Questions for Dispensationalists, Part 1 of 4

Prophecy Questions Blog ^ | April 21, 2024 | Charles Meek

[grumpa]

A. Haven’t dispensationalists been consistently wrong about prophecy? — All of these men and many more have made false prophecies: Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, Chuck Smith, Pat Robertson, Edgar Whisenant, Benny Hinn, Harold Camping, etc. etc. 1948 and False Prophecies

B. Questions about the church ―

1. Do you believe that Israel and the church are different bodies, even though the Bible teaches that they are the same body (Ephesians 2:15; 3:6)―and that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek? (Acts 15:9; Romans 2:28-29; 10:12; Galatians 3:28-29; Colossians 3:11)

2. If the church age is only a parenthesis, why do so many passages teach that Jesus reigns from heaven as King of Kings now (Isaiah 66:1; Matthew 28:18; John 5:22; Ephesians 1:20-22; 1 Timothy 6:15-16; Hebrews 1:1-12; 7:25; 8:1-4; Revelation 1:6) and forever? (2 Samuel 7:13; Isaiah 9:6-7; Daniel 2:44; 4:3, 34; 7:14, 18, 27; Luke 1:33; John 5:22; Acts 7:48-50; 10:36; 1 Corinthians 15:25; Ephesians 3:21; Hebrews 1:12; 5:6; 6:20; 7:24; 8:1-4; 2 Peter 1:11; Revelation 1:5; 3:21; 5:13; 11:15) Further, the New Covenant is forever (Ezekiel 37:26; Hebrews 13:20) and the gospel is eternal (Revelation 14:6). Age without end, Amen (Ephesians 3:21).

C. Questions about the temple ―

1. Doesn’t the New Testament explain that while the physical temple was about to be destroyed (Matthew 24:2; 34), Christ became the spiritual temple and cornerstone, while Christians are the living stones built on the foundation of the apostles? (Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Revelation 21:14, 22)

2. If there is to be a re-built temple with animal sacrifices and rituals, wouldn’t that be denigrating to Christ’s ONCE-FOR-ALL sacrifice? (Hebrews 10:10)

3. Dispensationalists think that Ezekiel’s temple (Ezekiel 44-48) is literal, but also say that bloody sacrifices in the rebuilt temple will be only a memorial. However, Ezekiel’s vision refers to these sacrifices as literally making atonement (Ezekiel 45:15, 17, 20). How is it that the dispensational position is not Contradictory?

4. Can you find a single verse in the New Testament that says anything about the need for a re-built temple?

5. Why does Scripture say God does not dwell in temples made by hands anymore? (Acts 7:48; 17:24)

6. If we are in the New Covenant era, which Scripture says is FOREVER (Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 14:6), why would God go back to a temple system of the Old Covenant which Paul called bondage (Galatians 4)?

[vespa300]

Yeah, you’d think these idiots might someday notice the parallels between the time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation...ie. the 42 months in Revelation, a day for a year...that’s 1260 days, then Revelation again......specific on 1260 days!! (Revelation 12:6)....

You’d think they’d realize these prophecies END with the 2nd coming....both Daniel and Revelation......when Anti Christ is finally destroyed, the false religious power that stands in a holy place, claims to be God, claims to be able to change the law of God......

And they think it’s Nero and some say Antiochus.....

Such superficial stupid Theology...meanwhile Rome is going around the world and evangelicals reach out to her and her day....and all her sins and lies. And they are going to be right there with em...because they hate the Sabbath. They will follow the Papacy when the times get rough because they have no real conviction. Dispensationlist garbage....secret rapture fools.....they are looking at Israel when Jesus took it from them 2000 years ago....I guess they don’t even know what the fig tree represents.....let no fruit grow on it again........fools.

[wita]

“And just what ‘scripture’ is going to be used for evidence of this latter claim?”

Those who choose to believe God is not the same yesterday today and for ever, as found in Hebrews 13:8, and talking to man through Prophets, seem to me to be hanging in the wind.

[lurk]

More than some picked-out proof texts.

You left out the rest of Zechariah. Why?

[Cronos]

I didn’t “leave out the rest of Zacharias” — it is a 14 chapter long book, do you expect me to write out the entire book here???

[Elsie]

THIS same GOD ?

 

Numbers 23;19 King James Bible

 

God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

 

Or maybe...

 

“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the wonder comes true, concerning which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods (whom you have not known) and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the LORD your God is testing you to find out if you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 13:1-3

 

[Elsie]

 1 John 4:1 
  Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.

 

 

 

 

Joseph Smith taught his followers to...

 

 

Doctrine and Covenants       

Section 129:1-9

 

Instructions given by Joseph Smith the Prophet, at Nauvoo, Illinois, 9 February 1843, making known three grand keys by which the correct nature of ministering angels and spirits may be distinguished (see History of the Church, 5:267).

1–3, There are both resurrected and spirit bodies in heaven; 4–9, Keys are given whereby messengers from beyond the veil may be identified.

      

Joseph Smith

1 There are two kinds of beings in heaven, namely: Angels, who are resurrected personages, having bodies of flesh and bones; 2 For instance, Jesus said: Handle me and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. 3 Secondly: the spirits of just men made perfect, they who are not resurrected, but inherit the same glory. 4 When a messenger comes saying he has a message from God, offer him your hand and request him to shake hands with you. 5 If he be an angel he will do so, and you will feel his hand. 6 If he be the spirit of a just man made perfect he will come in his glory; for that is the only way he can appear; 7 Ask him to shake hands with you, but he will not move, because it is contrary to the order of heaven for a just man to deceive; but he will still deliver his message. 8 If it be the devil as an angel of light, when you ask him to shake hands he will offer you his hand, and you will not feel anything; you may therefore detect him. 9 These are three grand keys whereby you may know whether any administration is from God.

 

The only problem I have with this 'test', is that I cannot find ANY instance of it EVER being used!

[Elsie]

 

Joseph Smith

What about them handshakes?     Wilford Woodruff, suggests that Doctrine and Covenants 129 is not about handshakes Commentary on Doctrine & Covenants 129 | Doctrine and Covenants Central This gives the impression that the 'test' is oh so sacred that it's unspeakable. LDS - Handshake Test (D&C 129) | Christian Forums Then there are the exmos.  (We ALL know what their word is worth...) I just have to ask. Has anyone had a need for the D&C 129 handshake test recently? (exmormon.org)

 

 

[lurk]

Chapters 12-14 will suffice.

[lurk]

When in history were Zech. 12-14 fulfilled?

[Cronos]

Zechariah 12 to Zechariah 14

1 The burden of the word of the Lord upon Israel. Thus saith the Lord, who stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundations of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man in him: 2 Behold I will make Jerusalem a lintel of surfeiting to all the people round about: and Juda also shall be in the siege against Jerusalem. 3 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will make Jerusalem a burdensome stone to all people: all that shall lift it up shall be rent and torn, and all the kingdoms of the earth shall be gathered together against her. 4 In that day, saith the Lord, I will strike every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open my eyes upon the house of Juda, and will strike every horse of the nations with blindness. 5 And the governors of Juda shall say in their heart: Let the inhabitants of Jerusalem be strengthened for me in the Lord of hosts, their God.

That is, a door into which they shall seek to enter, to glut themselves with blood; but they shall stumble, and fall like men stupefied with wine. It seems to allude to the times of Antiochus, and to the victories of the Machabees.

6 In that day I will make the governors of Juda like a furnace of fire amongst wood, and as a firebrand amongst hay: and they shall devour all the people round about, to the right hand, and to the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place in Jerusalem. 7 And the Lord shall save the tabernacles of Juda, as in the beginning: that the house of David, and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, may not boast and magnify themselves against Juda. 8 In that day shall the Lord protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and he that hath offended among them in that day shall be as David: and the house of David, as that of God, as an angel of the Lord in their sight. 9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour out upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of prayers: and they shall look upon me, whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and they shall grieve over him, as the manner is to grieve for the death of the firstborn.

11 In that day there shall be a great lamentation in Jerusalem like the lamentation of Adadremmon in the plain of Mageddon. 12 And the land shall mourn: families and families apart: the families of the house of David apart, and their women apart: 13 The families of the house of Nathan apart, and their women apart: the families of the house of Levi apart, and their women apart: the families of Semei apart, and their women apart. 14 All the rest of the families, families and families apart, and their women apart.

Zechariah here makes it clear that God will never return to the Old Covenant

Next chapter

1 In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: for the washing of the sinner, and of the unclean woman. 2 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord of hosts, that I will destroy the names of idols out of the earth, and they shall be remembered no more: and I will take away the false prophets, and the unclean spirit out of the earth. 3 And it shall come to pass, that when any man shall prophesy any more, his father and his mother that brought him into the world, shall say to him: Thou shalt not live: because thou hast spoken a lie in the name of the Lord. And his father, and his mother, his parents, shall thrust him through, when he shall prophesy. 4 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the prophets shall be confounded, every one by his own vision, when he shall prophesy, neither shall they be clad with a garment of sackcloth, to deceive: 5 But he shall say: I am no prophet, I am a husbandman: for Adam is my example from my youth.

6 And they shall say to him: What are these wounds in the midst of thy hands? And he shall say: With these I was wounded in the house of them that loved me. 7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that cleaveth to me, saith the Lord of hosts: strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn my hand to the little ones. 8 And there shall be in all the earth, saith the Lord, two parts in it shall be scattered, and shall perish: but the third part shall be left therein. 9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined: and I will try them as gold is tried. They shall call on my name, and I will hear them. I will say: Thou art my people: and they shall say: The Lord is my God.

And chapter 14

1 Behold the days of the Lord shall come, and thy spoils shall be divided in the midst of thee. 2 And I will gather all nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken, and the houses shall be rifled, and the women shall be defiled: and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the rest of the people shall not be taken away out of the city. 3 Then the Lord shall go forth, and shall fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is over against Jerusalem toward the east: and the mount of Olives shall be divided in the midst thereof to the east, and to the west with a very great opening, and half of the mountain shall be separated to the north, and half thereof to the south. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of those mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall be joined even to the next, and you shall flee as you fled from the face of the earthquake in the days of Ozias king of Juda: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with him.

6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that there shall be no light, but cold and frost. 7 And there shall be one day, which is known to the Lord, not day nor night: and in the time of the evening there shall be light. 8 And it shall come to pass in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem: half of them to the east sea, and half of them to the last sea: they shall be in summer and in winter. 9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day there shall be one Lord, and his name shall be one. 10 And all the land shall return even to the desert, from the hill to Remmon to the south of Jerusalem: and she shall be exalted, and shall dwell in her own place, from the gate of Benjamin even to the place of the former gate, and even to the gate of the corners: and from the tower of Hananeel even to the king's winepresses.

11 And people shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more an anathema: but Jerusalem shall sit secure. 12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord shall strike all nations that have fought against Jerusalem: the flesh of every one shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth. 13 In that day there shall be a great tumult from the Lord among them: and a man shall take the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall be clasped upon his neighbour's hand. 14 And even Juda shall fight against Jerusalem: and the riches of all nations round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And the destruction of the horse, and of the mule, and of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts, that shall be in those tents, shall be like this destruction.

16 And all they that shall be left of all nations that came against Jerusalem, shall go up from year to year, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles. 17 And it shall come to pass, that he that shall not go up of the families of the land to Jerusalem, to adore the King, the Lord of hosts, there shall be no rain upon them. 18 And if the family of Egypt go not up nor come: neither shall it be upon them, but there shall be destruction wherewith the Lord will strike all nations that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 19 This shall be the sin of Egypt, and this the sin of all nations, that will not go up to keep the feast of tabernacles. 20 In that day that which is upon the bridle of the horse shall be holy to the Lord: and the caldrons in the house of the Lord shall be as the phials before the altar.

21 And every caldron in Jerusalem and Juda shall be sanctified to the Lord of hosts: and all that sacrifice shall come, and take of them, and shall seethe in them: and the merchant shall be no more in the house of the Lord of hosts in that day.

[16] "They that shall be left": That is, many of them that persecuted the church shall be converted to its faith and communion.-

Zechariah makes the point of the broken covenant clear when he broke his two staffs

Zechariah is a clear and consistent prophet of the FIRST ADVENT

Look at Zechariah 13:7 Jesus said to them, 'You will all fall away; for it is written, "I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered"'

So Zechariah 13:7 was undeniably fulfilled in the first advent.

The whole of Chapter 11 is specifically to Christ's first advent.

Zechariah is a prophecy written in the 6th century BC about the promised coming of the Messiah - which was fulfilled in Christ's FIRST coming

Zechariah makes it clear that the Kingdom will be established in the first advent.

This is in 9:9 See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. 10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the warhorses from Jerusalem, and the battle bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River[b] to the ends of the earth.. -->

This is the creation of the NEW Covenant. Christ sets up His Kingdom at His first advent.

All of this is recapitulated in chapters 12 to 14

12:3 "all the nations of the earth will come together against Jerusalem" - this is what happened in 67 AD. His army was made up of soldiers from each of the ten provinces of the empire and even contained mercenaries from outside the empire

12:6 is talking about the Roman subjugation of the rest of Judea before the siege of Jerusalem

Look at Zechariah 12:10 They will look on[b] me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son -- This was clearly about the FIRST advent of Christ

Zechariah 13 talks of "living waters" - exactly as Jesus used the symbol

Now look at Zechariah 14:16-19 ... to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles

Now the feast of the Tabernacle was held on the FIRST day of the week - see Leviticus 23:33-36 36 For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. - i.e a Sunday

Zechariah 14 then refutes the Seventh Day Advenstists and Jehovah's witnesses

and look at the final verse - Zech 14:21 And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite[c] in the house of the Lord Almighty. - no more gentile-Jewish separataion.

[thepoodlebites]

Nearly all historians agree with the 4 BC date. Only W.E. Filmer argued for 1 BC. And Timothy D Barnes refuted Filmer.
—
The 1 b.c. date makes more sense because the total lunar eclipse of Jan. 10 was much more notable over Jerusalem than that of 4 b.c.
The 1 b.c. date places the birth of Christ on June 17, 2 b.c., when Venus and Jupiter merged in the sky (in Leo), the only time that has occurred in recorded history.
Jesus would have been a toddler on Dec. 25, 2 b.c., when the astronomers from the East visited him and did not return to Herod.
On the night Friday, April 3, 33 a.d., the moon rose engulfed in a total lunar eclipse again over Jerusalem (a blood moon, in Virgo), indicating a full life led with a sacrifice.

[Cronos]

Gaius Caesar, Augustus’ adopted son and heir was present in Rome and participated as a member of his father’s consilium at the time when, following the death of Herod, Archelaus and Atnipas travelled to Rome to appeal their rival claims to the throne of Judea (refer to Anthologies xvii 9.5)

Gaius departed Rome in 2 BC and spent the next several years travelling in the east. therefore, Herod could not have died in 1 BC.

Regarding your point about the lunar eclipse - it would make sense to look at the evidence provided by the Megillot Ta’anit, a Jewish list of days on which, by reason of notable events associated with them, the Jews were not allowed to fast. The list was complied shortly before the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, and the reason for the holiday is given in every case but two. S. Zeitlin explains that “undoubtedly the chronicler’s silence in these instances is due to their being recently instituted holidays pro tempore. The incidents being well know to all, it was not necessary to add any explanations.”

ccording to Jewish tradition these holidays, which fell on 7 Kislev and 2 Shebat, commemorated the death of Herod and the death of Jannai, both kings who had died within recent memory and whom the Jews hated.

Now 7 Kislev, which the Jewish commentator actually preferred to associate with Herod, fell earlier in the year than any of the above three lunar eclipses, and for this reason it must be ruled out. But 2 Shebat, although it fell before the eclipse in 4 B.C., occurred fifteen days after eclipse in 1 B.C. In view of the serious deterioration of Herod’s health which Josephus says set in immediately after the eclipse, it does not seem likely that he could have lived much longer than the fortnight that this allows.

[thepoodlebites]

ealgeone - grumpa is mocking the pre-tribulation rapture philosophy which has 2 second comings - the first to rapture away and the second to come again.
—
What about those who are post-trib? They believe that Jesus will return near the end of the Great Tribulation. Personally, I believe after the seventh trumpet, before the seven bowls of wrath. The bowls will go quickly. Remember the parable of the wheat and tares? The saints will be in heaven as observers when Jesus and his angels deliver judgments upon the Earth, to the Antichrist, False Prophet, the Dragon and to those who have the Mark of the Beast.
Jesus will return with his angels and everybody will see him in the sky, near the end of the Tribulation. The dead in Christ will be raised, then those who are alive in Christ will be translated (two will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left). The wheat and the tares will be harvested together. The saints will witness God’s judgment but not participate. They will be dressed in white, awaiting the great banquet as the bride of Christ.

Mark 13:20
If the Lord had not cut short those days, nobody would be saved. But for the sake of the elect, whom He has chosen, He has cut them short.

Mark 13:26,27
At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And He will send out the angels to gather His elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of heaven.

Rev. 11:15
The kingdoms of the world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign forever and ever.

Rev. 7:14
These are the ones who have come out of the Great Tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

[thepoodlebites]

Your knowledge of your documented histories, recorded by human hands that are flawed, seem to be used more to distract than to persuade. I would like to follow your argument but it is difficult when you do not provide the relevant reference, Anthologies xvii 9.5?, for example. Or you try to intimidate me by asking, have I read this or that? Next, will you be asking me for my credentials?
I perceive that you are engaging in circular reasoning, assuming that Josephus was entirely accurate in his assessments and then introducing Anthologies, assuming that these writings represent the truth, told by the conquerors, their associates or captives?
My argument is based on an understanding of the Bible and astronomy, and an intermediate understanding of history. You have a thorough understanding of your histories but I should not have to read two or three historical books to follow what you are trying to say. I’m not requiring you to read a book on celestial mechanics or a history of ancient astronomical observations and their interpretations. Wasn’t Cronus the god of time? Or was it Cronos or maybe Kronos? Wasn’t Chaos the first god? Or was it Apophis? Or was that an asteroid? Hmm.

[Seven_0]

What about those who are post-trib? They believe that Jesus will return near the end of the Great Tribulation. Personally, I believe after the seventh trumpet, before the seven bowls of wrath. The bowls will go quickly.

I think the seventh trumpet is the second coming. I don’t see how the 42 months given to the beast in Revelation 13 could happen after Christ tales the reigns of power in Revelation 11.

[thepoodlebites]

the Great Tribulation. Personally, I believe after the seventh trumpet, before the seven bowls of wrath. The bowls will go quickly.

I think the seventh trumpet is the second coming. I don’t see how the 42 months given to the beast in Revelation 13 could happen after Christ tales the reigns of power in Revelation 11.
—
After careful study I have concluded the same. The rapture of the saints and the second coming of Christ are nearly simultaneous.

I Cor. 15:51-53
Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must be clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

I Thes. 4:16,18
For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.

Rev. 11:15
And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.

[Seven_0]

Where do you put Revelation 13 on the timeline? Notice that the seventh trumpet begins with a transfer of power and ends with the judgment of the dead. I think there are parallel timelines. (Rev 10:11)

[thepoodlebites]

Where do you put Revelation 13 on the timeline? Notice that the seventh trumpet begins with a transfer of power and ends with the judgment of the dead. I think there are parallel timelines. (Rev 10:11)
—
Good question. Think of Isaiah, where the prophesies are out of order chronologically. The same with Revelation. Rev. 13, the rise of the two beasts, comes before the seventh trumpet. Rev. 12 is in progress right now, a second war in heaven where the dragon will lose and get kicked out of the second heaven, then confined to the Earth. We have had precursors to the first four seals (coronavirus, Ukraine, Gaza) but they are reflections of things to come. It’s notable that all colors of the first four seals are represented on the Palestinian flag (white, red, black and pale green).
The seals and trumpets seem to have a parallel structure, where the sixth seal and the first four trumpets are linked together (several natural disasters, earthquakes, super-volcano, solar event, comet/asteroid impact) w/ a human component (limited thermonuclear war).
It’s interesting that the fifth trumpet are locusts from the pit that are the size of horses (Nephilim)? This occurs after Rev. 12 has completed. Satan is now confined to the Earth. He knows that his time is short. The locusts are commanded not to attack those with the seal of God on their foreheads (all who have not accepted the Mark). This implies that the locusts will attack only those with the Mark of the Beast. Therefor, the rapture of the saints has not occurred yet.
The seventh trumpet is sounded after the two witnesses are resurrected from the dead and rise up the God. This is a clear indication of the rapture and explains the mystery of the seventh trumpet delayed in the Book of Revelation. The two witnesses are the first to be raptured, then all of the saints, both living and dead will follow them. The two witnesses may be Old Testament saints or two that come out of the Great Tribulation, anointed with the power of both Elijah and John the Baptist.

Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:11

[thepoodlebites]

The Transfiguration on the Mount of Olives was the only time Jesus revealed his deity before the Resurrection.

Raising Lazurus from the dead must have revealed SOMETHING...
—
Jesus did not shine like the Sun when he brought Lazarus back from the dead, did he? Through faith in the Father, Jesus performed all of the miracles, many were not recorded in the scriptures. The greatest miracle of all was his suffering on the cross, a great mystery of the Passion of Christ. Then he delivered the saints from their captivity and brought paradise into heaven. Finally, he sent the Holy Spirit to live in us until he returns to take us home, another Great Mystery, Christ in us, the hope of glory. If the princes of this world had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

[thepoodlebites]

Gaius Caesar, Augustus’ adopted son and heir was present in Rome and participated as a member of his father’s consilium at the time when, following the death of Herod, Archelaus and Atnipas travelled to Rome to appeal their rival claims to the throne of Judea (refer to Anthologies xvii 9.5)

Gaius departed Rome in 2 BC and spent the next several years travelling in the east. therefore, Herod could not have died in 1 BC.
—
I normally don’t use Wikipedia as a reference but in this case I will make an exception. “Following the death of King Herod of Judaea in 4 BC,[25] his sons Antipas and Archelaus both came to Rome with their own copy of Herod’s will to plead their case as to why they each deserved to inherit their father’s kingdom.” [1] But reference 25 clearly indicates that the year of Herod’s death (4 BC) is in dispute from other scholars.

25. The death of Herod was on 1 January BC according to some scholars. See Andrew Steinmann, From Abraham to Paul: A Biblical Chronology. (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Pub. House, 2011), Print. pp. 219-256. W.E. Filmer, “The Chronology of the Reign of Herod the Great”. The Journal of Theological Studies, 1966. 17(2): p. 283-298. Finegan, Jack. Handbook of Biblical Chronology: Principles of Time Reckoning in the Ancient World and Problems of Chronology in the Bible. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998, 2015. pp. 238-279.

Poor Gaius and his brother Lucius were doomed from the moment Augustus adopted them into the family. It seems that Livia was intent on murdering the entire family to ensure that her son Tiberius would ascend to the throne. Rumors abounded that Livia was an expert at administering poison, even poisoning her teacher with mushrooms?! Augustus was careful to pick figs from a tree but Livia outsmarted him by poisoning the figs while they were still attached. But Wikipedia gives her a pass in this, er, introductory guide to history, still an interesting read. [2]

“Let all the poison that lurks in the mud, hatch out.” Robert Graves, I Claudius

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaius_Caesar
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Livia