More historical clues in Ascension of Isaiah

Discussion about the New Testament, apocrypha, gnostics, church fathers, Christian origins, historical Jesus or otherwise, etc.
Post Reply
FransJVermeiren
Posts: 253
Joined: Thu Jul 14, 2016 1:14 am
Contact:

More historical clues in Ascension of Isaiah

Post by FransJVermeiren »

In a recent thread I discussed Ascension of Isaiah (AoI) 2:7-3:1 which IMO gives a veiled description of the last resistance of the Jews in the war of the Jews against the Romans.

That I only discussed this small part of AoI might give the impression that this is the only historical allusion in this writing. Below I will try to show that this is not the case. I only list the most obvious historical passages (in apocalyptic disguise) of this text.

• 1:7 – 2:6 discusses the collaboration of the Jewish establishment with the Romans. Manasseh is the code word for the collaborating Jewish establishment; Satan, Sammael, Beliar are code words for aspects of the Roman empire (emperor, army, …).

• 2:7-3:1 discusses the last resistance of the Jews (Essenes) in the war against the Romans, see viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4756

• 3:20 mentions the ‘signs and miracles in those days’. These refer to the last days of the war, see viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4084

• 3:21-31 depicts the situation of Palestine Judaism in the ‘last days’, the period before the war.

• 4:1-3 refers to a (Roman) ruler, ‘a murderer of his mother’. This makes clear that Nero is discussed.

• 4:4-6 stages a (Roman) ruler with the face of a (Roman) emperor. Titus, the Roman commander-in-chief at the siege of Jerusalem is discussed here. He is present with ‘all the powers’, describing his military strength. Verse 5 describes the burning of Jerusalem at its capture.

• 4:7-11 describes the cult of the Roman emperors.

• 4:12 gives the duration of the war of the Jews against the Romans: 3 years, seven months and twenty-seven days (= 1332 days)

• 4:14 tells that the messiah (called 'Lord' here) arrives after the war (1332 days). This sequence of a) war and b) arrival of the messiah is in line with the Synoptic Apocalypse (and with the results of my research).

• Chapter 5 describes the irreconcilability of Isaiah (the Essenes) on one side and Manasseh (the Jewish establishment) and Belkira (the Romans) on the other.

• In 9:14 Jesus is crucified by the Flavians, which indicates that Jesus is crucified during the war.

• 11:20-21 mentions Jesus’ crucifixion and subsequent ‘rising’ (no ‘death’ involved), pointing to his survival.

In summary AoI strongly points to Jesus’ activity, crucifixion and survival during the war of the Jews against the Romans in 66-70 CE.
www.waroriginsofchristianity.com

The practical modes of concealment are limited only by the imaginative capacity of subordinates. James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance.
Post Reply