Josephus Lists the 10 Horns Who Received Authority for “One Hour” (Revelation 17:12)


In the past I’ve echoed the view of other preterist teachers that the 10 horns of the beast in Revelation 17 were the leaders of Rome’s 10 Senatorial Provinces. Recently, however, I learned that there were never 10 Roman provinces involved in the Jewish-Roman War (66-73 AD). Only four legions joined forces with Titus in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD (Wars 5.1.6), and therefore could not have been the 10 horns that burned the harlot (old covenant Jerusalem) with fire (Revelation 17:16). 

This was one of the factors that caused me to rethink this section of John’s prophecy. Then I was surprised to discover that Josephus listed exactly 10 high priests and religious leaders in Israel who were given authority as generals in December 66 AD or January 67 AD. I would like to propose that they fulfilled the prophecy given to John by the angel in Rev. 17:12-14. This would mean, of course, that the beast in Revelation 17 was Jewish, not Roman.

The 10 Horns of Revelation 17:12-14

In this post we will focus on the 10 horns/kings who did not yet have authority when John wrote his book, but who would soon “receive authority for one hour as kings” with the scarlet beast. Here is how these three verses read:

And the ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast. These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful” (Revelation 17:12-14).

Before we look at what Josephus wrote in War of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 20, here’s some important historical background which can be found in the works of Josephus (e.g. Wars 2.20.1) and Roman historians like Suetonius (The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian 4), Tacitus (The Histories V), and Dio Cassius:

Spring 66 AD

Cestius Gallus was a general in the Roman army and the Governor of the Roman province of Syria, who played a major role at the beginning of the Jewish-Roman War (66-73 AD).  In the spring of 66 AD he visited Jerusalem during the Passover and brought a report to Nero on the strength and status of Jerusalem. On Passover 256,500 sacrifices were made, so based on estimates of how many individuals were fed by each lamb Gallus reported that 2.7 million were present for the feast.

Summer 66 AD

During the summer of 66 AD a group of Jewish zealots and revolutionaries, who were opposed to Rome, took control of the Jerusalem temple. Josephus says that the Jewish/Roman War officially began in August 66 AD when Eleazar, the son of Ananias the high priest, “who was at that time governor of the Temple, persuaded those that officiated in the divine service to receive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner.” They used this new law to reject “the sacrifice of Caesar” (Wars 2.17.2). They also massacred a Roman garrison stationed at the Antonia Fortress on the east side of Jerusalem (Wars 2.17.7).

November 66 AD

In November 66 AD Cestius Gallus brought the 12th Legion to put down the Jewish rebellion. He plundered and burned the city of Zebulon in Galilee, then moved south to surround Jerusalem. He arrived when most of Judea was gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles. Surprisingly, his army suffered about 5,700 deaths, his weapons and supplies were stolen during an ambush, they retreated from Jerusalem on November 22nd, and hundreds were chased and killed by Jewish rebels over the next five days. This gave many Jews confidence that they could overcome any Roman army, believing heaven was with them. 

Source: http://josephus.org/warChronology2.htm

Josephus Lists 10 Newly Appointed Jewish Generals 

The following information is taken from Josephus’ War of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 20:

The Jewish religious leaders and nationalists knew that a full-scale Roman revenge was inevitable. (Indeed Nero officially declared war against Israel in February 67 AD, sending Vespasian as his general. See Revelation 6:1-2.) So these Jewish leaders “got together in great numbers in the temple, and appointed a great many generals for the war” (Wars 2.20.3). As Josephus reveals, exactly 10 generals were appointed and some of them were high priests (this is from sections 3-4 of Wars 2.20):

3. But as to those who had pursued after Cestius, when they were returned back to Jerusalem, they overbore some of those that favored the Romans by violence, and some them persuaded [by en-treaties] to join with them, and got together in great numbers in the temple, and appointed a great many generals for the war. Joseph also, the son of Gorion, and Ananus the high priest, were chosen as governors of all affairs within the city, and with a particular charge to repair the walls of the city; for they did not ordain Eleazar the son of Simon to that office, although he had gotten into his possession the prey they had taken from the Romans, and the money they had taken from Cestius, together with a great part of the public treasures, because they saw he was of a tyrannical temper, and that his followers were, in their behavior, like guards about him. However, the want they were in of Eleazar’s money, and the subtle tricks used by him, brought all so about, that the people were circumvented, and submitted themselves to his authority in all public affairs.

4. They also chose other generals for Idumea; Jesus, the son of Sapphias, one of the high priests; and Eleazar, the son of Ananias, the high priest; they also enjoined Niger, the then governor of Idumea, who was of a family that belonged to Perea, beyond Jordan, and was thence called the Peraite, that he should be obedient to those fore-named commanders. Nor did they neglect the care of other parts of the country; but Joseph the son of Simon was sent as general to Jericho, as was Manasseh to Perea, and John, the Esscue, to the toparchy of Thamna; Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus. But John, the son of Matthias, was made governor of the toparchies of Gophnitica and Acrabattene; as was Josephus, the son of Matthias, of both the Galilees. Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those parts, was put under his command.

Here’s a list of these 10 generals and the territories they were to oversee in preparation for war with Rome:

1. Joseph, the son of Gorion (Governor of Jerusalem)
2. Ananus, the high priest (Governor of Jerusalem)
3. Jesus, the son of Sapphias, one of the high priests (Idumaea)
4. Eleazar, the son of Ananias, the high priest (Idumaea)
5. Niger, the then governor of Idumea (Idumaea)
6. Joseph, the son of Simon (Jericho)
7. Manasseh (Perea)
8. John, the Esscue (toparchy of Thamna; “Lydda was also added to his portion, and Joppa, and Emmaus”)
9. John, the son of Matthias (toparchies of Gophnitica and Acrabattene)
10. Josephus, the son of Matthias (both the Galilees; “Gamala also, which was the strongest city in those parts, was put under his command”)

They Receive Authority for One Hour

We read in Revelation 17:12 that the 10 horns had “received no kingdom as yet.” This was true at the time when John wrote Revelation. Before the winter of 66-67 AD these generals didn’t oversee Jerusalem, Idumaea, Jericho, Perea, etc. They received these kingdoms and this authority around the beginning of 67 AD after the defeat of Cestius Gallus.

Rev. 17:12-13 goes on to say that they receive authority for one hour as kings with the beast. These are of one mind, and they will give their power and authority to the beast.” The phrase “one hour” is used again three times in Revelation 18, each time to describe the judgment of the great city, the harlot, Babylon the great:

And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived luxuriously with her will weep and lament for her, when they see the smoke of her burning, standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, ‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come‘” (Rev. 18:9-10).

For in one hour such great riches came to nothing…” (Rev. 18:17).

“…For in one hour she is made desolate” (Rev. 18:19).

We know that “the great city” was first identified in Revelation 11:8 as Jerusalem, “where also our Lord was crucified.” We also know that both Daniel and Revelation frame this time of judgment as 3.5 years, repeatedly using terms like “42 months”, “1260 days,” and “a time, times, and half a time.” During this time Israel experienced seven seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments. It was 3.5 years from the time that Nero declared war on Jerusalem in February 67 AD until the city and its temple were destroyed and burned in August 70 AD. This is also how long the ten kings, the generals listed by Josephus, kept their authority. So it seems that in Revelation 17:12; 18:10, 17, 19, “one hour” = 3.5 years.

These Will Make War with the Lamb

In Revelation 17:14 we read, “These will make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for He is Lord or lords and King of kings; and those who are with Him are called, chosen, and faithful.”

Jesus made war against the harlot/great city and He used the Roman army as His instrument. Probably the clearest indication of this fact can be seen in The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1-14). When the king (God) arranged a marriage for his son (Jesus), those who were invited refused to come, and some even mistreated and killed the king’s servants. Jesus went on to say, “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city” (verse 7). We also know that Jesus promised to come in judgment within the lifetime of His disciples, and in their own generation (Matthew 16:27-28, I Thessalonians 2:14-16, II Thessalonians 1:6-8, James 5:8-9, Revelation 22:12, etc.).

So when these 10 generals (high priests among them) attempted to defeat the Romans and maintain Jerusalem as the center of the old covenant system which Jesus had already made obsolete (Hebrews 8:6, 13, etc.), this was nothing less than war against Jesus Himself. There’s evidence that they even knew this and warred against Jesus intentionally, as they called to mind His predictions that Jerusalem would be destroyed in that generation.

When Jesus said, “the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it…on whomever [this stone] falls, it will grind him to powder” (Matthew 21:43-44), the chief priests and Pharisees knew He was speaking of them (verse 45).

When James, the brother of Jesus, was martyred in 62 AD with the approval of the high priest, Ananus, these were James’ last words: “Why do ye ask me concerning Jesus, the Son of Man? He himself sitteth in heaven at the right hand of the great Power, and is about to come upon the clouds of heaven.” The Pharisees responded, “We have done badly in supplying such testimony to Jesus.”

In 70 AD, during the 5-month siege on Jerusalem which ultimately caused its downfall, the 10th Legion of the Romans launched white boulders as heavy as 100 pounds over the city walls into Jerusalem (see Revelation 16:21). They were catapulted from Roman engines from up to a quarter mile away. Josephus records that the watchmen on the wall, if they saw them coming, would shout, “The Son cometh!” After a while the Romans learned to blacken the stones so that they couldn’t as easily be detected, and then many were crushed by these stones.  J. Stuart Russell, in his 1878 book, The Parousia, offered this explanation (p. 482):

“It could not but be well known to the Jews that the great hope and faith of the Christians was the speedy coming of the Son. It was about this very time, according to Hegesippus [110-180 AD], that St. James, the brother of our Lord, publicly testified in the temple that ‘the Son of man was about to come in the clouds of heaven,’ and then sealed his testimony with his blood. It seems highly probable that the Jews, in their defiant and desperate blasphemy, when they saw the white mass hurtling though the air, raised the ribald cry, ‘The Son is coming,’ in mockery of the Christian hope of the Parousia.”

And the Lamb Will Overcome Them

These 10 generals, the 10 horns, were of one mind. They thought they could use their own power and authority to prevent Jesus’ predictions from coming true. They thought they could maintain power over the great temple and their prosperous old covenant system. Of course, they failed and all of them perished or were captured. The words of God were fulfilled (Revelation 17:17). They made war with the Lamb, but the Lamb overcame. Just as it was true then, it’s still true now: In every generation, we who are with the Lamb are “called, chosen, and faithful.”

The 10 Horns Turned on the Harlot

Revelation 17:16 says, “And the ten horns which you saw on the beast, these will hate the harlot, make her desolate and naked, eat her flesh and burn her with fire.”

Previously I thought that this verse couldn’t possibly describe the actions of the Jews, and that it must be about the Romans only. However, we can take note that Josephus described the various Jewish groups fighting among themselves from 67-70 AD, and that he blamed them for Jerusalem’s destruction. For example, Josephus likened the situation in Jerusalem to a wild beast gone mad and eating its own flesh (Wars 5.1.1, 5):

“…it so happened that the sedition at Jerusalem was revived, and parted into three factions, and that one faction fought against the other; which partition in such evil cases may be said to be a good thing, and the effect of Divine justice. Now as to the attack the zealots made upon the people, and which I esteem the beginning of the city’s destruction, it hath been already explained after an accurate manner; as also whence it arose, and to how great a mischief it was increased. But for the present sedition, one should not mistake if he called it a sedition begotten by another sedition, and to be like a wild beast grown mad, which, for want of food from abroad, fell now upon eating its own flesh… And now, as the city was engaged in a war on all sides, from these treacherous crowds of wicked men, the people of the city, between them, were like a great body torn in pieces.”

Josephus, in another place (Wars 4.3.10) said that the Romans would treat the Jews with “much greater moderation” than the Jews were treating themselves:

“[T]hough we should be taken by them [the Romans] (God forbid the event should be so!), yet can we undergo nothing that will be harder to be borne than what these [Jewish] men have already brought upon us….Besides, can any one be afraid of a war abroad, and that with such as will have comparatively much greater moderation than our own people have? For truly, if we may suit our words to the things they represent, it is probable one may hereafter find the Romans to be the supporters of our laws, and those within ourselves the subverters of them.”

It was also one of the Jewish leaders who destroyed the food supply during the siege, making the famine conditions much worse. So I tend to think that this insane, self-defeating behavior is what is described in Rev. 17:16. This will be explored further in an upcoming series on the beast of Revelation, including how the Jews had a significant hand in causing the temple and their city to be burned.

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What are your thoughts about this view of the 10 horns?

27 thoughts on “Josephus Lists the 10 Horns Who Received Authority for “One Hour” (Revelation 17:12)

  1. […] Here’s some important historical background which shows why these generals were appointed at that time. This information can be found in the works of Josephus (e.g. Wars 2.20.1) and Roman historians like Suetonius (The Twelve Caesars, Vespasian 4), Tacitus (The Histories V), and Dio Cassius. (This is abbreviated; a longer version can be seen in this post.) […]

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    • Hi Patrick. It’s great to hear from you. Yes, I definitely believe it does point to the high priest being the man of sin, or at least to one of the religious leaders in Israel. I know I have a post on II Thessalonians 2 from a few years back where I suggested that Nero was the man of sin. More than one reader suggested that it was actually John Levi, or one of his Jewish contemporaries, who was that man of sin, and they gave supporting arguments. They convinced me on that point, and eventually I do plan to either revise that post accordingly or create a new one.

      By the way, just a few minutes ago I updated this post (“Josephus Lists the 10 Horns…) with some commentary on Revelation 17:16, where the 10 horns are said to turn on the harlot, hate her, and make her desolate, etc.

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  2. Hi Adam,

    It looks as if the Scarlet Beast’s 10 horns and the 10 generals appointed at Jerusalem in AD 67 are an identical match of fingerprints. I remember just recently reading through this very passage that you brought out from Josephus, where Ananus was appointed as one of the governors of Jerusalem; but I never stopped to actually count those generals and see that there were exactly 10 of them. It connects perfectly. Brilliant.

    Do you think that these 10 governors/generals/horns also apply to the Zech. 12:5-6 prophecy about the “governors/captains of thousands of Juda”? The longer I stare at that Zech. 12:1-9 passage (especially in the LXX version), the more closely it resembles the breakdown of events from AD 66-70. Do you suppose the Jews of AD 66 during the Feast of Tabernacles were remembering these verses such as Zech. 12:7, where it predicted that God would “save the TABERNACLES, or tents, of Juda, as at the beginning”? I can just imagine that the temporarily victorious Jews, after routing Cestius Gallus and his troops at the Beth-horon pass in AD 66,
    were connecting that unexpected triumph with the victory at Beth-horon in the beginning, back in Joshua’s day (Josh. 10:8-14), when the sun stood still for Joshua, and “the Lord fought for Israel”. As you pointed out, “they believed heaven was with them”.

    This would truly be a “strong delusion” that they would believe a lie that God was on their side, when in reality, all God was doing was giving them enough rope to hang themselves. I guess the war materiel plundered from Cestius Gallus and his 12th Legion was more than enough to encourage their resolve to fight the Romans.

    I can understand their delusion after studying some of those Zech 12:1-9 promises. On the one hand, God would “smite the horses of the nations with blindness”, but in contrast, He would “open His eyes upon the house of Juda” with His favor. It’s the only explanation for Cestius Gallus failing to take the military offensive when the city was ripe for the plucking. He had Jerusalem in the palm of his hand, and could have taken Jerusalem within the week. It was only due to God “smiting every horse (of the nations) with amazement, and his rider with madness” that Gallus did not press forward with the clear advantage that he had to begin with. As Josephus mentions, there was no reason in the world for Gallus’ withdrawal from the city at that time. It was suicidal.

    After the totally unexpected victory by the Jews against Gallus and the 12th Legion, as Zech. 12:6b (LXX) says, “Jerusalem shall dwell again by herself, even in Jerusalem”. Anytime this phrase is used in the OT where Israel is “dwelling by herself”, it is a picture of a placid, prosperous state for the nation, with no disturbing outside enemy presence to molest them. It was “peace and safety” after the trouncing of the 12th Legion (I Thess. 5:3). But only temporarily.

    Unfortunately, after this time of oh-so-temporary peace for the inhabitants of Jerusalem (those few days while the Jews were out chasing the 12th Legion, which gave the Christians the chance to flee the city for Pella), the cancer within the city due to her own leaders eventually turning on each other and the city was the primary cause for her undoing. It was not so much due to an external enemy. This is why I believe those passages that describe a time when “every man’s sword shall be against his BROTHER” in Ez. 38:21 are speaking of this aspect of civil warfare conditions for Jerusalem.

    Civil war for Judea and Jerusalem at the close of the AD 70 era is also prophesied in Haggai 2:22. At the time when God “shakes the heavens and the earth” (just as in Heb. 12:26-27) and “overthrows the throne of kingdoms” (as the stone in Daniel 2:44 strikes the image’s feet and 10 toes and breaks all four kingdoms to pieces), God promises to overthrow the horses and their riders by bringing every one down “by the sword of his BROTHER” in Haggai 2:22. It’s the part of the Gog/Magog war in the AD 70 era in Judea and Jerusalem, no doubt in my mind. Truly, “A kingdom divided against itself cannot stand.”

    I look forward to seeing your next post, Adam, where you say you will look more closely into the internal warfare when the 10 horns turned on the harlot.

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    • Hi Patricia,

      Thank you for your response and your insights/questions. I never thought about Zechariah 12 being a description of what happened with Cestius Gallus, but that’s a real possibility. It does seem to fit. I’ll keep that in mind and plan to look into it further.

      My follow-up post to this one probably won’t be the very next one I post, but it’ll be coming up. There are several things I want to study first, so I’m not sure when I’ll have it ready. In the meantime, I came across a couple of quotes from Josephus where he says that the flames of the temple were “occasioned” by the Jews themselves, even though it was one Roman soldier who took a piece of material that was already burning in the inner court of the temple and used it to set fire to “the Holy House”:

      [1] “These men, therefore, trampled upon all the laws of man, and laughed at the Laws of God; and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as the tricks of jugglers. Yet did these prophets foretell many things concerning virtue and vice, by the transgression of which these Zealots occasioned the fulfilling of those very prophecies belonging to their country.

      For there was a certain ancient oracle of those men, that the city should then be taken and the sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should invade the Jews and their own hands should pollute the Temple of God. Now, while these Zealots did not disbelieve these predictions, they made themselves the instruments of their accomplishment” (Wars 4.6.3).

      [2] “So Titus retired into the tower of Antonia, and resolved to storm the Temple the next day, early in the morning, with his whole army, and to encamp round about the Holy House; but, as for that House, God had for certain long ago doomed it to the fire; and now that fatal day was come, according to the revolution of the ages: it was the tenth day of the month Lous, [Av,] upon which it was formerly burnt by the king of Babylon; although these flames took their rise from the Jews themselves, and were occasioned by them; for upon Titus’s retiring, the seditious lay still for a little while, and then attacked the Romans again, when those that guarded the Holy House fought with those that quenched the fire that was burning in the inner court of the Temple; but these Romans put the Jews to flight, and proceeded as far as the Holy House itself.

      At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the Holy House, on the north side of it. As the flames went upward the Jews made a great clamour, such as so mighty an affliction required, and ran together to prevent it; and now they spared not their lives any longer, nor suffered anything to restrain their force, since that Holy House was perishing, for whose sake it was that they kept such a guard upon it” (Wars 6.4.5).

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  3. Utterly fantastic my brother in Christ. The long held belief was that this was Rome, regarding the Roman Empire. However, though some of the Scriptures in fact do relate to Rome, Rome being the Beast, the majority does in fact pertain to Jerusalem. Though with much prayer to God the Father in the name of Jesus, I have been given revelation and understanding, albeit, little by little and as God sees fit to fill me with, there still remained much that eluded me. This being so. I must tell you that you have confirmed to me what I have been praying for, more revelation and understanding regarding this Book, the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. There is no doubt that this fits the destruction of Jerusalem of that fateful time of 70AD. I never read any of Josephus’ work. I am now anxious to look into him now. You have brought light and confirmation that has excited me tremendously! Now, Chapter 18:21-24 does indeed pertain to Jerusalem, it’s fall, destruction and desolation to never again be found anymore. Therefore, Israel today is foolishness to those that think there is any Biblical relation to prophecy depicting this future event. As we can see, there really isn’t any Jerusalem free of outside control unlike those days of old, plus there isn’t a temple which will never be. Jesus is the temple and each individual born again spirit filled child of God is the temple which fits the Scripture of Christ abiding in us and we in Christ! Thank you my brother in Christ!

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    • You’re welcome! Thank you for your encouraging words, and I’m glad that you’ve found this study to be a great blessing. The works of Josephus are worth reading, and I know there is more in his writings that I have to discover as well. Amen to your thoughts on Jesus and His followers being God’s temple. I’m rethinking and re-studying the beast from the sea, and I plan to post studies on this topic in the coming weeks.

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  4. I read the article that you posted in the brexit article where gary demar I read the comment’s and there was a lady where she said that the brexit event that happened will usher the coming of the antichrist are you able to make a article talking about the antichrist and brexit.

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    • Hi Javier,

      I believe the comment made by that lady is misguided. I won’t post an article “about the antichrist and brexit,” because I don’t believe there is any such connection. Of course, you already saw my article on Brexit where I discussed how the prophecy about 10 horns in Revelation 17 was fulfilled in the first century AD.

      Thd term “antichrist” can only be found in two books, I John and II John. Here are the passages where this term is found: [1] I John 2:18 [2] I John 2:22 [3] I John 4:3 [4] II John 7. In these passages, John made the following points:

      [1] His readers had heard that “antichrist is coming.”
      [2] Many antichrists had come, indicating that it was the last hour (in John’s day).
      [3] Anyone who denies the Father and the Son, or that Jesus is the Christ, is “the antichrist.”
      [4] The “spirit of the antichrist” was in the world in John’s day, and was characterized as denying that Jesus is from God.
      [5] “The antichrist” is anyone who does not “confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh.” Such a person is a deceiver, and many such persons existed in John’s day.

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  5. […] Then I was surprised to discover that Josephus listed exactly 10 high priests and religious leaders in Israel who were given authority as generals in December 66 AD. Three of them were even killed by the Zealots in early 68 AD, fulfilling Daniel 7:8, 20, 24. Here’s a quick summary of what led up to the selection of those 10 generals. (More details can be seen in this article.) […]

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  6. […] In a post I wrote in July 2016 I proposed that the 10 horns were the 10 Jewish generals who were given authority in December 66 AD. After the Jews defeated Cestius Gallus in November 66 AD, these generals were chosen to lead Israel in preparing for the inevitable war with Rome. In Wars 2.20.3-4 Josephus lists 10 generals and the territories they were to oversee in preparation for war with Rome: […]

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  7. https://polldaddy.com/js/rating/rating.js[…] Затем я с удивлением обнаружил, что Иосиф перечислил ровно 10 первосвященников и религиозных лидеров в Израиле, которым в декабре 66 г. дали полномочия в качестве генералов. Три из них были даже убиты зелотами в начале 68 г., исполняя пророчество Даниила 7: 8, 20, 24. Вот краткое описание того, что привело к выбору этих 10 генералов. (Более подробную информацию можно найти в этой статье.) […]

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  8. Check this out: In the appendix of ‘The Works of Josephus’ Dissertation 3, Book 5, Chapter 1, there are listed the armies that joined with Titus ‘in their accustomed hatred against the Jews.’

    “Titus was received in Judea by Vespasian’s legions, the 5th 10th and 15th. Syria afforded Titus the 12th and Alexandria soldiers out of the 22nd and 23rd legions….King Agrippa also was there, King Sohemus, and auxiliaries of King Antiochus. And a strong body of Arabians, who, as usual in nations that are neighbors, went with their accustomed hatred against the Jews.

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  9. This view makes a lot of sense and fits well with the historical data you have brought to the table for consideration.

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  10. Obviously the man of sin is Domitian Flavian , the 8th Caesar in line from the first.

    This insane nut put his own image on every coinage of the day and enforced all to accept him as God’s son or God himself.

    The Christians were greatly persecuted at the time , and Josephus , one of the 10 Kings, was not only Christianity’s second greatest enemy to Domitian , but also the false prophet spoken of as well , whom in his betrayal of Judea , the Holy Temple was burned to the ground.

    As ruler of the 10 Kings , after changing his own name to Josephus Flavian , in tribute to Caesar , he undoubtedly persuaded the zealots to war against Christians in obedience to the Flavians.

    The arch of Titus itself is proof that the Romans took not only the ark of the covenant, but also the very holy scrolls their own selves , and corrupted them. , using Pliny the elder and Josephus Flavian as their chief scribes ….. Then attempting to wipe out all of the early Christians to prevent this truth from ever becoming known.

    This very act its own self is undoubtedly why the very Bible today, as we know it, is in an imperfect state.

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