"This journey through the pages of theological history gives an insightful look at our Apostolic heritage and promotes the unity of faith that must be attained within our Apostolic fellowships during these final hours. If you're looking for a unique perspective to gain greater spiritual understanding, this former Roman Catholic seminarian has provided it." Rev. Jeremy B. Tyler
In AD 70, after a war that had flared sporadically for four years, three Roman legions under the future Emperors Vespasian and his son Titus surrounded, laid siege to, and eventually devastated the city of Jerusalem, destroying completely the magnificent Temple which had been built by Herod only eighty years earlier. What brought about this extraordinary conflict, with its extraordinary consequences? This superb book, by one of the world’s leading scholars of the ancient Roman and Jewish worlds, narrates and explains this titanic struggle, showing why Rome’s interests were served by this policy of brutal hostility, and how the first generation of Christians first distanced themselves from its Jewish origins and then became increasingly hostile to Jews as their influence spread within the empire. The book thus also provides an exceptional and original account of the origins of anti-Semitism, whose history has had often cataclysmic reverberations down to our own time.
The Arch of Titus: From Jerusalem to Rome—and Back explores the shifting meanings and significance of the Arch of Titus from the Jewish War of 66–74 CE to the present—for Romans, Christians and especially for Jews.
Tamara Park and a couple of friends flew to Rome and from there followed the footsteps of Helena, mother of the first Christian emperor of ancient Rome, on a meandering path to Jerusalem. Along the way, she sat on all sorts of benches and talked with all sorts of people about how they thought of God. This book is that story.
In this study, Michael Tuval examines the religion of Flavius Josephus diachronically. The author suggests that because Diaspora Jews could not participate regularly in the cultic life of the Jerusalem Temple, they developed other paradigms of Judaic religiosity. He interprets Josephus as a Jew who began his career as a Judean priest but moved to Rome and gradually became a Diaspora intellectual. Josephus' first work, Judean War, reflects a Judean priestly view of Judaism, with the Temple and cult at the center. After these disappeared, there was not much hope left in the religious realm. Tuval also analyzes Antiquities of the Jews, which was written fifteen years later. Here the religious picture has been transformed drastically. The Temple has been marginalized or replaced by the law which is universal and perfect for all humanity.
A definitive account of the great revolt of Jews against Rome and the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple “A lucid yet terrifying account of the 'Jewish War'—the uprising of the Jews in 66 CE, and the Roman empire’s savage response, in a story that stretches from Rome to Jerusalem.”—John Ma, Columbia University This deeply researched and insightful book examines the causes, course, and historical significance of the Jews’ failed revolt against Rome from 66 to 74 CE, including the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple. Based on a comprehensive study of all the evidence and new statistical data, Guy Rogers argues that the Jewish rebels fought for their religious and political freedom and lost due to military mistakes. Rogers contends that while the Romans won the war, they lost the peace. When the Romans destroyed the Jerusalem Temple, they thought that they had defeated the God of Israel and eliminated Jews as a strategic threat to their rule. Instead, they ensured the Jews’ ultimate victory. After their defeat Jews turned to the written words of their God, and following those words led the Jews to recover their freedom in the promised land. The war's tragic outcome still shapes the worldview of billions of people today.
The first book to cover the myriad factors of the Jews revolt against the Romans — from its origin to its lasting consequences — and re-evaluate historical accounts.
It is fatal to show pity in a time of war. Led by the mighty Titus, the Roman army besieges Jerusalem. Arrows rain over the city day and night, and battering rams assault its defensive walls. Inside, the people curse their fate, resistant to the last but maddened by hunger. After days of rebellion, al last their city falls. The citizens plead for mercy - but as the Romans march on the Temple of Masada, the most sacred sanctuary of the Jewish people, flaming torches blaze above their heads . . .
