BRT:3:47 Having departed from the temple, Jesus said, "Do not the guests assemble in the antechamber before entering the feasthall? There, the hands and feet are washed, the head anointed, and small foods to whet the appetite are eaten. Even so is the Earth the antechamber of the Kingdom of
Heaven."
BRT:3:48 "Live your lives in the world as men who journey through a strange land, marvelling at its wonders, tasting its pleasures, but ever on guard against dangers, for undue love of the world is a doorway to evil. There
are those who derive pleasure in being what they are not, but as their hair turns grey, they suffer sorrow and frustration. Be ever true to yourselves and
to your natures."
BRT:3:49 It came to pass, at this time, that many said that Jesus was the
Messiah, but this was a manifest falsehood. Jesus, the son of Joseph and Mary, was an inspired prophet, a teacher who held the hand of God and there had been others before Him. His mother was a decent woman; both ate food as humans do. Mary did not set herself up as a goddess, neither did she
preach.
BRT:3:50 It is of no moment to those who are not Jews whether Jesus was the heralded Messiah or not, so believe as you will, but were He born of a Holy Ghost and not of Joseph, then He did not fulfil the prophesy. Men step outside the bounds of truth in their beliefs, but this, too, is of little moment unless they impose their beliefs on others.
BRT:3:51 Jesus was not a sorrowful man, for greatness cannot be downcast. Always, he brought strength to the disheartened and was not influenced by the despondency of others. When Peter was dismayed and shut
his sorrow within, Jesus said, "If My friend will not admit Me into the antechamber of his sorrows, how can I ever sit in the reception room of his
affections?"
BRT:3:52 Jesus set His face against all forms of melancholy. He said, "The man who cannot rise above the burden of his sorrows or the trials of the day shall not know the Kingdom of Heaven; nor can he know the love, which
is the cornerstone of life."
BRT:3:53 There was a Greek scholar in the crowd, who said to Jesus, "Your never-rusting tongue wearies me; words neither make men nor change things. It is the sword and spear which are all powerful and raise kings or cast them down." Jesus replied, "Truly, the words of scribes are greater than the commands of war chiefs. That, which is written and read can not only change things but also endure forever. The sword gains prestige through destruction, but the pen of the scribe gains prestige through creating. That, which destroys will be destroyed; that, which creates shall be preserved. BRT:3:54 A Roman soldier who hailed from Gaul spoke up, saying, "Let scribes do what scribes do best and swordsmen do what they do best, but it is foolishness and futile to set one against the other, for men cannot write with swords, or fight with quills or writing reeds. Let men become brothers, as they await the day of the Awakener. Tell me, good Master, when shall the
end be?
BRT:3:55 Jesus answered. "There will be an end to the beginning, and men will know this by the spirit of the times. Men will no longer be as brothers; nor will they be manly. Women will be as men and men as women.
Adultery will not be condemned, nor will fornication; therefore, these will
flourish. Men will not honour their homelands, and there will be no discrimination among them, nor will they maintain the purity of their races. Fathers will not be honoured, nor mothers respected, and children will be raised to be wayward. Perversions will be encouraged, and criminals will mock the law. There will be incest and rape and it will be unsafe to walk abroad. Floods, famines, droughts and earthquakes will cause death and destruction: Strange sicknesses will smite the people, and there will be a denial of God. Babes will be slain in the womb." BRT:3:56 "Men will lust after the wives of other men, and marriage shall lose its meaning. Women will go to the marriage table unchaste and with deceit in their hearts. Their husbands, creatures of pity, will hear the mocking voices of laughing men. Priests will defile their altars with their impurity, and the rulers will be held in little repute. It is not God who marks the end days, but men who lives as though setting a pitfall for himself." BRT:3:57 Jesus saw a man ill-treating a horse, and He rebuked him for his cruelty to a dumb animal. The man became angry and said, "This is my beast." Jesus said, "You are wrong, it is God's creature, and I, as His servant, am here to protect it. For no man can wholly own any living creature except it be in the name of The Great God of Life." BRT:3:58 This has been copied and edited as found. It appears to have been preceded by a document entitled, 'The Sayings of Jesus.' For some reason, it has been cut up into pieces, each containing just a few paragraphs. Included were other scraps from some much later source, which, for various reasons, are suspect. The latter part of this manuscript is probably a late if not modern addition, but it may have been re-written from some older material. This has not been altered and is included under the authorisation given to the
compilers.
Chapter Four - The Writings of Aristolas
BRT:4:1 This is an account of the coming of certain Wise Strangers to the sea-girt realm of Britain. Taken from the Books of Britain and re-written into the appendices to the Bronzebook. This being that part safeguarded by
Rowland Gasson.
BRT:4:2 After our Lord died, having been hung on the cross outside the city walls of Jerusalem, Joseph of Abramatha took Mary, the mother of Jesus
into his home until John could make suitable arrangements. Then, he was called Guardian of the Lady, which title became confused in Britain with that of Guardian of the Sacred Vessel. BRT:4:3 Aristolas wrote these things in the Sacred island, and this is his prayer: "In silence, hands uplifted, heart humbled and mind stilled, Your servant presumes to come into Your Presence, Great Understanding One. Grant me the abounding joy of union with Your Spirit. Grant that all my deeds be in harmony with the Great Law and that I learn to acquire wisdom,
so I may illuminate the hearts of men." BRT:4:4 "Let me embrace Your Spirit in full knowledge of my twofold nature. Guide my feet towards the Great Law, by which all true seekers find the light. As long as my body and spirit remain together, so long will I preach to men, seeking always to awaken a response in their hearts. Bless me with sweetness of speech and harmony of voice. Help keep me from the grip of greed and from the loud-mouthed futilities and frivolities of illiterate men.
Spare me the sad companionship of the sanctimonious ones."
BRT:4:5 "God of my heart, Sun of my life, Keeper of my circle of content, fill this place with the divine emanations from Your Being. Attune with the Circle of Truth and the Circle of Light. Make me receptive to the
lessons and inspirations of life." BRT:4:6 Joseph, our father in faith, came across the storm-tossed seas to the place called Balgweith, and from thence to Taishan, where he met the envoy of the king who was sorely troubled. For the Chief of All Druthin, called Trowtis, was away at the meeting place of his god, where he came in a wondrous way every nineteen years. There, the ceremony lasted three moons.
BRT:4:7 When Trowtis returned, he met Joseph at the place now called Henmehew, because of the strange tree that grows there. The Druthin held a feast of welcome in the place called Nematon, which is below the great hill. The Chief of All Druthin washed his face, his hands and his feet, then a white goat was led out and sacrificed on a four-horned altar. Trowtis washed his hands again and made an offering of salted barley cakes and gave some to Joseph, called Ilyid by the people here.
BRT:4:8 Then, the goat's thighs were burnt on the altar while a lesser priest mixed the sacrificial blood with water and black wine. Then barley