Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Chapter 20 - Revelation's impact on the world


Chapter 20 - Revelation's impact on the world

 

 

The Prima Facie for the seven decades cycle “prophecy” or repeated prediction from an outside historical source:

 

The source is from Book III of The Sibylline Oracles or The Pseudo-Sibylline Oracles. The section highlights evidence and includes footnotes to the Prima Facie of the seven decades false prediction. After the evidence is presented the commentary will be presented on why this supposed forgery from the second or sixth century C.E. is very important to the overall seventy year theory. I will then present another section with evidence and commentary.


EVIDENCE:

 

(345) Of time seven decades shall thy fruitful land

And the wonders of thy temple all be waste.

But there remains for thee a goodly end

And greatest glory, as the immortal God

Granted thee. But do thou wait and confide

(350) In the great God's pure laws, when he shall lift

Thy wearied knee upright unto the light.

And then will God from heaven send a king

To judge each man in blood and light of fire.

There is a royal tribe, the race of which

(355) Shall be unfailing; and as times revolve

This race shall bear rule and begin to build

God's temple new. And all the Persian kings

Shall aid with bronze and gold and well-wrought iron.

For God himself will give the holy dream

(360) By night. And then the temple shall again

Be, as it was before. . . .

[345. Seven decades.--See Jer. xxv, 9-12.

352. The king here referred to is perhaps best explained of Cyrus, and the description should be compared with Isa. xliv, 28; xlv, 14. Ewald (p. 32) understands the king to be the Messiah, and, indeed, the language of lines 352 and 353 (Greek text, 286, 287), taken apart from the context, naturally suggests a supernatural ruler and judge. The poet may have intended to connect the advent of the Messiah with the restoration of the Jews and the rebuilding of their temple. But the context here and in the parallel passage, lines 817-826 below, points rather to Cyrus, whom Isaiah calls the anointed one of Jehovah and represents as the conqueror of nations, "saying of Jerusalem, She shall be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid."

954. Royal tribe.--Judah, which returned from Babylonian exile, and under Zerubbabel, a descendant of the house of David (Matt. i, 12; Luke iii, 27), rebuilt the temple.

357, 358 Kings shall aid.--Comp. Ezra i, 4; vi, 8; vii, 15, 16, 22.

369. The holy dream.--Perhaps alluding to the visions and prophecies of Zechariah and Haggai (comp. Ezra v, i).]


The commentary of the Historical evidence above:

1. Despite the historical forgery it is a very important source and evidence because it expresses the feeling of the writer or writers during the supposed era. The evidence is very important because it is an expressed idea stated after A.D. 140.

2. The stated "Seven Decades" is evidence that the people of those times were conscious of the seventy year cycle. Even though, not explicitly stated by Paul or other early Church fathers or other early Christian leaders, it was implied through parts of the New Testament canon. This would mean that Paul's own words in Ephesians 4:8 and through one of his loyal Gospel writer – Luke (Luke 21:24) expressed the proposed seventy year “prophecy” or prediction through the use of connected terms. The connected terms are "captive" or "captivity". The previous evidence implies the cycle started with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans copying an earlier action by the Babylonians. It is understood that the captivity is seventy years and that this number was meant to be literal. Therefore; the verse in Revelation (Revelation 6:13), mentioning "fig tree", is implying a literal seventy years “prophecy” or prediction of captivity(AD 70) and return from Roman exile(AD 140). The proposed “prophecy” or prediction was expressed in an earlier form by the Gospel writer Matthew in Matthew chapter twenty-four. The previous was also borrowed and eventually adopted by Paul and the writer of the Book of Revelation. Therefore, the “prophecy” and predictions by the New Testament writers are proven to be false through historical evidence. Also, this would mean that Nero is the anti-Christ (beast) mentioned in Revelation chapter 13 (Revelation 13:10). The theory concerning Nero will be explained more thoroughly in the next evidence below within the chapter proving the influence and method of identification using numbers (and letters). The evidence is proof that the numbering identification system was an employed method of encoding messages and it was a common theme.

3. The New Testament writers including the writer of the Book of Revelation all expressed a later preterist position. What is a "preterist" interpretation of the New Testament as it pertains to supposed future events? The definition of "preterist" is to suggest that all the prophecies contained in the canon of the New Testament were meant to be fulfilled during the era of the early church leaders. The above evidence gives us proof of the preterist position. Nevertheless, despite its forgery it was rewritten between the second and sixth century. If it was rewritten but yet expresses a seven decades return after exile then this final form is expressing the feelings and ideas of the population which were passed on proving at least the preterist position over the millennialist position. The meaning of the previous statement is to suggest that the Millennialist viewpoint expired within the proven Preterist opinion. The previous statements would then positively identify Paul's suggestion concerning marriage (1st Corinthians chapter seven) to be a hint by Paul that he expected the return of his "messiah" seventy years after the destruction of the Temple. Nevertheless, Paul never expected the Temple’s destruction but rather its desecration by the Roman emperors copying an assumption stated through the words of Daniel. Moreover, Matthew and other New Testament writers all expected a desecration but when the Temple was destroyed it forced John to compose the Gospel of John (John 2:19-21) and later expressed Jesus as the Temple (Revelation 21:22). John was later arrested by the Roman emperor Vespasian for writing the Gospel of John. John later encodes and composes a court document against the Roman Empire calling it: “Revelation of Messiah Jesus” (Revelation 1:1). Revelation 1:2 exposes the true name of the Gospel of Matthew, the first Gospel, as it was called: “The Testimony of Messiah Jesus”.

4. The further evidence which goes contrary to the preterist position is the idea that if the message of Paul has expired at A.D. 140 then Jesus is not returning and therefore Jesus is not god. The preterist position expresses that most of the New Testament prophecies were fulfilled at A.D. 140 but yet this position opens the possibility that Jesus is not divine. It also opens the idea that Paul and most of the New Testament writers created a fictional Jesus. The central theme among the Gentile Christians, Jewish-Christians, and Jews in general is the subject of the Temple. All three previous groups expressed a return to the land seventy years after the imposed Roman exile (Revelation 21:2). The evidence of this competition between ideas: The Gospel of John 2:19-22, Revelation 21:22 and Jeremiah 29:10, 28. The last evidence expressing the hope of the Jews in general through the writings and ideas of Flavius Josephus expressed in his treatise. The New Testament evidence is expressing that the rebuilding is not a central theme for the new tribe called "Christians" (Romans chapter eleven and Revelation 21:22).

 

5. Why would early Christians put their life on the line for a lie? It is evidently a fanatical supposition to a lie. It may be the case they created a fictional Jesus but were attempting to construct a new man on the scene (Romans chapter eleven). The new constructed man was someone who was loyal to the new Christian law (Revelation 14:3) despite the origin of the individual (Romans 10:12). The previous idea is worth dying for knowing that after the seven decades exile, the return of their messiah king would show up (Revelation 19:11). The reason for the counter position by the early Christian leadership was to “cut off” the repeated pattern of disobedience (Daniel 9:26) and stop invasions by another nation. Paul and other early church leaders envisioned this repeated problem and were attempting through intellectual evolution to create this new individual which would have ended the cycle of disobedience and reconquest by other nations. However, the idea of expanding the local tribe was also borrowed by the early Christian leadership by adopting Caesar’s earlier position of expanding Roman citizenship. Therefore, the fictional Jesus represented a new individual and new citizen within the Jewish population which would have universalized the identity of what is considered a godly citizen and individual (Romans chapter eleven, Ezekiel chapter nine, Revelation chapters eleven and twelve). However, the problem is presented: Where are the Jewish-Christians which make up fifty percent of the two witnesses? (Revelation chapter eleven and Revelation chapter fourteen; and Hebrews 7:13). The previous question proves that the early Christian leadership under James, the half-brother of Jesus, created a fictional character and created an ideology using Old Testament source.


EVIDENCE:

 

On earth shall be. When in the starry heaven

Swords shall by night point straight toward west and east,

Straightway shalt there be also from the heaven

A cloud of dust borne forth to all the earth,

995 And the sun's brightness in the midst of heaven

Shall be eclipsed, and the moon's beams appear

And come again on earth; by drops of blood

Distilling from the rocks a sign shalt be;

And in the cloud shalt ye behold a war

1000 Of foot and horse, like the chase of wild beasts

In the dense fog. This end of all things God

Shalt consummate, whose dwelling is in heaven.

But all must sacrifice to the great King.

These things I show thee, I who madly left

1005 The long walls of Assyrian Babylon

For Hellas to proclaim to all the wrath

Of God, fire sent. . . .

. . . . . . .

And that I might to mortals prophesy

Of mysteries divine. And men shalt say

1010 In Hellas that I am of foreign Land,

Of Erythre born, shameless; others say

That I'm a Sibyl, born of mother Circe

And father Gnostos raving mad and false;

But at that time when all thing come to pass

1015 Ye shall remember me, and no one more

 

 

[991-1000. Comp. with this section Josephus,Wars, vi, v, 3.

1005. Babylon.--Lactantius understood the Sibyl to predict that she would be called Erythræan, "although she was born in Babylon." Div. Inst., i, 6 [L., 6, 145].

1013. Gnostos.--Some have thought that Glaucus is intended, the seagod and father of Deiphobe. See Vergil, Æn., vi, 36.

1014-1016. Cited by Lactantius, Div, iv, 15 [L, 6, 495].]




My Commentary:

1. Both of the above underlined and bolded words are expressing the seventy year cycle of repeat and its alternative source. Peter and the writer of the Book of Revelation have both expressed and implied the term "Babylon" - 1st Peter 5:13 and Revelation 14:8,17:5, 16:12,19. The Book of Revelation usage of the term "Euphrates" is directed towards the theme of a symbolic Babylon, i.e. the Roman Empire.

2. Therefore, the Book of Revelation is expressing a falsely predicted overall repeated historical cycle: The destruction of the Temple, the seventy years exile, the return of the new tribe or new citizens, the struggle to keep loyal to the new "messiah" King Jesus/Temple, the spiritual desolation by a new spiritual "Gog and Magog" (Revelation 20:8), and the final triumph of the universal King. It starts in A.D. 70, the return in A.D. 140, and the 1,000 year reign of the new "messiah" King to A.D. 1140.

3. The previous false prediction is rather a proposed historical, material and physical manifestation which did not materialize. The initial starting point is with the various metaphysical and epistemological errors within the Gospel of Matthew, i.e. The Testament of Messiah Jesus. For example, the verse Matthew 24:20 which falsely details the prediction of the desecration of the Temple by a Roman emperor and Matthew 27:52-53 falsely details many witnesses to a resurrection which never occurred. Furthermore, the expected return of Paul's Jesus in 1st Corinthians chapter seven never materialized. Paul also created a fictional Jesus in 1st Corinthians chapter fifteen for his Gentile Christian audience.

There is also plenty of evidence that the numerical identification theme expressed in Revelation chapter thirteen was a common theme among the populace. It may have taken another 200 years for the Book of Revelation to be added officially into the canon. It is known that it was through the act of Pope Innocent I. in A.D. 405, in which he included it in his personal collection while the Book of Revelation was still in dispute. Nevertheless, there may be evidence that the Book of Revelation was in circulation among the population and it may have influenced other interpretations and interpolated writings. The evidence below is proof of this influence derived from the same source above:

 

EVIDENCE:

CONTENTS OF BOOK XIV.

Warning against the lust of power, 1-14. The bull-destroyer, 16-22. The man known by the number one, 23-27. Two rulers of the number forty, 28-34. Young ruler of the number seventy, 115-55. Ruler of the number forty, 66-61. Wolf from the West, 62-65. Ruler known by the letter A, 66-73. Three kings of haughty soul, of the numbers one, thirty, and three hundred, 74-93. King known by the number three, 94-98. The old king of the number four, 99-101. Wars and woes on various peoples, 102-120. The venerable king of the number five, 121-134. Two kings of the numbers three hundred and three, 115-147. The king of many schemes, 148-159. King of the number three hundred, 160-172. King like a wild beast, of the number thirty, 173-188. Ruler of the number four, 189-200. Great sign from heaven, 201-205. Ruler out of Asia, of the number fifty, 206-216. Ruler out of Egypt, 217-223. The man of potent signs and the peaceful king of the number five, 224-245. Many tyrants and the holy king known by the letter A, 246-261. Burning and restoration of Rome, 262-271. Woo for various Greeks, 272-278. The fratricide, 279-283. The fierce king of the number eighty and the terrors of his time, 284-508. Many obtain royal power, 309-312. Three kings and their destruction, 313-329. Many spearmen, 330-335. God's judgment on the shameless, 336-343. Rome's wretched plight and the last race of Latin kings, 344-358. Egypt and her prudent king, 359-375. The Alexandrians, 376-381. Fearful nameless woe, 382-398. The Sicilians, 399-406. The lion and lioness, 407-418. The dragon and the ram, 419-425. Second war in Egypt, 426-433. Destructive slaughter, 434-447. The Messianic era, 448-468.

And then there shall be a lord confident

In his might, and named with four syllables,

25 And shown forth clearly fromthe number one;

Then shall two other princely men bear rule,

Both of the number forty; and with them

30 Shall great peace be in the world and to all

And then again a dreadful lord shall rule,

Young, fighting hand to hand, whose name shall show

The number seventy, life-destroying, fierce,

Who to the army basely shall betray

The people of Rome, slain by wickedness

40 Because of wrath of kings, and he shall hurl

[18. Shepherds.--Chiefs of the various tribes and nations whom Odenatus subdued.

21. A dog.--Mæonius, the assassin of Odenatus. Comp. book viii, 208.

24. Four syllables.--Aureolus.

29. Both . . . forty.--Macrianus, father and son of same name. But from this point onward the identification of the persons intended is purely conjectural and uncertain.

37. Seventy-Represented by O, and possibly denoting the Achaian pretender, Valens.]

55 And wolves, for he a martial people spoiled.

After him, numbering forty, there shall rule

Another, famous Parthian-destroyer,

German-destroyer, putting down dread beasts

That kill men, which upon the ocean's streams

60 And the Euphrates press continuous on.

And then shall Rome again be as before.

But when there comes a great wolf in thy plains,

A ruler marching onward from the West,

Then shall he under powerful Ares die

65 Being cleft asunder by the piercing brass.

And o'er the very mighty Romans then

Shall there rule yet again another man

Of great heart, from. Assyria brought to light,

Of the first letter, and he shall himself

70 By means of wars put all things under him,


[67. Parthian-destroyer.--Macrinus (M = 40).

62. Wolf.--Reference, perhaps, to Quintilius, the brother of Claudius.

66-73. Aurelian.]

Having destroyed a Scythian race, the king
Shall die in his own lot unloosing life.
And yet another of the number four
190 Shall rule thereafter, openly made known
A dreadful man, whom all Armenians,
Who drink the best ice of the flowing stream
Araxes, and the Persians of great soul
Shall fear in wars. And between Colchians
195 And very strong Pelasgi there shall be
Wars, fights, and homicides. And those who hold
The cities of the land of Phrygia
And those of the Propontis, and make bare
From out their scabbards the two-edged swords,
200 Shall smite each other through sore impiousness.
And then shall God to mortal men display
From heaven a great sign with the rolling years,
A bat, the portent of bad war to come.
And then the king shall not escape stern fate,
205 But die by hand, slain by the gleaming iron.
After him, numbering fifty, there shall rule
Again another coming out of Asia,
A dreadful terror, fighting hand to hand;
And he shall set war on Rome's stately walls,
210 And among Colchians, and Heniochi,
And the milk-drinking Agathyrsians
By Euxine sea, at Thracia's sandy bay.
And then the king shall not escape stern fate,
And they will tear in pieces his dead corpse.


[189. Four.--{Greek D}, representing, as Ewald suggests, Dreskyllas, another form of the name Threskyllas.

203. A bat.--The Greek work is {Greek fa'lkh}. Can it mean a falcon?

206. Fifty.--N, initial of Nepos, emperor in A. D. 474.]



MY COMMENT:

1. The evidence above tells the readers the feelings of the writer or writers. It tells of a prediction in which Rome will be conquered therefore repeating the pattern of Babylonian captivity and liberation. All of the indicators are underlined.

2. The indicators are categorized into two groups: The numbering system applied to code the identity of several rulers and another nation from the east to replace the new "Babylonian" nation, i.e. Roman Empire.

3. The indicators involving the numbering system are proof that the practice continued before and after the Book of Revelation. According to previous evidence, the identity of the "beast" of Revelation chapter thirteen was properly identified as the Roman Emperor Nero. The above evidence gives the readers evidence that this practice was common and it does highlight historical context.

4. The prediction by the writer above exposes the intent of the early Christian community. The intentions are that they expected a repeat of the Babylonian captivity culminating in the physical return of Jesus. The false prediction is a collective error initiated by Paul and the early church leaders in Jerusalem and later expressed by John in the Book of Revelation. They all expected a desecration with exception of John who introduced the seven decades captivity after the Temple's destruction. The interpretation and introduction of the seventy years captivity was definitely added to possibly defend the Christian movement in the face of surmountable naysayers. John may have disagreed with Paul concerning ‘foods sacrificed to idols’ (1st Corinthians chapter eight and Revelation 2:14, 20)(and the emphasize on “stumbling block”(1st Corinthians 8:9 and Revelation 2:14)). John and Paul agreed on one issue and the issue was expansion of the Christian tribe to include Gentiles (Romans chapter eleven and Revelation chapter seven, eleven and fourteen). Furthermore, one of the most important indicators within the Book of Revelation details another "Persian" like nation to demolish the Roman empire (Revelation 14:8, 16:12). This demolishing is something of a repeat of Daniel's vision (Daniel 2:31-45, Daniel 9:2) which means that these ideas were circulated even during the time of Paul and other prominent New Testament writers. They expected the Temple's desecration (then later its destruction and seven decades of exile). However, the difference between the early Christian leaders and Josephus is the physical bodily return of Jesus as King/Messiah rather than the rebuilding of the Temple (Revelation 21:22).

5. These predictions have been proven through time to be false. There is no return of a physically bodily Jesus because the seven decades exile has expired beyond its predicted date. The supposed writings by Sibyl, or rather a group of unnamed writers, presents to the reader the continuing hope for the fictional redeemer to return despite the physical proof of a false prediction by the early church leaders. It could be said that the Gnostic gospels could be factored into the body of writings which may have been influenced by the possible circulation of the Book of Revelation. Obviously, the supposed historical forgery of the The Sibylline Oraclesor The Pseudo-Sibylline Oracles were influenced by the circulation of the Book of Revelation. The other reason is that its populace held on to the pre-Revelation practices of using the numbering system which was popularly used as entertainment. The population also adopted the Book of Revelation's contents of apocalyptic images and a portion of the fictionalized Jesus expressed through various writings. These writings were composed when the prophecies did not materialize according to a specific calculated time - A.D.140. The Gnostic manuscripts and other writings were done to express a hope and to explain away, implicitly, a false prediction. These signs of protests, the extra "heretical" canonical writings, were then put down by several Christian councils and gatherings of various church leaders who canonized the texts, i.e. New Testament. Therefore, the obvious rationale for the fictional creation of Jesus was to create a new citizen to interact with the general Jewish population and to prevent future invasions of the Jewish nation, i.e. to end the cycle of captivity.

6. The absence of a physical literal return of Jesus among the Gnostic Gospels is prime evidence to suggest that there was a “falling away” of faith among the Christian community around A.D.140. The failed prediction had created the need to produce literature like the various Gnostic Gospels which encouraged the nascent Christian community. A copying of the Babylonian captivity of a literal seventy years never materialized. The seventy years theory is supported by the various spiritualized gnostic writings towards the absent and failed subject of the supposed Jesus' return. The “falling away” was a natural prediction because Paul may have expected people to turn away from the “Gospels” when it was proven to be false.

 

7. The evidence to show that this "falling away" stated by Paul (2nd Thessalonians 2:3) was intended to be at the time before the Temple's "desecration" is the term: "Perdition". The term is located in Revelation 17:11 and 2nd Thessalonians 2:3. It is supported by Paul's position towards marriage in 1st Corinthians chapter seven and his statement in verse 7:29 - "the time is short"! and "present distress" in 7:26. The mention by Paul was intended before the Temple's "desecration" or destruction. John then developed an alternative theory after Paul's "desecration" did not materialize hence the reason why John repeated the term in the Book of Revelation. The repeat, mentioned in the Book of Revelation, was simply to keep the Gentile Christians from giving up the faith or belief. In other words, the Book of Revelation was a rally book or natural manifesto to keep the morale up within the early Christian community.

 

8. The misunderstandings developed out of poor interpretations and poor research concerning the Book of Revelation has caused people to "demonize" each other and warp public policy between nations. It has created suspicions and mistrust between groups of people. In another aspect, it may have introduced the concept of classical liberalism (Revelation chapter fourteen). Even though, it one aspect it promotes classical conservatism of public policy application. The inclusion of others outside of a particular group (Revelation chapter eleven, Revelation 4:9, Revelation chapter fourteen, Romans chapter eleven) and a form of Jewish-Christian authoritarianism (Revelation 2:27). The meaning of the preservation of a classical conservative structure model is implied in the last verse because of James behavior towards non-Jews (Galatians 2:12). However, Paul rebukes him in Galatians 2:14-15 which is also expressed in Romans 11:23-25 and also implied by the writer of the Book of Revelation (Revelation 11:2) when "gentiles" is used.

 

 

Chapter 19 - The Question: Is Jesus divine ?

 
Chapter 19 - The Question: Is Jesus divine ?
 
The short answer is no. There are two routes to answer this question: 1) Present evidence from the Old Testament. 2) Present evidence from the New Testament using deductive reasoning. Option two takes on the role of a detective and is more convincing if it is proven true. Especially, more convincing to those following the New Testament as a primary source and using the Old Testament as a secondary source supporting their respective doctrine - The dispensationalists, futurists and Millennialists. First, we must know that the primary belief and tenet of a follower of Paul's Christ(Messiah) is the doctrine of the physical resurrection of Jesus. Paul lays out the importance of the physical resurrection of Jesus in 1st Corinthians chapter fifteen. The contents of the previous chapter not only presents Paul's position but also presents evidence that he had received problematic questioning and doubts from other early Christians concerning his interpretation of the “gospel”. There are four main themes within 1st Corinthians chapter 15: verse 4 - Third day resurrection of Jesus, verse 13 and 14 - No resurrection then No Faith., verse 32 - competing doctrines, verse 51 and 52 - mass resurrection or "rapture".
The first thing we must look at is who qualifies as the competing group? And why they are the group which Paul attacks in Ephesus. This particular group, which Paul attacks, are the Jewish-Christians who disagreed with Paul's doctrine or account of events. To envision this conflict among Paul's group and the Jewish-Christian group among the early Christians, two verses must be presented as outlier events. What are the outliers? The one particular datum or information which is not part of the usual collection of data. In other words, things or events which are out-of-the ordinary for a particular subject or a collection of data. In this presentation, it would be data that does not agree with the common perception of what is part of Christian teachings or Paul's doctrine. The three outliers are: (1) Matthew 27:52-53, (2) Matthew 24:20, (3) Matthew 10:5-15.
 
Matthew 27:52-53 is an outlier datum because neither this event is told by other gospel writers nor by common historians like Josephus. It is known that when events happen around Jerusalem it is usually spread to even Syria (Matthew 4:24 and Acts 10:37-39). The previous statement or verse is supported by the Jewish chronicler Josephus when he described the existence of Jesus and his followers in detail within his treatise. Also, other nationalities where stated in the Gospel of John to be in the city or travelling through it (John 12:20,19:20). This is clearly an epistemological error or flaw by the Gospel writer because this event would have spread into other parts of the Roman Empire and nearby regions. The most important factor is that the Gospel of Matthew is before the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John was written in response to the failed predictions of the Temple's desecration or its destruction. In other words, when Jesus of Nazareth never materialized during the event of the Temple's supposed desecration and evident destruction it forces John to compose the next or last "Gospel". The other verses which could discredit the above evidence would be the verses in Matthew 28:12-15. These verses are more in describing the bribery of the Roman soldiers concerning the supposed event at the sepulchre site at the start of Matthew chapter twenty-eight but not describing a city-wide bribery. Also, this event would have been stated in the other three gospels. For even if it was a city-wide bribery clearly the other three gospel writers would have mentioned its importance. Also; Josephus, the Jewish chronicler, would have mentioned it in his collection because of the high-profile importance of the Jewish "saints". Paul is a brilliant politician and cunning theoretician because he influenced at least two gospel writers agreed with his doctrine and gospel (2nd Timothy 2:8,3:10, Romans 2:16,16:17,16:25). Paul is also known through the collection of Titus (TITUS 1:10-16) to have expressed his disgust towards the Jewish-Christian group and possibly Jews in general which disagreed with his doctrine towards the Gentiles. This conflict is also noted by James, the supposed half-brother of Jesus (JAMES 4:1). The other important note is that the writer of the Book of Revelation is also part of this exclusive short-lived club of "Jewish-Christians"(Revelation 14:4). This fact was noted earlier because of John's usage of Essenic language to describe the group in symbolic language to describe the "144,000".



   The difference over the timing of "rapture" was noted by Paul himself in 2nd Timothy 2:17-18. Paul verbally attacks Hymenae and Philetus for propagating something which differs from his policy - mass resurrection or rapture already occurred. From deduction, the assumption is created where this supposition is stated - Matthew 27:52-53. It has to be the case because the "mass resurrection of the saints" were never recorded by any independent historical source and so it must represent a symbolic or spiritual representation of "rapture". The theory is that Hymenae and Philetus are following another Gospel or message opposing Paul's agreed Gospel. It is then agreed that they were following the Gospel of Matthew, which is for Paul, a serious departure from his truth (Gospel). Paul would have proposed only Luke and Mark as Gospels and also excluded the Book of Revelation. It is known St.Augustine of Hippo, years after Paul, forced the acceptance of the Book of Revelation into the New Testament canon. Surely, the previous proposed theory could be supported by collaborated evidence because of the contradictions within the New Testament canon.
 
If the accounts of events surrounding the resurrection is not accurate and complete then there is a possibility that Jesus resurrection never took place. The weakest Gospel is the Gospel of Matthew which contains the epistemological error concerning the mass resurrection of the "saints". It is noted that even the Gospel of Matthew speaks of Jesus resurrection. However, the epistemological flaw gives reason of doubt concerning Jesus' resurrection. The supporting evidence of the flaw is the supposed bribery of the guards or soldiers at the sepulchre or tomb (Matthew 28:12-15). There is no historical evidence of a bribe and it is not even stated in the collection attributed to Josephus. For Josephus would have hinted and even stated this injustice in his collection concerning the trials and struggles of the nascent Christian community. The two Gospels in allegiance with Paul, does not even mention a bribe by the Jewish Priests. Therefore, this omission by Paul's Gospel writers (2nd Timothy 4:11) and the Gospel of John gives the evidence that Jesus resurrection never occurred. This only concludes in a set of events surrounding the death of Jesus the man: (1) Jesus was a non-violent revolutionary against the injustices of the Roman Empire and the Jewish priests. (2) Jesus was convicted and crucified. (3) Jesus was buried and never resurrected.
 
Matthew 24:20 is evidence against Jesus returning to Earth therefore rejecting the first premise of his resurrection. For the verse is evidence that the writer was not only a Jewish-Christian but one in disagreement with Paul. For instance, the prohibition of travelling during the "sabbath" is neither followed nor stated by the Gospel writers loyal to Paul. The prohibition is clearly omitted in the Gospel of Mark (Mark 13:18) and the Gospel of Luke (Luke 21:23-24) the very Gospel writers in allegiance with Paul's doctrine. The parallel verses, contained in Mark and Luke, with Matthew 24:20 is presenting to the reader that the actual return of Jesus was to occur in the past and not in a future date or era. In other words, the term "sabbath" in verse twenty is an outlier data signifying that the existence of the Jewish-Christians during that particular time were to observe the return of Jesus. Despite the exclusion of the Pauline group the outlier in the Gospel of Matthew exposes yet another dilemma - the supposed early return of Jesus. The reason being that the prohibition of travelling during the "sabbath" is not followed by any modern Christian. The previous evidence would conclude in the following premise: Matthew's prophecies mentioned in Matthew chapters twenty-four was addressing and detailing the desecration of the Temple in Jerusalem. Is it possible that Paul, through his letters, expressed Matthew's prophecies and described as "the dispensation"? Yes, Paul also believed in this theory of a "rapture" before the Temple's destruction or rather desecration. Therefore, when Paul's prediction did not materialize then later John composed two books defending the creed: the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation knowing that many could have left the early Christian movement. Furthermore, John's composition of the Book of Revelation is after A.D. 70 and then developed a doctrine and included a Millennial vision and language to cover Paul's mistake.
Paul would have succeeded if only those who canonized the New Testament did not include the Gospel of Matthew and the Book of Revelation. Both of these books are expressing the existence of the Jewish-Christian group, the very group predicted to observe Jesus' physical return, and presents to the reader the flaws inherit in Paul's own doctrine and gospel. The two outliers in order (Matthew 27:52-53 & Matthew 24:20) located in the Gospel of Matthew tells the reader four things: (1) Jesus did not resurrect at all. (2) Jesus is not going to return. (3) The Jewish-Christian group who were supposed to observe Jesus' physical return no longer exist as a group. (4) Finally, Jesus is neither divine nor God.
 The proof above was constructed by using the New Testament canon without extracting verses from the Old Testament and through analogical deduction. For the maxim below could be constructed:
(1) Paul used the Old Testament source to develop and present a fictional Jesus (2nd Timothy 4:13). James used HOSEA 6:1-3 in the Sunday morning eulogy telling the audience, in front of the empty tomb, a fictional account that Jesus had risen and told them to announce the "Good News" to the weary earthquake victims in the city of Jerusalem (Matthew 27:51-54).
(2) The supposed "miracles" are heresay from others spread by those loyal to the non-violent revolutionary Jesus (Josephus writings on the subject of Jesus and Christians in contrast with Matthew 4:24).
(3) There are no treatise or books by either Jesus or Lazarus (The Gospel of John chapter twelve) to verify the "miracles".
(4) The events predicted by all four Gospel writers, the writer of the Book of Revelation and Paul expired at A.D. 140. This would mean that the Book of Daniel expired years earlier despite the usage by the New Testament writers to naturally predict the destruction of the Temple by the Romans. Exposing the whole New Testament as a collection of expired prophecies or false predictions or events written after the facts.
(5) The New Testament canon is a collection of natural political documents expressing the hope of a new political movement. This new movement was to preserve the survival of the Jewish tribe in the face of continuing conquest by other empires. The movement called the "Christians" was utilized to unite Jews and non-Jews (Romans chapter eleven) by creating a fictional Jesus. A fictional Jesus created out of a non-violent revolutionary Jesus who was crucified and buried without a resurrection.

(6) Matthew 10:5-15 is definitely an outlier knowing the actions which Paul took to include the Gentile Christians. Romans chapter eleven will forever be the protest chapter against the contents Matthew chapter ten. The Matthew passage was definately enforced and followed (Galatians chapter two) and the compromise was initiated by James (Acts 21:18-25). The issue of foods bought and sold in the Roman marketplace became the next point of contention before the execution of Paul by Nero (1st Corinthians chapter eight and Revelation chapter thirteen). The previous contention presents the case that the New Testament canon is a collection of group think and politically natural document rather than a supernaturally guided text. If the text is supernaturally guided then it would be properly assumed that "God" believes in a social evolutionary development or "dispensation" of the Gospel. However, Paul's own words according to the previous observation creates doubt that the New Testament canon is "divinely" inspired (Colossians 1:25-29). In other words, it would be proper to describe the New Testament canon as a natural collection of letters and documents concerning the survival of the messianic movement intended only for the Jewish people (Matthew 10:5-15).