32. The Slaughter of the Jews - Antony, Herod, Octavian and Judea.

32.  -Daniel Chapter 11, Verse 12.

The Slaughter of the Jews - Antony, Herod, Octavian and Judea. 

 BC 38 to 32. 

Daniel 11:12, now goes on to give us a picture of Judea and Egypt after the war with Antigonus. Verse 12:- "AND WHEN HE HATH TAKEN AWAY THE MULTITUDE HIS HEART SHALL BE LIFTED UP; AND HE SHALL CAST DOWN MANY TEN THOUSANDS; BUT HE SHALL NOT BE STRENGTHENED BY IT".

This verse is still dealing with the King of the South who has now beaten the Parthians of the north and also Antigonus, who was the King of the Southern Kingdom of Judea.

When one "takes away" something, it means to receive and accept or to lay hold of, to carry off as a prisoner, or to obtain possession of by arms etc; "Away" is a word of consuming and squander. So, both these simple words put together, gives a picture of more death of the "multitude" rather than capture.

The Emperor of the Southern lands called Mark Antony, continued the slaughter of men through Herod's ruling at times, then other times slaughtered from his own sense of pique.

From the time Antony was raised to the title of Imperator -and considered himself to be Julius Caesar's successor-, within the Triumvirate, shared with Octavian and Lepidus. The personal slaughter of men was begun like a trickling stream, until the stream became a flood during his reign. -When the 2nd Triumvirate -or- coalition was formed, the business of killing also began. First the death list of political enemies was drawn up and "proscribed", -(To be "proscribed" meant that the name of the condemned was published with the seizure of their property).

The death list drawn up was of their political enemies, which executions included 300 Senators- including the orator Cicero, a personal enemy of Antony, with 2,000 members below the Senators, etc; First they killed the men answerable for Caesar's death, they then disposed of their own personal enemies, whether real or imagined. They even went so far as to make deals with each other, when they couldn't agree upon who did what! They even traded with each other for their own relatives and friends, to put them to death. Some people were "proscribed" for death because they were friends of their enemies, or enemies of their friends. The shallowest reason was enough to be proscribed for death in Rome, at that time.

So, it was nothing for Antony to slaughter other armies of men, or even the Jews in the south lands, whether Herod was set up as a Regent for Antony to rule the Jews or not! Flavius Josephus the Jewish historian tells us of the revengeful miseries the Jews suffered. (Book XV page 444).

"AT THIS TIME HEROD, NOW HE HAD GOT JERUSALEM UNDER HIS POWER, CARRIED OFF ALL THE ROYAL ORNAMENTS, AND SPOILED THE WEALTHY MEN OF WHAT THEY HAD GOTTEN; AND WHEN, BY THESE MEANS, HE HAD HEAPED TOGETHER A GREAT QUANTITY OF SILVER OR GOLD, HE GAVE IT ALL TO ANTONY AND HIS FRIENDS THAT WERE ABOUT HIM. HE ALSO SLEW FORTY-FIVE OF THE PRINCIPAL MEN OF ANTIGNOUS'S PARTY, AND SET GUARDS AT THE GATES OF THE CITY, THAT NOTHING MIGHT BE CARRIED OUT TOGETHER WITH THEIR DEAD BODIES. THEY ALSO SEARCHED THE DEAD, AND WHATEVER WAS FOUND, EITHER OF SILVER OR GOLD, OR OTHER TREASURE, IT WAS CARRIED TO THE KING; (Antony) NOR WAS THERE ANY END OF THE MISERIES HE BROUGHT UPON THEM; AND THIS DISTRESS WAS IN PART OCCASIONED BY THE COVETOUSNESS OF THE PRINCE REGENT, (Herod) WHO WAS STILL IN WANT OF MORE, AND IN PART BY THE SABBATICAL YEAR, WHICH WAS GOING ON, AND FORCED THE COUNTRY TO BE STILL UNCULTIVATED, SINCE WE ARE FORBIDDEN TO SOW OUR LAND THAT YEAR".

Josephus tells of many stories of the slaughter of the "multitude" and the many ten thousands written in verse 12. For example, at the time of Antigonus defeat 6,000 of the enemy came down from the tops of the mountains, to fight the Romans with darts and stones, with many of the armies of Antigonus going down into the cities. Herod taking 5 of the cities slew 2,000 people there in and burning the cities, because of the "anger" Herod had for them, by reason of the slaughter of his brother. He showed no mercy upon any of the soldiers. The houses in some cities were full of men who had taken refuge within the houses and on the housetops. Herod pulled down the roofs of the houses upon the soldiers beneath, they lay in a heap and were then stoned to death from above. Josephus ends this story thus:

"SO THEY THREW STONES DOWN UPON THEM AS THEY LAY PILED ONE UPON ANOTHER, AND THEREBY KILLED THEM; NOR WAS THERE A MORE FRIGHTFUL SPECTACLE IN ALL THE WAR THAN THIS, WHEN BEYOND THE WALLS AN IMMENSE MULTITUDE OF DEAD MEN LAY HEAPED ONE UPON ANOTHER".

When Jerusalem was under siege for 5 months, Herod sent some of his men over the wall and the Roman centurions followed when the slaughter continued. Josephus's  Book XVIII page 635:

"AND UPON THE POURING IN OF THE ARMY, THERE WAS A SLAUGHTER OF VAST MULTITUDES EVERYWHERE, BY REASON THAT THE JEWS WHO WERE ABOUT HEROD EARNESTLY ENDEAVOURED THAT NONE OF THEIR ADVERSARIES MIGHT REMAIN; SO THEY WERE CUT TO PIECES BY GREAT MULTITUDES, AS THEY WERE CROWDED TOGETHER IN NARROW STREETS, AND IN HOUSES, OR WERE RUNNING AWAY TO THE TEMPLE,- THEY SLEW THE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES LIKE MADMEN".

Even Cleopatra's hand in Egypt was not staid from more killings so Josephus tells us.

Josephus Chapter XVIII page 637:

"NOW CLEOPATRA HAD PUT TO DEATH ALL HER KINDRED, TILL NO ONE NEAR HER IN BLOOD REMAINED ALIVE, AND AFTER THAT SHE FELL A SLAYING THOSE NO WAY RELATED TO HER. SO SHE CALUMNIATED (slandered) THE PRINCIPAL MEN AMONG THE SYRIANS TO ANTONY, AND PERSUADED HIM TO HAVE THEM SLAIN, THAT SO SHE MIGHT EASILY GAIN TO BE MISTRESS OF WHAT THEY HAD; NAY, SHE EXTENDED HER AVARICIOUS HUMOUR TO THE JEWS AND ARABIANS, AND SECRETLY LABOURED TO HAVE HEROD AND MALICHUS, THE KINGS OF BOTH THESE NATIONS SLAIN BY HIS (Antony) ORDER".

So much killing went on in pockets here and there that, the south, which Antony ruled, must have been empty of men and their families. Even nature itself had rebelled against man, during these times of Octavian, Antony and Herod, because Josephus tells us that in the 7th year of the reign of Herod (dating from the time of Antigonus). Judea had a great earthquake when about 10,000 men died with the houses falling on them. When Daniel remarks in his vision of Daniel 11:12, that "his heart shall be lifted up", meaning Antony's heart, indeed that was so!

The continuing story of Mark Antony, was one of a man basking in his own glory of power and majesty on the throne of Egypt, doing whatsoever he, or Cleopatra wished to Judean and the Asiatic kingdoms. Cleopatra herself wanted the kingdom of Judea because it was the old boundary of Egypt. She also wanted Ptolemais the city to the north but failed in that attempt. Nevertheless, Antony gave her parts of Judea including Jericho where the Palm tree and Balsam grew. She also obtained parts of Syria, though she wanted it all.

Antony also needed Egyptian wealth and supplies for his attacks on the Parthians to the North. In 36 BC he invaded Media but was beaten back with heavy losses of men. Cleopatra met him in Syria with men and supplies.

By the year 34 BC after much fighting and multitudes dead, Mark Antony made a "triumphal entry" through the city of Alexandria in Egypt, -instead of Rome,- after his successful expedition over Armenia. Then he staged a ceremony where both Antony and Cleopatra sat on golden thrones, proclaiming Cleopatra as Queen of Kings. Her son by Julius Caesar (Caesarion ) and 2 sons and 1 daughter she bears Antony, were given imposing titles of Roman territories. It seemed Antony was now transferring the rest of Rome's might and lands into his own hands and that of Egypt. Alexandria capital of Egypt was to replace the city of Rome itself as the hub of power.

Indeed, as Daniel saw in verse 12, Antony's heart was well and truly "lifted up"! We shall now unravel the last line of Daniel 11:12. "BUT HE SHALL NOT BE STRENGTHENED BY IT".

By 34 BC the ever-increasing split in the Triumvirate of Octavian, Lepidus and Antony was for all to see. Lepidus had been retired to Africa and Antony's break with Rome had been ever gradually coming to pass.

Octavian was angered at Antony's treatment of his sister Octavia and the influence Cleopatra had over him and of the giving away of Roman territory. By 32 BC the "Triumvirate" was well and truly ended, with Antony now divorcing Octavia. However, many, many, Roman Senators had left Rome for Egypt as supporters of Antony.

Octavian cleverly declared war against Cleopatra but not Antony as if she were the one fly in the ointment so to speak. Meanwhile, in Judea, Herod remained a tentative King to the Judean throne, from time-to-time lavishing large presents on Cleopatra to sweeten her temper and stave off her desire for Judea and for the end of Herod. Now war was declared, Herod supported Antony all the way with his fight against Octavian. So, once more the lands of the south were on a war footing, though Antony went through all the motions of power over mankind and "lifted up" his heart sitting upon a golden throne to great heights. Yet, deep down inside him, he must have known one day he had to fight Octavian for the control of all things Roman, taking from Octavian the Western part of Rome also.

When Daniel gives the words "not strengthened" for Antony it means, not to be confirmed in power, or to be established and increased with power. For Antony these words came to pass, because his power was weakened by the growing power of Octavian.

Sickly though this young man Octavian was at first, nevertheless he was a master of propaganda and used that weapon to its utmost advantage. Between 35 BC and 33 BC Octavian set about the serious task of unseating Antony from his position of power in the East. During those passing years, rivalry between Octavian and Antony became more apparent, as they vied for the complete mastery of the Greco/Roman world. Octavian's moves were well and truly thought out and deliberate, he meant to be ruler of all!

Whereas Antony, older and an expert soldier, was side tracked from his goals too much with his liking of the East and Cleopatra. Octavian deliberately married into the Roman nobility with his second wife Livia Drusilla. He gradually began to win over some of the nobles to his side against Antony, with his elaborate ceremonies to the Roman god Apollo, using his name with the word "Imperator", (meaning emperor or supreme command). The coins he struck bore the words "Caesar son of a god", himself of course).

His propaganda extended to a system of spreading his own doctrines, which made Rome believe in the ideas and principles he set forward as just and honourable. With the aid of his friend Marcus Agrippa, the Admiral of the fleet, he lavished large sums of money to adorn the city of Rome.

With the second Triumvirate now ended, the battle lines between the 2 men were drawn. Octavian encouraged and instigated public outcry against Anthony's gifts to Cleopatra of Roman territories. He, claiming to have found Antony's "will" which had proof of Cleopatra's hold over him. The populace of Rome took sides over this matter, either swearing an oath to Octavian or Antony. The stage was set for war once more in 32 BC. The sun was now setting on the Egyptian/Roman debacle of Antony as the King of the South, with Cleopatra also being caught up in Roman ruthless politics. As for Herod and Judea, they braced themselves for another onslaught of armies. Another verse of Daniel's came into being. Though Antony strengthened many tens of thousands of people and "lifted up his own heart" as an Emperor, doing just as he wished. His position of "strength" within Rome itself was to be tested by Octavian. All as Daniel 11:12 tells us.