You might have seen pictures of the famous ancient city of Petra (found in what is today modern Jordan). Cut into rock cliff faces, there is a great treasury, the picture usually shown, there are tombs cut into similar cliff faces and a temple from around 20AD. You might also have seen pictures of the famous (or infamous) Arch of Titus in Rome, similar in appearance to the Arch de Triumph in Paris and Marble Arch in London. It is a monument to the victories of Roman Emperors Titus and Vespasian in overcoming a rebellion in Roman Judea and destroying Jerusalem around 70AD. How are these related? History might relate them but scripture relates them in a special way, with God in the link between them. Petra was capital of an Arabian kingdom, Nabatea (now Jordan) close to the Roman-ruled kingdom of Judea (now Israel). There was a king of this kingdom, Aretas IV Philopatris, whose daughter, Phasaelis, was married to a Herod, king of Perea and Galilee, bordering Judea. Now this Herod divorced Phasaelis in order to marry his brother’s wife, Herodias. You might have heard of her daughter portrayed in raunchy operas and plays as Salome. So how does this relate to the Arch of Titus and to God? Well Aretas took revenge on Herod for this immoral divorce by waging war on him, but before that, the great prophet known as John the Baptist rebuked Herod for illegally marrying Herodias, because presumably her previous husband was still alive, this Herod’s brother, also called Herod. Hey, Herod was a common name in this dynasty. Even Herodius’ brother was also called Herod. But no matter. Anyway, John the Baptist, who, by the way had baptised Jesus, was beheaded, for rebuking Herod, one of the many Herods (you couldn’t make this stuff up). Now Jesus too was handed over to death by this same Herod who killed John the Baptist. Such an immoral and blood guilty ruler. God is now involved. God, yes, the Almighty, highest over all gods, is direct father to Jesus by holy conception, and John the Baptist was sent as prophet by this One True God, so this was not going to work out well for Herod or his subjects. God sent something pretty bad to avenge John and Jesus. That is where the link is to the Titus Arch. Jesus and prophets before Jesus and John foretold it. God sent Titus as vengeance. Titus destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple to put down a rebellion. He killed many Jews and continued destroying strongholds of rebels. It is commemorate in pictures on the Arch of Titus in Rome. Of course a different reasoning is given by Jews today, namely that God was punishing not specifically the killing of John the Baptist and Jesus, but that it was punishment for a general murderous tendency of the people of that time. Yet the link to God is still there. This is corroborated history, not just scripture, but it is the explanation of scripture that links it to God.
