Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus:Flavian Signature Edition

by Atwill, Joseph

yet were these men that now got together, and joined in the conspiracy by parties, too small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves …

  Josephus then describes the beginning of Vespasian’s pacification of the Judean countryside. His first assault was on Gadara, a city held by the rebels.

  These things were told Vespasian by deserters …

  … Accordingly, he marched against Gadara, the metropolis of Perea, which was a place of strength, and entered that city on the fourth day of the month Dystrus [Adar];

  for the men of power had sent an embassage to him, without the knowledge of the seditious, to treat about a surrender; which they did out of the desire they had of peace, and for saving their effects, because many of the citizens of Gadara were rich men.

  This embassy the opposite party knew nothing of, but discovered it as Vespasian was approaching near the city. However, they despaired of keeping possession of the city, as being inferior in number to their enemies who were within the city, and seeing the Romans very near to the city; so they resolved to fly.

  Josephus then states that after being driven from Gadara, the rebels fled to another town where they conscripted a group of young men into their ranks. This combined group then ran “like the wildest of beasts” attempting to escape. Eventually many were forced to “leap” into the river Jordan, where they drowned. So many dying in the river that, it “could not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in.”

  But as soon as these fugitives saw the horsemen that pursued them just upon their backs, and before they came to a close fight, they ran together to a certain village, which was called Bethennabris,

  where finding a great multitude of young men, and arming them, partly by their own consent, partly by force, they rashly and suddenly assaulted Placidus and the troops that were with him.

  These horsemen at the first onset gave way a little, as contriving to entice them further off the wall; and when they had drawn them into a place fit for their purpose, they made their horses encompass them round, and threw their darts at them.

  So the horsemen cut off the flight of the fugitives, while the foot terribly destroyed those that fought against them;

  for those Jews did no more than show their courage, and then were destroyed; for as they fell upon the Romans when they were joined close together, and, as it were, walled about with their entire armor, they were not able to find any place where the darts could enter, nor were they any way able to break their ranks,

  while they were themselves run through by the Roman darts, and, like the wildest of wild beasts, rushed upon the point of others’ swords; so some of them were destroyed, as cut with their enemies’ swords upon their faces, and others were dispersed by the horsemen.

  … As for those that ran out of the village, they stirred up such as were in the country, and exaggerating their own calamities, and telling them that the whole army of the Romans were upon them, they put them into great fear on every side; so they got in great numbers together, and fled to Jericho …

  … But Placidus … slew all that he overtook, as far as Jordan; and when he had driven the whole multitude to the riverside … he put his soldiers in array over against them …

  … At which fight, hand to hand, fifteen thousand of them were slain, while the number of those that were unwillingly forced to leap into Jordan was prodigious.

  There were besides two thousand and two hundred taken prisoners. A mighty prey was taken also, consisting of asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.

  … and Jordan could not be passed over, by reason of the dead bodies that were in it …59

  As I compared Josephus’ and the New Testament’s Gadara stories, I recognized that there were similarities between them. For example, the demoniac in the New Testament’s story is described as having a “Legion” of demons inside him. The rebel “tyrant,” John, is described as having “the past insolent actions [of the many] reduced to [his] one head.” Thus, the demoniac of Gadara can be likened to Josephus’ description of John.

  Further, Josephus indicates that the Sicarii were only able to become a Judea-wide movement because of John’s effort to establish himself as a tyrant. Before John’s “wickedness” they engaged in limited activities—“at this time they overran the neighboring countries, aiming only to procure to themselves necessaries; for the fear they were then in prevented their further ravages.” However, once John had divided the country, “between sedition and tyranny, they boldly undertook greater matters.” These “greater matters” being recruitment and expansion of their movement throughout the countryside and Jerusalem, “Nor was there now any part of Judea that was not in a miserable condition, as well as its most eminent city also.” So, like the demons that sprang forth out of one man at Gadara, the expansion of the Sicarii can be said to have come about as the result of the wickedness inside of “one head.”

  In another passage in Wars of the Jews Josephus repeats the concept of John, like the demoniac of Gadara, filling the “entire country with ten thousand instances of wickedness.”

  Yet did John demonstrate by his actions that these Sicarii were more moderate than he was himself, for he not only slew all such as gave him good counsel to do what was right, but treated them worst of all, as the most bitter enemies that he had among all the Citizens; nay, he filled his entire country with ten thousand instances of wickedness.60

  I also noticed that in describing the Sicarii, Josephus stated that their group was “too small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves.” There is a word that describes just such a number of fighting men—a legion.61 “Legion” being the word that the demons from the New Testament passage above used to describe themselves.

  In Josephus’ story of Gadara this Legion then:

  ran together to a certain village, which was called Bethennabris, where finding a great multitude of young men, [armed] them, partly by their own consent, partly by force …

  Thus, this legion of Sicarii “infected” a great number, paralleling the demons’ infection of the swine in the New Testament. The infected group is then confronted by the Romans and runs about “like the wildest of wild beasts,” which parallels the herd of swine in the New Testament passage who “ran violently.”

  Both the New Testament and Josephus conclude their Gadara stories with a mass drowning and a description of a group that numbered “about two thousand.” In the New Testament, as I have stated, the author does not tell us what happened to the demons that infected the swine. He does, however, tell us the number of swine that drowned, “(about two thousand).” In the Gadara passage in Wars of the Jews, Josephus tells us the number of prisoners taken captive: “There were besides two thousand and two hundred taken prisoners.” Josephus also informs us that, “A mighty prey was taken also, consisting of asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.” Notice that there were no swine taken.

  I questioned whether the similarities between the two passages were the result of random chance. Many concepts could be seen as parallel—“one head” that contained great evil, a “Legion,” this legion infecting another group, the combined group running “wildly,” the drowning of the infected group, a group that numbered “about two thousand,” the “missing” swine, and, of course, the location of Gadara. However, if the parallels between the two passages had been created intentionally, what was their purpose?

  As I studied the New Testament passage further, I became aware that there were many unanswered questions within it. Why do the demons wish to enter the swine? Why do the swine then rush into the sea? What becomes of the demons? Why do the demons ask Jesus if he is there to torment them “before the time”? Why does the possessed man cut himself with stones?

  As I believed that Josephus’ “Son of Mary whose flesh is eaten” passage was a satire of the New Testament’s symbolic Passover lamb, I attempted to determine whether one of the passages concerning Gadara might be a satire of the other. I soon realized that it is possible to read the Gospel stories of the
demoniac of Gadara as a satire of Josephus’ description of the battle of Gadara, and that the two passages could possibly be interactive.

  The reason that the New Testament’s demoniac of Gadara can be seen as a satire on Josephus’ “tyrant” John and the battle at Gadara, is simply because the two stories follow the same plot outline. In other words, the characters and events that can be seen as parallel occur in the same sequence. And it all occurs near Gadara. The satirical version in the New Testament tells the same story that Josephus does but, as is often the case with satire, the characters have different names.

  In the New Testament the characters are the unnamed demoniac, the demons, and the swine that the demons infect. In Wars of the Jews the characters are the rebel leader John, the Sicarii, and the group that the Sicarii conscripts. If the New Testament’s Gadara passage is a satire of Josephus’ description of the battle, the demon-possessed man in the New Testament from whom the “legion” sprang would be a satire of John, the rebel leader from whose “one head” the wickedness came forth. Following this logic, the legion of demons that sprang from one individual in the New Testament would lampoon the Sicarii in Wars of the Jews, who are described as “too small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves.” The “swine” in the New Testament would satirize the group that the Sicarii “infected” in Josephus’ passage.

  The premise, that the characters in the two tales concerning Gadara are meant to be understood as the same individuals but with different names, also seems to answer my question about whether the two thousand demons drowned with the swine they infected. The demons who infected the swine in the New Testament must be a satirical representation of the 2,200 Sicarii who escaped drowning and were captured alive at Gadara.

  Josephus appears to complete this comical interaction with the New Testament by pointing out that while many different animals were captured, none were swine: “A mighty prey was taken also, consisting of asses, and sheep, and camels, and oxen.” Why were no swine captured? Because in the New Testament’s story of Gadara the swine had drowned, and therefore could not be captured in the parallel passage in Wars of the Jews.

  While the structure of this satire is more complex than the others I have shown, the dark humor itself is very straightforward. It simply denigrates the Sicarii as demons and unclean spirits, and the people they recruited as swine. No doubt this was the way the Flavian family felt about the rebels.

  Many of Jesus’ prophecies have been long understood to foresee events from the war between the Romans and the Jews. It is therefore strange that the relationship between the two passages has not been noticed before, the Gospels’ Gadara story being a “prophecy” of an event from the war that Josephus recorded as having “come to pass.” This oversight is particularly odd in light of the fact that the Gospels’ Gadara story is, in and of itself, incoherent. Within the context of the New Testament, there is no theological or moral principle that can be gleaned from the story of a legion of demons that enter a herd of swine that then run wildly into the river and drown. However, when it is viewed as a satire of Josephus’ description of the battle of Gadara, the New Testament passage makes perfect sense.

  Another seemingly incoherent aspect of Jesus’ encounter with the demoniac that this interpretation makes clear, occurs in the version of the story found in Matthew. Wherein, upon seeing Jesus, the demon-possessed men cry out, “What have we to do with you, Jesus, you Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?”62 The question the demons are asking is unanswerable within the literal context of the passage. What “time” are they referring to? However, this question is answered by the interpretation I offer. If the demons are lampoons of the leaders of the Jewish rebellion, the time of their torment is clear. They are prophesying the torment experienced by John and Simon at the end of their war against the Romans.

  Further, if the New Testament’s passage is a satire of the battle of Gadara, notice that it is a specific satire of Josephus’ passage, and not of some tradition regarding the battle that Josephus might have shared with the authors of the New Testament. For example, the demoniac referring to himself as “Legion” only makes satirical sense as a witty parallel to Josephus’ unique description of the rebel band as being “too small for an army, and too many for a gang of thieves.” This is an important point, in that it indicates that parts of the New Testament and Wars of the Jews were designed to be read interactively, or intertextually.

  Josephus’ description of the manner in which John had spread his “infection,” is similar to Jesus’ description of the “unclean spirits” who left one man and infected many others.

  Now as it is in a human body, if the principal part be inflamed, all the members are subject to the same distemper.

  This similarity is especially clear when one considers that in first-century Judea, “demons” were considered to be responsible for fevers and other illnesses. The Dead Sea Scrolls actually describe a “fever demon.”63 When Josephus uses “infection” as an analogy for the Sicarii’s activity, he is practically likening them to demons.

  I therefore decided to review the New Testament and Wars of the Jews for examples to support the premise that the New Testament lampoons the Sicarii as “demons.” During this analysis it became clear that Jesus and Josephus each referred to the same “wicked generation,” the generation that crucified Christ and then rebelled against Rome, as having been infected by “demons.”

  In the following passage, for example, Jesus specifically foresees that “unclean spirits,” or demons, would possess this “wicked generation.” Notice that Jesus makes the point that one “unclean spirit” can infect many, which parallels Josephus’ description of the wickedness passing from “one head” to many. Jesus also states that the unclean spirits pass through “waterless places,” which can be seen as a satirical way of stating that demons cannot pass through water, thereby linking the passage to what puzzled me regarding the fate of the two thousand demons. The idea that demons are unable to pass through water runs through both the New Testament and the works of Josephus.

  “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, but he finds none.

  “Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order.

  “Then he goes and brings with him seven other spirits more evil than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. So shall it be also with this evil generation.” 64

  Jesus’ linking of the “evil generation” to demonically possessed men who infected others, mirrors my interpretation of the New Testament’s Gadara passage, wherein I concluded that the “Sicarii” were demons who infected others with their “wickedness.” When Jesus referred to a “wicked generation” he appears to have been referring to the Sicarii who rebelled against Rome. This proposition is especially clear in light of the fact that to Jews of this era a “generation” was forty years, which was the exact time span between Jesus’ resurrection and the final destruction of the Sicarii at Masada.

  The understanding that a “generation” lasted forty years comes from the Pentateuch.

  And the Lord’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was consumed.65

  Many Christians currently hold a different position regarding Jesus’ doomsday prophecies, believing that they do not refer to the generation of Jews that lived during his lifetime. Instead, they believe that Jesus was speaking about some unspecified time still in the future. I feel that this “futurist” understanding is incorrect and has the effect of obfuscating Jesus’ words, thereby making it difficult to understand the meaning they conveyed in the first century. No real understanding of the New Testament is possible without knowing what Jesus meant when he used the word “generation.”

  The Greek word in t
he New Testament that has been translated as “generation” is genea. Early in the 20th century some Christian scholars began to posit that Jesus’ use of this word was meant to indicate not the “generation” of Jews alive during his lifetime, but rather the entire “race” of Jews, which would not pass away “without all these things having first taken place.”

  It is easy to understand their desire for such a definition. If Jesus is referring to those Jews alive during his lifetime then his “Second Coming” must have occurred in 70 A.D. Such an understanding leaves Christianity in an awkward position. This is because if Jesus’ “Second Coming” had occurred during the war between the Romans and the Jews, why was it Titus and not Jesus who demolished the temple and destroyed the “wicked generation”?

  The Christian theologian C. I. Scofield recognized this dilemma, and in his Bible reference switched the definition of the word genea to that of genos, an entirely different word meaning “race.” However, scholars showed that the New Testament’s use of genea could only be referring to the Jews of Jesus’ lifetime and not to the entire Jewish race, thereby debunking Scofield’s position.66

  The understanding, that Jesus was specifically referring to the generation of Jews alive at the time he spoke the words, was certainly the understanding held during the Middle Ages. For example, the following notes were found written alongside Matthew 24:34 in a Bible dated 1599:

  This age: the word generation or age is here being used for the men of this age.67