CHAPTER 1

The First Christians and the Flavians

This book provides a new approach to understanding what the Gospels are and who composed them. I shall show that intellectuals working for Titus Flavius, the second of the three Flavian Caesars, created Christianity. Their main purpose was to replace the xenophobic Jewish messianism that waged war against the Roman Empire with a version of Judaism that would be obedient to Rome. 

One of the individuals involved with the creation of the Gospels was the first-century historian Flavius Josephus, who, as he relates it, led a fabulous life. He was born in 37 C.E. into the royal family of Judea, the Maccabees. Like Jesus, Josephus was a child prodigy who astounded his elders with his knowledge of Judaic law. Josephus also claimed to have been a member of each of the Jewish sects of his era, the Sadduccees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. Flavius Josephus was a self hating Jew and a traitor.

When the Jewish rebellion against Rome broke out, in 66 C.E., though he had no described military background and believed the cause hopeless, Josephus was given command of the revolutionary army of Galilee. Taken captive, he was brought before the Roman general Vespasian, to whom he presented himself as a prophet. At this point, God, rather conveniently, spoke to Josephus and informed him that his favor had switched from the Jews to the Romans. Josephus then claimed that Judaism's messianic prophecies foresaw not a Jewish Messiah, but Vespasian, whom Josephus predicted would become the "lord of all mankind." Josephus was obviously a con artist, a traitor, and a sell-out. As such, are we to believe anything he has written?

After this came to pass, so to speak, and Vespasian was proclaimed emperor, he rewarded Josephus' clairvoyance by adopting him. Thus, the Jewish rebel Josephus bar Mattathias became Flavius Josephus, the son of Caesar. He became an ardent supporter of Rome's conquest of Judea, and when Vespasian returned to Rome to be crowned emperor, Josephus stayed behind to assist the new emperor's son Titus with the siege of Jerusalem. Josephus was approximately 29 years old when he was "adopted" by Vespasian after not only betraying everything he was born into and grew up believing, but actually helping to destroy it. The story of Josephus sounds like a myth as well, created in order to make the world view the Jews as treacherous, untrustworthy and self-serving! Further, Vespasian's son Titus was born in 39AD: and Domitian was born in 51AD, meaning when Josephus was "adopted" at the age of 29, Vespasian's true sons were 27 and 15: why would Vespasian threaten his own children's birthright by adopting a treacherous traitor who sold out his own people, faith and birthright? 

Once the city had been destroyed, Josephus took up residence within the Flavian court at Rome, where he enjoyed the patronage of Vespasian and the subsequent Flavian emperors, Titus and Domitian. It was while he was living in Rome that Josephus wrote his two major works, War of the Jews, a description of the 66-73 C.E. war between the Romans and the Jews, and Jewish Antiquities, a history of the Jewish people. The name Titus is very close to the word Titans. It was the Titans who murdered Zagreus, the Son of Zeus in Greek traditions. Two books written by an author who betrayed the very people whom he was writing about.

Josephus' histories are of great significance to Christianity. Virtually all that we know regarding the social context of the New Testament is derived from them. Without these works, the very dating of the events of the New Testament would be impossible. 

Josephus' histories provided Jesus with historical documentation, a fact that is widely known. They also provided Jesus with another kind of documentation, a fact largely forgotten. Early Christians believed that the events Josephus described in War of the Jews proved that Jesus had been able to see into the future. It is difficult to find even one early Christian who taught another position. Church scholars such as Tertullian, Justin Martyr, and Cyprian were unanimous in proclaiming that Josephus' description of the conquest of Judea by Titus Flavius in War of the Jews proved that Jesus' prophecies had come to pass. As Eusebius wrote in 325 C.E.: How do we know that Flavius Josephus ever even existed apart from the Flavians, any more than Carpe Donktum exists apart from Mitt Romney? 

If any one compares the words of our Savior with the other accounts of the historian [Josephus] concerning the whole war, how can one fail to wonder, and to admit that the foreknowledge and the prophecy of our Savior were truly divine and marvelously Strange.  

One example of the foreknowledge that so impressed Eusebius was Jesus' prediction that the foes of Jerusalem would encircle it with a wall, demolish the city and its temple, and level its inhabitants. 

And when He was now getting near Jerusalem . . .  He came into full view of the city, He wept aloud over it, and exclaimed, For the time is coming upon thee when thy foes will throw up around thee earthworks and a wall, investing thee and hemming thee in on every side, and level you and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another in you; because you did not know the time of your visitation. 2

Luke 19:37-43 

Josephus recorded in War of the Jews that all the precise details Jesus foresaw for Jerusalem did indeed come to pass. Titus ordered his soldiers to "build a wall round about the whole city." 3 Titus, like Jesus, saw the encircling of the city as an event sanctioned by God, who inspired his soldiers with a "divine fury." 

Josephus also recorded that Titus did not merely burn Jerusalem and defile its temple, but ordered that they should be left exactly as Jesus has foreseen, with "not one stone upon another." 

[Titus] gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple . . . 4 

Jesus stated that these calamities would befall Jerusalem's inhabitants because they did not know the "time of your visitation." The coming visitation was to be made by someone he called the "Son of Man," a title used by the prophet Daniel for the Jewish Messiah. 3 While it has been universally believed that Jesus was referring to himself when he used the expression the "Son of Man," he usually spoke of this individual in the third person and not as himself. 

Jesus repeatedly warned the Jews that during the Visitation of the Son of Man various disasters, like those he foresaw above, would occur. 

Be on the alert therefore, for you do not know the day on which your Lord is coming. Therefore you also must be ready; for it is at a time when you do not expect Him that the Son of Man will come. Matt. 24:42-4 

Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matt. 25:13

Though Jesus did not say exactly when the visitation of the Son of Man would occur, he did state that he would come before the generation alive during his ministry passed away. 

So you also, when you see all these signs, may be sure that He is near — at your very door. I tell you in solemn truth that the present generation
will certainly not pass away without all these things having first taken place. Matt. 24:33-34 

Jews of this era saw a generation as lasting 40 years, so Titus' destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. fit perfectly into the time frame Jesus gave in his prophecy. However, while Jesus did accurately predict events from the coming war, there was a flaw in his foreknowledge — that is, that the person whose visitation actually brought about the destruction of Jerusalem was not Jesus but Titus Flavius. If his prophecy did envision (as Eusebius and other church scholars have maintained), events from the coming war between the Romans and the Jews, then the "Son of Man" Jesus warned of seems not to have been himself but Titus, a point that I shall return to. Perhaps this "generation" of which is spoken, actually refers to the generation of those born into the House (Age) of Pisces. A generation is a season of creation: it can be the yearly solar generation, a decades-long generation of a group of people - or a generation of life created over the course of a celestial influence.

There was little written between the fifth and the 15th centuries commenting on the numerous parallels between the events Josephus recorded in War of the Jews and Jesus' predictions. This is not surprising, as the church is known to have actively discouraged scriptural analysis during this time. What evidence was left, however, suggests that during the entire Middle Ages Christians viewed Josephus' depiction of the war between the Romans and the Jews as proof of Christ's divinity. Icons, carvings on caskets, and religious paintings from this era all portrayed the 70 C.E. destruction of Jerusalem as the fulfillment of Jesus' doomsday prophecy. 

The importance of Josephus' works to Christians during this period can also be gauged by the fact that some of the Eastern Christian churches of Syria and Armenia actually included his books as part of their handwritten Bible. In Europe as well, following the invention of the printing press, Latin editions of the Bible included Antiquities and War of the Jews.

Following the Reformation, scholars were able to record their opinions, and their writings show that they continued to view the relationship between the New Testament and War of the Jews as proof of Christ's divinity. On the significance of 70 C.E., for example, Dr. Thomas Newton wrote in his 1754 work, Dissertations on the Prophecies: 

As a general in the wars [Josephus] must have had an exact knowledge of all transactions ... His history was approved by Vespasian and Titus [who ordered it to be published]. He designed nothing less, and yet as if he had designed nothing more, his history of the Jewish wars may serve as a larger comment on our Savior's prophecies of the destruction of Jerusalem. 

Newton's position was the same as Eusebius'. Both scholars believed that Josephus "designed nothing less" than to honestly record the war between the Romans and the Jews. The events that Josephus recorded seemed to be the fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy and did not strike them as in any way suspicious. On the contrary, they saw the relationship between the two works as proof of Jesus' divinity. They were in no way unusual in holding this view; it was held by the majority of Christian scholars until the end of the 19th century. A la Inquisition

The belief that Josephus' depiction of the destruction of Jerusalem proved that Jesus had seen into the future was largely forgotten during the 20th century. Only one denomination of Christians, the Preterists, still cites the parallels between War of the Jews and the New Testament as a proof of Jesus' divinity. Currently, most Christians either believe that the apocalypse Jesus envisioned has not yet occurred or they ignore these prophesies altogether. As Christianity's third millennium begins, few of its members are even aware of the parallels that were once of such importance to the religion. 

However, I believe that Eusebius was correct in stating that when one compares War of the Jews to the New Testament, one must admit to a relationship that, if not divine, is at the least strange. The parallels between Jesus' prophecies and Titus' campaign do indeed seem too precise to have been the result of chance. If one accepts the traditional understanding, that the New Testament and War of the Jews were written at different times by different authors, then the only explanation for the parallels would seem to be the one given by Eusebius, that they were caused by something truly divine. Of course, before accepting any phenomenon as miraculous, one should first determine if a nonsupernatural explanation for it exists. The purpose of this work is to present such an explanation. 

All scholars have faced the same difficulty in trying to understand first-century Judea: a lack of source material. Before the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, the important literature describing firsthand the events of first-century Judea were the New Testament and the works of Josephus. For two millennia, only these two works illuminated an era so seminal to Western civilization. 

This absence is unusual. In Greece, thousands of pieces of writing from the same era have been discovered. Jesus constantly  complained about scribes, who, one must assume, were writing something. 

Jesus began to explain to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer much cruelty from the Elders and the High Priests and the Scribes. 

Matt. 16:21.30 

Obviously there was a campaign of censorship which coincided with Josephus' "official" (Roman mandated) version of Jewish "history".

Rome's occupation of Judea spanned the entire first century. Josephus records that during this period a movement of Jewish Zealots called the Sicarii continually staged insurrections against the Empire and its surrogate, the family of Herod. The Sicarii, like the Christians, were messianic and looked forward to the arrival of the son of God, who would lead them against Rome. Josephus dates the origin of this messianic movement to the census of Quirinus, curiously also given in the Gospels as the date of the birth of Christ. This movement existed for over 100 years, but until the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, no document that could possibly have been part of its literature had ever been found. What was the motive behind such suppression?

The literature of the Sicarii movement is most likely missing because the Romans destroyed it. A number of the Dead Sea Scrolls (found hidden in caves) describe an uncompromising sect that awaited a Messiah who would be a military leader. Messianic literature of this sort was surely a catalyst for the Sicarii's rebellion and would have been targeted for destruction by the Romans, who are known to have destroyed Judaic literature. The Talmud, for example, records the Roman practice of wrapping Jews in their religious scrolls and lighting them afire. Josephus notes that following their war with the Jews, the Romans took the Torah scrolls and other religious literature and locked them up inside the Flavian palace in Rome. Which Constantine - himself a Flavian - would have had access to some two centuries later when he invented Christianity.

The only works to have survived this century of religious warfare, the Gospels and the histories of Josephus, had a pro-Roman perspective. In the case of Josephus' histories this is hardly surprising, as he was an adopted member of the imperial family. It is notable, however, that the New Testament also has a point of view positive to the Romans. The first century was not a time when one would expect that a Judaic cult with a viewpoint favorable to the Empire would have emerged. Yet the New Testament texts never portray Roman soldiers in a negative light, and actually describe them as "devout" and God-fearing. 

There was a certain man in Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared God with his entire house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God always. 

Acts 10:1-2 

The New Testament also presents tax collectors, who would have been working for the Romans, in a favorable light. The Apostle Matthew, for example, is actually described as a publican, or tax collector. 

The citizenship espoused in the works of Josephus and the New Testament would have been seen favorably by Rome. Each work proclaims the holiness of subservience. And each takes the position that as it is God who has given the Romans their power, it is therefore against God's will to resist them. For example, the Apostle Paul teaches that Roman judges and magistrates were a threat only to evil-doers. 

Therefore the man who rebels against his ruler is resisting God's will; and those who thus resist will bring punishment upon themselves. 

For judges and magistrates are to be feared not by right-doers but by wrong-doers. You desire — do you not? — to have no reason to fear your ruler. Well, do the thing that is right, and then he will commend you. 

For he is God's servant for your benefit. But if you do what is wrong, be afraid. He does not wear the sword to no purpose: he is God's servant — an administrator to inflict punishment upon evil-doers. 

We must obey therefore, not only in order to escape punishment, but also for conscience's sake. 

Why, this is really the reason you pay taxes; for tax-gatherers are ministers of God, devoting their energies to this very work. 

Rom. 13:2-6 

Josephus shared Paul's belief that the Romans were God's servants and only inflicted punishment upon evil-doers. 

Yet this same "divinely created" system had John the Baptist beheaded and Jesus crucified...

Indeed what can it be that hath stirred up an army of the Romans against our nation? Is it not the impiety of the inhabitants? Whence did our servitude commence? Was it not derived from the seditions that were among our forefathers, when the madness of Aristobulus and Hyrcanus, and our mutual quarrels, brought Pompey upon this city, and when God reduced those under subjection to the Romans who were unworthy of the liberty they had enjoyed? 6 The greed of the robber, is according to this logic, is the fault of the homeowner who works his whole life to make something for himself.

Thus, the only works that describe first-century Judea share a positive viewpoint toward Rome. Why is it that only they have survived? 

I believe that the New Testament and the works of Josephus survived because they were both created and promulgated by Rome. This work presents evidence indicating that the Gospels were created by Titus Flavius, the second of the three Flavian emperors. Titus created the religion for two reasons, the most obvious being to act as a theological barrier against the spread of the militant messianic Judaism of Judea to other provinces. 

Josephus mentions this threat in War of the Jews: 

. . . the Jews hoped that all of their nation, which were beyond Euphrates, would have raised an insurrection with them. 7 

Titus had another, more personal, reason for creating the Gospels — this being that the Jewish Zealots refused to worship him as a god. Though he was able to crash their rebellion, Titus could not force the Zealots, even through torture or death, to call him Lord. 

Josephus noted the staunchness with which the Zealots adhered to their monotheistic faith, stating that the Sicarii "do not value dying and any kind of death, nor indeed do they heed the dying of their relations, nor can any fear make them call any man Lord." 8 

As I noted in the Introduction, to circumvent the Jews' stubbornness, Titus designed a hidden message within the Gospels. This message reveals that the "Jesus" who interacted with the disciples following the crucifixion was not a Jewish Messiah but himself. Unable to torture the Jews into forgoing their religion and worshiping him, Titus and his intellectuals created a version of Judaism that worshiped Titus without its followers knowing it. When his clever literary device was finally discovered, Titus would be able to show posterity that he had not failed in his efforts to make the Jews call him "Lord." Though always seen as a religious document, the New Testament is actually a monument to the vanity of a Caesar — one that has finally been discovered. 

Titus backdated Jesus' ministry to 30 C.E., thereby enabling him to foresee events in the future. In other words, Jesus was able to accurately prophecy events from the coming war with the Romans because they had already occurred. As part of this scheme, the fictitious histories of Josephus were created so as to document the fact that Jesus had lived and that his prophecies had come to pass. 

While the above claims will, and should, trigger skepticism, one needs to remember that as Christianity describes its origins, it was not only supernatural but also historically illogical. Christianity, a movement that encouraged pacifism and obedience to Rome, claims to have emerged from a nation engaged in a century-long struggle with Rome. An analogy to Christianity's purported origins might be a cult established by Polish Jews during World War II that set up its headquarters in Berlin and encouraged its members to pay taxes to the Third Reich. 

When one looks at the form of early Christianity, one sees not Judea, but Rome. The church's structures of authority, its sacraments, its college of bishops, the title of the head of the religion — the supreme pontiff — were all based on Roman, not Judaic, traditions. Somehow, Judea left little trace on the form of a religion that purportedly originated inside of it. 

Early Christianity was also Roman in its worldview. That is, like the Roman Empire, the movement saw itself as ordained by God to spread throughout the world. Before Christianity, no religion is known to have seen itself quite so destined to conquer, to become the religion of all mankind. The type of Judaism described in the Dead Sea Scrolls, for example, was very selective as to who was allowed to join its community, as the following passage from the Damascus Document shows: 

No madman, or lunatic, or simpleton, or fool, or blind man, or maimed, or lame, or deaf man, and no minor shall enter into the community for the Angels of Holiness are with them ... 9 

This exclusionary approach was the mirror opposite of Christianity. 

And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them. 10 

To try to understand how Christianity established itself within the Roman Empire is to sift through mysteries piled atop the unknown. For example, how did a religion that began as verbal traditions in Hebrew or Aramaic change into one whose surviving scripture is written almost entirely in Greek? According to Albert Schweitzer, 

The great and still undischarged task which confronts those engaged in the historical study of primitive Christianity is to explain how the teaching of Jesus developed into the early Greek theology. 

The most historically illogical aspect of Christianity's origin, however, was its Messiah. Jesus had a political perspective that was precisely the opposite of the son of David, who was awaited by the Jews of this era. Josephus records that what most inspired the Jewish rebels was their belief in the Judaic prophesies that foresaw a world ruler, or Messiah, emerging from Judea — the same prophecies that the New Testament claims predicted a pacifist. 

But now, what did the most to elevate them in undertaking this war was an ambiguous oracle that was also found in their sacred writings, how, "about that time, one from their country should become governor of the habitable earth." The Jews took this prediction to belong to themselves in particular ... 11 

The Dead Sea Scrolls confirmed that Jews of this era indeed "took this prediction to belong to themselves" and awaited a Messiah who would be the son of God. 

Son of God he will be called and Son of the Most High they will name him ... His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom ... he will judge the earth in truth . . . The Great God . . . will give people into his hand and all of them will be cast down before him. His sovereignty is everlasting sovereignty. 12 

In the following passage from the Damascus Document, notice that the Messiah envisioned by the author was, like Jesus, a shepherd, though not one who would bring peace. 

"Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered; but I will turn my hand upon the little ones" (Zechariah 13:7]. 

Now those who hear him are the flock's afflicted, these will escape in the period of [God's] visitation. But those who remain will be offered up to the sword, 

when the Messiah of Aaron and Israel comes, as it was in the period of the first visitation, as he reported by the hand of Ezekiel: 

"A mark shall be put on the forehead of those who sigh and groan" (Ezek 9:4). 

But those who remained were given up to the sword of vengeance, the avenger of the Covenant. 13 

The following passage from the Targum (Aramaic versions of the Old Testament) also describes a warrior Messiah. Clearly, this would have been the nature of the "king Messiah" of the Jews who would, in Josephus' words, "most elevate them in undertaking this war." 

How lovely is the king Messiah, who is to rise from the house of Judah. He girds his loins and goes out to wage war on those who hate him, killing kings and rulers . . . and reddening the mountains with the blood of their slain. With his garments dipped in blood, he is like one who treads grapes in the wine press. 14 

This seems to correlate to Sekhmet and the sign of Leo. Leo is the detriment of Aquarius, which we are now cusped to.

However, the New Testament and the histories of Josephus each imply that the Messiah was not this nationalist leader who had been foreseen, but rather a pacifist who encouraged cooperation with Rome. For example, consider Jesus' instruction in Matthew 5:41:

"when anyone conscripts you for one mile, go along two." 

Sounds like the faith of slaves

Roman military law permitted its soldiers to conscript, which is to demand that civilians carry their 65-pound packs for a length of one mile. Roman roads had mile markers (milestones), so that there would be no dispute over whether or not this requirement had been met. Why would the Messiah foreseen by Judaism's xenophobic world-ruler prophecies urge Jews to "go the extra mile" for the Roman army? Especially in the quest to destroy Israel and Judaism!

When one compares the militaristic Messiah described in the Dead Sea Scrolls and other early Judaic literature with the pacifistic Messiah described in the New Testament and Josephus' Testimonium, one aspect of the lost history of Judea seems visible. An intellectual battle was waged over the nature of the Messiah. The New Testament and Josephus stood together on one side of this struggle, claiming that a pacifistic Messiah had appeared who advocated cooperation with Rome. On the other side of this theological divide stood the Jewish Zealots who awaited a militaristic Messiah to lead them against Rome. 

Among Christianity's oldest surviving records is the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, dated to 96 C.E. The letter was purportedly written by (Pope) Clement I to a congregation of Christians who had apparently rebelled against the church's authority. It shows that even at the onset of the religion the bishop of Rome was able to give orders to the church of Corinth, and that the church of Rome used the Roman army as an example of the kind of discipline and obedience that it expected from other churches and their members. 

The Church of God which sojourneth in Rome to the Church of God which sojourneth in Corinth, 15 Let us mark the soldiers that are enlisted under our rulers, how exactly, how readily, how submissively, they execute the orders given them. All are not prefects, nor rulers of thousands, nor rulers of hundreds, nor rulers of fifties, and so forth; but each man in his own rank executeth the orders given by the king and the governors. 

But how did the church's authority structure come into existence resembling the Roman military? Who established it and who gave the bishops such absolute control? Cyprian wrote . . . "The bishop is in the Church and the Church is in the bishop . . . and if anyone is not with the bishop, that person is not in the Church." 16

And why was Rome, supposedly the center of Christian persecution, chosen as the church's headquarters? 

A Roman origin would explain why the bishop of Rome was later made the supreme pontiff of the church. And why Rome became its headquarters. It would explain how a Judean cult eventually became the state religion of the Roman Empire. A Roman origin would also explain why so many members of a Roman imperial family, the Flavians, were recorded as being among the first Christians. The Flavians would have been among the first Christians because, having invented the religion, they were, in fact, the first Christians. 

When considering a Flavian invention of Christianity, one should bear in mind that the Flavian emperors were considered to be divine and often created religions. The oath that they swore when being ordained emperor began with the instruction that they would do "all things divine ... in the interests of the empire." The Arch of Titus, which commemorates Titus' destruction of Jerusalem, is inscribed with the following statement:

SENATUS POPULUSQUE ROMANUS DIVO TITO DIVI VESPASIANI. F VESPASIANO AUGUST 

[The Senate and People of Rome, to the divine Titus, son of the divine Vespasian] 

Fragments of the written pronouncement, given in 69 C.E. by the prefect of Egypt, Tiberius Alexander, in which he recognized Vespasian as the new emperor, are still in existence. Vespasian is referred to in them as "the divine Caesar" and "lord." 

Josephus also believed that Vespasian was a divine person. He claimed that Judaism's messianic prophecies foretold that Vespasian would become the lord of all mankind. This indicates that in the eyes of Josephus, Vespasian was not only the "Jesus," or savior of Judea, but that he was also the "Christ," the Greek word for the Messiah that was foreseen in the prophecies of a Judaic world-leader. 

Thou, O Vespasian, thinkest no more than that thou hast taken Josephus himself captive; but I come to thee as a messenger of greater tidings; for had not I been sent by God to thee ... Thou, O Vespasian, art Caesar and emperor, thou, and this thy son. Bind me now still faster, and keep me for thyself, for thou, O Caesar, are not only lord over me, but over the land and the sea, and all mankind. 17 

Josephus, in proclaiming himself God's minister, also described an ending of God's "contract" with Judaism that was quite similar to the position that the New Testament takes concerning Christianity — the only difference being that Josephus believed that God's good fortune had gone over not to Christianity but to Rome and its imperial family, the Flavians. 

Since it pleaseth thee, who hast created the Jewish nation, to depress the same, and since all their good fortune is gone over to the Romans, and since thou hast made choice of this soul of mine to foretell what is to come to pass hereafter, I willingly give them my hands, and am content to live. And I protest openly that I do not go over to the Romans as a deserter of the Jews, but as a minister from thee. 18

Scholars have dismissed Josephus' application of Judaism's messianic prophecies to Caesar as simple flattery. I disagree, and shall show that not only did Josephus "believe" Vespasian to be "god," and Titus therefore the "son of god," but that his histories were entirely constructed to demonstrate that very fact. 

There was nothing unusual in Josephus' recognition of Vespasian as a god. The Flavians merely continued the tradition of establishing emperors as gods that the Julio-Claudian line of Roman emperors had begun. Julius Caesar, the first diuus (divine) of that line, claimed to have been descended from Venus. The Roman Senate is said to have decreed that he was a god because a comet appeared shortly after his death, thus demonstrating his divinity. 

In 80 C.E., Titus established an imperial cult for his father, who had passed away during the previous year. The cult was politically important to Titus because Vespasian's deification would break the Julio-Claudian line of divine succession and thereby secure the throne for the Flavians. 

Because only the Roman Senate could bestow the title of diuus, Titus first needed to convince them that Vespasian had been a god. There was evidently some difficulty in arranging this, however; Vespasian's consecratio did not occur until six months after his death, an unusually long interval. 19 Titus also created a priesthood, the flamines, to administer the cult. The cult of Vespasian was not isolated to Rome, and appointments were made throughout the provinces. In the areas surrounding Judea, a Roman bureaucracy called the Commune Asiae oversaw the cult. Notably all seven of the Christian "churches of Asia" mentioned in Revelation 1:11 had agencies of the Commune located within them. 

Upon her death, Titus also secured the deification of his sister, Domitilla. In going through the process of deifying his father and sister and establishing their cults, Titus received an education in a skill few humans have ever possessed. He learned how to create a religion. 

Titus not only created and administered religions, he was a prophet. While emperor, he received the title of Pontifex Maximus, which made him the high priest of the Roman religion and the official head of the Roman college of priests — the same title and office that, once Christianity had become the Roman state religion, its popes would assume. As Pontifex Maximus, Titus was responsible for a large collection of prophecies (annales maximi) every year, and officially recorded celestial and other signs, as well as the events that had followed these omens, so that future generations would be able to better understand the divine will. 

Titus was unusually literate. He claimed to take shorthand faster than any secretary and to be able to "forge any man's signature" and stated that under different circumstances he could have become "the greatest forger in history." 20 Suetonius records that Titus  possessed  "conspicuous mental gifts," and "made speeches and wrote verses in Latin and Greek" and that his "memory was extraordinary." 21 

Titus' brother Domitian, who succeeded him as emperor, also used religion to his advantage. In addition to deifying his brother, Domitian attempted to link himself to Jupiter, the supreme god of the Roman Empire, by having the Senate decree that the god had mandated his rule. 

Not only did the Flavians create religions, they performed miracles. In the following passage from Tacitus, Vespasian is recorded as curing one man's blindness and another's withered limb, miracles also performed by Jesus: 

One of the common people of Alexandria, well known for his blindness . . . begged Vespasian that he would deign to moisten his cheeks and eyeballs with his spittle. Another with a diseased hand prayed that the limb might feet the print of a Caesar's foot. And so Vespasian . . . accomplished what was required. The hand was instantly restored to its use, and the light of day again shone upon the blind. 22 

"Well known for his blindness"? Sounds like propaganda to me

The Gospels record that Jesus also used this method of curing blindness, that is by placing spittle on a blind man's eyelids. 

After thus speaking, He spat on the ground, and then, kneading the dust and spittle into clay, He smeared the clay over the man's eyes and said to him, "Go and wash in the pool of Siloam" — the name means "sent." So he went and washed his eyes, and returned able to see. 

John 9:6-7

Other stories were circulated about Vespasian that suggested his divinity. One involved a stray dog dropping a human hand at Vespasian's feet. The hand was a symbol of power to first-century Romans.  Another tale described an ox coming into Vespasian's dining room and literally falling at the emperor's feet and lowering his neck, as if recognizing to whom its sacrifice was due. 

Circulating tales that suggested they were gods was no doubt thought by the Flavians to be a good tonic for hoi polloi. The more an emperor was seen by his subjects to be divine, the easier it was for him to maintain his control over them. The Flavians certainly focused on manipulating the masses. To promote the policy of "bread and circuses" they built the Coliseum, where they staged shows with gladiators and wild beasts that involved mass slaughter. 

Imperial cults that portrayed Roman emperors as gods and workers of miracles appear to have been created solely because they were politically useful. The cults seem to have evoked no religious emotion. No evidence of any spontaneous offerings attesting to the sincerity of the worshipers has ever been discovered. 

The advantage of converting one's family into a succession of gods appealed to many Roman emperors: 36 of the 60 emperors from Augustus to Constantine and 27 members of their families were apotheosized and received the title diuus. 

Of course, inventors of fictitious religions must have a certain cynicism in regard to the sacred. Vespasian is quoted on his death-bed as saying, "Oh my, 1 must be turning into a god!" 23 

Pliny commented on the cynicism that the Flavians felt toward the religions they had created. Notice in the following quote Pliny's understanding that Titus had made himself a "son of a god." 

Titus deified Vespasian and Domitian Titus, but only so that one would be the son of a god and the other a brother of a god. 24 

The cynicism that the patrician class felt toward religion was a subject of the satires of the Roman poet Juvenal. While the exact dates of Juvenal's birth and death are unknown, it is believed that he lived during the era of the Flavians. One of his satires concerns Agrippa and Bernice, the mistress of Titus. 25 Tradition has it that Juvenal was banished from Rome by Domitian.

Sophisticated Romans like those Juvenal wrote about did not believe in the gods but rather in fortune and fate. The prevailing ethos of the patrician class was that the world was either ruled by blind chance or immutable destiny: 

Fortune has no divinity, could we but see it: it's we, we ourselves, who make her a goddess, and set her in the heavens. 26 

Judging from the works of Juvenal, many Romans saw all religious belief, including their own, as ridiculous. 

Just hark at those loud denials, observe the assurance of the lying face He'll swear by the Sun's rays, by Jupiter's thunderbolts, by the lance of Mars, by the arrows of Delphic Apollo, by the quiver and shafts of Diana, the virgin huntress, by the trident of Neptune, Our Father of the Aegean: he'll throw in Hercules' bows and the spear of Minerva, the armories of Olympus down til their very last item: and if he's a father, he'll cry; "May I eat my own son's noodle — poor child! — well boiled and soused in a vinaigrette dressing!

Juvenal was also cynical toward Judaism. His attitude regarding the religion suggests that many within the patrician class saw the religion and, no doubt, its offspring Christianity, as barbaric cults. 

... A palsied Jewess, parking her haybox outside, comes begging in a breathy whisper. She interprets Jerusalem's laws; she's the tree's high priestess . . . She likewise fills her palm but more sparingly: Jews will sell you whatever dreams you like for a few coppers. 28 

Given this patrician cynicism, it is odd that so many members of the Flavian family were recorded as having been among Christianity's first members. Why was a Judaic cult that advocated meekness and poverty so attractive to a family that practiced neither? The tradition connecting early Christianity and the Flavian family is based on solid evidence but has received little comment from scholars.

The best known of the "Christian Flavians" was (Pope) Clement I. He is described in The Catholic Encyclopedia as the first pope about whom "anything definite is known," 29 and was recorded in early church literature as being a member of the Flavian family. 

Pope Clement was the first pope who had individuals known to history refer to him and who left behind written works. He purportedly wrote the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians, quoted previously. Thus, Clement is of great significance to the church's history. In fact, while The Catholic Encyclopedia currently lists Clement as the fourth "bishop of Rome," or pope, this was not the assertion of many early church scholars. St. Jerome wrote that in his time "most of the Latins' held that Clement had been the direct successor of Peter. Tertullian also knew of this tradition; he wrote, "The church of Rome records that Clement was ordained by Peter." 31 Origen, Eusebius, and Epiphanius also placed Clement at the very beginning of the Roman church, each of them stating that Clement had been the "fellow laborer" of the Apostle Paul. Intentional deception indicates the cover-up of something far-more sinister

Scholars have seen that the list of popes given by Irenaeus (circa 125-202) that names Clement as the fourth pope is suspect and it is notable that the Roman Church chose to use it as its official history. This list names "Linus" as the second pope, followed by "Anakletus" and then Clement. The list comes from Irenaeus, who identifies "Linus the Pope" as the Linus mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:21. Scholars have speculated that Irenaeus chose Linus simply because he was the last male that Paul mentioned in the epistle, which supposedly was written immediately before Paul's martyrdom. The provenance of Pope Anakletus may be no better. In Titus, the epistle that immediately follows Timothy in the canon, it is stated, "the bishop shall be irreproachable." In Greek, "irreproachable" is anenkletus. 32 

Irenaeus may not have known who the popes between Peter and Clement were and therefore had to invent names for them. If this was the case, then after creating "Linus" as Peter's successor, "Irreproachable" as the next bishop of Rome, his imagination may have become strained, because the name he chose for the sixth pope in his list was "Sixus."

It also seems strange that the Roman church chose to use Irenaeus' list, considering that it originated in the East. The idea that Clement was the second pope is no weaker historically and reflects the papal sequence that was known in Rome. Perhaps early church officials preferred not to use a list stating that Clement was Peter's direct successor, because of the traditional view that he was a member of the Flavian family. 

So the Pope whom followed Peter was a Flavian... very convenient to Vespasian, Josephus and his sons.

The notion that Pope Clement was a Flavian was recorded in the Acts of Saints Nereus and Achilleus, a fifth- or sixth-century work based on even earlier traditions. This work directly linked the Flavian family to Christianity a fact that is noted in The Catholic Encyclopedia: 

Titus Flavius Sabinus, consul in 82, put to death by Domitian [the Emperor Titus' brother], whose sister he had married. Pope Clement is represented as his son in the Acts of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. 33 

Titus Flavius Sabinus' brother, Clemens, was also linked to Christianity. The Acts of Saints Nereus and Achilleus states that Clemens was a Christian martyr. Clemens is believed to have married Vespasian's granddaughter and his first cousin, Flavia Domitilla, who was yet another Christian Flavian. In the case of Flavia Domitilla there is extant evidence linking her to Christianity. The oldest Christian burial site in Rome has inscriptions naming her as its founder: 

The catacomb of Domitilla is shown by existing inscriptions to have been founded by her. Owing to the purely legendary character of these Acts, we cannot use them as an argument to aid in the controversy as to whether there were two Christians of the name of Domitilla in the family of the Christian Flavians, or only one, the wife of the Consul Flavius Clemens. 34 

The Talmud records the genealogy of Christianity's purported first pope differently than does the Acts of Saints Nereus and Achilleus. It records that the Flavia Domitilla who was the mother of Clemens (Kalonymos) was not Titus' niece but rather his sister. This links Peter's purported successor a generation closer to Titus, perhaps placing him within his very household. 35 

Nereus and Achilleus, the authors of their Acts, are listed within The Catholic Encyclopedia as among the religion's first martyrs and were also linked to the Flavian family. 

The old Roman lists, of the fifth century, and which passed over into the Martyrologium Hiernoymianum, contain the names of the two martyrs Nereus and Achilleus, whose grave was in the Catacomb of Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina... 

The acts of these martyrs place their deaths in the end of the first and beginning of the second centuries. According to these legends Nereus and Achilleus were eunuchs and chamberlains of Flavia Domitilla, a niece of the Emperor Domitian. The graves of these two martyrs were on an estate of the Lady Domitilla; we may conclude that they are among the most ancient martyrs of the Roman Church, and stand in very near relation to the Flavian family, of which Domitilla, the foundress of the catacomb, was a member. In the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul mentions a Nereus with his sister, to whom he sends greetings. 36 

This reference by Paul to a Nereus and his sister is interesting. Tradition maintains that Domitian killed several family members who were Christians, as well as someone named Acilius Glabrio, whom a tradition also claims was a Christian, all of which permits the conjecture that the Nereus mentioned by Paul may have been the author of the Acts, and that the Achilleus Domitian slew may have been Nereus' literary partner. 

Another individual linked to both Christianity and the Flavian family was Bernice, the sister of Agrippa, who is actually described in the New Testament as having known the Apostle Paul. She became Titus' mistress and was living with him at the Flavian court in 75 C.E., the same time Josephus was purportedly writing War of the Jews. 

Flavius Josephus, an adopted member of the family, also had a connection to the beginnings of Christianity. His works provided the New Testament with its primary independent historical documentation and were certainly read by his imperial patrons. In fact, Titus ordered the publication of War 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 War 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 Romans did invent Christianity, it would have been yet another example of neutralizing an enemy's religion by making it their own, rather than fighting against it. Rome would simply have transformed the militant Judaism of first-century Judea into a pacifist religion, to more easily absorb it into the empire. 

In any event, it is certain that the Caesars did attempt to control Judaism. From Julius Caesar on, the Roman emperor claimed personal authority over the religion and selected its high priests. With the exception of the Maccabee Revolt, which must have sent shock waves throughout Rome and the empire

Caius Julius Caesar, imperator and high priest, and dictator sendeth greeting... I will that Hyrcanus, the son of Alexander, and his children . . . have the high priesthood of the Jews for ever .. . and if at any time hereafter there arise any questions about the Jewish customs, I will that he determine the same . . . 38 

Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 18, 3, 93 

An attempt to usurp the lineage of Aaron

Roman emperors appointed all the high priests recorded within the New Testament from a restricted circle of families who were  allied to Rome. By selecting the individual who would determine any issue of "Jewish customs," the Caesars were managing Jewish  theology for their own self-interest. Of course, what other way would a Caesar have managed a religion? And by doing so, inverted the status of the true Kohens Gadol.

Rome exercised control over the religion in a way that was unique in the history of its provincial governments. Rome micro-managed Second Temple Judaism to the extent of even determining when its priests could wear their holy vestments. 

... the Romans took possession of these vestments of the high priest, and had them reposited in a stone-chamber, and seven days before a festival they were delivered to . . . the high priest. . . 

Rome must have truly feared the power of the true high priests

In spite of these efforts, Rome's normal policy of absorbing the gods of its provinces did not succeed in Judea. Judaism would not permit its God to be just one among many, and Rome was forced to battle one Jewish insurrection after another. Having failed to control Judaism by naming its high priests, the imperial family would next attempt to control the religion by rewriting its Torah. 

I believe they took this step and created the Gospels to initiate a version of Judaism more acceptable to the Empire, a religion that instead of waging war against its enemies would "turn the other cheek." 

The theory of a Roman invention of Christianity does not originate with this work. Bruno Bauer, a 19th-century German scholar, believed that Christianity was Rome's attempt to create a mass religion that encouraged slaves to accept their station in life. In our era, Robert Eisenman concluded that the New Testament was the literature of a Judaic messianic movement rewritten with a pro-Roman perspective. This work, however, presents a completely new way of understanding the New Testament. 

Perhaps Josephus was not as smart as we think: perhaps he stole some writings and then selectively plagiarized them in a way that would ensure his survival... after all, it is well known that he had already sold out his family, faith and movement to ensure his survival. Or perhaps he never existed: maybe instead, Vespasian looted literature during his campaigns and turned them over to scribes to create a pro-Flavian religion out of them.

I will show that the Gospels were created to be understood on two levels. On its surface level they are, of course, a description of the ministry of a miracle-working Messiah who rose from the dead. However, the New Testament was also designed to be understood in another way, which is as a satire of Titus Flavius' military campaign through Judea. The proof of this is simply that Jesus and Titus share parallel experiences at the same locations and in the same sequence. Those parallels are both too exact and too complex to have occurred by chance. That this fact has been overlooked for two millennia represents a blind spot in scholarship as large as it is long. 

Obviously Vespasian favored the Alexandrian family of Jews over the Herodian ones: Herod's inability to properly deal with the Jewish uprisings and his murder of John the Baptist were just two of many issues that brought static between Herod and Vespasian: is this why Alexandrian Egypt was shown as a place of safety and sojourning for the messiah and John the Baptist, while Herodian Judaea was wrought with dangers and cruelty?

The Gospels were designed to become apparent as satire as soon as they were read in conjunction with War of the Jews. In fact, the four Gospels and War of the Jews were created as a unified piece of literature whose characters and stories interact. Their interaction gives many of Jesus' sayings a comical meaning and also creates a series of puzzles whose solutions reveal the real identities of the New Testament's characters. Understanding the New Testament's comic level reveals, for example, that the Apostles Simon and John were cruel lampoons of Simon and John, the leaders of the Jewish rebellion. 

Throughout this work I refer to Jesus' ministry as a satire of Titus' military campaign. I do so because the ministry was based on the campaign and was intended to be seen as humorous when viewed from that perspective. However, the relationship between these two "ministries" was not simply satirical. I shall show that Jesus' ministry was designed to prove that he was the Malachi, or messenger, of the "true" Messiah — Titus Flavius. 

Malachi means "my messenger" in Hebrew and was used as a cognomen for the prophet Elijah. This is because Judaic prophecy foretold that the Messiah would be preceded by the appearance of Elijah, who would act as the messenger of his imminent coming. Wasn't John the Baptist supposedly the Messenger? And if Jesus was a fiction made in the Vespasian court, then who was the true Messiah? And who was John the Baptist? What was his true role if he was supplanted by the Flavian Jesus?

But I shall send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. 

Malachi 4:5 

To show that Jesus' ministry was a forerunner of Titus' campaign the authors of the New Testament and War of the Jews used typology, a technique that runs throughout Judaic literature. Key incidents in Jesus' ministry were created to be seen as the "type," or prophetical basis, for events from Titus' campaign and thereby "prove" that Jesus had been the Malachi of Titus. 

I will also show that Josephus falsified the dates of events in War of the Jews to create the impression that the prophecies of Daniel came to pass during the war between the Romans and the Jews. This was done to provide "proof for the New Testament's claim, on its surface level, that the "son of God" foreseen by Daniel was Jesus. 

The histories of Josephus and the New Testament are perhaps the most scrutinized works in literature and 1 encourage skepticism of my claim to have discovered a new, "true" way of understanding them. Throughout the ages, the New Testament has been an intellectual kaleidoscope within which fantastic prophecies and codes have often been "discovered." Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, and I would not be presenting this work if I could
not meet that criterion. 

However, it was the case that the Flavians possessed both the motivation and the capacity to create a version of Judaism aligned with their interests. Any honest seeker of Christianity's origin must, therefore, at least consider the possibility that the Flavians produced the Gospels. Further, the core of Jesus' prophecies — the Galilean villages "laid low," Jerusalem encircled with a wall, the temple left with not a single stone atop another, and the "wicked generation" destroyed — all share one characteristic. Each is a military victory of the Flavian family. Thus, the oft-cited principle that history is written by the victors suggests that that family should be the first group we investigate. 

This is why we should attempt to understand the Gospels as they would have been understood by someone familiar with the conquest of Judea by Titus Flavius, emperor of Rome. And with this perspective, a completely different meaning of the Gospels becomes visible. 

They proclaim the divinity of Caesar.

 Chapter 2: Fishers of Men: Men Who Were Caught Like Fish