[Cont. from Part 2]
BEYOND
BRUTALITY
"It has been conjectured that [His] scourging even surpassed the severity of the normal one. Although the normal scourging was administered by lictors,* Lange concluded that since there were no lictors at Pilate's disposal, he used the SOLDIERS. Thus, from the very character of these low, vile soldiers, it may be supposed that they EXCEEDED the brutality meted out by the lictors," adding, "Even the preparation for the journey must have been a source of acute agony. Matthew 27:31 reads: 'And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off from Him and put His own rainment on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.' The RUDE STRIPPING of the mock royal garments and the replacing of His own garments, undoubtedly ON CONTACT WITH THE CUT AND BRUISED SKIN from the scourging, resulted in great pain."
[NOTE: *Although I was unable to discover an exact definition of a "lictor," from its usage I would assume this would be someone comparable in position to our modern-day executioner. This may be from where our present-day expression to "give someone a licking" originated. - OL]
AN EXTREMELY CRUEL &
UNUSUAL PUNISHMENT
[NOTE: *I wouldn't be surprised if these were the ancestors of the ILLUMINATI. - OL]
Josh McDowell, author of 'Evidence That Demands a Verdict,' paints a slightly different picture than we usually have of the "NAILS driven into His hands and feet." According to McDowell: "Jesus was crucified in the usual Roman manner; the hands and feet were pierced by LARGE DULL SPIKES, which attached the body to the wooden cross or stake." Quoting author Michael Green, McDowell reminds us: "After a sleepless night, in which He was given no food, endured the mockery of two trials, and had His back lacerated with the cruel Roman cat-o'-nine-tails, He was led out to execution by crucifixion. THIS WAS AN EXCRUCIATINGLY PAINFUL DEATH, IN WHICH EVERY NERVE IN THE BODY CRIED ALOUD IN ANGUISH."
PORTRAIT
OF A
CRUCIFIXION
"The placement of the nail at this point had several effects. First it ensured that the victim would indeed hang there until dead. Secondly, a nail placed at this point would sever the largest nerve in the hand called the median nerve. The severing of this nerve is a medical catastrophe. In addition to SEVERE BURNING PAIN the destruction of this nerve causes permanent PARALYSIS of the hand.W Furthermore, by nailing the victim at this point in the wrist, there would be minimal bleeding and there would be NO BONES BROKEN!
[NOTE: *The
"forearm" - NOT the hollow of the hand. Remember this the next time you
watch a story on TV of someone suffering from "stigmata." Notice, they
always present as evidence, bloody "nail prints" ONLY in the supposed victim's
hands - never the arms or wrists!
W
Judging by how much they love to torture their victims, these monsters
must be the HEROES of the CIA and today's INTERNATIONAL MAFIA! - OL]
POSITION
IMPOSSIBLE
"With the knees flexed at about 45 degrees, the victim must bear his weight with the muscles of the thigh. However, this is an almost impossible task - try to stand with your knees flexed at 45 degrees for 5 minutes. As the strength of the legs gives out, the weight of the body must now be borne by the arms and shoulders. The result is that within a few minutes of being placed on the cross, the SHOULDERS will become DISLOCATED. Minutes later the ELBOWS and WRISTS become DISLOCATED. The result of these dislocations is that the ARMS are as much as 6-9 INCHES LONGER THAN NORMAL.
A SLOW AND
AGONIZING DEATH
"...Over a period of several hours the combination of COLLAPSING LUNGS, a FAILING HEART, DEHYDRATION, and the inability to get adequate oxygen supplies to the tissues cause the eventual death of the victim. The victim, in effect, cannot breathe properly and SLOWLY SUFFOCATES TO DEATH. In cases of severe cardiac stress, such as crucifixion, a victims heart can even burst. This process is called 'CARDIAC RUPTURE.' Therefore it could be said that Jesus died of a 'BROKEN HEART'!"*
[NOTE: One would think - considering how bloodthirsty our movie-makers are - they would be thrilled to make a movie of these inhuman events, wouldn't you? Why haven't they? - OL]
THE HORRIFYING
PRICE JESUS PAID
"The UNNATURAL POSITION made every movement painful; the LACERATED VEINS and CRUSHED TENDONS throbbed with incessant anguish; the wounds, inflamed by exposure, gradually GANGRENED; the ARTERIES - especially at the head and stomach - became SWOLLEN and oppressed with surcharged blood; and while each variety of misery...gradually increased, there was added to them the intolerable pang of a BURNING and RAGING THIRST; and all these physical complications caused an internal excitement and anxiety, which made the prospect of death itself - of death, the unknown enemy, at whose approach man usually shudders most - bear the aspect of a delicious and exquisite release."*
[NOTE: *For those of you unfamiliar with this story, perhaps the most amazing part was when Jesus - in the middle of His indescribable agony - took time out to forgive a criminal, hanging beside Him, telling him: "Verily I say unto thee, to day shalt thou be with me in paradise." Be assured, there is nothing you have done that cannot be forgiven and washed clean in Jesus' blood! - Luke 23:43 - OL]
PROPHECY
FULFILLED
AN AWESOME AND
EARTH-SHAKING EVENT
Now, this isn't exactly the way we were led to believe it happened in the "Ten Commandments" or "The Robe," is it? Or even the more recent TV movies, "Mary, the Mother of Jesus," and "Jesus!" And let's not forget: HE DID NOTHING TO DESERVE ANY OF THIS. They didn't take Jesus' life. He GAVE it - for You and me, and all those who will accept it. He went through all of this WILLINGLY to save US from ETERNAL DAMNATION! Would YOU? Would our Presidents?? Ironic, isn't it? The motivation of the Calvary Conspirators - to kill Jesus and his followers - is the same motivation of those who founded the United Nations and created the famous Declaration of Human Rights. And, of course, they are also the ones behind the massacres in China, Russia, Rawanda, etc., etc., ad nauseum. THEY ARE STILL TRYING TO KILL JESUS TODAY! And, lest we forget, these are also the first ones screaming about "cruel and unusual punishment" if a prisoner doesn't get the right kind of PEANUT BUTTER for lunch! Dr. Samuel Houghton, a physiologist from the University of Dublin examined the death of Jesus from a scientific point:
AUTOPSY
1st: No flow of any kind follows the wound, except a
slight trickling of blood.
2nd: A copious flow of blood only follows the wound.
3rd: A copious flow of water only, succeeded by a few
drops of blood, follows the wound.
"Of these three cases," Dr. Houghton explains, "the FIRST is that which USUALLY occurs; the SECOND is found in cases of death by DROWNING and by STRYCHNIA...and it can be proved to be the natural case of a crucified person; and the THIRD is found in cases of death from pleurisy, pericarditis, and RUPTURE OF THE HEART." Dr. Houghton then goes on to examine two other possibilities:
"...The two following cases, although readily explicable on physiological principles, are not recorded in the books (except by St. John). Nor have I been fortunate enough to meet with them:
4th: A copious flow of water, succeeded by a copious
flow of blood, follows the wound.
5th: A copious flow of blood, succeeded by a copious
flow of water, follows the wound.
"...The FOURTH would occur in a crucified person who had previously to crucifixion suffered from pleuritic effusion; and the FIFTH case would occur in a crucified person, who had died upon the cross from RUPTURE OF THE HEART." Dr. Houghton then comes to a startling scientific conclusion. Sure enough:
JESUS DIED
OF A
BROKEN HEART!
Referring to the book 'The Physical Cause of the Death of Christ,' Professor
E.H. Day says that its author James Thompson: "...demonstrates that the
death of Christ was due, not to physical exhaustion, or to the pains of
crucifixion, but to AGONY OF MIND producing rupture of the heart. "His
energy of mind and body in the act of dissolution proves beyond contradiction
that His death was not the result of exhaustion; the soldier's spear was
the means to exhibiting to the world that HIS DEATH WAS DUE TO CARDIAC
RUPTURE." Certainly, after taking on the sins of every man, woman and child
from Adam
and Eve to the end of the
world, Jesus would have had more reason to die of a broken heart than any
other man in history!
HOW DEAD
IS DEAD?
"...Had Jesus been alive when the spear pierced His side, strong spouts
of blood would have emerged with every heart beat," Green reasons. "Instead,
the observer noticed semi-solid dark red clot seeping out, distinct and
separate from the accompanying watery serum. This is evidence of MASSIVE
CLOTTING of the blood in the main arteries, and is exceptionally strong
medical proof of DEATH. It is all the more impressive because the evangelist
could not possibly have realized its significance to a
pathologist..." And Green
also points out that Pilate required CERTIFICATION of Christ's death: "Four
executioners came to examine Him, before a friend, Joseph of Arimathea,
was allowed to take away the body for burial."
NO SHROUD
FOR JESUS
Now, many Christians have been confused by the "SHROUD OF TURIN" (a one-piece blood- stained cloth), as was I in the beginning. I know now that it CANNOT be the shroud of Jesus: Having been told by Mary that Jesus' body was missing, "...Simon Peter...went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen CLOTHES lie. And the NAPKIN, THAT WAS ABOUT HIS HEAD, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place BY ITSELF." - John 20:7. Note "clothes" is PLURAL (as in "strips" - not one cloth.)
THE
LETTER
'For many theologians and other wise persons declared that this could not be the real Shroud of our Lord, having the Savior's likeness thus imprinted upon it, since the Holy Gospel made no mention of any such imprint; while, if it had been true, it was quite unlikely that the holy evangelist would have omitted to record it, or that the fact should have remained hidden until the present time.' The letter added that the forger had been exposed and referred to 'the truth being attested by the artist who had painted it, to wit, that it was a work of human skill and not miraculously wrought or bestowed."
RECREATING
THE PAST
"Nickells employed a technique USING ONLY 14TH CENTURY MATERIAL AND METHODS to recreate or duplicate a negative imagery as found on the Shroud. This technique produces a negative. He did not paint his image, but used a bas-relief and applied a wet cloth to it, and when it had dried he used a dauber to rub on powdered 'pigment.' Nickell used a mixture of myrrh and aloes. IT DID NOT LEAVE BRUSH MARKS. Nickell writes: 'My rubbings, even on close inspection, appear to have been created without 'pigment.' I used a mixture of the burial spices - myrrh and aloes - which duplicates the 'scorch-like' color and numerous characteristics...The Report (by the secret - and later exposed - official Shroud commission) did mention the discovery of various yellow-red to orange 'crystals' (or 'granules') and certain 'globules' which tally with the appearance of myrrh and aloes. These spices probably contained the 'pollenfossils' from the Middle East that are alleged to be on the cloth."
"EVIDENCE"
UNSUPPORTED
"It is totally unthinkable that the apostles and Christians of the first years of Christianity would not mention a cloth that had an image scorched on it of the crucified and resurrected Christ. In the face of death they proclaimed Jesus Christ alive. They constantly gave personal testimony of Christs's resurrection appearances in the most adverse situations. Is it conceivable that no one, especially the New Testament writers and church fathers, would ever mention the Shroud in relationship to Christ and his resurrection? The evidence so far in no way supports the Shroud's authenticity as the burial cloth of Christ."
SEALING THE
SACRED BODY
Michael Green picks up the story at this point and shows us how Jesus'
body was prepared for burial: "The body was placed on a stone ledge, wound
tightly in STRIPS of cloth and covered with spices. St. John's Gospel tells
us that some SEVENTY POUNDS were used, and that is likely enough. Joseph
was a rich man, and no doubt wanted to make up for his cowardliness during
the lifetime of Jesus by giving Him a splendid funeral." John Chrysostom,
the Archbishop of Constantinople during the fourth century, recorded his
observations on the futility of the security measures taken to prevent
JESUS' PREDICTIONS ABOUT
HIS OWN DEATH AND RESURRECTION from ever coming to pass:
PROTECTING
JESUS' BODY
Although historical evidence confirms a man named "Jesus" physically lived and died during the time described in the Bible, many refuse to accept the RESURRECTION (because it would confirm His DEITY) - preferring to believe the explanation that His body was stolen by His disciples or members of His family. Yet no one has been able to show how they got past the stone. In his description of the stone, called a "golel," Professor T.J. Thorburn explained that: "...It usually required SEVERAL MEN to remove it."
THE
SEALED TOMB
"Neither Jesus' disciples, nor a family member could have moved the stone and stolen the body - even if the stone had not been heavy or IN A RUT," McDowell reminds us: "They would have had to get past the ROMAN GUARDS - a highly-trained and rough bunch! And if they could find a way to do that, they still couldn't have gotten past the stone in front of the sepulchre without breaking the seal. It rquired something SUPERNATURAL" - like, for instance, an ANGEL or JESUS Himself!
AN EXTREMELY
UNMOVEABLE STONE
Professor Edersheim points out that custom demanded more than just "a great
stone" to protect the sanctity of the tomb: "...As they went out, they
rolled, as was the custom, a 'great stone' - the Golel - to close
the entrance to the tomb, probably leaning against it for support, as was
the practice, a smaller stone - the so-called Dopheg. It would be
where the ONE STONE WAS LAID AGAINST THE OTHER...the Jewish authorities
would have affixed the SEAL, so that the slightest disturbance might become
apparent." IT WAS A SEALED FORTRESS THAT ONLY SOMETHING SUPERNATURAL
COULD HAVE PENETRATED!
ACTA PILATI
"The events of the last few days in my province have been of such a character that I will give the details in full as they occured, as I should not be surprised if, in the course of time, THEY MAY CHANGE THE DESTINY OF OUR NATION (not to mention the WORLD!), for it seems of late that all the gods have ceased to be propitious...Among the various rumors that came to my ears there was one in particular that attracted my attention. A young man, it was said, had appeared in Galilee preaching with a noble unction a new law IN THE NAME OF GOD THAT HAD SENT HIM. At first I was apprehensive that his design was to stir up the people against the Romans, but my fears were soon dispelled. JESUS OF NAZARETH spoke rather as friend of the Romans than of the Jews..."
A VERY DIFFERENT
PICTURE OF JESUS
"One day in passing by the Place of Siloe, where there was a great concourse
of people, I observed in the midst of the group a young man who was leaning
against a tree, calmly addressing the multitude. I was told it was Jesus...His
GOLDEN-COLORED HAIR AND BEARD gave to his appearance a CELESTIAL aspect.*
He appeared to be about thirty years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter
or more serene countenance. What a contrast between him and his hearers,
with their black beards and tawny complexion. Never have I read in the
works of the philosophers anything that can compare to the maxims of Jesus.
One of the rebellious Jews, so numerous in Jerusalem, having asked
Jesus if it was lawful to
give tribute to Caesar, he replied: 'RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT
BELONG TO CAESAR, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S'."
[NOTE: *I
guess we hear only what we WANT to hear: Jesus was a Jew, remember? And
the Jews are God's Chosen People. But, Jesus was also A-POLITICAL. He came
to earth to save ALL the sinners, not just the Jews. This report is not
as surprising as it seems at first blush. Jesus was swarthy from constant
exposure to the sun - but he was also a MAN OF LIGHT. He is, after all,
the SON of GOD. Remember, Pilate described Jesus as having a "celestial
(i.e., heavenly or Godly) aspect."
PILATE HAD NO REASON TO
LIE in this police report. It could be so easily dispproved by the thousands
of people who had seen Jesus IN PERSON! In the Bible, our Creator and Jesus'
Heavenly Father [JEHOVA] is described as "...one LIKE UNTO THE SON OF MAN
(Jesus), clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps
(the chest) with a golden girdle (band). HIS HEAD AND HIS HAIRS WERE WHITE
LIKE WOOL, AS WHITE AS SNOW; and His eyes were as a flame of fire;" Revelation
1:13-14 - OL]
THE
MEETING
Pilate's curiosity was aroused, and he arranged to meet Jesus. In his report, he described the meeting: "...When the Nazarene made his appearance, I was walking in my basilic, and my feet seemed fastened with an iron hand to the marble pavement, and I TREMBLED IN EVERY LIMB as does a guilty culprit, though the Nazarene was as calm as innocence itself. When he came up to me he stopped, and by a signal sign he seemed to say to me, 'I am here,' though he spoke not a word."
PILATE OFFERS
HIS PROTECTION
"The Nazarene calmly replied: 'PRINCE OF THE EARTH, YOUR WORDS PROCEED NOT FROM TRUE WISDOM. SAY TO THE TORRENT TO STOP IN THE MIDST OF THE MOUNTAIN-GORGE: IT WILL UPROOT THE TREES OF THE VALLEY. THE TORRENT WILL ANSWER YOU THAT IT OBEYS THE LAWS OF NATURE AND THE CREATOR. GOD ALONE KNOWS WHITHER FLOW THE WATERS OF THE TORRENT. VERILY I SAY UNTO YOU, BEFORE THE ROSE OF SHARON BLOSSOMS THE BLOOD OF THE JUST SHALL BE SPILT'."
NO ASYLUMS
FOR SON OF MAN
'WHEN THE DAY SHALL HAVE COME THERE WILL BE NO ASYLUMS FOR THE SON OF MAN NEITHER IN THE EARTH NOR UNDER THE EARTH. THE ASYLUM OF THE JUST IS THERE,' pointing to the heavens. 'THAT WHICH IS WRITTEN IN THE BOOKS OF THE PROPHETS MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED'." At this point, Pilate changed his mind and turned his request into an order, citing the safety of his province as the reason."
OBEYING THE
WILL OF THE FATHER
" 'PRINCE OF THE EARTH,' replied Jesus, '...PERSECUTIONS PROCEED NOT FROM ME. I EXPECT IT FROM OTHERS, AND WILL MEET IT IN OBEDIENCE TO THE WILL OF MY FATHER, WHO HAS SHOWN ME THE WAY. RESTRAIN, THEREFORE, YOUR WORLDLY PRUDENCE. IT IS NOT IN YOUR POWER TO ARREST THE VICTIM AT THE FOOT OF THE TABERNACLE OF EXPIATION (atonement; sacrifice).' So saying, he disappeared like a bright shadow behind the curtains of the basilic - to my great relief, for I felt A HEAVY BURDEN on me, of which I could not relieve myself while in his presence."
AN ILLEGAL
CRUCIFIXTION
THE AUTHOR
OF NATURE
Although Pilate remained behind and wasn't there to bear witness, there
was no missing the moment of Jesus' death. Pilate described it in extremely
graphic terms: "A LOUD CLAMOR was heard proceeding from Golgotha, which,
borne on the winds, seemed to announce an AGONY such as was never heard
by mortal ears. DARK CLOUDS lowered over the pinnacle of the temple, and
set over the city, covering it as with a VEIL...Dionysius the Aeropagite
was reported to have exclaimed, 'Either the AUTHOR OF NATURE is suffering
or the universe is falling apart'." Later, Pilate went down towards the
gates of Golgotha. "...The
crowd was returning home, still agitated, it is true, but gloomy, taciturn,
and desperate. What they had witnessed had stricken them with TERROR AND
REMORSE.."
JESUS LIVES!
"He said that at about the beginning of the FOURTH WATCH they saw a soft
and beautiful light over the sepulchre...the whole place was lighted up,
and there seemed to be crowds of the DEAD in their grave-clothes. ALL SEEMED
TO BE SHOUTING AND FILLED WITH ECSTASY, while all around and above was
the most beautiful music he had ever heard; and the whole air seemed to
be full of VOICES PRAISING GOD...He said he...had not been asleep all night,
as the penalty was DEATH for him to sleep on duty...I asked him if he had
been questioned by the PRIESTS. He said he had. THEY WANTED HIM TO SAY
IT WAS AN EARTHQUAKE, and that THEY WERE ASLEEP, and offered him
MONEY to say that the disciples
came and stole Jesus; but HE SAW NO DISCIPLES; he did not know that the
body was gone until he was told..."
TRULY THIS WAS
THE SON OF GOD!
"I asked him what was the private opinion of those priests he had conversed
with. He said that some of them thought that JESUS WAS NO MAN; that he
was not a human being; ...that the SAME PERSONS had been on the earth BEFORE
ABRAHAM AND LOT, and at many times and places. It seems to me that, if
the Jewish theory be true, these conclusions are correct...for the ELEMENTS
were no more in his hands than the CLAY IN THE HANDS OF THE POTTER. He
could convert water into wine; he could change death into life, disease
into health; he could calm the seas, still the storms, call up fish with
a silver coin in its mouth...I am almost ready to say, as did Manlius at
the cross, 'Truly this
WAS the SON OF GOD'."
IN DEFENSE
OF PILATE
It is important to remember that when Pilate originally wrote the 'Acts' he NEVER INTENDED for them to be used as CONFIRMATION of the BIBLE STORY of JESUS' DEATH AND RESURRECTION. He was simply filing a police report, JUSTIFYING his own actions. But, because of who he was and the fact that he had NOTHING TO GAIN and EVERYTHING TO LOSE by filing a FALSE report, it has done just that!
JESUS' KILLERS
WERE NOT JEWS!
I found this backed up in 'The Oxford Companion To The Bible': "...The Pharisees, who disliked Herod because he was an IDUMEAN, a HALF-Jew (as were JUDAS - and JESUS, Himself!), and a FRIEND OF THE ROMANS, had great influence over the majority of the people. Herod punished both the Pharisees and their followers who opposed him..."
BIBLICAL
PROOF
"If the JEWS were behind the crucifixtion plot," Hagee demands, "WHY would they fear a riot?" He offers the only reasonable explanation: "[Because] the high priest knew that the MAJORITY of the Jewish people SUPPORTED Jesus and would spontaneously erupt in anger if He were arrested. News of a riot would travel to Rome. Herod would be politically embarrassed, and the high priest would be instantly displaced from his lucrative and powerful position.
"This is a perfect description of a LYNCH MOB - which is always INSTIGATED THROUGH AN APPEAL TO PRIMITIVE EMOTIONS by some ALIEN faction - whose agenda is invariably AGAINST THE INTERESTS OF THE PEOPLE they USE to accomplish their evil ends. 'But when they sought to lay hands on Him, THEY FEARED THE MULTITUDES, because they took Him for a prophet' - Matthew 21: 46. The crowd that called for Jesus' death was made up of Romans (Gentiles - NON-Jews!). How do we know? Because Jewish law allowed execution by STONING only. Had the JEWS killed Jesus, He would have been STONED, not crucified - Roman-style."
[Cont. in Part 4]
SOURCES
'Ancient
Secrets of The Bible' by Charles E. Sellier & Brian Russell - Dell
Publishing 1994
'Answers
to Tough Questions (skeptics ask about the Christian faith)' by Josh McDowell
and Don Stewart - Here's Life Publishers 1980
'The
Archko Volume or, The Archeological Writings of the Sanhedrim and Talmuds
of the
Jews' Translated by Drs. McIntosh and Twyman of the Antiquarian Lodge,
Genoa, Italy
from Manuscripts in Constantinople and the Records of the Senatorial Docket
taken from
the Vatican at Rome - Keats Publishing, Inc. - Entered according to Act
of Congress, in
the year 1887 (and again in 1896) by Rev. W. D. Mahan, in the Office of
the Librarian of
Congress, at Washington, D.C.
'Beyond
and Back' by Ralph Wilkerson - Bantam Publishing - 6/77
"The
End Times & Victorious Living" Edited by Joseph R. Chambers, D.D.,
D.S.L. 5-6/01
'Final
Dawn Over Jerusalem (The World's Future Hangs in the Balance with the Battle
for
the Holy City)' by John Hagee - Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers 1998
'Final
Warning: Economic Collapse and the Coming World Government' by Grant R.
Jeffrey - Harvest House Publishers 1996
Holy
Bible, King James Version
"Personal Update" Edited
by Chuck Missler - Koinonia House 12/97; 4/01; 6/01