Introduction
There is, at present, an undeclared war on someone called the Devil, waged by self-appointed devotees to someone called the Messiah. If this war is to proceed, we should first determine whether or not the Devil and the Messiah actually exist.
Is the Christian religion based on faith? For many that certainly is - and should be - the case. However, the Baptist, the Nazarene, the apostles, the evangelists, the church fathers and modern-day apologists are unanimous in their insistence on presenting evidence in support of their religion. Meanwhile, unfounded charges of demonic influence are levelled against those who disbelieve.
The proof generally boils down to the testimony of the apostles and a number of supposed predictions in the writings of ancient prophets. In the following pages, with the Bible as our witness, we hope to demonstrate the falsehood of those claims.
EXHIBIT A: APOSTOLIC TESTIMONY
MIRACLES
Jesus' miracles were not unique. Pagan magicians performed signs and wonders: Jannes, Jambres, Simon, Apollonius, and emperor Vespasian. On the other hand, in Deuteronomy 13, God says he will permit false prophets to perform miracles to test the faith of Israel. In Christian mythology, false christs are supposed to tempt the Christians, and to lead many astray by performing miracles.
Whichever way you look at it, miracles do not prove divinity.
CATEGORIES
The following New Testament miracles are faith healings:
•Exorcism
•Healing leprosy
•Healing blindness & the withered hand
•Healing the bleeding woman
•Raising Jairus' daughter
•Peter's shadow (Acts5)
•Raising Tabitha (Acts9)
•Raising Eutychus (Acts20)
The following miracles are allegorical representations of Jesus' teachings:
•Water to wine (Jn2) = new wine (Lk5)
•Cursed fig tree (Mk11) = evil tree sermon (Mt7)
•Lazarus raised (Jn11) = Lazarus parable (Lk16)
•Dead will come forth (Jn5) = Dead walk (Mt27)
The following miracles are probably based on Peter's dreams and visions:
•Walking on water
•The Transfiguration
•The resurrection account in John's gospel
The following miracles are evangelical embellishments:
•Dialogue with Satan (Mt4)
•Angel at Gethsemane (Lk22)
•Sweating blood (Lk22)
•Healing Malchus (Lk22)
•Crucifixion earthquake (Mt27)
The following miracles are evangelical plagiarism:
•Feeding the multitude (Ex18/Num11/2Kings4)
•Raising the boy in Luke 7 (2Kings4)
The raising of Lazarus, Tabitha, Eutychus, the children in Mark and Luke and the saints in Matthew's crucifixion story are either unknown to the earliest Christian writers (Paul and Clement) or were not deemed credible by those writers. Paul and Clement write passionately about God's power to raise the dead, yet, aside from Jesus' Easter appearances, they make no mention of the famous reanimations of the New Testament. Clement even goes so far as to adduce, as proof of resurrection, the myth of the phoenix - a bird thought to self-immolate and rise from the ashes every 500 years. Had he heard credible eyewitness accounts of the raising of Lazarus or Tabitha, he certainly would have said so.
THE RESURRECTION
Jesus' resurrection is not supported by historical attestation. The obvious forgery attributed to Josephus in the 4th century was unknown to Christians of the 3rd century, who were well-acquainted with the author's 1st century works.
In Jesus' time, ghosts and living corpses weren't altogether uncommon, sharing space in the public imagination alongside angels, demons & gods; in recent decades the spectres du jour are flying saucers & space aliens. People sometimes see an object or meet (or hear about, or dream about) a person and their imagination fills in the details later. According to the gospels, people thought both John & Jesus were Elijah or Jeremiah (even Jesus says John was Elijah). After John's death, people thought Jesus was John, physically risen from the dead (king Herod also heard this rumor). After Jesus' death, the gospels tell us of three incidents where Jesus supposedly appears "in another form," not recognized at first by his own disciples, including Peter, Mary, Cleopas - & his unnamed companion - and 6 of the other 10 apostles. That suggests a sort of self-deluded surrogate manifestation, no different than mistaking Jesus for John the Baptist.
The disciples encountered people they mistook for Jesus, a testament to their faith, their hope and their preconceived apprehensions. They, like John's followers, expected to see him alive soon after his death. Other examples abound: in the book of Acts, the pagans of Lystra are convinced that Paul & Barnabas are the gods Hermes & Zeus. Josephus tells of a woman in Rome who believed she had spent the night with the god Anubis. Caligula, Apollonius & Ignatius are all said to have appeared in visions and dreams after their deaths.
WITNESS CREDIBILITY
Examining the credibility of the witnesses, we find that Mary Magdelene had serious mental health issues, having been only recently exorcized of seven demons (Luke 8:2). Meanwhile, Peter, our primary witness for the gospel story, can't seem to discern dreams and visions from reality (Acts 12:9, Matthew 17:4 & 9).
As for Paul, the description of his Damascus revelation sounds identical to a temporal lobe epileptic seizure. This explains the light, the voice, the religious conviction and even the temporary blindness. Some TLE patients are incapable of closing their eyes during a seizure. As Paul lay paralyzed on the desert floor, a layer of dust adhered to his rapidly drying eyes. This became the "scales" which fell away when he was cured by Ananias three days later. Paul mentions an "infirmity" (Gal4) and a "thorn in the flesh" (2Cor12); this might refer to epilepsy.
EXECUTION AS EVIDENCE
There is no way Peter could have escaped execution by renouncing Jesus. For one, Peter was Jewish, and only pagans were expected to worship Caesar and the Roman gods. Jews were exempt. By the time Pliny the Younger writes to Trajan on the subject 60 years later, the majority of Christians are converts from paganism. They are given the chance to renounce their sect and its human founder (unlike Jews, the Christians were considered atheists). Peter would not have received the same courtesy as Pliny's subjects. As leader of a messianic organization whose members admitted to setting a deadly and catastrophic fire to the city of Rome, Peter had no way out of his predicament. Therefore his death does not and cannot prove the supernatural events he supposedly witnessed.
EXHIBIT B: PROPHETIC TESTIMONY
Is there a devil, a messiah, an antichrist? If so, are they predicted in the pages of the Hebrew Bible as the New Testament claims?
Upon close examination, several Bible passages appear to have been blatantly quoted out-of-context by the evangelists, early church fathers and modern missionaries. Though commonly presented as mystical prognostications of far-future events, the majority of these passages are works of poetry and commentary pertaining to important milestones in Israel's history:
1. The Exodus (13th century BCE)
2. Absalom's coup attempt (10th century BCE)
3. The Assyrian crisis (8th century BCE)
4. The Babylonian exile (6th century BCE)
5. Zerubbabel's temple (6th century BCE)
6. Ezra & Nehemiah's reforms (5th century BCE)
7. The Maccabean war (2nd century BCE)
What are the prophetic claims of the evangelists? In short, they state that ancient Israel's prophets foretold the messiah's birth, heraldic forerunner, miracles, betrayal, arrest, death, burial and resurrection, as well as a far-future second coming where he will battle with Satan, a false prophet and an antichrist before bringing the world to a fiery coda.
However, there is not a word in the Hebrew Bible predicting a future messiah, an antichrist or a cataclysmic "end times," as the following examples will demonstrate.
CONTENTS
1. Birth of the Messiah
•Immanuel
•Bethlehem
•From the south
•Out of Egypt
•Slaughter of the Innocents
•Prince of Peace
•Root from the Stump of Jesse
•Nazarene
2. Forerunner to the Messiah
•Messenger
•Voice in the Wilderness
•Elijah
3. Life of the Messiah
•Prophet Like Moses
•Parables
•Triumphal Entry
•Lord Said to My Lord
•I Am Anointed...
•Arm of the Lord
•The Refiner
4. Miracles of the Messiah
•Raising the Dead
5. Betrayal of Messiah
•Sharing Bread
•Thirty Pieces of Silver
•Purchasing a Field
•Strike the Shepherd
6. Death of the Messiah
•Borne our Griefs
•Like a Lamb
•Numbered With the Transgressors
•Pierced
•Cast Lots/Divided Garments
•Bones Unbroken
•Anointed Cut Off
•Mourning for the Pierced
7. Burial of the Messiah
•Grave with the Wicked
•Three Days and Nights
8. Return of the Messiah
•Son of Man
•What Are These Wounds?
•Temple Builder
9. Heretics
•The Wide Gate
•Wolves
•Known by their Fruits
•Lord Lord
•Private Parousia
•Synagogue of Satan
10. The Devil
•You Were In Eden
•Satan and Job
•Satan and Joshua
•Lucifer
11. The Antichrist
•The Goat and The Ram
•Ten-Horned Beast
•The Little Horn
•Seven-Headed Dragon
•Beast From the Earth
•The Eighth Beast
•Gog and Magog
•Kings of the North and South
12. The Apocalypse
•Seventy Weeks
•Abomination of Desolation
•Nations Gather
•Enemies of God Rot While Alive
•Olivet Discourse
•Four Horsemen
•Army of Locusts
•Abaddon/Apollyon
•The Woman in Travail
•Resurrection of the Dead
13. Allegories
•Jonah
•Job
•The Fiery Furnace
•The Lion's Den
•Judith
•Water to Wine
•Cursed Fig Tree
1. BIRTH OF THE MESSIAH
IMMANUEL
ISAIAH 7:14 (cited in Matthew 1:23): “The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the young woman has conceived and shall bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." (JPS)
Isaiah is speaking of his own wife, whom he calls the prophetess (Is8:3) - and their son, who is a sign for Israel (Is8:18).
"Virgin" is a Greek mistranslation - the Hebrew word "almah" denotes a young woman; the word for "virgin" is "betulah," which is not used here. Isaiah informs us in chapter 8 that, "The children whom the Lord has given me are signs and portents in Israel from the Lord of hosts" (Isaiah 8:18), having already informed us that "I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son" (Isaiah 8:3).
Immanuel was a sign to King Ahaz that "God is with us" during the Assyrian crisis the kingdom of Judah faced in the 8th century BCE.
BIRTH IN JUDEA
Joel3:16 & Psalm76:1 (cited by Irenaeus).
According to Irenaeus, "[The prophets] say, 'The Lord hath spoken in Zion, and uttered His voice from Jerusalem;' [Joel3:16, Amos 1:2] and, 'In Judah is God known;' [Ps76:1] — these indicated His advent which took place in Judea."
Actually, these indicate the exulted status of Jerusalem (in Psalm 76) and Solomon's temple (in Amos & Joel).
BIRTH IN BETHLEHEM
MICAH 5:2 (cited in Matthew 2:5): Out of Bethlehem will come "a ruler."
This refers to Zerubbabel, governor of Judea, grandson of King Jechoniah. Though born in Babylon under exile, he was the descendant of David, son of "Jesse the Bethlehemite" (1 Samuel 17:58). Zerubbabel, first governor of post-exilic Judah, built the second temple in the 6th century BCE. To those who argue that he was only a governor and not a king, notice that Micah doesn't mention a king, only a ruler. Note: Micah also makes no mention of the leader being born in Bethlehem, only coming out of Bethlehem..
FROM THE SOUTH
HABAKKUK 3:3 (cited by Irenaeus, Methodius, Cyril, Augustine, John Cassian)
According to Irenaeus, the prophets declare that “God comes from the south, and from a mountain thick with foliage” [Hab3:3], thus predicting the messiah's birth in Bethlehem. However, the passage in Habakkuk mentions Mt. Paran, which is in Egypt. The prophet is making a clear reference to Deuteronomy 33:2, in which Moses, in his final speech, reminds the Israelites that "The Lord came from Sinai, and dawned from Se′ir upon us; he shone forth from Mount Paran, he came from the ten thousands of holy ones, with flaming fire at his right hand." This has no relation to Bethlehem, approximately 150 miles to the northeast of Mt. Paran.
OUT OF EGYPT
HOSEA 11:1 (cited in Matthew 2:15): "Out of Egypt I called my son."
A reference to Israel during the Exodus, 13th century BCE.
[To underscore the previous point about Zerubbabel: Israel came "out of" Egypt, but Israel wasn't born in Egypt.]
SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS
JEREMIAH 31:15 (cited in Matthew 2:18): "Rachel [wife of Jacob, aka Israel] weeping for her children."
A reference to the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE.
PRINCE OF PEACE
ISAIAH 9:6 (cited by Pseudo-Ignatius, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Clement of Alexandria, Peter of Alexandria, Cyprian, Novatian, Eusebius, Athanasius, Chrysostom, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, John Cassian, Theodoret, Gregory of Nyssa, Gregory Nazianzen, Basil, Hilary of Poitiers, John of Damascus, Leo the Great, Ephraim Syrus, Aphrahat, Constitutions of the Holy Apostles, the Clementine Homilies): "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given...called mighty counselor, prince of peace..." etc.
A reference to King Hezekiah (b. ~740 BCE).
The prophecy is in the context of troubles around the year 734, when this literal prince was about 6 years old. The Bible says "there was none like him among all the kings of Judah" (2Kings18:5), that he "did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, according to all that David his father had done" (2Kings18:3), as opposed to his father, Ahaz, who "did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God, as his father David had done" (2Kings16:2).
Isaiah goes on to say this ruler "shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked" (Is11:4), undoubtedly referring to the death of 180,000 Assyrian soldiers, for which the Bible credits the prayers of Hezekiah.
SHOOT FROM STUMP OF JESSE
ISAIAH 11:1 (cited by Paul in Romans 15:12): "There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots."
A reference to King Hezekiah, with the "stump" being his corrupt and idolatrous father Ahaz.
Compare the previous two botanical-themed verses (Is10:33-34) with a verse from 2 Kings regarding Hezekiah:
ISAIAH
The Lord of hosts will lop the boughs with terrifying power; the great in height will be hewn down, and the lofty will be brought low. He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall. [Is10:33-34]
2 KINGS
[Hezekiah] removed the high places, and broke the pillars, and cut down the Ashe′rah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had burned incense to it; it was called Nehush′tan. [2Kings18:4]
Additionally, there are passages which are rendered anachronistic in the messianic interpretation of the text. Isaiah chapters 9 through 12 concern the time of Hezekiah, the destruction of Northern Israel and the punishment of Sargon II, king of Assyria (d. 722 BCE). Assyria and the Philistines are mentioned. These kingdoms no longer existed in the time of Jesus.
Reference is made to exiles in various lands: Egypt, Assyria, etc., from which list Babylon is conspicuously absent as these chapters were written prior to the 6th century BCE.
NAZARENE
Matthew 2:23 states that "he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'”
This is another reference to Isaiah 11:1, in which the Hebrew word for "shoot" or "branch" is netzer. The town of Nazareth is never mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and there is no evidence for the existence of a town called Nazareth in the 8th century BCE.
2. FORERUNNER OF THE MESSIAH
MESSENGER
MALACHI 1:3-4 (cited in Matthew 3:3, Luke 7:26, John 1:23): "I send my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming."
A reference to Ezra the priest (the messenger) and governor Nehemiah (the lord whom you seek), 444 BCE.
VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS
ISAIAH 40:3 (cited in Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:3, Luke 3:4, John 1:23): "A voice cries: 'In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord... Make straight in the desert a highway for our God.'"
A reference to the return of the captives and temple vessels to Jerusalem after the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE.
ELIJAH'S RETURN
MALACHI 5:4 (cited in Matthew 17:10-12): "I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes"
A reference to Eliashib, High Priest in 444 BCE, when Malachi was written. The author is Ezra. The "great and terrible day" refers to the reforms of governor Nehemiah which commenced that year.
3. LIFE OF THE MESSIAH
PROPHET LIKE MOSES
DEUTERONOMY 18:15 (cited by Phillip in John 1:45 and by Jesus in John 5:46): God will send a prophet "like Moses"
A reference to the prophet Joshua (13th century BCE). "And the Lord said to Joshua, 'This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you'" (Joshua 3:7).
PARABLES
PSALM 78:2 (cited in Matthew 13:34): "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old."
A reference to Asaph, a Levite seer in the court of King David.
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY
ZECHARIAH 9:9 (cited in Matthew 21:5 and John 12:15 [narrated but not cited in Mark & Luke]): a king riding the foal of a donkey
Probably a reference to John Hyrcanus of the Hasmonean dynasty; not a king, but a ruler destined from birth - a child at the time Zechariah 9 is written (circa 159 BCE). His sons became the first Hasmonean kings.
THE LORD SAID TO MY LORD
PSALM 110:1 (quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:44) "The LORD said to my lord, sit at my right hand, till I make your enemies your footstool"
A reference to Simon Thassi, High Priest and leader of Judea during the Maccabean war, c. 140 BCE. In fact, the word "sit" begins an acrostic - in Hebrew - spelling the name SIMON. Acrostics are also found in Psalms 111, 112 and 119 (also Psalms 9, 10, 25, 37 and 145).
I AM ANOINTED
ISAIAH 61:1 (read aloud from a scroll by Jesus in Luke 4:21): "I am anointed to bring sight to the blind, freedom to the captives..."
A reference to Cyrus, king of Persia, who conquered Babylon and ended Israel's exile in 538 BCE.
THE ARM OF THE LORD
ISAIAH 53:1 (cited in John 12:38): "who would believe / to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed…"
A reference to the 6th century BCE Medo-Persian empire and Jerusalem's guards, watchmen and wastelands - all witnesses to the post-exilic restoration of Judah.
THE REFINER
MALACHI 3:3 (cited by Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Cyril, Chrysostom & Augustine): "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, till they present right offerings to the Lord."
A reference to Nehemiah, governor of Judea, 444 BCE.
"I [Nehemiah] commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come and guard the gates, to keep the sabbath day holy... I cleansed them from everything foreign, and I established the duties of the priests and Levites." - Nehemiah 13:22, 13:30
4. MIRACLES OF THE MESSIAH
DEAD SHALL ARISE
ISAIAH 26:19 (cited by Irenaeus) "the dead which are in the grave shall arise."
This refers to the end of the Assyrian crisis, as is evident in the next chapter:
•"By exile thou didst contend with them; he removed them with his fierce blast in the day of the east wind. Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be expiated, and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin: when he makes all the stones of the altars like chalkstones crushed to pieces, no Ashe′rim or incense altars will remain standing." Is27:8-9
•"In that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the Lord on the holy mountain at Jerusalem." Is27:13
5. BETRAYAL OF THE MESSIAH
SHARING BREAD
PSALMS 41:9 (cited by Jesus in John 13:18*): "he who ate my bread…"
A reference to David's enemies, including his son Absalom, 10th century BCE.*
* 2 Samuel 13:11 [And David said... “Behold, my own son [Absalom] seeks my life."
THIRTY PIECES OF SILVER
ZECHARIAH 11:12-13 (cited in Matthew 27:9): "my wages [were] 30 shekels of silver [which I] threw into the treasury in the [temple]"
A reference to the wages of High Priest Judas Maccabeus, or one of his brothers - Jonathan Apphus & Simon Thassi - who were also priests, 2nd century BCE.
PURCHASING A FIELD
JEREMIAH 32:9 (cited in Matthew 27:9): "I bought a field [with] 17 shekels of silver"
A reference to Jeremiah, 6th century BCE.
STRIKE THE SHEPHERD
ZECHARIAH 13:7 (cited by Jesus in Mark 14:27 & Matthew 26:31): "strike the shepherd that the sheep may scatter"
A reference to the death of the Hellenists (Menalaus, Jason) and/or the Seleucid leaders (Antiochus & Nicanor) during the Maccabean war, 160s BCE.
6. DEATH OF THE MESSIAH
BORNE OUR GRIEFS
ISAIAH 53:3 (cited in Matthew 8:17) "he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows"
A reference to the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE, during which the prophet Ezekiel bears a burden (at God's command) symbolizing Israel's punishment.
Meanwhile, in similar fashion, the exilic prophet Jeremiah wears the yoke of a beast of burden.
LAMB OF GOD
ISAIAH 53:7-8 (cited in Acts 8:32-33): "he was led like a lamb to slaughter / cut off from the land of the living"
A reference to Israel during the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE.
A noted prophet from that time is Jeremiah:
"I [Jeremiah] was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, 'let us cut him off from the land of the living.'" - Jeremiah 11:19.
Jeremiah was imprisoned in a dry cistern in Jerusalem prior to its destruction in 586 BCE.
NUMBERED WITH TRANSGRESSORS
ISAIAH 53:12 (cited by Jesus in Luke 22:37): "he was numbered with the transgressors"
A reference to Israel's collective punishment during the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE.
King Zedekiah, blinded by Nebuchadnezzar, is bound and escorted to Babylon, 586 BCE.
PIERCED
PSALM 22:16 (cited by Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Athanasius, Cyril, Chrysostom, Augustine, Vincent of Lerins, Leo the Great): "dogs are round about me; a company of evildoers encircle me; they have pierced my hands and feet"
The Hebrew word mistranslated as "pierced" (kaaru, "to dig") is actually "like a lion" (kaari), followed by an exclamation of alarm. A more accurate translation would read: "dogs are round about me...evildoers encircle me like a lion. My hands! My feet!"
Variations:
•Tertullian: "They dug" / "They exterminated"
•Cyprian: "They tore"
•Augustine: "They digged"
CAST LOTS / DIVIDED GARMENTS
PSALMS 22:18 (cited in John 19:24): "they divide my garments among them; for my raiment they cast lots"
A reference to David's enemies, 10th century BCE.
David's palace was ransacked during Absalom's insurrection while David was in exile, having left his home guarded by "ten concubines" (2 Samuel 15:16), who were soon violated by Absalom (2 Samuel 16:22).
BONES UNBROKEN
PSALMS 34:20 (cited in John 19:36): "not a bone of him shall be broken"
A reference to the righteous whom God delivers from affliction - in this case David (10th century BCE). Not a reference to Jesus, who wasn't delivered from affliction (except in gnostic and Islamic tradition).
ANOINTED CUT OFF
DANIEL 9:26 (cited by Barnabas, Tertullian, Clement of Alexandria, Eusebius, Augustine, Ephraim and Aphrahat), "an anointed one shall be cut off and have nothing"
This refers either to the desolation of the temple itself (167 BCE), or to the removal of High Priest Onias III from the temple (175 BCE) and his subsequent murder (171 BCE), which preceded the temple's 3-year desolation.
MOURNING FOR THE PIERCED
ZECHARIAH 12:10 (cited in John 19:37): "they will mourn for the one they have pierced, as for an only son"
A reference to the 2nd century BCE Maccabean civil war, particularly the famous passage in 2 Maccabees 12:38-46 where Judas prays for enemy dead on the battlefield.
7. BURIAL OF THE MESSIAH
GRAVE WITH THE WICKED
ISAIAH 53:9 (cited by Clement, Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Lactantius, Cyril, Cyprian, Chrysostom, Augustine & Rufinus): "they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death"
A reference to the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE, which was collective punishment:
"Say to the land of Israel, Thus says the Lord: Behold, I am against you, and will draw forth my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked." (Ezekiel 21:3)
"The bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be brought out of their tombs; and they shall be spread before the sun and the moon and all the host of heaven, which they have loved and served...and they shall not be gathered or buried." (Jeremiah 8:1-2)
THREE DAYS AND NIGHTS
JONAH 2:1 (cited by Matthew 12:40): "he remained 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the whale."
A reference to the Babylonian exile, 6th century BCE.
Jonah represents Israel. The sea monster represents Babylon.
The three days in Hosea 6:2 also refer to the Babylonian exile: "After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.
8. RETURN OF THE MESSIAH
SON OF MAN
DANIEL 7:13 (cited by Jesus in Mark 13:26, 14:62 & Matthew 24:30): "one like a son of man...coming with the clouds"
A reference to the Maccabean army, 166 BCE, specifically their collective petition to God at Mizpah followed by the string of successful battles leading to the cleansing and re-dedication of the temple in 164 BCE. During the war they are comforted by visions and apparitions.
Armies in the sky appear to the Maccabean rebels.
WHAT ARE THESE WOUNDS?
ZECHARIAH 13:6 (cited by countless preachers): "these are the wounds I received in the house of my friends"
A reference to an unnamed false prophet in the time of the Maccabees, 2nd century BCE. Possibly Jason or Menalaus. In any case, the Maccabean war was a civil war, so this may apply to any casualty of that conflict.
TEMPLE BUILDER
EZEKIEL 21:27 "A ruin I will make it...until he comes whose right it is; and to him I will give it"
A reference to Zerubbabel and/or Joshua ben Zadok rebuilding the temple, 6th century BCE.
9. THE HERETIC
THE WIDE GATE
MATTHEW 7:13-14
The gate is wide
and the way is easy
that leads to destruction
and those who enter by it are many.
The gate is narrow
and the way is hard
that leads to life
and those who find it are few.
A reference to Paul and his disciples.
This is the opposite of Paul's teaching. The hard way means following the law. Paul says you don't need to follow the law; just take the easy way.
WOLVES
MATTHEW 7:15 “wolves in sheep's clothing”
A reference to Paul and Barnabas (40s-60s CE).
Note: chapters 5-7 of Matthew show signs of ebionism. The Ebionites were the early Jewish-Christians disparagingly referred to by Paul as "the Judaizers." They viewed Paul as a false prophet, a false apostle, a magician and a charlatan. Ebionism can also be found in the epistle of James (a clear attack on Paul's theology) and the Revelation of John (a book so Jewish it almost didn't make it into the New Testament) and some synoptic passages of Markan origin.
KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS
MATTHEW 7:18 “An evil tree cannot bear good fruit”
A reference to Paul.
"LORD! LORD!"
MATTHEW 7:22-23 “Did we not prophecy in your name?”
A reference to Paul and Barnabas.
SECRET PAROUSIA
MATTHEW 24:23 “If any one says 'Lo here is the Christ!'...do not believe it.”
This refers to Paul's vision on the road to Damascus.
SYNAGOGUE OF SATAN
REVELATION 2:2 “Those who call themselves apostles...” among the Ephesians.
A reference to Paul and Barnabas, who lived in Ephesus for a short time according to the book of Acts.
10. THE DEVIL
GARDEN OF EDEN
EZEKIEL 28 "you have said, ‘I am a god" (v 1)... "you were in Eden, the garden of God" (v 13)
This chapter contains proclamations against Ithobaal III, King of Tyre in the 6th century BCE.
Because he had been in Eden and declared himself a god, Christians misapply this passage to the Devil. However, Eden was merely an ancient name for a region in northern Phoenicia, where the giant cedars of Lebanon were known as the "garden of God."
SATAN
JOB 1:1 (and following) - Job is tempted by Satan, a servant of God, who afflicts him with famine and disease.
The book of Job is an allegory in which Job represents Israel while Satan represents Nebuchadnezzar and the kings of Babylon (5th century BCE).
SATAN AND JOSHUA
ZECHARIAH 3:1 "Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him."
The satan here is Tattanai, governor of Syria, 520 BCE.
The Hebrew phrase ha-shatan means "the accuser." The "angel of the Lord" is almost certainly the prophet Haggai.
LUCIFER
ISAIAH 14:12 "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! ... For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God...I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (King James translation)
Lucifer (Latin for "light-bringer") denotes the planet Venus, the morning star. Here it is used (beginning with the late-4th century CE Latin Vulgate) to refer to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. Some time after the 4th century, the name Lucifer became associated with the Devil. Prior to this, there had been catholic bishops named Lucifer. This passage is largely responsible for the popular myth of the devil as a "fallen angel."
11. THE ANTICHRIST
GOAT AND RAM
DANIEL 2:32, 8:5-8
Both the bronze thighs of the statue in Nebuchadnezzar's dream (Daniel 2:32) and the he-goat in Daniel's vision (Daniel 8:5-6) represent the Macedonian king Alexander the Great who conquers the Medo-Persian empire (here represented by a ram). The goat's horn shattering into four pieces (Daniel 8:8) denotes the four divisions of the Diodochi, Alexander's successor generals, two of whom were Seleucus, ruler of Syria, and Ptolemy, ruler of Egypt.
TEN-HORNED BEAST
DANIEL 7:7, 7:20, 7:24
The ten-horned beast represents the Syrian Wars (274-168 BCE) between five Seleucid kings of Syria and five Ptolemaic kings of Egypt.
1. Ptolemy II 284-246 (Egypt)
2. Antiochus I 281-261 (Syria)
3. Antiochus II 261-246 (Syria)
4. Seleucus II 246-225 (Syria)
5. Ptolemy III 246-222 (Egypt)
6. Antiochus III 223-187 (Syria)
7. Ptolemy IV 221-204 (Egypt)
8. Ptolemy V 204-180 (Egypt)
9. Seleucus IV 187-175 (Syria)
10. Ptolemy VI 180-164 (Egypt)
These are the kings of the north and south mentioned in chapter eleven of Daniel:
11:6 Ptolemy II/Antiochus I & II
11:7-9 Ptolemy III/Seleucus II & III
11:10-14 Ptolemy IV/Antiochus III
11:15-19 Ptolemy V/Antiochus III
11:20 Ptolemy VI/Seleucus IV
Seleucus IV is not one of the 10 horns, but one of the three kings "put down" by the little horn in Daniel 7:24. The others are Demetrius I and Antiochus, son of Seleucus IV.
THE LITTLE HORN
DANIEL 7:8, 8:9
The "little horn" is the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-163 BCE).
THE MAN OF SIN
2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-5
Paul's "man of sin" in 2 Thessalonians is merely his misreading of the "little horn" in Daniel, which is Antiochus IV. Paul expects the "son of man" to follow the wicked exploits of the man of sin. The son of man, in Daniel, code for the Maccabees and their protector, the archangel Michael, transpired over 200 years prior to Paul's letter. Paul expects these events to occur in his lifetime, including the raising of the dead (alluded to in Daniel 12, representing the return of Maccabean war exiles).
"As our blessed savior hath cited and appealed to the Book of Daniel, so likewise have his apostles drawn from the same fountain. St. Paul's and St. John's predictions are in a manner the copies of Daniel's originals with some improvements and additions." - Thomas Newton, Dissertation on the Prophecies, Vol. II (1784)
SEVEN-HEADED DRAGON
REVELATION 12:3
The seven crowns are Roman emperors from Augustus to Titus (44 BCE - 81CE) - excluding the failed usurpers Galba, Otho & Vitellius (the 3 horns with no crowns on the 10-horned beast).
BEAST FROM THE EARTH
REVELATION 13:11
The beast with “two horns like a lamb” is Emperor Vespasian (69-79 CE). The horns are his sons, Titus and Domitian (79-96 CE).
EIGHTH BEAST
REVELATION 17:11
“The eighth who is of the seven” is Emperor Domitian (81-96 CE), son of Vespasian, who was considered to be, spiritually, the return of the wicked Emperor Nero.
GOG AND MAGOG
EZEKIEL 38-39
Gog/Magog refers to Nebuchadnezzar (Gog), king of Babylon (Magog), 6th century BCE.
KINGS OF THE NORTH AND SOUTH
DANIEL 11-12
Chapter 11 describes war between "the king of the north" and "the king of the south." The north is Syria (the Seleucid dynasty). The south is Egypt (the Ptolemaic dynasty). Historians refer to these conflicts as the Syrian Wars (274-178 BCE):
11:4 The Diodochi (323 BCE)
11:5 Ptolemy I/Seleucus I (305 BCE)
11:6 Ptolemy II/Antiochus I & II (274 BCE)
11:7-9 Ptolemy III/Seleucus II & III (246 BCE)
11:10-14 Ptolemy IV/Antiochus III (219 BCE)
11:15-17 Ptolemy V/Antiochus III (202 BCE)
11:17 Cleopatra 1 (193 BCE)
11:18-19 Ptolemy V/Antiochus III
11:20 Ptol. VI/Sel. IV/Heliodorus
11:21 Antiochus IV (175 BCE)
11:22 Ptol. VI/Ant. IV/Onias III (171 BCE)
11:23-24 Antiochus IV
11:27 Ptolemy VI/Antiochus IV
11:30 Ptolemy VI/Antiochus IV
11:30 Roman navy (168 BCE)
11:30 Maccabean revolt 166 BCE
11:31 abomination: Zeus image
11:32 violators: the Hellenists
11:33 wise: the Maccabees
11:35 time appointed (164 BCE)
11:36-39 Antiochus IV
11:40-44 (Egypt invasion of 168, told out of sequence)
11:45 his tents / his end: Antiochus IV
12:1 Michael: angel fighting for Israel
12:2 some awake: return of exiles
12:7 temple desolation 167-164 BCE
12:11 desolation will last 1,290 days
12. THE APOCALYPSE
SEVENTY WEEKS
The prophet Jeremiah predicted that the Babylonian exile would last for 70 years.
The author of the book of Daniel, writing in the 2nd century BCE, adds to the 70 years by claiming that Israel's full punishment would require 70 "weeks of years" - 490 altogether. To understand his calculation, however, requires a bit of non-linear thinking. The weeks of years aren't entirely consecutive; they overlap slightly.
The 70 weeks in Daniel 9, taken as a whole, refer to the years between the beginning of the Babylonian exile (605 BCE) and the end of the Antiochene crisis (164 BCE) (commonly misinterpreted as terminating in the Roman period).
The first seven weeks mentioned are the 49 years from the first temple's destruction (586 BCE) to the start of the second temple's construction (537 BCE).
The 62 weeks are the 434 years from the first of Nebuchadnezzar's captives (605 BCE) to the death of High Priest Onias III (171 BCE).
The anointed one who is cut off in Daniel 9 is High Priest Onias III, removed from office in 171 BCE and murdered a short time later (commonly mistaken for Jesus).
The final week is the seven years between the removal of Onias III (171 BCE) and the rededication of the temple (164 BCE) (commonly misrepresented as pertaining to a future end-times "tribulation").
The final half-week is the three-and-a-half years of the temple's desolation by Antiochus IV (167-164 BCE) (commonly misrepresented as the Roman war of 70 CE or a future event).
ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION
DANIEL 11:43
"They shall set up the abomination that makes desolate" (cited by Jesus in Mark 13:14 & Matthew 24:15): A reference to the altar of Zeus installed in the Jewish temple by King Antiochus IV on which pigs were sacrificed from 167-163 BCE.
NATIONS GATHER
ZECHARIAH 14:2-3
Nations gather against Jerusalem, "half of the city shall go into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations."
This refers to the Maccabean war, 2nd century BCE.
ENEMIES OF GOD ROT WHILE ALIVE
ZECHARIAH 14:12
The flesh/tongues/eyes of the enemies of God shall rot while they are alive.
This refers to the fate of King Antiochus IV (d. 163 BCE) and High Priest Alcimus (d. 159 BCE). The former suffered from severe gangrene after falling from his chariot on the way to "make a graveyard of Jerusalem." The latter had a debilitating stroke as he was about to destroy the temple.
OLIVET DISCOURSE
MATTHEW 24:15
The “desolating sacrilege” refers to the destruction of the temple by Emperor Vespasian and his son Titus in 70 CE.
FOUR HORSEMEN
REVELATION 6:1-8
The four horsemen are the phases of the Roman war of 66-70 CE, the flashpoint being a skirmish with the Greeks at Caesarea (white horse) in which Rome intervenes (red horse), Syria cuts off supplies to Jerusalem (black horse) and the resulting famine decimates the Jewish resistance (pale horse); death & Hades follow close behind (the public execution of captured Jews in Rome & the mass suicide of the Zealots at Masada, c.73).
ARMY OF LOCUSTS
REVELATION 9:7-10 "In appearance the locusts were like horses arrayed for battle; on their heads were what looked like crowns of gold; their faces were like human faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth; they had scales like iron breastplates, and the noise of their wings was like the noise of many chariots with horses rushing into battle. They have tails like scorpions, and stings, and their power of hurting men for five months lies in their tails."
•The scorpion tails which "torment men for 5 months" were Roman siege weapons, called "scorpio" by the Romans, which pelted Jerusalem with stones, causing injury, anxiety, sleep deprivation and death.
•The "teeth like lions" were the helmets worn by Roman standard bearers. These had the faces and upper jaws of lions, bears and wolves.
•The "hair like women" refers to long-haired conscripts and mercenaries from Germanic tribes.
ABADDON
REVELATION 9:11
"Abaddon/Apollyon the Destroyer" refers to general Titus, son of Emperor Vespasian. Titus destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70 CE.
WOMAN IN TRAVAIL
REVELATION 12:14
A woman in travail is given wings of an eagle to "fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time."
The woman is the Jerusalem church (67 CE), escorted safely by Roman soldiers - hence the eagle's wings - to the town of Pella on the east bank of the Jordan river, after they declared themselves non-combatants.
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
EZEKIEL 37 The "valley of dry bones."
DANIEL 12 Those who "sleep in the dust"
Reference to Israel's return from the Babylonian exile (in Ezekiel) and the Maccabean war (in Daniel).
THE RAPTURE
2 THESSALONIANS 2:3-10
Paul expected the end-times to arrive in his lifetime. He believed that, following a "man of sin" defiling the temple, he and his fellow believers - living and dead - would soon be lifted into the air to meet the Lord.
The first part comes from Daniel, as previously noted. But where did Paul get the "in the air" bit? From Hosea (6:1-6): "Let us retum to the Lord, for he has torn that he may heal us; he has stricken, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him...his going forth is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth."
This has all the elements of Paul's prophecy, minus the reference to the man of sin: from the return to the Lord after being stricken, to the dead being revived, then raised up to live with the Lord in heaven. Meanwhile, like the rains that water the earth: the Lord comes down from the sky.
13. ALLEGORIES
JONAH
In the story of Jonah, the title character represents Israel. The fish represents Babylon. Assyria represents Persia.
JOB
In the story of Job, the title character represents Israel. Satan represents Babylon. Job's friends are surrounding nations - Ammon, Moab, Egypt, etc.
THE FIERY FURNACE
Daniel's 3rd chapter is an allegory for the Maccabean war. In verse 1, we learn that King Nebuchadnezzar has decreed that everyone in Babylon worship a particular idol. Three of Daniel's Jewish friends refuse to pay homage and are "made to walk through the fire" - a Chaldean method of sacrificing humans to the gods. Instead of immolating, the three emerge from the furnace unscathed, having been protected by an angel.
The three friends - Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego - represent the heroes of the Maccabean war: Judas, Jonathan and Simon, who refused when King Antiochus ordered them to worship the idol of Zeus. The fire represents the battles they each led as generals during the war.
THE LION'S DEN
The same narrative, essentially, plays out in Daniel's sixth chapter. This time Daniel represents the Maccabees and, perhaps, the temple itself during its 3.5 years of desolation (167-173 BCE). Daniel is punished for disobeying a compulsory pagan religious decree. Daniel's enemies, who had set him up, find themselves thrown into the pit and swiftly devoured, not unlike Menelaus and other enemies of the Maccabees.
JUDITH
In the apocryphal story of Judith, the title character represents Judas Maccabeus. Nebuchadnezzar represents Antiochus. Holofrenes represents Syrian general Nicanor, beheaded by Judas in the year 161 BCE.
WATER TO WINE
The water represents baptism. The wine represents the eucharist, the blood of Jesus - the lamb of God - and his new teaching. It is John's way of illustrating the synoptic parable concerning old wine in new wineskins.
THE FIG TREE
Jesus is hungry, but finds no figs on a nearby fig tree, so he curses the tree, that it may never grow figs again. The tree symbolizes Jerusalem, which will be destroyed 40 years later. The figs represent Israel's prophets. Jesus is saying he's the last one.
BLOOD AND WATER
A bookend to the water-to-wine story in John's 3rd chapter can be found in his 19th chapter when the centurion's spear pierces the side of the crucified Jesus, producing blood and water. Together, the water, wine and blood point to the baptism and the eucharist.
JUDAS' SUICIDE
The story of Judas hanging himself - found exclusively in Matthew 27:5 - is probably supposed to fulfill the scripture stating that "a hanged man is accursed by God" (Deut21:23) and might have been placed during Jesus' crucifixion to illustrate his sermon contrasting the fruit of good and evil trees (Mt7:17).
14. VAGUE VS. SPECIFIC PROPHECY
The prophecies of the Hebrew Bible provide specific details about dates, locations and durations of future events:
* Noah is told that, in seven days, a flood will come which will last 40 days and 40 nights (Gen7:4)
* Abraham is told that his descendents will sojourn in a land that isn't theirs for 400 years (Gen15:13)
* 90-year-old Sarah is told that she will bear a son named Isaac (Gen17:19), in one year (v21)
* Joseph predicts 7 year famine in Egypt after 7 bountiful years (Gen41:30)
* Moses is told that the Israelites will be freed from Egypt and brought to the land of Canaan (Ex3:8, 20) after dwelling in the wilderness for 40 years (Num14:33), and that, of the original exodus, only Joshua and Caleb will make it to Canaan (Num14:30)
* Joshua is told that the walls of Jericho will fall in six days (Josh6:3-5)
*A prophet from Judah predicts Jeroboam's altar will be destroyed by a descendant of David named Josiah (1Kings13:2)
* Elijah predicts imminent drought, which will last years but will end in his lifetime (1Kings17:1)
* Isaiah predicts that the Assyrian and Ephraimite siege of Judah will end before his unborn son reaches the age of moral discernment (Is7:14)
* Isaiah predicts that the ailing Hezekiah will not die but live an additional 15 years, and that his Assyrian troubles will soon end (2Kings20:6)
* Isaiah predicts Israel will be freed from captivity in Babylon by an individual named Cyrus (Is44:28, 45:1)
* Ezekiel predicts the capture and blinding of Zedekiah and his death in Babylon (Ezek12:13)
* Jeremiah predicts 70-year Babylonian exile (Jer25:11, 29:10) and punishment of Babylon after 70 years (v25:12)
* Zechariah predicts that, in spite of delays, the second temple construction will be completed by Zerubbabel (Zech4:9)
* Daniel predicts the Maccabean war will begin 434 years after the Babylonian exile (Dan9:26) and that the temple desolation will last 3 1/2 years (vv7:25, 12:7, 11) or precisely one thousand two-hundred and ninety days (v12:11)
In stark contrast to all those specifics, the New Testament is extremely vague about future events:
* "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night." - 1Thess5:2
* "Of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels." - Mk13:32, Mt24:36
*"Some standing here will not taste death before they see son of man coming in glory." - Mk9:1
* "You will hear of wars and rumors of wars." - Mt24:6
* "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places." - Mt24:7
New Testament prophecies with immediate fulfillment include the following:
*Jesus predicts he will be arrested.
* Jesus, on the night of his arrest, supposedly foretells being betrayed by Judas (Jn13:26) and denied by Peter (Mt26:34)
* Peter supposedly foretells the immediate death of Sapphira after her husband's sudden demise (Acts5:9)
These are problematic.
1) Anyone who consciously breaks a serious law (donkey theft, livestock destruction, assault, insurrection) could easily predict their own imminent arrest. Does that make it a prophecy?
2) Did Jesus predict Judas' betrayal because he was a prophet? Or was it because he realized that he and Judas were in fundamental disagreement over the nature of their mission?
3) Did Jesus predict Peter's denial because he was a prophet? Or was it because he knew Peter to be a selfish coward?
4) Did Peter predict the death of Sapphira, or were she and her husband poisoned by Peter? Or was this a cautionary tale invented by Peter to boost his fundraising efforts?
Others miss their mark due to their obscurity:
* Jesus promises that some among his disciples will "not taste death before they see that the kingdom has come with power" (Mk9:1)
This was fulfilled days later by Peter's vision of the transfiguration. But it's so vague that a legend arose in the early church suggesting that John was not dead, but merely sleeping in his tomb at Ephesus, waiting for a far-future kingdom.
* Jesus warns that lawless false prophets/apostles/christs will arise (Mt5:19, 7:13-23, 24:24-26)
This was fulfilled by Paul and Barnabas, but it's so vague that Christians see only unspecified far-future heretics, and would never dream that it could be a warning about the "greatest" apostle
15. THE PROBLEM WITH LITERAL TRANSLATION
Cannibals are vegetarian:
"All flesh is grass." Isaiah 40:6
God has 7 eyes:
“These seven are the eyes of YHVH, which range through the whole earth.” Zechariah 4:10
Trees have hands:
"The trees of the field shall clap their hands." - Isaiah 55:12
Babylon has a Pegasus army:
"Their horsemen come from afar; they fly like an eagle swift to devour." Habakkuk 1:8
Cities have mammary glands:
“Rejoice with Jerusalem...that you may suck and be satisfied with her consoling breasts." Isaiah 66:10-11
So do countries and monarchs:
"You shall suck the milk of nations, you shall suck the breast of kings." Isaiah 60:16
Egyptian males have equine genitalia:
"She played the harlot in the land of Egypt and doted upon her paramours there, whose members were like those of asses, and whose issue was like that of horses." Ezekiel 23:20
APPENDIX
OLD TESTAMENT PROPHECY TIMELINE
BCE
1240 - Moses (Hos11:1)
1200 - Joshua (Deut18:15)
1000 - Absalom (Psalm22)
735 - Birth of Immanuel (Isaiah7:14)
722 - Ephraim destroyed
716 - Reforms of Hezekiah
687 - Sins of Manasseh
605 - Ezekiel taken to Babylon
586 - Judah destroyed
539 - Cyrus conquers Babylon (Isaiah61:1)
520 - Temple begun (Zech)
516 - Temple complete (Ezra6)
445 - Reforms of Ezra & Nehemiah (Mal4/5)
331 - Alexander conquers Persia (Dan8)
322 - Wars of the Diodochi (Dan8)
274 - Syrian Wars (Dan7, 11)
175 - Antiochus IV (Dan7, 8, 11)
171 - Onias killed (Dan9)
171 - Hellenic covenant begins (Dan9)
167 - Abomination of desolation (Dan11/12)
166 - Maccabean war (Dan2, 3, 6, 7, 11, 12)
164 - Hellenic covenant ends (Dan11/12)
163 - Death of Antiochus (Dan11, Zech14)
161 - Death of Nicanor
159 - Death of Alcimus (Zech14)
134 - Reign of John Hyrcanus (Zech9)
134 - 1 Maccabees written
NEW TESTAMENT PROPHECY TIMELINE
CE
64 - Fire in Rome
65 - Civil War in Caesarea
66 - Roman invasion of Galilee
68 - Death of Nero
69 - Miracles in Alexandria
70 - Seige and destruction of Jerusalem
73 - Masada
79 - Vesuvius
81 - Emperor Domitian
96 - Death of Domitian
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Copyright 2018, 2025
R. Henning
