miracles; in fact, Jesus did not even answer his questions. Disappointed, and noting the vehement denunciations the Jewish clergy were making against Jesus, Antipas joined his soldiers in poking fun at Jesus, after which he returned his prisoner to Pilate, the superior authority as far as Rome was concerned. Up till this time Pilate and Herod Antipas had been enemies, apparently due to certain accusations Antipas had leveled against Pilate out of envy, but now they became fast friends.—Luke 23:7-12, NW.

Again Antipas had allowed his desire to please men result in the sacrifice of a servant of Jehovah, and this time none other than the Son of God.

As the years went by Antipas wearied of his efforts to gain the royal title and more territory, but not Herodias. Noting a new emperor at Rome, Caligula, she gave her husband no peace until he agreed to try it again. But instead of gaining more, he lost everything. Reports insinuating that Antipas was plotting sedition reached the emperor the same time that Antipas and Herodias did. Unable to satisfactorily refute the charges, Antipas was banished and his wealth and territory were given to others. Herodias voluntarily chose to go with her husband; but this must have given him small comfort in view of the fact that she had been instrumental in his fall. He had listened to her once too often.

Herod Agrippa, Persecutor of Christians

IN THE record of King Herod Agrippa I we find emphasized the fact that Jehovah is a God “exacting exclusive devotion” and so is displeased not only with those who worship creatures but with creatures who accept worship from others.—Ex. 20:5, NW.

This Agrippa’s father was one of the sons of Herod the Great, whom he slew on suspicion of sedition in the closing years of his life. Brought up in Rome, Agrippa’s lot fluctuated radically between prosperity and adversity for years. Thinking himself alone, he once openly expressed the wish that his friend Caligula were emperor. Emperor Tiberius, hearing of this, had Agrippa put in prison, where for months his life was in constant jeopardy. With the death of Tiberius, Caligula came to the throne, and not only released Agrippa but also made him a king over certain minor territories in Palestine.

When Caligula banished Herod Antipas on suspicion of sedition, he gave Agrippa that one’s territories of Galilee and Perea. Later, when Claudius succeeded Caligula, Claudius rewarded Agrippa for certain valuable services Agrippa had rendered to him by adding Judea and Samaria to his dominion so that now Herod Agrippa I became king of all Palestine, even as his grandfather Herod the Great had been.

Like his grandfather and most of his uncles, Agrippa I indulged his fondness for building, but different from them he professed great devotion to Judaism, religiously taking part in the ceremonies and festivals and did what he could to lighten the Roman yoke that rested upon the Jews. His sincerity in this might be questioned, since we are told that he “made many considerable concessions to heathen customs and manners”; and especially as he pressed his persecution of Christians simply because he noted that it pleased the Jews, as Luke tells us.—Acts 12:1-19, NW.

Some time after he had slain James the brother of John, and after the angel had delivered Peter from his clutches, A.D. 44, Agrippa I appeared at a feast in honor of Claudius Caesar. According to Josephus he was clothed in silver garments, which, shining in splendor in the morning sun, caused the people to shout upon hearing his voice the words recorded in the Bible: “A god’s voice, and not a man’s.” In that instant “the angel of Jehovah struck him, because he did not give the glory to God; and he became eaten up with worms and expired.” (Acts 12:20-23, NW) Early in his reign, while yet in his prime, King Herod Agrippa I was ‘soon taken away by his Maker for having become a party to giving flattering titles.’—Job 32:21, 22.

Herod Agrippa II Resists Conversion

ACCORDING to historians the last of the Herods was Herod Agrippa II, son of Herod Agrippa I. While not professing his father’s devotion to the law of Moses, it is apparent from his treatment of the apostle Paul that he had far more of its spirit as summed up in the “Golden Rule”: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.”—Matt. 7:12, NW.

Due to the fact that Agrippa II was only seventeen years old when his father died so suddenly, the Roman emperor was persuaded by his counselors not to give the youth his father’s rule over all Palestine. Instead, the emperor gave the youth only the rulership over the small principality of Chalcis on the western slope of the Anti-Lebanon range, together with the superintendence of the temple at Jerusalem and the right to appoint the high priest. However, as the years went by his territory was increased.

In the Bible he comes to our attention because of the witness the apostle Paul gave to him at the time Agrippa II and his sister Bernice paid a courtesy call on Governor Festus. Paul, who at the time was a prisoner of Festus (a charge Festus inherited from his predecessor Felix), expressed himself as happy to be able to make his defense before one so familiar with Jewish customs.

Resisting Paul’s eloquent testimony Agrippa said to Paul: “In a short time you would persuade me to become a Christian.” Paul, continuing his entreaty, replied: “I could wish to God that whether in a short time or in a long time not only you but also all those who hear me today would become men such as I also am, with the exception of these bonds.” His father would have handed him over to the Jews for punishment, but Agrippa II said: “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”—Acts 26:1-32, NW.

It was during the life of Agrippa II that the Jews’ rebellion against Rome finally led to their national suicide. Josephus records a well-reasoned and earnest appeal that Agrippa II made, endeavoring to turn the Jews from their rebellious course. He pleaded with them to consider how small they were and how great was the might of Rome. But his words fell on deaf ears. Failing to dissuade them, Agrippa II at last left the Jews and attached himself to the conquering armies of Rome and shared the fruits of their victories, while the Jews experienced the fulfillment of Jesus’ words regarding their national destruction.—Luke 19:41-44; 21:20-22, NW.

Thirty years after that destruction, or about the year 100, Herod Agrippa II died without any offspring, thus marking the end of the line of the Herods.