Marius Heemstra argues that the 'harsh' administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96) and the reform of this Fiscus under the emperor Nerva (96-98), accelerated the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, resulting in two separate religions. From 96 CE onwards, Roman authorities used a more pointed definition of 'Jew', which made it easier for them to distinguish between Judaism (an accepted religion within the empire) and Christianity (an illegal religious movement). This parting should primarily be interpreted as a break between Jewish Christians and mainstream Judaism. Both parties claimed to be the true representatives of the continuing history of Israel. In this study, the author pays special attention to the Roman and Jewish context of the Book of Revelation, the Letter to the Hebrews, and the Gospel of John, including the debate about the birkat ha-minim.

Born 1960; 1985 Masters Degree (Ancient History) from the University of Groningen; 2006 Masters Degree (Theology) from the University of Groningen; 2009 PhD from the University of Groningen; Insurance Manager for a multinational Dutch telecom operator.

Autorentext

Born 1960; 1985 Masters Degree (Ancient History) from the University of Groningen; 2006 Masters Degree (Theology) from the University of Groningen; 2009 PhD from the University of Groningen; Insurance Manager for a multinational Dutch telecom operator.

Klappentext

Marius Heemstra argues that the 'harsh' administration of the Fiscus Judaicus under the Roman emperor Domitian (81-96) and the reform of this Fiscus under the emperor Nerva (96-98), accelerated the parting of the ways between Judaism and Christianity, resulting in two separate religions.
From 96 CE onwards, Roman authorities used a more pointed definition of 'Jew', which made it easier for them to distinguish between Judaism (an accepted religion within the empire) and Christianity (an illegal religious movement). This parting should primarily be interpreted as a break between Jewish Christians and mainstream Judaism. Both parties claimed to be the true representatives of the continuing history of Israel. In this study, the author pays special attention to the Roman and Jewish context of the Book of Revelation, the Letter to the Hebrews, and the Gospel of John, including the debate about the birkat ha-minim.

Zusammenfassung
Marius Heemstra zeigt auf, wie die strenge Regelung des Fiscus Judaicus unter dem römischen Kaiser Domitian (81-96) und die Reform dieses Fiscus unter Kaiser Nerva (96-98) die Trennung der Wege zwischen Judentum und Christentum beschleunigte, aus der sich dann schließlich zwei getrennte Religionen entwickelten.
Seit dem Jahr 96 verwendete die römische Obrigkeit eine strengere Definition des Begriffs "Jude", die es ihr erleichterte, zwischen Judentum (einer im Reich akzeptierten Religion) und Christentum (einer illegalen religiösen Bewegung) zu unterscheiden. Der Autor interpretiert diese Trennung als einen Bruch zwischen Judenchristen und Judentum. Beide Parteien beanspruchten für sich, die wahren Vertreter der Geschichte Israels zu sein. Marius Heemstra zieht für seine Argumentation den römischen und jüdischen Kontext der Johannesapokalypse, den Hebräerbrief und das Johannesevangelium heran und geht auch auf die Debatte um birkat ha-minim ein.