REVIEW: THE CRIMSON THREAD

The Struggle to Become Jesus During the Revolt Against Rome

A Novel by Royston Potter

[Review based on final draft copy, 263 pages]

This review continues our investigation into the basis & nature of the Bible in general, and The Legend of Jesus Christ in particular. Whereas the preceding works (SEX, DRUGS, VIOLENCE & THE BIBLE; THE JESUS MYSTERIES, SIGNS FOR A MESSIAH, etc.) were—at least ostensibly—non-fiction, THE CRIMSON THREAD is an artistic & fictional creation based on an impressive intuitive & historical grasp of the subject matter. Indeed, in many aspects Royston Potter’s novel brings to mind the writing of Mary Renault whose weaving of intricate historic detail blended with exciting fiction transports the reader to really experience the time & place of the story.

Royston Potter makes no claims to a Gnostic orientation. Certainly early Gnostics would look askance at writing appearing to glorify the Deity devout Jews in the novel call “HaShem” (the nameless form of YHVH or Jehovah), known to the Gnostics as the Demiurge or lesser god of the material world. The closest THE CRIMSON THREAD comes to addressing things Gnostic is when the subject of the Essenes is mentioned. In fact, the Essene community and its relevance to the military & Messianic movement form a central theme in the book. However, the Essenes were not Gnostics. Like the Gnostics, the Essenes were fervent in their religious orientation to social reality, but unlike the Gnostics, they translated their spiritual zeal into political action. The Essenes were radical, but the Gnostics were a-political anarchists. Nonetheless, there are many parallels to Gnosticism to be gleaned in the novel, as we will indicate.

We don’t want to give the plotline away, so suffice it to say that THE CRIMSON THREAD is based on the premise “What if the historical figure known as Jesus had been born a twin?”

For those who study Gnosticism, this idea in itself has many parallels with Gnostic writing & beliefs.

It probably goes without saying that just about everything we review concerning The Jesus Legend advocates a historical worldview in opposition to the distorted & propagandistic dogma enforced by State Theocracy. THE CRIMSON THREAD exposes the pacifist illusions of The Legend sponsored by the Early Church and latter by that arch-hypocrite, the Roman Emperor Constantine who, for the purpose of increasing his own power, made Christianity the State religion. Royston Potter bases his book on the more accurate perception that the Jews of this period were waiting and preparing for a Messiah who would embody both their spiritual & political aspirations. Far from a pacifist Christ, the figure waited for by the Jews would, at least for a time, by necessity be a master in guerilla warfare. In fact, THE CRIMSON THREAD can be seen as a good primer in military strategy & tactics.

The author takes a social materialist approach to his subject, delving beneath the thin surface of Judaic society & religion as promulgated by the “accepted” gospels. In this there are similarities with the method of Clinton Clark in COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF GOD. Like Clark, Potter delves into the materialist social value forming the basis of spiritual legend, and transcends mere speculation.

There are certain startling parallels to the current situation in Iraq in THE CRIMSON THREAD. We chose not to indicate them in this review, but they will be obvious to readers of the novel.

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In his lucid Introduction Royston Potter demonstrates a well thought out understanding of historic reality. At one point his observations are reminiscent of FROM NEW AGE TO NEW GNOSIS by Peter Wilberg. Like Wilberg, Potter calls for freedom of conscience as well as personal responsibility.

…The greatest gift to us is our unquenchable thirst for answers, and no one has the right

to inhibit honest inquiry and the experimentation inherent with that as long as we do not

interfere with the rights of others. Who really knows the absolute truth? Usually, as history

proves, not those who proclaim they do.

[P. 8]

On page 9 the author states:

…Historical events that seemed removed from New Testament tine periods now are likely

simultaneous events with the lives of those people we recognize as the Messianic adherents—

Jesus, John the Baptist, James, Jude, etc…In other words, the characters of the revolt against

Rome from 10 BCE to 70 BCE are likely the same people that figure so prominently in the New

Testament under another story line that deliberately, and incorrectly, removes them from any

political activity.

[P. 9]

This confusion between “real” and mythological persons is only complicated by the fact that so many people during the area and time frame mentioned above had the same name—usually names that were prominent in Scripture. In fact it has been speculated that Mary the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene were actually composites of a single person. In modern terms it’s like guessing how many women in Mexico are called Maria.

Also in the Introduction Potter alerts us that much of his source material is based on Torah, Kabala, and Jewish mysticism in general.

He concludes:

In this book the reader will discover the humanity, and the true spirituality, of the man called

HaMashiach (Hebrew for The Messiah). In his story is the hope of individual freedom, and its cost,

along with the realization that our condition is the basic blueprint for approaching the divine.

[P. 11]

If this isn’t “Gnostic”, one can only ponder, then what is?

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The image of THE CRIMSON THREAD itself refers to a colored cord tied around the first infant born in the case of twins. This distinction between one child and the other was an all-important consideration in patriarchal society and affected the rigid laws of inheritance. In this particular case it mattered even more because it involved both dynastic and religious affiliations in the highest degree. The King of the Jews and the Messiah had to prove a clear line of succession from David. In the novel the author explains how these functions could be embodied in two different claimants as long as their bloodline was pure and they followed the letter of the Torah. It was also possible that both King and Messiah could be the same person.

[The racism of the Old Testament based on the egocentric belief in the superiority of bloodline was as deluded as that of Nazi Aryan nonsense. Few practicing Jews today would consider themselves racist because their Abrahamic belief system as codified in the Bible is considered a divine revelation. There were many racists in Germany who justified their worldview based on Christianity and a degenerated occultism. We state this for the record, but it need not concern the rest of the review.]

Anyone claiming specific lineage was usually only adopting it according to legend or family tradition.

…the conduct and claims of the Maccabees caused a rift with those who insisted they were descendants

of King David, and these descendants left Jerusalem, presumably followed by the remainder of the

legitimate…Priests of the line of Aaron. They founded the community by the Dead Sea called

Damascus (Qumran) about 152 BCE.

[P. 17]

Building on this historic milieu, Potter offers a politically astute analysis of the role of the infamous King Herod:

…Herod the Great had been trying to hunt down and destroy all remnants of the Maccabean Dynasty

as well as anyone claiming descent from King David, even those in Damascus. While Herod had

respect for the Essenes of Damascus because of the prophecies by Menachmen the Essene that

seemed favorable to Herod, he could not allow Damascus to shield this potential threat. His

insatiable rage and jealousy even necessitated the murder of his Maccabean wife…and his

own son by her who would have been High priest (popular, but not of the proper bloodline).

[P. 19]

By serendipitous coincidence while penning this review a new documentary concerning Herod was televised (part of an on-going process of historic revelation that seems to have followed close on the heels with the public’s interest in Gnosticism and new interpretations of the Gospels). The documentary stated that Herod truly loved this first Maccabean wife Mariamme, but his colossal lust for power outweighed all human love & basic human decency.

In the novel the first-born son is named Joses (a form of “Joshua”) and his brother Jude. Joses is described as less physically perfect than his brother and this too fits in with certain intimations in Gnostic tradition. Contemporary author Rollan McCleary in his SIGNS FOR A MESSIAH goes even further and states that the historical Jesus was downright ugly! The Gnostic writings imply that Jesus had a sinister (left-handed) or shadow side. There are stories that during his childhood he even caused a playmate to fall from a roof. True, he brought his hapless playmate back to life, but this young Messiah who could control life & death at whim was not the one who inspired the sugary limerick “I Have A Friend In Jesus.” Then too there is the famous tale that at the Crucifixion the man who hung on the Cross was either Simon Magus or some other stand-in, and that Jesus stood safely on a hill and laughed at the scene below. This is not the character of Joses in the novel. However, his brother Jude is less sympathetically portrayed.

Joses has an open, ecumenical disposition, while Jude is more closely allied to the Essenes in Damascus. Joses studies Hebrew mysticism in the great temple of On in Egypt and Jude studies the “correct” method of Torah in Damascus. There are tantalizing moments when these twins appear to be two sides of the figure commonly recognized as the traditional Jesus of Nazareth.

Joses seeks power because his spiritual attainment has dictated that he follows his destiny; Jude seeks power because he considers it to be his birthright.

Jude recognized early on that his speeches in public sectors had to be delivered with veiled references

and codes, also known as parables. Those who could understand the veiled words were…already…

members of the movement…Converts to the more militant side of the Messianic Movement or

Zealots…were then mined for this group. But he did not let anyone know his true identity…The

cover worked well until the two twins began a competition over the birthright.

[P. 22]

Having a doppelganger or look-a-like has been effectively utilized throughout political history, but imagine how effective identical twins could be. It could also explain the phenomena of bi-location attributed to Christ. Certainly it confuses Roman enemies and those Jews allied with Rome.

Potter brilliantly describes the attitude of the collaborators:

“What is this?” demanded a priest…“Such talk is sedition and can bring about all our deaths.

What good is it to HaShem if we are no more? Quiet this talk about HaMashiach. There are

dozens of these crazy ones walking around claiming it and the Romans kill them as soon as

they are known. Let us live in peace.”

[P.26]

This attitude of pacification when confronted by State tyranny was tragically reflected during the Holocaust when Jewish elders and other respected men urged the community to refrain from violence against the Third Reich and actions of self-defense.

On the same page another character answers the argument for collaboration:

“…the Roman Emperor demands the worship of his subjects, and Torah forbids us to worship any but

HaShem. Worshipping other gods…is death under Torah. So does it matter more if Rome kills us

or if HaShem kills us?”

This is more like the stance of the modern Jewish Defense League (JDL) that advocates confronting their racist enemies, rather than simply ignoring them. It is a difficult civil rights balancing act for Jewish Isreali peace activists as well for non-Jews who denounce Zionism while walking a thin line between support for a Palestinian State and opposing anti-Semitism.

[There can be no peace under capitalism or State Theocracy. Peace in the Middle East can be achieved only through the formation of a secular Socialist State of Israel-Palestine as member of a wider secular Socialist Federation of the Middle East.]

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Much has been said lately concerning a so-called “Bible Code.” The idea (basically promoted by ultra-Orthodox Jews and Christian Fundamentalists) claims that the Bible is a sort of crossword and jigsaw puzzle. The theory states that if you use a computer and set up a series of cross-referencing the result will be all sorts of prophecies & the usual dire warnings associated with Old Aeon religion. This is just another incidence of pseudo-science and the misuse of technology in the Fundamentalist drive to fashion society in its own distorted image. They’ve been doing it for over 2 thousand years—and none of these predictions of the immediate future have come to pass. As for events in the past, anyone can predict an event that’s already happened—or manipulate historic fact to prove prophecy as in the case of devotees of Nostradamus. As for more likely Armageddon scenarios, science shows that they will be created by humanity itself: overpopulation, technological terrorism, and environmental degradation.

[See also 666 & HISTORICAL MATERIALISM]

Be that as it may, THE CRIMSON THREAD presents a more responsible & spiritually oriented relationship to The Word:

Of more immediate concern…was his own relationship to HaShem. He studied the Torah and

the Hechalot, trying to absorb the meanings of the words of the sacred texts. He knew he had to

rightly divide the words of HaShem and to decode the true teachings, prophecies, and designs of

HaShem. The methods had two purposes: to cause him to meditate deeply and precisely, and to

reveal hidden truths in the words of the Torah. He did this under the direction and supervision of

the great seers of Emmaus, as no man could rightly ascend to the chambers of the heavens alone.

[P. 35]

There are indications here of the source of Gnostic beliefs in spheres, aeons, levels of heavenly attainment & even the Sacred Marriage.

“Over the past several weeks HaShem has helped me through the chambers and now I await

entrance to the Seventh. Tonight HaShem will bring me into his presence, for you are my

bishirtah,” he (Joses) said, gesturing to Miriam, “a likeness of HaShem’s Shekinah. And

you, my dear Martha…complete the mirror of his image…Soon, I will…ascend to the angels

guarding the supernal chambers, going through the chambers until I finally reach the Seventh

and highest.”

…Then, Joses began repeating the Divine Names.

[P. 159]

Royston Potter simply & in clear language explains the terminology employed to describe the spiritual meanings of those words found in Judaic mysticism that may be unfamiliar to the general reader.

There is an excellent Glossary added that helps facilitate this process.

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THE CRIMSON THREAD is alive with cross-cultural spiritual practice & understanding.

…Almost by instinct he started repeating several phrases in Hebrew to bring himself into a

concentration that would lead to meditative state.

[P. 160]

Surely this corresponds exactly to the Hindu use of mantra.

…Jacob was meditating in Damascus. His assistant…watched over him as he rose higher and

higher through the chambers, the places of heaven inhabited by angels and the Elohim. Jacob

had done this many times before, but now he stood before the chamber at which he had long

denied entry by the angels that guarded its gate. As before, a voice said to him, “you cannot

proceed from here without your bishirtah.

[Pgs. 160 – 161]

What is this but the mystical journey of the shaman described in the history of all cultures throughout the world? The Gnostic Pagan Tradition/School refers to the source of these visions as daemonic reality. In the book DAIMONIC REALITY we learn that such visions are culturally determined. A Buddhist seldom, if ever, has a vision of Christ, just as a Christian never has a vision of Buddha. That the vision is formatted differently does not deny the inner value of its message. It is interesting too that in the vision described in this section of THE CRIMSON THREAD the shaman is accompanied by an assistant. In the Bible this theme began in Exodus where Aaron complements Moses the Magician. Aaron holds the magical rod (wand) and Moses instructs him how to use it. Having a guardian during a shaman type experience in contemporary times when all are free to receive “The Word” often corresponds to the visionary experiences accompanying the ritual use of psychedelics.

Even an analogy with the idea "Conversation of The Holy Guardian Angel" presented by Aleister Crowely can be gleaned in Potter’s text.

…So, we too will be called and raised to a recollection of our true identity.

[P. 162]

Of course the characters in THE CRIMSON THREAD follow the Path of HaShem, Crowley—while acknowledging the mystical power of the Hebrew God—advocated the path of magick (“the art of living change”), the so-called Left-Hand Path.

The early Jews considered Torah to be the ultimate word of God, but so have other cultures viewed their own spiritual insights and visions to be derived from the same Source.

Joses took Eleazer and pulled him close to him, placing his mouth to his ear and whispering to him

the words of his return to life, a member of the Way.

Chinese believers call this Tao.

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In conclusion, although we may not be in particular sympathy with the Old Testament orientation of THE CRIMSON THREAD, reading it was both an enjoyable & enlightening experience—and proved once again that we learn most from sources we may not agree with. The novel revealed both a solid socio-political grasp of history as well as the author’s intuitive understanding. By “intuitive understanding” we mean a knowledge that surpasses the limitations of ego, space and time. This is why a person can read THE CRIMSON THREAD and realize a series of inner revelations not necessarily inherent in the text—and that the author may reveal information he may not be consciously aware of. In fact, the novel can be seen as a modern Gnostic gospel. The only criticism we can suggest is that the author’s intense focus on the spiritual aspects of the story to some extent comes at the expense of sacrificing characterization. The characters provide good outlines of individuals, but could go deeper. Of course this would expand the text considerably. Perhaps in his next work Royston Potter will focus on characterization as well.

Pagans viewed themselves as wholly or holy connected to nature. Their gods were Gods of Nature. Abrahamic religion was a stage of human evolution that promoted the opposite view—insisting that humanity must sever itself from Nature (the feminine) through struggle (with the false concept of “original sin”) in order to attain a higher level of manifestation (the fully developed & alienated mortal ego). Fundamentalism has survived only because of a historic fluke: The Word was translated into ancient Greek and this ancient language itself survived the people who invented it. There were no significant Pagan theological texts, with the astounding exception of the Egyptian Book of the Dead accessible to modern readers only after its surfacing in 1887.

The Book of the Dead ( “Going Forth By Doors”) basically begins by describing how a single God (Ra) created all the other gods, male and female, and encouraged them to multiply—ever hear that idea before? It also lays out ritual bathing/cleansing ritual, adolescent rites of passage and circumscition. Additionally, The Book spells out laws of morality and human relations in the 21 so-called “negative statements of confession.” It contains not only the statements found in the Ten Commandments, but goes beyond them. The Book of the Dead was complied 1000 years before the first passages of the Old Testament. The Egyptians literally believed in the magical power of The Word.

The Word of the Bible literally became flesh as it was transmitted from person to person, nation to nation. Monotheism was a stage of cultural development that enabled a more universal mode of communication. The Gnostics, while viewing YHVH or HaShem as a lower manifestation of The One, were doomed by their insistence on behavior condemned by Abrahamic texts—that is, the Gnostic belief in magic, sexual equality (many sects), and true INDIVIDUALITY (The Holy Guardian Angel) OVER THE COLLECTIVE EGO (a fractured, tribal/nationalist understanding).

As for our contemporary formulation of Gnostic Paganism, we too honor The Nameless One and Nature. For us each moment of our lives is eternity. We don’t object to the way other people celebrate life: we just want to stop the ascendancy of Fundamentalism—and that includes the Atheism mandated by 19°-20° Marxism.

We don’t think we hold the key to Absolute Truth because on this plane that is probably an impossibility to define.

When all is said & done, everyone should have as much individual freedom of choice as possible, including religious preference. The primary difference between our hybrid (albeit rarified) religious expression with that of mainstream religion is the fact that, like actors in an existentialist play, we know that we are learning our roles & making up our lines as we go along.

Humanity loves best the Gods it has created—Aleister Crowley

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Reviewer: JEFarrow

Updated 11/07