Eusebius, Africanus, and Josephus

"That a Prince shall not fail Judah, nor a ruler from his loins, until He should come for whom it is reserved." Gen 49-10

Now I realize your Bible doesn't exactly say that. But that... is precisely what the prophesy means... and it is what the ancient historians Africanus and Eusebius understood as they invariably quoted from the Septuagint.

Making the prophesy even more plain... it simply says that Jews will ruled by Jews until the Savior comes.

Now looking back at the jewish people's history we see sucession unbroken all the way back to Moses... High Priests and Kings were replaced in an oligoliarchic aristocratic form of government that was not broken until Herod.

Aristibulus had been both King and High Prist by sucession until Herod removed him and gave the post to his brother Hyacanus who had befriended Herod as a child. Hyacanus was the last of the High Priests by sucession. After him, Herod began appointing obscure figures.

Now consider this.

By the time Christ arrived... the priesthood was in utter shambles. The highest offices were occupied by political appointees.

Does this not show the trial Jesus faced in a slightly different light? When you think of the old jewish priests rejecting Jesus as a threat... doesn't it seem a little different when you consider that they were no more than political hacks being rewarded for some favor previously performed? According to Eusebius... It was not the true jewish leadership that rejected Jesus. It was a bunch of Jessie Jackson's and Al Sharptons.

I haven't even finished Book I of Eusebius' Ecclesiastic History... and yet I've found my mind at a buffet. It is a feast for thought. Its a view of history we are simply not exposed to.