Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus:Flavian Signature Edition by Joseph Atwill Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Joseph Atwill
Testament with its primary independent historical documentation and were certainly read by his imperial patrons. In fact, Titus ordered the publication of Wars of the Jews . In his autobiography, Josephus writes that Titus “ was so desirous that the knowledge of these affairs should be taken from these books alone, that he affixed his own signature to them and gave orders for their publication.” 37
Perhaps the most unusual connection between Christianity and the Flavians, however, is the fact that Titus Flavius fulfilled all of Jesus’ doomsday prophecies. As mentioned above, the parallels between the description of Titus’ campaign in Wars of the Jews and Jesus’ prophecies caused early church scholars to believe that Christ had seen into the future. The destruction of the temple, the encircling of Jerusalem with a wall, the towns of Galilee being “brought low,” the destruction of what Jesus described as the “wicked generation,” etc., had all been prophesied by Jesus and then came to pass during Titus’ military campaign through Judea—a campaign that, like Jesus’ ministry, began in Galilee and ended in Jerusalem.
Thus the Flavians are linked to Christianity by an unusual number of facts and traditions. Early church documents flatly state that the family produced some of the religion’s first martyrs, as well as the pope who succeeded Peter. The Flavians created much of the literature that provides documentation for the religion, were responsible for its oldest known cemetery, and housed individuals named in the New Testament within their imperial court. Further, the family was responsible for Jesus’ apocalyptic prophecies having “come to pass.”
These connections clearly deserve more attention than they have received. Some explanation is required for the numerous traditions linking an obscure Judean cult to the imperial family—connections that include not merely converts to the religion, but, if the Acts of Nereus and Achilleus and Eusebius are to be believed, the direct successor to Peter.
If Christianity was invented by the Flavians to assist them in their struggle with Judaism, it would merely have been a variation upon a long-established theme. Using religion for the good of the state was a Roman technique long before the Flavians. In the following quote, which could well have been studied by the young Titus Flavius during his education at the imperial court, Cicero not only prefigures much of Christian theology but also actually advocates for the state to persuade the masses to adopt the theology most appropriate for the empire.
We must persuade our citizens that the gods are the lords and rulers of all things and what is done, is done by their will and authority; and they are the great benefactors of men, and know who everyone is, and what he does, and what sins he commits, and what he intends to do, and with what piety he fulfills his religious duties.
Cicero, The Laws , 2:15–16
Rome attempted not to replace the gods of its provinces but to absorb them. By the end of the first century, Rome had accumulated so many foreign gods that virtually every day of the year celebrated some divinity. Roman citizens were encouraged to give offerings to all these gods as a way of maintaining the Pax Deorum, the “peace of the gods,” a condition that the Caesars saw as beneficial to the empire.
The Romans also used religion as a tool to assist them in conquest. The leader of the Roman army, the consul, was a religious leader capable of communicating with the gods. The Romans developed a specific ritual for inducing the gods of their enemies to defect to Rome. In this particular ritual, the devotio, a Roman soldier, sacrificed himself to all the gods, including those of the enemy. In this way the Romans sought to neutralize their opponents’ divine assistance.
Thus, when Rome went to war with the Zealots in Judea it had a long tradition of absorbing the religions of its opponents. If
Perhaps the most unusual connection between Christianity and the Flavians, however, is the fact that Titus Flavius fulfilled all of Jesus’ doomsday prophecies. As mentioned above, the parallels between the description of Titus’ campaign in Wars of the Jews and Jesus’ prophecies caused early church scholars to believe that Christ had seen into the future. The destruction of the temple, the encircling of Jerusalem with a wall, the towns of Galilee being “brought low,” the destruction of what Jesus described as the “wicked generation,” etc., had all been prophesied by Jesus and then came to pass during Titus’ military campaign through Judea—a campaign that, like Jesus’ ministry, began in Galilee and ended in Jerusalem.
Thus the Flavians are linked to Christianity by an unusual number of facts and traditions. Early church documents flatly state that the family produced some of the religion’s first martyrs, as well as the pope who succeeded Peter. The Flavians created much of the literature that provides documentation for the religion, were responsible for its oldest known cemetery, and housed individuals named in the New Testament within their imperial court. Further, the family was responsible for Jesus’ apocalyptic prophecies having “come to pass.”
These connections clearly deserve more attention than they have received. Some explanation is required for the numerous traditions linking an obscure Judean cult to the imperial family—connections that include not merely converts to the religion, but, if the Acts of Nereus and Achilleus and Eusebius are to be believed, the direct successor to Peter.
If Christianity was invented by the Flavians to assist them in their struggle with Judaism, it would merely have been a variation upon a long-established theme. Using religion for the good of the state was a Roman technique long before the Flavians. In the following quote, which could well have been studied by the young Titus Flavius during his education at the imperial court, Cicero not only prefigures much of Christian theology but also actually advocates for the state to persuade the masses to adopt the theology most appropriate for the empire.
We must persuade our citizens that the gods are the lords and rulers of all things and what is done, is done by their will and authority; and they are the great benefactors of men, and know who everyone is, and what he does, and what sins he commits, and what he intends to do, and with what piety he fulfills his religious duties.
Cicero, The Laws , 2:15–16
Rome attempted not to replace the gods of its provinces but to absorb them. By the end of the first century, Rome had accumulated so many foreign gods that virtually every day of the year celebrated some divinity. Roman citizens were encouraged to give offerings to all these gods as a way of maintaining the Pax Deorum, the “peace of the gods,” a condition that the Caesars saw as beneficial to the empire.
The Romans also used religion as a tool to assist them in conquest. The leader of the Roman army, the consul, was a religious leader capable of communicating with the gods. The Romans developed a specific ritual for inducing the gods of their enemies to defect to Rome. In this particular ritual, the devotio, a Roman soldier, sacrificed himself to all the gods, including those of the enemy. In this way the Romans sought to neutralize their opponents’ divine assistance.
Thus, when Rome went to war with the Zealots in Judea it had a long tradition of absorbing the religions of its opponents. If
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