From Adam to Omega

It is often the criticism of Christianity that it is simply a patchwork of earlier pagan religions, especially that of Egypt. The problem with such criticism is that it only looks in one direction. It is logical, in fact, that if what the Bible teaches is true, that the creation story, Messianic promise, and virgin birth were given in the beginning, then it should be expected that earlier religions, no matter how corrupted they became, would have many if not all of the elements of the Biblical narrative. In Egypt the early history and religion have been couched in symbolism and mythology while the Biblical narrative is presented historically.

This book is the result of more that ten years of research. Originally was only to be concerned with the Great Sphinx and the starry constellations of the nighttime sky, which told of the life of the Messiah. While many books have been written on this subject, there were some errors. Naively, I thought such a book would only take about six months to write, but then I had never written anything before. As I began my research on the Sphinx it, by necessity and association, began to encompass other monuments such as the Great Pyramid, Egyptian zodiacs, and the myth, legend, and religion of the Egyptian civilization. The focus of my research was Messianic knowledge, especially that which pointed to the First and Second Advents. Though much of the religion and mythology of Egypt had been corrupted over time, especially by the Osiris myth, it soon became apparent that the amount of knowledge and references to the Messiah were quite extensive.

That the core of Egyptian belief was monotheistic and not polytheistic, which came in at a later time, is stated by Sir E.A. Wallis Budge, former Keeper of the Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities in the British Museum, at the beginning of the first chapter of his book Egyptian Religion:

A study of ancient Egyptian religious texts will convince the reader that the Egyptians believed in One God, who was self-existent, immortal, invisible, eternal, omniscient, almighty, and inscrutable; the maker of the heavens, earth, and the underworld; the creator of the sky and the sea, men and women, animals and birds, fish and creeping things, trees and plants, and the incorporeal beings who were the messengers that fulfilled his wish and word. It is necessary to place this definition of the first part of the belief of the Egyptian at the beginning of the first chapter of this brief account of the principle religious ideas which he held, for the whole of his theology and religion was based upon it; and it is also necessary to add that, however far back we follow his literature, we never seem to approach a time when he was without this remarkable belief. It is true that he also developed polytheistic ideas and beliefs, and that he cultivated them at certain periods of his history with diligence, and to such a degree that the nations around, and even the stranger in his country, were misled by his actions, and described him as a polytheistic idolater. But notwithstanding all such departures from observances, the keeping of which befitted those who believed in God and his unity, this sublime idea was never lost sight of; on the contrary it is reproduced in the religious literature of all periods. Whence came this remarkable characteristic of the Egyptian religion no man can say, and there is no evidence whatsoever to guide us in formulating the theory that it was brought into Egypt by immigrants from the East, as some have said, or that it was a natural product of the indigenous peoples who formed the population of the valley of the Nile some ten thousand years ago, according to the opinion of others. All that is known is that it existed there at a period so remote that it is useless to attempt to measure by years the interval of time which has elapsed since it grew up and established itself in the minds of men, and it is exceedingly doubtful if we shall ever have any very definite knowledge on this interesting point.

So, from an exceedingly remote point in time the Egyptian believed in an all powerful God who created the heavens and the earth, all life on earth, and the incorporeal beings who were His messengers. Sound familiar? Though it may not seem so from this statement, unfortunately Budge felt that Christianity was but a poor copy of Egyptian religion. And it seems that this is the opinion of most of those who study Egypt and its past. It is one of the goals of this book to not only reverse that opinion, but also that of Christians who believe that there is no relationship between the early religion of Egypt and that presented in the Bible.

(At this point I will point out that Moses, who wrote the Genesis account of Creation and from Adam to the Flood and beyond was an Egyptian prince and some say priest as well. He undoubtedly had unrestricted access to Egyptian temples and the most ancient writings and texts available. And though Moses does not say where the information came from, neither does he say that it came directly from God (which is usually done if it was), nor does he say that it came from Hebrew sources. The connection with Egypt will be made throughout the first part of the book).