to worship the Crucified One. He will at length lay down his crown in Jerusalem."

Thus it could mean that the seven years of Tribulation would begin after Prince Harry turns 33 on 15 September 2017 (5777). The Jewish new year of 5778 begins on Rosh haShana the 20th of September 2017. The Third Antichrist (the Assyrian Beast like a Leopard but not the Final Antichrist) could begin the open phase of his rule in 2021. This year of 2017 (5777) is a prophetic Jubilee year and possibly the last year of "relative calm" for most of the Western World. 2018 may be a year of deep sorrows represented by the 101 tears of the Virgin at Akita. 

In the 7th century the House of the Lily referred to those women descended from Blanchfleur (also called Dindaine) and her Mamikonian Armenian husband Vahan the Wolf  who became known as Wehha King of the East Angles. In the time of St Catald Sexburga was the Regnant Queen of Wessex and the Queen Consort of Kent and her father was Anna King of the East Angles and her mother was the Lady Saewara through whom Sexburga inherited the Wessex throne. Others believe that the French Royal House is the House of Lily and that the original White Flower was the mother or grandmother of Charlemagne. Eventually the House of the Lily became associated with the French Capetian/ Bourbon kings. It is interesting that some believe that the Mamikonian family originated in Georgia in the area of ancient Colchis.

Prince Harry is also on his male line descended from the modern Kings of Greece so it is not impossible that the Greeks may accept him as a future King. He is also descended from the Lusignan Crusader Kings of Cyprus and Jerusalem as well the Bourbon Kings of France. Time will tell us if Prince Harry is the prophesied Great Monarch. He has the right lineage but does he have the right heart?

Temple Theology, Kiss the Son and Joseph: A Hebrew Catholic Reflection

In recent years many scholars such as Mark Kinzer and Andre Villeneuve and others have written about the Temple or Tabernacle theology found in the Gospel of John and the New Testament. A Jewish writer Leonora Leet writes that the inner secret of the Temple cult of Second Temple Judaism is concerned with the mystery of the "Divine Son"or "Son of Man". Others have revealed that the whole physical structure of the Temple is built in the image of the "Divine Man". This "Divine Man" or "Adam Kadmon" is also at the heart of Jewish mystical thought. This Temple Theology is also a Theology of the Body of the Divine Son or Messiah.

The Church of the Circumcision's whole spirituality is based on this Temple or Tabernacle Theology understood as a Theology of the Body. The reclining sleeping man of the Temple represents the sleeping Jacob (Israel) and the prophetic dreams of the reclining sleeping Joseph. Leonora Leet writes that the Divine Son is the embodiment of Israel. However this mystery of the Temple revolves also around the mystery of the words from the Psalms of David "Kiss the Son". This alludes to Jacob "falling on the neck" or kissing of his son Joseph. Pope Francis' loves the image of the reclining sleeping St Joseph.

When the Patriarch Joseph had his dream of his father and mother as the sun and moon and stars which bowed down to him, who was Joseph? He was the earth- the yesod (foundation). The mystery of the Father kissing the Son represents Heaven and Earth uniting through the person of the Divine Son or Son of Man. It is a mystery of the Divine Will (Ratzon). It is also the mystery of Abraham and Isaac and the binding which also happened in the same place as Jacob's dream  of the staircase to Heaven according to Jewish tradition. This spiral staircase may also represent the spiral dna of Man. 

This priestly Tabernacle sanctity which was part of the mystery of the dwelling presence and Glory in the Temple was extended to the laity by the Pharisees. The best of Pharisee teaching was bringing of the kedushah (holiness/sanctity) of the temple to the homes and lives of the ordinary Jews. Due to Jesus' clash with the leaven (hametz) of the five hypocritical groups of Pharisee we often forget the two good groups of the moderate Essenes (mystics) and the Hillelites (practitioners of mercy and loving kindness). 

Thus the best of Catholic and Jewish spirituality is based on this focus on the presence and glory of God as central in the life of the believer and his family. When we focus more on the outward forms and rules and regulations instead of the inner light that leads us to communion and adoration (kissing the Son) then we are following the hypocrites not the true believers. The Song of Songs further conceals the deeper mysteries. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth..." cries out the soul of the true believer who is represented or embodied by the mystical Bride who is Lady Shekhinah and Lady Wisdom.

When we do Eucharistic Adoration we are sitting on or embracing the knees of the Divine Son and kissing him. With the revival of the movement for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration in the Church in recent decades Heaven is starting to Kiss the Earth in order to lead us to the fulfilment of the Lord's Prayer that the Divine Will be done on earth as it is in heaven. As fruit of this Temple or Tabernacle theology, expressed in our time, a new appreciation of the role of the Father and St Joseph will occur in which there will be a turning of the hearts of the children to the fathers and the fathers to the children which will restore the family to its rightful place as a place in which the Divine Presence dwells. 

The Father will Kiss the Son and the Father will dance at the feast of his Son as the Father in the story of the prodigal son must have done. The Father races to greet his Son and to kiss him and embrace him. The Father sees each person as the image of his Son who he is desiring to kiss and embrace into the new and divine holiness of dwelling in his Divine Will as Son and not Servant only. This icon of the dancing Father is alive today in the Hasidic Jewish tradition of the Rebbe or Tzaddik dancing. The Father is rushing right now to kiss and embrace you even with the smell of the pig sty still upon you. He longs for you to dance in his Will in the great feast of the Lamb who is the Lion of Judah.