The search for the real historical person known as John the Baptist and the traditions that began with him • Explores why John the Baptist is so crucially important to the Freemasons, who were originally known as “St. John’s Men” • Reveals how John and Jesus were equal partners and shared a common spiritual vision to rebuild Israel and overcome corruption in the Temple of Jerusalem • Explains the connections between John as lord of the summer solstice, his mysterious severed head, fertility rites, and ancient Jewish harvest festivals Few Freemasons today understand why the most significant date in the Masonic calendar is June 24th--the Feast of the Birth of St. John the Baptist and the traditional date for appointing Grand Masters. Nor do many of them know that Masons used to be known as “St. John’s Men” or that John the Baptist was fundamental to the original Masonic philosophy of personal transformation. Starting with the mystery of John in Freemasonry, Tobias Churton searches out the historical Baptist through the gospels and ancient histories, unearthing the real story behind the figure lauded by Jesus’s words “no greater man was ever born of woman.” He investigates John’s links with the Essenes and the Gnostics, links that flourish to this day. Exposing how the apostle Paul challenged John’s following, twisting his message and creating the image of John as “merely” a herald of Jesus, the author shows how Paul may have been behind the executions of both John and Jesus and reveals a precise date for the crucifixion and the astonishing meaning of the phrase “the third day.” He examines the significance of John’s severed head to holy knights, such as the Knights Templar, and of Leonardo’s famous painting of John. Churton also explains connections between John, the summer solstice, fertility rites, and ancient Jewish harvest festivals. Revealing John as a courageous, revolutionary figure as vital to the origins of Christianity as his cousin Jesus himself, Churton shows how John and Jesus, as equal partners, launched a covert spiritual operation to overcome corruption in the Temple of Jerusalem, re-initiate Israel, and resurrect Creation.

An examination of the early, mysterious Essene community at Qumran that links it with John the Baptist, Jesus, and the beginnings of Christianity • Offers an eyewitness account of the final burial place of John the Baptist • Makes the case that Christianity grew out of a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten • Includes physical and photographic evidence never before published In his earlier book The Mystery of the Copper Scroll of Qumran, Robert Feather analyzed the Dead Sea Scroll engraved on copper that is considered the work of the secretive, devout Jewish sect known as the Essenes, who lived at Qumran around the time of Jesus. To continue his research into the Essene community's way of life and how its beliefs may have influenced the beginnings of Christianity, he met with Father Jozef Milik, one of the scholars who worked on deciphering the Dead Sea Scrolls in the 1950s. Feather learned that during Milik's work somewhere near the Qumran ruins, he had excavated a headless corpse that he believed to be that of John the Baptist. Feather presents persuasive, powerful evidence illustrating the strong link between the Qumran Essenes and New Testament teachings and showing that both John the Baptist and Jesus were intimately involved with this community at Qumran. He further supports the claim that early Christians continued a belief system centered on a form of monotheism first formulated by the Egyptian pharaoh Akhenaten and uniquely espoused by the Essenes at Qumran.

For the first time in nearly 50 years, a casual yet informative method to learn about John the Baptist… "Why did each of the four evangelists make John the gateway to the Gospel, the first preacher of Good News? What were the reasons for the early Church's intense interest in a desert hermit whose public ministry lasted two years or less? Why in early Christian tradition was John the Baptist accorded an exalted religious stature, almost equal to that of Mary? The irony is that most modern scholarship on John has missed the true sources of his religious significance…in his links to Christ and to the very earliest beginnings of the Christian religion."—from the Introduction Alexander Burke pieces together the mystery of this well-known disciple of Jesus one chapter at a time, covering John's preaching, arrest and execution, his role in Eastern and Western Christian Tradition, and the many paradoxes surrounding him. An excellent resource for group or individual study, John the Baptist offers questions for reflection at the end of each chapter. Discover a fresh perspective of John the Baptist. Let him rise to the top of the beadroll of Christian heroes where Jesus believed he belonged. Step back and see the beautiful mosaic of mysteries that made up this fascinating saint's life.

New York Times Best Seller! 1500 5-Star Reviews! From the author that brought you NEW YORK TIMES best selling books The Harbinger, The Mystery of the Shemitah, and The Paradigm selling over 3 MILLION copies Imagine if you discovered a treasure chest in which were hidden ancient mysteries, revelations from heaven, secrets of the ages, the answers to man’s most enduring, age-old questions, and the hidden keys that can transform your life to joy, success, and blessing…This is The Book of Mysteries.

Thus spoke Rudolf Steiner in his "Last Address" to members of the Anthroposophical Society. This was his first and only indication of the connection between John the Baptist and John the Evangelist. As Prokofieff points out, Steiner intended to develop and bring to full clarity the short comment reproduced above, but his terminal illness prevented him from doing so. In this brief, enlightening book, Prokofieff addresses the mystery of the "two Johns." solving many unanswered questions. In particular, he throws light on issues of "incarnation and incorporation," the nature of John the Baptist's and John the Evangelist's respective initiations, the significance of their mutual work at the "Turning Point of Time," and its relevance to our present day.

Was John the Baptist the greatest man who ever lived and if so what does that mean for us today? John the Baptist was a relative and friend of Jesus' but also described by him as among the greatest people who have ever lived. This book examines the life and teaching of John, his interactions with Jesus and the influence he had on the early church.

The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.