Jesus Christ
The Passion
The Last Times
by Rhawn Joseph, Ph.D.
"We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph." -John 1.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. -John 1.
"Behold, the days come, said the Lord, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31.
The "Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks" would be fulfilled, the priests and learned men believed, sometime around the period we now know as 10 B.C., Thus, during the rein of Herod the Great (37 B.C. to 4 B.C.) a great sense of almost hysterical excitement spread among the Jews. Whereas previously few dared lay claim to the mantle of the Messiah, hundreds of pretenders were now claiming the glory of the godhead, and many had disciples.
Jews, from all walks of life, were now clamoring for a Messiah, a priest-king who like Moses, would lead them to salvation and out from under the yoke of the hated Roman Empire.
Israel was an occupied land, defiled and deflowered by brutal pagans. Thousands had been killed without mercy. It was a sign of the coming of The Last Times.
The Romans had captured Palestine and the Holy city of Jerusalem, around 63 B.C.. Pompey, the Roman general, had committed blasphemy by trespassing into the Holy of Holies of God's Temple in Jerusalem.
Israel had lost her independence and was now a defiled vassal state. A puppet king, Antipater, who claimed to be a Jew but who some believed to have been of Arab stock, was installed as King, by the Romans around 63 B.C. Antipater was kept in power through fear, terror, and brute military force. Upon his death, around 37 B.C, his son, Herod the Great ascended to the throne and became King of Israel. The rein of Herod were troubled times. There were great earthquakes, drughts, pestulence, disease, mass murders and arrests and the ever present terror of Roman brutality. Even Jewish babies and children were murdered in mass by Herod --signs that the Woes of the Last Time had come.
And when Herod suddenly died, there was chaos. The people rebelled.
"And thus did a great and wild fury spread itself over the kingdom" -Josephus.
The Romans struck back with an iron fist. Tens of thousands were arrested, killed and crucified. The integrity of the country itself was rent assunder. The Romans split Palestine into two parts, the puppet king, Herod Antipas ruling Galilee, and with Judea and the Holy city of Jerusalem becoming subject to direct Roman rule.
The arrests and mass killings did not stop. Thousands were tortured and crucified. Even children, first born sons, were torn from their mother's breasts and smashed lifeless to the ground. God's temple was again defiled and plundered. Cruel taxes were imposed on the people. Palestine had again been crushed by the Roman Imperial boot. Pagans ruled the holy land.
Among the pius, the signs were everywhere. The Last Times had begun. The Messiah would soon be coming. The Kingdom of God was near.
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