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11out the Parthians. But upon returning to Judea, hewas met by a rebellion! The Jewish insurgents opposing him eventually made their last stand in Jerusalem. But it still took almost three months beforeHerold was able to take the upper city and the Templesite. The subsequent slaughter was immense; for theRoman soldiers were enraged at the stubborn resistance they had encountered.It was at this time that Antigonus, the last Jew toever function as a king, was scourged and put todeath. The year was 37 B.C. According to the historian Josephus, Herod was “master of a city in ruinsand king of a nation that hated him.” The clock wasticking. It was 33 years before the birth of Jesus.But more trouble was brewing. Cleopatra, queenof Egypt had been using her wiles to gain politicalcontrol of the Eastern Empire. But Antony had spentso much time living with her that he had let his military defenses become weak. In 32 B.C. Octavian (only28 at the time) declared war against him. The nextyear, in a great naval victory at Actium on the western coast of Greece, Antony’s forces were annihilated—and he and Cleopatra fled back to Egypt.As the decisive battle had drawn near, Herod haddetermined to stand with the one he thought wouldwin: Anthony. But, when Anthony lost, Herod immediately took ship to the Island of Rhodes and theremet with Octavian. Lavishly promising him the fullest loyalty that he had previously given to Antony,Herod was confirmed in his kingship of Judea. Uponarriving back home, Herod killed his wife’s motherAlexandra, because he suspected her of treason.The end of Cleopatra—Having fled to Egypt,Cleopatra decided she needed to rid herself of Antony

12The Fabulous First Centuriesand win the love of Octavian, the new ruler of theRoman Empire. So she had word sent to Anthonythat she had committed suicide. Distraught at thenews and, in accordance with an earlier agreed suicide pact with her, Anthony tried to kill himself. Butthe sword thrust into his body only wounded himseriously. Discovering this, Cleopatra and the womenwith her slew the Roman leader she had pretendedto love.Cleopatra was now determined to win the affection of Octavian, as earlier, when for a full year shehad given herself to Mark Anthony and, before that,to Julius Caesar prior to his assassination.On August 1, 30 B.C. Octavian entered Alexandria, Egypt. But, unlike his predecessors, he was always faithful to one wife. When he refused to yield toher wiles, Cleopatra held an asp to her breast andcommitted suicide.Both the death of Cleopatra and Roman controlof Egypt strengthened Herod’s position; for Egypt hadbeen a continual threat to his rulership. Cleopatra’spossessions in Palestine, given her by Ptolemy, wereadded to Herod’s domain, along with several othercities ceded to him by Emperor Octavian (who laterchanged his name to Caesar Augustus). Herod hadnow become the ruler of a large territory.Always killing his friends—Soon after, Herodhad his wife, Mariamne, put to death because he alsosuspected her of plotting against him. Herod was obviously a difficult man to live with.When he was not preoccupied with having friendsand relatives slain, Herod spent his time buildinggymnasiums, baths, marketplaces, and cities, in thevain hope of pleasing the Jews.Always fearful that some enemy would eventually

13attack him, another pet project of Herod’s was theconstruction of five major isolated fortresses, to whichhe would be able to flee in case of trouble. One wasMasada, which he specifically built as a perfect refuge. Another was the Herodium, a festal retreat andhis intended final burial place. Machaerus was another, where one of Herod’s sons (Herod Antipas) laterimprisoned John the Baptist. More on that later.Herod wanted the Jews to appreciate him; but hewas hated because he was an Edomite and not a Jewand because he represented the Roman power whichthey wanted to cast off. They were also angry withthe way he kept killing his relatives and anyone elsewho gave the slightest hint of opposing him.Antipater, Herod’s son by his first wife, Doris,wanted to get rid of his half-brothers. So when hefalsely charged that Herod’s two sons by Mariamne(Alexander and Aristobulus) were plotting againsthim, Herod had them strangled to death.But when Antipater was later suspected of attempting to poison Herod, he was also sentenced to death(Josephus, Antiquities, xviii, 1)When news of all these murders reached EmperorAugustus, back in Rome, he is reported to have commented, “I’d rather be Herod’s hog (hus) than hisson (huios).” In order to appease the Jews, Heroddid not kill his hogs!After murdering his dearly beloved wife, Mariamne,Herod became psychologically disturbed and sufferedprolonged delusions. At times, demanding his servants to bring Mariamne into his presence, he wouldfly into a rage when they could not produce the deadwoman.The battles Herod had to fight both inside andoutside his kingdom, the dissension and murders

14The Fabulous First Centurieswithin his court, his sexual and drinking excesses,and his tiresome journeys overseas—prematurelyaged him. Suspicion and uncontrollable anger gradually became a way of life for him.At about the age of 65 (about 9 B.C.), Herod became seriously ill for a time; then he appeared torecover rather well.—But then, nearly five years later, another eventoccurred during the last part of Herod’s reign. It ismentioned in the book of Matthew:“The book of the generation of Jesus Christ . . Whenas His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before theycame together, she was found with child of the HolyGhost.”—Matthew 1:1, 18.More on this very soon.WHAT DID THE TEMPLE LOOK LIKE?It was not until he had reigned eighteen years thatHerod began the work of rebuilding the Temple inJerusalem. Historians date that event at 20/19 B.C.Deciding he should live in style like his friends inRome, Herod had already built himself a palace, filledit with gold, marble, and costly furniture, and surrounded it with extensive gardens.This palace occupied the citadel area on the westside of Jerusalem. Fifteen acres in size, it was enclosed by a wall which, according to Josephus, was65 feet high. Part of that palace is preserved today inthe massive lower walls of the citadel beside the JaffaGate.(Later in the first century A.D., when Romanprocurators ruled Judea, that palace of Herod’s became their headquarters. It was here that Christwould be brought for trial before Pilate. A detailedanalysis of that trial comes later.)

15Work begins on the restored Temple—WhenHerod announced to the Jews that he was going torebuild their Temple, which Zerubbabel had erectedfive centuries earlier, the Jews were utterly shocked!Herod told them it was too small, and he wanted totear it down and erect a larger one on the Templesite. Despite their protests and fears, he set to workon the reconstruction project.It was not until 20/19 B.C., when all the materialshad been gathered nearby, that Herod ordered thework to begin. Skilled workmen, numbering 10,000,were chosen for the task. A thousand wagons carriedimmense stones to the site.On Mount Moriah, the Temple site, Herod had anarea 750 feet square leveled out, greatly wideningthe flat top of the Temple site. It was enlarged totwice its previous size of some 17 acres. This wasdone by new excavation work on the north side, plusthe construction of immense retaining walls rising450 feet above the Kidron Valley floor, on the southeast.After being enlarged, the flat surface of the TempleMount measured 351 yards on the north side, 512yards on the east, 536 yards on the west, and 309yards on the south.The Temple that Jesus saw—The actual innerpart of the Temple was rebuilt exclusively by thepriests and Levites, with the work completed withina year and a half—with no interruption in daily sacrifices.It took another eight years to complete the outercourts. The entire structure was arranged in a seriesof ascending terraces, with one court higher than thenext; and the Temple highest of all. So, apart fromsome embellishments, the Temple and its outer

16The Fabulous First Centuriescourts were completed in 12/11 B.C.We know what it looked like from the descriptions given by Josephus (Antiquities, xv, 11) and theMishnah (Middoth).The outermost part consisted of covered-over porticos, which were roofed with cedar “curiously graven,”and supported by multiple rows of Corinthian columns in bronze. Each column was so huge that threemen could barely join hands around it.This was the largest outer court, and in it werebooths for the money changers. As a lucrative sideline, the priests required that all local and foreigncurrency be changed into “temple shekels.” Also herewere stalls where one might buy animals to offer insacrifice. The whole thing sounded like a noisy cattleyard and was a national disgrace, yet the priestsreaped immense profits from it, which they split withthe exchangers and sellers.Years later, on two different occasions Christ closeddown this noisy marketplace for a time: the first timewas near the beginning of His three-and-a-half-yearministry (John 2:12-22), and the second near its end(Matthew 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46).Nearby were other covered porticoes where teachers and pupils met to study Jewish philosophy. WhenChrist was twelve, He met with these Jewish leadersand asked them questions which they could not answer (Luke 2:41-47). More on that later.The outer court was open to the Gentiles (andthose Jews who, for one reason or another, could notapproach closer).From this “Outer Temple,” a broad flight of stepsled up to an inner walled space which non-Jews wereforbidden to enter. Beyond this first wall was “TheCourt of the Women.”

17From this second enclosure, the worshiper passedup yet another flight of steps and, through gates platedwith silver and gold, into an inner “court of theIsraelities”—which was reserved for Jewish men.Here, in the open air, was an immense altar of burntoffering upon which sacrifice was offered.Inside the sanctuary—Beyond this point, moresteps led up through massive bronze doors—75 feethigh and 24 wide—which were overhung with a famous golden vine. Through this door only the priestscould pass into the sacred inner precincts. Inside,everything was built of white marble, in set-back style,and faced in gold plate (Josephus, Antiquities, xv,11).Like the ancient tabernacle in the wilderness, theinside of this building consisted of two apartments.The first was twice as long as it was wide and high.The second, inner apartment was a perfect cube.These two rooms were divided crosswise by an immense veil, embroidered with blue, purple, and scarlet. Josephus tells us the cloth was one inch thick,and renewed yearly.When Christ died, a hand tore that veil in two“from above (Greek: anothen) down,” totally splitting it apart and exposing to view the innermost sanctuary of the Temple (Matthew 27:51, Mark 15:38,Luke 23:45).Before the veil, on the right in the first apartmentwas a golden table bearing unleavened “shewbread”(Hebrew: the “bread of the presence”). On the leftwas the golden, seven-branched lampstand (not“candlestick”). Immediately before the veil was thegolden altar of incense. Beyond the veil was the second apartment—the Holy of Holies, which in the earlier Temple, before its destruction by Nebuchudnezzar

18The Fabulous First Centuriesin 586 B.C. (2 Kings 25), was the golden Ark of theCovenant, containing God’s covenant with His people:the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:2-21).Josephus tells us that there was “nothing whatever” in the Most Holy Place of the Temple in Christ’stime. This was because, just before Solomon’s Templewas destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the prophetJeremiah directed that the Ark of the Covenant behidden in a cave somewhere in the surrounding hills.To this day, it has never been located.As mentioned earlier, the main structures of thishistoric edifice were finished in eight years. Someadditional adornment was still being added duringthe ministry of Jesus (cf. John 2:20). After 80 years,the work was finally completed in A.D. 64 (Josephus,Antiquites xv. 11; Wars of the Jews, v. 5), duringthe time of the procurator Albinus (A.D. 62-64). Thatwas only six years before the armies of Titus destroyedthe city of Jerusalem and its Temple in A.D. 70 (Matthew 24:2, 15-22, 32-35).Josephus tells us that the Temple was constructedof white marble stones, each one immense in size:25 cubits (37½ feet) in length. Jesus predicted thatall those stones would be thrown down (Matthew24:1-2). Later in this book, you will learn how happened.The Israelites were proud of this glorious shrineof white marble, gold, and cedar. It ranked amongthe marvels of the Augustinian world. Because of itssplendor, they almost forgave the Greek Corinthianstyle columns in the porticoes, and the immensegolden eagle that—defying the Jewish prohibitionagainst carven images—was above the entrance gateto the outermost court of the Temple. That eagle symbolized the power of Judea’s enemy and master, the

19Roman Empire.THE BIRTH OF JESUSMary the mother of Jesus—The Israelites hadlong been expecting that the promised Messiah wouldbe born among them, and, when the angel announcedto Mary that she was to be the mother of the Redeemer, her submission to the Divine will was remarkable. Well she knew that conceiving a son without having known man would bring her reproach fora lifetime. But she was willing to do whatever Godwanted. Her godly example is a powerful lesson forus.“Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whosename was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’sname was Mary.”—Luke 1:26-27.Some historians have assumed that the ancientHebrews treated their women the way modern inhabitants of the Near East frequently do. It is sometimesclaimed that Mary was 12 when she was betrothedto Joseph and Jesus was born. But the present writersuggests that Mary of Nazareth was a mature womanof about 20 when He was conceived. If so, she wasabout four years old when work on the Temple began, and grew up hearing stories of its gradual erection. Throughout her childhood, she probably heardabout some of the terrible things Herod was doing.When Mary was about 14, the outer courts were completed and she and her parents were able to enterthem.It appears that, as soon as she was told that shewas to be the mother of Jesus, Mary journeyed to thehill country of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth(Lk 1:36). It was not until about three months later,

20The Fabulous First Centuriesshortly before the birth of John the Baptist, that shereturned to Nazareth. About six months after that,she and Joseph made that fateful journey toBethlehem.The registration decree—The year was 4 B.C.Not far from Herod’s golden palace in Jerusalem,something was about to happen in an animal shedin nearby Bethlehem.It was the 23rd year of the reign of CaesarAugustus, and he had just issued a proclamation,calling on everyone in the entire empire to go to thecity of his birth and regtister for tax purposes.“And it came to pass in those days, that there wentout a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the worldshould be taxed.”—Luke 2:1.Every 10 to 14 years, the rulers of Rome checkedon how many people were in the empire; not only thedyes Romani (the Roman citizens), but also thoseliving in Spain, Gaul, Egypt, Syria, and Palestine. Weknow from Roman historical records that this wasdone periodically (generally every 14 years) until A.D.175.As with the other tax-enrollment decrees, this “decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world shouldbe taxed”, was actually an order for the taking of acensus. “All went to be taxed (Greek: apographo, “enrolled”), every one into his own city” (Luke 2:3). Thetax levy on each nation was based on this census.Rome used the income to build great buildings andsport arenas, and provide the people with free panemet circenses (“bread and circuses”) to keep them contented.This particular census was taken “when Cyrenius(Latin: Quirinius) was governor of Syria” (Luke 2:2).

21He was the Senator P. Sulpicius Quirinius who isknown to us from Roman documents.Until recently, it was thought that there was a historical problem here, since Quirinius did not go aslegate to Syria until A.D. 6—a full ten years after thecensus of 4 B.C.But it is now known that a fragment of a Romaninscription, found at Antioch, mentioned thatQuirinius had been the emperor’s legate in Syria ona previous occasion, when Saturninus wasprocounsul. Quirinius had gone to Syria between 10and 7 B.C. and ruled over it for several years. Whilethere, he led a campaign against the Homanadenses,a tribe in the Taurus Mountains of Asia Minor. Sonow we know that Quirinius was, indeed, “governorof Syria” at the time stated in Luke 2:2. He later diedwhen Jesus was 25.Arrival in Bethlehem—Because of this imperialdecree, a man and his betrothed wife, heavy withchild, journeyed south to Bethlehem for the enrollment.“And it came to pass in those days, that there wentout a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the worldshould be taxed.“(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius wasgovernor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every oneinto his own city.“And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the cityof Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which iscalled Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife,being great with child.“And so it was, that, while they were there, the dayswere accomplished that she should be delivered.“And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped

22The Fabulous First Centurieshim in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger;because there was no room for them in the inn.”—Luke2:1-7.Here is some historical background on this amazing event, told to us in Matthew 1 and Luke 2:The inn—The “inn” was a small Oriental khan orcaravansary, which usually consisted of rooms facing on a covered porch, surrounding a central courtyard. The travelers would either be assigned a smallspace in a room or on the covered porch. For protection, their animals and baggage would be kept in thecourtyard.There was “no room in the inn” because manydescendents of Judah, Benjamin, or Levi (whose parents had earlier lived there), had also come toBethlehem to be registered.The place of His birth—When Christ was born,He was laid in a manger. This was a trough wherecattle were fed dry food. An early Christian writer,Justin Martyr (c.A.D. 110-165), wrote that Jesus wasborn in a cave. So where was it that Jesus was born?There are several possibilities:Today in Bethlehem, caves are still used to stablesheep and cattle. A number of old houses,

Harvestime Books The Lives and Struggles of Christians in the Early Centuries by Vance Ferrell of Christianityof Christianityof Christianity TheTheThe FFFabulousabulousabulous First CenturieFirst CenturieFirst Centuriesss THE MOST ASTOUNDING FACTS OF EARLY CHURCH HISTORY YOU WILL EVER READ