Edgar Cayce on the Mysterious Essenes. John Van Auken
of their liberators and perhaps possessed copies of the Zend-Avesta. They would have taken some of these wonderful ideas and texts back with them, and these would have become some of the documents of the Second Temple period that made their way into the caves in Qumran.
Where does Zoroastrianism connect with early Christianity? Many of the Essenes considered themselves to be “Messianic,” preparing for the birth of the Messiah, and many of them considered Jesus to be that Messiah. They, therefore, became followers of “The Way” of Jesus’ teachings, still considering themselves to be Jews, but “Jews of The Way.” What helped them believe that Jesus was the prophesied Messiah? The answer is the legendary Magi coming from the East to honor the birth of Jesus as the “King of the Jews,” claiming that the stars indicated this! Some of the Magi were known to be sacred Zoroastrian priests trained in astrology as well as other esoteric wisdom and practices. They even lent their name to the word “magic.” In the Gospel of Matthew, 2:1-2, they are called “wise men from the east,” but many of the early church leaders referred to them as “magicians.” (Drum, W.; 1910; “Magi,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: Robert Appleton Company) These Magi were of such an enlightened consciousness that they, too, had a dream from God in which God instructed them not to return to King Herod, but to travel a different way back to their country. (Matthew 2:12) And they obeyed the instruction. Herod, angry that he had lost the confidence of the Magi and their knowledge of which newly born male child was to become the “King of the Jews,” chose to kill every baby boy two years of age and under—a horrific act that caused the spirit of Rachel to weep inconsolably for her children. (Matthew 2:18) But Joseph and Mary had already fled to Egypt with the baby Jesus, obeying the instruction of an angel in a dream instructing Joseph to flee with the mother and child. (Matthew 2:1-15)
In his masterpiece, The Histories (i. 131 et seq.), Herodotus, considered to be the “Father of History,” recorded that the Persians from the earliest times considered the sun, moon, stars, earth, the waters, and the wind to be sacred, and everyone should cooperate with them and never abuse, misuse, or contaminate them. Herodotus recorded that the Magi believed in the propitiation of the powers of evil (ib. iii. 35, vii. 114), which is considered today to be a basic Christian concept! In other words, through new actions old sins are absolved, as the apostle Peter noted in his epistle: “Above all things being fervent in your love among yourselves; for love covers a multitude of sins.” (I Peter 4:8, my italics) Herodotus also wrote that Zoroaster strongly spoke and wrote against demoniacal rites and practices that continued to be practiced. Herodotus described how Zoroastrian priests conducted magical ceremonies to evoke the power and presence of the Bountiful Spirit and Mind, corresponding closely to the Christian practice of evoking the presence and power of the Holy Spirit—which was for a time conducted in secret so as not to be labeled divination by the Inquisitor. Even Nostradamus recorded how he used a method for evoking the divine presence to generate his visions, writing that he was “seated alone in secret study . . . fear arising and trembling . . . for in divine splendor a god sits nearby.” (Century 1, clips from Quatrains 1 and 2) Nostradamus had to cloak his writings in obscure language in order to avoid the wrath of the Inquisitor, especially since Nostradamus’ parents were Jews who converted to Catholicism, making them suspect of being under Satan’s influence.
As in Kabbalah and Christianity, the Magi had legends and lore of angels as well as heavenly beings akin to archangels, called “Immortal Holy Ones” (Amesha Spentas). These archangels personified virtues and ideals: Good Mind, Perfect Righteousness, the “wished-for” Kingdom, Harmony, Health, Salvation, and Immortality (or Eternal Life with God).
The Zoroastrians also had the concept of an incarnation of God’s Light! They called it the “incarnation of light and truth,” known as Mithra (not to be confused with Roman Mithraism). Mithra is derived from -tra, meaning “causing to,” and mi-, meaning “to bind,” thus Mithra is he who “causes one to hold to” the covenant, the oath. This is where the Essenes, who referred to themselves as “the Keepers of the Covenant,” met with the ancient Mithra and his mission of “binding to the covenant.”
Amazingly, Mithra has many titles similar to Jesus (John 14:6), Mithra is called “the Truth,” “the Way,” “the Light,” and more. (Avesta: Yasna 1-3) In Old Persian Mithra is called Mica and is often connected with Baga, the Old Persian word for God; thus Mica-Baga, indicates that Mithra was as the Gospel writer John described the Logos, an incarnation of God: “In the beginning was the Word (Greek: Logos), and the Logos was with God and the Logos was God . . . and all things were created through this One.” (John 1:1-3) John later wrote that the Logos became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). Curiously, Mica/Mithra was also described as being an incarnation of the Light, the Truth (found on the Elamite tablets of Darius’ time).
Here’s a Zoroastrian passage from the Khorda Avesta (known as the “Little Avesta” and the “Book of Common Prayer”), referring to Mithra as follows:
Whose word is true, who is of the assembly, Who has a thousand ears, the well-shaped one, Who has ten thousand eyes, the exalted one, Who has wide knowledge, the helpful one, Who sleeps not, the ever wakeful. We sacrifice to Mithra, The lord of all countries, Whom the Creator (Ahura Mazda) created the most glorious, Of the supernatural, venerable, divine beings. So may there come to us for aid, Both Mithra and the Creator (Ahura), the two exalted ones . . . [Khorda Avesta: Khwarshed Niyayesh 5-7; based on an edition by Karl F. Geldner: Avesta, The Sacred Books of the Parsis; Stuttgart, 1896; and my edited version of the 2002 digital edition by Joseph H. Peterson, which can be found at: avesta.org/ka/niyayesh.htm]
In the 200s CE, Manicheans wrote that Mithra was an original Savior who rescued “First Man” from the Darkness into which he had plunged. (Widengren, Geo Mesopotamian elements in Manichaeism (King and Saviour II): Studies in Manichaean, Mandaean, and Syrian-gnostic religion, Lundequistska bokhandeln, 1946, p. 10) The disciple Paul refers to a “First Adam” and a “Last Adam”: “The first man Adam became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.” (I Corinthians 15:45) Christian saint Augustine was once a Manichean but converted to Christianity when the Roman Emperor Theodosius I issued a decree of death for Manichaeans in 382 CE and shortly before the emperor declared Christianity to be the only legitimate religion for the Roman Empire in 391. (Foltz, Richard, Religions of the Silk Road; Palgrave Macmillan, 2nd edition, 2010, p. 71)
As in Judaism and Christianity, Zoroastrianism also has the concept of a prophesied Messiah-Savior who will come to make all things right. It is Saoshyant (pronounced soush-yant), literally meaning “one who brings benefit” and is often referred to as “The Beneficent One.” Saoshyant is considered to be the final savior of the world. (Avesta: Farvardin Yast 13:129) Jesus also spoke of such a final world-ending, heavenly being, but not so much as a benefactor as a gatherer of those who have used free will well:
The lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of man . . . Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; then will appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. (Matthew 24:27-31)
As an aside here, let me share that the ancient Egyptians also had the concept and legend of a Messiah, and it was an immaculately conceived Messiah too, as in Mary and Jesus. In the Egyptian legend Isis immaculately conceives Horus, who overthrows the evil Set, who, out the same motivations as Cain, killed his brother Osiris, as Cain killed Abel. Eventually Set’s evil is overcome as Horus reigns in wisdom and goodness. Speaking of immaculate conceptions, there is a legend that Zoroaster’s mother, Dughdova, was a virgin when she conceived Zoroaster by a shaft of light from Heaven. Even Mithra was born of a virgin and on December 25th! Throughout the legends of world religions and theologies there are tales of virgin