In this set of engravings we have the Annunciation, the Conception, the Birth, and the Adoration as described in the first and second chapter of Luke’s Gospel. These scenes, which were mythical in Egypt, have been copied or reproduced as historical in the Canonical Gospels.
In the temple of Amun at the site of Luxor in Egypt appears a series of scenes depicting the divine birth of the king/pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty (c. 1570-1293 BCE), Amenhotep/Amenhotpe or Amenophis III, who reigned during the 14th century BCE (c. 1390-c. 1352 BCE). The Luxor nativity imagery represents a significant artifact demonstrating important pre-Christian religious motifs evidently incorporated into Christianity.
The Origin of the transcendental themes of Christianity reach far into Ancient Egyptian antiquity. In the New Testament Book of Matthew 1:20-23, the story of the Annunciation, Conception, Birth, and Adoration of the child, Jesus, is presented. It tells how the “angel of the Lord” appeared to Joseph, informing him that his wife Mary is pregnant by the Holy Spirit of God. We are taught to believe this about a supposed historical person from our very childhoods and this is read and repeated in millions of homes in typical readings at Christmas where we read also the Lukan account of the birth of baby Jesus. But all of this is not new at all; in fact the “same story” identically predates the supposed Jesus of the first century by thousands and thousands of years. Little did we know that the supposed unique and Divine Revelation about baby Jesus lies carved on thousand year old walls of stone in the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Luxor that can be dated as far back as 5,5000 years B.C.E. or earlier.
What appears to be a meaningless depiction of scattered events is pregnant with meaning (excuse the word play).
The Legend of Osiris is one of Egypt’s most Ancient literature myths. So old, its origins have been lost in time. It was an important story to the Egyptians because of Osiris’ role as the king who is resurrected as the “King of the dead”. A king that every Egyptian, from the mightiest pharaoh to the lowliest peasant, hoped to join in the afterlife. Other important themes that we find in the story are; the trials of Isis in which she is idolized as a dutiful wife and protective mother. And the revenge of Horus against his evil uncle Seth who killed his father Osiris, which is a powerful struggle of good verses evil. In an effort to avoid confusion you should be aware that there are two forms of the god Horus in this story, first we find him as the brother of Osiris, then later we find him called Harpocrates or Horus his infant son.
It may be worth noting that in all the vast amount of text that we have from the ancient Egyptians, we find no complete version of this tale. We find only pieces, references and additions to it. One of the most important versions of the story comes to us from a Greek writer named, Plutarch, who lived in the first century C.E.
We find the Legend of Osiris literally portrayed on the walls of the Holy of Holies of the Temple of Luxor. Unknown to the reader of this article at this time is that the Legend of Osiris and his son Horus is the very same story of the birth of the Jesus as depicted in the New Testament thousands of years later.
We find that the “Gospel Story” was written on the walls of this Temple of Luxor (Thebes) thousands of years before the assumed Jesus of history. The story of the divine Annunciation, the miraculous Conception (or Incarnation), the Birth, and the Adoration of the Messianic Child (originally Horus), had already been engraved in hieroglyphics and represented in 4 consecutive scenes upon the innermost walls of the holy of holies in the Temple of Luxor which was built by Amenhept III, a Pharaoh of the 18th dynasty, long before there was any concept of Jesus existing in the first century C.E. In these scenes the maiden queen Mut-em-ua, the mother of Amenhept III, her future child, impersonates this “virgin-mother” (originally Isis) who was miraculously impregnated following the death of her husband Osiris and consequently bore a child without sexual intercourse since her husband had been murdered by his evil brother (see the Osiris Myth).
Let us now look at the above image in more detail.
Annunciation
The first scene on the left hand shows the God Taht (Thoth) [the New Testament Gabriel] the Lunar Mercury, the Annunciator of the Gods, in the act of hailing the Virgin Queen, Mut-em-ua, [Mary] and announcing to her that she is to give birth to the coming Son (Amenhotep III in the character of Horus, the divine child [prototype for the later Jesus].
Originally the story finds its first telling when the god Thoth announces to a virgin, Isis, the impending birth of her son, Horus.
In the first scene at left, the neteru Thoth, god, messenger of the Almighty God, the transmitter of the logos (word) of God, is depicted in the act of announcing to queen Met-em-Ua (who has assumed the role of Isis that she will give birth to a child who will be righteous and a divine heir (this is the baby Horus – prototype). Now like Isis who conceived after Osiris was dead and gone Met-em-Ua is virginous which is depicted by her slim belly. This will be a virgin birth in the pattern of Isis.
Luke 1:26-33 26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, 27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. 30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. (KJV)
Immaculate Conception
In the next scene the god Kneph (the Egyptian Holy Ghost) and the goddess Hathor hold crosses, the Egyptian Ankh as a sign of life, originally to the head and nostrils of Isis and mystically impregnate her. Of course this myth is retold later in the account of Queen Mut-em-ua, the future mother of Amenhept III. Kneph (“the Egyptian Holy Spirit”) descends and assisted by Hathor, impregnates the virgin [the New Testament Mary] by holding the “ankh”, symbol of life, to her head, mouth, nostrils. Notice if you will that her belly is now swollen and enlarged with the life from God. In this scene the virgin is pictured as becoming pregnant (conceiving) through the Spirit.
Gen 2:7 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. (KJV)
Luke 1:31-35 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. 34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (KJV)
The “ankh” is the Egyptian cross having a loop for its upper vertical arm. The Ankh, known in Latin as a crux ansata (“handle-shaped cross”), is the Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol for “life”.
Kneph is the form of the Holy Ghost or Spirit that causes the Immaculate Conception, Kneph being the “spirit” by name in Egyptian. Impregnation and conception are made apparent in the virgin’s fuller form (see the picture). The natural effects of this “miracle conception” are made apparent in the virgin’s swelling form (just look at her abdomen in the 2nd depiction on the ‘left’ of the mural).
The Birth Of The Child God
In the next scene on the far right we see the mother is seated on the midwife’s stool, and the child is supported and lifted up by the hands of one of the nurses. Originally, the mother, Isis, sits on a midwife’s stool, and the newly born infant, Horus, is held by attendants. With the development of the mythos we find that next the mother, Queen Mut-em-ua, the future mother of Amenhept III, the Biblical Solomon, is seated on the mid-wife’s stool, and the newborn child is supported in the hands of one of the nurses. Later this same story is told only the names of the virgin mother has been altered [Mary] as well as the name of the child god [Jesus instead of Horus].
Luke 2:4-7 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (KJV)
Adoration
The fourth scene is that of the Adoration. Here the child is enthroned and adored by Amun, the hidden Holy Spirit behind all creation, and three men behind him (Amun) who offer and gifts with the right hand (open facing up) and eternal life with the left hands (holding again Ankhs/crosses). So we find the pattern for the later 3 gifts and 3 wise men that are depicted first thousands of years earlier on stone wall in the Temple of Luxor. These 3 figures are kneeling and offering gifts with the right hand and life (ankh cross) with the left hand.
Originally the infant Horus receives homage from gods and Three Kings, the Magi,who offer him gifts. In a re-adaptation of the earlier myth we find here the child of Queen Mut-em-ua is enthroned, receiving homage from the Gods and gifts from men as well. As children growing up in the mainly Christian Western Hemisphere we heard this same story over and over never suspecting that it is but a retelling of the Osiris Myth. Never did we know that when we heard of the birth of Jesus and read the birth narratives with our families at Christmas time that we were reading the same story told for over 10,000 years. Never did we suspect that as these men who worshiped Jesus in the New Testament account were but a re-adaptation of those who originally worshiped Horus. All along we had a re-adaptation of these 3 wise men who found baby Horus; in our case the name was changed: Horus became Jesus and Mut-em-ua became Mary. These same 3 wise men worshiped Jesus (the New Testament Horus), and offered gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. But let’s look deeper. In the depiction of this miraculous birth on the walls of the Temple of Luxor Isis has been replaced by Queen Mut-em-ua [later to be replaced by Mary]. Behind the deity Kneph, on the right, three spirits, the Three Magi, or Kings of the Legend, are kneeling and offering presents with their right hand, and life with their left.
The child thus announced, incarnated, born, and worshiped, was the Pharaonic representative of the Aten Sun in Egypt, the God Adon of Syria,and Hebrew Adonai; the child-Christ of the Aten Cult; the miraculous conception of the ever-virgin mother, personated by Mut-em-ua, as mother of the “only one,” and representative of the divine mother of the youthful Sun-God.
Luke 2:8-20 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (KJV)
Matt 2:1-2 1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. (KJV)
Conclusion
Indeed, the point is not necessarily that the creators of Christianity used this particular narrative but that there were plenty of miraculous-birth templates long prior to the Christian era, rendering Jesus’s own nativity all too mundane and common, rather than representing a unique “historical” and “supernatural” event that proves his divinity above and beyond all others. With such a widespread precedent, could we honestly believe that the Christian nativity scene constituted something new and startling?
Thanks for reading,
Notes:
http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com/luxor.html
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