Page 60 - Advanced Bible Geography ebook

giving us the Dead Sea Scrolls, many of the men at Qumran were former priests who had walked away
from the corruption in Jerusalem. They were living between the Dead Sea and the Judean Wilderness,

For John the Baptizer, preaching at the Jordan River had a
geographical advantage all its own. If John realized the
religious leadership in Jerusalem intended to arrest him, he
could escape into the wilderness and hide the same way
David had once hidden from Saul. Once in the wilderness, a
man can practically disappear! Despite his precautions,
John was eventually captured, held in the fortress of nearby
Machaerus and there executed by Herod Antipas.

hoping their commitment to a life of poverty and holiness would hasten the coming of the Messiah. One
of their favorite passages was from the prophet Isaiah:

“In the wilderness prepare
the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3)

To the men of Qumran, the geographic description in Isaiah’s prophecy was critically important. They
would go to the wilderness and live in the desert as they prayed for the Messiah to come. And indeed,
Jesus chose to begin his public ministry by being baptized a short walk away from the Qumran
community by a man who was just as passionate for holiness.

In the meantime, the “Zealot” movement gained momentum among the people of the land. Zealots
were Jewish individuals who campaigned openly and subversively for Jewish independence. Gaining
support in the Galilee, these “zealous” individuals became an open threat by 60 AD. In 66, the
movement exploded into violence and a full-scale Jewish revolt against Rome.

For a while, Jewish forces held off the Roman troops. A Jewish commander named Josephus won an
early battle in the revolt. But when Rome sent Vespasian and thousands of new troops into the land,
Josephus and his forces were vastly outnumbered and beaten rather quickly. Given an opportunity to
surrender, Josephus began writing a history of the war for the Romans. His account of Jewish life during

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