CHONICLES TEAM: THIS INFO IS STRAIGHT OFF WENDYS DESK FROM RESEARCH DURING MESSIAH
King Aretas the fourth of Petra was a historical King who was regent of Petra and the Nabaetans. He had a daughter called ‘Phaesalis’. (I changed her name to Jotapa for the book, as I felt that Phaesalis wasn’t a brilliant name for the heroine in Messiah! Artistic licence!)
The amazing facts are these:
1. Phaesalis actually DID marry Herod Antipas. According to my research they were married approximately seventeen years, when Herod had his affair with Herodias and decided to divorce Phasaelis. Herod Antipas did have a Palace at Tiberias in Galilee.
2. Aretas IVth was enraged, and sent his generals to rescue Phasaelis from Herods fortress at Macherus. (The same fortress where John the Baptist was later beheaded).
3. History records that, Aretas IVth attacked Herod Antipas in to avenge his daughters dishonor and defeated Antipas. Rumours spread around that it was Gods judgement on herod Antipas for beheading John the Baptist. There is however no evidence that Aretas was a Christian. The following is from the Antiquities of the Jews XVIII written by the historian JOSEPHUS
HEROD THE TETRARCH MAKES WAR WITH ARETAS, THE KING OF ARABIA, AND IS BEATEN BY HIM AS ALSO CONCERNING THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. HOW VITELLIUS WENT UP TO JERUSALEM; TOGETHER WITH SOME ACCOUNT OF AGRIPPA AND OF THE POSTERITY OF HEROD THE GREAT.
1. ABOUT this time Aretas (the king of Arabia Petres) and Herod had a quarrel on the account following: Herod the tetrarch had, married the daughter of Aretas, and had lived with her a great while; but when he was once at Rome, he lodged with Herod, (15) who was his brother indeed, but not by the same mother; for this Herod was the son of the high priest Sireoh's daughter. However, he fell in love with Herodias, this last Herod's wife, who was the daughter of Aristobulus their brother, and the sister of Agrippa the Great. This man ventured to talk to her about a marriage between them; which address, when she admitted, an agreement was made for her to change her habitation, and come to him as soon as he should return from Rome: one article of this marriage also was this, that he should divorce Aretas's daughter. So Antipus, when he had made this agreement, sailed to Rome; but when he had done there the business he went about, and was returned again, his wife having discovered the agreement he had made with Herodias, and having learned it before he had notice of her knowledge of the whole design, she desired him to send her to Macherus, which is a place in the borders of the dominions of Aretas and Herod, without informing him of any of her intentions. Accordingly Herod sent her thither, as thinking his wife had not perceived any thing; now she had sent a good while before to Macherus, which was subject to her father and so all things necessary for her journey were made ready for her by the general of Aretas's army; and by that means she soon came into Arabia, under the conduct of the several generals, who carried her from one to another successively; and she soon came to her father, and told him of Herod's intentions. So Aretas made this the first occasion of his enmity between him and Herod, who had also some quarrel with him about their limits at the country of Gamalitis. So they raised armies on both sides, and prepared for war, and sent their generals to fight instead of themselves; and when they had joined battle, all Herod's army was destroyed by the treachery of some fugitives, who, though they were of the tetrarchy of Philip, joined with Aretas's army.. So Herod wrote about these affairs to Tiberius, who being very angry at the attempt made by Aretas, wrote to Vitellius to make war upon him, and either to take him alive, and bring him to him in bonds, or to kill him, and send him his head. This was the charge that Tiberius gave to the president of Syria.
2. Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing [with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it, not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins [only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness. Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise,) thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure to him.
3. And when Karinus and Leucius heard this adjuration, they trembled in their body and groaned, being troubled in heart. And looking up together unto heaven they made the seal of the cross with their fingers upon their tongues, and forthwith they spake both of them, saying: Give us each a volume of paper, and let us write that which we have seen and heard. And they gave them unto them, and each of them sat down and wrote, saying: … Now when we were set together with all our fathers in the deep, in obscurity of darkness, on a sudden there came a golden heat of the sun and a purple and royal light shining upon ……” (to be continued..)
This article which is a widely accepted part of the Apocrapha substantiates that two eyewitnesses who were previously dead in their tombs were resurrected in Jerusalem and actually witnessed SEEING Christ in Hades! Which is exactly what I wrote about in Messiah in the scene when ‘The Nazarene’ disappears and Hell and the shadowed Realms were flooded with a purple light! The amazing thing is that I was already halfway through the scene where Jesus overturns Hell when I came across the document. The full article is incredible and we’ll post it on this website soon.
FOR RELEASE CHRISTMAS 2008 / SPRING 2009
