The Reign Of The Herodians

How did the reign of the Herodians make the Good News possible?

The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) came to this earth in the fullness of time to live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), so he could bring redemption to those who could not live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Galatians 4:4-7).

The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had used the rise and fall of empires to create the perfect conditions to spread the Good News over a large area in a short amount of time.  

After this, He raised up the Maccabees.  The gift of the Maccabees was creating the many of the conditions in the land of Israel that made the Good News possible.  How the Maccabees help spread the Good News was by setting up a system throughout the Jewish world that the Apostles of Truth could use to reach Jews and Gentiles quickly.

Matthias the Priest set the pattern how the Faithful Priest would operate, when the Temple was again dominated by a corrupt High Priest and filled with corrupt Priests.  The Maccabees set up the expectation of the Faithful Prophet of Truth, who would reveal the Rightful King of the Jews.  

Their successors, the Hasmoneans created the corrupt legal system that made the unjust trial of the Man of Truth possible.  The religious parties that came to power during their rule, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, created the system of unjust courts that persecuted the Jewish Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him).  The Hasmoneans set the refining fire that burned out all compromise from the Children of Truth.

Yet, the hidden hand of the Father of Truth was not yet done preparing the world for the Man of Truth.  The rise of the Herodians finished preparing the people of Israel for the Man of Truth, but the reign of the Herodians would make the Good News possible.

Understanding the reign of the Herodians begins with understanding their relationship with the Hasmoneans.

In 110 BC, John Hyrcanus I conquered Idumaea, the southern part of Israel, that had been taken over by Edomites when the Jews went into the Babylonian captivity about five hundred years earlier.  He then forced all of them to either become Jews via circumcision or leave Idumaea.

(None of the Hasmoneans, Nabataeans, or Herodians actually had numbers after their names.  The numbers were added by historians to make it easier to keep track of them, since the same names were frequently used for different individuals, even brothers.  This convention is applied to everyone with the same name to remove all ambiguity.)

In 104 BC, his son Aristobulus I became the next Hasmonean king, but soon died.

In 103 BC, his other son Alexander Jannaeus became the new Hasmonean king, and made Antipas the Idumaean (Antipas I) the governor of Idumaea due to his connections to the ruling family of the Nabataeans.

Antipas the Idumaean had a son who was raised as a Jew in every regard, including being circumcised on the eighth day.  Nonetheless, his son was known as Antipater the Idumaean (Antipater I).

Antipater the Idumaean later married Cypros I, a noble woman of the Nabataeans and a near relative of Aretas III, the king of Nabataea.  They then had a son that came to be known as Herod the Great as well as his brother Phasael I.

When Antipas the Idumaean died, then Alexander Jannaeus made Antipas the Idumaean the new governor of Idumaea, shortly before his own death in 76 BC.  His wife Salome Alexandra then became Queen of Judaea.

When Salome Alexandra died in 67 BC, her sons Aristobulus II and Hyrcanus II continuously fought for the throne.  Antipater the Idumaean and his sons supported Hyrcanus II in this struggle.

In 61 BC, Antipas the Idumaean and Cypros I had a daughter, Salome I.

Eventually Alexander I, the son of Aristobulus II, married Alexandra, the daughter of his brother Hyrcanus II.  This marriage could have put an end to the rivalry between these competing Hasmonean rulers by creating a single heir to the throne from both lines in the son of Alexander I and Alexandra, Aristobulus III.  They also had a daughter, Mariamne I.

However, the Romans got involved.

In 49 BC, Aristobulus II and Alexander I were both killed by Pompey and his supporters.  Pompey then died while fighting Julius Caesar in 48 BC, and Antipater the Idumaean placed the army of Judaea under the command of Julius Caesar.  The next year, 47 BC, Hyrcanus II was restored as king by Julius Caesar.

Then Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC, followed by Antipater the Idumaean being killed with poison in 43 BC.  Hyrcanus II had relied on Julius Caesar to keep his throne secure, and Antipater the Idumaean for advice in ruling Judaea.  So, Herod the Great and his brother Phasael I stepped in to fill these roles.

However, when the Parthians invaded Judaea in 40 BC, the other son of Aristobulus II, Antigonus, led an army of Jews, who allied themselves with the Parthians in order to drive the Romans out.  Antigonus became the client king of the Parthians after capturing Hyrcanus II, mutilating him, and exiling him to Babylon.  Phasael I then killed himself to avoid being mutilated.

However, Herod the Great escaped to Rome to ask for help in restoring Hyrcanus II to the throne.

When Herod the Great arrived in Rome in 37 BC to ask for help, the Roman Senate surprised him by declaring him the King of Judaea, if he could bring Judaea back into Roman hands.  While there, Alexandra arranged for Herod the Great to marry her daughter Mariamne I, after he was on the throne.  So, Herod the Great divorced and exiled his first wife Doris, with their son Antipater II.

Herod the Great came back to Judaea with a Roman army the next year.  Two years later, 34 BC, Herod the Great retook Jerusalem, and became the client king of the Romans in Judaea.  Marc Antony had Antigonus executed.

The reign of the Herodians had began.  The royal family of the Herodians were now ready to be formed.

In 33 BC Herod the Great married Mariamne I.  This gave Herod the Great legitimacy as a ruler in the Hasmonean line. 

That same year, Alexandra sought to ask Marc Antony for help in getting her son Aristobulus III appointed as the High Priest.  Herod the Great heard this, and made Aristobulus III the new High Priest before she could ask for help.  Herod the Great was concerned that Mark Antony might make Aristobulus III the king of Judaea as well, since he was the sole remaining male heir from both lines of the Hasmoneans.

Also, Herod the Great brought Hyrcanus II back from his exile that same year, so the Parthians would not try to return him to the throne as their client king.  So, Herod the Great was surrounded by all of the remaining Hasmoneans of the royal line, and was part of the royal Hasmonean family.

However, things did not stay good for long.  In 32 BC, Aristobulus III set out to seek the help of Mark Antony in being restored as king of Judaea, in exchange for his support of Marc Antony against Octavian (Caesar Augustus).  Herod the Great had Aristobulus III assassinated.

In 31 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had a son, Alexander II.

That same year, Augustus Caesar defeated Marc Antony and became the first Roman Emperor. 

In 27 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had another son, Aristobulus IV.

Herod the Great also had Hyrcanus II executed that year, because he believed that Hyrcanus II was plotting to have the Nabataeans help him regain the throne.  So, there were no more males of the royal line of the Hasmoneans left.

In 25 BC, Salome I accused Mariamne I of plotting to poison Herod the Great.  Her mother, Alexandra, also accused Mariamne I as well, because she feared that Salome I would implicate her as well, if she did not act as a second witness.  So, Herod the Great had Mariamne I executed and began a long period of great mourning for her.

Alexandra then declared Herod the Great insane and herself to be the Queen of Judaea, since she was the last of the royal Hasmonean line.  Herod the Great realized her treachery and had her executed without a trial.

Soon after that, Herod the Great had Doris and his son by her, Antipas II, return to Jerusalem from their exile.

Herod the Great then began his massive building projects that included fortresses like Machaerus, and Gentile cities throughout Galilee that were centers of idolatry.    He also had the city of Phasaelis built northeast of Jericho, where his brother liked to hunt with him, in honor of his brother, Phasael I.

These projects were both loved and hated by various factions of the people of Israel.  These projects were also costly and paid for by a system of oppressive taxation on the people of Israel.

Herod the Great then married eight more wives including Mariamne II, the daughter of the High Priest, a Samaritan woman named Malthace, Cleopatra of Jerusalem, and Elpis.

Herod the Great had a son by Mariamne II named Philip I (Herod Philip) in 23 BC.

("Herod" had became a title by this point of those claiming the right to rule as a descendant of Herod the Great.  This was similar to the Hasmoneans adopting the title Hasmonean to show that they came from Matthias the Priest.  None of the descendants of Herod the Great were given the name of "Herod" as a baby, except for Herod the Great.  Philip I (Herod Philip) was the first to use this title, so he is sometimes called Herod II by historians, even though there is no record of anyone calling him that during his life time.)

Herod the Great had a son by Cleopatra of Jerusalem named Philip II (Philip the Tetrarch) in 22 BC.

Herod the Great had a son by Malthace named Archelaus (Herod Archelaus) in 19 BC.  About a year later they had another son Antipas II (Herod Antipas).

Herod the Great began his most impressive building project, the enlargement and beautification of the Temple and the Temple Mount in 18 BC. 

Around 10 BC, Aristobulus IV and his wife Berenice I, daughter of Salome I, had a a daughter, Herodias.  They also had four other children.

Also in 10 BC, Herod the Great had a daughter by Elpis named Salome II.

In 9 BC, Herod the Great made Antipater II the first heir in his will.

In 8 BC, his two sons by Mariamne I, Alexander II and Aristobulus IV, were also placed in royal succession in front of Antipater II.

In 3 BC, Antipater II accused Alexander II and Aristobulus IV of plotting to poison Herod the Great.  Herod had them executed and put Antipater II as first in succession.

However, later that same year, Herod Philip married Herodias. Since this would put his children in the Hasmonean line, Herod the Great promoted him to first in succession.  When Antipater II protested this marriage, Herod the Great moved him back to first in succession.

In 1 AD, five days before his death, Herod the Great had Antipater II executed for plotting to poison him.  This put Herod Philip first in succession again.

However, Herod the Great removed Herod Philip from his will, divorced his mother Mariamne II, and removed her father from the position of High Priest, because Mariamne II had failed to warn him of the plot of Antipater II to poison him.  Herod Philip was exiled to Rome with Herodias.  Mariamne II and Doris, the mother of Antipater II, went to Rome with him.

Herod the Great then changed his will to divide his kingdom between his three remaining sons in Judaea and his sister Salome I.  Salome I and his sons began to rule their portions immediately under Herod the Great, and were later confirmed as rulers by the Romans when Caesar Augustus approved the final change to his will.

His sister Salome I received an area along the coast of Judaea from the area surrounding Jamnia (Yavne) to the southern border of Judaea, and another area north of Jericho near the west bank of the Jordan River around the city of Phasaelis.  She was given the title of Queen, although the actual administration was done by the ethnarch of Judaea.

The rest of the kingdom of Herod the Great was divided among his three surviving sons, with the oldest son getting a double portion in line with the commandment of the Law of Truth (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).

Herod Archelaus became the full ruler over the southern half of the kingdom of Herod on the west side of the Jordan River, which included Idumaea, Judea, and Samaria, as the Ethnarch of Judaea.

Herod Antipas (Antipas II) became the full ruler over Galilee, the area from the west side of the Sea of Galilee to Lebanon, and Perea, the area on the east side of the Jordan River, south of The Decapolis, and along the northeast banks of the Dead Sea.  Herod Antipas was given the title of Tetrarch of Galilee.

Philip the Tetrarch (Philip II) was given the title of Tetrarch and ruled over the area north of The Decapolis and east of the Sea of Galilee, and the part of Jordan River that flowed from the north into the Sea of Galilee.  This area included Iturea and Trachontis, as well as Gaulonitis, Batanea, and Auranitis.

Herod Archelaus ruled until he was replaced with a Roman governor in 10 AD due to complaints of his brutality.  He was then exiled to where all brutal rules seem to end up - France (Gaul).

Around 14 AD, Herod Philip and Herodias had a daughter named Salome III.

Around the same time, Salome I died. Her portion became part of Judaea, except of Jamnia, which she gave to Livia, the wife of Caesar Augustus, in her will.

In 18 AD, Philip the Tetrarch started having the city of Paneas, that the Greeks had built shorty after the death of Alexander the Great, rebuilt as Caesarea Philippi.  He then made it his capital.

In 20 AD, Herod Antipas had Tiberius built as the capital of his tetrarchy on the site of the ancient town of Rakkath.  (This was one of the fortified cities on the shore of the Sea of Galilee in days of Joshua (Joshua 19:35).)  Part of it was built over the ancient graveyard outside of Rakkath, so the city was considered unclean.  It was named after the Roman Emperor Tiberias and was originally occupied primarily by Gentiles.  It was also a center of idol worship and temples.

Around 22 AD, Herod Archelaus died while still in exile in Gaul.

According to Josephus and Philo, Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judaea, nearly caused an insurrection by provoking the Jews when he first took office in 26 AD.  They also report that he continually did things that almost caused insurrection among the Jews.  Herod Antipas complained to Emperor Tiberius each time, arguing that Judaea would better serve Rome if it was ruled by himself, since he was a Jewish ruler loyal to the Romans.  This caused enmity between Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas.

In 28 AD, Herodias divorced Herod Philip to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas.  Herodias and Salome III moved to Galilee to live with Herod Antipas.

In 29 AD, according to Josephus, Herod Antipas had John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikvah Man) arrested and put in the fortress called Machaerus, because he feared that the many people repenting and being baptized by John the Baptist would rebel against him, if John the Baptist told them to do so.  Josephus also reported that later Herod Antipas ordered John the Baptist executed, even though he was reluctant to do so.

In 30 AD, the emnity between Pilate and Herod Antipas came to an end.  According to Josephus, Pontius Pilate had the Man of Truth crucified that year as well.

The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them reign to bring about His will.  They were needed as His unwitting pawns to make the Good News possible.

The rule of the Herodians set the stage for the John the Baptist to prepare the people of Israel for the Man of Truth.

Since the Herodians ruled, corrupt High Priests were in charge of the Temple, causing John the Baptist to carry out his primary duty as a Priest of Truth of leading the people of Israel to repentance in the wilderness (Luke 3:2).  So, the people of Israel recognized that he was that Prophet of Truth like unto Elijah (Eliyah aka Elias), who would prepare them for the arrival of the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:3-6).  They heard that they had to repent of their sins and be baptized (Luke 3:7-14).  They heard that the message of John the Baptist that he was only sent to show them the Messiah of Israel (Luke 3:15-18).  They heard the witness of the Father of Truth that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, when John the Baptist baptized him (Luke 3:21-22).

Since the Herodians ruled, Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist to please Herodias, the wife of his brother Herod Philip, because John the Baptist told him that the Law of Truth did not allow him to have her as his wife, but he was afraid to kill John the Baptist because the people of his tetrarchy considered John the Baptist to be a Prophet of Truth (Matthew 14:3-5).  Herodias wanted to kill John the Baptist for telling Herod Antipas that the Law of Truth did not allow him to marry the wife of his living brother Philip, but Herod Antipas prevented her from killing him, because he feared John the Baptist and liked to listen to him (Mark 6:17-20).  Herod Antipas imprisoned John the Baptist for reproving him for marrying the wife of his brother Herod Philip and all of the other evil things that he had done (Luke 3:19-20).

Since the Herodians ruled, the daughter of Herodias (Salome III) danced before the guests of the birthday celebration of Herod Antipas, so that he promised to give her whatever she wanted (Matthew 14:6-7).  She asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter, as her mother Herodias had instructed her, and Herod Antipas was very sorry that he had made the promise, but still commanded that it to be given to her (Matthew 14:8-9).  John the Baptist was beheaded in prison, his head was given by the daughter of Herodias to her mother, and his followers buried his headless body (Matthew 14:10-12).

The Herodians set the stage for the Man of Truth to fulfill the prophecies concerning the Messiah of Israel, when they filled Galilee with Gentile cities.

The Prophet of Truth Isaiah (Yeshayahu) had said that the Messiah of Israel would reveal himself to the people of Israel who lived in land of Zebulun (Zebulon) and Naphtali, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, in the land of Galilee, which was dominated by Gentiles (Isaiah 9:1-2).

It is for this reason, that the Man of Truth first began to preach the Good News of the Kingdom of Heaven in Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, on the border of the land of Zebulun and Naphtali, in the land of Galilee, which was dominated by Gentiles, after John the Baptist was imprisoned (Matthew 4:12-17).  It is for this reason, that the Man of Truth began calling his disciples on the shores of the Sea of Galilee (Matthew 4:18-22).  It is for this reason, that the Man of Truth began his teaching and healing ministry in Galilee (Matthew 4:23).

It is for this reason, that the Man of Truth told the Original Twelve Apostles of Truth to not go to the where the Gentiles lived, but only to the people of Israel, when he first commissioned them to preach his message of Good News with signs to confirm the message (Matthew 10:1-8).

Philip the Tetrarch set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal that he was the Messiah of Israel, when he built his capital Caesarea Philippi, and the Greeks revived the worship of Pan near there.

It was near Caesarea Philippi, where the Man of Truth asked the Original Twelve Apostles of Truth, who they said he was (Matthew 16:13-15).  This is where, Peter the Jew (Sh'mon aka Simon aka Simeon aka Cephas aka The Apostle Peter) answered that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 16:16).  This is where, he was told that he had received this revelation from the Father of Truth (Matthew 16:17).  It was at the place called the Gates of Hell (Hades) by the Greeks who worshiped Pan, where the Man of Truth revealed, that it was upon this rock of the revelation of him as the Messiah, which he would build his congregation of the Called Out Ones to prevail against the Gates of Hell by carrying out the laws of Heaven on Earth (Matthew 16:18-19).

Herod Antipas set the stage for the Man of Truth to perform miracles that confirmed the Good News, when he built his capital Tiberias in honor of Tiberius Caesar.

Since Herod Antipas built Tiberias on the shore of the Sea of Galilee, the Sea of Galilee was also called the Sea of Tiberias (John 6:1).  It was near the Sea of Tiberias where a great multitude followed the Man of Truth shortly before Passover (Pesach) (John 6:2-4).

This is where, the Man of Truth fed the five thousand with five barley loaves and two small fish (John 6:5-13).  This is where, the five thousand recognized that the Man of Truth was that coming Prophet of Truth spoken of by Moses and the Prophets of Truth (John 6:14).  This is where the Man of Truth escaped to another mountain because the five thousand wanted to make him king over Israel before the time foretold by the Prophets of Truth (John 6:15).  All of this happened near Tiberias (John 6:23).

The Original Twelve Apostles Of Truth were on the Sea of Tiberias, going towards Capernaum, when the Man of Truth met their boat while walking on the water (John 6:16-19).  Their boat was instantly on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias at Capernaum, after the Man of Truth got in the boat (John 6:20-21).

The Herodians made it possible for their supporters to plot with the Pharisees to destroy the Man of Truth.

The Pharisees went to the supporters of the Herodians to find a way to destroy the Man of Truth, after he healed a man in their synagogue on the Sabbath (Mark 3:1-6).  The Jewish religious leaders sent some of the Pharisees and the supporters of the Herodians to trap the Man of Truth in his words, by asking a question intended to force him to offend either the people of Israel or the Romans (Mark 12:13-17).

Philip the Tetrarch set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal his death, burial, and resurrection, when he built his capital Caesarea Philippi.

It was near Caesarea Philippi, where the Man of Truth first revealed his approaching suffering, death, and resurrection at Jerusalem (Matthew 16:21).  This is where, Peter the Jew told the Man of Truth that he would never let this happen, but the Man of Truth rebuked him for loving what people love, instead of what the Father of Truth loves (Matthew 16:22-23).

Herod Antipas set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal his death and betrayal, when he built his capital Tiberias in honor of Tiberius Caesar.

The crowd got in boats from Tiberias and sailed on the Sea of Tiberias to Capernaum to meet the Man of Truth (John 6:22-24).  The Man of Truth then told this crowd from Tiberias to not seek after the perishable bread that he had given them on the mount, but to seek after the imperishable bread that would give them eternal life (John 6:25-27).  The Man of Truth then explained to this crowd from Tiberias that he was the Bread of Life that would give them eternal life (John 6:28-48).  He explained that his flesh would give them life when he died for them (John 6:28-51).

Many of this crowd from Tiberias turned away from following him when the Man of Truth told them in the synagogue of Capernaum, that his flesh would give them life  (John 6:52-66).  However, Peter the Jew said, that the Original Twelve Apostles of Truth would continue to follow the Man of Truth (John 6:67-69).  The Man of Truth then revealed to the Twelve Original Apostles of Truth, and those from Tiberias that continued to follow him, that one of the Twelve Original Apostles of Truth would betray him (John 6:70-71).

Philip the Tetrarch set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal the suffering of his followers, when he built his capital Caesarea Philippi.

It was near Caesarea Philippi, where the Man of Truth first revealed that when he called people to follow him, he was calling them to die (Matthew 16:24-26).  This is where, the Man of Truth revealed that all people will be rewarded according to their works, when he comes back to rule this Earth (Matthew 16:27).  This is where, the Man of Truth revealed that he will not stand up for anyone in the age to come, who does not stand up for him in this age (Mark 8:38).

Herod Antipas set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal the suffering of his followers, when he built his capital Tiberias in honor of Tiberius Caesar.

It was on the shores of the Sea of Tiberias, where the Man of Truth told Peter the Jew to take care of his flock to show his love for him (John 21:15-17).  This is where the Man of Truth called Peter the Jew to die a violent death in his old age by following him, even if he caused John the Jew (Yochanon aka The Apostle John) to never die by following him (John 21:18-22).  This is where the rumor that John the Jew would never die started (John 21:23).

Philip the Tetrarch set the stage for the Man of Truth to reveal the glory of his future kingdom, when he built his capital Caesarea Philippi.

It was near Caesarea Philippi, where the Man of Truth revealed that some of the Original Twelve Apostles of Truth would see the power of the Man of Truth when he comes to rule, before they died (Mark 9:1).  Six days later, these words came to pass, when they saw the power of the Man of Truth on the mountain of transfiguration (Mark 9:2-7).

The Herodians set the stage for the death, burial, and resurrection of the Man of Truth by expanding the Temple.

The Man of Truth told his enemies that if they destroyed the temple of his body, then he would rebuild it in three days, even though the expansion of the Temple was still continuing after forty-six years (John 2:19-21).

The Man of Truth told his enemies that he taught his doctrine and preached the Good News inside the Temple by the same authority that John the Baptist had taught and preached outside of the Temple (Luke 20:1-8).

The enemies of the Man of Truth put into motion their plan to destroy the temple of his body because of what he had taught the people of Israel in the Temple (John 18:14-21).

The rule of the Herodians made it possible for the prophecy to come to pass that Gentile and Jewish rulers would work together in vain to destroy of the Messiah of Israel.

King David had prophesied that Gentile and Jewish rulers would work together in vain to keep the Messiah of Israel from ruling over them (Psalm 2:1-3).

If Herod the Great not divided his kingdom, and Archelaus had not been such a terrible ruler, then the Romans never would had the Roman governor Pontius Pilate ruling half the kingdom of Herod the Great in the place of Archelaus, while allowing his two Herodian brothers, Herod Antipas and Philip the Tetrarch, to rule over the other two quarters of the kingdom of Herod the Great (Luke 3:1).

This allowed the Man of Truth to be accused by Jewish religious leaders before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:1-4).  This allowed the Roman governor to send the Man of Truth to Herod Antipas because the Jewish ruler of Galilee had jurisdiction over anyone from Galilee (Luke 23:5-7).  This allowed the Jewish king to hear the accusations of the Jewish religious leaders, then mock the Man of Truth, and  finally send him back to the Roman governor (Luke 23:8-11).  This allowed enmity to exist between Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate, until the Roman governor recognized the authority of the Jewish king to judge the Man of Truth (Luke 23:12).

This allowed the Roman governor to tell the Jewish religious leaders that both he and the Jewish ruler had not found the Man of Truth guilty of their accusations (Luke 23:13-15).  This allowed the Roman governor to finally give into the demands of the Jewish religious leaders that the Man of Truth be hand over to Roman soldiers to be crucified (Luke 23:16-25).

This allowed both the Roman soldiers and the Jewish people to witness the Father of Truth display His power when the Man of Truth died (Matthew 27:50-54).

This allowed the Roman governor to grant the request of the Jewish religious leaders to place Roman guards keep the Man of Truth in the tomb, until after the third day was over (Matthew 27:62-66).  This allowed the Roman guards to tell the Jewish religious leaders that they could not keep the Man of Truth in the tomb, when the third day arrived (Matthew 28:1-11)!

This allowed the Jewish religious leaders to bribe the Roman guards to lie about the resurrection of the Man of Truth (Matthew 28:12-15).

So the Jewish ruler Herod Antipas, the Gentile ruler Pilate, the Gentiles of the Roman army, and the Jewish followers of the Jewish religious leaders had all worked together in vain to destroy the Man of Truth (Acts 4:25-28)!

Herod Antipas set the stage for the Man of Truth to be revealed as the resurrected Messiah of Israel, when he built his capital Tiberias in honor of Tiberius Caesar.

The remaining eleven of the Original Twelve Apostles of Truth were on the Sea of Tiberias, when the Man of Truth told them to cast their nets on the other side, and they had a miraculous catch of fish (John 21:1-8).  It was on the shore of the Sea of Tiberias, where the Man of Truth cooked them fish sandwiches and ate with them, to show that he was alive for the third time after his resurrection (John 21:9-14).

So, the the reign of the Herodians created the political climate in the land of Israel needed to make the Good News possible.  However, the Good News is only good news to those who come into the House of Truth (2 Corinthians 2:14-16).

You come into the House of Truth, when you make the Man of Truth your king, because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9)!

Come into the House of Truth!

The Rise of The Herodians

How did the rise of the Herodians prepare the people of Israel for the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ)?

The Man of Truth came to this earth in the fullness of time to live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law), so he could bring redemption to those who could not live a perfect life in accordance with the Law of Truth (Galatians 4:4-7).

The Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) had used the rise and fall of empires to create the perfect conditions to spread the Good News over a large area in a short amount of time.  These perfect conditions made it possible for messengers to broadcast a message to the places where about half the people on Earth live in seventy years time.

This perfect message system would have been useless with a message and messengers.  So, the Father of Truth set up the conditions in the land of Israel to make it possible for the Man of Truth to bring about redemption through the gift of the Maccabees.  He also set up the Jewish world to spread the Good News with the help of the Maccabees.

The Maccabees also set up the expectation of the Faithful Prophet of Truth, who would reveal the Rightful King of the Jews.  They also caused the Jewish people to hope for a Faithful Priest, who would operate in the same manner as Matthias the Priest, when the Temple was again dominated by a corrupt High Priest and filled with corrupt Priests.

Their successors, the Hasmoneans, soon became corrupt High Priests themselves, and began filling the Temple with corrupt priests again.  This made the unjust trial of the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) possible.  The religious parties that came to power during their rule, the Pharisees and the Sadducees, created the system of unjust courts that persecuted the Jewish Children of Truth, after the Man of Truth rose from the dead.  This persecution became the refining fire that forced even the Gentile Children of Truth to either follow the Man of Truth completely, or not at all, as the Good News spread among the Gentiles.

Yet, the hidden hand of the Father of Truth was not yet done preparing the world for the Man of Truth.  He raised up the Herodians to complete the work that the Hasmoneans had begun.

The rise of the Herodians began during the time of the Hasmoneans.

When the Jews were taken into captivity by the Babylonians in 586 BC, Edomites moved into the former kingdom of Judah.  These Edomites were still living in the former kingdom of Judah when the Persians allowed the Jews to return and rebuild the Temple in 521 BC.  These Edomites were called Idumaeans when the Greeks conquered Persia and came to Jerusalem in 332 BC.

During the reign of John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I), the first true Hasmonean ruler, all of the Idumaeans were forced to convert to Judaism in 110 BC.  Among these forced Edomite converts was Antipas I.

(None of the Hasmoneans, Nabataeans, Ptolemies, or Herodians actually had numbers after their names.  The numbers were added by historians to make it easier to keep track of them, since the same names were frequently used for different individuals, even brothers.  This convention is applied to everyone with the same name to remove all ambiguity.)

In 104 BC, Aristobulus I became the second Hasmonean king, but soon died.

Antipas I was made governor of Idumaea, which was a state of the kingdom of Judea ruled by the Hasmoneans, shortly after Alexander Jannaeus became the third Hasmonean ruler in 103 BC.  He was selected as governor due to his connections to the ruling families of Nabataea.

Antipas I had a son named Antipater I.  Antipater I was circumcised on the eighth day, observed all Jewish customs, and possibly had Jewish ancestors as well from the returning Babylonian exiles that settled in Idumaea.  Nonetheless, Antipater I was known as Antipater the Idumaean.

Antipater the Idumaean married Cypros I, a noble woman of Nabataea, and soon became close friends with her relative Aretas III, the king of Nabataea.

Antipater the Idumaean succeeded his father as governor of Idumaea, shortly before Alexander Jannaeus died in 76 BC.  He continued to serve as governor under the reign of the fourth Hasmonean ruler, Salome Alexandra, until her death in 67 BC.

When her son John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus II) became the fifth Hasmonean ruler, Antipater the Idumaean became his supporter and retained his position of governor.

However, the brother of Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II, soon waged war to usurp the throne from Hyrcanus II.  Hyrcanus II responded by taking the family of Aristobulus II hostage.  They made a treaty and Aristobulus II became the sixth Hasmonean ruler.

Antipater the Idumaean soon became concerned that Aristobulus II would remove him from being governor of Idumaea, since he had stood by Hyrcanus II as his advisor during the war.

So, Antipater the Idumaean convinced Hyrcanus II that Aristobulus II planned on killing him, so he could keep the income that he had agreed to give to Hyrcanus II in the treaty.  He then persuaded Hyrcanus II to flee to Petra with him to seek refuge with his friend Aretas III, the king of Nabataea.

After they arrived, Antipater the Idumaean offered Aretas III the land inside of Idumaea on the east side of the Jordan River, which the Nabataeans also claimed, in exchange for his help in restoring Hyrcanus II to the throne.

So, in 66 BC Antipater the Idumaean, Aretas III, and Hyrcanus II laid siege to Jerusalem with an army of 50,000 men.  The majority of the people in Jerusalem had come to favor Hyrcanus II by this time, so they simply opened the gates to let him and his army in.  Soon, Aristobulus II fled to the Temple, where he and his few supporters were besieged by Hyrcanus II and his supporters.

The rise of the Herodians is also tied to the Roman Empire.

So in 65 BC, both brothers sent ambassadors to Scaurus, one of the Roman generals of Pompey, who was conquering the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, to ask for help.  Scaurus decided to help Aristobulus II since he offered more money, and Rome could gain Judea as a client kingdom without a fight.

Scaurus ordered Aretas III to go home, or he would be considered an enemy of the Romans.  Aretas III complied, but Aristobulus II raised an army that ambushed Aretas III on his way home.  The army of Aretas III suffered a crushing defeat, but Aretas III managed to make it back to Petra.

When Antipater the Idumaean heard the news of this, he took Hyrcanus II, and they both went into hiding.

In 64 BC, Antipater the Idumaean had Hyrcanus II send ambassadors again to Scaurus to ask him to reconsider, since Aristobulus II had attacked Aretas III, after he had complied with the demands of Scaurus.  Aristobulus II then sent ambassadors to Scaurus to remind him of his earlier agreement with Aristobulus II.  So, Scaurus again sided with Aristobulus II.

In 63 BC, Pompey arrived in Judea, and Antipater the Idumaean had Hyrcanus II send ambassadors to Pompey to ask him to reinstate Hyrcanus II as king of Judea.  Aristobulus II then sent ambassadors to Pompey to ask him to retain Aristobulus II as king of Judea.  A third group also arrived that asked for the end of Hasmonean rule of Judea.

Pompey told all three groups to wait while he considered the matter.  However, he was favoring Hyrcanus II, because he believed that Hyrcanus II would be a more reliable ally for Rome.

While Pompey was deliberating, Aristobulus II attacked the Romans, because Pompey was favoring Hyrcanus II.  Antipater the Idumaean let Pompey know that Hyrcanus II was ready to aid the Romans against Aristobulus II.  However, Pompey did not need his aid, and soon had Aristobulus II sieged in a massive fortress.

When Pompey demanded Aristobulus II surrender, he complied without a fight.  Aristobulus II then promised to deliver Jerusalem to Pompey, if he could remain as king of Judea.  However, the supporters of Aristobulus II refused to allow Pompey into Jerusalem when they arrived.

When Aristobulus II was arrested by Pompey, his supporters went into the Temple for refuge.  The supporters of Hyrcanus II then opened the gate for Pompey.  Pompey defeated the supporters of Aristobulus II and restored Hyrcanus II to the throne as the Ethnarch (ruler of an ethnic group) of Judea.

In 62 BC, Scaurus sieged Aretas III in Petra, but lacked the supplies to continue the siege for very long.  So, he asked for Hyrcanus II to help him as Antipater the Idumaean had promised before.  So, Hyrcanus II sent Antipater the Idumaean to negotiate a peace treaty between Scaurus and their friend Aretas III.  The siege was lifted, Aretas III gave several hundred talents of silver to Scaurus, and Nabataea became a client kingdom of the Roman Empire with Aretas III as the king.

After this, Pompey appointed Scaurus over all Roman possessions between the Euphrates and Egypt.

However, Hyrcanus II proved ineffective as an administrator and tax collector, so Pompey put Antipater the Idumaean in charge of these duties, while Hyrcanus II mostly focused on his duties as High Priest.

In 57 BC, Aristobulus II and his sons escaped Rome, returned to Judea, and lead a rebellion to restore Aristobulus II as the king of Judea.  The Romans quickly put the rebellion down and returned Aristobulus II to Rome, while Alexander I remained in Judea.

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar sent Aristobulus II back to Judea with several thousand men to start a rebellion in Judea against Pompey with his son Alexander I.  However, Aristobulus II was killed on the ship by men loyal to Pompey.  Pompey soon had Alexander I captured and executed in Antioch.

In 48 BC, Pompey was assassinated in Egypt while fleeing from Julius Caesar.  Antipater the Idumaean swore allegiance to Julius Caesar and placed the Roman army in Judea under his command upon hearing the news.

In 47 BC, Antipater the Idumaean rescued Julius Caesar in Egypt with three thousand soldiers from Judea and the aid of his friends in the region.

Julius Caesar then restored Hyrcanus II as the ethnarch of Judea.  However, Hyrcanus II so relied on Antipater the Idumaean for advise that he was still effectively ruling Judea.

Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus II, then accused Hyrcanus II and Antipater the Idumaean of usurping the throne of Judea before Julius Caesar, when he arrived in Syria that same year.  Antipater the Idumaean responded by showing the scars that he had obtained when he had rescued Julius Caesar in Egypt.  He then recited his long history of loyalty to the Romans.  So, Julius Caesar made Antipater the Idumaean the Roman Procurator of Judea, while Hyrcanus II resumed focusing on his duties as High Priest.

Antipater the Idumaean had the walls of Jerusalem, which Pompey had destroyed, rebuilt.  Antipater the Idumaean then convinced Julius Caesar to make his oldest son Phasael I the governor of Jerusalem and his younger son Herod the Great the governor of Galilee.  They were in charge of keeping civil order and collecting taxes in their districts.  The area ruled by Antipater the Idumaean and his sons covered most of the area that the Romans called Judaea.

During this same time, Herod the Great brought civil order to Galilee by ridding it of robbers.  He became friends with Sextus Caesar, the governor of Syria, and was soon appointed the general of Coelesyria and Samaria.

However, Herod the Great was summoned to Jerusalem by Hyrcanus II to stand before the Sanhedrin to face charges of murder based on accusations made against him by various people in Galilee.  Herod the Great intended to gather an army and wage war on Hyrcanus II, but his father Antipater the Idumaean and his brother Phasael I persuaded him to only threaten to use force instead.

However, Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC and Antipater the Idumaean was forced to side with Cassius over Marc Antony.

Cassius compelled Antipater the Idumaean to collect extreme taxes from Judaea.  So, Antipater the Idumaean tasked each of his sons with collecting half of the taxes demanded by Cassius.  One aristocrat forced to collect taxes was Malichus, who disdained Antipater the Idumaean, so he angered Cassius by dragging out the tax collection.  Cassius was going to kill Malichus, but Antipater the Idumaean saved him by paying Cassius the money that Malichus failed to collect.

Antipater the Idumaean later saved Malichus again from being killed by another Roman ruler.  Nonetheless, Malichus attempted several times to have Antipater the Idumaean assassinated.  Finally, Malichus bribed the cup bearer of Antipater the Idumaean to kill him with poison in 43 BC.

Shortly after the death of Antipater the Idumaean, Antigonus allied with Ptolemy Mennei, the king of Egypt, his brother in law, to take control of Judaea by force, but was repelled by Herod the Great in 42 BC.

In 41 BC, accusations were brought against Phasael I and Herod the Great before Marc Antony in Bithynia by the Sanhedrin.  Herod the Great got the charges dismissed.  Later that year, accusations were brought against the two brothers before Marc Antony in Antioch by the Sanhedrin.  This time Marc Antony made Phasael I and Herod the Great tetrarchs (rulers of a quarter) to support Hyrcanus II against Antigonus.

The next year, the Parthians invaded Syria to take it away from the Romans.  So, Antigonus made a deal with them to give them some gold and 500 female slaves, if they would help him to regain the throne in Judaea as a client kingdom of the Parthians.  Many Jews in Judaea join him to drive the Romans out of Judaea.

Phasael I and Herod the Great successfully defended Jerusalem from this army when it came against them at Shavuot (Pentecost) in 40 BC.  After that, Antigonus asked for Phasael I, Herod the Great, and Hyrcanus II to meet with him at his camp.  Phasael I and Hyrcanus II decided to meet with Antigonus for peace talks despite the warning of Herod the Great not to go.

When Phasael I and Hyrcanus II left for the peace talks, Herod the Great fled Jerusalem to go to Rome to plead with the Romans to restore Judaea to Hyrcanus II.

When Phasael I and Hyrcanus II arrived at the camp of Antigonus, he took them both captive.  Antigonus then mutilated Hyrcanus II to ensure that he could no longer serve as High Priest.  Upon seeing this, Phasael I dashed out his own brains to prevent Antigonus from mutilating him.

Antigonus then became the king of the client kingdom of Judaea.  Hyrcanus II was taken to Babylon by the Parthians, where the Jews there show him great respect.

When Herod the Great arrived in Rome to plead for Roman help for Hyrcanus II in 37 BC, the Roman Senate surprised him by declaring him to be the king of Judaea, on the condition that he could bring Judaea back under Roman control from the Parthians.

So, Herod the Great returned to Judaea leading a Roman army in 36 BC.  By 35 BC, Herod the Great had regained control of most of Judaea.  In 34 BC, Herod the Great capture Jerusalem and took Antigonus prisoner.  Antigonus was sent to Marc Antony in Antioch, where he was executed.

Herod the Great then married Mariamne I, the daughter of Alexander I, the son of Aristobulus II, so he could be seen as a legitimate ruler in the Hasmonean line.  When he did this, he divorced his first wife Doris, and then exiled her and his son by her, Antipater II, out of Judaea.  He also appointed Ananelus from Babylon as the new High Priest.

Herod the Great thus secured his position as the undisputed king of Judaea in 34 BC.

Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII also married about that same time.  So, Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne I, asked Cleopatra VII to convince Marc Antony to aid in getting her son, Aristobulus III, appointed as High Priest.  Cleopatra VII told Mariamne I that she and Aristobulus III needed to meet with Marc Antony in person to get his support.  When Herod the Great heard of this, he feared that Marc Antony might also make Aristobulus III the king of Judaea, so he appointed Aristobulus III as the new High Priest in 33 BC.

However, the marriage between Marc Antony and Cleopatra VII sparked a power struggle between him and Augustus (aka Octavian).  Herod the great was forced to pick a side in this Roman power struggle, so he picked Marc Antony, who was in Egypt, and had control of the eastern half of the Roman empire, including Egypt and Syria, which bordered Judaea.

Also in 33 BC, Herod the Great invited Hyrcanus II to return to Jerusalem.  Upon his return, Herod the Great gave Hyrcanus II a high position as the president of the state council and a place at his own table.  Herod the Great might have done this out of loyalty to the friend of his father, but it also kept the Parthians from trying to place Hyrcanus II upon the throne of Judaea as their client king.

Then in 32 BC, Herod the Great had Aristobulus III assassinated to prevent him from seeking out Marc Antony to become the king of Judaea.  Herod the Great then re-appointed Ananelus as High Priest.

The next year, in 31 BC, Augustus defeated Marc Antony at the battle of Actium.  He was now the undisputed leader of the Romans and soon became the first Roman Emperor.

Herod the Great feared that Augustus would remove him from his position of the king of Judaea, because he had sided with Marc Antony.  So, Herod the Great went to Rhodes to meet with Augustus.  When he arrived, he promised loyalty to Augustus, since he was the Roman Emperor.  He convinced Augustus to continue to let him be the king of Judaea by showing how he had kept Judaea in Roman hands, and how the stability of Judaea had increased the wealth of Egypt, Syria, and Judaea through trade, which created a larger tax base for the Romans.

Four years later, 27 BC,  Herod the Great accused Hyrcanus II of plotting with the Nabataeans to restore him to the throne of Judaea, so he had Hyrcanus II executed.

After this, Herod the Great began his massive building projects in Judaea.  He had massive infrastructure projects throughout Judaea like a system of Roman roads and a system of aqueducts built.  He built monumental enclosures of important sites like the cave of Machpelah, where Abraham (Abram), Isaac (Yitzakh), Jacob (Israel) and their wives were buried.

He also built massive building projects in other cities as a sign of friendship, including Rome.

While his reign was marked by massive building projects, great improvements to the infrastructure of Judaea, and a booming economy, it was also marked by his continuing to use an oppressive tax system developed by the Hasmoneans, the building of Gentile cities, particularly in Galilee, that were centers of idolatry, and his brutal suppression of anyone he perceived to be a threat.

For example, he had Mariamne I executed for allegedly plotting to poison him in 25 BC.  Herod had been so jealous for Mariamne I, that he had ordered for her to be put to death when he died, so that no other man could marry her.  Salome I, who had accused Mariamne I, and Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne I, who was afraid of being executed for her part in the supposed plot, also testified that Mariamne I had been plotting to poison Herod the Great.  So, Herod the Great had her executed and then spent many months in great mourning for her.

Then Alexandra declared Herod the Great too mentally unstable to rule, and herself the Queen of Judaea.  Herod the Great immediately had her executed without a trial.

Shortly after this, Herod the Great had his son by his first wife Doris, Antipater II, return with his mother to Judaea from exile.

So, Herod the Great was not popular among his own subjects, despite the massive employment and business opportunities provided for them.  Nothing he could do, including saving many from starvation by paying for food to be imported from his own coffers during the famine of 21 BC, could endear him to most of them.  He was disliked by both the Pharisees and the Sadducees.  In fact, he was so despised that his personal body guard consisted of two thousand soldiers, with only one of the four units being comprised of Jews.

So, Herod the Great made great efforts to beautify Jerusalem.

However, his most impressive building project was the expansion of the Temple and the Temple Mount.  He had four massive retaining walls built around the original Temple Mount, and then had dirt filled in to make a thirty five acre (13 hectare) acropolis.  He then had 1000 priests work as masons and carpenters to build an enlarged Temple around the Temple built in the time of Nehemiah (Nechemyah).  The initial phase of this building project took eight years to complete.  When it was done, the Temple complex on the Temple Mount was the largest religious structure ever built.  It was twenty times the size of the Temple of Dianna in Ephesus, the next largest religious structure.

In 9 BC he made Antipater II the first heir in his will.

In 8 BC, his two sons by Mariamne I, Alexander II and Aristobulus IV, were also placed in royal succession as well.

In 3 BC, Herod the Great had Alexander II and Aristobulus IV executed for supposedly plotting to kill him.  His son, Antipater II, had made these accusations, so Herod the Great made him the heir apparent to his throne instead of Alexander II and Aristobulus IV, the sons of his favorite wife.

Shortly after that, Herod Phillip I married Herodias, the daughter of Aristobulus IV, his half-niece.  So, Herod the Great promoted him to first in line for the throne since Herodias was a descendant of the Hasmoneans.

("Herod" had became a title by this point of those claiming the right to rule as a descendant of Herod the Great.  This was similar to the Hasmoneans adopting the title Hasmonean to show that they came from Matthias the Priest.  None of the descendants of Herod the Great were given the name of "Herod" as a baby, except for Herod the Great. Philip I (Herod Philip) was the first to use this title, so he is sometimes called Herod II by historians, even though there is no record of anyone calling him that during his life time.)

However, Antipater II protested against this marriage.  So, Herod the Great demoted Herod Phillip I to second in line for the throne and promoted Antipater II to the position of first in line for the throne.

In 1 BC,  the High Priest was unable to perform his duties due to becoming unclean from a nocturnal emission that he had during a dream about his wife.  So, one of the Chief Priests named Jonathan (Yah'nathan) carried out the duties of High Priest that day.  Jonathan offended Herod the Great in some manner, and Herod the Great had him arrested on the day after one of the seven annual fasts of the Jews.  A few days later, Herod the Great had Jonathan executed.  That very night there was a blood moon (full lunar eclipse) (29 DEC 1 BC) and Herod the Great was struck with a horrendously painful and putrefying disease.  Herod the Great knew that his days on Earth were quickly coming to an end.

After this, Herod the Great had a Roman Eagle placed over the Temple entrance a week or so before his death.  Two teachers and forty of their disciples meeting at the Temple soon destroyed the Roman Eagle with axes.  Some of his supporters then arrested these two teachers with their forty disciples and burned them all at the stake.

People were so angry over this incident that many began to desire to come back under Hasmonean rule.  So Herod the Great blamed the entire incident on the remaining Hasmoneans.  He then had all of the remaining males in the Hasmonean line killed to appease the anger of the people of Judaea over this incident.

This did nothing to endear him to the people of Judaea, but rather made them despise him more.  In fact, Herod the Great feared that no one would mourn his death, but instead everyone would engage in great celebrations.  So days before he died, he ordered a large group of the distinguished men of Judaea to come to Jericho.  Then he gave an order that they should all be killed when he died, so that there would be great mourning throughout his kingdom when he died.

Herod the Great ordered that all male children two years and under be slaughtered as recorded by the Roman historian Macrobius.  Macrobius implies that this slaughter was throughout all Judaea.  This Pagan also recorded that Herod the Great killed one of his own sons at this time, prompting Caesar Augustus to say, "It is better to be Herod's pig than his son.".

According to Josephus, this son was Antipater II for allegedly plotting to poison him, and he was executed five days before the death of Herod the Great.

So, Herod Philip I was now first in line for the throne again, but Herod the Great wrote him out of his will because his mother, Mariamne II, failed to warn him of the plot by Antipater II to poison him.  Herod the Great then exiled Herod Philip I and Herodias to Rome.  Doris went with them to Rome as well.

So Herod the Great changed his will about five days before he died, to divided his kingdom between his three remaining sons in Judaea.  He gave royal authority to them to start ruling under him in the areas that he would give them in his will, contingent upon approval by Caesar Augustus.

After suffering for about three months, Herod the Great died shortly before the Passover (Pesach) of 1 AD.

(The year of the death of Herod the Great is explained in detail when examining the evidence to determine when the Man of Truth was born.  So, I have corrected the years of events calculated based on the death of Herod from the erroneous 4 BC that is commonly used to be based on 1 AD instead.  (There was no visible full lunar eclipse in Judaea in 4 BC.)

This is also consistent with the report of Cassia Dio that the Romans accomplished nothing of note in Judaea in 37 BC.  (They would have taken Jerusalem under the leadership of Herod the Great in 37 BC, if he had died in 4 BC.))

His son Archelaus (Herod Archelaus) and his sister Salome I immediately rescinded the order to kill the distinguished men in Jericho.  This prevented Judaea from being plunged into a civil war.

When Herod the Great died he left a small, but disproportionately rich, powerful, and influential kingdom, about the size of modern Israel.  He divided his kingdom into four portions with the approval of the Roman Emperor.

A portion consisting of a small area along the Mediterranean coast and another smaller area north of the Dead Sea on the west side of the Jordan River went to his sister Salome I.  She was given the title of Queen.

So, Archelaus became the full ruler over the rest of the southern half of the kingdom of Herod on the west side of the Jordan River as the Ethnarch of Judaea.

Herod Antipas (Antipas II) became the full ruler over Galilee and Perea.  Herod Antipas was given the title of Tetrarch of Galilee.

Philip II was given the title of Tetrarch and ruled over the north east quarter of the kingdom of Herod the Great

However, before Archelaus was officially recognized as the Ethnarch of Judaea by Caesar Augustus, he met with the people of Judaea to ask what he could do to appease their anger, since they were on the verge of revolt after the incident of Herod the Great placing the Eagle standard over the entrance of the Temple.  He agreed to lower their taxes and release the political prisoners of Herod the Great.  However, he was unwilling to punish the supporters of Herod the Great who had killed the two teachers and their forty student for destroying the Roman Eagle over the entrance to the Temple, until he was confirmed as king by the Romans.  He did however agree to replace the High Priest appointed by Herod the Great with one of their choosing.

However, while Archelaus was feasting before leaving for Rome, a group of people not satisfied with waiting for the killers of the two teachers and their students to punished, began recruiting people in the Temple to avenge their deaths themselves with loud mourning.  So, Archelaus sent a Roman general, a Tribune, some diplomats, and some soldiers to reason with these rebels to not take matters into their own hands, but to wait for Archelaus to first be confirmed as king.  The large crowd responded by stoning the delegation sent by Archelaus, killing many of the soldiers, and then resuming their sacrifices in the Temple.

Archelaus responded by sending all of the soldiers in Jerusalem to the Temple and killing three thousand of these rebels.  He then sent heralds throughout the city announcing that Passover was being cancelled for that year.

Archelaus then sailed to Rome to be confirmed as the Ethnarch of Judaea as specified in the will of Herod the Great.

However, when he arrive for his confirmation, he was accused before August Caesar by Herod Philip I.  Herod Philip I accused him of only putting on a show of mourning for his father, Herod the Great, and asserting his authority over that of Caesar by acting as king when he sent the army to kill the three thousand in the Temple, even though Caesar had not yet confirmed him as king.

Nicolaus of Damascus, the court historian of Herod the Great, then explained to Caesar that Archelaus had acted appropriately in putting down a rebellion against Rome, since Herod the Great had placed him in charge of Judaea before he had died, and that the change in the will was valid, since Herod the Great was in his right mind, and had left the final decision to Caesar.

Archelaus then threw himself at the feet of Caesar Augustus.  Caesar raised him up and declared that he was the Ethnarch of Judaea as Herod the Great had made him in his final will.  Herod Philip I and Herodias remained in Rome while Archelaus returned to rule over Judaea.

Archelaus later divorced his first wife to marry Glaphyra, the widow of his half brother Alexander II, even though her second husband was still alive.  This violation of the Law of Truth and his acts of cruelty during his reign, caused the Jewish religious leaders to complain to Augustus Caesar.  Augustus had the charges investigated and found them to be true.  So, Archelaus was exiled to where all brutal rulers seem to end up - France (Gaul) - and confined to the city of Vienne in 10 AD.

A Roman governor was then sent to rule over Judaea.  The rise of the Herodians was over.

The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them rise to bring about His will.  They were needed as His unwitting pawns to fulfill what was written in the Prophets of Truth, so the people of Israel could identify the Man of Truth as their Messiah (Mashiach).

If the Herodians had not risen, then the words of Micah concerning the place where the Messiah of Israel would be born would have never been confirmed as being fulfilled (Micah 5:2).

If Herod the Great had not kept Judaea in Roman hands, then Joseph (Yousef) never would have left Nazareth to go to Bethlehem to obey the decree of Caesar August, when Mary (Mariam) so close to giving birth (Luke 2:1-5).  The shepherds never would have went to Bethlehem at the command of the Angel of Truth (Luke 2:6-16)  The shepherds never would have witnessed to people that the Messiah of Israel had been born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:17-18).

If Herod the Great had not became a paranoid king, then he would not have been troubled by the Wise Men asking him where The King of the Jews was born (Matthew 2:1-3).  He never would have investigated to determine that the Messiah of Israel had to have been born in Bethlehem as Micah had said (Matthew 2:4-6).

If the Herodians had not risen, then the words of Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) concerning the weeping of the daughters of Rachel crying for their young children in Rama, would have never came to pass (Jeremiah 31:15).  [Rama was in the land of Benjamin, the allotment of the tribe Benjamin, which came from Benjamin the son of Rachel.]

If Herod the Great had not been eliminating perceived enemies, then he would have never asked the Wise Men when the Man of Truth was born (Matthew 2:7).  He would have never sent them to Bethlehem to find the Man of Truth (Matthew 2:8).  The Wise Men would have never found the Man of Truth in Bethlehem and then left Judaea without telling Herod the Great (Matthew 2:9-12). He would have never killed all the boys two years and under from Bethlehem (south of Jerusalem) to Rama (north of Jerusalem), causing great weeping among their mothers, as Jeremiah had said (Matthew 2:16-18).

If the Herodians had not risen, then the words of Malachi concerning the Father of Truth calling His Son out of Egypt, would have never came to pass (Hosea 11:1).

If Herod the Great had not been so wrathful, then Joseph would have never been told in a dream to flee to Egypt, so that he could later be called to take the Man of Truth out of Egypt, to bring about what Malachi said (Matthew 2:13-15).  Joseph never would have been called to take the Man of Truth out of the Egypt and into the land of Israel, after the death of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:19-20).  Joseph never would have needed to bring the Man of Truth into the land of Israel (Matthew 2:21).

If the Herodians had not risen, then the words of Zechariah concerning the Messiah of Israel being called the Branch, would have never came to pass (Zechariah 6:12).

If Herod the Great had not divided his kingdom in his will, and if Archelaus had not been so terrible, then Joseph would have not been afraid to remain in Judaea, but moved to Galilee where Herod Antipas ruled, after being warned in a dream (Matthew 2:22). (Joseph may not have wanted to move back to Galilee since it had became filled with Gentile cities that were centers of idolatry.)  Joseph would not have moved back to Nazareth, so that the Man of Truth would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23) [Nazarene literally means "the branch" as explained in detail in The Prophets.  So, the Man of Truth was called The Branch every time someone referred to him as being from Nazareth or as the Nazarene.]

The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them rise to bring about His will.  They were needed as His unwitting pawns to preserve and expand the Temple, so the people of Israel could be told in the Temple that the words of the Prophets of Truth concerning the Messiah of Israel and the Faithful Prophet of Truth were coming to pass.

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then would have been no announcement in the Temple, that the words of Malachi concerning a Prophet Of Truth, which would prepare the way before the Messiah of Israel, were coming to pass (Malachi 3:1).  There would have been no announcement in the Temple, that the words of Malachi concerning a Prophet Of Truth, with a spirit like that of Elijah, were coming to pass (Malachi 4:5-6).

Since Herod the Great had preserved and expanded the Temple, then the Angel of Truth was able to tell Zacharias in the Temple, that his son John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikvah Man), would be born to bring these words of Malachi to pass  (Luke 1:5-17).  The people of Israel in the Temple would not have been witnesses that Zacharias had seen a vision in the Temple (Luke 1:18-22).

The people of Judea near to Zacharias would have never witnessed the supernatural birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:57-64).  The news of this supernatural birth as a sign that John the Baptist was the Faithful Prophet of Truth would never spread among the people of Judea (Luke 1:65-66).  The people of Judaea would have never heard the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) witness through the mouth of Zacharias, that John the Baptist was the Faithful Prophet of Truth spoken of by Malachi, without the events that occurred in the Temple (Luke 1:65-79).

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then there would have been no way to verify that the words of Jeremiah about the Messiah of Israel being a son (descendant) of King David, were being fulfilled (Jeremiah 33:21).

(Nehemiah (Nechemyah) had found a registry of the genealogy of the Jews who first returned to Judah after the Babylonian captivity, when the Father of Truth put it in his heart to verify the genealogy of the returning captives (Nehemiah 7:5).  This registry continued to be maintained by the Priests of Truth in the Temple (Nehemiah 7:63-65).)

Since Herod the Great had maintained and expanded the Temple, the genealogy of the Man of Truth as the descendant of King David through his mother was able to be confirmed as accurate (Matthew 1:1-16). [The original Hebrew text of Matthew reads "Joseph the Father of Mary" as understood once the language of the Renewed Covenant is understood.  This agrees with fourteen generations from carrying away into Babylon to the Man of Truth (Matthew 1:17).]   This Temple registry also allowed Joseph, the husband of Mary, to be confirmed as a descendant of King David as well (Luke 3:23-38).

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then would have been no announcement in the Temple, that the words of Isaiah (Yesha'yahu) concerning the Messiah of Israel restoring the people of Israel and being a light to the Gentiles were coming to pass (Isaiah 49:6).

Since Herod the Great had maintained and expanded the Temple, Simeon was able to lift up the Man of Truth for everyone in the Temple to see, and declare that he was the glory of the people of Israel and a light unto the Gentiles, as Isaiah had said, when Joseph and Mary took the Man of Truth to the Temple to present him before the Father of Truth (Luke 2:22-32).

The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them rise to bring about His will.  They were needed as His unwitting pawns to preserve and expand the Temple, so there would be a witness to the people of Israel in the Temple that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel.

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then Simeon could not have told Joseph and Mary in the Temple, about the fall and rise of the Jewish people over the Man of Truth (Luke 2:33-35).

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then Anna, the Prophetess of Truth, could not have been serving the Father of Truth with prayers and fasting in the Temple, until she gave testimony to everyone in the Temple, that the Man of Truth was the redemption, which the people of Israel were looking for (Luke 2:36-38).

If the Herodians had not preserved and expanded the Temple, then Joseph and Mary could not have went to Jerusalem to keep the Passover every year (Luke 2:39-41).  The Man of Truth would not have been able to display his deep understanding of the words of the Father of Truth to the religious leaders in the Temple, when he was twelve (Luke 2:42-50). (This was the same year that Archelaus was replaced with a Roman governor.)

So, the rise of the Herodians was the will of the Father of Truth to prepare the people of Israel for the Man of Truth.

Their actions caused the parents of the Man of Truth to fulfill the seemingly contradicting prophesies about where the Messiah of Israel would from.  Their actions caused his mother to give birth to him in Bethlehem, Joseph to be called to take him out of Egypt, and to have him called a Nazarene (Branch).  These events, and the slaughter of the children from Bethlehem to Rama, were all signs to the people of Israel that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel.

Their maintenance and expansion of the Temple created a grand stage to prepare the people of Israel to recognize, that both John the Baptist and the Man of Truth fulfilled the words of the Prophets of Truth.  The people of Israel were given notice in spectacular ways and on a grand scale in the Temple, that John the Baptist was the Faithful Prophet of Truth spoken of by the Prophets of Truth.  The people of Israel were given notice in spectacular ways and on a grand scale in the Temple, that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel spoken of by the Prophets of Truth.

Their maintenance and expansion of the Temple served as the background for the great witness of people and events, that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel.

The rise of the Herodians prepared the people of Israel for the Man of Truth, but most of them did not benefit from this.  Though the people of Israel were prepared in spectacular ways, most of them did not accept the Man of Truth as the Messiah of Israel (John 1:11).  However, this preparation was not in vain, for many of the people of Israel did come into the House of Truth (John 1:12-13).

The rise of the Herodians will benefit you as well, if you believe that the Man of Truth died for your sins and rose for your justification (Romans 4:22-25).  You just need to make the King of the Jews, your king, because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth!