Church of the Pater Noster

Church of the Pater Noster - Central Exterior Staircase

Near the summit of the Mount of Olives there is a partially constructed Roman Catholic Church called the Church of the Pater Noster. The current structure was built atop of the ruins of a fourth century basilica constructed under the direction of Constantine the Great's mother Helena. "Pater noster" is Latin for "our father" and is the traditional location of the "certain place" mentioned in Luke 11:1 where Jesus taught his disciples the Lord's Prayer. It is also the traditional site where Jesus taught his great eschatological sermon found in Matthew 24  (see also Joseph Smith Matthew).

In volume 1, book 2 (of the 3 volume edition), page 274 (excursus 53) of Jeff Bradshaw's commentary on the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price, entitled In God's Image and Likeness: Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Book of Moses, there is a brief discussion of this site which provides some very exciting insights:

Grotto of the Church of the Pater Noster

"According to Eusebius, the Roman Emperor Constantine's mother Helena founded churches at the spot of three 'mystic caves' associated with the life of the Savior. One was located in Bethlehem at the supposed site of Jesus' birth, one in Jerusalem where the Church of the Holy Sepulcher now stands, and a third on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

"Englebert argues that the site on the Mount of Olives is 'the most easily shown to be authentic.' He depicts the spot as a safe resort for the Savior during times of persecution, there being 'no other place in Jerusalem where He could "lay his head." After telling of a stormy scene that took place in the Temple, St. John writes: "And they went each to his home, and Jesus to the Mount of Olives" [John 7:53 - 8:1. See also Luke 21:37, 22:39]. It would appear that, for Jesus, "going home" meant returning to his grotto, and that it was here that the Pharisee Nicodemus came for the nocturnal meeting he had requested.' ... Early traditions record that Jesus found a place 'where he could teach His disciples those things that were beyond the understanding of His usual hearers.' More specifically, Eusebius passed on a 'true report ... that in that cave the Savior of the Universe initiated the members of his guild in the ineffable mysteries.' An instance of such an initiation may have occurred on the night Jesus was arrested, before going down to Gethsemane. According to the Acts of John, these instructions were concluded with a prayer in which 'he told us to form a circle, holding one another's hands, and himself stood in the middle.' Initiation into the 'ineffable mysteries' was also a prominent theme in accounts of the teachings of Jesus Christ to his apostles during the forty days following his resurrection."

Investiture of King Zimri-Lim

Investiture of King Zimri-Lim

This past week the Interpreter published a fascinating article online by Jeff Bradshaw entitled "Freemasonry and the Origins of Modern Temple Ceremonies". The article is well worth reading in its entirety but there was a brief extract that I wanted to share regarding the image shown above. Here is the excerpt:

"In the depiction of the culminating rites shown [above], the king, accompanied by a guardian with arms raised in the traditional attitude of prayer and worship, comes into the most sacred space of the palace where he would have received royal insignia from the hand of a representation of Ishtar, in the presence of other gods and divinized ancestors. The king’s hand is extended to receive these insignia while his arm is raised in a gesture of oath making. As also seen in biblical practice, the solemn nature of the oath was confirmed by touching the throat. Note that the Mesopotamian royal insignia of the rod and the coil as they were depicted here in 1800 bce, had a basic function of measurement similar to the square and compass in later times."

"In the Cool of the Day"

In the Biblical account of the fall of Adam and Eve a curious detail is included in the narrative that seems somewhat out of place. After eating of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil Adam and Eve hear God's voice as they are walking "in the cool of the day" (see Genesis 3:8). Why does it matter what time of the day it was that the voice was heard? It may be that the phrase has not been rendered into English in the manner in which the author of Genesis intended.

Jeffrey M. Bradshaw comments on this phrase in volume one of his commentary on the book of Moses entitled In God's Image and Likeness: Ancient and Modern Perspectives On the Book of Moses. This is what he has to say:

"The phrase can be translated as 'in the wind, breeze, spirit, or direction' of the day--in other words, the voice is coming from the west, the place where the sun sinks." (259)

The word from which the word "cool" is translated is ruach (רוח) which is generally translated as "spirit", "wind" or "breath" but indeed can be translated as "cool" (as wind has a cooling effect) or as "quarter (of wind), side" (Strong's H7307), hence "direction". It seems to make the most sense that the author of the Genesis account intended "direction" for ruach as that interpretation places the account squarely in the context of the temple. Earlier in the garden of Eden story the narrator mentions that God planted a garden "eastward" in Eden (Genesis 2:8). The question that every reader should ask is: eastward from where?

It is well known that the temple was thought of as a microcosm of creation. The Holy of Holies represented God's abode and represented day one of the creation. The creation of the earth commenced in the Holy of Holies and was directed from it and thus is seen from its perspective. Just outside the Holy of Holies (to the east) was the Holy Place which represented the Garden of Eden. Therefore, when the scriptural account states that the garden was planted "eastward" it means that it was planted eastward from the Holy of Holies where God was located.

In like manner, then, when Genesis 3:8 states that Adam and Eve heard God's voice from the west it has reference to the fact that the Holy of Holies was west of the Holy Place and was the place from which God's voice would be heard since it was his abode. Understanding that the stories of the creation of the earth and the fall of mankind are set in the temple is crucial to understanding these accounts.

Adam and Eve

I came across this quote from Hugh Nibley in Jeff Bradshaw's commentary on the book of Moses and thought it was very insightful:

"The perfect union of Adam and Eve excited the envy and jealousy of the Evil One, who made it his prime objective to break it up... His first step (or wedge) [was] to get one of them to make an important decision without consulting the other. He approached Adam in the absence of Eve with a proposition to make him wise, and being turned down he sought out the woman to find her alone and thus undermine her resistance more easily. It is important that he was able to fine them both alone."
(In God's Image and Likeness: Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Book of Moses 1:249-50).

Messengers

Peter, James and John in a statue by Avard Fairbanks on Temple Square in Salt Lake City, UT.

Currently I'm slowly making my way through volume one of Jeff Bradshaw's commentary on the book of Moses in the Pearl of Great Price. One page 181 of that volume he points out a fascinating piece of information found in extra-biblical literature. He is commenting on Moses 3:21-22 which reads:

21 And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof;

22 And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man.

Regarding these verses Bradshaw says the deep sleep which came upon Adam was a sleep of forgetfulness in which he became ignorant of his past. He then goes on to say the following:

"The awakening of Adam represents the beginning of his recovery from his state of ignorance and mortality. In the Hypostasis (of the Archons), it is Eve, 'the spirit-endowed woman.' who says to the sleeping Adam, 'Arise,' however, in the Apocalypse of Adam this same role is played instead by 'three men' of surpassing 'glory.' Although in Adam's new state of ignorance he was at first 'unable to recognize' them, they proceeded to reveal knowledge to him about his Creator."

To summarize, Adam, in his forgetful state is visited by three messengers who are not recognized by Adam at first. They then proceed to teach him. 

It's no secret that in the liturgy (or ordinances) of the LDS temple there is a dramatic portrayal of the creation of the Earth and the fall of mankind. What's most striking about this passage is that the details regarding the three messengers from the Apocalypse of Adam parallel the temple account. A critic might be tempted to believe that somehow Joseph Smith had access to these extra-biblical sources but that seems highly unlikely since both the Hypostasis of the Archons and the Apocalypse of Adam were completely lost until they were found as part of the Nag Hammadi library in 1945, more than 100 years after the death of Joseph Smith! It seems far more reasonable to suppose that the modern temple ceremony was divinely inspired just as Joseph Smith claimed it to be.

Noah

The Lord Fulfilleth All His Words, by Clark Kelley Price

The account of the prophet Noah as found in Genesis is a fascinating and generally misunderstood pericope which is highly symbolic and recapitulates the story of the creation and the fall. Jeffrey Bradshaw has written some very insightful material on the symbols behind the Noah story which can be found in his books and in  Meridian Magazine. Bradshaw points out a number of parallels between the creation story and the flood. In this post I will mention just a few for the sake of brevity. Additionally, Bradshaw sheds light upon the troubling story of Noah's drunkenness which seems out of character for a prophet of God. As we will see this account as it has come down to us has been subject to misunderstandings and mistranslations and when understood properly does not need to cause concern.

Creation

Ancient Hebrews conceived of the existence of a primordial sea of chaos out of which creation emerged. According to this conception the first piece of ground to emerge from chaos was the primordial hillock. Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, upon which the 1st and 2nd temples were built, was associated with this primordial hillock by the Israelites. The primordial hillock was also associated with the Garden of Eden and was considered the axis mundi or the point at which heaven and earth were joined.

Bradshaw writes that the ark built by Noah was designed as a temple with its three decks corresponding to the three areas (most holy place, holy place and outer court) of the Jerusalem temple. He also points out that other than the tabernacle and temple the ark is the only structure mentioned in the Bible whose design was revealed through revelation. 

Genesis 8 states that after drifting across the water the ark came to rest on the mountains of Ararat. Ararat is depicted as the primordial mountain upon which the ark/temple rests just as the temple sat upon Mount Moriah. The animals and Noah's family leaving the ark to re-populate the earth can be likened to the placing of animals and man on the earth at the creation. Upon leaving the ark the command to "multiply and replenish the earth" was renewed with Noah and his family as it was originally given to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. (compare Gen. 1:28 & Gen 8:17)

Noah's Tent

The story of Noah's drunkenness within his tent is found in Genesis 9:20-27 and many have supposed this incident to be a moment of indiscretion by an otherwise righteous prophet. However, there may be more to the story than is suggested by our modern English translations of the Bible. Bradshaw cites the writings of Rabbi Shim'on in the Zohar where he explains that Noah's tent is to be understood as the tent of the Shekinah or the Divine Presence of Jehovah. This tent, built at the foot of Mount Ararat, therefore, is analogous to the portable Tabernacle which Moses built at the foot of Mount Sinai. (ref)

Tissot, Noah in Vision

What, then are we make of Noah's being drunken and uncovered in the tent? Bradshaw mentions a statement attributed to Joseph Smith in which the prophet explained that Noah was not drunk but was in a vision. Bradshaw's article also cites the Genesis Apocryphon which describes Noah and his family engaging in a ritual drinking of wine after which Noah is shown a vision in which he sees the destiny of his posterity. Therefore, as Bradshaw explains "Noah's drinking of the wine should be seen in a ritual context and not merely as a spontaneous indulgence that occurred at the end of a particularly wearying day." (ref)

Noah's nakedness can be explained by looking at the example of Saul when he joined Samuel's group and "stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night." (1 Sam. 19:24) Bradshaw cites Robert Jamieson who explained that Saul's nakedness in this instance means that he was “divested of his armor and outer robes." (ref)

Hugh Nibley has offered another explanation that the nakedness of Noah referred to the priestly garment which he wore which was the garment of skins given to Adam which had been passed down through the generations. Nibley goes on to explain that Ham either stole the garment from Noah or made a copy of it. (Collected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol.5, pp. 169-170). If this was the case then it would appear that Ham was cursed because he intruded into the sanctuary tent while his father was enwrapped in vision dressed in his priestly vestments. Ham then made an unauthorized copy of the garment and claimed priestly authority by virtue of possessing the counterfeit. 

Understanding the account of Noah in light of the information Jeff Bradshaw has gathered  brings greater appreciation for this story and dispels the more controversial aspects. Additionally, viewing this account in light of the temple creation drama helps the reader understand the account as it was intended to be understood.

Jeff Bradshaw



Yesterday afternoon I stopped by Benchmark Books and picked up Jeff Bradshaw's commentary on the book of Moses entitled "In God's Image and Likeness: Ancient and Modern Perspectives on the Book of Moses".

I spent a couple hours reading it yesterday and was not disappointed. I have heard him speak a few times and since becoming aware of him have been very impressed by his insights and scholarship. On the sidebar of this blog I have a link to a list of articles he has written for Meridian Magazine. I have read most of them and highly reccomend taking the time to read them carefully.

If Jeff Bradshaw's Moses commentary is out of your price range he has written a couple other books that are reasonably priced including: "Temple Themes in the Book of Moses" and "Temple Themes in the Oath and Covenant of the Priesthood".

Several months ago he spoke at the "Temple on Mount Zion Conference" in Provo. His talk was entitled: "The Ark and the Tent: Symbolism in the Story of Noah". The talk is recorded and can be viewed here. As a caveat I need to warn you that watching him speak is a little like drinking from a fire hose. I always need to pause and rewind to digest what he is saying - it is fascinating.

Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil

I recently read Jeffrey Bradshaw's paper entitled Mormonism's Satan and the Tree of Life and thought this paragraph was really insightful so I wanted to share. Here it is:

The Hebrew expression “knowledge of good and evil” in the description of one of the trees can mean knowledge of what is good and bad, or of happiness and misery—or else knowledge of “everything” if good and evil is taken as a merism. Perhaps the most relevant hint on the meaning of the phrase comes from Deuteronomy 1:39, which speaks of little children “who… have no knowledge of good and evil,” suggesting “that they are not legally responsible for their actions.” In this sense, the term aptly refers not to abstract conceptual knowledge but rather to the kind of “knowledge which infancy lacks and experience acquires.”