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narrow area of Judea.
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They were never truly independent;
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they always had to fend off the greater power of Syria,
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or Egypt, or Rome.
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The difference--the important thing, though,
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is Jews had an ideology that supported imperial pretensions.
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Go back and read the first few Psalms,
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where God says, "To my anointed one,"
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and here he's either talking to King David
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or whoever is supposed to be sitting on King David's throne,
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"You are the King of the world.
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I will make all the nations flow to Jerusalem,