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Jesus appeared at a time when the Jews were gripped with a Messianic and apocalyptic excitement. The arrival of the promised Messiah was expected, and with him the destruction of the pagan empires, especially Rome, and it was believed that the visions of the prophets of the kingdom of peace would be fulfilled in the near future under the rule of one God. Suetonius reports in his biography of Vespasian (4:5): "An ancient superstition was current in the East, that out of Judea would come the rulers of the world." Tacitus writes in his 'Histories (5:13): "Most of them were convinced that according to the old writings of the priests it would come to pass in that time that the East would grow strong and the power which would gain world dominion should come out of Judea." This expectation was pitched very high: "The end of all things is right at the door. Only a few more decades, years, months, perhaps only a few weeks, then the Kingdom of God will appear with power and glory" (Stauffer).
(100:4)
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