Our Key Player: Joseph of Arimathea
Very few are aware that Joseph of Arimathea, who was a member of the Sanhedrin, assumed responsibility for the burial, of Jesus. He is our key player; he was Jesus’ great uncle, who took the Savior’s body from the cross and laid Him in his own tomb. Joseph was not only a well-respected member of the Sanhedrin but also a very successful merchant. He had ships carrying tin from Britain to many places in the known world. Jesus accompanied him on some of these trips. We will see how he got this gospel to Britain.
Because of the extreme persecution of the Christians by the Jews and the Romans after Christ’s resurrection, the persecutors decided to send Joseph of Arimathea along with the family of Christ and close friends of Jesus to a watery grave by putting them in a boat without oars or sail. Besides Joseph, these included Jesus’ mother, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Lazurus and his sisters, Mary and Martha, the blind man, whose name was Maximum, who healed in Chapter 9 of the gospel of John, and others totaling twelve. By Divine intervention, they ended up in Britain.
Dr. Robert (Bob) Arbon, a good friend, sent me an e-mail with a link to the Kolbrin New Testament that Joseph of Arimathea carried to Great Britain. Quoting from Bob’s e-mail to me, he said: “I think you will be impressed by its contents as I have been. When I pick it up, it is very hard for me to put it down, even though I have read it several times. For me, the statements in it the ring of truth. The copy that I have is found at the following link” (Here is a pdf version which you can download).
As I have read the Kolbrin New Testament (The Gospel Before the Four Gospels), I agree with Bob; the “Spirit” is in it. I find it fascinating that Joseph of Arimathea carried this gospel to England (Britain) before the four gospels were written in the New Testament. The book consists of 25 chapters and 178 pages. In the front of the book is the following interesting dedication:
Kolbrin New Testament Dedication
This work is dedicated to the forerunners and heralds of The Celestial Age which is the promise lying just over the horizon of the future. It is intended to be accepted as a vehicle for conveying spiritual knowledge and is to be assessed by the overriding concepts it is intended to convey. It is dedicated to those stalwart souls who still honor the precepts, ethics, and traditional values which have been a guiding light down through the civilizing centuries.
It is dedicated also to the concept of True Love and the promotion of family ethics, to the effect that families become more enduring. The contents of this book are copied from a copy of an original held by a closed Arcane Order. It will be published in 1998, two years after The Holy Spirit will manifest on earth in a new phase. To all those who have helped in bringing this work to fruition, the book is dedicated.
Copyright © 1998
The Druid Cross
The cross in the front of the book is the Druid cross with the circle denoting God’s “One Eternal Round.” The Druids are of Hebrew descent and anticipated the coming of Joseph of Arimathea and the family and close friends of Christ.
Two Important Blog Articles
Below are two links to two blog articles that are a book report of “Drama of the Lost Disciples,” giving additional details of the great historical importance of the missionary movement in Britain following the “Passion” of Christ. It is intriguing to learn that the missionary work in England was more widespread and fruitful than what we have in the New Testament. Apparently, this gospel was very helpful in bringing souls to Christ.
Rippling Effects
My research indicates that St. Patrick was a product of the Joseph of Arimathea, who was an ordained Apostle, and the family of Christ and close friends, missionary efforts in England. Then St. Patrick converts Ireland—not to Catholicism—but to true Christianity.
Then looking at history, those in Europe Christianized the Americas. Most do not know that 76% of the King James Bible is William Tyndale’s translation—even though he died at the stake 75 years earlier for translating the Bible into English.
The fifty scholars King James appointed took seven years to bring forth the King James Version of the Bible for all people. Those scholars recognized the great contribution of Tyndale. He knew eight languages fluently and totally devoted his life to this cause of getting God’s truths out to the common people.
There are ten times more copies of the King James Bible, since its publication in 1611 than any other book in the world. The Bible was more influential than any other book for the framing of the United States of America’s Declaration of Independence, US Constitution, and Bill of Rights.
The enormity of William Tyndale and Joseph Smith’s contributions to religious truths today is most inspiring and mind-blowing. The Lord was with both of them in a significant way. How blessed we are to be the shadows of their enormous contributions.
David W. Allan
Photo: Joseph of Arimathea -CC Flickr