The greater majority of Christians today do not even understand the meaning of the word Christ. In fact, most people are under the grave misconception that Christ was Jesus’ last name. They fail to realize that the word Christ is a Greek word synonymous with the Hebrew word Messiah, and both words in English mean the Anointing of the Lord, or the Lord’s Anointed. Because our translators fail to render the word the same throughout the scriptures, present day bible readers are generally unaware that twenty-three other men in the Old Testament are referred to as the Lord’s Anointed or Christ. When the scriptures state that "Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden..." (Isa 45:1 KJV), it is the same as stating "Thus saith the LORD to his Christ, to Cyrus".

Quoting Nelson’s Bible Dictionary: "In the Old Testament, Messiah is used more than 30 times to describe kings (2 Sam. 1:14,16), priests (Lev. 4:3,5, 16), the patriarchs (Ps. 105:15), and even the Persian King Cyrus (Is. 45:1)." In the case of the New Testament, Christians simply do not translate the Greek word Christ into its English equivalent Anointed. Why? The answer to that is simple. Joshua, the Anointed one of the Lord, does not have the same mystique to the uninformed believer as Jesus Christ -- and does not present the picture that conforms to the design of their beliefs. The word Anointed is a universal religious term used the world over -- and so, our Bible translators choose not to render the word into its proper English form. In the case of the Old Testament, they translate the word into English so as not to draw attention to all the many people who are called the Christ or Messiah throughout the scriptures.

Going one step further, the word Christ is more of a verb than a noun. It depicts one who is Anointed (Christ) by the Lord with the Light of God. By its very nature, the word Christian cannot depict one who merely believes -- in that a believer by today’s standards is seen as a static person of faith.

We can better understand this by posing the question: When is a person a runner? Is a spectator watching a running event a runner? Is a person a runner when they are not running? Is a person who believes that runners exist a runner? Being a runner, then, is a noun that is dependent upon an action. In like manner, the name Christian can only apply as a noun, or a name, so long as the disciple is actively following in the footsteps of the Christ.

The Anointing is the movement of Spirit into the mind of the disciple as they seek to be At-One with the Lord. It is not indicative of a faith-based philosophy -- but rather, the result of a Truly Moving Creative Force of a Spiritual Marriage between the disciple and God. Faith can be compared to that of a bride who awaits the coming of the bridegroom -- i.e., the true Christian has faith that the Word will come and make a home within them. Without this Marriage, and the resulting Anointing, one cannot accurately be called a Christian -- but rather, one who is striving to become a Christian.

In the tradition of the Hebrews, the source of all knowledge is the Messiah. As I have already demonstrated, the word Christ is a Greek word, and it was in use by the Greeks long before the advent of the historical man Jesus. Going one-step further, the word Messiah/Christ has its equivalent within all the major religions of the world.

In the same way that the followers of Jesus were Messianic believers -- a Christian, in accordance with Greek understanding, was in the true sense of the word, an enlightened initiate into the underlying secrets of what we call the Greek Mystery religions. In the same way that there was a dividing line between an Essene or Messianic believer that separated the Spiritual Hebrew from a Jew, this same dividing line existed in the religions of the Nations. A Christian, therefore, was a Spiritual believer who was an initiate into the doctrine of the indwelling Logos/Christ written about by Plato and the Poets, and were those whose minds were enlightened to the degree where they were able to understand the inner meaning of the Greek mystery religions.

The problem is that we fail to understand these spiritual terms because we view life and the scriptures with a quasi-Darwinist mindset -- i.e., three-dimensionally. As Christians, we fail to comprehend the very essence of the word we use to describe ourselves, because we are unaware of the realms beyond these three dimensions -- we are unaware of our pre-existent soul and spirit -- and we relate the word Christ to an historical person. Further, it is impossible for us to perceive the manner in which God reveals Himself to people the world over, because we fail to understand that the religion that Jesus proclaimed is not only Universal, but is in fact indigenous to man himself. That Jesus became the First Son of God -- and that his followers should themselves be the Anointed Ones, and be the very embodiment of the manifested Light in the world -- is the fulfillment of the Word that each and every person who calls themselves Christian should strive to be. That Christians at present are imprisoned by spiritual shackles, and cannot live up to their spiritual potential and Name because of the reinterpretation of the gospel by the Roman Church, is in fact the reason why the world today dwells in darkness.

With regard to the historical people who were called the people of Christ before the time of Jesus, it did not mean anything to an enlightened Christian that the masses of people worshiped the sun, moon, stars or idols. Because the people of the Nations were carnal, they were unable to perceive the inner meaning of the writings of the poets. In the far-reaching vision of the greater reality, they viewed these things as the worship of the Logos, or Christ, by the ignorant masses of people.

That the initiates of the ancient mystery religions were called Christians prior to the time of Jesus is demonstrated in a letter from the Emperor Adrian to Servianus, written in 134 A.D., wherein it is stated: "Egypt, which you commended to me, my dearest Servianus, I have found to be wholly fickle and inconsistent, and continually wafted about by every breath of fame. The worshipers of Serapis are called Christians, and those who are devoted to the god Serapis, call themselves Bishops of Christ". What is confirmed is that, with the advent of Jesus, the Christ or Christos was not a new term, and there were people throughout the empire who were called Christians prior to the time when the name came to be associated with the followers of Jesus. More important, though, is the fact that they brought their ideas and beliefs pertaining to Christ into the religion of Jesus -- which teachings in their original form possessed an essence and spiritual reality that few of these Pagan Christians could perceive.

Archaeologists have demonstrated that the word Christos, which we render Christ, has been found not only on Pagan temples, and used in relation to those who were said to be the sons of the Pagan gods, but the term was also engraved on tombstones and other Pagan artifacts prior to the time of Jesus. In the Greek and Roman mystery religions of the time, the Christos was the Anointing of the Logos, and the Christian was the follower of the Anointed. In the writings of Clement of Alexandria we find it explained that: "Those who lived according to the Logos were really Christians, though they have been thought to be atheists; as Socrates and Heraclitus were among the Greeks, and such as resembled them" (Strom. bk. i, ch xix).

Eusebius, the great historian of the early Church, admits that the religion that is called Christianity was known to the ancients (Eccl. Hist., 1, ch iv) and writes that the religion of Jesus had "...been known among all nations, nevertheless our life and our conduct, with our doctrines of religion, have not been lately invented by us, but from the first creation of man, so to speak, have been established by the natural understanding of divinely favored men of old... What then should prevent the confession that we who are of Christ practice one and the same mode of life and have one and the same religion as those divinely favored men of old? Whence it is evident that the perfect religion committed to us by the teaching of Christ is not new and strange, but, if the truth must be spoken, it is the first and the true religion".

Modern Christians who erroneously believe that Christianity started with Jesus, will be unable to relate to the words that "our doctrines of religion... have been established by the natural understanding... and [is] the same religion as those divinely favored men of old". The early Gentile Christians knew this fact, and it was for this reason that a copy of Plato’s Republic and other such writings was contained among the writings preserved in the recently discovered Nag Hammadi Library of early Christian writings.

St. Augustine wrote: "That, in our times, is the Christian religion, which to know and follow is the most sure and certain health, called according to that name, but not according to the thing itself, of which it is the name; for the thing itself which is now called the Christian religion, really was known to the ancients, nor was wanting at any time from the beginning of the human race, until the time when Christ came in the flesh, from whence the true religion, which had previously existed, began to be called Christian; and this in our days is the Christian religion, not as having been wanting in former times, but as having in later times received this name" (Opera Augustini, vol. i, p.12).

When we begin to understand the common root of all religion, only then are we able to comprehend with clarity that it wasn’t so much that the Greek and Roman world was converted to the teachings of Jesus, but more appropriately, the teachings of Jesus came to be a part of the existing religious world, which came to be outwardly known as Christian. After Constantine silenced the true followers of Jesus with the power of the sword in the fourth century because they refused to accept the religion of the emperor, all that was left was the Gentile church which was very Pagan in nature, that had come to be known as Christian.

In a letter from Faustus to St. Augustine this Pagan-Christian connection is embellished upon: "You have substituted your agape for the sacrifices of the Pagans; for their idols your martyrs, whom you serve with the very same honors. You appease the shades of the dead with wine and feasts; you celebrate the solemn festivities of the Gentiles, their calends, and their solstices; and, as to their manners, those you have retained without any alteration. Nothing distinguishes you from the Pagans, except that you hold your assemblies apart from them" (Quoted in Draper: Science and Religion, p.48).

How could "nothing" distinguish Christians from the Pagans, with the exception of where they hold their assemblies? How could Christians "retain" the manners of the Pagans, "without any alteration"? If their lifestyle, celebrations, festivities and manner of worship are the same, then how could they be called the followers of Jesus?

In many instances, conversion was the result of Jesus being installed as the replacement for the former Pagan gods. In his book, Jesus, The Evidence, Ian Wilson writes: "A third-century mosaic from the Mausoleum of the Julii underneath present-day St. Peter’s in Rome actually portrays Jesus as Sol Invictus, driving the horses of the sun’s chariot. That Constantine himself mixed Christianity and the Sol Invictus cult is clear from a second commemorative medallion issued by him within two years of the first, on which he represented himself with a Chi-Rho monogram on his helmet, and with a leaping Los chariot below".

Speaking of Constantine, Ian Wilson writes: "It was only when he was approaching death that he asked for, or was accepted for, Christian baptism. As was still the custom, he received this naked, thereafter renouncing forever the purple of his imperial rank" (Ian Wilson, Jesus, The Evidence). This means that the leader and head of the Gentile Church, as well as many of the present day doctrines which remain with us today, were inaugurated into the church by a man of a very Pagan mindset who was not even baptized.

Present day Christians are under the erroneous and grave belief that the tenets and beliefs of their religion are unique. In reality, nothing could be farther from the truth. What is unknown to the believer today is that the world has known countless other crucified Saviors who were: Born from a virgin mother in a cave or underground chamber on or near Christmas Day -- each led a life of sacrifice for mankind, and were called by the names of Light-bringer, Healer, Mediator, Savior and Deliverer -- they were vanquished by the powers of darkness, and descended into hell or the underworld -- they each rose again from the dead and became the means for mankind to enter into the heavenly world -- they founded communities of saints, and churches into which disciples were received by baptism -- and they were commemorated by Eucharistic meals. Thus, every element of modern-day Christianity was present in the Pagan world prior to the advent of Jesus.

In his book, The Christian Conspiracy: The Orthodox Suppression of Original Christianity, Joseph P. Macchio writes: "We find no less than twelve mythical-historical personages before the advent of Christ, who are said to have suffered crucifixion/death and to have risen from the dead. Among them are: Krishna, Wittoba, Osiris, Attis, Indra, Prometheus, Mithra, Dionysius, Hesus, Aesculapius, Adonis, Apollonius of Tyana. Several of these figures are said to have been crucified at the spring equinox and to have risen on the third day".

Many attempts have been made to explain the Pagan-Christian connection. In his book Aryan Mythology, by the Rev Geo. W. Cox, it is explained that: "The wailing of the Hebrew women at the death of Tammuz, the crucifixion and resurrection of Osiris, the adoration of the Babylonian Mylitta, the Sacti ministers of Hindu temples, the cross and the crescent of Isis, the rites of the Jewish altar of Baal-Peor, wholly preclude all doubt of the real nature of the great festivals and mysteries of Phoenicians, Jews, Assyrians, Egyptians, and Hindus" (Aryan Mythology, vol. ii.p.125).

The same concept that the Christ of all Pagan religions was manifest in anticipation of Jesus, was used to bring the Pagan world together under the one banner of Christianity. Thus, it has been concluded that: "The Church, at an early date, selected the heathen festivals of Sun worship for its own, ordering the birth at Christmas, a fixed time, and the resurrection at Easter, a varying time, as in all Pagan religions; since, though the Sun rose directly after the vernal equinox, the festival, to be correct in a heathen point of view, had to be associated with the new moon" (Egyptian Belief, p.182). Thus, we begin to understand why the enlightened Pagans -- who were known as Christians -- adopted the Jewish Messiah Jesus as the personification of their sun-god, renamed him the Christ, and altered the scriptures in the endeavor to sever Jesus from the foundation of Jewish thought -- thereby bringing completion and unity to the Pagan Christian world.

In further explanation of the Pagan Christian connection, the Rev. J.P. Lundy writes in his work, Monumental Christianity, that: "Is there no bright Sun of Righteousness - no personal and loving Son of God, of whom the material Sun has been the type of symbol, in all ages and among all nations?" Thus, we see here that the physical sun is a type, or symbol, among the Pagans, for Jesus, the Son of God. Rev. Lundy then goes on to further explain: "What power is it that comes from the Sun to give light and heat to all created things. If the symbolical Sun leads such a great earthly and heavenly flock, what must be said to the true and only begotten Son of God? If Apollo was adopted by early Christian art as a type of the Good Shepherd of the New Testament, then this interpretation of the Sun-god among all nations must be the solution of the universal mythos, or what other solution can it have? To what other historical personage but Christ can it apply? If this mythos has no spiritual meaning, then all religion becomes mere idolatry, or the worship of material things" (Monumental Christianity, p.117).

Under the heading of Mystery Religions in the Encyclopedia Britannica (1998 electronic edition), the intimate connection between the religion of the poets and that of what evolved into what came to be called Christianity is readily seen in the words: "Christianity originated during the time of the Roman Empire, which was also the time at which the mysteries reached their height of popularity. This was by no means an accident. The Christian theologian Origen wrote in the 3rd century that it was part of the divine plan that Christ was born under the emperor Augustus: the whole Mediterranean world was united by the Romans, and the conditions for missionary work were more favorable than ever before. The simultaneousness of the propagation of the mystery religions and of Christianity and the striking similarities between them, however, demand some explanation of their relationship. The hypothesis of a mutual dependence has been proposed by scholars --especially a dependence of Christianity upon the mysteries... The parallel development was fostered by the new conditions prevailing in the Roman Empire, in which the old political units were dissolved, and the whole civilized world was ruled by one monarch . People were free to move from one country to another and became cosmopolitan. The ideas of Greek philosophy penetrated everywhere in this society. Thus, under identical conditions, new forms of religious communities sprang from similar roots. The mystery religions and Christianity had many similar features--e.g., a time of preparation before initiation and periods of fasting; baptism and banquets; vigils and early-morning ceremonies; pilgrimages and new names for the initiates. The purity demanded in the worship of Sol and in the Chaldean fire rites was similar to Christian standards. The first Christian communities resembled the mystery communities in big cities and seaports by providing social security and the feeling of brotherhood. In the Christian congregations of the first two centuries, the variety of rites and creeds was almost as great as in the mystery communities; few of the early Christian congregations could have been called orthodox according to later standards. The date of Christmas was purposely fixed on December 25 to push into the background the great festival of the sun god, and Epiphany on January 6 to supplant an Egyptian festival of the same day. The Easter ceremonies rivaled the pagan spring festivals. The religious art of the Christians continued the pagan art of the preceding generations. The Christian representations of the Madonna and child are clearly the continuation of the representations of Isis and her son suckling her breast. The statue of the Good Shepherd carrying his lost sheep and the pastoral themes on Christian sarcophagi were also taken over from pagan craftsmanship".

The Britannica then goes on to demonstrate that the intimate connection is just as close in doctrine, as it was in outward observance: "In theology the differences between early Christians, Gnostics (members--often Christian--of dualistic sects of the 2nd century AD), and pagan Hermetists were slight. In the large Gnostic library discovered at Nag Hammadi, in upper Egypt, in 1945, Hermetic writings were found side by-side with Christian Gnostic texts. The doctrine of the soul taught in Gnostic communities was almost identical to that taught in the mysteries: the soul emanated from the Father, fell into the body, and had to return to its former home. The Greeks interpreted the national religions of the Greek Orient chiefly in terms of Plato’s philosophical and religious concepts. Interpretation in Platonic concepts was also the means by which the Judeo-Christian set of creeds was thoroughly assimilated to Greek ideas by the early Christian thinkers Clement of Alexandria and Origen. Thus, the religions had a common conceptual framework. The doctrinal similarity is exemplified in the case of the pagan writer and philosopher Synesius. The people of Cyrene selected him as the most able man of the city to be their bishop, and he was able to accept the election without sacrificing his intellectual honesty. In his pagan period he wrote hymns that closely follow the fire theology of the Chaldean Oracles; later he wrote hymns to Christ. The doctrine is almost identical".

What the Britannica is stating is that the doctrine between what is known as the religion of the philosophers, the Gnostics, and the Gentile Christians, was so close, that the Pagan philosopher Synesius was selected as a Christian Bishop. Further, the "hymns to Christ" that this philosopher wrote, was so compatible with Gentile Christianity, that the Britannica states "the doctrine is almost identical". These facts should be paramount in the minds of modern Christians seeking the true teachings of Jesus.

The intimate connection is further explored by the Britannica when it writes: "The similarity of the religious vocabulary is also great. Greek life was characterized by such things as democratic institutions, seafaring, gymnasium and athletic games, theatre, and philosophy. The mystery religions adopted many expressions from these domains: they spoke of the assembly (ekklesia) of the mystai; the voyage of life; the ship, the anchor, and the port of religion; and the wreath of the initiate; life was a stage and man the actor. The Christians took over the entire terminology; but many pagan words were strangely twisted in order to fit into the Christian world: the service of the state (leitourgia) became the ritual, or liturgy, of the church; the decree of the assembly and the opinions of the philosophers (dogma) became the fixed doctrine of Christianity; the correct opinion (orthe doxa) about things became orthodoxy".

What modern Christians fail to understand is that within the worship of the sun, is the worship of the one god -- which was brought together in the worship of Jesus the Christ -- and ultimately the enlistment of the Pagans under the one banner. All other pagan deities were, in reality, aspects of the sun -- which was seen as their physical source of life. The Pagan initiates who understood the mysteries of their religion, also knew that the sun was a type of pattern of profound spiritual truths that exist in the heavenly realms. This same religious concept is found in the Bible where it states that the Jews "serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, ‘See,’ He says, ‘that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain’" (Heb 8:5 NAS).

The initiate into what we view as the Pagan Mystery religions, understood that whatever exists in the physical realm in which we presently dwell, is a "copy and shadow of heavenly things". What this means is that, whatever exists in this physical realm is both an illusion, and an allusion to deeper truths that exist in the spiritual reality of Creation. The secret to the spiritual development of the masses of the people who do not understand heavenly things, is that when they invoke these allusionary "patterns" in their daily lives, they begin to crack open the door of communication between the physical and heavenly realms.

Because we do not comprehend the symbols and their allusion to heavenly truths, and we do not understand the inner meaning of the sacred writings of the nations, we erroneously believe that these writings promote the worship of many gods. On the surface this would appear to be true -- but this is not the case with the real inner meaning of these scriptures. This fact is brought together in the words of Sir William Jones who wrote: "We must not be surprised at finding, on close examination, that the characters of all the Pagan deities, male and female, melt into each other, and at last into one or two; for it seems as well founded opinion, that the whole crowd of gods and goddesses of ancient Rome, and modern Varanes, mean only the powers of nature, and principally those of the SUN, expressed in a variety of ways, and by a multitude of fanciful names" (Asiatic Researches, vol.1.p.267).

^^too much to read right now.
[size=18pt]NO LONG TALKING![/size]

Anyone with commonsense or who knows the history of religions know this is true. Christianity is just the remixing of Judaism and pagan ideologies. But the core principles are Jewish in origin (African if you go even further).

Therefore the beliefs of "Christ" are in fact MUCH older than he was. He was not THE messiah but A.

Seewealth: The greater majority of Christians today do not even understand the meaning of the word Christ. In fact, most people are under the grave misconception that Christ was Jesus’ last name. They fail to realize that the word Christ is a Greek word synonymous with the Hebrew word Messiah, and both words in English mean the Anointing of the Lord, or the Lord’s Anointed. Because our translators fail to render the word the same throughout the scriptures, present day bible readers are generally unaware that twenty-three other men in the Old Testament are referred to as the Lord’s Anointed or Christ. When the scriptures state that "Thus saith the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden..." (Isa 45:1 KJV), it is the same as stating "Thus saith the LORD to his Christ, to Cyrus".
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You're right that the word christ is not Jesus last name. You are right that it means "anointed" and Jesus was not the only one it was used for. But the chrian faith didn't exist before Jesus came.

Kings were anointed , priet were anointed and prophets also .. But there are several use of the word. Which has several meaning. It can also mean chosen ,elected ,this asks is used for political leaders . But not in the sense of spiritual concencration. So the use of the word for Cyrus has no connection with spirituality .

Finally there is difference between an anointed and "the anointed". I an an anointed person. A christ , But I am not "The Christ" . So those who believe in the death and resurrection of "The Christ" Jesus are called Christians. They have recieved eternal life through his death

1 John 5:11
And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.


,. These are Christians . They never existed until Jesus died. So Christianity never existed before the advent of Jesus Christ .

Joagbaje:

You're right that the word christ is not Jesus last name. You are right that it means "anointed" and Jesus was not the only one it was used for. But the chrian faith didn't exist before Jesus came.

Kings were anointed , priet were anointed and prophets also .. But there are several use of the word. Which has several meaning. It can also mean chosen ,elected ,this asks is used for political leaders . But not in the sense of spiritual concencration. So the use of the word for Cyrus has no connection with spirituality .

Finally there is difference between an anointed and "the anointed". I an an anointed person. A christ , But I am not "The Christ" . So those who believe in the death and resurrection of "The Christ" Jesus are called Christians. They have recieved eternal life through his death

1 John 5:11
And this is that testimony (that evidence): God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.


,. These are Christians . They never existed until Jesus died. So Christianity never existed before the advent of Jesus Christ .

Interesting!
Have thoughts to share. . .