Deck 5: The World of Roman Political Power

Question 1

The real center of political power in Jesus' day lay with which Roman emperor?

A)Augustus
B)Herod Agrippa II
C)Herod Antipas
D)Philip II

Answer 1

A

Question 2

What did Caesar Augustus rule in the time just before Jesus was born?

A)the Roman Empire
B)nothing outside the Judean homeland
C)the Jews
D)the entire world except Judea

Answer 2

A

Question 3

What precipitated the fall of Jewish national autonomy in 63 BCE,resulting in future Jewish leadership being only puppets of Rome?

A)the betrayal of Aristobulus
B)the separation between church and state
C)involving Rome in Jewish affairs
D)involving priests in the affairs of state politics

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Who attempted to unify the many diverse religions and ethnic groups in his empire by promoting Hellenization?

A)Ptolemy I
B)Caesar Augustus
C)Antiochus
D)Seleucus

Question 5

Although some people throughout history-such as Alexander the Great,Caesar Augustus,etc.-have been intent on conquering the world,when Jesus was "offered all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor" he rejected it.Why?

A)He already had it all.
B)The temptation to rule the world is a devilish goal,and the method by which this is accomplished,i.e.military violence,is also evil.
C)It wasn't what he was interested in.
D)Ruling the world would have been acceptable if there were other means of achieving it besides violence.

Question 6

The first time in biblical history that Jews died for merely practicing their faith (as opposed to dying defending their country against foreign invaders)was

A)during the governance of Pontius Pilate.
B)during the Babylonian captivity.
C)during the conquests of Alexander the Great.
D)during the persecutions of Antiochus.

Question 7

Because he personally witnessed many of the events he wrote about,this first-century Jewish historian is an important reference in biblical criticism.

A)Flavius Josephus
B)Vespasian
C)John
D)Ignatius

Question 8

When Syrian commissioners sent a representative to compel Mattathias to make sacrifices to the cult,he responded by

A)obeying.
B)killing a Jew who did acquiesce and then killing the king's representative.
C)objecting and filing a complaint.
D)killing a sacrificial lamb to cover the sins of the commissioners and the representative.

Question 9

Which was not a way that Antiochus attempted to eradicate the Jewish faith?

A)by executing women who had their sons circumcised and having their infant's bodies tied around their necks
B)by forbidding the reading or teaching of Mosaic Law and burning Hebrew Bibles
C)by holding Jews hostage in monasteries
D)by making the keeping of the Sabbath a crime punishable by death

Question 10

Approximately what percentage of the population in the Roman Empire owned land?

A)15
B)5
C)0.1
D)0.001

Question 11

In what ways did Antiochus desecrate the Temple?

A)by burning it down
B)by having farm animals brought in to defecate on the alter
C)by erecting a statue of Zeus inside and having pigs sacrificed there
D)by sitting on the throne himself and declaring himself to be God

Question 12

What was Antiochus' act of desecration on the Temple called in the book of Daniel?

A)abomination
B)Hasidim
C)midrash
D)pseudepigrapha

Question 13

Many Jews believed that bar Kochba was

A)Satan.
B)Elijah.
C)an angel sent to assist in the second Jewish rebellion.
D)the Messiah.

Question 14

Josephus relates that this revolutionary party practically forced General Titus to destroy Jerusalem and its Temple.

A)Mattathias and his followers
B)Maccabees
C)Zealots
D)Samaritans

Question 15

What significant event in Jewish history occurred in 1948?

A)Lost Scriptures of the Hebrew Bible were found and restored.
B)The Messiah appeared in the Temple.
C)The bar Kochba fought to restore Jewish fortunes.
D)Israel was established as a nation.

Question 16

2 Maccabees speaks of martyrs who chose torture rather than compromising their beliefs.These martyrs were called

A)the redeeming rabbis.
B)disciples.
C)loyalists.
D)the anonymous seven brothers.

Question 17

The period of Jesus' life is chronologically framed by which two Jewish wars?

A)the Maccabean Revolt and the Jewish Revolt against Rome (66-73 CE)
B)the 1^st Hellenistic revolt (10-13 CE)and the 2^nd Jewish revolt (77-79 CE)
C)the Battle of Babylon (323 BCE)and the Massacre of the Maccabees (5-12 CE)
D)the war with Assyria (721 BCE)and Armageddon (1200-1202 CE)

Question 18

Who was the son of the defiant priest,Mattathias,who carried on the revolt?

A)Judas Iscariot
B)Judas Maccabeus ("God's Hammer")
C)John the Baptist
D)Jairus

Question 19

Two nations that derived from Alexander's empire were Ptolemaic Egypt and Seleucid Syria.

Question 20

Alexander's successors were collectively known as the Diadochi.

Question 21

Augustus joined with Mark Antony to defeat Brutus and Cassius at the Battle of Philippi in 42 BCE.

Question 22

Herod murdered his wife,children,and anyone he remotely suspected might challenge his power.

Question 23

After capturing Jerusalem and expanding the Jewish state in 37 BCE,Herod the Great developed an appreciative and loyal following of fellow Jews.

Question 24

Nero converted to Judaism shortly after the rebuilding of the Temple.

Question 25

Cleopatra ruled Egypt until her suicide in 30 BCE.

Question 26

The New Testament attitude toward Rome (as a whole,rather than as individuals)was that it was "the evil empire."

Question 27

Antiochus attempted to revive the ancient Jewish faith.

Question 28

Herod Agrippa I had John the Baptist beheaded.

Question 29

About thirty-five years after the crucifixion,Palestinian Jews rose in armed revolt against Rome and won their independence as a nation.

Question 30

The Feast of Dedication was also called Hanukkah.

Question 31

Luke first called himself Epiphanes (God Manifest).

Question 32

Octavius (Augustus)was recognized as the undisputed head of state in 27 BCE and became the sole ruler of the Roman state.

Question 33

The Hasmonean dynasty was created by the Maccabean brothers after forcing Syria to grant Israel national independence.