Lecture Eight

Disclaimer:

I will type the notes as presented to me.
Again let me stress that what follows are NOT my words.
I will not add my thoughts in the post.
Comments allowed for friendly discussion and edifying.

II Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto G-D, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

I Thessalonians 5:11
Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

And for the record no one is ruling out dual fulfillment. As the man who let me have a copy of these notes said, "I'm not into prophecy but I am into history. We know history repeats itself."










1. As we continue to look at the first century account of the Great Revolt (66-73 AD). Josephus gives us some details of the Jewish reaction against florus (roman procurator): 'The people now pressured king agrippa (great grandson of herod the great) to send ambassadors to accuse florus before nero. Agrippa wanting to discourage the people from war did not encourage this action.' Josephus gives us the speech of agrippa: 'It does not follow that all romans are unjust to you. They do not intentionally send us oppressive governors, and can not in the west see their officers in the east... In the end I must tell you that your hopes of gaining independence are too late. Remember when general pompey conquered Jerusalem (62 BC)? I ask you, if the people could not, in those days, resist just a part of the roman forces, under pompey, how can you now expect to be successful, when the romans rule the world? When so many great nations have been conquered, how can you hope to be victorious?'

2. Some scholars believe that agrippa, in his eloquent speech, is the voice of compromise with evil rome saying: 'Who is like the beast, and who is able to make war with it?' (Rev 13:4). Josephus tells us that agrippa continued in his speech saying: 'I tell you, if you persist in this course, the horrors of war and all its destruction shall surely fall on the Jews, throughout the empire as well as on ourselves, our city and our Temple!' Josephus records that at this point agrippa burst into tears at the conclusion of his speech and many of the people were moved some saying: 'We have not taken up arms against the romans, only against florus...' As the Book of Revelation continues to show, many continued to compromise their standards and give loyalty to rome: And they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast (Rev 13:4). To John and the faithful believers the compromising words of agrippa and the pro-roman response of many of the people was seen as treasonous deserving of condemnation in these letters to the churches (Book of Revelation). To give authority to the beast is the same as worshiping the beast.

3. There seemed to be two groups among the Jews as well as the christians: One believing that G-D would supernaturally cause them to throw off the roman yoke, while the other idea was not willing to fight a battle which could not be won. The confusion of these different concepts resulted in a commonly understood idea which dated back to the time of confucius (551-479 BC) which held to the rational philosophy: 'If the battle cannot be won, don't fight it!' This was the view of agrippa and those listening to his reasoning. The zealots on the other hand, believed in the apocalyptic idea that G-D was going to intervene and deliver them. It is interesting that Jesus also, at least for this battle, seems to give similar advice in telling the disciples to flee to the mountains when they see the abomination of desolation (Matt 24:15-16). Jesus was neither compromising with the romans not flattering them, but was foreseeing the disastrous course which lay ahead and stating that this battle could not be won. Although the zealots may have been justified in some of their ideas, their timing was wrong.

4. Josephus tells us that as agrippa continued: 'By your actions you are already at war with rome! You have not paid tribute to caesar!' Compare these words with those of Jesus to His disciples: 'Render unto caesar that which is caesars!' (Matt 22:21). But when the people heard agrippa they grew exasperated and abusive at the king and banished him from Jerusalem. Then a party of zealots captured Masada killing the roman guards posted there. The Jewish Zealots not only expelled the roman legionnaires from Jerusalem, Judea, and Galilee, but using the vast food and water supply of herod's stronghold at Masada and other such locations prepared for the war with rome.

5. No doubt the well known battle cry of the earlier Essenes began to ring in the ears of these Jewish Zealots with such words as: 'Hoist a banner, O you who lie in the dust! O bodies gnawed by worms. Raise up an ensign for the destruction of wickedness! The sinful shall be destroyed in the battles against the ungodly. The scourging flood, when it advances, shall not invade the stronghold' (the Psalms Scroll, col. VI). This warring concept was not held by all the Jews. There were some among the moderate Pharisees as well as the Christians who refused to take part in this battle against the beast and were labeled as traitors by the Zealots.

6. The Great Tribulation was already underway as Christians prepared themselves by reading such Dead Sea Scroll writings as the code-book of John the revelator that was smuggled in from the island of Patmos. The greek residents of caesarea, sympathetic to the romans started anti-semitic attacks which remind us of the actions of hitler. Josephus tells us: 'In one hour over 20,000 were massacred, and caesarea was emptied of Jews... The Syrians did similar things killing the Jews in every city they captured, and the whole province was a scene of indescribable horror... Next scythopolis (Bet Shein) attacked her Jews butchering 13,000 of them.... Other cities followed the same example and even in alexandria egypt the Jews were massacred by greek inhabitants and resident roman forces.' For these first century Believers, it was impossible to conceive of the year 2,000 as they struggled to hold their faith amidst their greatest persecution which would shortly take the Holy City and the Temple itself. They held on to such words as: 'You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. Nation shall rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. But do not be disturbed. For all these things must take place. But the end is not yet (Matt 24:6-7).

7. Back in rome when nero heard of these Jewish revolts he publicly showed disdain by saying: 'These unpleasantries are due to poor generalship, and not the valor of the enemy...' Inwardly being troubled, nero declared: 'I, nero caesar, do hereby commission and dispatch you, most noble and venerable general vespasian-conqueror of germany and britain- to take command of the legions in syria and to subdue the rebellious Jews in Judea...' Vespasian then dispatched his son titus, to alexanria in egypt to bring the fifteenth legion stationed there to Jerusalem, while vespasian himself headed for syria. Josephus said: 'There he collected roman forces, and auxiliary troops from the princes of neighboring lands, who now allied with rome (beast) against the Jews...'

8. In the mind of the religious Jews and early Christian Believers this was an alliance of harlotry. Ancient history records that there were a total of ten kings from the east who made a hasty alliance with rome. The Book of Revelation declares: 'The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. They will make war against the Lamb' (Rev 17:12-14). Note these are ten kings which the people living at that time were able to see doing this. Revelation 17:5 mentions: 'Come and I will show you the judgment of the great harlot, sitting on the many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication... And on her forehead was a name written: MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF THE HARLOTS AND OF THE ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH...' Although some modern expositors of prophecy claim that mystery babylon represents the european economic community or other present day figures, these early Believers saw mystery babylon as rome the beast, who had committed fornication by alliance with other nations to destroy Israel and the Jews. The Jews just prior to the first century had predicted this in the Dead Sea Scrolls as the Commentary of the Habakkuk Scroll identified babylon as the kittim, interpreted by the Dead Sea sect as the romans: 'For behold, I rouse the chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation...who are quick and valiant in war causing many to perish. All the world shall fall under the dominion of the kittim... They shall not believe in the Laws of G-D' (Hab. Com., Col. II).

9. It is essential in understanding the Book of Revelation that we understand during the first century the Jews interpreted rome as the new babylon. Just as ancient babylon swallowed up Jerusalem and destroyed the Temple in the sixth century BC (586 BC), so rome stands poised as the new babylon, ready to devour Judea in the first century. To draw a closer illustration of ancient babylon, rome had forged a harlotrous alliance with four kingdoms from the east from the area of the euphrates river in babylon. As a result of this John writes: 'And I heard a voice out of the four horns of the golden altar before G-D saying... release the four angels, those having been bound at the great euphrates river. And the four angels were released, those having been prepared for the hour and the day and the month and the year, that they should kill a third part of men' (Rev 9:13-15).

10. The parthians were among these eastern alliances with rome and were so fierce and warlike that even rome could not conquer them. The very sight of the ferocious cavalry of the parthians struck terror in the hearts of the Judeans: 'And I saw in the vision the horses and those sitting on them having fire-colored breastplates...and the heads of the horses like heads of lions, and out of their mouths comes fire and smoke and brimstone...' (Rev 9:17). The parthians had the habit of twisting the tails of their horses into sharp points to sting the enemy. Note the words: 'Their authority is in their mouths and in their tails, for their tails are like serpents having heads, and they do harm with them' (Rev9:19).





Go to lecture VII or IX