World History, Chapter 8: Edited 12/7/23.
The 4th kingdom:
“And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things: and as iron that breaks all these (Babylon, Medes, Persians and Greece), shall it break in pieces and bruise (crush all things.)”
The only option the Roman’s gave the Jews was to accept their rule; rule by threats and or military force, and because of this forced acceptance, there was a great deal of unrest in the land. The dissatisfaction of the Jews can be found in Luke’s gospel. Jesus was to be born and have his earthly ministry in the time and space reality of Roman domination.
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
“And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he has given me, I should lose nothing;” and “that everyone which sees the Son, and believes on him, may have everlasting life:”
Our Lord was going to demonstrate then and now how His kingdom would subvert and overthrow the kingdoms of men, and kingdom of darkness. Rome’s domination over the world would be challenged by Christ’s authority which was demonstrated through humility and love, and because of this, the devils dominion over mankind would in the end find its place in the lake of fire.
Psalms 2:9, “Thou shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel”
The seeds sown by the serpent:
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve; a lover of money and a traitor. At the last supper the Lord said, “One of you shall betray me;” after they ate, “Satan entered into him (Judas)” and the Lord than said to him, “That which you are to do, do it quickly.”
Joseph Caiaphas was the high-priest of the Jews and served during Tiberius rule and during the years of Jesus public ministry, His condemnation and crucifixion. Caiaphas was the son in law of Annas who had been high-priest by appointment of the Roman governor; he reigned from 7 A.D. to 14 A.D. and both men played a role in Jesus conviction, punishment, and crucifixion.
And those Jews, many who had witnessed the miracles of our Lord turned their backs on him; and at the cross,
Matthew 27:39, the people “Wagging their heads, and said (to Jesus) you that (claim to) destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself. If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him.”
Mocked by the Roman guard; rejected by the Jewish authority; betrayed by Judas; denied by Peter; and in Matthew 26:56, we read
“All the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
Jesus hung from the cross bruised and broken suspended between heaven and earth; betrayed and forsaken; and the Lord cried out to them all, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
It appeared that the seed of the serpent had “bruised his heel.” But this was not the end of the story, only the beginning!
The Romans and their system of government were indeed under the influence of evil and worthy of judgment, however, God has chosen to keep such rulers in place in order to keep the world from lawlessness and disorder. And as it was back then and as it is today, Christians are called to live within the governing systems, while holding to God’s high standards, and to confront this evil whose face is that of greed, ignorance, corruption, injustice, pride and murder with the gospel.
Luke takes full opportunity to situate Jesus within this time-space reality of Roman rule, and demonstrates over and over again how Jesus Kingdom would eventually subvert and overthrow the 4th beast of Daniel’s prophesy.
Men of darkness:
Because Augustus brought peace to Rome, he would be called the son of god, and heralded as the savior of the whole earth. This proclamation was heralded as “good news, and so all the cities had unanimously adopt his birthday as the new beginning of the year.
When the angel Gabriel visits Mary to tell her that she will give birth to Jesus, the child is proclaimed as the “Son of God” (Luke 1.35) the same title Augustus claimed for himself.
And the angel said, Luke 2:10-11, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, (Bethlehem) a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
Augustus’s claim to be, “the son of god,” but now this claim was to be turned upside down by the child born is Bethlehem.
“He that sows the good seed is the Son of man: The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one.”
Let’s take a look at a few of these “Tares” who lived and ruled during Jesus Christ earthly ministry and to the 3ed century.
Tiberius was co-ruled with his father Augustus for three years beginning in 11 A.D. After Augustus’s death he ruled alone from 14 to 37 A.D. He was a gifted military commander who relied heavily on the ambitious and ruthless Aelius Sejanus. Aelius instituted a reign of terror that is until Tiberius found out he was planning to seize power for himself, so he had him arrested, then executed. Tiberius was not as ruthless as those who followed after him, but he did pave the way for what was to come.
Gaius (Caligula) followed Tiberius’s, he ruled from 37 to 41 A.D., and he also claimed to be a God. After aborting his invasion of Britain, he went to war with the sea god Neptune: ordered his troops to attack the waves with their swords and gather seashells as booty; thus, his nickname “booty.” He took great pleasure in humiliating the senate, used his so-called divine status to declare that absolute power be vested in one monarch, naturally referring to himself. He used treason trials to eliminate his enemies, real or imagined, but in the end, it was his foolish taunting of Cassius Chaerea a member of the Praetorian Guard that brought Gaius down. Chaerea arranged for Caligula’s assassination at the Palatine Games. Caligula claimed he could not be killed because he was an immortal god, but it turned out that he was less immortal than he thought.
The Roman Emperor Nero reigned from 54 A.D. to 68 A.D. He was born at Antium on the coast of Latium 12/15/37. His Father was Domitius Ahenobarbus; Mother Agrippina, the daughter of Germanicus Caesar, and sister of Caligula. Nero’s mother married Emperor Claudius, than adopted Nero in 50 A.D. After the death of Claudius, Nero was declared Emperor; this ratified by the Senate and the provinces.
At first Nero was considered moderate, showing a great deal of promise. He was under the guidance of Burrhus and his tutor Seneca the philosopher. Their efforts to educate, and guide Nero were frustrated because of the influence of Nero’s mother, and because of Nero’s moral weakness and sensuality.
He began his campaign of terror and murder by poisoning Britanicus, the son of Ciaudius because he dreaded him as a rival to the throne. In 59 A.D. he caused his own mother Agrippina to be assassinated, this to please his mistress Poppaea Sabina. After he married Octavia the sister of Britannicus the man he murdered; then later put her to death. It appears the Roman Senate had fallen to a new low, because they issued an address congratulating the hateful son on the death of his own mother.
Though Nero is not named in the Scriptures he is pointed out by his title of Emperor, and by his surname Caesar. Paul appealed to Nero after his imprisonment by Felix, and after his examination by Festus who had been influenced by the Jews to do so.
Paul went to Rome in 61 A.D. where he preached the gospel for two years, he became a well-known figure even in Nero’s court. In the book of the Philippians, Paul speaks of the Palace, Philippians 1:12-13, and mentions the saints that “are in Caesar’s household,” in Philippians 4:22. How Paul was liberated from the charges made against him, we have no record; but it appears he was freed in 63 A.D.
Nero became an extremely dangerous, cruel, and savage man. As wicked and depraved as any Emperor before or after him, beginning his relentless persecution of the Christian church in 64 A.D. This persecution was founded on the false pretense of Christian’s having burned the city of Rome. Nero’s blame, wrath and focus fell upon all of the Christian community. At first, all the Christian’s that were known were taken. Under the threat of death and torture, they were made to confess charges they were not guilty of, causing others to fall into his hands.
The brutality of this man cannot be put into words. The atrocities he committed against his own citizens and against the Christian community are of the most horrendous sort. What moved this mad man? Had he made a pact with the devil?
Christian’s were sown up in the skins of beasts, than exposed to dogs to be torn to pieces; others were nailed to crosses while others perished by fire. Those who died by fire were sown up in pitch (tar) coverings, than set on fire. They served as torches for the people of the city, being set ablaze during the evening hours. Nero in his insanity gave over his gardens for use to exhibit all his inhuman actions.
From this time forward edicts were published against Christians, many martyrs suffered, especially in Italy. Peter and Paul are thought to have suffered martyrdom, consequent upon his persecution in 65 A.D.
In 65 and 66 A.D. the Jews revolted against Rome, the city of Jerusalem making an insurrection in 66 A.D. Florus the governor of Judea had exasperated the Jews beyond their patience, forcing them to rebel. He commenced to slay 3600 Jews, thus began the war with Rome. After a short time, the men of Jerusalem killed the Roman garrison. Cestius a Roman soldier came to Jerusalem to suppress the uprising, but was later forced to retreat after having besieged the city for some six weeks. In his retreat, he was routed in 66 A.D.
Nero than gave Vespasian the command of his troops to move against the Jews. Vespasian carried on the war in Galilee and Judea during 67 and 68 A.D. In 68 A.D. the Gaelic and Spanish legions followed by the Roman Praetorian Guard rose up against Nero and made Galba Emperor.
Nero fled to Rome, and soon after ended his life by suicide, 6/11/68. The city of Jerusalem was not besieged until after Nero’s death, the time, 70 A.D. this being the first and second year of Vespasian reign.
Vespasian was followed by Domitian who ruled from 81 to 96 A.D. Domitian inherited none of his father’s charm and like others on this list, he suffered from deep suspicion of those around him, it amounting to paranoia. He was particularly suspicious of the senate and had a number of leading citizens executed for conspiracy against him, including 12 ex-consuls and two of his own cousins.
Domitian’s rule became steadily more autocratic, and like those before him, he demand to be treated as a god. He turned against philosophers, sending many into exile, and arranged for the judicial murder of the chief vestal virgin, having her buried alive in a specially constructed tomb. Domitian was brought down by a conspiracy arranged by his wife Domitia who had him stabbed to death by a palace servant.
Commodus ruled from 180 to 192 A.D. He was a passionate follower of gladiatorial combat, he himself fighting in the arena. It is recorded that he would dress as Hercules, for which he awarded himself divine honors, declaring that he was a Roman Hercules. He was the son of the philosopher emperor Marcus Aurelius, and was the very opposite of all that his father stood for, vain and pleasure-seeking. He virtually bankrupted the Roman treasury but replenished it by having rich citizens executed for treason, than confiscated their property.
Soon those around him began plotting against him including his own sister. The plots were foiled and Commodus set about executing still more people, either because they were conspiring against him or because he thought they might do so in the future. Eventually the Praetorian prefect and the emperor’s own court chamberlain hired a professional athlete to strangle him in the bath.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus I (Caracalla) ruled from 211 to 217 A.D. He was the son of Emperor Septimius Severus. ‘Caracalla’ was a nickname, derived from a hooded coat from Gaul that he introduced into Rome. Severus named his younger son Geta as co-heir with Caracalla, but the two quickly fell out and civil war seemed imminent until Caracalla averted this scenario by having Geta murdered.
Caracalla dealt brutally with opponents and set about exterminating Geta’s supporters, and similarly wiped out those caught up in one of the city of Alexandria’s regular local risings against Roman rule.
Caracalla was a successful, ruthless military commander. He was assassinated by a group of ambitious army officers, including the Praetorian prefect Opellius Macrinus who promptly proclaimed himself emperor.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus II, also known as Elagabalus ruled from 218 to 222 A.D. He was a relative of Severus’s wife and put forward to challenge Macrinus for the throne after the murder of Caracalla. Elagabalus overthrew Macrinus and promptly embarked on an increasingly eccentric reign. His nickname came from his role as priest of the cult of the Syrian god Elah-Gabal, which he tried to introduce into Rome and had himself circumcised to show his devotion to the cult.
Elagabalus deliberately offended Roman moral and religious principles, setting up a conical black stone image, a symbol of the sun god Sol Invictus Elagabalus on the Palatine Hill. He would marry the chief vestal, for which, under normal circumstances, she would have been put to death.
Romans were particularly offended by Elagabalus’s sexual behavior as well as his string of marriages; and took to himself male lovers, and was acknowledged as transgender. Rome’s patience would soon give out, so Elagabalus was murdered in a conspiracy organized by his own grandmother.
Diocletian ruled from 280 to 305 A.D. and is known for his decision to divide the government of the Roman empire in two, taking Marcus Aurelius Maximianus as his co-emperor, each with a subordinate known as a Caesar, in a four-way division of power called the tetrarchy.
Diocletian managed to hold his divided command structure together at a time when the Roman Empire was coming under increasing pressure from its enemies. Diocletian is best known for his ruthless persecution of Christians. Christians had long been regarded by most Romans with distaste, but Diocletian would soon begin a purge for the total eradication of all Christians. Churches were destroyed, scriptures publicly burnt, and priests imprisoned and forced to conduct sacrifices to the emperor on pain of death. Those who refused to give up their faith were tortured and executed.
It was an unusually vicious persecution because Rome usually except other religions, therefore reflecting Diocletian’s fear. For Rome it was a time when unity of purpose was essential for survival, but, Christianity represented a threat because of their rejection of Roman religious values, a thing he could not allow, therefore, persecution!
Nero or Domitian have passed into history and known as erratic, paranoid tyrants; others like Diocletian were capable administrators, they providing good government. And even under the worst emperors Rome continued to function, but any involvement in public life had become a decidedly dangerous business.
Phillip LaSpino www.seekfirstwisdom.com