The Revolt Begins
In AD 66, a Gentile in Caesarea offered a pagan sacrifice next to the synagogue's entrance on the Sabbath. Jewish citizens protested, so Jerusalem authorities ended all foreign sacrifices in the temple, including those to Caesar.

Governor Florus, who lived in Caesarea, then raided the temple treasury in Jerusalem. When people began to protest, Florus unleashed his troops on innocent civilians. More than 3,500 people were killed, including women and children. Hundreds of women were raped, whipped, and crucified.

In response to all of this, Jewish mobs drove the outnumbered Roman soldiers out of Jerusalem, stormed the Antonia (the Roman fort), and burned records of debts kept there. Jewish Zealots surprised the Roman troops at Masada, occupied it, and then distributed its weapons to the Jews.

The Violence Escalates
When Gentiles in Caesarea learned about the violence against fellow Romans in Jerusalem, they killed about twenty thousand Jews within a day's time. Fifty thousand Jews were killed in Alexandria, and the slaughter of more Jewish people escalated throughout the empire.

Gallus, the governor of Syria, and Nero made advances on Jerusalem, Galilee, Sepphoris, Jotapa, Gamla, and other towns, hoping to put an end to the Jewish problem. Many Jewish men were executed, often by crucifixion; Jewish women and children were sold into slavery or saved for games in the arena.

In AD 70, Titus arrived in Jerusalem with at least eighty thousand troops. He captured half the city, slaughtered its inhabitants, and built a siege wall around the remaining part of the city.

Trapped inside, the different Jewish groups fought one another. People killed each other for scraps of food, and anyone who was suspected of considering surrender was killed. Six hundred thousand bodies were thrown out of the city as a result of the famine.

The Revolt is Crushed' 

The Roman troops eventually recaptured the Antonia fortress, and about a month later burned and destroyed the temple. The lower city and the upper city both fell.

Titus ordered all the buildings in Jerusalem to be leveled, except for the three towers in Herod's palace. All the citizens of Jerusalem were executed, sold into slavery, or saved for games in the arena.

Alleys were choked with corpses. Babies were thrown off walls. People were burned alive. Eleven thousand prisoners died of starvation while awaiting their execution. More than one million Jews died, and nearly one hundred thousand were sold into slavery.

A Final Stand' 

A few Zealots fled to Herod's fortress of Masada, hoping to outlast the Romans. In AD 72, the Romans, using Jewish slaves, built a wall six feet high and more than two miles long around the base of Masada?s mountain plateau.

For seven months, the Romans built a siege ramp against the western side of the mountains and then used a battering ram to smash a hole in the fortress wall. The Zealots in Masada committed mass suicide. Only two women and five children survived to share the Zealot's story with the world.

A Tragic Postscript: The Second Jewish Revolt' 

Eventually the Romans wanted to build a Roman city on Jerusalem's ruins. The few Jews who remained in Jerusalem were strictly opposed to this idea, and revolted in AD 131.

The Jews were initially successful, however the Romans struck back with overwhelming force. The Romans destroyed nearly a thousand villages, killing or enslaving any Jews who had not fled. By AD 135, the Second Jewish Revolt had come to an end. The Jewish religion was outlawed and the Jews became a people without a land.

The Jewish Revolts diminished Jewish influence while Christianity spread to all ends of the earth. With so many Jews killed and deported, Christianity became a largely Gentile faith. Only today are its Jewish roots again being recognized.

Did John the Baptist live at Qumran? See the Dead Sea Scrolls? Write any of them? These questions have gripped scholars because the Dead Sea Scrolls reveal remarkable similarities between the Essenes and John's teachings and practices:

- John the Baptist came from a family of priests; many of the Essenes were priests who disagreed with the temple authorities.- John was called to prepare the way of the Lord; the Essenes main purpose for living in the wilderness was to prepare the way for the Lord.- John baptized people as a sign of repentance and inner cleansing; the Essenes practiced ritual cleansing in water as a sign of the souls cleansing.- John the Baptist didn't participate in the normal lifestyle of his people; the Essenes lived an isolated, ascetic existence.

Despite the remarkable similarities, John was never identified as an Essene, was not a member of any community, and cannot be placed definitively at Qumran. He proclaimed his message publicly rather than seeking the shelter of a monastic setting like that of Qumran.

- The Jordan River starts in northern Israel at the foot of Mount Hermon, more than 1,500 feet above sea level, and ends almost 1,400 feet below sea level at the Dead Sea.
- The Jordan River meanders 200 miles from Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea (a straight distance of 90 miles).
- The Jordan flows through the Great Rift Valley, the largest cut in the earth's crust. The Rift Valley extends all the way to Lake Victoria in southern Africa.
- The Jordan River received its name from a Hebrew word meaning "to descend, to go down." The river descends from the slopes of Mount Hermon to the Dead Sea.
- The Jordan is one of the fastest-flowing rivers for its size in the world.
- The Jordan is only fifty to seventy-five feet across in most places.
- Today, the Jordan has been dammed up where it runs out of the Sea of Galilee in order to meet the state of Israel's water needs.

Several Bible stories involve the Jordan River. God often called his followers to cross the Jordan as part of his divine plan. In each case, it was important for God's people to listen to God's calling and stand on the right side of the river. When they didn't, they had consequences to pay.

- The Israelites feared the people of Canaan. As punishment for their lack of faith, God did not allow any Israelite over twenty years old to enter the Promised Land;including Moses. The Israelites wandered for forty years, and despite begging God to allow him to enter, Moses only viewed the Promised Land from a distance. (Deuteronomy 1:21-32; 3:23-28; 34:1-4.)
- Elijah warned King Ahab of Israel that there would be a drought in the land because of Israel's evil deeds. After Elijah gave his prophecy, God told him to cross to the east side of the Jordan and hide from the king. The river became a barrier of protection for Elijah. (1 Kings 16:29-33; 17:1-6.)
- Absalom, David's rebellious son and the leader of Israel's army, schemed to kill King David and everyone who was loyal to him. David was forewarned and crossed the Jordan with his people during the night. The river became a barrier of protection for David and his people. (2 Samuel 17:15-22.)
- Before being taken up to heaven, Elijah struck the Jordan River water with his cloak. The water parted so that he and Elisha could cross. After Elijah ascended, Elisha again parted the waters with Elijah's cloak so he could return to Israel. (2 Kings 2:1-2, 5-15.)

The Judean Wilderness occupies the area from the eastern slopes of the Judea Mountains down to the Great Rift Valley, and runs along the western shore of the Dead Sea.

Very little rain falls here, so there are very few plants or animals. Many deep wadis, formed by centuries of rain runoff, penetrate this wilderness. Because it borders fertile mountains ridges for more than fifty miles, villages like Bethlehem were able to support both shepherds and farmers. The shepherds lived on the desert's fringes, while farmers worked the soil of the mountains.

Because the wilderness was so close to settled areas, it became a refuge for those who sought solitude or safety from the authorities. Here David hid from Saul (1 Sam. 24:1), and John the Baptist isolated himself from the religious practices of the day (Matt. 3). It was also here that the Essenes labored over their scrolls, and early Christians built monasteries, some of which still function today.

Give Us A King
Many Christians have been taught that God did not want his people to have a king. But in Deuteronomy 17:14-20, long before the people asked for a king, God said, "Be sure to appoint over you the king the Lord your God chooses." God did want Israel to have a king, but he had a certain kind of king in mind.

Qualifications for a Godly King

- The king must be an Israelite (Deut. 17:15), to that the king would belong to people who recognized God's authority.- The king must not acquire many horses (17:16a). Horses came from Egypt, and horse trading would tempt the Israelites to interact with pagan people.- The king must not take many wives (17:17a). It was normal in ancient times to seal treaties between kings by intermarriage. But foreign women would influence the Israelites to abandon the unique lifestyle God had called them to. Later in Israel's history, Ahab (who married Jezebel) and Jehoram (who married Athaliah) learned the hard consequences of ignoring this proscription.- The king must not accumulate large amounts of gold and silver (17:17b). Perhaps God wanted to make sure Israel's king remained dependent upon him for success; or perhaps he wanted to keep his people from interacting with the pagan nations that supplied gold and silver.- The king must keep a copy of God's Torah with him, to be read throughout his life, so he would rule according to God's principles (17:18-20).

This was God's king, faithful, separate from the pagans, and guiding God's people to righteous living.

"A King Such as Other Nations Have"

Facing a Philistine threat at the time of Samuel, Israel requested a king. The key to God's displeasure was the request itself: ... appoint a king to lead us, such as all the other nations have? (1 Sam. 8, emphasis added). The Israelites did not ask for a king that God would choose, but one that the world would choose.

Jewish scholars maintain that the story of David and Saul makes this contrast clear. When the people asked for a ruler such as other nations had, God gave them Saul, a man who couldn't even keep track of donkeys in his care, to show them what their kind of king would be: a self-absorbed failure. Throughout his life, Saul did things to satisfy his desires and not God's.

By contrast, David, a shepherd like God, was God's choice for king, a man after his own heart. David lived by the words of the Torah, keeping the Lord always before him. When he sinned with Bathsheba, he was beside himself with sorrow, because he knew he had turned from God.

Who is Your King?

Today, we face the same decision the Israelites did. Who (or what) do we want as our king?

When we look at the rulers of our world, we are left wanting something better. Matthew voiced our need: "If this is the best the human race can provide, there must be someone else." Then he remembered the words of Jesus: "... one greater than Solomon is here" (Matt. 12:42).

That is God's final choice for the ideal king. Jesus the Messiah.

Korazin stood in the northwestern corner of the Galilee region, about three miles from the Sea. The nearby cities of Capernaum and Bethsaida joined Korazin as part of the "orthodox triangle," an area inhabited primarily by devout Jews.

Jesus spent a great deal of time in the triangle area, living in Capernaum and teaching in the towns and villages nearby. Just north of Korazin lay the Mount of Beatitudes, the hillside where Jesus may have presented the Sermon on the Mount.

Archaeologists have uncovered various ruins at Korazin. The remains of a synagogue, several buildings, and an oil pressing installation can be seen today. They have also discovered a Moses seat, the special seat for Torah readers' in the Korazin synagogue.

Studying the ruins of Korazin and other Galilean towns, scholars have also pieced together a picture of family life in the first century. At Korazin, they uncovered several insulae, the building structures that families lived in during Jesus' day.

Once one of ancient Israel's largest cities, Tel Lachish covers an impressive eighteen acres. The city was a fortification for Judah, and archaeologists have discovered the largest gate complex in Israel there. The massive double gate included both an outer gate structure and an inner gate. Its large size testifies to the strength and importance of ancient Lachish.

Click here to see a diagram of Lachish

Lachish grew so large because of its critical location within Israel. The city defended Israel's southern flank and protected an approach to Jerusalem from invaders. As long as the city of Lachish stood, Jerusalem remained safe. But if Lachish fell to a foreign power, Jerusalem would likely fall too.

Lachish was besieged by Assyrian king Sennacherib during Hezekiah?s reign (2 Kings 19:8). Together with Azekah, it was the last city to withstand Nebuchadnezzar in the south during the Babylonian conquests (Jer. 34:7). The famous Lachish letters, discovered in 1937, contain correspondence between the commanders of Azekah and Lachish during the last days before the Bablyonian captivity.

Because of its strategic position in the Valley of Elah, the city of Azekah was often attacked and destroyed. Both Assyria and Babylon traveled through the valley of Elah and destroyed Azekah during ancient times.

The city of Lachish (located southwest of Azekah) also guarded a significant valley. When Azekah was attacked, the inhabitants of Lachish knew that the enemy would soon close in on them as well.

The famous Lachish letters, discovered in 1937, contain correspondence between the commanders of Azekah and Lachish during the last days before the Babylonian captivity. A watchman would look for the signal fires of Azekah each day and then write a report for the King of Lachish, saying something like, "I can still see the fires of Azekah. As long as Azekah's fires kept burning, the king of Lachish knew that the city still stood. But when Azekah finally fell to the Babylonians, their signal fires stopped: The inhabitants of Lachish knew that the Bablyonians would soon attack.

History
The leading city in the valley during the first century, Laodicea was destroyed by an earthquake in AD 60. According to Roman writer Tacticus, Rome offered to pay for the city to be rebuilt, but the people declined, saying that they were wealthy enough to restore their own city.

Industry
The city was renowned for three main industries:

A banking center for the province of Asia Minor, including a gold exchange; The textile center where glossy, black wool was woven into garments called trimata that were prized in the Roman world; The location of a major medical school known worldwide and where an eye salve called Phyrigian powder was made from a local stone.

Geography
Located in the fertile Lycus River Valley, the city had no nearby water source, so tepid, mineral-filled, and nauseating water was piped in from six miles away.

What Happened to the Church in Laodicea?
Church history records that the church in Laodicea remained dynamic after most churches in Asia disappeared. One of its bishops was martyred for his faith in AD 161, about seventy years after John wrote his warning to the city in Revelation. In AD 363, Laodicea was the location chosen for a significant church council. So, it appears that the church in Laodicea learned its lesson and God continued to bless the Christian community there for sometime.

Thousands of years ago, the city of Gezer the Gezer area strategic during modern history.

During Israel's 1948 War for Independence, some of the fiercest fighting took place at a town called Latrun, just a few miles away from Gezer. Why was Latrun so strategic? It stood along the road connecting Tel Aviv with Jerusalem.

This road ran through a narrow corridor among Israel's foothills. When the Arabs gained control of Latrun, they blocked the corridor, forcing Israelis to build a detour route in order to send supplies to people in Jerusalem. Later, Israel regained control of the strategic city and a fort still stands there today.

Amazingly, the troops fighting around Gezer in 1948 were fighting for the exact same reason that people fought in the area during Bible times!

A large piece of marble frieze like this one was pulled from the Mediterranean by archaeologists. The beauty of the design is still evident after nearly two millennia. Since Israel has no natural marble, it had to be shipped from elsewhere, often from Italian quarries across the Mediterranean. Herod's love of extravagance and the finest building materials brought marble into his country in quantities unheard of before his time.

Marriage Customs
In ancient Israel, when it was time for a man and woman to marry, both fathers would negotiate the bride price to compensate the bride-to-be's family. After exchanging a glass of wine to conceal the agreement, the couple was formally engaged.

The Bridegroom
The young man then told his fiance, in effect, "I'm going home to my father's house to prepare a place for you. When I'm finished, I'll return and take you to be my wife."The son (typically in his mid-twenties) would then build a new house on to his father's existing one. As generations married and built their houses onto the original one, they created a housing complex called an insula. Here, family members ate, worked, and lived together. Everyone benefited as family members shared their lives and values.As the son worked on his new home, he eagerly awaited his father's final approval. Only the father could decide when the building was finally complete.

Megiddo stands on the southern edge of the Jezreel Valley and is probably the most famous battlefield in the world. In biblical times, Megiddo was one of three cities that guarded the Via Maris trade route. Standing near a critical mountain pass, it was the most strategic location on the well-traveled road.

Click here to see a diagram of Megiddo

With such an important location, Megiddo became a military stronghold, as well as store city. Inhabitants developed a water shaft system to supply their city with water. The shaft is 120 feet deep, and connects to springs outside the city by a tunnel 250 feet long.

Controlling Megiddo meant having enormous influence over the ancient world, and people often vied for its control. Archaeologists have discovered seventy-seven layers in Tel Megiddo, each representing a time when the city was battled for, destroyed, and rebuilt.

Megiddo once served as a center for pagan worship, and a bronze-age high place discovered there features a large altar dating back before the kings of Israel. According to Scripture, Megiddo served as the royal city of Canaanite king, Taanach, whom Joshua defeated (Josh. 12:21).

Later, Solomon fortified Megiddo as one of his chariot cities (1 Kings 9:15). Ahaziah, king of Judah was killed there (2 Kings 9:27) and King Josiah foolishly fought Pharaoh-Neco and was killed as well (2 Chron. 35:20-24).

Built on Mount Megiddo (Har Megiddo in Hebrew), the area around Megiddo is known as Armageddon. It was used as a symbol of the great battle between good and evil which will one day result in God?s triumph (Rev. 16:13-16).

A number of significant events in the history of the Jewish people, particularly events that relate to God's presence, have been recorded as occurring from the east.

- The Children of Israel, with the ark symbolizing God's presence, entered the Promised Land from the east (Josh. 3:1, 15-17).

- In Ezekiel's visions, the glory (presence) of the Lord left the corrupted temple and departed to the east (Ezek. 10:4, 18-19; 11:22-24).

- Jesus' birth was announced in the east (Matt 2:1-2, 9). The prophet Isaiah said that the Messiah would come from the wilderness east of Jerusalem (Isa. 40:3).

- Jesus ascended into heaven from the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem (Acts 1:6-12); the Mount of Olives also represents Jesus Second Coming (Zech. 14:4; Joel 3:2, 12).