Destruction of the Temple and the City in 70AD.

The last time I posted, I ended with saying we would be discussing who, historically, was responsible for the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. I can remember when I was in the sixth grade studying Mesopotamia, Babylon and the people groups that lived along the Euphrates. My instructors name was Mr. Kirk. History wasn’t an exciting subject matter to me at that time. I can remember thinking quietly to myself, my does it matter who the Mesopotamians or Babylonians were…who cares? How does it affect me?

Now that I have become a student of studying God’s word, I love history. It is filled with clues to puzzles buried within scripture and it most certainly reveals answers that we seek, unlocking the secrets which have been buried under the sands of time. I helps us to draw parallels between people groups when appropriate and gives us insight as to how long specific people groups have responded with hate against God’s chosen.

For Catholics, they use the Douay Rheims Bible, it contains some books known as “The Apocrypha” which are not included within the official “Cannon” recognized by the Christian Church. This is another matter entirely, however I will say they do have historical merit and SHOULD still be read.

Although most books in the Bible have some prophetic merit, some books are more obvious than others. The particular prophecy regarding the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem was spoken of in Daniel, and by Christ himself. Let’s look at them together, beginning with Daniel. In Chapter 9:24 it says this:

Seventy weeks are determined for your people and for your holy
city, To finish the transgression, To make an end of sins, To make
reconciliation for iniquity, To bring in everlasting righteousness,
To seal up vision and prophecy, And to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
command to restore and build Jerusalem until [Messiah the
Prince], There shall be seven weeks and sixty two weeks; the
street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

And after the sixty-two weeks [Messiah] shall be cut off, but not
for himself; [and the people of the prince who is to come shall
destroy the city and the sanctuary.] The end of it shall be with a
flood, and till the end of the war desolations are determined. Then
he [the prince who is to come, not Messiah] shall conform a
covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of
abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the
consummation, which is determined, is poured out on the desolate.
(King James Version) Emphasis added is mine.

So we have to ask ourselves is this a future prophecy, or has this occurred in the past? When we study scripture it is important that we follow rules of Hermenutics, which I will take time to include a thorough post about in the very near future. For the time being I will assert that we know the Temple in Jerusalem has been destroyed in the past. It has been historically recorded. It has not been destroyed just once, but twice. It was first destroyed in 587 BC by King Nebuchadnezzar who laid siege to Jerusalem. He had the city burned, the inhabitants murdered and took a remnant, one of whom was the writer Daniel to Babylon. The siege of Jerusalem is not only recorded in history but in scripture as well in (2 Kings: 24-25) and (2 Chronicles: 36). The prophet Jeremiah prophesied that there would be 70 years of captivity by the Israelites within Babylon (Jeremiah 29: 1-14).

The text tells us that the “people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary.” The chronological order is that the Messiah is cut off first. Jesus was the Messiah spoken of in Daniel. When he was crucified he was “cut off, but not for himself,” fulfilling part of the prophecy. In the gospel of Matthew, Jesus is having a conversation with the apostles. They had come up to him and were pointing out the buildings of the Temple when he said this “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.” Jesus not only predicted the destruction of the Temple, but left clues that could be discovered by those who really want to check the accuracy with history.

In 70 AD when the Roman General Titus Flavius Vespasianus laid siege to the city of Israel the temple was set ablaze. Interestingly enough the gold from the temple melted and the soldiers, in their zeal to get to it because of it’s value, literally dismantled the entire temple to remove the gold that had run in between the cracks of the stones.

“…not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”

The statement made by Jesus could not have been more unbelievably, and incredibly accurate. The precision with which scripture describes future events cannot be known until the even occurs and mankind can look back on it. It is then that we can know that God is who he says he is, through the use of prophecy and its errorless character. In the very last chapter of Daniel, he asks the Lord “what shall be the end of these things?” Daniel is speaking of the prophecies he has been given. The Lords’ response is also amazingly accurate.

“Although I heard and did not understand. Then I said, “My Lord, what shall be the end of these things?" And he [the Lord] said “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but the wise shall understand…” (Daniel 12:8-10)

The words are closed up, what does this mean? The Strongs reference for this phrase is number H5640. Daniel was originally penned in Hebrew. This phrase pronounced sâtham śâtham, (saw-tham', saw-tham') meant to stop up; by implication to repair; figuratively to keep secret: - closed up, hidden, secret, shut out (up), stop. The reference for the word “sealed” is H2856 meaning to “seal, make an end, mark, seal up, to stop.” Daniel is told that the words of the prophecies given him would be closed, or hidden until the time of the end at which time they would make sense to those living in that time.

There are many Biblical teachers, who zealous to unlock the contents of Daniel have surmised that “the people of the prince who is to come,” referred to a revived Roman empire because the soldiers responsible for the destruction of the Temple and the city of Jerusalem were Romans. God’s word is profoundly accurate; it has proven to be so over time and will continue to prove itself as the coming of the Lord nears. At first glance this theory sounds accurate; however, it requires a most studious examination to reveal the facts God intended mankind to know. Scholars have written volumes about a European Antichrist and the revived Roman Empire, even the wildly successful Left Behind series pegs the Antichrist to a character who is of European descent, a Romanian in fact.

Having read the series and been enthralled in the books, (honestly they were hard to put down), I can understand how someone could fall prey to the mistake made by Jerry Jenkins and Tim LaHaye. For starters I want to say this. I choose to believe that their intentions are nothing but honorable. Their desire in writing this series was to create an interest in end times events and their study. However, as it says in Daniel, the contents of the book are to be sealed until the end, hidden, secret. So in all fairness, the most popular conclusions in this particular arena are most likely wrong given the accuracy of the Biblical text.

Since I was about twelve I have been interested in what will happen in the end times, this came from a reading of Revelation after my grandfather passed away. Late last year I began studying Christian Eschatology and Islamic Eschatology along with the various positions on the rapture. What happened was I had puzzle pieces in front of me that I noticed fit together very nicely. After more research in this area I discovered I was not the only one who was coming to the same conclusions, in fact, it seems that more and more Bible scholars are beginning to make the same connection as well. My conclusion was that the Antichrist would not come from a revived Roman Empire, but would be Islamic. When I read Walid Shoebat’s book God's War on Terror here is what I discovered.

"…some of the best and the greatest thinkers in Christian history have also seen Islam as Antichrist.” People like Hilaire Belloc, Bishop Fulton Sheen, Gregory Palamus of Thessalonica, Vernon Richards, Sir Robert Anderson, Cyril of Jerusalem, Sophronius the Patriarch of Jerusalem (560-638), Maximus the Confessor (580-662), John of Damascus (676-749), Eulogius of Cordova, Paul Alvarus, and the Martyrs of Cordova. Even John Calvin and Johnathan Edwards the great American Revivalist both saw Islam as playing the major role in the EndTimes. With all of this, do I have your attention now?"

Oh boy did he have it alright. In addition to Shoebat the list of published, present day authors who are asserting the same thing are Joel Richardson, Daniel Spruill, Roland Back, David Winston Bach, Robert Livingston T. W. Tramm, and Faisal Malick. There are others who are writing extensively about Islam; yet, are not taking a stance prophetically. Several of whom I have read materials from are Daniel Pipes, Robert Spencer, Brigitte Gabriel, Bill Warner of The Center For The Study of Political Islam, Nonie Darwish, Bat Ye’or. Online there are sources such at www.profoundprophecy.com a site under the direction of Scot Dyer, www.beastfromtheeast.org, run by Rodrigo Silva and his other site www.bibleprophecyinthenews.com, www.thereligionofpeace.com, www.kitmantv.blogspot.com and many more.

It is my belief, and I am not alone in this line of reasoning, that the Islamic Antichrist position is more Biblically accurate, uses consistent hermeneutics and solid exegesis to arrive at these conclusions. It isn’t a popular position and authors, unfortunately, are receiving backlash from Muslim sources as well as resistance from evangelicals who are unwilling to admit that the Pre-Trib position (which says the church will not be here during the 70th week of Daniel) is not based on sound exegetical teachings, or a consistent application of Hermeneutics.

Charles Cooper of www.prewrathrapture.com does an excellent job of dismantling the Pre-Trib position scripturally. I inject this only to point out that as believers we need to test all things against scripture. In the end what we want is truth, and we should desire it, even if it means that we were wrong and need to readjust to move forward. As a former member of the Pre-Trib camp I was shocked when I began to really look at it under a microscope. It is a doctrine that is lulling the masses into a false sense of security, unfortunately this will lead to being unprepared. Understanding Daniel is most definitely the key to understanding Revelation. Once I understood the reality about the identity of the final beast empire I realized how important it was to take a closer look at the rapture positions. The body of Christ needs warning. Christ knows this, God the father knows this, which is why there is so many clues and evidence hidden within the Bible. Only those who seek the Messiah him will find him, those who aren’t really looking for him will miss him completely. We must be like the Bereans and check to see if what our Pastors are teaching us is really what God’s word says. Why? Because the word tells us there will be false prophets and false teachers. False prophets give false prophecy, false teachers teach false doctrine. My opinion is that Muhammad was a false prophet. And further investigation will reveal that Islam is the final Beast Empire revealed to Daniel. When we consider there is indeed strong evidence that the Church will be here during a portion of the 70th week, and will suffer the wrath of Antichrist, it should cause us to be more sober minded. It should cause believers to desire to learn about it and to prepare our hearts and minds for the mission God may have for each of us during this time period.

The Roman Historian Josephus (Joseph Ben Matthias) was a Jew and a Priest. He was at one time a Military Commander of Galilee during the Jewish Revolt of 66AD just a few years prior to the destruction of the Temple and the City. He was captured by the Romans at the fall of Yotapada in 67AD and held as a prisoner in Cesarea until his release in 69AD. During this time he predicted that Titus Flavius Vespasianus would become Emperor, and when it later came to fruition he would be made a Roman citizen by Titus and took the name Josephus Flavius. His firsthand eyewitness to the account is recorded in his writings. He is responsible for authoring The Jewish War and a 20 volume work known as The Antiquities of the Jews. He is one of the historians credited with recording these events which help to illuminate scripture. For those interested, there was an excellent biography written about him by Steve Mason which appeared in Biblical Archeological Review (September/October 1997, pp. 58-69).


According to the record of Josephus, approximately 1.1 million Jews were killed in the destruction of the city and the temple in 70AD. This event is still mourned today in the annual Jewish fast of Tisha B’Av which takes place on the 9th day of the month of Av in the Hebrew Calendar.


As you can see below, the Hebrew calendar differs from our Gregorian Calendar. Notice that the Month of Av is comprised of the last half of July and the first half of August.



There still stands today the Arch of Titus in Rome, Italy which was erected by the Emperor Domitian, the brother of Titus, shortly after his death. It was meant to be a memorial commemorating the Romans capture of Jerusalem and its looting of the city. It is covered in engravings and depictions of the looting of the temple. Thanks to tourists there is a plethora of high qualify photographs of the arch available online. Here is a photo of the depiction of Romans taking the spoils of war from the Temple.



Because of history we have not only the Jewish record of the event, but other sources as well such as the Roman Senator and historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus, and the Christian writer Sulpicius Severus. Tacitus work The Annuals happens to be one of the first know secular sources that mentions Christ. His writing are used by Christians to provide support historically as he mentions both Jesus and the persecution of the Christians under Caesar Nero. Sulpicius Severus authored several books but his primary work was the Chronicle or (Chronica, Chronicorum Libri duo or Historia sacra, c. 403).

We know that the particular destruction described in Daniel had to do with the City and the Temple. According to the record of these historians, primarily the firsthand eyewitness accounting by Josephus there were actually 4 Legions which made up the sea of men surrounding Jerusalem in the siege of 70AD. Rodrigo Silva, director for www.beastfromtheeast.org and www.bibleprophecyinthenews.com provides us with a wealth of information as he goes to great length using historical sources to deeply describe these events in his two articles “The People of the Prince that Shall Come: Who are they?” and “Debunking the European Antichrist.” Both of these are reposted on our site with permission from Mr. Silva. When the emperor Titus destroyed the city and the temple in 70AD he fulfilled scripture, this historical facts leads many to a conclusion that the “people of the prince who is to come” are Roman. Under a microscope what one discovers is that while the Government which was responsible for the destruction of the City and the Temple was indeed Roman, the “people” who made up the specific Legions were primarily Arabs, Syrians and Turks.

According to history there were four (4) specific Legions of Roman soldiers who participated in this fulfillment of scripture.

Legion 5 Macedionia: Solders from Moesia; Serbia and Bulgaria.

Legion 10 Frestinus: Comprised of soldiers from Turkey and Syria.

Legion 12 Fulminata: Soldiers from Melitene; Eastern Turkey; and Syria.

Legion 15 Apollonaris: Syrian Soldiers.

Silva (www.beastfromtheeast.org) describes the Legion in particular that was responsible for breaching the wall and setting fire to the temple itself in his article The People of the Prince Who Is To Come.

"These four legions were all involved in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple. The legion, in particular, that went through the wall breach and set fire to the Temple was known as X Fretensis or the tenth legion. It was this particular legion that actually pulled down the entire Temple and made the Temple Mount its new base. It should be pointed out that each legion was composed of several smaller ''cohorts.'' Below is a list of the actual cohorts that comprised the tenth legion and where they originally came from:

A. Thracum: Syria (Syrians)

B. IV Cohort Thracia: Bulgaria and Turkey (Turks)

C. Syria Ulpia Patraeorum: Petra in Edom (Nabatean Arabs)

D. IV Cohort Arabia (Arabs)

Again, these were a mixture of Syrians, Turks and Arabs. While the people who destroyed the temple were indeed Roman citizens, they were not primarily Europeans or Italians, but rather the peoples that lived in Syria and Eastern Turkey during the first century. This verse is concerned with the heritage and lineage of the people as restricted by the text ''people of the Prince'' and not their allegiance to Rome. This is why the text is written in this way. It insists in this connection. Once again, the Bible has led us to the same region. In context, the ''people of the prince'' are simply the people of the Antichrist; the Hebrew ''Am'' for people is persons, members of one’s people, compatriots, countrymen, kinsman and kindred (Strong's 5971)."

Prior to reading Silva’s description I had not heard this. Being intrigued I downloaded a copy of Josephus Flavis writings to compare and see if this were indeed accurate. I applaud Silva and other authors who have come to similar conclusions by using history to uncover these answers which were there all along just waiting be to uncovered by the careful student of history and prophecy. Although I didn’t immediately alter my point of view, I took careful note of what I had discovered. Once I had read more materials by authors who have drawn the same conclusions I knew the evidence was sound, and compelling. Hopefully it will motivate you to dig as well and to read, study the scriptures, and history for the answers that are waiting to be found.

The evidence, is the purpose of this website. To bring it all together and make it available so what we can make sober minded decisions about our future, and preach God's word to mankind. The next several posts will be articles by Rodrigo Silva and other authors who support this viewpoint. Until then, dig in my friends.