Christ (the Beloved)
Christ, called the Beloved in the Ascension of Isaiah, is the figure toward whom the later books in this archive point. In Isaiah's vision the Beloved descends through the seven heavens, is born of the virgin Mary at Bethlehem, is crucified, descends to the angel of Sheol, rises on the third day and ascends again to the seventh heaven.
The Cave of Treasures places His birth at Bethlehem in the forty-second year of Augustus, with the Magi following a star that had appeared two years earlier. Joseph circumcises Him on the eighth day, the family flees to Egypt, and at thirty He is baptized by John. He is crucified on Golgotha, the centre of the earth, directly above the grave of Adam, so that the blood and water from His side run down into Adam's mouth and become his baptism. The book ends with the harrowing of Sheol and the resurrection.
The Kebra Nagast gathers the prophecies it reads as foretelling Him and treats Zion, the Tabernacle of the Law, as a figure of Mary. The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs speak of 'the Lamb of God' and 'the Saviour of the world' who will arise from Levi and Judah.
Biography
- Mother
- Mary
- Era
- Roman Judea
Family
Key Chapters
Key Passages
Christ in Testaments 6
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 6:6
Therefore I command you to hearken to Levi, because he shall know the law of the Lord, and shall give ordinances for jud...
6herefore I command you to hearken to Levi, because he shall know the law of the Lord, and shall give ordinances for judgment and sacrifice for all Israel until the completion of the times of Christ, the High Priest whom the Lord hath declared.
Read full chapter: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 6 →
Christ in Testaments 26
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 26:2
I am clear from all your ungodliness and transgression which ye will do in the end of the ages against the Saviour of th...
2 am clear from all your ungodliness and transgression which ye will do in the end of the ages against the Saviour of the world, acting ungodly, deceiving Israel, and raising up against it great evils from the Lord.
Read full chapter: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 26 →
Christ in Testaments 30
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 30:2
For our father Israel shall be pure from the ungodliness of the chief priests who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour...
2or our father Israel shall be pure from the ungodliness of the chief priests who shall lay their hands upon the Saviour of the world.
Read full chapter: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 30 →
Christ in Testaments 129
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 129:6
Do ye therefore, my children, observe the commandments of the Lord, and honour Judah and Levi; for from them shall arise...
6o ye therefore, my children, observe the commandments of the Lord, and honour Judah and Levi; for from them shall arise unto you the Lamb of God, by grace saving all the Gentiles and Israel.
Read full chapter: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 129 →
Christ in Testaments 133
The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 133:8
And he embraced him, and kissed him for two hours, saying, In thee shall be fulfilled the prophecy of heaven concerning ...
8nd he embraced him, and kissed him for two hours, saying, In thee shall be fulfilled the prophecy of heaven concerning the Lamb of God, even the Saviour of the world, that spotless shall He be delivered up for transgressors, and sinless shall He be put to death for ungodly men in the blood of the covenant, for the salvation of the Gentiles and of Israel, and shall destroy Beliar, and them that serve him.
Read full chapter: The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs 133 →
Christ in Ascension of Isaiah 3
The Ascension of Isaiah 3:13
For Beliar was in great wrath against Isaiah by reason of the vision, and because of the exposure wherewith he had expos...
13or Beliar was in great wrath against Isaiah by reason of the vision, and because of the exposure wherewith he had exposed Sammael, and because through him the going forth of the Beloved from the seventh heaven had been made known, and His transformation and His descent and the likeness into which He should be transformed (that is) the likeness of man, and the persecution wherewith He should be persecuted, and the tortures wherewith the children of Israel should torture Him, and the coming of His twelve disciples, and the teaching, and that He should before the Sabbath be crucified upon the tree, and should be crucified together with wicked men, and that He should be buried in the sepulchre,
Christ in Ascension of Isaiah 4
The Ascension of Isaiah 4:3
Will persecute the plant which the Twelve Apostles of the Beloved have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into...
3ill persecute the plant which the Twelve Apostles of the Beloved have planted. Of the Twelve one will be delivered into his hands.
Christ in Ascension of Isaiah 9
The Ascension of Isaiah 9:5
And He who permitted thee, this is thy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called “Jesus” in the world, but His name ...
5nd He who permitted thee, this is thy Lord God, the Lord Christ, who will be called “Jesus” in the world, but His name thou canst not hear till thou hast ascended out of thy body.’
Christ in Ascension of Isaiah 10
The Ascension of Isaiah 10:7
And I heard the voice of the Most High the Father of my Lord saying to my Lord Christ who will be called Jesus:...
7nd I heard the voice of the Most High the Father of my Lord saying to my Lord Christ who will be called Jesus:
Christ in Ascension of Isaiah 11
The Ascension of Isaiah 11:1
After this I saw, and the angel who spoke with me, who conducted me, said unto me: ‘Understand, Isaiah son of Amoz; for ...
1fter this I saw, and the angel who spoke with me, who conducted me, said unto me: ‘Understand, Isaiah son of Amoz; for for this purpose have I been sent from God.’
Christ in Cave of Treasures 68
The Cave of Treasures 68:1
Observe now, O thou lover of learning, our brother Nemesius, in the forty-second year of the kingdom of Augustus, Christ...
1bserve now, O thou lover of learning, our brother Nemesius, in the forty-second year of the kingdom of Augustus, Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judah, as it is written in the Holy Gospel. Now, it was two years before Christ was born that the star appeared to the Magi. They saw the star in the firmament of heaven, and the brilliancy of its appearance was brighter than that of every other star.
Christ in Cave of Treasures 71
The Cave of Treasures 71:1
Now Christ was eight days old when the Magi presented their offerings; and Mary received them at the very time when Jose...
1ow Christ was eight days old when the Magi presented their offerings; and Mary received them at the very time when Joseph circumcised Christ. In truth, Joseph circumcised Him according to the Law, but he only went through (or imitated) the act of cutting, for no [flesh] whatsoever was cut off from Him.
Christ in Cave of Treasures 76
The Cave of Treasures 76:1
And when Herod died, and his death had been announced to Joseph, he went back to Galilee. And when Christ was thirty yea...
1nd when Herod died, and his death had been announced to Joseph, he went back to Galilee. And when Christ was thirty years old He was baptized by John. Now John was in the desert all the days of his life, and he lived upon the root which is called “Kamts,”’ which is wild honey. And in the twelfth year of the kingdom of Tiberius Christ suffered.
Christ in Cave of Treasures 78
The Cave of Treasures 78:1
And know thou also that Christ dwelt in Mary, and suffered in Nazareth, and was born in Bethlehem, and was laid in a man...
1nd know thou also that Christ dwelt in Mary, and suffered in Nazareth, and was born in Bethlehem, and was laid in a manger, and was carried by Simeon in the Temple of Solomon, and was reared in Galilee, and was anointed by Mary Magdalene, and ate the Passover in the house of Nicodemus, the brother of Joseph of Rametha, and was bound in the house of Hannan, and was struck with a reed in the house of Caiaphas, and embraced the pillar and was scourged with a whip in the Pratorium of Pilate, and on Friday, on the first day of Nisán (April), on the fourteenth day of the moon, our Redeemer suffered.
Christ in Cave of Treasures 81
The Cave of Treasures 81:1
And when the end of all the Law and the Prophets had come, and Christ was hanging on the Cross, Joseph, the brother of N...
1nd when the end of all the Law and the Prophets had come, and Christ was hanging on the Cross, Joseph, the brother of Nicodemus and Cleophas, went in to Pilate—now he was the bearer of the seal-ring of Pilate, and was a councillor, and had free intercourse with him— and asked for the body of our Redeemer; and Pilate commanded that it should be given to him.
Christ in Cave of Treasures 85
The Cave of Treasures 85:1
And having risen from the grave on the third day, Christ appeared to Kipa (Peter) and John. And whilst Christ was in the...
1nd having risen from the grave on the third day, Christ appeared to Kipa (Peter) and John. And whilst Christ was in the grave, and the watchmen were sitting round about it, Simon Peter conceived the design of giving the watchmen wine to drink so that they might become drunk and fall asleep, when he intended to rise up and open the tomb, and take out the body of Christ without breaking the seals on the tomb, so that the Jews might not say, “Assuredly His disciples stole Him away.”
Christ in Kebra Nagast 66
The Kebra Nagast 66:1
Now, according to the interpretation of prophecy, the name Solomon signifieth in the secret speech " Christ." And as Sol...
1ow, according to the interpretation of prophecy, the name Solomon signifieth in the secret speech " Christ." And as Solomon built the house of God, so Christ raised up His Body and made it into the Church. And when He said unto the Jews, " Throw down this house, and in three days I will build it up [again]," He spake to them of the house of His Body.
Christ in Kebra Nagast 68
The Kebra Nagast 68:13
And when the appointed time hath come this Pearl shall be born of thy seed, for it is exceedingly pure, seven times pure...
13nd when the appointed time hath come this Pearl shall be born of thy seed, for it is exceedingly pure, seven times purer than the sun.
Christ in Kebra Nagast 106
The Kebra Nagast 106:3
And again Isaiah prophesied and said, " Behold My servant Whom I have chosen, on Whom is the delight of My soul, and the...
3nd again Isaiah prophesied and said, " Behold My servant Whom I have chosen, on Whom is the delight of My soul, and the nations shall put their confidence in Him." And these words give us to understand that Christ is the Spirit of God, the Word of the Father Who put on our flesh and was born for us: and the peoples of Rome and Ethiopia and all other nations have believed in Him.
Christ in Kebra Nagast 109
The Kebra Nagast 109:1
And the Prophets also prophesied concerning the Crucifixion of Christ. Thus Moses, the servant of God, prophesied and sa...
1nd the Prophets also prophesied concerning the Crucifixion of Christ. Thus Moses, the servant of God, prophesied and said, " Ye shall see your salvation crucified upon the wood, and shall not believe." Thus David prophesied and said, " Many dogs have seized Me; and they drove nails through My hands and My feet; and they counted all My bones; though they knew Me they despised Me; and they divided My garments among themselves; and they cast lots for My apparel." Thus Isaiah prophesied concerning the Incarnation and Crucifixion of Christ, and said, " Who believeth our word, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Christ in Kebra Nagast 110
The Kebra Nagast 110:1
And the prophet David also prophesied concerning His Resurrection and said, " I will arise, saith the Lord, and I will m...
1nd the prophet David also prophesied concerning His Resurrection and said, " I will arise, saith the Lord, and I will make salvation and manifest it openly." And again he saith, " Rise up, O Lord, and judge the earth, for Thou shalt inherit among the nations." And he also prophesied and said, " Rise up, O Lord, help us, and deliver us for Thy Name's sake." And again he said, " Let God arise and let His enemies be scattered, and let His enemies flee from before His face." And he also prophesied and said, " God hath risen up like one who hath woke up from sleep, and like a mighty man who hath left [his] wine." Thus Isaiah the prophet prophesied and said, " He will remove sickness from his soul, for he hath not committed sin, and falsehood hath not been found in his mouth.
Christ in Kebra Nagast 111
The Kebra Nagast 111:2
Thou hast made captive captivity, and hast given grace to the children of men."...
2hou hast made captive captivity, and hast given grace to the children of men."
Did You Know?
The Cave of Treasures dates the birth of Christ at Bethlehem to the forty-second year of the kingdom of Augustus.
When Christ entered Egypt, the book says, all the idols there were swept from their places and broken.
Simeon the Aged, said to be five hundred years old, took Christ in his arms in the Temple forty days after the birth.
Christ was baptized by John at thirty and ate the Passover in the house of Nicodemus.
After rising on the third day he appeared to Peter and John, then to the watchmen, and to the disciples in the Upper Chamber.