[MUSIC PLAYING] Is the Roman Empire about to be overthrown? Who will survive when this Jewish Messiah comes? Certainly not you Romans. You will be destroyed. He will come and tread down the wicked nations.

Can the Jews count on a Messiah miracle? If you go out on the Sacrament with a needle in your clothes, do you really risk your eternal salvation? Laws and Leaders. Have the Jews gone too far? From Roman News Network with anchors Cornelia Magna and Marcus Tullius Scipio, this is Sun Dial. [MUSIC PLAYING] Good evening and welcome to another edition of Sun Dial. Jews can be found in almost all areas of the Roman Empire. They originated in the area of Palestine. Tonight our stories focus on that small part of the Empire. Our first report deals with a superstition rampant among the Jews that a Messiah will deliver them from any oppression they face. Here with us tonight is Primus Vespillo, who has just returned from Jerusalem with our report on the Messiah miracle. Primus? The Jews say their prophets have foretold the coming of a Messiah or deliverer who will conquer their enemies. They view Rome as their natural enemy. I asked [? Sharabia, ?] a Jew, what this means. Many of the prophets have predicted the triumph of the Messiah. Malachi prophesied, but who may abide the day of His coming and who shall stand when He appeareth, for He is like a refiner's fire. Well, that's an interesting question. Who do you say will survive when this Messiah comes? Certainly not you Romans. You will be destroyed. He will come and tread down the wicked nations. We have been oppressed for years, but that will soon change. Who is this Messiah you believe will come? The Messiah will be a great military leader. How else could He break the yoke of oppression from this people's neck? He will establish freedom once and for all for the Jewish people. Freedom. This is one issue that riles up the Jews and brings to the forefront of strong feelings concerning their Messiah. For most of the past 600 years, the Jews have been a conquered people. Their nation has been occupied by the Babylonians, Persians, Greeks, and now the Romans. This history of being conquered has fanned the flames of the belief in the Messiah. Some Jews are not content to wait for someone to deliver them. A group of Jews called zealots are already involved in trying to free themselves from foreign rule by fighting. We talked with one zealot, but promised to keep his identity hidden. Do you believe a Messiah will come and deliver the Jews? Of course. It has been prophesied by the prophets. Then why do you zealots take the law into your own hands and fight against the Roman Empire? It is our duty to cooperate with God's purpose, to liberate Israel from foreign powers. Too many of our people sit back and wait. But you take your beliefs of the point of murder and insurrection. Isn't this a little too far? Nothing is too far for the purpose of God.

Captain, how would you evaluate the threat of this great military leader to the empire? I've been in battle. I've fought in Gallia and Germania. I've seen foreign armies. There's no Jewish army here. Even if they armed every man, woman, and child, we could mop this place up in a few weeks.

The Roman soldiers here don't take this Jewish Messiah seriously. The Jews don't all agree on who this Messiah will be. I talked with Shalom, a devout man, near the temple in Jerusalem about the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Isaiah wrote, He is despised and rejected of men. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our inequities. And with His stripes, we are healed. Now wait. I thought He was supposed to be a great military leader who will break off the yoke of oppression. He will take yoke from the people. The yoke of sin. But what about military triumphs? He will come more than once to the earth, you know. The first time He will come as a lamb. But when He comes the second time, He will be as a lion. Jews who view the Messiah as a suffering servant are definitely in the minority. Most Jews view the Messiah as a conquering hero. You've talked to many Jews all over the empire. Have they all heard this story about the Messiah? Yes. We found very few that have not heard the story, but there is so much a disagreement over when He will come and what He will be like. Some of the Jews have gone into the wilderness to wait for His coming, and others say the time is not right. Many wonder if there really is a Messiah because they've been oppressed for so long and He has not delivered them yet. Thank you, Primus. And when we come back, could putting an egg by the fire be against the law? Jewish laws and leaders-- are they unreasonable? [MUSIC PLAYING]

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