Probably the most
significant reason why many scholars reject the idea of a historical Jesus is
the fact that the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus makes no mention of him,
his disciples or their activities, even though Josephus belonged to the
generation immediately following that of Christ (the two verses in which he
seemingly does are almost certainly later insertions by Christians).
I managed to obtain a
copy of an extraordinary book by Rupert Furneaux called The Other Side Of The Story. In this book I came across a very
controversial statement by Furneaux, that Simon Peter had murdered Ananias and
Saphira, two land owners who were supposedly ‘struck dead by the Lord’ when
they failed to surrender their money. This immediately reminded me of a Simon I
had read about in Josephus’ account of the wars of the Jews, a Simon who had
plundered the houses of the rich and tortured many of them. Could it be that Josephus
had indeed known at least some disciples and possibly even Christ, but by other
names?
It did not take long to
find this Simon. His name was Simon bar Giora(s). An intensive investigation
revealed the following similarities between the two characters:
1. Simon
bar Giora was the leader of the rebel faction called the sicarii, who hid their daggers underneath their cloaks. Simon Peter
drew his short sword (a dagger) during Christ’s arrest.
2.
Simon
Peter
= Simon bar Jonah
= Simon bar Yonah[khir] (Hebrew)
= Simon bar Joachim (English)
= Simon bar Gioacchino (Latin, Italian)
= Simon bar Gioa[cchino]
= Simon bar Gioa / Giora / Gioras / Goia
In
other words, Simon’s father was known by only the first part of his full name.
3. Josephus’
Jewish War: During the reign of
Agrippa, Albinus, the procurator of Judea, conducted a wide-spread campaign to
eliminate the sicarii and managed to capture and kill many of them. The sicarii
reacted by kidnapping the children of the high priests and other officials, who
were then forced to negotiate with Albinus the release of these victims in
exchange for captured sicarii.
The Acts of Peter:
While Simon Peter was in Rome, four concubines of Agrippa and the beautiful
wife of Albinus ‘came to Peter’, causing Agrippa and Albinus to rage and swear
to kill Peter. Would these wives willingly have left the luxury and wealth of
their homes to join a complete stranger? It would rather seem that they had
been kidnapped either as bargaining chips or simply as an act of revenge on
Agrippa and Albinus.
4. During
Christ’s march to Golgotha the Roman soldiers put a purple robe on him, but
later removed it again. Simon bar Giora was also known as Simon bar Poras, the
latter word a shortened version of the Latin word purpura (porpora in
Italian) for the colour purple. Simon was therefore most likely known to the
Romans as Simon, son of the Purple One (Christ). When Simon bar Giora was
arrested, he put on his purple cloak before he surrendered, probably as a
declaration that he was the one they wanted most.
5. The Other Side of the Story
(Furneaux): Simon Peter murdered (the wealthy) Ananias and Saphira (for their
money).
Josephus’
Jewish War: Simon bar Gioras harassed
(plundered) the rich men’s houses and tormented their bodies.
6. The
Josippon on Simon bar Gioras: “He
went therefore through all the cities of Judea and Galilee, causing to be
proclaimed in the streets and market places, and sent his letters where he
could not come himself, in this manner and form: “Whoso listeth … let him resort
to me, I will deliver him from the yoke and danger of the laws, and will find
him his fill of booties and spoils.”
In
Acts Simon Peter likewise addresses a
crowd, “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem… Men of Israel, listen
to this…”. At that occasion three thousand followed Peter.
7. Josephus
records that a man called Simon, who was “very accurate in the knowledge of the
law” was summoned to appear before Agrippa for making an inflammatory speech to
the people in Jerusalem. The New Testament relates that Simon Peter had been
arrested by Agrippa, and in the Toledot
Yeshu Simon Kepha (Simon Peter) is described as a “greatly learned man”. The
Josippon relates that Simon bar
Gioras, who was of noble descent, used to be “Prince and Captain” of Jerusalem
until he was banished by Ananus. A confrontation between Simon Peter and Ananus
is recorded in Acts.
8. Simon
Peter was imprisoned in the Mamertine Prison before his martyrdom. Simon bar
Gioras was imprisoned in the Mamertine Prison before being executed.
If Simon Peter was
indeed Josephus’ Simon bar Gioras, a vicious and violent man, would the other
disciples of Christ not also have been like that? In fact, would they not have
followed their master in this respect? In Barbelo I show that John the Beloved was non other than Josephus’
John of Gischala, the cruellest of the three rebel faction leaders during
the Jewish revolt against the Romans. For example, both John the Beloved and John of Gischala displayed homosexual tendencies and both were sentenced to life imprisonment.
The third faction was led by Eleazar, most likely
Christ’s Lazarus. Regarding Christ, there are numerous subtle suggestions and
outright accusations that he was a violent man:
9. James
and John once asked Christ whether they should call down fire from heaven to
burn up Samaria. In several legends about the activities of the Holy Apostles
it is recorded how ‘fire from heaven’ destroyed cities that refused to succumb
to them. In fact, Christ often threatened war and fire during his time on earth:
I
did not come to bring peace, but the sword.
I
have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!
... Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division.
I
have brought nothing into the world when I came, save this fire … for the
purification of all the sins of the world.
I
have thrown fire upon the world, and look, I am watching till it blazes.
Whoever
is near me is near fire.
10. Marcion
of Pontus declared Christ to be “the author of evils” and “to take delight in
war”.
11. In
Barbelo I argue that Christ, Simon
Magus and Paul of Tarsus were one and the same person. Paul was rightfully accused
of being Josephus’ Egyptian, who led a rebel army of 4 000 ‘terrorists’
against the Romans (Josephus’ number is 30 000). In other words, even the
New Testament inadvertently acknowledge that Paul (Christ) was a violent man.
According to a specific version of the Toledot
Yeshu, Christ had more than two thousand armed followers with him on the
Mount of Olives.
12. Hierocles
claimed that after Christ had been banished (rejected) by the Jews, he and nine
hundred of his followers had turned to robbery. The Talmud relates the story of
two twin brothers, one of whom had become a robber, was caught and crucified on
the cross. This is usually referred to as a reference to Christ, and the Josippon likewise records that
In
those days there was much party strife and great disputes in Judaea between the
Pharisees and the robbers in Israel who followed Jeshu’ah ben Pandera the
Nasoraean, who did great miracles in Israel until the Pharisees overpower him
and hanged him upon a pole.
13. A
deposed ruler of a city sent a warning about Paul and Philip to a nearby town:
For
they are sorcerers, and they have subverted my rule, and have wrought deeds of
shame among my women, and scattered abroad my officers and soldiers, and
overthrown my house, and plundered my city, and stolen my possessions, and
blotted out my hope, and done away my goods, and destroyed my pasture, and they
have made accusations against each other, and they have carried off my
handmaidens.
14. Two
vicious robbers were crucified with Christ, suggesting that they were all
crucified for the same transgressions. Numerous other examples are listed in Barbelo.
To conclude, it is
clear that numerous accusations of violence had been levelled against Christ
and his disciples. If they had truly been the peace loving, meek and tearful
men the New Testament would have us believe, not one such an accusation should
have been made. In fact, it is certain that many similar accusations must have
been suppressed by the early church.
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