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• And so, following the terrible destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in A.D. 70 and the end of the last stronghold of rebellion at Masada in A.D. 73, Jews in general, and the Zealots in particular, did not give up on their dream of returning to Jerusalem and re-establishing the Temple and the priesthood once again.
• Slowly, steadily, over the coming years Jews returned to the Land of Israel. They could no longer offer sacrifices or obey the Law of Moses - but at least they could return and live in Israel.
• After the passage of many decades, as the numbers of Jews able to come back to Israel and live in Jerusalem increased, as Jews felt that yearning to re-establish Jerusalem as their capital once again, and to re-build and re-establish the Temple from the Roman army just as their Maccabean ancestors has done with the Greek army around two hundred years earlier, steadily the pressure to fight the Romans became stronger and stronger.