Monday, July 31, 2006
The Jewish people (Part I)
At the end of June, I wrote a series on the Assembly [church] of God. Now I wish to juxtapose that series with a series on the People of God. But before I begin that series, I would like to explore the history of Israel after 70 AD to the present.
We actually begin our flight through history in 39 AD [probably nine years after Pentecost], when Roman Emperor Caligula declares himself a god and orders his statue to be erected in every temple in the Roman Empire. Of course, the Jewish people, who have been known to be an unruly group under any large empire, refuse and prepare for an armed revolt. The conflict subsides after Caligula’s death in 41. However, this incident and the stealing of a large amount of money from the Temple treasury by a Roman procurator increased the popularity of the Zealot movement. The Zealots where a Jewish group who strongly believed that any means necessary were justified to attain freedom from Rome. After the desecration of a local synagogue, a revolt in 66 broke out. At first the revolting Jews soundly defeated the Roman forces. But the Zealots executed anyone advocating surrender; therefore, by 68 the entire leadership of the southern revolt was dead. By 70 the Roman army had entered and burned most of Jerusalem, even destroying the Temple. In 73 the last Jewish stronghold at Masada had been overcome. The death toll ranges from 600,000 to 1,300,000 Jews, with almost 100,000 Jews taken to Rome as slaves.
Fifty-seven years later (130), Emperor Hadrian pays a visit to the ruins of Jerusalem. He is saddened and sympathetic towards the Jews. Therefore, he decides to rebuild the city. One catch, he wants to build the city as a Roman metropolis with a new pagan temple dedicated to Jupiter where the Temple once stood. After the first revolt ended, an entire legion was stationed in Judea. An additional legion was stationed to help maintain order. The new city, Aelia Capitolina, was offensive to many Jews. (It did not help that Hadrian also abolished circumcision around the same time.) The Jewish leaders carefully planned the second revolt to avoid the errors of the first revolt. In 132 the Roman military in Jerusalem were taken by surprise. A Jewish state was restored for two and a half years. Nevertheless, Hadrian called one of his generals from Britain and hit the Jewish rebels with an overwhelming force. It is reported that 580,000 Jews were killed. To prevent future rebellions, Hadrian prohibited the Torah law and the Jewish calendar. He executed Judaic scholars and burned the sacred scroll on the Temple Mount. Hadrian also erased the name Judea off of the map and replaced it with the name Syria Palaestina, as an insulting reminder of the Jews’ ancient enemies the Philistines. Jerusalem was rebuilt and all Jews were forbidden from entering it. Now begins the Jewish diaspora (dispersion)!
REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
We actually begin our flight through history in 39 AD [probably nine years after Pentecost], when Roman Emperor Caligula declares himself a god and orders his statue to be erected in every temple in the Roman Empire. Of course, the Jewish people, who have been known to be an unruly group under any large empire, refuse and prepare for an armed revolt. The conflict subsides after Caligula’s death in 41. However, this incident and the stealing of a large amount of money from the Temple treasury by a Roman procurator increased the popularity of the Zealot movement. The Zealots where a Jewish group who strongly believed that any means necessary were justified to attain freedom from Rome. After the desecration of a local synagogue, a revolt in 66 broke out. At first the revolting Jews soundly defeated the Roman forces. But the Zealots executed anyone advocating surrender; therefore, by 68 the entire leadership of the southern revolt was dead. By 70 the Roman army had entered and burned most of Jerusalem, even destroying the Temple. In 73 the last Jewish stronghold at Masada had been overcome. The death toll ranges from 600,000 to 1,300,000 Jews, with almost 100,000 Jews taken to Rome as slaves.
Fifty-seven years later (130), Emperor Hadrian pays a visit to the ruins of Jerusalem. He is saddened and sympathetic towards the Jews. Therefore, he decides to rebuild the city. One catch, he wants to build the city as a Roman metropolis with a new pagan temple dedicated to Jupiter where the Temple once stood. After the first revolt ended, an entire legion was stationed in Judea. An additional legion was stationed to help maintain order. The new city, Aelia Capitolina, was offensive to many Jews. (It did not help that Hadrian also abolished circumcision around the same time.) The Jewish leaders carefully planned the second revolt to avoid the errors of the first revolt. In 132 the Roman military in Jerusalem were taken by surprise. A Jewish state was restored for two and a half years. Nevertheless, Hadrian called one of his generals from Britain and hit the Jewish rebels with an overwhelming force. It is reported that 580,000 Jews were killed. To prevent future rebellions, Hadrian prohibited the Torah law and the Jewish calendar. He executed Judaic scholars and burned the sacred scroll on the Temple Mount. Hadrian also erased the name Judea off of the map and replaced it with the name Syria Palaestina, as an insulting reminder of the Jews’ ancient enemies the Philistines. Jerusalem was rebuilt and all Jews were forbidden from entering it. Now begins the Jewish diaspora (dispersion)!
REF: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page
# posted by Wesley Son of Cornelius @ 10:49 PM 
