In the name of Allāh,
the Beneficent, the Merciful.
Peace and Blessings of Allāh on Mohammad.
DEDICATED TO
Allāh–the Glorious and the High,
Lord of the worlds
AND TO
Mohammad–who brought the world
to our feet and eternity to our arms.
*
JESUS–18 MISSING YEARS
After Jesus’ birth and circumcision at eight days old the next we hear about him was when he was twelve –for the first eleven/ twelve years there is no account of the Christian’s son of God and “God.”The next time we hear about Jesus was when he was about thirty years old, baptizing at the River Jordan–(Luke 3:23. Jesus’ mission is said to have lasted for some three years, at the age of thirty-three). So, for some twenty-nine years the Gospels have no record of the Christian’s “God” and son of God.
(Remarkable! And shockingly scandalous! That no details about the maturing son of God and even “God” was kept; and even after all the fanfare of singing angels and guiding star and wise men1 traveling some five hundred miles in winter weather and with treasures for this “King of kings, and Lord of lords”–Rev. 17:14; 19:16).
During this time, as Luke says (Luke 2:42, 40, 52), Jesus “waxed strong in spirit” and “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” (“God” and son of God need to “wax” strong in spirit and to “increase in wisdom”? If Jesus is God how can he find “favour with God”?).
But did Jesus “waxed strong” in Palestine/Nazareth in his father’s carpenter-shop or someplace else? Putting aside Jesus’ presence at the temple at age twelve, this would leave us with some seventeen years of which the Gospels gave no account. To understand where Jesus was these years, Jesus’ mission needs to be kept in perspective.
In contrast to Christian’s belief and teaching that Jesus was GOD/TRINITY; SON OF GOD and vicarious atoner for INHERITED SIN Jesus made it clear that the object of his mission was wholly and solely ONLY FOR JEWS:
“I am not sent but unto the LOST sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL;”
“For the son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost”–(Matt. 15:24; Luke 19:10; Matt. 18:11).
And he emphasized this point by commanding his twelve disciples to
“Go NOT into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye NOT: But go rather to the lost sheep of the HOUSE OF ISRAEL”–(Matt. 10:6),
because these non-Jews were like “dogs’ and “swine” undeserving of the “bread” from God meant only for the “lost sheep of the House of Israel”:
“It is not meet to take the children’s bread and to cast it to dogs;” “Give NOT that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine”–(Matt. 15:26; 7:6).
That Jesus’ mission was uncompromisingly Israelite is further cemented in his preaching in parables so the non-Jew “dogs” and “swine” would not understand and be saved. After relating the parable of the sower to the people Jesus said to them: “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear;” and, afterwards, when he (Jesus) was alone with the Israelites they asked him about the meaning of the parable:
“And he said unto them, Unto you (who have God) it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them (non-Jews) that are without (God), all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them”–(Mark 4:9-12).
The Good News Bible is even clearer on this statement of Jesus: “You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, so that, ‘They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.’”
Jesus’ own declarations show that he was only a national Jewish prophet, to preach to them.That after the make-believe crucifixion and resurrection Jesus said to preach the Gospels to all nations, these verses of Matthew and Mark are shown to be “forgeries” in the BIBLE.3 Whereas PAUL (who introduced the pagan doctrine of SON OF GOD into the religion of Christ)4 and Peter violated Jesus’ instructions and preached to non-Jews, others held true to Jesus’ command: “Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen traveled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to NONE but unto the JEWS ONLY”–(Acts 11:19).
Jesus clearly spoke about the Israelites as being “lost,” as “the lost sheep of the House of Israel” and as “the children of God that were scattered abroad” whom he had to “seek and save”–(Matt. 18:11; 15:24; John 11:52; Luke 19:10).
But where were these “lost” sheep that Jesus had to “seek and save?” Where was Jesus for the eighteen years of which the Gospels have no account?
Khwaja Nazir Ahmad in his revealing book Jesus in Heaven on Earth,5 (noting materials from the Old Testament and history) has detailed that the Israelites, after their destructions in their pre-Jesus history, had not all returned to their “own land.”
Whereas only Two of the Twelve Tribes of Israel were present in Palestine at Jesus’ arrival the remaining Ten Tribes –referred to as the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel– were in many parts of Asia, including Afghanistan and Kashmir. (Khwaja notes facts recorded by different travelers regarding the dispersed Israelites, and concludes about the Afghans):
“It is obvious, therefore, that tradition, history, written records, both ancient and modern, point to the one conclusion that the Afghans are the descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel.”(p. 293/347).
Khwaja also gave extensive details about the Kashmiris, one of which was that “Certain archaeological discoveries conclusively prove that Afghans and Kashmiris are the descendants of Israel of old.”(p. 329/395).
As the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel were in Afghanistan and Kashmir, and as Jesus had to “seek and save” them then Jesus had to travel from Palestine to Afghanistan and Kashmir. To this, Khwaja notes the accounts of several travelers and a “Map illustrating the route followed by Jesus in his first6 journey to India”–from Jerusalem Jesus traveled to Damascus onto Nisibin, through Iran to Sindh, onto Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Jaggannath, Benaras, Nepal, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iran, and back to Jerusalem. Khwaja concludes:
“According to ancient Tibetan manuscripts, Jesus secretly withdrew from the home of Mary and Joseph at age thirteen. Young “Issa” joined a merchant caravan. Destination: India and the Himalayas.
At Juggernaut, “the white priests of Brahma made him a joyous welcome. They taught him to read and understand the Vedas, to cure by aid of prayer, to teach, to explain the holy scriptures to the people, and to drive out evil spirits from the bodies of men.”
- Buddhist scholars documented “The Life of Saint Issa” two thousand years ago.
- Nicholas Notovitch discovered the long-lost document in 1887 at the Himis monastery in Ladakh.
- Swami Abhedananda published a Bengali translation of the Himis manuscript in 1929.
- Nicholas Roerich quoted the same verses in a 1929 travel diary of his Asian expedition.
- And in 1939, a beaming lama at Himis presented a set of parchments to Elizabeth Caspari with the words: “These books say your Jesus was here!” (p. 338/404)
And how did Christian Fathers take the news about their non-existent son of God and “God,” Jesus, being in India and taught by Hindu priests? Whereas, except for Luke’s brief mention of Jesus being circumcised and him being at the Temple at age twelve, Jesus’ “twenty-nine formative years are passed over in silence;” but, as Khwaja Nazir points out:
“certain material to fill this gap has been furnished by Nicholas Notovitch, a Russian traveler, who visited the Far East after the Turkish War (1877-1878). He went across the Caucasus to Persia and, finally, in 1887. he reached India through Afghanistan. He also went to Kashmir, “the Valley of Eternal Bliss” as he calls it….He decided to return to Russia though Central Asia and, therefore, took the route through Ladakh. At this place he visited the Buddhist monastery at Himis, and learnt from the Chief Lama that the library attached to the monastery contained some very ancient memoirs relating to the life of Issa (Jesus)….
On his return to Russia, Notovitch showed his notes to Mgr. Platon, the Metropolitan of Kiev, who tried to dissuade Notovitch from publishing them. He went to Rome. A Cardinal at the Vatican –Notovitch does not give his name– offered to pay a sum of money sufficient to repay his expenses and to recompense him for the time and energy spent in collecting the material. Notovitch rejected the offer, for with it was a condition that his Notes should not be printed. Notovitch then left for Paris and saw Cardinal Rotelli. He too was opposed to the Notes being made public and was very precise in his views. According to Notovitch the Cardinal had said: “The Church already suffers too much from the current of atheistic ideas, and you will but give a new food to the calumniators and detractors of the evangelic doctrine. I tell you this in the interest of all Christian Churches.”7
(So much for Christians following Jesus’ dictum “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” from lies and falsehood–(John 8.32).
Notovitch ultimately published his notes in 1890 from New York and called his work the Life of Saint Issa. It forms a part of his work which he called: The Unknown Life of Jesus.
.…Notovitch knew he was giving some details of the life of Jesus which had hitherto remained an unexplained mystery. He was equally alive to the fact that the Church would repudiate his book as a fabrication of his brain. He, therefore, challenged the Christian world, and said: “I wish to add that before criticizing my communications, the Societies of the Savans can, without much expense, equip a scientific expedition having for its mission the study of these manuscripts in the place where I discovered them, and so may easily verify their historic value.”8
But Notovitch never imagined that Christians would go to the extreme length of denying his very existence and styling his book as the creation of an American atheist who had never left America.9 To this false allegation there is a simple answer. Sir Francis Younghusband, who was the Resident of the British Crown to the Court of the Maharaja of Kashmir, mentions his meeting M. Notovitch when Younghusband was about to cross the Zojila Pass into Kashmir. Notovitch, Younghusband tells us, was on his way to Skardu from Kashmir and they spent a night together in camp.10 Mrs. Harvey had, long before Notovitch went to Himis, made a bare reference to this manuscript.11 But Lady Merrick actually took up Notovitch’s challenge and went to Himis. She records: “In Leh is the legend of Christ who is called Issa, and the monastery at Himis holds precious documents fifteen hundred years old which tell of the days that He passed in Leh where he was joyously received and preached. There is also the tradition of the Biblical flood. And they have a national epic of which only a few manuscripts exist. Almost every village recites its own version of the story, for there are yet village bards in the land and they tell of His sons to be Kings of Earth and of the mission of His youngest Son to earth.”12
Thus Lady Merrick was not only compelled to support Notovitch but she carried the matter further and gave greater details. She tells us that Issa, because of his descent, was described as a prince and was somehow connected with Sholabeth (Ceylon).” (pp.338-341/406-409).
In the face of God’s command to govern by reason13 and Jesus’ exhortation “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,” the responses from the Christians to Notovitch’s presentation cannot but impel one to wonder if they were Christians because of belief or for benefit.14 Which reminds me of the incident noted by Muhammad Husayn Haykal in his The Life of Muhammad:
“It was this materialistic ambition for wealth, worldly prestige and social eminence that caused Abu Harithah, the most learned of the people of Najran, to tell a friend of his that he was perfectly convinced of the truth of which Muhammad was teaching. When that friend asked him why he did not then convert to Islam, he answered: “I cannot do so on account of what my people have done to me. They have honored, financed, and respected me; and they insist on differing from him. Should I follow him, they would take away from me all this that I now have.”(p.197).
As the Prophet Mohammad taught: ‘Whoever wants to be honored let him build his house in the Fire.’
And in the Bible God admonishes: “Keep thee far from a false matter…And thou shalt take NO GIFT: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous”–(Exodus 23:7-8).
Khwaja Nazir Ahmad has noted (in the same book) numerous forgeries, alterations and interpolations in the Bible. For example, regarding the birth of Jesus, Khwaja exposes:
“In Matthew the phrase originally was: And Jacob begat Joseph, and Joseph begat Jesus of Mary. But the simple phrase: and Jacob begat Joseph, and Joseph begat Jesus of Mary was soon changed into: And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
Discussing this change in this verse Rev. C. J. Scofield in his Reference to the New Testament had to admit: “The changed expression was introduced to convey that Jesus was not begotten of natural conception.”15 One of the copyists made another alteration. He changed the phrase to: And Jacob begat Joseph, and Joseph, to whom was married the virgin Mary, begat Jesus.”16
The introduction of the word virgin clearly, but rather awkwardly, exhibited the object for which the alteration was made; and the Church was compelled to disown it.”
(While manuscripts of Luke do not permit scrutiny as Matthew’s, Khwaja notes): “But that it has been changed is self-evident and sufficiently proved by the reading of the relevant verse: And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…17 The words as was supposed are in brackets and betray an addition, as Loisy justly observes: “to abrogate the idea of natural sonship which the text of this passage originally suggested.””(pp. 123-125/153-155).
It is hardly believable that devotee(s) of God will mutilate God’s Book and lead others astray.
“God’s anger is revealed from heaven against all the sin and evil of the people whose evil ways prevent the truth from being known”–(Rom.1:18).18
“Let them bear, on the Day of Judgment, their own burdens in full, And also (part) of the burdens of those without knowledge, whom they misled. Alas, how grievous the burdens they will bear”–(Qur’an 16:25).
In the words of Jesus:“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”19
Whereas Allāh, God, would not call a person to account for what he/she does not know, when knowledge comes to him/her he/she will have no excuse for not accepting and following it. Those who are Christians20 for belief and not for benefit will accept the Divine Truth.
NOTES
1. See JESUS-THE THREE WISE MEN for the real story behind this Christian’s production.
3. That before his alleged ascension, Jesus ordered that the Gospel be preached to the world, Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din notes:
“The concluding eleven verses of St. Mark-(16:9-20)- and the well-known verse of St. Matthew-(28:19), speaking of the Son and the Father and the Holy Ghost, are forgeries, an admitted addition to the ancient MSS (manuscripts). The fact was discovered by the first translator of the Bible into English and they made a marginal note in their version of the Bible which continued for some time. But we do not find the said note in any of the copies now published by the said society (Foreign Mission Society). Is it fair and honest to keep others in darkness as to the true value of the contents of the Bible?…Throughout his life the Gentiles and others did not concern him: they were the swine. Then came the make- believe Resurrection, and they say the Master changed his mind as to his mission and ordered it to be carried to the four corners of the world (indicating that he was unsure of his mission), but this all depends upon the questionable verses of St. Mark, and hence their retention in the Bible. St. Matthew is no authority on this point. The word “nations” there is a mistranslation and a wrong substitute for “the tribes”– the rest of the Jewish tribes scattered all over the world.” (Open Letters To The Bishops of Salisbury & London, pp. 31-32). Such is Christian’s desperation and deception to have people eat the body and drink the mythical blood of Jesus Christ -SPIRITUAL CANNIBALISM. This must be the lowest depth of spiritual depravity.
4. Allāh revealed, and research has confirmed, that “Son of God” belief is an imitation of paganism–(Qur’an 9:30); Muhammad Ali comments: “when St. Paul saw that the Jews would on no account accept Jesus Christ as a messenger of God, he introduced the pagan doctrine of sonship of God into the Christian religion, so that it might become more acceptable to the pagans.” See BIBLE; ALLAH & JESUS OR PAUL).
5. Jesus in Heaven on Earth, Sixth Ed; 1988, (First Ed; April, 1952). Published by Dar-ul-Isha’at-Kutub-E-Islamia, Fatmabai Court, 4th floor above Bank of Maharashtra, 17 Maulana Azad Road, Jacob Circle, Bombay 400 011. Tel: 893438-398330. This invaluable book might be obtainable through www.muslim.org
6. Jesus’ second journey to India was after his alleged crucifixion. Allah tells us that Jesus “will speak to the people when in the cradle and when of old age”–(Qur’an3:45). Meaning that Jesus will begin his mission as a youth, as the Gospel shows–(Luke 2: 42-47); and until late in life. According to the Gospel Jesus’ mission ended when he was only about 33 years old. These 33 years cannot be taken to be “an old age.” If this “old age” is taken to be at the time of Jesus’ supposed return, when he would be over 2,000 thousand years old, this would be a tremendous “old age”–whether he has aged physically or not. But what became of Jesus after he was saved from death on the cross? Allah tells us in the Qur’an: “And We made the son of Mary and his mother a sign, and We gave them refuge on a lofty ground having meadows and springs”–(Qur’an 23:50). But where is this “lofty ground having meadows and springs”, as Allah says? (See JESUS-NO VIRGIN BIRTH).
7. The Life of Saint Issa, 13.
8. Ibid; Ch. 15.
9. Rev. George Buckwell, Christ and Buddha, 367.
10. Sir Francis Younghusband, The Heart of a Continent, 217. (1896).
11. Mrs. Harvey, The Adventures of a Lady in Tartary, China and Kashmir, II:136 (1854).
12. Lady Henrietta S. Merrick, In the World’s Attic, 215, 1931.
13. “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool”–(Isaiah 1:18). “Call to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and goodly exhortation, and argue with them in the best manner. Surely thy Lord knows best him who strays from His path, and He knows best those who go aright”–(Qur’an 16:125). Blind faith is no passport to paradise–Reason is the door to God!
14. Christian Father(s) also knew that Jesus was NOT crucified. See CHRISTIANITY-A FAKE; JESUS-INHERITED SIN TO ASCENSION; JESUS-REDUNDANT NO RANSOM).
15. Scofield, The New testament and Psalms, 2.
16. Conybear, Dialogue of Timothy and Aquila, 16. See also Peake’s Commentary on the Bible, 701.
17. Luke 3:23.
18. Good News Bible, Canadian Bible Society.
19. Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36-37.
20. Those who call themselves Christians do not follow Christ: they follow the Church. See CHRISTIANITY; PAUL; CHRISTIANITY-PAGAN SOURCES; SON OF GOD.