GOSPEL BEGINS: What Happened "Before the Beginning?"

The Book of Genesis says only a little, and what it does say has been the subject of criticism, speculations, and controversy. What went on before is unknown to almost everyone. And it profits us very little to speculate. Where does that leave us?

There are some very old stories from a number of cultures that tell about mythological beings and events. These are passed down from generation to generation and tell of super beings and great animals that created through various means the stars and the sun, the earth, the sky and everything on the earth. These are interesting, but not helpful. We are still faced with the unknown of what really happened before.

So it is with Genesis 1:1.

“In the beginning Elahim created the heavens and the earth.”

There are even more perplexing questions. Where did Elahim come from? Or did Elahim always exist? Can these questions be answered by science, or by psychology, or physics, or by philosophy? Can our senses of touch, sight, smell, taste, or hearing give us clues about an existence that was not, but now is? Will the “scientific method” uncover these mysteries?

Physics can only contemplate back to the beginning of the universe and no further. Historians are faced with the dilemma of what happened more than 5,000 years ago. Any further back and they enter into what they call the time of prehistory. Geologists and Paleontologists face the same limits. All of those who specialize in these disciplines are forced at some point to rely on inference and speculation based upon a descriptive scenario. And when they have finished their discourse, there is always the specter of what happened before.

Clues from the Apostle Thomas and a young Jesus

According to Indian sources and traditions, Thomas, the Apostle, went to India to preach. He was killed by an angry Indian priest and was buried there. Indian literature and tradition also tell that Jesus [Hbr. Eyahushuah] in his youth also went to India, not once but twice, and he read and understood the Veda, and taught from it. According to the tradition, after some time he had to flee from the Brahmanas because he taught that the caste system is evil and should not be used to judge the worth of human beings. He challenged the authority of the priests to rule over people by imposing their law upon them. Whether or not such things are true is hard to say. Anyone can have an opinion on such things, but opinions, polls, and votes are worthless.

The English song “Jerusalem” poses a similar question of the possiblity that Jesus walked on “England’s pleasant pastures:”

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among those dark Satanic Mills?

And well he might have, as Joseph of Arimethea, one of the richest men in the world and Jesus’ uncle, mined tin from those hills, but that is another story. Regardless, we are left only with the “smoke” indicating that at one time there might have been some real evidence to support the claims from both India and England.

The Veda, however, considered the oldest existing documents, go back more than 5,000 years and may have existed before the great flood. Do these contain any information that can shed some light on this problem? The Upanishads of Indian Spiritually, among the oldest documents on earth, are derived from the Veda. There is spiritual wisdom in the Upanishads that may be able to shed some light on the problem of understanding what happened before the beginning. Here is an example:

From the infinite Godhead came forth Brahma,
First among the gods, from whom sprang the cosmos.
Brahma gave the vision of the Godhead,
The true source of wisdom that life demands.
…
The illumined sages say
Knowledge is twofold, higher and lower.
The study of the Vedas, linguistics,
Rituals, astronomy, and all the arts
Can be called lower knowledge. The higher
Is that which leads to Self realization.
The eye cannot see it; mind cannot grasp it.
The deathless Self has neither caste nor race,
Neither eyes nor ears nor hands nor feet.
Sages say this Self is infinite in the great
And in the small, everlasting and changeless,
The source of life.
…
The deathless Self meditated upon
Himself and projected the universe
as evolutionary energy.
From this energy developed life, mind,
The elements, and the world of karma,
Which is enchained by cause and effect.
The deathless Self sees all, knows all.
From him springs Brahma, who embodies the process
Of evolution into name and form
By which the One appears to be many.
from the Mundaka Upanishad, Part 1, Chapter 1.

At first glance this appears to be another account of the creation. However, it portrays more than just the creation of the universe, it includes the creation of a Creator as well. Such possibility would make religious leaders cringe. According to the Upanishads, it is through Brahma that the Godhead is revealed. But Brahma “came forth from.” The deathless Self is the One that appears as many. This seems to say that the Self is in everything including you and me!

Understanding the Apostle John’s First Chapter

Compare the above with what is written in John 1.

In the beginning was the Word [Grk. Logos], and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This One was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was Life and the Life was the Light of men. And the light shines in the darkness; and the darkness does not overpower it. … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.

The Aramaic word meltha, from which the Greek logos may have been translated, means both “Word” and “Manifestation.” When considered together this seems to say that a spoken “Word” from El or Elah [God] brought into existence a “Manifestation” of the “Word” in the form of a Spirit Being. And that Spirit Being became a flesh being and dwelt among us!

The Indian documents say that Light is truth (satya). Darkness is untruth (asatya). This Spirit Being was destined to become a flesh being to bring Light (truth) to the world. The Mundaka Upanishad reveals even more about lower and higher forms of knowledge and those who only know the lower form:

Ignorant of their ignorance, yet wise
In their own esteem, these deluded men
Proud of their vain learning go round and round
Like the blind led by the blind.
Living in darkness, immature, unaware
Of any higher good or goal, they fall
Again and again into the sea.

But those who are pure in heart, who practice
Meditation and conquer their senses
And passions, shall attain the immortal Self,
Source of all light and source of all life.

Action prompted by pleasure or profit
Cannot help anyone to cross this sea.

Seek a teacher who has realized the Self.
To a student whose heart is full of love,
Who has conquered his senses and passions,
The teacher will reveal the Lord of Love.

We are quoting from material that is older than 3,500 years. Yet it reads like the Scriptures: Blind leading the blind, willingly ignorant, living in darkness. However, it also says that in order to come in contact with the One, the deathless Self, we must abandon science, rituals, sacrifices: any of the lower knowledge. And through meditation, which is the Way of the deathless Self, we can become one with the source of Life and can attain immortality!

Creation Starts Before the Beginning of Genesis 1:1

In the Aitareya Upanishad is another poetic story of the creation. It says:

Before the world was created, the Self alone existed;
Nothing whatever stirred.
Then the Self thought: “Let me create the world.”
He brought forth all the worlds out of himself:
Ambhas, high above the sky;
Marichi, the sky;
Mara, the middle region that is earth;
And Apa, the realm of waters below.
The Self thought: “I have created these worlds.
Let me now create guardians for these worlds.”
From the waters he drew Purusha
And gave him a form.

In these verses the Self creates worlds. Then the Self creates Purusha, which means “God!” The document goes on to tell that after creating the elements of earthly existence, then human beings, and then finally the Self manifests himself in meditation and Pure consciousness:

Who is this Self on whom we meditate?
Is it the Self by which we see, hear, small, and taste,
Through which we speak in words?
Is Self the mind by which we perceive, direct, understand,
Know, remember, think, will, desire and love?
These are but servants of the Self, who is Pure consciousness.
This Self is all in all.
He is all the Gods.

The Aitareya Upanishad is from the Rig Veda, perhaps one of the oldest spiritual documents. “Veda” means “knowledge.” The Rig Veda contains many references to one called Manu. He is the father of all living. He carried precious seed into the new world in his Ark. With him were Seven Sages who along with Manu possessed great spiritual knowledge. A great flood destroyed the old world, and only Manu and the Seven Sages survived. From “Father Manu” came the knowledge and wisdom of his Holy Ones, called Gods. The Rig Veda is considered to contain Manu’s revealed wisdom! All of the “Enlightened Ones” were considered to be Manu’s progeny. The parallels between Manu and Noah are hardly a coincidence.

Few people have read the words of this Spiritual book. The words speak of One, called Self, who is Pure consciousness. Through this One through meditation upon Himself, came all that exists out of Himself, including all the Gods, who are also called the Guardians. The One called Self is the same as the One called El or Elah in Hebrew.

Spiritual Meditation Opens the Way

We can receive from Self or Elah through meditation. The first that we can receive is realization of the existence of the Self or Elah. Then after that from the Self will follow understanding and wisdom. And from the union of these two, the Self gives us higher knowledge.

Much of this material is classed as mysticism. This is a subject that, although it can be explained, is often hard to comprehend. However, a common thread runs through all mysticism regardless of the culture. Contact with Intelligence, Wisdom, Understanding, Knowledge, Power, Love and Life is possible through meditation. Therefore, this reality is comprehended only those who have gone through the discipline of meditation. Nothing is experienced by talking or reading about it.

If you only read about meditation you may learn of the techniques, terms, and experiences of others. This is the “lower” knowledge. However, when you meditate and make contact with the Self, with Elah, with the One, you move to the “higher” knowledge. Meditation can be explained (lower knowledge), but only until it has been successfully experienced through practice can it be truly realized (higher knowledge). This experience is called “Self realization,” “Elahl consciousness,” “Walking with Elahim,” which is what I mean by the “Elahim Connection.” This was experienced by the Fathers, the Prophets, and by the Apostles and continues to this day.

As described in the verses above, there are two kinds of knowledge: higher and lower. Most of the efforts of humans are concentrated and dependent upon the lower knowledge described above. What is described here is the way to higher knowledge: that which can give us knowledge about what existed before the beginning as well as understanding about now and about the future. That is not possible using the lower knowledge and its tools alone.

Enoch’s Vision of Events Before the Beginning

Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah, saw a flashback vision of events that happened before the beginning:

And in that place I saw the fountain of righteousness which was inexhaustible;
And around it were many fountains of wisdom;
And all the thirsty drank of them and were filled with wisdom; and their dwelling were with the righteous and holy and elect.
And at that hour the Son of Man was named in the presence of the Lord of spirits, and his Name before the Head of Days.
Yes, before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of heaven were made, His Name was named before the Lord of Spirits.
He shall be a staff to the righteous whereon to stay themselves and not fall, and he shall be the light of the Gentiles, and the hope of those who are troubled of heart.
And all who dwell on earth shall fall down and worship before him, and will praise and bless and celebrate with song the Lord of Spirits.
And for this reason he has been chosen and hidden before Him, before the creation of the world and for evermore.
1 Enoch 48: 1-3

A Message from Noah’s Son Ham

Then he saw a being called the Son of Man who was given a Name. Enoch was the seventh generation from Adam and the great-grandfather of Noah. From his father Enoch, Noah received the spiritual heritage that passed through to the new world after the great flood. Therefore it should not be a surprise to find that the Egyptians (sons of Noah’s son Ham), developed a major religious system whose God sounds very familiar. The following is a collection of passages from The Egyptian Book of the Dead:

God is one and alone, and none other exists with him.
God is the One who made all things.
God is a spirit, a hidden spirit, the spirit of spirits, the great spirit of the Egyptians, the divine spirit.
God is from the beginning, and he has been from the beginning. He has existed from old and was when nothing else had being. He existed when nothing else existed, and what exists He created after He had come into being. He is the Father of beginnings.
God is the eternal One. He is eternal and infinite and endures for ever and aye.
God is hidden and no man knows his form. No man has been able to seek out His likeness; He is hidden to gods and men, and He is a mystery unto his creatures. No man knows how to know him. His name remains hidden; His name is a mystery unto His children. His names are innumerable. They are manifold and none knows their number.
God is truth and He lives by truth and He feeds thereon. He is the king of truth, and He has established the earth thereupon.
God is life, and through Him only, man lives. He gives life to man. He breathes the breath of life into his nostrils.
God is father and mother, the father of fathers, and the mother of mothers. He begets, but was never begotten. He produces, but was never produced. He begat Himself and produced Himself. He creates, but was never created. He is the maker of His own form, and the fashioner of His own body.
God Himself is existence. He endures without increase or diminution. He multiplies Himself millions of times, and He is manifold in forms and in members.
God has made the universe, and He has created all that therein is. He is the creator of what is in this world, and of what was, of what is, and of what shall be. He is the creator of the heavens, and of the earth, and of the deep, and of the water, and of the mountains.
God has stretched out the heavens and founded the earth. What his heart conceived straightway came to pass, and when He has spoken, it comes to pass and endures forever.
God is the father of the gods. He fashioned and formed the gods.
God is merciful unto those who reverence him, and He hears him that calls upon Him. God knows him that acknowledges Him. He rewards him that serves Him. And He protects him that follows Him.
(Taken from Egyptians texts Dr. Brugsch, Religion and Mythologie, pp. 96-99. Quoted from pp. xcii-xciii of The Egyptian Book of the Dead, by E. A. Wallis Budge. Edited by the author to remove Old English spelling and punctuation.)

Each of the above paragraphs could have been lifted out of the Bible.

We Are the Offspring of a Line of Spiritual and Righteous Fathers

The entire human race comes from a line of righteous fathers. Our fathers, from Adam, Seth, Enoch, Noah and his sons and there wives, and the fathers in between, all had what can be called the Elahim Connection. This means that we, all people, have a very powerful spritual heritage through them. Therefore, we need to get back to the spiritual connection they had! If we fail to do this, and instead continue in our wickedness, then the world will fall under a great curse, and, like the population of humans before the flood, millions of people will perish before we enter the Eighth Age prophesied by our father Enoch through a vision.

Conclusion: It is evident that Existence transcends comprehension using the “standard” means of learning knowledge. There is the nagging of problem of what happened before that cannot be answered using scientific methods and the five senses. For thousands of years humans from many cultures have found a common way to gain wisdom and understanding through meditation. The combination of wisdom and understanding opens the door to realization through the Self that exists within each person and in all. There is a spiritual oneness that links a weak and mortal human being with the One who planned before the beginning that immortality and spiritual life was the ultimate manifestation to be experienced by His Creation.

In the beginning was only Being,
One without a second.
Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos
And entered into everything in it.
There is nothing that does not come from him.
Of everything he is the inmost Self.
He is the truth; He is the Self supreme.

What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and our hands handled, concerning the Word of Life –
and the Life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the Eternal Life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us.
1 John 1

From the time Before the Beginning of Genesis 1:1, it was the desire and intention of the One, the El or Elah, to start a process that carried from “thought” to a “Kingdom” of immortal, righteous, and pure beings: Us!

But we are not living our destiny — yet!