In
his youth Julius Agrippa studied with his close friend Emperor
Claudius (our 66th great-grandfather) in Rome. Later he
was appointed king in Judea by Emperor Caligula
(our 1st cousin 63 times removed). Julius Agrippa was the Herod mentioned
in Acts 12,1 who beheaded Jesus' disciple James and imprisoned Peter:
"Now about that time Herod the king stretched
forth [his] hands to vex certain of the church. And he killed James
the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw it pleased
the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also. And when he had
apprehended him, he put [him] in prison, and delivered [him] to four
quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring
him forth to the people."
Read
more in the Bible about how Peter was freed. Later he made it to Rome
where both he and St. Paul were killed by Emperor
Nero (our 2nd cousin 63 times removed).
I also find it interesting that 3 of Julius Agrippa's children met
St. Paul face to face. One was Agrippa
II, another his sister Berenice (Acts 25,23) who later became
Emperor Titus' lover. And the last was Drusilla,
whom Josephus described as one
of the most beautiful women in the world. St. Paul preached to her
and her husband, Antonius Felix (Acts 24,24). Their son Antonius Agrippa
later tragically died under the vulcano ashes in Pompeii just as both
Luke in (Acts 12,23) and Josephus see Julius Agrippa's death as God's
revenge. |