58braZ Yet in the midst of the celebrations, ~~~~~


as Yerushalayim was being secured
and a fragile calm was slowly descending upon the city,
Menahem did something unexpected?!

Draping himself in purple robes,
he made a triumphal entry into the Temple courtyard, where,
flanked by his armed devotees among the Sicarii,
he openly declared himself messiah,
King of the Jews!?

In some ways, Menahem's actions made perfect sense;
after all, ìf the Kingdom of God had indeed been established, then it was time
for the messiah to appear so as to rule over it in God's name?!!!

And who else should don the kingly robes
and sit upon the throne but Menahem, grandson of Jude the Galilean, great-grandson
of the bandit chief Yechezkel/Chazakyah/Hezekiah?

Menahem's messianic assumption was, for his followers, merely the realisation of the pro-phecies:
the final step in ushering in the last days!

But thàt is nòt how Eleazar the Temple captain saw ìt! Hé and hìs associates among the lower priests
were incensed at what théy viewed as a blatant power grab by the Sicarii! They now put together a plan
to kill this self-proclaimed messiah and rid the city of his irritating meddlesome followers?

While Menahem was prancing about the Temple in hìs Royal Garb,
Eleazar's men suddenly rushed the Temple Mount and overpowered his guards!
They dragged Menahem out in the open & tortured him to death!

The surviving Sicarii barely fled Jerusalem with their lives.

They reassembled at their base
atop the fortress of Metsada/Masada,
where they waited out
the rest of the war?

Seven years these Sicarii waited!
As the Romans regrouped and returned to wrest Palestine from rebel control,
as one after another those towns and villages of Yehudah and Galilee were razed
and most their populations tamed by the sword, as Jerusalem itself
was surrounded and its inhabitants slowly starved to death,
the Sicarii waited in their mountain fortress!

Only after every rebellious city had been destroyed
and the land once again placed under their control did the Romans
turn their sights toward Masada: the Roman regiment arrived at the foot of Metsada in 73,
three years after Jerusalem fell and because the soldiers could not attack this fortress outright,
they first built a massive wall around the entire base of the mountain,
ensuring that not even one rebel
could escape anymore
undetected!

Mòr
visited those places
between '66 & '92 several times? From Dan to Elat,
Santa Katarina's Sinai & Jordan's Petra, Jerash & Aqaba, Idmit, Matsuva, Avdat,
Yodfat/Jotapata, Qumran & Engedi: very impressive
all of them they still are &
worthwhile to 'rehash'
again &
again.
13 dec 2015 - bewerkt op 14 dec 2015 - meld ongepast verhaal
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Asih, man, 80 jaar
   
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