Apocalypse and Armageddon, the Secret Origins of Christianity: The First Shall Be Last and the Last Shall Be First by Hekataios Amerikos

Author:Hekataios Amerikos [Amerikos, Hekataios]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781483433318
Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
Published: 2015-07-09T22:00:00+00:00

Revolution and Hysteria

Now, again, it is also historically known that a revolt took place in Jerusalem, beginning in 49 CE, Paul, again, already being in Kόrinthos by this time. It is by no means difficult to see that a sudden influx of Jews from Roma to Jerusalem could have helped to stir things up and trigger the revolt which began in about 49 CE, the year that Claudius expelled Jews from Roma. And, if such is true in this particular case, could it have also been true during a later period in time under similar circumstances? And could some of these Jews have been Christians? The answer here seems to be obvious. Now, of course, as in all situations, some Jews did remain in Roma anyway and, as long as they caused no trouble, they were not harassed. This would also have been true of those of the Christian sect, to whom Paul would later write.

Interestingly, it should be noted that neither the book of Acts nor any other New Testament source refers directly to this revolt as having taken place at all. What? Did the writer of Acts not know about the revolt that took place in Jerusalem? Certainly he did know. Just like the writers of the gospels knew that Jerusalem and the temple had already been destroyed (as we shall see), the writer of Acts knew of the revolt of 49 CE, but none directly referred to either of these events. The reason it is left out, I submit, is because this revolt failed and no one wanted to remember that.

Now, as Craig A. Evans astutely points out in the book Anti-Semitism And Early Christianity, it is erroneous to believe that early Christianity during the first century opposed Judaism because, for that to have been the case, there would have had to have been a clearly defined Christianity separate from Judaism, as well as a clearly defined Judaism. Instead, Judaism was pluralistic and diverse and still included Christianity, although they were clearly beginning to reject Christianity little by little. And the early Christians saw themselves as being a part of Israel, not opposed to it (Evans & Hagner 12). Indeed, as Bruce Chilton also points out (Evans & Hagner 42; Jesus and the Question of Anti-Semitism), if Jesus had intended to create a religious system distinct from Judaism then it is quite remarkable that there exists such a lack of uniformity of thought, especially as an alternative to Judaism, within the New Testament. So it is more plausible to suggest that Jesus and his movement were, at first, Judaic and Torah-abiding for all practical purposes but that this changed over time and that it is reflected predominantly within the Pauline writings.

Still, by the second century CE the Rabbis (while Christianity was dealing with a resurgence of Gnosticism, as we will see) had begun to more clearly see the threat that Christianity and other heresies formed and they took steps to prevent further erosion of their Jewish way of life.

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