AGAINST EMPIRE THE LOST MESSAGE OF PAUL S MESSIAH

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1 AGAINST EMPIRE THE LOST MESSAGE OF PAUL S MESSIAH Ryan White

2 The following presentation is for your consideration only It is based upon the best evidence I can find on the subject PLEASE VERIFY EVERYTHING PRESENTED If better evidence is presented, I will change the teaching to reflect the new information

3 REFERENCES In the Shadow of the Temple by Skarsaune Paul and the Empire by Horsley Paul: Fresh Perspectives by NT Wright An Introduction to the New Testament by DeSilva Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Ferguson In the Shadow of the Empire by Elliot The Arrogance of the Nations by Elliot The Jewish Gospels by Boyarin The Religious Context of Early Christianity: A Guide to Graeco- Roman Religions by Hans-Josef Klauck

4 SOLA SCRIPTURA All I need is my KJV?

5 ב ראש ית ב ר א א לה ים א ת ה ש מ י ם ו א ת ה א רץ ו ה א רץ ה י ת ה ת ה ו ו ב ה ו ו ח ש ע ל פ נ י ת ה ום ו ר וח א לה ים מ רח פ ת ע ל פ נ י ה מ י ם ו י אמ ר א לה ים י ה י א ור ו י ה י א ור ו י רא א לה ים א ת ה א ור כ י ט וב ו י ב ד ל א לה ים ב ין ה א ור וב ין ה ח ש ו י ק ר א א לה ים ל א ור י ום ו ל ח ש ק רא ל י ל ה ו י ה י ע רב ו י ה י ב קר י ום א ח ד פ ו י אמ ר א לה ים י ה י ר ק יע ב ת ו ה מ י ם ו יה י מ ב ד יל ב ין מ י ם ל מ י ם

6 7.1 Οὗτος γὰρ ὁ Μελχισέδεκ, βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ, ἱερεὺς τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ὑψίστου, ὁ συναντήσας Ἀβραὰμ ὑποστρέφοντι ἀπὸ τῆς κοπῆς τῶν βασιλέων καὶ εὐλογήσας αὐτόν, 2 ᾧ καὶ δεκάτην ἀπὸ πάντων ἐμέρισεν Ἀβραάμ, πρῶτον μὲν ἑρμηνευόμενος βασιλεὺς δικαιοσύνης ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ βασιλεὺς Σαλήμ, ὅ ἐστιν βασιλεὺς εἰρήνης, 3 ἀπάτωρ, ἀμήτωρ, ἀγενεαλόγητος, μήτε ἀρχὴν ἡμερῶν μήτε ζωῆς τέλος ἔχων, ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ, μένει ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸ διηνεκές.

7 Context is Key

12 WHAT SYMBOLS DO WE MISS IN THE BIBLE?

13 HISTORY OF ISRAEL Creation Mandate In the Garden: rivers and sin The god-king Pharaoh and Israel as slaves Escape to the middle of the earth Sin and exile: Daniel and empire Restored, but not: The Hasmoneans and Romans

14 HISTORY OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE The Roman empire collapsed into a bloody civil war after the murder of Julius Caesar. Octavian, Julius' adopted heir, eventually emerged victorious and brought peace to the empire. He assumed the title Augustus ("great" or "venerable") and ruled for ~40 years. He was succeeded by Tiberius, then Gaius Caligula, Claudius, and then Nero. 68AD was the year of 4 emperors followed by the Vespasians.

15 CONTROLLING AN EMPIRE Suetonius relates that during the first athletic competition which Augustus held in [Julias Caesar s] honour, a comet arose at the eleventh hour and lit up the sky for seven days; people believed that this was the soul of Caesar, who had been taken up into heaven (Div. Jul. 88). Octavian himself, as Caesar s adopted son, was called Divi filius, a title which could be translated into Greek only as υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ. This relationship of adoption leads in some texts from Egypt to the attribution to Octavian of the extraordinary title θεὸς ἐκ θεοῦ, literally god from god or better, in a paraphrase a god himself, and the son of a god, e.g. in a papyrus with an oath from the first year of Octavian s government 30/29 bce (POxy ) and an inscription from the year 24 bce (OGIS 655.2).

17 THE PRIENE CALENDAR INSCRIPTION (~9 BCE) Since Providence, which has ordered all things and is deeply interested in our life, has set in most perfect order by giving us Augustus, whom she filled with virtue that he might benefit humankind, sending him as a savior [sōtēr], both for us and for our descendants, that he might end war and arrange all things, and since he, Caesar, by his appearance [epiphanein] (excelled even our anticipations), surpassing all previous benefactors, and not even leaving to posterity any hope of surpassing what he has done, and since the birthday of the god Augustus was the beginning of the gospel [euangeliōn] for the world that came by reason of him,

18 Imperial Cult Fastest growing religion in the Roman empire Temples to Caesar Prayer to Caesar Sacrifices to Caesar Songs, poems, games, statues, etc. giving honor to Caesar above all else.

19 INSCRIPTION FROM HALICARNASSUS Since the eternal and immortal nature of the universe, out of overflowing kindness, has bestowed on human beings the greatest of all goods by bringing forth Caesar Augustus, the father who gives us a happy life and father of his own native goddess Roma, the native Zeus and saviour of the human race. Providence not only granted all his wishes, but went far beyond them, for land and sea live in peace, cities are resplendent with the order of law, in harmony and abundance; now is the favourable zenith for all good things good hopes for the future, solid courage for the present state of human beings, who with feasts, statues, sacrifices and songs Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity, 296.

20 SUPERNATURAL BIRTH OF CAESAR It is said that Atia (Augustus mother) went by night to the feast of Apollo, where she had her litter set down in the temple. After the other women already slept, she too fell asleep. Then suddenly a snake crept up to her, and soon left her again. When she awoke, she purified herself as women do after sexual union with a man Augustus was born in the tenth month and was accordingly regarded as the son of Apollo. And YHWH God said to the serpent I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; you will bruise his heel but he shall crush your head. (Gen 3:14-15) Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity, 300.

21 The Lion and The Eagle 2 Esdras 11-12

22 CAESAR S ASCENT TO HEAVEN One of these signs presupposes considerable linguistic knowledge: a statue of Augustus was struck by lightning, so that the first letter of his full name Caesar Imperator Augustus, the C which denotes the number 100, melted away, leaving only aesar. This was interpreted to mean that Augustus now had only one hundred days to life, but would then be taken up among the gods, since the word aesar in Etruscan meant god. The necessary pretext for his apotheosis was provided when one of the witnesses of his cremation, a former praetor, swore that he had seen Augustus figure ascending into heaven. Klauck, The Religious Context of Early Christianity, 300.

23 VOCABULARY OF IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA Euangelion (Gospel) - The good news of Caesar s birthday, celebrated as a festival by all and established as the beginning of the year. Soter (Savior) - Caesar was declared the savior of the world by ending the civil war and brining peace. Huios tou Theou (Son of god) - Julius Caesar was deified thus Augustus was proclaimed to be the son of god by adoption and also a god himself. Dikaiosyne/Iustitia - (Justice/Righteousness) - During Augustus reign, Iustitia became an official Roman goddess; Rome possessed Justice and shared it

24 VOCABULARY OF IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA ta ethne (Gentiles/ the peoples ) - Caesar claimed to have subjected all the peoples of the world and made the boundaries of the empire equal to the boundaries of the earth Kurios (Lord) - Caesar was declared Lord. All peoples (except Jews) were required to publicly declare him kurios and bow the knee to him. Pistis (Faith/Loyalty) - Because of Caesar s benevolence, the people owed him loyalty. Ekklesia - (Church) - The civic assembly in a Greek polis. Part of the local government.

25 VOCABULARY OF IMPERIAL PROPAGANDA Parousia (Coming/Presence) - Caesar would approach a city. As he approaches, the citizens come out to meet him some distance from the city in order to escort him into the city. We who are alive and remain until the coming (parousia) of the Kurios for the Kurios himself will descend from heaven with a shout and the dead in Messiah will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Kurios in the air, and so shall we always be with the Kurios. (1 Thess 4:15-17) (CF: Daniel 7 & Exod 20 clouds as power) Wright, Paul: Fresh Perspectives, 56.

26 The Symbol of Caesar s Power

27 ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI Matthew 27:46

28 [On the road to Emmaus:] Was it not necessary for the Messiah to suffer these things and enter into His glory? Luke 24:26 For if you confess with your mouth, Yeshua as Kurios, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved! Romans 10:9 For if the dead are not raised, not even Messiah has been raised, and if Messiah has not been raised, your faith is worthless and you are still in your sins. 1 Corinthians 15:18-19

HEBREWS 2:9, 14-16 Yeshua, because of the suffering death was crowned with glory and honor Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself also partook of the same, that through

29 HEBREWS 2:9, Yeshua, because of the suffering death was crowned with glory and honor Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all of their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendants of Abraham! cf. Colossians 2:15, Ephesians 1:19-22, 1 Corinthians 2:6-8

30 ROMANS 3:21-25 But now, independent from law, God s righteousness has been made known, being attested by the Law and the Prophets; God s righteousness revealed through Yeshua Messiah s faithfulness, into all the ones who are believing (because there is no distinction, for all have sinned and are needing the glorious honor of God ), being freely justified by His grace through the redemption in Messiah Yeshua; whom God publicly set in place to function like the mercy seat through faithfulness in his blood, which is proof of his righteousness, after having previously cancelled the debt of sin in God s enduring patience, in order to prove His righteousness in the present time, in order that He be righteous and He is justifying the one by Yeshua s faith

31 PHILIPPIANS 2:5-11 Set your mind in this manner, the same manner that was also in Messiah Yeshua, who, being in the embodied form of God, did not consider that equal form with God as a thing to be take of advantage of; but rather he set aside any claim to divine title by taking upon himself the embodied form of a servant and being born into the nature of man. And being found in human appearance, Yeshua humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death; put to a shameful death on a cross like a rebel! For this reason, God honored him above all others and graciously granted him to have a reputable name which is to be above all other names. The result will be that at the name of Yeshua every knee will bow, of those in heaven and on earth and in the underworld, and every tongue shall publicly declare Yeshua as their Kurios for the honor of God the Father.

32 WHO IS YOUR KING?

33 Chag Sameach! RootedinTorah.com

THE APOCALYPSE OF GOD S RIGHTEOUSNESS. Ryan White

THE APOCALYPSE OF GOD S RIGHTEOUSNESS Ryan White SOLA SCRIPTURA "All I need is my Bible..." ב ראש ית ב ר א א לה ים א ת ה ש מ י ם ו א ת ה א רץ ו ה א רץ ה י ת ה ת ה ו ו ב ה ו ו ח ש ע ל פ נ י ת ה ום ו ר וח