arthra

THE PROPHECY OF ZARDUŠT


Translated from Theodore bar Konai, Liber Scholiorum (CSCO scrip. syri, ser. II, t. 66;

ed. A. Scher; Paris: Carolus Poussielgue, 1912) 74-75.


For discussion and commentary, see J.C. Reeves, Heralds of That Good Realm: Syro-Mesopotamian Gnosis and Jewish Traditions (NHMS 41; Leiden: Brill, 1996) 126-29; idem, "Reconsidering the 'Prophecy of Zardusht'," A Multiform Heritage: Studies on Early Judaism and Christianity in Honor of Robert A. Kraft (ed. B.G. Wright; Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1999) 167-82.




The Prophecy of Zardušt regarding Christ:

When Zardušt was sitting by the spring of waters named Gloša of Horin, the place where the ancient royal bath stood, he opened his mouth and spoke to his disciples Guštasp, Sasan, and Mahman, (saying) ‘I tell you, my beloved ones and sons whom I have educated in my teachings. Hearken, (for) I shall reveal to you a marvelous secret concerning the great king who is going to come in the world. In the fullness of time and at the end of the final age an infant will be conceived and its members shaped within the womb of a virgin, without a man approaching her. He will be like a tree with lovely foliage and copious fruit that stands in a parched place. The inhabitants of that place will obstruct his growth, and struggle to uproot him from the ground, but they will not succeed. Then they shall seize him and put him to death upon a tree, and heaven and earth will sit in mourning due to his murder, and the generations of the peoples will mourn him. He will begin (by) descending to the abyss of the earth, and from the abyss he will be exalted to the height. Then he will reappear when he comes with an army of light, riding upon bright clouds, for he is the child conceived by the word which established the natural order.’

Guštasp said to Zardušt: ‘This one of whom you speak all these things—from where does his power come? Is he greater than you, or are you greater than he?’

Zardušt replied to him: ‘He shall arise from my lineage and family. I am he, and he is me; he is in me, and I in him. When the advent of his coming is made manifest, great signs will appear in heaven, and a bright star will appear in the midst of heaven, whose light will surpass the light of the sun. Now, my sons, you (who) are the seed of life which came forth from the treasuries [of life and] of light and of spirit, and (who) were sown in a place of fire and water, it is necessary for you to watch and guard these things which I have told you so that you can look for his appointed time. For you will be the first to perceive the arrival of that great king, the one whom the prisoners await so that they can be released. And now, my sons, preserve the secret which I have revealed to you, and let it be inscribed upon your hearts, and may it be preserved in the treasuries of your souls. When that star which I told you about rises, you shall dispatch messengers bearing gifts, and they shall offer worship to him and present the gifts to him. Do not be neglectful, so that you not perish by the sword, for he is the king of kings, and all (kings) receive their crowns from him. I and he are one.’

These (things) were uttered by that second Balaam. As is customary, (either) God forced him to expound them; or he derived from a people who were conversant with the symbolic prophecies about Christ, (and) he predicted them.

The Prophecy of Zardusht regarding Christ:

Compare this saying:

"I am he, and he is me; he is in me, and I in him."

with

As to the matter of names, Muhammad, Himself, declared: "I am Jesus." He recognized the truth of the signs, prophecies, and words of Jesus, and testified that they were all of God.

~ Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 20

These sanctified Mirrors, these Day-springs of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose. From Him proceed their knowledge and power; from Him is derived their sovereignty. The beauty of their countenance is but a reflection of His image, and their revelation a sign of His deathless glory. They are the Treasuries of divine knowledge, and the Repositories of celestial wisdom. Through them is transmitted a grace that is infinite, and by them is revealed the light that can never fade.

Even as He hath said: "There is no distinction whatsoever between Thee and them; except that they are Thy servants, and are created of Thee." This is the significance of the tradition: "I am He, Himself, and He is I, myself."

~ Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 99

Thus hath Muhammad, the Point of the Qur'án, revealed: "I am all the Prophets." Likewise, He saith: "I am the first Adam, Noah, Moses, and Jesus." Similar statements have been made by Ali.
Sayings such as this, which indicate the essential unity of those Exponents of Oneness, have also emanated from the Channels of God's immortal utterance, and the Treasuries of the gems of divine knowledge, and have been recorded in the scriptures.

~ Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Iqan, p. 152

InvestigateTruth

Thanks for sharing this Arthra....very interesting.

Yeshua

Dear Arthra,

Thank you very much for this! I am really enjoying your posts on Zoroastrianism of late.

Remember though that this prophecy of Zoroaster comes fom Theodore Bar Konai, a distinguished exegete and apologist of the Church of the East, who lived and flourished at the end of the eighth century. He must have got this story however from an earlier source.

The Early Christians were aware that the Magi who followed the star at Christ's birth were Zoroastrian priests and had done so in fulfilment of a religious prophecy of the Prophet Zoroaster:


"...And it came to pass, when the Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem of Judea, in the time of King Herod, behold, Magi came from the east to Jerusalem, as Zoroaster had predicted; and there were with them gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And they adored Him, and presented to Him their gifts. Then the Lady Mary took one of the swaddling-bands, and, on account of the smallness of her means, gave it to them; and they received it from her with the greatest marks of honor..."

- Syriac Infancy Gospel of the Saviour


St Clememt of Alexandria tells us that the Magi were "Persians" who possessed prophecies of Jesus' birth:


"...Zoroaster the Magus, was showed to be a Persian...Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations...it came to...the Magi of the Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of Judaea guided by a star..."

- Clement of Alexandria, Stromata (Miscellanies)



Bishop Synesius of Cyrene (373 – c. 414) said of Zoroaster:


"...O boldest of all men, if we had known that you had been so fortunate as to hold the estimate of the soul which was that of [...] Zoroaster [...] we should not have presumed to teach you or to conduct you through a course of study, endowed as you would be with a greatness of mind to which even conclusions are but premises..."


K. E. Eduljee comments on this:


"...Synesius of Cyrene (4th cent.CE) considered Zoroaster as among the greatest philosophers..."


Courtney Roberts writes:

"...Within the body of Early Christian literature, it is not hard to find evidence of the belief that Zoroaster predicted both the star of the Magi and the birth of Christ. In some of the earliest communities of believers, many perceived the Persian religion as a prophetic precursor of their own..."

jupitermadcat

Very informative i didn't know this about the wise men.

Eric

Thank you so much for sharing this! Just forwarded it to my grandparents who happen to be Catholic :-).

Yeshua

I too am a Catholic!

cire perdue

Zardušt? This was Zoroaster? It sure would help not to post things cold. I did not find Zardust on Wiki.

Eric

Great!

arthra

The name Zoroaster is a Greek rendering of the name Zarathustra. He is known as Zarathusti in Persian and Zaratosht in Gujarati.

Zoroastrianism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The name (Zwpo urrpns) is the corrupt Greek form of the old Iranian Zarathustra (new Persian, Zardusht). Its signification is obscure; but it certainly contains the word ushtra, " camel."

Zoroaster

LordOfGoblins

I personally find "Zarathustra" to be the best sounding. Not that it comes down to personal opinion on these things but it has a nice "ring" to it of an old prophet.

cire perdue

that the opening theme to the movie 2001 is Ricard Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" , "Also Spoke Zoroaster"? (My German may be mispelled)

I note someone already mentioned the Magi, the Three Wisemen, were Zoroastrian.

BruceDLimber

Quote:

Originally Posted by cire perdue [T]he Magi, the Three Wisemen, were Zoroastrian.

BZZZZZ!!!

Wrong again!

There is NO EVIDENCE WHATEVER how many Magi there were!

All scripture says is that there were three gifts.

And the supposed "names" of the Magi are an even greater descent into superstition.

Peace,

Bruce

cire perdue

Oh, I'm sorry I did not know I was on a quiz show or was going to get a buzzer or gong. I'd rather have a gong. Since that is all news to me and who knows who else, why don't you provide some references for this, besides the buzzer and notification of being wrong.

LordOfGoblins

Lol. you guys are funny...

BruceDLimber

Quote:

Originally Posted by cire perdue Oh, I'm sorry I did not know I was on a quiz show or was going to get a buzzer or gong. I'd rather have a gong.

So sorry, but gongs are hard to do!

Anyway, this one is basically just a demonstration of LACK of any such statement rather than any sort of positive proof!

Peace, :-)

Bruce