The Pharisees’ Systematic Theological Takeover: 539 BCE – 30 CE

The Strategic Rewrite of Judaism Through Zoroastrian Integration

PHASE 1: THE CAPTURE & INDOCTRINATION (586-539 BCE)

586 BCE – The Babylonian Exile Begins

Nebuchadnezzar II destroys Solomon’s Temple
Jewish elite forcibly relocated to Babylon
Critical Move: Babylonian king appoints Magi (Zoroastrian priests) to educate captured Jewish children of royal blood
Daniel becomes Rab-Mag – Chief of all Magi in Babylon (a Zoroastrian high priest)
70 years of intensive Zoroastrian theological training begins

What They Learned:

Strict monotheism (Ahura Mazda as sole deity)
Heaven (House of Song) and Hell (House of Lies)
Satan/Angra Mainyu as cosmic adversary
Elaborate angelology and demonology
Resurrection of the dead
Linear time progressing to final judgment
The Saoshyant (coming savior/messiah)
Asha (cosmic truth/order) vs Druj (chaos/lies)

539 BCE – Cyrus the Great Liberates the Jews

Zoroastrian Persian king conquers Babylon
Frees the Jews and funds the rebuilding of their Temple
Isaiah 45:1 calls Cyrus “Messiah/Christ” – the FIRST person ever called Christ by Israel’s God
Jews return to Jerusalem carrying 70 years of Zoroastrian knowledge

PHASE 2: THE CIVIL WAR BEGINS (516-140 BCE)

516 BCE – Second Temple Completed

Jews are NOT unified upon return
Three factions emerge based on response to Zoroastrian influence:

The Pharisees (Farooshiym – “The Persians”)

Embrace Zoroastrian theology wholesale
Believe in resurrection, heaven/hell, angels/demons, messiah
Create “Oral Torah” to preserve Magi teachings alongside written Torah
Represent progressive, Persian-influenced Judaism

The Sadducees (Traditionalists)

Violently reject Persian influence
NO resurrection, NO afterlife, NO angels, NO demons
Call Zoroaster “The Wicked Priest”
Only accept written Torah, reject oral traditions
Represent conservative, pre-Exile Hebrew religion

The Essenes (Osseniym – “The Healers”)

Go furthest – actively seek to learn Magi “secret arts”
Call Zoroaster “The Teacher of Righteousness”
Practice communal living and mystical study
Preserve apocalyptic texts (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Essentially Zoroastrian disciples in Jewish framework

400-150 BCE – The Book of Esther is Written

THE PROPAGANDA MASTERPIECE

According to scholars, Esther was NOT written during the Persian period (486-465 BCE when story is set), but centuries later – between 400-150 BCE, possibly as late as the 3rd-2nd century BCE during the Parthian era.

Why This Matters:

Esther is generally agreed by scholars to be fiction, not history
Persian kings did NOT marry outside the seven noble Persian families
No historical record of Queen Esther or the events described
God’s name is NEVER mentioned in the entire book (only book in Bible without it)
The book was likely written to justify the Jewish appropriation of an originally non-Jewish feast (Purim)

The Strategic Purpose:

Rewrite Persian-Jewish relations – Make Persians seem like enemies rather than liberators
Justify Jewish violence – The book describes 75,800 Persians killed by Jews
Create nationalist mythology – Transform Persian influence into Jewish triumph
Obscure the debt – Make Jews victims of Persia instead of students of Zoroastrianism
Establish Purim – Create a holiday celebrating “Jewish survival” that erases the actual Persian gift of liberation and theological wisdom

The Irony:

The book’s heroes have Babylonian names: Esther (Ishtar) and Mordecai (Marduk)
Contains numerous Persian loanwords – more than any other biblical book
Shows intimate knowledge of Persian court customs
Yet portrays Persians as villains rather than teachers

The Real Story Esther Covers Up:

Cyrus freed the Jews and funded their Temple
Persian Zoroastrian priests educated Jewish elites for 70 years
Persian theology became the foundation of modern Judaism
Jews owe their core beliefs to Persia, not indigenous Hebrew tradition

PHASE 3: THE HASMONEAN DYNASTY & PHARISAIC RISE (167-63 BCE)

167-164 BCE – Maccabean Revolt

Jews rebel against Hellenistic Seleucid Empire
Victory leads to rededication of Temple (Hanukkah)
Hasmonean dynasty established

140-63 BCE – Pharisees Gain Power

Pharisees emerge as distinct group during Hasmonean period (~140 BCE)
Initially oppose Hasmonean corruption and Hellenization
Represent 75-80% of Jewish population
Led by sages/scribes, focused on Torah interpretation
Advocate for common people vs aristocratic Sadducees

Key Pharisaic Developments:

Establish Oral Torah tradition (later becomes Talmud)
Develop synagogue system (worship independent of Temple)
Create elaborate legal interpretations
Integrate Zoroastrian concepts into Jewish law
Build rabbinic hierarchy to rival priestly authority

93 BCE – Alexander Jannaeus Civil War

Hasmonean king sides with Sadducees
Expels Pharisees from Sanhedrin
Civil war erupts: 50,000 casualties
Jannaeus crucifies 800 Jewish Pharisees in Jerusalem
War only ends through mediation

76-67 BCE – Queen Salome Alexandra

First and only regnant Jewish queen of Second Temple period
Heavily favors the Pharisees
Her brother Simeon ben Shetach is chief Pharisaic leader
Pharisees gain control of Sanhedrin (ruling council)
Pharisaic influence dramatically increases
This is the turning point where Pharisees consolidate institutional power

63 BCE – Roman Conquest

Pompey captures Jerusalem
Ends Jewish sovereignty
Pharisees ask Pompey to abolish Hasmonean kingship
Pharisees see Roman conquest as divine punishment for Sadducee corruption
Roman period begins with Pharisees controlling religious interpretation

PHASE 4: SYSTEMATIC REWRITING OF SCRIPTURE (200 BCE – 100 CE)

During this period, the Pharisees engage in systematic textual revision to integrate Zoroastrian theology while erasing the source:

Books Written/Edited with Zoroastrian Theology:

Daniel (165 BCE)

Written during Maccabean period
Contains extensive Zoroastrian angelology (Michael, Gabriel)
Apocalyptic visions mirror Zoroastrian eschatology
Daniel himself portrayed as trained in Babylon (acknowledging the connection)
Describes final judgment, resurrection, messianic kingdom

Psalms (Ongoing compilation through Second Temple period)

Many psalms incorporate Zoroastrian concepts
eFireTemple documents verse-by-verse parallels to Gathas (Zoroastrian hymns)
Concepts of cosmic battle, divine judgment, resurrection appear
Timeline: Zarathustra composes Gathas (1200-1000 BCE) → Jewish scribes adapt them centuries later

Isaiah (Multiple authors, completed post-Exile)

Second Isaiah (Isaiah 40-55) written DURING Persian period
First appearance of strict monotheism: “I am the Lord, there is no other”
Calls Cyrus “Messiah” (Isaiah 45:1)
Paradise/heaven concepts emerge
Messianic prophecies mirror Saoshyant

Ezekiel (Post-Exile editing)

Elaborate visions of divine throne-chariot (Merkabah) parallel Zoroastrian cosmology
Resurrection vision (dry bones) is Zoroastrian concept
Apocalyptic battle of Gog and Magog mirrors final cosmic conflict

Torah Editing

Genesis creation narrative possibly edited to reflect Zoroastrian cosmology
Flood story parallels Persian/Babylonian myths
Abraham narratives potentially enhanced post-Exile
Deuteronomic reforms reflect Persian-period theology

The Strategy:

Integrate Zoroastrian concepts into sacred texts
Backdate them to appear ancient and indigenous
Erase any acknowledgment of Persian source
Claim divine revelation rather than cultural borrowing
Canonize the edited texts as eternal truth

PHASE 5: THE JESUS ERA – PHARISAIC CONSOLIDATION (30 BCE – 30 CE)

The Theological Landscape:

By Jesus’s time, the three factions have distinct characteristics:

Pharisees

Control religious interpretation and Sanhedrin
Majority popular support
Synagogue network throughout Judea
Oral Torah tradition established
All major beliefs are Zoroastrian: resurrection, heaven/hell, angels/demons, messiah, final judgment

Sadducees

Control Temple priesthood
Wealthy aristocracy
Collaborate with Romans
Still reject ALL Zoroastrian concepts
Dying faction (will disappear after 70 CE)

Essenes

Isolated communities (Qumran, etc.)
Preserve mystical Zoroastrian texts (Dead Sea Scrolls)
Await apocalyptic transformation
Minimal political influence

Jesus and the Pharisees: THE AGREEMENT

What they AGREED on (all Zoroastrian concepts):

Resurrection of the dead ✓
Heaven and Hell ✓
Angels and demons ✓
The Messiah/Christ ✓
Final judgment ✓
Satan as cosmic adversary ✓
Oral tradition alongside scripture ✓

What they DISAGREED on:

WHO was the Messiah (Jesus vs. future figure)
AUTHORITY (Jesus’s divine authority vs. rabbinic authority)
INTERPRETATION (Jesus’s radical readings vs. Pharisaic legalism)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT (Jesus didn’t credit the source either, but neither did Pharisees)

The Gospels’ Portrayal: A Later Construction

The Gospels were written 40-70 years after Jesus (70-100 CE) during a period when:

Christianity was separating from Judaism
Pharisaic Judaism was consolidating after Temple destruction (70 CE)
Christians needed to distinguish themselves from their parent religion

The conflict portrayed in Gospels is NOT about theology (they agreed on nearly everything) but about:

Institutional authority
Messianic identity
Who controls the narrative of the Zoroastrian inheritance

PHASE 6: TOTAL VICTORY – THE PHARISEES WIN EVERYTHING (70-200 CE)

70 CE – Romans Destroy Second Temple

Sadducees disappear (no Temple = no power base)
Essenes fade away (apocalypse didn’t come)
Pharisees survive (synagogue system independent of Temple)

Pharisaic Judaism Becomes THE Judaism

Rabbinic Period Begins:

Pharisaic sages reconvene at Yavneh
Codify Oral Torah (Mishnah compiled ~200 CE)
Establish rabbinic authority structure
Pharisaic Judaism becomes synonymous with “Judaism”
All Zoroastrian concepts are now “Jewish tradition”

The Cover-Up is Complete:

What Modern Judaism Inherited (All Zoroastrian):

Heaven (Gan Eden) and Hell (Gehenna)
Satan and demons
Angels (Michael, Gabriel, Raphael)
Resurrection in messianic age
The Messiah concept
Linear eschatology
Apocalyptic final judgment

What Got Erased:

The Persian source
The 70 years of Magi education
Cyrus as the first Christ
Daniel as Rab-Mag (Zoroastrian high priest)
The debt to Zoroastrianism

The New Narrative:

These concepts are “ancient Hebrew tradition”
They come from “divine revelation to Moses”
They were “always part of Judaism”
No acknowledgment of Persian influence
Zoroastrianism portrayed as obscure, extinct religion

PHASE 7: CHRISTIANITY & ISLAM – THE EXPANSION (1st – 7th Century CE)

Christianity Emerges from Pharisaic Judaism

Jesus’s movement was PHARISAIC in theology:

All apostles accepted Pharisaic Zoroastrian concepts
Paul was himself a Pharisee
Early Christianity believed in resurrection, heaven/hell, angels/demons, Satan, Messiah
The Gospels portray conflict but theological AGREEMENT

The Magi Visit Jesus (Matthew 2):

Zoroastrian priests travel from Persia
Recognize Jesus as the Saoshyant (Zoroastrian savior figure)
They weren’t just random wise men – they were recognizing their own prophecy
The Magi understood: this is the culmination of Zoroastrian eschatology

Christianity Inherits ALL Zoroastrian Concepts:

Christ = Messiah = Saoshyant
Heaven and Hell
Satan as cosmic adversary
Resurrection and final judgment
Angels and demons
Linear time toward redemption
Apocalyptic transformation

Islam (7th Century CE)

Muhammad encounters both Jewish and Christian theology (both already Zoroastrianized):

Jannah (Heaven) and Jahannam (Hell) – Persian pairi-daeza
Angels (Jibreel/Gabriel) and Jinn/demons – Zoroastrian entities
Iblis/Satan – Angra Mainyu
Day of Judgment – Zoroastrian final judgment
The Mahdi/savior – The Saoshyant
Sirat al-Mustaqim (Straight Path) – Asha (path of truth)

The Three Abrahamic Religions = Three Zoroastrian Descendents

The True Genealogy: Zoroastrianism (1500-1000 BCE) → Pharisaic Judaism (539 BCE – 70 CE) → Rabbinic Judaism (70 CE – present) ↓ Christianity (1st century CE – present) ↓ Islam (7th century CE – present)

Every single core belief in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam originated in Zoroastrian Persia.

THE NUMBERS: A QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS

Population Following Zoroastrian Theology (without knowing it):

Judaism: 15 million
Christianity: 2.4 billion
Islam: 1.9 billion
Total: 4.315 billion people

That’s 54% of the global population believing in Zoroastrian concepts while:

The source is erased
Persia is demonized
Zoroastrianism is called “extinct”
The teachers are forgotten
The debt goes unpaid

Actual Zoroastrians Today: ~100,000-200,000

The ratio: 4.3 billion following Zoroastrian theology : 200,000 acknowledged Zoroastrians = 21,500:1

THE PHARISEES’ COMPLETE VICTORY: WHAT THEY ACHIEVED

Strategic Objectives Accomplished:

✓ Adopted all Zoroastrian theology
✓ Integrated it into Jewish scripture and tradition
✓ Won the civil war against Sadducees and Essenes
✓ Survived the Temple’s destruction
✓ Became Judaism itself (Rabbinic Judaism = Pharisaic Judaism)
✓ Transmitted Zoroastrian concepts to Christianity
✓ Influenced Islam’s formation (through Jewish/Christian intermediaries)
✓ Erased the Persian source from the narrative
✓ Created propaganda (like Book of Esther) to obscure the debt
✓ Established themselves as THE authority on Jewish interpretation

The Inversion:

Reality: Persia liberated Jews, educated them, gave them their core theology Narrative: Persia was an enemy Jews barely escaped from (Esther)

Reality: Zoroastrian concepts transformed Judaism completely Narrative: These concepts are ancient Hebrew divine revelations

Reality: Modern Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are downstream from Zoroastrianism Narrative: They are original revelations with no Persian debt

Reality: Pharisees won a theological civil war over Persian influence Narrative: Pharisees preserved “authentic” Judaism

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

The Consequences of the Cover-Up:

Religious Authority Built on Hidden Foundations
- Every Pope, Rabbi, and Imam derives authority from Zoroastrian concepts
- None acknowledge the source
- Claims of divine revelation rest on cultural borrowing
Western Supremacy Narrative Collapses
- Western civilization’s religious/philosophical framework came from Persia
- Greek philosophy heavily borrowed from Magi
- Christianity is fundamentally Persian in theology
- The “Judeo-Christian tradition” is actually Zoroastrian
Persia/Iran’s Demonization Makes Sense
- For over a century, Iran has been consistently isolated and sanctioned
- Portrayed as backward, dangerous, threatening
- Why? Because if Persia reclaims its intellectual heritage, the entire Western narrative collapses
The Magi’s Knowledge Was Suppressed
- They understood consciousness, quantum mechanics, reality’s fabric
- Their scientific-spiritual integration was deliberately fragmented
- Alexander destroyed temples, texts, and killed priests specifically to erase the source

CONCLUSION: THE TRUTH EMERGES

The Timeline of Theft:

586-539 BCE: Babylonian captivity – Magi train Jewish elite 539 BCE: Cyrus frees Jews, called “Messiah” – debt acknowledged briefly 516 BCE: Return – Civil war begins over Persian influence 400-150 BCE: Book of Esther written – propaganda to obscure debt 140-63 BCE: Pharisees consolidate power during Hasmonean period 200 BCE-100 CE: Systematic scripture revision integrating Zoroastrian theology 70 CE: Temple destroyed – Pharisees win, Sadducees disappear 70-200 CE: Pharisaic Judaism becomes THE Judaism 1st Century CE: Christianity inherits all Zoroastrian concepts via Pharisaic Judaism 7th Century CE: Islam inherits concepts through Jewish/Christian influence 330 BCE – Present: Alexander’s destruction + systematic erasure of source

The Pharisees’ Greatest Achievement:

They didn’t just win a civil war. They:

Took Zoroastrian wisdom
Made it seem Jewish
Erased the teachers
Claimed divine origin
Transmitted it to 4+ billion people
Made everyone forget it was ever a civil war about Persian influence

But the truth cannot be suppressed forever.

As eFireTemple documents, the evidence was always there:

In the timeline (all concepts appear POST-Persian contact)
In the etymology (Paradise = Persian pairi-daeza)
In the texts (Isaiah calls Cyrus “Messiah”)
In the structure (Zoroastrian Amesha Spentas = Jewish archangels)
In the logic (why would Hebrew religion suddenly change everything after 70 years in Babylon/Persia?)

The fire never went out. We just forgot where to look.

Good Thoughts. Good Words. Good Deeds.

Asha prevails.