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Date Posted: 22:51:55 04/13/06 Thu
Author: Aaron
Subject: Rex Deus
In reply to: Rennes-le-Château 's message, "Francois-Bérenger Saunière" on 22:46:23 04/13/06 Thu

According to some revisionist historians, the Rex Deus (Latin for "King God") bloodline is, supposedly, the European branch of the descendants of both high priest Aaron and king David of ancient Israel, an elite of diaspora Israelites who have managed to preserve their dual lineage intact for some 2,000 years and have appointed themselves as the custodians of the mysteries of Judaism and Christianity.

They further speculate that the Rex Deus bloodline included Jesus, Mary Magdalene and the Desposyni, and that it may have been the progenitor of the Merovingian dynasty.

To avoid persecution the Rex Deus bloodline adopted the philosophy of blending in with whatever culture and religion they happened to be in the presence of (compare with the Druze), while secretly passing on from generation to generation their true beliefs and rituals. They also did this indirectly by disseminating certain ideas which became embedded within the psyche of the people of Europe. A notable example would be Arthurian legend and Grail lore.

Fringe researchers argue that the "shadow court" of the Rex Deus ordered the first Knights Templar to dig tunnels beneath the Temple Mount to find the Copper Scroll treasure, which their ancestors among the Qumran Essenes had buried there. They suggest that this might explain one of the charges of heresy which were later brought against the knights by the Medieval Inquisition.

Aaron’s function included the duties of speaker and implied personal dealings with the court on behalf of Moses, who was always the central moving figure. The part played by Aaron in the events that preceded the Exodus was, therefore, ministerial, and not directive. He, along with Moses, performed “signs” before his people which impressed them with a belief in the reality of the divine mission of the brothers (Exodus 4:15-16). At the command of Moses he stretched out his rod in order to bring on the first three plagues (Exodus 7:19, 8:1, 12). In the infliction of the remaining plagues he appears to have acted merely as the attendant of Moses, whose outstretched rod drew the divine wrath upon Pharaoh and his subjects (Exodus 9:23, 10:13, 22). The potency of Aaron’s rod had already been demonstrated by its victory over the rods of the Egyptian magicians, which it swallowed after all the rods alike had been turned into serpents (Exodus 7:9 et seq.). During the journey in the wilderness Aaron is not always prominent or active; and he sometimes appears guilty of rebellious or treasonable conduct. At the battle with Amalek he is chosen with Hur to support the hand of Moses that held the “rod of God” (Exodus 17:9 et seq.). When the revelation was given to Moses at Sinai, he headed the elders of Israel who accompanied Moses on the way to the summit. Joshua, however, was admitted with his leader to the very presence of the Lord, while Aaron and Hur remained below to look after the people (Exodus 24:9-14). It was during the prolonged absence of Moses that Aaron yielded to the clamors of the people, and made a golden calf as a visible image of the divinity who had delivered them from Egypt (Exodus 32:1-6). At the intercession of Moses, Aaron was saved from the plague which smote the people (Deuteronomy 9:20; Exodus 32:35), although it was to Aaron’s tribe of Levi that the work of punitive vengeance was committed (Exodus 32:26 et seq.).

The older prophets and prophetical writers beheld in their priests the representatives of a religious form inferior to the prophetic truth; men without the spirit of God and lacking the will-power requisite to resist the multitude in its idolatrous proclivities. Thus Aaron, the typical priest, ranks far below Moses: he is but his mouthpiece, and the executor of the will of God revealed through Moses, although it is pointed out (Sifra, Wa-yiḳra, 1) that it is said fifteen times in the Pentateuch that “the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron.” Under the influence of the priesthood which shaped the destinies of the nation under Persian rule, a different ideal of the priest was formed, as is learned from Malachi 2:4-7; and the prevailing tendency was to place Aaron on a footing equal with Moses. “At times Aaron, and at other times Moses, is mentioned first in Scripture—this is to show that they were of equal rank,” says Mekilta áà, 1; and Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), 44:6-24, expressly infers this when introducing in his record of renowned men the glowing description of Aaron’s ministration.

Aaron, like Moses, was not permitted to enter Canaan with the successful invaders. The reason alleged is that the two brothers showed impatience at Meribah (Kadesh) in the last year of the desert pilgrimage (Numbers 20:12, 13), when they, or rather Moses, brought water out of a rock to quench the thirst of the people. The action was construed as displaying a want of deference to the Lord, since they had been commanded to speak to the rock, whereas Moses struck it with the wonder-working rod (Numbers 20:7-11). Of the death of Aaron we have two accounts. The principal one gives a detailed statement to the effect that, soon after the above incident, Aaron, with his son Eleazar and Moses, ascended Mount Hor. There Moses stripped him (Aaron) of his priestly garments, and transferred them to Eleazar. Aaron died on the summit of the mountain, and the people mourned for him thirty days (Numbers 20:22-29; compare 33:38, 39). The other account is found in Deuteronomy 10:6, where Moses is reported as saying that Aaron died at Mosera and was buried there. Some scholars think that Mosera is not on Mount Hor, since the itinerary in Numbers 33:31-37 records seven stages between Moseroth (Mosera) and Mount Hor.

In fulfillment of the promise of peaceful life, symbolized by the pouring of oil upon his head (Leviticus Rabbah 10, Midrash Tehilim 133:1), Aaron’s death, as described in the Haggadah, was of a wonderful tranquillity. Accompanied by Moses, his brother, and by Eleazar, his son, Aaron went to the summit of Mount Hor, where the rock suddenly opened before him and a beautiful cave lit by a lamp presented itself to his view. “Take off thy priestly raiment and place it upon thy son Eleazar!” said Moses; “and then follow me.” Aaron did as commanded; and they entered the cave, where was prepared a bed around which angels stood. “Go lie down upon thy bed, my brother,” Moses continued; and Aaron obeyed without a murmur. Then his soul departed as if by a kiss from God. The cave closed behind Moses as he left; and he went down the hill with Eleazar, with garments rent, and crying: “Alas, Aaron, my brother! thou, the pillar of supplication of Israel!” When the Israelites cried in bewilderment, “Where is Aaron?” angels were seen carrying Aaron’s bier through the air. A voice was then heard saying: “The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found on his lips: he walked with me in righteousness, and brought many back from sin” (Malachi 2:6, 7). He died, according to Seder ‘Olam R. 9, Rosh ha-Shanah 2, 3a, and Josephus, “Antiquities of the Jews” 4:4, § 7, on the first of Ab. Josephus says also that “he died while the multitude looked upon him.” The pillar of cloud which proceeded in front of Israel’s camp disappeared at Aaron’s death (see Seder ‘Olam, 9 and Rosh ha-Shanah 2b-3a). The seeming contradiction between Numbers 20:22 et seq. and Deuteronomy 10:6 is solved by the rabbis in the following manner: Aaron’s death on Mount Hor was marked by the defeat of the people in a war with the king of Arad, in consequence of which the Israelites fled, marching seven stations backward to Mosera, where they performed the rites of mourning for Aaron; wherefore it is said: “There [at Mosera] died Aaron.” See Mekilta, Beshallaḥ, Wayassa’, 1; Tanḥuma, Huḳḳat, 18; Yerushalmi Soṭah, 1:17c, and Targum Yerushalmi Numbers and Deuteronomy on the above-mentioned passages. The rabbis also dwell with special laudation on the brotherly sentiment which united Aaron and Moses. When the latter was appointed ruler and Aaron high priest, neither betrayed any jealousy; instead they rejoiced in one another’s greatness. When Moses at first declined to go to Pharaoh, saying: “O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send” (Exodus 4:13), he was unwilling to deprive Aaron, his brother, of the high position the latter had held for so many years; but the Lord reassured him, saying: “Behold, when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart” (Exodus 4:14). Indeed, Aaron was to find his reward, says Simon ben Yoḥai; for that heart which had leaped with joy over his younger brother’s rise to glory greater than his was decorated with the Urim and Thummim, which were to “be upon Aaron’s heart when he goeth in before the Lord” (Canticles Rabbah 1:10). Moses and Aaron met in gladness of heart, kissing each other as true brothers (Exodus 4:27; compare Song of Songs, 8:1), and of them it is written: “Behold how good and how pleasant [it is] for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalms 133:1). Of them it is said (Psalms 85:10): “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed [each other]”; for Moses stood for righteousness, according to Deuteronomy 33:21, and Aaron for peace, according to Malachi 2:6. Again, mercy was personified in Aaron, according to Deuteronomy 33:8, and truth in Moses, according to Numbers 12:7 (Tanḥuma, Shemot, ed. Buber, 24-26). When Moses poured the oil of anointment upon the head of Aaron, Aaron modestly shrank back and said: “Who knows whether I have not cast some blemish upon this sacred oil so as to forfeit this high office.” Then the Holy Spirit spake the words: “Behold the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard of Aaron, that even went down to the skirts of his garment, is as pure as the dew of Hermon” (Psalms 133:2, 3, Heb.; Sifra, Shemini, Milluim; Tanḥuma, Korah, ed. Buber, 14).

The Biblical representation of his character, negative and shadowy compared with Moses's, may be viewed in several ways. A clue to the seemingly contradictory delineations of Aaron (other than the obvious explanation that he is a complex character) is found in the framework of documentary analysis (see also Hexateuch), which is accepted by some but not all scholars. According to those who accept the documentary hypothesis, the following portions of text belong to (1) E, (2) J, (3) D, and (4) P sources, respectively, with the fifth item being from Ezekiel.

Aaron as fallible. These passages do not represent Aaron as a sacrosanct priest. He comes to meet Moses (Exodus 4:14), supports him in war (Exodus 17:12) and jurisprudence (Exodus 24:14). He yields to the people and makes the calf (Exodus 32), and, with Miriam, criticises Moses for marrying a Cushite woman. Miriam is subsequently punished (Numbers 12). He is present at the sacrificial covenant meal between Israel and the Kenites (Exodus 18:12). In this aspect, Joshua, instead of Aaron, serves in the Tent (Exodus 33:11).

Aaron as Moses's prophet. This representation concerns the covenant meal on Sinai (Exodus 24:1, 2, 9-11) and the vague charge that Aaron "let the people loose" (Exodus 32:25). Aaron seems to be an afterthought in the plague narrative (Exodus 8:25). In both this and the last view, Moses is the viceregent of God and Aaron is Moses' prophet (Exodus 4:16, 7:1).

Aaron as idolatrous. In Deuteronomy 9, Aaron is partly responsible for the building of the Golden Calf. The story says that Yahweh is so angry toward Aaron that he was about to destroy him. It appears that it is only Moses's intercessory prayer and his destruction of the Golden Calf which saves Aaron. The account of his death in Deuteromy 10:6 is different from that in Numbers 20:22. According to Deuteronomy it occurred at Moserah, seven stations from Mount Hor (Numbers 33:30), in the early months of the wandering because of the sign of the Golden Calf. The only other passage in reference to Aaron in Deuteronomy merely states that he is the brother of Moses (Deuteronomy 32:50).

Aaron as subordinate. The first three, simpler, plagues Aaron brings on at Moses' command; thereafter Moses himself is the actor. In the narratives (Numbers 16, 17) it is Moses in each case who vindicates him. Aaron dies at Mount Hor in the fortieth year of the Exodus (Numbers 20:22, 33:38), because of rebellion at Meribah (cf. Deuteronomy as above).

Aaron as non-priestly. In Leviticus 17-26, Aaron appears only in redactional passages connecting the Law of Holiness with its present context. In Ezekiel 40-48 Zadok, not Aaron, is the eponym of the priestly line (44:15, etc.).

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