Subject:

������ THE MISSING YEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST ‑By

������ Bertrand L. Comparet

�� Date:

������ Fri, 20 Apr 2001 10:43:50 ‑0700

� From:

������ "Bob Jones" <[email protected]>

��� To:

������ <Undisclosed‑Recipient:;>

��� CC:

������ "Pastor Bob Jones" <[email protected]>

������������������������������������������

THE MISSING YEARS IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST

�������������� By Bertrand L. Comparet

���� The four gospels written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, tell

of the life and ministry of Yahshua the

���� Christ. The gospel of Matthew traces Him from His birth through

His short sojourn in Egypt, then back

���� to Nazareth, still as a baby. He next appears in this gospel in

chapter 3, at the time of His baptism, just

���� before His 40 days of temptation at the beginning of His ministry.

In Mark, the baptism, temptations and

���� the beginning of His ministry, are all in Chapter 1. In John, as in

Mark, His childhood is not covered;

���� chapter 1 covers His baptism and the beginning of His ministry.

���� In Luke we have been given more details. Chapters 2 and 3 trace

Him from the return to Nazareth

���� through His baptism, temptations and the beginning of His

ministry. Luke 3:23 tells us Yahshua's ministry

���� started at the age of thirty. Luke 2:41‑ 52 traces Him on one visit

to Jerusalem when He was 12 years

���� old. All four gospels are silent on the 18 years between His 12th

and 30th years. Where was He, what

���� was He doing during those years? It can be well demonstrated

that He was absent from Palestine for at

���� least part of this period, let's trace this absence.

���� Luke 1:36, 39‑56 tells us that Elizabeth, mother of John the

Baptist, was a cousin of Mary the mother of

���� Yahshua the Christ. There was a very close, friendly relationship

between the two families. Immediately

���� after the angel told Mary she was to bear Yahshua, she went to

the home of her cousin Elizabeth and

���� stayed in Elizabeth's home for about 3 months. It is only natural

that this close friendship would endure

���� throughout the years thereafter.

���� The law required that all the men and male children must come

to Jerusalem at three feasts each year.

���� Deuteronomy 16:16 states, "Three times in a year shall all the

males appear before Yahweh thy God in

���� the place which He shall choose: in the feast of unleavened

bread and in the feast of weeks and in the

���� feast of tabernacles." The feast of weeks was held 50 days after

Passover, in our day is called Pentecost.

���� The feast of tabernacles was a weeklong feast, the last of the fall

festivals. The families of Yahshua and

���� John the Baptist, had to bring them both to Jerusalem three

times every year. The families, being such

���� good friends, surely met and the children must have played

together on those occasions. So, Yahshua

���� and John the Baptist were very well acquainted. Between

Yahshua's 12th and 30th years, the Scriptures

���� nowhere even hint Yahshua was in Palestine. We find evidence

He was absent from Palestine throughout

���� the greater part of that period.

���� John 1:29‑33 records the event of Yahshua being baptized by

John the Baptist, in these words. "The next

���� day, John seeth Yahshua coming unto him and saith, Behold the

Lamb of Yahweh, which taketh away

���� the sins of the world. This is He of whom I said, After me cometh

a man which is preferred before me,

���� for He was before me. And John bare record saying, I saw the

Spirit descending from heaven like a

���� dove, and it abode on Him. And I knew Him not." John had

received the vision by which he identified

���� Yahshua as the Lamb of Yahweh. However, he didn't recognize

him as a person, a relative of his for he

���� says, I knew Him not. If John the Baptist had seen his cousin

Yahshua 3 times each year to that time, he

���� certainly would have recognized Him. If Yahshua had been in

Palestine during those 18 years, John

���� surely would have seen Him. Therefore Yahshua must have

been absent during those years.

���� This is not the only evidence� of Yahshua's absence, for He was

required to pay the stranger's tax. In the

���� original Greek, Matthew 17:24‑27 reads, "And they having

arrived at Capernaum, the collectors of the

���� didrachmas came to Peter and said, Does not your teacher pay

the didrachma? He saith yes. And when

���� they had come into the house, Yahshua anticipated him saying,

Which to thee seems right Simon? The

���� kings of the earth: from whom do they take custom or head tax?

From their sons or from the aliens? To

���� him said Peter, From the aliens. Yahshua said to him, Then the

sons are exempt. But that we may not

���� offend them, going to the sea cast thou a hook, and the first fish

ascending take up; and opening the

���� mouth of him, thou wilt find a stater; taking that, give it to them

for Me and thee."

���� Here is clear proof that Yahshua was regarded as a stranger in

the land. Remember, this took place at

���� Capernaum, in His home district of Galilee. Note that the tax,

which He was called upon to pay, the

� ���didrachma, was a head tax levied by the Romans on all

strangers. This tax of a didrachma, a Greek silver

���� coin, was not the Jewish temple tax of a half shekel, paid by all

who were of the Jewish religion. Merely

���� to ask if He paid the temple tax would have been an insult as

doubting His citizenship. If this tax had been

���� the temple tax, this was not levied on any alien, only on the

Judeans. If this were the case Yahshua could

���� not have said that this tax was levied on the aliens and the sons

are exempt. Therefore it was clearly the

���� Roman didrachma head tax, levied only on strangers. Also

notice how Yahshua said to pay it. A fish

���� would be caught, having in its mouth a stater, which was another

Greek coin. The Jewish temple tax

�� ��could only be paid with a Jewish half‑shekel coin, not a coin

issued by pagans.

���� Yahshua spoke of the kings of the earth collecting the tax. The

priests, not by a king, collected the temple

���� tax. So we see that Yahshua had been gone so long that, in His

own home district of Galilee, He was not

���� recognized as a local resident. He was asked to pay the

stranger's tax, the didrachma.

���� If Yahshua was absent from Palestine for many years, between

the age of 12 and 30, where was He

���� during this time? The various enemies of Christianity have

originated many legends about this. Some of

���� the various forms of devil worship of Asia claim that He spent

these years in their lamaseries in Tibet and

���� in the ancient oasis in the Gobi desert, learning their teachings.

Of one thing we can be sure, He who was

���� Yahweh in the flesh did not waste His time studying devil

worship among the pagans! He didn't borrow

���� any of His teachings from them!

���� Where did He spend these years? Before we can go into this, we

must lay a foundation for it. We must

���� learn some facts, as background, which will show how likely our

explanation is the true one.

���� A fairly prominent character in the New Testament is Joseph of

Arimathea. Arimathea was 8 miles north

���� of Jerusalem, the first stopping off place of northbound caravans

and an important commercial center in

���� its day. Matthew 27:57 tells us that Joseph of Arimathea was

wealthy, while Mark 15:43 and Luke

���� 23:50‑51 tell us that he was an honorable counselor or member

of the Great Sanhedrin of Jerusalem.

���� All four gospels praise him as a good man and Matthew and

John further tell us that he was one of

���� Yahshua's disciples. However, during Yahshua's life he

remained a secret disciple, for fear of the Jews.

���� The Jews would have persecuted Joseph much more savagely

than just a poor nobody, had they known

���� he was a follower of Yahshua the Christ.

���� This tradition is evidently well founded, for Matthew 27:57‑60

records that Joseph of Arimathea went to

���� Pontius Pilate, asked for the body of Yahshua and was given it.

He then buried Yahshua in his own tomb.

���� This seems like a highly dangerous thing to have done. This

showed reverence for the remains of one

� ���who was so bitterly hated by the Jews and who had been

condemned to be killed as a criminal.

���� There were two cemeteries outside Jerusalem reserved for the

bodies of condemned criminals. Here was

���� a man who, during Yahshua's lifetime, had not dared to openly

admit that he was Yahshua's disciple. He

���� now openly shows reverence and affection for the remains of

the One they had killed that very day.

���� Pontius Pilate had consented to the murder of Yahshua, after

officially adjudging Him completely innocent

���� of any crime at all. He had done this astonishingly evil act to

avoid offending the Jews. It was unlikely that

���� he would have authorized an honorable private funeral for

Yahshua, if the leaders of the Jews had not

���� consented to it. Only one explanation of this can be found. Under

both Jewish and Roman law, it was the

���� duty of the nearest relatives to provide burial for anyone,

regardless of how they died. Despite all their

���� hatred, the Jewish authorities could hardly refuse permission to

the uncle to bury his nephew. The

���� Palestinian tradition of this relationship was probably correct.

���� What if Joseph of Arimathea was our Savior's uncle? Palestinian

tradition is that his wealth came from

���� being an importer of tin, from mines that he owned in Cornwall

in the British Isles. Naturally he would

���� have frequently gone with his ships to Cornwall, to inspect his

properties there. What would be more

���� natural than he would take this wonderful nephew of his along. If

this did occur, there must be some

���� record or tradition of it in the place to which they went. Next, let

us look for such evidence,

���� First, a little review of what was then known about the tin trade.

The ancient writers agree that the

���� Phoenicians were the earliest traders who brought tin from the

islands beyond the Straits of Gibraltar.

���� Without tin, it was impossible to make bronze. Copper alone,

without tin to harden and strengthen it, was

���� not good enough, so tin was very valuable. Ships of many other

nations tried to follow the Phoenician

���� galleys, to find where they were able to get tin. The Phoenicians

were such expert sailors; they were

���� usually able to get away from their pursuers.

���� Other records tell of one who could not shake off a Roman ship

which followed him and who finally

���� wrecked his own ship to avoid being traced to the source of the

tin. This record tells how his countrymen

���� reimbursed him for the loss of his ship, being grateful to him for

his having protected the valuable secret at

���� so great a cost.

���� Ezekiel 27:12, written about 595 B.C., mentions the tin trade of

the ancient city of Tyre. "Tarshish was

���� thy merchant, by reason of the multitude of all kinds fiches: with

silver, iron, tin and lead, they traded in

���� thy fairs". This tin trade originating in Britain was very ancient,

going back to at least 1500 B.C. A

���� tremendous amount of bronze (mistranslated brass in the King

James Bible) was used in the construction

���� and equipment of King Solomon's temple. The tin mines of

Cornwall probably supplied most of the tin

���� for this bronze. Remember that Ezekiel mentioned tin and lead.

Both of these metals as well as some

���� copper were mined in Britain in those days. An ancient pig of

lead has been found, bearing the stamp of

���� Britannicus, the son of Claudius. This shows that the mining of

lead in Britain was in progress during the

���� time of Yahshua.

���� Despite all Phoenician efforts to keep it secret, the Greeks

discovered the source of tin in Britain in the

���� year 330 B.C. The Phoenician monopoly was broken. So in

Yahshua's lifetime, his uncle Joseph of

���� Arimathea was the owner of tin mines in Cornwall. Did he take

the young Yahshua there?

���� The first tradition that he did so is found in Cornwall. In Baring

Gould's Book of Cornwall he writes,

���� "Another Cornish tradition is to the effect that Joseph of

Arimathea came in a boat to Cornwall and

���� brought the boy Yahshua with him. The latter taught him how to

extract tin and purge it of the wolfram.

���� When the tin is flashed, then the tinner shouts Joseph was in the

trade". We find it again at Priddy, a little

���� village lying at the top of the Mendip Hills, right in the center of

the ancient lead and copper mines.

���� We next find the tradition that Yahshua was brought to Britain, at

Somerset, by his uncle Joseph of

���� Arimathea. The tradition says,"They came in a ship of Tarshish

to the Somerland, and sojourned in a

��� �place called Paradise". The Summerland is Somerset. At the

mouth of the Brue river, which runs down

���� from Glastonbury, lies Burnham and Godney. Old ordinance

survey maps give the name of the area

���� around Burnham, Paradise. It is still known by that name.

Ancient writings have said that Glastonbury

���� was once known as Paradise. About a mile from Glastonbury lies

the village of Godney. Godney means

���� God's marshlands. The Glastonbury traditions are more

concerned with Yahshua's visit during His

���� manhood.

���� Tradition also attests that much of Yahshua's sojourn in Britain

was spent at or near Glastonbury. Later

���� there was built at Glastonbury a great Abbey. For almost a

thousand years the greatest kings, bishops,

���� saints and heroes of the British race were buried there. In its day

it was the greatest abbey in Britain.

���� Royal charters were signed in the church. King Cnut still in

existence, the one signed by King Ina in 704

���� A.D. and one signs two of these there, in 1032 A.D. In 1184 A.D,

the abbey buildings and the famous

���� library of Glastonbury, covering a thousand years of history, was

burned. Therefore, today we only have

���� scattered references to these things in the works of various

historians of the early days. However, there

���� were many of these.

���� Taliesin the Druid, the great Welch prince and Bard of the sixth

century wrote, "Christ, the Word from

���� the beginning, was from the beginning our teacher, and we

never lost His teachings." The great church

���� historian, Hugh Paulinus de Cressy, writing in 1668 A.D. said,

"This, our land of Brittany, though called

���� by the Romans another world, as being divided from the whole

then discovered habitable earth, yet the

���� riches of Divine mercy received the beams of the Son of

Righteousness before many other countries

���� nearer approaching to the place where He first rose."

���� Further support is lent to these ancient reports by what

happened later, after Yahshua's crucifixion. The

���� Jews bitterly persecuted the Christians, as we know. John

12:10‑11 tells how even during Yahshua's

���� lifetime, the Jews plotted to murder Lazarus, because Yahshua

had raised him from the dead.

���� Cardinal Baronius, a very careful church historian who was

librarian to the Vatican, quotes a Vatican

���� manuscript dated 35 A.D. This manuscript reports that in that

year the Jews had arrested Joseph of

���� Arimathea, the Virgin Mary, Martha, and two other Christians.

They were put in a boat and were set

���� adrift in the Mediterranean without oars or sails. They finally

reached land and went to Britain. Many

���� early historians confirm this.

���� St. Gregory of Tours, in his history of the Franks written shortly

before 600 A.D., Haleca, Archbishop of

���� Saragossa and the Chronicon of Pseudo Dexter, all agree that

Joseph of Arimathea was the first to

���� preach the gospel of Christianity in Britain. Hugh Paulinius de

Cressy says, "Now the most eminent of the

���� primitive disciples and who contributed most to this heavenly

building, was St. Joseph of Arimathea and

���� eleven of his companions along with him, among whom is

reckoned his son of the same name. These,

���� toward the latter end of Nero's reign and before St. Peter and St.

Paul were consummated by a glorious

���� martyrdom. By the testimony of ancient records they were said

to have entered this island because of its

���� isolation, the benevolence of the British princes and freedom

from Roman tyranny. This place was more

���� opportune and better prepared for entertaining and learning the

gospel of the kingdom, than almost any

���� country under the Romans."

���� Various historians, of these early times, such as Gildas and

William of Malmesbury, record that the

���� British King Arviragus granted to Joseph of Arimathea a

considerable area at Glastonbury. This was to

���� be held forever, free from all taxes, as a site for a church and its

accessory buildings and fields.

���� That this is no mere legend is proven by one of the greatest

official records of all British history. After

���� conquering England in the year 1066 A.D., William the Conqueror

had a survey made of all the lands of

���� the kingdom, as to what taxes had been paid. This record called

Domesday Booke was completed in

���� 1088 A.D. and it contains this record. "The Domus Dei, in the

great monastery of Glastonbury, called the

���� secret of Yahweh. This Glastonbury church possesses in its own

villa XII hides of land which have never

���� paid tax." Note that this official record names this early church

Domus Dei, the home of God, and the

���� secret of Yahweh.

���� Joseph of Arimathea and his companions erected a mud and

wattle church at Glastonbury. Among their

���� first converts were members of the royal family, children of

Aractious, cousin of King Arviragus of South

���� Wales. Still existing royal charters granted by King Ina, dated 704

A.D., and by King Cnut dated 1032

���� A.D., attest that these kings in this church signed them.

���� Ancient records tell of its being preserved by a shell built around

it of boards covered with lead. Later a

���� stone building was erected, enclosing the original church. St.

David erected a large stone church as an

���� addition to this in 546 A.D. A record he made of this on a bronze

tablet was still in place at the time of

���� the seizure and dissolution of the monastery under orders from

King Henry VIII.

���� Even in Ireland is found the tradition of Joseph of Arimathea

having founded the Glastonbury church. St.

���� Patrick, who had spent considerable time at Glastonbury and

who returned there for the last years of his

���� life, no doubt brought the record to Ireland.

���� This great abbey was the one destroyed by fire in 1184 A.D.

Immediately thereafter, King Henry II of

���� England issued a royal charter for the rebuilding of Glastonbury

Abbey. The charter called the abbey,

���� "The mother and burying place of the saints, founded by the

very disciples of our Lord".

���� Well‑substantiated ancient records tell of the death and burial of

Joseph of Arimathea at Glastonbury.

���� The epitaph on his tombstone read, "I came to the Britons after I

buried the Christ. I taught, I rest."

���� Between 1345 A.D. and 1367 A.D., the body was placed in a

silver casket with a beautiful stone

���� sarcophagus, which was still in position in the year 1662 A.D.,

when the St. Joseph chapel containing it

���� had become partially ruined.

���� Later, out of fear that Puritan fanaticism would result in it being

destroyed as an object of idolatry, the

���� sarcophagus was secretly removed by night to the parish

churchyard. Saying that the initials J.A. carved

���� on it stood for John Allen concealed its identity. Thus it escaped

destruction.

���� In 1928, it was found nearly buried in the soil. It was removed

into the church, in the north transept of the

���� ancient St. Katherine's Chapel. Its construction indicates it was

made to fit the silver casket. It bears the

���� initials J.A., with a dacuceus between the initials. The caduceus,

a winged staff with two serpents twined

���� around it, is used today as the emblem of physicians. Originally

it was the badge of Mercury, the

���� messenger of the Gods. Even today it has been assimilated into

the symbolism of some Christian

���� churches. In our own times, the patriarchs of the eastern

churches have a caduceus, not a crozier, carried

���� before them in official processions. It was an official badge,

which would not have been put on a mere

���� common person's grave.

���� Therefore we see that not only ancient legends and ancient

historical records, but the official acts and

���� records of the kings of the middle ages, have recognized the

close connection of Joseph of Arimathea,

���� the uncle of Yahshua the Christ, with Cornwall and Glastonbury

in Britain. All of these lend strong

���� support to the ancient legends and records of these places that

it was here that Yahshua spent those 18

���� years of His life, which the Bible does not account for. Where

else would we expect Him to go, but to

���� what was to become the principal home of His own people

Israel.