 DO ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
ARTIFACTS ENSHRINE THE IMAGE OF CHRIST ? Richard Russell Cassaro |
There is no single theory in Egyptology with unanimous support that logically explains the meaning of these funerary vestures. A new study reveals they form an image of the Christian Saviour — a bearded shepherd with long hair. The headdress, beard, and shepherd’s staff have a symbolic meaning. They were used to transform the outward appearance of the deceased into an image of the god Osiris, the single most important Egyptian deity, and the first in recorded history to have risen from the dead. Religion of Resurrection "The central figure of the ancient Egyptian Religion was Osiris," wrote the late Egyptologist Sir E. A. Wallis Budge, "and the chief fundamentals of his cult were the belief in his divinity, death, resurrection, and absolute control of the destinies of the bodies and souls of men. The central point of each Osirian’s Religion was his hope of resurrection in a transformed body and of immortality, which could only be realized by him through the death and resurrection of Osiris." 1 Early in Egyptian history it was a religious custom to bury the dead kings in the image of Osiris. Later the upper classes and eventually the common masses were given an Osirian burial. The custom reflects the Egyptians quest to follow in his resurrection. Henri Frankfort, a former professor of Preclassical Antiquity at the University of London, underscored this idea: "It may be well to emphasize that the identification of the dead with Osiris was a means to an end, that is, to reach resurrection in the Hereafter." 2 The name "Osiris" (Ausar) in hieroglyphics contains the silhouette of a bearded man with long hair. This is the same image engraved on the anthropomorphic coffins. The
This discovery confronts us with a fascinating mystery: For thousands of years before the rise of Christianity the Egyptians were in a quest to follow in the resurrection of a bearded man with long hair and acquire life after death! Osirianised coffins also display a shepherd’s staff in the left hand, a distinctly Christian Cross of Life Incredibly, "life" after death was expressed by the ankh cross, another symbol with a counterpart in Christianity. The ankh was the most revered and prolific emblem It should be noted that symbolists see in the ankh the outline of a crucified man: the circle represents his head, the horizontal line his two arms, and the vertical line his legs nailed to the cross as one. Day of Judgment After his resurrection Osiris became judge of the souls of the dead. In this position he held the power to grant life in heaven to those who behaved righteously on earth. Wallis Budge explained: "the belief that Osiris was the impartial judge of men’s deeds and words, who rewarded the righteous, and punished the wicked, and ruled over a heaven which contained only sinless beings, and that he possessed the power to do these things because he had lived on earth, and suffered death, and risen from the dead, is as old as dynastic civilization in Egypt..." 3 The Day of Judgment is a central tenet of the Christian religion. The souls of the deceased shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Those who have followed his teachings during their lives shall be deemed righteous and be admitted to heaven. II Corinthians 5:10 says: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat [emphasis added] of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." Depictions of Christ and Osiris as judge are remarkably similar. Michelangelo’s The As judge, Osiris was always portrayed in the seated position, a posture that parallels the New Testament’s descriptions of the judgment seat of Christ. What are we to make of these striking similarities? Did Christian scholars simply "borrow" images and symbols of Osiris from the Egyptian religion? Or does this evidence reveal a profound and hitherto undiscovered phenomenon that has been affecting the course of human civilization? By uncovering the similarities common to the Egyptian and Christian religions are we, in fact, re-discovering the sacred blueprints of an ancient Messianic tradition that has been accelerating man’s cultural and spiritual development since the beginning of history? Myth vs. Fact Because the story of Osiris was so well known in Egypt it was never set down in writing. As a result modern researchers cannot quite gauge the events surrounding his life, death, and resurrection. The first written accounts of Osiris come down to us from sources outside Egypt by way of ancient historians such as Diodorus Siculus (1st C. BC), Herodotus (5th C. BC), and Plutarch (1st C. AD). These classical writers describe Osiris as a semi-divine king who abolished cannibalism, taught men and women to live according to law of maat, improved their morality, and, filled with love for mankind, set out on a quest to travel the world and bring the benefits of civilization to other cultures. Their commentary continues with mythological descriptions of the murder of Osiris by a jealous brother named Seth; his rebirth, accomplished by the magic of his sister/wife, Isis; and his second death, caused again by Seth, who dismembered his body and scattered the pieces up and down the Nile. After the utter destruction of Osiris his son, Horus, defeats Seth in an epochal battle thereby vindicating his murdered father. The myth of Osiris seems to take place half in our world and half in an enchanted world of magic and make-believe. This element of fiction is responsible, in part, for the misconception that Osiris was a fictional being. The facts left among the ruins of ancient Egypt tell an entirely different story. The Osirian religion sparked a renaissance among the ancient Nile-dwellers the effects of which impacted every facet of their primitive society. It instilled in them a high moral code, a sense of good and evil, and an inclination toward brotherly love and admiration unprecedented in human history and unparalleled by any other ancient nation. It also fostered a highly advanced philosophy. Osiris worshippers realized the human body was neither perfect nor permanent. But they were also convinced death was not the end of their being. There was an eternal, spiritual element within them that would rise – resurrect – from the body and exist in a higher spiritual realm, provided their behavior was in accordance with a high moral code (maat). Consequently, they never became too attached to the things of this world. This is precisely the same philosophy expressed in the religion of Christianity sparked by the life, death, and resurrection of the Christian Saviour. Phoenix in the East The Egyptians likened the spirit of Osiris to a heavenly bird, much like Christianity portrays the soul of Jesus as a white and shining dove. The Egyptians called the bird Scholars unanimously believe the phoenix was a symbol of Osiris. German Philologist Adolf Erman explained "the soul of Osiris…dwells in the bird Benu, the phoenix…." 4 A passage from the Coffin Texts supports this observation: "I am that great Phoenix which is in On. Who is he? He is Osiris. The supervisor of what exists. Who is he? He is Osiris." 5 The attributes of Osiris as phoenix are the same attributes associated with the Christian Messiah. Both the phoenix and the Messiah appear in the eastern sky (the star of Bethlehem arose in the east heralding the newborn King). Both rise from the dead. Both embody the theme of life after death through resurrection. Both herald the star of new ages. (Christ’s appearance initiated the current age: BC/AD.) Finally, and perhaps most importantly, both are associated with the promise of a destined re-appearance (Christians are currently expecting Christ’s re-appearance, i.e., the Doctrine of the Second Coming). What is the significance behind the parallels common to the phoenix and the Messiah? Does the phoenix myth enshrine wisdom of the appearances of a recurring Saviour in human history, a Saviour whose life, death, and resurrection was purposely designed to accelerate the development of human culture? Is there a powerful and well-guarded tradition expressed in the myth of Egypt’s enigmatic phoenix? A tradition that is now on the verge of being re-discovered? The "FIRST TIME" of Osiris The Egyptians associated the first appearance of the phoenix with a golden age in their history known as Zep Tepi, the "First Time." They were convinced the foundations of their civilization were established during this remote and glorious epoch. R. T. Rundle Clark, former professor of Egyptology at Manchester University, commented on the ancients conception of the First Time: "Anything whose existence or authority had to be justified or explained must be referred to the 'First Time.’ This was true for natural phenomena, rituals, royal insignia, the plans of temples, magical or medical formulae, the hieroglyphic system of writing, the calendar – the whole paraphernalia of the civilization…All that was good or efficacious was established on the principles laid down in the "First Time" – which was, therefore, a golden age of absolute perfection..." 6 The First Time seems to have been the period during which Osiris reigned as foremost king of Egypt. It was during this era that he established law (maat) and initiated worship of Ra, Egypt’s monotheistic God. Rundle Clark explained: "The reign of Osiris was a golden age, the model for subsequent generations." 7 Maat and monotheism, the "model for subsequent generations" set forth by Osiris, was the driving force behind Egyptian culture for thousands of years. What exactly does the phrase "the First Time" mean? Is it a reference to the first appearance – the first coming – of the Christian Saviour on earth? Was there a guiding force behind the rise of Egyptian culture? The same guiding force that has inaugurated the empire of Christendom? Was the First Time an era during which an ancient Messianic tradition was first established? A tradition aimed at revealing cultural wisdom, law, and spiritual truth to mankind during different historical epochs? Richard R. Cassaro graduated from Pace University in New York with a BA in journalism and a minor in philosophy. His groundbreaking book The Deeper Truth: Uncovering the Missing History of Egypt ( www.deepertruth.com), evokes a powerful image of Osiris as the Shepherd, Messiah, and eternal King of ancient Egypt.
BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. E. A. Wallis Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, vol. 1 (Dover Publications, 1973), p. vii. 2. Henri Frankfort, Kingship and the Gods (University of Chicago Press, 1978), p. 209. 3. E. A. Wallis Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, vol. 1, p. 347. 4. Adolf Erman, Life in Ancient Egypt (Dover Publications, 1972), p. 271. 5. R. O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, vol. 1 (Aris and Phillips, 1994), p. 263. 6. R. T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt (Thames and Hudson, 1978), p. 263-264. 7. R. T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt, p.103.
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nemes headdress, beginning on the forehead of the deceased and resting upon the shoulders, is symbolic of long hair. (The headdress was tied into a ponytail in the back of the head as is often done with long hair.) The plaited beard on the chin represents a long beard. 
symbol. (Jesus described himself as the "Good Shepherd" of the human flock. Portraits of Christ show him holding the shepherd’s staff.) The shepherd’s staff was depicted in the hands of Osiris in Egyptian artwork. In literature his epithets sa and Asar-sa mean "shepherd" and "Osiris the shepherd." The term shepherd seems an appropriate title for a beloved spiritual leader whose religion of resurrection promised life after death for the wayward soul. 
in Egypt. It was inscribed on tombs and temples and it was depicted in the hands of gods, kings, priests, viziers, ordinary citizens, and their children. No one knows its origins. Its meaning of "life" after death is strikingly similar to the meaning of Christ’s crucifix, also symbolic of "life" after death. (Jesus’ Doctrine of Eternal Life is a recurring theme in the New Testament. In John 11:25 Jesus says: "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.")
Last Judgment has many common features to the Day of Judgment etched on Egyptian papyri and carved on tomb walls. In the Egyptian ceremony the heart of the deceased, symbolic of his virtue, moral character, and earthly deeds, was laid on a set of scales and weighed against a single feather representing maat, the divine law. If the scales balanced, the deceased was allowed to pass into heaven. 
Benu, the Greeks called it the phoenix. According to legend this magnificent creature miraculously appears in the eastern sky during fixed points in history to announce the start of a new world age. When it appears the bird mysteriously sets itself ablaze and is suddenly consumed by fire and ashes. However, it arises triumphantly from death renewed and rejuvenated.