Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typ...os. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III EARLY CHRISTIAN HOPES The earliest Christians were Jews of Palestine who shared the fears and the hopes of then- race. During the first century A.d. the hopes of the Palestinian Jews were very perceptibly influenced by contemporary political events. In the latter part of the previous century Herod the Great had served as a buffer between Rome and the Jews, but after his death in 4 B.c. the yoke of the foreign conqueror became more burdensome and the pressure of this situation soon awakened new discontent in the hearts of the people. Since Maccabean times the hope of national restoration under the leadership of a Davidic messianic piince had partially faded out, being supplanted in certain circles by the expectation of a heavenly kingdom to be established upon earth either by a direct act of God or through the mediation of an angelic Messiah. But as time passed, the latter hope came no nearer to fulfilment than the former. This delay, and the new unrest due to increased Roman interference in Palestinian affairs, resulted in a temporary recrudescence of the national type of hope. Jewish enthusiasts were ready to advocate open revolt against Rome, even as the Maccabees had rebelled against the tyranny of the Seleucids. This spirit of revolution was fostered by a belief that Jehovah would employ an earthly representative as his agent in effecting political deliverance for his people. The first formal outbreak of this new national enthusiasm occurred in connection with a census taken by the Romans as a basis for taxation soon after 6 A.d. A certain Judas of Galilee stirred up the people, declaring that the Jews were being enslaved and that unless they asserted their freedom by appealing to the sword they need not expect God to come to their assistance. If the...Detailed info »« Brief info