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

by Atwill, Joseph

  … as also there came Tiberius Alexander, who was a friend of his, most valuable, both for his good-will to him, and for his prudence. He had formerly been governor of Alexandria,

  but was now thought worthy to be general of the army [under Titus]. The reason of this was, that he had been the first who encouraged Vespasian very lately to accept this his new dominion, and joined himself to him with great fidelity, when things were uncertain, and fortune had not yet declared for him. He also followed Titus as a counselor, very useful to him in this war, both by his age and skill in such affairs.165

  To such individuals who were completely in thrall to the Flavians and who saw militant messianic Judaism as a threat to their financial interests, providing the information to construct a version of Judaism that was in alignment with Rome would have been automatic.

  One of the primary causes for the war between the Romans and the Jews was the Jews’ refusal to worship the Roman emperors as gods. Though the rest of the empire did, the Jews would not call Caesar “Lord.” As I have pointed out, the cruelest deception of Christianity is that by replacing the Jewish God and son of God with Roman emperors, it tricked Jews into calling Caesar “Lord” without knowing it. Christianity stole the identities of the God of Judaism and his messiah Son, as well as those of John and Simon, the leaders of the messianic rebellion. Their identities were given to Vespasian and Titus and to the “Christian Apostles” John and Simon. These disguised characters were combined with other symbols of Roman conquest, the cross of the crucifixion and the “flesh of the Messiah,” to create a religion that both absorbed and ridiculed the messianic movement.

  This was the ultimate triumph of the imperial family. This dark comedic concept of switched identities is in play to such an extent that the New Testament and the works of Josephus together are a puzzle whose solution produces the true identities of their characters. Why was it necessary to create this vast literary puzzle? Because it was the only method by which Titus could both create a religion that solved the problem of the Jews’ refusal to accept the Roman emperor as a god, and also make it known to posterity that he was the one who did it.

  But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders was the courage of the children; for not one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name Caesar for their lord. So far does the strength of the courage [of the soul] prevail over the weakness of the body.166

  The authors of Christianity intended that their puzzles would eventually be solved and Titus’ complete triumph be thereby revealed, a sorry task that has fallen to this author.

  I suspect that Christianity, as the parodic version of the imperial cult, was first inserted into the areas surrounding Judea to serve as a theological barrier to the spread of militaristic Judaism. The religion flourished and in the fourth century Flavius Constantine saw a larger potential for it and decreed it the state religion. The religion thus became a prophylactic for all the potentially rebellious slave populations throughout the empire.

  To make the cult as efficient as possible in promoting their interests, its inventors had their satiric Messiah advocate both pacifism and stoicism, whereby Christians would learn to subdue their rebelliousness and find holiness in subservience. This combination of Christian theology and Roman imperial might was so effective that it kept European civilization frozen in place for over 1,000 years, throughout the Dark Ages.

  A Roman bureaucracy called the Commune Asiae, an organization that administered the imperial cult in Asia, would probably have overseen the original implementation of Christianity. Notably, all the seven “churches of Asia” mentioned in Revelation 1:11 were known to have agencies of the Commune located within them. Five of these seven cities were sites of the imperial cult’s festival, which was held once every five years. In these cities it would have been possible to oversee two versions of the imperial cult, one for Roman citizens and the other for the “slaves and scum” seen as susceptible to the lure of the Messiah.

  The puzzle of Decius Mundus described earlier indicates that “wicked priests” accepted money to build congregations for the new Judaism. Following the destruction of the temple, some of the 18,000 priests who had previously worked there were, presumably, still alive and would have needed to seek new employment. The first Christian priests may have been hired from the remnants of the enormous group that had once ministered to the now destroyed temple.

  However these facts may be, the Roman version of Judaism was introduced to the masses by some group of “wicked priests” who had been employed by the Flavians to preach the “Gospels”—a word that technically means “good news of military victory.” The first people to hear the story of Jesus would most likely have been slaves, whose patrons simply ordered them to attend services. After a while some began to believe, then many.

  CHAPTER 13

  Josephus’ Use of the Book of Daniel

  Thus far, I have shown the reader the parallels, allegories, and puzzles that lie within the New Testament and the works of Josephus to indicate that the Flavian family created Christianity. However, the reader can take another route to this understanding, using only the literal meanings of the words in these works.

  As I have stated, the works of Josephus provided support for the religious doctrine of Christianity. Early Christian writers held that the parallels between Jesus’ prophecies and Josephus’ histories prove that Jesus could see into the future. Moreover, in addition to simply recording that Jesus’ prophecies had come to pass, Josephus falsified the dates of the events that he describes in Wars of the Jews. He does this so that the sequence of events appear to “prove” that Daniel’s prophecies came to pass within the first century C.E. and that Jesus is the son of God that Daniel envisioned.

  The following passage from St. Augustine exemplifies the early church fathers’ belief that the 70 C.E. destruction of Jerusalem simultaneously fulfilled the prophecies of both Daniel and Jesus.

  Luke, to show that the abomination spoken of by Daniel will take place when Jerusalem is captured, recalls these words of the Lord in the same context: When you shall see Jerusalem compassed about with an army, then know that the desolation thereof is at hand. For Luke very clearly bears witness that the prophecy of Daniel was fulfilled when Jerusalem was overthrown.167

  It is not well known today that Josephus falsified the dates of the events in Wars of the Jews, so that his work would be seen as the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies; this is remarkable because he constantly reminds his readers that he is doing just that.

  … And indeed it so came to pass, that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel’s vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass. In the very same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them.

  All these things did this man leave in writing, as God had showed them to him …168

  The passage above could not state the proposition any more clearly. Josephus is claiming that the events he describes in his works are part of the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecies. He shares this understanding of the events with Jesus, who also believed that Daniel’s prophecies foresaw the 70 C.E. destruction of Jerusalem.

  Daniel’s prophecies foresaw events that spanned five centuries. They predicted that toward the end of this time period a Messiah, who would be a son of God, would appear and then be “cut off.” This cutting off of the Messiah is then followed by the destruction of Jerusalem. Therefore, to demonstrate that the war between the Romans and the Jews is the one that Daniel envisioned, Josephus begins to align his history with Daniel’s prophecies many years before the events of the first century C.E. Josephus begins Wars of the Jews with a passage that describes Antiochus Epiphanes’ assault on Jerusalem, which occurred approximately 200 years before the birth of Christ. Josephus clearly indicates that the assault was an event on Daniel’s prophetic continuum—specifically, the desolation Daniel predicts in Daniel 7:13�
�8:14. He does this by using a phrase found only in the Book of Daniel, the “ending of the daily sacrifice,” and by documenting the amount of time during which the daily sacrifice was halted, “three years and six months.” By using these phrases, Josephus is flatly stating that Daniel’s prophecies are coming to pass. This position cannot be disputed because Josephus himself writes the passage above that “our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel’s vision.”

  While the following passage may seem innocuous, it is in fact Josephus’ “proof” that Daniel’s prophetic continuum was occurring, and that therefore, the first century C.E. would see both a Messiah who would be “cut off” and the destruction of Jerusalem. Notice Josephus’ use of Daniel’s phrase “three years and six months.”

  At the same time that Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had a quarrel with the sixth Ptolemy about his right to the whole country of Syria, a great sedition fell among the men of power in Judea, and they had a contention about obtaining the government; while each of those that were of dignity could not endure to be subject to their equals. However, Onias, one of the high priests, got the better, and cast the sons of Tobias out of the city;

  who fled to Antiochus, and besought him to make use of them for his leaders, and to make an expedition into Judea. The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months. 169

  By beginning his work with this description, Josephus is, in effect, stating that all the events in Daniel’s prophetic continuum will come to pass within the era that his histories cover. This is because once one links an event to a point on Daniel’s continuum there can be no stopping until all the prophecies in his continuum have been fulfilled.

  The cutting off of the Messiah that Daniel predicted is one of these events. Therefore, even though Jesus is not mentioned in Wars of the Jews, Josephus was aware that if the destruction of Jerusalem that Daniel prophesies comes to pass in 70 C.E., the Messiah that Daniel predicted, would have lived and been “cut off” earlier in the first century. Josephus is, in effect, providing support for the claim that Jesus existed and was the Messiah that Daniel prophesied, with the very first sentence of his work.

  After establishing the continuum of Daniel’s prophecies with Antiochus Epiphanes’ assault on Jerusalem, Josephus then records that the 70 C.E. destruction of Jerusalem brings Daniel’s prophecies to a close. He does this by “documenting,” once again, that the time sequences between the related events during the war match the conclusion Daniel envisioned, and by using terms found only in the Book of Daniel.

  The reader will notice that in none of the examples I present does Josephus try to portray certain events as occurring at precise dates. There was no system in the first century to precisely determine dates to which Daniel’s prophecies could be aligned. In any case, Daniel’s prophecies are so vague as to defy temporal specificity. The only certainties regarding them is that he uses the word “week” to refer to a seven-year, not a seven-day, period and that his visions encompass a 490-year span.

  Josephus guides his readers to reach his intended conclusions by using words and phrases such as “desolation” and “ending of the daily sacrifice,” which he expects the reader to be familiar with from Daniel, and, more concretely, by simply stating that Daniel’s prophecies were coming to pass. Moreover, Josephus also dates events within his history in precise time spans relative to one another, creating the impression that they were part of Daniel’s prophecies.

  Josephus recorded that the related events were either three and a half years (half a week) or seven years (a week) apart. The length of the war was seven years and the “ending of the daily sacrifice” was three and a half years from its beginning.

  Bear in mind that Josephus was not merely inventing a religion; he was also inventing a time sequence within which the religion is contained. None of the first-century chronology, by which we orient ourselves today, existed until the author(s) of the works of Josephus created it. Because he was literally creating both history and time, Josephus was free to place events in relation to one another any way he chose. His recording of the perfect alignment of events in the time sequences Daniel predicted is either his witnessing of supernatural phenomena or a deliberate falsification.

  Currently there is contention among scholars regarding virtually all of the chronology Josephus gives in Wars of the Jews.170 For example, Josephus gives a later date than Suetonius171 and Dio for when Vespasian began to prepare for the civil war in Rome that led to his becoming emperor. It is probable that Josephus did this to provide support for the Flavian claim that Vespasian was not anxious to become Emperor. This “shaping” of time by Josephus to create Flavian propaganda is exactly the same technique he used to create the alignment between the Flavian campaign in Judea and the prophecies of Daniel.

  While it is not necessary that the reader be completely knowledgeable about Daniel’s arcane prophecies and dating system to understand this analysis, some information is useful.

  Daniel envisioned a series of tribulations for the Jews during which various disasters would befall them. Inside this time period, he foresaw that a Messiah, whom he referred to as the son of God, would be “cut off.” The period would last 490 years, the “seven times seventy weeks” foreseen by Daniel. Several half weeks, three-and-a-half-year periods, would occur within specific weeks.

  Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.172

  When Josephus aligns events of the first century with the prophecies of Daniel, he is creating a historical context that includes the son of God, the Messiah. No other interpretation is possible.

  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.173

  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.174

  Daniel foresees a war that will last a week (seven years). At the mid-point of this week (three and a half years after its beginning) the “daily sacrifice” will cease and the “abomination of desolation,” also foreseen by Jesus, will occur.

  And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (three and a half years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.175

  Understanding this much, the reader should appreciate that the following passage from Wars of the Jews is, without question, meant to be understood as demonstrating the alignment between Daniel’s prophecies and the history Josephus is describing. The “failure of the daily sacrifice,” three and a half years from the beginning of the war, is too unique and precise a concept to permit any other interpretation. Further, this passage must be describing the “abomination of desolation” Jesus prophesied in the New Testament, a point I shall go into in depth.

  The passage is the most important in the works of Josephus for revealing the dating technique he was attempting to create. I have included the entire passage because it contains many points central to my theory. The passage begins with Titus bringing Josephus to the walls of Jerusalem to inform the Jewish rebels in their own la
nguage of Titus’ concern over the ending of the “daily sacrifice” to God. The passage makes it completely clear that Josephus understands that Daniel’s prophecies are being fulfilled. Note that Josephus is not reporting second- or third-hand descriptions, which might merely suggest this. Josephus is quoting himself.

  AND now Titus gave orders to his soldiers that were with him to dig up the foundations of the tower of Antonia, and make him a ready passage for his army to come up;

  while he himself had Josephus brought to him, (for he had been informed that on that very day, which was the seventeenth day of Panemus [Tammuz], the sacrifice called “the Daily Sacrifice” had failed, and had not been offered to God, for want of men to offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it)

  and commanded him to say the same things to John that he had said before, that if he had any malicious inclination for fighting, he might come out with as many of his men as he pleased, in order to fight, without the danger of destroying either his city or temple; but that he desired he would not defile the temple, nor thereby offend against God. That he might, if he pleased, offer the sacrifices which were now discontinued of the Jews whom he should pitch upon.