Patmos
Hunting the House of David
After the conquest of Jerusalem, Vespasian gave orders that everyone who belonged to the lineage of David should be sought out, in order that none of the royal race might be left among the Jews. Because of this a most terrible persecution again hung over the Jews. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.12.1.)
Expanding on his father’s policies against Jewish people, Domitian broadened the collection of the Fiscus Judaicus and renewed the campaign against the house of David. He "commanded that the descendants of David should be slain" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.19.I). Domitian feared the rise of a revolutionary from David's royal dynasty who could rally another Jewish revolt, but his fear of the house of David might have gone deeper than the ordinary concerns of a Caesar protecting Pax Romana (Roman peace). For the Flavian house, the war with the house of David was personal. After Yochanan ben Zakkai and Josephus correctly predicted Vespasian's ascent to the throne, the Flavian house took Jewish prophecies seriously. Domitian knew the prophecies about the coming Messiah: a King of kings, a ruler over the whole earth, who was to arise in Judea. He also knew that, according to Josephus, his father Vespasian fulfilled the Jewish prophecies about a coming messiah. In other words, according to the Flavian household, Vespasian was the coming messiah predicted by the prophets of Israel. Naturally, that made Domitian a messiah as well. He believed himself to be the promised one, sent by the gods to administer the affairs of humanity. That fantasy made him all the more worthy of the title of antichrist. It also inspired him to hunt down and eliminate the legitimate contenders for David's throne. "Domitian feared the coming of Messiah" (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.I).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Persecution Under Domiti’nos
Acts of John at Rome
When Vespasian was dead, his son Domitian, having obtained possession of the empire, prepared to add to his other villainous acts by making a persecution against the righteous. For having discovered that Rome was filled with "secret Jews" who called themselves Christians, and remembering how his father warned against the rise of a Jewish king from the house of David, he decided to banish all the Jews from the city of Rome.
Some courageous Jews stepped forward and presented the Caesar with a document that beseeched him for clemency. The document explained that the Jewish people willingly submitted to the laws of Rome and committed no offense against Caesar, but a new, strange people had arisen who neither conformed with the ways of the nations, nor were they Jewish. They called themselves Christians, and they venerated a prince from the house of David.
This alarmed Domitian all the more. Had not his father warned him about the house of David? Swept up in a rage, the emperor ordered the senate to publish a decree that they should put to death all who confessed themselves to be Christians: both Jews and Gentiles. Those, then, who were found in the time of Domitian's rage, and who reaped the fruit of patience, and were crowned in the triumphant contest against the works of the devil, received the repose of incorruption.
Domitian tortured and interrogated the Christians before putting them to death, forcing them to inform on their brothers and sisters (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars: Domitian 10.5). So it happened that he learned of a certain Jew in Ephesus, John by name, who taught that the seat of the Roman Empire would soon be uprooted and that the kingdom of the Romans would be given over to another.
Troubled by what was said, Domitian dispatched a centurion with soldiers to seize John and bring him back to Rome. Having come to Ephesus, the centurion made inquiries to discover where John lived. When the centurion and his men came to the gate of the house where John was staying, they found an old porter standing beside the gate. They inquired of him, asking where the one called John lived.
The old man replied, "I am he."
The Roman soldiers did not believe him. They expected a dangerous revolutionary leader. Despising John's common and poor appearance, they threatened him and demanded, "Tell us the truth!"
The old man insisted, "1 am he."
The centurion turned to the neighbors, and they vouched for John, bearing witness, "This is the man."
The centurion told John that he was to come with them immediately. They told him to gather provisions for the journey. The old man went into the house and returned with a small sack of dates.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Fast Trip to Roma
Acts of John at Rome
It was winter when the season for navigation was past. The soldiers took John overland by means of the public conveyances, and they seated him in their midst and traveled fast. When they came to the first change of horses, it being about the hour of breakfast, they told the old man to cheer up and take bread and eat with them.
John replied, "I am of good cheer, but in the meantime, I do not wish to eat anything."
They started off again and drove hard until evening when they stopped at a certain inn. Now it was the hour of supper, and the centurion and his men were kindly disposed toward their prisoner. They urged John to eat from the food that had been set before them by the innkeeper, but John replied, "I am tired and in need of sleep more than any food."
This is how it went each day. John always refused to eat their food. This behavior amazed the soldiers, and they began to fear that their prisoner might die and that they might be punished for letting him die. They tried to force him to eat, but he would not. They watched him for signs of weakness, but the Holy Spirit strengthened him, and he appeared to them healthier and stronger each passing day.
Then, on the seventh day, it being the Lord's day, he said to them, "Now is the time for me also to partake in food." He washed his hands and face, prayed, and spread out a linen cloth. Then he ate one of the dates he had brought with him in the sight of all.
In this way, John fasted all the way to Rome, breaking his fast only on the Sabbaths.
John's refusal of the Roman food may have been more than just asceticism. He may have relied on his supply of dates in order to keep a kosher diet on the road. Josephus tells a similar story about the arrest of Ishmael son of Fabi and his colleagues. When held prisoner in Rome, they managed to survive on a diet of figs and nuts in order to maintain a kosher diet. Acts of Peter also speaks of Peter's fast on his voyage from Caesarea to Rome.
John broke fast only on the seventh day. This accords with Jewish practice, which does not permit fasting on the Sabbath. The text of Acts of John at Rome says that he broke fast, "on the seventh day, the Lord's day."
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The King’s Heart and Hand of God
Acts of John at Rome
Even using the imperial pony express system, the overland journey to Rome from Ephesus must have taken a month or more. According to Acts of John at Rome, John fasted the whole distance, eating only on Sabbaths. When they finally came to the end of their journey, the centurion and his men brought John before Domitian and said, "Worshipful king, we bring you John, a god, and not a man. For from the hour in which we apprehended him to this present moment, he has not tasted bread." Domitian, who was rather chubby himself, found this feat amazing, but he did not think it likely that John was a god. He eyed the unimpressive-looking Jew with skepticism. This was no god.
To be fair, the emperor himself did not have the physique of an immortal. Suetonius describes him as follows:
He was tall of stature, with a modest expression and a high color. His eyes were large, but his sight was somewhat dim ... in later life he was disfigured by baldness and a protruding belly, standing on spindly legs made thin from long illness. (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars: Domitian 18)
Domitian enjoyed playing mind games with his prisoners. "He never pronounced a dreadful sentence without first offering a false declaration of clemency" (Suetonius, Lives of the Caesars: Domitian II.2). He liked to convince the accused of his affection and high esteem so that he could dash their hopes all the more cruelly.
With those types of designs in mind, Domitian stretched his head forward as if to kiss John, but John ducked the kiss, lowered his own head, and kissed Domitian on the chest.
Domitian asked him, "Why have you done this? Do you think me unworthy to kiss you?"
John replied, "It is right to adore the hand of God, first of all, and in this way to kiss the mouth of the king, for it is written in the holy books, 'The heart of a king is in the hand of God'" By kissing the king's heart, John explained, he kissed the hand of God. The surprise kiss and the obscure explanation from Scripture sound similar to rabbinic stories and exegesis.
It was not an attempt to flatter Domitian. Instead, John expressed his steadfast faith that God could redirect the king's heart, save his life, and end the persecution:
The heart of a king is in the hand of the LORD. Like channels of water; He directs it wherever He wishes. (Proverbs 21:1)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Coming King
Acts of John at Rome
Domitian began the interrogation. He asked the prisoner, "Are you John who said that my kingdom will be speedily uprooted and that another king, called Jesus, is going to reign in my place?"
John answered, "You shall reign for the full duration of the many years given to you by God, and after you, many others shall also reign. When the times of things upon earth have been fulfilled, a King, eternal and true, shall come. He is the judge of the living and dead. Every nation and tribe shall confess him. Every worldly power and dominion will be brought to nothing before Him. Every boasting mouth will be shut. This is the mighty Master and King of all breath and flesh, the Word and Son of the Living One, who is Jesus the Anointed One."
John answered in such a way that Domitian might not feel threatened by the coming of the Messiah, but he did not backpedal on the ultimate truth about the kingdom. He affirmed his teaching about a Messianic Kingdom that would overthrow the nations and dominate the world.
Domitian was deeply superstitious; he feared the house of David. He said to John, "Where is the proof of your words? I am not persuaded by mere words, but seeing is believing. What sign can you offer, whether in heaven or on earth, that will prove the power of the one you claim is destined to reign?"
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Poison Cup
Acts of John at Rome
According to Acts of John at Rome, John proposed a miraculous sign to prove his words to Domitian. He asked the men of the court to bring him a deadly poison. He mixed it with water, prayed over it, and drank it. When he did not fall into convulsions and die, Domitian suspected treachery. He called for a condemned criminal and forced him to drink the remainder of the poison. The man fell dead immediately. John resurrected the man on the spot and requested a pardon for him. Domitian pardoned the criminal.
This story is problematic and implausible. Our Master taught against needlessly testing God by intentionally placing oneself in danger and relying on a miracle (Matthew 4:7). Judaism teaches the same principle. John would not have asked to drink a deadly poison. He would not have needlessly endangered his own life. A different version of the story appears in Acts of John 20. In that version, a pagan high priest in Ephesus offered to believe in John's God only on the condition that John drink deadly poison and survive.
John agreed to the ordeal. The high priest fetched two condemned criminals from the procurator to test the poison. Both died immediately. John prayed and asked God to neutralize the poison, and then he drank the poison and survived. All the people were astonished -even more so when John resurrected the two dead men. The story of John and the poison cup might have a historical basis. In the long ending of the Gospel of Mark, Yeshua blesses His apostles with the words, "If they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them" (Mark 16:18). Papias knew a similar story about the Apostle Joseph Barsabbas, the other candidate for the replacement of scariot: "He drank a deadly poison, and yet, by the grace of the LORD, he suffered no harm" (Ecclesiastical History 3.39.9):
Papias related, alleging as his source of information the daughters of Philip, that Barsabas, the same Justus that passed the scrutiny [of the disciples in Acts I:23], was forced by the unbelievers to drink snake poison, but was in the name of Christ preserved unharmed. (Philip of Side, Codex Baroccianus 142)
It's unlikely that John would have volunteered to drink poison, but it does seem reasonable to assume that the Romans forced him to ingest it, just as they had done to Joseph (Justus) Barsabbas. Perhaps Domitian proposed the poison test. Romans were adept with poisons, and they frequently employed them on one another. Did the superstitious Domitian test John's divine claims by forcing him to drink a poisoned cup?
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Boiled in Oil
When Domitian learned that he had in his possession the last of the twelve apostles of the crucified one, he decided to make a public display of the execution. He made it known that John was to be put to death by means of submersion in boiling oil.
The spectacle was to take place on top of a certain gatehouse in Rome's wall. Cauldrons of oil were at gatehouses to defend against siege. Defenders on top of a gatehouse poured out cauldrons of scalding hot oil onto the besiegers assaulting the gates.
A crowd of morbid enthusiasts gathered around the gate to see the grisly execution. Secret Christians came, too. A plume of dark smoke rose from atop the gatehouse as soldiers stoked the fire to heat the pot of oil.
Domitian ordered John to be stripped and completely shaved to further mock and humiliate the old man. John appeared atop the gatehouse, naked, hairless, with only a titulus around his neck, which may have read: John bar Zebedee, Teacher of Atheism and the Christian superstition.
Domitian wanted the oil heated to boiling. They dropped the apostle into the pot, and that was the end of John-boiled in a pot of oil like a plucked chicken in a Sabbath soup-or so everyone thought. They pulled up the ropes, and John emerged from the oil, unblistered, slick, and slippery, dripping and glistening with oil. His eyes were open, and he was spitting the oil out of his mouth and wiping it away from his eyes. His skin was not even warm. The oil had not even singed him.
The story about John and the cauldron of boiling oil does not appear in Acts of John at Rome, but the story was known to Tertullian and several other early Latin writers. Tertullian mentions it along with Simon Peter's crucifixion and Paul's beheading at Rome:
From Rome there comes even into our own hands the very authority of apostles themselves. How blessed is its church on which apostles poured forth all their teaching along with their blood —where Peter suffered like his Master, where Paul won his crown in a death like John's [the Immerser], where the Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and thence relegated to his island-exile. (Tertullian, Prescription against Heretics 36)
Christian tradition places the scene of the action at the Latin Gate in Rome and honors May 6 as St. John Port Latin on the calendar of saints. The following passage from The Golden Legend transmits the core of the legendary event:
By Domitian's order [John] was brought to Rome, and all his hair was cut off in mockery. Then at the city portal called the Latin Gate he was plunged into a cauldron of hot oil over a blazing fire, but felt no pain and came out unscathed. (Therefore the Christians built a church at the spot and solemnized that day as the day of the apostle's martyrdom.) When even the cauldron did not deter John from preaching Christ, by order of Domitian he was relegated to the island of Patmos. (The Golden Legend 6g)
Our Master predicted that James and John, the sons of Zebedee, would drink from His cup of suffering. He said, "Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?" They said to Him, "We are able." He said to them, "My cup you shall drink" (Matthew 20:22-23).
In his commentary on Matthew 20:23, Jerome recognized the tension between the Master's warning that the sons of Zebedee would drink from the cup He was about to drink (martyrdom) and the tradition that John lived out a full life and died naturally. Jerome explained that John qualified as a martyr because he was delivered from death. He does not mention the cup of poison, but he mentions the cauldron of oil: "He was placed in a vat of burning oil to be martyred and thence proceeded to receive the crown of a Christian athlete and immediately was dispatched to the isle of Patmos" (Jerome, Commentary on Matthew 20:23)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Possessed Girl
Acts of John at Rome
John's strange powers terrified Domitian. He began to think of him as a powerful sorcerer or some kind of demigod. After the failure of the poison and the failure of the boiling oil, he did not dare attempt to put the man to death again.
Once, while John was in Domitian's custody, an unclean spirit seized a certain servant girl from Caesar's household. She fell to the floor in a convulsion and then lay still as if she were dead. When word about the seizure came to the emperor, he sought John and asked him if he could help the girl, for she was dear to him, born in his household and like a daughter to him.
John replied, "It is not in the power of man to do this, but since you know how to exercise authority but do not know the one who has granted you authority, come and learn who has power over you and over your empire." John prayed over the maiden and raised her up to her feet, healthy and whole.
The story of the exorcism of Domitian's servant girl has a parallel in rabbinic literature. According to the Talmud, Shim'on ben Yochai once traveled to Rome to lobby the emperor (Hadrian or Antonius Pious) to repeal anti-Jewish legislation (b.Me' ilah 17b). While he was in the emperor's court, he exorcised an evil spirit from the emperor's daughter. The grateful emperor rewarded Shimon ben Yochai and his companions and allowed them to rip up the decree against the Jews.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Banished to Patmos
I, Yochanan, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Yeshua, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Yeshua. (Revelation I:9)
In Acts of John at Rome, the emperor said to the apostle, "I have put forth a decree of the senate that all persons such as yourself should be put to death, without appeal, but since I find you to be an upright man and I find that your religion has benefit, I will spare you. I must banish you to an island so that I may not seem to do away with my own laws."
Roman legal practice was more lenient on members of the aristocracy than those from the lower classes. In cases where a lower-class man might receive the death penalty, an aristocrat was punished with banishment. He might be banished by being forbidden from returning to a particular place, or he might be relegated (relegatio) to an island for a certain period of time or to serve out a life sentence. John received the latter sentence. Tertullian says that John was "relegated" to Patmos (Prescription against Heretics 36).
Why did Domitian decide to relegate John rather than simply put him to death? John was not an upper-class aristocrat; he did not even possess Roman citizenship. Either someone intervened on John's behalf with a substantial bribe, or Domitian was afraid to put the old Jew to death. In view of Domitian's superstitious paranoia and the legends cited above, the latter possibility seems the more probable.
Relegation to an island did not mean a life marooned in isolation from human society and comforts. One should not imagine John on Patmos like Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island. The islands to which Roman courts typically banished aristocrats were inhabited and fully developed with all the amenities of typical Roman cities. The exile could live a full and comfortable life on the island.
Why did Domitian choose Patmos in the Aegean and not the Pontine islands, where he banished Christians of aristocratic station, such as his niece Domitilla? Perhaps he chose Patmos because of its proximity to Ephesus, the place from which he had taken the apostle.
The island of Patmos is one of the Sporades islands, located thirty-seven miles west-southwest from Miletus in the Aegean Sea-just fifty miles from ancient Ephesus. The narrow, crescent-shaped island has a total circumference of thirty miles perforated with numerous capes and bays and four good harbors. The island naturally divides into three sections. The largest division is in the north, which is eleven miles across at its widest point. A narrow strip of sand connects it to the middle division, which is occupied by the cities of Scala and Phora (modern Chora) and the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian. A small neck of pebbly beach connects the middle division to the third division. Hills and cliffs of volcanic rock characterize the island.
Archaeological and inscriptional evidence indicates that Patmos hosted a thriving population in the days of the apostles. Along with the neighboring islands of Lipsos and Leros, Patmos belonged to the territory of the city of Miletus. A military garrison stationed on Patmos guarded the naval approach to Miletus. Patmos had a gymnasium and the typical elements of a Roman city, including an imposing temple to Artemis that sat on the acropolis where the Monastery of Saint John now sits, like a cork on the top of the island. Halfway up that hill, pilgrims to Patmos can visit the "Cave of the Apocalypse," where, according to the local Greek Orthodox tradition, John saw the vision and wrote the book of Revelation.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Voice of the Shofar
I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a shofar, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven assemblies: to Efsos and to Zemirena and to Pargemos and to Tiatira and to Sardis and to Piladelfiya and to Ludkeya. (Revelation I:10-11)
Once, it happened that John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's day" when he saw a vision of the Master. When John says that he was "in the Spirit," this implies a state of heightened spiritual awareness and focus-altered consciousness in a sort of prophetic trance-by means of close communion with the Holy Spirit of God. John may have undertaken a regimen of fasting, ritual purifications, and prayer prior to the experience.
John heard a voice speaking to him. It sounded like the voice of a shofar. The "voice of the shofar" alludes to the revelation at Mount Sinai, where "the voice of the shofar grew louder and louder" (Exodus 19:19). It also alludes to the coming of the Messiah when "the Master Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God" (I Thessalonians 4:16). The voice instructed John to record the vision he was about to see and send it to the seven assemblies of Asia Minor that fell under his apostolate.
Startled by the voice like a shofar, John wheeled around and beheld a vision of the Master in His glory, not unlike the time he beheld Him on the Mount of Transfiguration more than sixty years earlier. The Son of Man stood in the midst of seven lamps, like the seven lamps of the Temple menorah. He wore a robe that reached to His feet. The flesh of His bare feet shone like metal heated to glow in a furnace.
A golden sash was wound around His chest. His head and hair blazed white-like wool, like snow. His eyes burned bright like flames of fire. His face shone like the sun at full noon. In His right hand, He seemed to hold seven stars like orbs of light.
John took all this in at once and fell to his face, prostrated before the Master like a dead man. Yeshua knelt beside him, placed His right hand on him, and spoke in a voice that flowed like many waters:
Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. (Revelation I:17-19)
The appearance of the Master before John served as a prophetic commissioning. The biblical prophets experienced similar epiphanies and endowments of the divine word at the outset of their prophetic careers. Moses received his commissioning at the burning bush. Isaiah saw the vision of the LORD and the Seraphim in the year that King Uzziah died. A Seraph touched his lips with a coal from the altar. Jeremiah and Ezekiel experienced similar commissioning acts. The LORD's hand touched Jeremiah's mouth, and the LORD said, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth" (Jeremiah I:9). A hand extended a scroll to Ezekiel, and a voice told him to eat it. The scroll represented God's prophetic word entering the prophet. Later in the vision of the Revelation, John received a scroll, which he must eat, and then he was told, "You must prophesy again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and kings" (Revelation 10:II).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Yehudah and the Antinomians
Even before the fall of Jerusalem, certain heretics among the believers had fallen under the error of antinomianism, the belief that the Torah is canceled and holds no authority. They traded discipleship for sensual indulgence and hedonism, which they justified under distorted teachings about grace. They crept into the midst of the assemblies unnoticed: "Ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Yeshua the Messiah" (Jude 4). When James the brother of the Master died, his younger brother Jude took it upon himself to warn the assemblies about the new sectarians who indulged in gross immorality ... defiling the flesh and rejecting authority" (Jude 7-8):
But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like unreasoning animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them! For they have gone the way of Cain, and for pay they have rushed headlong into the error of Balaam, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. (Jude I0-I3)
Jude's apocalyptic epistle denounced the heretics with allusions to the Torah, midrash, and Jewish tradition. His epistle is a good example of the type of exegetical and hermeneutical devices employed by the early Jewish believers. The fact that the epistle was written in Greek suggests that Jude intended it for general circulation in the Diaspora. The epistle of 2 Peter borrows from it heavily and utilizes its arguments to warn against misinterpreting the epistles of Paul.
The antinomian teachers denounced by Jude flourished in the Diaspora, but they also had enclaves within the land of Israel. The second-century Jewish believer Hegesippus reports several heretical movements associated with the teaching of Simon Magus:
From Simon [Magus] came the Simonians, like Cleobius, from whom came the Cleobians, and Dositheus, from whom came the Dositheans, and Gorthaeus, from whom came the Goratheni, and Masbotheus, from whom came the Masbothaeans. From them sprang the Menandrianists, and Marcionists, and Carpocratians, and Valentinians, and Basilidians, and Saturnilians. Each introduced privately and separately his own peculiar opinion. From them came false messiahs, false prophets, false apostles, who divided the unity of the assembly by corrupt doctrines uttered against God and against his Messiah. (Hegesippus quoted in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 4.22.5-0)
A group of antinomian Christians (or proto-Gnostics) separated themselves from the believers in Capernaum and formed an enclave there. The Midrash Rabbah tells a story in which Chanina the nephew of Rabbi Yehoshua fell in among them and joined their community. According to the story, they placed him under a spell, and they taught him that he no longer needed to be concerned about violating the Sabbath. They set him on a donkey on the Sabbath day. The story is discussed in a subsequent lesson. Another episode involving contact with believers charges them with engaging in sexual immorality. The Romans often slandered the Master's disciples with charges of sexual immorality, but in the case of antinomian Christians and many gnostics, the charges may have been true.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Zoker and Ya’akov Arrested
When this same Domitian had commanded that the descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Yehudah (said to have been a brother of the Savior according to the flesh), on the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to the Messiah himself. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.I9.I)
By the time of Domitian, Jude the brother of the Master had already died. He left behind one epistle and two grandsons who lived among the Desposyni in Nazareth and the surrounding villages: Zoker and James. (The word Desposyni means "the Master's people," i.e., His extended family.) The strange-sounding name Zoker (Zwnp) is merely a variation on Zechariah. James (Ya'akov) may have been named after his grand-uncle James the Righteous.
Perhaps he was born about the time James died. Zoker and James earned their living as farmers tending the land that they inherited from their father and grandfather. Their pedigree gave them credibility among the believers, and they occupied prominent positions among the believers in the Galilee.
They also had enemies. In an earlier lesson, we met a Desposyni leader by the name of Thebuthis (Tobit). Thebuthis was from the house of David, and a respected leader and teacher among the believers, but he resented being passed over as a replacement for James, the brother of the Master. He subtly began to introduce errant ideas and vain discourses similar to those of Simon Magus or the antinomians. Hegesippus says, "Because Thebuthis was not made bishop, he began to corrupt the assembly."
Apparently, Zoker and James inherited their grandfather's legacy of defending the true faith from the innovations of the heretical schisms. When news of Domitian's war against the house of David reached the Galilee, some of the heretics took advantage of the opportunity to rid themselves of Jude's grandsons. Disciples of Thebuthis went to the Roman authorities and gave them information about Zoker and James, two leading descendants from the house of David.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Zoker and Ya’akov Shipped to Rome
Hegesippus relates these facts as follows: Of the family of the Master there were still living the grand-children of Jude, who is said to have been the Master's brother according to the flesh. Information was given that they belonged to the family of David, and they were brought to the Emperor Domitian by the evocatus. For Domitian feared the coming of Messiah just as Herod had feared it. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.I9.I-3.20.I)
The Romans arrested the two men. Zoker and James anticipated being put to death quickly. They had two death sentences against them in that they were from the line of David, and they were known "Christians." Either one of those charges was sufficient to incur an execution. The combination was certain doom. James and Zoker had to fear also for their families and the rest of the Desposyni and descendants of David in Nazareth and the surrounding area. They hoped that their deaths would be sufficient to satisfy the Romans.
The procurator did not sentence them to death. On account of their notoriety as leaders among the believers and family members of the Master, the procurator elected to send them to Rome to appear before Domitian. He put them under the charge of an evocatus and shipped them to Rome. (An evocatus was a retired soldier who had voluntarily enlisted again at the invitation of his superiors.)
Zoker and James probably set out on their trip to Rome in 95 CE, around the same time that John the son of Zebedee stood before Domitian.
Hegesippus explains that Domitian feared the coming of the Messiah just as Herod the Great had feared it. The parallels are obvious. Both King Herod the Great and Domitian considered themselves to be the legitimate fulfillment of the messianic prophecies belonging to the house of David. Herod took the title "King of the Jews" and flattered himself with it. At the same time, he persecuted the house of David, destroyed the scrolls that contained their genealogical records, and slaughtered the innocents of Bethlehem to protect himself from the Son of David. Domitian was in a similar position. He felt threatened by the house of David and terrified by what he had heard of the coming Messiah. For those reasons, he was eager to see Zoker and James so that he could learn more about the Christians and their allegiance to the coming King from the house of David.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Callused Hands
He asked them if they were descendants of David, and they admitted that they were. Then he asked them how much property they had and how much money they owned. And both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them. Nor did they have this amount in silver, but only a piece of land which contained thirty-nine plethra and from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labor. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.2)
Domitian's men led the sons of David into the palace to stand before the emperor. The grandeur, splendor, pomp, and idolatry of Rome overawed the simple Jews from Nazareth. As they stood before the most powerful man in the world, they had to remind themselves that they, too, were royalty from a much more exalted line than the likes of Domitian. They remembered that the Master had promised, "When they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say" (Matthew 10:19).
Zoker and James probably did not speak any Greek. Domitian would have needed a translator present. His first choice might well have been Josephus, who was fluent in Greek and Aramaic, a member of the court already on payroll as the Jewish affairs expert, and the favorite Jew of the Flavians. Zoker and James might not have recognized the one-time general of the Galilee and leader from the battle of Jotapata, but they probably knew who he was, nonetheless. Josephus was infamous and hated by Jews everywhere as a traitor.
Domitian sized up the Davidic princes. Zoker and James did not look like royalty to him. Speaking through a translator, he asked them if they were from the line of David. When they affirmed that they were of the royal house, he asked them how much property they had. Domitian was always concerned with how much wealth and property people had. When he put his victims to death, he seized the assets in the name of the crown. He assumed that descendants of such a famous king must have significant wealth, but these men appeared to him as mere peasants. The discussion of property values and the payment of taxes perfectly fits with what Roman historians tell us about Domitian's interests at the time and adds credibility to the story as Hegesippus tells it.
Zoker and James replied that, between the two of them, they had property worth nine thousand denarii. That's not a small amount of money, but neither was it a large fortune. They explained that the money was locked up in the value of their ancestral property, 'thirty-nine plethra" of agricultural land from which they supported their families. From the surplus, they faithfully paid their taxes: the agricultural taxes levied by Rome and the Fiscus Judaicus.
Thirty-nine plethra is about twenty acres, a reasonable tract of land for two families. Zoker and James were leaders among the Desposyni and responsible for feeding many mouths. The agricultural land around Nazareth consisted of terraces cut into the limestone slopes of the Nazareth ridge, planted with vineyards, olive trees, figs, almonds, and wheat.
Domitian suspected that the young princes concealed their wealth to protect it from him. He could not imagine that the royal sons of the line of David-grand-nephews of the legendary Yeshua of Nazareth-made their living as simple peasant farmers.
They did. The Desposyni worked the land like common Galileans. James the Righteous, the grand-uncle of Zoker and James, once said, "Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?" (James 2:5).
Then they showed him their hands and the hardness of their bodies and the calluses worn in their hands by incessant toil as evidence of their labor. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.3)
Zoker and James extended their callused hands before the emperor as evidence of the hard, manual labor to which they were accustomed. Domitian saw that the men had none of the softness of corpulent aristocracy. He realized that the house of David he had so feared was not the family of proud and dangerous noblemen as he had imagined.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
The Kingdom
When they were asked concerning the Messiah and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not of the world nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to give to each person according to his deeds. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.4)
Domitian further inquired about the coming kingdom of the Messiah that they anticipated. He wanted to know its political form, its borders, and the time at which it was to commence. Zoker and James remembered how the Master had once stood before Pilate and undergone a similar interrogation. In that situation, Yeshua had replied, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that l would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36).
The grandsons of Jude replied to Domitian in a similar manner. They explained that the kingdom of heaven is not of the world. It does not consist of politicians, armies, and fortresses. It will not come about by means of revolution and insurrection. It is a heavenly kingdom, meaning it descends from heaven to earth and does not arise from earth. It is angelic, meaning that the armies of the kingdom are not armies of men but heavenly hosts.
Zoker and James did not conceal their conviction that the kingdom of heaven would come as an alternative to the Roman Empire and supplant it and all other earthly kingdoms, but they assured Domitian that this would not happen until the end of the age. Then, the Messiah will come in glory. He will preside in judgment over the living and the dead and reward each man according to his works. Note the parallels from I Clement and Revelation, which were both composed around the same time that Zoker and James testified before Domitian:
He will come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to give to each person according to his deeds. (Zoker and James in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.4)
Behold, 1 am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. (Revelation 22:12)
Behold, the Master comes, and His reward is before Him, to render to every man according to his deeds. (I Clement 34:3)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Domitian Relents
Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the assembly. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.20.5)
When Domitian heard all this and when he saw their callused hands, he realized that the Davidians were not the threat he had imagined. Moreover, he realized that all the Christian talk of "a coming kingdom" posed no real threat to Rome. The conspiracy of revolutionaries he had suspected, it turned out, were only religious fanatics awaiting a mythological golden age. His recent encounters with John the son of Zebedee confirmed those conclusions.
He dismissed Zoker and James from his presence, "despising them as of no account." He gave them no further thought. The two men left Nero's palace, praising God for His deliverance. They had entered before the emperor with no hope of survival. Now, they were free to return to their homes.
Hegesippus says that "he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the assembly." This statement needs to be qualified. Hegesippus drew from a source about the early history and progress of the assembly of Messiah in the land of Israel, i.e., the Jewish believers in Judea and Galilee. Domitian may have issued a decree rescinding the arrest and execution orders for descendants of David and Jewish disciples of Yeshua, but he had no motivation to put a stop to the persecution of Gentile believers who had drifted into Jewish ways and become "atheists."
Zoker and James returned to Judea and Galilee as heroes. Everyone had expected them to die in Rome for their testimony to the Master. The believers in every assembly in the land rejoiced, and everyone wanted to hear the story about how they had stood before the emperor of Rome.
Their reputation as "witnesses and as kinsmen of the Master" gave them a position of leadership over the assemblies along with their kinsman, the elderly Simeon son of Clopas. Thanks to their testimony, the Romans temporarily set aside their hunt for the sons of David, and they no longer sought to prosecute Jewish believers for their allegiance to the Master. For that reason, the assemblies of the Master in Judea and Galilee experienced a brief period of peace:
Therefore they came [back to the land] and took the lead over every assembly as witnesses and as kinsmen of the Master. And profound peace was established in every assembly [under their leadership]. They remained until the reign of the Emperor Trajan. (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.32.6)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.