High Stakes

  The Mystical Life of Jesus

  ALSO BY

  SYLVIA BROWNE

  Insight

  Phenomenon

  Prophecy

  Visits from the Afterlife

  Sylvia Browne’s Book of Dreams

  Past Lives, Future Healing

  Blessings from the Other Side

  Life on the Other Side

  The Other Side and Back

  Adventures of a Psychic

  SYLVIA BROWNE

  The MYSTICAL LIFE of JESUS

  An Uncommon Perspective on the Life of Christ

  DUTTON

  DUTTON

  Published by Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014, U.S.A.

  Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto, Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.); Penguin Books Ltd, 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, En gland; Penguin Ireland, 25 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2, Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd); Penguin Group (Australia), 250 Camberwell Road, Camberwell, Victoria 3124, Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd); Penguin Books India Pvt Ltd, 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi–110 017, India; Penguin Group (NZ), cnr Airborne and Rosedale Roads, Albany, Auckland 1310, New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd); Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd, 24 Sturdee Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

  Penguin Books Ltd, Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, En gland

  Published by Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

  Copyright © 2006 by Sylvia Browne

  All rights reserved

  REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

  LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

  Browne, Sylvia.

  The mystical life of Jesus: an uncommon perspective on the life of Christ / Sylvia Browne.

  p. cm.

  ISBN: 978-1-1012-2050-4

  1. Jesus Christ—Spiritualistic interpretations. I. Title.

  BT304.96.B76 2006

  232.9—dc22 2006025306

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

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  For my sons, Chris and Paul Dufresne,

  and my dear friend, Linda Rossi.

  Dearest Lord, look past the blindness of our eyes.

  And help us see truth as the eons of time flies.

  The values you taught reside in our soul.

  Let the lessons of life, to love God be our goal.

  Walk with us, Lord, through the harshness of life.

  And smooth over all the innumerable strife.

  I ask your blessing from God for everyone.

  Especially since He in greatness sent His beloved son.

  To my readers…bless you everyone.

  Contents

  A BLESSING

  PREFACE

  1. Birth and Childhood

  2. The Lost Years of Jesus

  3. His Baptism and Gathering of Disciples

  4. His Early Ministry and Miracles

  5. Mary Magdalene, The Beatitudes of Christ

  6. The Real Passion Story of Christ

  7. The Resurrection—A Plan for Christ’s Survival

  8. The True Apocalypse

  9. The Mystical Traveler

  A NOTE FROM SYLVIA

  Preface

  IT IS VERY HARD sometimes to describe oneself, but as many of you know, I am what the world calls a psychic. I was born in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1936 and inherited my psychic gifts from my beloved grandmother and a long list of ancestors who had psychic abilities that go back more than three hundred years. In my youth I was tested many times by doctors and scientists, and they all came to the conclusion that I had very distinct paranormal abilities. They would throw terms at me such as clairvoyant, precognitive, clairaudient, prophet, sensitive and trance medium. While I more or less knew the definitions of these words, as a young woman I really didn’t understand them that well, especially as they pertained to me. I just thought that maybe I was nuts or mentally ill.

  As a young girl I would sense things, see things, and hear things and sometimes they were very frightening to me. If it had not been for my grandmother Ada, I just think that I would have gone into a shell and locked myself out from the world. As it turned out, with my grandmother’s loving counsel (and much, I’m sure, to the chagrin of my parents)…I didn’t. I was nothing if not a handful—very precocious, outgoing, loud, energetic and incessantly asking questions and talking. My constant talking got me into trouble more times than not, as I would sense things and just blurt them out to family or even complete strangers. I really couldn’t understand why my father would bury his face in his hands or why my mother would turn and yell at my father to do something with me. I’m sure it was hard on my family to raise me, for I would consistently do things that would embarrass them. Some may have seen my behavior as “cute” or “charming,” but I am sure others would have just seen me as a little “brat.”

  I was eight years old when my spirit guide, Francine, first made contact with me. To hear the words “I come from God and you have nothing to fear” when no one was there was quite terrifying, and I immediately ran to my grandmother screaming. From that time on my gift of clairaudience has never left, and Francine would give counsel and solace to me many times over the years. She said to me in the beginning that she would not help me with my own abilities, as they needed to develop on their own, and to this day she does not help me with my private readings or in answering questions from audiences or groups when I do lectures.

  I first became aware of my trance mediumship ability while taking a class on hypnosis in my late teens. Thankfully, I was with a few close friends whom I had grown up with and already had talked to them about Francine. The teacher started a group hypnosis exercise on the class, and I went under easily. Then, for the first time, Francine came into my body. She quickly introduced herself to my astonished friends and gave them a few tidbits of information so they would be convinced it was not me. When I came back to consciousness, my friends quickly informed me of what had happened and I instantly became infuriated. I was confused, angry and frightened. Francine immediately began talking to me to calm me down. She logically explained that she had to do this to show me my trance mediumship ability and that it was not harmful in any way. She knew I would never have allowed her to do it otherwise. The truth be told, she was probably right, as I was already in the mindset that I could possibly be crazy. We made a pact that day that she would never enter into my body in trance again without my permission…and she never has.

  As most of you know, I have written many books on a variety of subjects dealing with spirituality and God and the paranormal. Much of the information in these books was heretofore unknown and
comes from research trances with Francine. Over the years she has given me information that I have had transcribed into thousands of pages. Some of this information is very controversial and has caused me, as well as others, to research extensively for verification, as I have always been what I call an “open-minded skeptic.” Most of the time I have been able to verify in varying degrees the information she has given me. Sometimes I cannot due to a lack of substantial documentation. I have found that many times it is a crapshoot at best because the farther you go back in time or history, the more obscure documentation becomes. You find yourself dealing with legends, myths, corruption, lies, deceit and traditions. So it is not always easy to verify her information. Much of what we think of as truth (historical or otherwise) has so many potential holes for untruth, you sometimes scratch your head in wonder as to why it is considered truth in the first place. This is especially relevant when you are researching and trying to get confirmation on religious subject matter.

  Religion is so subjective and so steeped in traditional and historical beliefs that it is hard to discern and separate truth from fiction in many cases. Add to that the fact that all the major religions have bloody histories of corruption and schisms and holy wars, with different sects and factions constantly rising and falling, and you have the proverbial confusing and bewildering murky mess. Thank God that numerous scholars and writers and historians are taking a new interest in various religions, especially Christianity. With new discoveries being made in archaeology and with books like The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown coming out, it has sparked a renaissance over the many controversies that have remained unanswered in Christianity and other religions.

  With that in mind, when my publisher called me and asked me to write a book on Jesus Christ and his life, I was stunned into disbelief and silence. I am nothing if not controversial already and my publisher wants me to write a book on our Lord? Being a Gnostic Christian, I am already considered heretical by most, but this assignment would really bring out the critics and skeptics and would be a daunting and often frightening task.

  I then thought about my life for a bit. I had dedicated my life to God and to bringing forth the truth about our Creator by trying to help others through my books, my counseling and my lectures. I most surely have my faults, but I have tried to live a good life by helping others as much as I could. Would doing this book jeopardize all that I have tried to do for them? With what I know and believe, I would have to tell the truth as I know it, and that truth will create an inevitable controversy…but then, isn’t that why I am here?

  I have given my life to teaching and nurturing others, to helping people in any way I can for God. To write about such a holy figure as Jesus Christ may be madness on my part, but it would be an even greater madness to not put forth the truth about him and his works for God so that people can better understand his teachings and from whence he came. To that end, this book contains verifiable truths and where verification is not possible, it contains logical and truthful information from my spirit guide, Francine. In the more than sixty years of knowing and working with her, I have never found her to be untruthful in any way, and she brings with her the wisdom and knowledge of the Other Side.

  In this book you will find many things that will “rattle your cage,” “rock your boat” and “shake your tree”…in other words there are many things about Christ’s life that I know to be true that fly in the face of the traditional teachings of Christianity. But truth is truth and you can feel it tangibly within your soul if you open yourself up to it. Close off from truth or don’t acknowledge it and you will find yourself a slave to the powers of deception and lies and your soul will spiritually suffer. Christ said, “The truth will make you free” (John 8:31); but you have to accept the truth for it to make you free. I’m as free as a bird flying on the four winds…are you?

  The Mystical Life of Jesus

  CHAPTER 1

  Birth and Childhood

  THE LIFE OF Jesus Christ has been a topic of more books than anyone could count, let alone read. What I propose to do in this book is to give you real and researched facts according to the latest findings of scholars as well as information from the Other Side by my guide, Francine. In many cases they agree and in some cases they disagree; but the information will be put forth objectively so that the reader can come to his or her own conclusions. Much of the information from Francine is more than thirty years old and has been kept in safekeeping until the time was right for its release. Let me preface the following information right now so that there is no confusion—by no means is any information given in this book meant to ever discredit the divinity of our Lord. I have always and still do believe in the divinity of Jesus Christ, and none of the information put forth in this book in my opinion threatens that.

  I just think it’s timely to not only show the true story of Christ and his mission, but also how he lived and died as well as the true message he wanted to bring. In the telling of Christ’s life, we will not just touch upon the three years of his life that most people know about, but we will also address the “lost years” of Jesus as well as other years that no one knows about.

  The reader, as I always say, is welcome to take with him what he wants and leave the rest, but keep an open mind as to what I am about to relate about our Lord. I do feel in my heart that many of the facts and research will back up the knowledge that I will be giving, and then from your heart and soul you can make your own deductions.

  Let’s start at the beginning…Christ was not born in a manger. It’s true that when he was born the Romans were taking a census and villages and cities were crowded with those who had to register according to the law. But even with the overcrowding, there were still rooms to be had at inns for the wealthy. Joseph was a direct descendent of the royal house of David (Matthew 1:1–16) and had to register both himself and his wife, Mary, at Bethlehem, which was called the city of David. Both Mary and Joseph were from royal and wealthy Judaic families and consequently Jesus was born in an inn and not in a stable with animals lying about. You must realize, contrary to what many teachings try to say, Jesus did not come from a poor, illiterate family.

  The people of Bethlehem welcomed Mary and Joseph with great fanfare, and the fact that these two royal families had come together to produce an heir was quite a marvelous event. Israel at that time was a collection of small communities where word traveled fast through heralds and traveling minstrels. Most everyone quickly became aware of his birth and were thrilled. Many hoped that Christ was the Savior, for the prophecies of the ancient prophets said a king of royal lineage would grow up and free them from Roman bondage.

  When Christ was born in the inn, the word spread that these two people of royalty possibly gave birth to the Savior that prophecy foretold. Do you suppose, as portrayed in the Gospel of Luke, that a poor peasant family would have been admitted into the high temple to present Christ after he was born to be blessed and sanctified? No, because you had to give offerings and money to be admitted. So a royal family presented Christ at the temple. This was a country of small communities and like all communities people of like class stay together. These royal, wealthy families would socialize together, help each other, and have intermarriages between them, and that’s how they all knew each other. Let’s face it…we don’t hobnob with Queen Elizabeth or even the Hiltons or Rockefellers. They keep to their own circles. The same as it is now, it was then.

  Because Joseph was of royal lineage, he was not poor. He was an expert craftsman who attracted people from far and near to have him design and make their custom furniture. It would have been an honor for a customer to buy a magnificent design from a person with a royal bloodline. My spirit guide, Francine, says that Joseph had as many as thirty expert workers who helped build and sell his designs.

  Before we go any further though, let’s get into the conception of Jesus by Mary. The premise of a virgin birth by Mary is hotly contested by Biblical scholars. Liberal scholars take the view that the virgin bi
rth of Jesus was pure mythology based on other pagan religions of the time. In Greek mythology, Zeus supposedly impregnated the virgin Danae by taking the form of a shower of gold, and the result was Perseus. He did the same with the virgin Semele, using a bolt of lightning, and the result was Dionysius. Horus, a major god of the Egyptian religion, was born of the virgin Isis and, coincidently, was also supposedly born in a stable. Mithra, the main god in Mithraism, which was a major religion of Rome, was conceived when God in the form of light entered a virgin. Myrrha was a virgin who gave birth to Adonis in Phoenician mythology. As you can see, the concept of a virgin birth was not new and its mythology permeated throughout cultures at the time.

  Only the gospels of Matthew and Luke mention the virgin birth and both are dated by scholars after the Gospel of Mark and the Epistles of Paul. Neither Mark nor Paul mentions the virgin birth. Many scholars ask why not? Matthew bases his virgin birth story on the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 7:14); but that prophecy clearly states that the name of the child will be Immanuel, not Jesus. Many scholars believe that this prophecy actually refers to another child later on in Isaiah (Isaiah 8:3–4) and is not a prophecy concerning the Messiah. In fact, as we will see later on, many of the so-called prophecies concerning the Messiah are very dubious and have blatantly been misinterpreted. I am not saying this, but Biblical scholars are. Paul in Galatians (4:4) says, “But when the time had fully come, God sent his son,born of a woman,born under the law, to redeem under the law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.” Most scholars say that the message here is that Jesus was a normal Jewish child called by God. If indeed Mary was a virgin, why not say so? Instead, he used the term woman.