Presents the myth that Jesus was the long-prophesied Messiah of the Jewish Nation. This title suggests that Jesus never was and never claimed to be the promised Messiah of the Jews.
Very intriguing hypothesis and written well enough to keep your interest despite the barrage of facts and evidence. Somehow though, I did not exactly accept that Agrippa was the actual author of the Gospel of Mark. This was the only assertion that I thought was poorly supported, if not completely ignored (i.e. presumption only with no supporting evidence).
Excellent and informative book. I was impressed with the author's command of the subject matter. He seems very well informed. I highly recommend the book. A very enjoyable read.
Fascinating twist on Christianity. Huller relates the allegory of Abraham and Isaac to rationalize his claim that Marcus Agrippa, not Jesus, was the true Messiah. Abraham was told by God to sacrifice his only son in order to prove his loyalty to Him. At the last minute, Abraham's hand is stayed by an angel and a ram appears in a bush as a replacement for Isaac. Isaac lives on to be the founder of the 12 tribes. Fast forward, Jesus is arrested along with a young man named Barabbas. When Pilate asks the crowd which one to set free, the people call out "Barabbas!" The name, bar-abbas, actually means 'son of the father'. Jesus, like the ram (Lamb of God) was sacrificed instead of Barabbas who Huller claims was actually 9-yr-old Marcus Agrippa,who Caligula made king overseeing Alexandria and Jerusalem. He was a leader who made a point of bringing the faith to all people, not just Jews, but to gentiles as well, and wrote the original Gospel of Mark. He presents a solid argument with facts and figures. Ancient Jews were big into numerology and astrology and left messages encoded in sacred writings like the Torah and Talmud. The Throne of St. Mark in Venice is the main evidence he uses, with its significant carvings and details. I could see how he saw what he claimed in the pictures, but question his interpretations. I leave it to the next reader to decide.
An extremely convincing book of religious revisionism that is hurt by a dogmatic tone. Stephan Huller doesn't argue but states as a matter of fact that St. Mark was the historical last Herodian king of Jerusalem, Herod Agrippa II. Huller provides plenty of strong evidence from various historical records but goes too far weaving a hypothetical biography that verges on historical fiction. Huller is too confidant in his conclusions and it hurts the evidence he uses to make them. For example, that Agrippa was a relative of Philo and they created the first schools of Christianity. Is it possible or even plausible? Sure. But Huller is dogmatic that his theory is air-tight. I think there is so much more left to prove. Huller claims Jesus was a historical figure but simply a herald for Agrippa, who also supposedly wrote the Gospel christening himself. The insinuated conspiracy to gradually turn Jesus into messiah is under-explained. Huller is so sure of huge controversial details but doesn't comment on some important smaller ones.
The book is probably 60% theoretical history presented like a melodrama and 40% fascinating research to support it. That ratio should've been reversed. Still a very important book and a good read.
Sometimes I like to delve into controversial books. The author sets out to "prove" that St. Mark and Marcus Agrippa were one and the same and is the "real" messiah. I did find the vast history very interesting, but I still don't buy his conclusion. The book is full of "proof" the requires this "as I read it" attitude. This work is full of all kinds of conjecture, but fascinating in places. Interesting to read, although I really don't agree. Jesus is still my Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
One man’s 20-year journey to discover the true origins of Christianity.
From the beginning of time, there have been men who were larger than life and upon whom the pivot of history turned. To find these men, one need only look. Their deeds are preserved in monument, story and song: Julius Caesar, Plato, Archimedes, Akhenaton, Moses, Abraham, Jacob, Muhammad, Hitler, Charlemagne, King Richard the Lion-heart, King John, Leonardo da Vinci and Jesus, to name a few.
Two thousand years ago, one man changed the face of religion and the course of history by his death and resurrection. His teachings endured in spite of Rome’s pogroms to stamp out the slave religion. Roman emperor Constantine embraced those beliefs, organized and built the most powerful religion on Earth, one that still endures. That man was Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph, a simple carpenter. Every year at Easter Christians celebrate his triumph over the grave, but did the Roman Catholic Church get it wrong? Did the church fathers tamper with history and create a god out of the messenger sent to pave the way for the true Jewish Messiah?
Stephan Huller spent twenty years of his life traveling, researching and consulting with historians, linguists and theologians in his search for the truth. The Real Messiah is the culmination of that search; the evidence it contains fills in the gaps that theologians and Christian apologists have sought to reconcile over for nearly twenty centuries.
According to the prophecies, “[t:]he intended [Jewish:] Messiah had to be a king—not simply in a spiritual sense, but also in a political sense, [whose:] arrival would alter Judaism forever. It would mean an abandonment of the Laws of Moses and a completely new Covenant with God that would be so all-encompassing that the very Temple of Jerusalem would be abolished and ultimately destroyed.” With that beginning to his story, Huller lays the groundwork and details the life and times of The Real Messiah Marcus Julius Agrippa, last king of the Jews, a contemporary of Jesus, and the author of the four gospels of the new testament, also known as St. Mark. The proof begins with a small throne carved in one piece from alabaster in Alexandria in Egypt and now housed in Venice.
In what amounts to heresy, Huller boldly breaks down the myths and legends surrounding the story of Jesus and unfolds a story full of intrigue, mystery, “…incest, one of the most famous love affairs of its time, and a genius for power-play and influence that any dictator or monarch would have admired.” The Real Messiah is a fascinating, carefully researched, complex puzzle built on solid scholarship and grounded in Jewish mysticism. The truth is not out there, it is here.