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00:00 There are some moments in history that truly served to shape the future from that point
00:05 forward.
00:06 It's certainly the case with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, an execution that would go
00:10 on to be remembered like no other.
00:13 It's a key moment, perhaps the key moment in the world's most followed religion,
00:19 Christianity, and a massive before and after point in the timeline of modern humans.
00:25 But what if it had never happened?
00:28 What would the world be like now if Jesus had survived?
00:33 This is Unveiled, and today we're answering the extraordinary question, "What if you
00:39 saved Jesus?"
00:41 Do you need the big questions answered?
00:45 Are you constantly curious?
00:47 Then why not subscribe to Unveiled for more clips like this one, and ring the bell for
00:52 more thought-provoking content.
00:55 Of all the types of time travel that could exist, backwards travel is easily the most
01:00 difficult to make work, in both a physical and a logical sense.
01:05 Technically, if we could only travel fast enough, as in close to or beyond the speed
01:10 of light, then forward travel should be relatively simple.
01:15 Getting to the future quicker than everyone else should be possible, but reversing back
01:21 through time that's already passed, and stopping off at some place or moment that
01:26 no longer exists, the majority believe that it will always be impossible.
01:33 Hence then, even if you could find a way, travelling back in time is ultimately a paradoxical
01:40 nightmare.
01:41 The butterfly effect argues that even the smallest action could serve to dramatically
01:47 alter the future.
01:48 The grandfather paradox reveals how you could easily erase your own existence while time
01:54 travelling, thereby making it impossible for you to have travelled in the first place.
01:59 There are just so many possible problems to be had.
02:03 For today's video though, we're taking a leap, and imagining that all of that has
02:08 been solved.
02:09 Backwards time travel is possible.
02:12 It can be done, without plunging us all into an illogical pit of paradox hell, and why
02:18 not - it can even be done without the need to split timelines.
02:23 Backwards time travel is real, and for anyone embarking on it, then whatever they do in
02:28 the past directly alters history as we know it.
02:33 So again, what specifically would happen if you saved Jesus?
02:39 First off, it might take a little trial and error to get back to precisely the right moment
02:44 in time.
02:45 The Bible doesn't provide a specific date or hour for when Jesus was crucified, although
02:50 most estimations take us to probably early April, in probably AD 33.
02:56 It's thought his cross was risen at around 9am, and that he had died by about 3pm.
03:03 The exact location might take a little finding as well though, as again, the historical records
03:08 are not clear.
03:10 The site at which Jesus' cross stood, alongside that of two others who have been sentenced
03:15 to death as well, is known as Golgotha.
03:19 It's likely found somewhere just outside the boundaries of the old city of Jerusalem,
03:23 although exactly where is unknown and still debated.
03:28 Of course, if you were to travel back to the actual time of Jesus' death, then it perhaps
03:34 wouldn't be too difficult to get your bearings.
03:36 Jesus is said to have carried his cross through the streets before arriving at Golgotha, in
03:42 part helped by one Simon of Cyrene, who is usually mentioned as having been compelled
03:48 by the Roman guards to share the load.
03:51 The entire event amounted to quite a spectacle.
03:54 It's unclear precisely how many people witnessed Jesus' last journey to his place of death,
04:01 or how many witnessed the crucifixion itself, but it was a known and high-profile killing.
04:07 For a backwards time traveller then, as long as you had found the right time and place,
04:13 it would surely take only a little scouting out to find exactly where you needed to be.
04:19 Although, that said, if you really wanted to save Jesus, then would it be the day of
04:26 his death that you'd go back to?
04:29 Probably not.
04:30 With Romans keeping watch all around, it likely wouldn't have been possible to prevent
04:35 his death once it was ordered.
04:37 Instead, you might travel back to Jesus' final trial before Pontius Pilate, who ultimately
04:44 condemned him to his fate.
04:46 The historical depictions of Pilate are, again, inconsistent.
04:51 Sometimes he's quite simply painted as a cruel and single-minded figure, who never
04:56 once considered that Jesus shouldn't be executed.
05:00 However, Pilate is at other times remembered as having constantly wavered over his decision,
05:06 as a fairly weak and uncertain figure who, in the end, just bowed before public pressure.
05:13 If that second version of Pilate is the more accurate one, then perhaps it would be with
05:18 him that you would have the best chance of saving Jesus, maybe somehow positioning yourself
05:24 as a trusted advisor, and then advising against the crucifixion.
05:28 Alternatively, you might travel slightly further back, to arguably the most crucial moment
05:34 in the entire story of how Jesus died, the betrayal by Judas Iscariot.
05:40 Again, accounts differ, but it's generally told that Judas betrayed Jesus by covertly
05:46 revealing him to secretly assembled Roman guards by kissing his cheek in the Garden
05:52 of Gethsemane.
05:53 It's said that Judas received 30 pieces of silver for the act, but was ultimately
05:58 wracked with guilt and regret afterwards, to the point that he would eventually take
06:03 his own life.
06:04 As for why he did it, beyond pocketing the silver, it's never truly known.
06:09 So perhaps a Jesus-saving time-traveller's mission would actually center on Judas, on
06:15 either persuading him against the betrayal, or on somehow scuppering it, perhaps by diverting
06:21 Jesus away from the Garden of Gethsemane at that precise, fateful moment.
06:27 But here, more than ever, the true magnitude of this particular what-if scenario comes
06:32 into view.
06:34 The life, death, and actions of Judas have, over the years, come to be viewed as a point
06:40 of philosophical debate.
06:42 And for good reason.
06:43 If, for example, Judas had never been born, then he'd of course never be there to betray
06:49 Jesus.
06:50 A good thing, it would seem.
06:52 However, Judas' story is so tightly woven into what Jesus' would eventually become,
07:00 that to remove him would effectively rewrite religion.
07:03 What's more, it's variously said that Jesus foresaw the betrayal that would eventually
07:09 be dealt to him, and perhaps even knew beforehand that it would be Judas who delivered it.
07:16 Later then, philosophers have before viewed Judas' role from the perspective of whether
07:21 or not he had free will.
07:24 Was Judas acting for himself, or was what he did part of some higher plan?
07:30 And that's why Jesus knew it was going to, perhaps even had to happen.
07:36 These are huge considerations, but are also integral to this particular time travel scenario.
07:43 In the world as we know it, Jesus is said to have died for our sins.
07:48 There's an implication that, son of God or not, he had to die on the cross.
07:55 It was a terrible moment, but also a pivotal part of all that came afterwards.
08:01 So where does that leave a hypothetical attempt to save Jesus?
08:06 Would his followers want that to happen?
08:09 Without Jesus' death, would Christianity exist?
08:13 How would all religious ideas be changed without the figure of Jesus, whether or not he's
08:19 significant or insignificant in the here and now?
08:23 Could the prospect of saving Jesus even be considered blasphemy?
08:28 The potential repercussions can again be understood as something like the famed butterfly effect,
08:34 but to a truly extreme degree.
08:37 With the whole timeline of religion itself altered or even halted, what do you think
08:43 the world would be like now?
08:46 How do you think the past might have unfolded differently?
08:49 Let us know your opinions in the comments.
08:51 For now, clearly this is a thought experiment only.
08:56 In reality, we do not yet have the technology needed to even attempt such an outlandish
09:01 rehashing of history.
09:04 And arguably, the fact that Jesus did die, the realization that he wasn't saved, is
09:10 reason enough to believe that backwards time travel really might never be possible.
09:17 Because if it were possible, then surely many will have tried it by now, and someone will
09:23 have succeeded.
09:24 Ultimately, it's a question that at first seems as though it should simply involve quite
09:29 a straightforward reimagining of the last 2,000 years or so.
09:34 But before long, it becomes a hugely complex and intriguing prospect.
09:40 Because that's what would happen if you saved Jesus.
09:45 What do you think?
09:46 Is there anything we missed?
09:48 Let us know in the comments.
09:49 Check out these other clips from Unveiled, and make sure you subscribe and ring the bell
09:54 for our latest content.
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