Zarathustra was an Iranian Prophet who correctly foretold the coming of Jesus Christ.  He taught that there exist two eternal forces, one good and the other evil, and that the good will eventually win the war between the two, but it has not won yet.  Both God and Satan the Devil, whom he called Angra Mainyu, i.e. "Evil Spirit," were together in the beginning, and they are diametrically opposed to each other even to the point of absolute hatred.[1]  Moreover, there are a group of gods that have taken sides with the Devil, and there is an alliance of gods that have taken sides with the Good God – we humans having free will to choose between the two – and if the good alliance gains more gods and humans to its side then "we can defeat evil by this increase in numbers."[2]  Thus, God is not in complete control, because the Devil is in the same league with him.  This explains why evil and suffering exist – God does not allow it, he just can't overpower it.

     Why should we care about what Zarathustra said?  We should care because Zarathustra was a Prophet who foretold the physical incarnation of Jesus Christ hundreds of years before it happened.  He said, "May Asha attain a body."[3]  This passage is from the Gathas, which are the part of the Zoroastrian holy texts that scholars believe are the real words of the ancient Prophet Zarathustra himself.  Duchesne-Guillemin says about this verse, "He (Zarathustra) desires that righteousness may become incarnate and strengthened by the action of mankind."[4]  In a later Zoroastrian text, a comment is made, apparently about this verse, that in the Gathas it says there is a wise man called "the Word incarnate."[5]

     The word Asha means "Righteousness," but it also carries a deeper meaning, because Asha is the second member of the divine triad of the Gathas.  Zarathustra believed in a Trinity of sorts, the first member being Ahura Mazda (Lord of Wisdom), the second member being Asha (Righteousness), and the third member being Vohu Mainyu (Good Spirit).  These three, which are the three most frequently mentioned spiritual entities of the Gathas, roughly correlate to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  The fact that the second member of this Trinity, Asha, is the divine manifestation to become incarnate, thereby being analogous to Christ, coupled with the fact that Zarathustra elsewhere repeatedly speaks about the coming of multiple Messiahs,[6] provides a case that Zarathustra was indeed a Prophet of Christ, on par with Isaiah, David, Jeremiah, Zechariah, and the other Hebrew Prophets who also foretold his coming.  Zarathustra even swears allegiance specifically to Asha, the second person of the Trinity, as his Prophet.[7] 

     Zarathustra also implies that a certain figure he called "the man of insight" would accomplish some kind of atonement on behalf of all others:

We present offerings of service to you, Ahura, and to Asha, asking that you accomplish the destiny of all living things in the kingdom through Vohu Mainyu.  For the salvation of the Man of Insight, who is among you, O Mazda, will hold good for all.[8]

This man of insight is identified as Mazda acting in the capacity of Asha, with the fruits of Vohu Mainyu,[9] that is, divine Wisdom acting in the capacity of the Logos with the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

     Another Zoroastrian scripture strikes a chord with evolution in a rather remarkable way, converging with the scientific belief that DNA arose only once on this planet:

Ahura Mazda created all living things from a single species.[10] 

     Certain ancient Christians were very fond of Zarathustra.  One of the texts found at Nag Hammadi bears the title Zostrianos, which is an Egyptian form of the name Zarathustra.  The Christian text states, "Zostrianos, the gods have told you these things."[11]  It thus affirms the reality of Zarathustra's divine revelations.  Another ancient Christian authority, Mani of Mesopotamia, who taught in the 200's AD, formed a Christian denomination based on both Jesus Christ's teaching and on Zarathustra's teaching, asserting that the message of Christ and of Zarathustra are from the same God. 

     Zarathustra also has certain commonalities with the Hebrew Prophets.  Like Moses, he prays with his arms outstretched.[12]  Like Isaiah, he "declares anathema all predatory animals" on account of their wicked violence, which is of the Devil and unfit for the kingdom of God.[13]  Like Revelation, Zarathustra saw an apocalypse at the end of the age,[14] and also a day of judgment at the time of the end.[15]  Like Jesus and John, he foresaw a major makeover of the universe after the end of the age.[16]  Like Jeremiah, Amos, Hosea, and David, Zarathustra despised those who killed animals merely to sacrifice them.[17] 

     In another Zoroastrian writing, which may have been written too late to be a prophecy, it states that the Savior will be born of a fifteen year old virgin.[18]  This is intriguing because some manuscripts of the nativity story in Protevangelion say that Mary was 14 years old when she conceived Jesus,[19] which would most likely mean she was 15 when she gave birth to him.  Hence the early Christian nativity story lines up with the nativity story of the Zoroastrian Messiah.  In another late prophecy it speaks of humankind being in the grave for three days and three nights before passing over into the afterlife.[20]  This explains why Clopas the uncle of Jesus said, "They crucified him… and what's more, this is the third day," as if everyone knew the third day was significant.[21]

     Then there is the matter of how certain Zoroastrian kings of Persia paid homage to both their own Zoroastrian God and also to the God of Israel.  King Darius called Yahweh "God of Heaven."[22]  It is known from archaeology that Darius worshipped Zarathustra’s God, Ahura Mazda, as evidenced by Darius' inscription on an ancient monument, wherein he repeatedly states "Ahura Mazda helped me" to conquer other nations and "by the grace of Ahura Mazda" the empire was founded.  In one place he briefly mentions that other gods helped him too, which can only mean that Zoroastrianism was originally no more monotheistic than was Judaism or Christianity.[23]  It was Henotheistic.  Yet it was not polytheistic, because Darius far and away worshipped Ahura Mazda above other gods.  Cyrus, who was also possibly a Zoroastrian, says, "Yahweh God of Israel – he is God."[24]  In turn, the Bible asserts that Cyrus is Yahweh's anointed one.[25]  Xerxes, the Zoroastrian king who followed Darius, was the husband of the Biblical Esther, who supposedly saved the Jews from Haman.  The festival of Purim which commemorates this event might actually be a Jewish adaptation to the older Zoroastrian festival of No Ruz.