This is where our story begins. It’s important biblical history leading to the destruction of the Jerusalem temple and end of animal sacrificial worship—fulfilled by Christ. In the following centuries, Christian writers saw it as God’s wrath on the Jewish people for crucifying their promised Messiah, and subsequently believed that the Church became the new Israel in God’s eyes, which we will look at further on. In the year 66 AD, protests against Rome were taking place throughout Judea. In response, destroying villages and towns along the way, by 70 AD, Rome’s full fury was poured out on the City of Jerusalem, as the principal site of Jewish resistance. 

As shown on the map, Jerusalem was the final major stage of Jewish resistance to Roman rule in Judea. Subsequent battles ensued, but none of the same major consequence. In the historical sense, Jewish efforts for survival have continued until this very day as we’ll address in our next blog posting.  

Image shows the topography of Jerusalem with the temple mount on the highest ground. Some believe what’s described as the temple mount was the Roman Fort Antonia, and that the Temple existed close by in the City of David also shown on the map. 

 

The slide explains Satan's hatred of the Jews. As we are told in Ephesians 6:12 the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms have been in full play in this world since the fall of Adam and Eve. Nevertheless, we are blessed by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.

As noted on the slide, the destruction of Jerusalem wasn’t the first target of Rome. It began in 66 AD, with Rome’s efforts to subdue Jewish protests and revolt across Judea, described as the first Jewish-Roman War. 

The Romans set out to first conquer all of Judea before they set their sights on the capital city of Jerusalem. Rome's battle plan to ultimately subdue the Jewish capital of Jerusalem, covered a span of four-year. 

Map of Judea and the Jerusalem temple in Jesus’ time. The destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple occurred about 40 years after the crucifixion of Christ, between 30-33 AD.

Slide shows an outdoor scale model of the ancient city of Jerusalem at the Israel museum in western Jerusalem. Arrow points to what is being noted as the Roman Fort Antonia. One website noted the size of the Temple as follows: The dimensions for the Temple of Jerusalem were staggering: 460 meters to the east, 315 m to the north, 280 m to the south, and the western wall was 485 meters long. The walls above ground rose 30 meters (ten stories tall), and their foundations were as deep as 20 meters in some places in order to reach bedrock. For the math minded, 1-meter equals 3.28 feet.

The infamous Tenth Legion, previously led by Octavian Augustus was based in Jerusalem. It's believed to have consisted of about 5,000 troops plus a couple of thousand support personnel. View of temple site lacks the outer courts for visitors, which we know were a reality from the Gospels, as depicted on the next slide

Another view of what the temple site and Roman fort may have looked like. What is now called the Temple Mount is believed by some to have been the site of the Roman Fortress Antonia, big enough to house the entire Roman 10th Legion and support personnel, like a small city, consistent with other Roman forts elsewhere. This view includes the Temple outer courts for visitors. 

Slide defines the final battle for Jerusalem. But not all the Jews capitulated to the Romans. And other smaller battles followed.

The slide provides an overview of the Jewish-Roman wars. None of which were of the same scale as the destruction of Jerusalem. 

#1 points to the Jewish temple. #2 points to the Roman fortress Antonia, #3 points to the City of David. Almost all of which were destroyed, excluding Roman Fort Antonia. 

Rome methodically overcame resistance beginning in the northern cities and villages. The accounts of the siege of Jerusalem were recorded by Josephus, a Jewish historian as noted on the slide.

Who was Josephus? The slide explains. 

Josephus’ written account on Jesus. 

The Siege of Jerusalem occurred from 14 April to 8 September 70 AD during the First Jewish-Roman War. The Roman general Titus, son of emperor Vespasian, laid siege to the Judean capital of Jerusalem with an army of 70,000 troops (combination of regular and auxilia troops). They massacred its 30,000-strong garrison after a long siege and heavy resistance from the Zealots.

In the Roman attack on Jerusalem, a great deal of hand-to-hand combat took place as Jewish defenders rushed out of the city to attack the advancing Romans before withdrawing back behind the city walls and defenses. 

A catapult was one type of equipment the Romans used to breakdown the city walls. They hurled huge stones against and over the wall, eventually breaking them down for attack into the city. 

The structure shown—a siege tower—allowed the Roman to scale the walls but they still faced fierce Jewish resistance. 

Picture shows how the siege towers were used by the Romans. But the attack was not without peril for the Romans, as fire rained down on the wooden structures. 

The Jews put up a strong defense and killed many of the Roman soldiers. who came close to the walls.  

Eventually, with determined efforts, the Romans breached the walls and entered the city. 

Once the Romans entered the city, their advance was met by Jewish defenders. The Romans used their shields to defend themselves against spears, arrows and rock hurled at them. 

Eventually, the Romans prevailed leading to the final destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. All of this has been captured in a 45-minute animated video posted on the closing slides.

The slide explains the long-standing impact on the Jewish people, their society, and their homeland, especially with the destruction of the temple, that has continued right up to modern times with 20th century pogroms and the Nazi Holocaust that was referred to as the "final solution".

Jewish resistance didn’t entirely stop after Jerusalem. The siege of Masada, in the desert south of Jerusalem, brought an end to Jewish self-rule demanded by zealots for independence of a Jewish state. The total time of revolt against Roman rule was 8 years. The zealots of Masada in 73 AD were the final battle, which ultimately resulted in the Jewish zealots committing suicide rather than being captured. A 17-minute video is also available on the Siege of Masada on the closing slides.

Yes. I believe we can attribute the destruction of Jerusalem, by the Romans, as God’s retribution for killing their awaited Messiah. Yet, it was God’s plan that Jesus would be a crucified Messiah for the entire world and not just the Jews. 

But God wasn't true with His Chosen People. Map shows the modern State of Israel in today’s Middle East. Israel is surrounded by Muslim countries that literally hate Israel, yet it survives and prospers. The only thing we can attribute it to is God’s divine providence and protection.  

The siege of Jerusalem isn’t the end of the Jewish story. The following link will take you to the 45-minute animated video documentary of the “Siege of Jerusalem”.  You can skip the ads as they appear. The video is well worth your time. 

https://youtu.be/y741QbT1YEo

A bonus video is a 17-minute animated video on the "Siege of Masada" available via the following link: https://youtu.be/11iPrDv8aBE

End of This Week's Posting