Complete Pesher of the Resurrection
Introduction

© 2005 Dr. Barbara Thiering

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This is not the 19th century "swoon theory" as has sometimes been thought. Jesus accepted a cup of poison on the cross, intending to commit suicide. He was an active member of a political movement. He was crucified with two other men who were more powerful political leaders than he, the two "thieves", Simon Magus and Judas Iscariot. Jesus was only the third man, on the western cross. He thought he had failed as a reformer among the militants, and saw no way out. However, following a plan to rescue the main leader, Simon Magus, all three were put in burial caves. During the night of Good Friday he was given a purgative, aloe juice, which expelled the poison, and he recovered. The essential fact is that he survived the crucifixion and lived for many years after, in seclusion, as the director of his political party.

The new fact is that this can be proved. The Dead Sea Scrolls have given us, not only the political background, but the theory of pesher. They believed that scripture was written in two levels, a popular one for less educated people, and a concealed one, giving an actual history through the special meanings of words. The four gospels, Acts, and Revelation were intended as a new Christian scripture -written from the outset in Greek - and are set up according to the devices of pesher. Because every word is determined by this purpose, the case can be proved, on rigorous tests of consistency.

All miracles are accounted for by the pesher. The virgin birth, the resurrection , and absurd stories such as the walking on water, feedings of the multitude, turning water into wine, raising others from the dead, were carefully composed, many by Jesus himself. All are giving an exact and reliable history, in their pesher, of what Jesus actually did. He was a fighter against oppressive religion, one who freed people - Gentiles, women, the physically handicapped - from an intolerant system that treated them as unclean. He was also an intellectual and teacher, who approached people's ignorance with humor, and found ways of educating them into maturity.

The detail needed to substantiate the claim of proof is set out here, giving what actually happened at the "resurrection". The facts of exactly where it was and when each stage took place are given through the pesher, and can be known. They are subject to testing by the criterion of consistency of usage in all occurrences.

To follow the argument will require close study, but for those with the interest and inclination to do such work, it is deeply rewarding. And, since true religion values truthfulness and integrity, the study should prepare for the healthier religion that the world needs so much now.

Another overview can be seen in Section 2: Crucifixion and Resurrection

For Reference (Pesher rules)

Notes to assist readers:

The Word-for-Word of each verse of the relevant passages is given, showing that every word, when its special meaning is known and consistently applied, gives an item in the narrative. For each verse the Greek text is given, followed by a transliteration in green, then in blue a very literal translation, often at the expense of natural English. In the blue verses words in green when pressed will show the special meaning of the term from the Lexicon as a pop-p.Words followed by RLR or SRLR are affected by the Rule of the Last Referent, explained in Rules of Pesher in For Reference above. In the red print the pesher of the verse is given fully, with additional relevant facts.

Images of Greek verses used under license from University of York, many thanks to the late Tony Fisher.

Resurrection Word for Word Pesher