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