The Burning of Jerusalem by Titus
This image was attached to a post that said something along the idea that Jesus could predict the future.
Somehow the burning of Jerusalem ‘proves’ what he had been warning them all along, if they didn’t turn away from their evil, sinful ways. Perhaps. But when I began researching the specific scripture passages, I was overwhelmed by the number of Bible verses that actually contain the word “Woe!”
But what if this ‘proof’ was just a retrospective planting of clues in a story of a 1st century teacher? And if the writers of the Gospels were very familiar with Old Testament prophets saying similar things, it wouldn’t be difficult for them to fashion statements using the same verbal tricks.
For example, take the form of words that Jesus spoke about the Son of Man being betrayed:
Matthew 26:24
“The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Mark 14:21“For the Son of Man is to go just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born.”
Luke 22:22“For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Woe
The phrasing of the words are not exactly the same, but the message is clear: one author is implied.
If you want to think outside the box of orthodox Christianity, why is Jesus referring to the Son of Man and not himself? Why use the third person narrative at all? After all the usual phrase is “Woe is me!”
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Jesus is referring to himself. Man in Aramaic is Adam. The Sons of Man were Cain, Able and Seth. Jesus is also Isaac, the son of Abraham. In the binding of Isaac the Angel of HaShem tells Abraham, Bereishit 22;17 that in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; This gives us the link that Abraham is Adam.
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We are therefore all sons of Adam, as women are all daughters of Eve.
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It’s possible, it’s also possible Adam and Eve weren’t necessarily the first humans, but the first of their kind. Seth and Cain took wives from a different tribe.
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The same kind of problem occurs with Noah and his family. So, from a historical perspective, the Torah is made up of legendary stories retold to keep the people ‘informed’.
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In John 8:44 Jesus identifies “the father of the Jews is the father of lies” It’s been rewritten a few times because it is deemed to be antisemitic. People somehow forget the Jesus himself was Jewish. Jesus was meant the father of the Jews as an individual; he was referring to Abraham.
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I have noted the antisemitism elsewhere. If the New Testament is understood as Roman propaganda, the problem changes to one of: “What have we been believing for so long?”
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I agree. That Pilate washed his hands and the let the Jews decide who should be released can be looked at as an intentional setup when one considers the Pharisee and his probably answered. From John we know he “is of his father the devil.” The Pharisee was putting on a show and in cahoots with Pilate. Historically that’s not so far out either. The Romans executed the priests and royalty and installed the Pharisee and Herod.
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You refer to the Pharisee: who is he, in your understanding?
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https://starlogic.ca/2021/02/13/beware-the-ides-of-february/
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I think the Pharisee and Pilate were of the same type. They were working together while appearing to opponents. Like these two guys. https://4dforum.org/case-study-26/ and https://4dforum.org/case-study-34/
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I mean the Pharisee from John chapter 8.
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