Tuesday, January 23, 2024

THE ROMAN GODHEAD

 

THE HOUSE OF THE CONFUSED

The last episode of Jesus and the disciples, of whom I wrote, was about the Roman government being antitypical of the Regime of God in Heaven. They would each be ruled by a ‘trinity’ of sorts, the Holy Trinity of the Godhead and the Roman triumvirate, the first of which was the three-in-one of Pompeius, Crassus, and Julius, the latter whose cognomen was ‘Caesar.’

The second triumvirate was more formal: Octavian, Antony, and Lepidus. Just as Julius arose from the first triumvir to be ‘Caesar,’ Octavian arose to become a ‘Caesar’ as well. There was one problem, Octavian was adopted and not of the house of Julii, so he was only a ‘Caesar,’ by adoption.

Technically, there was no further triumvirates — three persons, ruling as one.

In this caper, the mother of Zebedee’s children came to Jesus. She had a vision! She wanted for her two children to be fellow-rulers with King Jesus and essentially sitting with Jesus on his throne surrounded by her two sons. She was endeavoring to establish a godhead of her own, failing to see that Jesus was the cornerstone of the Godhead. Jesus, being the one that the builders rejected, or as Jesus said it, “The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the Head of the corner” (Mat 21:42).

Zebedee’s wife was doing the usual thing; what has become known as ‘court intrigue,’ where members of the court attempt to become royalty without regard to their genetics. She was doing a very Roman thing!

Note that the woman was essentially asking Jesus a favor; to make her sons next in line to Jesus, first one son, then the other.

She soon got her wish, but it would not be her sons. By a miracle, out of the ashes of Rome, after Nero Caesar burned it down, the three seceding Caesar’s were gone speedily as if by a wind: Gala, Otho, and Vitellius. You have never heard of them because their reigns were short lived. Then came a sort of triumvirate: Vespasian, and his two sons, Titus and Domitian; finally ending the house of Julii.

The triumvirates had served their purposes for both Rome and for God. The first and second triumvirate mocked God because there were three ‘Caesar’s on one throne.” Julius Caesar arose from the first triumvirate as the head on one throne, and Octavian, not even a Julian, arose from the ‘ashes’ of the second triumvirate.

Then Nero burned Rome to the ground and blamed it on the Christians. Out of the actual ashes arose Vespasian, the father of his two sons who would become Caesars.

They were not a triumvirate. They were a legitimate house of Flavians who served one after another.

Now, think of the Godhead in the same way as the House of Flavian. Never, were the Julii Caesar’s at the same time. One seceded the other. In the beginning, there was the father, Vespasian. He was visible on the throne and was the central figure or ‘head’ of the Julian dynasty.

During the reign of Vespasian, the focal point of the Roman Empire was not so much Rome but the area, called, ‘Syria’ at that time. After setting up Syria, Vespasian took his seat on the throne in Rome. Is this getting to sound familiar? His son, Titus, became the ‘right hand’ with the same autority of his father and his seat was in Jerusalem.

During the War with the Jews, Titus was quite visible as he was present there in history. Of course, Vespasian was on the Caesarian throne in Rome. Where was Domitian?

He was several places, and historians say “perhaps” was under the care of Titus, or even his own successor, Nerva. Not knowing for sure, the location of Domitian at that crucial time, made him seem to be invisible. You may now begin to see where this is headed.

Domitian was the invisible power who aided and abetted both the father and the son, Vespasian and Titus, respectively. He was being set up to be the third person of the House of Flavius to be one of the three Caesar’s, and who were effectively the godhead of Rome as well since the House of Caesar were also Pontifices Maximus — High Priests of the college of Pontiffs. They were ‘Lord of lords’ so to speak, and as Caesar’s were ‘King of kings’ that ruled kingdoms by proxies.

After the Romans destroyed the Herodians and claimed that empire as fully theirs, as usual the Roman ruler who defeated the enemy would have a Triumphal March. It was the custom of Rome since the beginning of the empire. Now read about the triumphal entry of Titus after becoming victorious: 

But what made the most splendid appearance in Titus's opinion was, when his father met him, and received him; but still the multitude of the citizens conceived the greatest joy when they saw them all three together (Vespasian and his two sons, Titus and Domitian), as they did at this time; nor were many days overpast when they determined to have but one triumph, that should be common to both of them, on account of the glorious exploits they had performed, although the senate had decreed each of them a separate triumph by himself. (Josephus, The War of the Jews, Book VII, chapter V, paragraph 3)

 That was the plan but as it turned out, somebody was missing: 

Vespasian and Titus came out crowned with laurel, and clothed in those ancient purple habits which were proper to their family, and then went as far as Octavian's Walks; for there it was that the senate, and the principal rulers, and those that had been recorded as of the equestrian order, waited for them. Now a tribunal had been erected before the cloisters, and ivory chairs had been set upon it, when they came and sat down upon them. Whereupon the soldiery made an acclamation of joy to them immediately, and all gave them attestations of their valor; while they were themselves without their arms, and only in their silken garments, and crowned with laurel: then Vespasian accepted of these shouts of theirs; but while they were still disposed to go on in such acclamations, he gave them a signal of silence. And when every body entirely held their peace, he stood up, and covering the greatest part of his head with his cloak, he put up the accustomed solemn prayers; the like prayers did Titus put up also; after which prayers Vespasian made a short speech to all the people, and then sent away the soldiers to a dinner prepared for them by the emperors. (ibid; paragraph 4)

 Of course, their many gods were missing, but Domitian was supposed to have been there but was not mentioned. He was surely there, however, but there was no chair set for him, nor did he have a royal performance, as did the father and the son. Hopefully, you can see where this is headed.

Unknown to the Romans this time only, the Triumph was marked in three persons, one of which was not recognized like the other two.

On this one occasion, the Triumphal March was made like the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. There were two steeds that were observed in the Triumph of Jesus. He was riding one, one seemed empty, and there was one that was essentially invisible.

The empty ass was for the Father, the colt was for the Son, and not seen was the Holy Ghost who was in Jesus since he had yet to be glorified (revealed; John 7:39).

Hopefully, the reader can understand that the Triumphal Entry of Vespasian and his sons mocked the Triumphal Entry of Jesus. Or perhaps, it may have been so that Christians could better understand just who it was that rode in Triumph into Jerusalem for accolades even before the final victory over the adversary.

Now let’s return to the mother of Zebedee’s two sons: James and John: 

Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping Him, and desiring a certain thing of Him. And He said unto her, “What wants you?”

She said unto Him, “Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in your kingdom…”

And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, “You know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.” (Mat 20-21; 24-25) 

Their mother entirely missed the point; Jesus was not come to make a ‘House of Yahweh’ but an ‘orphanage’ for the lost children of God — the Jews and the Gentiles.

The House of God would be torn down, not by Titus, but by the Jews themselves. We think of the Jews as horrible people, but that empire was made to introduce Jesus to the world. Titus did defeat the Jews, but it was the same bunch of Jews that killed Jesus (the ‘malefactors) that would tear down the Temple — the House of God.

The Triumph of Jesus would be that He saved the people of the nations — Jew and Gentile, and the triumph of the House of Flavius was that they saved at least one wall of the House of God, the one western wall where children of God still pray.

Note also that Jesus rode in Triumph, not to war like a dictator on a white horse, but to serve mankind. He was the ‘Holocaust’ that was burned when He went to Hell to deliver sin and Satan. Out of the grace, He arose glorified; the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost that had become undone at the crucifixion was redone.

Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian saved the empire after Nero burned it down, and with that accomplished, the House of Julii was replaced with the House of Flavius.

The same was done with Jesus; before the Temple was the House of God and after the crucifixion, Jesus was the House of God, not made of stone and mortar, but ‘lively stones’ (1 Pet 2:5) with Jesus as the Cornerstone in the manner of Vespasian.

With that background, perhaps now the reader understands the Kingdom that God built and ruled and how the three homeostasis of the Godhead are Yahweh, Jesus, and the Holy Ghost of Jesus; and that the Flavian Dynasty symbolized the Christian Godhead.

Vespasian, Titus, and Domitian were in homeostasis, of ‘similar status,’ while each were stopped where they were. [1]

Zebedee’s wife was thinking of an empire and court like the one that would come after Herod’s Temple was torn down. Ironically, as it turned out, the House of Flavii was just as she imagined, except it was not Jesus and her sons, but Vespasian and his sons.

The House of Jesus is the one that He built. It was not an oligarchy, but a House of Servants that God built on the ruins of Jerusalem!

In Christ is part of the Court of the Godhead, and therein all subjects are of the Royal Priesthood (1 Pet 2:9), not just James and John.

Now you know why God picked the Flavians for Gentile Christians to better understand the Godhead.

 

 



[1] Here, I refer to the symbolism of the ‘God Coin’ from my video. On the obverse is the head and the reverse whatever the reverse may be. When the coin is spun and in dynamics, the head and tails remain unseen until it is stopped to reveal either heads or tails, never both together. That is the example of homeostasis of the head (Jesus), the back parts, (Yahweh), and the dynamics of the power, ‘Virtue’ (the Holy Spirit,)




No comments:

Post a Comment