Josephus Flavius: The Jewish War

Jewish relations with Rome were less than ideal and the continued jabs from the Roman Empire, specifically, the crazed behavior from Emperor Caligula, did nothing but make them worse. The taxes that were imposed upon the Judeans were just one of the malicious acts of the Romans, they also took over the appointment of the High Priest which infuriated the Jews, and demonstrated no respect for the Temple or Judaism, which eventually led to the revolt. While no one can blame the Jews, in retrospect, it was considered to be most likely a huge mistake (Jewish Virtual Library, n.d.). The consequences were many for the Jews as a result of the Jewish Revolt, including the mass murder of thousands of Jewish people, slavery, destruction of the Temple,

The destruction of the Second Temple in 70 c.e. was a pivotal moment in Jewish history (Molloy,

The Fire of Rome, a disaster attributed to the emperor, Nero, lead to the horrific persecution of Christians. The fire broke out on the night of the 18th July 64 AD in the part of the Circus Maximus near to the Palestine and Esquiline hills. Fourteen of the regions into which Augustus had divided the city only I, V, VI and XIV were undamaged, III, X and XI were completely destroyed. Nero, who had been at Antium, arrived back in the city when the fire was threatening the Domus Transitoria that was later destroyed. He immediately initiated measures to relieve the homeless.

Before getting into the details of Jesus' cleansing of the temple as outlined in the book of Matthew, it will first be necessary to provide some context to the narrative. The cleansing of the temple can be found in Matthew 21:12-17, but the rest of the chapter includes important contextual information that allows one to better appreciate this passage both in its immediate historical context and its larger theological one. The cleansing of

After their exile, around fifty-thousand Jews returned to Jerusalem which was now called Judaea. The leader of Judea, the Persian King Cyrus, allowed the Jews to return and to build another place of worship (Fisher 251). The second temple was built in 515 BCE and according to the text Living Religions, became “the central symbol to a scattered Jewish nation” (Fisher). The temple became a place where the Torah was formed and where the religion prospered. However, Jewish prosperity was not going to last. After four centuries of Roman rule, that was domineering and dreadful, a group of Jews decided to rebel against their oppressors. This led to Jews being slaughtered by the Romans and to the second Temple being destroyed. All that is left of the Temple are foundation stones which are referred to as the Western Wall. The temple has never been rebuilt and the Western Wall has become a place for prayer and remembrance for Jews all over the world. Jewish people look at the Western Wall as a representation of the hardships and oppression that their religion and people have endured. According to the article, Mystical Secret of the Western Wall:

“The grandeur of the ancient city is evident in the remains uncovered by archaeologists, including the ruins of the Artemision, the civic agora, the temple of Domitian, gymnasiums, public baths, a theater with seating for 24,000, a library, and the commercial agora, as well as several streets and private residences” (Holman, np). This was a big city, full of culture, and full of ungodly people and activities. Among the many religious groups in the city, there were many Jews there who were brought the gospel right after Pentecost (Orr, np). Because of the pluralism of religions in the city, new Christians didn’t know exactly what to believe or how to worship. On top of this, the city was constantly bombarded with false teachers trying to tell people that salvation came from works, not faith (MacArthur, np).

In Acts, the Roman Emperor, Titus, advanced to Jerusalem with an army with about 80,000. He tried to conquer it by force and ramparts but failed. He then attempted to starve the city into submission. The starvation damaged the Jews greatly for then Titus was able to enter and fight for three weeks. The Jews fought with all their strength but were too weak and the temple was set aflame. Titus did not want the temple to be burnt and tried to stop it along with others but couldn’t. Many Jews died trying to extinguish the fire but failed. The Western Wall was the only thing that remained to which still

(3) What circumstances lead to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70

Tacitus, perhaps the greatest Roman historian, provides us with an account of the fire of Rome.1 It is within this account, recorded in The Annals, that Tacitus mentions Jesus. In chapters 38 through 45 of Annals 15, Tacitus discusses how Nero implicated Christians as those responsible for the fire.

Jesus in Mathew 23, spoke to the Pharisee about judgment, culminating in the seven “woe” statement. On leaving the temple in chapter 24, the disciples called his attention to the buildings on the temple mount. Jesus in verse 2, tells them forthrightly that “not one stone here will be left on another; everyone will be thrown down.” A prophecy fulfilled in 70AD when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem. The magnificent Temple was destroyed.

After the temple was completed, Zechariah gave several prophecies about Israel’s future. It vividly describes the first and second coming of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This book contains more about the person, work, and glory of Christ than any other minor prophets combined. Israel’s king would come, but his people would reject him. They would later repent and be restored to God. The king is going to come again for the Judgment, we pray that when he comes again that we have been faithful and he will find us pure in his sight. The building of the temple is important here. Our bodies are our temple and we must continue to work on them until Christ comes again to claim us, the Church the people of

The destruction of the First Temple of Jerusalem by the Babylonians (586 BC) and the subsequent

The Arch of Titus is known for its depictions of the spoils brought back to Rome after the destruction of Jerusalem. As a result of the Jewish attacks on Roman installations and the start of a revolt against Roman rule in 66

After King Saul died, David was appointed king. The temple built by King Solomon who also held the Ark of the Covenant. This was where sacrifices were made to God. After the first temple was built the Jewish people were sent to Babylon and after their return 50 years later, a second temple was built. This second temple was where the Torah was established. After a war with the Romans in 132-135 CE the Jewish temple was destroyed and Jewish people were forbidden to practice their faith (Fisher, 2005). Judea was renamed Palestine and the Jewish people no longer had a home.

Paul and Barnabas were preaching in a place called Iconium. Some of the Jews started spreading lies about them to the Gentiles in order to rally against them and kill the two men. When Paul and Barnabas heard of this they fled to another city. They came to the city of Lystra and they met a crippled man. As Paul looked at him, he could tell that he had the faith he needed to get healed. After telling the man to rise to his feet, he did so and began walking. The crowds cheered and began comparing Paul and Barnabas to Zeus and Hermes. But they quickly gave the glory to God and said they were only humans. When the Jews found where Paul and Barnabas were preaching, they followed them. They stoned Paul until the point of death and then dragged him