Who was St. Paul and St. John the Divine?
There is written evidence that there were at least a few second century rabbis who did enter into the kingdom. The following refers to a particular Jewish Christian convert by the name Elisha Ben Abuiah, who was known as Aher or traitor. "According to Gratz, he was a Karpotian Gnostic; according to Siegfried, a follower of Philo; according to Dubsch, a Christian; according to Smolenskin and Weiss, a victim of the inquisitor Akiba....The oldest and most striking reference to the views of Elisha is found in the following baraita (Hag. 14b; Yer. ii. 1): "Four [sages] entered paradise--Ben 'Azzai, Ben Zoma, Aher, and Akiba. Ben 'Azzai looked and died; Ben Zoma went mad; Aher destroyed the plants; Akiba alone came out unhurt."... "It means that Elisha, like Paul, in a moment of ecstasy beheld the interior of heaven--in the former's case, however, with the effect that he destroyed the plants of the heavenly garden."--Jewish Encyclopedia. I have no idea what a Karpotian is, and apparently either does anyone else on the internet. They could be referring to the Carpocratians, but that movement followed Carpocrates of Alexandria who wasn't born until after the year 100 CE.

Since I know of no space program in Israel during the second century I think it is safe to assume that the author of this piece is not talking about some physical heaven located in the stars. Therefore it is likely that they are referring to entering into heaven via meditation. Keep in mind that the rabbis who wrote the Elisha quote are from the very same group that Jesus accuses of having taken away the keys.

Here is the Pauline reference to that event. "I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter."--2Corinthians 12:2-4. The third heaven refers to the third level of consciousness, or air where there is no thought. So, Paul claims to have met Christ not on the road to Damascus, but while meditating. "The religion of Mithra centered around the initiate's ability to communally, astral-travel. Of course the out-of-body experience was facilitated through the eating of the sacred meal. After consumption, the initiates could traverse the galaxies, witnessing, as the ancient Egyptians, first hand, the reality that the spirit of the human being is not restricted to the physical universe, or the physical body for that matter."--James Arthur, 'Mushrooms and Mankind'.

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord."--2Corinthians 5:8. This pericope begs the question exactly who was in body, and who was absent from the body.

I always wondered why Paul, who was a contemporary of Jesus, would be on the road to Damascus to seek out Christians when according to Christianity Jesus never left Palestine, and the term Christians was not in use when it came to the followers of Christ. "These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."--Matthew 10:5, 6. Of course Damascus was the code word used by the Essene for Qumran since their religious sect was founded in Damascus c. 175 BCE. Once again this is more religious nonsense.

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."--Revelation 21:1-3. In order for this to have taken place in the physical world, you would have to believe that somehow John had been taken up into some physical celestial heaven up in the sky. The John in question is purportedly, St. John the Divine, but if you have read my book 'The Mystery of Jesus Christ and the False Messiah' you would know that this person was Paul, or Apollonius of Tyana. This reference dovetails nicely with the mentioning of just such an event in 2Corinthians 12, only in that instance the subject was the Apostle Paul and not John. Here he is talking about the renewed mind where there is now a new heaven and a new earth. The use of the lower case 'e' in earth indicates that the author is not talking about the planet Earth, but the carnal consciousness of the lower mind or earth.

"...I was neither ostracized or banished for anything I had done, said or written, to that same island to which,...the St. John of Revelations went, in the years 69 and 70 A. D. I there wrote what occurred through me in a trance state, not knowing what I wrote, an almost identical story with that attributed to the so-called St. John the Revelator."--J. M. Roberts, 'Antiquity Unveiled,' the testimony of Apollonius of Tyana.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand."--Revelation 1:1-3. One thing that should be obvious to you at first sight is that the author of this document does not seem to be the John mentioned since John is spoken of not in the first person, but in the third person. The passage also mentions that these events will come to pass not in some distant future as some members of the clergy would have you believe, but shortly after this was written which was two thousand years ago. According to this statement this John bore witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ, but for some reason St. John the Divine is not mentioned in any of the epistles or the gospels. According to the ancients a prophecy does not necessarily refer to the future, but to any edict or sermon.

"I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."--Revelation 1:9. The appropriately named Isle of Patmos is a volcanic island in the Aegean Sea, and what do volcanic islands have a lot of, fire and water. This brings us back to the four levels of consciousness of the Greeks; earth, water, air, and fire. So, here Patmos means staying pat or not moving as in meditation.

The truth is that these passages are not about John or a Jesus who was a human sacrifice, but refer to a Jesus who has risen above the consciousness of the physical body or the carnal mind, and is now dwelling in the renewed mind, or Christ consciousness. What they are telling you is that it is you who will no longer be a slave of the flesh, but instead become a servant of the word of God. Obviously your pastor would try to obfuscate the true meaning of these passages.

"John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;"--Revelation 1:4. Once again the scriptures resort to numerology. Here the seven churches represent the seven chakras which run up the spinal column.

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,"--Revelation 1:10. The seven chakras are located on the spinal column which is behind you.

"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,"--Revelation 1:5. This refers to the fact that the God within you witnesses everything that you do until you open up this power within you. Jesus refers to the right hemisphere of the brain, or Father. The first begotten of the dead refers to the awakening to the higher mind which enable you to overcome the impulses of the flesh.



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