The Fall of The Herodians
How did the fall of the Herodians help spread the Gospel?
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.
During this process, He raised up the Maccabees. The gift of the Maccabees was preserving the religion of the Father of Truth 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 created the political climate in the land of Israel that made the Good News possible. The fall of the Herodians would help bring the Good News to the world.
The story of the fall of the Herodians began with the Hasmoneans, for it is the story of three royal families intertwined by love and war.
In 110 BC, John Hyrcanus I conquered Idumaea, and forced all of the Edomites who lived there 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, Hyrcanus I died and his son Aristobulus I became the next Hasmonean king. However, he soon died.
In 103 BC, Alexander Jannaeus, the brother of Aristobulus I, became the new Hasmonean king. He made Antipas the Idumaean (Antipas I) the governor of Idumaea due to his connections to the ruling family of the Nabataeans.
Antipas the Idumaean then had a son 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 brothers Phasael I and Joseph I. They also had a daughter, Salome I.
When Antipas the Idumaean died, then Alexander Jannaeus made Antipater 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 became the advisor of Hyrcanus II.
Eventually Alexander I, the son of Aristobulus II, married Alexandra, the daughter of his brother Hyrcanus II. They had a son, Aristobulus III, and a daughter, Mariamne I.
Then 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. 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. So, Herod the Great became the advisor of Hyrcanus II.
However, the other son of Aristobulus II, Antigonus, captured Hyrcanus II and Phasael I when the Parthians invaded Judaea in 40 BC. Antigonus became the Parthian client king of Judaea. Hyrcanus II was exiled to Babylon. Phasael I died, but he was survived by his son Phasael II.
However, Herod the Great escaped to Rome to ask for help in restoring Hyrcanus II to the throne. Still, there was a sorrow over the loss of his brother Phasael I that he never quite got over.
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.
In 36 BC, Joseph I had a son, Joseph II.
Two years later, 34 BC, Herod the Great retook Jerusalem, became the client king of the Romans in Judaea, and Antigonus was executed.
Then Herod the Great began sowing the seeds of the fall of the Herodians.
In 33 BC Herod the Great married Mariamne I. This gave Herod the Great legitimacy as a ruler in the Hasmonean line, but it also began his slow descent into madness.
Herod the Great also brought Hyrcanus II back from his exile that same year.
In 32 BC, Herod the Great had made Aristobulus III the High Priest. He was now part of the Hasmonean family, but this did not last long.
Soon, Herod the Great learned of a plot Aristobulus III to take the throne, so Herod the Great had him assassinated.
In 31 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had a son, Alexander II. Herod the Great developed a great jealousy for Mariamne I at this time. He gave orders that if he should die before her, then she was to be killed, so that no one else could marry her.
In 27 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had another son, Aristobulus IV. Herod the Great also had Hyrcanus II executed that year, when he heard a rumor that Hyrcanus II was plotting to take the throne.
Herod the Great and Mariamne I then had two daughters, Salampsio and Cypros II.
In 25 BC, Salome I accused Mariamne I of plotting to poison Herod the Great. Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne I, also accused her daughter as well. So, Herod the Great had Mariamne I executed and began a long period of great mourning for her.
The Talmud says that Herod the Great kept her body preserved in honey for seven years. It was commonly believed that he attempted to keep having marital relations with her preserved body.
Josephus relates that Herod the Great constantly occupied himself with hunting and banqueting to forget his loss of Mariamne I. However, when he got to Samaria, where he had married Mariamne I, he became very ill.
So, Alexandra declared Herod the Great insane and herself to be the Queen of Judaea, since she was a Hasmonean. Herod the Great realized her treachery in accusing Mariamne I, and had her executed without a trial. Then he brought Doris and Antipater II back from their exile.
After this, Herod the Great began massive building projects to occupy his mind and to deal with his grief for his brother and wife. He had towers built in Jerusalem to commemorate his brother Phasael I and Mariamne I. He improved the water system at Jerusalem, so that it would not run out of water if sieged.
He built five fortresses in Judaea including Masada. He built Gentile cities throughout Galilee that were centers of idolatry. These costly projects were both loved by the people in Israel, who profited from their construction, and hated by the people of Israel, who paid for them by a system of oppressive taxation.
Herod the Great then married Mariamne II, the daughter of the High Priest. Herod the Great then married another wife, a Samaritan woman named Malthace. Soon after that, Herod the Great married another wife named Cleopatra of Jerusalem. After that, Herod the Great married five more wives, including Elpis.
None of them could heal the sorrow that Herod the Great felt in his heart for his loss of Mariamne I. Herod the Great continued to slip further and further into madness.
Still, 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. 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 lifetime.)
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). He also had a daughter by her named Olympias.
Herod the Great began his most impressive building project, the enlargement and beautification of the Temple and the Temple Mount in 18 BC. He also began building the city of Caesarea, a miniature of Rome with an artificial harbor that same year.
In 11 BC, Aristobulus IV and his wife Berenice I, daughter of Salome I, had a son, Herod Agrippa I. Soon after that, they had a daughter, Herodias. They also had three other children including Herod Pollio.
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. Antipater had claimed the right of the first born son to rule, even though his mother was not the favorite wife of Herod the Great, as was commanded in the Law of Truth concerning the double portion (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).
In 8 BC, Herod the Great placed the sons of Mariamne I, Alexander II and Aristobulus IV, as first in succession since they were descendants of the Hasmoneans.
In 3 BC, Antipater II accused Alexander II and Aristobulus IV of plotting to poison Herod the Great, so Herod the Great had them executed. Antipater II was back as first in succession.
Also that year, Herod Philip married Herodias. Since this would put his children in the Hasmonean line, Herod the Great promoted him to first in succession, until Antipater II protested and was returned to first in succession.
In 1 AD, Herod the Great had Antipater II executed for plotting to poison him.
Next, Herod the Great removed Herod Philip from his will and divorced his mother Mariamne II, because she had failed to warn him of the plot of Antipater II. Herod Philip and Herodias were exiled to Rome. Mariamne II and Doris went to Rome with them.
Herod the Great then changed his will to divide his kingdom, so that none of his descendants would rule a kingdom as great as his. He divided his kingdom between his sister Salome I and three of his sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip the Tetrarch. He gave them authority to begin ruling under him until the change in his will was approved by the Roman Emperor Augustus.
This division of his kingdom made the fall of the Herodians all but inevitable.
Lastly, Herod the Great feared that no one would mourn his death, but instead everyone would engage in great celebrations. So, he ordered a large group of the distinguished men from every city in Judaea to come to Jericho. After they arrived, 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.
His son Archelaus (Herod Archelaus) and his sister Salome I immediately rescinded the order to kill the distinguished men in Jericho as soon as Herod the Great died. This prevented Judaea from being plunged into a civil war.
Soon, the final will of Herod was approved in 1 AD, after Herod Philip accused Herod Archelaus before the Roman Emperor Augustus of being unfit to rule Judaea.
Herod Archelaus continued ruling over the southern half of the kingdom of Herod the Great with the title of Ethnarch of Judaea, except for the small areas ruled by Salome I with the title of queen. (The ruler of Judaea was responsible for the actual administration of these areas.)
Herod Antipas continued ruling over Galilee and Perea with the title of Tetrarch. Philip the Tetrarch continued ruling over the northeast fourth of the kingdom of Herod the Great with the title of Tetrarch.
Also around that same time, Phasael II and his wife Salampsio began their family of five children, including Cypros III.
This was also around the time that Joseph II and his wife Olympias had a daughter named Mariamne III.
However, by 10 AD, Herod Archelaus had so provoked the people of Judaea, that Judaea was on the verge of revolt. So, he was replaced with a Roman governor by the Roman Emperor Augustus and exiled to where all brutal rulers seem to end up - France (Gaul).
The fall of the Herodians had began.
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 and under full control of the Roman governor of Judaea.
Also around 21 AD, Herod Pollio and his wife Mariamne III had a son, Aristobulus V.
Around 22 AD, Herod Archelaus died while still in exile in Gaul.
In 23 AD, Herod Agrippa I fled Rome after the death of his friend Drusus, the son of Emperor Tiberius, to escape his creditors. He arrived in Judaea the next year.
In 27 AD, Herod Agrippa I and his wife Cypros III had a son, Herod Agrippa II. The next year they had a daughter, Berenice II.
Also in 28 AD, Herodias divorced Herod Philip to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas in like manner divorced his wife Phasaelis, the daughter of Aretas IV, the king of Nabataea, to marry Herodias. Herodias and Salome III moved to Galilee to live with Herod Antipas.
Around that time, Herod Agrippa I was persuaded by his wife Cypros III and his sister Herodias to be an administrator of Tiberias under his uncle and brother-in-law Herod Antipas.
In 29 AD, according to Josephus, Herod Antipas had John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikvah Man) arrested and executed.
Around 31 AD, Herod Agrippa I got into a quarrel with Herod Antipas and fled to the governor of Syria. Soon, Herod Agrippa I was forced to flee Syria to escape charges of bribery and went to Alexandria, Egypt.
Around 32 AD, Aretas IV, the king of Nabataea, started a war against the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas as revenge for divorcing his daughter Phasaelis. The army of Herod Antipas was soon decimated. According to Josephus, most Jews believed that this war was the revenge of the Father of Truth for Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist.
Also according to Josephus, Salome III was married to her half-uncle Philip the Tetrarch at this time and she moved to his capital. This kept her safe from Aretas IV as he took out his revenge.
In 33 AD, Herod Philip died in Rome.
Also, around this time, Cypros II arranged for Alexander the Alabarch, a wealthy Jewish aristocrat in Alexandria, Egypt, to loan her the money to send her husband, Herod Agrippa I, to Rome in style and to pay off his creditors in Rome. When Herod Agrippa I arrived in Rome, he was given a position of great honor by Emperor Tiberius and soon became friends with Caligula.
In 34 AD, Philip the Tetrarch died childless. His tetrarchy became part of the Roman providence of Syria.
Shortly after that, Salome III married Aristobulus V.
So, all that was left under control of the Herodians was the Tetrarchy of Antipas, and it was overran by the Nabataeans. The fall of the Herodians looked to soon be completed.
Around that same time, Herod Agrippa I and Cypros III had another daughter, Mariamne IV.
In 36 AD, Herod Antipas plead for help from Roman Emperor Tiberias to invade Nabataea, so that Aretas IV will no longer be able to attack the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. Emperor Tiberius sent orders to the Roman governor of Syria, Vitellius, to gather an army and invade Nabataea after the next Passover.
That same year, Herod Agrippa I was thrown into prison in Rome for saying, that he wished Emperor Tiberius would die soon, so his friend Caligula could soon become the next Roman Emperor. The last hope of the Herodians was now in shackles and there seemed no hope for the Herodians to continue.
In 37 AD, Vitellius arrived in Jerusalem with a Roman army before Passover began. (Extra troops were usually sent to Jerusalem from nearby Roman provinces during the Passover celebration in case a rebellion erupted.) However, he received news of the death of Emperor Tiberias while waiting for the Passover celebration to end, and then waited for further orders from the next Roman Emperor. The invasion of Nabataea was ultimately canceled.
Then Caligula became the next Roman Emperor that same year. He freed Herod Agrippa I from prison, and made him ruler over the former Tetrarchy of Philip, plus the area of Abila, with the title of King. He also gave Herod Agrippa I chains of solid gold equal in weight to the iron chains that Herod Agrippa I had worn in prison.
Herod Agrippa I left Rome and went to Jerusalem, where he donated his chains of gold to the treasury of the Temple. Then he went to Caesarea Philippi to begin his reign. After he arrived, Herod Agrippa I quickly made peace with Aretas IV, reminding him that they were from the same royal Nabataean bloodline.
In 38 AD, Herod Agrippa I and Cypros III had another daughter, Drusilla.
In 39 AD, Herod Antipas was accused of conspiracy against the new Roman Emperor Caligula by his nephew Herod Agrippa I. Caligula exiled him and Herodias to where all brutal rulers seem to end up - France (Gaul). They remained in Gaul until their deaths.
In 40 AD, Herod Agrippa I had the Tetrarchy of Antipas added to his kingdom by Emperor Caligula.
Herod Agrippa I continued the policy of building Gentile cities in Galilee, which were centers of idolatry, that his grandfather Herod the Great had started.
Later that year, Emperor Caligula ordered that a statue of himself be erected in the Temple in Jerusalem. Herod Agrippa I was able to persuade him to rescind the order. This prevented a revolt throughout both Judaea and his own kingdom.
In 41 AD, Emperor Caligula again sought to have a statue of himself placed in the Temple, but this order was rescinded when he was assassinated.
Herod Agrippa I then went to Rome to support Claudius in his efforts to become the next Roman Emperor. When Claudius became the next Roman Emperor, he added Judaea to the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I. So, Herod Agrippa I ruled over a kingdom that was slightly larger than that of Herod the Great. It looked like the fall of the Herodians was over, but that soon changed.
While Herod Agrippa I was there in 41 AD, Claudius also granted his request to give his brother Herod Pollio the small kingdom of Chalcis, just north of the former Tetrarchy of Philip, and the title of King. His brother Herod Pollio became known as Herod of Chalcis at that time.
Herod Agrippa I then made Jerusalem his capital. He then gave priority to the completion of the expansion and beautification of the Temple that his grandfather Herod the Great had began. (The Roman governors had siphoned off some of the money collected by taxes for this project and had used it for other purposes.)
Herod Agrippa I was zealous for Rabbinic Judaism as noted by Josephus, Philo, and the Talmud. In fact, he was highly praised by both the Rabbis and the Priests. He was able to please both the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Herod Agrippa I may have been so zealous for Rabbinic Judaism because of his ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Herod the Great, had an Edomite father (Antipas the Idumaean) and a Nabataean mother (Cypros I). His paternal grand mother, Mariamne I, was Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Costobarus, was an Edomite. His maternal grand mother, Salome I, had the same ancestry as her brother Herod the Great. So, Herod Agrippa I was half Edomite, one quarter Nabataean, and one quarter Jewish. Even though he was the fourth generation to be raised Jewish, he always seemed to have a constant need to prove his Jewishness and be accepted as a Jew.
According to the Talmud, when Herod Agrippa I read the passage from the Torah to those at the Temple for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), he was praised by the Jewish religious professionals for standing up to show greater piety, instead of sitting down, as Jewish kings before him had done. When he read the commandment that no stranger, who was not a descendant of Israel, was allowed to be king over the Jews, tears flowed from his eyes (Deuteronomy 17:15). However, the Jewish religious professionals told him, "Do not fear, Agrippa, you are our brother, you are our brother".
In 43 AD, Berenice II married the son of Alexander the Alabarch and moved to Alexandria.
According to Josephus, after Passover in 44 AD, Herod Agrippa I went to Caesarea and conducted a festival in honor of Caesar. On the second day of the festival, Herod Agrippa I wore a royal garment made completely of silver that shined brightly in the sunlight. His flatterers began to cry out that he was a god and not a mere mortal. He did nothing to stop this worship of him. Suddenly, he was struck with violent pain in the abdomen. He then rebuked his flatters for saying that he was immortal, because they had provoked the Father of Truth to bring judgment upon him to show that he was a mere man, by causing him to die. Five days later, Herod Agrippa I died.
Like Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I was not well liked by many of those he ruled over. While very popular with the Jewish religious leaders of Judaea, he was very unpopular with the Gentiles of Judaea. According to Josephus, there were great celebrations by the Gentiles in Caesarea and Sabaste (the city of Samaria), with offerings to thank their Pagan gods, upon the news of his death. The Gentile soldiers in Caesarea took the statues of the three daughters of Herod Agrippa I and placed them on the roofs of brothels, where they defiled the statues by pretending to rape the statues in every conceivable way.
His son, Herod Agrippa II was only seventeen when Herod Agrippa I died, so the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I was divided up and governed by Roman rulers. Herod Agrippa I and his other two sisters were taken to live in Rome with Emperor Claudius. However, the responsibility for the Temple and the appointment of the High Priests was given to the brother of Herod Agrippa I, Herod of Chalcis (Herod Pollio), after he died.
Also that year, the husband of Berenice II died, and she then married her uncle, Herod of Chalcis, shortly after his wife, Mariamne III, had died.
When Herod of Chalcis died in 48 AD, Herod Agrippa II was made the ruler of Chalcis by Emperor Claudius, with the title of Tetrarch. Herod Agrippa II was also given responsibility for the Temple and the appointment of the High Priest. Herod Agrippa II took his two sisters with him to Chalcis, where Berenice II still resided.
In 50 AD, Berenice II married the Polemon II, the king of Cilicia, to dispel rumors that she was in an incestuous relationship with her brother Herod Agrippa II, according to Josephus. Part of the reason for this rumor was that Herod Agrippa II never married. This rumor was so widespread that Juvenal, the father of satire, right out claimed that these Herodian siblings were lovers in one of his satires.
By the next year, Berenice II had divorced the Polemon II and had return to living with her brother Herod Agrippa II.
In 53 AD, Emperor Claudius removed Herod Agrippa II from being ruler over Chalcis, but instead had him rule over the former Tetrarchy of Philip plus Abila with the title of King. Herod also retained oversight of the Temple and the appointment of the High Priest. Herod Agrippa II and his three sisters then moved to Caesarea Philippi, the capital of his new kingdom.
Later that year, Herod Agrippa II married off Mariamne IV.
Around 54 AD, Herod Agrippa II married off Drusilla to the Priest-King of Emesa, who converted to Judaism and was circumcised in order to marry Drusilla. However, Berenice II remained with Herod Agrippa II in Caesarea Philippi.
In 55 AD, the next Roman Emperor, Nero, added parts of Galilee and Perea to kingdom of Herod Agrippa II.
Around this time, Herod Agrippa II began spending much of the wealth of his kingdom on Jerusalem and other cities. One city that he spent considerable wealth on was Berytus (modern Beirut), a Phoenician city that had been became a Roman colony for retired soldiers from two Roman legions. This greatly angered many of the people in his kingdom as well as Jewish people throughout the land of Israel.
Around 56 AD, Felix, the Roman Procurator of Judaea, met Drusilla at the court of Herod Agrippa II and fell in love with her. Felix then hired a Jewish sorcerer named Simon, to convince Drusilla to divorce her Jewish-by-conversion husband, the Priest-King of Emesa, and to marry him instead. Simon was able to convince her that she would be much happier married to Felix, even though he was an idol worshiper. So, Felix divorced his wife and Drusilla divorced her husband. Then Felix married Drusilla.
(NOTE: This Jewish sorcerer from Cyprus named Simon, is not the sorcerer from Samaria named Simon, who came to faith at the preaching of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 8:5-24). The Simon from Samaria had left off sorcery to follow the Man of Truth in 33 AD.)
In 57 AD, Emperor Nero made Aristobulus V the ruler of Chalcis. For this reason, he is often called Aristobulus of Chalcis.
In 62 AD, Josephus records that Ananus the High Priest assembled a court, tried the Apostle James (brother of the Man of Truth), and had him executed during a brief period when there was no Roman oversight of Jerusalem. Many of the people of Jerusalem were outraged since the Apostle James had not broken the Law of Truth in any way. So, Herod Agrippa II removed Ananus from the office of High Priest.
In 63 AD, the expansion of the Temple started by Herod the Great was finally completed under the oversight of Herod Agrippa II.
In 64 AD, Gessius Florus became the new Roman governor of Judaea. He immediately began doing things to gain the favor the Greeks, first those in Caesarea, and then those scattered throughout the Gentile cities of Galilee that Herod the Great had built.
In so doing, he allowed the Greeks to do things to irritate the Jews throughout Judaea. He also started provoking the Jews personally by taking bribes, refusing to hear their complaints against the Greeks, and killing many of them.
Eusebius record that the Christians of Judaea began moving to Pella in the Decapolis at this time.
So, Herod Agrippa II stepped in the next year, and tried to convince the Jews to not revolt against the Romans, while he worked to get Florus replaced with a better governor. However, when Herod Agrippa II went to ask help from Cestius Gallus, the Roman Governor of Syria with authority over Florus, to put an end of these injustices, Gallus refused to take any action.
In 66 AD, some Greeks turn a large clay jar upside down to make an alter in front of a synagogue in Caesarea. They then sacrificed birds upon it to their gods, thus making the entrance of the synagogue unclean.
So Jewish leaders paid a large sum of money for an audience with Florus to ask for justice. Florus refused to hear them, even though he had accepted the money. Instead, he had the Jewish leaders imprisoned.
This immediately led to widespread attacks on Gentiles throughout Judaea, as well as upon Jews that were perceived as "traitors". Soon there were tax protests throughout Judaea. The Jews also ceased to offer prayers and sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman Emperor.
Florus responded by having his soldiers plunder the treasury of the Temple. The next day, he had the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem arrested and crucified.
So, Berenice II went to Caesarea and plead with Florus to stop provoking the Jews in Judaea. Not only did he deny her request, but she was nearly killed in the skirmishes that followed in the city.
Next, she went to Gallus and plead for him to put an end to the rule of Florus. Gallus gave her no response.
So, Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice II went to Jerusalem to plead with the Jews to not continue in rebellion against the Romans. However, the rebels in Jerusalem responded by burning down their palaces in Jerusalem.
This lead to a complete and wide spread revolt against the Romans throughout Judaea. Soon, the Jewish rebels had complete control of Jerusalem and Masada, the massive fortress that Herod the Great had built. Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice II then fled Jerusalem to escape to his own kingdom in Galilee. However, the rebels killed the former High Priest Ananias.
Soon, Herod Agrippa II went to Gallus to get help to restore order in Judaea. So, Gallus went into Judaea commanding over 44,000 troops, including 14,000 supplied by Herod Agrippa II as well as other regional client kings like the King of Nabataea, Malichus II, the son of Aretas IV.
Within a short time, Gallus had gained control of Galilee and the coast of Judaea. So he went to subdue Jerusalem.
However, when Gallus arrived, he could not take the city completely, due to a loss of siege machines by the constant raids against his army by Jewish rebel forces, since he had first arrived in Galilee. These same Jewish rebel forces had also cut off his supply line. So after nine days, Gallus decided to end the siege and return to Caesarea for reinforcements.
Eusebius record that the migration of Christians to Pella from Judaea greatly increased at this time, with great numbers leaving Jerusalem before the Romans returned. He records that they did this because they had been warned to leave Jerusalem and escape to the hills outside of Judaea when they saw the Romans coming to surround Jerusalem. His record agrees with the description of Josephus of how many of the Jews fled Jerusalem after Gallus departed.
On the way to Caesarea, Gallus was ambushed at Beth Horon by a force of Jewish rebels led by the false Messiah Simon bar Giora. When Gallus managed to get to what was left of his army to safety at Antipatris, at least 6,000 Roman soldiers had been killed in the battle, and perhaps twice that many were badly wounded. So, the Romans suffered their worst defeat in battle during their entire history at the hands of Jewish rebels in the same place where the Seleucid Empire suffered the worst defeat in battle during its entire history at the hands of the Maccabees.
Soon, Florus was dismissed as governor, and Gallus went back to Syria in disgrace with his remaining army of 6,000 or so. Not long afterwards, Gallus died. Judaea was effectively no longer under Roman control. It looked like the rebels had won, but soon the Roman Empire struck back.
The Roman Emperor Nero sent Vespasian with two legions to Ptolomais in Syria, where he was joined by third legion led by his son Titus. Berenice II fell in love with Titus at this time.
Herod Agrippa II also put 2000 archers and cavalry men under the command of Vespasian as well. Other regional client kings like Malichus II also sent in supporting troops. So in 67 AD, Vespasian invaded Galilee and took the fortress that Herod Agrippa II had built at Jotapata, which had became the stronghold of the Jewish rebels in Galilee.
Herod Agrippa II fought along side Vespasian and was wounded in this effort. Galilee was brought under Roman control by the beginning of 68 AD.
According to Josephus, wondrous signs began to appear in the skies above Judaea and Jerusalem at this time. These included a play of Roman soldiers slaughtering Jewish rebels being shown on the clouds and a comet shaped like a sword that hovered over the Temple for an entire year.
Also according to Josephus, when the Romans moved into Samaria, they thought that the Samaritans were also Jews. So, the Samaritans were forced to flee out of the land of Israel.
The surviving rebels from Galilee mostly fled to Jerusalem, where they engaged in violent war with the other rebels controlling Jerusalem. By the time that the Romans began to surround Jerusalem in 69 AD, as much as half of the Jewish rebels in Jerusalem had been killed by other Jewish rebels, including the former High Priest Ananus.
That year, Emperor Nero was assassinated and Vespasian went to Rome to become the new Roman Emperor. Berenice II used all of her wealth and influence to support Vespasian in this effort. His son Titus was left in command with orders to take Jerusalem. He was romantically involved with Berenice II by this time.
Eusebius also recorded that the migration of Christians to Pella from Judaea was completed at this time, with great numbers leaving Jerusalem after the Romans returned. He records that they did this because they had been warned to leave Jerusalem and escape to the hills outside of Judaea, when they saw the Romans coming to surround Jerusalem. His record agrees with the description of Josephus of how many of the Jews in Jerusalem did not support the rebellion, so they escaped to the Romans, who allowed them to leave Judaea to escape destruction.
The Romans then sieged Jerusalem at the beginning of 70 AD. By the end of Summer, they had broken through the third wall of defense and soon entered Jerusalem. They then completely leveled Jerusalem and the Temple. The Romans then crucified so many Jews that they ran out of wood.
According to Josephus, over one million Jews died in the siege as well as thousands of Romans, Greeks, and other groups that had fought on the side of the Romans. According to Eusebius, not one single Christian died in the siege of Jerusalem.
Malichus II also died this same year, possible during the siege of Jerusalem.
After this, Agrippa II was sent to Rome, where he was reward by Vespasian for his loyalty by having the rest of Galilee and Perea added to his kingdom.
In 71 AD, Titus also left for Rome, and gave orders to the Roman forces to continue the fight with the goal of completely defeating the Jewish rebels. Berenice II remained in Judaea to use her wealth and influence to help with this effort.
By 73 AD, the Romans breached the walls of Masada, the fortress built by Herod the Great, that served as the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels. When the Roman entered the city, they found that the 960 of the last 967 members of the rebel forces there had committed mass suicide, rather than being taken captive.
The Great Revolt was over.
In 75 AD, Herod Agrippa II and Berenice II went to Rome. Upon their arrival, Berenice II began living with Titus in his palace and acting in every respect as his wife. However, the citizens of Rome were not happy with the thought of Titus having a wife from the eastern end of the empire. Eventually, Titus was compelled to send her back to live with her brother.
When Titus became emperor in 79 AD, Berenice II returned to Rome to resume living with him as his wife. However, Titus quickly dismissed her and sent Berenice II back to live with her brother.
Also that year, Drusilla perished in Pompey when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Titus may have intended to send for Berenice II after he felt his position as Roman Emperor was more secure, but he died unexpectedly in 81 AD. Berenice II seems to have died not longer after that.
In 92 AD, Aristobulus of Chalcis (Aristobulus V) died. The kingdom of Chalcis became part of the providence of Syria.
In 95 AD, Herod Agrippa II died childless and had never been married. Galilee and Perea became part of the province of Judaea under the rule of a Roman governor. The rest of the kingdom of Herod Agrippa II became part of the province Syria under the rule of a Roman governor. This was the complete end of Herodian rule.
The fall of the Herodians was finished.
The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them fall to bring about His will. They were needed as His unwitting pawns to bring trouble to Judaea, so the Good News would be spread beyond Judaea.
The fall of the Herodians helped to spread the Gospel by creating a climate of persecution that forced the Jewish believers to spread out from the land of Israel.
The Herodians during their fall appointed corrupt High Priests over the Temple. The corrupt High Priests, and the corrupt judges appointed by them, persecuted the Children of Truth. This caused the Gospel to be spread when the Children of Truth were dispersed in the following ways:
Peter the Jew (Sh'mon aka Simon aka Simeon aka Cephas) and John the Jew (Yochanon son of Zebedee aka The Apostle John) caused the man born lame to walk in the name of the Man of Truth , and then preached that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel to the crowds in the Temple (Acts 3). The corrupt High Priest and the corrupt judges then threatened Peter the Jew and John the Jew for preaching about the Man of Truth in the Temple (Acts 4:1-21).
After that, the Apostles of Truth did many signs and wonders in Jerusalem near the Temple to show that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Acts 5:12-16). They were again arrested by the corrupt High Priest and the corrupt judges, but an Angel of Truth released them from their prison cell and they went into the Temple to teach people about the Man of Truth (Acts 5:17-25). They were then put on trial and beaten for teaching about the Man of Truth in the Temple at the order of the corrupt High Priest and judges, despite the warning of Gamaliel to leave them alone (Acts 5:26-40).
Next, Stephen the Jew did miracles to prove the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, before he was falsely accused of breaking the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) and tried by these corrupt judges (Acts 6:8-15). When Stephen the Jew witnessed to the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, they stoned him to death (Acts 7). This set off great persecution of the Jewish Children of Truth in Jerusalem by Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul), so that they were scattered throughout the land of Israel and into neighboring countries (Acts 8:1-4). This persecution caused the Jewish Children of Truth to flee as far away as Libya and Crete, where they preached the Good News about the Man of Truth (Acts 11:19-21).
The corrupt High Priest then sent Paul the Jew to bring the Children of Truth in Damascus to stand trail before the corrupt judges in Jerusalem, but Paul the Jew met the resurrected Man of Truth on the way, causing him to preach in Damascus that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Acts 9:1-22). Paul the Jew later witnessed to the people of Jerusalem that the corrupt High Priest was responsible both for sending him out to persecute the Jewish Children of Truth and for the stoning of Stephen the Jew (Acts 22:1-20).
This caused a later corrupt usurping High Priest, formerly appointed by the Herodians, Ananias, to abuse Paul the Jew during his trial before the corrupt judges appointed by Ananias (Acts 23:1-5). (According to Josephus, Ananias had been replaced as High Priest before this, but when his replacement was murdered by Festus, he claimed to be High Priest until the vacancy was filled.) A few days later, Ananias and the unjust judges falsely accused Paul the Jew before the Roman governor of Judaea, Felix (Acts 24:1-21). Finally, they accused him falsely before the next Roman governor of Judaea, Festus, which forced Paul the Jew to appeal to Caesar, which caused him to be sent to Rome (Acts 25:1-12).
The Herodians during their fall persecuted the Children of Truth personally. This caused the Gospel to be spread out more, when the Children of Truth were further dispersed in the following ways:
Herod Agrippa I purposely persecuted some of the Children of Truth, starting with killing James the Jew (brother of John), one of the original twelve Apostles of Truth, with the sword (Acts 12:1-2).
Herod Agrippa I then had Peter the Jew arrested with the intention of killing him after Passover, to please the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges, but an Angel of Truth helped Peter the Jew escape from prison and go elsewhere (Acts 12:3-17). So, Herod Agrippa I had the prisons guards killed instead (Acts 12:18-19).
[The Greek word translated as "Easter" is "pascha", which means "Passover".]
The Herodians during their fall formed relationships with other rulers. These other rulers caused the Gospel to be spread out more, when the Children of Truth were further dispersed in the following ways:
Paul the Jew had to flee from Damascus because the unbelieving Jews there sought to kill him (Acts 9:23-25). The ethnarch of Aretas IV (former father-in-law of Herod Antipas) in Damascus had sent his garrison out to apprehend Paul the Jew, when Paul the Jew escaped by being lowered down the wall in a basket (2 Corinthians 11:32-33).
Drusilla was sitting next to her husband Felix, the Roman governor of Judaea, when Paul the Jew told Felix about the Man of Truth frequently over a period of two years (Acts 24:22-27).
When Herod Agrippa II and Berenice II (Bernice) came to visit Festus, the next Roman governor of Judaea, they agreed to help Festus by hearing what Paul the Jew had to say (Acts 25:13-27). So, Paul the Jew told Festus, Herod Agrippa II, and Berenice II, the Good News about the Man of Truth as proof that the accusations of the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges of the Temple were completely false (Acts 26:1-28). Festus, Herod Agrippa II, and Berenice II agreed that Paul the Jew was innocent, but he still had to go to Rome since he had appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:29-32).
The Herodians during their fall came under the wrath of the Father of Truth for their treatment of the Children of Truth. When the Father of Truth avenged the Children of Truth, more people believed the Good News about the Man of Truth:
When Herod Agrippa I was killed in a spectacular way by an Angel of Truth after people called him a god in Caesarea, then it caused a great many people to believe the Good News (Acts 12:19-24).
When the former High Priest appointed by the Herodians, Ananias, was struck down by the Father of Truth in the Great Revolt, just as Paul the Jew had said, then this also caused people to believe his preaching about the Good News (Acts 23:3).
The fall of the Herodians helped to spread the Gospel by confirming that the Man of Truth was that Prophet of Truth spoken of by Moses (Moishe) and the Prophets of Truth. Without the Herodians falling, the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple given by the Man of Truth would have never came to pass.
Everything the Man of Truth said about the conditions in the land of Israel and the Roman Empire leading up to destruction of Jerusalem came to pass including:
The Jewish Children of Truth in Israel were indeed brought before councils and synagogues where they were beaten (Mark 13:9). They gave wise answers that could not be overcame when they were on trial (Mark 13:11). They were indeed brought before rulers and kings, where they gave their irrefutable testimony about the Man of Truth (Luke 21:12-15).
Many false messiahs, like Simon bar Giora, did indeed rise up to deceive many into following them (Matthew 24:4-6). This lead to wars and rumors of wars started by these false messiahs (Mark 13:5-7). These false messiahs led their followers into creating commotions and wars throughout the land of Israel (Luke 21:8-9).
There were indeed nations (ethnic groups), like the Greeks of Galilee, rising up against other nations, like the Jews of Galilee, throughout the land of Israel and the Roman Empire that lead to many other sorrows (Matthew 24:7-8). There were indeed kingdoms, like Nabataea, rising up against other kingdoms, like the Tetrarchy of Antipas, that created much trouble (Mark 13:8). There were indeed many earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wondrous signs in the sky, throughout the land of Israel and the Roman Empire until the end of the Great Revolt (Luke 21:10-11).
This lead to many of the Jewish Children of Truth being killed as traitors by these Jewish rebels, when they refused to join in these rebellions, while also being hated by other ethnic groups for being Jews (Matthew 24:9). They were betrayed by their own family to be put to death by these Jewish rebels, and were hated by both Jews and Gentiles (Mark 13:12-13). They were betrayed by their friends to be put to death by these Jewish rebels, while being hated by many Gentiles (Luke 21:16-17).
The Jewish rebels led by these false messiahs, betrayed and killed each other, due to senseless hatred (Sinat Chinam) (Matthew 24:10-11).
Everything the Man of Truth said about the destruction of Jerusalem came to pass including:
The destruction of Jerusalem came to pass upon the very generation that crucified the Man of Truth and persecuted his followers (Matthew 23:31-36).
The Romans, the enemies of the Jewish rebels, surrounded Jerusalem, and dug a trench around it (Luke 19:41-43). The Romans and many hired armies were involved in the destruction of Jerusalem that soon followed (Luke 21:20).
The House of Jerusalem, the Temple, was left desolate along with all of the dwellings in Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-38). The Romans leveled Jerusalem, so that not one stone remained on top of another (Luke 19:44).
Everything that the Man of Truth said about the Temple being destroyed came to pass including:
Not one stone of the Temple was left upon another (Matthew 24:1-2). Not one stone of the great buildings in the Temple complex remained (Mark 13:1-2). The beautiful and costly stones of the Temple were either destroyed, or hauled away and sold (Luke 21:5-6).
The Romans drove the Samaritans far away from their temple on Mount Gerizim, and destroyed the Temple where the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem, so that the Father of Truth was no longer worshiped at either place (John 4:20-21).
Everything that the Man of Truth said about the people of Jerusalem came to pass:
When the Children of Truth in Jerusalem saw the Romans and their hired armies surround Jerusalem, they fled to the hills outside of Judaea, as the Man of Truth had warned them to do (Luke 21:20-21).
The rest of the people in Jerusalem suffered the wrath of the Father of Truth for their treatment of the Man of Truth and his followers (Luke 21:22-23). Many of the children of those who saw the Man of Truth crucified, were crucified when the Romans sieged Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-33).
Many were killed with the sword, most of the survivors were scattered among all ethnic groups (nations) as their descendants are to this day, and Jerusalem was occupied by the Gentiles as it still is in part to this day (Luke 21:24). (Gentiles still control three of the four quarters of the old city as well as the Temple Mount.)
Indeed, many more Jews died in the Great Revolt than Romans, because they had committed the greater sin in pressuring the Romans to persecute the Man of Truth and his Jewish followers (John 19:10-11).
Lastly, the fall of the Herodians helped spread the Gospel by decentralizing the authority of the Apostles of Truth.
The Original Apostles of Truth had remained in Jerusalem after the rest of the Children of Truth fled from Paul the Jew (Acts 8:1). Some of them went out of Jerusalem as needed, but they always returned to Jerusalem (Acts 8:14-25). People like Paul the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to be accepted and trained by the Original Apostles of Truth (Acts 9:26-28). Peter the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to get the other Original Apostles of Truth to agree that the Gentiles could be saved without being circumcised (Acts 11:1-18). When there was contention about this in Antioch, then Paul the Jew and others had to go to Jerusalem to get the remaining Original Apostles of Truth to settle the matter (Acts 15:1-21). The remaining Original Apostles of Truth then sent letters out of Jerusalem confirming that the Gentiles could be saved without being circumcised (Acts 15:22-33). When Paul the Jew went on his second mission, the Gentiles far from Judaea, were still being taught to follow the decrees of the remaining Original Apostles of Truth (Acts 16:1-5).
Even Paul the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to verify with the remaining Original Apostles of Truth, that he was teaching the same doctrine as them (Galatians 2:1-2). They confirmed that Paul the Jew was teaching the same doctrine, so they appointed him as the chief Apostle of Truth to the Gentiles, and Peter the Jew as the chief Apostle of Truth to the Jews (Galatians 2:3-8). James the Jew (brother of the Man of Truth), Peter the Jew, and John the Jew were the three main leaders of the Original Apostles of Truth in Jerusalem, who focused on the Jews, while Paul the Jew and others focused on the Gentiles, and collecting offerings from the Gentiles for the poor Children of Truth in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9-10).
So, Paul the Jew had to return to Jerusalem at the end of his second mission, to bring the offerings collected from the Gentile Children of Truth for the poor Children of Truth in Jerusalem (Acts 18:21-22). He ended his third mission by returning to Jerusalem, and reporting to James the Jew about his mission among the Gentiles (Acts 21:17-19).
So, the authority of the Apostles of Truth was centralized in Jerusalem and might have remained so, if not for the events that came with the fall of the Herodians. These events made it harder and harder for people to continue to come to Jerusalem to learn the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth, or for the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth to keep being sent out from Jerusalem. This forced the Apostles of Truth to create a system of maintaining their doctrine without any centralized location.
So, the Apostles of Truth added their doctrine to that of the Prophets of Truth to create a foundation that the congregations of the Children of Truth could be built upon (Ephesians 2:19-22). They wrote what the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) had revealed to them, but had hidden from the Prophets of Truth (Ephesians 3:3-5). They wrote down their commandments, so the Children of Truth would know what to do, after Jerusalem was destroyed (2 Peter 3:1-2). They recognized that these writings containing their doctrine were scripture as much as the writings of the Prophets of Truth were (2 Peter 3:15-16). The congregations that they began were able to continue after Jerusalem was destroyed, and the fall of the Herodians was finished (Revelation 1:9-11).
So, the Good News was able to continue to be spread over the whole Earth, and the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth was able to be maintained across the centuries - without Jerusalem.
This was all the work of the Father of Truth. The Herodians made their own bad choices that brought about their fall, but the Father of Truth used the events of their fall to accomplish His will. The historic writings of Josephus and others tell of the events that occurred during their fall, but the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) shows how those events were used to spread the Gospel into all the world.
The real question is, has the Good News spread into your world?
It does not spread into your world by merely hearing it, but by acting on it and coming into the House of Truth (James 1:22-25).
You come into the House of Truth, when you commit to obey the Man of Truth in everything, because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
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.
During this process, He raised up the Maccabees. The gift of the Maccabees was preserving the religion of the Father of Truth 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 created the political climate in the land of Israel that made the Good News possible. The fall of the Herodians would help bring the Good News to the world.
The story of the fall of the Herodians began with the Hasmoneans, for it is the story of three royal families intertwined by love and war.
In 110 BC, John Hyrcanus I conquered Idumaea, and forced all of the Edomites who lived there 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, Hyrcanus I died and his son Aristobulus I became the next Hasmonean king. However, he soon died.
In 103 BC, Alexander Jannaeus, the brother of Aristobulus I, became the new Hasmonean king. He made Antipas the Idumaean (Antipas I) the governor of Idumaea due to his connections to the ruling family of the Nabataeans.
Antipas the Idumaean then had a son 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 brothers Phasael I and Joseph I. They also had a daughter, Salome I.
When Antipas the Idumaean died, then Alexander Jannaeus made Antipater 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 became the advisor of Hyrcanus II.
Eventually Alexander I, the son of Aristobulus II, married Alexandra, the daughter of his brother Hyrcanus II. They had a son, Aristobulus III, and a daughter, Mariamne I.
Then 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. 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. So, Herod the Great became the advisor of Hyrcanus II.
However, the other son of Aristobulus II, Antigonus, captured Hyrcanus II and Phasael I when the Parthians invaded Judaea in 40 BC. Antigonus became the Parthian client king of Judaea. Hyrcanus II was exiled to Babylon. Phasael I died, but he was survived by his son Phasael II.
However, Herod the Great escaped to Rome to ask for help in restoring Hyrcanus II to the throne. Still, there was a sorrow over the loss of his brother Phasael I that he never quite got over.
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.
In 36 BC, Joseph I had a son, Joseph II.
Two years later, 34 BC, Herod the Great retook Jerusalem, became the client king of the Romans in Judaea, and Antigonus was executed.
Then Herod the Great began sowing the seeds of the fall of the Herodians.
In 33 BC Herod the Great married Mariamne I. This gave Herod the Great legitimacy as a ruler in the Hasmonean line, but it also began his slow descent into madness.
Herod the Great also brought Hyrcanus II back from his exile that same year.
In 32 BC, Herod the Great had made Aristobulus III the High Priest. He was now part of the Hasmonean family, but this did not last long.
Soon, Herod the Great learned of a plot Aristobulus III to take the throne, so Herod the Great had him assassinated.
In 31 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had a son, Alexander II. Herod the Great developed a great jealousy for Mariamne I at this time. He gave orders that if he should die before her, then she was to be killed, so that no one else could marry her.
In 27 BC, Herod the Great and Mariamne I had another son, Aristobulus IV. Herod the Great also had Hyrcanus II executed that year, when he heard a rumor that Hyrcanus II was plotting to take the throne.
Herod the Great and Mariamne I then had two daughters, Salampsio and Cypros II.
In 25 BC, Salome I accused Mariamne I of plotting to poison Herod the Great. Alexandra, the mother of Mariamne I, also accused her daughter as well. So, Herod the Great had Mariamne I executed and began a long period of great mourning for her.
The Talmud says that Herod the Great kept her body preserved in honey for seven years. It was commonly believed that he attempted to keep having marital relations with her preserved body.
Josephus relates that Herod the Great constantly occupied himself with hunting and banqueting to forget his loss of Mariamne I. However, when he got to Samaria, where he had married Mariamne I, he became very ill.
So, Alexandra declared Herod the Great insane and herself to be the Queen of Judaea, since she was a Hasmonean. Herod the Great realized her treachery in accusing Mariamne I, and had her executed without a trial. Then he brought Doris and Antipater II back from their exile.
After this, Herod the Great began massive building projects to occupy his mind and to deal with his grief for his brother and wife. He had towers built in Jerusalem to commemorate his brother Phasael I and Mariamne I. He improved the water system at Jerusalem, so that it would not run out of water if sieged.
He built five fortresses in Judaea including Masada. He built Gentile cities throughout Galilee that were centers of idolatry. These costly projects were both loved by the people in Israel, who profited from their construction, and hated by the people of Israel, who paid for them by a system of oppressive taxation.
Herod the Great then married Mariamne II, the daughter of the High Priest. Herod the Great then married another wife, a Samaritan woman named Malthace. Soon after that, Herod the Great married another wife named Cleopatra of Jerusalem. After that, Herod the Great married five more wives, including Elpis.
None of them could heal the sorrow that Herod the Great felt in his heart for his loss of Mariamne I. Herod the Great continued to slip further and further into madness.
Still, 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. 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 lifetime.)
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). He also had a daughter by her named Olympias.
Herod the Great began his most impressive building project, the enlargement and beautification of the Temple and the Temple Mount in 18 BC. He also began building the city of Caesarea, a miniature of Rome with an artificial harbor that same year.
In 11 BC, Aristobulus IV and his wife Berenice I, daughter of Salome I, had a son, Herod Agrippa I. Soon after that, they had a daughter, Herodias. They also had three other children including Herod Pollio.
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. Antipater had claimed the right of the first born son to rule, even though his mother was not the favorite wife of Herod the Great, as was commanded in the Law of Truth concerning the double portion (Deuteronomy 21:15-17).
In 8 BC, Herod the Great placed the sons of Mariamne I, Alexander II and Aristobulus IV, as first in succession since they were descendants of the Hasmoneans.
In 3 BC, Antipater II accused Alexander II and Aristobulus IV of plotting to poison Herod the Great, so Herod the Great had them executed. Antipater II was back as first in succession.
Also that year, Herod Philip married Herodias. Since this would put his children in the Hasmonean line, Herod the Great promoted him to first in succession, until Antipater II protested and was returned to first in succession.
In 1 AD, Herod the Great had Antipater II executed for plotting to poison him.
Next, Herod the Great removed Herod Philip from his will and divorced his mother Mariamne II, because she had failed to warn him of the plot of Antipater II. Herod Philip and Herodias were exiled to Rome. Mariamne II and Doris went to Rome with them.
Herod the Great then changed his will to divide his kingdom, so that none of his descendants would rule a kingdom as great as his. He divided his kingdom between his sister Salome I and three of his sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip the Tetrarch. He gave them authority to begin ruling under him until the change in his will was approved by the Roman Emperor Augustus.
This division of his kingdom made the fall of the Herodians all but inevitable.
Lastly, Herod the Great feared that no one would mourn his death, but instead everyone would engage in great celebrations. So, he ordered a large group of the distinguished men from every city in Judaea to come to Jericho. After they arrived, 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.
His son Archelaus (Herod Archelaus) and his sister Salome I immediately rescinded the order to kill the distinguished men in Jericho as soon as Herod the Great died. This prevented Judaea from being plunged into a civil war.
Soon, the final will of Herod was approved in 1 AD, after Herod Philip accused Herod Archelaus before the Roman Emperor Augustus of being unfit to rule Judaea.
Herod Archelaus continued ruling over the southern half of the kingdom of Herod the Great with the title of Ethnarch of Judaea, except for the small areas ruled by Salome I with the title of queen. (The ruler of Judaea was responsible for the actual administration of these areas.)
Herod Antipas continued ruling over Galilee and Perea with the title of Tetrarch. Philip the Tetrarch continued ruling over the northeast fourth of the kingdom of Herod the Great with the title of Tetrarch.
Also around that same time, Phasael II and his wife Salampsio began their family of five children, including Cypros III.
This was also around the time that Joseph II and his wife Olympias had a daughter named Mariamne III.
However, by 10 AD, Herod Archelaus had so provoked the people of Judaea, that Judaea was on the verge of revolt. So, he was replaced with a Roman governor by the Roman Emperor Augustus and exiled to where all brutal rulers seem to end up - France (Gaul).
The fall of the Herodians had began.
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 and under full control of the Roman governor of Judaea.
Also around 21 AD, Herod Pollio and his wife Mariamne III had a son, Aristobulus V.
Around 22 AD, Herod Archelaus died while still in exile in Gaul.
In 23 AD, Herod Agrippa I fled Rome after the death of his friend Drusus, the son of Emperor Tiberius, to escape his creditors. He arrived in Judaea the next year.
In 27 AD, Herod Agrippa I and his wife Cypros III had a son, Herod Agrippa II. The next year they had a daughter, Berenice II.
Also in 28 AD, Herodias divorced Herod Philip to marry his half-brother Herod Antipas. Herod Antipas in like manner divorced his wife Phasaelis, the daughter of Aretas IV, the king of Nabataea, to marry Herodias. Herodias and Salome III moved to Galilee to live with Herod Antipas.
Around that time, Herod Agrippa I was persuaded by his wife Cypros III and his sister Herodias to be an administrator of Tiberias under his uncle and brother-in-law Herod Antipas.
In 29 AD, according to Josephus, Herod Antipas had John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikvah Man) arrested and executed.
Around 31 AD, Herod Agrippa I got into a quarrel with Herod Antipas and fled to the governor of Syria. Soon, Herod Agrippa I was forced to flee Syria to escape charges of bribery and went to Alexandria, Egypt.
Around 32 AD, Aretas IV, the king of Nabataea, started a war against the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas as revenge for divorcing his daughter Phasaelis. The army of Herod Antipas was soon decimated. According to Josephus, most Jews believed that this war was the revenge of the Father of Truth for Herod Antipas killing John the Baptist.
Also according to Josephus, Salome III was married to her half-uncle Philip the Tetrarch at this time and she moved to his capital. This kept her safe from Aretas IV as he took out his revenge.
In 33 AD, Herod Philip died in Rome.
Also, around this time, Cypros II arranged for Alexander the Alabarch, a wealthy Jewish aristocrat in Alexandria, Egypt, to loan her the money to send her husband, Herod Agrippa I, to Rome in style and to pay off his creditors in Rome. When Herod Agrippa I arrived in Rome, he was given a position of great honor by Emperor Tiberius and soon became friends with Caligula.
In 34 AD, Philip the Tetrarch died childless. His tetrarchy became part of the Roman providence of Syria.
Shortly after that, Salome III married Aristobulus V.
So, all that was left under control of the Herodians was the Tetrarchy of Antipas, and it was overran by the Nabataeans. The fall of the Herodians looked to soon be completed.
Around that same time, Herod Agrippa I and Cypros III had another daughter, Mariamne IV.
In 36 AD, Herod Antipas plead for help from Roman Emperor Tiberias to invade Nabataea, so that Aretas IV will no longer be able to attack the Tetrarchy of Herod Antipas. Emperor Tiberius sent orders to the Roman governor of Syria, Vitellius, to gather an army and invade Nabataea after the next Passover.
That same year, Herod Agrippa I was thrown into prison in Rome for saying, that he wished Emperor Tiberius would die soon, so his friend Caligula could soon become the next Roman Emperor. The last hope of the Herodians was now in shackles and there seemed no hope for the Herodians to continue.
In 37 AD, Vitellius arrived in Jerusalem with a Roman army before Passover began. (Extra troops were usually sent to Jerusalem from nearby Roman provinces during the Passover celebration in case a rebellion erupted.) However, he received news of the death of Emperor Tiberias while waiting for the Passover celebration to end, and then waited for further orders from the next Roman Emperor. The invasion of Nabataea was ultimately canceled.
Then Caligula became the next Roman Emperor that same year. He freed Herod Agrippa I from prison, and made him ruler over the former Tetrarchy of Philip, plus the area of Abila, with the title of King. He also gave Herod Agrippa I chains of solid gold equal in weight to the iron chains that Herod Agrippa I had worn in prison.
Herod Agrippa I left Rome and went to Jerusalem, where he donated his chains of gold to the treasury of the Temple. Then he went to Caesarea Philippi to begin his reign. After he arrived, Herod Agrippa I quickly made peace with Aretas IV, reminding him that they were from the same royal Nabataean bloodline.
In 38 AD, Herod Agrippa I and Cypros III had another daughter, Drusilla.
In 39 AD, Herod Antipas was accused of conspiracy against the new Roman Emperor Caligula by his nephew Herod Agrippa I. Caligula exiled him and Herodias to where all brutal rulers seem to end up - France (Gaul). They remained in Gaul until their deaths.
In 40 AD, Herod Agrippa I had the Tetrarchy of Antipas added to his kingdom by Emperor Caligula.
Herod Agrippa I continued the policy of building Gentile cities in Galilee, which were centers of idolatry, that his grandfather Herod the Great had started.
Later that year, Emperor Caligula ordered that a statue of himself be erected in the Temple in Jerusalem. Herod Agrippa I was able to persuade him to rescind the order. This prevented a revolt throughout both Judaea and his own kingdom.
In 41 AD, Emperor Caligula again sought to have a statue of himself placed in the Temple, but this order was rescinded when he was assassinated.
Herod Agrippa I then went to Rome to support Claudius in his efforts to become the next Roman Emperor. When Claudius became the next Roman Emperor, he added Judaea to the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I. So, Herod Agrippa I ruled over a kingdom that was slightly larger than that of Herod the Great. It looked like the fall of the Herodians was over, but that soon changed.
While Herod Agrippa I was there in 41 AD, Claudius also granted his request to give his brother Herod Pollio the small kingdom of Chalcis, just north of the former Tetrarchy of Philip, and the title of King. His brother Herod Pollio became known as Herod of Chalcis at that time.
Herod Agrippa I then made Jerusalem his capital. He then gave priority to the completion of the expansion and beautification of the Temple that his grandfather Herod the Great had began. (The Roman governors had siphoned off some of the money collected by taxes for this project and had used it for other purposes.)
Herod Agrippa I was zealous for Rabbinic Judaism as noted by Josephus, Philo, and the Talmud. In fact, he was highly praised by both the Rabbis and the Priests. He was able to please both the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
Herod Agrippa I may have been so zealous for Rabbinic Judaism because of his ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Herod the Great, had an Edomite father (Antipas the Idumaean) and a Nabataean mother (Cypros I). His paternal grand mother, Mariamne I, was Jewish. His maternal grandfather, Costobarus, was an Edomite. His maternal grand mother, Salome I, had the same ancestry as her brother Herod the Great. So, Herod Agrippa I was half Edomite, one quarter Nabataean, and one quarter Jewish. Even though he was the fourth generation to be raised Jewish, he always seemed to have a constant need to prove his Jewishness and be accepted as a Jew.
According to the Talmud, when Herod Agrippa I read the passage from the Torah to those at the Temple for the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot), he was praised by the Jewish religious professionals for standing up to show greater piety, instead of sitting down, as Jewish kings before him had done. When he read the commandment that no stranger, who was not a descendant of Israel, was allowed to be king over the Jews, tears flowed from his eyes (Deuteronomy 17:15). However, the Jewish religious professionals told him, "Do not fear, Agrippa, you are our brother, you are our brother".
In 43 AD, Berenice II married the son of Alexander the Alabarch and moved to Alexandria.
According to Josephus, after Passover in 44 AD, Herod Agrippa I went to Caesarea and conducted a festival in honor of Caesar. On the second day of the festival, Herod Agrippa I wore a royal garment made completely of silver that shined brightly in the sunlight. His flatterers began to cry out that he was a god and not a mere mortal. He did nothing to stop this worship of him. Suddenly, he was struck with violent pain in the abdomen. He then rebuked his flatters for saying that he was immortal, because they had provoked the Father of Truth to bring judgment upon him to show that he was a mere man, by causing him to die. Five days later, Herod Agrippa I died.
Like Herod the Great, Herod Agrippa I was not well liked by many of those he ruled over. While very popular with the Jewish religious leaders of Judaea, he was very unpopular with the Gentiles of Judaea. According to Josephus, there were great celebrations by the Gentiles in Caesarea and Sabaste (the city of Samaria), with offerings to thank their Pagan gods, upon the news of his death. The Gentile soldiers in Caesarea took the statues of the three daughters of Herod Agrippa I and placed them on the roofs of brothels, where they defiled the statues by pretending to rape the statues in every conceivable way.
His son, Herod Agrippa II was only seventeen when Herod Agrippa I died, so the kingdom of Herod Agrippa I was divided up and governed by Roman rulers. Herod Agrippa I and his other two sisters were taken to live in Rome with Emperor Claudius. However, the responsibility for the Temple and the appointment of the High Priests was given to the brother of Herod Agrippa I, Herod of Chalcis (Herod Pollio), after he died.
Also that year, the husband of Berenice II died, and she then married her uncle, Herod of Chalcis, shortly after his wife, Mariamne III, had died.
When Herod of Chalcis died in 48 AD, Herod Agrippa II was made the ruler of Chalcis by Emperor Claudius, with the title of Tetrarch. Herod Agrippa II was also given responsibility for the Temple and the appointment of the High Priest. Herod Agrippa II took his two sisters with him to Chalcis, where Berenice II still resided.
In 50 AD, Berenice II married the Polemon II, the king of Cilicia, to dispel rumors that she was in an incestuous relationship with her brother Herod Agrippa II, according to Josephus. Part of the reason for this rumor was that Herod Agrippa II never married. This rumor was so widespread that Juvenal, the father of satire, right out claimed that these Herodian siblings were lovers in one of his satires.
By the next year, Berenice II had divorced the Polemon II and had return to living with her brother Herod Agrippa II.
In 53 AD, Emperor Claudius removed Herod Agrippa II from being ruler over Chalcis, but instead had him rule over the former Tetrarchy of Philip plus Abila with the title of King. Herod also retained oversight of the Temple and the appointment of the High Priest. Herod Agrippa II and his three sisters then moved to Caesarea Philippi, the capital of his new kingdom.
Later that year, Herod Agrippa II married off Mariamne IV.
Around 54 AD, Herod Agrippa II married off Drusilla to the Priest-King of Emesa, who converted to Judaism and was circumcised in order to marry Drusilla. However, Berenice II remained with Herod Agrippa II in Caesarea Philippi.
In 55 AD, the next Roman Emperor, Nero, added parts of Galilee and Perea to kingdom of Herod Agrippa II.
Around this time, Herod Agrippa II began spending much of the wealth of his kingdom on Jerusalem and other cities. One city that he spent considerable wealth on was Berytus (modern Beirut), a Phoenician city that had been became a Roman colony for retired soldiers from two Roman legions. This greatly angered many of the people in his kingdom as well as Jewish people throughout the land of Israel.
Around 56 AD, Felix, the Roman Procurator of Judaea, met Drusilla at the court of Herod Agrippa II and fell in love with her. Felix then hired a Jewish sorcerer named Simon, to convince Drusilla to divorce her Jewish-by-conversion husband, the Priest-King of Emesa, and to marry him instead. Simon was able to convince her that she would be much happier married to Felix, even though he was an idol worshiper. So, Felix divorced his wife and Drusilla divorced her husband. Then Felix married Drusilla.
(NOTE: This Jewish sorcerer from Cyprus named Simon, is not the sorcerer from Samaria named Simon, who came to faith at the preaching of Philip the Evangelist (Acts 8:5-24). The Simon from Samaria had left off sorcery to follow the Man of Truth in 33 AD.)
In 57 AD, Emperor Nero made Aristobulus V the ruler of Chalcis. For this reason, he is often called Aristobulus of Chalcis.
In 62 AD, Josephus records that Ananus the High Priest assembled a court, tried the Apostle James (brother of the Man of Truth), and had him executed during a brief period when there was no Roman oversight of Jerusalem. Many of the people of Jerusalem were outraged since the Apostle James had not broken the Law of Truth in any way. So, Herod Agrippa II removed Ananus from the office of High Priest.
In 63 AD, the expansion of the Temple started by Herod the Great was finally completed under the oversight of Herod Agrippa II.
In 64 AD, Gessius Florus became the new Roman governor of Judaea. He immediately began doing things to gain the favor the Greeks, first those in Caesarea, and then those scattered throughout the Gentile cities of Galilee that Herod the Great had built.
In so doing, he allowed the Greeks to do things to irritate the Jews throughout Judaea. He also started provoking the Jews personally by taking bribes, refusing to hear their complaints against the Greeks, and killing many of them.
Eusebius record that the Christians of Judaea began moving to Pella in the Decapolis at this time.
So, Herod Agrippa II stepped in the next year, and tried to convince the Jews to not revolt against the Romans, while he worked to get Florus replaced with a better governor. However, when Herod Agrippa II went to ask help from Cestius Gallus, the Roman Governor of Syria with authority over Florus, to put an end of these injustices, Gallus refused to take any action.
In 66 AD, some Greeks turn a large clay jar upside down to make an alter in front of a synagogue in Caesarea. They then sacrificed birds upon it to their gods, thus making the entrance of the synagogue unclean.
So Jewish leaders paid a large sum of money for an audience with Florus to ask for justice. Florus refused to hear them, even though he had accepted the money. Instead, he had the Jewish leaders imprisoned.
This immediately led to widespread attacks on Gentiles throughout Judaea, as well as upon Jews that were perceived as "traitors". Soon there were tax protests throughout Judaea. The Jews also ceased to offer prayers and sacrifices in the Temple for the Roman Emperor.
Florus responded by having his soldiers plunder the treasury of the Temple. The next day, he had the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem arrested and crucified.
So, Berenice II went to Caesarea and plead with Florus to stop provoking the Jews in Judaea. Not only did he deny her request, but she was nearly killed in the skirmishes that followed in the city.
Next, she went to Gallus and plead for him to put an end to the rule of Florus. Gallus gave her no response.
So, Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice II went to Jerusalem to plead with the Jews to not continue in rebellion against the Romans. However, the rebels in Jerusalem responded by burning down their palaces in Jerusalem.
This lead to a complete and wide spread revolt against the Romans throughout Judaea. Soon, the Jewish rebels had complete control of Jerusalem and Masada, the massive fortress that Herod the Great had built. Herod Agrippa II and his sister Berenice II then fled Jerusalem to escape to his own kingdom in Galilee. However, the rebels killed the former High Priest Ananias.
Soon, Herod Agrippa II went to Gallus to get help to restore order in Judaea. So, Gallus went into Judaea commanding over 44,000 troops, including 14,000 supplied by Herod Agrippa II as well as other regional client kings like the King of Nabataea, Malichus II, the son of Aretas IV.
Within a short time, Gallus had gained control of Galilee and the coast of Judaea. So he went to subdue Jerusalem.
However, when Gallus arrived, he could not take the city completely, due to a loss of siege machines by the constant raids against his army by Jewish rebel forces, since he had first arrived in Galilee. These same Jewish rebel forces had also cut off his supply line. So after nine days, Gallus decided to end the siege and return to Caesarea for reinforcements.
Eusebius record that the migration of Christians to Pella from Judaea greatly increased at this time, with great numbers leaving Jerusalem before the Romans returned. He records that they did this because they had been warned to leave Jerusalem and escape to the hills outside of Judaea when they saw the Romans coming to surround Jerusalem. His record agrees with the description of Josephus of how many of the Jews fled Jerusalem after Gallus departed.
On the way to Caesarea, Gallus was ambushed at Beth Horon by a force of Jewish rebels led by the false Messiah Simon bar Giora. When Gallus managed to get to what was left of his army to safety at Antipatris, at least 6,000 Roman soldiers had been killed in the battle, and perhaps twice that many were badly wounded. So, the Romans suffered their worst defeat in battle during their entire history at the hands of Jewish rebels in the same place where the Seleucid Empire suffered the worst defeat in battle during its entire history at the hands of the Maccabees.
Soon, Florus was dismissed as governor, and Gallus went back to Syria in disgrace with his remaining army of 6,000 or so. Not long afterwards, Gallus died. Judaea was effectively no longer under Roman control. It looked like the rebels had won, but soon the Roman Empire struck back.
The Roman Emperor Nero sent Vespasian with two legions to Ptolomais in Syria, where he was joined by third legion led by his son Titus. Berenice II fell in love with Titus at this time.
Herod Agrippa II also put 2000 archers and cavalry men under the command of Vespasian as well. Other regional client kings like Malichus II also sent in supporting troops. So in 67 AD, Vespasian invaded Galilee and took the fortress that Herod Agrippa II had built at Jotapata, which had became the stronghold of the Jewish rebels in Galilee.
Herod Agrippa II fought along side Vespasian and was wounded in this effort. Galilee was brought under Roman control by the beginning of 68 AD.
According to Josephus, wondrous signs began to appear in the skies above Judaea and Jerusalem at this time. These included a play of Roman soldiers slaughtering Jewish rebels being shown on the clouds and a comet shaped like a sword that hovered over the Temple for an entire year.
Also according to Josephus, when the Romans moved into Samaria, they thought that the Samaritans were also Jews. So, the Samaritans were forced to flee out of the land of Israel.
The surviving rebels from Galilee mostly fled to Jerusalem, where they engaged in violent war with the other rebels controlling Jerusalem. By the time that the Romans began to surround Jerusalem in 69 AD, as much as half of the Jewish rebels in Jerusalem had been killed by other Jewish rebels, including the former High Priest Ananus.
That year, Emperor Nero was assassinated and Vespasian went to Rome to become the new Roman Emperor. Berenice II used all of her wealth and influence to support Vespasian in this effort. His son Titus was left in command with orders to take Jerusalem. He was romantically involved with Berenice II by this time.
Eusebius also recorded that the migration of Christians to Pella from Judaea was completed at this time, with great numbers leaving Jerusalem after the Romans returned. He records that they did this because they had been warned to leave Jerusalem and escape to the hills outside of Judaea, when they saw the Romans coming to surround Jerusalem. His record agrees with the description of Josephus of how many of the Jews in Jerusalem did not support the rebellion, so they escaped to the Romans, who allowed them to leave Judaea to escape destruction.
The Romans then sieged Jerusalem at the beginning of 70 AD. By the end of Summer, they had broken through the third wall of defense and soon entered Jerusalem. They then completely leveled Jerusalem and the Temple. The Romans then crucified so many Jews that they ran out of wood.
According to Josephus, over one million Jews died in the siege as well as thousands of Romans, Greeks, and other groups that had fought on the side of the Romans. According to Eusebius, not one single Christian died in the siege of Jerusalem.
Malichus II also died this same year, possible during the siege of Jerusalem.
After this, Agrippa II was sent to Rome, where he was reward by Vespasian for his loyalty by having the rest of Galilee and Perea added to his kingdom.
In 71 AD, Titus also left for Rome, and gave orders to the Roman forces to continue the fight with the goal of completely defeating the Jewish rebels. Berenice II remained in Judaea to use her wealth and influence to help with this effort.
By 73 AD, the Romans breached the walls of Masada, the fortress built by Herod the Great, that served as the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels. When the Roman entered the city, they found that the 960 of the last 967 members of the rebel forces there had committed mass suicide, rather than being taken captive.
The Great Revolt was over.
In 75 AD, Herod Agrippa II and Berenice II went to Rome. Upon their arrival, Berenice II began living with Titus in his palace and acting in every respect as his wife. However, the citizens of Rome were not happy with the thought of Titus having a wife from the eastern end of the empire. Eventually, Titus was compelled to send her back to live with her brother.
When Titus became emperor in 79 AD, Berenice II returned to Rome to resume living with him as his wife. However, Titus quickly dismissed her and sent Berenice II back to live with her brother.
Also that year, Drusilla perished in Pompey when Mount Vesuvius erupted.
Titus may have intended to send for Berenice II after he felt his position as Roman Emperor was more secure, but he died unexpectedly in 81 AD. Berenice II seems to have died not longer after that.
In 92 AD, Aristobulus of Chalcis (Aristobulus V) died. The kingdom of Chalcis became part of the providence of Syria.
In 95 AD, Herod Agrippa II died childless and had never been married. Galilee and Perea became part of the province of Judaea under the rule of a Roman governor. The rest of the kingdom of Herod Agrippa II became part of the province Syria under the rule of a Roman governor. This was the complete end of Herodian rule.
The fall of the Herodians was finished.
The Herodians never realized that the Father of Truth was letting them fall to bring about His will. They were needed as His unwitting pawns to bring trouble to Judaea, so the Good News would be spread beyond Judaea.
The fall of the Herodians helped to spread the Gospel by creating a climate of persecution that forced the Jewish believers to spread out from the land of Israel.
The Herodians during their fall appointed corrupt High Priests over the Temple. The corrupt High Priests, and the corrupt judges appointed by them, persecuted the Children of Truth. This caused the Gospel to be spread when the Children of Truth were dispersed in the following ways:
Peter the Jew (Sh'mon aka Simon aka Simeon aka Cephas) and John the Jew (Yochanon son of Zebedee aka The Apostle John) caused the man born lame to walk in the name of the Man of Truth , and then preached that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel to the crowds in the Temple (Acts 3). The corrupt High Priest and the corrupt judges then threatened Peter the Jew and John the Jew for preaching about the Man of Truth in the Temple (Acts 4:1-21).
After that, the Apostles of Truth did many signs and wonders in Jerusalem near the Temple to show that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Acts 5:12-16). They were again arrested by the corrupt High Priest and the corrupt judges, but an Angel of Truth released them from their prison cell and they went into the Temple to teach people about the Man of Truth (Acts 5:17-25). They were then put on trial and beaten for teaching about the Man of Truth in the Temple at the order of the corrupt High Priest and judges, despite the warning of Gamaliel to leave them alone (Acts 5:26-40).
Next, Stephen the Jew did miracles to prove the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, before he was falsely accused of breaking the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) and tried by these corrupt judges (Acts 6:8-15). When Stephen the Jew witnessed to the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, they stoned him to death (Acts 7). This set off great persecution of the Jewish Children of Truth in Jerusalem by Paul the Jew (Shaul aka Saul aka The Apostle Paul), so that they were scattered throughout the land of Israel and into neighboring countries (Acts 8:1-4). This persecution caused the Jewish Children of Truth to flee as far away as Libya and Crete, where they preached the Good News about the Man of Truth (Acts 11:19-21).
The corrupt High Priest then sent Paul the Jew to bring the Children of Truth in Damascus to stand trail before the corrupt judges in Jerusalem, but Paul the Jew met the resurrected Man of Truth on the way, causing him to preach in Damascus that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (Acts 9:1-22). Paul the Jew later witnessed to the people of Jerusalem that the corrupt High Priest was responsible both for sending him out to persecute the Jewish Children of Truth and for the stoning of Stephen the Jew (Acts 22:1-20).
This caused a later corrupt usurping High Priest, formerly appointed by the Herodians, Ananias, to abuse Paul the Jew during his trial before the corrupt judges appointed by Ananias (Acts 23:1-5). (According to Josephus, Ananias had been replaced as High Priest before this, but when his replacement was murdered by Festus, he claimed to be High Priest until the vacancy was filled.) A few days later, Ananias and the unjust judges falsely accused Paul the Jew before the Roman governor of Judaea, Felix (Acts 24:1-21). Finally, they accused him falsely before the next Roman governor of Judaea, Festus, which forced Paul the Jew to appeal to Caesar, which caused him to be sent to Rome (Acts 25:1-12).
The Herodians during their fall persecuted the Children of Truth personally. This caused the Gospel to be spread out more, when the Children of Truth were further dispersed in the following ways:
Herod Agrippa I purposely persecuted some of the Children of Truth, starting with killing James the Jew (brother of John), one of the original twelve Apostles of Truth, with the sword (Acts 12:1-2).
Herod Agrippa I then had Peter the Jew arrested with the intention of killing him after Passover, to please the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges, but an Angel of Truth helped Peter the Jew escape from prison and go elsewhere (Acts 12:3-17). So, Herod Agrippa I had the prisons guards killed instead (Acts 12:18-19).
[The Greek word translated as "Easter" is "pascha", which means "Passover".]
The Herodians during their fall formed relationships with other rulers. These other rulers caused the Gospel to be spread out more, when the Children of Truth were further dispersed in the following ways:
Paul the Jew had to flee from Damascus because the unbelieving Jews there sought to kill him (Acts 9:23-25). The ethnarch of Aretas IV (former father-in-law of Herod Antipas) in Damascus had sent his garrison out to apprehend Paul the Jew, when Paul the Jew escaped by being lowered down the wall in a basket (2 Corinthians 11:32-33).
Drusilla was sitting next to her husband Felix, the Roman governor of Judaea, when Paul the Jew told Felix about the Man of Truth frequently over a period of two years (Acts 24:22-27).
When Herod Agrippa II and Berenice II (Bernice) came to visit Festus, the next Roman governor of Judaea, they agreed to help Festus by hearing what Paul the Jew had to say (Acts 25:13-27). So, Paul the Jew told Festus, Herod Agrippa II, and Berenice II, the Good News about the Man of Truth as proof that the accusations of the corrupt High Priest and corrupt judges of the Temple were completely false (Acts 26:1-28). Festus, Herod Agrippa II, and Berenice II agreed that Paul the Jew was innocent, but he still had to go to Rome since he had appealed to Caesar (Acts 26:29-32).
The Herodians during their fall came under the wrath of the Father of Truth for their treatment of the Children of Truth. When the Father of Truth avenged the Children of Truth, more people believed the Good News about the Man of Truth:
When Herod Agrippa I was killed in a spectacular way by an Angel of Truth after people called him a god in Caesarea, then it caused a great many people to believe the Good News (Acts 12:19-24).
When the former High Priest appointed by the Herodians, Ananias, was struck down by the Father of Truth in the Great Revolt, just as Paul the Jew had said, then this also caused people to believe his preaching about the Good News (Acts 23:3).
The fall of the Herodians helped to spread the Gospel by confirming that the Man of Truth was that Prophet of Truth spoken of by Moses (Moishe) and the Prophets of Truth. Without the Herodians falling, the prophecies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple given by the Man of Truth would have never came to pass.
Everything the Man of Truth said about the conditions in the land of Israel and the Roman Empire leading up to destruction of Jerusalem came to pass including:
The Jewish Children of Truth in Israel were indeed brought before councils and synagogues where they were beaten (Mark 13:9). They gave wise answers that could not be overcame when they were on trial (Mark 13:11). They were indeed brought before rulers and kings, where they gave their irrefutable testimony about the Man of Truth (Luke 21:12-15).
Many false messiahs, like Simon bar Giora, did indeed rise up to deceive many into following them (Matthew 24:4-6). This lead to wars and rumors of wars started by these false messiahs (Mark 13:5-7). These false messiahs led their followers into creating commotions and wars throughout the land of Israel (Luke 21:8-9).
There were indeed nations (ethnic groups), like the Greeks of Galilee, rising up against other nations, like the Jews of Galilee, throughout the land of Israel and the Roman Empire that lead to many other sorrows (Matthew 24:7-8). There were indeed kingdoms, like Nabataea, rising up against other kingdoms, like the Tetrarchy of Antipas, that created much trouble (Mark 13:8). There were indeed many earthquakes, famines, plagues, and wondrous signs in the sky, throughout the land of Israel and the Roman Empire until the end of the Great Revolt (Luke 21:10-11).
This lead to many of the Jewish Children of Truth being killed as traitors by these Jewish rebels, when they refused to join in these rebellions, while also being hated by other ethnic groups for being Jews (Matthew 24:9). They were betrayed by their own family to be put to death by these Jewish rebels, and were hated by both Jews and Gentiles (Mark 13:12-13). They were betrayed by their friends to be put to death by these Jewish rebels, while being hated by many Gentiles (Luke 21:16-17).
The Jewish rebels led by these false messiahs, betrayed and killed each other, due to senseless hatred (Sinat Chinam) (Matthew 24:10-11).
Everything the Man of Truth said about the destruction of Jerusalem came to pass including:
The destruction of Jerusalem came to pass upon the very generation that crucified the Man of Truth and persecuted his followers (Matthew 23:31-36).
The Romans, the enemies of the Jewish rebels, surrounded Jerusalem, and dug a trench around it (Luke 19:41-43). The Romans and many hired armies were involved in the destruction of Jerusalem that soon followed (Luke 21:20).
The House of Jerusalem, the Temple, was left desolate along with all of the dwellings in Jerusalem (Matthew 23:37-38). The Romans leveled Jerusalem, so that not one stone remained on top of another (Luke 19:44).
Everything that the Man of Truth said about the Temple being destroyed came to pass including:
Not one stone of the Temple was left upon another (Matthew 24:1-2). Not one stone of the great buildings in the Temple complex remained (Mark 13:1-2). The beautiful and costly stones of the Temple were either destroyed, or hauled away and sold (Luke 21:5-6).
The Romans drove the Samaritans far away from their temple on Mount Gerizim, and destroyed the Temple where the Jews worshiped in Jerusalem, so that the Father of Truth was no longer worshiped at either place (John 4:20-21).
Everything that the Man of Truth said about the people of Jerusalem came to pass:
When the Children of Truth in Jerusalem saw the Romans and their hired armies surround Jerusalem, they fled to the hills outside of Judaea, as the Man of Truth had warned them to do (Luke 21:20-21).
The rest of the people in Jerusalem suffered the wrath of the Father of Truth for their treatment of the Man of Truth and his followers (Luke 21:22-23). Many of the children of those who saw the Man of Truth crucified, were crucified when the Romans sieged Jerusalem (Luke 23:27-33).
Many were killed with the sword, most of the survivors were scattered among all ethnic groups (nations) as their descendants are to this day, and Jerusalem was occupied by the Gentiles as it still is in part to this day (Luke 21:24). (Gentiles still control three of the four quarters of the old city as well as the Temple Mount.)
Indeed, many more Jews died in the Great Revolt than Romans, because they had committed the greater sin in pressuring the Romans to persecute the Man of Truth and his Jewish followers (John 19:10-11).
Lastly, the fall of the Herodians helped spread the Gospel by decentralizing the authority of the Apostles of Truth.
The Original Apostles of Truth had remained in Jerusalem after the rest of the Children of Truth fled from Paul the Jew (Acts 8:1). Some of them went out of Jerusalem as needed, but they always returned to Jerusalem (Acts 8:14-25). People like Paul the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to be accepted and trained by the Original Apostles of Truth (Acts 9:26-28). Peter the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to get the other Original Apostles of Truth to agree that the Gentiles could be saved without being circumcised (Acts 11:1-18). When there was contention about this in Antioch, then Paul the Jew and others had to go to Jerusalem to get the remaining Original Apostles of Truth to settle the matter (Acts 15:1-21). The remaining Original Apostles of Truth then sent letters out of Jerusalem confirming that the Gentiles could be saved without being circumcised (Acts 15:22-33). When Paul the Jew went on his second mission, the Gentiles far from Judaea, were still being taught to follow the decrees of the remaining Original Apostles of Truth (Acts 16:1-5).
Even Paul the Jew had to go to Jerusalem to verify with the remaining Original Apostles of Truth, that he was teaching the same doctrine as them (Galatians 2:1-2). They confirmed that Paul the Jew was teaching the same doctrine, so they appointed him as the chief Apostle of Truth to the Gentiles, and Peter the Jew as the chief Apostle of Truth to the Jews (Galatians 2:3-8). James the Jew (brother of the Man of Truth), Peter the Jew, and John the Jew were the three main leaders of the Original Apostles of Truth in Jerusalem, who focused on the Jews, while Paul the Jew and others focused on the Gentiles, and collecting offerings from the Gentiles for the poor Children of Truth in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9-10).
So, Paul the Jew had to return to Jerusalem at the end of his second mission, to bring the offerings collected from the Gentile Children of Truth for the poor Children of Truth in Jerusalem (Acts 18:21-22). He ended his third mission by returning to Jerusalem, and reporting to James the Jew about his mission among the Gentiles (Acts 21:17-19).
So, the authority of the Apostles of Truth was centralized in Jerusalem and might have remained so, if not for the events that came with the fall of the Herodians. These events made it harder and harder for people to continue to come to Jerusalem to learn the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth, or for the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth to keep being sent out from Jerusalem. This forced the Apostles of Truth to create a system of maintaining their doctrine without any centralized location.
So, the Apostles of Truth added their doctrine to that of the Prophets of Truth to create a foundation that the congregations of the Children of Truth could be built upon (Ephesians 2:19-22). They wrote what the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) had revealed to them, but had hidden from the Prophets of Truth (Ephesians 3:3-5). They wrote down their commandments, so the Children of Truth would know what to do, after Jerusalem was destroyed (2 Peter 3:1-2). They recognized that these writings containing their doctrine were scripture as much as the writings of the Prophets of Truth were (2 Peter 3:15-16). The congregations that they began were able to continue after Jerusalem was destroyed, and the fall of the Herodians was finished (Revelation 1:9-11).
So, the Good News was able to continue to be spread over the whole Earth, and the doctrine of the Apostles of Truth was able to be maintained across the centuries - without Jerusalem.
This was all the work of the Father of Truth. The Herodians made their own bad choices that brought about their fall, but the Father of Truth used the events of their fall to accomplish His will. The historic writings of Josephus and others tell of the events that occurred during their fall, but the Renewed Covenant (B'rit Chadashah aka The New Testament) shows how those events were used to spread the Gospel into all the world.
The real question is, has the Good News spread into your world?
It does not spread into your world by merely hearing it, but by acting on it and coming into the House of Truth (James 1:22-25).
You come into the House of Truth, when you commit to obey the Man of Truth in everything, because you believe that His Father raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Herodians, History, Prophecy, Sovereignty
posted by The House Of Truth @ May 31, 2019
