.png)
Christian Kabbalah
Talk No.30
Peter Taylor is a Past Master of Lodge Albert No.448 and Discovery No.1789
Not Yet Delivered in the Lodge (2020)
Some time ago I was taking part in a conversation online between two American Freemasons, who appeared to be well versed in such things as the Kabbalah. (More observing than taking part). I used their interaction to try and glean some understanding for myself. One subject that appeared interesting to me was the concept of Christian Kabbalah and what its differences might be from the Jewish Kabbalah. So here is a short bit of my thoughts on the subject for those curious or those who simply have never heard of it. Bear in mind I do not consider myself any big scholar of either as I have only relatively recently (last couple years) began my studies.
The Sophian Tradition particularly of Gnostic Christianity has its foundation in Judaic mysticism, specifically Merkavah Mysticism and the Kabbalah. Essentially, the early "Jesus movement," as scholars have come to call it, was a Jewish spiritual movement. Yeshua (Aramaic for "Jesus") was a Jewish rabbi (teacher), mystic and prophet. Thus it might stand to reason that his inner teachings were composed of the secret knowledge of the Merkavah and the early Kabbalah of his day. Many sacred texts of Gnostic Christianity found at Nag Hammadi and elsewhere, to one schooled in the trends of Jewish mysticism, clearly bear influences of the Kabbalah. Thus, Christian Kabbalah is not new, but is an ancient tradition, as is Christianity itself.
The history of the Christian Kabbalah, like all forms of Gnosticism, is obscure, probably because of the dominion exercised by the Roman Church in the West and the grave oppression and persecutions it enacted for over a thousand years. We see the first glimpses of the Christian Kabbalah surfacing during the Rosicrucian Enlightenment period of the 17th Century. Thus, just in terms of visibility, we can speak of 400 years or more during which the existence of a Christian Kabbalah has been known. Yet, if one studies and practices the Christian Kabbalah of the Sophian Tradition, and investigates certain Gnostic Scriptures, it becomes clear that is roots are even far more ancient.
Jewish Kabbalah and Christian Kabbalah are, indeed, very distinct currents of Kabbalah or Received Tradition. Quite obviously, the greatest difference is the acceptance of Yeshua Messiah, the new covenant, and the interpretation of the Kabbalah that naturally follows the acceptance of the Christ revelation. Likewise, the Christian Kabbalah as taught in Sophian Gnosticism does not impose limitations on the study and practice of the Kabbalah based on gender, age or marital status, just as it does not follow the ways of the old covenant or live in bondage to the law. In other words, it is based upon a hugely different vision and upon a higher grade (in my opinion) of Mochin Gadlut (Enlightenment); hence the Mochin of supernal or Messianic consciousness.
The Christian Kabbalah has evolved for hundreds, and likely thousands of years in secret, as an expression and vehicle of the self-realization experience of generations of adepts and masters. It is an enormously powerful vehicle of the Gnostic Light-transmission. As it is studied and practiced in the Sophian Tradition, it is strongly based upon the study of Jewish source-works, as much as upon Christian and Gnostic Scripture.
Therefore, the study of the Sefer Yetzirah, Bahir, Zohar, and the works of various Jewish masters of the Kabbalah, is common among Sophians. Often the study may also include Jewish Midrashim, Mishna, Talmud and Torah commentaries. Thus, initiates in the Sophian Tradition tend to be well educated in a wide spectrum of Kabbalistic study and practice - though the teachings of the tradition are distinctly Gnositic and Christian.
According to the tradition, when one sees a great darkness the proper response is not to focus on the darkness, but to invoke the Divine Power and Light to bring about a balance. It is in this sense that it is very important that the mystical and esoteric teachings of the various world wisdom traditions are made accessible to as many people as possible in these times - a trend we see occurring with many different wisdom traditions today. As an extension of Light in a time it seems clearly called for, in terms of Western Traditions, Kabbalah may well be among the most potent and useful vehicles of enlightenment and liberation.
In the Hewbrew alphabet, every Hebrew letter not only represents a sound (or set of sounds), but they are also associated with numbers, heavenly astrological influence, parts of the human body, and finally things in nature that describe their nature. So, for example, the Hebrew letter Beth (or B in English), is named after, and is associated with a house - which is also named "beth" in Hebrew. So, for example, the letter B in Hebrew would take on symbolic associations that you normally associate with a house, which include stability, shelter, a living place, a storage area, etc. This is how, for example, "Bethlehem" means "house of bread", as "beth" is house, and "lehem" is bread.
Attached is a list of Hebrew letters and their associations from my book on the subject (which is primarily derived from the Kabbalistic text of the Sephir Yetzirah).
Now, if we focus on the 22nd and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet, we will see that it is the Hebrew letter Tav, and the derivation of the letter Tav is the sign of the cross- which was traditionally the later symbol associated with the crucifixion of Jesus.
(As an Aside, according to Christian tradition, Jesus was crucified on Golgotha - which is a word meaning "skull". The human skull has traditionally been represented with 22 bones in it, just like the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet.)
As mentioned, the 22nd letter is Tav, which is derived from a cross. Further, the Hebrew letter Tav is composed of three of the Hebrew letter Vau, (the 6th letter) - which is derived from a nail. So, at the end of the Hebrew alphabet is a cross and three nails, just like at the end of Jesus' mission can be found the cross and three nails. Christian Kabbalists immediately recognized this as Kabbalistic symbolism alluding to greater truths in secret symbolic language, and not necessarily a passage from the Bible to be taken literally. In fact, most historians tend to agree that the way described in the Bible for Jesus' crucifixion was not the normal Roman practice. Taken from a symbolic Kabbalistic standpoint however, it takes on great meaning. This is further reinforced by the fact that Jesus' name in Hebrew is spelled the same as the named of G-D, as YHVH, only it has the Hebrew letter shin in the middle of it - which symbolized fire, and which took on other symbolic meaning.
Going back to the cross and three nails, it will also be observed that the Hebrew letter Vau, represented by a nail, is also represented by the number 6. Therefore, Kabbalistically, Jesus was crucified on the cross with 666 - which took on further symbolic value (and which didn't really have anything to do with a devil like some modern churches who perhaps don't understand symbolic number theory in the Bible suggest).
In any event, this is just one example of many in the New Testament that, when read from a symbolic Kabbalistic standpoint, takes on new meanings and associations. Therefore, the Christian Kabbalists read the Bible as a book full of symbolic codes designed to impart light and consciousness breakthrough to those who where initiated into its secret language. Therefore, they spent much time not only trying to understand the Greek Kabbalistic language in the New Testament, and the Hebrew Kabbalistic language in the Old Testament- but they also converted the Greek New Testament to Hebrew associations.
Another example of this is like how "Lazarus" in Greek has a number value of 144 (which is a symbolic number you will find all over the Bible), and so its Greek name has symbolic association. However, in Hebrew the name "Lazarus" is "Elasur"- which when turned around can be "Asurel"- which is the name of the angel of death.
To give another example from Freemasonry, you will often see on some Knight Templar jewels the symbol of a serpent crucified on a cross. You will find the same symbol in the works of early Gnostics, and some see it alluded to when Moses erected a serpent on a cross in the wilderness to help heal his people of snake bites. In Hebrew gematria, or the science of replacing Hebrew letters with their numeric values, the word for "Serpent" or "Nahash" has a value of 358. The word for "Messiah" in Hebrew also has a numeric value of 358. Therefore "serpent" and "messiah" were related in gemtaria - which puts a totally different spin on the Garden of Eden story, and it further more maybe explains why the Gnostics and later the Masonic Knights Templar would use the symbol of a serpent crucified on a Christian cross.
Peter Taylor 2020.