The Unjust Trial
How did the Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man 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 brought about the rise and fall of empires, to shape the world of the Hasmoneans. Their contributions were just as important as the gift of the Maccabees in making the Good News possible. With their contributions, there would have been no way for the Maccabees to help spread the Gospel.
The story of how the Hasmoneans helped bring about the fullness of time is tied to the Greeks. This is just another example of Greco-Judeo wrestling.
The Father of Truth brought about the unified Greek Empire, and then split it into four smaller Greek Empires, including the Seleucid Empire (Daniel 11:2-4).
The story of the Hasmoneans is rooted in the story of the Maccabees.
Matthias the priest had five sons. Matthias and his five sons were the original Maccabees.
They started the revolt of the Maccabees in 167 BC against the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV, when he tried to force all Jews to adopt Greek culture and worship Greek gods.
(None of the Seleucids, 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.)
Matthias the Priest died about a year after the revolt began, but his sons swore to fight until they restored the Law of Truth as the law of the land in Israel.
The third son was Judah, who was nicknamed, "The Hammer", and he began leading the revolt after his father died. Those who joined him were called Maccabees, because "maccabee" is the Hebrew word for hammer.
Among those who became part of the Maccabees, were the Hasideans (Chasidim), who were among the first to join the revolt. These Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) were opposed to adopting any Greek customs that were contrary to the Law of Truth. They were also opposed to the appointment of the High Priest by foreign rulers.
Judah died in the last battle of the revolt in 160 AD, and the fifth son of Matthias, Jonathan, became the leader of the Maccabees.
After the Maccabees won the war against the Seleucid Empire in 158 AD, they began to reform the religious institutions in the land of Israel. This shaped the Jewish world in so many ways.
Matthias the Priest had also been called "The Hasmonean", because he was the great-grandson of Asmon (Hasmoneaus in Anglicized Greek (there is no "h" sound in Greek)). Jonathan and his successors after the war, all bore the title of Hasmonean, in honor of the nickname of Matthias the Priest. For this reason, the descendants of the Maccabees are called the Hasmoneans.
The Seleucid Emperor, Demetrius I, granted Judea as an autonomous province of the Seleucid Empire, that had full control of religion and culture internally. Jonathan, who was based in Michmash, then lead the Maccabees to bring every Jew in the land of Israel into submission to the Law of Truth.
At this time, two groups came out of the Hasideans, who added other sources to the Original Covenant. One was the Pharisees, who supported the efforts of Jonathan, and the other was the Essenes, who opposed them.
In 153 AD, Jonathan was then appointed the high priest of Israel by Alexander Balas, who sought to be the next Seleucid Emperor. Jonathan then officiated the Feast of Tabernacles at the Temple.
Around this time, the Sadducees were formed, who claimed to be descendants of Zadok, the High Priest in the days of King David, and the rightful heirs of the position of High Priest. (Zadok was actually the name of their founder, who lived at this time.)
The Sadducees were largely composed of Jews, who were more willing to adopt most Greek customs, except for those concerning religion. However, they rejected all of the Original Covenant, except for the Law of Truth, and used Greek philosophy to interpret the Law of Truth.
In 143 AD, the remaining Maccabees then began reconquering all of the land of Israel along the Mediterranean coast, and forcing everyone to either convert to the religion of the Book of Truth, or to leave the land of Israel. The Pharisees were generally opposed to this policy, but were still supportive of Jonathan.
The next year, the second son of Matthias, Simon, was appointed by Demetrius II as the new high priest to replace Jonathan, after he died.
A year later, an oath was given by the great assembly, with a majority of Pharisees, and minority of Sadducees, which represented the people of Israel, that the descendants of Simon would be both the High Priest and the Prince of Israel, until a faithful Prophet of Truth should arise to tell who the Father of Truth would appoint as High Priest.
Simon continued to served as High Priest, until he was assassinated at a banquet in 135 AD. His two oldest sons were also murdered at the banquet, but his third son, John was not at the banquet. So, the last of Maccabean High Priests died.
The Hasmonean High Priests were descendants of the last of Maccabean High Priest.
John took on the Greek surname of Hyrcanus as a sign of acceptance of the Greek culture of Seleucid Empire. Then John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) became the High Priest in 135 AD. He was the first true Hasmonean High Priest, who had not been part of the Maccabees.
Hyrcanus I was one of the Pharisees in the beginning of his tenure. Due to the demands of ruling, his involvement as High Priest mainly involved overseeing the Feasts of Truth (Moedim aka Feasts of the Father of Truth) at the Temple. He handed over the day to day administration of judging matters concerning the Law of Truth to an assembly of priests and scribes. This assembly had the Pharisees in the majority and the Sadducees in the minority.
In 113 BC, Hyrcanus I destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, when he conquered Samaria.
In 110 AD, Hyrcanus I forced all of the Edomite men (Idumaeans) living in Idumaea to become circumcised and agree to keep the entire Law of Truth, when he conquered it. These Idumaeans became Jews for all intents and purposes.
Finally, in a bit of historical irony, Hyrcanus I then set out force everyone in the kingdom of Judea, which had grown to cover most of what the Romans called Judaea, to become Jewish in all of their customs and religion. This was similar to what Antiochus IV had done in forcing everyone in the Seleucid Empire to become Greek in all of their customs and religion, which had led to the revolt of the Maccabees.
The Pharisees were opposed to these wars of expansion and forced conversions. They finally confronted Hyrcanus I, saying that he should not be king, since trying to be king had kept him from performing his duties as High Priest. Hyrcanus I responded by becoming a Sadducee, and changing the composition of the assembly to make the Sadducees the majority.
In 104 BC, Hyrcanus I conceded that his duties as king had been detrimental to his fulfillment of his role as High Priest, so he divided the roles in his will. He announced that his oldest son, Aristobulus I would be the next High Priest.
The next year, Aristobulus I died and his brother became Jannaeus became the next High Priest.
Since the Sadducees had supported their fellow Sadducee, Aristobulus I, Jannaeus again change the composition of the great assembly, which was called the Sanhedrin by this time, to put the Pharisees in the majority.
Soon, the Pharisees demanded the Jannaeus chose between being king and High Priest, since he could not fulfill both roles adequately. Jannaeus responded by giving the Sadducees complete authority to decide matters concerning the rituals performed in the Temple.
In 93 BC, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jannaeus instigated a riot by pouring the libation offering on his feet, instead of on the altar. The Pharisees in the Temple were outraged, and pelted him with etrogs (similar to lemons). He then had 6,0000 of them massacred in the Temple.
This lead to a six year long civil war to remove Jannaeus from being the High Priest. Jannaeus crushed the rebellion in 87 BC, and had 800 of the Pharisees crucified in Jerusalem.
Nine years later, in 76 BC, Jannaeus sought to bring reconciliation between the Pharisees and Sadducees on his deathbed.
His son, John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus II), became the new High Priest.
His wife Salome Alexandra became the next Hasmonean ruler. She was a Pharisee, and changed the composition of the Sanhedrin to give the Pharisees their greatest majority ever.
Salome died in 67 BC. Hyrcanus II, who was also a Pharisee, continued to favor the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin.
Within three months, the brother of Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II, started a rebellion to remove Hyrcanus II from being High Priest. So, Hyrcanus II took the family of Aristobulus II captive.
The two brothers met in the Temple, and made an agreement to end the war. Aristobulus II became the High Priest, but Hyrcanus II would be given the revenue that belonged to the High Priest. Aristobulus II then restored the Sadducees to supremacy in the Sanhedrin.
However, Hyrcanus II was soon persuaded by his advisor, Antipater the Idumaean (Antipater I), that Aristobulus II was plotting to kill him, so he could keep the revenue of the High Priest for himself.
Soon, Hyrcanus II hired Aretas III, king of the Nabataeans to besiege Jerusalem, so he could be restored to his position as High Priest.
The majority of the people in Jerusalem favored Hyrcanus II, including the Pharisees, with only the priests and Sadducees favoring Aristobulus II. Soon, the siege consisted of Aristobulus II and his adherents being trapped in the Temple.
The story of the Hasmoneans is also tied to the Roman Empire.
After eight months, in 65 BC, both brothers sent ambassadors to Scaurus, one of the Roman generals of Pompey, who was conquering the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, to ask for help. Scaurus told Aretas III to go home, if he did not want to go to war with the Romans. Aretas III retreated without a fight, the siege came to an end, and Aristobulus II remained the High Priest.
Two years later, in 63 BC, Pompey finished his conquest of Syria. Both brothers, and a third delegation led by some Pharisees, sent ambassadors to Pompey to ask for the support of Rome in their cause. Aristobulus II promised to deliver Jerusalem to the Romans, if they would support him.
However, when Aristobulus II arrived at Jerusalem, the leaders of the Sadducees refused to open the gates for the Romans. Aristobulus II was arrested, and the leaders of the Sadducees went into the Temple for refuge. Then the leaders of the Pharisees opened the gates for the Romans.
Soon, the leaders of the Sadducees were besieged in the Temple. Pompey decided to break through the Temple walls on the Sabbath, since the Jewish defenders would not work to prevent him from doing so. Shortly after this, Pompey defeated the leaders of the Sadducees, and restored Hyrcanus II as the High Priest.
In 42 BC, Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus II, began raising up support from both the leaders of Sadducees and the Pharisees, to bring an end to Roman rule of Judaea.
Two years later, the Parthian Empire invaded Syria in an effort to wrestle it from the Roman Republic, and aided Antigonus.
Antigonus soon captured Jerusalem.
He then proceeded to mutilate the ears of Hyrcanus II, so that he could no longer serve as High Priest. The Parthians then took Hyrcanus II to Babylon, where he lived among the Jews there.
So in 40 BC, Antigonus became the next High Priest.
In 34 BC, Herod the Great captured Jerusalem for the Romans, and took Antigonus prisoner. Antigonus was then sent to Antioch and executed.
Herod then appointed Ananelus from Babylon as the next High Priest 34 BC. The Pharisees were very opposed to this appointment, because he was not from the land of Israel, even though he came from the priestly line.
The next year, 33 BC, Herod the Great replaced Ananelus with Aristobulus III, the grandson of Aristobulus II, as High Priest.
However, Aristobulus III was too popular with the Pharisees and common people, so Herod the Great had him drowned in 32 BC, and reinstated Ananelus. This was the end of High Priests from the Hasmonean line.
So, from the time of the victory of the Maccabees until the reign of Herod the Great, during the time of the Hasmoneans, there were indeed many days when many of the Children of Truth fell to the sword, flames, captivity, and spoil through constant war and unrest. Through a turbulent period of about 100 years, the Hasmoneans served as High Priests in an independent kingdom, and also as the High Priests appointed by three great powers: the Seleucid Empire, Roman Republic, and the Parthian Empire.
During this time, there was constant unrest and struggle between the Pharisees and Sadducees over control of Jewish religious life. Yet, there was continued to be a small, and often persecuted minority of Hasideans, who rejected both the Oral Torah of the Pharisees, and the Greek philosophy of the Sadducees. They built their doctrine on the Original Covenant, the whole Original Covenant, and nothing but the Original Covenant. These years of struggle were not in vain, for the Hasmoneans were setting the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth.
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by giving rise to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees came out of the Hasideans, the Children of Truth that did exploits with the Maccabees. Very few of them were of the priestly line, but many of them were scribes and lawyers, who were expert in creating laws intended to act as a wall around the commandments found in the Law of Truth.
The Pharisees were an exclusive group. There were many requirements to be called a Pharisee. The few who met these requirements, wore distinctive clothing, so they could easily be identified. They were considered to be the best of the best of the best by the common people.
The Pharisees controlled the synagogues in Israel, and had great influence on the synagogues outside of Israel. They were often honored in synagogues, and asked to be guest speakers in synagogues that they visited.
The Pharisees believed in the entire Original Covenant, but they added the Oral Torah, consisting of the traditions of the elders, to it (Matthew 15:1-2). In fact, they held the Oral Torah in higher regard than the Law of Truth (Matthew 15:3-6). These traditions that made up the Oral Torah had been handed down to them from the time of Isaiah (Yesha'yahu), before the southern kingdom of Judah was carried away to Babylon, about 400 years before the time of the Maccabees (Matthew 15:7-9). These traditions of the Oral Torah, made it impossible for them to understand how the Messiah of Israel could be both the descendant of David, and the Lord of David (Matthew 22:41-46).
The Pharisees claimed to have derived their authority from Moses (Moishe), but the Man of Truth said to do what Moses said, instead of them (Matthew 23:1-3). [In the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, it actually reads, "whatever he (Moses) bid you observe", instead "whatever they (the Pharisees) bid you observe". This is in line with the rest of the teaching of the Man of Truth concerning avoiding the doctrine of the Pharisees. This becomes plainer when you understand the language of the Renewed Covenant.]
The Man of Truth rejected their definition of work forbidden on the Sabbath, which was based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:1-8). He rejected their demand to neglect taking care of people on the Sabbath, but even though they took care of their animals on the Sabbath, which was based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:9-13).
Many of the Pharisees were hypocrites, who cared more about their traditions and money than people (Matthew 23:13-15). They placed higher value on the gold of the Temple, than the Temple, or the Father of Truth (Matthew 23:16-22). These hypocrites were more concerned about the minutest details of paying tithes, than about showing love to other people or the Father of Truth (Matthew 23:23-24). These hypocrites were more concerned with appearing righteous on the outside, than being righteous on the inside (Matthew 23:25-28).
For these reasons, the Man of Truth warned people that they must be more righteous than the Pharisees, who relied on keeping the Oral Torah, instead of the Law of Truth (Matthew 5:17-20). He warned people to not be hypocrites like the Pharisees (Luke 12:1-3). He warned that justification came from turning away from sin, instead of keeping the Oral Torah like the Pharisees (Luke 18:9-14).
The Pharisees accused him of casting out Spirits of Lies (devils aka demons aka unclean spirits aka gods) by the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil), because accepting that he did this by the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), meant that the Messiah of Israel was opposed to the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:22-28). They could not believe that he was the Messiah of Israel, who could forgive sins, even when he gave them a sign of his authority, because that would have meant that the Messiah of Israel was opposed to the Oral Torah (Luke 5:17-26).
The Pharisees attempted to turn the crowds who followed the Man of Truth against him, by asking about his teaching on divorce and remarriage (Matthew 19:2-9). They sought to turn either the Romans, or the people of Israel, against the Man of Truth, by asking him about paying taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-22). They sought to turn the people of Israel against him, by asking him which of the commandments of the Law of Truth were the greatest (Matthew 22:34-40). They sought to turn the people of Israel against him for his interpretation of the Law of Truth, by asking him to condemn the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11).
The Pharisees plotted to have the Man of Truth killed, because he would not submit to their doctrine based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:1-14). These hypocrites were vipers, who could not escape the damnation of Hell, because they planned on finishing the work of their fathers in killing the Prophets of Truth, by killing the Man of Truth (Matthew 23:29-33)!
His resurrection, after being dead for three days and nights, was the sign of being the Messiah of Israel, that the Man of Truth gave to the Pharisees (Matthew 12:38-40).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by giving rise to the Sadducees.
The Sadducees came from those Jews who were willing to assimilate into Greek culture. Many of them were of the priestly line, but they embraced Greek philosophy, which they applied to interpreting the Law of Truth in their rulings.
The Sadducees were an exclusive group. There were many requirements to be called a Sadducee. The few who met these requirements, wore distinctive clothing, so they could easily be identified. They were considered to be the best of the best of the best by the aristocrats.
The Sadducees controlled the Temple in Jerusalem. They influenced Jews outside of Israel, who came to the Temple to celebrate the Feasts of Truth. They were often honored in schools of Greek philosophy, and asked to be speakers when they visited those schools.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, or angels of any kind, or even spirits of any kind (Acts 23:8).
Their application of Greek philosophy to understanding the Torah, made it impossible for them to understand that people have no need for marriage in their resurrected bodies (Matthew 22:23-28). They could not fathom that the bodies of resurrected people are like those of the angels, because they did not read and believe the entire Original Covenant (Matthew 22:29-30). Their viewing the Torah through the eyes of Greek philosophy, would not even let them see, that the Torah taught that there would be a resurrection (Matthew 22:31-32).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by corrupting the priests.
The office of the High Priest was supposed to last until the High Priest died, and then it would go to the oldest son of the High Priest under normal circumstances. If the oldest son was unfit for the office for some reason, then it was supposed to go the oldest son of the High Priest that was fit for the office. If the High Priest had no sons that were fit for the office, then it would go his oldest brother that was fit for the office. If unusual circumstances prevented any of that line to serve as High Priest, then someone else out of the priestly line that descended from Aaron would be appointed as High Priest. Usually this appointment would come by the mouth of a Prophet of Truth.
Regardless of exactly how the next High Priest was chosen, they were to serve as High Priest until they died, unless unusual circumstances, like an accidental dismemberment, made them unfit to continue as High Priest.
The office of the chief priests, who resided over one of the twenty four courses of priests, was supposed to follow a similar pattern, except the chief priests were replaced upon retirement at a fixed age.
The last of the Maccabees followed this pattern, with Jonathan serving until he died, and then Simon serving until he died, because Jonathan had left no sons to serve as High Priest. The Maccabees were of the priestly line, and the former High Priests were unfit because they chosen assimilation, instead of loyalty to the Law of Truth.
However, these Maccabean High Priests both continued a dangerous precedent of the former High Priests, by allowing their appointment to be made official by the Seleucid Empire. This had not been a problem since the time of Alexander the Great, because it was more of a formality of notifying the Seleucid Empire who the High Priest was. The positions of chief priests also continued to be filled in the manner prescribed by the Original Covenant.
All of this changed began to change with Hyrcanus I, the first purely Hasmonean High Priest.
Hyrcanus I was so busy being king of Judea, that he ended up handing over almost all of the decision making power of the High Priest to the assembly, which would later be known as the Sanhedrin. His role as High Priest became mostly ceremonial, when he performed the rituals of the Feasts of Truth.
Sometimes, he was not even able to do that, due to not being available, and a chief priest had to be appointed as temporary High Priest to carry those duties out. The chief priests began efforts to garner favor from the assembly composed of Pharisees and Sadducees, so they would be chosen to act as the temporary High Priest on these occasions.
He also began to replace the chief priests with priests who were more sympathetic to his views, sometimes before the sitting chiefs reached retirement age. So, Hyrcanus I politicized the office of High Priests and the offices of chief priests.
After Hyrcanus I died, the office of High Priest was no longer a strictly hereditary office for life. His sons began involving themselves in efforts to kill each other off, to ensure that they were the High Priest.
After the death of his surviving son, Jannaeus, the sons of Jannaeus continued the pattern of their father, but made things even worse. They began to politicize the office of the High Priest even more, by seeking either the Pharisees or the Sadducees to help them replace their brother as High Priest, even though he was still alive. They then enlisted foreign powers to appoint them as High Priest, when they could not obtain the position of High Priest through the Sanhedrin.
By the time of the last Hasmonean High Priest, the office of the High Priest had became a completely political position, that was appointed by foreign powers, or their agents, which lasted until someone else offered a bigger bribe to be appointed as the new High Priest.
This corruption did not just affect the office of the High Priest, but the rest of the priests as well. The positions of the chief priests had also became a political position as well, with the chief priests appointed by the High Priest, and approved by the Sanhedrin. Many of the chief priests got their positions by offering the largest bribe to the High Priest, and key members of the Sanhedrin.
The chief priests especially were willing to pay to be chosen as temporary High Priest, when the High Priest could not perform the duties of his office for some reason.
So, the Hasmoneans corrupted the High Priests from being life long positions held by men, who held the Law of Truth in high regard, to temporary positions often held by men, who paid the largest bribes. For this reason, the Sadducees held the positions of High Priests, and almost all of the chief priests, after the last Hasmonean High Priest died. This corruption spread throughout the priests.
It was Caiaphas the High Priest who said, that the Man of Truth had to die in order to save the nation of Israel (John 11:49-52).
It was the chief priests, who plotted to kill Lazarus, because people knew that the Man of Truth had raised him from the dead (John 12:9-11).
It was the chief priests, who bribed Judas to betray the Man of Truth (Matthew 26:14-16). They were the ones who would not put that same money back into the treasury, when Judas gave it back to them (Matthew 27:5-7).
It was Annas the former High Priest, the father in law of Caiaphas the High Priest, that the Man of Truth was first delivered to be tried (John 18:12-14). Annas the former High Priest, sent the Man of Truth to Caiaphas the High Priest, to be interrogated and tried (John 18:24).
It was the High Priest, who questioned the Man of Truth at his private residence at night, instead in the public court during the day, as required by the Law of Truth (John 18:19-23).
It was the High Priest, who first questioned the Man of Truth, and led the Sanhedrin in condemning him to death (Mark 14:60-64). It was Caiaphas the High Priest, who sent the Man of Truth to Pilate, so he could die at the hands of the Romans (John 18:28-32).
It was the chief priests, who accused the Man of Truth before the Roman governor, Pilate (Mark 15:3-5). They are the ones, who moved the common people to demand the release of Barabbas, and the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (Mark 15:6-15). They are the ones, who demanded the crucifixion of the Man of Truth, and chose for Israel to continue under the rule of the Romans (John 19:14-16).
It was the chief priests, who wanted Pilate to remove the title of "King of the Jews", which declared that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, from the cross (John 19:19-22).
It was the chief priests, who bribed the Roman soldiers to spread the rumor, that they had fallen asleep, and the tomb was robbed, after the Man of Truth was raised from the dead (Matthew 28:11-15).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by empowering the Sanhedrin.
Even though there had been assemblies of scribes and lawyers since at least the time of Nehemiah, when many Jews returned to the land of Judea from Babylon, they did not have any authority to make rulings concerning how to observe the Law of Truth. The High Priest made those rulings, with guidance from the Prophets of Truth on some occasions. The Hasmoneans changed that, by empowering the Sanhedrin to make these rulings, instead of the High Priest.
The Sanhedrin was an assembly, for the word literally means "sitting together". There was actually such assemblies in every Jewish community.
However, the Great Sanhedrin, usually just called the Sanhedrin, was the final authority, and those who were in it, were at least twenty years of age, although many of them were literally elders. (The Greek word for elder, presbyteros, literally means someone at least sixty years old.)
In the Law of Truth, a man had to be at least sixty years of age to be an elder, when they got a considerable break in their valuation (Leviticus 27:2-7). This is why a woman was not consider to be eligible for support as a widow by the congregation, until she was at least sixty years old (1 Timothy 5:2-9).
Many of these elders were scribes and lawyers, who made copies of the Original Covenant, and created a body of laws for keeping the commandments of the Law of Truth. Since a Prophet of Truth had not arisen since the time of Nehemiah, more than two hundred years before the Maccabees, these scribes and lawyers were consulted by the High Priest for guidance.
The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-one members, patterned after Moses and the seventy elders who accompanied him to the Tabernacle, and who spoke by the Spirit of Truth (Numbers 11:16-25).
Originally, the Sanhedrin was ruled by the High Priest, who represented Moses, was the head of the Sanhedrin, and seventy literal elders, who met the qualifications of knowledge of the Law of Truth, and were chosen by different areas of Israel to be their representative. However, when the High Priest became corrupted by being appointed by the Seleucid Emperor, instead of being replaced after he died in accordance with the Law of Truth, then the elders replaced the High Priest with an elder that they elected as the head of the Sanhedrin. This president of the Sanhedrin was called the Nasi (literally "Prince").
After the Sadducees started being part of the Sanhedrin, a second position, the vice president of the Sanhedrin, the Av Beit Din, (literally, "father of the house of judgement), served as the head of the court. The head of the court was in charge, when the Sanhedrin sat as a criminal court.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to an agreement that the Nasi would come from the majority party in the Sanhedrin, and Av Beit Din would come from the minority party. This agreement was kept for the most part, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, when the Sadducees effectively came to an end.
This formal assembly composed of the Pharisees, and Sadducees, had confirmed that Simon and his descendants would be both the High Priest and the Prince of Israel, until a faithful Prophet of Truth should arise, to reveal who should fill those positions. This assembly was composed of priests, scribes, lawyers, and elders. Simon still made the rulings, but he consulted this assembly before doing so.
His son, Hyrcanus I, turned over the authority to make these rulings almost completely to this assembly. While he still had final authority, he rarely overturned any of the rulings made by this assembly. Instead, he would control the rulings of the assembly by changing the composition of Pharisees and Sadducees in the assembly.
Jannaeus, the son of Hyrcanus I, continued this policy. The structure of this assembly had been formalized by this time and was called the Sanhedrin.
Jannaeus greatly corrupted the Sanhedrin during his tenor of High Priest, by his constant insults and persecution of the Pharisees, when they opposed his policies. He gave complete authority to determine how the rituals of the Temple should be performed to the Sadducees, just to irritate the Pharisees for questioning his decisions. By the end of his life, the Sanhedrin had been empowered with almost total authority to make rulings concerning observation of the Law of Truth, and was ran almost completely by people, who did not accept the Original Covenant as the only authority in making these rulings. There was a constant struggle for control of the Sanhedrin between the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Sanhedrin continued to have this authority, corruption, and strife, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
The Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stones by the time that the Man of Truth was born. The Hall of Hewn Stones was literally half inside the Temple and half outside of the Temple. The reason for this, was that many of the members were priests, so they could not leave the Temple during working hours, and the rest of the members were not priests, so they could not act as judges in the Temple. So the priestly part of the Sanhedrin would sit on the side in the Temple, while the rest of the Sanhedrin would sit on the side outside of the Temple.
So, the Sanhedrin was the embodiment of cooperation between various parties and classes like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, the scribes, the lawyers, and the elders. This cooperation was not just limited to inside the Hall of Hewn Stone, but these groups would sometimes work together outside of the Hall of Hewn Stone, if they perceived a common threat.
When the Pharisees and Sadducees, the parties that sat in the Sanhedrin, came to John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikveh Man) to be baptized, he called them vipers, who needed to repent, since the rightful King of Israel, the Messiah, was arriving soon and would destroy all who did not repent, because John the Baptist was that faithful Prophet of Truth (Matthew 3:7-12).
The Man of Truth warned his disciples to have nothing to do with the doctrine of these two parties that ran the Sanhedrin (Matthew 16:6-12).
The Pharisees worked with the chief priests, who were also part of the Sanhedrin, to have the Man of Truth arrested in the Temple, because many of the common Jews believed that he was the Messiah of Israel (John 7:28-32). These two groups from the Sanhedrin, could not understand how the officers they sent to arrest the Man of Truth, had not done so, because the Sanhedrin did not accept, that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (John 7:45-49).
The Pharisees and chief priests called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, to determine what to do about the Man of Truth, when most of the Jewish people were on the verge of accepting him as the Messiah of Israel, after he raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-48). The Sanhedrin decided that they must put the Man of Truth to death (John 11:53-54). The Pharisees and chief priests both commanded the Jewish people to look for the Man of Truth at Passover, so they could arrest him (John 11:55-57).
When the Jewish people were crying Hosanna, when the Man of Truth healed the blind and lame in the Temple, it was the chief priests and scribes, that were part of the Sanhedrin, who were displeased and wanted it to stop (Matthew 21:14-16). It was the chief priests and elders, who questioned his authority to teach in the Temple, but were afraid to admit that his authority was from the Father of Truth, and not them (Matthew 21:23-27). It was the chief priests and these Pharisees, that the Man of Truth spoke parables against, which showed that they would be cast out of the kingdom of the Father of Truth, for their rejection and murder of the Man of Truth, because they refused to repent of their sin (Matthew 21:28-46).
It was the Sanhedrin, consisting of the chief priests, scribes, and elders, who met at the house of Caiaphas the high priest, to decide exactly when and how they should bring about the death of the Man of Truth (Matthew 26:3-5).
The chief priests and the elders, members of the Sanhedrin, sent a great multitude with swords and staves with Judas Iscariot, to arrest the Man of Truth in the garden, even though he had been with them daily in the Temple (Matthew 26:47-55). The chief priests and Pharisees sent a band of Temple guards with Judas Iscariot, to arrest the Man of Truth at night (John 18:3-7).
The scribes and the elders, the rest of the Sanhedrin, were waiting for the Man of Truth, when he was brought to the house of Caiaphas the High priest for his unjust trial (Matthew 26:57). The Sanhedrin was at the house of Caiaphas for an unjust trail at night, that relied on the testimony of false witnesses to sentence him to death, instead of a just trail in the Hall of Hewn Stones at day, where the public would have put these false witnesses to death (Matthew 26:59-62). The unjust trail ended with the Man of Truth being mocked, abused, and sentenced to death, because the Sanhedrin convicted him of blasphemy, for admitting to being the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 26:63-68).
The Sanhedrin then gave him another trial in the Hall of Hewn Stones, as soon as the sun was up, that was just for show, since they had already sentenced him to death at the unjust trial (Luke 22:66-71).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then came up with a plan, to have the Man of Truth put to death by the Romans (Matthew 27:1-2). The entire Sanhedrin was involved in this plan, and sent the Man of Truth to the Roman governor Pilate (Mark 15:1).
This caused Judas to return the bribe that they had given him, and hang himself (Matthew 27:3-5).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then accused the Man of Truth before Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14). They were ones, who convinced the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas, and demand the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (Matthew 27:15-26).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then mocked the Man of Truth, while he was dying on the cross, for saying that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 27:41-43).
The chief priests and the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin then convinced Pilate to put a guard on the tomb of the Man of Truth for three days, so that no one could take his body and claim he rose again (Matthew 27:62-66).
However, the Man of Truth fulfilled the sign, which he had given to the two parties of the Sanhedrin, that he was the Messiah of Israel, by his resurrection from the dead (Matthew 16:1-4).
Without the Hasmoneans setting the stage, the unjust trial of the Man of Truth would have never happened. The Pharisees would have never risen to power to distort the understanding of the ordinary Jews of Israel with the Oral Torah. The Sadducees would not have risen to power to distort the understanding of the rulers of Israel with Greek philosophy. The priests would have never became corrupted by a system that rewarded dishonesty. The Sanhedrin would never have been given authority that was not given to it in the Law of Truth.
It was the chief priests and the elders, who made up the Sanhedrin, that caused the Man of Truth to suffer and die so he could rise again on the third day (Matthew 16:21). The Man of Truth would have never been scourged, crucified, killed by the Romans, and then resurrected, without the unjust trail that the Sanhedrin gave him (Matthew 20:18-19). The Man of Truth had to be rejected by the Sanhedrin for these things to happen (Luke 9:22).
This all happened to fulfill what the Father of Truth had spoken through Prophets of Truth like Isaiah (Yesha'yahu) about the Messiah of Israel.
The Man of Truth had to be rejected by the Sanhedrin, who represented the people of Israel, so he could suffer for the sins of Israel (Isaiah 53:3-5). He had to be given an unjust trail to be sentenced to death, because he would have never been convicted in a just trial (Isaiah 53:6-8). He had to die an unjust death for sins that he did not commit, in order to justify those who deserved to die for the sins that they did commit (Isaiah 53:9-11). He had to rise from the dead, in order to put an end to sin in the Earth as the Messiah of Israel (Isaiah 53:10-12).
If the Hasmoneans had not set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, then the Sanhedrin would have understood the writing of the Prophets of Truth, and would not have fulfilled them by killing the Man of Truth (Acts 13:27-29). If they had understood the plan of the Father of Truth, then they would have never carried out that plan, by having an unjust trail that resulted in the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).
The unjust trail of the Man of Truth was the work of the Father of Truth, so that people could come into the House of Truth (Acts 2:22-24). The Father of Truth raised the Man of Truth from the dead, to show that he is the Messiah of Israel, so the people could come into the House of Truth (Acts 13:30-39). Everyone, who will make the Man of Truth king of their life, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead, will come into the House of Truth (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 brought about the rise and fall of empires, to shape the world of the Hasmoneans. Their contributions were just as important as the gift of the Maccabees in making the Good News possible. With their contributions, there would have been no way for the Maccabees to help spread the Gospel.
The story of how the Hasmoneans helped bring about the fullness of time is tied to the Greeks. This is just another example of Greco-Judeo wrestling.
The Father of Truth brought about the unified Greek Empire, and then split it into four smaller Greek Empires, including the Seleucid Empire (Daniel 11:2-4).
The story of the Hasmoneans is rooted in the story of the Maccabees.
Matthias the priest had five sons. Matthias and his five sons were the original Maccabees.
They started the revolt of the Maccabees in 167 BC against the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV, when he tried to force all Jews to adopt Greek culture and worship Greek gods.
(None of the Seleucids, 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.)
Matthias the Priest died about a year after the revolt began, but his sons swore to fight until they restored the Law of Truth as the law of the land in Israel.
The third son was Judah, who was nicknamed, "The Hammer", and he began leading the revolt after his father died. Those who joined him were called Maccabees, because "maccabee" is the Hebrew word for hammer.
Among those who became part of the Maccabees, were the Hasideans (Chasidim), who were among the first to join the revolt. These Children of Truth (those who obey The Father of Truth because they love Him) were opposed to adopting any Greek customs that were contrary to the Law of Truth. They were also opposed to the appointment of the High Priest by foreign rulers.
Judah died in the last battle of the revolt in 160 AD, and the fifth son of Matthias, Jonathan, became the leader of the Maccabees.
After the Maccabees won the war against the Seleucid Empire in 158 AD, they began to reform the religious institutions in the land of Israel. This shaped the Jewish world in so many ways.
Matthias the Priest had also been called "The Hasmonean", because he was the great-grandson of Asmon (Hasmoneaus in Anglicized Greek (there is no "h" sound in Greek)). Jonathan and his successors after the war, all bore the title of Hasmonean, in honor of the nickname of Matthias the Priest. For this reason, the descendants of the Maccabees are called the Hasmoneans.
The Seleucid Emperor, Demetrius I, granted Judea as an autonomous province of the Seleucid Empire, that had full control of religion and culture internally. Jonathan, who was based in Michmash, then lead the Maccabees to bring every Jew in the land of Israel into submission to the Law of Truth.
At this time, two groups came out of the Hasideans, who added other sources to the Original Covenant. One was the Pharisees, who supported the efforts of Jonathan, and the other was the Essenes, who opposed them.
In 153 AD, Jonathan was then appointed the high priest of Israel by Alexander Balas, who sought to be the next Seleucid Emperor. Jonathan then officiated the Feast of Tabernacles at the Temple.
Around this time, the Sadducees were formed, who claimed to be descendants of Zadok, the High Priest in the days of King David, and the rightful heirs of the position of High Priest. (Zadok was actually the name of their founder, who lived at this time.)
The Sadducees were largely composed of Jews, who were more willing to adopt most Greek customs, except for those concerning religion. However, they rejected all of the Original Covenant, except for the Law of Truth, and used Greek philosophy to interpret the Law of Truth.
In 143 AD, the remaining Maccabees then began reconquering all of the land of Israel along the Mediterranean coast, and forcing everyone to either convert to the religion of the Book of Truth, or to leave the land of Israel. The Pharisees were generally opposed to this policy, but were still supportive of Jonathan.
The next year, the second son of Matthias, Simon, was appointed by Demetrius II as the new high priest to replace Jonathan, after he died.
A year later, an oath was given by the great assembly, with a majority of Pharisees, and minority of Sadducees, which represented the people of Israel, that the descendants of Simon would be both the High Priest and the Prince of Israel, until a faithful Prophet of Truth should arise to tell who the Father of Truth would appoint as High Priest.
Simon continued to served as High Priest, until he was assassinated at a banquet in 135 AD. His two oldest sons were also murdered at the banquet, but his third son, John was not at the banquet. So, the last of Maccabean High Priests died.
The Hasmonean High Priests were descendants of the last of Maccabean High Priest.
John took on the Greek surname of Hyrcanus as a sign of acceptance of the Greek culture of Seleucid Empire. Then John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus I) became the High Priest in 135 AD. He was the first true Hasmonean High Priest, who had not been part of the Maccabees.
Hyrcanus I was one of the Pharisees in the beginning of his tenure. Due to the demands of ruling, his involvement as High Priest mainly involved overseeing the Feasts of Truth (Moedim aka Feasts of the Father of Truth) at the Temple. He handed over the day to day administration of judging matters concerning the Law of Truth to an assembly of priests and scribes. This assembly had the Pharisees in the majority and the Sadducees in the minority.
In 113 BC, Hyrcanus I destroyed the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim, when he conquered Samaria.
In 110 AD, Hyrcanus I forced all of the Edomite men (Idumaeans) living in Idumaea to become circumcised and agree to keep the entire Law of Truth, when he conquered it. These Idumaeans became Jews for all intents and purposes.
Finally, in a bit of historical irony, Hyrcanus I then set out force everyone in the kingdom of Judea, which had grown to cover most of what the Romans called Judaea, to become Jewish in all of their customs and religion. This was similar to what Antiochus IV had done in forcing everyone in the Seleucid Empire to become Greek in all of their customs and religion, which had led to the revolt of the Maccabees.
The Pharisees were opposed to these wars of expansion and forced conversions. They finally confronted Hyrcanus I, saying that he should not be king, since trying to be king had kept him from performing his duties as High Priest. Hyrcanus I responded by becoming a Sadducee, and changing the composition of the assembly to make the Sadducees the majority.
In 104 BC, Hyrcanus I conceded that his duties as king had been detrimental to his fulfillment of his role as High Priest, so he divided the roles in his will. He announced that his oldest son, Aristobulus I would be the next High Priest.
The next year, Aristobulus I died and his brother became Jannaeus became the next High Priest.
Since the Sadducees had supported their fellow Sadducee, Aristobulus I, Jannaeus again change the composition of the great assembly, which was called the Sanhedrin by this time, to put the Pharisees in the majority.
Soon, the Pharisees demanded the Jannaeus chose between being king and High Priest, since he could not fulfill both roles adequately. Jannaeus responded by giving the Sadducees complete authority to decide matters concerning the rituals performed in the Temple.
In 93 BC, at the Feast of Tabernacles, Jannaeus instigated a riot by pouring the libation offering on his feet, instead of on the altar. The Pharisees in the Temple were outraged, and pelted him with etrogs (similar to lemons). He then had 6,0000 of them massacred in the Temple.
This lead to a six year long civil war to remove Jannaeus from being the High Priest. Jannaeus crushed the rebellion in 87 BC, and had 800 of the Pharisees crucified in Jerusalem.
Nine years later, in 76 BC, Jannaeus sought to bring reconciliation between the Pharisees and Sadducees on his deathbed.
His son, John Hyrcanus (Hyrcanus II), became the new High Priest.
His wife Salome Alexandra became the next Hasmonean ruler. She was a Pharisee, and changed the composition of the Sanhedrin to give the Pharisees their greatest majority ever.
Salome died in 67 BC. Hyrcanus II, who was also a Pharisee, continued to favor the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin.
Within three months, the brother of Hyrcanus II, Aristobulus II, started a rebellion to remove Hyrcanus II from being High Priest. So, Hyrcanus II took the family of Aristobulus II captive.
The two brothers met in the Temple, and made an agreement to end the war. Aristobulus II became the High Priest, but Hyrcanus II would be given the revenue that belonged to the High Priest. Aristobulus II then restored the Sadducees to supremacy in the Sanhedrin.
However, Hyrcanus II was soon persuaded by his advisor, Antipater the Idumaean (Antipater I), that Aristobulus II was plotting to kill him, so he could keep the revenue of the High Priest for himself.
Soon, Hyrcanus II hired Aretas III, king of the Nabataeans to besiege Jerusalem, so he could be restored to his position as High Priest.
The majority of the people in Jerusalem favored Hyrcanus II, including the Pharisees, with only the priests and Sadducees favoring Aristobulus II. Soon, the siege consisted of Aristobulus II and his adherents being trapped in the Temple.
The story of the Hasmoneans is also tied to the Roman Empire.
After eight months, in 65 BC, both brothers sent ambassadors to Scaurus, one of the Roman generals of Pompey, who was conquering the Seleucid kingdom of Syria, to ask for help. Scaurus told Aretas III to go home, if he did not want to go to war with the Romans. Aretas III retreated without a fight, the siege came to an end, and Aristobulus II remained the High Priest.
Two years later, in 63 BC, Pompey finished his conquest of Syria. Both brothers, and a third delegation led by some Pharisees, sent ambassadors to Pompey to ask for the support of Rome in their cause. Aristobulus II promised to deliver Jerusalem to the Romans, if they would support him.
However, when Aristobulus II arrived at Jerusalem, the leaders of the Sadducees refused to open the gates for the Romans. Aristobulus II was arrested, and the leaders of the Sadducees went into the Temple for refuge. Then the leaders of the Pharisees opened the gates for the Romans.
Soon, the leaders of the Sadducees were besieged in the Temple. Pompey decided to break through the Temple walls on the Sabbath, since the Jewish defenders would not work to prevent him from doing so. Shortly after this, Pompey defeated the leaders of the Sadducees, and restored Hyrcanus II as the High Priest.
In 42 BC, Antigonus, the son of Aristobulus II, began raising up support from both the leaders of Sadducees and the Pharisees, to bring an end to Roman rule of Judaea.
Two years later, the Parthian Empire invaded Syria in an effort to wrestle it from the Roman Republic, and aided Antigonus.
Antigonus soon captured Jerusalem.
He then proceeded to mutilate the ears of Hyrcanus II, so that he could no longer serve as High Priest. The Parthians then took Hyrcanus II to Babylon, where he lived among the Jews there.
So in 40 BC, Antigonus became the next High Priest.
In 34 BC, Herod the Great captured Jerusalem for the Romans, and took Antigonus prisoner. Antigonus was then sent to Antioch and executed.
Herod then appointed Ananelus from Babylon as the next High Priest 34 BC. The Pharisees were very opposed to this appointment, because he was not from the land of Israel, even though he came from the priestly line.
The next year, 33 BC, Herod the Great replaced Ananelus with Aristobulus III, the grandson of Aristobulus II, as High Priest.
However, Aristobulus III was too popular with the Pharisees and common people, so Herod the Great had him drowned in 32 BC, and reinstated Ananelus. This was the end of High Priests from the Hasmonean line.
So, from the time of the victory of the Maccabees until the reign of Herod the Great, during the time of the Hasmoneans, there were indeed many days when many of the Children of Truth fell to the sword, flames, captivity, and spoil through constant war and unrest. Through a turbulent period of about 100 years, the Hasmoneans served as High Priests in an independent kingdom, and also as the High Priests appointed by three great powers: the Seleucid Empire, Roman Republic, and the Parthian Empire.
During this time, there was constant unrest and struggle between the Pharisees and Sadducees over control of Jewish religious life. Yet, there was continued to be a small, and often persecuted minority of Hasideans, who rejected both the Oral Torah of the Pharisees, and the Greek philosophy of the Sadducees. They built their doctrine on the Original Covenant, the whole Original Covenant, and nothing but the Original Covenant. These years of struggle were not in vain, for the Hasmoneans were setting the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth.
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by giving rise to the Pharisees.
The Pharisees came out of the Hasideans, the Children of Truth that did exploits with the Maccabees. Very few of them were of the priestly line, but many of them were scribes and lawyers, who were expert in creating laws intended to act as a wall around the commandments found in the Law of Truth.
The Pharisees were an exclusive group. There were many requirements to be called a Pharisee. The few who met these requirements, wore distinctive clothing, so they could easily be identified. They were considered to be the best of the best of the best by the common people.
The Pharisees controlled the synagogues in Israel, and had great influence on the synagogues outside of Israel. They were often honored in synagogues, and asked to be guest speakers in synagogues that they visited.
The Pharisees believed in the entire Original Covenant, but they added the Oral Torah, consisting of the traditions of the elders, to it (Matthew 15:1-2). In fact, they held the Oral Torah in higher regard than the Law of Truth (Matthew 15:3-6). These traditions that made up the Oral Torah had been handed down to them from the time of Isaiah (Yesha'yahu), before the southern kingdom of Judah was carried away to Babylon, about 400 years before the time of the Maccabees (Matthew 15:7-9). These traditions of the Oral Torah, made it impossible for them to understand how the Messiah of Israel could be both the descendant of David, and the Lord of David (Matthew 22:41-46).
The Pharisees claimed to have derived their authority from Moses (Moishe), but the Man of Truth said to do what Moses said, instead of them (Matthew 23:1-3). [In the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, it actually reads, "whatever he (Moses) bid you observe", instead "whatever they (the Pharisees) bid you observe". This is in line with the rest of the teaching of the Man of Truth concerning avoiding the doctrine of the Pharisees. This becomes plainer when you understand the language of the Renewed Covenant.]
The Man of Truth rejected their definition of work forbidden on the Sabbath, which was based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:1-8). He rejected their demand to neglect taking care of people on the Sabbath, but even though they took care of their animals on the Sabbath, which was based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:9-13).
Many of the Pharisees were hypocrites, who cared more about their traditions and money than people (Matthew 23:13-15). They placed higher value on the gold of the Temple, than the Temple, or the Father of Truth (Matthew 23:16-22). These hypocrites were more concerned about the minutest details of paying tithes, than about showing love to other people or the Father of Truth (Matthew 23:23-24). These hypocrites were more concerned with appearing righteous on the outside, than being righteous on the inside (Matthew 23:25-28).
For these reasons, the Man of Truth warned people that they must be more righteous than the Pharisees, who relied on keeping the Oral Torah, instead of the Law of Truth (Matthew 5:17-20). He warned people to not be hypocrites like the Pharisees (Luke 12:1-3). He warned that justification came from turning away from sin, instead of keeping the Oral Torah like the Pharisees (Luke 18:9-14).
The Pharisees accused him of casting out Spirits of Lies (devils aka demons aka unclean spirits aka gods) by the Father of Lies (HaShatan aka Satan Aka The Devil), because accepting that he did this by the Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost), meant that the Messiah of Israel was opposed to the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:22-28). They could not believe that he was the Messiah of Israel, who could forgive sins, even when he gave them a sign of his authority, because that would have meant that the Messiah of Israel was opposed to the Oral Torah (Luke 5:17-26).
The Pharisees attempted to turn the crowds who followed the Man of Truth against him, by asking about his teaching on divorce and remarriage (Matthew 19:2-9). They sought to turn either the Romans, or the people of Israel, against the Man of Truth, by asking him about paying taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-22). They sought to turn the people of Israel against him, by asking him which of the commandments of the Law of Truth were the greatest (Matthew 22:34-40). They sought to turn the people of Israel against him for his interpretation of the Law of Truth, by asking him to condemn the woman caught in adultery (John 8:2-11).
The Pharisees plotted to have the Man of Truth killed, because he would not submit to their doctrine based on the Oral Torah (Matthew 12:1-14). These hypocrites were vipers, who could not escape the damnation of Hell, because they planned on finishing the work of their fathers in killing the Prophets of Truth, by killing the Man of Truth (Matthew 23:29-33)!
His resurrection, after being dead for three days and nights, was the sign of being the Messiah of Israel, that the Man of Truth gave to the Pharisees (Matthew 12:38-40).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by giving rise to the Sadducees.
The Sadducees came from those Jews who were willing to assimilate into Greek culture. Many of them were of the priestly line, but they embraced Greek philosophy, which they applied to interpreting the Law of Truth in their rulings.
The Sadducees were an exclusive group. There were many requirements to be called a Sadducee. The few who met these requirements, wore distinctive clothing, so they could easily be identified. They were considered to be the best of the best of the best by the aristocrats.
The Sadducees controlled the Temple in Jerusalem. They influenced Jews outside of Israel, who came to the Temple to celebrate the Feasts of Truth. They were often honored in schools of Greek philosophy, and asked to be speakers when they visited those schools.
The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, or angels of any kind, or even spirits of any kind (Acts 23:8).
Their application of Greek philosophy to understanding the Torah, made it impossible for them to understand that people have no need for marriage in their resurrected bodies (Matthew 22:23-28). They could not fathom that the bodies of resurrected people are like those of the angels, because they did not read and believe the entire Original Covenant (Matthew 22:29-30). Their viewing the Torah through the eyes of Greek philosophy, would not even let them see, that the Torah taught that there would be a resurrection (Matthew 22:31-32).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by corrupting the priests.
The office of the High Priest was supposed to last until the High Priest died, and then it would go to the oldest son of the High Priest under normal circumstances. If the oldest son was unfit for the office for some reason, then it was supposed to go the oldest son of the High Priest that was fit for the office. If the High Priest had no sons that were fit for the office, then it would go his oldest brother that was fit for the office. If unusual circumstances prevented any of that line to serve as High Priest, then someone else out of the priestly line that descended from Aaron would be appointed as High Priest. Usually this appointment would come by the mouth of a Prophet of Truth.
Regardless of exactly how the next High Priest was chosen, they were to serve as High Priest until they died, unless unusual circumstances, like an accidental dismemberment, made them unfit to continue as High Priest.
The office of the chief priests, who resided over one of the twenty four courses of priests, was supposed to follow a similar pattern, except the chief priests were replaced upon retirement at a fixed age.
The last of the Maccabees followed this pattern, with Jonathan serving until he died, and then Simon serving until he died, because Jonathan had left no sons to serve as High Priest. The Maccabees were of the priestly line, and the former High Priests were unfit because they chosen assimilation, instead of loyalty to the Law of Truth.
However, these Maccabean High Priests both continued a dangerous precedent of the former High Priests, by allowing their appointment to be made official by the Seleucid Empire. This had not been a problem since the time of Alexander the Great, because it was more of a formality of notifying the Seleucid Empire who the High Priest was. The positions of chief priests also continued to be filled in the manner prescribed by the Original Covenant.
All of this changed began to change with Hyrcanus I, the first purely Hasmonean High Priest.
Hyrcanus I was so busy being king of Judea, that he ended up handing over almost all of the decision making power of the High Priest to the assembly, which would later be known as the Sanhedrin. His role as High Priest became mostly ceremonial, when he performed the rituals of the Feasts of Truth.
Sometimes, he was not even able to do that, due to not being available, and a chief priest had to be appointed as temporary High Priest to carry those duties out. The chief priests began efforts to garner favor from the assembly composed of Pharisees and Sadducees, so they would be chosen to act as the temporary High Priest on these occasions.
He also began to replace the chief priests with priests who were more sympathetic to his views, sometimes before the sitting chiefs reached retirement age. So, Hyrcanus I politicized the office of High Priests and the offices of chief priests.
After Hyrcanus I died, the office of High Priest was no longer a strictly hereditary office for life. His sons began involving themselves in efforts to kill each other off, to ensure that they were the High Priest.
After the death of his surviving son, Jannaeus, the sons of Jannaeus continued the pattern of their father, but made things even worse. They began to politicize the office of the High Priest even more, by seeking either the Pharisees or the Sadducees to help them replace their brother as High Priest, even though he was still alive. They then enlisted foreign powers to appoint them as High Priest, when they could not obtain the position of High Priest through the Sanhedrin.
By the time of the last Hasmonean High Priest, the office of the High Priest had became a completely political position, that was appointed by foreign powers, or their agents, which lasted until someone else offered a bigger bribe to be appointed as the new High Priest.
This corruption did not just affect the office of the High Priest, but the rest of the priests as well. The positions of the chief priests had also became a political position as well, with the chief priests appointed by the High Priest, and approved by the Sanhedrin. Many of the chief priests got their positions by offering the largest bribe to the High Priest, and key members of the Sanhedrin.
The chief priests especially were willing to pay to be chosen as temporary High Priest, when the High Priest could not perform the duties of his office for some reason.
So, the Hasmoneans corrupted the High Priests from being life long positions held by men, who held the Law of Truth in high regard, to temporary positions often held by men, who paid the largest bribes. For this reason, the Sadducees held the positions of High Priests, and almost all of the chief priests, after the last Hasmonean High Priest died. This corruption spread throughout the priests.
It was Caiaphas the High Priest who said, that the Man of Truth had to die in order to save the nation of Israel (John 11:49-52).
It was the chief priests, who plotted to kill Lazarus, because people knew that the Man of Truth had raised him from the dead (John 12:9-11).
It was the chief priests, who bribed Judas to betray the Man of Truth (Matthew 26:14-16). They were the ones who would not put that same money back into the treasury, when Judas gave it back to them (Matthew 27:5-7).
It was Annas the former High Priest, the father in law of Caiaphas the High Priest, that the Man of Truth was first delivered to be tried (John 18:12-14). Annas the former High Priest, sent the Man of Truth to Caiaphas the High Priest, to be interrogated and tried (John 18:24).
It was the High Priest, who questioned the Man of Truth at his private residence at night, instead in the public court during the day, as required by the Law of Truth (John 18:19-23).
It was the High Priest, who first questioned the Man of Truth, and led the Sanhedrin in condemning him to death (Mark 14:60-64). It was Caiaphas the High Priest, who sent the Man of Truth to Pilate, so he could die at the hands of the Romans (John 18:28-32).
It was the chief priests, who accused the Man of Truth before the Roman governor, Pilate (Mark 15:3-5). They are the ones, who moved the common people to demand the release of Barabbas, and the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (Mark 15:6-15). They are the ones, who demanded the crucifixion of the Man of Truth, and chose for Israel to continue under the rule of the Romans (John 19:14-16).
It was the chief priests, who wanted Pilate to remove the title of "King of the Jews", which declared that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel, from the cross (John 19:19-22).
It was the chief priests, who bribed the Roman soldiers to spread the rumor, that they had fallen asleep, and the tomb was robbed, after the Man of Truth was raised from the dead (Matthew 28:11-15).
The Hasmoneans set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, by empowering the Sanhedrin.
Even though there had been assemblies of scribes and lawyers since at least the time of Nehemiah, when many Jews returned to the land of Judea from Babylon, they did not have any authority to make rulings concerning how to observe the Law of Truth. The High Priest made those rulings, with guidance from the Prophets of Truth on some occasions. The Hasmoneans changed that, by empowering the Sanhedrin to make these rulings, instead of the High Priest.
The Sanhedrin was an assembly, for the word literally means "sitting together". There was actually such assemblies in every Jewish community.
However, the Great Sanhedrin, usually just called the Sanhedrin, was the final authority, and those who were in it, were at least twenty years of age, although many of them were literally elders. (The Greek word for elder, presbyteros, literally means someone at least sixty years old.)
In the Law of Truth, a man had to be at least sixty years of age to be an elder, when they got a considerable break in their valuation (Leviticus 27:2-7). This is why a woman was not consider to be eligible for support as a widow by the congregation, until she was at least sixty years old (1 Timothy 5:2-9).
Many of these elders were scribes and lawyers, who made copies of the Original Covenant, and created a body of laws for keeping the commandments of the Law of Truth. Since a Prophet of Truth had not arisen since the time of Nehemiah, more than two hundred years before the Maccabees, these scribes and lawyers were consulted by the High Priest for guidance.
The Sanhedrin consisted of seventy-one members, patterned after Moses and the seventy elders who accompanied him to the Tabernacle, and who spoke by the Spirit of Truth (Numbers 11:16-25).
Originally, the Sanhedrin was ruled by the High Priest, who represented Moses, was the head of the Sanhedrin, and seventy literal elders, who met the qualifications of knowledge of the Law of Truth, and were chosen by different areas of Israel to be their representative. However, when the High Priest became corrupted by being appointed by the Seleucid Emperor, instead of being replaced after he died in accordance with the Law of Truth, then the elders replaced the High Priest with an elder that they elected as the head of the Sanhedrin. This president of the Sanhedrin was called the Nasi (literally "Prince").
After the Sadducees started being part of the Sanhedrin, a second position, the vice president of the Sanhedrin, the Av Beit Din, (literally, "father of the house of judgement), served as the head of the court. The head of the court was in charge, when the Sanhedrin sat as a criminal court.
The Pharisees and Sadducees came to an agreement that the Nasi would come from the majority party in the Sanhedrin, and Av Beit Din would come from the minority party. This agreement was kept for the most part, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD, when the Sadducees effectively came to an end.
This formal assembly composed of the Pharisees, and Sadducees, had confirmed that Simon and his descendants would be both the High Priest and the Prince of Israel, until a faithful Prophet of Truth should arise, to reveal who should fill those positions. This assembly was composed of priests, scribes, lawyers, and elders. Simon still made the rulings, but he consulted this assembly before doing so.
His son, Hyrcanus I, turned over the authority to make these rulings almost completely to this assembly. While he still had final authority, he rarely overturned any of the rulings made by this assembly. Instead, he would control the rulings of the assembly by changing the composition of Pharisees and Sadducees in the assembly.
Jannaeus, the son of Hyrcanus I, continued this policy. The structure of this assembly had been formalized by this time and was called the Sanhedrin.
Jannaeus greatly corrupted the Sanhedrin during his tenor of High Priest, by his constant insults and persecution of the Pharisees, when they opposed his policies. He gave complete authority to determine how the rituals of the Temple should be performed to the Sadducees, just to irritate the Pharisees for questioning his decisions. By the end of his life, the Sanhedrin had been empowered with almost total authority to make rulings concerning observation of the Law of Truth, and was ran almost completely by people, who did not accept the Original Covenant as the only authority in making these rulings. There was a constant struggle for control of the Sanhedrin between the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The Sanhedrin continued to have this authority, corruption, and strife, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD.
The Sanhedrin met in the Hall of Hewn Stones by the time that the Man of Truth was born. The Hall of Hewn Stones was literally half inside the Temple and half outside of the Temple. The reason for this, was that many of the members were priests, so they could not leave the Temple during working hours, and the rest of the members were not priests, so they could not act as judges in the Temple. So the priestly part of the Sanhedrin would sit on the side in the Temple, while the rest of the Sanhedrin would sit on the side outside of the Temple.
So, the Sanhedrin was the embodiment of cooperation between various parties and classes like the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the priests, the scribes, the lawyers, and the elders. This cooperation was not just limited to inside the Hall of Hewn Stone, but these groups would sometimes work together outside of the Hall of Hewn Stone, if they perceived a common threat.
When the Pharisees and Sadducees, the parties that sat in the Sanhedrin, came to John the Baptist (Yochanon the Mikveh Man) to be baptized, he called them vipers, who needed to repent, since the rightful King of Israel, the Messiah, was arriving soon and would destroy all who did not repent, because John the Baptist was that faithful Prophet of Truth (Matthew 3:7-12).
The Man of Truth warned his disciples to have nothing to do with the doctrine of these two parties that ran the Sanhedrin (Matthew 16:6-12).
The Pharisees worked with the chief priests, who were also part of the Sanhedrin, to have the Man of Truth arrested in the Temple, because many of the common Jews believed that he was the Messiah of Israel (John 7:28-32). These two groups from the Sanhedrin, could not understand how the officers they sent to arrest the Man of Truth, had not done so, because the Sanhedrin did not accept, that the Man of Truth was the Messiah of Israel (John 7:45-49).
The Pharisees and chief priests called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, to determine what to do about the Man of Truth, when most of the Jewish people were on the verge of accepting him as the Messiah of Israel, after he raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:43-48). The Sanhedrin decided that they must put the Man of Truth to death (John 11:53-54). The Pharisees and chief priests both commanded the Jewish people to look for the Man of Truth at Passover, so they could arrest him (John 11:55-57).
When the Jewish people were crying Hosanna, when the Man of Truth healed the blind and lame in the Temple, it was the chief priests and scribes, that were part of the Sanhedrin, who were displeased and wanted it to stop (Matthew 21:14-16). It was the chief priests and elders, who questioned his authority to teach in the Temple, but were afraid to admit that his authority was from the Father of Truth, and not them (Matthew 21:23-27). It was the chief priests and these Pharisees, that the Man of Truth spoke parables against, which showed that they would be cast out of the kingdom of the Father of Truth, for their rejection and murder of the Man of Truth, because they refused to repent of their sin (Matthew 21:28-46).
It was the Sanhedrin, consisting of the chief priests, scribes, and elders, who met at the house of Caiaphas the high priest, to decide exactly when and how they should bring about the death of the Man of Truth (Matthew 26:3-5).
The chief priests and the elders, members of the Sanhedrin, sent a great multitude with swords and staves with Judas Iscariot, to arrest the Man of Truth in the garden, even though he had been with them daily in the Temple (Matthew 26:47-55). The chief priests and Pharisees sent a band of Temple guards with Judas Iscariot, to arrest the Man of Truth at night (John 18:3-7).
The scribes and the elders, the rest of the Sanhedrin, were waiting for the Man of Truth, when he was brought to the house of Caiaphas the High priest for his unjust trial (Matthew 26:57). The Sanhedrin was at the house of Caiaphas for an unjust trail at night, that relied on the testimony of false witnesses to sentence him to death, instead of a just trail in the Hall of Hewn Stones at day, where the public would have put these false witnesses to death (Matthew 26:59-62). The unjust trail ended with the Man of Truth being mocked, abused, and sentenced to death, because the Sanhedrin convicted him of blasphemy, for admitting to being the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 26:63-68).
The Sanhedrin then gave him another trial in the Hall of Hewn Stones, as soon as the sun was up, that was just for show, since they had already sentenced him to death at the unjust trial (Luke 22:66-71).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then came up with a plan, to have the Man of Truth put to death by the Romans (Matthew 27:1-2). The entire Sanhedrin was involved in this plan, and sent the Man of Truth to the Roman governor Pilate (Mark 15:1).
This caused Judas to return the bribe that they had given him, and hang himself (Matthew 27:3-5).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then accused the Man of Truth before Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14). They were ones, who convinced the crowd to demand the release of Barabbas, and demand the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (Matthew 27:15-26).
The chief priests and elders of the Sanhedrin then mocked the Man of Truth, while he was dying on the cross, for saying that he was the Messiah of Israel (Matthew 27:41-43).
The chief priests and the Pharisees of the Sanhedrin then convinced Pilate to put a guard on the tomb of the Man of Truth for three days, so that no one could take his body and claim he rose again (Matthew 27:62-66).
However, the Man of Truth fulfilled the sign, which he had given to the two parties of the Sanhedrin, that he was the Messiah of Israel, by his resurrection from the dead (Matthew 16:1-4).
Without the Hasmoneans setting the stage, the unjust trial of the Man of Truth would have never happened. The Pharisees would have never risen to power to distort the understanding of the ordinary Jews of Israel with the Oral Torah. The Sadducees would not have risen to power to distort the understanding of the rulers of Israel with Greek philosophy. The priests would have never became corrupted by a system that rewarded dishonesty. The Sanhedrin would never have been given authority that was not given to it in the Law of Truth.
It was the chief priests and the elders, who made up the Sanhedrin, that caused the Man of Truth to suffer and die so he could rise again on the third day (Matthew 16:21). The Man of Truth would have never been scourged, crucified, killed by the Romans, and then resurrected, without the unjust trail that the Sanhedrin gave him (Matthew 20:18-19). The Man of Truth had to be rejected by the Sanhedrin for these things to happen (Luke 9:22).
This all happened to fulfill what the Father of Truth had spoken through Prophets of Truth like Isaiah (Yesha'yahu) about the Messiah of Israel.
The Man of Truth had to be rejected by the Sanhedrin, who represented the people of Israel, so he could suffer for the sins of Israel (Isaiah 53:3-5). He had to be given an unjust trail to be sentenced to death, because he would have never been convicted in a just trial (Isaiah 53:6-8). He had to die an unjust death for sins that he did not commit, in order to justify those who deserved to die for the sins that they did commit (Isaiah 53:9-11). He had to rise from the dead, in order to put an end to sin in the Earth as the Messiah of Israel (Isaiah 53:10-12).
If the Hasmoneans had not set the stage for the unjust trial of the Man of Truth, then the Sanhedrin would have understood the writing of the Prophets of Truth, and would not have fulfilled them by killing the Man of Truth (Acts 13:27-29). If they had understood the plan of the Father of Truth, then they would have never carried out that plan, by having an unjust trail that resulted in the crucifixion of the Man of Truth (1 Corinthians 2:6-8).
The unjust trail of the Man of Truth was the work of the Father of Truth, so that people could come into the House of Truth (Acts 2:22-24). The Father of Truth raised the Man of Truth from the dead, to show that he is the Messiah of Israel, so the people could come into the House of Truth (Acts 13:30-39). Everyone, who will make the Man of Truth king of their life, because they believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead, will come into the House of Truth (Romans 10:9).
Come into the House of Truth!
Labels: Hasmoneans, Maccabees, Pharisees, Sadducees, Sanhedrin, Sovereignty
posted by The House Of Truth @ February 11, 2018
<< Home