Page 122 - Satan in the Sanctuary

124 Satan in the Sanctuary

The Jewish Temple site was to be used for pagan wor-
ship. Hadrian had chosen it purposely. Soon, he thought,
there would be no further trace of Judaism. The upstart
Christianity would be without even the ruins of its holy
place.
The Greco-Roman culture that he personally worshiped
would prevail throughout the known world.
What could be done? Could the Jews allow such out-
rages?
Doggedly, hopelessly, the Jews armed again for war
with Rome.
A leader arose—Simeon Bar Kochba—who claimed to
be the Jewish Messiah and therefore invincible. It was to
be the last effort of the Jews to recover their homeland
by force until 1948.
This time there was no central shrine to defend, so the
Jews spread out the rebellion through Israel. They held on
for three years while the legions resolutely dug them out
over the whole of the country.
This began the great dispersion of the Jews throughout
the world which did not come to an end until 1948. It is
remarkable that the time-honored Jewish rituals survived
this dispersion, in earthly terms, but it was largely the
work of faithful law codifiers and teachers of the troubled
time. The greatest of these, Rabbi Akiba ben Joseph, is a
prime example of the tenacity and courage of the Jew.
He survived the siege of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and con-
tinued to teach the oral law. He could recite the Penta-
teuch by heart, and his fame spread through Israel. In
A.D. 95 he was chosen, with Gamaliel and others, to go
on a diplomatic mission to Rome. The Jewish delegation
was successful in talks with Emperor Nerva, and a heavy
tax was repealed.