The Siege of Jerusalem: Prophecy Fulfilled

Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” Luke 19:41-44 (NKJV)

There can be no question that the ultimate fate of Jerusalem and its people was first and foremost on the mind of Jesus as He prepared to enter the city for His last earthly Passover.  This passage was fulfilled – as recorded by Josephus – in stunning detail in his historical work, “Wars of the Jews”, which should be, along with his equally important work “Antiquities of the Jews” required reading for any serious Bible student.

Here is how Titus and the legions of Rome fulfilled this particular prophecy:

But Titus, intending to pitch his camp nearer to the city than Scopus, placed as many of his choice horsemen and footmen as he thought sufficient opposite to the Jews, to prevent their sallying out upon them, while he gave orders for the whole army to level the distance, as far as the wall of the city. So they threw down all the hedges and walls which the inhabitants had made about their gardens and groves of trees, and cut down all the fruit trees that lay between them and the wall of the city, and filled up all the hollow places and the chasms, and demolished the rocky precipices with iron instruments; and thereby made all the place level from Scopus to Herod’s monuments, which adjoined to the pool called the Serpent’s Pool.

Flavius Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 3, Section 2.

By first removing all the tactical cover (walls, trees, foliage, as well as depressions and ditches) from the area outside Jerusalem’s walls, Titus was able to prevent those inside the city from moving freely outside of it to attack his camps and forage for food.  But simply removing the foliage and filling the ravines was not enough.  Josephus continues:

That therefore his opinion was, that if they aimed at quickness joined with security, they must build a wall round about the whole city; which was, he thought, the only way to prevent the Jews from coming out any way, and that then they would either entirely despair of saving the city, and so would surrender it up to him, or be still the more easily conquered when the famine had further weakened them;

So all hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the young men wandered about the market-places like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wheresoever their misery seized them.

Flavius Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 12, Sections 1-3.

You can find a summary of the events surrounding the siege of Jerusalem here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Jerusalem_%2870%29

And now you know why Jesus wept over the city before entering it for His last, earthly Passover.  He knew of the destruction that would come upon it some 40 years after His death and resurrection.

The fourth installment: “Abomination of Desolation” concluded.

But the number of calamities which then overwhelmed the whole nation; the extreme misery to which particularly the inhabitants of Judea were reduced, the vast numbers of men, with women and children that fell by the sword and famine, and innumerable other forms of death; the numerous and great cities of Judea that were besieged, as also the great and incredible distresses that those experienced who took refuge at Jerusalem, as to a place of perfect security; these facts, as well as the whole tenor of the war, and each particular of its progress, when finally, the abomination of desolation, according to the prophetic declaration, stood in the very temple of God, so celebrated of old, but which now was approaching its total down-fall and final destruction by fire; all this, I say, any one that wishes may see accurately stated in the history written by Josephus.

Eusebius Pamphilus, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus

The early church father Eusebius (AD 263 – 339) wrote several works, including one of the most significant histories of the early church ever written, excerpted above.  Eusebius referred often to the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, as can also be seen in the preceding quote.  The context of this passage from Eusebius is discussing the first Jewish war with Rome, which began under Nero in 66 AD.  It’s in this context of impending war that we see Eusebius – citing Josephus – placing the fulfillment of the “abomination of desolation” prophecy of Matthew 24:15.  Given that Eusebius believed the abomination of desolation prophecy was fulfilled in the events surrounding the Jewish war with Rome, we need to take a step back and rethink the modern, futuristic, evangelical interpretation of this prohecy.  This is especially true when we consider Matthew 24:15 in light of Luke’s gospel:

“Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. Matthew 24:15-16 (NASB)

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. “Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city; Luke 21:20-21 (NASB)

But now Cestius, observing that the disturbances that were begun among the Jews afforded him a proper opportunity to attack them, took his whole army along with him, and put the Jews to flight, and pursued them to Jerusalem. He then pitched his camp upon the elevation called Scopus, [or watch-tower,] which was distant seven furlongs from the city; yet did not he assault them in three days’ time, out of expectation that those within might perhaps yield a little; and in the mean time he sent out a great many of his soldiers into neighboring villages, to seize upon their corn. And on the fourth day, which was the thirtieth of the month Hyperbereteus, [Tisri,] when he had put his army in array, he brought it into the city. Now for the people, they were kept under by the seditious; but the seditious themselves were greatly affrighted at the good order of the Romans, and retired from the suburbs, and retreated into the inner part of the city, and into the temple. But when Cestius was come into the city, he set the part called Bezetha, which is called Cenopolis, [or the new city,] on fire; as he did also to the timber market; after which he came into the upper city, and pitched his camp over against the royal palace; and had he but at this very time attempted to get within the walls by force, he had won the city presently, and the war had been put an end to at once; but Tyrannius Priseus, the muster-master of the army, and a great number of the officers of the horse, had been corrupted by Florus, and diverted him from that his attempt; and that was the occasion that this war lasted so very long, and thereby the Jews were involved in such incurable calamities.

5.  In the mean time, many of the principal men of the city were persuaded by Ananus, the son of Jonathan, and invited Cestius into the city, and were about to open the gates for him; but he overlooked this offer, partly out of his anger at the Jews, and partly because he did not thoroughly believe they were in earnest; whence it was that he delayed the matter so long, that the seditious perceived the treachery, and threw Ananus and those of his party down from the wall, and, pelting them with stones, drove them into their houses; but they stood themselves at proper distances in the towers, and threw their darts at those that were getting over the wall. Thus did the Romans make their attack against the wall for five days, but to no purpose. But on the next day Cestius took a great many of his choicest men, and with them the archers, and attempted to break into the temple at the northern quarter of it; but the Jews beat them off from the cloisters, and repulsed them several times when they were gotten near to the wall, till at length the multitude of the darts cut them off, and made them retire; but the first rank of the Romans rested their shields upon the wall, and so did those that were behind them, and the like did those that were still more backward, and guarded themselves with what they call Testudo, [the back of] a tortoise, upon which the darts that were thrown fell, and slided off without doing them any harm; so the soldiers undermined the wall, without being themselves hurt, and got all things ready for setting fire to the gate of the temple.

6.  And now it was that a horrible fear seized upon the seditious, insomuch that many of them ran out of the city, as though it were to be taken immediately; but the people upon this took courage, and where the wicked part of the city gave ground, thither did they come, in order to set open the gates, and to admit Cestius as their benefactor, who, had he but continued the siege a little longer, had certainly taken the city; but it was, I suppose, owing to the aversion God had already at the city and the sanctuary, that he was hindered from putting an end to the war that very day.

Flavius Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 19, Sections 4-6

Josephus refers to Cestius Gallus as the “president” of the province of Syria and, in this excerpt above, he describes the march of Gallus’ army into Jerusalem at the beginning of the Jewish war with Rome in 66 AD.  Keeping in mind my earlier post, recall that the entire city was holy to the Jews and any pagan army marching through it – especially one set on its conquest, destruction, or both – would be viewed as an “abomination” (a “hated thing.”)

This is the event that Christ prophesies about as recorded in both Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:20, and the precedent for it – as prophesied by Daniel (8:21-26, 11:29-31) and recorded by both Josephus and in 1 Maccabees – was set by none other than Antiochus IV Epiphanes:

And there came out of them a wicked root Antiochus surnamed Epiphanes, son of Antiochus the king, who had been an hostage at Rome, and he reigned in the hundred and thirty and seventh year of the kingdom of the Greeks. 1 Maccabees 1:10 (KJVApocrypha)

And after two years fully expired the king [Antiochus Epiphanes] sent his chief collector of tribute unto the cities of Juda, who came unto Jerusalem with a great multitude, And spake peaceable words unto them, but all was deceit: for when they had given him credence, he fell suddenly upon the city, and smote it very sore, and destroyed much people of Israel. And when he had taken the spoils of the city, he set it on fire, and pulled down the houses and walls thereof on every side. But the women and children took they captive, and possessed the cattle. Then builded they the city of David with a great and strong wall, and with mighty towers, and made it a strong hold for them. And they put therein a sinful nation, wicked men, and fortified themselves therein. They stored it also with armour and victuals, and when they had gathered together the spoils of Jerusalem, they laid them up there, and so they became a sore snare: For it was a place to lie in wait against the sanctuary, and an evil adversary to Israel. Thus they shed innocent blood on every side of the sanctuary, and defiled it: Insomuch that the inhabitants of Jerusalem fled because of them: whereupon the city was made an habitation of strangers, and became strange to those that were born in her; and her own children left her. Her sanctuary was laid waste like a wilderness, her feasts were turned into mourning, her sabbaths into reproach her honour into contempt. 1 Maccabees 1:29-39 (KJVApocrypha)

Josephus supports the history of 1 Maccabees regarding Antiochus Epiphanes:

King Antiochus returning out of Egypt for fear of the Romans, made an expedition against the city Jerusalem; and when he was there, in the hundred and forty-third year of the kingdom of the Seleucidse, he took the city without fighting, those of his own party opening the gates to him. And when he had gotten possession of Jerusalem, he slew many of the opposite party; and when he had plundered it of a great deal of money, he returned to Antioch.

4.  Now it came to pass, after two years, in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of that month which is by us called Chasleu, and by the Macedonians Apelleus, in the hundred and fifty-third olympiad, that the king came up to Jerusalem, and, pretending peace, he got possession of the city by treachery; at which time he spared not so much as those that admitted him into it, on account of the riches that lay in the temple; but, led by his covetous inclination, (for he saw there was in it a great deal of gold, and many ornaments that had been dedicated to it of very great value,) and in order to plunder its wealth, he ventured to break the league he had made. So he left the temple bare, and took away the golden candlesticks, and the golden altar [of incense], and table [of shew-bread], and the altar [of burnt-offering]; and did not abstain from even the veils, which were made of fine linen and scarlet. He also emptied it of its secret treasures, and left nothing at all remaining; and by this means cast the Jews into great lamentation, for he forbade them to offer those daily sacrifices which they used to offer to God, according to the law. And when he had pillaged the whole city, some of the inhabitants he slew, and some he carried captive, together with their wives and children, so that the multitude of those captives that were taken alive amounted to about ten thousand. He also burnt down the finest buildings; and when he had overthrown the city walls, he built a citadel in the lower part of the city, for the place was high, and overlooked the temple; on which account he fortified it with high walls and towers, and put into it a garrison of Macedonians. However, in that citadel dwelt the impious and wicked part of the [Jewish] multitude, from whom it proved that the citizens suffered many and sore calamities. And when the king had built an idol altar upon God’s altar, he slew swine upon it, and so offered a sacrifice neither according to the law, nor the Jewish religious worship in that country. He also compelled them to forsake the worship which they paid their own God, and to adore those whom he took to be gods; and made them build temples, and raise idol altars in every city and village, and offer swine upon them every day. He also commanded them not to circumcise their sons, and threatened to punish any that should be found to have transgressed his injunction. He also appointed overseers, who should compel them to do what he commanded.

Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 12, Chapter 5, Sections 3-4.

This fate – the death and destruction of Jerusalem visited upon it by invading armies – is that which Christ was warning His disciples to avoid when He told them to flee Jerusalem when they saw the armies of Rome surrounding it.  The first Roman army to arrive – led by Cestius Gallus in 66 AD – was the sign that it was time for them to get out of town.  I will close this installment with the words of Eusebius:

The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella. Here, those that believed in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city itself, and the whole land of Judea; the divine justice, for their crimes against Christ and his apostles, finally overtook them, totally destroying the whole generation of these evildoers from the earth.

Eusebius Pamphilus, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus

In conclusion, the abomination of desolation of which Christ prophesies has, as its precedent, the prophesies of Daniel 8 and 11 surrounding the events of Antiochus IV Epiphanes.

Therefore, the fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy (chapters 8 and 11) regarding the abomination of desolation was fulfilled by the actions of Antiochus Epiphanes in 167 BC.  The fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy regarding the abomination of desolation (found also in Daniel 12) was fulfilled by Cestius Gallus in 66 AD.

Matthew 24:15 and Luke 21:20 were fulfilled in 66 AD, at the start of the first Jewish war with Rome, when those in Jerusalem’s church had ample opportunity to flee the city as Christ had commanded.  They would not have the opportunity to flee when Titus arrived, as I will point out in another post as time permits.

The third installment: “Abomination of Desolation”…

Now we come to the part of Matthew 24 that is surrounded by so much confusion and controversy:

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! 20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. 22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.

Matthew 24:15-22 (NKJV)

The word “therefore” in Matthew 24:15 is the key to understanding how it relates to all of the preceding passages. It is called a “conjunctive adverb” and is used to tie independent clauses together. One example of its usage would be, “Someone broke into our house; therefore, we called the police.”

Its use in Matthew 24:15 ties it and the following passages together with all of the preceding passages, meaning Christ is still addressing the questions regarding the destruction of the Temple, and the signs that would precede it, in their generation!

So let’s break Matthew 24:15-22 down a section at a time:

15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. 18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.

The phrase “abomination of desolation” has been so improperly defined and taught in the churches in the last century, that the very mention of it immediately conjures images of an evil, end-of-the-world Anti-Christ who enters the Holy of Holies in a new Temple in Jerusalem to declare himself God there! But this is nowhere to be found in the context of Matthew 24! Remember, Christ is describing events that would happen in their generation!

The source of this confusion over Matthew 24:15 revolves around Matthew’s allusion to the Book of Daniel, and the use of the words “abomination of desolation” themselves.

In the case of the latter, it helps to define these words.

The Greek word used for “abomination” is “bdelygma” from the Greek word “bdelusso” meaning a “detestation”, i.e. (special) idolatry. Dictionary.com defines it this way:

abomination –noun

• 1. anything abominable; anything greatly disliked or abhorred.
• 2.intense aversion or loathing; detestation: He regarded lying with abomination.
• 3. a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.: Spitting in public is an abomination.

“Anything greatly disliked or abhorred (hated or loathed)” can refer to a person, but it can also refer to people (as in race, sex, nationality or ethnicity), place, thing or condition. The context defines the object of the word “abomination” (that which is hated).

The Greek word for “desolation” is ” ere-mo-sis” from the Greek word “eremoo”, which means “despoliation” or “desolation.”

Dictionary.com defines “despoilation” this way:

Despoilation –noun

• the act of stripping and taking by force

Webster’s online (m-w.com) defines the word in greater detail:

Main Entry: despoliation
Pronunciation: \di-?spo–le–?a–sh?n\
Function: noun
Etymology: Late Latin despoliation-, despoliatio, from despoliare
Date: circa 1657

• : the action or process of despoiling : spoliation

When you follow the link for the word “spoilation”, you find this definition:

Main Entry: spoliation
Pronunciation: \?spo–le–?a–sh?n\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French spoliacion, Latin spoliation-, spoliatio, from spoliare to plunder — more at spoil
Date: 15th century

• 1 a : the act of plundering b : the state of having been plundered especially in war
• 2 : the act of injuring especially beyond reclaim

The word “desolation”, as defined by Webster’s:

Main Entry: desolation
Pronunciation: \?de-s?-?la–sh?n, ?de-z?-\
Function: noun
Date: 14th century

• 1 : the action of desolating
• 2 a : grief, sadness b : loneliness
• 3 : devastation, ruin <a scene of utter desolation>
• 4 : barren wasteland

Following the link for “desolating”, one finds this definition:

Main Entry: desolate
Pronunciation: \-?la-t\
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): desolated; desolating
Date: 14th century

• : to make desolate: a : to deprive of inhabitants b : to lay waste c : forsake d : to make wretched

When Christ laments over Jerusalem in Matthew 23, he says, “See! Your house is left to you desolate.”  That word “desolate” in Matthew 23:38 comes from the same Greek root word (eremos) used in Matthew 24:15 (ere-mo-sis).

In other words, in Matthew 23:38, Christ is saying that Jerusalem is going to be “laid waste” (desolate, despoiled), literally that “no stone would be left on top of another.”  Then, in Matthew 24:15, He is warning them of that “abomination” (literally, hated person, place or thing) that would cause the desolation!

Leave it to Luke to interpret Matthew for us again:

20 “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.

Luke 21:20-22 (NKJV)

The Greek word for “desolation” in Luke 21:20 (ere-mo-sis) is the same Greek word used in Matthew 24:15 (ere-mo-sis).

Matthew and Luke are writing about the same event!  So what is the “abomination” of which Christ speaks in Matthew 24:15?

Josephus provides two stories that give us critical insight into the mindset of the Jews of Jesus’ day concerning that which they considered “abominable.”

The first happened during the reign of Pontius Pilate as governor of Judea:

But now Pilate, the procurator of Judea, removed the army from Cesarea to Jerusalem, to take their winter quarters there, in order to abolish the Jewish laws. So he introduced Caesar’s effigies, which were upon the ensigns, and brought them into the city; whereas our law forbids us the very making of images; on which account the former procurators were wont to make their entry into the city with such ensigns as had not those ornaments. Pilate was the first who brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the people, because it was done in the night time; but as soon as they knew it, they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interceded with Pilate many days that he would remove the images; and when he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment-seat, which seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them; and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers to encompass them routed, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. But they threw themselves upon the ground, and laid their necks bare, and said they would take their death very willingly, rather than the wisdom of their laws should be transgressed; upon which Pilate was deeply affected with their firm resolution to keep their laws inviolable, and presently commanded the images to be carried back from Jerusalem to Cesarea.

Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 18, Chapter 3

Josephus recounts the story of Pilate and Caesar’s ensigns, which appeared as graven images to the Jews, in his work “The Wars of the Jews”:

Now Pilate, who was sent as procurator into Judea by Tiberius, sent by night those images of Caesar that are called ensigns into Jerusalem. This excited a very among great tumult among the Jews when it was day; for those that were near them were astonished at the sight of them, as indications that their laws were trodden under foot; for those laws do not permit any sort of image to be brought into the city. Nay, besides the indignation which the citizens had themselves at this procedure, a vast number of people came running out of the country. These came zealously to Pilate to Cesarea, and besought him to carry those ensigns out of Jerusalem, and to preserve them their ancient laws inviolable; but upon Pilate’s denial of their request, they fell down prostrate upon the ground, and continued immovable in that posture for five days and as many nights.

3.  On the next day Pilate sat upon his tribunal, in the open market-place, and called to him the multitude, as desirous to give them an answer; and then gave a signal to the soldiers, that they should all by agreement at once encompass the Jews with their weapons; so the band of soldiers stood round about the Jews in three ranks. The Jews were under the utmost consternation at that unexpected sight. Pilate also said to them that they should be cut in pieces, unless they would admit of Caesar’s images, and gave intimation to the soldiers to draw their naked swords. Hereupon the Jews, as it were at one signal, fell down in vast numbers together, and exposed their necks bare, and cried out that they were sooner ready to be slain, than that their law should be transgressed. Hereupon Pilate was greatly surprised at their prodigious superstition, and gave order that the ensigns should be presently carried out of Jerusalem.

Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 9

Then Josephus provides this account of how Caligula sought to have his statue erected in the Jewish Temple!

Now Caius Caesar (Caligula) did so grossly abuse the fortune he had arrived at, as to take himself to be a god, and to desire to be so called also, and to cut off those of the greatest nobility out of his country. He also extended his impiety as far as the Jews. Accordingly, he sent Petronius with an army to Jerusalem, to place his statues in the temple, and commanded him that, in case the Jews would not admit of them, he should slay those that opposed it, and carry all the rest of the nation into captivity: but God concerned himself with these his commands.

And when they insisted on their law, and the custom of their country, and how it was not only not permitted them to make either an image of God, or indeed of a man, and to put it in any despicable part of their country, much less in the temple itself, Petronius replied, “And am not I also,” said he, “bound to keep the law of my own lord? For if I transgress it, and spare you, it is but just that I perish; while he that sent me, and not I, will commence a war against you; for I am under command as well as you.” Hereupon the whole multitude cried out that they were ready to suffer for their law. Petronius then quieted them, and said to them, “Will you then make war against Caesar?” The Jews said, “We offer sacrifices twice every day for Caesar, and for the Roman people;” but that if he would place the images among them, he must first sacrifice the whole Jewish nation; and that they were ready to expose themselves, together with their children and wives, to be slain. At this Petronius was astonished, and pitied them, on account of the inexpressible sense of religion the men were under, and that courage of theirs which made them ready to die for it; so they were dismissed without success.

Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 10

The stories of the ensigns (“graven images”) of Caesar are important to understand as they relate to Matthew 24 and the “abomination of desolation.” The Jews felt so strongly that any such image that entered Jerusalem was an offense – an “abomination” – so great that they would have died over it rather than accept its presence in the city!

Let that last paragraph sink in: what Josephus is telling us in his history reveals the mindset of the Jews of that time and how they viewed Jerusalem. The ensigns of Caesar would never have had to make it to the Temple to be an affront – an “abomination” – to the Jews. They only would have had to enter the city itself.

This is how Jesus would’ve viewed the city as well.

This is why – when Jesus tells His disciples in Matthew 24 – when they see the “abomination of desolation” in the holy place, to flee. The “holy place” to the Jew of that day was the entire city of Jerusalem, not just the Temple!

The God’s Word translation of the Bible translates Matthew 24:15 this way:

“The prophet Daniel said that the disgusting thing that will cause destruction will stand in the holy place. When you see this (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains.

Matthew 24:15-16 (GW)

Again, Luke’s gospel interprets this for us:

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near.

Luke 21:20 (NKJV)

Rome’s legions, carrying ensigns of eagles and Caesar before them, entered the city of Jerusalem in 66 AD.  What followed was the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem that would persist for the next three and a half years,  followed by the destruction of the city and its temple so complete, that no stone was left on top of another, precisely as Christ had predicted some forty years before.

In the next installment, I’ll detail what the Book of Daniel has to do with this and why it has been improperly applied to a futuristic “end-time” scenario.

The second installment: the Olivet Discourse…

In “The first installment”, we covered some background information and events leading to the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24 (and Mark 13 and Luke 21).  I concluded that post writing:

Thus begins the Olivet Discourse.  The first question His disciples ask is “when will the Temple be destroyed?”  They then ask, “what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”

Christ begins to answer these questions by pointing to the things that will have to happen first, before the Temple and the city (Jerusalem) are destroyed:

4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. 10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.

Matthew 24:4-14 (NKJV)

Remember: Christ is answering specific questions about the destruction of the Temple IN THEIR GENERATION and the signs that precede it: He is not talking about either our generation or some generation yet to exist in our future.

So let’s look at how some of these signs were fulfilled in Christ’s generation.  Jewish historian Flavius Josephus recorded events that led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD by the Romans under Titus Flavius.  Let’s take Christ’s signs one at a time:

1. “Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many… Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.”

Here’s what Josephus writes regarding deceivers among the Jews who led them to war with the Romans:

There was also another body of wicked men gotten together, not so impure in their actions, but more wicked in their intentions, which laid waste the happy state of the city [Jerusalem] no less than did these murderers [the Sicarii – Jewish Assassins]. These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense of Divine inspiration, but were for procuring innovations and changes of the government; and these prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen, and went before them into the wilderness, as pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.

But there was an Egyptian false prophet that did the Jews more mischief than the former; for he was a cheat, and pretended to be a prophet also, and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded by him; these he led round about from the wilderness to the mount which was called the Mount of Olives, and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place; and if he could but once conquer the Roman garrison and the people, he intended to domineer over them by the assistance of those guards of his that were to break into the city with him.

Now when these were quieted, it happened, as it does in a diseased body, that another part was subject to an inflammation; for a company of deceivers and robbers got together, and persuaded the Jews to revolt, and exhorted them to assert their liberty, inflicting death on those that continued in obedience to the Roman government, and saying, that such as willingly chose slavery ought to be forced from such their desired inclinations; for they parted themselves into different bodies, and lay in wait up and down the country, and plundered the houses of the great men, and slew the men themselves, and set the villages on fire; and this till all Judea was filled with the effects of their madness. And thus the flame was every day more and more blown up, till it came to a direct war.

Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 13

Now it came to pass, while Fadus was procurator of Judea, that a certain magician, whose name was Theudas, persuaded a great part of the people to take their effects with them, and follow him to the river Jordan; for he told them he was a prophet, and that he would, by his own command, divide the river, and afford them an easy passage over it; and many were deluded by his words. However, Fadus did not permit them to make any advantage of his wild attempt, but sent a troop of horsemen out against them; who, falling upon them unexpectedly, slew many of them, and took many of them alive. They also took Theudas alive, and cut off his head, and carried it to Jerusalem. This was what befell the Jews in the time of Cuspius Fadus’s government.

Josephus, Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 5

Certainly, as Christ warned, there were many deceivers in the land during that generation.

2. “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

Some of the wars which happened between Christ’s death (circa 30AD) and the destruction of Jerusalem included:

• Herod goes to war against Arabia, loses army and territories in battle – 36 AD
• The Roman conquest of Britain – 43 AD
• Rome annexes territories in Thrace (Southeastern Bulgarian/Northwestern Turkey) – 45 AD
• The Roman conquest of Armenia – 58 AD

These Roman wars of conquest helped set the stage for the fulfillment of this prediction:

3. “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.”

This passage has been misquoted so often to mean the “end” in our future, that it is often mistakenly asserted as proof that Christ was talking about our time!  However, that’s not what the Greek word for “world” meant in His time or to His disciples!

Here is how the Literal Bible interprets the Greek:

14. And will be proclaimed this Good News of the kingdom in all the inhabited earth for a testimony to all the nations, and then will come the end.

The Greek word for “inhabited earth” is “oikoumene”, and it is where we get our English word “ecumenical.”  Webster’s Online defines ecumenical as follows:

Main Entry: ec·u·men·i·cal
Pronunciation: \ˌe-kyə-ˈme-ni-kəl, -kyü-\
Function: adjective
Etymology: Late Latin oecumenicus, from Late Greek oikoumenikos, from Greek oikoumenē the inhabited world, from feminine of oikoumenos, present passive participle of oikein to inhabit, from oikos house — more at vicinity
Date: circa 1587

1 : worldwide or general in extent, influence, or application
2 a : of, relating to, or representing the whole of a body of churches b : promoting or tending toward worldwide Christian unity or cooperation

Wikipedia defines what the word meant in Jesus’ day:

The word is derived from Greek οἰκουμένη (oikoumene), which means “the inhabited world”, and was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire.

In other words, what we consider to be the entire world now only really referred to nations in and around the Roman Empire during the first century.  This is the perspective from which Jesus would have been speaking to them.  Although Jesus certainly would have foreseen places like the U.S., Russia, and Brazil, He was communicating to them in the context of their time: the generation in which all these things would come to pass!

4. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.

The book of Acts recounts one such famine in the land of Judea:

25 Then Barnabas departed for Tarsus to seek Saul. 26 And when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.

27 And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar. 29 Then the disciples, each according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brethren dwelling in Judea. 30 This they also did, and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.

Acts 11:25-30 (NKJV)

Josephus also recounts events surrounding this famine:

Now her coming was of very great advantage to the people of Jerusalem; for whereas a famine did oppress them at that time, and many people died for want of what was necessary to procure food withal, queen Helena sent some of her servants to Alexandria with money to buy a great quantity of corn, and others of them to Cyprus, to bring a cargo of dried figs. And as soon as they were come back, and had brought those provisions, which was done very quickly, she distributed food to those that were in want of it, and left a most excellent memorial behind her of this benefaction, which she bestowed on our whole nation. And when her son Izates was informed of this famine, he sent great sums of money to the principal men in Jerusalem. However, what favors this queen and king conferred upon our city Jerusalem shall be further related hereafter.

Josephus, Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 2

This famine and the relief that came both from Paul and the Christian community in Antioch, and from  Queen Helena and her son, occurred around 43 AD,  This famine would have been accompanied by disease (pestilence) in the city of Jerusalem  from malnutrition and death.

Josephus also records an earthquake outside Jerusalem around 65 AD, about a year before the siege of Jerusalem had begun by the Romans.  During this time, the Zealots – Jewish insurrectionists that were fomenting revolution against Rome – had invited Idumean (Edomite) mercenaries to come to Jerusalem and help them in their fight against the Romans.  Upon arriving at Jerusalem, the Jewish leaders who wanted nothing to do with war against the Romans – or the Zealots – would not let them into the city!  Josephus recounts what happens next:

Nor indeed were the minds of the Idumeans at rest; for they were in a rage at the injury that had been offered them by their exclusion out of the city; and when they thought the zealots had been strong, but saw nothing of theirs to support them, they were in doubt about the matter, and many of them repented that they had come thither. But the shame that would attend them in case they returned without doing any thing at all, so far overcame that their repentance, that they lay all night before the wall, though in a very bad encampment; for there broke out a prodigious storm in the night, with the utmost violence, and very strong winds, with the largest showers of rain, with continued lightnings, terrible thunderings, and amazing concussions and bellowings of the earth, that was in an earthquake. These things were a manifest indication that some destruction was coming upon men, when the system of the world was put into this disorder; and any one would guess that these wonders foreshowed some grand calamities that were coming.

Josephus, Wars of the Jews, Book 4

Luke also writes of an earthquake in Acts:

25 But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.

Acts 16:25-26 (NKJV)

Finally, we come to the most well-documented evidence that Christ was speaking of events that would happen to that generation:

5. “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.”

There is no greater compelling evidence to support this fulfillment of Christ’s words, above, than the deaths of Christ’s disciples recounted in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs.

The very first martyr after Christ was Stephen, stoned to death by the Jews while Saul (who would later become the apostle Paul) looked on in approval.

The following is a list of those apostles and disciples martyred for Christ before the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple.

• James the Greater: beheaded in 44 AD in Judea;
• Philip: crucified in 54 AD in Heliopolis;
• Matthew: death by halberd in 60 AD in Ethipoia;
• James the Less: beaten to death at age of 94 in Jerusalem;
• Mathias: date unknown, beheaded in Jerusalem;
• Andrew; date unknown, crucified in Edessa;
• Mark; date unknown, dragged to death in Alexandria, Egypt;
• Peter: crucified upside down during Nero’s reign in Rome;
• Paul: beheaded during Nero’s reign in Rome.

Most of the remaining apostles were martyred shortly after the fall of Jerusalem.  During this time, however, the gospel had been preached from Britain to Ethipoia and from Spain to India, as the early church father Eusebius recounts in his work:

Tiberius, therefore, under whom the name of Christ was spread throughout the world, when this doctrine was announced to him from Palestine, where it first began, communicated with the senate, being obviously pleased with the doctrine; but the senate, as they had not proposed the measure, rejected it. But he continued in his opinion, threatening death to the accusers of the Christians; a divine providence infusing this into his mind, that the gospel having freer scope in its commencement, might spread every where over the world.”

Thus, then, under a celestial influence and co-operation, the doctrine of the Saviour, like the rays of the sun, quickly irradiated the whole world. Presently, in accordance with divine prophecy, the sound of his inspired evangelists and apostles had gone throughout all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.

Eusebius Pamphilus, The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius Pamphilus

All of these things Christ said would happen came to pass before the Temple was destroyed in that generation.

In the next installment, I’ll break down what Christ meant by the “abomination of desolation.”  It’s not what we’ve been led to believe it is!

The first installment: some background…

Before I begin, let me state that I once believed – as many do – that all of Matthew 24 was somehow way off in our future and yet to be fulfilled.  It wasn’t until I started doing some research of my own, that I became more and more convinced that we have been misled: that Matthew 24 has been taken out of context and misquoted by Pastors and so-called Bible teachers for so long, it has become a “strong delusion.”

When Morpheus presented Neo with the red and blue pills, he was offering him the choice between staying asleep in the Matrix or waking up in the real world.  It was a choice between living a lie in bondage or living the truth in freedom.

While this information won’t change anyone’s status in the Kingdom of God (you’re not going to be saved or condemned for knowing or believing this), knowing it will  awaken you to the deeper truths of God’s Word and – hopefully – give you the tools to “rightly divide the word of truth.”

First, understand that the chapter and verse conventions used in the Bible are simply reference tools.  They are not the way the gospels – or any other book of the Bible for that matter – were written.

Second, the first four books of the New Testament are collectively called “The Gospels.”  Of these four, the first three are called the “Synoptic Gospels.”

The Gospel of Luke, the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in the same sequence, and sometimes the exact same wording. This degree of parallelism in content, narrative arrangement, language, and sentence structures can only be accounted for by literary interdependence. Scholars believe that these gospels share the same point of view and are clearly linked.[1]  The term synoptic comes from the Greek syn, meaning “together”, and optic, meaning “seen”. [2]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synoptic_Gospels

While the synoptic gospels are similar, each of the four gospels is written to present Christ and His claims from a different perspective and, in the case of Luke, to a different audience.

The Gospel of Mark is believed to be the earliest of the gospels and presents Christ as the “suffering servant”:

Mark portrays Jesus as the “suffering servant” that acts as a model for the disciples to follow. We are told he came “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10: 45). Each time the disciples exalt themselves and misunderstand the mission of Christ’s death and resurrection, Jesus tells them a parable or explains what the cost of discipleship means.

http://www.essortment.com/all/gospelmark_rdna.htm

The Gospel of Matthew, written around 60 AD, presents Christ as heir to David’s throne through Joseph’s lineage and thus as Israel’s King and Messiah.  Matthew was written primarily to Jews to convince them of Christ’s royal pedigree and why they should accept Him as their King and Messiah.  This is important to understand about Matthew, especially when we start looking at chapter 24.

Luke was a Gentile and fellow traveler with the Apostle Paul.  Luke also wrote Acts.  Luke’s gospel presents Christ as the “Son of Man”, focusing on Christ’s humanity:

The Gospel of Luke is universal in its appeal, and directed especially to Gentiles and Greeks in particular. Matthew, on the other hand, wrote primarily for the Jews, and Mark for the Romans.

http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/lkintro.html

Finally, The Gospel of John presents Christ as both God incarnate and the “Son of God.”  While Luke focused on Christ’s humanity, John focused on Christ’s deity.

It’s important to keep this brief background in mind when studying any of the gospels as it helps us understand both the writer’s intent and choice of words in presenting the stories as they did.

With that in mind, let’s look at Matthew’s account of the Olivet Discourse and break it down verse by verse.

Recall that chapters and verses weren’t written into the gospels but were added later as an aid to reference .  The Olivet Discourse of Matthew 24 – so-called because Christ spoke these words to the disciples on the Mount of Olives – is actually prompted by events preceding chapter 24.  These preliminary events all appear in Matthew, Mark and Luke, though they are described differently.

Jesus had just come into Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.  He enters the city on a colt, as prophesied, and is greeted by the throngs of people shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!” Matthew 21:9 (NKJV)

Jesus then enters the Temple and drives out the money-changers.  He began teaching the crowds in the Temple, healing the sick, and was confronted by the Scribes and Pharisees over various points of the Law.

The Temple becomes the nexus of Christ’s remaining ministry during Holy Week.

During one of these discussions with the Scribes and Pharisees, Christ “goes off” on them.

29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

Matthew 23:29-36 (NKJV)

Christ assails them for their hypocrisies and the murders of the prophets God sent to their fathers, holding them and the people of their generation accountable for all the innocent blood shed from Abel to Zechariah.  He’s telling them here that their generation is going to be judged and how that judgment will come against them.

Christ then raises a lament over Jerusalem.

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

Matthew 23:37-39 (NKJV)

This story of Christ’s lament also appears in Luke:

41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city (Jerusalem) and wept over it, 42 saying, “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Luke 19:41-43 (NKJV)

Remember, Matthew’s audience is primarily Jews, so he’s writing to people who understand the Old Testament prophecies.  He’s writing to people who understand what Jerusalem being “desolate” means, because the Jews had seen (through their history and prophets) Jerusalem desolated – laid completely waste – once before by the Babylonians, under King Nebuchadnezzar, in 587 B.C.

Luke, on the other hand, is writing to Greeks and Gentiles: people who would not necessarily know Jewish history and certainly not the Jewish prophets.  Therefore – and this is critically important – Luke actually interprets Matthew for us!  When Matthew writes to Jews:

“See! Your house is left to you desolate.”

Luke explains EXACTLY what that means to Greeks:

“…your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another…”

Just as the Babylonians had completely “desolated” or leveled Jerusalem and its Temple to the ground and carried the Jews off into captivity, Luke is telling his Greek readers what lies ahead for Jerusalem!

Matthew, in turn, is telling the Scribes and Pharisees that this will happen to their generation!

“Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.”

Again, Matthew assumes his readers know of that which he writes, but Luke assumes his readers know nothing and thus explains what these things mean.  It’s the reason why The Gospel of Luke is the longest book in the New Testament!  (Matthew has more chapters, but Luke has more words!  He EXPLAINS everything he writes in much greater detail!)

After Christ’s confrontations in the Temple, first with the money-changers then with the Scribes and Pharisees, He and the disciples begin to leave the Temple grounds, prompting the following exchange, presented in parallel from all three synoptic gospels:

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Matthew 24:1-2 (NKJV)

Then as He went out of the temple, one of His disciples said to Him, “Teacher, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here!” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone shall be left upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” Mark 13:1-2 (NKJV)

Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations, He said, “These things which you see–the days will come in which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.” Luke 21:5-6 (NKJV)

Upon hearing this, His disciples ask:

“Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” Matthew 24:3 (NKJV)

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, and Andrew asked Him privately, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign when all these things will be fulfilled?” Mark 13:3-4 (NKJV)

So they asked Him, saying, “Teacher, but when will these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” Luke 21:7 (NKJV)

Thus begins the Olivet Discourse.  The first question His disciples ask is “when will the Temple be destroyed?”  They then ask, “what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?”  More in my next installment.

What prompted this blog…

I’ve been on a journey of personal and spiritual discovery that started in 2007 when I joined a website called christianity.com.  Recently, after posting a series of articles there I had written under the same name that I’ve given this blog, I was banned by that site’s administration.

So, given that I’ve spent several months in laborious research regarding this topic – having spent much of that time researching it for discussions there – I decided to start this blog and post my work here, in the hopes that it will be better received by the masses.

Let me assure you, the reader, there is nothing heretical in my views regarding the subject at hand.  The purpose is to offer what I believe is a careful and common sense reading of Matthew 24 and how all of it was fulfilled in 70 AD.

I will break this material into small, “bite-sized” chunks, that will not only make it easier for you – the reader – to digest, but easier for me to provide as much time, research and thought as needed to fully explain the material.

More coming in another post.