Ahmadiyya Movement — Page 28
28 dead and had now no fear of the Jews, as he was secure against their power, why did he go about in strict secrecy and how did he come to have his wounds still about him into which Thomas was about to put his finger, and how was he able to eat bread and fish ? Does a spirit eat and drink ? All these signs show clearly that he was taken down alive from the cross in accordance with his own prophecy, and, like the prophet Jonas, remained alive for three days in the tomb, which used in those days to be more like a chamber than a closed-up pit like modern tombs, and he came out alive from this chamber, and thus were the machinations of his enemies frustrated. The Promised Messiah also demonstrated that it was necessary that Jesus should have been taken down alive from the cross, for, as he himself says, he had come in search of the lost sheep of Israel. Historical and biblical records prove that, at the time of the advent of Jesus, only two of the tribes of Israel lived in Syria and Palestine, and that the remaining tribes had been taken cap- tive by the Government of Nebuchadnezzar and deported to countries lying towards the east of Persia, and it appears that they had settled down in Afghanistan and Kashmir. The names of the towns of Afghanistan and the archeological remains, the names of the tribes and ancient national traditions of Kashmir, all bear out this hypothesis. Kashmir, which the inhabitants of that country also call by the name of Kasheer, is a Hebrew word, meaning “the like of sheer,” Sheer being the name of Syria, meaning “the land of Flowers. ” As Kashmir was an extremely fertile valley, these exiled Jewish tribes called it Kasheer in memory of their original home, The features of the Pathans and the Kashmiris bear a distinct resemblance to the Jewish type of face. In short, the ten best tribes of Israel were settled in Afg- hanistan and Kashmir, and it was necessary that Jesus should, in order to fulfil his mission, travel to these countries. The Prom- ised Messiah (on whom be peace) has proved from historical records that it is possible to trace the passage of Jesus through