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Zealot defending force at Masada
numbered 960, including women
and children. The besieging Ro–
man army, encamped at the foot
of t he mountai n, s lood al a
slrength of 15,000.
Month after month the siege
wore on. Fina lly the Romans,
using siege machines and fi re,
succeeded in making a breach in
the wall. The end was al last in
sight.
No hope of victory or escape
remained for the Zealots. Only
two alternatives stood before the
defenders- surrender or death.
At the base of the giant rock
fortress the Tenth Roman Legion
prepared to overrun the strong–
hold and capture the Zealots at
the first sight of dawn. But atop
the mountain , plans were being
made that were to result in a
much different conclusion to the
drama.
Eleazar ben J air called the
people together.
" It
is very plain
that we shall be taken within a
day's time," he observed . In a
heart-fel t , impassioned speech, he
declared that "it is by the will of
God, and by necessity, that we
are to die: for it now appears that
God hath made such a decree
against t he whole Jewish na–
tion.... "
Eleazar' s plan was then laid
out: " Let our wives die before
they are abused and our chi ldren
before they have tasted of slavery;
and after we have slain them, Jet
us bestow that glorious benefi t
upon one another mutual ly and
preserve ourselves in freedom as
an excellent funeral monument
for us."
So on that fatefu l night in the
spring of A.D. 73 ( 15 Nisan 3833
on the Hebrew calendar) the
defenders of Masada carried out
their plan to " die bravely, and in
a state of freedom." After killing
thei r families, the men of Masada
chose
lO
from among themselves
to execute the others. The 1
O
then casl lots to determine who
would kili the other nine, and
after that himself. T his fi nal man
set fire to the palace and then
d rove a sword through his body.
24
The bloody story of the lasl day of
Masada is known from lhe accounts
of lwo surviving women and five
children who had hid in a water
conduit during the mass suicides.
lt
was recorded at the time by the firsl
century Jewish historian Flavius
Josephus in his monumental work,
Wars ofthe Jews.
"Now for the Romans," J ose–
phus concluded, " they expecled
that they should be foughl in the
morning , when accordingly lhey
put on their armor ... to make an
assault upon the fortress, which
they d id; but saw nobody as an
enemy, but a ter rible solitude on
every side .. . as well as a perfect
silence."
In the centuries since the mass–
suicide at Masada, the fortress
has become a symbol of Jewish
national heroism. ls rael i archaeol–
ogist Yigael Yadin, who exca–
vated the site in 1963-65, noted :
"Masada represents for all of
us in Israel ... a symbol of cour–
age, a monument to our greal
national figures, heroes who
chose death over a life of physical
and moral serfdom."
Many lsraelis today see their
nation as a
Jarge-scale Masada ,
a
nation under siege, threatened by
hostile neighbors and other for–
eign powers.
As we shall see, this analogy
may prove to be more accurate
tban many today realize!
Modern-day "House of Judah"
Consider, first, the current Jew–
ish state in Palestine.
l n 1948, the present-day state
of Israel was forged as a J ewish
national homeland. T his end-time
physical restoration of the Jews as
a nation was prophesied ancienl–
ly- and carne to pass justas fore–
to1d.
But understand this: the pres–
enl Jewish state in Palestine is
not
the triumphant final return of
the
entire
12-tr ibed nat ion of
Israel in peace and security, men–
tioned so often by the Old T esta–
ment prophets! Today's state of
Israel is a
human
effort, born of
strife and war. Moreover, the vast
majority even of the House of
Judah
have not yet returned
to
the Holy Land!
The Israelis in Palestine today
are only a
part
of the "House of
Judah"-modern descendants of
the ancient tribe of J udah, along
with elements of the tribes of
Benjamin and Levi.
The 1
O
remaining t r ibes of
Is rael - the " House of Is rael ,"
often referred toas the 'Ten Lost
T ribes"- are still dispersed in
varióus parts of the world! Her–
bert W. Armstrong 's book
The
United States and Britain in
Prophecy
reveals that among the
modern descendants of these
" lost" tri bes are the U nited
S tates and the British peoples!
Only
after
the return of the
Messiah will
al/
Israel be rega–
thered and brought back to the
Promised Land.
But what is to become of the
present-day state of Israel? Bible
prophecy reveals the answer!
Revived Roman Emplre
As we examine these prophecies,
not ice the amazing paral lels be–
tween the episode at Masada and
events that lie just ahead.
From the standpoint of the
present time and the present
world , the tangled Arab- l sraeli
situation appears increasing1y to
be a n
unso lvable
problem .
Though compromise has played
and may continue to play a role in
resolving certain aspects of the
di lemma, the gulf between the
two sides on
basic root issues
remains wide and deep.
There wi ll continue to be out–
breaks of s trife between Israel
and her Arab neighbors. Howev–
er, the Bible reveals that t he
major
mi litary th reat to th e
region will come from a different
source altogether!
Bible prophecy reveals that the
years just ahead will see a
rebirth
of the ancient Roman Empire in
Europe! An end-time confedera–
tion of 1
O
nations or groups of
nations will emerge in Europe,
headed by a superd ictator known
in Bible language as the " Beast"
(Revelation 17).
Many prophecies foretell that
The
PLAIN TRUTH