Wow. That was a troubling history. I had little knowledge about the circumstances and what happened during the First Jewish-Roman War. Now that I have finished, I show surprise: trusting Josephus, why were the Jews, in large, that hardened in sinning and in rebellion against God and the Roman Empire?
The Christians have the answer: because Jesus, the Son of God, was rejected by the Jews who did not appreciate God speaking to them in reproof of sin and defying their traditions.
Here are some final questions...
Oftentimes there are different interpretations of the Bible and Josephus; why do you interpret them as such and such?
I have read the Bible my whole life; while that does not, in and of itself, mean I will interpret everything right, I believe that I—in God's grace—have presented an accurate representation of New Testament times. But the focus is the same: the Jews turned against Jesus of Nazareth.
As for Josephus, well, I had read portions of Josephus; but for this project I have read way more of his writings. Practically speaking, this was my first attempt at Josephus. However, I have avoided interpreting Josephus, oftentimes even quoting him to let him speak for himself.
Why do you center on Rome's "Year of the Four Emperors" in some of your chapters?
Because otherwise there wouldn't be much help about the circumstances about Vespasian and Titus soon becoming emperors without explaining the flaws (and good sides, if they have it) of the Roman emperors: Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and finally Vespasian. You will see traits of Titus throughout, and Domitian's in a note.
Why are certain groups important, briefly?
The Jews because they provoked the war over what a prosecutor, Florus, had done to them. If one complains about how the Jews are portrayed—unreasonable assassins—, note that Josephus, himself a Jew, record them as such.
The early Christians because they followed their rejected Messiah, Jesus, and they avoided the War so much as possible. Despite a Jesuit saying there were still Christians around Judea during the war after Cestius Gallus, this has been refuted.
The Romans because they destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, as seen in Chapter 40. They become masters over the Jews, as Jesus and Agrippa II had predicted.
What happened to Jewish history after the First Jewish-Roman War?
The Jews did not have a pleasant history after A.D. 70. They were persecuted by the Roman Empire, by Catholic countries (notably Spain), by Nazi Germany, etc. While this appears to uphold the "bloodline curse" they spoke—"His blood be on us and on our children!"—, this does not mean Christians (or anyone else, in this case) should make life harder for the Jews. Nowhere in the New Testament is this a command. Jesus actually told his faithful, "Love your enemies" (Matthew 5:44). Not the opposite! Paul wrote, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood [against people]" (Ephesians 6:12).
SYes, the Jews rebelled again about A.D. 135; this is the Second Jewish-Roman War. And again, it failed. The Jews had more sympathy with, ironically, the Muslim empires. The Arabs only objected to having the Jews abide in their homeland again as their own land. This is the struggle in the Holy Land today between Israel and Palestine.
Not all Jews are in the "Holy Land"; they were dispersed around the world in Jesus' day (see Acts 2:5-11), and they certainly are still dispersed today. There are more Jews in the United States of America than in Israel, for example.
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Daughter of My People: Jesus' Jerusalem destroyed
Non-FictionThe First Jewish-Roman War (A.D. 66-73) retold in a novel feeling. The stories surrounding Jerusalem and its final years are given as clearly as possible for this book, and as entertaining as possible, too. Hence why the book is presented in a...
