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PREFACE

The central argument of this study attempts to substantiate two main points: that Christ’s visitation has not yet occurred in the world of time, since it is a future event, and that his origin will be derived from the Greeks, not the Jews, when he does appear. We solve this paradox by employing a simple decoding process that essentially allows scripture to interpret itself. The evidence pointing to these conclusions is predicated on sound biblical scholarship and research. These two premises reflect the results drawn from an extensive comparative analysis of the scriptural material. Where non-biblical sources are concerned, such as the prophecies of the famed seer Nostradamus or the Dead Sea Scrolls, these will be employed for the purpose of conveying a consensus of the uniformity of thought among all of the discussed figures and spiritual traditions.

 Many years ago, the author received an inspired revelation. Given that it contradicted the conventional Jesus account, he refused to believe it. After some time, however, he set out to find whether it would be possible to reconcile it with the bible. This study is the outcome of that inquiry. Therefore, the author empathizes with the reader’s plight since he found himself in the same predicament not too long ago. So let this work teach you, as it taught him; for “the time is short” (1 Cor. 7:29). His message is more needed today than ever before in history.

 Yet history is not without its consequences. For it has given rise to the greatest postbiblical conspiracy of all time. The original account of Christ has been thoroughly altered and, in its place, a false gospel has been devised. Although the text may have been deliberately disguised by the deity for reasons to be discussed later, and despite the obvious literary confusion that surrounds it, religious authorities have taken full advantage of this situation to serve their own ends. Our main focus will be on exploring the scriptural legitimacy of their claims, not on any particular religious institution per se.

 Scripture firmly states that “a different gospel” will be preached in an effort to pervert and “distort the [exclusivist] gospel of Christ” (Gal. 1:6-7). This will be an adulterated version of scripture, saturated with half-truths and “TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN” (Mark 7:7). It is not so much that another gospel is preached, but that a different interpretation is produced and reworked to make Christ’s story more palatable to the masses (Gal. 1:7). Scripture says: “for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false” (2 Thess. 2:11). In fact, we have been the recipients of this false gospel down through the ages:

 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. …  For I would have you know, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:8-12).

 We have all heard the story of the suffering Messiah who took his last gasp of air on that fateful afternoon of 33 A.D. Shortly thereafter the earth quivered and the ground shook. And just as mysteriously as the son of God had appeared, he quickly evanesced without a trace while his silence covered the earth for the next two thousand years. But what conclusion can we draw from these events? Some argue that his mission on earth was a total failure. Actually, nothing so clearly indicates Christ’s unsuccessful earthly mission to restore God’s kingdom as his much anticipated return to set things right. What about the presumption that he was rejected by the Jews? This scenario seems highly unlikely given that traditional Judaism has always fervently believed in a coming Messiah. What is more, we simply do not have any reliable historical records of these events. In light of these contradictions and ambiguities, how much of the epic narrative is based on fact? Was it perhaps a cruel hoax? Did this story end at the tomb of Jesus? Or is there a part of the story yet untold?

 We must enter a world of uncharted territory and trace the mystery back to the sacred text itself. This book is based on a fascinating detective story in search of the real Jesus. Our analysis involves a biblical exegesis, the hermeneutical process of drawing out the meaning from the text itself. The conclusions cannot be regarded as speculative imputations of scripture because they are grounded on a discursive inquiry. In fact, this work is the product of twenty years of research.

 It is the author’s hope that readers should endeavor to search and verify for themselves prior to passing premature judgment upon these views. Not only is this our message, it is also the biblical message as it encourages us to examine “the Scriptures” in order to ascertain whether current teachings, such as ours, are consistent with them (Acts 17:11). We have already done all the work for you by organizing and combining the appropriate scriptural passages that provide the necessary evidence for the particular topics under discussion. To verify the results, all you need to do is to consult our documentation (the supporting references). The reader will be satisfied with the conclusions of this study only after the entire volume is consumed. In fact, we are more than convinced that if one were to apply the central two-part premise of this book, everything in the bible would start to make sense!

 The postmodern world no longer cares for the Bible and considers it as irrelevant to the issues of the times. It has been thoroughly supplanted by a mysterious discipline whose subject matter is equally inaccessible to direct observation: the human mind. We are, of course, referring to modern psychology. What we have to realize, however, is that this period of transition came with a price: we have lost touch with the ancient wisdom that once guided us, as life itself has been stripped of its meaning. The result is that mankind will be ill-equipped to understand the coming events that will soon be upon them. In this sense, this book is long overdue.

 There can only be three possible reactions to this work. The first potential response involves atheism. From this position, all of the reported findings are considered completely fictional, incapable of eliciting any legitimate credibility. This view exhibits all of the nihilistic features of postmodernism. Another likely reception of this text intimates theism, the doctrine that affirms faith in the existence of a monotheistic God who is capable of instilling revelation upon the natural world. This is the flip side of the spiritual coin and proponents of this standpoint will weigh and consider the evidence with great care and sincerity given that they believe that the bible is the authentic and inspired word of God. Lastly, there may be a third type of reaction to this volume involving what some view as the skeptical approach to metaphysical questions: agnosticism. The advocates of this position hold that the truth value of the theistic premise concerning the existence of a divine being is essentially unknown and unverifiable, incapable of being tested by empirical means. These “logical positivists,” so to speak, represent the middle ground between the other two extremes. Needless to say, this group maintains only a questioning attitude toward these mysteries, not total disbelief. Our argument is primarily addressed to these last two classes of people who are at least receptive to the subject of this book. Atheists can participate in reading this text out of mere curiosity, but they must consider the premises (for argument’s sake) in order to fully understand the conclusions of the topics under discussion. After all, is it not true that all knowledge is based on some form of faith? Plato once defined knowledge as “justified true belief”!

 All Scriptural quotes, unless otherwise noted, will be derived from the New American Standard Bible of 1977. This is the version that most scholars use because it is more of a literal translation rather than an interpretation of the original text. To a lesser extent, the New Jerusalem Bible, the New King James and the Authorized King James versions will be applied for purposes of comparison and contrast. This assemblage should produce a dimension of depth that enriches and elucidates the meaning of the text. Since “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Tim. 3:16), the inspired translations are uncompromising expansions of meaning that make the text more transparent. The more versions placed at our disposal, the less likely we are to overlook the semantic import of scripture. Christ says: “the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life” (John 6:63). In other words, they are to be understood as proceeding from the spirit (“pneuma” in Greek) of God.

 It should be pointed out that many religious traditions are represented symbolically to conceal their identity as the oracles concerning them are invariably unfavorable: scripture is casting an aspersion on them. Readers should also be keenly aware that certain dates, names and places pertaining to key prophetic revelations are not always openly disclosed in this volume, but are disseminated instead through cryptic means. This is done for several reasons. The author does not wish to be portrayed in the role of a fortune teller who nails down specific dates, similar to what certain biblical scholars are doing today. On the other hand, enough information is furnished so that readers can participate in the search process and figure out the answers for themselves. Last but not least, the reason for this cryptic dissemination of dates, names and places is for the purpose of allowing the reader to judge for his or her self without the need to trust in the author’s findings. It is also worth noting that symbols of prophecy may require more than one type of interpretation depending on the particular context in question. In an attempt to accommodate for this complexity, we have strived to offer diverse explanations wherever possible.

 Another point of interest concerns the term “Jew” and its specific application. This word can mean one of two things: either a “Jew” by religion, irrespective of one’s race, or a “Jew” by race, irrespective of one’s religion. For example, the former term may also include non-Hebrew converts to the Judaic religion, while the latter term can involve Jews who might either not belong to the Judaic religion or who may be atheists altogether. In this study, we use the word Jew to refer to the latter meaning: a Jew by race, irrespective of one’s religion. Actually, the word Jew is an abbreviation of the term Judah (“Ioudaios” in Greek), and in this sense it implies a descendant from the tribe of Judah.

 The message of this work is intended for all. It comprises our conviction that the current tenets of Christianity with regard to the origin and advent of Jesus are based on fundamental misconceptions.Our findings are of paramount importance for believers because they point out that Jesus has not yet died, much less lived on earth. Multiple lines of evidence put Christ’s act of salvation (his death) at a time when the world would come to an end (cf. 1 Tim. 2:6). As for the rest of the world, it is no small thing to have a first-hand experience of the forthcoming miracles of Jesus by witnessing his resurrection and ascension in their lifetime. Strange as this may sound, both theists and atheists alike will face the prospect of a divine encounter for the first time in human history!

 But ours is no ordinary book. Tapping into these mysterious prophecies empowers us to be better prepared for what is about to come: events of epic proportions that will soon shake the world to its very core. This is why the progression of events leading up to the end of days has occupied students of the bible throughout the centuries. Its oracles have mystified us. They have stood the test of time and continue to intrigue us, to console us, and, at times, to horrify us.

 The Bible is no less fascinating than myths or dreams. Joseph Campbell once said that “Myths are public dreams, [while] dreams are private myths.” The biblical language works in much the same way as the process of a dream in that it rigorously disguises and conceals its secret contents to prevent them from being discovered by the profane populace. Its meaning is often half-submerged in a sea of extraneous linguistic forms. And just as the characters in a dream frequently represent the dreamer, many biblical characters often represent the Messiah. These scriptural myths may actually lie on the confines of alchemy and science. Nevertheless, because of their celestial origins there may be more truth to them than there is in any fact of science. Ultimately, scripture is a mystery book that outlines God’s plan for the universe. It is based on prophecy which is inspired by divine revelation (communication with a divine source). Sir Isaac Newton – the father of modern physics and an astute biblical scholar – once said that “the authority of the Prophets is divine” (Wojcik and Frontain 98). It is with these views in mind that we present our volume in the hope that it will contribute to the understanding of Christian eschatology (the study of the end times), most notably with respect to the origin and advent of Jesus.

 But the question is: are these stories true or false? For the most part, these scriptural narratives are not true in the literal sense of the word. On the other hand, they are not false either since they depict, albeit metaphorically, the more salient features pertaining to key portentous figures, places and events. It would be far more precise to refer to them as myths that are capable of imparting prophetic meaning. Yet, not all of the biblical content is metaphorical since it also represents a series of actual figures and events that “will surely come” to pass (Hab. 2:3), such as the birth of Christ (Rev. 12:1-5), the arrival of the antichrist (Dan. 7:8, 24-25; 2 Thess. 2:3-4; Rev. 13), the rapture (Luke 17:34-36; 1 Cor. 15:51-52; 1 Thess. 4:15-17), and the like. Therefore, these prophecies should not be taken lightly as they are of the utmost importance.

 Traditionally, the search for the historical Jesus represents a scholarly attempt to reconstruct the said figure using the historical method and its associated investigative techniques. However, those who subscribe to this paradigm have not found a single piece of conclusive evidence to prove the existence of the historical Christ, other than the bible itself, which indicates that their argument carries little weight. Another approach comprises a critical analysis of the biblical text per se. Inasmuch as we propose that the gospel narratives are oracular, it is incumbent upon us to dismiss the historical method of inquiry and accept only the guidelines prescribed by critical analysis. This is due to the results of our findings; they are not indicative of a historical Jesus, but of a Christ of Faith: an apocalyptic Messiah as prophesied by scripture.Our conclusions are given renewed impetus as there are no reliable extant records of the historical Christ found outside the sacred writings.

 The author is well aware that he is running against the grain. Thousands of years have elapsed. Since then, churches were founded, books were written and stories have been dispersed among the communities of Christians and Jews. It seems that our message is up against insurmountable odds with little if any chance of success. The stories given us in the bible have become so engrained in our minds that one could even describe them as primordial in the Jungian sense.

 It is the author’s position that the two-thousand-year-old story of Jesus can be compared with similar views that the ancients held about the heavens. The accounts they transmitted were intrinsically correct, in the broadest sense, that there was a sun accompanied by planets in motion within the observable universe. Even so, their specific intricacies were not revealed until Copernicus established their true relationships; for instance, that the earth revolved around the sun, and so on. Such a statement was so radical for that time that the mere mention of it involved the risk of imprisonment and even death. Equally, to question the specifics of the accepted Jesus account today risks nothing less than the contempt of the faithful and the anathema of the church. But for all our differences, there is one thing that every Christian can agree on: that we must never abandon our quest for the authentic Jesus. Our inspiration stems directly from Christ’s own words which are never fully understood by anyone as they are invariably dressed in metaphorical garb:

 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples (Mark 4:33-34).

 The above quote indicates that there seems to be a dichotomy involved in the story of Jesus concerning those who comprehend his message and those who have to resort to guesswork in an attempt to interpret it. By implication, the general public is left only with the outer vestige of the parable (a story that exemplifies an ethical principle) whereas his inner circle is furnished with all the necessary details to aid their understanding (cf. Mark 4:11). This suggests that there is more to the external story of Jesus than the bible would have us believe. In fact, these are scriptural intimations that denote the existence of a secret and forbidden knowledge. We must admit, then, that unless we are part of his inner circle, we lack the requisite means to grasp the Messianic message in its entirety. This is precisely why Jesus declares:

 These things I have spoken to you in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will speak no more to you in figurative language, but will tell you plainly (John 16:25).

 With the advent of critical theory – be it Adornian, Marxist or Freudian – modern scholarship has called into question the older model of interpretation which held that the stories of the Bible should be taken literally and historically. A growing number of studies have argued that the biblical narratives are meant to be understood in a figurative, rather than a literal sense. But this does not begin to describe the kinds of modifications that scriptural interpretation has undergone. At present, the function of biblical interpretation is a fairly contested issue, often baffling scholars and provoking much debate. Even the church of Peter had to succumb to the criteria of literary criticism as its teachings were met with considerable opposition. As matters stand now, the church’s Pontifical Biblical Commission explains the apparent discrepancies of the historical gospel accounts as follows:

 The truth of the Gospel account is not compromised because the evangelists report the Lord’s words and deeds in different order. Nor is it hurt because they report his words, not literally but in a variety of ways, while retaining the same meaning (Historical Truth of the Gospels, 21 April 1964).

 Father John Parks, a member of the church of Peter, was once quoted as saying: “Yet many scholars doubt the reliability of the gospel narratives because the four gospels differ in historical detail, sometimes widely.” He went on to say: “There is considerable disagreement about historical detail; … the exact time the empty tomb was discovered, for instance, changes from gospel to gospel.” Thus, the historical approach to the biblical narratives lends itself to serious doubts from both within, and outside the visible church (the community of the Christian faithful on earth).

 If we apply critical thinking to the story of Jesus, we will notice that it appears to be an arcane and ambiguous mystery of sorts. If Jesus has not told us ‘plainly’ and openly, we must concede that his message is incomprehensible. We may repeat the Christian saga verbatim, over and over again, albeit without profit or insight, much like a child apes adult sounds without understanding their meaning or intent. In that respect, if the NT (New Testament) is a riddle that is not revealed to the undeserving public, except to the inner few, we must assume that the same principle must hold true for the OT (Old Testament) as well. Here is an example of such a riddle:

 Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? (Mt. 2:2)

 Although most people know that the Jews “were entrusted with the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:1-2), very few understand that the above verse is actually founded upon these OT prophecies concerning the advent of the Messiah. The ultimate question is not whether this verse is setting forth the pedigree of Jesus, but whether it presents him as the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures? And if so, does this allusion necessarily make him Jewish? This book attempts to answer this very question as well as the deeper mysteries pertaining to Christ’s origin and advent.

 Our most sincere gratitude goes out to the ancient Achaean teacher! Without his inspiration and support, this project would not have materialized. We are deeply indebted to our friend with whom we had lengthy discussions and whose useful suggestions were assimilated into the text.

 We are deeply grateful to our writing muse as well for her stimulating suggestions and criticism. She shall remain nameless but ever present in the text.

 Many thanks are also extended to the person responsible for writing the foreword who participated in the process of reading the manuscript while providing a number of helpful recommendations. We have deemed it appropriate to withhold the name of this person. We made this decision based on the dangerous times we live in, when the expression of one’s views can provoke reprisals from various fanatical groups.

 Twenty years have elapsed since we first began to research and decipher the Bible. Many long hours of diligent study have finally paid off. This work is the culmination of what we know about scripture; it is a lifetime’s work.

Eli of Kittim

2012