He Who Was Not

[Tenet Nosce]

As for the Lord's Prayer, now that I think about it my Oma had some particular prayer we would use but I don't recall it being the Lord's Prayer. However you're welcome to present your theory with the liturgy, I would probably comprehend it.

Thanks! The theory grew out of an interest in knowing the difference in the liturgy between the Roman Catholic mass and the Greek Orthodox mass. My partner and I were each respectively raised in these traditions, although she does not currently attend mass, as neither do I.

Anyhow, a seemingly obscure and inconsequential difference between the two is in the doxology that follows the Lord's Prayer (Our Father, who art in heaven...)

For reference, please see the Wikipedia sub-entries for Lord's prayer doxology and For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen

Roman Catholic: For yours is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.

Greek Orthodox: For thine is the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

[As an aside, it is another intriguing line of inquiry to trace back where "Amen" came from. Perhaps as in "Amon Ra?"]

[As another aside, the Tridentine Mass does not have this doxology, but instead passes directly from the Lord's Prayer to the Fraction]

Now a similar doxology has been incorporated into the Enochian Ritual of the Pentagram.

ZAH ONDOH MIH BUZD PAID (pronounced zay-ah oh-end-oh mee-ah boo-zoh-dah pie-ee-duh)

Translation:

Within lie the Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, unto eternity.

So we see that incorporated into the liturgies (itself a magical ritual) "within" becomes "yours" or "thine".

According to my understanding, this transforms the entire ritual from an invocation, to an evocation.

In my classic investigative style, I wanted to trace this doxology back to its historical origins. Interestingly, the doxology is absent from the words or sayings of Jesus. So in itself, that is interesting to ponder.

Turns out, the first appearance of the doxology is found in the Didache.

The Didache, or the 'two ways,' is an apocryphal text which promulgates a set of ethical precepts attributed to the original apostles. It dates to the late first or early second century. So at least three generations have passed since the time of Jesus. Although it was eventually rejected from the canon, the doxology has been passed down through the ages unto the modern day.

Let us investigate further:

Here is the opening of the Didache, or "Teaching of the Twelve Apostles"

There are two paths, one of life and one of death, and the difference is great between the two paths.

So right off the bat we see a glaring contradiction between this offering and one of my most favorite quotes from Ra:

This study is as difficult as the one which we have described to you, but there are those with the perseverance to pursue the study just as you desire to pursue the difficult path of seeking to know in order to serve. The distortion lies in the effect that those who seek to serve the self are seen by the Law of One as precisely the same as those who seek to serve others, for are all not one? To serve yourself and to serve others is a dual method of saying the same thing, if you can understand the essence of the Law of One.

In Section II of the Didache, we see where the Ten Commandments (Judaism) become overlaid upon the original Christian teaching. Recall, the only comment that Jesus offers on the Commandments, is that he prefers the Golden Rule. But I address this elsewhere, and am digressing.

But as for your fasts, let them not be with the hypocrites, for they fast on the second and fifth days of the week, but do ye fast on the fourth and sixth days. Neither pray ye as the hypocrites, 1 but as the Lord hath commanded in his Gospel so pray ye: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done as in heaven so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debt, as we also forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil: for thine is the power, and the glory, for ever. 2 Thrice a day pray ye in this fashion.

Now what is missing here? THE KINGDOM!

Remember, it is the Jewish echatology that posits the return of the Messiah to retake the Throne of David, and establish the Kingdom of God on Earth.

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

Jesus, on the other hand, offers an alternative view:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

I rest my case.