Written by Do you believe in Paradise? If so, do you believe in the Avesta? Lets examine the first time the word was ever used. It comes from the Zoroastrian religious text The Avesta and the language is Avestan. The god of these people was Ahura Mazda. Now lets investigate….
Avestan Origins
- Avestan Language: Avestan is an ancient Iranian language in which the sacred texts of Zoroastrianism were composed.
- Pairi-Daeza: The word “paradise” originates from the Avestan term “pairi-daeza,” which means “walled enclosure” or “garden.” This term was used to describe the luxurious, walled gardens that were common in Persian culture and were seen as symbols of abundance and divine favor.
Adoption into Other Languages
- Old Persian: The term was used in Old Persian as “paridaida,” referring to the royal gardens and parks.
- Greek: The Greeks adopted the word as “παράδεισος” (parádeisos) during their interactions with the Persian Empire, particularly after Alexander the Great’s conquest of Persia.
- Latin: From Greek, the word entered Latin as “paradisus,” retaining the meaning of a luxurious garden.
- Hebrew and Aramaic: The term was also adopted into Semitic languages. In the Hebrew Bible, the Garden of Eden is referred to using this concept in the Greek Septuagint translation.
Usage in Religious Texts
- Hebrew Bible (Old Testament): The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (the Septuagint) uses “parádeisos” to describe the Garden of Eden.
- New Testament: In the New Testament, Jesus uses the term “paradise” in Luke 23:43 when speaking to the repentant thief on the cross. Here, “paradise” is used to describe the place of blessedness in the afterlife.
Cultural and Theological Significance
- Zoroastrianism: In Zoroastrianism, the concept of paradise is associated with an idealized, divine garden, reflecting an environment of ultimate happiness and peace.
- Judaism: During the Babylonian Exile, Jewish thinkers were influenced by Persian culture and theology, which is reflected in the adoption of terms like “paradise.”
- Christianity: Early Christians, who were primarily Jewish, inherited these concepts and integrated them into Christian theology, where “paradise” became synonymous with heaven or the abode of the righteous after death.
Where are you going when you die? Paradise? Its just language and timeline now we can connect the dots. This is where Jesus publicly claimed he would be going to paradise. Again I remind you, Paradise was created by Ahura Mazda and Ahura Mazda is the Father.
Luke 23:39-43 (New International Version – NIV)
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
See you in Paradise!!! Ahura Mazda loves you, keep learning.
The orgin of the word is critical when understanding and recognizing who The Father is. If you believe in Paradise, you believe in Ahura Mazda who created it.
Now lets check out what Jesus said…
John 5:19-23 (New International Version – NIV)
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
20 For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, and he will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed.
21 For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
22 Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
23 that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.
John 14:6-10 (New International Version – NIV)
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”
9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
John 14:28 (New International Version – NIV)
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
Matthew 7:21 (New International Version – NIV)
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”
Matthew 6:9-10 (New International Version – NIV)
9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
What do you think? Leave a comment, ask a question.
Conclusion
Ahura Mazda is everything and everywhere. God is in all of us.
“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.”
Jesus understood but those around him didnt.
- John 14:16-17 (New International Version): “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
- John 15:26 (New International Version): “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.”
Jesus represents the truth and the truth is the light and the light is Ahura Mazda.
In these passages, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the “Spirit of truth,” emphasizing the role of the Holy Spirit in guiding believers into all truth.
The term “paradise” indeed has its roots in the Avestan language, originating from the word “pairi-daeza.” This term traveled through various cultures and languages, influenced by the expansive reach of the Persian Empire and the cultural exchanges that occurred through trade, conquest, and interaction. Its adoption into Greek, Latin, and subsequently Hebrew and Aramaic, illustrates the interconnectedness of ancient civilizations and the fluidity of cultural and religious concepts.