Parallels
between Jesus and
Horus, an Egyptian God
Quotations:
"The Christian myths were first related of Horus or Osiris, who was the
embodiment of divine goodness, wisdom, truth and purity...This was the
greatest hero that ever lived in the mind of man -- not in the flesh -- the
only hero to whom the miracles were natural because he was not human."
1
"...I am the LORD thy God from the land of
Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me."
Hosea 13:4, King James Version. This passage may have an additional and
completely different meaning from that usually assigned.
Background:
About Yeshua of Nazareth: He is commonly referred to as Jesus Christ,
although Joshua would be a more accurate translation of his first name. "Christ"
is not his last name; it is simply the Greek word for "Messiah," or "anointed
one." Theologians have discovered about 50 gospels which were widely used by
Jewish, Pauline and Gnostic groups within the early Christian movement. Only
four of these were chosen by the surviving group, Pauline Christianity, and were
included in the Bible. Those four Gospels describe Jesus as a Jew who was born
to a virgin in Palestine circa 4 to 7 BCE. He is portrayed as a rabbi, teacher,
healer, exorcist, magician, prophet, and religious leader who had a one year
(according to Mark, Matthew and Luke) or a three year (according to John)
ministry in Palestine, starting when he was about 30 years old. Most Christians
believe that he was executed by the Roman occupying army, visited the
underworld, was resurrected, spent 40 days with his disciples, and then ascended
to heaven. Most Christian denominations view Jesus as God, and as the Son of
God, the second person in the Trinity.|
Conservative Christians view the Gospels as being inerrant whose
authors were inspired
by God. The Gospels and other passages in the Bible are mostly interpreted
literally. Muslims revere Jesus as a great prophet -- next only to Muhammad in
importance. They regard the assertion that Jesus is God to be blasphemy.
About Horus: Various ancient Egyptian statues and writings tell of Horus,
(pronounced "hohr'-uhs;"
a.k.a. Harseisis, Heru-sa-Aset (Horus, son of Isis), Heru-ur (Horus the elder),
Hr, and Hrw), a creator sky God. He was worshipped thousands of years before the
first century CE -- the
time when Jesus was ministering in Palestine.
2
Horus was often represented as a stylized eye symbol, symbolizing the eye of a
falcon. He was also presented "in the shape of a sparrow hawk or as a man [or
lion] with a hawk's head."
3 He
is often shown as an infant cradled by his mother Isis. He was considered to be
the son of two major Egyptian deities: the God Osirus and and the Goddess Isis.
In adulthood, he avenged his father's murder, and became recognized as the God
of civil order and justice. Each of the Egyptian pharaohs were believed to be
the living embodiment -- an incarnation -- of Horus.
4
Isis with Horus
5
Horus
5
"A list of the names of all the
gods of Egypt would fill pages. But all these gods were only forms, attributes
or phases of Ra, the solar god, who himself was the supreme symbol or metaphor
for God....Horus, the son of Osirus and Isis, is himself an aspect of Ra."
6
Life events shared by Horus and Jesus
Stories from the life of Horus had been circulating for centuries before
Jesus birth (circa 4 to 7 BCE). If any copying occurred by the writers of the
Egyptian or Christian religions, it was the followers of Jesus who incorporated
into his biography the myths and legends of Horus, not vice-versa.
According to author and theologian Tom Harpur: "[Author Gerald] Massey
discovered nearly two hundred instances of immediate correspondence between the
mythical Egyptian material and the allegedly historical Christian writings about
Jesus.Horus indeed was the archetypal Pagan Christ." 7
Comparison of some life events of Horus and Jesus:
Event
Horus
Yeshua of Nazareth,
a.k.a. Jesus
Conception:
By a virgin.
By a virgin. 8
Father:
Only begotten son of the God Osiris.
Only begotten son of Yehovah (in the form of the
Holy Spirit).
Mother:
Meri.
9
Miriam (a.k.a. Mary).
Foster father:
Seb, (Jo-Seph).
9
Joseph.
Foster father's ancestry:
Of royal descent.
Of royal descent.
Birth location:
In a cave.
In a cave or stable.
Annunciation:
By an angel to Isis, his mother.
By an angel to Miriam, his mother. 8
Birth heralded by:
The star Sirius, the morning star.
An unidentified "star in the East."
Birth date:
Ancient Egyptians paraded a manger and
child representing Horus through the streets at the time of the
Celebrated on DEC-25. The date was chosen to occur
on the same date as the birth of Mithra, Dionysus and the Sol Invictus
(unconquerable Sun), etc.
Birth announcement:
By angels.
By angels. 8
Birth witnesses:
Shepherds.
Shepherds. 8
Later witnesses to birth:
Three solar deities.
Three wise men.
8
Death threat during infancy:
Herut tried to have Horus murdered.
Herod tried to have Jesus murdered.
Handling the threat:
The God That tells Horus'
mother "Come, thou goddess Isis, hide thyself with thy child."
An angel tells Jesus' father to: "Arise and
take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt."
Rite of passage ritual:
Horus came of age with a special
ritual, when his eye was restored.
Taken by parents to the temple for what is today
called a bar mitzvah ritual.
Age at the ritual:
12
12
Break in life history:
No data between ages of 12 & 30.
No data between ages of 12 & 30.
Baptism location:
In the river Eridanus.
In the river Jordan.
Age at baptism:
30.
30.
Baptized by:
Anup the Baptiser.
John the Baptist.
Subsequent fate of the baptiser:
Beheaded.
Beheaded.
Temptation:
Taken from the desert of Amenta up a
high mountain by his arch-rival Sut. Sut (a.k.a. Set) was a precursor for
the Hebrew Satan.
Taken from the desert in Palestine up a high
mountain by his arch-rival Satan.
Result of temptation:
Horus resists temptation.
Jesus resists temptation.
Close followers:
Twelve disciples.
Twelve disciples.
Activities:
Walked on water, cast out demons,
healed the sick, restored sight to the blind. He "stilled the sea by his
power."
Walked on water, cast out demons, healed the sick,
restored sight to the blind. He ordered the sea with a "Peace, be still"
command.
Raising of the dead:
Horus raised Osirus, his dead father,
from the grave. 10
Jesus raised Lazarus from the grave.
Location where the resurrection
miracle occurred:
Anu, an Egyptian city where the rites
of the death, burial and resurrection of Horus were enacted annually. 10
Hebrews added their prefix for house ('beth")
to "Anu" to produce "Beth-Anu" or the "House of Anu."
Since "u" and "y" were interchangeable in antiquity, "Bethanu" became
"Bethany," the location mentioned in John 11.
Origin of Lazarus' name in the Gospel
of John:
Asar was an alternate name for Osirus, Horus'
father, who Horus raised from the dead. He was referred to as "the Asar,"
as a sign of respect. Translated into Hebrew, this is "El-Asar." The
Romans added the prefix "us" to indicate a male name, producing "Elasarus."
Over time, the "E" was dropped and "s" became "z,"
producing "Lazarus." 10
Transfigured:
On a mountain.
On a high mountain.
Key address(es):
Sermon on the Mount.
Sermon on the Mount; Sermon on the Plain.
Method of death
By crucifixion.
By crucifixion.
Accompanied by:
Two thieves.
Two thieves.
Burial
In a tomb.
In a tomb.
Fate after death:
Descended into Hell; resurrected after
three days.
Descended into Hell; resurrected after about 30 to
38 hours (Friday PM to presumably some time in Sunday AM) covering parts of
three days.
Resurrection announced by:
Women.
Women.
Future:
Reign for 1,000 years in the
Millennium.
Reign for 1,000 years in the Millennium.
Comparison of some characteristics of Horus and Jesus:
Characteristics
Horus
Yeshua of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jesus
Nature"
Regarded as a mythical character.
Regarded as a 1st century
Main role:
Savior of humanity.
Savior of humanity.
Status:
God-man.
God-man.
Common portrayal:
Virgin Isis holding the infant Horus.
Virgin Mary holding the infant Jesus.
Title:
KRST, the anointed one.
Christ, the anointed one.
Other names:
The good shepherd, the lamb of God,
the bread of life, the son of man, the Word, the fisher, the winnower.
The good shepherd, the lamb of God, the bread of
life, the son of man, the Word, the fisher, the winnower.
Zodiac sign:
Associated with Pisces, the fish.
Associated with Pisces, the fish.
Main symbols:
Fish, beetle, the vine, shepherd's
crook.
Fish, beetle, the vine, the shepherd's crook.
Comparison of some teachings of Horus and Jesus:
Characteristics
Horus
Yeshua of Nazareth, a.k.a. Jesus
Criteria for
"I have given bread to the hungry
man and water to the thirsty man and clothing to the naked person and a boat
to the shipwrecked mariner." 11
"For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me..."
Matthew 25:35-36 (KJV).
"I am" statements
"I am Horus in glory...I am the Lord of
Light...I am the victorious one...I am the heir of endless time...I, even
I, am he that knoweth the paths of heaven."
12
"I am Horus, the Prince of Eternity."
"I am Horus who
stepeth onward through eternity...Eternity and everlastingness is my name."
"I am the possessor of bread in Anu. I have
bread in heaven with Ra."
"I am the light of the world....I am the way,
the truth and the life."
"Before Abraham was, I am"
"Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today
and forever."
"I am the living
bread that came down from heaven."
(From the Gospel of John)
References:
Gerald Massey, "The Natural Genesis," Black Classic Press,
(Reissued 1998).
Read reviews or order this book safely from Amazon.com online book store.
Tom Harpur, "The Pagan Christ; Recovering the Lost Light," Thomas
Allen, (2004), Page 5.
Read reviews or order this book.
Information taken from essays linked to "Horus - Egyptian God," at:
http://ancienthistory.about.com/cs/horus/
Images copied from the web site of the Dark Forest of Ulcron, a
supplier of Pagan and New Age items, from Athames to Tarot Cards. See: http://www.ulcron.com/ Images used by
permission.
Op Cit., Tom Harpur, Page 69.
Ibid, Page 85.
Ibid, Page 80. Items as seen in the Temple of Luxor, built by Amenhotep
III, a pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty, before 1700 BCE.
Ibid, Page 89.
Ibid, Pages 128 to 136.
Ibid, Page 74. From the confession that humans made in the presence of
Horus at the Hall of Maat -- the place of judgment for all.
