Hidden truth of the Gospels, New Testament, Roman Empire, Christianity

The Explanatory Power of Caesar’s Messiah

10/5/2016

The real strength of a theory is its explanatory power; how many mysteries it resolves. The Gospels have been one of humankind’s greatest puzzles with even the most basic questions about them never having been answered.

Who wrote them? Why is purportedly Jewish literature anti-Semitic? Why were they written in Greek? How could a pacifistic Christ have emerged during an era when the Jews were at war? Why were four Gospels written and placed into one book? Why are these stories so often contradictory? Who is the Son of Man Jesus predicts will come into Judea with such destruction?

The theory presented in Caesar’s Messiah answers all of these questions and more. In fact it has a virtually complete explanatory power and can explain every line and concept in the Gospels and the historical questions about them as well – I invite you to submit your questions below.

This has more than just implications for New Testament scholarship. I have received many communications from individuals who were struggling with their Christian faith that experienced a great sense of relief upon reading Caesar’s Messiah. The fact that the origins of the Gospels were no longer mysterious but clearly written by Roman Caesars gave them the ability to release from Christian ideas which no longer served them, and begin what was virtually a new life.

I hope all Christians who are struggling with their faith – who see the Gospels as mysterious or simply incoherent – will read Caesar’s Messiah. It could be the beginning of a more expanded and truer life.

One example of the explanatory power of the Caesar’s Messiah thesis is the Trinity – the mysterious “triple godhead” of Christianity. Where did this bizarre and non-Judaic concept come from, and how did it come to play such a large role in the Gospels?

The concept of a divine trinity consisting of a father, son and “Holy Ghost” – the Greek words actually mean “awful spirit” – comes from Josephus. Josephus applies the Jews’ messianic prophecies, not just to Vespasian, but to his dynasty. In other words the real trinity is Vespasian, his son Titus, and his son Domitian – the awful spirit.

I invite other NT (New Testament) scholars to comment on this strange fact. Josephus’ trinity is the only one with any linkages to Christianity whatsoever, and the prophecies he references when describing it are the very ones Jesus used to suggest that the coming “son of Man” would be a “Christ”.

Typology always has two levels – a surface narration and a hidden meaning. Once a reader understands that the Gospels are typology envisioning the Flavians, many ironic double meanings become visible.

In Matthew 3:17 the author recorded that a dove appeared, after which “God the father” spoke and said “This is my beloved son with whom I am well pleased”. In Latin the name “Titus” means “dove”. Thus God the father’s comment on the surface level indicates God the father’s love for his son Jesus Christ. Its real meaning is, however, typological. The event in Matthew 3 foresees Vespasian – “god the father” – being well pleased with his “son of god” the dove – Titus.

Originally published May 30, 2011

10 Comments

Chris

11/8/2016 06:14:27 pm

Just a layman here.

I know this is an extremely old post, but I'd like to point out something. Most of the epistles and the gospels date before 70 A.D. In fact, according to Tacitus, a Roman historian, when Nero decided to burn his city down around, he used Christians as scapegoats. Since Christians were still around before 70 A.D., this theory seems to have a significant flaw.

How do you account for this?

Sam

4/29/2017 08:26:00 am

Joseph Atwill has provided that answer many times. For example:

http://skeptiko.com/241-joseph-atwill-repsonds-to-caesars-messiah-critics/

Alex Tsakiris: Let me just take you back because I want to reemphasize the first point that you make and I want to dig into it. I don’t want to say emphasize because I don’t know but you’re quite well-versed in the Dead Sea Scrolls as well. So there is evidence that we have, historical evidence and archeological evidence, of this group of very radical Jewish rebels really who were fighting against the Roman Empire.

Joseph Atwill: Well they were messianic though, that’s the important thing. Their literature shows that they were looking for a messiah that would lead them and this of course is exactly the element that Josephus stated, the thing that most brought about the rebellion. So when the gospels describe a Son of Man that’s going to come with the conclusion of the Roman war, they are essentially taking the Jewish prophecies and trying to morph it onto the Roman Caesar. So now when you look at not just Josephus but the other court historians – Suetonius, Tacitus, and Dio – and they all say the same thing you can see a kind of unification. There is a unification of theology that is perverted because obviously claiming that the Jews prophecy foresaw Caesar is not a strong rational position. But they all held it and it was sort of just the official position of the Flavian court. So getting back to using these historians who make this claim as then the basis for the historicity of Jesus Christ, well, wait a second, let’s just back up. The analysis I show showing the connection between the gospels and Josephus, which incidentally I don’t conjecture. I just lay the text out side by side and I just say look, here is the relationship. Anyone can see this. This voids the purported objective history of these individuals. They just become part of the plot. So now when you have them claiming the messianic prophecies foresee the Flavian Caesar, they are obviously just repeating the theological position that is found in the gospels. They are completely aware of the gospels and the story of Jesus, that is where they get their understanding from. And so then when you read Tacitus or Suetonius making some little comment about Christians, you know what are they doing? They are simply repeating this false history that they are trying to get people take seriously.

4/29/2017 08:28:07 am

Oops I posted the wrong passage. Here's the one I wanted:

Alex Tsakiris: So first of all, the question I want to ask is if that is accurate? Does your theory hinge on there being no historical evidence for Christianity prior to 73 A.D.?

Joseph Atwill: Well no, in fact there was Christianity prior to 73. It of course depends on how you’re using the term. I would say that the messianic movement that rebelled against Rome was a kind of Christianity. Christ simply means ‘anointed’ in Greek and it is just referring to the relationship between a Jewish leader and God. And so the zealots would certainly have been seen as Christian. In fact, Josephus stated that what most propelled them was their belief in these messianic prophecies. So just from a definitional perspective there were Christianities, not just one, but other forms of this understanding of the Hebraic prophecies before 73. As far as Roman Christianity in the gospels, no there weren’t any of those in existence before the gospels had been written. There are a number of historians that people make references to concerning descriptions of early Christians. I think Chris White refers to Tacitus, others point out Josephus who also has a passage called the Testimonium where the character Jesus Christ is mentioned. Suetonius describes Christians and I believe Dio of course also does too. This is the group you have as sort of the historians who are describing Roman Christianity prior to 73 or perhaps say 80 when the gospels would have been written. But there is one really interesting thing that links all of those historians together – Suetonius, Josephus, Tacitus, and Dio – the people who talk about this character Jesus Christ and about Christians. They are all Flavian court historians, every one. And every one of them also took the position that the Jewish messianic prophecies foresaw not a Jew but the Flavian Caesar. Every one of them recorded that insane and incredible concept. So when you look at the gospels and you look at my work you see that they were definitely produced in the Flavian compound. Somehow this group was able to generate this literature. So the literature just is a false history. It is a fiction about a character living in 30 to 33.

Sergey

11/22/2016 07:26:07 am

Do you believe Josephus wrote the Gospels?

Charles Ellis link

8/20/2018 04:39:56 pm

How did the Romans know the Masonic symbols that were found in the Dead Sea Scrolls

Gordon Rouse

9/21/2017 01:42:46 am

Where does Paul fit into all this?

I think I know the answer to that one, but I am surprised you do not mention it in any of your articles here. (I have not read your book yet, so maybe I am asking for a spoiler?)

Joe Atwill

9/21/2017 10:55:22 am

I cover Paul in the second book Shakespeare's Secret Messiah.

Joe Atwill

Philip Robinson link

9/13/2020 09:55:50 am

I didn't know you were aware of Shakespeare's insights into the Christian myth. I hope you will tell us a bit about it Oct. 5th at 10 am Pacific, at Magic Jesus channel:
youtube.com/user/nuskeptixweb

Kathleen Murphy

1/9/2019 01:20:30 pm

I read this explanation of the origins of the "Trinity" from page 49 of John Lash's book, Not in His image (2006):

"The Irish heretic Pelagius (ca 354-420 C.E.) was a contemporary of Hypatia's. Deeply steeped in the myth of the triple goddess and other variants of triplicity in Celtic lore, Pelagius formulated the Trinity based on variants of triplicity in Celtic lore, Pelagius formulated the Trinity based on ancestral notions of terrestrial divinity. Because he argued that people could achieve their own salvation using individual mind and will not submitting to anything preordained, he was accused by Rome of reviving druidic philosophy and condemned as a heretic. In its original form, free will was a Celtically inspired Pagan heresy. Pelagius's ideas were rejected in favor of Augustine's doctrine of "Original Sin." The Trinity Pelagius formulated was later credited to Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria who may have ordered the murder of Hypatia. Co-optation went hand in hand with the suppression and terrorism in the conquest of the Old World, and the record, as ever, was written to legitimate, if not glorify, the perpetrators.

p. 46 [The Celtic civilization] lasted for about fifteen hundred years and then, with the rise of Rome, "the Celts were the first of the peoples of temperate Europe to be incorporated within the Roman Empire as it spread beyond the confines of the Mediterranean" (61) … Celtic tribes were also the first target of the kind of violence that Europeans perpetrated when they invaded the Americas.
Celtic culture was not theocratic, not based on the institution of divine kingship that assumes a ruling class descended from the gods, for all Celts felt they were... "Children of Dana." The mother deity of their culture was the river goddess Dana, or Danu. … p. 47 The Celts themselves had no writing. Like the Native American Bronze Age cultures they resemble, they based everything on the honor code of the spoken word. Honor is a Pagan attribute.

61. The Times Atlas of World History, ed. Geoffrey Barraclough ...1978

Lyndon

12/20/2019 11:08:58 pm

in the new testament Yahushua claimed to Be Yah. (in Greek Jesus claimed to be God) - the Freemason influence on Yah's Word. You are highly confused by your Freemasonic Influence on the world. Jesus said my God, My lord is one God. i Can school you properly from South Africa, a land of fools, same as America, Uk or anywhere in the world. Yahushua called the learders of the world and called them fools, he wanted to DIE. I too can Die for the Father as His love is greater and wiser than yours.To Yah be the glory!!! AMEIN!

The roman conspiracy to invent jesus

The Explanatory Power of Caesar’s Messiah

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