On the Name of Calvary.
Whilst meditating on the name of Golgotha, Calvary, the place of
skulls, borne by the rock upon which Jesus was crucified, I became
deeply absorbed in contemplation, and beheld in spirit all ages from
the time of Adam to that of Christ, and in this vision the origin of
the name was made known to me. I here give all that I remember on this
subject.
I saw Adam, after his expulsion from Paradise, weeping in the grotto
where Jesus sweated blood and water, on Mount Olivet. I saw how Seth
was promised to Eve in the grotto of the manger at Bethlehem, and how
she brought him forth in that same grotto. I also saw Eve living in
some caverns near Hebron, where the Essenian Monastery of Maspha was
afterwards established.
I then beheld the country where Jerusalem was built, as it appeared
after the Deluge, and the land was all unsettled, black, stony, and
very different from what it had been before. At an immense dept below
the rock which constitutes Mount Calvary (which was formed in this spot
by the rolling of the waters), I saw the tomb of Adam and Eve. The head
and one rib were wanting to one of the skeletons, and the remaining
head was placed within the same skeleton, to which it did not belong.
The bones of Adam and Eve had not all been left in this grave, for Noah
had some of them with him in the ark, and they were transmitted from
generation to generation by the Patriarchs. Noah, and also Abraham,
were in the habit, when offering sacrifice, of always laying some of
Adam's bones upon the altar, to remind the Almighty of his promise. When
Jacob gave Joseph his variegated robe, he at the same time gave him
some bones of Adam, to be kept as relics. Joseph always wore them on
his bosom, and they were placed with his own bones in the first
reliquary which the children of Israel brought out of Egypt. I have
seen similar things, but some I have forgotten, and the others time
fails me to describe.
As regards the origin of the name of Calvary, I here give all I
know. I beheld the mountain which bears this name as it was in the time
of the Prophet Eliseus. It was not the same then as at the time of our
Lord's Crucifixion, but was a hill, with many walls and caverns,
resembling tombs, upon it. I saw the Prophet Eliseus descend into these
caverns, I cannot say whether in reality or only in a vision, and I saw
him take out a skull from a stone sepulchre in which bones were
resting. Someone who was by his side--I think an angel--said to him, 'This is
the skull of Adam.' The prophet was desirous to take it away, but his
companion forbade him. I saw upon the skull some few hairs of a fair
colour.
I learned also that the prophet having related what had happened to
him, the spot received the name of Calvary. Finally, I saw that the
Cross of Jesus was placed vertically over the skull of Adam. I was
informed that this spot was the exact centre of the earth; and at the
same time I was shown the numbers and measures proper to every country,
but I have forgotten them, individually as well as in general. Yet I
have seen this centre from above, and as it were from a bird's-eye view.
In that way a person sees far more clearly than on a map all the
different countries, mountains, deserts, seas, rivers, towns, and even
the smallest places, whether distant or near at hand.