The “FIRST TIME” of Osiris

The Egyptians associated the first appearance of the phoenix with a golden age in their history known as Zep Tepi, the “First Time.” They were convinced the foundations of their civilization were established during this remote and glorious epoch. R. T. Rundle Clark, former professor of Egyptology at Manchester University, commented on the ancients’ conception of the First Time: “Anything whose existence or authority had to be justified or explained must be referred to the ‘First Time.’ This was true for natural phenomena, rituals, royal insignia, the plans of temples, magical or medical formulae, the hieroglyphic system of writing, the calendar—the whole paraphernalia of the civilization ... All that was good or efficacious was established on the principles laid down in the “First Time”—which was, therefore, a golden age of absolute perfection...”

The First Time seems to have been the period during which Osiris reigned as foremost king of Egypt. It was during this era that he established law (maat) and initiated worship of Ra, Egypt’s monotheistic God. Rundle Clark explained: “The reign of Osiris was a golden age, the model for subsequent generations. Maat and monotheism, the “model for subsequent generations” set forth by Osiris, was the driving force behind Egyptian culture for thousands of years.

What exactly does the phrase “the First Time” mean? Is it a reference to the first appearance—the first coming— of the Christian Saviour on earth? Was there a guiding force behind the rise of Egyptian culture? The same guiding force that has inaugurated the empire of Christendom? Was the First Time an era during which an ancient Messianic tradition was first established? A tradition aimed at revealing cultural wisdom, law, and spiritual truth to mankind during different historical epochs?

In the past decade extensive research has been undertaken by authors Graham Hancock, Robert Bauval, and Adrian Gilbert to link the events of the “First Time” with the god Osiris and the constellation Orion. They believe the three great pyramids at Giza were constructed to form a mirror image of the three stars of Orion’s belt (Orion was perceived as the celestial counterpart of Osiris). Using computer-imagery they demonstrate that the best fit for the Orion/Pyramids correlation was the year 10,500 B.C. One of the so-called “air-shafts” inside the great pyramid points directly to the stars of Orion’s belt during the 10,500 B.C. epoch— further evidence, according to the authors, of a connection between the First Time of Osiris, the Giza pyramids, and the three stars of Orion’s belt. What is the significance of the 10,500 B.C. era? Is it possible that Osiris’ life, death, and resurrection occurred during this remote epoch? By establishing a date for the First Time of Osiris, have Hancock, Bauval, and Gilbert unwittingly discovered the date of the first appearance of the phoenix (Christian Messiah) on earth?

Interestingly, 10,500 B.C. is an important date to the Ammonites, a hidden community of about 27,000 who still practice the ancient Egyptian religion. Though the Ammonites are believed to have been destroyed by the Israelites thousands of years ago, they have lived in hiding throughout the Middle East for centuries, settling for a time in Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Their history can be traced back to the era of the first Ammonite kingdoms in Jordan, outside Egypt. The Ammonite Foundation is said to have been established by King Tutankhamun after the reign of the heretic Akhenaten, its purpose being to protect the sacred Egyptian texts from corruption. Ammonite tradition asserts that the appearance of Osiris, known by his ancient Egyptian name Ausar, occurred in c. 10,500 B.C. Jonathan Cott, author of Isis and Osiris: Exploring the Myth, conducted an interview with Her Grace Sekhmet Montu, one of the spiritual leaders of the Ammonites. She described the birth of the Ammonite tradition: “We didn’t start counting ourselves as followers until the death of Ausar [Osiris], and the date of his ascension into the other world marks the first day of the Ammonite calendar—12,453 years ago from this June 21, 1991!

Here again the mysterious date 10,500 B.C. arises in connection to the First Time of Osiris.

Interestingly, the twentieth-century American psychic Edgar Cayce also spoke of the year 10,500 B.C. According to his readings, it was during this era that the primitive Nile-dwellers came in contact with beings of a more ancient and advanced civilization who accelerated their culture and sense of spirituality by laying down the fundamentals of Egyptian culture.