Josephus on Jesus

There is a video making rounds on social media of an older gentleman pulling a large book off a shelf, claiming it is a "first printing" or "first edition" of Josephus. He begins to read a passage:

"At the same time there appeared in Judea an extraordinary person called Jesus, if it be lawful to call him a man. He was a famous worker of miracles, a teacher of those who were desirous of receiving the truth in simplicity and brought over to him many disciples both Jews and gentiles. This was the Christ. …"

This is NOT a "first printing" or "first edition." It is not even a facsimile of a "first printing" or "first edition." It is a modernized, somewhat paraphrased English version. The actual first printing in English was in 1602 by Thomas Lodge, and this is how it reads:

"At which time also was Iesus, a wise man, if so be it is lawful to call him a man: for he was the author of wonderful works, a teacher of men which receive the truth with pleasure. He drew unto him many of the Jews, and also many of the Grecians. He was Christ. And when Pilate at the accusation of the principal men of our nation, had condemned him to the cross, they which loved him at the first ceased not: for he appeared unto them the third day again alive, as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things of him. And unto this day the tribe of Christians named after him is not extinct."

Josephus was a Jewish historian. He was not a Christian. The phrase "He was the Christ" (i.e., Messiah) would not have been stated by him. This was added by earlier copyists. The same goes for the talk about the resurrection. The majority of Christian, Jewish, and secular scholars all agree that this is not authentic to Josephus. Early Christian copyists may have been well-intentioned, but altering what someone wrote to provide greater strength to your argument is deceptive. Sadly, many professing Christians do the same thing today. In fact, either the publisher Banner of Truth or Monergism (I forget which) does the same thing when reprinting the works of the Reformers, attempting to make some of their writings better align with their particular theological beliefs. Manipulating things or lying in order to "strengthen" your position only ends up weakening it. When you are exposed, it makes all of us look bad. Christians do not need to lie or manipulate data in order to be convincing, prove their case, or win an argument. That is the methodology of weak cowards!

A more acceptable reconstruction of Josephus’ original wording would be something like:

“About this time there was Jesus, a wise man. For he was a doer of startling deeds, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. And he gained a following both among many Jews and among many of Gentile origin. And when Pilate, because of an accusation made by the principal men among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him in the beginning did not cease [to do so]. And the tribe of the Christians, named after him, has not died out to this day.”

Just because a video may sound convincing (like the video claiming that the Gospel is contained in the very first word of the book of Genesis in Hebrew, despite their failure to provide the Strong's code for two of the words, which also cannot be found in any Lexicon), does not mean that it is legit. Blind and ignorant Christians will often latch onto many things they know nothing about and attempt to run with it like it is some grand proof. We saw this with the video about Laminin, which they attempted to tie to Colossians 1:17, despite the limitation of where it is found. A better correlation with Colossians 1:17 would be the nucleus, which has the properties of expulsion (it pushes outward) yet everything in creation is held together.

Church Scandals

"Pastor So-and-so was removed as Senior Pastor and as an Elder of the church for engaging in conduct that the Elders believe is contrary and harmful to the best interests of the church... This decision was made with heavy hearts and much time spent in earnest prayer."
—The Elder of Such-and-such Church

If your biblically unsupported "Pastor" is engaged in questionable activity, the response to such should not be a "decision"—it is the right thing to do. To imply it is a "decision" is to say that you could have or would have gone in the opposite direction. Also, if you are the least bit biblically grounded, such a "decision" would not be made with "heavy hearts." This implies you had to wrestle with your response. "Our Pastor has been exposed as having had multiple affairs and engaging in paedophilia by sexually abusing children. Should we or shouldn't we? This is a tough decision." Seriously?!?!? Such egregious behaviour requires zero wrestling to do the right thing! You had to spend time in "earnest prayer" to figure out if you would do the right thing or not? Do these clownish people not hear themselves? Do they not hear the religion void of biblical Christianity dripping from their lips?

Positions of authority are not supposed to exist in the Lord's Ekklesia (Congregation)! Even Grok AI can easily assess this from the New Testament Scriptures. But given that religion has hi-jacked biblical Christianity and has implemented hierarchy, any time someone in authority (even non-religious institutions) is caught or exposed with verifiable evidence of having committed questionable activity, THEY SHOULD BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY!!! There should be no scale required to determine if you should or shouldn't! If it is illegal, such as sexually abusing children, THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE! No slaps on the wrist!

When congregations want to protect their biblically unsupported "leader" from any and all accusations, it is a clear and undeniable evidence that you are dealing with a Cult. Of course there are people who lie, or are put up to lying, and "proof" can be faked. But when it is investigated and evidence prove it to be true beyond a shadow of a doubt, your recourse should be simple and effected easily. When the person steps down or retires early, it is a flat-out admission of guilt. By the way, if other groups were the least bit biblically grounded, when such a person guilty of such questionable actions attempts to revive their station as a "Pastor" at another institution in another city or province or state, or to start a new church, that should be dead in its tracks. In other words, individuals like Mark Driscoll and Tullian Tchividian should not be in new pastoral positions today! Their conduct has disqualified them.

When hierarchy exists, scandal easily becomes big news. Remove hierarchy and have zero authority and the scandal practically vanishes. That does not mean that individual people will not still fall into such situations, but it becomes easier to deal with among the members and does not bring such national or international headlines. Moreover, if you stop telling people that they are dirty, rotten, filthy sinners with wicked, deceitful hearts who can do nothing but sin, and start telling them the truth that they are new creations (Eph. 4:22-24) with new hearts (Ezek. 36:26), new minds (1 Cor. 2:16), new spirits (Ezek. 36:26; Rom. 8:16), new passions and desires (Rom. 6:17), with God's Spirit living inside them (1 Cor. 3:16; Ezek. 36:26), and that they are slaves to righteousness (Rom. 6:18,-19, 22), placing their identity in Jesus rather than their sin, you will discover that such questionable activity lessens. People realize that they do not actually want to do these things and that such temptations are not coming from themselves and they start living better. Evolution tells people that they are nothing but animals, and then acts surprised when people act like animals. When you constantly tell people they are nothing but sinners, do not be surprised when that is exactly how they behave. Behaviour follows identity. Right behaviour follows right belief.

Read the Epistles. Were believers absolutely perfect? Of course not. There will always be struggles. Take a good look at the Corinthian Ekklesia. They misunderstood Paul's message so egregiously, the same message he delivered to the Galatians, that they basically lived the concern Paul anticipated (and people raise today) with his words in Romans 5:20-6:2, 14-16. He had to correct them. But the member having sexual relations with his father's girlfriend did not become a national or international scandal. It was addressed and dealt with by the Ekklesia. When all members are equal and there is no authority structure, it is easier to deal with such issues. When hierarchy is instituted, such issues are inevitably invited because people almost always (if not always) gravitate to abuse of their power and/or position. This is why Jesus said "it shall not be so among you." People like to lord their power and position over others, and it can lead to mental, physical, emotional, sexual, or even spiritual abuse. It is difficult to reign in that kind of temptation, which is why Jesus condemned it in the first place. This was always a concern I had when I was studying to be a "Pastor." Thankfully, God has taught me enough that I quit that pursuit. I did not feel His calling to return for more schooling (where they brainwash, condition, program, and train you with what you should believe), but continued reading and studying Scripture regularly, and as a result have now come to realize that such positions did not exist in the early Ekklesia and were to never exist in the first place. Such is a return to the Old Covenant system as well as to the structures and patterns of the world.

ADDENDUM:
All these "Pastors" caught in questionable activity, past or present, like to say, "I've repented." Have you? That is just a bunch of religious mumbo-jumbo. Do you even have a clue what "repentance" is? Repentance has nothing to do with your sin. Biblical repentance means to have a change of mind. What have you had a change of mind about? When you committed your egregious sin(s), did you think it was good and right to do so? Then you have not "repented" because you clearly do not know or understand what biblical repentance actually is. Repentance does not mean a turning from sin. Turning from sin is a fruit of repentance. Period.

Denominational Shortcomings

The Grace Message stresses the finished work of Christ Jesus, unconditional forgiveness, eternal security, and freedom from law-based performance or any mixture of works with grace. Any holdover from Reformation-era legalism that does not fully embrace New Covenant freedom is a mixed-grace gospel, which is no gospel at all. Any doctrines of men that add conditions to salvation, sanctification, or Yahweh God's favour are law mixtures, religious additives that dilute pure grace and obscure the basic Gospel.

Denomination	Key Shortcomings According to The Grace Message
Catholics	Emphasizes sacraments (e.g., Eucharist, confession to priests) as necessary for grace, implying works or rituals earn forgiveness rather than Christ's finished work. Purgatory suggests incomplete atonement. Veneration of Mary and saints dilutes sole reliance on Jesus. Catholicism is problematic, promoting a hierarchical priesthood contradicting the believer's direct access to God as a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9). Overall, viewed as a system of religious performance over pure grace.
Lutherans	Retain elements of law-grace mixture through consubstantiation in communion (implying ongoing need for rituals) and infant baptism, which grace teachers see as non-scriptural and not reflective of believer's choice. Confession for absolution often implies forgiveness is conditional, not once-for-all (Hebrews 10:10). Critiqued for Reformation-era legalism remnants that limit full New Covenant freedom.
Calvinists	TULIP doctrines (e.g., limited atonement) contradict unlimited grace for all; perseverance of the saints often implies works or endurance prove salvation, fostering performance anxiety. Calvinistic predestination limits God's universal offer of grace, undermining assurance by tying security to behavior rather than Christ's work. Overly deterministic, missing the relational aspect of grace.
Anglicans	Liturgical and sacramental focus (similar to Catholics) adds rituals to grace, such as confirmation or ordained clergy mediating forgiveness. Infant baptism and hierarchical structure seen as Old Covenant remnants.
Anabaptists	While believer's baptism aligns better with grace, emphasis on pacifism, community rules, and separation from world can become legalistic "works" for holiness. Avoid any rule-based living that replaces resting in Christ's righteousness.
Presbyterians	Strongly Calvinist, so same issues as above: limited atonement and predestination viewed as restricting grace's scope. Covenant theology sometimes mixes Old and New Covenants, which is law contamination. Infant baptism adds non-voluntary ritual.
Baptists	Varies by subgroup; some (Arminian-leaning) teach loss of salvation, contradicting eternal security in grace (Hebrews 13:5). Others (Calvinist-leaning) share TULIP flaws. Emphasis on "lordship salvation" (requiring submission as proof) is backdoor legalism, not pure faith.
Episcopalians	Similar to Anglicans: sacramental system, ordination, and liturgy imply grace is dispensed through church rituals, not directly through Christ. This is contrary to the believer-priesthood model.
Mennonites	Like Anabaptists, plain living and non-resistance can turn into performance-based rules for acceptance. Grace message sees this as self-effort over relying on Christ's imputed righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21).
Methodists	Arminian theology allows for losing salvation through sin or apostasy, which is fear-based, not grace-assured. Wesleyan perfectionism (entire sanctification via works) is striving for holiness instead of receiving it by faith.
Pentecostals	Focus on second blessing (baptism in the Spirit), speaking in tongues as evidence, and ongoing experiences often imply grace is incomplete without additional works or signs. This as divides believers into "haves" and "have-nots," contradicting one-time righteousness in Christ.
Seventh-Day Adventists	Mandatory Sabbath-keeping mixes Old Covenant with New, which is legalism (e.g., in teachings on Galatians). Investigative judgment doctrine suggests ongoing evaluation of works, undermining finished atonement. Ellen White's prophetic status adds extra-biblical authority.

Since there are over 40,000 different Christian denominations, groups, and sects around the world, obviously the shortcomings of them all cannot be addressed. The larger denominations, however, can be. Usually, whatever shortcomings you find in the larger denominations you will find in the smaller denominations. You will even find mixtures of shortcomings. If it does not adhere to the New Covenant, the Gospel, and grace, then it is another gospel entirely, a mixed-grace gospel attempting to mix oil and water. The New Covenant does not mix with the Old Covenant. Any denomination that attempts to mix any part of the Old system with the New is either blind, ignorant, or delusional. They clearly do not understand the Scriptures, and cling desperately to the errors perpetuated by their particular flavour of bankrupt theology and man-made doctrines.

Mormons are not Christian by any stretch of the word or the imagination as they teach a different Jesus (created being, brother of Lucifer), works-based exaltation to godhood, and have additional scriptures (Book of Mormon). Mormonism is a false gospel (Galatians 1:8), with no true grace since salvation involves temple rituals and obedience to laws.

Jehovah's Witnesses are likewise not Christian by any stretch of the word of the imagination as they deny Jesus' deity and Trinity, teach works-based salvation (door-to-door witnessing, etc.), and a limited 144,000 in Heaven. This is heresy, with grace absent due to rejection of Christ's full atonement for all believers. Blood transfusion bans are extreme legalism.