However, this freedom would not last; for to the west was growing a giant Roman eagle that would soon sweep down upon this tiny Jewish kingdom, snatching away their cherished autonomy. (For the extent of Rome's power and reach, read Herod Agrippa's speech to these Jewish Zealots years later to prevent the complete termination of their Jewish state by the Romans -- Joshephus, Wars 2.16.4 - pp. 487-490). At first they would be ruled by Roman appointed kings from among their lower ranks of assimilated Idumeans (Edomites converted to Jewish religion under John Hyrcanus - 125 B.C.), called the Herods -- the first called Antipater -- succeeded upon his death (40 B.C.) by his son, called, Herod the Great. Although not fully appreciated by all, at least these were rulers closer akin to them than absolute foreigners. Through their personal skills and political persuasions, they would gain from Rome many privileges for their Jewish half-brothers. A group of supporters even evolved and thus identified simply as Herodians, ( Mt.22:16; Mk.3:6; 12:13). These were considered only as partisans and never as an official party or sect. Before his death in 3 B.C., Herod divided his kingdom among his three sons and one sister, Salome: Salome received Jamnia, Ashdod, and Phasaelis; Philip received the regions north and east of Galilee (Gaulonitis, Trachonitis, and Paneas); Herod Antipas received Galilee and Perea; while his central kingdom of Judea and Samaria was reserved for Archelaus. After an unsuccessful, i.e. incompetent, attempt at rule by Archelaus, in A.D. 6, Judea was given to Roman rule under succeeding Roman governors called procurators. Coponius would be the first appointed (the 5th appointed in A.D. 26 we are the most familiar, Pontius Pilate). Although some had even petitioned the emperor for Roman rule rather than continued rule under the likes of Archelaus, this would not do. To the Zealot, no king but God would be their ruler. (At the same time another event would occur that would assist in igniting the flames of Jewish hostility toward Roman rule -- tribute imposed upon Jewish citizens.) Several decades later, the injurious actions of the 13th and final procurator over the Jews, Gessius Florus, would be a mix in the catalyst that would provoke final and irrevocable rebellion that would lead to the Jewish state's demise. (Other procurators would continue after the region fell and the Jews dispersed in A.D. 70.)

And so, we now have the fertile climate for the rise of the Zealots. Let us begin with the deposing of Archelaus and the establishment of the first Roman procurator, Coponius, in A.D. 6. As was seen in their predecessors' days, to these modern Zealots, it was believed that in theirs also, foreign occupation and oppression was a sign of their own national sin of turning away from God and His laws. To them, a Roman procurator in Judea was a clear symbol of such a sin. Thus, their belief was, if they as a people would repent, purify themselves, and rise up against the foreign domination now by Rome, as of old, God would again engage in their worthy cause of a holy war (probably with the expectations on the order of that during Judas the Maccabee's time, who was the most recent in their historical memory -167 B.C.). Although of different political persuasions and parties, even the Pharisees and Sadducees, who appeared in Inter-Testament times under foreign rule, were not beyond the hope and desire of an independent Jewish state and personal freedom within Judea, their cherished land of promise. In spite of the fact that the Sadducee did not expect a future Messiah to arrive and usher in a millennial kingdom, as did the Pharisee, and even though they were quicker to align with the powers of foreign occupation, as seen with the Greeks and now the Romans, they did, on the other hand, prefer independent Jewish rule.

Coals of oppression under foreign rule most often ignite when a sufficient catalyst is injected into the hot bed of dissension. Reason is usually sacrificed upon the altar of passion, and if the desired objective cannot be achieved, then death for all is seen as the only alternative. Such was the case with the birth, rise, and fall of the Zealots, only in this case, they would take a nation down with them. One must remember, to the Pharisee, it was better to "die than sin," and the Zealots derived their religio-philisophical roots from this party.

Unlike the Pharisee and Sadducee parties that it cannot be said for certain who was, if there was one, the father of their movement, Josephus (a Jewish writer contemporary to those times) reports two specific individuals who assumed the leadership of this movement and led it from the benign (though increasingly violent) channels of opposition to outright rebellion and eventual war with the Romans. This ill-conceived stroke would be the first nail in Judea's coffin. The final one would come later.

As previously stated, at the same time Coponius was appointed procurator, Cyrenius, a well-established government official who had risen through the ranks of the Roman Senate, was appointed as governor of Syria whose jurisdiction Judea now resided within. Not uncommon to this shift in rule, a census and assessment was ordered of the subjects and their estates within the realm. Unlike the previous census that had been organized and conducted with respect to the twelve tribes of Israel at Christ's birth in 4 B.C., that made it more palatable, this second in A.D. 6 was not so considerately implemented; and tribute was now levied against Jewish citizens. And if that was not enough, to make matters worse, Cyrenius himself would accompany Coponius into Judea to execute it. To the Jew, all this was outrageous. Most, however, seeing the futility of further opposition, conceded. But to a Galilean named Judas (Acts 5:37), this "taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery" (Josephus, Antiq. 18.1.1 - p. 376). Enlisting the aid of a Pharisee called Sadduc (to whom some have attributed the origin of the name for the Sadducee party), Judas issued a call for unification in a holy war. Those not sufficiently dedicated to the cause were called cowards, fearing man more than God, and would be viewed as traitors. From this attitude, it is easy to see, then, how all sorts of injustices were done by this group to their fellow citizens. (Now we can see by what occasion it was that this tribute Christ was accused by the Pharisees of not paying to Caesar, hoping to trap Him and gain cause to see Him maligned as rebellious to Rome and subsequently condemned and executed as a rebel, thus relieving them of their own murderous plot - Mt.17:24-27; 22:15-22; Mk.12:13-17; Lk.20:20-26; 23:1-7. Read Paul's teaching on this subject - Rom.13.)