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Jesus: Last of the Pharaohs
*** Jesus was descended from the Egyptian royal line ***
The exodus of the Hyksos pharaohs from Egypt to Jerusalem is an incredibly similar event to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to Jerusalem. Classical historians will not entertain any connection between the two, because this infers that the Israelite leaders were actually pharaohs of Egypt. However, Ralph Ellis has taken this obvious comparison and demonstrated the royal Egyptian ancestry of the Judaic patriarchs and also of Jesus.
Ralph has also uncovered evidence for the New Testament Saul (St Paul) in the historical record, a discovery that brings with it several new accounts of the life of Jesus. Saul, the inventor of Christianity, was actually Josephus Flavius, a well-known historian. Jesus was the governor of Tiberias and owned a castle there; and he may have died during the siege of Jerusalem in about AD70, rather than AD 33.
This is the first book in this "Egyptian Testament" series.
This book followed by "Tempest & Exodus" or "Cleopatra to Christ".
The exodus of the Hyksos pharaohs from Egypt to Jerusalem is an incredibly similar event to the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt to Jerusalem. Classical historians will not entertain any connection between the two, because this infers that the Israelite leaders were actually pharaohs of Egypt. However, Ralph Ellis has taken this obvious comparison and demonstrated the royal Egyptian ancestry of the Judaic patriarchs and also of Jesus.
Ralph has also uncovered evidence for the New Testament Saul (St Paul) in the historical record, a discovery that brings with it several new accounts of the life of Jesus. Saul, the inventor of Christianity, was actually Josephus Flavius, a well-known historian. Jesus was the governor of Tiberias and owned a castle there; and he may have died during the siege of Jerusalem in about AD70, rather than AD 33.
This is the first book in this "Egyptian Testament" series.
This book followed by "Tempest & Exodus" or "Cleopatra to Christ".
340 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1998
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160 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 2, 2024
I enjoy "alternative" history, especially when the stories are about the historical Jesus, what actually happened to him and the origins of Christianity.
Ellis puts forth the hypothesis that Jesus is a direct blood descendant of the ancient Egyptian pharoahs, following a long line from Abraham, the first Hyksos "pharoah" of Egypt. Though an intriguing read, unfortunately, he didn't have me buy into his major premise. I'm not yet convinced that Jesus was Cleopatra's great-grandson. Now, apparently as this series of books continues, he firms up his arguments and his hypotheses become more convincing. I'll give Ellis his due: he uses original sources (the Bible, Manetho, Josephus, etc.)
On the bad side, Ellis makes some glaring errors. For example, Ellis upholds the mainstream Christian thinking that Saul/Paul wrote most of the New Testament and that he was a Pharisee. Unfortunately, he's wrong on both those counts. Paul DID NOT write all the works in the New Testament ascribed to him, that's well known and Ellis should know better than that. Secondly, Hyam Maccoby puts forth water tight arguments in his two works "The Mythmaker" and "Paul and Hellenism" that convincingly show that Paul was no Pharisee. I just didn't find Ellis' arguments that convincing on a lot of points, yet he gets enough right to earn *some* kudos. Unfortunately, some of his leaps to judgement are extremely tenuous at best in my opinion. For example, just because the names "Zacharias" and "Zacchaeus" are similar does not mean they are the same person. Those kinds of assertions just left me shaking my head.
I won't be finishing the series.
Ellis puts forth the hypothesis that Jesus is a direct blood descendant of the ancient Egyptian pharoahs, following a long line from Abraham, the first Hyksos "pharoah" of Egypt. Though an intriguing read, unfortunately, he didn't have me buy into his major premise. I'm not yet convinced that Jesus was Cleopatra's great-grandson. Now, apparently as this series of books continues, he firms up his arguments and his hypotheses become more convincing. I'll give Ellis his due: he uses original sources (the Bible, Manetho, Josephus, etc.)
On the bad side, Ellis makes some glaring errors. For example, Ellis upholds the mainstream Christian thinking that Saul/Paul wrote most of the New Testament and that he was a Pharisee. Unfortunately, he's wrong on both those counts. Paul DID NOT write all the works in the New Testament ascribed to him, that's well known and Ellis should know better than that. Secondly, Hyam Maccoby puts forth water tight arguments in his two works "The Mythmaker" and "Paul and Hellenism" that convincingly show that Paul was no Pharisee. I just didn't find Ellis' arguments that convincing on a lot of points, yet he gets enough right to earn *some* kudos. Unfortunately, some of his leaps to judgement are extremely tenuous at best in my opinion. For example, just because the names "Zacharias" and "Zacchaeus" are similar does not mean they are the same person. Those kinds of assertions just left me shaking my head.
I won't be finishing the series.
April 4, 2020
An interesting re-interpretation of history. Literalists will be extremely offended by this book.
My starting point on this was that Jesus as a Pharaoh was plausible, because when you read the Bible, he had two lineages, one of which includes *kings*. Hence, he couldn't have been a "simple carpenter." (How many carpenters can name their great-great-great-grandfather?) I have read that this was due to a mis-translation of a word that could also mean "craftsman"; Ellis thinks "architect" is a closer match, but the point is the same. But a Pharaoh? He does make a case, though.
The basic thesis is that Josephus (who is also identified as Saul/Paul and "Joseph Barsabas"/Justus in Acts 1:23-26), the Torah, the Bible, and the Koran, indicate roughly how history has progressed, but a few details have become hidden intentionally. This is because the main characters appear to have been powerful people, their "mainstream image" notwithstanding.
The overriding theme is that of the procession of the sun, as it moves through the constellations of the Zodiac. Our current stretch of history is covered between the Age of Gemini (the twins, and the animals going into the Ark 2x2) to the Age of Taurus (note that the other version has them going in 7x7, and 7 represents the "Seven Sisters" of the Pleiades, the introduction of cattle/sevens thematically into the Bible) to the Age of Aries (the ram/lamb) and finally to Pisces (Jesus, the "fisher of men"), each era lasting about 2000 years.
Evidently, people started worshipping bulls without knowing that they should change to sheep in 2000 BC. This conflict then led to the Exodus(es) and much religious bloodshed. (It is certainly interesting to re-read the Bible with this interpretation.) Jesus arrived at the time of Pisces (the fishes), which explains a good deal more metaphors.
Ellis also reconciles works mentioned above. Saul appears in Josephus. (Well, he IS Josephus.) The "Jesuses" mentioned in Josephus's works were the historical Jesus (who tried to keep Israel from tearing itself apart). Jesus's family emigrated to Europe and became the royal bloodlines of the kings. Ireland is really an Egyptian offshoot. And so on.
A bit much to take in. However, there are a few mistakes. Ellis repeats the misinformation that the unluckiness of Friday the 13th goes back to the Templars being roasted. (It doesn't; it only goes back to the 20th century novel Friday The Thirteenth by Thomas Lawson.) He also says that the book of John was written before the synoptic gospels (which contradicts most Biblical scholars).
The story isn't over yet, though. There are four other books in this series, which I intend to read.
My starting point on this was that Jesus as a Pharaoh was plausible, because when you read the Bible, he had two lineages, one of which includes *kings*. Hence, he couldn't have been a "simple carpenter." (How many carpenters can name their great-great-great-grandfather?) I have read that this was due to a mis-translation of a word that could also mean "craftsman"; Ellis thinks "architect" is a closer match, but the point is the same. But a Pharaoh? He does make a case, though.
The basic thesis is that Josephus (who is also identified as Saul/Paul and "Joseph Barsabas"/Justus in Acts 1:23-26), the Torah, the Bible, and the Koran, indicate roughly how history has progressed, but a few details have become hidden intentionally. This is because the main characters appear to have been powerful people, their "mainstream image" notwithstanding.
The overriding theme is that of the procession of the sun, as it moves through the constellations of the Zodiac. Our current stretch of history is covered between the Age of Gemini (the twins, and the animals going into the Ark 2x2) to the Age of Taurus (note that the other version has them going in 7x7, and 7 represents the "Seven Sisters" of the Pleiades, the introduction of cattle/sevens thematically into the Bible) to the Age of Aries (the ram/lamb) and finally to Pisces (Jesus, the "fisher of men"), each era lasting about 2000 years.
Evidently, people started worshipping bulls without knowing that they should change to sheep in 2000 BC. This conflict then led to the Exodus(es) and much religious bloodshed. (It is certainly interesting to re-read the Bible with this interpretation.) Jesus arrived at the time of Pisces (the fishes), which explains a good deal more metaphors.
Ellis also reconciles works mentioned above. Saul appears in Josephus. (Well, he IS Josephus.) The "Jesuses" mentioned in Josephus's works were the historical Jesus (who tried to keep Israel from tearing itself apart). Jesus's family emigrated to Europe and became the royal bloodlines of the kings. Ireland is really an Egyptian offshoot. And so on.
A bit much to take in. However, there are a few mistakes. Ellis repeats the misinformation that the unluckiness of Friday the 13th goes back to the Templars being roasted. (It doesn't; it only goes back to the 20th century novel Friday The Thirteenth by Thomas Lawson.) He also says that the book of John was written before the synoptic gospels (which contradicts most Biblical scholars).
The story isn't over yet, though. There are four other books in this series, which I intend to read.
November 19, 2018
I really enjoyed this book. My only discrepancy is with the author's characterization of the nature of cosmic worship... that is to say, how did the Apis bull become the sign for Taurus? How did the Ram or the lamb become the sign for Aries? How did the fish become the symbol for Pisces? How is the pot pouring out water the symbol for Aquarius? In other words, to say that the ancient Egyptians followed the procession of the zodiac is one thing, but to then infer that they worshipped the corresponding signs without relating how those signs were established misses the larger point, which is how and why the worship of zodiac symbols came to be, and even more to the point, where these symbols came from. The constellations themselves do not form the outline of any of their corresponding signs...
The reasons the ancients developed these signs has more to do with the progress and evolution of their societies than it does sidereal mythology. Remember that all indigenous societies began as Hunter gatherers. If they were successful as Hunter gathering nomads, the next step in their social evolution would be to transition from hunting and gathering into centralized, or fiat based, production. So the symbol of the Apis Bull comes about because it is a symbol of hunter's game and therefore a trophy relating to hunting. But as societies grow larger and more complex, their means of sustenance must also as well. In order to make this transition, animals must become domesticated in order to domesticate crops, provide raw materials such as wool, leather, butter, milk and so on. As one of the largest species of domesticatable animals in that region the lamb was probably the most readily available and oft referred to symbol for that transition and this is probably how the lamb, or Ram became the successor to the Apis Bull.
Pisces becomes the successor to Aries because to fish requires water navigation and some basic knowledge of trade, another social advancement. Aquarius which follows, is a symbol of pottery; domestication in a word, where the society which began as barbarous nomads has now become "civilized', adapting its environment to it and not the other way around. This is where the Zodiac symbols come from and so the nature of the dispute between upper and lower Egypt probably had just as much, if not more to do with the desire of the Hyksos to change the society's means of survival from hunting and gathering into a fiat based production system. These social changes are inevitably political because they are economic. These changes probably took thousands of years and the transitions were not easy. Some parts of the world simply could not afford to make the transition because it was and still is more profitable to hunt and gather.
What I am suggesting then, is that the dispute between upper and lower Egypt was not because the priests, upon watching the stars, recognized that a new constellation began rising with the sun, but because during the years that this change was developing, these priests also recognized the potential available to their society if they focused their resources on producing through a centralized system of production. Centralizing production also means centralizing authority to govern the means and distribution of production, which is probably how and why monotheism was established by pharoah Akhenaton because he was the first pharoah to successfully introduce a fiat system of production.
A society's zodiac signs reflected the course of social, agricultural and economic progress within that culture and it was probably easier to mandate such a vast change as the will of the gods which the priests suggested could be said to be reflected in the change in the celestial constellations. As to where the signs for these celestial constellations and the procession of the earth which encouraged them, I believe the signs were inspired by what I have suggested above.
These proposed changes are not easy for any society to make which is probably how pharoah Akhenaton became the first pharoah to successfully implement a monotheistic governing system. A new fiat based production system designed to replace the old model of hunting and gathering would require a full participation of the people and an agreement to the redistribution of the produce developed by labor, and taxation to those in charge of running the operation. Centralized government requires a central authority figure..This masculine figure became the God of Judiasm because the people we now call the Jews were part of the Hyksos exodus from Egypt after they lost the civil war.
If it is a stretch for some to believe that a dispute over whether the future of the society should be the traditional hunting and gathering or centralized production, consider our current dispute between proponents of renewable energy and those who believe in fossil fuels. Or the fact that WW1 was largely the cause of disenfranchised people who could not come to terms with the effects of industrialization.. I believe the author of this book is spot on, with the exception of the nature of cosmic worship. I do not believe the dispute was over whether or not one animal should be worshipped over another, but rather, the dispute was over a proposed change in the primary means of providing sustenance for the society... Sidebar, if you ask me whether or not I believe the ancient Jews were actually Egyptian royalty, my answer is Absolutely. Great job Ralph Ellis on your work..Thank you for your courage and abilities to both conduct and promote your work against the millennia of church dogma.
For my friends who believe that the Hebrews were not Hyksos Egyptians but Jews, it may benefit you to read this book as well as the others in this series. There simply was no historical moses. There was however a Ramoses whose throne name was Ramesses. Perhaps the reason no Israelite history can be found in Egypt or anywhere now that was then Canaan, for that matter, is because the ancient Jews the bible calls Hebrews were actually Egyptian pharoahs. If this is true then the entire Old Testament is the story of a pharonic royal bloodline colonizing Sinai Peninsula and Jesus would have been the last of the bloodline, making him the last Egyptian pharoah... Maybe that is why he was crucified, and maybe that is why he is so important to, though difficult to discover in, what we call history.
The reasons the ancients developed these signs has more to do with the progress and evolution of their societies than it does sidereal mythology. Remember that all indigenous societies began as Hunter gatherers. If they were successful as Hunter gathering nomads, the next step in their social evolution would be to transition from hunting and gathering into centralized, or fiat based, production. So the symbol of the Apis Bull comes about because it is a symbol of hunter's game and therefore a trophy relating to hunting. But as societies grow larger and more complex, their means of sustenance must also as well. In order to make this transition, animals must become domesticated in order to domesticate crops, provide raw materials such as wool, leather, butter, milk and so on. As one of the largest species of domesticatable animals in that region the lamb was probably the most readily available and oft referred to symbol for that transition and this is probably how the lamb, or Ram became the successor to the Apis Bull.
Pisces becomes the successor to Aries because to fish requires water navigation and some basic knowledge of trade, another social advancement. Aquarius which follows, is a symbol of pottery; domestication in a word, where the society which began as barbarous nomads has now become "civilized', adapting its environment to it and not the other way around. This is where the Zodiac symbols come from and so the nature of the dispute between upper and lower Egypt probably had just as much, if not more to do with the desire of the Hyksos to change the society's means of survival from hunting and gathering into a fiat based production system. These social changes are inevitably political because they are economic. These changes probably took thousands of years and the transitions were not easy. Some parts of the world simply could not afford to make the transition because it was and still is more profitable to hunt and gather.
What I am suggesting then, is that the dispute between upper and lower Egypt was not because the priests, upon watching the stars, recognized that a new constellation began rising with the sun, but because during the years that this change was developing, these priests also recognized the potential available to their society if they focused their resources on producing through a centralized system of production. Centralizing production also means centralizing authority to govern the means and distribution of production, which is probably how and why monotheism was established by pharoah Akhenaton because he was the first pharoah to successfully introduce a fiat system of production.
A society's zodiac signs reflected the course of social, agricultural and economic progress within that culture and it was probably easier to mandate such a vast change as the will of the gods which the priests suggested could be said to be reflected in the change in the celestial constellations. As to where the signs for these celestial constellations and the procession of the earth which encouraged them, I believe the signs were inspired by what I have suggested above.
These proposed changes are not easy for any society to make which is probably how pharoah Akhenaton became the first pharoah to successfully implement a monotheistic governing system. A new fiat based production system designed to replace the old model of hunting and gathering would require a full participation of the people and an agreement to the redistribution of the produce developed by labor, and taxation to those in charge of running the operation. Centralized government requires a central authority figure..This masculine figure became the God of Judiasm because the people we now call the Jews were part of the Hyksos exodus from Egypt after they lost the civil war.
If it is a stretch for some to believe that a dispute over whether the future of the society should be the traditional hunting and gathering or centralized production, consider our current dispute between proponents of renewable energy and those who believe in fossil fuels. Or the fact that WW1 was largely the cause of disenfranchised people who could not come to terms with the effects of industrialization.. I believe the author of this book is spot on, with the exception of the nature of cosmic worship. I do not believe the dispute was over whether or not one animal should be worshipped over another, but rather, the dispute was over a proposed change in the primary means of providing sustenance for the society... Sidebar, if you ask me whether or not I believe the ancient Jews were actually Egyptian royalty, my answer is Absolutely. Great job Ralph Ellis on your work..Thank you for your courage and abilities to both conduct and promote your work against the millennia of church dogma.
For my friends who believe that the Hebrews were not Hyksos Egyptians but Jews, it may benefit you to read this book as well as the others in this series. There simply was no historical moses. There was however a Ramoses whose throne name was Ramesses. Perhaps the reason no Israelite history can be found in Egypt or anywhere now that was then Canaan, for that matter, is because the ancient Jews the bible calls Hebrews were actually Egyptian pharoahs. If this is true then the entire Old Testament is the story of a pharonic royal bloodline colonizing Sinai Peninsula and Jesus would have been the last of the bloodline, making him the last Egyptian pharoah... Maybe that is why he was crucified, and maybe that is why he is so important to, though difficult to discover in, what we call history.
June 5, 2019
Great series. A must read to understand the world.
May 5, 2022
Love this series! All my life I've studied books and articles on the "historical Jesus." And mostly been left unsatisfied. This writer has really gotten under all the confusion and subterfuge created to cover up the actual person's existence. Fascinating and very believable.
July 3, 2023
Very interesting. Although, it reads like fanfiction in some parts. I hope the subsequent books have more evidence in them (like the author suggests in his footnotes)
September 9, 2011
What a fun book! A conspiracy theory in the extreme, but that's okay. Sometimes it's entertaining to simply recognize the parallels--in this case, the strong resemblance between Biblical characters and the Pharaohs of Egypt--and run with them, to see where they take you. This book leads deep into Egyptology, relating the stories of the Bible directly to ancient Egypt, and concluding that Judaism, including its offshoot Christianity, stems from ancient Egyptian ritual. You'll find Abraham, Moses, even Jesus among the Pharaohs.
Ellis' analysis of the exodus as stemming from the eruption of Santorini is one of the book's more interesting passages. This isn't a new idea (see Acts of God, by Graham Philips) but Ellis fleshes it out, explaining the boils on the skin and more. His point is that the Biblical account is historical and fits nicely into the timing of his thesis, relating Moses to the Hyksos people.
Ralph Ellis has produced a suite of similar books, and this is apparently the one that started the ball rolling. Jesus: Last of the Pharaohs has gone through at least two reprintings. There's an awful lot of original information here, and a lot of conclusions drawn on linguistics and minimal evidence, but if Ellis and his topic piques your interest, there's much more available to read.
While this is not a religious book, its intent is to uncover the truth about Christianity. It is, according to Ellis, "The true history of religion revealed." It's dedicated to his children so that they "may know the truth." Ellis obviously wants us to take his conclusions very seriously, and change our view about religion. While I can accept that Egyptian history and myth influenced the stories written in the Hebrew scriptures on some level--this should not be terribly surprising if Israel really escaped from Egypt--I can't quite carry the parallels as far as Ellis does. But I still found the book fascinating and learned a lot.
Ellis' analysis of the exodus as stemming from the eruption of Santorini is one of the book's more interesting passages. This isn't a new idea (see Acts of God, by Graham Philips) but Ellis fleshes it out, explaining the boils on the skin and more. His point is that the Biblical account is historical and fits nicely into the timing of his thesis, relating Moses to the Hyksos people.
Ralph Ellis has produced a suite of similar books, and this is apparently the one that started the ball rolling. Jesus: Last of the Pharaohs has gone through at least two reprintings. There's an awful lot of original information here, and a lot of conclusions drawn on linguistics and minimal evidence, but if Ellis and his topic piques your interest, there's much more available to read.
While this is not a religious book, its intent is to uncover the truth about Christianity. It is, according to Ellis, "The true history of religion revealed." It's dedicated to his children so that they "may know the truth." Ellis obviously wants us to take his conclusions very seriously, and change our view about religion. While I can accept that Egyptian history and myth influenced the stories written in the Hebrew scriptures on some level--this should not be terribly surprising if Israel really escaped from Egypt--I can't quite carry the parallels as far as Ellis does. But I still found the book fascinating and learned a lot.
May 9, 2015
For years, I have been concerned that the story of the Hebrews in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament is not very well supported by external history/other narratives. Now that concern has been laid to rest by this book. Now I have a whole new set of questions and concerns! Like, why have we been hoodwinked for so long?
Seriously, folks, if you read only one book for the rest of your life, make it this one.
Seriously, folks, if you read only one book for the rest of your life, make it this one.
July 30, 2016
An interesting premise to link Jesus to the Hyksos pharaohs. But, in my opinion the book is so badly researched it belongs in the category of fiction.
August 19, 2018
Excellently researched very provocative book.
February 21, 2010
Could Egyptian Ahkanatan be Biblical Moses?
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews