Biblically Compatible Archaeology and Geography

  by Damien F. Mackey     “ The reigns of Nero and Domitian formed the crucible in which Christian identity and theology were tested and refined. While Nero's persecution was grotesquely violent and politically motivated, Domitian's was more systemic, rooted in ideological tyranny and the demands of emperor worship” .   Paul Bernard     Introduction   As noted in my most recent article:   Filling out Caesar Augustus - and some who emulated him   (10) Filling out Caesar Augustus - and some who emulated him   the thought had occurred to me, in the course of my studying the Book of Revelation, that the supposedly two emperors, Nero and Domitian, might have been simply one and the same persecuting tyrant of the early Christians.   I explained my thought as follows:   Did the Apostle John encounter Nero or Domitian?   Years ago, I, when attempting to come to grips with Saint John’...

  by   Damien F. Mackey       “ In the opening chapter, the author explains how Domitian’s building programs in the Campus Martius and the  Forum Romanum   reflect Domitian’s desire not only to emulate Augustus but also to surpass him ” .   Philip Mathew       Introduction   Was history merely rhyming , in the case of the emperor Domitian’s supposed emulation of (the presumably earlier) Augustus, or was it, rather, repeating ?   Caesar Augustus ( cf. Luke 2:1) must have been a highly significant figure in ancient history to have attracted so many who are considered to have been his emulators - or those characters who have been dubbed ‘a New Augustus’.   But he, despite his importance, is quite poorly understood – at least according to my reconstructions of him. For one, Caesar Augustus was a Seleucid Greek, not a Roman. He was that tyrannical tormentor of the Maccabees, king Antioch...