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Prophecy Fulfilled:
Destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE

By Ben Ruach ha Kodesh (John of AllFaith) � 8.10.09

Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

Several direct biblical prophecies have already been fulfilled. This gives us faith that the remaining ones (and there are a great many) will come to pass as well. This entry is part of a series of studies on fulfilled prophecies. For my index linking all of these go HERE. This will be an ongoing project. I will add links to the studies as I write them.

Matthew chapter 24 records the most significant and detailed prophecies directly given by Master Y'shua. I say "directly" because the Book of the Revelation (which along with the Book of Daniel are the two most significant prophetic works in the Bible), generally attributed to Apostle John, was actually revealed by Master Y'shua to him through an angel according to the text:

Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Matthew 23:1 Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat:

Here Master Y'shua confirms that the authority of the Covenant resides with the Jewish people still (and forever). Even as elsewhere he says:
"...we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews" -- John 4:22

3 All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

Religious hypocrisy and apathy are among the most serious crimes against God. Master Y'shua lamented, citing Isaiah:
Matt. 15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.

Master Y'shua warned that many (not all) of the first century Jewish religious leaders had become lukewarm and lost sight of the fact that the God of Israel is a living God, not merely the topic of old books and traditions. His primary ministry was to reform Judaism.

Matt. 15:24 But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

4 For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.
5 But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments,

The Master here is referring to the various practices prescribed in the Talmud and other Jewish traditions that place commandments not directly issued by the Torah and Tanach on the Jewish people. The Master's rejection of the Oral Torah was one of the main reasons his reformation of Judaism was not embraced by the religious leaders of his day.

6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
7 And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi.
8 But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.

[Rabbi means 'teacher' or spiritual master but is used specifically as 'teacher of the Written and Oral Torah (hence I don't reference Master Y'shua as "Rabbi Y'shua" because he did not accept nor teach the Oral Torah.
Note that Master Y'shua says,'one is your rabbi even Christ.' "Christ" is taken from the Greek word christos meaning anointing. This is the same idea (and root) expressed by John as: "But the anointing [chrisma] which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him (I John 2:27).
All of the related words here have their origin in the Greek word chriosomething that is anointed by God.
The point is, the Master is accusing these rabbis of relying more on books, traditions and perceived personal righteousness than on the Living God who alone anoints. This is a running theme throughout the four books called Gospels. It is God who anoints not man and it He we must seek and obey. Scriptures, commentaries, traditions and so on are meant to assist us in our relationship with the Author and Granter of all divine anointing. Or, as he said elsewhere, "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath." which means

9 And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.

The common violation of this command among certain Christian sects is obvious and needs only be noted!

10 Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.

Again without going into this too much here, we note that Y'shua does not say 'One is your master, even me' but rather, 'one is your master even the Anointing of God' or Christ -- christos: the anointing. The anointing comes from God alone Who is our true and only Master.

11 But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

I have addressed the too-common Christian heresy that the God of Israel has abandoned His Chosen people in many places, including HERE and more concisely HERE and so will not cover this ground again here. It should be acknowledged in passing however that Matthew 23 is one of the common "proof texts" cited to support this unbiblical notion. Don't make that mistake. God is clear that his gifts and callings are without repentance and that His covenants with the Jews is everlasting (Romans 11:29 etc).

This chapter introduces the main prophecy (of Matthew 24) and explains that although Master Y'shua (who was Jewish), all of his 120 chief disciples/evangelists, including the Twelve (all of whom were Jewish), and the vast majority of those who heard and accepted his Torah interpretations (the vast majority of whom were Jewish) accepted his teachings, many of the leaders of the people did not. Nonetheless vast numbers of Jews accepted the Master's Torah interpretations and joined his Jewish Nazarene Way Movement. Of these Jews and their new Noahide Nazarene compatriots we read:

Acts 17: ...These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also...

It is NOT accurate therefore to say "the Jews rejected Jesus." Large numbers of them did accept him.

There were many reasons why several of the more learned Jews took issue with what Master Y'shua was teaching (I discuss a few of these HERE and elsewhere) but one was simple arrogance and the unholy association the Sanhedrin had with the ruling government. Sound familiar? It should! History is repeating as the prophets foretold (Rev. 3:14-19). Here in chapter 23 of Matthew the Master described this spiritually unhealthy situation and its terrible consequences.

36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.

Note this carefully: By "this generation" he means the present one, his generation. Master Y'shua is setting up his longer prophecy and begins it with his own time. As we will see below the disciples will ask for information concerning the end of the age (incorrectly translated as world in the KJV) but first he will utter a prophecy that his hearers will directly experience being fulfilled.

37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

People love to be extreme! To use one verse or section out of context and base entire doctrines on it while ignoring the greater flow of Scripture and prophecy. As a result some Bible teachers take these verses to an extreme and claim that they show God has abandoned the House of Israel. One group that teaches this biblical heresy are the Seventh Day Adventists. I discuss this issue in some depth in my study Refutations to Seventh Day Adventist Doctrines Concerning the Jews. But what does HaShem say? That is what matters.

Jeremiah 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them [the Jewish people], that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.
41 Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
42 For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.

And we Noahides say, Amen! HaShem is with His people always!

However... we must also seriously understand His warning to them. Again, from verse 40:

... I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

"Fear" here is the Hebrew word yir'ah and tells us that God will remind His people of His absolute glory, His majesty and the need for the people to hold the One God in deep respect and honor. It doesn't suggest being afraid of God as one might fear an evil doer, but of holding God in extreme awe and respect. Such "fear" of God is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 11:10).

Master Y'shua explains how HaShem "put fear" into the hearts of His people in the next verses:

Remember that the Bible was written without chapters and verses. Although chapter 23 ends here the context continues:

Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to show him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.

The House of Israel is the House of HaShem: the Holy Jerusalem Temple. To place His fear or yir'ah on the hearts of the Jewish people that Holy House was lost to them as the Romans armies of Titus destroyed everything (just as Master Y'shua foretold).

Paul explains in Romans chapter 11 and elsewhere how the Gentile (Noahide) followers of Master Y'shua were temporarily 'grafted" onto the Tree of Israel in part to make them jealous, to show that HaShem is the God of the whole world, not the Jews only. Nonetheless Paul in that chapter makes it clear that the Covenant with Israel continues:

Romans 11:1 I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

The topic then expands into Master Y'shua great prophecy:

Matt 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the age? [KJV: "world": aion means age not world].
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you....

The Siege of Jerusalem in the year 70 CE is a well established fact of history. It was the decisive event of the First Jewish-Roman War and a key element in the prophetic time line of Israel, the Jewish people and the world. The siege was followed by the fall of Masada in 73 CE. Future Emperor Titus along with Tiberius Julius Alexander and the armies of Imperial Rome besieged and conquered the Holy City by the allowance of HaShem as Y'shua foretold. The Holy Temple was destroyed and other than the Wailing Wall which HaShem left as a kindness, Y'shua was correct: "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

The destruction of the Holy Temple is remembered annually as the Jewish fast Tisha B'Av, and the Arch of Titus, depicting and celebrating the sacking of Jerusalem and its Temple, still stands in Rome to this day.

And here this study ends.

Prophecy fulfilled.

For more fulfilled prophecies go HERE.

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