Chapter 11

The Road to War

Tensions Rise in Judah – testing

In 44 CE, King Agrippa, the grandson of Herod, succumbed to disease and died at age 54. His heir, Agrippa II, was only 14-years-old at this time, so the emperor Claudius kept him in Rome where he received his education. With the king’s death, Judah again reverted to a Roman province rather than a monarchy, and a governor named Cuspius Fadus was sent to govern.¹

Expectation of an imminent messiah was still at a fevered pitch among the Jews, with some men either putting themselves forward as the long-awaited savior, or others attempting to bring forth the End Times through miraculous actions. Around 45 CE, a very popular figure named Theudas claimed to be a prophet, and convinced a great number of the Jews to take all their possessions and follow him to the banks of the Jordan River. There, at his command, the waters were to divide as they had once done for Moses’s successor, the conquering prophet Joshua, as told in the scriptures.²

Artist depiction of Theudas and his followers gathered at the Jordan River

Before he could make the attempt, however, a Roman cavalry unit sent by Fadus launched an unexpected and deadly assault on his great crowds of followers. Many were slaughtered, and many others taken captive. Theudas, the would-be messiah, was captured and decapitated on the spot. His head was then brought to Jerusalem and put on display to dissuade other religious fanatics who might lead the people into revolt.³

Artist depiction of Agrippa II becoming king at age 17

Once he reached 17 years of age, Agrippa II was deemed by Emperor Claudius to be fit to rule his own realm. Jerusalem and the troublesome territory of Judah were not put in his control, however, and remained under direct Roman control. He was instead given a newly-formed kingdom incorporating part of Galilee and other territories to the north along the border with Syria. Meanwhile a new Roman governor named Cumanus was sent to bring order to Judah.⁴

Artist depiction of riot instigated by a Roman soldier’s lewd display

The celebration of Passover, despite its festival atmosphere, was known to all rulers of Judah as a powder keg, having proven by far the most likely occasion for major disturbances and revolts to break out. As the city filled to overflowing with pilgrims from all of Judah and far beyond, Cumanus sought to keep order. He stationed a cohort of Roman soldiers on the rooftops of the porticoes in the Temple’s courtyards to keep a close eye on the crowds and respond quickly to any dangers. But his own soldiers lacked discipline—one of them lifted his skirt, intentionally exposing himself to the crowds while shouting insults at them. Some angered Jews rushed to Cumanus to complain, but others began throwing stones at the soldiers.⁵

Artist depiction of a deadly stampede as Jews flee overwhelming Roman forces in the Temple

Before Cumanus could act, a full-scale riot broke out. Feeling outnumbered, the governor called in reinforcements. With fresh fully-armed soldiers pouring into the Temple, there was a massive stampede of people toward the exits in which thousands were trampled and killed.⁶

Not long after, a Roman slave named Stephen was robbed while traveling in Judah. Cumanus blamed the people of the two nearest towns for allowing this to happen. He sent soldiers there to arrest the local leaders and plunder their houses. One of the Roman troops came across a copy of the Hebrew scriptures and burned it in full view of the citizens. Cumanus was confronted about this incident by horrified Jews, and to keep the peace, had the offending soldier beheaded in front of his accusers.⁷

Artist depiction of burning Samaritan villages

Due to the geography of the land around Judah, by far the most direct way for Jews in Galilee to travel to Jerusalem for the major holidays was to pass through the territory of Samaria. Jews and Samaritans had been longtime enemies, each viewing the other as having perverted the religion of their ancestors. At this time, in 52 CE, a Jew on pilgrimage to attend the Feast of Tabernacles was murdered while traversing Samaria. When word reached the crowds at the Temple in Jerusalem of this incident, many immediately marched north to Samaria and began slaughtering townsfolk at random and burning villages. Cumanus sent out a cavalry detachment which put a stop to the destruction and captured many of the perpetrators who were then immediately executed.⁸

Artist depiction of multiple crucifixions

Cumanus’s superior, the governor of Syria named Quadratus, then took control of the situation. He interviewed many of those among the Jews and Samaritans. He then ordered all the remaining Jewish prisoners who had attacked the Samaritan villages to be crucified, and several other Jews and Samaritans to be decapitated. Delegations representing the Jews and Samaritans were then sent to Claudius in Rome. King Agrippa II sent along delegates to speak on behalf of the Jews, and it is likely due to the emperor’s gratitude toward the young king’s father that Claudius ruled in favor of the Jews. Three senior Samaritan leaders were executed, and Cumanus was removed from power and banished.⁹

Nero, Felix, and the Rise of the Sicarii

Artist depiction of Seneca the Younger tutoring teenage Nero

In 54 CE, the emperor Claudius was assassinated by poison at age 63. He was succeeded by his adopted son and designated heir Nero. Because he was only 17 years old upon becoming the fifth emperor of Rome, he was guided in the first years of his reign by his mother as well as his tutor—the acclaimed philosopher Seneca the Younger.¹⁰

Artist depiction of Roman Governor Felix

Nero sent a new governor to Judah named Felix—whose brother Pallas was the emperor’s lover—but he was no improvement, and even a later Roman historian once described him as “tyrannical”. Soon after his arrival, he aggressively began rooting out Jewish revolutionaries from the land. One rebel named Eleazar who had escaped capture for many years was now convinced by Felix to meet with him, having been given great assurances that he would not be harmed. Thus lured, the rebel chief was put in chains and sent off to Rome and a great number of his followers arrested and then executed by crucifixion. ¹¹

Artist depiction of a Sicarii lurking in the Temple courtyards

As Felix continued his attacks on would-be revolutionaries, a stealthier extremist movement began in reaction. Known as the Sicarii—their name derives from the distinctive long dagger with a curved blade that was their weapon of choice, kept hidden in their cloaks—they carried out assassinations in broad daylight amid crowded places like the Temple. Experts at blending in unnoticed, it is said that even those standing just beside them would not realize a lethal attack had been made until after the assassin had slipped away undetected. Their targets were Romans or any Jews they considered Roman collaborators. Their first victim was the high priest of Jerusalem.¹²

Nazirite Vows

Artist depiction of Paul, freshly shorn from a Nazirite vow before sailing for Jerusalem.

Having spent 18 months operating out of Corinth in Greece at the end of his years-long second missionary journey throughout Asia Minor and the cities of the Aegean, Paul now prepared for a journey home. Before boarding a ship, however, the book of Acts mentions that he shaved his head, for “he was under a vow”.¹³ While no further information is supplied to explain this seemingly strange action, elucidating information can be found in other sources. Almost certainly, what Paul is doing relates to something known as a Nazirite vow. Such solemn pledges between an individual and God are occasionally mentioned in the stories of the Hebrew scriptures, and though not terribly popular at this time among the Jewish population at large, they were a common expression of faith among the Essenes.¹⁴

During their period under a Nazirite Vow, the devotee would abstain from alcohol, refrain from cutting their hair, and take care not to become ritually impure by any contact with corpses or graves. Some vows were of a temporary nature, and could last an indeterminate length until a certain task was accomplished. Or the vow could last a set period of time meant to act as penance for a particular sin. One’s grown-out hair would be shaved to mark the ending of the period under vow.¹⁵ But since one’s head might also be shaved at the start of a vow, we don’t know the subject of Paul’s vow or whether he was beginning or completing one.

Artist depiction of Samson the Nazirite breaking his vow by coming into contact with a corpse

Other Nazirite vows were lifelong, where the devotee effectively devotes their entire life to God. We read of such a vow applying to both Samson and the prophet Samuel in the Bible. A group of men at the time of the Maccabean Revolt are also described as having taken temporary Nazirite vows, and it may be that this practice had been revived by the Maccabean fighters, then passed from the Zadokites on to the Essenes.¹⁶

Queen Helena of Adiabene is said to have taken multiple 7-year vows as penance for sins. John the Baptist, James the Just, Peter the Apostle, and other leaders and members of the Essenes and earliest Christian community in Jerusalem were all likely to have been lifelong Nazirites. It is further likely that the term “Nazarene” is simply a variant spelling, giving rise to the name “Nazarenes”—sometimes spelled “Nazoreans”—as collective moniker for early Christian communities in Judah and the Levant.¹⁷

Paul Arrested at The Temple

Paul spent another 5 years on a third major missionary journey, revisiting many of cities where he had previously established communities.¹⁸

Map showing Paul’s third missionary journey as described in his letters and the book of Acts

It was in 57 CE that Paul next returned to Jerusalem. By now the local community of believers was fully against him, having heard of his life among the Gentiles, his forsaking of Moses, and preaching against following the Law and its teaching concerning circumcision. The book of Acts claims that Paul visited James who warned him he was in danger. He was advised to make a public showing of his strong Jewish faith by accompanying four men to the Temple who had taken Nazirite vows. There Paul was told to pay their fees for the ritual in which they would shave their heads to conclude their vows.¹⁹

Artist depiction of a crowd of detractors surrounding Paul at the Temple

The next day Paul brought the four men to the Temple and they all purified themselves and entered the complex. Immediately spotted by the crowds, however, the people became furious and shouted accusations at Paul. Because he’d arrived in the city accompanied by Gentiles, they assumed he had brought them into the inner courtyard of the Temple, an act punishable by execution. They rushed at Paul, dragging him out of the Temple, and were about to kill him when a Roman regiment arrived after hearing the commotion.²⁰

Artist depiction of Paul under extraordinary Roman protection

Unaware of the nature of the uproar, they momentarily protected Paul. But upon hearing the crowd’s many angry complaints against him, they brought out a whip with which to flog him. But Paul now claimed his status as a Roman citizen which offered protections from such punishments without first being given a trial.²¹ The soldiers then took him to their barracks to protect him. The next day, according to Acts, 40 men “bound themselves via oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.”²²

At this point members of Paul’s aristocratic family must have been notified of the danger. His nephew then appears to have called in a serious favor. Acts relates that Paul was put on a horse and taken by night to Caesarea guarded by 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen.²³ Even if these numbers are exaggerated, the very idea of a Roman military escort for a Jew accused of causing a tumult in the Temple is extremely unusual, almost necessitating that Paul had connections in high places.

Artist depiction of Paul conversing with Felix and Drusilla while under house arrest

The next day Felix heard from Paul’s accusers who said, “We have found this man to be a pestilence, stirring up dissension among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes, and he even tried to desecrate the temple, so we seized him.” Paul then defended himself, asserting, “I worship the God of our fathers according to The Way.” The Roman governor Felix, is then said by Acts to be “rather well informed about The Way”.²⁴ He puts off the trial and has Paul stay under luxury house arrest in Herod’s palace in Caesarea. The book of Acts will later portray Felix and his half-Jewish wife Drusilla visiting Paul and listening to him preach. The governor then instructs that Paul should be given lenient treatment and be allowed to have friends visit him. Paul would reside there for two years awaiting a trial.²⁵

More Messiahs and a Wall

Artist depiction of The Egyptian’s promise to bring down the walls of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives

The frequency of would-be messiahs attempting to lead the people into the End Times only increased now, and blurred any lines between religious prophets and political revolutionaries. Many are said to have led crowds of followers into the wilderness, promising that there God would deliver miracles that would signal their imminent liberty from Rome. One such prophet was known simply as The Egyptian. He gathered thousands of followers and led them out into the wilderness and then returned to the Mount of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem. He told the crowds the city walls would fall down at his command and they would defeat the Roman garrison inside to take control of the city.²⁶

Artist depiction of Roman cavalry charging against the followers of would-be messiah The Egyptian

Alerted to their plan, however, Felix sent horsemen and soldiers to attack them. Hundreds were killed and hundreds more captured, though The Egyptian himself escaped.²⁷ Oddly, the book of Acts, though it does not relate this story, does present a Roman commander at the time of Paul’s arrest, asking him, “Aren’t you The Egyptian who incited a rebellion some time ago, leading 4,000 members of the Sicarii into the wilderness?”²⁸ Though it is clearly a misidentification, it may point to a—at least perceived—connection between the earliest Christians and the fanatical Jewish Sicarii assassins active at the time.

Artist depiction of Roman soldiers suppressing a riot in the streets of Caesarea

After this, yet another set of Jews began agitating for violent revolt against Rome. All across Judah these rebels would split into squads to target those seen as Jewish collaborators, murdering the wealthy aristocrats, plundering their houses, and burning them to the ground. At Caesarea where Paul was being held, tensions between the Jewish and Gentile populations broke out into a street fight. Felix arrived on the scene and warned all to return to their homes. When the Jews refused, the governor’s forces attacked, killing many.²⁹

By 58 CE, King Agrippa II had become very unpopular among the people for spending their tax revenue on lavish programs to beautify Gentile cities like Beirut. He also appointed and replaced a series of high priests at his whim, and was widely rumored to be having an incestuous affair with his sister and constant companion Berenice. His latest appointee to the high priesthood, Ishmael, was so unpopular there were riots in the streets. The violence included the fanatic lower priesthood (presumably still of Zadokite background) exchanging hurled stones with a group of thugs employed by the upper priesthood.³⁰

Artist depiction of members of the lower priesthood reduced to starvation

These same chief priests then exacted cruel punishment on the lower priesthood by sending more hired goons to their homes and threshing floors and confiscating all of their food supplies, even causing some to die of hunger. Blamed for the great unrest during his tenure, Felix was now recalled to Rome and a new governor brought to Judah named Festus. At this same time, the Gentile population of Caesarea petitioned Nero. Using bribes, they were able to get the emperor’s advisors to convince Nero to take away the Jews’ guarantee of the same rights as Gentiles. Hearing of this, the Jewish population of Caesarea was enraged.³¹

Festus arrived to find Judah in chaos. The Sicarii had become increasingly active and bold in their targeted assassinations during the Jewish festivals. Yet another would-be messiah (whose name is not recorded) became popular at this time, leading a large crowd of followers into the wilderness. When Festus sent soldiers and horsemen to track them down, every last one of them was slaughtered.³²

Artist depiction of King Agrippa II’s view of the sacred sacrifices before the construction of the wall

A royal palace stood directly beside the Temple of Jerusalem. King Agrippa II had a dining room built on a high floor granting a view of the entire Temple complex including the area with altars where holy sacrifices were performed—a very sacred place, access to which was only given to priests who maintained the strictest levels of purity. Even the very sight of the inner Temple was strictly off-limits to non-priests. So when the fanatical lower priests saw that the king had made a habit of dining on unclean foods while observing the restricted areas of the Temple, they defiantly constructed a high wall whose only purpose was to block the king’s view. Agrippa and Festus were greatly angered by this, but before tearing it down, they decided to seek the emperor’s approval.³³

Two Voyages to Rome

Artist depiction of Paul preaching to King Agrippa II and Berenice

Meanwhile the date for the apostle Paul’s trial was finally approaching. A delegation of Jews came to Festus, asking that Paul be brought to Jerusalem to stand trial there. Secretly, according to the books of Acts, they were planning to ambush and kill him along the way. In light of this, Paul exercised his privilege as a Roman citizen to appeal his case to the emperor in Rome. Soon afterward, Acts reports, King Agrippa II and his sister Berenice were visiting Festus in Caesarea, and the governor told them of his curious prisoner. The king and queen ask to meet him, and Paul once again was given a chance to preach his gospel to the highest echelons of local power—schmoozing with political leaders who were, by this point, on the verge of unleashing open, all-out war against the people of Judah. Paul was then put on a ship heading for the empire’s capital.³⁴

Artist depiction of Banus and a young disciple

Also headed to Rome from Judah at this time was a 26-year-old man named Joseph Ben-Matityahu. He was sailing together with ten of the lower priests who had built the view-obstructing wall inside the inner Temple area, and had been chosen to represent them before the emperor. Ben-Matityahu was born into a family of nobles in Jerusalem. By his mid-teens he had begun to question which sect of Judaism was the correct one. Deciding to sample them all, he proceeded to spend time among the Pharisees, Sadducees, and the Essenes. He became the pupil of a wilderness-dwelling Essene named Banus who only ate what grew in the desert, wore only clothing made from trees, and bathed himself in cold water each morning and evening to maintain his chastity.³⁵ Ben-Matityahu seems to have completed the strict three-year initiation of the Essenes by age 19.

The priests accompanying him on his voyage to Rome are described as surviving on a diet of only figs and nuts, so it is highly likely they too were Essenes. The ship carrying Ben-Matityahu and the priests, however, sank at sea, and the survivors were saved by the crew of a passing vessel who dropped them off at Puteoli near Naples in Italy.³⁶

Artist depiction of Nero’s wife Poppea with Ben-Matityahu

Upon arriving at Rome, Ben-Matityahu made friends with a Jewish actor who was one of the emperor’s favorites. Through this connection he charmed and befriended Nero’s wife Poppea. And through her influence, the ten accused priests went unpunished, the lower priesthood was allowed to retain the obstructing wall, and Ben-Matityahu was sent on a return voyage with many gifts from Poppea as well.³⁷

Curiously, the book of Acts relates that Paul’s voyage to Rome also involved a similar shipwreck³⁸ and an eventual arrival in Italy at the same city of Puteoli near Naples.³⁹ This may cause one to suspect that Ben-Matityahu and Paul were on the same voyage, but the author of Acts is known for lifting historical and colorful details from the same Jewish historian who wrote of Ben-Matityahu’s journey decades before Acts was written.⁴⁰ The timing of the two voyages also seems to differ by a year or so.

Map of the route Acts has Paul take from Caesarea to Rome

Artist depiction of Paul preaching even while under house arrest in Rome

Under similar circumstances to his two-year custody in Judah, Paul was put under extremely lenient house arrest in Rome to await trial. He seems to have been able to both venture outside his rented residence and to invite small crowds inside, both for the purposes of preaching his message, which the book of Acts says he did avidly over the next two years.⁴¹ Judging by the greetings Paul includes at the end of his authentic letters, he seems to have made connections within the family of Nero, and he gives especially warm greetings in multiple letters to a man named Epaphroditus, known from other sources as Nero’s chief secretary of letters.⁴²

James the Just Executed by Ananus

Artist depiction of the high priest Ananus

In Jerusalem, the high priest Ishmael had been removed, and now in 62 CE, a new young, bold, and ill-tempered man named Ananus took his office. An aristocratic Sadducee, he had zero tolerance for anyone who was inciting the people toward rebellion. He had a particular grudge against James the Just, and bided his time until he could act. When Festus, the Roman governor of Judah unexpectedly died, there was a short stretch of time where Ananus was free of any imperial oversight—before Nero’s selected replacement, Albinus, could arrive from the capital—and the new high priest was determined to take advantage of this gap to rid himself of enemies.⁴³

Artist depiction of the Teacher of Righteousness addressing a crowd

James’s relationship to the lower priesthood at the Jerusalem Temple cannot be fully determined from known historical sources, but it would seem they share a similar anti-Roman bent, fanatical zeal for the Law of Moses, and aggravated contention with the upper priesthood (ie. the high priest, chief priests, and rich Sadducee aristocrats influencing them). As the leader of the Essenes, James may have stood as the latest in a long line of those filling the role of an opposition high priest—the inheritor of the office from the only legitimate line of high priests, the Zadokites. He may even have even been the very Teacher of Righteousness spoken of in several of the Dead Sea Scrolls—described as the one who taught the Essenes how to properly interpret the scriptures in order to learn its hidden messages concerning the messiah and the End Times.⁴⁴

Artist depiction of James the Just praying for the people in the Holy of Holies

There is a tradition told by a later church elder named Jerome that on Yom Kippur at this time, James fulfilled the high priest’s role at the Temple, donning all linen and entering its innermost sanctuary—the Holy of Holies, where only the high priest may ever enter. There he is said to have prayed on behalf of the people until his knees became hard like a camel’s.⁴⁵ Yom Kippur was the only time any Jew—more specifically, only the high priest—was allowed to utter the name of God. For anyone else, this was blasphemy, and grounds for being stoned to death. Jewish law also stated that any priest—even a high priest—who serves in a state of uncleanness must be taken outside the Temple and have his head split open using the branches of wood used for fire at the altars.⁴⁶

If this story of James visiting the inner sanctuary of the Temple from Jerome is based in truth, James may have been aware that the actions he was taking would likely result in his immediate death. It is also possible that his actions were very consciously and defiantly intended as a grand gesture (like the recent attempts at parting of the Jordan River or crumbling the walls of Jerusalem) that he fully expected would usher in the arrival of the messiah, the End Times, and victory over the Romans—for Jerome relates that James vowed he would not eat again until he saw the arrival of the Lord.⁴⁷

Artist depiction of the death of James the Just

Exactly how James was killed is not totally clear. There are multiple sources describing the event, but their details are conflicting. The high priest Ananus is said to have dragged James before the Sanhedrin and accused him of blasphemy. When James refused to answer the charges, he was brought outside and stoned⁴⁸—and then, it is claimed, thrown over the wall of the Temple complex. Now barely alive, he is said to have raised his hands to heaven and said, “Lord forgive them, for they know not what they do”—a saying that would later be attributed to Jesus in the gospels. The death blow is said to have been delivered by a fuller’s club—used by laundrymen to beat clothing—which split open his head.⁴⁹ So ended the life of the man who won over crowds as a popular Essene leader and the first archbishop of the movement which became Christianity.

The new governor Albinus now arrived in Judah and used his office to enrich himself, putting a severe tax burden on the people. He also openly took bribes for the release of a great number of the rebels that had been arrested by Festus, and these men spread the enthusiasm for revolt across the land. The Sicarii also began using the tactic of taking hostages for ransom—even the brother of the high priest. In exchange for his release, they negotiated that ten of their Sicarii brothers be set free.⁵⁰

The Great Fire of Rome

Map of Judah under direct Roman rule (in yellow) and the adjoining kingdom of Agrippa II (purple)

Aware he was about to be recalled to Rome, in his final days as governor, Albinus decided to clear out the prisons. Those who were obviously guilty and merited execution, he had killed, but all the rest were simply set free after paying a small fine. Meanwhile, a milestone was achieved: after 84 years of continuous construction, the project started by King Herod in 20 BCE to rebuild the entire Temple of Jerusalem complex was finally completed.⁵¹

Nero now sent a man named Florus to be the new governor of Judah. His cruelty is said to have made Albinus look like an angel in comparison. He made no attempt to disguise his barbarous deeds, and robbed whole villages and towns of their money, turning them desolate. Many Jews fled to foreign lands to escape ruination. At the Passover festival, the Syrian governor Cestius Gallus was visiting, and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims came to him to complain of Florus, begging him to remove him to end their misery. But Florus, seated beside Gallus, merely laughed at the crowd.⁵²

In 64 CE, a fire broke out in Rome, starting in shops carrying flammable materials located just outside the imperial palaces on Palatine Hill. Being a windy day, the flames traveled quickly, engulfing whole neighborhoods. Arsonists acting in groups were spotted throwing torches to help spread the blaze and hinder efforts to control it. In the end, after six days of burning out of control, a full two-thirds of the city was destroyed.⁵³

Artist depiction of The Great Fire of Rome

Contrary to popular belief, there is no evidence that Nero was responsible for the fire, much less that he played a fiddle as the city burned—a myth originating centuries later. The emperor was away from the capital at the time, but returned and provided relief to the citizens, opening public buildings to refugees and supplying food and necessities.⁵⁴

Artist depiction on an arsonist helping spread the fires in Rome

Writing some 60 years after the event, the Roman historian Tacitus states that Nero pinned the blame on the Christian community in Rome.⁵⁵ While a significant community of early believers lived in Rome by this time, the term “Christian” had not yet been popularized, and the target of Nero’s wrath could more likely be said to have been the messianic (“Christ” = “messiah”) Jews living in the capital at the time. Certainly such Jews had plenty of motive for such an attack considering the continuous brutality of Roman governors in Judah, the enabling of attacks on Jews in Alexandria and Caesarea, etc. If these messianic Jews and/or earliest believers in Jesus did burn the city, it may have been yet another attempt to kick-start the long-awaited End Times with a dramatic action taken to hurry the appearance of the savior and his army of angels.

Artist depiction of Nero overseeing the public immolation of those accused of starting the Great Fire of Rome

While only a few men were arrested at first, their merciless torture supplied additional names, and soon a great number of suspects had been rounded up. In addition to arson, they were changed with “hatred against mankind”. Some were publicly torn apart by dogs, while others were crucified in Nero’s gardens and burned alive to provide nightly illumination.

Artist depiction of Nero hosting a feast in the rotating dining room of the Domus Aurea

Drawing up a new urban plan, Nero oversaw the immediate rebuilding of burned neighborhoods utilizing a variety of fire-prevention techniques, and he began work on a new grandiose place for himself, The Golden House, some of which can still be visited today. The massive amounts of debris from countless destroyed structures was used to fill in local malaria-infested marshes.⁵⁶

A year later, the emperor was targeted by a conspiracy to assassinate him. Once again, the plotters’ goal was the restoration of the republic. When an imperial servant discovered their plot and reported it to Nero’s secretary—and Paul’s friend—Epaphroditus, their plan was foiled. The plotters were executed, including the well-known poet Lucan. Nero’s longtime mentor, the famous philosopher Seneca the Younger denied any involvement, but was nonetheless ordered to commit suicide, ending his illustrious career.⁵⁷

Medieval artist depiction of Nero and Poppea

Years earlier, after a long power struggle with his domineering mother Agrippina, Nero was convinced by his wife Poppea to have her killed. The emperor had a boat specially constructed that would open on the bottom while at sea, drowning all aboard. He arranged for his mother to travel on the booby-trapped boat. But the attempt failed when Agrippina managed to swim to shore. So, taking a more direct route, Nero dispatched three assassins who saw to her demise. In her dying breath, his mother is said to have cursed her own womb for bringing forth such a son. A few years later in 65 CE, while Nero was having a heated argument with his wife over his spending too much time at the racetracks, the increasingly unstable and cruel emperor kicked the pregnant Poppea in the abdomen, leading to her death.⁵⁸

Epistle to the Hebrews

Although its precise date of composition is uncertain, the next earliest Christian writing, after the authentic letters of Paul, and The Teaching of the Apostles, is very likely the Epistle to the Hebrews, thought to have been composed around 64 CE.⁵⁹ Its author is anonymous and unknown, and the recipient audience being the “Hebrews” is merely a traditional guess. The document may not have even been written as a letter at all, but as a treatise. Like all other earliest Christian documents, despite its considerable length and focus on the significance of Jesus Christ, it betrays no sign of knowledge of a Jesus who was born to human parents in the recent past and had a career of teaching and working miracles with a large crowd of followers and execution at the hands of the Romans.⁶⁰ As in Paul’s letters, Jesus’s coming to Earth is only ever presented as a longed-for future event. ⁶¹

Jesus, in Hebrews, is described as “the Son”, “the glory and representation of God’s essence…through whom He created the world” and who “sustains all things by his powerful Word.” Jesus’s sacrifice is a “cleansing for sins”, a “death on behalf of everyone”, and by this accomplishment he “became far better than the angels”, and earned “a superior name to theirs”, then took a seat at the right hand of God.⁶² The revelation of the existence of Jesus and his role was delivered by angels to the first apostles, and their message was confirmed by many signs and wonders and gifts of the Holy Spirit.⁶³

Artist depiction of Jesus as the heavenly high priest

Hebrew’s presentation of Jesus stands out for its depiction of him as a heavenly high priest⁶⁴—“a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”.⁶⁵ Melchizedek is a figure only briefly mentioned in Genesis as the priest-king of ancient Jerusalem—a thousand years before the city was taken over by the Israelites.⁶⁶ To some later Jews he represented an original and pure priesthood now lost from Earth. The Essene writers of the Dead Sea Scrolls also shared a fascination with Melchizedek and his priesthood, and wrote at times of the expected messiah being a priest.⁶⁷ Hebrews provides unique information about Melchizedek, describing him as being “without father, mother, or ancestry”, having “neither a beginning or an end”, and “like the Son, he remains a priest for all time.”⁶⁸

Artist depiction of Jesus in heaven, pouring out his own blood as an offering

The understanding of Jesus’s saving sacrifice in Hebrews shares great similarity to what we saw in the Ascension of Isaiah and Paul’s letters. Jesus is said to have “passed through the heavens”⁶⁹ and was “made a little lower than the angels” in form until reaching the firmament where he took on “flesh”.⁷⁰. The Bible. New International Version.[/mfn] Jesus is then crucified, and in the process he “made both requests and supplications with loud cries and tears” to God,⁷¹ and was heard because of his devotion. He is said to have “learned obedience through the things he suffered” and was thereby “perfected in this way” and so became “the source of salvation to all who obey him”.⁷² In a heavenly act not described by other sources, Jesus then ascends to heaven where, acting as heavenly high priest, he pours out his own blood as an ultimate sacrificial offering.⁷³ It is this last act, rather than that of being crucified which earns him the name “Jesus” (“savior”).⁷⁴

Many English language Bibles translate passages like Hebrews 5:7 as “During the days of Jesus’s life on earth” which is a reading of the later gospel narratives back into a document written well before them. The more literal translation “in the days of his flesh” only makes sense here as referring to the brief time period when Jesus descended from heaven to the firmament and “put on flesh” before being crucified, in keeping with the narrative of Jesus’s descent in the Ascension of Isaiah and in Paul’s writings. Otherwise it beggars belief that Hebrews would not mention any of Jesus’s actions or sayings during his earthly life. Not a single quote attributed to Jesus in the later gospels is found or alluded to in Hebrews. All the things that Jesus “says” in the epistle are simply quotes taken out of their original context in the Hebrew scriptures. This would seem to demonstrate the same mindset we saw among the Essenes and other early Christians, in which, to discover information about the messiah and learn anything the messiah does or “says”, one must scour the scriptures—especially the books of the Prophets and the Psalms—and decode the secret messages intended by God for those living at the End Times.

Florus Attacks the Jews

Artist depiction of Florus refusing to listen to the pleas of the Jewish elders after the violence in Caesarea

Back in Judah in 66 CE, the governor Florus’s actions are nearly impossible to construe as anything but a calculated attempt to goad the Jews into open rebellion. When Gentiles in Caesarea desecrated a synagogue, he ignored it. Even a hefty bribe from the city’s Jewish elders was simply pocketed and the elders arrested, causing a riot to break out there. The governor followed this up by sending his troops to take away a massive amount of treasure from the Temple Treasury, outraging the people. When crowds of Jews protested these actions at Jerusalem, Florus brought a cavalry unit that charged at their assembly, forcing them to disperse.⁷⁵

Artist depiction of Jews running to escape being slaughtered in the Jerusalem marketplace

The next day the chief priests and Jewish aristocrats met with Florus at his palace in the city. They apologized for the disturbance and begged his forgiveness for things the people had shouted at him, and attempted to convince the governor that the masses were peaceably-disposed. This only angered Florus, however, and he ordered his soldiers out into the Upper Marketplace of Jerusalem to slaughter people indiscriminately and pillage the vendors. Many hundreds, if not more, were killed that day including women and children. Many innocent men were captured, whipped, and then crucified—even those from the upper class who were usually spared such a tortured death.⁷⁶

Artist depiction of Berenice fleeing from Florus

King Agrippa II’s sister Berenice then came to Jerusalem and personally inspected the scene of the slaughter in the marketplace. She begged Florus to stop his madness, but he ignored her and continued torturing men right in front of her. Fearing for her life, Berenice fled, but stayed in the city out of necessity, having taken a Nazirite vow that would soon require her to shave her head in a ritual at the Temple.⁷⁷

The chief priests and aristocrats now begged the furious people not to take any action against the Romans lest they bring reinforcements and crush them all. Indeed, Florus now sent two more cohorts of soldiers and some cavalry toward Jerusalem with orders to attack the people at the first sign of insubordination. When a large crowd of Jews met the soldiers in front of the city gate, the more boisterous among them began shouting against Florus. Immediately the soldiers moved to surround them and attack. Many were beaten with clubs or struck dead by the soldiers’ swords. Others who tried to flee were trampled by horses or crushed to death in the resulting stampede toward the narrow entryway back into the city. Some of the victims were so disfigured they could not later be identified by their family.⁷⁸

Artist depiction of Florus’s cavalry charging against the Jewish resistors

The soldiers pressed on into the city. Their first aim was to gain control of the Antonia citadel—a strong fortress King Herod had built and named after his friend Mark Antony. But the crowds which had been fleeing in a panic now turned to face the Roman soldiers head on to stop their advance while others clambered onto rooftops and pelted the troops with darts, injuring many. Unable to advance any further, the Romans retreated to Florus’s Jerusalem palace for the night.⁷⁹

Modern model of ancient Jerusalem showing the Antonia Citadel adjacent to the Temple’s outer court

The huge Antonia citadel stood immediately adjacent to the Temple complex—which was, itself, an even more valuable easily defensible walled structure, and home of the nation’s treasury. Covered walkways connected the two structures, bridging an upper floor of the citadel to the top of the Temple’s outer wall. To guard against the Temple’s capture if the citadel fell, the Jews destroyed the connecting bridges.⁸⁰

Florus then summoned the chief priests and Sanhedrin to negotiate. An agreement was made that all of the current Roman soldiers who had so upset the people would be withdrawn, but only on the condition that a new garrison be brought in and that the Jews promise not to cause any more trouble.⁸¹ It is unlikely, of course, that any of the Jews who were not among the upper classes would have submitted to such terms, but they had not been invited to the meeting.

Continue Reading:

Chapter 12: The Galilean Campaign

Footnotes

1
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
2
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
3
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
4
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
5
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
6
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
7
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
8
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
9
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
10
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
11
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
12
Whiston, W. (1999). The New Complete Works of Josephus. Kregel Publications.
13
Acts 18:18. The Bible. New International Version.
14
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
15
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
16
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
17
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
18
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey. Bible Mapper Atlas. https://biblemapper.com/blog/index.php/2021/03/22/pauls-third-missionary-journey/
19
Acts 21:20-25. The Bible. New International Version.
20
Acts 21:27-31. The Bible. New International Version.
21
Acts 22:22-29. The Bible. New International Version.
22
Acts 23:12. The Bible. New International Version.
23
Acts 23:16-23. The Bible. New International Version.
24
Acts 24:2-14. The Bible. New International Version.
25
Acts 24:22-27. The Bible. New International Version.
26
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
27
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
28
Acts 21:37-39. The Bible. New International Version.
29
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
30
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
31
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
32
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
33
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
34
Acts 25:1-27:2. The Bible. New International Version.
35
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
36
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
37
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
38
Acts 27:39-44. The Bible. New International Version.
39
Acts 28:11-13. The Bible. New International Version.
40
Carrier, R. (2000). Luke and Josephus. The Secular Web. https://infidels.org/library/modern/richard-carrier-lukeandjosephus/
41
Acts 28:30-31. The Bible. New International Version.
42
Philippians 2:25. The Bible. New International Version.
43
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
44
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
45
Jerome. De Viris Illustribus. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm
46
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
47
Eisenman, R.H. (1998). James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin.
48
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
49
Jerome. De Viris Illustribus. New Advent. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/2708.htm
50
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
51
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
52
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
53
Dando-Collins, S. (2010). The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City. Da Capo Press.
54
Tacitus, Publius. The Annals.
55
Tacitus, Publius. The Annals.
56
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
57
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
58
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
59
Fonck, L. “Epistle to the Hebrews”. (1910)The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 7. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
60
Note: Many English language Bibles translate passages like Hebrews 5:7 as “During the days of Jesus’s life on earth” which reads the gospel narratives into a document written well before them. The more literal translation “in the days of his flesh” almost certainly refers to the brief time period when Jesus descended from heaven to the firmament and put on flesh before being crucified, as we’ve seen in the Ascension of Isaiah and in Paul’s writings. Otherwise it beggars belief that Hebrews does not mention any of Jesus’s actions or sayings during his earthly life.
61
Doherty, E. (2009). Jesus: Neither God Nor Man – The Case for a Mythical Jesus. Age of Reason Publications.
62
Hebrews 1:1-4. The Bible. New International Version.
63
Hebrews 2:1-4. The Bible. New International Version.
64
Hebrews 2:17. The Bible. New International Version.
65
Hebrews 6:20. The Bible. New International Version.
66
Genesis 14:18-20. The Bible. New International Version.
67
Vermes, G. Complete Dead Sea Scrolls. Penguin Books.
68
Hebrews 7:1-4. The Bible. New International Version.
69
Hebrews 4:14. The Bible. New International Version.
70
Hebrews 2:9-17. The Bible. New International Version.
71
Hebrews 5:7. The Bible. New International Version.
72
Hebrews 5:8-9. The Bible. New International Version.
73
Hebrews 9:11-15. The Bible. New International Version.
74
Hebrews 1:4. The Bible. New International Version.
75
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
76
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
77
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
78
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
79
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
80
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.
81
Beasley, B. (2015). Flavius Josephus: The Jewish Wars. Living Stone Books.