Phlegon, a freedman and letter courier for emperor Hadrian, composed an extensive history of the Olympiads, and according to Origen, he makes some interesting remarks about Jesus:
Now Phlegon, in the thirteenth or fourteenth book, I think, of his Chronicles, not only ascribed to Jesus a knowledge of future events (although falling into confusion about some things which refer to Peter, as if they referred to Jesus), but also testified that the result corresponded to His predictions. So that he also, by these very admissions regarding foreknowledge, as if against his will, expressed his opinion that the doctrines taught by the fathers of our system were not devoid of divine power.
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But if Celsus believe the Gospel accounts when he thinks that he can find in them matter of charge against the Christians, and refuse to believe them when they establish the divinity of Jesus, our answer to him is: Sir, either disbelieve all the Gospel narratives, and then no longer imagine that you can found charges upon them; or, in yielding your belief to their statements, look in admiration on the Logos of God, who became incarnate, and who desired to confer benefits upon the whole human race. And this feature evinces the nobility of the work of Jesus, that, down to the present time, those whom God wills are healed by His name. And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Cæsar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles."
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But if Celsus believe the Gospel accounts when he thinks that he can find in them matter of charge against the Christians, and refuse to believe them when they establish the divinity of Jesus, our answer to him is: Sir, either disbelieve all the Gospel narratives, and then no longer imagine that you can found charges upon them; or, in yielding your belief to their statements, look in admiration on the Logos of God, who became incarnate, and who desired to confer benefits upon the whole human race. And this feature evinces the nobility of the work of Jesus, that, down to the present time, those whom God wills are healed by His name. And with regard to the eclipse in the time of Tiberius Cæsar, in whose reign Jesus appears to have been crucified, and the great earthquakes which then took place, Phlegon too, I think, has written in the thirteenth or fourteenth book of his Chronicles."
Other historians who refer to Phlegon are Julius Africanus, and Eusebius:
“In the fourth year, however, of Olympiad 202, an eclipse of the sun happened, greater and more excellent than any that had happened before it; at the sixth hour, day turned into dark night, so that the stars were seen in the sky, and an earthquake in Bithynia toppled many buildings of the city of Nicaea.”
Though not much can be conclusively ascertained from what we have, Origin makes a rather strange observation, that Phlegon wrote about Jesus but that he seemingly confused Jesus with things that happened with Peter. He doesn't go on to detail exactly what these attributes were, and like other writers plays fast and lose with his evidence (his wording as to what book this is found proves as much). But what exactly does this mean? Did Phlegon know and write about both Jesus and Peter?
Phlegon also wrote about the crucifixion, or rather about the darkness and the earthquake that happened in tandem of the crucifixion. According to Eusebius, Phlegon was describing an eclipse, which is odd because that's what's said about Thallus's own description according Julius Africanus:
On the whole world there pressed a most fearful darkness; and the rocks were rent by an earthquake, and many places in Judea and other districts were thrown down. This darkness Thallus, in the third book of his 'History', calls, as appears to me without reason, an eclipse of the sun.
So there are two writers, Thallus and Phlegon, who both say that in the time of Tiberius Caesar there was an eclipse, a great darkness, and a great earthquake.
Well, with the help of the NASA website, we can confirm that there was indeed an eclipse of Judea in 29 ad. and another one would not occur until thirty years later. But the 29 ad eclipse happened in November. No way in hell this can be collaborated to fit the eclipse of Jesus, who was crucified during Passover (indeed an eclipse is not possible during Passover).
So what is going on here? Why are two writers referring to the same event and later Christians are believing it to be about Jesus? Well, there's a pretty glaring issue that is often just glossed over but might in fact hold the key to unlocking this mystery.
Phlegon states that there was an eclipse, and an earthquake... in Bithynia? Why would there be an earthquake in Bithynia if the crucifixion occurred in Palestine?
Orosius, probably relying on Eusebius, mentions an earthquake happening in Bithynia, but there is a major problem. He has the earthquake during the 19th year of Tiberius's rule, or 33 ad. The eclipse that Phlegon and Thallus describe happened in 29 ad.
What does this mean? That the church writers were making things up and didn't know what they were talking about. Duh! But that seems self evident. What does that have to do with with Phlegon?
Well, consider Phlegon's role. He has a position with the royal hall, is a trusted courier of Hadrian, and he has pretensions of being a historian. He would have access to the works of other historians, as well as his own workshop of editors, granted to him to run royal propaganda.
Hadrian made no secret that the eclipse of 118 ad, which occurred over the Black Sea, held significance to him as it's sign was featured prominently on coins minted during his rule.
And of course, Bithynia was the homeland of Antinous.
Add that both Thallus and Phelgon composed histories of the Olympiads, though Thallus leaves off an earthquake, mentioning only the darkness...
Conspiracy theory? Phlegon just co-opted Thallus's work, adding in the earthquake to draw attention to Bithynia.
But why the 19th year of Tiberius?
Well, why does Origen say that Phlegon confused Jesus and Peter together?
It almost seems to me that Phlegon was deliberately making up a history for reasons I can't explain why...
Ah, but wait a minute. Who else is suspected of co-opting a historical work for their own propaganda? Hegesippus, and a mysterious passage in Josephus mentioned by Clement of Alexandria (teacher of Oriegn) that implies that he wrote of the tenth year of Antoninus Pius. And what is Josephus used for in Christian history? Well, Christian history itself. The writer(s) of Acts of the Apostles used him, the Synoptics used him, and Josephus's usefulness in Christianity is such that they even inserted whole passages into him basically preaching Christianity.
This convergence is almost too conspicuous. Or maybe that's the fatigue talking. To sum it up
Phlegon = Hegesippus + Thallus/Josephus
And to make this even more conspiuous, Phlegon is even mentioned as one of the brethren in Romans 16, and his name means the same thing as Ignatius's, to burn brightly, or to be zealous/boastful... yeah, boastful. Like someone else we're all familiar with...
Anyway, I'm tired. I'm hitten submit and going to bed.