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The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah Vol 1 - Predestination

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tribunals <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> cities in which <strong>the</strong>y lived. As<br />

instances, we may mention <strong>the</strong> Jews <strong>of</strong> Sardis,<br />

Ephesus, Delos, <strong>and</strong> apparently also <strong>of</strong> Antioch.<br />

But, whe<strong>the</strong>r legally entitled to it or not, <strong>the</strong>y<br />

probably everywhere claimed <strong>the</strong> right <strong>of</strong> selfgovernment,<br />

<strong>and</strong> exercised it, except in times <strong>of</strong><br />

persecution. But, as already stated, <strong>the</strong>y also<br />

possessed, besides this, at least in many places,<br />

<strong>the</strong> privileges <strong>of</strong> Asiatic citizenship, to <strong>the</strong> same<br />

extent as <strong>the</strong>ir hea<strong>the</strong>n fellow-citizens. This<br />

tw<strong>of</strong>old status <strong>and</strong> jurisdiction might have led to<br />

serious complications, if <strong>the</strong> archons had not<br />

confined <strong>the</strong>ir authority to strictly communal<br />

interests,'* without interfering with <strong>the</strong> ordinary<br />

administration <strong>of</strong> *oomp. justice, <strong>and</strong> <strong>the</strong> Jews<br />

willingly submitted to <strong>the</strong> sentences pronounced ij^<br />

^* by <strong>the</strong>ir own tribunals.<br />

But, in truth, <strong>the</strong>y enjoyed even more than religious<br />

liberty <strong>and</strong> communal privileges. It was quite in<br />

<strong>the</strong> spirit <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> times, that potentates JRriendly to<br />

Israel bestowed largesses, alike on <strong>the</strong> Temple in<br />

Jerusalem, <strong>and</strong> on <strong>the</strong> Synagogues in <strong>the</strong> provinces.

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