๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ
๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ง ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐ซ, ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ข๐ ๐ฐ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐๐ซ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฌ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ง๐.
๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ ๐๐ข๐๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฏ๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ก๐ข๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐ง ๐ก๐ข๐๐๐๐ง ๐๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ง๐ฌ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ๐ก๐ข๐ฉ ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฅ ๐ง๐๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐.
“๐๐ง๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ญ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐๐๐ซ๐ฒ, ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ: ๐๐ ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐๐ฅ: ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ก๐ญ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ฐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ก๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ฆ๐ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ก๐ข๐ฆ: ๐ ๐ ๐ฎ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐จ๐ฌ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐๐๐๐ซ ๐๐จ๐.” ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐ก ๐๐๐ข๐๐ ๐:๐๐
The Roman Empire was perhaps the most brutal empire in history. It included the Land of Judaea, where its appointed puppets were the Herodians, a corrupt and evil family.
It was accused by believers, of fornication (niece marriage and incest), riches, and pollution of the Temple. These three evils were described in the Damascus Scroll as ‘The Three Nets of Belial’.
John the Baptist was beheaded for criticizing the niece marriage of Herod’s brother Philip to Herodias. Matthew 14:3-5
There is no doubt that these Herodians were enemies of Jesus.
In Matthew’s Gospel 22:15-16 there is an account of an unsuccessful attempt by certain Pharisees, accompanied by Herodians (supporters of the royal family) to trap Jesus into a subversive statement. It is the oft-quoted separation of the rights of Caesar from those of religion.
Paul of Tarsus differed
Paul’s Letter to the Romans, giving greetings to his friends and allies, says: “Greetings to the household of Aristobulus. Greetings to my kinsman Herodion,..” Romans 16:10-11
Aristobulus may have been a common name, but it was most prominent among the Herodians and there were at least three of that name living at the time.
Eisenman remarks that Aristobulus who was the nephew of Agrippa I also had a son called Herodion, or ‘littlest Herod’. That Herodion is Paul’s relative is particularly significant. [The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians 1996]
Aristobulus was later one of the inner circle around Titus, the conqueror of Jerusalem and destroyer of the temple, along with Tiberius Alexander, Josephus, Bernice and Agrippa II.
He also married Salome, the daughter of Herodias, who demanded the head of John the Baptist.
There is also a reference to another apparently highly placed Herodian in the congregation of Paul’s church in Antioch the first group to be called “Christians.”
“In the church at Antioch were prophets and teachers: Barnabas…Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch…” (Acts of the Apostles 13:1-2)
Paul did receive gentle treatment from the Roman occupiers.
After a riot in the Temple, which was over his recognition as one who preached against the law of Torah, he was placed by the Roman authorities in the fortress for protection then escorted by troops at night to the Procurators’s palace in Caesarea.
Here he was lodged in the official residence of the Roman procurator, Felix who was married to Drusilla, the sister of King Agrippa II. Felix himself was the brother of Nero’s favourite freedman, Pallas. [Eisenman The Dead Sea Scrolls and the First Christians]
Here he was interrogated rather gently by a party including King Agrippa, all recorded in the Acts of the Apostles, in which Agrippa declares ‘A little more, and your arguments would make a Christian of me.’ Acts 26:27
The treatment of James the Just was very different
Agrippa used the interregnum following the death of the Roman governor Festus by appointing a high priest who would obey him.
He called a meeting of the Sanhedrin brought James the Just and some of his companions before it and “delivered them to be stoned.” [Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XX Chapter IX ]
Eusebius of Caesarea, friend of Constantine, described the martyrdom of James.
“So they went up and threw down the Righteous one. Then they said to each other “Let us stone James the Righteous”, and began to stone him, as in spite of his fall he was still alive. …. Then one of them, a fuller, took the club which he used to beat out the clothes, and brought it down on the head of the Righteous one.” [Eusebius of Caesarea. The History of the Church from Christ to Constantine. Penguin London. 1965 p. 59-60]
That illustrates the great gulf between the attitudes of the Roman authorities to those who followed Jesus and the Law of Torah and those of Paul of Tarsus, who in his Letter to the Galatians, condemned the Law.
Allah knows Best.
