The Real Bloodline of Jesus
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by Richard Poe Monday, December 17, 2007 12:00 am Eastern Time |
Archives 33 Comments |
AT CHRISTMASTIME, Nativity scenes help bring the family of Jesus to life. However, they present only a small portion of his family. Scripture informs us that Jesus grew up in a large, sprawling clan, with many relatives. What became of that clan? Some branches may have survived. It is possible that some people living today might be related to Jesus.
Dan Brown’s blockbuster novel The Da Vinci Code contends that Jesus wed Mary Magdalene and fathered a royal dynasty of France. The book sparked interest in Jesus’ bloodline. Unfortunately, Brown’s wild speculations and burning hostility toward the Church tainted the subject with an odor of crankery.
The fictional bloodline of Jesus ballyhooed in Brown’s novel should not be confused with Jesus’ real bloodline.
Ancient writings make clear that Jesus hailed from an old and honored family. The first sixteen verses of the Gospel of Matthew set forth a genealogy depicting Joseph, the father of Jesus, as the twenty-fourth great grandson of King David.
Early Christians plainly viewed Jesus as an heir of David, a legitimate claimant to the throne of Israel.
Of course, they also viewed Jesus as the son of God, not of Joseph. This complicates the picture, but an adopted prince is a prince nonetheless.
Mary, the mother of Jesus, also came from a prominent family. Luke 1:5 tells us that Mary’s cousin Elizabeth was a Levite, descended from a long line of Israelite priests.
Mary’s parents Joachim and Anna (or Hannah) were a wealthy and pious couple favored by God, according to the Gospel of James. Though never included in the Bible, the Gospel of James has received respectful study from generations of Christian scholars.
Despite his illustrious pedigree, Jesus worked as a humble carpenter. This should not surprise us. In his day, the sons of Herod ruled Judea, serving as puppets of Rome. The House of David was out of power, out of favor, and, in Jesus’ case, out of pocket as well.
The New Testament names other relatives of Jesus. “Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary, the wife of Cleophas”, states John 19:25.
It may seem odd that two sisters would share the same name, but these two Marys were probably cousins, not sisters.
Poor translation is to blame. The oldest known manuscripts of the New Testament are written in Greek. However, these Greek documents apparently drew on earlier sources composed in Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke.
Neither Aramaic nor Hebrew has any word for cousin. In these ancient tongues, the only precise way to identify a cousin was to use a clumsy formula such as “the son of my uncle”. Consequently, Hebrew and Aramaic scribes often referred to cousins and other relatives as “brother” or “sister.”
For example, in Genesis 29:15, Laban calls Jacob, his nephew, “brother.” Genesis 14:12-14 refers to Lot as the “brother” of his uncle Abraham.
Four men are called “brothers of the Lord” in the Gospels; James, Simon, Jude and Joseph. Mark 6:3 also mentions “sisters” of Jesus. These “brothers” and “sisters” were most likely cousins of Jesus.
Two of them — James and Joseph — are probably identical with the two sons of “Mary, wife of Cleophas” mentioned in Matthew 27:56. This same Mary also had a daughter named Salome, according to Mark 15:40.
At least a dozen blood relatives of Jesus can be identified by name. Could any of these have living descendants today?
Written records provide some clues. Other research methods are needed, however.
One such approach was featured on a March 27, 2006 episode of the History Channel’s archaeology series Digging for the Truth.
Former host Josh Bernstein put the Da Vinci Code to the test by comparing DNA from the bones of a French Merovingian queen with DNA from a community claiming kinship with ancient Galileans. Not surprisingly, the samples showed no match. However, Bernstein made a more important discovery.
He found that members of Jerusalem’s Syriac Orthodox Church claim descent from the family of Jesus. This ancient community still speaks and worships in Aramaic. Its origins are obscure.
“These families can be traced all the way back to Jesus Christ?” Bernstein asked the church’s Archbishop Severios Malki Murad.
“Of course,” he replied. “We are from the same family.”
Such claims may or may not withstand scientific scrutiny. But they are worth exploring.
By comparing oral history, DNA and whatever scraps of written records survive, we may yet succeed in locating the nearest living relatives of Jesus.
See reader comments at FreeRepublic.com:
Posted on 12/19/2007 7:03:18 PM PST
Yeshua, the Mashiach, left no blood-line. Yes, the Scriptures tell us that he had his bethren (brothers and sisters). Of the number, we know not. But their conception was of the natural process by Joseph, her husband and not of the spiritual as ordained by Abba, His father, in Heaven. Therefore there has been no transmission of that divinity which we refer to. I am only a simple house painter who delves into the sacred Writ. But the sense of it needs no elaboration.
There are claims to be announced, that certain people have the MtDNA of Mary Magdalen… possibly others from the same epoch, maybe even YDNA!
I doubt this, but if they do ever find such DNA, it will be sensational, as many people will be quickly able to ascertain if they are descended from such families.
I would like to address the comment from Mr. Vogt, about Jesus having brothers and sisters, and their conception being of the natural process by Joseph, her (Mary’s) husband. Anyone who knows anything about the Jewish religion knows how revered the temple of God is. Mary’s womb was in its most literal sense the temple of God. God, Yahweh, lived in the womb of Mary! Do you really think that Joseph would dare to defile the temple that actual housed the living God by ejaculating into it? He would have feared being stricken dead just at the thought of such a thing.
The mother of God was ever-virgin. It is absurd to think anything else. I am always blown away by this line of thinking.
Also, if Jesus had brothers and sisters, then why did he protect his mother from the dire straights that befell women of that time when they had no husband or sons to look after them by making his final act on the Cross the entrusting of his beloved mother to John the Baptist?
Dear Rhonda:
I must asssume, first of all, that her husband, Joseph, had died earlier. So why did Jesus commit the writer of the Gospel of John (not the Baptist) to take care of his earthly mother? Is it because his brothers and sisters were all married with responsibilities of their own and John was unmarried and capable of caring for her? Why not?
But why, Rhonda, does Jesus address his mother as “Woman” instead of “Mother?”. I have the answer but would like to know your take on this.
Also, did not God command his created beings to multiply and replenish the earth? Was Joseph denied this blessing as found in the rites of marriage? Lastly, under Levitical law, Mary could have been stoned for being pregnant while espoused to Joseph (their marriage not being consummated). For this reason, she was privately advised to leave the area (from a warning by an angel). All this done, of course, by Divine Providence. But nothing was to prevent her husband from having children later and that would not have been restricted for any reason nor considered unusual. The Scriptures do state that Jesus had brothers and sisters. Check out the original Greek transliteration.
Rhonda: We do not have any evidence that any of his kin had children of their own. If not, there would have been no bloodline.
Rhonda: I forgot to mention that Christians (born-again believers) have the Spirit of God within them and they are literally temples of the Holy Spirit. Then how do you explain the fact that ejaculations do occur within the womb when such couples decide to have children?
Rhonda, forgive me for coming on like a smarty-pants. Lincoln said that we should learn one new thing every day. As the result of your views, I have learned more than one new thing and I appreciate your being part of the learning process.
So here goes again. The father of Jesus was God not Joseph. So therefore children born of Mary were half-brothers and sisters to the Lord. At least so it seems to me. Correct me if I am wrong on this.
I’ve only been Catholic for three years, but i’m still not comfortable with the whole “Mary” thing. To me it seems perfectly logical that she would have had other children, and the scriptures seem to support this. I don’t see the relevance of her being an “eternal virgin” to the mission of Christ.
Dear Screaming Bolshevik: “Mariology” is a device of satan to delude sinners from finding true salvation in Christ Jesus. Allow me to give you the full picture. And incidentally, my views are not anti- Roman Catholic. To begin, in the entire Old Covenant scriptures, she is mentioned only once and not even by name. She was born of the seed of David and was therefore a sinner as we all are. David himself declared, Behold I was born in iniquity and in sin did my mother conceive me. The bible says that all have sinned. There are none righteous, no, not one (check it out in all of the bibles). In the Second Chapter of Luke, Mary states, I rejoice in God, my Saviour! If she was sinless, why would she need a Saviour? In 1956, the Roman Church made her a mediatress of all graces. Yet all bibles state that there is only one mediator between God and man. Is this not adding to the Word of God? Did she ever perform any miracles while living on earth? Did any of the followers of Jesus ever consult with her? Did any of the people refer to her? Dis Paul, writer of most of the epistles ever mention her? When the apostles were praying in the upper room , was not Mary there also praying for the descent of the Holy Spirit? Were they praying to her? In the Acts of the Apostles , she is never mentioned at all.When Christ rose from the dead, why was she absent at the tomb?My good friend, she is not a Savioress. She did not shed her blood for the remission of all our sins. She is not part of the great declaration when Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. And did not God say, Set no graven image befor me, nor the likeness thereof, either in heaven above or earth below? Then why are thousands of statues erected to her for homage? Not even the likeness thereof!Paul stated that Christ was to be given the preeminence above all things.Not divided worship with Mary. And regarding the so-called rosary, did not Jesus say, Do not pray in vain repetition as if God does not hear you?If you were dying, would you not call upon the Name of Jesus who died for you? But look at the Hail Mary prayer…the last lines reads: pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death, Amen. She has no power to save you at the hour of your death! Why is Jesus left out? Because Satan created a system of beliefs that blind us from knowing the truth!Did you know that all true believers are saints? Read the opening of the Pauline letters: To the saints at Corith, etc. Saint in Greek means set apart for God’s use; santified for His service. Those early communities were mostly Jewishand they were all addressed as ‘saints”.Confusing? What about purgatory. If one is redeemed by fire, then what happened to the blood of Christ that atones for our sins?Then to believe in such a place is to deny the work of the cross.Christ would be no Saviour if we are to save ourselves by temporarily burning!
Did not Jesus also say that we are not to call any on earth Father for there is but one Father in Heaven? This does not mean our earthly father (Dad). It means all who put themselves in a position of spiritual authority.I could cite thousands of facts here but sufficient are these to open your eyes.Yes, she had other children (the Lord’s bretheren). Did not God Himself command that we should multiply and replenish the earth?
Mr. Vogt: I appreciate the time and effort you put into your reply. Having been raised as a Southern Baptist, i’m aware of the biblical issues you raise.
As a lifelong Protestant, i’ll admit that many of the Catholic traditions strike me as odd, others as silly, and some even make me uncomfortable.
I would even go so far as to say that in my experience, Catholics tend not to approach worship with as much reverence as i’ve been accustomed to as a Protestant (dressing very casually for services, talking during Mass, non-participation in hymns…etc.).
Overall however, i’ve felt the Divine presence in Catholic worship, and have been active in the Catholic faith long enough now to be satisfied that it is engaged in the work of Christ.
We, being fallible humans, can only ever hope to achieve an approximation of knowledge of God, the rest we must leave to faith. So long as Christ is the center of that faith, then we can call ourselves “Christian” regardless of the form that our worship takes.
Dear Screaming Bolchevik: It is unusual to be courteous as I have found you to be in reply to my observations of a church system that I hold no allegiance to. Your candor and truthful spirit is most appreciated. There is nothing to add here.
Re: Shroud of Turin:
Cloning has been scientifically introduced to our system of beliefs. Which leads me to the subject of the shroud of Turin. A fake? I would rather believe that Mickey Mouse created the universe! And he is only a creature of Disney’s imagination! Think about it. Would God allow these wrappings to contain the impressions of His Only Son when he forbids the worshipping of any image either in heaven above or earth below…thus committing sin which is totally against His perfect sinless nature? Now remember that the crucified body of the Saviour was washed and anointed with fragrant spices. Were any of those herbs found in the tests conducted by leading experts? Also, the swaddling of cloth, if applied to the face as well,would have smeared the details when pressed against the skin. The scriptures state that his visage was so marred that none could recognize Him. God does not use relics as vehicles in worshipping Him. Parts of the supposedly true cross when assembled would have been over eighty feet high! Jesus said that those who worship Him must do so in spirit and truth ( not physical objects). Do people still believe that a descendant of the Lord would have the blood of God in his or her body? Adding to the Word of God is dangerous and will receive His wrath! For example, Veronica’s so-called veil that has the imprint of Christ! Again, giving homage to a relic that first of all does not exist! Where do we find this incident in Sacred Writ? We humans tend to cause so much confusion over matters that do not make sense.Our concern should be in the fact that Christ came into the world to be our Saviour!
Mr. Vogt,
You would probably be interested in the following article regarding the shroud of Turin in the Skeptic’s Dictionary: http://skepdic.com/shroud.html
I think the jury is in on this particular “relic”.
My good friend: I will read the article but before doing so, remember that Lucifer has certain powers of delusion and can cause man to swallow all this nonsense!But the point I have established supercedes all other explanations…God tells us not to worship any such images! To be persuaded by tests or the theories of others regarding this RELIC would be to disobey or doubt the pure Word of God!Do you not think that there are none who do not worship and pray to this piece of cloth?
Consider, too, the statue of Peter whose toes of bronze have become smoooth from the kisses of pilgrims!
This is to be my last email…these are troubled times. We live in the waning days of the Age of Grace. The next great event will be the Second Return of Our Lord and Saviour for His own! (evusmc@yahoo.com)
As a patriot and Marine, I will never fail to accomodate the wishes of a fellow believer! For you, Mr.Poe, have done more to restore the vigor and fight in the defense of all of our liberties. The enemy, sadly Americans of a different stripe, have made it their cause to destroy the foundations on which the blessings of God were first laid. It is our duty, as it was of those who banded together with the threat of the noose hanging before them, to stand firm with a solid resolve that no one shall tear down or tamper with the honor of that early blood that made all us a free and independant people!Shall the tiller of the ship freedom be left idle? NEVER!
wow..whos quote is that….re the tiller of the ship? Guys…how about the gospel of Thomas? does it have any credibility?
Re: The Scriptures from which I oft quote: The Old is the New concelaed; the New is the Old revealed (Covenants or Testaments). The Bible has only one message: Jesus saves! So let us not be mystified as to what books may belong or are missing. What is the probabbility of 66 books written over a period of time and yet are in sinct to each other? Literally impossible. But it has happened. But here is something to glean upon: Let us start with the supposition that there is no bible in the world. But that is impossible. Who could imagine such a thing? How could there be a world in absense of the bible? There must be a divine revelation; a record of creatorship. Everything is dependent on the Word of God. Nothing can thrive without the knowledge of an existing God. The physical world, yea, the universe itself would not be without the bible. Could God allow humanity to bow down to nature?To whom would we direct our appeals?Without scripture, there would be no rule of law. All things spiritual would be absent. Order would be eliminated. Virtue would not be known.Life would be devoid of direction.Flesh would contend against flesh. Lust would control the passions. And why? Because there would not be an existence without the bible. Close your eyes and try to imagine a world without the bible!
A conscious man compels the existence of God. If you think that the bloodline of Jesus does exist, then you are being misled. We have been told to believe to a certain point… of the messiah, the majestic creator. He is the absolute Powerful One, our God. The whole universe is a result of everything created by him. He will not allow any man to destroy the likeness of Jesus Christ. He is the one whom man ascended from originally. Man cannot grasp the power of all creation. It is regarded as the goal of his existence as Lordship and our creative successor.
There is evidence, of a force extremely reasonably and powerful associating to Jesus by God. He gave him power to rise over the Devil. And demonstrated his power in his descendants. Big or small, rich or poor, we are wholly part of him as equals. He has no limits as to his perfect power. In fact; it requires the most unreasonable impossibilities and the most manifest of inconceivable evidence, evidence that is not to be considered, conviction certainly based on human knowledge. The whole earth will face the second coming of the Lord.
God’s word has testified to his Oneness and his Unity. It is just a theory to consider proof to clear his very existences of his creatures he created on earth and in the universe. Each created descendant is the link chain of his very existence of his unity and of his Bloodline. No man is powerful enough to end the descendants of Jesus Christ. He is why we all are here. No one, no matter what your ideal is or if it really matters can change that! He is the holy one of God himself. He was sent to this earth to save us from sin and death into eternal life. With his spirit, we live as his holy people of God’s spirit, living within us. It would not be possible to have breath in us if this is not so!
Our Spirit leaders have known a great deal of information about the bloodline of Jesus. This issue goes back deeper than you and I can imagine. Live by faith, not prayer alone. You must have faith to withstand the darkness of the wicked ones who thrive among us. Jesus Spirit still lives inside of us!
So, were you able to accomplish that, you would yet be dealing with the bloodlines of Mary, the woman who bore Him, and Joseph, not Christ.
I suppose even that would give someone “bragging rights”, but what possible effect would that have on the righteousness of anyone?
You still are required to observe the precept as illustrated in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them”.
Wow. Way too much effort is put into this line of thinking (in regards to ALL of the above) when so much more time and effort should be put into just LIVING His word! Do we really even need to argue here? Why not just believe in Him and His word? I am a Christian who has been raised as a catholic, strayed from the church, and returned. I made a promise when I was confirmed as a Catholic and I do NOT break promises if God grants me the power to avoid breaking them. A promise, not kept, quickly becomes a lie. I, as human, have no power of my own. It is not my place to debate what is right and what is wrong. I am not a judge; only He is worthy to judge. Passing judgement and arguing such trivialites when so much more important efforts are at hand, is a waste of time. Embrace only love for one another. Fill your hearts with Christ’s love, love for Him and love for our fellow man, and there will be no place for the enemy regardless of how we are approached in his deceptive attacks. We can only serve one master. I chose to serve the one, true God. The Father, The Creator, The God of Love and Mercy.
To be honest, I have read different versions of the bible and I have seen huge differences in the wording. King James was said to have changed the bible to meet his own desires, the Pope changes wording and rules, etc. However, I don’t think we were meant to follow any one human being. We are all too flawed to be worthy leaders. I will simply follow that gentle voice that guides me. Some call it a conscience, I believe that it is the Holy Spirit, God’s guiding voice. All I know is that throughout my life I have never gone wrong when I listened to that gentle urging inside of me. When I have ignored it, God forgive me, but I have, I can look back and see that I let my own prideful self get in the way of God’s perfect plan. I can also see that I was wrong and caused my own stumbling blocks during that time too.
I don’t think that Jesus wanted us to waste time and effort on a cloth, but if it is, indeed, genuine then I think that He left it to those who need to feel the wounds to believe. He would have left it for His “doubting Thomases,” if you will. If you would doubt that Christ was capable of making that possible, you might just check the part of the bible that says that all things are possible through God. Either way, it is of no great significance to my life. I believe without seeing or touching.
I don’t think that Mary is so much “worshiped” by the catholic religion as she is respected for the role she had to play. I don’t actually think she would have liked all the attention we, catholics, tend to give her though. She seemed to me to be a humble servant of God. I DO think, however, that she would do whatever task God gives her to do. If God asked her to be some sort of ‘good-will ambassador” on our behalf, then that’s what I believe she would do. Catholics aren’t taught to pray TO Mary, we are taught to ask her to pray FOR us. We ask her to take our requests to her Son for us. She is considered to have great favor with God and, by her requesting something on our behalf, we are asking God to respond favorably to our sincere requests. We were never taught to “worship” her as an idol.The catholic church also teaches that Mary’s body did not die. It is taught that she was assumed into Heaven, body & soul. This would allow for the images of Mary without it being a graven image. I don’t agree or agrue with this point. It has no relevance on my life or my service in Christ, but having grown up in the catholic church, I simply wanted to let everyone know how this is taught.
Overall, I just wanted to say here that, while I don’t agree 100% with ANY church’s teachings, I do believe that Christ wanted us to follow HIS teachings. As such, does it really matter how many children Mary had? Does it really? If so, WHY? It is not important to my life to know how many children she had, or if a scrap of cloth was the exact one that once covered my Saviour’s face after my sin nailed His hands and feet to the cross. These objects of such heavy debate do not even have any great bearing on the state of my eternal well-being. I have thus far in my complicated and very flawed lifetime survived just fine without any conclusive knowlege or decision on these “hot topics!”
I have asked God to open my eyes to the truth, to be used as an instrument of His will and His plan. I can tell you this:
Since making my request to God I have realized that A.) I did NOT know what I was asking for! and B.) I will never regret asking because I can “hear” Him loud & clear now! He is everywhere & in everything. If we are just quiet and still, we will hear Him. If we continue to argue with both ourselves & each other, we will never hear His most important, most Holy, most urgent message. That message tells us, at every turn, to “just love.” When only love exists, nothing else can.
I love you all, my brothers & sisters. I hope you all have a wonderful day filled with His love, His mercy, His hope, and His wonderful works! It’s an amazing journey! God Bless you all, my friends!
I believe that, by virtue of HIs sacrifice, we are ALL blood kin of Jesus Christ. Believing that helps one to keep to a “holier” path – literally, if I wouldn’t “do” a thing to my Lord, I don’t do it to myself. It gives purpose to the myriad sacrifices that I, as a practising Christian with my own dogma, offer up to the Lord, out of respect, obedience and adoration.
I guess everyone has their own beliefs. But to really think that Mary would remain a virgin her entire life, and her husband Joseph never to touch her. This really is hard to believe, and I can see no reason why. I believe she had other children. Did God come down to Joseph and say do not touch Mary as her womb is holy being that she carried Jesus? How could a normal couple be married and love each other and not have a romantic relationship? People put Mary on too high a pedestal. She was a normal woman. And anyways, some people would have a hard time believing that she could get pregnant by God. Maybe she had some kind of dream while she was pregnant by Joseph.
I heard Jesus tell me To look into my past and i would find him there… I did and he was there….
Jesus did not leave relatives of his own. His brothers and sisters married and had extensive families. I’m sure there are relatives living now.
He had a total of 8 brothers and sisters (five males and 3 females). Did they keep the memory of their illustrious relative alive or did they succumb to fear and persecution? We know James the oldest of his brothers became head of the early church in Jerusalem. His mother passed away less than a year after Jesus’s resurrection, byy then, with many grandchildren. I would love to meet them.
From what all the genealogy and ancestry web sites list (Info Highway) and over 700-plus years of the Catholic Church, Jewish Gen and Saints Scroll in Morasah (Musrara), Jerusalem, the research shows as many as 12 families relating to Jesus by trace and speck evidence to heavy-handed birth and marriage documents. And this evidence shows one family line in the US and England as direct descendants!
These families intertwine throughout history many times and are all directly related to the crowned heads of England, France, Egypt (Cleopatra), Israel, Greece and others.
After reading through all the white noise and twist and turns in this family line, the evidence shows confirmation from both the Catholic church, Vienna Jewish Jerusalem, history, library and Saint Thomas Christians. The descendants named Shifflett Shiflitt, Roache Roche Roach Rocke in the US first touched down in the new world from Europe and the records even show paid passage on the Mayflower and they may have even been on earlier excursions. The line easily reads and dates back hundreds of years before Christ. This is the same family from Castle Roche in Wales and Shifflett / Roache families settling and still living in the US territories now called of Virginia and Maryland.
There is a unknown pagan heir from the House of Payne. The direct bloodline descendant and birthright heir to the throne of the Egyptian Church. Would the powers that be attempt to hide, deny or cover up this fact?
Many years ago in the 1960’s my grandmother whose people of the Basden line. Told me that our relatives saw Jesus when he was a teenager. He was to have come to England with his uncle who had some interests in the tin mining of southern England. This was at or near Summerset, England. Not long after personal computers came into being I was just flipping through the web and accidently came upon what my grandmother told me many years before. I was delightfully shocked. When in 1850 her relatives came to America they settled in Summerset, Illinois a small township near Murphysboro, Illinois. This is all I currently know.
Hi my name is Charlotte Bullen. My family told me that we are in Jesus’s bloodline and they have paper work to show that we are.
The fact that a family in this day and age has that information,that they took the time, lots of it, to investigate and find this information amazes me. THIS is something I would really love to see and study. Not to debunk it or smear it or try to prove it wrong in ANY WAY! I would like to see it for the knowledge alone! Would you be willing to show it to me?
There will always be suspicion and great mystery concerning this question and many regarding the origins of Christianity. From a very young age I began a quest to search for some shred of truth in it all.. from Catholic to Baptist, Baptist to Methodist, Methodist to Mormon and now living in Italy in the middle of the seed of the biblical coming together I find myself a bit of all and nothing.
For me the question is not if, but why not. If the son of man came in as a human, why would he not have a human experience? He grew, he lived and he died, as we all do.
As for the bloodline, if it exists and too my knowledge it did, just not as has been portrayed, it would have been kept very quiet for logical reasons. Look at they war that still exist in the name of who is right and wrong. I think for me anyway, it better to trust what I feel rather that what I have been taught, which historically is a lie in every way.
We as a species are simply not ready nor possibly awake enough for any new concept.. although something that would rock the world into a state of alertness and oneness would be amazing.
excuse the typo, son of God. 🙂