Page 47 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

P878#y

The Temple
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKqDx3RDCos

P881#y1

Third Jewish Temple Will Be Rebuilt! Fulfilling Bible Prophecy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBFSCVw00NQ

Herod’s crowning achievement was the new port city of Caesarea he named in honor of Emperor
Augustus. This magnificent and opulent city was founded in 9 BC. The city was laid out on a Greek grid
plan, with a market, an aqueduct, government offices, baths, villas, a circus, and several pagan temples.
The man-made port was a stunning masterpiece of engineering that included the use of ancient
concrete that hardened underwater.

Despite all the beautiful buildings he offered the Jewish people, Herod was greatly hated by the people
he ruled. The Sadducees hated him because he had ended the family dynasty that had given them much
more power. The Pharisees despised him for his immoral behavior. Herod built pagan temples in
multiple locations around Israel, bowed to pagan gods in Rome, and practiced open sexual immorality.
He certainly did not claim to abide by the teachings of the Torah. The masses also hated him, even
though so many gained their livelihoods from his financing. Taxes were extremely high, in part because
tax collectors could extort even more money than Rome demanded.

Herod never hesitated to use Roman military force to subdue a suspected rebellion or threat to his
authority.

Caesarea Maritima

Starting about 25 BC, Herod the Great built a brand-new city on the Mediterranean coastline.
Completed in 12 years, Caesarea was modeled after the great cities of the Roman Empire. Herod named
it for the emperor and built a temple overlooking his manmade port that honored Caesar as the “son of
the gods.” Peter met Cornelius, a Roman centurion, here (Acts 10). Paul was held prisoner here for two
years (Acts 24:27). And many of Paul’s missionary journeys either started or ended in Herod’s port.

Toward the end of his life, Herod fell ill and died of what historians claimed was a terribly painful,
wasting disease. It consumed his body. But even as he faced the end of his life, he used violence to
enforce his decrees and protect his throne.

Two examples from the last weeks of his life emphasize Herod’s violent temper and constant paranoia.
In the first case, a golden eagle had been hung over the entrance to the Temple. Religious Jews
considered that to be a direct violation of the teaching in the Bible. Two popular Jewish rabbis, Judas
and Matthias, incited their pupils to remove the eagle. Herod had them all arrested and then burned
alive.

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