B"H
The Holy Land Historically Belongs to Israel
It is obvious that since earliest times people have debated the rightful ownership of the Holy Land and I am under no illusion that I will solve this question here. My intention is simply to demonstrate the Jewish people's rightful historic claims to Eretz Israel. As a Zionist I stand with their claim to the Land.
Note that dates of antiquity are always debated so these should not be accepted as definitive. This list is a work in progress and corrections/additions are sincerely invited (please indicate your sources when possible). These dates are esssentially correct based on known facts.
Genesis 12:1 Now ADONAI said to Avram, "Get yourself out of your country, away from your kinsmen and away from your father's house, and go to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make of you a great nation, I will bless you, and I will make your name great; and you are to be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse anyone who curses you; and by you all the families of the earth will be blessed."
Please note:
HH: Ha'luach Ha'ivri: The Hebrew Calendar reckoning.
BCE: Before our Common Era (same as traditional western BC)
CE: Our Common Era (same as traditional western AD).
Eretz Israel (all of the "Land of Israel") is the eternal possession of the Jewish people.
- It always has been and it always will be.
1 HH -- 3761 BCE: Creation of Earth by HaShem (Genesis 1:1-2:3).
929 HH -- 2831 BCE: Adam died
1056 HH -- 2704 BCE: Noach (Noah) born (Genesis 5:29).
Circa 1261 HH -- 2500 BCE: First houses built in Yerushalayim.
1558 HH -- 2203 BCE: Shem ben Noach born.
1611 HH -- 2150 BCE: The Global Flood (Genesis 7,8).
After the flood subsides the descendants of Noach's son Shem (the Semites) are set apart from the rest of humanity for God's service (Genesis 9:25-27).
The Seven Universal Laws of the Rainbow Covenant are accepted by Noach on behalf of the human race.
The descendants of Noach's son Japheth told that if they dwell under the blessings of Shem (in the Shem's tents) and assist them HaShem will bless them (Genesis 9:25-27, 12:1-3). This set stage for Noahides as the "Righteous Gentiles" who serve HaShem with the Jewish people.
Humans are permitted to begin eating animals with certain restrictions as described in the Seven Universal Laws (Genesis 9:2)
1861 - 2061 HH -- 1900-1700 BCE: Egypt's Middle Kingdom period.
1879 HH -- 1882 BCE: Terach (Avram/Abraham's father) born.
1948 HH -- 1813 BCE: Avram the Semite (who was renamed Avraham/Abraham; the descendant of Shem) was born (Genesis 11:26).
2018 HH -- 1743 BCE Initial covenant with Avraham (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:4).
2018 -- 2238 HH -- 1742 -- 1522 BCE: Avraham and his Hebrew descendants through his wife Sarah (possibly the same people group referred to as the Habiru by independent Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources) settled and dwelt in Canaan after leaving Ur of the Chaldees (located in modern Iraq: the same general region where the Garden of Eden is believed to have been: a few miles south of Baghdad.
2049 HH -- 1712 BCE: Yitzchak (Isaac) born (Genesis 17:19) to Avraham and Sarah as promised by HaShem.
HaShem declares the promises given to Avraham will pass through Yitzchak (Isaac), Ya'akov (Jacob), and the subsequent Hebrews/Israelites/Jews. HaShem specifically declares this blessing will not pass through Ishmael's line (the seed of their lack of faith). Ishmael described as a "wild and violent man": Genesis 16;12. The Torah is clear that the Arabs/Muslims are not the spiritual descendants of Avraham but would be usurpers of the Promise (Genesis 21:10-12).
Interim: Land of Canaan settled by various tribes including various Semitic peoples (descendants through Noah's son Shem): Semites include both the Hebrews and the Ishmaelites, including the Northern Arabs. Other people also settled in the region including the Hittites (descendants of Noah's son Ham).
Note that Ishmael was born as a result of a lapse of faith on the part of Avraham and Sarai according to the Torah (because they doubted that HaShem would give them a child in their old age). With the birth of Yitzchak (Isaac) HaShem specifically blessed and renamed Sarai "Sarah" signifying the specially chosen status of her son Yitzchak -- Genesis 16:4).
Ishmael's Semitic descendants multiplied throughout the land as HaShem forewarned in opposition to the chosen line of Yitzchak (Isaac). The Ishmaelite jealousy of the chosen lineage continues to the present time. The modern Arab adoption of the Roman coined name "Palestinian" is an example of this Ishmaelite duplicity upon which Islam was founded.
2238 - 2448 HH 1522 - 1313 BCE: Due to a horrible drought Ya'akov (Jacob) -- who was renamed Israel by HaShem -- and his family traveled to and dwelt in Egypt (as described at Genesis 39:1 - Exodus 12:51).
2227 HH --1533 BCE: Isaac died.
2308 HH -- 1452 BCE Joseph died.
2331 HH -- 1429 BCE: Egyptian enslavement of the Hebrews began.
2367 HH -- 1393 BCE: Moshe born.
2405 HH -- 1355 BCE: Joshua born.
2480 HH 1280 BCE: The Exodus and the Giving of the Written Torah.
Moshe (Moses) leads the Israelites (named after Avraham and Sarah's son Israel (or Ya'akov/Jacob) out of Egypt and back into their Promised Land (Eretz Israel) via Mount Sinai. There HaShem imparted His Torah to Moshe and the Jewish people. The Torah is eternal. The Written and Oral Torah are reflections of the eternal Torah.
The parting of the Red Sea
Manna falls from the sky to feed the people
Moshe strikes the rock for water (instead of speaking to it as directed by HaShem).
The giving of the Torah and many other wondrous things happened during this period. All of the events recorded in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and Joshua occurred during these years, including the lifetimes of Aharon (Aaron), Moshe (Moses), Miriam, Y'hoshua (Joshua) and others. These events are fairly well documented by various sources.
Moshe writes the Torah (the biblical books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
2521 HH -- 1240 BCE: Forty years after the Exodus from Egypt the Hebrews/Israelites arrive back in Eretz Israel.
Circa 2540 HH -- 1220 BCE: The Philistines (like Goliath, who were Greek seafarers descended from Noah's son Japheth) -- there is no connection between the (Greek) Philistines and the Arab descendants of Noah's son Shem now calling them themselves "Palestinians") -- and other ‘peoples of the sea’ -- thought to have arrived mainly from Mycenae and Greek Isles -- began arriving in the Middle East in large numbers.
2560 - 2710 HH -- 1200-1050 BCE: The Israelites lived in Eretz Israel and "they had no king over them" (I Samuel 8:19). This was the period of the Judges described mainly in the books of Judges and Ruth and dealing with people like Shimshon (Samson), Deborah, Rut (Ruth), and Gideon, down to the reign of Israels first king, Sha'ul ben Kish (King Saul, father of Jonathan).
2730 - 2750 -- 1030 - 1010 BCE: Reign of Sha'ul ben Kish, the first King of Israel.
2750 - 2790 -- 1010-970 BCE: HaShem replaces Sha'ul ben Kish as king of Israel with David. Under King David the armies of HaShem conquer the Jebusites and Yevus and liberate Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). Since this victory the city has been known as the City of David - see II Shemuel (Samuel) 5:6-10. Once he takes up his crown Adon Y'shua HaNatzrati (Master Y'shua of Nazareth) will reign over Israel and the world as Y'shua HaMoshiach ben David (King Y'shua, Son of David) from Yerushalayim.
David built the walls around the Holy City and then transferred the Ark of the Covenant there.
His diverse experiences quickly became celebrated accounts such as David and Jonathan, David and Goliath, David and Bathsheba and so on.
Da'vid was inspired to write the Books of Psalms during this period. This book is the ancient Jewish Siddur (prayer book) and reveals much about his illustrious descendant Adon Y'shua HaNatzrati (for instance Psalms 110).
2790 - 2829 HH -- 970-931 BCE: David's son (with Bathsheba) Shlo'mo (Solomon) was born and rules (circa 970- circa 930 BCE).
Shlo'mo (Solomon) was anointed King of Israel (I Kings 11:42) after David's elder son Adonijah declared himself King. David ordered his servants to bring Shlo'mo to the Gihon spring where Zadok, the priest of HaShem, anointed Shlo'mo King of Israel as directed by David (I Kings 1:34-39). This was due to the leading of Ruach HaKodesh (HaShem's Presence) and as a result of David's promised to Bathsheba that their son would succeed David to the throne.
2804 HH -- 957 BCE: First Beit HaMikdash (Y'rushalayim Temple of HaShem) is built by Shol'mo. the Beit HaMikdash becomes the only acceptable place for Jewish sacrifices to be performed replacing the portable sanctuary and localized alters used in the Sinai Desert during the Exodus. Now the City of David truly becomes the City of our God, the prime location of His worship.
Shlo'mo's united kingdom extended from the Euphrates River in the north to Egypt in the south. He came to be celebrated as Shlo'mo the Wise due to the inspired wisdom of his various rulings.
Shlo'mo composed 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. He was inspired by HaShem to pen the biblical Song of Songs, the Book of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Shlo'mo had his famous meetings with the Queen of Sheba -- who came from southern Arabia to see him.
Shlo'mo built the first Beit HaMikdash (or Holy Temple) in Yerushalayim.
Unfortunately however the aging Shlo'mo grew over-confident in his wisdom and forgot HaShem Who had blessed him so well and so long.
Without the active blessings of HaShem Shlo'mo ceased being the wise leader he had once been. He allowed his foreign wives to worship gods other than HaShem -- he even built shrines for their worship in open defiance of Torah. He began placing heavy taxes on the people and the Israelites gradually turned against his administration.
Shlo'mo also began granting special privileges to the two tribes of Judah thereby alienating the ten northern tribes (Israel). As a result the northern tribes later seceded from the United Kingdom as Prophet Ahijah of Shiloh had foretold. Ahijah prophesied that Jeroboam son of Nebat would become king over ten of the 10 tribes, thus splitting the Kingdom into two. This of course happened:
Hadad of the royal family of Edom, rose up as an adversary of Israel. Rezon son of Eliada, ruler of Aram also fought Shlo'mo, creating further tension between the two Hebrew kingdoms. Eventually the infighting so weakened the two Hebrew kingdoms that both fell and the Israelites were enslaved.
2830 HH -- 931 BCE: King Shlo'mo died in Yerushalayim and was buried there after 40 years as ruler of Israel.
As foretold Shlo'mo's son Rehoboam succeeded him as king. Under Rehobaum the united Hebrew empire was lost and the kingdom was divided into two parts: Israel in the north (with its capitol in Samaria) and Judea in the south with its capitol at Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), City of David.
2830 - 2848 HH -- 931 - 913 BCE: Rehoboam rules Judah (Houses of Judah and Benjamin).
2830 - 2851 HH -- 931 - 910 BCE: Jeroboam I rules Israel (the other ten Houses of Israel).
Jeroboam I established Shechem as his first capital. He later moved it to Tirzah.
2847 - 2849 HH -- 913 - 911 BCE: Abijah ruled Judah.
2849 - 2890 HH -- 911 - 870 BCE: Asa ruled Judah.
2880 - 2851 HH -- 910 - 909 BCE: Nadab (son of Jeroboam) ruled Israel.
2851 - 2874 HH -- 909 - 886 BCE: Baasha assassinated Nadab and ruled Israel.
2874 - 2875 HH -- 886 - 885 BCE: Elah, son of Baasha, ruled Israel.
2875 HH -- 885 BCE: Zimri assassinated Elah and reigned for only seven days before committing suicide.
Omri was selected to replace him as King of Israel.
2875 - 2960 HH --885-880 BCE: War between Omri and Tibni for the throne.
2875 - 2886 HH --885-874 BCE: Omri killed Tibni and rules as Israel's king.
2881 HH --879 BCE: Omri moved the capital of Israel from Tirzah to Samaria.
2886 - 2907 HH --874-853 BCE: King Ahab (Omri's son) is killed in battle and wife Jezebel reigns as Queen.
Athaliah (Ahab and Jezebel's daughter) marries Jehoram, crown prince of Judah.
2890 - 2912 HH --870-848 BCE: Jehoshapha ruled over Judah.
2907 - 2909 HH --853-851 BCE: Ahaziah (son of Ahab) ruled Israel until he died in an accident.
3010 - 3035 HH --750-725 BCE: Israelite Prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah conduct their ministries.
3038 - 3039 HH --722/721 BCE: Northern Kingdom of Israel is destroyed by the Assyrians.
The Ten Northern Tribes of Israel are exiled from Eretz Israel and become known as "the Ten Lost Tribes." Despite all the speculation and imagination the most likely scenario is that these Israelite Houses were worked to death by the Assyrians (under king Sargon II) and/or intermarried with them and thus lost their ethnic and spiritual identity.
Note how this is worded: "Therefore the LORD was very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight: there was none left but the tribe of Judah only" (II Kings 17:18). It is noted by some that this text does not say HaShem had them destroyed but that they were moved out of his sight. Of these 10 houses we read: (Jeremiah 3:8) "And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also." Again, it does not say they ceased to exist.
This later led to the fall of Judah as well (see 606 BCE below). Some of these Northern Israelites may have escaped back to Judah as well. This experience was a culling of the people by HaShem and demonstrated the importance of loyalty to HaShem and His Torah. Adonai chose in favor of Judah and secured their continued existence as his Elect.
But HaShem will not forget these people forever. During the final Seven Years and into the Messianic Kingdom the Ten Houses will be reborn (Revelation 11:, Isaiah 11:11-12; Jeremiah 3:6-18; Hosea 1-3; Amos 9:8-10; Obadia 15-21; Micah 2:12-13; 5:3-15; Zechariah 8:13; 9 & 10; Ezekiel 34-37). Note that the 10 tribes are often referred to as "Ephraim" in Scripture. They went to "another land" ("Artzaret") according to non-extra-biblical book 2nd Ezra 11:39-46. There are many who believe these people traveled to Europe and became the main people groups there. I am not among those who believe this in part because the Europeans are mainly the descendants of Noah's son Japheth rather than of Shem (as are the Yahudaites (or Jews). I discuss this elsewhere in more detail. Nonetheless their eventual return does imply their continued existence "somewhere." Perhaps the Genome Project and similar research will shed more light on this subject.
3040 HH --720 BCE: Negotiating with the Pagan Tiglath-Pileser (the king of Assyria), Ahaz (the King of Judah), ordered Urijah (the priest of HaShem) to use Shlo'mo's consecrated vessels to perform the morning and evening offerings at the Beit HaMikdash (the Yerushalayim Temple) on a new altar modeled after one Tiglath-Pileser used for his gods. Urijah the priest obeyed Ahaz and consequently the fury of HaShem at this blasphemy mounted against Ahaz and all of Judah.
3044 HH --716 BCE: Hezekiah, the King of Yerushalayim -- with the help of HaShem and His prophet Isaiah -- successfully resisted an Assyrian attempt to capture the Holy City of David (II Chronicles 32).
3060 HH --701 BCE: Assyrian ruler Sennacherib besieges Yerushalayim (Jerusalem).
3149 - 3223 HH -- 612 - 538 BCE: Neo-Babylonian - Chaldean period.
3156 HH -- 605 BCE: According to Josephus (Antiquities 10.11.1) Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt at Carchemish (in the end of the third year of Jehoiakim -- Daniel 1:1) in Syria and then "immediately settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries" and sent Jewish and other captives to Babylon before returning to the palace (in August) to be crowned king after his father's death. This being the case some scholars believe the 70 seventy of exile for the Jews in Babylon would be determined from the Autumn of this year. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent.
3155 - 3199 HH -- 606 - 562 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar is crowned and rules in Babylon.
3174/3175 HH 587/586 BCE: The First Beit HaMikdash (Temple built by Shlo'mo) was destroyed.
The remaining Southern Kingdom (Judah) fell under the assault of Nebuzar-adan, captain of Nebuchadnezzar's elite forces.
The 70 year Babylonian exile of the Jews begins according to some scholars. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent
The Exilarch (leaders of the Jewish people in exile) were generally accepted by the exiled Jews as the upholders of the House of David's lineage. They ruled over the Judaite slaves in matters of culture and religion.
Although the name Parush (Pharisee) does not appear in writing until later, the foundations of their authority was established and their power grew during this period. This is reflected in establishment of the beit knesset (translated as synagogue in the Greek). These were houses of worship (also known as beit tefilah or proseuchai in Greek) as well as the houses of Torah study known as beit midrash.
The first surviving non-biblical historical mention of the P'rushim (Pharisees) is by Josephus (3797 - 3860 HH, 37 - 100 CE), in a description of the "four schools of thought" or "four sects" (i.e Parush (Pharisee), Essene, Tz'dukim (Sadducee) and "the fourth sect" (probably made up of groups like the Sicarii and the Zealots, noteworthy but of limited authority among the Israelites).
3202 HH -- 559 BCE: Cyrus II ("Cyrus the Great", "Cyrus of Persia"; the first Zoroastrian Persian emperor) became king of Persia and enlarged his kingdom to include Media.
3220 HH -- 541 BCE: Small groups of Jews continue returning home to Yerushalayim from Babylon to rebuild the city and its walls.
Some Jewish authorities date the conclusion of the seventy years of Babylonian exile to this point (i.e. 3219 HH -- 541 BCE). Determining the precisely when these 70 years ended is important because Prophet Daniel based his prophetic time line on the coming of Moshiach to the end of the seventy years. Jews of course do not accept Y'shua as HaMoshiach while his talmidim (followers) do. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent.
3222 HH -- October 29, 539 BCE: Cyrus the Great entered Babylon itself and detained Nabonidus.
3223 HH -- 538 BCE: The "Decree of Cyrus" (see Ezra 1:1-4) allows House of Judah to return to Yerushalayim. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent
3223 HH -- 538 BCE: Construction on the Second Beit HaMikdash (Y'rushalayim Temple of HaShem) begins.
3224 HH -- 537 BCE: General Gobryas ("the Beef Eater") and five others assist Darius the Mede (third "king of kings" of the Achaemenid Empire) in pacifying Babylon.
3225 HH --536 BCE: First detachment of Jews return to Yerushalayim (in the first few weeks of 536 BCE in time to celebrate Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent
3226 HH -- 535 BCE: End of Babylonian exile according to the calculations of Josephus (see 3156 HH -- 605 BCE).
Zerubbabel, Jeshua and The Exilarch (leaders of the Jewish people in exile) hold up the reconstruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash (Temple) as described in Ezra chapter 4.
3225 HH -- December 530 BCE: Death of Cyrus the Great.
3241 - 3246 HH -- 520 - 515 BCE: Large numbers of Jews return to Eretz Israel under Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest; rebuilding of the second Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) beings.
3242 HH -- 519 BCE: The decree from Darius (see Ezra 5:3-7).
3246 HH -- 515 BCE: The Second Beit HaMikdash completed during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius and was dedicated the following year.
According to the Book of Ezra, rebuilding of the Temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great and ratified by Darius the Great. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE or my study First Advent
3251 HH -- 509 BCE: Birth of Roman Republic.
3304 HH-- 457 BCE: The decree from Artaxerxes to Ezra to rebuild Yerushalayim and its walls (see Ezra 7:11-16).
3317 HH -- 444 BCE: The decree from Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to rebuild Yerushalayim and its walls (see Nehemiah 2:1-8)
As I discuss elsewhere I believe this is the command being referred to by Daniel for the calculation of the entrance of Adon Y'shua HaNatzrati (our Master Y'shua of Nazareth) in Yerushalayim recorded at Matthew 21:9. For more on this see Sunday 3790 HH (29 CE).
3310 - 3360 HH -- 450-400 BCE: Reformation led by Ezra and Nehemiah.
3334 HH -- 426 BCE First decrees by Haman; fast ordered by Esther, Haman's downfall and execution.
3335 HH -- 425 BCE: Haman's ten sons executed; Purim celebration inaugurated.
3427 - 3429 HH -- 333 - 331 BCE: Alexander the Great conquered Persia and Eretz Israel.
3437 HH -- 323 BCE: Alexander the Great died.
Eretz Israel became subject to Seleucid rule under Alexander’s General Seleucus IV Philopator (a son of King Antiochus III the Great and brother of Antiochus IV).
Israel remained an occupied people living in their own land. Jews were allowed to worship HaShem until the abuses of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Epiphanes: Manifest God and the Illustrious) who outlawed Judaism and severely persecuted the Jews (see next).
3510 HH -- 250 BCE: Translation of the Septuagint: Tanakh into Greek.
3530 - 3614 HH -- 230-146 BCE: The Roman Empire extends its reach into the eastern Mediterranean.
3560 HH -- 200 BCE: Establishment of the Jewish Qumran community (creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls).
3585 HH -- 175 BCE Selicid, king of Syria, plundered Yerushalayim and murdering many Jews.
3590 HH -- 170 BCE: Antiochus IV Epiphanes launched a preemptive strike against Egypt, conquering all but Alexandria and capturing King Ptolemy.
Insults and abuses against Jews became intolerable after Antiochus' successful invasion of Ptolemaic Egypt was turned back by the forces of the Roman Republic
Antiochus implemented draconian and blasphemous control over Israel. He ordered the sacking the Holy City and even sacrificed a pig on the alter the Second Beit HaMikdash. His extreme suppression of Jewish religious and cultural observances and the forced imposition of Hellenistic culture led the Jews to revolt.
The Jews found a "fair weather" comrade in Rome. The frequent attacks on the Seleucid Empire by the Roman and Parthian forces eventually enabled the Maccabees to establish Hasmonean independence.
3588 HH -- 172 BCE: Jason (who became Cohen Gadol in 3585 HH (175 BCE) had an ongoing competition with Onias III and Simon the Benjaminite for the position of Cohen Gadol. Jason sent Menelaus (brother of Simon the Benjaminite) to deliver bribe money to Antiochus in order to secure his position as High Priest. Menelaus betrayed Jason and offered a larger bribe, thereby securing the post for himself.
3593 HH -- 167 BCE: According to gossip at the time, Antiochus Epiphanes had been killed while fighting in Egypt. Attempting to reestablish his position Jason gathered a thousand soldiers and sought to reestablish his control of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem). During the riots Menelaus fled the City for his life.
3593 HH -- 167 BCE: Antiochus returned from Egypt in an absolute rage! He attacked Yerushalayim with a vengeance and restored Menelaus as Cohen Gadol, then executed countless Jews. He also desecrated the second Beit HaMikdash by sacrificing a pig on the alter.
Of these events we read:II Maccabees 5:11-14 When these happenings were reported to the king, he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Yerushalayim by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.
3594 HH -- 166 BCE: Around this point the true worship of HaShem come to be known as Judaism (the religion of the House of Judah): II Maccabees 2:21.
3595 HH 165 BCE: Among this insanity Judas the Maccabee led his famous revolt against Antiochus IV and his Salucid army in the famed Maccabean Revolt.
3597 HH 164 BCE: Judas the Maccabee rededicated the Beit HaMikdash to HaShem's service.
3599 HH -- 161 BCE: Judas the Maccabee sought an alliance with the Roman Republic to remove the Greeks and so sent Eupolemus, the son of Johanan and Jason the son of Eleazar, 'to make a league of amity and confederacy with the Romans.'
3618 - 3631 HH 142 - 37 BCE: The Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel:
3618 -3625 HH 142 - 135 BCE: Simon Maccabaeus (brother of Judas the Maccabee) was anointed both Cohen Gadol (High Priest) and King of Israel. He led the Jewish people to semi-independence from the Seleucid Greeks and formed the Hasmonean Jewish dynasty.
3621 HH -- 139 BCE: Relatively new to the region the Roman Republic was seeking regional allies against the Seleucid Empire and so the Roman Senate recognized the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel. This was purely a political arrangement. The Romans felt no loyalty to Israel.
3625 - 3656 HH -- 135–104 BCE: Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus), Simon's third son, assumed the leadership and ruled as Cohen Gadol of Yerushalayim and political leader of the Jews.
The Essene Brotherhood and Qumran
Khirbet Qumran, the famous Hellenistic Jewish settlement community discovered in 1947 that housed the 900 or so Dead Sea Scrolls. Some scholars believe the scrolls were written by the inhabitants themselves while others think they may have been deposited there for safe keeping during the events that so rocked Yerushalayim in 3830 HH (70 CE) when the Beit HaMikdash (or Holy Temple) was destroyed.
Qumran was continuously populated until the Jewish Roman War (circa 3728 HH/68 CE). It is generally assumed that Qumran was the home of the Jewish sect known as the Essenes (however note that according to the Essene Damascus Document "Damascus" was the was the location of their headquarters (Dam. Doc. 6, 5) however, it is widely believed that the reference to Damascus is actually a code referring to Qumran rather than the Syrian city. This code appears to be based on Amos 5:27: "therefore I shall take you into exile beyond Damascus).
It appears likely that the Essenes were a splinter group that separated themselves from the P'rushim during the scourges of that sect ordered by Hasmonean King Alexander Jannaeus -- see 103–76 and 64 BCE - Interval below).
The Essenes were led by a man known only as the "Teacher of Righteousness." This mysterious teacher viewed another leader as his arch enemy. This leader was known to sect members as "the Wicked Priest." Most scholars believe this man was none other than King Jannaeus who, while King of Israel was not deemed qualified to hold the position of Cohen Gadol (High Priest) as well. The Essenes also viewed the P'rushim with a lack of respect, referencing them as "the wall builders" (because their "walls of purity" (or Torah observance) was considered too lax causing the people and Beit HaMikdash to being defiled).
3658 - 3685 HH -- 103–76 BCE: John Hyrcanus was succeeded as King and Cohen Gadol by his son Alexander Jannaeus.
According to Josephus (Ant. 13:5-14) King Alexander Jannaeus was once officiating as cohen gadol during Sukkot when a group of P'rushim attacked him with large lemon-like fruit [probably citrons given the timing]. The tensions had been mounting for years (see 64 BCE - Interval below). King Jannaeus responded by forming a deeper alliance with the Tz'dukim (Sadducees) and having "thousands" of P'rushim executed. The P'rushim (Pharisees) sought foreign aid but in the end were executed for treason against the crown.
3696 HH -- 64 BCE: Having established its presence in the region the Roman Republic (specifically Pompey -- Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) forced the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel to submit to overlordship of the Roman governor of Syria, effectively ending independence for the Jewish state.
Interim: The P'rushim (Pharisees) during this period were more political than religious. They had opposed the Hasmonean wars of expansion and the forced conversions of the Idumeans (this became an issue concerning King Herod -- see below) which alienated them from many of those who were in power. In time the P'rushim demanded that Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaeus choose between being either political ruler or Cohen Gadol, but not both. Offended by this demand, Jannaeus sided with the Tz'dukim (Sadducees) by empowering their authority in matters pertaining to the Beit HaMikdash (Temple). This move against the P'rushim sparked a riot in the Beit HaMikdash and a brief civil war. The P'rushim faced some persecution from the throne for a time but king Alexander Jannaeus' days were numbered. He called for a reconciliation between the various factions prior to his death but it was too little too late.
3697 HH -- 63 BCE: Upon the death of King Alexander Jannaeus' widow Salome Alexandra, her elder son, Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus) sided with the P'rushim while her younger son, Aristobulus II, sought the support of the Tz'dukim. This spark more unrest and clashes between the Jewish people.
3699 HH -- 61 BCE: The Roman general Pompey used the conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus (which led to a civil war) as justification to capture Yerushalayim and inaugurate the Roman period of Jewish history.
3712 HH -- September 29, 48 BCE Death of Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus).
3716 HH -- 44 BCE: Roman Republic became Roman Empire as Julius Caesar was appointed perpetual dictator by the Roman Senate.
3716 HH -- March 15, 44 BCE: Death of Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar/Caesar).
3716 HH -- 44 BCE: The chaotic immediate aftermath of the deaths of Pompey and Caesar and the burdensome requirements of the Roman civil wars allowed the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel to temporarily reassert limited self rule with support from the Parthian Empire but this was short lived.
3729 HH -- September 2, 31 BCE: The Battle of Actium.
3718 -3723 HH -- 42 - 37 BCE: Caesar Augustus and Mark Antony crushed the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel.
Roman troops invaded Judea and sacked Yerushalayim and installed Herod the Great as Tetrarch (King) of Galilee.
Judea officially became an oppressed client state of Rome. Rome was now fully in control of Yerushalayim and Eretz Israel. They divided Eretz Israel into Judea (Idumea), Galilee, Peraea and a small trans-Jordanian section all under Roman control. Rome considered Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) and Beit-Lechem (Bethlehem) part of Judea.
Herod the Great (3686 - 3756 HH/74 - 4 BCE) was a Nabatean born in Jericho as the second son of Antipater the Idumaean. He became a high-ranking official under Ethnarch Hyrcanus II and Cypros. Herod was appointed by Caesar Augustus as Roman Tetrarch (King) of Israel. Because Herod was a Nabatean Idumaean (forced Arab converts to Judaism not accepted as Jews by the Orthodox P'rushim as mentioned at 3696 HH -- 64 BCE entry) many people deny that King Herod was actually even Jewish let alone qualified for his post.
3733 HH -- January 4, 27 BCE: The Roman Senate granted Octavian the honorific title of Augustus.
3740 HH -- 20 BCE: Herod the Great ordered the renovation the Second Beit HaMikdash (which became known as Herod's Temple thereafter). It was the same structure and so was still the Second Holy Yerushalayim Temple despite what some maintain. We are now awaiting the construction of the Third Beit HaMikdash.
3757 HH -- circa 4 BCE: Simon of Peraea: He claimed to be Mashiach. a former slave of Herod the Great who rebelled and was killed by the Romans.
3758 HH -- 3 BCE: Athronges: He claimed to be Mashiach. A shepherd turned rebel leader.
3758 HH -- 3 BCE: Menahem ben Judah: He claimed to be Mashiach. allegedly son of Judas of Galilee, partook in a revolt against Agrippa II before being slain by a rival Zealot leader. Dates uncertain.
Cohen Gadol and Mashiach Y'shua HaNatzeret:
Because the exact date of Y'shua's birth is uncertain the following are approximations. His birth is generally accepted to have occurred between 7 and 3 BCE. In my opinion the most likely date for his birth (based largely on other known dates) is the spring of 4 BCE so the following dates (for his life, death and resurrection) reflect this starting date.
3753 - 3756 HH -- 7 - 4 BCE: Birth of John the Baptist (Yochanan the Immerser) in occupied Judea.
3753 - 3756 HH -- 4 BCE: Birth of Y'shua ben Miriam (Jesus son of Mary) in occupied Judea.
3755 - 3756 HH -- 5 - 4 BCE: Escape to Egypt by Miryam (Mary), Yosef (Yosi/Joseph) and baby Y'shua. Slaughter of the children.
3755 - 3756 HH -- 5 - 4 BCE: Herod the Great died (some sources have 1 BCE for this).
Eretz Israel remained the home of the majority of the world’s Jews and Yerushalayim remained its religious and political heart until 70 CE (see below).
3768 HH -- 8 CE: Y'shua visited Yerushalayim as a child and sat with the P'rushim in the Beit HaMikdash.
Luke 2:42 And when he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast.
3772 HH -- 12 CE: Caesar Augustus appointed Tiberius co-regent of Imperial Rome.
3774 HH -- August 19th 14 CE: Tiberius became second Roman Emperor.
3785 HH -- 25 CE: Pilate and Caiaphas were appointed to office.
3786 HH -- 26 CE: John the Baptist was immersing people in the Jordan.
3786 HH -- 26 CE: Y'shua baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and begins his ministry.
3786 HH -- 26 CE: John the Baptist beheaded by King Herod after the daughter of Herodias danced for him at his birthday party.
HH -- 29 CE: Rebbe Y'shua's Execution:
Sunday:
As Rebbe Y'shua and his talmidim (followers) approached Yerushalayim they came to Bethpage and Bethany near the Mount of Olives. Rebbe Y'shua sent two of his disciples to get the young ass (polos: colt) for him to ride (Mark 11:2).
Rebbe Y'shua sat on the ass and rode in to Yerushalayim to cries of Hosanna! (Mark 11:9) in fulfillment of Daniel 9:25.
Rebbe Y'shua visited the Beit HaMikdash, then returned to Bethany for the night (Mark 11:11).
Monday:
Rebbe Y'shua cursed the fig tree because it had not figs (Mark 11:13,14).
Note that is was not the season for figs. The parable here is that HaShem would seek fruit from another "tree," from among the Noahides, thereby challenging the Jews to teshuva (repentence). Rav Paul explains this in Romans 11.
Rebbe Y'shua and his talmidim return to Yerushalayim.
Rebbe Y'shua drives the money changers from the Temple (Mark 11:15-17)
Rebbe Y'shua and the talmidim left the city (Mark 11:19)
Tuesday:
Rebbe Y'shua and his talmidim return to Yerushalayim as he gives instruction on prayer and other matters.
The Temple priests challenge Rebbe Y'shua's messianic claims (Mark 11:27, 28).
Rebbe Y'shua spoke various parables revealing how HaShem was about to elevate him to the possition of Cohen Gadol (High Priest after the order of Melchizedek: Psalm 110). It is clear that the P'rushim (Pharisees), Tz'dukim (Sadducees) and other elders understood what Y'shua was saying about them and they were furious "... for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them" (Mark 12;12).
Certain of the P'rushim and Herodians (Helenistic Nicolaitan minded Jews) attempt to trick the Rebbe into committing treason against the Roman Empire but he outsmarts them, saying to give Caesar what is Caesars and to God what belongs to HaShem (Mark 12:13-17).
Certain of the Tz'dukim (Sadducees) unsuccessfully tried to logically defeat Rebbe Y'shua's teachings on the resurrection (Mark 12:18-27).
One of the Scribes realizing Rebbe Y'shua's accurate knowledge of and loyalty to the Torah questioned him but revealed his own lack of devotion to HaShem in process (Mark 12:28-37).
Rebbe Y'shua and his talmidim left the Beit HaMikdash. Rebbe Y'shua revealed to them that HaShem had found the leaders of Israel (the P'rushim, the Tz'dukim and the Scribes to be unworthy of receiving the Kingdom. Therefore he anounces that HaShem would allow the Romans to destroy the Beit HaMikdash and Yerushalayim, sending the people into the diaspora (Mark 13:1,2; Matthew 23-24:3) until the end of the Times of the Gentiles (Luke 21:24).
Y'shua explained what would happen after the Times of the Gentiles were fulfilled (Luke 21:24) and how HaShem will one day establish the Kingdom (but not until then -- Matthew 24:32).
Wednesday:
There is no information in the Word about what the Rebbe did on this Wednesday nor where he was. Presumably he spent the day in prayer and fellowship with his talmidim, likely among the Essenes at Bethany at the house of Simon the leper. We assume this in part because that's where he was the next day (Mark 14:3).
Thursday:
Certain of the Cohanim (priests) and Scribes met to determine a way to have Rebbe Y'shua framed and convicted (Mark 14:1). With the mounting tensions and the Rebbe's statements that he was not going to fulfill the key Messianic prophecies, the leadership of Israel determined he was an unacceptable threat to the people, an agitator and imposture with no clear plan to free Israel (as required by the Messianic prophecies).
At Simon the leper's house the woman (likely Mary Madelene) anointed him with precious ointments (Mark 13:3-9). Few if any understood at the time that she was anointing him for his death shroud.
Possibly because of what appeared to him a great waste Y'hudah from K'riot (Judas Iscariot) left the sequestered Meshiykhiyyim and went to the Cohanim with his plan.
The nature of Judas' plan is debated. I believe that like the elders of Israel Judas and his friends in the Zealot party had determined that Rebbe Y'shua was backing away from his claim to be haMoshiach (the Messiah). Whereas the elders decided to have Rebbe Y'shua executed by the Romans to avoid repercussions, Judas, I believe, sought to force the hand of the "reluctant Messiah" by orchastrating the events. Feeling certain that the Meshiykhiyyim would defeate Rome if only Rebbe Y'shua would arise as Melekh (King) and lead them, Judas plotted to surrender the Rebbe believing that facing death Rebbe Y'shua would call forth the armies of resistance, drive out the Romans and establish himself as King, Cohen Gadol and Judge of Israel, thereby fulfilling the prophecies. When this misconcieved plan resulted in Rebbe Y'shua's death, Judas was riddled with guilt and committed suicide.
Y'hudah from K'riot (Judas Iscariot) receives his payment (Mark 14:11) from the rabbis.
The talmidim prepare Passover in the upper room (Mark 14:17-26 as directed: Exodus 12; Leviticus 23:4-8; Numbers 9:1-14; Deuteronomy 16:1-8).
As the talmidim take bread during the Pesach sedar, Rebbe Y'shua reveals his knowledge of Judas' plan (Mark 14:18-20). Understanding that what is happening is taking place by the Will of HaShem, the Rebbe tells Judas to leave and do what he has in mind. Doubtless Y'hudah from K'riot is deeply conflicted by this turn of events. Does this act affirm his plan? or is the Rebbe knowingly walking into his own execution!
Rebbe Y'shua institutes his Memorial Supper (Communion) thus adding a new rite to Pasach sedar for his talmidim.
The talmidim sang a hymn and then retreated with Y'shua to the Mount of Olives (Mark 14:26)
Rav Peter (Kefa) vows that he will never betray the Rebbe but Y'shua sadly notes that he will before the sun fully arises in the sky (Mark 14:30).
Rav Peter, James and John are brought out from the rest as the key talmidim. According to some Rebbe Y'shua gave them special instructions and doctrines (especially James who led the Movement after Rebbe's death). Despite instructions for them to remain alert with him in prayer, all three fall asleep.
As the night grew cold Judas and a heavily armed band sent out from the Cohanim, Scribes and other elders to arrest Rebbe Y'shua (Mark 14:43).
Upon their arival in the garden, one of Rebbe Y'shua's talmidim (Rav Peter according to tradition) took up his sword to defend the Rebbe. As this possibly last hope that Rebbe Y'shua would finally declare himself Melekh and begin the revolution faltered -- with the stern warning that those who live by the sword die by it -- Rav Peter fled to city and hid among the town's people to witness what would happen next.
As Rebbe Y'shua had predicted, all of his talmidim fled, including Kefa (Mark 14;50).
Next comes a most interesting verse:
Mark 14:51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men laid hold on him:
14:52 And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
(He who has ears to hear...)
Rebbe Y'shua was then led to the Cohen Gadol for a trial to devise a charge justifying the death penalty under Roman law (Mark 14;45). Under the occupation the Jewish officials lacked this authority.
Rebbe Y'shua refused to speak to the beit din (religious court). The highest beit din in Israel was about to formally reject the long awaited Moshiach. How his heart must have broke seeing this come to pass!
Rebbe Y'shua confounded them however because while he had made it clear he would not fulfill the Messianic prophecies (at least at that time), when asked directly whether or not he was haMoshiach he told him directly that he, as haMoshiach, would one day return seated at the right hand of HaShem (Mark 14:62)! The Cohen Gadol then rent his robes and declared the statement be blasphemous (Mark 14:63,64). How confusing this must have been!
How desperately the rabbis wanted haMoshiach! The Jewish people were praying earnestly for his coming! Based on Navi Daniel's critical prophey (9:24-26) they knew the time was right! But as with the other claiments they could not accept his message. True, he worked miracles and looked like a serious contender, but Rebbe Y'shua steadfastly refused to take up the Rod of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1) and led the People against Rome as melekh. they had determined that he was not haMoshiach but... Now he was claiming the Throne of David for himself in the very presence of the Cohen Gadol! How confusing this must have seemed to them! They knew he had power. They knew the masses would follow him if he would just lead... One minute he says submit to Caesar and the next, facing certain death, he says he is their Moshiach!
Friday:
Early in the morning the elders of Israel brought Rebbe Y'shua bound to Pilate demanding he be executed for treason again Rome (Mark 15:1). How ironic! He refused to led them in rebellion against Rome and for that very reason they had rejected him, now they accused him of treason against Rome!
Pilate interrogated Rebbe Y'shua and declared him not only "not guilty" by completely innocent of the charges. The gathered mob was insistent on Rebbe Y'shua's execution however.
They wanted haMoshiach! If this, the best candidate they had seen, was not willing to be him... then they wanted him executed! "We have no king but Ceaser!" was not a loyalist proclaimation! It was national depression! It was a communal cry of an alcholic that whisky was the only real friend he ever had!!
This was about much more than Rebbe Y'shua the man! These people were expressing extreme disastifaction with the corrupt system they were living under and their resignation that things would never imporve for them. Jerusalem was a steaming kettle that was about to explode! A mixture of seething rage and absolute apathy! This is why they embraced Barabas as bad as he was! Barabas represented what the Roman occupation had forced the Jews to become! A national disgrace. Rebbe Y'shua represented their hopes and dreams, the HaTikvah (hope) that they might again be a free people living in a free land and many many people follow him... But not their hopes and dreams had again collapsed. They thought: If he's not haMoshiach maybe it was all a lie! or maybe HaShem has abandoned us (not that such was ever true of course)! There were powerful psychological componants at work here!
Pilate feared a riot.
9-10 AM:
Rebbe Y'shua was Impaled on a stauros (execution stake) at "the third hour": Mark 15:25
Rebbe Y'shua prayed for his accusers and executioners: Luke 23:34
The Roman soldiers cast lots for his clothing: Mark 15:24
Rebbe Y'shua is mocked by various people: Matthew 27:39-40, Mark 15:31, Luke 23:36-37, Luke 23:39
Around 11 AM:
Rebbe Y'shua promises salvation to the repentant thief: Luke 23:40-43
Rebbe Y'shua tells Rav John the Beloved to care for his mother: John 19:26-27
Noon - The Sixth Hour:
Darkness covers the land: Mark 15:33
Around 1 PM:
Rebbe Y'shua cried out: Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? which is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?": Matthew 27:46
Rebbe Y'shua asks for something to quench his thirst and is given a vinegar soaked sponge: John 19:28-29
2 PM:
Rebbe Y'shua cries out "It is accomplished!": John 19:30
3 PM - The Ninth Hour:
A great earthquake shakes Golgotha and splits the 4 ton temple curtain in two: Matthew 27:51-52
Many of the dead rise from their crypts and are seen walking the earth: Matthew 27:51-52. This in understood in various ways.
The Centurion confesses: "Truly this was the Son of God!": Matthew 27:54; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:47
The soldiers broke the thieves' legs so they would not be on the starous (execution stake) during Shabbat. They discover that Rebbe Y'shua is already dead however so his legs are not broken: John 19:31-33
The soldier pierces Rebbe Y'shua's side: John 19:34
Rebbe Y'shua's corpse is laid in Joseph of Arimathea's tomb: Matthew 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-56; John 19:38-42
Shabbat:
Rebbe Y'shua's body remains in the grave.
Sunday:
Just before sunrise Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Ya'akov (James who also Y'shua's mother) and Salome bring spices to the tomb in order to anoint the body as tradition dictates. When they arrive they find the stone that had blocked the entrance to the sepulchre has been rolled away (Mark 16:1-4).
As they enter the tomb they see "a young man" sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment. It is commonly believed this was an angel (but some believe it was a member of the Essene Brotherhood). The word used here is neaniskos which means a male under about 40 years of age. From Mark's version we can not positively say this was or was not an angel.
The young man informs the women that Rebbe Y'shua is no longer there (Mark 16:6).
The women are told to go and inform the Rebbe's talmidim that he is gone to Galilee and that the talmidim should go meet him there. He adds that Rebbe Y'shua has already told them to meet him there -- which may have been part of the private instructions mentioned above to Rav James, John and Peter (Mark 16:7).
Mark 16:9 leads some to conclude that the young man the women saw was actually Y'shua, not an angel because it says Y'shua first appeared to Mary Magdalene who then went to the Peter and the others.
It is worth noting that according to the Dark Prophecies Mary Magdalene was Y'shua's wife (married to him in Cana -- John 2:1-11). This would explain why Mark 16:1 mentions her before Rebbe Y'shua and Ya'akov's (James') mother and possibly why her role is somewhat obscured here.
Rebbe Y'shua met with his eleven principle talmidim (Judas was gone) and gave them instructions for conducting his Messianic movement (Mark 16:14-20).
The Disciples began their various ministries.
3791 HH -- October 18, 31 CE: Tiberius executed Sejanus (prefect of the Roman Praetorian Guard) for treason against him.
3796 HH -- 36 CE: Pontius Pilate dethroned. Caiaphas deposed.
3797 HH -- March 16, 37 CE: Death of Emperor Tiberius.
3728 HH -- 68 CE: Khirbet Qumran was destroyed by the Romans.
Qumran is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. The settlement was located on a plateau about a mile inland from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank near the modern Israeli Kalia kibbutz (see 3626 HH/134 CE for more).
3826 - 3831 HH -- 66 - 70 CE: The First Jewish - Roman War (ha-Mered HaGadol: The Great Revolt).
About 1,100,000 people were killed during the siege of Yerushalayim. Many of these died not only from military assaults but also due to illnesses brought about by hunger. Starvation was worsened by pestilences and famine. 97,000 were captured and enslaved by the Romans. Others fled the region and settled elsewhere.
Whereas the Romans had ostensibly entered to region as allies (see 3599 HH -- 161 BCE) they produced the greatest disaster in Israeli history until the modern era under Stalin and then Hitler. What is coming will be even worse.
Tisha B'Av 3830 HH -- July 29, 70 CE: Destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash (or Holy Temple) of Yerushalayim.
The assault on Yerushalayim was led by Titus Flavius, son of Vespasian and future Roman Emperor.
Virtually all the Jews, including the followers of Y'shua, were dispersed throughout the world fallowing the destruction.
3831 - 3833 HH -- 71-73 CE: Fall of Masada.
Bands of courageous Jews held out in various locations like Herodium and the fortress of Machaerus on the shore of the Dead Sea but these all feel before the might of Rome. Lucius Flavius Silva became leader of Rome's forces and moved against Masada in the autumn of 3832 HH (72 CE). Once Masada was finally taken in 3833 HH (73 CE) they discovered 967 Jewish defenders who had all committed suicide, preferring death over defeat.
3892 - 3896 HH -- 132-136 CE: The Bar Kokhba Revolt: The last Jewish - Roman War.
The Bar Kokhba Revolt was led by Simon bar Kokhba (who was hailed by many Jews as Moshiach). The Bar Kokhba rebellion successfully secured Israeli independence for two years but they were finally crushed by twelve Roman legions.
Simon bar Kokhba sought to build a third Beit HaMikdash but his attempts were thwarted by the Romans.
In Simon bar Kokhba we see an example of what Jews expect of their Moshiach (and why they reject Y'shua's claims): A mighty Warrior King who lifts up HaShem and leads His people to victory. Adon Y'shua HaNatzrati served as a humble Cohen Gadol who insisted the Kingdom he was introducing is not of this world (John 18:36). Bar Kokhba's kingdom was to be a literal kingdom, as will be Moshiach's (for more Y'shua's dual role as Cohen Gadol and Moshiach go HERE).
The Romans barred all Jews (including the followers of Y'shua -- who regarded Simon bar Kokhba as a false prophet) from Yerushalayim except for the annual commemoration of Tisha B'Av (the destruction of the two Beit HaMikdash on the Ninth of Av.
The Romans renamed Iudaea Province (i.e. Judea) Pelesheth (Latinized as Palestina), known today as Palestine. In an attempt to remove the Jews from history the Romans used the Greek toponym Palestini following the linguistic example of the Greek historian Herodotus (5th century BCE) to denote the coastal land from Phoenicia down to Egypt. The term has nothing to do with the Arabs who plagiarized the term in an attempt to establish historic claims to Jewish lands. Palestini refers to the Greek sea-going people known otherwise as the Philistines. Those familiar with the Bible will recall when David killed the Philistine Goliath to save his people. These people are not Arabs.
Following the Bar Kokhba Revolt the Jews were banned from Yerushalayim by Hadrianus Caesar and the modern Jewish Diaspora began.
Not all Jews fled the region however. Jewish communities continued to exist in Galilee, the northernmost part of Palestine, and their descendants remain there until our day.
3896 - 4061 HH -- 136 - 300 CE: The largely deserted Eretz Israel remained under Roman occupation during these years and a few people, Romans, Persians, Jews and others continued to live there.
4073 --312 C.E. Birth of the Christian religion:
During his famous battle for control of Rome against Maxentius, Constantine -- the mighty warlord who became Caesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus (lived circa February 27, 272 - May 22, 337) -- a devout worshiper of Mithras Sol Invictus (the Roman sun god) until the day he died, claimed to have had a vision of Y'shua. Constantine claimed that Adon Y'shua had appeared to him in the heavens, enshrouded by the Sun (sacred emblem of Sol) and ordered him to "fight and conquer" under the sign of the Chi-Rho (a form of the ancient Pagan cross). To the right you see a Roman coin embossed with this Pagan symbol. Adon Y'shua of course died on a stake (a starous) according to the Bible, not on a cross.
Under the sway of this new all inclusive governmental and ecclesiastical hierarchy the Nazarenes were largely silenced as Vatican authorities codified and mandated heretical doctrines in their councils: such as those held at Nicaea in May of 325.
These apostate counsels and closed-door sessions canonized new heresies as official Church and political doctrine. It must have seemed to the Nazarene Believers as though a wild beast had been set free in the congregations of the faithful. And because of Constantine this beast had the claws to enforce its edicts! From this point on dissent was not only "heretical," it was suicidal!
The Nicene Creed appears in slightly different forms (and of courses languages). The Creed is usually just called the "Nicene Creed" but it is also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, after its origin in the first two Church ecumenical Councils in 325 and 381.
4201 - 4231 HH -- 440 - 470 CE: Moses of Crete: He claimed to be Mashiach. Convinced the Jews of Crete to attempt to walk into the sea in order to return to Israel; he disappeared after that disaster.
4061 - 4331 HH -- 300 - 570 CE: Eretz Israel was ruled by the Byzantine Empire. As Nicene Christians gradually solidified their control of the area they recorded that the population consisted mainly of Jews, Jewish converts to Christianity and various people they deemed "Pagan" (i.e. diverse peoples brought in as slaves and others who had probably inhabited Eretz Israel continuously. This would include Greek Philistine descendants, Semitic Arabs and others. They did not record any sort of specifically Palestinian society or people. Such never existed until modern times when it was created in opposition to Israeli claims.
Muhammad al-Mustafa ibn Abdullah:
4331 HH -- 570 CE Muhammad al-Mustafa ibn Abdullah: Claimed to be the Final and Greatest Prophet. Born into the ruling Pagan Arab tribe of Quraysh in Mecca.
As a young man Muhammad met with many traveling merchants and thinkers: with Jews, Hindus, Nicene Christians, Zoroastrian Persians and others. Eventually he proclaimed himself to be the final Prophet for all time of the Abrahamic tradition.
To justify his claims Muhammad plagiarized the Torah of Israel and linked his Arab tribe with the descendants of Ishmael, the cast off son of Abraham and Hagar the Egyptian slave. He claimed various visions and angelic visitations and based on these he became a warlord, raised an army of followers and called on the Arab people and all others to embrace his new religion fully or die.
Through "word and sword" the armies of the Islamic Ummah and Deen spread his message of utter submission to Allah far and wide. Soon Islam became the world’s second largest religion and remains so today, although it will soon surpass Nicene Christianity and become the largest in all likelihood. For a time Islam excelled in the arts, culture and the sciences until its crushing defeat by the Frankish armies of Charles "The Hammer" Martel" ("Carolus Martellus," ca. 688 – 22 October 741) in 732 at Tours, central France. This Western victory established the ongoing reign of the Merovingian House (from which Rex Mundi will soon arise.
It is believed by Muslims that Muhammad al-Mustafa was visited by the Angel Gabriel and that he revealed to him that he had inherited the mantle of Abraham’s eldest son Ishmael. Like Judaism -- which arose through Abraham and his wife Sarah’s son Isaac -- Islam traces its origins through Abraham, but through Sara’s Egyptian slave Hagar (Islam maintains that Hagar was not a slave but a free woman, indeed, an Egyptian princess). Islam frequently plagiarizes the Torah and seeks to transfer many of the Biblical stories about Isaac to Ishmael. For instance Islam claims that Abraham's intended sacrifice was not Isaac as the Torah says, but Ishmael. Based on the messages Muhammad claimed to have received from the angel, the Torah accounts were altered and a new false religion was created, one that is fundamentally opposed to the God of Israel and His Elect.
The fact is that Islam is not descended from Ishmael as it claims but the from the Pagan lunar god Allah.
4375 HH -- 614 CE: The Islamic Persian Empire (ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651) conquer Judea and Yerushalayim.
4389 HH -- 628 CE: The Nicene Christian Byzantine Eastern Roman Emperor Flavius Heraclius Augustus (c. 575 - February 11, 641) defeated the Sassanid Persians and captured Yerushalayim.
4399 HH -- 638 CE: Caliph Omar signed a covenant with the Nicene Christians of Yerushalayim guaranteeing their protection. Eretz Israel was then divided into the Jund of Filastin (the name taken from the Roman coined Philistia after the Greek Philistines who occupied the land for a time), in the south (capital in Al-Lod and later in Ramlah), and the Jund of Urdunn in the north, with its capital at Tiberias (Tabariyeh).
4445 - 4466 HH -- 684 - 705 CE: Abu Isa (AKA Ishak ben Ya'kub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani), led a revolt in Persia against the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He organized the first Jewish sect since the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. His disciple Yudghan continued the faith after Isa was slain. Both men claimed to be Mashiach.
4399 HH -- 691 CE: Construction of the Muslim Al-Aqsa Mosque, which includes the Dome of the Rock, on Har haBáyit (the Temple Mount).
Al-Aqsa Mosque was originally built as a small prayer house (or masjid) by the Rashidun caliph Umar. It was rebuilt and expanded by the Ummayad caliph Abd al-Malik and completed by his son al-Walid in 705 CE.
4481 HH -- 720 CE: Serene: Claimed to be Mashiach. Advocated expelling Muslims and relaxing various rabbinic laws. He recanted after being arrested (for heresy?).
4507 HH -- 746 CE: 746, Al-Aqsa Mosque was completely destroyed and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754, and again rebuilt by his successor al-Mahdi in 780.
4794 HH -- 1033 CE: Another earthquake destroys Al-Aqsa Mosque and two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir rebuilt it. His Al-Aqsa Mosque has stood to the present-day.
4832 HH -- 1071 CE The Seljuk Turks conquered Yerushalayim and fought the Nicene Christians.
4859 HH -- 1098 CE: The Egyptian Muslim Fatimid rulers captured Yerushalayim, Jaffa and other parts of Eretz Israel largely displacing the Seljuk Turks.
4860 HH -- 1099 CE: Nicene Christian Crusaders captured Yerushalayim and slaughtered most of the Jews and Muslim inhabitants of the region. They reverted Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Christian church. Most surviving Jews were expelled or fled the area. Still, some Jews remained in their eternal homeland, some using mock conversion tactics, others by keeping low and wary profiles.
4921 HH -- 1160 CE: David Alroy: Claimed to be Mashiach. Born in Kurdistan agitated against the caliph before being assassinated.
4948 HH -- 1187 CE: The Muslim ruler Salah-ed-din (Saladin) recaptured Yerushalayim for the Ummah of Islam.
4948 - 5052 HH -- 1187 - 1291 CE: Nicene Christian Crusaders struggled to regain the area from the Ummah but were finally defeated at Acre and evicted from Eretz Israel all together. In order to stop the Nicene Christian raids on the Middle East the Ummah pulled their people back from the coastal regions and utterly destroyed many towns and farms leaving the area a vast wasteland. This depopulated and impoverished the coastal areas of Eretz Israel for hundreds of years.
5011 -- 5021 HH -- 1250 - 1260 CE: Under Egyptian Muslim General Aybakhe the Mamelukes (originally created by the Baghdad Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century but by this point an Egyptian-based Arab soldier-slave based militia), established an empire that in time included much of Eretz Israel. Arab-speaking Muslims made up most of the population of Eretz Israel during this period but again there were always Jews living in their homeland.
5020 HH -- 1259 CE: Warlord Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghiz Khan and brother of brother of Arik Boke, Möngke Khan and Kublai Khan, and his Mongols took Aleppo and Damascus.
5021 - 5278 HH -- 1260 - 1517 CE: The Mongol armies of Hulagu Khan confronted the army of the Muslim Mameluke General Baybars, the sultan of Egypt at Ayn Jalut, near Nazareth. In one of the decisive battles of history Baybars defeated the Mongols in one of the first setbacks suffered by the family of Genghis Khan. This Mameluke Muslim dynastic victory established Eretz Israel and Syria as Egyptian Muslim strongholds. Mesopotamia and Persia remained for the time being under control of the Mongol empire.
5056 HH -- 1295 CE: Nissim ben Abraham: Claimed to be Mashiach.
Circa 5060 HH 1300 CE: By this point Jews from Spain and other Mediterranean lands were resettling in their ancient homeland around Yerushalayim in part to escape the bitter and mounting Nicene Christian persecution in Europa.
Circa 5173 HH 1412 CE: Moses Botarel of Cisneros: Claimed to be Mashiach, considered to be a sorcerer by manipulating the Holy Names.
5251 - 5293 HH -- 1490 – 1532 CE: David Reubeni (AKA Solomon Molcho ?): Claimed to be Mashiach. Some sources say these were two different people. Adventurer who traveled in Portugal, Italy, and Turkey seeking to create an Christian-Jewish alliance against Islam. Reubeni was a "swarthy dwarf" of a man who was eventually burned at the stake by the Inquisition.
5253 HH -- 1492 CE: Bayezid II, the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, invited Jews fleeing the Catholic Spanish Inquisition to settle in the Turkish empire. Among other areas, these persecuted Jews settled in several cities of Eretz Israel joining those who had already returned.
5254 HH -- 1493 CE: The Nicene Christian authorities expelled as many as 137,000 Jews from Sicily.
5257 HH -- 1496 CE: The Nicene Christian authorities expelled all Jews from Portugal and many German cities.
5262 HH -- 1501 CE: King Alexander of Poland readmits Jews to Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
5277 HH -- 1516 CE: The first Jewish ghetto in Europe is established in Venice. Antisemitism continues to grow and Jewish ghettos appears throughout Europa over the next many years.
5278 HH -- 1517 CE: The Ottoman Turks conquered the Mamelukes and absorbed vast areas into their expanding Ottoman Empire.
5286 - 5333 HH -- 1525–1572 CE: Rabbi Moshe Isserles (The Rema) of Kraków writes an extensive gloss to the Shulkhan Arukh called the Mappah>, extending its application to Ashkenazi Jewry.
5295 HH -- 1534 CE: King Sigismund I of Poland abolishes the law requiring Jews to wear special clothes.
5295 HH -- 1534 CE: First Yiddish book published, in Poland.
5295 - 5333 HH -- 1534–1572 CE: Isaac Luria ("the Arizal") teaches Kabbalah in Yerushalayim.
5308 HH -- 1547 CE: First Hebrew Jewish printing house in Lublin founded.
5311 HH -- 1550 CE: Moses ben Jacob Cordovero founds Kabbalah academy in Safed.
5328 HH -- 1567 CE: First Jewish university Yeshiva founded in Poland.
5338 HH -- 1577 CE: A Hebrew printing press is established in Safed, the first Hebrew language press in Eretz Israel and Asia.
5341 - 5525 HH -- 1580–1764: First session of the Council of Four Lands (Va'ad Arba' Aratzot) in Lublin, Poland. 70 delegates from local Jewish kehillot meet to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community.
5382 - 5390 HH -- 1621–1630 CE: Shelah HaKadosh writes his most famous work after emigrating to Eretz Israel.
5384 HH -- 1623 CE: First time separate (Va'ad) Jewish Sejm for Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Sabbatai Zevi
5387 - 5437 HH --1626 – 1676 CE: Sabbatai Zevi: Claimed to be Mashiach. An Ottoman Jew. Founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement, attracts a significant following and later converts to Islam rather than die as a martyr.
On September 16, 1666 Sabbatai was taken by order of Mehmed IV to Adrianople where he discarded his Jewish dress, donned a Turkish Muslim turban, accepted a (second) Muslim wife and committed himself to the Ummah and Deen of Islam. This was a crushing blow to many Jews who believed in him.
- Barukhia Russo (Osman Baba), successor of Sabbatai Zevi.
- Jacob Querido (?-1690), claimed to be the new incarnation of Sabbatai; later converted to Islam and led the Donmeh (coverts to the Crypto-Jewish sect of Islamic converts aka Sabbateanism).
- Miguel Cardoso (1630–1706), another successor of Sabbatai who claimed to be the "Messiah ben Ephraim."
- Mordecai Mokia (1650–1729), "the Rebuker," another person who proclaimed himself Messiah after Sabbatai's death.
- Löbele Prossnitz (?-1750), a proven fraud who nevertheless attained some following amongst former followers of Sabbatai, calling himself the "Messiah ben Joseph."
- Also see Ya'akov Frank: 5487 HH (1726 CE)
5394 HH -- 1633 CE: Jews of Poznan were granted allowed to forbid Christians from enter their city.
5409 HH -- 1648 CE: Jewish population of Poland reaches 450,000 (making 4% of the population of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Jewish), Bohemia 40,000 and Moravia 25,000. Worldwide population of Jewry is estimated at 750,000.
5409 - 5416 HH -- 1648–1655 CE: Ukrainian Cossack Bohdan Chmielnicki leads a massacre of Polish Jews. An estimated 65,000 Jews die, leaving the number of Jews at an estimated 100,000 world wide.
5416 HH -- 1655 CE: Jews readmitted to England by Oliver Cromwell.
5461 - 5521 HH -- 1700–1760 CE: The Ba'al Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer) founds Hasidic Judaism:
Hasidic Judaism is viewed as a way to approach HaShem through meditation and fervent joy rather than intellectualism and legalism. The Hasidim attract many followers and formed several sects including Bobover, Breslover (founded by Rabbi Nachman of Breslov), Gerer, Lubavitch (Chabad founded by founded in the late 18th century by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi) and Satmar Hasidim (founded by Rebbe Yoel Teitelbaum).
Not all Jews are favorable of this development. European Jewish opponents of Hasidim (known as Mitnagdim) argue that one should follow a more scholarly approach to Judaism.
5481 HH -- 1720 CE: Arabs burn the synagogue being built by Rabbi Yehuda and Aliya immigrants and seek to expel all Ashkenazi Jews from Yerushalayim.
5481 - 5558 HH -- 1720–1797 CE: Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman (the Vilna Gaon). He was an famed Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist and foremost leader of non-Hasidic Jewry.
5487 HH -- 1726 CE: Jacob Joseph Frank (aka Ya'akov Frank): Claimed to be Mashiach. Claimed to be the reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and King David. Preached a synthesis of Christianity and Judaism with himself as Mashiach and Cohen Gadol.
5490 - 5547 HH -- 1729–1786 CE: Moses Mendelssohn and the Haskalah (or Enlightenment) movement:
Rabbi Mendelssohn sought to end the cultural isolation of Jews from their European neighbors in order to enhance their acceptance. The Haskalah was a bitter-sweet victory in that while it lead to granter communication and cooperation between the communities, it also lead many Jews to abandone Jewish distinctiveness. This more secular Jewish worldview resulted in the establishment of non-Orthodox denominations and in some cases in the abandonment of Judaism outright. On the other hand, it also lead to the restoration of Hebrew as a spoken language and many non-Jews coming to understand Judaism. This also lead more Christians to seek the Jewish roots of Y'shua's teachings.
5501 HH -- 1740 CE: The Parliament of Great Britain passes a general act permitting Jews to be naturalized in the American colonies. Previously, several colonies had also permitted Jews to be naturalized without taking the standard oath "upon the true faith of a Christian."
5501 HH -- 1740 CE: Ottoman authorities invite Rabbi Haim Abulafia (1660–1744), renowned Kabbalist and Rabbi of Izmir, to come to Eretz Israel and rebuild the city of Tiberias, which had lain desolate for some 70 years. The city’s revival is seen by many as a sign of the soon coming of the Moshiach. Messianic hopes begin to rekindle among both Jews and Christians as thousand of Jews immigrate to Eretz Israel in a wave of Messianic fervor, including Rabbi Moses Haim Luzzatto (1707-1746) author of The Way of God.
5501- 5511 HH -- 1740–1750 CE: Thousands immigrate to Eretz Israel under the influence of the mounting Messianic expectations. The large Aliya greatly increases the size and strength of the Jewish Settlement in Eretz Israel.
5508 HH -- 1747 CE: Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov (d. 1761) is the first immigrant of the Hasidic Aliyah. He is a respected Talmudic scholar, mystic, and brother-in-law of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of the Hasidic movement). Rabbi Abraham first settles in Hebron. Later, he relocates to Jerusalem at the behest of its residents.
5520 HH -- 1759 CE: Followers of Jacob Frank joined ranks of Polish szlachta (gentry) of Jewish origins.
5533 - 5556 HH -- 1772 – 1795 CE: Partitions of Poland between Russia, Kingdom of Prussia and Austria. Vast majority of World Jewry lives now in those 3 countries. Antisemitism is growing.
5536 - 5542 HH -- 1775–1781 CE: The American Revolution: The guarantee of freedom of religion for all in North America.
5550 HH -- 1789 CE: The French Revolution.
5551 HH -- 1790 CE: In the USA, President George Washington sends a letter to the Jewish community in Rhode Island. He writes that he envisions a country "which gives bigotry no sanction... persecution no assistance." Despite the fact that the US was a predominantly Protestant country, theoretically Jews are given full rights. Jews begin taking part in what was called the "American dream" but their numbers are still small.
5552 HH -- 1791 CE: France grants specific rights to Jews allowing them to become citizens (under certain conditions).
5552 HH -- 1791 CE: Imperial Russia creates the Pale of Settlement (cherta osedlosti) or permanent residency order that includes land acquired from Poland with a huge Jewish population. The Jewish population of the Pale was estmated at 750,000. Another 450,000 Jews lived in the Prussian and Austrian parts of Poland.
5559 HH -- 1798 CE: Rabbi Nachman of Breslov travels to Eretz Isreal.
5560 HH -- 1799 CE: French troops took Jaffa but failed to conquer Acre. Napoleon prepared a Proclamation making Palestine an independent Jewish state, but his unsuccessful attempt to capture Acre prevented it from being issued.
5567 HH -- 1806 CE Napoleon’s declaration of equal rights for Jews was formally repealed.
5569 - 5601 HH -- 1808 – 1840 CE: "Hastening Redemption": This was a large-scale Zionist fervor movement that successfully promoted aliyah in hope of Hastening Jewish Redemption in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah in 1840. For more on this Movement see: Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel, Arie Morgenstern, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 52.
5581 - 5621 HH -- 1820 – 1860 CE: In part as a response to the growing liberalism fostered by Moses Mendelssohn's Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement (see 5490 - 5547 HH -- 1729–1786 CE above) and European emancipation Rabbis began to define the nature and beliefs of Orthodox Judaism for the modern world. They established traditionalist movements that resisted the influences of modernization and demanded faithful Jews continue in strict adherence to Halakha (Jewish Law).
5591 HH -- 1830 CE: Greece grants citizenship to Jews.
5592 HH -- 1831 CE: Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha (AKA Mehmed Ali of Egypt) recaptured much of Eretz Israel but was forced to withdraw in 1840 under pressure from European rulers. he was Wali of Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Hejaz, Morea, Thasos, Crete. The dynasty he established ruled Egypt and Sudan until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. He is considered the modern founder of Egypt.
5598 HH -- 1837 CE: Moses Haim Montefiore is knighted by Queen Victoria, the first Jew to receive an English Knighthood.
5598 HH -- 1837 Galilee earthquake devastates Jewish communities of Safed and Tiberias.
5599 - 5694 HH -- 1838 – 1933 CE: Rabbi Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen (Chofetz Chaim) opens an important yeshiva. He writes an authoritative Halakhic work, Mishnah Berurah.
Circa 5611 HH -- 1850 CE: Beginning of the rise of classical Reform Judaism.
Rabbi Israel Salanter develops the Mussar Movement teaching that while Jewish law is still binding he dismisses current philosophical debate and advocates the ethical teachings as the essence of Judaism. This shores up both Reform and Conservative Movements.
"Positive-Historical Judaism" (later known as Conservative Judaism) is developed.
5602 HH -- 1841 CE: David Levy Yulee of Florida is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first Jew elected to Congress. His election brings a sense of security to American Jews that aids in their assemilation into American life. This sense of saftey through assemilation leads to the wide acceptance of non-Orthodoxy among American Jews.
5604 HH -- 1843 CE: The modern Zionist movement was growing in popularity with the writings of people like Rabbi Alcalay and Rabbi Kalischer. As Jews had since 70 CE, many longed to return home to Eretz Israel but now many Jews were seeking ways to accomplish it.
5605 HH -- 1844 CE: The first census of Yerushalayim shows 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians.
May I repeat: 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians. Despite it all, more Jews were living in Yerushalyim than any other group in 1844 and Aliya was only just begining.
5621 HH -- 1860 CE First Jewish settlement (Mishkenot Sha'ananim) built outside the walls of Yerushalayim since 70 CE. This was long before World War Two. HaShem was bringing His people Home!
5639 HH -- 1878 CE First Zionist Settlement - Petah Tikwa establsihed.
5631 HH -- 1870 CE: Formation of Hovevei Tzion in Russia. This was an extra-Zionist movement that looked at the feasibility of a large-scale return to the Jewish Homeland.
5643 HH -- 1882 CE: Hibat Zion/Hovevei Tziyon members founded Rishon LeZion
5643 HH -- 1882 CE: Leon Pinsker writes Auto-Emancipation; the formation of BILU (an acronym based on Isaiah 2:5: בית יעקב לכו ונלכה -- Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Venelkha ("House of Jacob, let us go [up]"). BILU promoted the agricultural development of Eretz Israel.
The beginning of the First Aliya or wave of Jewish immigration back to Israel.
5657 HH -- 1896 CE: Publication of Der Judenstaat -- The Jewish State -- by Theodor Herzl.
5658 HH -- 1897 CE: First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland
The Lubavitcher Rebbe
5663 - 5755 HH -- 1902 – 1994 CE: Menachem Mendel Schneerson (aka the Lubavitcher Rebbe): Believed by many to be Mashiach. Those who believe he is Mashiach practice "Chabad messianism" (aka Lubavitch messianism). While he apparently did not oppose this view of himself there is this: In 1991, he declared to his followers: "I have done everything I can [to bring Moshiach], now I am handing over to you [the mission]; do everything you can to bring Moshiach!"
5665 HH -- 1904 CE: Beginning of Second Aliyah.
5665 HH -- 1904 CE: Death of Theodor Herzl (Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl) -- (May 2, 1860 — July 3, 1904).
5670 HH -- 1909 CE: Founding of Tel Aviv - the first modern all-Jewish city.
5671 HH -- 1910 CE: Founding of Degania - the first Kibbutz.
5674 (4th of Tamuz) HH -- June 28 1914 CE: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary triggers World War One.
5675 - 5679 HH -- 1914 - 1918: World War One: "The War to End All Wars":
World War I began in the Summer of 1914 CE. Antisemitism increases throughout Europa and in many countries, including the USA, attacks on Jews dangerously increase.
The Muslim Ottoman Empire genocides over a million Nicene Christians (especially Armenian Christians).
The Russians deport about 600,000 Jews.
18th of Elul, 5675 HH -- September 9 1914 CE: Septemberprogramm, a plan detailing Germany's specific war plans to defeat the Allied Powers is outlined by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg.
17th of Cheshvan, 5678 HH -- Nov 2, 1917 CE: British issue the Balfour Declaration promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine.
Over 1,172,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Allied and Central Power forces in World War I, including 450,000 in Czarist Russia and 275,000 in Austria-Hungary.
Over 2000 anti-Jewish pogroms were carried out. 60,000–200,000 civilian Jews were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire (most occurred in the Ukraine.
Following the Balfour Declaration the Jewish movement to return Home continued despite increasingly global Antisemitism.
5680 HH -- 1919 CE: Beginning of Third Aliyah.
5683 (28th of Tamuz) HH -- CE July 24, 1922 CE: British Mandate over Palestine issued (activated September 26, 1923).
5685 - 5693 HH: -- 1924 - 1932 CE: Fourth Aliyah.
5690 (month of AV) HH -- August 1929 CE: Arabs riot in Yerushalayim and massacre Jews in Hebron and Safad.
5692 HH -- 1931 CE: Irgun Zva'i Leumi ("National Military Organization in the Land of Israel"), the Jewish Underground movement founded.
5694 - 5700 HH -- 1933 - 1939 CE: Fifth Aliyah.
5702 HH -- 1941 Palmach - an early Jewish defense force established.
5703 (month of Nissan-Iyyar) HH -- May 1942 CE: American Zionists call for a "Jewish Commonwealth" in Palestine at Biltmore Conference.
5700 - 5706 HH -- 1939 - 1945 CE: World War Two:
Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – possibly April 30, 1945 -- his death is contested) and the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party established the Third Reich (Drittes Reich) seeking to establish global fascism under German Aryan control.
The ensuing Shoah (or Holocaust) devastated the Jews and countless others the world over.
Jews who could continued to make their way to Eretz Israel. By war’s end Jews from around the world were returning Home to Eretz Israel and establishing the Jewish nation.
5707 HH --July 22, 1946 CE: Irgun bombs King David Hotel in Yerushalayim.
5707 HH -- February of 1947 CE: Britain refers Palestine issue to United Nations.
5707 HH November of 1947 CE: United Nations votes to partition Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states.
Israel Reborn!
5708 (5th of Iyyar, 20th day of the Omer) HH -- May 14, 1948 CE: Israel is reborn!
Note: Leviticus 23:15 requires the counting of the days between Passover and Shavu'ot. This period is known as the Counting of the Omer -- S'firat Ha-Omer.
This long awaited event was foretold by prophets Isaiah, Daniel, Adon Y'shua HaNatzrati and others and was the key prophetic event marking the beginning of the End Times.
5710 (month of of Tevet) HH -- January of 1949 CE: Israel War of Independence ends. Israel's first national elections take place.
5727 (26th of Iyyar - 2nd of Sivan) HH -- June 5–10, 1967 CE: Six-Day War and the reunification of Yerushalayim under Israel control.
