The Most Ancient Symbol
of The Nazarenes
“For the Oil of the
Spirit”
Compiled from Various Internet Sources
FOUND: The First Century baptismal grotto of James the Just and the
Apostles on Mount Zion, Jerusalem. James, the brother of Yahshua, was the
leader of the first Nazarene (Messianic) church located in the Upper Room on
Mount Zion.
Our story begins in 1963, when a small ceremonial silver lamina (a thin plate)
was found in the Judean Desert near Jerusalem, dating back to the first
Century. A Catholic priest and archaeologist named Emanuel Testa deciphered
the Aramaic text of this artifact, the first line of which reads: “For the
Oil of the Spirit.” Testa was amazed to find that the text was nearly
identical to James 5:14-16. This tiny lamina (3"x1") is a sort of
pass card or certificate of belief in Yahshua, used in early Jewish-Christian
baptism to confirm the forgiveness of sins and “right of passage” into the
Kingdom of Heaven.
This text from the Book of James clearly indicates that the earliest Jewish
Christians anointed believers with oil. What has not been clearly understood
until now is how this anointing was connected with baptism and the entry into
the faith. This is no longer a mystery.
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Detail
of inscription on the face of the oil stand. (at right above) |
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Pictures from Schmalz, Reuven Efraim et
al, The Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem Church, Olim
Publications, Tiberias, Israel, 1999 |
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In 1990, Ludwig Schneider, editor in chief of the magazine Israel
Update, struck up a friendship with an old Greek Orthodox monk who lived as a
hermit in the Old City of Jerusalem. On one occasion, the monk showed
Schneider a cache of artifacts that he had secretly excavated on Mount Zion
before the Six Day War in 1967. Scheneider was taken aback. Many of these
pottery shards, oil lamps and stone pieces were engraved with an unknown
symbol. The symbol consisted of a menorah on top, a Star of David in the
center and a fish at the bottom. Schneider was immediately convinced that this
must have been a symbol of the first Jewish-Christian church (assembly).
The monk then led Schneider to a cavity in the rock adjacent to the
Tomb of David and the Upper Room on Mount Zion, and told him that this is
where he found the artifacts. Today, the cave is dark and musty and sealed off
with iron bars. As legend has it, some great secrets are hidden there. Some
say that according to the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is a cache of Second Temple
treasures. The most popular legend is that deep within this cave lies the long
lost Ark of the Covenant.
As it turns out, this is the sacred baptismal grotto of the first
Nazarene (Messianic) church, and the treasure hidden there was the First and
Second Century artifacts (about 60 in all) found by the monk. Among these
artifacts is a brick-shaped piece of local marble inscribed with the Messianic
Seal and the words in ancient Aramaic: “For the Oil of the Spirit.” This
seems to have been the base for a vial of anointing oil. A small pottery flask
with a Messianic Seal found nearby supports this theory.
In my opinion, this piece of marble came into use in the earliest
Nazarene times at this baptismal site, below the church in the Upper Room
established by James the Just and the Apostles. This was, of course, a perfect
place for the first church, because the Upper Room is where the Holy Spirit
fell upon the disciples at Pentecost. The church was located in the heart of
the Essene (a strict, contemplative Jewish sect) Quarter, and was probably a
Qumran-like Essene community. According to the Book of Acts, there was strict
discipline and a hierarchy. It stands to reason that this group would have
immediately established Nazarene ritual, including a ceremonial healing and
baptismal center where conversions were sealed by immersion in water and
anointing with oil. Judging from the inscription “For the Oil of the
Spirit,” the anointing was symbolic of baptism in the Holy Spirit. The Book
of Acts records 3,000 conversions here on the day of Pentecost alone.
I believe that James and the Apostles administered the “Oil of the
Spirit” from this very stone base. That would make this piece, if my
suspicions are correct, the earliest known Christian artifact. I believe that
the previously discovered lamina with the same inscription was also used in
this congregation.
But ten years after its discovery, this historic, amazing find
remains a well-kept secret. Ludwig Schneider approached the Israel Museum with
the artifacts, and was promised that they would be put on display. But it
never happened. It seems that the Israeli authorities do not want the mystery
of the Messianic Seal to come to light.
By Reuven E. Schmalz
Ancient Christian
Symbol
Rediscovered On Mount Zion
AURORA, Colo. (EP) -- A
Messianic Seal from the Christian church in ancient Jerusalem has been
rediscovered after 2,000 years. This ancient symbol was found on Mount Zion.
It is believed to have been created and used by the Jewish believers who
called themselves Nazarenes in the first Messianic Church.
Three companies -- Olim
Creative Products of Tiberias, News About Israel (NAI) of Jerusalem, and
Christian Floral Delivery of Colorado -- jointly announced the discovery of
this ancient symbol, which has been copyrighted by NAI. It consists of three
separate but integrated symbols: a menorah at the top, a star of David in the
middle, and a fish at the bottom. In each of the renditions of the three-part
symbol the star is created by interlacing the stand of the menorah with the
tail of the fish.
The Messianic Seal was
found etched or inscribed on eight ancient artifacts. The artifacts were
presented to Ludwig Schneider, editor in chief of NAI's magazine Israel Today,
in 1990. They came from Tech Otecus, an elderly monk who lived as a hermit in
the Old City of Jerusalem. Otecus said that in the 1960's he had personally
excavated about 40 artifacts bearing the Messianic Seal from an ancient grotto
located in the immediate vicinity of the Upper Room on Mount Zion.
What was once the main
entrance to the grotto is now covered with a jail-like heavy wire mesh
enclosure. Its door, leading down into the ancient baptismal place, is tightly
secured with a heavy chain and lock. According to Schneider, the last
remaining entry to the grotto was sealed shortly after he excitedly told the
priests at the local monastery about the discovery of the Messianic Seal.
Schneider photographed
eight artifacts which were given to him by Otecus, and showed the pictures to
the curator of the Israel Museum. "When he had carefully studied my
pictures," Schneider recalled, "the curator immediately promised me
that these artifacts and their unique symbol were an important find. He told
me that the museum already had seen other artifacts bearing the same
three-part symbol from some other sources he did not specify."
According to Bob Fischer,
president of Olim Creative Products and co-author with local historian and
artist Reuven Schmalz of their book, The Messianic Seal of the Jerusalem
Church, the ancient three-part symbol has, since 135 AD, been suppressed by
various Israeli groups or agencies, such as the Israel Museum and Orthodox
rabbis in the Old City of Jerusalem, while simultaneously being buried for
these nearly two millennia by the church.
According to Fischer, at
least two of the eight artifacts were obviously ceremonial pieces which may
well have been used by James the Just, the brother of Yahshua, who is said to
be the first pastor of the church, or perhaps even by one or more of the
Twelve Apostles.
One of the eight artifacts
is a brick-sized block of well-worn local marble. This piece bears an etched
version of the Messianic Seal with a Taw (the last letter in the ancient
Hebrew alphabet that looks exactly like a sign of the cross) in the eye of the
fish symbol, as well as the ancient Aramaic lettering proclaiming the use of
this artifact as a stand to hold a vial of anointing oil. The ancient Aramaic
is transliterated as, "La Shemen Ruehon" (For the Oil of the
Spirit). Another of the eight artifacts is a small, almost intact, vial which
could well have sat on top of the marble stand.
Commenting on what he
characterized as the "monumental importance" of this archaeological
discovery, Fischer said, "Beyond the historical background of the
Nazarenes, the first Jewish believers who founded the Jerusalem Church, the
Messianic Seal itself proclaims to the world the pervasive Jewishness of
Yahshua Christ and the decidedly Jewish foundation and roots of the church
founded in His name."
"The Messianic Seal
of the Jerusalem Church," Fischer continued, "strikes at the very
roots of anti-Semitism while proclaiming a compelling message that restores
unity: Jew with Jew, and Jew with Gentile. The importance of this discovery
cannot be minimized. The Messianic Seal is not only just the key to
understanding the Dead Sea Scrolls, it can and should shake the foundations of
the church and Orthodox Judaism with its incredible message of unity and love.
It breaks down barriers that have existed for millennia and points the way
toward restoration."
(EP - Evangelical Press
News Service)
(Post date: July 6, 1999)
The emblem which has become
known as the “Messianic Seal” was apparently used by Believers in
Moshiach in first century Jerusalem in the Messianic Synagogue that was lead
by Ya`akov ben Yosef, the half-brother of Yeshua. Discovered on artifacts
that were secretly excavated from Mt. Zion prior to the 1967 six-day war by
a Greek Orthodox monk who was living as a hermit in the Old City, the Seal
consists of a menorah whose base is intertwined with the tail of a fish,
creating a Magen David, or Shield (Star) of David. The artifacts were
discovered in a grotto near the Tomb of David and the traditional site of
the Upper Room in the Old City, which was apparently used by the Miqra at
Yerushalayim for their mikvah and as a place for anointing with oil for
healing. It is also speculated that new believers were anointed with oil as
part of their mikvah to symbolize the immersion of the believer by the Ruach
HaKodesh into the Body of Moshiach. The menorah reminds us of the
Holy Temple (Exod. 25:31-37) and conveys the message of hope and salvation
associated with it. Seven is the number of perfection. Its seven-branched
shape symbolizes the Tree of Life that stood in the middle of the Garden of
Eden, and which will stand again in the New Yerushalayim, and carries the
promise of eternal life. Its seven lamps which give the light in its fullest
intensity symbolizes the light of Elohim, assurance of Elohim’s
enlightening presence in the middle of New Yerushalayim. (Zech 4:1-6; Rev.
22:1-5) It also speaks to us of the light of Torah and the Righteousness of
Elohim. (Prov. 6:23; 13:9; Psalm 36:9-10; 37:6; 119:105, 130; Job 29:3; Isa.
2:1-5) It also reminds us that Yisra'el is called by Elohim to be a light to
the Goyim (Isa. 42:6-7; 49:6; 6:1-5). The menorah has been used as a symbol
for Torah for over 3,000 years.
