THE GOSPEL OF ME - FOUND AGAIN!

INTRODUCTION

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Marcus Julius Agrippa: the basic understanding to the whole book is a thesis I published in the Samaritan Aleph Beth p. 5 that the last historical king of Israel typically identified in scholarly literature as “Agrippa II” was not only the Mark who wrote the gospel but also the man credited with being the “second Moses” of the Samaritan tradition – viz. Marcus “son of Titus” – and the “messiah” of Daniel 9:24 – 27 of the earliest historical Jewish authorities viz. Rashi, Nachmanides, Abarbanel etc. The argument that there was one Mark behind all three traditions necessarily assumes that now entirely separate traditions of Judaism, Samaritanism and Christianity came together in the late first century. This is not the standard scholarly understanding of the religions in this period – nevertheless what often goes unsaid is that there actually is no firm scholarly understanding as to what happened to Judaism, Samaritanism or Christianity in the period immediately following the destruction of the Jewish temple. The only thing which is certain is that Marcus Julius Agrippa friend of the soon to be Emperor Titus sat as king of a Syrian kingdom for at least thirty years after the end of temple Judaism. It is clearly at this point in history that the most scholars understand that a man called Mark wrote the first gospel (most understand this occurred sometime between 67 – 72 A.D.). It is also the time that many prominent Samaritanologist understand that Marcus son of Titus was active establishing his religious reforms (i.e. Boid, Stenhousen, Kippenberg etc.) which included direct citations from gospel material. It also the period that Judaism was under the authority of a man named “John” – it is a standard understanding of Christian theology and the Coptic Egyptian tradition especially that “John was the name Mark was called by the Jews.” The point then is that the argument that the last king of Israel was indeed the founder of a new messianic form of religion which united the formerly hostile regions of Judea, Samaria and Galilee has support from ancient sources such as Justus of Tiberias (Mark’s historical secretary), Josephus (Mark’s historical Jewish rival) as well as the statement of the Coptic Pope Shenouda III who effectively identifies “Mark” as “Marcus Julius Agrippa” in a recent book.

a hidden code within its pages: the idea that Mark the author of the gospel actually hid a secret code in the gospel is among the first things which the Church Father Irenaeus tells us in his classic anti-heretical treatise Against the False Gnostics. Irenaeus is among the first historical voices of the newly emerging “Roman Catholic tradition.” He wrote sometime between 160 – 180 A.D. The information in the report itself may well date back a generation earlier. Aside from saying that Mark claimed to be a Christ and the women of his church wanted to cleave to him as God the Father there is a lengthy discussion of the use of kabbalah in the gospel which frames the last four chapters of my book. Irenaeus also says that those who hold fast only to the Gospel of Mark say that Jesus and Christ were two different people.

from a dark prison cell: there certainly is no direct proof that Mark ever died in a prison cell as I suggest. Nevertheless I have always assumed that the strange gathering of “heretics” in Rome at the beginning of the reign of Emperor Antoninus’ (138 – 161 A.D.) which we see from reports of the Church Fathers reflects a systematic persecution of the old doctrine. The Copts say Mark was martyred at the hands of pagans. The heretic Marqion (which literally means “little Mark”) died in the early period of Antoninus reign (see Tertullian Against Marcion Book Two) after having been converted at the beginning of the apostolic period (Clement of Alexandria Stromata Book Six).

until we became a problem for the Empire: see Origen Contra Celsus where the Alexandrian Church Father identifies the pagan as having written “at the end of the reign of Hadrian and the beginning of the reign of Antoninus” a treatise which suggests that Christianity was connected with the recent bar Kochba revolt.

[Caesar] dismember[ed] our churches and corrupt[ed] our holy writ: a case I made in a book entitled Against Polycarp. It is also the claim of a fifth century Christian treatise which Pines identifies was incorporated into the tenth century Islamic scholar Al Jabbar in his Establishment of the Proofs for the Prophethood of Mohammed which says explicitly “The Romans (a1-Rum) reigned over them. The Christians (used to) complain to the Romans about the Jews, showed them their own weakness and appealed to their pity. And the Romans did pity them. This (used) to happen frequently. And the Romans said to the Christians: "Between us and the Jews there is a pact which (obliges us) not to change their religious laws (adyan). But if you would abandon their laws and separate yourselves from them, praying as we do (while facing) the East, eating (the things) we eat, and regarding as permissible that which we consider as such, we should help you and make you powerful, and the Jews would find no way (to harm you). On the contrary, you would be more powerful than they. The Christians answered: "We will do this." (And the Romans) said: "Go, fetch your companions, and bring your Book (kitab)." (The Christians) went to their companions, informed them of (what had taken place) between them and the Romans and said to them: "Bring the Gospel (al-injil), and stand up so that we should go to them." But these (companions) said to them: "You have done ill. We are not permitted (to let) the Romans pollute the Gospel. (71b) In giving a favorable answer to the Romans, you have accordingly departed from the religion. We are (therefore) no longer permitted to associate with you; on the contrary, we are obliged to declare that there is nothing in common between us and you;" and they prevented their (taking possession of) the Gospel or gaining access to it. In consequence a violent quarrel (broke out) between (the two groups). Those (mentioned in the first place) went back to the Romans and said to them: "Help us against these companions of ours before (helping us) against the Jews, and take away from them on our behalf our Book (kitab)." Thereupon (the companions of whom they had spoken) fled the country. And the Romans wrote concerning them to their governors in the districts of Mosul and in the Jazirat al-'Arab. Accordingly, a search was made for them; some (qawm) were caught and burned, others (qawm) were killed. (As for) those who had given a favorable answer to the Romans they came together and took counsel as to how to replace the Gospel, seeing that it was lost to them. (Thus) the opinion that a Gospel should be composed (yunshi'u) was established among them. They said: "the Torah (consists) only of (narratives concerning) the births of the prophets and of the histories (tawarikh) of their lives. We are going to construct (nabni) a Gospel according to this (pattern).”

withered old man: On Mark’s withered status in the age of Hadrian and Antoninus see Clement of Alexandria Stromata Book Six, Tertullian Against Marcion Book Two as well as scattered references in Polycarp and Irenaeus.

# © 2006 by World Star International Inc. Marcus Julius Agrippa Jr.