© 2008 Mariano Pérez
© 2008 Urantia Association of Spain
| Luz y Vida — No. 12 — Presentation | Luz y Vida — No. 12 — February 2008 — Index | What is expected of us? |
¶ The Crucifixion
As we know, it took place in the so-called Golgotha or place of the Skull. Christian tradition places this place in the same enclosure as the tomb, a few meters from each other, which already makes it quite improbable; but if the reason for the choice of that place is investigated, it is even more shocking. Apparently Helena, Constantine’s mother, converted to Christianity, had a dream in which it was revealed that this was the place where the events occurred; it had to be located somewhere and she went to Jerusalem with that mission, around the year 326. Apparently the “official” Golgotha was outside the city walls at the time of Jesus, but later that part was walled off, so now it is located in a very central part of the old city of Jerusalem, in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Any query to subsequent maps will erroneously place Golgotha in this place, but of course, the mistake was already made. However, some historians agree that Golgotha is not where tradition places it, but on the outskirts of the city, to the north, near a gate of the city: Damascus. According to the UB, it was through that door that Jesus left to his death, and there is precisely a rise in the ground nearby with some small basins that make it look like something similar to a skull (see photo).
However, if we strictly abide by the explanations of the UB (pages 2013 and 2026), where it relates the situation of Golgotha with respect to the tomb in the garden of José de Arimathea, the conclusion is different. Golgotha would be to the left of the road to Samaria, current Derekh Shekhem street, which is accessed by exiting through the Damascus gate and not to the right where the one in the previous photo is located. Unfortunately, on the left side there are currently only buildings, followed by an esplanade with bus stops, but it does seem logical that the crucifixions were done next to the road or path where walkers passed, so that it served as an example, to the once they could allow themselves to insult the condemned.
The area of the building in the background on the right could be the location of Golgotha.
An alley leading to the Garden Tomb leads from the wall to the left
¶ Holy sepulchre
At this point, we have that the traditional place called the Holy Sepulcher located in the Church of the same name, in the old center of Jerusalem, is a farce, according to the blue book. If we follow the explanations of the pages mentioned in the previous section, we find the orchard of José de Arimathea further north on the road to Samaria, but near Golgotha and on the other side of the road, specifically on the eastern side of it. The tomb, he tells us, was carved out of solid rock. There is a place that we believe meets almost all of these data, a place that exists today, called the Garden Tomb, to which an English religious group assigns it as the royal tomb of Jesus. It is in a place that could well be an orchard from the time of Jesus, with remains of a water cistern, an olive and grape press, that is, the ingredients of a orchard belonging to a rich man from the time of Jesus. The tomb was re-excavated in 1867, the entrance having to be repaired. The data of the same in terms of its dimension are different, depending on the translation of the UB that we take. In the first translation from 1995 he speaks of 3 square meters, and in Antonio Moya’s he speaks of 9 square meters. After various consultations, Antonio’s translation is given as good. This last dimension, if it corresponds to the interior space that we saw there.
All the other data provided by the UB coincide with this place, with only one pending question: if the wall where the entrance is facing the cardinal east; something that we could not verify at the time for ignoring said data. We are not sure; rather it seems to point south or perhaps south-east. With the collaboration of Rafael Mondejar, we have tried to get the Association that cares for the place to inform us; but they have not responded to us. Maybe if someone goes there they can verify it for us.
If this data were corroborated, we could say that the chances that the place called the Garden Tomb is the authentic one would be close to 100%.
In any case, if we can say that, this is the place that impacted me the most, where I most seemed to be in a place from the time of the Master, and where some of the faithful have truly impressive personal experiences, of which we were witnesses.
¶ Ascension to Heaven
This place where the “ascension” took place, or rather, the disappearance of the morontia body of Jesus, in view of his apostles; according to tradition it is also located on the Mount of Olives, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, in its eastern part; coinciding in this sense with the UB. But what doesn’t match is the exact location. Certainly, although the Urantia Book does not give much accuracy on its location, only that it is two-thirds of the way up and above the Garden of Gethsemane p. 2057-, is more than enough to false the place called the Chapel of the Ascension, which Christians and Muslims place as the place where said event occurred. This chapel is located on top of the Mount of Olives. Apparently the only “official” written reference, this in The Acts of the Apostles, which is limited to saying that they, after the Ascension, came down from the Mount of Olives.
At the height of the mountain, which the UB places the disappearance of Jesus, there is no religious building or church, which is very strange, since it is full of them: Maria’s Tomb, Church of the Nations, of Maria Magdalena , from Dominus Flevit, Pater noster, and others.
Of course, there are many other important events in the life of Jesus on Urantia, and their corresponding places, such as his birth, miracles of the loaves and fishes, of water into wine, the sermon of the beatitudes, the last supper, etc; but as I previously pointed out, the UB does not always provide information in this regard, so nothing can be said for or against the veracity of those places.
I hope this work has been to your liking, and serves some adventurous seeker, who one day travels to these wonderful places.
¶ References
- Light and Life Magazine (all old issues): https://aue.urantia-association.org/numeros-antiguos-del-lyv/
| Luz y Vida — No. 12 — Presentation | Luz y Vida — No. 12 — February 2008 — Index | What is expected of us? |