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Joseph Atwill’s, Caesar’s Messiah, parallels the line of investigation we’ve pursued and been writing about since 2002 - with one major difference. Atwill focuses on Matthew’s Gospel almost exclusively, arguing that Matthew was the first written, dismissing evidence that Mark was first, Matthew second, Luke-Acts, then John. That Matthew and Luke copied large portions of the first gospel, Mark, and portions of a second unknown text called the Q document, has been firmly established, in our opinion.

 

As we demonstrated in Luke’s Light and Josephus’ Jesus, Matthew reworked Mark in order to remove the signs and signals that lead to the real message it contains; Luke reset them and finished the story in Acts. John (the original version before interpolations) attempted to establish a doctrine consistent with Greek philosophy, primarily Plato. Later additions turned it into a pro-Matthew/Paul and anti-Jewish gospel.

 

Atwill starts down the right road but misses one of the first turns. Focusing only on Matthew’s Gospel makes sense if you’re Jewish, offended by Matthew’s attack on Judaism, and have information about Matthew’s methods and purpose. But Luke’s work followed Matthew’s. And Luke attempted to restore the signs (as much as could be done considering later tampering). If the complete and accurate story is to be told, all the gospels must be examined, but Luke-Acts, the most complete, is also the most important.

 

Atwill is correct: Matthew was written by a “Christian Jew” who opposed Orthodox Judaism. But Matthew also opposed Rome’s plan for a peaceful conversion of Jews to a Judaism merged with Greek philosophy.

 

Matthew’s purpose was to use the popularity of Mark’s, “Jesus of the sect called ‘Nazorean,’” while preserving a means of vicarious atonement, a basic tenet of Judaism but rejected by the Greeks. The “dying-and-resurrected gods” of Greek mythology were created to demonstrate “Eternal Life,” infinite numbers of cycles of life (motion), death (rest), and rebirth (motion) repeated eternally. The emphasis was on living ethically, not finding a scapegoat.

 

Our work relies on one of the most important figures contemporary with Jesus, Philo of Alexandria. Philo is known for demonstrating that Greek Philosophy is derived from Mosaic Judaism when interpreted allegorically. He is also recognized for teaching the enigmatic method of interpreting scripture. It is the enigmatic method Philo taught that unravels the story behind the gospels and reveals the history that Atwill rightly says, “was intended to be unraveled at some future time.”

 

Atwill suggests the reason the gospel codes were designed to be broken was an “ego desire for a future legacy.” We believe their use of enigmas was a sincere desire that the truth be told.  We fully agree that the time has come, the time is now. But there is a great deal more to the story than Dr. Atwill has discovered by limiting his study primarily to Matthew.

 

It is indeed a complicated web of intersections and side roads that make it extremely difficult to put on paper. But the revelations that come when the “first turn” is correctly taken, and Luke-Acts is examined alongside Matthew, Mark, John, and Revelation, is well worth our effort to present them, and hopefully, worth your effort to follow along, difficult as it may seem at times. We’ve created several charts that may be helpful.

 

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“Luke” opens Chapter One with two high-flying red flags, both of which come from “Philo’s Rules for Enigmas”:

 

1)      Multiplying the numbers in Luke Chapter One = 4,320, one of the most “Sacred” of numbers. Sacred Numbers are found throughout Luke’s gospel, all leading to the mystery Schools of Pythagoras and Plato. The numbers are the most easily identifiable “red flag” that something is hidden within the words. (Philo’s Rule #21: “numeral symbolism.”)

2)      In the introductions to Luke and Acts, Luke addressed “Theo-philus,” a name that leads to the Theo-logian Philo. (Philo’s Rule #7-8-9: “A play upon words must be utilized for finding a deeper meaning…(the) allegorical [enigmatic] sense may be gathered from…the parts of a word…” and 10: “Every word must be explained in all its meanings, in order that different interpretations may be found.”)

 

Philo provided a list of identifiers that signal “enigma” and explained how to interpret these sections of text. Applying these rules to interpret the gospels - and the historians’ accounts of similar events - reveals the history of the time and the Roman Plan for the peaceful merging of Judaism with Greek Philosophy.

 

Had it not been for interference from what we call “the Matthew faction,” the focus of Atwill’s thesis, the destruction of the Temple in 70 ACE might never have been ordered. The Roman Plan for Pax Romana was infiltrated, derailed, and turned into a hateful attack against the Jews, against the Romans, and against the leaders of the planned “New Judaism.” That was not a part of the original plan!

 

It all started during the Babylonian Captivity in the sixth century BCE when Judean and Israelites priests and scribes were introduced to Pythagoras. The result was a new and improved Torah that carried elements of the Sumerian-Babylonian pantheon and theology. All the known religions of the Babylonian Empire were given a single foundation of ethical behaviors. The Judeans' YHWH (Sumerian Enki-Ea) and the Israelites' Elohim (Sumerian EnLiL and NinLiL) became one deity: YHWH-Elohim. The Persians' opposing deities, Spenta Mainyu and Angra Mainyu

became one deity, Ahura-Mazda who was later joined by wife Anahita and son Mithra, the Persian Empire's version of the Holy Trinity. And from this time forward, all the Kings and Queens in all the Empires were related to one another through the blood traced back to the Sumerian parent deities Ansar and Kisar, Heavenly Father and Earthly Mother. Ansar became the biblical Hebrew, NSR, translated "prince." NSR from Ansar is the etymology of Nas sar, "Nasarean" and "Nazarene." Nasi and Sar are both translated "Prince." Therefore, "Prince of Princes" in biblical Hebrew is Nasi Sar.

 

The First Annual Passover-Passion Pageant was the culmination of a centuries-long effort to unite all the Roman Empire's religions into just one. YHWH and Zeus became Iesous. The Jewish Messiah became a dying-and-resurrected god. The "Executive Producer" was Rome's Emperor Tiberius. The "Director" was Jerusalem's High Priest Simeon ben Hillel. The first "Jesus" was Simeon's son, Gamaliel ben Simeon. The first "Mary Magdalene" was Julius and Cleopatra's granddaughter. The screenplay was an adaptation of one written centuries earlier for Osiris and Isis.

 

The whole story, by Logan Leicht and P.J. Paxx - with sources and abundant footnotes - is scheduled for publication in August 2014.

 

 

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Joseph Atwill has made important inroads on behalf of Judaism’s rejection of Christianity. But we believe our contribution is an equally important breakthrough. We hope to serve, not just the Jew, but also the non-Jew, whether orthodox Christian, alternative Christian, agnostic, or atheist. Most of all, we hope to serve the legacy of Jesus and Mary Magdalene by resurrecting the Schools of Pythagoras and Plato they supported with their time and resources. In the process, the Goddess will also be resurrected.

 

We applaud and support Atwill’s work, and we share his frustration that the Scholars seem unable to free themselves from the chains of orthodox scholarship. This is not to say that orthodox scholarship is not critical to the search for the true history of Christianity. But when the road goes into a tunnel, hidden by thorns and thickets, it’s time to look for the signs and signals laid out for us by the Master of Enigmas. Find Philo, follow her, and she will lead you to Jesus!

 

Pax Amo Lux!

 

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