Fall of Masada (AD 73)

05/25/14 • 62 min

After Titus dismantled Jerusalem, gathered its spoils, and dispersed its captives, he left Judea to join his father in Rome. He commissioned Bassus and Silva to capture the three remaining rebel fortresses of Herodium, Macherus, and Masada. The Roman soldiers overturned every stone of the temple building in order to get the gold and silver that had melted into the cracks, unwittingly fulfilling Jesus' prophecy that there would not be left one stone upon another (Matt 24:2). The temple vessels and furnishings were taken to Rome by Titus. Herodium and Macherus offered little resistance, but Masada fought to the bitter end. We use evidence from archaeology, Josephus, Hegesippus, and Yosippon to support the idea that the Eleazar in command of Masada was the same Eleazar b. Ananias who had started the war and held the temple during most of the war. This same evidence suggests that Eleazar was the Man of Lawlessness that Apostle Paul referred to in his second letter to the Thessalonians. Those three historians talk about how Eleazar and his forces on Masada were ultimately defeated by the breath of the Lord's mouth and forced to be slain. If you wish to have the free PDF written lesson outline for this podcast, simply email us to request it ([email protected]). Be sure to mention the date of this podcast when you contact us.

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Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70)

Vespasian was proclaimed emperor by his troops in Judea, Egypt, and Syria. He left Palestine to go to Egypt before heading to Rome. He left his son Titus in Judea to begin the siege of Jerusalem. Titus waited until the city was full of people at Passover time to begin the siege. We read a number of passages from Josephus which have parallels in the book of Revelation, such as the weight of the stones thrown by the catapults, the pestilence and famines, as well as the blood in the lakes, rivers, streets of Jerusalem, and even in the Temple. We mention the famine during the siege which forced some to eat dung, and others into cannibalism. Josephus describes the cosmological symbolism of the temple veil and all the images that were embroidered on it (the heavens and earth and sea). The Holy of Holies was the place on earth where heaven and earth connected. If you wish to have the free PDF written lesson outline for this podcast, simply email us to request it ([email protected]). Be sure to mention the date of this podcast when you contact us.

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How Eschatology Affects Our Ethics

This is the first episode of our Summer 2014 Series. You are in for a treat this summer. We will be presenting some of our best seminar presentations, and former Preterist Radio podcasts that have not yet been posted here. This session will share a message that I presented at the 2009 Evangelical Theological Society conference in New Orleans. There were several young seminary students in the audience, along with a few fellow preterists. My lesson deals with the morals and ethics that come out of our eschatological worldviews. At the end there is a brief Q&A interaction with some of the young futurist seminary students who were in the audience. This is a good podcast to share with your non-preterist friends who do not understand the ethical problems facing Futurism. If you wish to have the free PDF written lesson outline for this podcast, simply email us to request it ([email protected]). Be sure to mention the date of this podcast when you contact us.

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