Dan 9:25 - 'The anointed one leading'

[MoGrace2U]

I just got an interlinear bible so I could see the OT in Greek to compare with the NT quotes. I thought I would look into Daniel first, since it is so difficult to follow.

I had started this post over at TD before the admin decided suddenly to shut it down right after I started to make this point. Which of course I didn't save because I thought I would have that post to refer to. I should have just put it here...

The first thing I noted which sent me on a word search was how the translators had rendered 'Messiah the Prince' in order to point us to Jesus for the time frame of the 70 weeks. But there are two mentions of an anointed one as well as two mentions of a prince. Only here is it specified that the anointed one is also a ruler or one who is leading - in these things being prophesied.

Now in looking elsewhere for the difference between the Hebrew and Greek words used for this ruler, I discovered that when a reference to God ordained men (prophets, priests, kings) or angels (Michael & Gabriel) - including Jesus (as Prince, captain, author); a different word is used, than when speaking of regular kings who rise up from among men. But this ruler of men is also one who is anointed - and yet it is not using the description we find in Isa 9:6 for the Prince of Peace.

The fact that he is an anointed one clues us in that he is one who fits a prior prophecy - Cyrus, the emperor of Persia (whose Persian title was - are you ready? King of Kings!) And as a side note, lest I forget; it was Herod the Great - the last king of Israel who died near the year our Lord was born, that was given the designation by Rome of the title 'King of the Jews'.

Getting back to our text though, hebraisms are studies in contrasts. And where prophecy is concerned, you frequently find things presented in pairs. Hence 2 anointed ones and 2 princes - which refer to 3 men. One at the beginning which sets when the 70 weeks begin, the One to come which is The Messiah, and another prince who comes at the end to bring the final desolation.

The fact that the 70 weeks is broken into thirds is also to denote certain markers which give us the timing for when the prophecied things occur - for their identification. And that is why just trying to count off 490 years is never going to arrive at the sign we are to find. Each of the 3 men and each of the 3 events related to the weeks has such a marker.

The 7 weeks is what begins with the command from Cyrus for the restoration of worship to Israel. This is the prophecied ruler which 2 Chron 36:21-23 speaks of for the fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy of the 70 years. Cyrus ruled Babylon from 539-530 BC. In his first year, he discovered that he was the one Jeremiah spoke of and in 538 he gave this command and sent Zerubbabel & Jeshua to oversee the building of the temple. Thus the 1st deportation from Babylon began in 536 BC.

If you follow Daniel with the story in Ezra, this 49 yr period takes us to Darius who ruled from 522-486 BC. It was Darius who resumed the rebuilding of the temple and finished it in 516 BC. When Darius' reign ends it closes this 7 week period.

In Esther we find an event at that time which preceded and prepared the way for the 2nd deportation of Ezra, in which Mordecai, now an honored govenor, is part of - about 30 yrs later in 457 BC. The stage set for the feast of Purim gives some interesting insight into the times in which Daniel who is in Babylon is writing as it concerns these exiled Jews being gathered back to their land.

His prayer in Ch 9 coincides with the trouble first met in Jerusalem by the deportees under Zerubbabel. For it was in the 2nd year of Darius that the temple resumed building - and Daniel's prayer here was the key to that happening. To get a proper chronology from Daniel however, you need to rearrange the chapters since they are not given in that order. Because though Daniel wrote these things, the book itself was not put together until later by the scribes.

The 62 weeks is the period for the building of Jerusalem which commenced under Nehemiah in 444 BC under Artaxerxes. These 4 Persian kings were moved to bring this prophecy to pass - begining with Cyrus, then Darius, Xerxes (Heb. Anaheurus), and Artaxerxes. This 434 yr period ends interestingly enough with the dedication of Herod's temple in 10 BC. This marker is significant in that it closes the 69 weeks. The division of the 3 periods is not supposed to be continguous - which is the mistake often made about this prophecy. The years that followed until Herod's death in 4 BC, also involved a rebellion of the Jews because of the eagle he had put on the temple - which they considered an idolatrous emblem. A temple being prepared for the Messiah who was soon to be born when that last 'king of the Jews' was dead. It is only after his death that we see Jesus brought to the temple. Which chronology is more clear historically in Matthew than in Luke. Which is perhaps another reason why trying to put a specific year to the time before His birth is almost impossible to do. Records were kept according to the reign of kings - not BC years!

The last week (70th) is of course the one we find most interesting because right in the middle of that week, The Messiah is cut off. The cross is thus the marker for identifying Jesus as Messiah. By dividing the week it makes two 3 1/2 yr periods and allows for a gap during which the things prophecied by Jesus can be fulfilled within the framework set forth by Daniel - while still maintaining the patterns we find in prior prophecies.

It is this division in the 70th week which allows for the prince of the people to come to bring the final desolation upon the temple and the city. This 3rd prince is similar to the first prince, but neither of whom are The Prince of Peace. And that is because Jesus was not on the earth ruling men either at the beginning of the 70 weeks nor at its end. If you check out Mat 2:6 where Herod inquires of the Pharisees about this prophecy concerning the birth of the King of the Jews; you will find that the Pharisees quote Micah 5:2, but do not use the word which would show Messiah as one ordained by God - but only as a ruler among men. And that change showed their mindset at the time.

H8269 and G758 are words used for angels, kings, priests and prophets of God & Jesus - captain, author, prince. Micah uses those words. Whereas H5057 and G2233 are the words used to describe the one I believe was referring to Cyrus and also to the future one coming at the end. The Pharisees were quoting the Septaguint and they were the ones who changed the word Micah used.

[Allyn]

Very scholarly research.
I will need to read through this a couple of times at least.

[Michael J Loomis]

Yeah...Me too...WoWzers

[MoGrace2U]

One of the other interesting things about Daniel is that 1290 days and 1335 days at the end - whereby a special blessing comes to those who wait for those additional 45 days to come.

I had written on this earlier and thought that blessing must be speaking of Pentecost, but have since changed my mind.

I see Daniel's focus is on helping us to know that Jesus is THE Messiah. And knowing that markers or signs are the key to finding the fulfillment of things prophecied - which are about Him, then the cross is that main sign.

And because the Lord knows the end from the beginning, it is not unwarranted to begin at the sign and see where the prophecy is going - in both directions. I see the 1290 days as marking from the cross back to Jesus's baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. And what is 1335 days from that beginning other than the day He ascended! Which is the end of His earthly visitation.

Therefore the special blessing to come to those who waited 45 days past the cross was to 'see' the ascension of the Son of Man as He takes the throne of His Father per Dan 7:13-14.

Also of interest here concerning Pentecost, is the first wave offering of the first of the firstfruit grain harvest that marks the time to begin counting to Pentecost. This was the day of Jesus' resurrection. And at Pentecost we have the 2nd wave offering of the bread called the firstfruits made from that grain - which is the offering that the priests eat - it is their portion.

Prophecy is truly the Spirit's testimony about Jesus! Alpha & Omega...

[Morris]

Oct 10, 2009 15:10:02 GMT -5 MoGrace2U said:

H8269 and G758 are words used for angels, kings, priests and prophets of God & Jesus - captain, author, prince. Micah uses those words. Whereas H5057 and G2233 are the words used to describe the one I believe was referring to Cyrus and also to the future one coming at the end. The Pharisees were quoting the Septaguint and they were the ones who changed the word Micah used.

Interesting article. There are some things I agree with and others I don't, but I really only want to make one observation at this point. The distinction in these words are not as precise as what you've given above.

H5057 is used in multiple places to refer to David as appointed by God to rule over Israel. One such example is,
2 Samuel 6:21
"So David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me instead of your father and all his house, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. Therefore I will play music before the LORD."

Other examples of similar usage are in 1 Kings 1:35, 14:7, 16:2, 1 Chr 9:20, 11:2, 17:7, Isa 55:4, & Jer 20:1.

From Strong's we have #H5057 meaning 'a commander (as occupying the front), civil, military or religious; generally (abstractly, plural), honorable themes'.

#H8269 means 'a head person (of any rank or class'.

#G758 means 'a first (in rank or power)'.

#G2233 means 'to lead, i.e. command (with official authority); figuratively, to deem, i.e. consider'.

The main difference between H8269 / G758 and H5057 / G2233 seems to be, in my opinion, that the later also eludes to military rule, but not exclusively.

[stormcrow]

“I see the 1290 days as marking from the cross back to Jesus's baptism when the Holy Spirit descended upon Him. And what is 1335 days from that beginning other than the day He ascended! Which is the end of His earthly visitation.”

On the other hand, it may be referring to this:

1.  At the same time that Antiochus, who was called Epiphanes, had a quarrel with the sixth Ptolemy about his right to the whole country of Syria, a great sedition fell among the men of power in Judea, and they had a contention about obtaining the government; while each of those that were of dignity could not endure to be subject to their equals. However, Onias, one of the high priests, got the better, and cast the sons of Tobias out of the city; who fled to Antiochus, and besought him to make use of them for his leaders, and to make an expedition into Judea.

The king being thereto disposed beforehand, complied with them, and came upon the Jews with a great army, and took their city by force, and slew a great multitude of those that favored Ptolemy, and sent out his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months. But Onias, the high priest, fled to Ptolemy, and received a place from him in the Nomus of Heliopolis, where he built a city resembling Jerusalem, and a temple that was like its temple concerning which we shall speak more in its proper place hereafter.

2.  Now Antiochus was not satisfied either with his unexpected taking the city, or with its pillage, or with the great slaughter he had made there; but being overcome with his violent passions, and remembering what he had suffered during the siege, he compelled the Jews to dissolve the laws of their country, and to keep their infants uncircumcised, and to sacrifice swine's flesh upon the altar; against which they all opposed themselves, and the most approved among them were put to death. Bacchides also, who was sent to keep the fortresses, having these wicked commands, joined to his own natural barbarity, indulged all sorts of the extremest wickedness, and tormented the worthiest of the inhabitants, man by man, and threatened their city every day with open destruction, till at length he provoked the poor sufferers by the extremity of his wicked doings to avenge themselves.

The Works of Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 1, Chapter 1, Sections 1-2.

Note the following:

He also spoiled the temple, and put a stop to the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation for three years and six months.

1290/365=3.53 years.

The significance of the extra 45 days? The time it took to restore the Temple and daily sacrifices.

The 1290 days comes from Daniel 12:

11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. 12 Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days. Daniel 12:11-12 (NKJV)

Antiochus set up a heathen altar on top of the altar in the Holy of Holies and sacrificed a pig to it, and ordered that every Jew throughout the land do likewise. Furthermore, he outlawed circumcision and the keeping of Mosaic law, and ordered the death of anyone caught keeping the law. He also ordered the Torah to be destroyed wherever it was found. In considering all these things, Josephus wrote the following:

He [Daniel] also related, that when he stood up, he was shown a great ram, with many horns growing out of his head, and that the last was higher than the rest: that after this he looked to the west, and saw a he-goat carried through the air from that quarter; that he rushed upon the ram with violence, and smote him twice with his horns, and overthrew him to the ground, and trampled upon him: that afterward he saw a very great horn growing out of the head of the he-goat, and that when it was broken off, four horns grew up that were exposed to each of the four winds, and he wrote that out of them arose another lesser horn, which, as he said, waxed great; and that God showed to him that it should fight against his nation, and take their city by force, and bring the temple worship to confusion, and forbid the sacrifices to be offered for one thousand two hundred and ninety-six days.
Daniel wrote that he saw these visions in the Plain of Susa; and he hath informed us that God interpreted the appearance of this vision after the following manner: He said that the ram signified the kingdoms of the Medes and Persians, and the horns those kings that were to reign in them; and that the last horn signified the last king, and that he should exceed all the kings in riches and glory: that the he-goat signified that one should come and reign from the Greeks, who should twice fight with the Persian, and overcome him in battle, and should receive his entire dominion: that by the great horn which sprang out of the forehead of the he-goat was meant the first king; and that the springing up of four horns upon its falling off, and the conversion of every one of them to the four quarters of the earth, signified the successors that should arise after the death of the first king, and the partition of the kingdom among them, and that they should be neither his children, nor of his kindred, that should reign over the habitable earth for many years; and that from among them there should arise a certain king that should overcome our nation and their laws, and should take away their political government, and should spoil the temple, and forbid the sacrifices to be offered for three years' time. And indeed it so came to pass, that our nation suffered these things under Antiochus Epiphanes, according to Daniel's vision, and what he wrote many years before they came to pass.

Anyway, that's the way I see it.

[mellontes]

Stormcrow,

Just a couple of things that seem to need clarifying:

1. Josephus was not an eyewitness to these events. So, where is he getting this info from. And if it is from the book of Maccabees, can it be relied upon?

2. You siad, "The significance of the extra 45 days? The time it took to restore the Temple and daily sacrifices." What sources would you have for this. I would be interested in reading how it only took 45 days to put down this previous overthrow.

[stormcrow]

I posted all the research I could find on this thread from another forum:

www.christian-forum.net/index.php?showtopic=39980

It got very heated, so ignore the heat and look for the light.

1. Josephus was not an eyewitness to these events. So, where is he getting this info from. And if it is from the book of Maccabees, can it be relied upon?

That's one of the problems tracking down ancient history: there are very few primary sources of eyewitness accounts. I don't know where Josephus got his information, but the first two paragraphs from Wikipedia portray him this way:

Josephus (37 – c.100 AD/CE),[2] also Yoseph Ben Mattithyahu in Biblical Hebrew (Joseph son of Matthias) and Titus Flavius Josephus[3] was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded 1st century Jewish history, such as the First Jewish–Roman War which resulted in the Destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. He has been credited by many as recording some of the earliest history of Jesus Christ outside of the gospels.

Josephus was a law-observant Jew who believed in the compatibility of Judaism and Graeco-Roman thought, commonly referred to as Hellenistic Judaism. His most important works were The Jewish War (c. 75 AD/CE) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94 AD/CE).[4]

The Jewish War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation (66–70). Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a Jewish perspective for a Roman audience. These works provide valuable insight into 1st century Judaism and the background of Early Christianity.[4]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephus

Being well-educated in both the Law and customs of his people, it stands to reason that he would've also been educated in their history. And though he may be a controversial figure, no one disputes that he was a good historian.

2. You siad, "The significance of the extra 45 days? The time it took to restore the Temple and daily sacrifices." What sources would you have for this. I would be interested in reading how it only took 45 days to put down this previous overthrow.

Again, please refer to the first link I posted for this information. And yes, for that I did cite 1 Maccabees, part of the Orthodox canon of the OT.

Here's a snippet:

35 Now when Lysias saw his army put to flight, and the manliness of Judas' soldiers, and how they were ready either to live or die valiantly, he went into Antiochia, and gathered together a company of strangers, and having made his army greater than it was, he purposed to come again into Judea.

36 Then said Judas and his brethren, Behold, our enemies are discomfited: let us go up to cleanse and dedicate the sanctuary.

37 Upon this all the host assembled themselves together, and went up into mount Sion. 38 And when they saw the sanctuary desolate, and the altar profaned, and the gates burned up, and shrubs growing in the courts as in a forest, or in one of the mountains, yea, and the priests' chambers pulled down;

39 They rent their clothes, and made great lamentation, and cast ashes upon their heads, 4

0 And fell down flat to the ground upon their faces, and blew an alarm with the trumpets, and cried toward heaven.

41 Then Judas appointed certain men to fight against those that were in the fortress, until he had cleansed the sanctuary.

42 So he chose priests of blameless conversation, such as had pleasure in the law:

43 Who cleansed the sanctuary, and bare out the defiled stones into an unclean place. 44 And when as they consulted what to do with the altar of burnt offerings, which was profaned;

45 They thought it best to pull it down, lest it should be a reproach to them, because the heathen had defiled it: wherefore they pulled it down,

46 And laid up the stones in the mountain of the temple in a convenient place, until there should come a prophet to shew what should be done with them.

47 Then they took whole stones according to the law, and built a new altar according to the former;

48 And made up the sanctuary, and the things that were within the temple, and hallowed the courts.

49 They made also new holy vessels, and into the temple they brought the candlestick, and the altar of burnt offerings, and of incense, and the table.

50 And upon the altar they burned incense, and the lamps that were upon the candlestick they lighted, that they might give light in the temple.

51 Furthermore they set the loaves upon the table, and spread out the veils, and finished all the works which they had begun to make.

52 Now on the five and twentieth day of the ninth month, which is called the month Casleu, in the hundred forty and eighth year, they rose up betimes in the morning,

53 And offered sacrifice according to the law upon the new altar of burnt offerings, which they had made.

54 Look, at what time and what day the heathen had profaned it, even in that was it dedicated with songs, and citherns, and harps, and cymbals.

55 Then all the people fell upon their faces, worshipping and praising the God of heaven, who had given them good success.

56 And so they kept the dedication of the altar eight days and offered burnt offerings with gladness, and sacrificed the sacrifice of deliverance and praise.

57 They decked also the forefront of the temple with crowns of gold, and with shields; and the gates and the chambers they renewed, and hanged doors upon them.

58 Thus was there very great gladness among the people, for that the reproach of the heathen was put away.

59 Moreover Judas and his brethren with the whole congregation of Israel ordained, that the days of the dedication of the altar should be kept in their season from year to year by the space of eight days, from the five and twentieth day of the month Casleu, with mirth and gladness.

60 At that time also they builded up the mount Sion with high walls and strong towers round about, lest the Gentiles should come and tread it down as they had done before. 1 Maccabees 4:35-60 (KJVApocrypha)

I realize protestants and evangelicals don't recognize the books of the Apocrypha as canon. Unfortunately, in this regard, Protestantism has thrown the baby out with the bathwater, because while there are some really whacked out passages in the Apocrypha, there are others - like the history of the Maccabean Revolt - that could help people understand much of OT prophecy, especially in relation to the book of Daniel.

Oh, and one more thing regarding the Apocrypha: it comes to us by way of the Septuagint, the first translation of the Hebrew scriptures into Greek. Because Greek was the common language of the Roman Empire at the time of Christ (and beyond), the Septuagint was widely used by the early church and by Hellenized Jews.

When Paul writes to Timothy to "rightly divide the word of truth", he is referring to the books of the Septuagint, which had the same doctrinal issues today as they had back then.

The Septuagint is still used by Roman, Greek, Russian, and Eastern Orthodox denominations, and is part of these groups' biblical canon.

But again, all that information is sourced in the first link I provided.

Hope this helps.

[stormcrow]

Just a quick thought on why context is important, taken from Daniel 8:

"...the time of the end is the vision." Daniel 8:17 (YLT)

Many people mistakenly conclude that when an OT prophet writes "time of the end" what he really means is "the end of all time", then place events prophesied thousands of years ago into some 7-year span of time just before Christ establishes the "new heaven and earth."

But is that what they all necessarily mean???

Context is critical to understanding the phrase "time of the end." Time of the end of what? The "of what" is often answered in the context of the passage.

There are many "times of the end." We all experience some "time of the end" everyday! There is the "time of the end of sleep" when we get up and get ready for work or school. Then there is the "time of the end" of work or class. We experience the "time of the end" of a sporting event, movie, camp out, canoe trip, vacation, etc., etc., etc. While the phrase "time of the end" is archaic, we use a similar phrase everyday! We say it's "quitting time", "bed time", "end of the game", or the " grand finale": all are modern idioms that represent the end of a given time or activity.

So the next time you read "time of the end" in a prophecy, ask yourself this very simple question: "time of the end of what?", then look for contextual clues around it that may answer your question.

[stormcrow]

This is a little "off-topic", but as Mellontes had inquired about the trustworthiness of Josephus, I wanted to post the following to allay some of those concerns. I wrote the following after finding events in the book of Acts actually affirmed by Josephus! Keep reading!

---

I was reading the latter chapters of the book of Acts, when I came across this passage:

37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? 38 Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? 39 But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. Acts 21:37-39 (KJV)

Let's set the scene: Paul, having gone to Jerusalem to be purified for the sacrifice of atonement (Paul was a devout Jew) is accosted by a large crowd accusing him of having brought gentiles into the Temple. They are getting ready to kill him when he is rescued by the “Chief Captain” of the Roman garrison there in Jerusalem.

Now, here's where the historian in me gets all giddy! Look at the question the Chief Captain asks Paul:

“Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?”

So I wondered, “where have I seen this before?” Then it hit me: Josephus, only in much greater detail! Look at the following:

Moreover, there came out of Egypt about this time to Jerusalem one that said he was a prophet, and advised the multitude of the common people to go along with him to the Mount of Olives, as it was called, which lay over against the city, and at the distance of five furlongs. He said further, that he would show them from hence how, at his command, the walls of Jerusalem would fall down; and he promised them that he would procure them an entrance into the city through those walls, when they were fallen down.

Now when Felix was informed of these things, he ordered his soldiers to take their weapons, and came against them with a great number of horsemen and footmen from Jerusalem, and attacked the Egyptian and the people that were with him. He also slew four hundred of them, and took two hundred alive. But the Egyptian himself escaped out of the fight, but did not appear any more. And again the robbers stirred up the people to make war with the Romans, and said they ought not to obey them at all; and when any persons would not comply with them, they set fire to their villages, and plundered them.

The Works of Flavius Josephus, Antiquities Book 20, Chapter 8

See the connection? Just a short time after the event in the desert involving this unknown Egyptian, Paul is rescued by the Romans whose chief captain asks, “aren't you that Egyptian?”

I was reading something recently that suggested some of the writings of Josephus bear a strong resemblance to those of Paul.

Then I read this from Josephus:

But when I was in the twenty-sixth year of my age, it happened that I took a voyage to Rome, and this on the occasion which I shall now describe. At the time when Felix was procurator of Judea there were certain priests of my acquaintance, and very excellent persons they were, whom on a small and trifling occasion he had put into bonds, and sent to Rome to plead their cause before Caesar. These I was desirous to procure deliverance for, and that especially because I was informed that they were not unmindful of piety towards God, even under their afflictions, but supported themselves with figs and nuts. Accordingly I came to Rome, though it were through a great number of hazards by sea; for as our ship was drowned in the Adriatic Sea, we that were in it, being about six hundred in number, swam for our lives all the night; when, upon the first appearance of the day, and upon our sight of a ship of Cyrene, I and some others, eighty in all, by God's providence, prevented the rest, and were taken up into the other ship.

And when I had thus escaped, and was come to Dieearchia, which the Italians call Puteoli, I became acquainted with Aliturius, an actor of plays, and much beloved by Nero, but a Jew by birth; and through his interest became known to Poppea, Caesar's wife, and took care, as soon as possible, to entreat her to procure that the priests might be set at liberty. And when, besides this favor, I had obtained many presents from Poppea, I returned home again.
The Life of Josephus, Section 3.

It would appear that Josephus not only knew of both Peter and Paul (both Paul and Josephus were Pharisees), but may have even met him while in Rome trying to have him freed! (He called them "acquaintances!")

Josephus was born in 37 AD. At 26 years of age, he would have been pleading for Paul's release in 63 AD. What happened after Josephus returned to Judea?

During the night of July 18, 64 AD, fire broke out in the merchant area of the city of Rome. Fanned by summer winds, the flames quickly spread through the dry, wooden structures of the Imperial City. Soon the fire took on a life of its own consuming all in its path for six days and seven nights. When the conflagration finally ran its course it left seventy percent of the city in smoldering ruins.

Rumors soon arose accusing the Emperor Nero of ordering the torching of the city and standing on the summit of the Palatine playing his lyre as flames devoured the world around him. These rumors have never been confirmed. In fact, Nero rushed to Rome from his palace in Antium (Anzio) and ran about the city all that first night without his guards directing efforts to quell the blaze.

But the rumors persisted and the Emperor looked for a scapegoat. He found it in the Christians, at that time a rather obscure religious sect with a small following in the city. To appease the masses, Nero literally had his victims fed to the lions during giant spectacles held in the city's remaining amphitheater.

www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/rome.htm

As a result of the persecution Nero directed against the Christians in Rome, Peter was crucified upside and Paul was beheaded outside of Rome in late 64 or 65 AD.

In 66 AD, Nero called upon Vespasian to quell the Jewish revolt in Jerusalem, which ultimately led to its destruction in 70 AD.

Josephus gives us a much fuller understanding of the events of his day, especially as it relates to the destruction of Jerusalem.

---

If you don't have The Complete Works of Flavius Josephus, get it. Here's how:

Download the free version of Bible Explorer 4 here:

www.bible-explorer.com/

then get the free add-on books, of Josephus, the KJV with Apocrypha, and Fox's Book of Martyrs, among others. There is a lot of very good information in these books that is simply not taught in churches anymore.

Peace. Out.