Day 144 of Walking with Jesus in the Gospels and Psalms
Luke 21:20-38 & Psalm 140
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near . . . Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." - Luke 21:20 & 24, ESV
In AD 70, the Roman army marched on Jerusalem and destroyed it, in response to a Jewish uprising against Rome. The Temple was destroyed and has never been rebuilt in the 1,946 years since. This is remarkable for two reasons:
1. The Temple had stood in Jerusalem for over 1,000 years, with a brief period from 586 to 515 BC when the Temple after Solomon's Temple had been destroyed by the Babylonians and before it was rebuilt under Cyrus and Darius.
2. Jesus predicted that Jerusalem would be destroyed shortly after His life, death and resurrection and that it would remain "trampled underfoot by the Gentiles." Not only has the Temple never been rebuilt, but Jerusalem has never been fully controlled by the Jewish people since AD 70.
These two facts make the destruction of the Temple and the accompanying domination of Jerusalem by non-Jews a most remarkable historical event and a most remarkable fulfillment of prophecy. But why? Why did Jesus say that Jerusalem would be destroyed? Why has it remained under Gentile domination and how long will it last?
Older
Top
