Joe Rogan Experience #2549 - Jared Diamond · Aired Sep 3, 2026
Claim summary · not a verbatim quotation
The New Testament references six messiahs who were killed by the Romans.
The finding
What the evidence shows
The New Testament itself does not name six messiahs killed by Rome. Acts 5:36-37 names only two failed rebel leaders, Theudas and Judas the Galilean, both of whom were killed. The fuller list of about six messianic claimants executed by Rome, figures like Simon of Peraea, Athronges, and the Egyptian, comes from the historian Josephus, not from the New Testament.
Read the supporting source · www.biblegateway.com ↗Quick answer & review status
Quick answer
Is it true that the New Testament references six messiahs who were killed by the Romans?
No, not as stated. The New Testament itself does not name six messiahs killed by Rome. Acts 5:36-37 names only two failed rebel leaders, Theudas and Judas the Galilean, both of whom were killed. Jared Diamond said it (matched by voice) on Joe Rogan Experience #2549 - Jared Diamond, aired Sep 3, 2026, at 11:11. The supporting source is biblegateway.com, linked below.
The context belongs here.
No separately verified on-air correction is recorded for this check. That is not a claim that nobody corrected it.
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- Editorial context review
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- Coverage
- One selected claim from the episode
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