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The first horseman of the apocalypse is not the antichrist

By Eli Kittim 🎓

Is Mara bar Serapion’s Letter a Forgery?

Eli Kittim

The letter has been claimed to include no

Christian themes.

— Wiki

Mara bar Serapion was a stoic philosopher. He is noted for a lengthy letter that he wrote to his son. The letter was composed in Syriac, written sometime between 73 AD and the 3rd century. Many Christian apologists have suggested that Mara bar Serapion is alluding to Jesus Christ in this letter. But there are several problems with that theory.

First, a nonChristian like Mara bar Serapion would never have referred to Jesus as a “king.” Only dedicated and reborn Christians refer to Jesus as their Lord of lords and kings of Kings, not pagans.

Second, Jesus was not known as a “king.” In fact, according to Bruce Chilton and Craig A. Evans (“Studying the Historical Jesus,” pp. 455–457), “the term ‘king of the Jews’ has never been seen in the Christian literature of antiquity as a title for Jesus.”

Third, Jesus was not known as a “wise king.” The only Jew known to be a “wise king” was King Solomon, who was in fact a *king,* and whose *wisdom* was known throughout the ancient world. What is more, King Solomon is well known for being the author of many books of *wisdom* in the Bible.

Fourth, Mara bar Serapion does not even mention the terms “Jesus” or “Christ.” And when referring to famous heroic philosophers who died, and what happened after their death, he never mentions Jesus’ resurrection. Even if he didn’t believe it, he would have, at least, mentioned the *rumor* of Jesus being raised from the dead. The fact that he doesn’t mention it at all means that he’s not talking about Jesus:

[Robert E.] Van Voorst adds two factors

that indicate Mara was not a Christian, the

first being his failure to mention the terms

Jesus or Christ. The second factor (also

supported by Chilton and Evans) is that

Mara's statement that Jesus lives on based

on the wisdom of his teachings, in contrast

to the Christian concept that Jesus

continues to live through his resurrection,

indicates that he was not a Christian.

— Wiki

Fifth, the language of the document suggests that Mara bar Serapion is referring to an actual king who enacted new laws and established new practices. For example, Jewish tradition ascribes ritual hand washing and eruvin to King Solomon, who also served as a Judge (e.g. the “Judgment of Solomon”). He was also responsible for building the first temple, and for instituting new laws of how the temple services would run:

Nay, Socrates did ‘not’ die, because of

Plato; nor yet Pythagoras, because of the

statue of Hera; nor yet the Wise King,

because of the new laws which he enacted.

— Wiki

Sixth, there’s something very odd about the reference to the Jews in this letter. This is quite a long letter, which is based entirely on Greek philosophy. Scholars are in agreement that Mara bar Serapion was a Stoic philosopher and a pagan. As a rule, Stoic philosophers held Jewish teachings in contempt, and so they would never have placed them on a par with the teachings of Socrates, Plato, and Pythagoras. We know this from the apostle Paul who was scoffed at when preaching to stoic philosophers in Athens (Acts 17:15-34). The addition of the “Jewish” element, therefore, reads like a non sequitur, like a strange interpolation that doesn’t belong there… It sounds as if someone added it at a later time. And it seems as if the author (or editor?) got things wrong. Pythagoras was not burned, and King Solomon was not killed. And the expulsion of the Jews might be a reference to the deportation of the Northern Kingdom in 722 BC, or to that of Judah in 586 BC:

The letter refers to the unjust treatment of

‘three wise men’: the murder of Socrates,

the burning of Pythagoras, and the

execution of ‘the wise king’ of the Jews.

— Wiki

Now that I have offered my critique, let’s actually read that portion of the letter that apologists have employed time after time as evidence for the historicity of Jesus. Do you think that this pericope constitutes strong evidence for the existence of Jesus? Hardly! Not by a long shot:

For what benefit did the Athenians obtain

by putting Socrates to death, seeing that

they received as retribution for it famine and

pestilence?  Or the people of Samos by the

burning of Pythagoras, seeing that in one

hour the whole of their country was covered

with sand?  Or the Jews by the murder of

their Wise King, seeing that from that very

time their kingdom was driven away from

them?  For with justice did God grant a

recompense to the wisdom of all three of

them.  For the Athenians died by famine;

and the people of Samos were covered by

the sea without remedy; and the Jews,

brought to desolation and expelled from

their kingdom, are driven away into every

land.  Nay, Socrates did “not” die, because

of Plato; nor yet Pythagoras, because of the

statue of Hera; nor yet the Wise King,

because of the new laws which he enacted.

— Wiki

The Seven Seals of Revelation

Eli Kittim

In ancient times, papyrus scrolls with classified information contained several wax seals (Gk. σφραγίς) which ensured that only the appropriate recipient could read the document. Likewise, the Bible uses the term metaphorically to convey apocalyptic information about upcoming events. The seven-sealed scroll reveals seven chronological disclosures that will come in rapid succession. Each seal represents a coming event that will have a major impact on the world. The breaking of the seven seals occurs in Rev. 5–8. The first four seals are known as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The first seal represents the first coming of Christ, who commences the sequence of end time events (Rev. 6:1-2). He rides a white horse, which is also mentioned in Rev. 19:11 using nearly identical language. In Rev. 6:2 (NJB), the white rider goes “from victory to victory” (Gk. νικῶν καὶ ἵνα νικήσῃ). The biblical term "victory" is intimately associated with Christ's resurrection from the dead, which ultimately results in the conquering of death itself (see 1 Cor. 15:54, 57). The terms νικῶν and νικήσῃ are based on the Greek word νικάω (nikao), which means to “overcome” or to be “victorious.” The word nikao can only refer to an overcomer in Christ and cannot possibly be attributed to an Antichrist figure (see e.g. Rev. 2:7, 11, 17, 26; Rev. 3:5, 12, 21). Also, the white horseman wears a stephanos crown, which is worn by believers and victors in Christ (see e.g. Mt. 27:29; Jas. 1:12; 2 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 5:4; Rev. 2:10; 4:4; 14:14). The Stephanos “crown” is therefore a symbol of victory for the believers in Christ. Accordingly, the Antichrist would not wear a stephanos crown. We are also told that the rider of the white horse “was holding a bow” (Gk. toxon), which represents God's covenant with the human race (see Gen. 9:13). The Septuagint (LXX), an early Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible, translates the Hebrew word ‎קַשְׁתִּ֕י (qaš·tî), which means “rainbow,” with the Greek word “toxon” (bow) in Gen. 9:13! In Rev. 6:2, the Greek word “toxon” is the same word that is translated in the English Bible versions by the word bow. Therefore, the Antichrist would not be “holding a bow,” representing God's covenant. And there are no counterfeit signs in the Bible. That’s why all references to God, Christ, and to the saints are always couched in white imagery (see e.g. Isa. 1:18; Dan. 7:9; Mt. 28:3; John 20:12; Rev. 1:14; 2:17; Rev. 3:4-5, 18; 4:4; 6:11; Rev. 7:9, 13-14; 14:14; 19:14).

The second seal represents the coming of the Antichrist (Revelation 6:3–4), the red horse. The red horseman represents the last king who comes out of the final world empire, which is represented by the red seven-headed dragon with ten horns. World War 3 commences with the red rider, who was given a huge and mighty sword and granted permission to slaughter mankind.

The third seal represents economic collapse (Revelation 6:5–6). The rider of the Black horse holds “a pair of scales,” which merchants used in order to barter for their goods. In those days, meals will be so expensive that it will cost a whole day's wages just to have one.

The fourth seal (Revelation 6:7–8) introduces the “deathly pale” horse whose “rider was called Death, and Hades followed at its heels.” The fourth horse mainly represents a global food crisis, famines, and pandemics that kill off “a quarter of the earth[‘s]” population, coupled with wars and other devastations.

The fifth seal represents the martyrs of the faith throughout the centuries, but especially those who will be killed during the great tribulation (Revelation 6:9–11). The clue is given in verse 11 where “they were told to be patient a little longer, until the roll was completed of their fellow-servants and brothers who were still to be killed as they had been” (cf. Mt. 24:9). These martyrs include the 144,000 who are mentioned in Revelation chapter seven. Rev. 7:13-14 explains that the 144 thousand are the elect “who have been through the great trial.” However, Rev. 7:4-8 is obviously describing not just the tribulation saints but the entire church as a whole. In fact, Revelation 7:9 gives us the identity of the 144 thousand by stating that they’re “a huge number, impossible for anyone to count,” and that they come from every nation on earth.

The sixth seal represents nuclear war, the resurrection, and the rapture (Revelation 6:12–17). The first part of the sixth seal represents nuclear war, which is described as “a violent earthquake” that causes the sun to turn black and the moon red. This event precedes the day of the Lord, according to Joel 2:31 (italics mine):

“The sun shall be turned to darkness, and

the moon to blood, BEFORE the great and

awesome day of the LORD comes.”

There are other devastations as well, such as massive upheavals of the earth's crust and space debris hurtling back to earth, islands and mountains are moved out of their place, as everything will be shaken to its foundations (cf. Hebrews 12:27). It is right after this event that Christ will appear to rapture the elect. See Matthew 24:29-31 (italics mine):

“Immediately AFTER the distress of those

days the sun will be darkened, the moon will

not give its light, the stars will fall from the

sky and the powers of the heavens will be

shaken. And then the sign of the Son of

man will appear in heaven; … And he will

send his angels with a loud trumpet to

gather his elect from the four winds.”

Similarly, Daniel 12:1-2 indicates that the general resurrection of the dead will occur after the great tribulation, which will be an event “unlike any other from the nation’s beginning up to that time.” In line with these passages, the sixth seal indicates that after the great tribulation “all the kings of the earth, the governors and … the whole population, … hid in caverns and among the rocks of the mountains,” and “they said to the mountains and the rocks, 'Fall on us and hide us away from the One who sits on the throne and from the retribution of the Lamb. For the Great Day of his retribution has come, and who can face it?' “ (Rev. 6:15-17). This pericope is taken from Isaiah 2:19, which describes Yahweh rising from the dead to shake the earth:

“they will go into the caverns of the rocks

and into the fissures of the earth in terror of

Yahweh, at the brilliance of his majesty,

when he arises to make the earth quake.”

We know from 1 Thess. 4:16-17 that the resurrection and the rapture happen simultaneously. Thus, the aforementioned passages coalesce to give us the big picture, namely, that the sixth seal represents the resurrection and the rapture, which will occur right after the Great Tribulation!

The seventh seal represents the Day of the Lord (Rev. 8:1-5). The prelude to the day of the Lord begins with a short respite, as “there was silence in heaven for about half an hour” (verse 1). It represents the lull before the storm. This is the close of the tribulation period (Satan’s wrath) and the beginning of the Day of the Lord (God’s wrath), as the severity of the judgments begin to increase with the coming of the seven trumpets. But before the sounding of the seven trumpets, an “angel took the censer and filled it from the fire of the altar, which he then hurled down onto the earth,” causing massive earthquakes and devastations (verse 5). Thus, the seventh seal represents the commencement of the Day of the Lord!

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Eli Kittim’s Unique Interpretation of Jesus

Eli Kittim’s eschatology is a view in biblical studies that interprets the story of Jesus in exclusively eschatological terms. This unique approach was developed by Eli of Kittim, especially in his 2013 work, The Little Book of Revelation. Kittim doesn’t consider Jesus' life as something that happened in history but rather as something that will occur in the last days as a fulfillment of bible prophecy. It involves a new paradigm shift! Kittim holds to an exclusive futuristic eschatology in which the story of Jesus (his birth, death, and resurrection) takes place once and for all in the end-times (see Heb. 9:26b; 1 Pet. 1:20). Kittim’s eschatology provides a solution to the historical problems associated with the historical Jesus.

The Cloths of Christ: Holy Relics or Fakes?

Eli Kittim

Don’t be naive. Fakes, forgeries, and frauds are much more prevalent than you might think. Just as the “post-2002” Dead Sea Scrolls are fake, so are many Christian relics. For instance, take the “Titulus Crucis,” a piece of wood. Christian tradition claims that the relic contains a portion of the True Cross. Scientists, however, consider it to be a medieval forgery:

In 2002, the University of Arizona

conducted radiocarbon dating tests on the

artifact, and it was shown to have been

made between 980 and 1146 AD. The

carbon dating results were published in the

peer-reviewed journal Radiocarbon.

— Wiki

The same holds true for many other relics. Yet despite these setbacks, Christian archaeologists continue to make sensational claims that they have found the burning bush, the tomb of Jesus, the house of Peter, the Veil of Veronica (which btw is never mentioned in the canonical Gospels), and the like. They’re doing a great disservice to Christianity by promoting sensationalism and fake news. By advertizing hoaxes, fakes, and forgeries, they’re setting up Christianity to be mocked and ridiculed, and ultimately rejected. Once people realize that these relics are nothing more than fakes, frauds, and forgeries, they would want nothing to do with Christianity. In other words, the veracity of the Christian message is at stake. They’re setting people up to apostatize and deconstruct their faith. This is actually an attack on——not a support of——the Christian faith!

Pious Frauds

The Sudarium of Oviedo cloth——which is believed to be the post-mortem cloth that was wrapped around Jesus’ head, as mentioned in John 20:6–7——has been dated to around 700 AD by radiocarbon dating:

It’s a hoax!

The Manoppello Image of Jesus Christ’s face on a cloth is also a fake:

Most researchers state that, despite fringe

claims of divine origins, the face on the veil

at Manoppello clearly conforms in

appearance to the characteristics of an

artificially-made image and that stylistically

it is similar to images dating to the late

Middle Ages or early Renaissance.

— Wiki

The Shroud of Turin is also a 13th to 14th century hoax:

In 1988, radiocarbon dating by three

different laboratories established that the

shroud's linen material was produced

between the years 1260 and 1390 (to a

95% confidence level). Defenders of the

authenticity of the shroud have questioned

those results, usually on the basis that the

samples tested might have been

contaminated or taken from a medieval

repair to the original fabric. Such fringe

hypotheses have been refuted by carbon-

dating experts and others based on

evidence from the shroud itself, including

the medieval repair hypothesis, the bio-

contamination hypothesis and the carbon

monoxide hypothesis.

— Wiki

However, there was a recent research study on the Shroud of Turin (April 2022) by Dr. Liberato De Caro’s team which used the new “Wide-Angle X-ray Scattering” or WAXS method to determine the age of the shroud. They claim that they found a match with a piece of fabric from c. AD 55-74 from the siege of Masada in Israel. However, it is as yet unknown whether or not the findings are accurate. As far as I know, they have not been independently confirmed or multiply-attested by other laboratories. Dr. De Caro himself noted that his work was simply “evaluated and peer-reviewed by three other independent experts,” including the editor of the journal “Heritage,” which published his findings. But that doesn’t mean that the results were correct, multiply attested, or independently confirmed. It just means that a couple of editors thought that the experiment was worthy of publication. In fact, Dr. Liberato De Caro himself expressed the need for further research, especially “blind” tests to “avoid any possible bias in the data analysis by the authors of the research.” Bottom line, this new study has not yet conclusively refuted the 1988 radiocarbon dating findings by three different laboratories which established that the shroud is a medieval hoax.

As early as 1390, about 35 years after the

Shroud first emerged in France, Pierre

d'Arcis, the Catholic bishop in Troyes, wrote

to Pope Clement VII that the shroud was ‘a

clever sleight of hand’ by someone ‘falsely

declaring this was the actual shroud in

which Jesus was enfolded in the tomb to

attract the multitude so that money might

cunningly be wrung from them.’

— NBC News

The Roman Catholic Church considers the

Shroud to be an icon, not a holy relic.

— NBC News

nbcnews.com

Forensic research (once again) suggests the Shroud of Turin is fake

Scientists used blood pattern analysis research techniques to study stains on the Shroud, concluding they are inconsistent with a single pos

Now, a new study using modern forensic

techniques suggests the bloodstains on the

shroud are completely unrealistic,

supporting arguments that it is a fake.

— Livescience

‘If you look at the bloodstains as a whole,

just as you would when working at a crime

scene, you realize they contradict each

other,’ Borrini said. ‘That points to the

artificial origin of these stains.’

— Livescience

livescience.com

Shroud of Turin Is a Fake, Bloodstains Suggest

The Shroud of Turin, said by some to be the burial cloth of Jesus, is likely a fake, as a new study using modern forensics techniques finds

Enough already with the hoaxes and the

fake news!

Eli of Kittim Amazon Author Page

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Eli of Kittim Amazon Author Page

This is my Amazon Fan Page. The title of my non-fiction book clarifies what the book is about, namely, The First Coming of Jesus at the End of Days. The book is based on biblical scholarship and its argument is that——according to the New Testament epistles——the first coming of Jesus will take place at the end of the world (see e.g. Hebrews 9:26b; 1 Peter 1:20)! This can be corroborated throughout the Bible. I have done extensive follow-up research using the original Greek New Testament to demonstrate the legitimacy of my claim!