prophecy that God would come to the aid of those who were zealous for the law of God. That conviction would grow in the years ahead and set the stage for a true cataclysm when another great empire arrived in the Middle East - Rome. The End of Days Roman Rule In 63 BC, Roman General Pompey ended Judea's 100 years of independence when he marched through the county. He was amazed to find that the defenders of the city retreated not to a fortress, but to their holy sanctuary, the Temple. He was equally amazed when they refused to interrupt their religious observances to offer resistance when he entered their Temple. To Rome, Judea was but a small piece on the road to a larger prize, easy access to bountiful Egypt. To the Jews, Judea was the Promised Land given to them by God to own. Even worse for the Jews was that it pitted one Jew against the other - should they revolt or not. Soon their spiritual debates broke out into physical animosity between the various groups. On one side were the Temple High Priests and their allies, who formed the most wealthy class within Judaism. The Temple to them was the political and economic heart of Jerusalem. Each year pilgrims flooded its markets to find food and lodging. They spent freely to buy the very best sacrificial animals as animal sacrifices was their only permitted way of worshiping God. Since the High Priests were the only ones allowed to mediate between the average Jew and God, they had an enormous economic stake in maintaining social order through the status quo of Roman rule. Civil War Other groups within Judaism felt that the High Priests were traitors. They believed that if they waged a just war against their occupiers, as related in Biblical stories, they would have God's protection. To help them rule Judea, the Romans chose a Jewish prince named Herod, of Idumean ancestry, who was known for his boundless ambition and extreme cruelty. To many Jews, crowning a king not descended from David was blasphemous. Herod and Rome felt it necessary to launch a series of unmerciful attacks against the various antagonistic Jewish groups to make an example of them so that law and order could be maintained. To counteract his reputation for cruelty, Herod commissioned an extensive renovation of the Temple. Soon, even Gentiles