Secret_History

328 The Secret History of the World
The new doctrine of resurrection was not widely accepted by the Jews and
remained a point of contention for centuries until its ultimate acceptance and
twisting to mean that only Jews, the Chosen People of Yahweh, would participate
in this earthly kingdom of Yahweh. The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter 22:23,
records that the dispute was still going on at the time of its writing, with the
Sadducees denying resurrection and the Pharisees affirming it. We might also wish
to note the similarity between the names Pharisee and Farsi or Parsee, the
Persians from whom the doctrine of resurrection was borrowed.
In addition to incorporating the doctrines of resurrection and judgment, exposure
to Zoroastrianism substantially altered Jewish Messianism as well. Zarathustra
predicted the imminent arrival of a World Savior who would be born of a virgin
and who would lead humanity in the final battle against Evil. Jewish Messianism
merged these conceptions with their preexisting expectations of an earthly Davidic
king who would save the Jewish nation from oppression.
It was at this time, as a response to their captivity, that apocalyptic literature
appeared in Judaism, based on Babylonian models and patterned after their
symbology. This was to have a strong influence on later Christian theology. With
the key elements of resurrection, judgment, reward or punishment, a Savior,
apocalypse, and ultimate destruction of the forces of Evil, it can be concluded that
Jewish and Christian eschatology is Zoroastrian from start to finish. This suggests
that Zoroastrianism may be the source of Primitive Chiliasm as referenced by
Fulcanelli.
The similarities don’t end with eschatology either. A lot of the tradition and
sacramental ritual of Christianity, particularly Catholicism, traces back to
Zoroastrian precursors. The Zoroastrian faithful would mark their foreheads with
ash before approaching the sacred fire, a gesture that resembles Ash Wednesday
tradition. Part of their purification before participating in ritual was the confession
of sins, categorized into three types: thought, word, or deed.
Zoroastrians also had a Eucharistic ritual, the Haoma ritual, in which the god
Haoma, or rather his presence, was sacrificed in a plant. The worshipers would
drink the juice in expectation of eventual immortality. There is a curious
connection here to the Epic of Gilgamesh where he was told that a plant could give
him immortality. One wonders, of course, if this wasn’t a later addition utilizing
consciousness altering substances to imitate mystical states of ecstasy.
Finally, Zoroastrians celebrated All Souls’ Day, reflecting, like the Catholics, a
belief in intercession by and for the dead. We should also note that the story of the
Magi, who were said to have visited the newborn Jesus, resembles an earlier story
of Magi who looked for a star foretelling the birth of a Savior, in this case Mithras.
Magi were not kings but Zoroastrian astrologers, and the birthday of Mithras - and
other “dying and resurrecting gods” - on December 25th was appropriated by the
church.
Christianity also seems to have borrowed the story of the temptation in the
desert from Zoroastrianism, since an earlier legend placed Zarathustra himself in
that situation. The principal demon, Ahriman, promised Zarathustra earthly power
if he would forsake the worship of the supreme God. Ahriman, like Satan when
tempting Jesus, failed.