The Old Testament prophets predicted this event.1 John the Baptist warned that it was coming and that the nation needed to repent.2 Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem knowing that Judgement Day was soon to arrive.3 The apostle Paul and the other writers of the New Testament letters also made reference to what was shortly to take place and encouraged the persecuted believers to stand firm.4 So what event am I referring to?
The End of an Era
I’m referring to the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, and with it the end of the whole Old Covenant sacrificial system and the Law of Moses.
For almost 1,500 years, since the Law had been given on Mount Sinai, Israel had largely been a rebellious, stiff-necked, and idolatrous people. In spite of numerous warnings of the consequences of going their own way, Israel still persisted in their spiritual adultery.
At the appointed time, Jesus – the son of Abraham, the son of David, the Son of God – arrives to announce and establish the Kingdom of God with a new and better covenant. Furthermore, like He explains in the parable of the vineyard, Jesus returns to the House of Israel to judge the vinedressers who have failed to produce the fruit that was expected.5 Jesus’ coming, therefore, also becomes God’s divine judgement against the nation of Israel.6
As Jesus enters Jerusalem at the time of the Passover festival, He levels the charges against apostate Israel. Their time is up. They are guilty as charged. The House of Israel would be left desolate. He then declares the impending destruction of the revered temple, and the warning signs and tribulation that will precede the actual siege of Jerusalem by the armies of Rome. Those who heeded His words would escape by finding safety in the hills of Judea.7 All this would take place within a generation which history records occurred in AD70.8
Overlapping of Old and New
With the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the New Covenant became a reality. Soon after at Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is given to empower the new believers. However, for a period of about 40 years – a generation – there transpires a transitional period where both the old and new covenants were overlapping and simultaneously co-existing.
As the early church we read about in the book of Acts began to multiply, Jews were still offering sacrifices in the temple and adhering to the Law of Moses. Some Judaizers sought to impose Old Covenant practices on those who were now living under the New Covenant. But now the Old Covenant was “obsolete and soon to disappear” (Hebrews 8:13).
Prophetic Signs Fulfilled
The signs Jesus had stated would take place before the coming judgement on Israel began to occur:
- false messiahs & prophets (Mt. 24:4-5, 11, 23-26; Mk. 13:5-6, 21-22) – impostors with a divine commission arose during AD30-AD70 more than any recorded time in history; false prophets were also a constant threat to the early church (e.g. Acts 5:36-37; 8:9-10; 13:6; 20:29-30; 2 Tim. 3:1, 5, 8-9, 13; 2 Cor. 11:12-15; Gal. 1:4, 6-7; Rev. 2:2, 14-15, 20-24; 1 Jn. 2:18-19, 22, 26, 4:1-3; 2 Jn. 7-9);
- wars & rumours of wars (Mt. 24:6-7; Mk. 13:7-8) – a significant sign during Pax Romana (the peace of Rome) and fulfilled with three civil wars, foreign wars, and four killed emperors and the death of tens of thousands of Jews, culminating in the Jewish revolt (AD66-70) which led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple;
- famines, pestilence & earthquakes (Mk. 13:8; Lk. 21:11) – Bible scholars refer to the large number of earthquakes that occurred between AD30-AD70, including the great earthquake when Paul and Silas were in prison (Acts 16:25); a great famine took place during the reign of Claudius (Acts 11:27-29) which extended through Greece and into Italy, but was felt most severely in Judea and especially at Jerusalem where many perished (for whom the apostle Paul encouraged the Gentile believers to help, see 1 Cor. 16:3); pestilences are recorded in Babylon about AD40, Rome AD65, and other places within the Roman Empire;
- signs from heaven (Mk. 13: 24-25; Lk. 21:11) – these included a meteor, resembling a sword, which hung over Jerusalem for a whole year; the language of sun, moon and stars is used in the Old Testament as symbols of rulers and powers (e.g. Is. 13:10);
- persecution & testifying before kings and rulers (Mt. 24:9-10; Mk. 13:9, 11-13; Lk. 21:12-19) – different apostles were imprisoned, Stephen was stoned to death, James was beheaded, and persecution against the church intensified under Nero (see Acts 8:1, 12:1-3); Paul testified before kings and rulers (Acts 18:12-13, 25:6-14, 23-26:1);
- apostasy and falling away (Mt. 24:10, 12; Mk. 13:12) – the persecution and rejection by family members caused many to turn away from following Jesus, their love for Him grew cold (the writer to the Hebrews seeks to encourage believers not to give up and drift away, Heb. 2:1-4, 3:12-13, 5:11-14, 6:10-12, 10:32-39);
- gospel preached to whole [known, inhabited, i.e. Roman] world (Greek: oikoumene) as a witness (Mt. 24:14; Mk. 13:10) – this took place within that generation as stated in Col. 1:5-6 & Rom. 1:8.
Interpreting Scripture
I appreciate that some Christians have a different interpretation on these passages of scripture. While it would be hard to argue they don’t refer to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, some would add an additional interpretation that Jesus’ words also refer to the future and His return at the ‘end of the world’ (a ‘double-fulfilment’ scheme of interpretation).
I believe that when seeking to interpret scripture, we need to understand that it is not written directly to us in the twenty-first century. Rightly dividing the word of truth means we must first understand the context and the original audience. We can then learn from it for our own situation, culture and context. But, we must be very careful to directly apply specific time-related or context-related scriptures, and not just take them as proof-texts to support a certain doctrinal view.9 We should also be aware that the gospels and New Testament letters were written prior to the demise of Jerusalem in AD70.
Culmination of the Ages
The destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple marked not the end of the world, but the end of a world, one that is now separated from Judaism and the removal of any competing and distracting influences to the advance of the Kingdom of God. Paul stated that the culmination of the ages had come upon the people of his day (1 Corinthians 10:11). The writer to the Hebrews likewise says that Christ appeared “at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26). During the first-century, an old era (the old covenant) was completed and a new era was ushered in.10 A new, eternal temple had been established made up of “living stones” and inhabited by God Himself.11
Significance of AD70 to Kingdom Mission Engagement Today
For many Christians today the destruction of the holy city of Jerusalem and temple appears to have no theological significance, but in fact it is hugely significant. Finally, the old wineskin of Judaism was completely terminated and obliterated, allowing the new wineskin of the new order of the Kingdom of God and the New Covenant to grow freely.12
Our reality is very different to those believers living in the first century prior to AD70. We have never lived in the Old Covenant era since it was totally removed at that time. However, how we read and understand the Bible has a huge impact on how we engage with God’s mission project in the world.
If we are waiting for certain prophetic signs to come to pass, at which point we will escape and be taken out of this ‘rotten world’, we maybe tempted to provide little resistance to any increase in darkness as we believe this has to take place in order for Jesus to return. Many Christians are also waiting for certain Old Testament promises to be fulfilled which shape their eschatology.13 Instead of embracing and engaging with God’s Kingdom on Earth now, they push it off into the future after the ‘end-times’. They don’t expect the Kingdom of God to impact and transform society as they see a great apostasy and tribulation have to happen next.
As Christ’s New Covenant and Kingdom ambassadors, we are invited to join God’s mission in bringing Heaven to Earth. We are not waiting for Earth to become less like Heaven. Jesus is waiting for His Church to disciple the nations, to come into unity as a glorious Church, so that His enemies can be made His footstool.14
1 Deuteronomy 31:29; Jeremiah 4:23-28; Daniel 9:24-27; Joel 2:30-32; Micah 3:9-12; Zechariah 14:1-2; Malachi 3:1-5, 4:1
2 John the Baptist calls out the Pharisees and Sadducees as a “brood of vipers” and asks them who had warned them ‘to flee from the wrath to come’ and that they should repent. In forewarning them of the destruction to take place in AD70, he says that the axe is already laid at the root of the trees and those that don’t bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire (Matthew 3:7-12).
3 Luke 19:41-44
4 Hebrews 10:25, 36-37; James 5:7-9; Revelation 1:1, 3, 2:16, 3:11, 22:6-7, 10, 12, 20. All the New Testament writers warned their audiences of Jesus’ prophecy and how it related to them in their generation. They all believed they were living in the ‘last days’ of the Old Covenant Age. For a more detailed study on the meaning of the phrase ‘the last days’, please see my blogpost, ‘Are We Really Living in the Last Days? How Perspective Impacts on Kingdom Engagement’ – https://catalystmin.org/really-living-last-days-perspective-impacts-kingdom-engagement/
5 After His entry into Jerusalem, Jesus told several parables about the hardheartedness of the Israel, including the parable of the vineyard where the Jewish leaders declare their own end (Matthew 21:33-44). In Matthew 23 Jesus pronounces eight woes over the Pharisees and then declares the destruction of the temple.
6 The Old Testament frequently uses ‘cloud-coming’ to represent divine judgement, so this is what would have been understood by the phrase, “they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Mt. 24:30).
7 Matthew 24:15-20; Luke 21:20-23. Historical records show that the Christians heeded Jesus’ warning and not one perished in the destruction of Jerusalem.
8 Matthew 23:36, 24:34; Luke 21:32. ‘This generation’ (Greek: genea) never means ‘race of people’ in the New Testament. Matthew 24 includes many ‘you’ statements in which Jesus is speaking to His audience (e.g. Mt. 24:4, 6, 9, 15, 20, 23, 25, 26, 33-34). It would be absurd if He was referring to a future generation. See also Mt. 11:16, 12:38-42, 45, 17:17, Mk. 8:38. As Jesus foretold, Jerusalem is destroyed in AD70 within a 40 year generation period.
9 The hermeneutic (way to interpret) many scholars consider the most reliable is called a historical contextual hermeneutic, where the first question asked is, ‘What would this have meant to the author?’ followed by, ‘What would this have meant to the original reader/hearer?’
10 Jesus used the end of the age to prophesy the events of AD70 (see Mt. 13:39-40, 49-50).
11 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:18-22; 1 Peter 2:4-7; Revelation 21:2-3.
12 The whole Jewish system collapsed as their temple was destroyed, their priesthood was put to death, over a million Jews were killed, and the genealogical records were burned up which meant that a legitimate Levitical priesthood could never be re-established. Judaism therefore transitioned from Mosaic Judaism to a totally different Rabbinic Judaism.
13 Some within the Charismatic movement have a particular focus on the modern state of Israel (Christian Zionism) and believe that the return of the Jews to their homeland is significant to the ‘end-times’. The belief that God still has separate plans for Jews and Gentiles directly contradicts the reality of the New Covenant that the wall of separation has been removed and we are already “one new humanity” in Christ (Ephesians 2:15).
14 Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 4:13, 5:27; Hebrews 10:13; Psalm 110:1.
(Sources include: Eschatology Reimagined: An Optimistic View of Today and Tomorrow by Paul L Graves; Matthew 24 Fulfilled: Biblical and Historical Sources by Brian Godawa).