The Lost Years of Jesus Christ

From the American continents to the far-east land of the Orient, many scholars, theologians and historians have pondered and, in some cases, embellished upon the concept of 'the lost years of Jesus Christ'. In reference to the "Lost Years", this concerns the undocumented timespan between Jesus' childhood and the beginning of His ministry [recorded in the New Testament]. The Gospels account for Jesus' birth and flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:11-13); the general reference to the family residing in Nazareth (Matthew 2:23 & Luke 2:39-40); and the brief mention of Joseph, Mary and Jesus visiting Jerusalem during the celebration of Passover (Luke 2:41-50).  Beyond the isolated accounts of Jesus' early years, there seems to be a blank space where eighteen years of His life is unaccounted for.

In the American Continents

According to several legends of the Native Americans, a "White Prophet" had visited many different parts of the North, South and Central American continents. In her book, He Walked the Americas, Lucile Taylor Hansen explored the idea that Jesus indeed walked among the natives of the Americas. She wrote: "Almost two thousand years ago a mysterious white man walked from tribe to tribe among the American Nations. He came to Peru from the Pacific, he travelled through South and Central America, among the Mayans, into Mexico and all of North America, then back to ancient Tula, from whence he departed across the Atlantic to the land of his origin."

 

While this enigmatic "White Prophet" was called by many different names among the American tribes, the correlating descriptions of His appearance were very similar. He was known as a bearded man with fair-skin and grey eyes. The legend of this prophet is recalled throughout the Americas according to tribal lore, and while the legends vary in relating the story, the story remains the same.

 

Some scholars of the Mormon faith believe that Quetzalcoatl (a feathered serpent deity who appeared to have traveled throughout Mesoamerica) in contrast, was actually Jesus Christ. This finding is based upon the Book of Mormon in the book of Third Nephi (Chapters 10 & 11), where it is recorded that Jesus visited the inhabitants of ancient America.

 

In the British Isles

 

The legend of Jesus being in the British Isles dates back to Joseph of Arimathea, who was mentioned in all four Gospels and, in some cultures, believed to be Flavius Josephus [the 1st century Jewish historian]. It was Joseph of Arimathea who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial place of Jesus after His crucifixion. According to the traditional lore of Great Britain, Jesus lived near Glastonbury [perhaps during his teen years] and was brought to Europe by Joseph of Arimathea. Such historians as Irenaeus, Hippolytus, Tertullian and Eusebius not only expounded upon the legend, but enriched it. In Luke 10:1, Jesus appointed seventy worthy men and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission [which is detailed in the 10th chapter of Luke]. "After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come." - Luke 10:1

 

Another tale that surfaced in the 12th century about Jesus being in Britain is connected with the Arthurian legend in which Joseph of Arimathea receives the Holy Grail from an apparition of Jesus and sends it with his followers to the British Isles. (The Holy Grail was a goblet which Jesus drank from during the 'Last Supper' in Jerusalem and later Joseph used to catch the drops of blood from Jesus as he hung on the cross). Whether Jesus actually lived in Europe or appeared to Joseph in His ghostly form is left open for debate, yet it has been commonly accepted that Joseph of Arimathea was the first Christian bishop in the British Isles.

 

 In the Land of the Orient

 

Several scholars and historians of ancient Indian theology support the belief that Jesus Christ was in India during his missing years. Those same authors claim to have found proof [in the existence of manuscripts] that Jesus was in Tibet and India and that He passed by a number of settlements in the region during His ancient travels. The manuscript was first mentioned in modern times by Nicolas Notovitch, a Russian aristocrat and journalist known for his contention that during the years of Jesus Christ's life missing from the Bible he followed travelling merchants abroad into India and the Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, India, where he studied Buddhism. The ancient scrolls revealed that Jesus spent seventeen years in India and Tibet and was a spiritual teacher of the Buddhists and Hindu holy men. Known as St. Issa to the people of India and Tibet, he is still revered today as their 'buddha'.

 

Godfrey Higgins, a prominent archaeologist and Freemason of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, insisted that Christianity was already firmly in place in both the West and the East many centuries before Jesus Christ was born. He claimed that Krishna, born [of a holy union similar to that of the Mother Mary] in 3228 BC, was an incarnate of Jesus Christ and he departed the Earth in 3102 BC. Many religious historians for centuries have struggled to find out how and why the similarities of Jesus and Krishna (born 2000 years apart) are so nearly identical. 

• Both Jesus and Krishna was descended from Noah
• The future birth of both messiahs were predicted ahead of time
• Jesus was descended from Abraham
• Krishna was the father of Abraham (Brahma)
• Jesus' first name was Yeshua
• A title of Krishna, meaning 'love' was Yesu
• Both men were born of virgins and in a stable
• Jesus did not have an earthly father, but had a protector named Joseph
• Krishna did not have an earthly father, but had a protector named Vasudeva
• An evil king tried to kill Jesus and Krishna when they were infants
• To protect the infant [Jesus], Joseph took him to Maturai, Egypt
• To protect the infant [Krishna], Vasudeva took him to Mathura, India
• It was predicted that both men would die to atone for the sins of their people
• Jesus was crucified on a cross in Jerusalem
• Krishna was killed by a hunter's arrow and impaled on a tree
• Both men were resurrected and 'appeared' after death
• Jesus had a female admirer named Mary Magdalene
• Krishna had a female admirer named Marya Maghadalena.
• Both men have a major holiday dedicated to them and celebrated on December 25th

However, the Christians and Hindus alike militantly reject the idea that the stories of these two deities are related. The Christians accuse the Hindus of blurring their identities on purpose. Some even claim that Satan himself is the culprit. And the Hindus reciprocate accordingly. Unfortunately, neither side can prove or disprove anything.

In Conclusion

Other than the generic allusion that Jesus was advanced in wisdom and stature (Luke 2:52), the Bible gives no indication of Jesus' life and what he did during those missing years. The American Native Indians referred to the "White Prophet" who spoke a thousand languages; Britain holds fast to the idea that Jesus not only visited their country but left behind the most sought after item in the world (The Holy Grail); and the people of India believe the Christian beliefs of the West were descended directly from the Buddhists.

   "This, in our day, is the Christian religion, not as having been unknown in former
    times, but as having recently received that name" - St. Augustine of Hippo

   "The religion of Jesus Christ is neither new nor strange" - Eusebius of Caesarea


One simple question remains: Who's Right?