Well, the case I'm putting together is that Jesus is Joshua. There are several known "Joshua" cults from the early first century. These are, in fact the same as the Jesus cults. Joshua was being reinterpreted a-la Enoch, Melchizedek, and others. What was taking place at Qumran was exegetic divination whereby they were "discovering" the secret hidden messages in the ancient scriptures. Figures like Enoch, and Melchizedek were completely re-invented as eternal heavenly beings, loosely based on their descriptions from the Torah. There were widespread millenarian expectations of a return of Joshua as the one who would deliver the Jews from Gentile rule. I content, and will show in my next book, that this is the origin of "Jesus" worship.
Well, the case I'm putting together is that Jesus is Joshua. There are several known "Joshua" cults from the early first century. These are, in fact the same as the Jesus cults. Joshua was being reinterpreted a-la Enoch, Melchizedek, and others. What was taking place at Qumran was exegetic divination whereby they were "discovering" the secret hidden messages in the ancient scriptures. Figures like Enoch, and Melchizedek were completely re-invented as eternal heavenly beings, loosely based on their descriptions from the Torah. There were widespread millenarian expectations of a return of Joshua as the one who would deliver the Jews from Gentile rule. I content, and will show in my next book, that this is the origin of "Jesus" worship.