The Imperial Messiah

[Augustus]

Its fitting that my first thread be about my namesake so here goes

Obviously we know that the coming of Jesus was prophesied, something along the lines of a man will be present around a certain time in history, to be the ultimate king unite the world in peace and it was generally believed that he would be the son of god and after death rise to the heavens himself. At the time there were lots of people that believed they were Prophesied as well as Jesus. Herod Agrippa a decade or so after for instance. But what we have today is the legacy of Jesus.

The thing is, at the time there was a person who in my opinion fit the prophecy a lot better:
King of kings - As the first Emperor of Rome, Augustus had effectively united the known world under one man, with the influence of the empire sometimes being held under Client Kings who ruled with Roman ideals and goals in mind.
Unite the world in peace- Under Augustus the empire had one of its longest periods of uninterrupted peace.
Son of God- Augustus's adopted father, Julius Caesar was deified after death, effectively making Augustus son of a god.
Become a God- After death, Augustus was deified himself.
Augustus was alive and well at the time Jesus was born.

His legacy of an Imperial Rome lasted till the death of the Roman empire, and by extension to the Death of the Byzantine empire in 1453.

Well thats enough of me rambling, would be nice to see Christians might think of this, given that Jesus was not by any means the only one regarded as the King of Kings at the time and (arguably) accomplished a lot less compared to Augustus.

[history_geek]

Yes, yes, Augustus was a good ruler, but could he turn water to wine?

[Stevil]

Well thats enough of me rambling, would be nice to see Christians might think of this, given that Jesus was not by any means the only one regarded as the King of Kings at the time and (arguably) accomplished a lot less compared to Augustus.

Did significant numbers of people know of Jesus when he was alive (supposedly alive)?
There are no documented evidence, no stories or anything from the time Jesus was alive, only fables decades after.
His life at the time was seemingly insignificant.

[xSilverPhinx]

There's way more evidence for Augustus having been alive, so I know where I'll be placing my bets.

[Sweetdeath]

You make a good arguement.  I think I will do some research on this Agustus, as i'm pretty sure I can find actual historic info on.him, unlike the other guy.


He sounds interesting.

[Augustus]

Also he was played by Brian Blessed in a BBC drama, Jesus can't beat that

[Guardian85]

An interesting thought to be sure, but all just musings until one can present evidence that there is any such thing as prophesy.

[Too Few Lions]

An interesting thought to be sure, but all just musings until one can present evidence that there is any such thing as prophesy.

ditto, I don't think there was any prophecy of Jesus. I think the writers of the gospels wrote a few bits into the Jesus story that corresponded to things written in the books of the Jewish prophets then claimed they were prophecy. Easily done.

[OldGit]

Augustus had a more peaceful death - he was probably poisoned be his wife Livia, which for a Roman Emperor counts as natural.

Now if you want a real emperor/god, try Caligula.

[The Magic Pudding]

I liked Richard Burton and Liz Taylor better.

[Too Few Lions]

Also he was played by Brian Blessed in a BBC drama, Jesus can't beat that

I've always had a soft spot for Nero, but he was badly portrayed by Christopher Biggins in I Claudius. I haven't read the book, but I thought the TV show was pretty cheesy.

[Augustus]

Also he was played by Brian Blessed in a BBC drama, Jesus can't beat that

I've always had a soft spot for Nero, but he was badly portrayed by Christopher Biggins in I Claudius. I haven't read the book, but I thought the TV show was pretty cheesy.

John Hurt seemed to do Caligula pretty well though, that series really did have a good cast

[Too Few Lions]

John Hurt seemed to do Caligula pretty well though, that series really did have a good cast

definite, I did like John Hurt as Caligula. They just portrayed Nero as a fat wet mummy's boy who played his lyre while Rome burned, which of course never actually happened (the lyre bit)

[Ecurb Noselrub]

would be nice to see Christians might think of this, given that Jesus was not by any means the only one regarded as the King of Kings at the time and (arguably) accomplished a lot less compared to Augustus.

Does Augustus still have 2,000,000,000 people who think he is divine? Did his kingdom last 2000 years?  Depends on your perspective regarding who accomplished more or less.  For me, Jesus existed and accomplished exactly what he intended to accomplish, which was to offer reconciliation between humankind and God.

[Sandra Craft]

would be nice to see Christians might think of this, given that Jesus was not by any means the only one regarded as the King of Kings at the time and (arguably) accomplished a lot less compared to Augustus.

Does Augustus still have 2,000,000,000 people who think he is divine? Did his kingdom last 2000 years? 

Augustus didn't have Jesus' spin doctors or agents.