Decoding the Synoptic Apocalypse part I: Mark 13:1-12 and parallels

The gospels are encrypted texts describing Jesus’ revolutionary activity in the years before and during the war against the Romans, including the extraordinary event which led Jesus’ messianistic Essene companions to proclaim him as the long-awaited messiah. The encryption technique of the synoptic Apocalypse consists of a writing style that obfuscates the reported events from the enemy but is comprehensible to insiders.

In my attempt to decode this apocalyptic chapter of the synoptic gospels I have put the versions of Matthew and Luke beside Mark’s, because by doing so they could reveal any historical references present. I have divided the fragment into different sections for ease of discussion. Introductory or less relevant verses have been omitted.

Discussion

1. Jerusalem under Roman threat
   According to the chronology theory I am suggesting, Jesus’ famous prophecy of the destruction of the temple 40 years beforehand is not a prophecy at all. It is an obvious extrapolation, presented by a man trapped in Jerusalem, who sees that the stranglehold of the Romans on Judea is becoming ever tighter. In other words, Jesus is expressing his concrete apprehension of the destiny of the Temple in the near future. This comment can be dated to 69 CE or the first months of 70 CE.
   
   
2. World dominion for the Christ, not for the emperor
   This section defends the claim of universal rule for the Jewish messiah against his Roman opponents. World dominion will be the messiah’s and not the emperor’s: κυριος Χριστος (kurios Christos) against κυριος Καῐσαρ (kurios Caesar). A series of emperors is opposed to the one and only Christ.
   Words from the πλαν-(plan-) stem (‘to lead astray/to deceive’, ‘deceitful’, ‘deceiver/imposter’) are conveying an anti-Roman sentiment in the New Testament and in other early Christian writings. In Didache XVI:4 for example, Titus is called κοσμοπλανης (kosmoplanès - deceiver of the whole known world), and in 2 John 7, the πλανος (planos) is referred to as one and the same as the antichrist, the Roman emperor.
   This subject is reminiscent of Josephus’s War VI:310-315 about the equivocal oracle “announcing that at that time a man from their country would become leader of the world”. Josephus suggests that the oracle wasn’t referring to a Jewish messiah but to Vespasian who was on Jewish soil when he was proclaimed emperor by his troops. To the authors of the synoptic Apocalypse this is a deceptive interpretation of the oracle.
   In its discussion of the antichrist, 1 John 2:19 also warns against this pro-Roman deception: “They [Vespasian and Titus] came out from amongst us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out, that it might be plain that they all are not of us.”
   
   
3. Wars as a sign of the end of times
   These excerpts breathe a general atmosphere of war and disorder throughout the world. Conflicts that were going on at the time include the Roman civil war and the rebellion of the Batavi. In the eschatological world view of the Essenes this kind of catastrophic warlike upheaval announced the final stage of the present – Roman – era of world history. This ‘end of the present era’ (τἐλος - telos) is mentioned in all three versions of the synoptic Apocalypse. Matthew also mentions ‘the end of the era’ (συντελεἰας τοῡ αἰωνος – sunteleias tou aiōnos) in verse 3 of his apocalyptic chapter.
   
   
4. The war against the Romans with an emphasis on the siege of Jerusalem
   This section describes a war between peoples and nations, more particularly between the Jews and the Romans, with an emphasis on siege warfare: the trembling caused by the impact of siege engines(ballista and battering ram) and the effects of prolonged sieges, famine and the accompanying epidemics. Luke adds φὀβητρἀ (phobètra – terrible sights or terrors) and great signs in the sky. With this last element he seems to anticipate the ‘signs in sun and moon and stars’ of verse 25, which describes the gigantic column of smoke above Jerusalem after the burning of the Temple and the city (some weeks after the Temple).
   
   
5. Paul’s fate
   In Mark and Luke this section describes the hostility Paul had to endure at the end of his mission to preach about the messiah to the gentiles (around 60 CE).
   
   
6. Civil war
   This verse describes the disruption of families during a civil war. Josephus describes the civil war of 67-69 CE in similar words in War IV:131-133: Every town was seething with turmoil and civil war, and the moment they had a respite from the Romans they turned against each other. Contention raged fiercely between the advocates of war and the lovers of peace. First of all in the homes this party rivalry disrupted unity among those who had long been bosom friends; then the nearest relatives severed all former ties, and, attaching themselves to men who shared their respective views, lined up on opposite sides. Factionalism reigned everywhere; the revolutionary and militant party with the boldness of youth silenced the old and prudent.
   
   

This analysis shows that the war of the Jews against the Romans, with world dominion at stake, is the dominant subject of the first part of the synoptic Apocalypse. In summary, we discern the following six elements:

1. Jesus is present in Jerusalem under Roman threat (69-70 CE).
2. World dominion of the Jewish messiah is the intended result of the war.
3. A general atmosphere of war characterises the final period of the Roman era.
4. Section D gives a general description of the war against the Romans and a specific description of some important elements of the siege of Jerusalem (70 CE).
5. This section describes the hostility against Paul’s messianistic mission amongst the gentiles (around 60 CE).
6. Section F describes the social disruption caused by the civil war in Palestine (67-69 CE).