Daughter of My People: Jesus' Jerusalem destroyed

Chapter Thirty

Eastern Judea/Caesarea

A.D. 68

Meanwhile, at Eastern Judea, Vespasian thinks he should visit the Dead Sea. Some told him stories about this sea—that the water changes color three times a day by the different rays of the sun. Some chemicals here are used for many medicines.

Joseph bar Matthias comes with Vespasian, and he notices an area afar off, filled up with ashes (as if there was some wildfire). He has always been told about Sodom and Gomorrah, their homosexuality which finally led to divine destruction. Now he gets to see them—at least the traces of them since they have not been rebuilt ever! Ashes are growing on their fruits. They have convincing color, but picking them would result in them dissolving into ashes and smoke.

So this is where Sodom and Gomorrah used to stand proudly—now a wrecked site on land!

Meanwhile, Vespasian was told by some that the Sea had so much salt it could bear up the heaviest things ever. It is next-to-impossible for anything to sink down.

Vespasian decides to test the properties.

He commands that some of the prisoners who can't swim get tied up and tossed into the great lake. So the Roman soldiers tied their hands behind them and fling them into the water.

The test goes in the legend's favor; they float up, trying to swim! They get to rise on the surface of the water!

Now the elder commander heads to finish establishing his Roman garrisons at Jericho. He had sent one of his best warriors, Lucius Annius, to take down a remaining rebel city. It was taken with such violence! Garasa fell to the Romans.

The war is being real now! The Romans are sure to win.

Now Vespasian prepares to go to Caesarea.

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The Essenes (and reasonably others)[48] hide out in the caves around the northwest side of the Dead Sea. Alarmed over what's going on, they determine to hide their consecrated scrolls in jars. If the Romans get to them, these Hebrew-Aramaic scrolls are done for!

So these people decide to set the scrolls in the caves until they have a more suitable place for them. These scrolls are not just the Old Testament, but other texts not accepted, such as Enoch, Jubilees, Tobit, Wisdom of Sirach, and three uncanon Psalms supposedly written by David. There are also laws about and for the Essenes that are included in these scrolls, including the Community Rule.

They hide these scrolls in various caves. While most have Hebrew and/or Aramaic scriptures, one cave has Greek translations of both canon and uncanon scriptures.

These devout Jews depart from these caves, hoping the Romans wouldn't find them in these jars. And they didn't.

(Hundreds of years from now, these scrolls—named the Dead Sea Scrolls—would be discovered.)

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Vespasian is now preparing to march to Jerusalem. He has been told time and time again to destroy Jerusalem, and now is the time.

But it is not.

He is alerted to what was happening in Rome. He hears from Roman messengers that Nero is dead and replaced by Galba.

Vespasian had it all ready! But he decides to hold back until he gets news from the new emperor. He, therefore, decides to send his son Titus to Rome. "Salute the new emperor," says Vespasian, "and receive his commands on what to do about the Jews."

Agrippa also wants to come along. Vespasian lets the "King of the Jews" come along with his son Titus.

They get on some ships from perhaps Antioch. And they set sail, going through Asia Minor's southern seas and islands, crossing in between Greece.

But winter is coming. So they have to sail carefully and slowly. They sail by the coasts of Achaia, a province northwest of Athens.

But here is when they receive the latest about Rome and the emperor.

[48] There is debate about who these people were who wrote or hid these scrolls. The theory that it was Essenes is upheld, but some believe it may be Jerusalem Jews. A Spanish Jesuit in the 1960s suggested at least one manuscript was by the early Christians, but this theory had been refuted in 2000.