RSEA.D. Notes Week 149

Torah Study Notes for Week 149 of the Torah Reading Cycle

Read
Aloud together to hear the Word (Leviticus 23:1-3; Nehemiah 8:1-4; Luke 4:16-17)

  • Torah (T): Devarim (Deuteronomy) 32:15-52
  • Prophets (P): Habakkuk 3:8-19
  • Apostolic (A): Revelation 15:1-8
  • Additional (ADD): 2 Maccabees 7:1-42

Summary
Context and coherence (Nehemiah 8:8)

From Pete last week: “The purpose of Moses’ song is to establish the foundation (i.e. “set the record straight”) for YHWH’s just judgment. It becomes the King’s scroll or record of the choice offered to His subjects, Israel…Faithfulness or apostasy, life or death, blessing or cursing, etc. Moses is the first and greatest prophet to Israel…until the one like him comes at the fullness of times. “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your countrymen; to him you shall listen” (Deut. 18:15)

  1. The Most Important Songs in Scripture
    1. Song of Moses is probably the most important song in all of Scripture. It reveals the plan of salvation and the third part of the Good News (Gospel), as proclaimed by Yeshua and the apostles that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in Yeshua’s name to all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:45-47). We’ll learn more during this summary.
    2. The second being the song of the Lamb in Revelation 15:3-4; “Great and marvelous are your works, Lord Elohim, the Almighty! Righteous and true are your ways, you King of the [nations].(mss) 4 Who wouldn’t fear you, Lord, and glorify your name? For you only are holy. For all the nations will come and worship before you. For your righteous acts have been revealed.”
      • 15:3; Many translations have “King of the “saints” or “ages,” but ancient manuscripts have “king of the nations” and we’ll find out why this is important further in this summary.
    3. The third being the deliverance song Moses and the sons of Israel sang to YHWH in Exodus 15:1-18 after they were immersed (baptized) in the Red Sea (1 Corinthians 10:2), traditionally called Ashiyra l’Adonai (I will sing to the Lord). After Moses and the sons of Israel sang this song, Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a tambourine in her hand and all the women went out after her with tambourines and with dances singing, “Ashiyra l’adonai ki ga’oh ga’ah…I will sing to YHWH, for he has triumphed gloriously. He has thrown the horse and his rider into the sea.“
  2. What is the Hebrew word for “song”? שִׁיר shiyr (H7892) comes from a root word that literally means “to tie a cord” and is a stringed musical instrument which uses thin cords for making music. Thus, a “song” was when lyrics were sung, chanted, or rhythmically spoken while a stringed instrument was played (cf. Psalm 33:2; Psalm 92:3; Psalm 144:9; Psalm 150:4; Isaiah 38:20; Habakkuk 3:19 all use various words to describe stringed instruments)
    1. Habakkuk 3:19 YHWH, the Lord, is my strength. He makes my feet like deer’s feet, and enables me to go in high places. For the music director, on my stringed instruments (נְגִינָה neginah (H5058) literally means to play strings on a musical instrument.
  3. Jeshurun or Yeshurun is a poetic name for Israel used in the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible). 32:15 [But Jacob ate his fill.](LXX) Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked. You have grown fat. You have grown thick. You have become sleek. Then he abandoned Elohim who made him, and rejected [Elohim](LXX) of his salvation.
  4. 32:16 They moved him to zeal with strange elohim. They provoked him to anger with abominations.
    1. Parallelism is a rhetorical device that compounds words or phrases that have equivalent meanings so as to create a definite pattern.
    2. Parallels with 32:21
      1. “They have moved me to zeal with that which is not Elohim. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities.
      2. I will move them to zeal with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. (cf. Romans 10:19)
        1. Parallels strange elohim = that which is not Elohim = those who are not a people (because they serve strange elohim and that which is not Elohim)
        2. Parallels abominations = their vanities = a foolish nation (because of their abominations and vanities)
      3. Romans 10:19-20; But I ask, didn’t Israel know? First Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy with that which is no nation. I will make you angry with a nation void of understanding.” (cf. Deuteronomy 32:21) 20 Isaiah is very bold and says, “I was found by those who didn’t seek me. I was revealed to those who didn’t ask for me.” (cf. Isaiah 65:1)
  5. 32:17 They sacrificed to demons, not Elohim, to elohim that they didn’t know, to new elohim that came up recently, which your fathers didn’t dread.
    1. Another Parallelism; demons = new elohim; not Elohim = came up recently; they didn’t know = your father’s didn’t dread
    2. What are “demons”? Some translations say “devils”
      1. Demons is a transliteration, not a translation, of the Greek word from the Septuagint translation
        1. δαιμόνιον daimonion (G1140) which is a divine power, deity, divinity; a spirit, a being inferior to God, superior to men; evil spirits or the messengers and ministers of the devil
      2. What does it mean to sacrifice to demons?
        1. The Hebrew word for “demon” or “devils” in Deuteronomy 32:17 is שֵׁד shade (H7700) which literally means “breast,” the pair of mammary glands extending from the front of the chest in pubescent and adult human females and some other mammals.
        2. Leviticus 17:7-9 7 They will no more sacrifice their sacrifices [to the hairy goats](MTT) after whom they whore. This will be a statute forever to them throughout their generations.’ 8 “You will say to them, ‘Any man there is of the house of Israel, or of the strangers who live as foreigners among them, who causes a burnt offering to ascend or sacrifice, 9 and doesn’t bring it to the door of the Appointed Tent to sacrifice it to YHWH, that man will be cut off from his people.
          1. Many translations read, “sacrifices to demons” or “sacrifices to the goat idols.” However, the Hebrew is יִזְבְּחוּ לַשְּׂעִירִם yizbechu lase’irim means, “their sacrifices to the hairy goats” where hairy goats is the same term used for the two hairy goats of Leviticus 16:5-8, “…one lot is for YHWH and one lot is for Azazel…” לַשְּׂעִירִם lase’irim literally means “to the hairy goats” where the לַ la is a prefix meaning “to” and שְּׂעִירִם se’irim is the plural of se’ir (H8163) which means hairy goat. The phrase לַשְּׂעִירִם lase’irim “to the hairy goats” is only used once in the Hebrew Bible in Leviticus 17:7 and is often translated as “…sacrifice to demons…” Se’ir (H8165) is the country of Edom (cf. Genesis 32:3), the land possession of Esau (cf. Deuteronomy 2:5), and enemies of Israel (cf. Numbers 24:18).
      3. Often translated as “God Almighty,” אֵל שַׁדַּי El Shaddai (H410 +  H7706) literally means “Mighty Breasted One” where שַׁדַּי shaddai is derived from שָׁדַיִם shadayim (H7699 & H7700) which means “breasts” (cf. Genesis 49:25) and figuratively represents “abundant provision,” thus El Shaddai can be translated as “God of abundant provision.” The Old Akkadian word for breast was shadwi. The hypothetical derivation of Hebrew shaddai from Akkadian shaddu’a “mountaineer” or shaddu “mountain” is based on phonetic association rather than philology. The Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate translated shaddai as “all powerful”.
        1. Isaiah 49:15 Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, yet I will not forget you!
        2. Genesis 49:22-26; “Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine by a spring. His branches run over the wall. 23 The archers have severely grieved him, shot at him, and persecuted him: 24 But his bow remained strong. The arms of his hands were made strong, by the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, [by the name](LXX) of the Shepherd, the Stone of Israel, 25 even by the Elohim of your father, who will help you, by [El](mss) Shaddai, who will bless you, with blessings of the heavens above, blessings of the deep that lies below, blessings of the breasts (שַׁד shad H7699), and of the womb. 26 The blessings of your father have prevailed above the blessings of [ancient mountains],(LXX) above the boundaries of the ancient hills. They will be on the head of Joseph, on the crown of the head of him who is separated from his brothers
          1. According to the Chronicles of the Samaritans themselves with the publication of Chronicle II (Sefer ha-Yamim), the Samaritans are the direct descendants of the Joseph tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh (“Samaritans” in Encyclopaedia Judaica, 1972, Volume 14, col. 727)
          2. The first Diaspora was the result of Assyrian captivity after the Assyrians conquered the Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.
          3. The second Diaspora was the result of Babylonian captivity after the Babylonians conquered the kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C., 136 years after the Kingdom of Israel was conquered in 722 B.C.
            1. John 7:35 The Judeans therefore said among themselves, “Where will this man go that we won’t find him? Will he go to the Diaspora among the Greeks and teach the Greeks?
            2. James 1:1 Jacob, a servant of God and of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, to the twelve tribes which are in the Diaspora: Greetings.
            3. 1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an emissary of Yeshua the Messiah, to the chosen ones who are living as foreigners in the Diaspora in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia
            4. Genesis 9:25-27 Noaḥ said, “Canaan is cursed. He will be a servant of servants to his brothers.” 26 He said, “[Blessed be the Elohim](LXX) of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant. 27 May Elohim enlarge Japheth. Let him (Japheth) dwell in the tents of Shem. Let Canaan be his servant.”
  6. 32:18 Of the [Elohim](LXX) who became your father, you are unmindful, and have forgotten Elohim who gave you birth. 19 YHWH saw and abhorred, because of the provocation of his sons and his daughters. 20 He said, “I will hide my face from them. I will see what their end will be; for they are a very perverse generation, sons in whom is no faithfulness. 21 They have moved me to zeal with that which is not Elohim. They have provoked me to anger with their vanities. I will move them to zeal with those who are not a people. I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. (cf. Romans 10:19) 22 For a fire is kindled in my anger, that burns to the lowest Sheol, devours the land with its increase, and sets the foundations of the mountains on fire. 23 “I will heap evils on them. I will spend my arrows on them. 24 They will be wasted with hunger, and devoured with burning heat and bitter destruction. I will send the teeth of animals on them, with the venom of vipers that glide in the dust. 25 Outside, the sword will bereave, and in the rooms, terror on both young man and virgin, the nursing infant with the gray-haired man.
  7. 32:26 I said that I would scatter them afar. I would make their memory to cease from among men; 27 were it not that I feared the provocation of the enemy, lest their adversaries should judge wrongly, lest they should say, ‘Our hand is exalted; YHWH has not done all this.‘ ”
  8. 32:28 For they are a nation void of counsel. There is no understanding in them. 29 Oh that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end!
  9. 32:30 How could one chase a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight, unless their [Elohim](LXX) had sold them, and YHWH had delivered them up? 31 For their [elohim](LXX) is not as our [Elohim],(LXX) even our enemies themselves concede. 32 For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, of the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are poison grapes. Their clusters are bitter. 33 Their wine is the poison of serpents, the cruel venom of vipers. 34 “Isn’t this laid up in store with me, sealed up among my treasures?
  10. 32:35 [In the day of vengeance](LXX) I will recompense (cf. Hebrews 10:30), at the time when their foot slides, for the day of their calamity is at hand. Their doom rushes at them.” 36 For YHWH will vindicate his people, and have compassion on his servants, when he sees that their power is gone, that there is no one remaining, shut up or left at large. 37 [YHWH](DSS)(LXX) will say, “Where are their elohim, the rock(LXX) in which they took refuge, 38 which ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their libation offering? Let them rise up and help you! Let them be your protection. 39 “See now that I myself am he. There is no elohim with me. I kill and I make alive. I wound and I heal. There is no one who can deliver out of my hand. 40 For I lift up my hand to the heavens and declare, as I live forever, 41 if I sharpen my glittering sword, my hand grasps it in judgment; I will take vengeance on my adversaries, and will repay those who hate me. 42 I will make my arrows drunk with blood. My sword will devour flesh with the blood of the slain and the captives, [and](DSS) from the head of the leaders of the enemy.”
  11. 32:43 [Rejoice, you heavens, with him, and let all the angels of Elohim worship him; (cf. Hebrews 1:6) rejoice you Nations, with his people, (cf. Romans 15:10) and let all the sons of Elohim strengthen themselves in him; for he will avenge the blood of his sons, and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him; and YHWH will cleanse out the land for his people.](DSS)(LXX)
    1. Compare to most translations from the Masoretic Text; “Rejoice, you nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants. He will take vengeance on his adversaries, and will make atonement for his land and for his people.”
      1. Missing Rejoice, you heavens, with him (Messiah)
      2. Missing “Let all the angels of Elohim worship him” as quoted in Hebrews 1:6 When he again brings in the firstborn into the world he says, “Let all the angels of Elohim worship him.”
      3. Missing “and let all the sons of Elohim (angels) strengthen themselves in him (Messiah)
      4. Changed blood of sons to blood of servants
      5. Missing “and he will render vengeance, and recompense justice to his enemies, and will reward them that hate him”
      6. Changed “YHWH will cleanse out the land for his people” to “make atonement for his land and for his people”
  12. 32:44 Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and [Joshua](LXX)(SP) the son of Nun. 45 Moses finished reciting all these words to all Israel. 46 He said to them, “Set your heart to all the words which I testify to you today, which you will command your sons to guard to do, all the words of this Torah. 47 For it is no vain thing for you, because it is your life, and through this thing you will prolong your days in the land, where you go over the Jordan to possess it.”
  13. 32:48 YHWH spoke to Moses that same day, saying, 49 “Go up into this mountain of Abarim, to Mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is across from Jericho; and see the land of Canaan, which I give to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 Die on the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died on Mount Hor, and was gathered to his people; 51 because you trespassed against me among the sons of Israel at the waters of Meribah of Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because you didn’t uphold my holiness among the sons of Israel. 52 For you will see the land from a distance; but you will not go there into the land which I give the sons of Israel.”
  1. The prophet Habakkuk
    1. Probably was a contemporary of the prophet Jeremiah and Zephaniah in the generation before the siege of Jerusalem, destruction of the Temple and captivity at the hands of Babylon (625-600 B.C.).
    2. Rather than a message to the people, the book is mostly a dialogue between the prophet and God. He asks difficult questions and struggles with reconciling what he knows about God’s characters with what God’s current actions are. He wonders why a more wicked nation (e.g. Babylon) will be able to win a victory over a less wicked nation (e.g. Judah). He cannot deduce how that is just or how that will communicate God’s character to a watching world. 
  2. The prophet John (Revelation 15:1-8)
    1. The Seven “Last” Plagues
      1. Strongs #4127 – plege – “a blow; stripe; wound”
        1. LXX – Exodus 11:1 – “Still one more plague I will bring upon Pharaoh: 
      2. Seven is the number of completions.
        1. Leviticus 26:21: “Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven times more plagues, according to your sins”.
    2. Connections to the Exodus (see also Rev. 12:4,15,16):
      1. “sea of glass mixed with fire” 
        1. Illusion to the Red Sea
      2. “Those who overcame…standing on the sea…singing the song of Moses” 
        1. Portrays the sons of Israel singing the song of Moses after victory at the Red Sea (Exo. 15)
    3. Seven bowls of wrath later in chapter 16 correspond to the seven trumpets of Rev. 8. 
      1. This reminds us that Revelation is not strictly chronological in its arrangement.
      2. 1st affects the earth, 2nd the sea, 3rd the rivers and fountains, 4th the sun, 5th the throne of the Beast, 6th the Euphrates, 7th the air.
        1. Not exact repetition but adding detail and illustration.
        2. No longer one-third, but total ruin.

KEY POINT:
The seven seals, trumpets, and bowls all share the same general context, which is the destruction of Jerusalem in 66-70 A.D.

  1. Understanding God’s wrath
    1. “I saw another great and marvelous sign in the heavens: seven angels having the seven last plagues, for in them Elohim’s wrath is finished” (Rev. 15:1)
      1.  “Wrath”:
        1. HELPS Word-Studies: 
          1. 2372 (thymós) is used of God’s perfect, holy wrath in Revelation (Rev 14:10,19,15:1, etc.). This anger is directed against sin with intense opposition and without sin.
      2. “Finished”
        1. HELPS Word-Studies:
          1. 5055 teléō (from 5056 /télos, “consummation, completion”) – properly, to complete (consummate), i.e. finish (qualitatively) the necessary process – with the results “rolling-over” to the next level (phase) of consummation. See 5056 (telos)
      3. Thymos is used 18 times in the Apostolic Scriptures:
        1. Book of Revelation = 10 times
        2. Describing sinful human rage = 7 times
        3. Describing God’s wrath toward sinful man in general = 1 time
          1. “But to those who are self-serving and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, He will give wrath and indignation” (Rom. 2:8)
    2. The Apostles knew that Yeshua had prophesied a coming judgment of wrath on the sin and apostasy of that generation.
      1. “Yeshua delivers us from the wrath to come” (1The. 1:10)
      2. “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience” (Ep. 5:6; Col. 3:6). 
      3. “Wrath has come upon them [Israel] to the uttermost” (1The. 2:16).
      4. “Now as to the times and the ages, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober. For those who sleep do their sleeping at night, and those who get drunk get drunk at night. But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep, we will live together with Him. Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing” (1 The. 5:1-11)

PREMISE:
God‘s wrath is always a reasonable repayment that is redemptive. 

  1. God’s wrath is reasonable.
    1. “The fierce anger of the LORD will not turn back until He fully accomplishes the purposes of His heart. In days to come you will understand this” (Jer. 30:24).
    2. “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty” (Heb. 2:2).
    3. “He who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality (Col. 3:25). 
  2. God’s wrath is a repayment.
    1. “Vengeance is Mine, and retribution, in due time their foot will slip; for the day of their calamity is near, and the impending things are hastening upon them” (Deut. 32:35)
    2. “Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord” (Rom. 12:19)
    3. “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people” (Heb. 10:30).
    4. Universal Maxim: “Let the punishment fit the crime”.
      1. “Let the punishment fit the crime.” First articulated by Cicero in De Legibus (On the Laws) in 106 B.C.E, this concept remains a core principle of criminal justice to this day. Some even see traces of it in the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, according to which: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” (https://daily.jstor.org/should-punishment-fit-the-crime/)
  3. God’s wrath is redemptive.
    1. “When Your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness” (Isa. 26:9).
    2. “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole (Job 5:17-18).
    3. “And if by these things you are not reformed by Me, but walk contrary to Me, then I also will walk contrary to you, and I will punish you yet seven times for your sins” (Lev. 26:23-24).
    4. “Your judgments are right…in faithfulness You have afflicted me” (Psa. 119:75).
    5. “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn Your statutes (Ps. 119:67,71).
    6. “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest His correction; for whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights (Pro. 3:11-12).

KEY POINT:
God is Perfect in every way, including in His wrath. He does get angry at sin and needs to punish it, but He always has a specific goal and objective (i.e. purpose) in mind beforehand, and He always achieves it with a reasonable repayment that is redemptive. 

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful… but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:5-11).

Exhortation
Counsel, comfort, and encouragement (Acts 13:14-15)

  1. How has life shaped how you understand God’s nature and character as it relates to His anger and judgment? 
  2. What impact will it have on your life to understand that God’s judgment is always purposeful and is a reasonable repayment that is redemptive?

Does anyone have specific questions or need any clarification from what was said during the Summary or Exhortation?

Application & Discussion
Living the Word and following Yeshua (Acts 2:37; Romans 2:13)
Questions, input, and sharpening (Proverbs 27:17; Luke 2:46)

Romans 2:13 For it isn’t the hearers of the Torah who are righteous before Elohim, but the doers of the Torah will be justified.

James 1:22 But be doers of the word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves.

    1. What questions or comments came up during your family’s discussion of this week’s study?
    2. “What other related Scriptures did you find during your study of this week’s portion?”
    3. Have you ever experienced something from this study or something related to it?
    4. “What changes do you need to make in your life to align with what you learned during this week’s Torah Study?”
Additional Study Notes

Forever and Age

Most often translated, “forever,” עוֹלָם ‘olam literally means, “to a hidden time” as in a time hidden from the present; a distant time in the past or future. עוֹלָם ‘olam is equivalent to the Greek εις τον αιώνα (eis ton aióna) which means “in the age”. In modern Greek, αιώνα (aióna or eon) means “century” (a period of 100 years), but likely referred to a period of unspecified time in ancient Greek (cf. Strong’s G165).

Since the 1830s, theologians like Christian Friedrich Fritzsche, Franz Ferdinand Benary, Ferdinand Hitzig and Eduard Reuss pointed the number 666 to Nero, who was the first emperor to have persecuted Christians. Preterist theologians typically support the interpretation that 666 is the numerical equivalent of the name and title Nero Caesar (Roman Emperor 54–68 A.D.). Written in Aramaic, this can be valued at 666 using the Hebrew numerology of gematria, and was used to secretly speak against the emperor.

A common preterist view of the mark of the beast (focusing on the past) is the stamped image of the emperor’s head on every coin of the Roman Empire: the stamp on the hand or in the mind of all, without which no one could buy or sell.[58] New Testament scholar C.C. Hill notes, “It is far more probable that the mark symbolizes the all-embracing economic power of Rome, whose very coinage bore the emperor’s image and conveyed his claims to divinity (e.g., by including the sun’s rays in the ruler’s portrait). It had become increasingly difficult for Christians to function in a world in which public life, including the economic life of the trade guilds, required participation in idolatry.”[59]

Adela Yarbro Collins further denotes that the refusal to use Roman coins resulted in the condition where “no man might buy or sell”.[60][61] A similar view is offered by Craig R. Koester. “As sales were made, people used coins that bore the images of Rome’s gods and emperors. Thus each transaction that used such coins was a reminder that people were advancing themselves economically by relying on political powers that did not recognize the true God.”[62]

In 66 A.D., when Nero was emperor—about the time some scholars say Revelation was written—the Jews revolted against Rome and coined their own money.