Evidence of Christ In America Cities that span more than a thousand years of ancient history, thousands of miles from

the pacific coast of Mexico to the Caribbean contain evidences of a God who came down out of heaven, was crucified and rose from the dead. Come with Us as we explore Xtampak, Chichen-Itza, Tulum, Kohunlich, Dzibanche, Itzapa, Palenque, Kabah, Coba, Becan, Uxmal, Tonina, Itzamal, Sayil, Ek Balam, Labna, Bonampak, Dzibilchaltun and Edzna. and much, much more. Come with Us and we will share with you, city by city the symbology of a God long ignored by anthropologists and archaeologists because they have not known how to explain him. Introduction and Background In our extensive travels throughout the Yucatan, since 1998, we have encountered significant symbology that may well have been intended to represent a Christ like figure, perhaps Jesus the Christ himself. The same Jesus who was born in Judea and was crucified and buried outside the walls of Jerusalem. When the Spanish first came to the Yucatan in the early part of the sixteenth century they encountered amongst the native Maya, many Christian like observances and practices; baptism, blessings, washing and anointings and a strong belief in a God who had come down out of heaven to bless the sick, heal the infirm and raise the dead. Lizana, an early Spanish historian of the 17th century wrote of the Maya: The King or false God Itzamna, was represented by the Indians in the

form of a hand and they say that the sick and dead were brought to him and that the God cured them by touching them with his hand and that is why the temple is called Kabul, which means the miraculous hand, the temple where so many miracles were performed was the object of numerous pilgrimages. The apostle John recorded in the New Testament that shortly before his death, Jesus proclaimed; I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep and am know of mine. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; they also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one voice and one shepherd. Many biblical scholars have pondered over the meaning and fulfillment of these words. Christs words seem clear that there were others, other than those He had been ministering to in Israel, that He would minister too. Who would learn to know him as well. However, His statement came at the very end of His mortal ministry and either the New Testament writers failed to record the events that would clarify his meaning or they were fulfilled after His resurrection and were unknown to his disciples in the Holy Land. With this in mind it is interesting to note that there are numerous accounts of early Spanish soldiers and priests who destroyed Maya images, which were considered sacrilegious because they portrayed the Mayan God Itzamna with pierced hands, similar to the hands of the crucified Christ, and in some cases holding a sacramental

type

cup.

Is it possible then that Jesus, after his crucifixion and resurrection, visited the Mayan world and left his stamp so firmly upon it that 2,000 years later there would still be evidence of there once having been a belief in him? This question has long been avoided by archaeologists and anthropologists, despite significant evidence of a real Christ-like figure, because to even examine it would require one to make certain assumptions that are taboo in the scientific world. These assumptions

all

relate 1. That the

to

the man

reality Jesus of

of

God

and actually

are: lived.

Nazareth

Although this is universally accepted as true by Christians, there are many that still debate its reality. 2. That the man Jesus of Nazareth was actually the Son of God and that although he was born into mortality and lived as a man, he nevertheless had power over life and death. This assumption is highly disputed even amongst seminary students and doctors of theology. A recent poll indicates that a large percentage of those who enter the Christian ministry believe that Christ was a great teacher and that his philosophy was a blueprint to happiness, but do not believe that he was actually born of a virgin, nor that he was literally the Son of God and the creator of heaven and earth. 3. That Jesus was crucified and then rose from the dead. That he showed himself first unto his disciples as recorded in the gospels and then unto thousands and that he retained his mortal body, with the marks of the crucifixion in it, as recorded in the 24th chapter of Luke. Even amongst those of the Christian faith this is a highly disputed topic. 4. That as a resurrected being, Jesus rose into the heavens and then crossed continents and oceans to visit and declare his word to a people that lived half a world away in Mesoamerica. This requires no more of a miracle than to raise from the dead. But, it meets with great resistance amongst the academic world because there are no known scientific laws to explain how he could do this without the aid of advanced modes of travel. To be sure the ancient Mayan world was extremely fractionalized in its religious beliefs much like the world is today. Today we have thousands of different religions and even amongst those who profess Christianity there are more than 2,000 different Churches with a wide variety of beliefs on the vary nature of God or Christ himself. Nevertheless, if Christ anciently did visit the Maya, we would expect to see certain things or evidences possibly still in existence that would bear record of such a visit. To this simple statement we must add some sobering realities that

affect

our

search

for

the

evidences

of

such

visit:

1. As significant an event as the appearance of a God from heaven is, the story of its occurrence and the particulars related to it would have undergone change and evolution within a few generations. Such was the pattern with Christianity where it was not until the 16th century at the council of Trent, that the Church made official 27 books out of thousands written about Christ from the early periods of Church history. This was done in an attempt to standardize Christian doctrine and teachings. 2. If such an event occurred but was not repeated at regular intervals it would have taken on the fabric of fables within 500 years, let alone the following 1500 years from the time of Christ to the landing of Cortez at what is now present day Vera Cruz. The exception to this would be if actual written accounts of the visit were maintained over time and were accessible to the population in general. 3. If such an event occurred it would establish Christ as a God who descended from heaven. But, considering the isolationism of so many parts of the Mayan world it would have been nearly impossible for those who saw Him and became His followers to stamp out the belief in the many other Gods who had for thousands of years existed in the Mayan pantheon, and amongst his followers He most likely would have been portrayed as the God of all Gods or chief God. Additionally, in our search for possible evidences of his visit we must make certain assumptions about what he might have done during a visit to the peoples of Mesoamerica. Using the record of his life and ministry as recorded in the New Testament, I believe we can safely make the following assumptions regarding what he most likely would have done or taught if such a visit took place: 1. That, as opposed to his birth in Judea, Christ would have appeared not as a child to the Maya, but as the very God of heaven, descending from the heavens with great glory. This would be in complete harmony with Christian beliefs that having entered into his glory, Christ will appear in any future comings as the glorious God, creator of heaven and earth. 2. That the very appearance of Christ would be like the appearance of the Sun itself.

3. That the act of descending from the heavens itself would be such a marvelous event that it would be portrayed in written record or stone depictions. 4. That in the process of Christ teaching the Maya, he would have shown the same compassion on them that he did on those in Israel, meaning he would have healed their sick, raised their dead and made the blind to see. 5. That he would have taught them that he had been crucified for their sins and having shed his own blood for their salvation had entered into the eternal night of death. 6. That the most important single piece of good news or gospel that he had to share with them was that he had conquered death as recorded in the gospels and that he had come out of the mouth of death and hell itself alive and glorified. 7. That in accordance with the book of Peter in the New Testament, while in the tomb, in spirit he had taken the good news of the gospel to the world of the dammed souls that languished in sprit prison having perished at the time of the great flood so that they might have a chance to accept or reject Christ and ultimately as Peter said be judged according to men in the flesh, yet still be alive in the spirit. 8. That they must give their hearts to God and lay aside other Gods. With these assumptions in mind we set out to discover whether evidence existed that would support a possible visit by Christ to the ancient peoples of Mesoamerica. What we discovered was startling.

Not only did we find a Christ like figure, but we also found this figure to be the most dominate figure amongst all the Mayan Gods. We found representations of this Christ like figure throughout all of southern Mexico, from the ruins of Itzapa on the southwest coast of the state of Chiapas to Tulum on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo. We even found him as far north as El Tajin in the state of Vera Cruz. Throughout these areas we have seen representations of him in the following manners: 1. Bearded with features unlike any of the peoples of Mesoamerica. 2. Crucified with piercing to his hands and wrists. 3. Entering the mouth of death and hell.

4. Being resurrected from the dead with the breath of life in his nostrils. 5. Bringing light to the world of the dead and conquering eternal night. 6. Bringing bread from heaven. 7. Teaching. 8. Holding a Sacramental cup. 9. Having a face and eyes like the sun. 10. Depicted as the creator of heaven and earth, the light and life of the world, the living water and the light of the sun. 11. Depicted as the God of all Gods. 12. Being born into mortality. 13. Flanked by the celestial dragon 14. Depicted showing his blood to be the substance that nourishes the roots of the great world tree or tree of life which holds up the universe and represents the love of God. 15. And most common of all depicted as being associated with the planet Venus, or the "morning star". This last point is most significant because in Mesoamerica the great God and creator was signified by the "morning star" or Venus. Because of this the Maya carefully calculated the rotation of Venus and built observatories to track its placement in the sky. And, without exception they believed it was the symbol of the God who had created heaven and earth. Perhaps the single greatest example of this is in the city of Kabah where the Mayas built a massive temple with 250 faces of God on the front, equal to the number of days the "morning star" or Venus can be seen in the heavens (232 days in the night sky and 18 days in the morning sky for a total of 250 days a year). Please Note The Mayas created everything with exactness especially when it came to numbers. Temples and Steles were created with powerful symbology intended to convey meaning to even the most unlearned of their population. On the nose of the 250 faces of God at the temple in Kabah, they mounted a torch at night so that whether approaching the temple by day or by night the symbology would be perfectly clear, that the "morning star" or Venus was the symbol of the God of all Gods. It is also extremely important to note that this symbology of Venus

representing God does not appear amongst the Maya until the 1st Century AD. Then it becomes prevalent across the entire Mayan world. This reality begs the question as to what event could have caused the entire Mayan society to embrace this concept of the "morning star" and God. The answer remains unknown to the archaeological community, but is quite simple if we consider the possibility that a resurrected Christ may have visited these people in his form as the great God of Heaven. Because, the doctrine of the "morning star" or Venus being the symbol of Christ is well documented in the New Testament, was know by 1st Century Christians and was personally taught by Christ. In the New Testament, (2 Peter 1:19), while testifying of Christ, Peter states: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts. In the book of Revelations, we read that those that overcome the world will be given the "morning star" (Revelations 2:26-28) and in Revelations 22:16, Christ unmistakably and personally states: I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches, I am the root and offspring of David, and the bright and morning star. It seems only reasonable that if Christ had visited the Maya, He would have taught the same doctrine as He did in the old world to the peoples of Israel. And, from that point on they would have identified the "morning star" with the great God of Heaven.