The Zealots Bear Arms against the Romans

The Zealots were also called Iscarioth, after the name of the daggers (iscarii) they carried with them.

They believed that they served God best by being armed and by killing the enemies of God - or at least their own enemies. At least two of Jesus' disciples, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, may have been Zealots.

The warlike attitude of the Zealots toward their Roman occupiers may have been one reason the Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Zealots' main purpose was to restore the office of high priest to the traditional process of Jewish selection. Caiaphas, who served as high priest during the crucifixion of Jesus, was Jewish, but he had been placed into office by the Roman occupiers of Palestine, instead of being chosen by observant Jews.

Their spiritual descendants today are those people who engage in "holy wars," who believe that God wants them to kill people who don't share their way of worship and belief.