and john the baptist losing his head to herod's wife was not being persecuted.
Also where did john the baptist reside as far as i know he was a desert dweller.
Btw Just who did Jesus claim to be?
Even Pilate could find no case against him. even the bible state that the case against Jesus was a trumped up.

quote
" John the Baptist was Jewish and he was baptizing only Jews. John the Baptist also baptized many of the Jewish religious leaders. They weren't changing religions. The followers of Jesus were all Jewish and the people he spoke to were all Jewish. The Scriptures He quoted were all Jewish. "
Could this be because the place we are talking about is Isreal and that the population was jewish? I believe that Jusism was the national religion ?

No that was payment for telling Herod, and his brother's wife, who he was sleeping with, that they were doing wrong.

Who care where he lived he lived in the wilderness, but that has nothing to do with his faith or religious beliefs.

Well Jesus claimed to be the Son of God, one with the father.

Jhn 14:11 "Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do"

Jhn 18:37 "Pilate replied, "You are a king then?" "You say that I am a king, and you are right," Jesus said. "I was born for that purpose. And I came to bring truth to the world. All who love the truth recognize that what I say is true."

Do not confuse Herod with a religious leader and he was not Jewish, he was Idumaean. He might have been their king but not by choice.

Jesus claimed to be the son of God, the Messiah, that God was His father, that He was I AM , that He and the father were one, He received worship as God and accepted it, He claimed that those that saw Him saw the Father, He taught in His own name, He claimed to be Lord of the Sabbath, He claimed to be the only way, He claimed to be life, He forgave sins, etc. In these days we read these things and not see much meaning in them, but to a Jew in those days it was blasphemy.

Could this be because the place we are talking about is Isreal and that the population was jewish? I believe that Jusism was the national religion ?

There you go and therefore He was not teaching a different religion.

Dude the horse is dead, stop already I feel embaressed for you. Of course we're talking about Israel, and yes Judism was the national religion, but there were also several Romans living in the region, they were a Roman province.

Your initial point was as follows:

I think we've made enough of a case that no one changed their religion, and that both Jesus and John were both very devout Jews, who quoted Jewish scriptures, and observed Jewish laws.

It has been nice, but as I get older, I run down quicker.

question Before Christiaity was founded did eveyone go to hell when they died?

Now that's a good question. Unfortunatly it's one that I've wrestled with for years. Obviously according to Jewish teaching, if a person performed the ritual sacrifice, then their sins were absolved, but that was after Moses, because the law was given to Moses. I don't have a good answer for that but I promise to research it and bring an answer that's both Biblical, and logical.

Thanks for moving on and sorry if I was cheeky again.

Sok believer, don't look to far for the answer I have it here:
If the teaching I reciieved is correct Jesus christ died for the sins of ALL mankind. Upon his death the gates of heaven , hell and purgorty (Sic) were opened and all those who had gone before Him were taken into heaven to sit with God the father.
The teachings he left behind were the guidelines for those who came after to find the path to heaven.
I would say Game , set & match LOL