Did the “Christians” Burn Rome?
Last Updated on June 8, 2020 by admin
History has blamed Nero for the disaster, implying that he started the fire so that he could bypass the senate and rebuild Rome to his liking. Much of what is known about the great fire of Rome comes from the aristocrat and historian Tacitus, who claimed that Nero watched Rome burn while merrily playing his fiddle. Gangs of thugs prevented citizens from fighting the fire with threats of torture, Tacitus wrote. There is some support for the theory that Nero leveled the city on purpose: the Domus Aurea, Nero’s majestic series of villas and pavilions set upon a landscaped park and a man-made lake, was built in the wake of the fire.
Certainly, it’s hard to know whether to trust the allegations in the writings of Tacitus. What about the explanation offered by Nero, that the Christians were to blame? At least one scholar believes Nero was on the mark. Professor Gerhard Baudy of the University of Konstanz in Germany has spent 15 years studying ancient apocalyptic prophecies. He has learned that in the poor districts of Rome, Christians were circulating vengeful texts predicting that a raging inferno would reduce the city to ashes. “In all of these oracles, the destruction of Rome by fire is prophesied,” Baudy explains. “That is the constant theme: Rome must burn. This was the long-desired objective of all the people who felt subjugated by Rome.”
At the Palais des Nations in
Geneva on
September 2, 1983, Yasir Arafat espoused a unique interpretation of the life of the Apostle Peter:
“We were under Roman imperialism. We sent a Palestinian fisherman, called St. Peter, to
Rome. He not only occupied
Rome, but also won the hearts of the people. We know how to resist imperialism and occupation. Jesus Christ was the first Palestinian fedayin who carried his sword along the path on which the Palestinians today carry their Cross.”
Muslim traditions are very comfortable with a militant Jesus and Peter. They preserve Eastern Christians traditions about Jesus and his less than peaceful apostles.
The Gospel of Peter reads like a rap sheet:
“And I and my companions were grieved; and being wounded in mind we hid ourselves: for we were being sought for by them as malefactors, and as wishing to set fire to the temple.”
As portrayed by the Gospel writer, Peter and his companion were suspected arsonists. This is in addition to lopping off the ear of the high priest servant Malchus (John
18:10-11), a rather unique attribute for the number one follower of the prince of peace. Simon Bar Jonah is not the son of a dove (“Bar Yonah”) as Matthew 16:22-23 portrays him. The name is a corruption for the Hebrew word for Zealot or Bandit, that is “Baryonim.”
But, did Peter and his followers burn
Rome down? The Roman historian Tacitus leaves is open as to whether Nero or the “Christians” (Jewish and Gentile varieties included) did it.
What about the explanation offered by Nero, that the Christians were to blame? At least one scholar believes Nero was right. Professor Gerhard Baudy of the
University of
Konstanz in
Germany has spent 15 years studying ancient apocalyptic prophecies. He has claimed that in the poor districts of
Rome, Christians were circulating vengeful texts predicting that a raging inferno would reduce the city to ashes. In all the oracles, especially the book of Revelation and similar apocalyptic writings, Rome burns.
The Whore of Babylon, the source of this evil according to Revelations, is described as having seven heads. “The seven heads are seven mountains,” Revelations says.
Rome, of course, is famously known as the city of seven hills.
An ancient Egyptian prophecy would have been well known in the Christian quarters of
Rome. It foretold the fall of the great evil city on the day that the dog star, Sirius, rises. In 64 A.D., Sirius rose on July 19, the very day the fire of
Rome started. Baudy and other scholars believe that, some of the Christians (especially Jews), maltreated and embittered, may have done it, — or at least lit additional fires, adding fuel in hopes of fulfilling their prophecies. This led directly to the First Jewish Revolt against Rome, as we shall see in a future article.