In the final period of Herod the Great's reign, from 13 to 4 BC, his life was marked by family betrayal, sickness, and further bloodshed. Suspicious of his sons Alexander and Aristobulus, born to Mariamne, Herod believed they conspired against him for the throne in revenge for their mother's execution. To counter this, he recalled Antipater, his son by his first wife Doris, from exile. Antipater, harboring undeniable hatred for his father, slandered his step-brothers, leading Herod to imprison and execute Alexander and Aristobulus in 7 BC. Antipater then plotted to poison Herod, but the scheme was uncovered when Pheroras, Herod's brother and an accomplice, accidentally drank the poison and died. Upon learning of the plot from Pheroras' servants, Herod ordered Antipater's execution. Shortly before his death, Herod's paranoia culminated in a horrific act. After hearing from visiting magi about the birth of a new King of the Jews in Bethlehem, he ordered the massacre of all male children under two years old in that region. Confronted by numerous threats over the years, Herod responded with unprecedented cruelty. Soon after this brutal event, he succumbed to an agonizing sickness. In his final days, Herod rewrote his will, designating Archelaus as heir to the throne and ethnarch of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea; Antipas as tetrarch over Galilee and Perea; and Philip as tetrarch of the regions east of Galilee. He also issued a cruel order for soldiers to execute many of Judea's distinguished men in Jerusalem's theater upon his death to ensure mourning, though this command was not fulfilled. Herod's death marked the end of a reign that profoundly shaped the political, economic, and cultural landscape of Judea during the time of Jesus Christ.

Herod the Great's death in 4 BC plunged Palestine into political, social, and religious chaos. Before dying he had written numerous wills naming different sons to different offices. In his final will he named Archelaus king of Judea and made Antipas and Philip tetrarchs subject to the king. Antipas contested this, claiming the throne under the fifth will and arguing that Herod was insane when he wrote the last one. Archelaus sailed to Rome to have Emperor Augustus confirm his position, and Antipas followed to press his suit. Before they left, prominent Jews had begun plotting revenge for Herod's countless killings and offenses, and Archelaus answered by killing 3,000 Jews at Passover. While the brothers were abroad, revolution destroyed several cities until Varus Sabinus, the Roman procurator of Syria, intervened. The revolutionaries were led by Judas, son of Hezekiah, whom Herod had illegally put to death. Augustus, counseled by a mutual friend, ruled that Herod was sane when he wrote his final will. He made Archelaus ethnarch, equal in rank to his brothers Antipas and Philip, who became tetrarchs. In 3 BC the brothers returned to a war-ravaged Palestine to begin their reigns.

Herod the Great was alive when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Wise men from the East inquired of him concerning the newborn King of the Jews, prompting Herod to consult the priests and direct them to Bethlehem while secretly determining to destroy the Child. After the wise men departed, an angel warned Joseph to flee with the young Child and His mother to Egypt, where they remained until Herod's death. Upon Herod's passing, Archelaus succeeded him in Judea, which identifies this ruler as Herod the Great, the rebuilder of the temple. Recent scholarship, drawing on Josephus and lunar eclipses, places Herod's death in mid-February of 4 BC, following the full lunar eclipse at the start of the Feast of Tabernacles in 5 BC; Herod grew mentally unstable, issued cruel orders, and was buried during the Days of Unleavened Bread that year. This chronology requires Jesus' birth no earlier than autumn of 5 BC, which in turn shifts the possible dates for the beginning of His ministry to autumn of AD 26 and allows AD 30 as a viable year for His crucifixion alongside the traditionally held AD 31, both featuring Wednesday Passovers. The timing of Herod's death thus anchors the macro-chronology of Christ's life, confirming that God sovereignly orders historical events so that the Passover occurred on a Wednesday, the resurrection exactly seventy-two hours later at the close of the weekly Sabbath, and the overall ministry spanned three-and-a-half years marked by four Passovers.

Herod the Great provided a tragic illustration of the failure to glorify God through the acknowledgment of His sovereignty. Arrayed in royal apparel and seated on his throne, Herod delivered an oration amid the fawning adulation of those around him. The people acclaimed him as possessing the voice of a god rather than of a man, and he accepted this exaltation without redirecting the honor to the true Sovereign. An angel of the Lord immediately struck him because he did not give glory to God, after which he was eaten by worms and died. This sudden judgment underscored the imperative that those who come near to God must regard Him as holy and glorify Him, a requirement that extends to the royal priesthood under the New Covenant. Herod's example demonstrated that allowing oneself to be elevated as an idol repudiates the relationship with the Creator and invites divine intervention to restore proper recognition of God's supreme position.

Herod the Jewish king hated the Christians and arrested Peter with the intent of killing him, though Peter escaped. When the people later approached Herod seeking favor they flattered him with bows and praise after he delivered an oration while arrayed in royal apparel on his throne. They shouted that his voice was that of a god and not of a man. Because Herod did not give glory to God an angel of the Lord immediately struck him, he was eaten by worms, and he died. This event demonstrates that God will not allow man to inflate himself to the heavens for very long. The account appears within the larger discussion of shakable human institutions and rulers whose power ultimately collapses under the curse of sin and divine judgment, in contrast to the unshakable Kingdom of God that remains after all such earthly powers are removed.

Herod the Jewish king hated the Christians. He arrested James and put him to death, then arrested Peter with the intent to kill him, though Peter escaped. Certain neighbors later approached Herod seeking favor and flattered him with praise until he delivered a public oration while arrayed in royal apparel and seated on his throne. The people shouted that his voice was that of a god and not of a man. Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give glory to God, and he was eaten by worms and died. The word of God nevertheless grew and multiplied. This account illustrates how God shakes and removes every human institution and ruler who exalts himself, confirming that all such kingdoms and powers remain subject to divine judgment and cannot endure.