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Judas Iscariot
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Judas Iscariot was the disciple who betrayed Jesus of Nazareth, according to the Christian Bible. The Gospels -- the first four books of the New Testament -- tell of authorities in Jerusalem who plot to kill Jesus during a religious festival but need to avoid a riot. For reasons unknown, Judas offers to help and is paid 30 silver coins. At a meal known as the Last Supper, Jesus mysteriously announces that one of his 12 closest followers will betray him. All deny it, but Jesus seems to know Judas is the one. That night, praying in a remote garden, Jesus is approached by an armed crowd sent by his enemies and led by Judas.
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Essentially a one-man project masterminded by American multi-instrumentalist Akhenaton, Judas Iscariot was formed in 1992 for the purpose of creating misanthropic black metal in the ultra-primitive vein of Norway's Darkthrone. Given to wearing the style's requisite corpse paint and black robes, Akhenaton ... ensured that Judas Iscariot's debut album, 1995's The Cold Earth Slept Below come equipped with fittingly bleak, black-and-white artwork depicting the desolate winter vistas of..Illinois? Like-themed follow-up efforts such as Thy Dying Light (1996), Of Great Eternity (1997), Heaven in Flames (1999), Dethroned, Conquered and Forgotten (2000), and To Embrace the Corpses Bleeding (2002), were interspersed with countless EP's and mini-CD's of varying quality. But, if nothing else, Judas Iscariot deserves credit for his dedicated and unswerving vision, as well as for astoundingly long-winded and entertaining song titles like "Where Eagles Cry and Vultures Laugh," "Helpless It Lay, Like a Worm in His Frozen Track," and "Benevolent Whore Dethroned for Eternity." ~ Ed Rivadavia, All Music Guide
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Judas Iscariot was originally one of the twelve apostles, but is known for his betrayal of Jesus Christ. The Wednesday fast commemorates the sorrow at this betrayal, and it is one of the events commemorated in the services of Holy Thursday. His place among the apostles was taken by Matthias after a vote. He was the son of Simon Iscariot; Iscariot refers to his place of birth, Judea. The other apostles were all from Galilee. He is not to be confused with the Apostle Jude, brother of James.
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Judas Iscariot, the betrayer of Jesus, ranks as the most hated and despised character in the Bible with the possible exception of Satan. Is such intense loathing justified, or is Judas the victim of biased reporting? Interestingly enough the sole source of information on Judas is the New Testament gospels and the Book of Acts all of which were written long after the events allegedly took place. He receives not a single mention in the writings of Paul, the Gospel of Thomas, or the reconstructed document, Quelle (Q). Also, any mention of Judas is conspicuously absent from the writings of such important first century Jewish historians as Philo Judaeus and Flavious Josephus.
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Following his death, Judas Iscariot was buried in a cemetery outside the city of Jerusalem, one reserved for foreigners. This was located across the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), in a place known as "the field of blood" (Hakeldama). The cost of his burial was covered by the very same thirty pieces of silver he had previously taken as his price for turning over Jesus. "Cursed be he that taketh reward to slay an innocent person. And all the people shall say, 'Amen'" [Deut. 27:25].
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Judas Iscariot was important in the gospel stories because he filled a necessary literary and theological role: he betrayed Jesus. Someone had to do it and Judas was picked. It's questionable whether Judas even acted of his own free will. There was no option for Jesus not to be executed because without his crucifixion, he could not rise again in three days and ... save humanity. To be executed, though, he had to be betrayed to the Jewish authorities if Judas hadn't done it, someone else would have.
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Judas Iscariot