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A Shift in Time: How Historical Documents Reveal the Surprising Truth about Jesus
Did the Christian Church rewrite history?
In the midst of her research on the historical Jesus, scholar Lena Einhorn stumbled upon a surprising find. While reading through narratives of the Jewish revolt by first-century historian Flavius Josephus, Einhorn encountered a number of similarities to the Bible. These parallels—all limited to a short period of time—include an unnamed and mysterious messianic leader strikingly similar to the Jesus described in the Gospels—only he’s not the peaceful miracle worker we know so well.
Significantly, Einhorn found that historical records consistently place these events (which allude to the conspicuous figure in Josephus’s writings) twenty years later than in the New Testament. Twenty years, with precision, every time.
A Shift in Time explores the possibility that there may have been a conscious effort by those writing and compiling the New Testament to place Jesus’s ministry in an earlier, less violent time period than when it actually happened. In this groundbreaking book, Einhorn argues that when the bible and the accounts of first-century historians are compared side by side, it is clear that the events that shaped the Christian world were not exactly as they seem.
Elements of this emerging hypothesis were included in Einhorn’s previous book, The Jesus Mystery , originally published in Swedish in 2006 and later published in the United States. Much has happened since then and Einhorn has presented her findings in various academic forums. The publication of A Shift in Time marks the first complete presentation of the full details of the hypothesis and a discussion of its conclusions and inevitable implications.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
In the midst of her research on the historical Jesus, scholar Lena Einhorn stumbled upon a surprising find. While reading through narratives of the Jewish revolt by first-century historian Flavius Josephus, Einhorn encountered a number of similarities to the Bible. These parallels—all limited to a short period of time—include an unnamed and mysterious messianic leader strikingly similar to the Jesus described in the Gospels—only he’s not the peaceful miracle worker we know so well.
Significantly, Einhorn found that historical records consistently place these events (which allude to the conspicuous figure in Josephus’s writings) twenty years later than in the New Testament. Twenty years, with precision, every time.
A Shift in Time explores the possibility that there may have been a conscious effort by those writing and compiling the New Testament to place Jesus’s ministry in an earlier, less violent time period than when it actually happened. In this groundbreaking book, Einhorn argues that when the bible and the accounts of first-century historians are compared side by side, it is clear that the events that shaped the Christian world were not exactly as they seem.
Elements of this emerging hypothesis were included in Einhorn’s previous book, The Jesus Mystery , originally published in Swedish in 2006 and later published in the United States. Much has happened since then and Einhorn has presented her findings in various academic forums. The publication of A Shift in Time marks the first complete presentation of the full details of the hypothesis and a discussion of its conclusions and inevitable implications.
Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published March 15, 2016
124 people are currently reading
122 people want to read
About the author
Lena Einhorn
21 books10 followersLena Einhorn är filmare och författare, och har givit ut åtta böcker, både romaner och sakprosa. Hennes senaste bok på svenska är Blekingegatan 32 (2013), en roman om Greta Garbo. Hennes berättelse Ninas resa, om modern Nina, som var bland de sista som lämnade Warszawas getto levande, blev både bok och film, och belönades med både Augustpriset och två Guldbaggar.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 1, 2022
Interesting. The author observes that in searching for non-biblical, historical accounts of Jesus, scholars have simply been looking in the wrong time period. She notes all the instances where the names of historical figures are identified in the Bible, and the inconsistencies of when events occurred in connection with them in the Bible, and when history shows those people were actually active (hence the Time Shift in the title). She uses the writings of Flavius Josephus and others from the period to show there is a consistent delay of 15-20 years. If Jesus was active in the 50s CE rather than the 30s, then you find events in the New Testament in other historical sources.
In addition to the time shift, there she also presents evidence that Jesus and his band may have been one of the rebel groups of the period, because there is considerable alignment between what Jesus reportedly said and did, with things said and done by rebel leaders cited in the historical accounts.
While some of her conclusions are a stretch, others are well researched and well laid-out in comparison tables. Things to think about, for sure.
In addition to the time shift, there she also presents evidence that Jesus and his band may have been one of the rebel groups of the period, because there is considerable alignment between what Jesus reportedly said and did, with things said and done by rebel leaders cited in the historical accounts.
While some of her conclusions are a stretch, others are well researched and well laid-out in comparison tables. Things to think about, for sure.
June 20, 2016
Seems a like lot of cherry picking and special pleading for a not so plausible reason for the time shift. I might elaborate more when I have my laptop in front of me and not typing this on my phone.
August 7, 2017
A shift in time reads more like a series of lectures than a literary work. - I understand this is because the substance of the book was produced that way, with lectures given by Lena Einhorn in settings with peers. The book would have gained from a tighter edit, but this does not change the fact that it is a page-turner. It is a book that changed my understanding of New-Testament events.
In her previous book (with the Swedish title "Vad hände på vägen till Damaskus?" / "What happened on the Road to Damascus" / English: "The Jesus Mystery") Einhorns (Swedish) writing was more literary in style. That book was also a page-turner, and was humbly, but very lucidly written and quite superbly researched. I savored every aha-moment.
Her main thesis in that book is quite speculative. Few readers probably bought into the main-thesis, me included. Sadly, this might have influenced the books “popularity” negatively. (This is an assumption by me, not something I know). I highly recommend that book as well! I may re-read it.
In "A Shift In Time" her new thesis is different and seems much more solid. Though the book was clearly not written in a vacuum, as far as I understand it is rather revolutionary. I am not a historian nor a theologian, but I imagine a "before" and "after" this book. Einhorns excellent study will probably alter our view and framing of many events and create a base for much further study into the time of the New Testament and Jesus’ life.
It shifted my understanding, and I believe it will shift most non-dogmatic readers’ minds.
In her previous book (with the Swedish title "Vad hände på vägen till Damaskus?" / "What happened on the Road to Damascus" / English: "The Jesus Mystery") Einhorns (Swedish) writing was more literary in style. That book was also a page-turner, and was humbly, but very lucidly written and quite superbly researched. I savored every aha-moment.
Her main thesis in that book is quite speculative. Few readers probably bought into the main-thesis, me included. Sadly, this might have influenced the books “popularity” negatively. (This is an assumption by me, not something I know). I highly recommend that book as well! I may re-read it.
In "A Shift In Time" her new thesis is different and seems much more solid. Though the book was clearly not written in a vacuum, as far as I understand it is rather revolutionary. I am not a historian nor a theologian, but I imagine a "before" and "after" this book. Einhorns excellent study will probably alter our view and framing of many events and create a base for much further study into the time of the New Testament and Jesus’ life.
It shifted my understanding, and I believe it will shift most non-dogmatic readers’ minds.
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July 6, 2021.
I had the brilliant intuition of the excellent scholar Lena Einhorn in the late 90s, when I began to be interested in the history of the birth of Catholic Christianity. I am not too surprised by her brilliant intuition, since Einhorn is of Jewish origin. From reading the Talmud and the Toledoth Yeshu I immediately realized that the rabbinic world has been handed down, from generation to generation, much more news than what they have written down and which still keep secret today: probably not to feed the hatred that the Catholic world has always nurtured towards the Jewish world, the repository of unconfessable truths, which represent a mortal danger for the shaky 'Catholic-Christian' institution. Unfortunately, as far as my studies are concerned, Mrs. Einhorn did not use his intuitions in the most appropriate way, given that the historical reality was much more complex, starting with the fact that the historical Jesus, as the Talmud himself reports, was NEVER crucified (he will die stoned to death near Lydda/Lud, next to an olive crusher). This happened in the year 72. The same path taken by Einhorn, that is to dig deep into the mnemonic heritage of the rabbinic world, was undertaken by the Jewish writers Halter Marek and Abelard Reuchlin.
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I had the brilliant intuition of the excellent scholar Lena Einhorn in the late 90s, when I began to be interested in the history of the birth of Catholic Christianity. I am not too surprised by her brilliant intuition, since Einhorn is of Jewish origin. From reading the Talmud and the Toledoth Yeshu I immediately realized that the rabbinic world has been handed down, from generation to generation, much more news than what they have written down and which still keep secret today: probably not to feed the hatred that the Catholic world has always nurtured towards the Jewish world, the repository of unconfessable truths, which represent a mortal danger for the shaky 'Catholic-Christian' institution. Unfortunately, as far as my studies are concerned, Mrs. Einhorn did not use his intuitions in the most appropriate way, given that the historical reality was much more complex, starting with the fact that the historical Jesus, as the Talmud himself reports, was NEVER crucified (he will die stoned to death near Lydda/Lud, next to an olive crusher). This happened in the year 72. The same path taken by Einhorn, that is to dig deep into the mnemonic heritage of the rabbinic world, was undertaken by the Jewish writers Halter Marek and Abelard Reuchlin.
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September 9, 2023
A Comparison in Time
Einhorn is greatly interested in a Shift in Time as it applies to Jesus. And although he makes several points in his attempt to place the happenings of Jesus to the time of turmoil between Rome and Jerusalem rather than the peaceful years associated with Jesus in the gospels. He fails to draw a definite case for moving Jesus’ life forward 30 or 40 years. But I must say it is a work that serious students of the Christian religion will find more than interesting.
Einhorn is greatly interested in a Shift in Time as it applies to Jesus. And although he makes several points in his attempt to place the happenings of Jesus to the time of turmoil between Rome and Jerusalem rather than the peaceful years associated with Jesus in the gospels. He fails to draw a definite case for moving Jesus’ life forward 30 or 40 years. But I must say it is a work that serious students of the Christian religion will find more than interesting.
August 28, 2019
Extremely dry but well researched attempting to explain why it's so difficult to find Jesus in the historical records of the time period described in the bible. Almost need to be a biblical scholar to follow the text although the author does present a convincing case for Jesus living in a different historical time period than the biblical time period. The reason why this might be so is less clear.
January 20, 2020
I rated this book 3 stars because it's a dry read & at times hard to follow. The charts do not translate well to ebook form & would be best viewed in print form. The subject itself is interesting & I have read other books on the tracing of Christ's lineage & the attempt to verify his existence & all of these type books are on the dry side. This is a book meant for the scholar & not the average reader which I think should be included in the description of the book.
February 20, 2019
Not for the Casual Reader
A scholarly work on deviations and parallels between New Testament figures and historical figures. The author presents voluminous pieces of evidence and chronological graphs supporting; and, at times, refuting her hypothesis. I confess I found it to be both fascinating and mind numbing. Not a work for the casually curious reader.
A scholarly work on deviations and parallels between New Testament figures and historical figures. The author presents voluminous pieces of evidence and chronological graphs supporting; and, at times, refuting her hypothesis. I confess I found it to be both fascinating and mind numbing. Not a work for the casually curious reader.
September 6, 2022
A sort of small scale “Ages in Chaos”, in this case attempting a reconstruction of the New Testament document chronology in relation to Josephus and other ancient historians of the first century CE
September 8, 2022
Interesting discussion about the historical accuracy of the Gospels. More a thought experiment than a fully fledged theory.
December 10, 2024
Made me think. I enjoyed it.
June 9, 2016
It’s all about chronology – and war
On discovering the title of this book on the internet I felt joy, connection and curiosity, as I have been conducting chronological research on the origins of Christianity myself. I ordered and read the book immediately, and now I take the opportunity to write this review, which means something quite special to me. Most of all I see Einhorn as a companion on the road to a full understanding of the origins of Christianity, even though our conclusions on the real course of events are slightly different.
Reading the New Testament Einhorn discovered many subtle references to rebellious activity. But when reading Josephus’s Jewish War and Antiquities she ascertained that rebellious activity was low in the years of Jesus’ ministry (around 30 CE) but that it steeply rose after 44 CE. Einhorn discovered several parallels between events or persons in the ‘earlier’ New Testament and in the ‘later’ Josephus. This brings her to the core of her ‘time shift’ theory: that Jesus was not active under Pontius Pilate but about 20 years later. According to Einhorn the Gospel writers have deliberately shifted the events back in time from the 50s to the 30s of the first century CE because the real founding story was too anti-Roman to be told overtly.
The greatest merit of this book is the clear discussion of the rebellious activity in the middle of the first century CE and its relation to early Christianity as a rebellious faction. The main parallel in her book is the one between Jesus of the Gospels and the rebel leader called the Egyptian in Josephus. Although there are similarities between the two stories, there are major differences also, so in my opinion this parallel is not really convincing.
This brings me to my most important criticism of Einhorn’s theory. Although most of her observations are interesting and worth considering in themselves, Einhorn only explores the first years when rebellious activity rose after a period of relative calm. In a few sentences she touches the culminating period of the rebellion, the war of the Jews against the Romans (66-70 CE), and discusses a couple of parallels during that period, but an in-depth discussion of this period is missing. In my opinion the strongest parallels with the Gospels are to be found not in Josephus’s Jewish War and Antiquities but in his Life. In the first part of the great rebellion, end 66 to mid-67 CE, Josephus was in Galilea as organizer of the rebellion, and it is in his description of this period (together with an event at the end of the siege of Jerusalem) that the most powerful parallels are to be found. It really is a pity that Einhorn, who is so familiar with Josephus’ works in general, has overlooked the most powerful fragments. She also limits herself to the New Testament and to Josephus, while the wider literature of the time (the Apostolic Fathers, the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls) is also important when researching the true origins of Christianity, not only in the sense of parallel events (here Josephus remains the most important partner) but also in supporting secondary clues and in the understanding of the mindset of the messianistic rebellious movement of the era. The most important conclusion of my research is a 40-year time shift.
Therefore I advise everyone interested in the working method of the Gospel writers and in the historical truth about the origins of Christianity to read Einhorn’s book alongside my ‘A Chronological Revision of the Origins of Christianity’.
On discovering the title of this book on the internet I felt joy, connection and curiosity, as I have been conducting chronological research on the origins of Christianity myself. I ordered and read the book immediately, and now I take the opportunity to write this review, which means something quite special to me. Most of all I see Einhorn as a companion on the road to a full understanding of the origins of Christianity, even though our conclusions on the real course of events are slightly different.
Reading the New Testament Einhorn discovered many subtle references to rebellious activity. But when reading Josephus’s Jewish War and Antiquities she ascertained that rebellious activity was low in the years of Jesus’ ministry (around 30 CE) but that it steeply rose after 44 CE. Einhorn discovered several parallels between events or persons in the ‘earlier’ New Testament and in the ‘later’ Josephus. This brings her to the core of her ‘time shift’ theory: that Jesus was not active under Pontius Pilate but about 20 years later. According to Einhorn the Gospel writers have deliberately shifted the events back in time from the 50s to the 30s of the first century CE because the real founding story was too anti-Roman to be told overtly.
The greatest merit of this book is the clear discussion of the rebellious activity in the middle of the first century CE and its relation to early Christianity as a rebellious faction. The main parallel in her book is the one between Jesus of the Gospels and the rebel leader called the Egyptian in Josephus. Although there are similarities between the two stories, there are major differences also, so in my opinion this parallel is not really convincing.
This brings me to my most important criticism of Einhorn’s theory. Although most of her observations are interesting and worth considering in themselves, Einhorn only explores the first years when rebellious activity rose after a period of relative calm. In a few sentences she touches the culminating period of the rebellion, the war of the Jews against the Romans (66-70 CE), and discusses a couple of parallels during that period, but an in-depth discussion of this period is missing. In my opinion the strongest parallels with the Gospels are to be found not in Josephus’s Jewish War and Antiquities but in his Life. In the first part of the great rebellion, end 66 to mid-67 CE, Josephus was in Galilea as organizer of the rebellion, and it is in his description of this period (together with an event at the end of the siege of Jerusalem) that the most powerful parallels are to be found. It really is a pity that Einhorn, who is so familiar with Josephus’ works in general, has overlooked the most powerful fragments. She also limits herself to the New Testament and to Josephus, while the wider literature of the time (the Apostolic Fathers, the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha and the Dead Sea Scrolls) is also important when researching the true origins of Christianity, not only in the sense of parallel events (here Josephus remains the most important partner) but also in supporting secondary clues and in the understanding of the mindset of the messianistic rebellious movement of the era. The most important conclusion of my research is a 40-year time shift.
Therefore I advise everyone interested in the working method of the Gospel writers and in the historical truth about the origins of Christianity to read Einhorn’s book alongside my ‘A Chronological Revision of the Origins of Christianity’.
February 5, 2017
The concept that Jesus worked in the world 20 to 30 years later than he is said to have in the gospels is an interesting one, but I don't really see the point of it. The author gives a reason, but it's not convincing one to me. That said for those who like New Testament exegesis, it's pretty fun!
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January 29, 2016* e-Arc provided by Edelweiss for honest review *
April 21, 2017
Compelling evidence of a time shift in the Gospels vs. Josephus. I just don't think her final conclusion/reconstruction is compelling. More plausible to me is that the Gospel writers simply used Josephus for material to construct their largely fictional narrative. It's not that Jesus "really was" the Egyptian and the events "actually" took place in the 40s/50s; it's that the Egyptian was used as a frame for the creation of a (fictional) flesh-and-blood "Jesus of Nazareth". The reason to retroject it back into the 30s was to align with the timeline of Paul.
Speaking of which, Einhorn's treatment of Paul's chronology is a reach. Douglas Campbell's treatment in "Framing Paul" is better (but has its own problems, namely in his arguments for specific chronological anchors). One other minor complaint: Einhorn tends to take Josephus' accounts at face value, which is a risky business.
In sum, though, everything up to the last couple chapters is great. After that, it gets shaky. Even if I don't agree with her final conclusion, and think they point in a slightly different direction, the work on the chronological anomalies is really good.
Speaking of which, Einhorn's treatment of Paul's chronology is a reach. Douglas Campbell's treatment in "Framing Paul" is better (but has its own problems, namely in his arguments for specific chronological anchors). One other minor complaint: Einhorn tends to take Josephus' accounts at face value, which is a risky business.
In sum, though, everything up to the last couple chapters is great. After that, it gets shaky. Even if I don't agree with her final conclusion, and think they point in a slightly different direction, the work on the chronological anomalies is really good.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews