by Mary Alice Bennett

Mary Magdalene at St. Baume 1869 Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands

The balance of the genders was thrown off on both sides of the Crusader conflict, on the Catholic side and on the Moslem side. In the present day, war continues on in the Middle East and in the Holy Land. In Afghanistan, the Taliban maniacally seeks to reinstate the abuse of women, while Israel fights for its right to exist against its ancient enemy from Persia, Iran and its minions, i.e. Gog and Magog. The Jewish military differs from the Crusader army in that the Israeli women are a respected part of the fighting forces. Islam was originally viewed by the Jews as a means to rid their land of the oppression of Roman Byzantium but soon came to be seen as yet another suppressive regime. They still struggle for their freedom.

The Kabbalists of that time classified Power and Stern Judgment - Sephira 5 - DIN on the feminine side of the Tree, below Binah, the Mother. Later Christian Kabbalists in the 19th century equated Binah with the Divine Mother and the Holy Ghost. A group in southern France, the land of Mary Magdalene, expected the advent of this personage to usher in the advent of the spirit age. They elected a woman as pope in Crusader times in hope of fulfilling the prophecy of this avatar, but she was killed by the Inquisition in 1300.

In the 1800s, in the United States of America, there were prophets who wrote of this same concept on the east coast and in the frontier west. They proclaimed that Psalm 45:9, the Queen in gold of Ophir, was a woman to come. The Catholics say that this verse refers to Mary the mother of Jesus, but the prophets of the Latter-Days predict that this is the Queen as the wife of Christ. Some say that each personage of the Trinity will incarnate on this planet and that the Holy Ghost is actually the Divine Mother. The Jews still look forward to the coming of their Messiah to conquer and rule. They compare this person to Judith, the slayer of Holofernes, general of Nebuchadnezzar. Christians say that the Jews are expecting the second coming of Christ as his first coming because the prophecies are not clearly delineated between the first and second comings.

Now we have arrived at the End Times and "The Revelation of John" known as "The Apocalypse of John". Christ introduces the speaking presence as "My angel". This personage wears a girdle of gold around the paps (breasts) and has a two-edged sword proceeding from the mouth with which to destroy the enemies of God. Of what gender is this person? The tone of the Apocalypse differs greatly from the teachings of Jesus when he was on the Earth. Is this the personification of the wrath of God speaking now? Is it the Queen dressed in gold from Psalm 45:9 concerning the End Times? The enemies of Israel in the modern wars are also the enemies of the rights of women.

Mary Magdalene survived the death and resurrection of her husband Jesus and gave birth to their child. It is said that the later Tarot was very popular in the region of southern France where she lived and that the guilds of card makers who designed the cards were members of the persecuted branch of Christianity who kept her memory alive. To this day the term "Magdalenian" refers to the Upper Paleolithic culture of southwest France. It is more than a coincidence that Mary Magdalene's importance to the history of Christianity is being revealed to this generation. The Mystery of God in the End of Days lies in the importance of the Divine Feminine in the Day of the Lord. Archangel Michael will stand up for the people. Examine the paintings of Michael to see who this is. In Gnostic terms this means that the Sophia of Jesus is more than a hypostasis, she is more than an idea or concept.