freedom from Gentile occupation was to purify the nation, a political purification necessary before God could usher in his eschatological kingdom rule. Consequently, the coming of God’s kingdom was dependent on the active militancy of the Zealots against Rome as well as the extermination of any Judaean who was willing to submit to Roman rule. “The effects of their frenzy,” recalls Josephus, “were thus felt throughout all Judea, and every day saw this war being fanned into fiercer flame.”212 Thus