And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Does “all the world” or “all the nations” literally mean “all” as we would normally think of it, or does it mean “all the world” as in Luke 2:1; where it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that “all the world” should be registered. The decree from Caesar Augustus only applied to “all the Roman world.” it did not apply to such far off places as China, etc. Of course, just because “all the world” is used in a limited way in Luke 2:1 doesn’t mean that it’s used in the same way in every other instance. No solid conclusion could be drawn on this limited information.
In Romans Paul said the Roman churches faith was spoken of throughout the whole world. Had the “whole world” as we usually interpret it truly heard of their faith and perhaps the gospel also?
Later in Romans, Paul stated he had fully preached the gospel from Jerusalem to Illyricum (the district along the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea opposite Italy). It was his aim to preach the gospel in those areas that had not heard of Christ and fulfilling that goal had prevented him from being free to come to them in Rome. Having fulfilled his goal east of Italy he intended to visit with them on his way to Spain.
When Paul did reach Rome, it was as in chains as a prisoner, just as the Lord had predicted through the Holy Spirit. He was allowed to live in a house he rented for two years along with the soldier who guarded him. In 2 Timothy Paul said the Lord stood with him at his first (or former) defense when he was delivered out of the “mouth of the lion,” (which many take to mean the emperor Nero) strengthening him so the message might be preached fully through him and that all the Gentiles or Nations might hear it.
Eusebius of Caesarea who is the primary source of church history (until AD 324 ) wrote, “and Luke, who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, brought his history to a close at this point, after stating that Paul spent two whole years at Rome as a prisoner at large, and preached the word of God without restraint. Thus after he had made his defense it is said that the apostle was sent again upon the ministry of preaching, and that upon coming to the same city a second time he suffered martyrdom.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History Book II, chapter 22) So according to Eusebius, Paul was set free and continued to preach until he returned to Rome a second time where he suffered martyrdom.
Clement of Rome (c.100 AD, believed to be the fourth bishop of Rome) in his letter to the Corinthians said Paul preached to the whole world having reached the most western part of the empire.
Although it is not specifically recorded in the New Testament, Clement and a couple of other ancient sources make it appear quite likely Paul did go as far west as Spain. Notice how the use of the terms, “the whole world” and “all the gentiles (or nations),” are used by all these ancient writers (including Paul) to refer to what we might call the “Roman world” or what Josephus called the “habitable world.” It is reasonable to conclude that the meaning of Jesus’ reference to the gospel or good news going to all the world as a witness to all the nations was consistent with other ancient writers of the time and was fulfilled by the ministry of Paul and other early Christians. Such terms as, “the whole world” and “all the gentiles (or nations)," are easily misunderstood in today’s ever shrinking global society where they are more likely to be used in reference to the entire planet and every nation on earth. To truly understand what Jesus meant we must view these words in the setting and context of the times.
So what are the implications of Jesus words already being fulfilled? The usual interpretation that the gospel must first be preached to all the world (referring to the entire planet) as a witness to all the nations on earth has helped support the conclusion that God in his mercy is waiting for the gospel to be available to everyone before Jesus returns and before the final judgment of God. I suppose the thought is that our just God in his fairness would not condemn the world before he gave the entire world a chance to repent. If this were the case then what about the countless persons who have perished without a chance to hear the gospel throughout the ages? They must still appear before Christ in the Judgment. The biblical pattern is for God to preach a message of repentance and faith toward God before he performs an act of judgment. If the message is successful the judgment may be averted or delayed. After Paul had fully preached the gospel to the gentiles (or the nations) he was beheaded at Rome in 67 AD or 68 AD during the great persecutions of the Christians by the Roman emperor Nero. It’s interesting that just two or three years later in 70 AD, Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed. Was this an act of judgment? Listen to the words of Jesus in Luke chapter 19.
Jesus also describes that time of tribulation as days of vengeance and warns of great distress in the land of Judea and wrath upon the Jewish people (Luke 21:22,23). Had the Jews recognized Jesus as the son of God and heeded his words the outcome would have been very different. God had often spoken to them throughout the ages by his messengers the prophets telling them to wholeheartedly turn towards Him, forsaking their evil ways. Now one greater than any of the prophets was sent by God and the Jews rejected his message. How often he had desired to shelter and protect them from the conflicts and terrors around them, but they forsook God and rejected his overtures toward them. I believe as the gospel was preached with power and was shared throughout the world as a witness it was also a witness and testimony to the Jews of their rejection of the messiah. Jesus warned them of wrath to come. Eventually God would turn away from them, and the consequences would be disastrous. Jerusalem and the ancient Jewish nation would come to an end, yet He would not reject them altogether nor leave them without hope.
Therefore, when you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place or standing where it ought not (whoever reads, let him understand) or when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her.
The above statement is actually a combining of the similar records of Matthew and Mark speaking of the “abomination of desolation” and Luke’s slightly different description that “when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know its desolation is near.” Then in all three gospels they were told to flee from Judea without hesitation. Hundreds of years before Jesus’ time the Old Testament prophet Daniel was taken to Babylon when Nebuchadnezzar attacked Jerusalem. Later Nebuchadnezzar again attacked Jerusalem burning the temple and much of Jerusalem and also broke down the city walls. The prophet Jeremiah had predicted the Jews would serve the nation of Babylon for seventy years. Realizing the end of the seventy years was at hand Daniel was confessing the sins of his people when the angel Gabriel appeared to Him. He told Daniel that a set time period was determined for his people the Jews and upon their holy city Jerusalem; for sin to be ended, to seal up transgressions, to blot out the iniquities, to make atonement for iniquities and to bring in everlasting righteousness... (see Daniel 9:24-27). During that time the city and temple would be rebuilt. Then the angel revealed to Daniel that once again Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed by the people [or armies] of a coming prince. This information was so disturbing Daniel went into a period of mourning for three weeks (see Daniel chapter 9&10 for the entire story).
This destruction of the temple took place in AD 70. when Titus and his armies destroyed the city. It is interesting to note that shortly before Titus besieged Jerusalem, his Father, Vespasian was declared emperor of Rome. After that Josephus the historian began calling Titus, “king” or “Caesar.” For all practical purposes Titus was a prince and as the eldest son of the emperor Vespasian the next in the line to be emperor. Titus did indeed become emperor of Rome after his father's death. Daniel 9:26 speaks of the “prince” who would come who would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. Had Vespasian not become emperor Titus would simply have been the son of a general and would not have fulfilled the wording of the prophecy.
By the time Titus destroyed the temple and Jerusalem over a million Jews had died, a great many at the hands of their own countrymen and famine. Some historians estimate totals upwards of three million. Josephus records, “And now the Romans, upon the flight of the seditious into the city, and upon the burning of the holy house itself, and of all the buildings round about it, brought their ensigns to the temple and set them over against its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there did they make Titus imperator (a title of honor awarded to a victorious general) with the greatest acclamations of joy.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 6 section 1) Was this the “abomination of desolation” that Jesus spoke of? If this was, then it would have been too late to flee Judea without having suffered the ravages of civil war, murder, famine, and death at the hands of the Romans.
At the beginning of the war between the Romans and the Jews, Cestius (the president of the province of Syria) set up camp about five miles from Jerusalem. It was during the feast of tabernacles. The Jews took courage in their greater numbers and attacked the Romans first. After the Jews retired back to the city the Romans besieged the city. Cestius brought his army into the city and the seditious retreated into the temple. Many of the seditious left the city and the Jews that wanted peace were about to open the city to Cestius and the city would have been his. Jerusalem and the temple would have been spared. Although his forces were greatly outnumbered, Cestius evidently did not realize how close victory was and he withdrew from the city. Upon seeing him retreat the seditious regained their courage and inflicted great losses on the Romans. They slew five thousand three hundred footmen, and three hundred and eighty horsemen. After this according to Josephus many of the more eminent Jews fled the city as one would leave a sinking ship. They realized Rome would surely retaliate. This would have been the most opportune time to leave the city. Eusebius of Caesarea the historian records that the Christians left the city and dwelt in Pella a town in Perea. “But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, granted as a favor to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella (which is west of the Jordan). And when those that believed in Christ had come there from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men. But the number of calamities which everywhere fell upon the nation at that time; the extreme misfortunes to which the inhabitants of Judea were especially subjected, the thousands of men, as well as women and children, that perished by the sword, by famine, and by other forms of death innumerable --- all these things, as well as the many great sieges which were carried on against the cities of Judea, and the excessive sufferings endured by those that fled to Jerusalem itself.” (Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History Book III, chapter 5)
There were other windows of opportunity to leave the city of Jerusalem, but by the time those occurred the war in Judea had already taken the lives of thousands of Jews at the fall of other Judean cities by the Roman armies under Vespasian. Jesus’s instructions for those in Judea was to flee while the inhabitants of Jerusalem were told to leave. By saying this, Jesus was indicating Jerusalem would be destroyed in the latter part of the Romans campaign against Judea. This is exactly what happened as the Romans took most cities in Judea first so they could concentrate on taking the city of Jerusalem without distraction.
Eusebius (c. AD 260- AD 340) spoke of the “abomination of desolation” as a thing of the past saying, “…and the excessive sufferings endured by those that fled to Jerusalem itself, as to a city of perfect safety, and finally the general course of the whole war, as well as its particular occurrences in detail, and how at last the abomination of desolation, proclaimed by the prophets, stood in the very temple of God, so celebrated of old, the temple which was now awaiting its total and final destruction by fire--- all these things any one that wishes may find accurately described in the history written by Josephus.” (Ecclesiastical History Book III, chapter 5). Matthew and Mark both mention the “abomination of desolation,” spoken by Daniel the prophet standing where it should not or in the holy place as the sign that those in Judea should flee. Luke mentions the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies as the sign that those in Judea should flee and that those in Jerusalem should leave and those in the countryside should not enter Jerusalem. Those who followed this advice would be spared the terrible hardships of civil war, famine, and murderous activities by the Jews and the eventual defeat and destruction by the armies of Rome.
By the time the Roman soldiers sacrificed to their ensigns in the temple area (one of the interpretations of what constitutes the “abomination of desolation”) it was too late to provide any sure escape from the terrors Jesus spoke of. Then what does the “abomination of desolation” refer to? Does it perhaps refer to the zealots who occupied the first or outer court of the temple? They were bold enough to appoint their own high priests who were not eligible or worthy to conduct the temple service. At the urging of Ananus the most ancient of the (legitimate) high priests the people of Jerusalem rose up against them and they fled inside the inner court of the temple and shut the gates. Was this the beginning of the abomination of desolation as these men not only set up their own high priests but used the temple area as their base of operation to plunder and rob the people of Jerusalem, bringing their wounded back into the inner court thus polluting the temple area with their blood? When events would take their full course, the desolation and destruction of the temple area would be complete because of the actions of these zealots. Is it possible that the abomination of desolation was not a single event but a series of desolations finally culminating in the Romans sacrificing to their idols in the temple area after destroying the temple itself with fire? The Hebrew word for abomination can mean something detestable or filthy and is often used in reference to idols. The Hebrew word translated desolations means make amazed, be astonished, (be an) astonish(-ment), (be, bring into, unto, lay, lie, make) desolate(-ion, places), be destitute, destroy (self), (lay, lie, make) waste, wonder. The abomination of desolation could be a detestable thing that caused astonishment and horror to the Jews and eventually desolation and destruction. It was evident to those who had wisdom that the judgment of God was upon their temple and city. And those that saw it left the city before its destruction.
After the defeat of Cestius the city was surrounded once again by an army when the Idumeans came (also know as the Edomites) to Jerusalem with 20,000 men. This was not an opportunity the inhabitants of Jerusalem to leave. The Idumeans had come to aid the zealots holed up in the temple area. That night under the cover of a fierce storm the Idumeans were let into the city by a small group of zealots. Not sparing anyone they encountered, they drove the Jews from before them until as Josephus records, “And now the outer temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it came on, they saw eight thousand five hundred dead bodies there. But the rage of the Idumeans was not satiated by these slaughters; but they now betook themselves to the city, and plundered every house, and slew every one they met; and for the other multitude, they esteemed it needless to go on with killing them, but they sought for the high priests, and the generality went with the greatest zeal against them; and as soon as they caught them they slew them, and then standing upon their dead bodies, in way of jest, upbraided Ananus with his kindness to the people, and Jesus with his speech made to them from the wall.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book IV Chapter 5 section 1 and 2) Josephus draws an interesting conclusion at this point, “I should not mistake if I said that the death of Ananus was the beginning of the destruction of the city, and that from this very day may be dated the overthrow of her wall, and the ruin of her affairs, whereon they saw their high priest, and the procurer of their preservation, slain in the midst of their city.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book IV Chapter 5 section 2)
Josephus writing of the seditious (the zealots) that occupied the temple area said, “These men, therefore, trampled upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws of God; and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as the tricks of jugglers; yet did these prophets foretell many things concerning [the rewards of] virtue, and [punishments of] vice, which when these zealots violated, they occasioned the fulfilling of those very prophecies belonging to their own country; for there was a certain ancient oracle of those men, that the city should then be taken and the sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should invade the Jews, and their own hand should pollute the temple of God. Now while these zealots did not [quite] disbelieve these predictions, they made themselves the instruments of their accomplishment.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book IV Chapter 6 section 3)
While controlling the area around Jerusalem Vespasian held off attacking because the Jews were engaged in destroying themselves rather than building up their defenses. It was difficult for the Jews to leave the city as the zealots guarded every exit. If one had enough money he could buy his way free. Many of the rich took advantage of this, but if one was poor, he was branded a traitor and slain. There were so many bodies along all the roads laying in heaps (not being buried was abhorrent to the Jews) that many Jews chose to perish in the city and perhaps be buried rather than die outside the city and not be. Josephus wrote, “And now the war having gone through all the mountainous country, and all the plain country also, those that were at Jerusalem were deprived of the liberty of going out of the city; for as to such as had a mind to desert, they were watched by the zealots; and as to such as were not yet on the side of the Romans, their army kept them in, by encompassing the city round about on all sides.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book IV Chapter 9 section 1)
When Nero died Vespasian put off attacking Jerusalem as he anxiously awaited the outcome of events in his homeland. Meanwhile there arose another war in Jerusalem. A man named Simon the son of Giora gathered a large group of followers comprised of robbers, slaves and a number of the populace. Eventually he had an army of forty thousand men and he laid waste much of the country of Idumea. Simon surrounded Jerusalem and was more of a terror to them than the Romans and he was even more of a terror to the zealots. Josephus described “their inclination to plunder as insatiable, as was their zeal in searching the houses of the rich; and for the murdering of the men, and abusing of the women, it was sport to them.” (Book IV Chapter 9 section 10) Simon was described as more bloody than John. Those that attempted to flee Jerusalem and the tyrant John were slain by the tyrant Simon outside of the city.
Some time after Simon was admitted into the city by the inhabitants in hope of destroying John another group of zealots split off from John lead by a man named Eleazar. And now there were three factions warring against each other in the city besides the common people. Surprisingly these warring factions still allowed the temple services to continue. Those that came to worship and sacrifice were searched beforehand and watched closely, especially those from their own country. Because of all the fighting many priests and worshipers were slain during outbreaks of violence that carried into the temple area. “For those darts that were thrown by the [siege] engines came with such force, that they went over all the buildings, and reached as far as the altar, and the temple itself, and fell upon the priests, and those that were about the sacred offices; insomuch that many persons who came there with great zeal from the ends of the earth, to offer sacrifices at this celebrated place, which was esteemed holy by all mankind, fell down before their own sacrifices themselves, and sprinkled that altar which was venerable among all men, both Greeks and Barbarians, with their own blood; till the dead bodies of strangers were mingled together with those of their own country, and those of profane persons with those of the priests, and the blood of all sorts of dead carcasses stood in lakes in the holy courts themselves.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 1 section 3)
Once Titus surrounded Jerusalem he ordered his men to lay ambushes for those that came out of the city. Those that were captured were first whipped, tortured, and then crucified before the wall of the city. Five hundred or more Jews were captured each day and crucified. Another practice by some of the foreign troops among the Romans was to disembowel those they caught trying to leave the city searching for gold that many of the Jews would try to hide by swallowing. On one night, about two thousand were slain and disemboweled. It was definitely too late to safely leave the city even for the rich.
Inside the temple area John of Gischala melted down many of the sacred utensils (caldrons, dishes, and tables) when he was no longer able to plunder the city freely and distributed among those with him the sacred oil and wine. His excuse for committing these abominations was that since they were fighting for God and his temple they had a right to live off the temple.
Less than a month before the fall of Jerusalem the daily sacrifices came to an end because as Josephus put it, “for want of men to offer it,” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 2 section 1) and the people of Jerusalem were greatly disturbed. Josephus who was at this point traveling with the Romans addressed John and his followers who were on the wall. Josephus encouraged him to surrender that the city and the temple might be spared. John not only reviled him but cursed him claiming that God was on his side. Josephus pointed out sarcastically that since John had kept the city pure for God’s sake and since the temple had been preserved without being polluted and since he was not guilty of sin against God, he could surely count on God’s assistance. Again he encouraged him to surrender, citing the example of King Jechoniah who surrendered himself and his family to the king of Babylon even before he made war in order to save the city and the temple. Josephus even ventured to say that the Romans might deal leniently with him if he surrendered. He further said, “And take notice that I, who make this exhortation to you, am one of your own nation; I, who am a Jew, do make this promise to you. And it will be to your advantage to consider who I am that gives you this counsel, and from where I am derived; for while I am alive I shall never be in such slavery, as to forego my own kindred, or forget the laws of our forefathers. You have indignation at me again, and make a clamor at me, and reproach me; indeed I cannot deny but I am worthy of worse treatment than all this amounts to, because, in opposition to fate, I make this kind invitation to you, and endeavor to force deliverance upon those whom God has condemned. And are not both the city and the entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen? It is God, therefore, it is God himself who is bringing on this fire, to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, and is going to pluck up this city, which is full of your pollutions.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 2 section 1) After Josephus’s speech a number of Jews quietly escaped and fled to the Romans including Joseph and Jesus the high priests. Titus received them and sent them to Gophna. Since those that fled were not seen again, John used the occasion to put fear into the hearts of those that were like minded to flee, saying the Romans had slain them. Titus had the men brought back to show to the inhabitants of Jerusalem that they were unharmed. At that, many fled the city to the Romans and their lives were spared. Titus also berated John for polluting the temple with the blood of foreigners and Jews. He also appealed to John to at least fight elsewhere so that he would not be forced to defile the temple; in fact he said he would endeavor to preserve it. Of course, John could make no other choice, then to stay put as the temple area was a fortress and vantage point.
As the temple burned (previously described in the section, “Not One stone Upon Another”) Josephus described the slaughter, “As for the seditious, they were in too great distress already to give their assistance [towards quenching the fire]; they were everywhere slain, and everywhere beaten; and as for a great part of the people, they were weak and without arms, and had their throats cut wherever they were caught. Now round about the altar lay dead bodies heaped one upon another, as at the steps going up to it ran a great quantity of their blood, where also the dead bodies that were slain above [on the altar] fell down.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 4 section 6) While the temple was burning everything that could be plundered was and anyone that was caught was killed without pity. Regardless of age, whether children or old men, whether they were wicked persons or priests, whether they begged for their lives or fought to defend themselves; all were killed in the same manner. On the temple hill with fire burning everywhere, those that were slain were more numerous than those that slew them. The bodies of the slain were so numerous the ground was hardly visible. (see Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 5 section 1) As the rest of the seditious fled into the city and as the temple was burning and all the buildings around it; the Roman soldiers brought their ensigns into the temple area setting them up against the eastern gate where they offered sacrifices to them. As horrible as these slaughters were and as unpleasant as it is to think about such terrible things, words can only began to describe these terrors. Five days later the priests weak with famine came down and were brought to Titus and they begged for their lives. Titus replied that the opportunity for pardon was past and they could only hope for such had the temple not been destroyed. So Titus had them put to death. (see Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 6 section 1) Titus also gave command to his forces to finish destroying the temple tearing it down to the foundation so it would appear the temple had never existed. This was not simply an “abomination of desecration” the temple suffered, but it was an “abomination of desolation.” A desolation and destruction it never recovered from.
Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
Looking at Josephus’ accounts of the Jews wars with the Romans it’s amazing how the outcome would have been so different had events not occurred just as they did. Had Cestius Gallus known that the Jews were about to surrender Jerusalem to him, he would not have retreated when he actually had the upper hand. The city would have been spared, instead he suffered great losses to the zealots. How often the turn of events would rest on the actions of one man or because of one fateful decision. For example the admission of Simon into the city in hopes of defeating John who occupied the temple area resulted in greater civil war and the destruction of the city’s food supply that could have lasted for years under siege conditions. The Roman general Titus wanted to preserve the temple intact but was unable to prevent one of his own men in the heat of battle from setting fire to it. Yes, these were the days of vengeance and the Jews would suffer terribly. Forty years earlier as he was led away to be crucified, Jesus turned to the women that were following him and mourning for him saying, “don’t weep for me, weep for yourselves and your children.” Jesus knew they would not be able to escape the vengeance of God.
Why would God take vengeance upon the Jews? Why would he crush them at the hands of the Romans and those nations aligned with them? Jesus answered this question in Luke 19:44. Simply put, they did not recognize the time of God’s visitation upon them.
They did not respond to Jesus’ message of repentance and faith toward God. Nor did they recognize who he was or they would not have crucified him. When the Israelites were camped at Mount Sinai the Lord warned them through Moses what would happen if they turned their back on God and broke the covenant he made with them.
Just before Moses’ death he reiterated many of these warnings to the Israelites of what would happen to them if they did not continue to obey and listen to God.
After the abomination of desolation in the holy place God’s vengeance would come quickly and those Jews that remained in the land would suffer God’s wrath and few would escape with their lives. As mentioned in an earlier chapter the prophet Daniel was told by the angel Gabriel that a set time period was determined for his people the Jews and upon their holy city Jerusalem; for sin to be ended, to seal up transgressions, to blot out the iniquities, to make atonement for iniquities and to bring in everlasting righteousness... (see Daniel 9:24-27) The angel also revealed to Daniel that once again Jerusalem and the temple would be destroyed by the people [or armies] of a coming prince. Hundreds of years beforehand God gave the nation of Israel a timetable for making their hearts right before he would punish them as a nation. These were the days of God’s vengeance upon the Jewish people because they did not honor their end of the agreement or covenant God made with them. They did not recognize that God sent his own son to turn their hearts back to him before it was too late. Instead they rejected his message of reconciliation with God and they put to death the one who was sent to be their messiah.
Another factor that identifies the time period of this flight from Judea and Jerusalem which according to the gospels occurs after the abomination of desolation and before the destruction of Jerusalem is Jesus statement, “pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” Strict Sabbath rules which prevented anyone from traveling more than 2,000 paces outside the city wall were still enforced before the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. and could have hindered them fleeing the city. In the book of Nehemiah (13:19) the city gates were shut on the Sabbath to prevent people from going in and out of the city to sell their wares. If this practice was still being carried on in AD 70. it would be even more difficult to flee the city on the Sabbath day. Today very few Jews follow these strict Sabbath observances and most have not for centuries.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. Because these are the days of vengeance that all that is written might be fulfilled. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened. For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword and be led away captive into all nations.
Josephus makes an observation that agrees with Jesus's statement concerning the Jews suffering more than any other nation since the beginning of the world. The destruction was so great because it was the feast of unleavened bread (also called Passover), one of the feasts all Jewish males were required for to attend. For that reason there was a large number of people crowded together in Jerusalem from the entire nation. “Accordingly, the multitude of those that therein perished exceeded all the destructions that either men or God ever brought upon the world; for, to speak only of what was publicly known, the Romans slew some of them, some they carried captives, and others they made a search for underground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the ground and slew all they met with.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 9 section 4) In another place Josephus wrote, “I shall therefore speak my mind here at once briefly; That neither did any other city ever suffer such miseries, nor did any age ever breed a generation more fruitful in wickedness than this was, from the beginning of the world.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 10 section 5) Indeed the calamities they suffered were horrible and unusual in that they suffered so much from internal conflicts plus what came upon them from the Romans. The internal conflicts in Jerusalem took more lives (at least 600,000 alone were carried dead out the gates; not counting those thrown over the walls) than the external conflicts. What was most unusual was these horrors could have been avoided, but in the hardness of their hearts the zealots, seditious, and robbers brought it upon themselves and the rest of the inhabitants of Jerusalem by not accepting the numerous offers of the Romans to deal leniently with them if they would only lay down their arms.
Below are some additional accounts of what the inhabitants of Jerusalem suffered:
After the high priests were slain by the Idumeans they and the zealots cut the throats of ordinary people wherever they found them. The nobles and youth they imprisoned hoping they would join with them. When they did not, they tortured and scourged them and slew them. The terror was so great among the people they were afraid to mourn openly or bury them lest they suffer the same fate. There were twelve thousand that were tortured and died in this manner.
Josephus also related, “And now, as the city was engaged in a war on all sides, from these treacherous crowds of wicked men, the people of the city, between them, were like a great body torn in pieces. The aged men and the women were in such distress by their internal calamities, that they wished for the Romans, and earnestly hoped for an external war, in order to deliver them from their domestic miseries. The citizens themselves were under a terrible consternation and fear; nor had they any opportunity of taking counsel, and of changing their conduct; nor were there any hopes of coming to an agreement with their enemies; nor could such as had a mind flee away; for guards were set at all places, and the heads of the robbers, although they were seditious one against another in other respects, yet did they agree in killing those that were for peace with the Romans, or were suspected of an inclination to desert them, as their common enemies. They agreed in nothing but this, to kill those that were innocent. The noise also of those that were fighting was incessant, both by day and by night; but the lamentations of those that mourned exceeded the other; nor was there ever any occasion for them to leave off their lamentations, because their calamities came perpetually one upon another, although the deep consternation they were in prevented their outward wailing; but being constrained by their fear to conceal their inward passions, they were inwardly tormented, without daring to open their lips in groans. Nor was any regard paid to those that were still alive, by their relations; nor was there any care taken of burial for those that were dead; the occasion of both which was this, that every one despaired of himself; for those that were not among the seditious had no great desires of any thing, as expecting for certain that they should very soon be destroyed; but for the seditious themselves, they fought against each other, while they trod upon the dead bodies as they lay heaped one upon another, and taking up a mad rage from those dead bodies that were under their feet, became the fiercer thereupon. They, moreover, were still inventing somewhat or other that was destructive against themselves; and when they had resolved upon any thing, they executed it without mercy, and omitted no method of torment or of barbarity. (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 1 section 5)
“They also invented terrible methods of torments to discover where any food was, and they were these to stop up the passages of the privy parts of the miserable wretches, and to drive sharp stakes up their fundaments; and a man was forced to bear what it is terrible even to hear, in order to make him confess that he had but one loaf of bread, or that he might discover a handful of barley-meal that was concealed; and this was done when these tormentors were not themselves hungry.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 10 section 3)
Josephus described the situation after Titus and the Romans built a wall around the entire city to control who and what left or went into Jerusalem. “So all hope of escaping was now cut off from the Jews, together with their liberty of going out of the city. Then did the famine widen its progress, and devoured the people by whole houses and families; the upper rooms were full of women and children that were dying by famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the dead bodies of the aged; the children also and the young men wandered about the market-places like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell down dead, wherever their misery seized them. As for burying them, those that were sick themselves were not able to do it; and those that were hearty and well were deterred from doing it by the great multitude of those dead bodies, and by the uncertainty there was of how soon they should die themselves; for many died as they were burying others, and many went to their coffins before that fatal hour was come. Nor was there any lamentations made under these calamities, nor were heard any mournful complaints; but the famine confounded all natural passions; for those who were just going to die looked upon those that were gone to rest before them with dry eyes and open mouths. A deep silence also, and a kind of deadly night, had seized upon the city; while yet the robbers were still more terrible than these miseries were themselves; for they brake open those houses which were no other than graves of dead bodies, and plundered them of what they had; and carrying off the coverings of their bodies, went out laughing, and tried the points of their swords in their dead bodies; and, in order to prove what metal they were made of they thrust some of those through that still lay alive upon the ground; but for those that entreated them to lend them their right hand and their sword to dispatch them, they were too proud to grant their requests, and left them to be consumed by the famine. Now every one of these died with their eyes fixed upon the temple, and left the seditious alive behind them. Now the seditious at first gave orders that the dead should be buried out of the public treasury, as not enduring the stench of their dead bodies. But afterwards, when they could not do that, they had them cast down from the walls into the valleys beneath.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book V Chapter 12 section 3)
Even Titus groaned when he observed the heaps of dead bodies in the valleys around the city it was such a deplorable sight. Yet the Romans were happy that the zealots were also weak from the famine and were unable to attack them. Reports came to Titus from some of those who escaped the city that no fewer than 600,000 bodies were thrown out at the gates. They also indicated there were large numbers of bodies laid in heaps in large houses. The famine was now so bad that people were searching the common sewers and eating cattle droppings. When the Romans heard of these things they began to pity the common people. The hearts of the seditious were so hard that even though they were suffering also, they did not repent and they continued in the path that would lead to theirs and the city’s destruction.
“Thus did the miseries of Jerusalem grow worse and worse every day, and the seditious were still more irritated by the calamities they were under, even while the famine preyed upon themselves, after it had preyed upon the people. And indeed the multitude of carcasses that lay in heaps one upon another was a horrible sight, and produced a pestilential stench, which was a hindrance to those that would make sallies out of the city, and fight the enemy: but as those were to go in battle-array, who had been already used to ten thousand murders, and must tread upon those dead bodies as they marched along, so were not they terrified, nor did they pity men as they marched over them.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 1 section 1)
“Now of those that perished by famine in the city, the number was prodigious, and the miseries they underwent were unspeakable; for if so much as the shadow of any kind of food did any where appear, a war was commenced presently, and the dearest friends fell a fighting one with another about it, snatching from each other the most miserable supports of life. Nor would men believe that those who were dying had no food, but the robbers would search them when they were expiring, lest any one should have concealed food in their bosoms, and counterfeited dying; nay, these robbers gaped for want, and ran about stumbling and staggering along like mad dogs, and reeling against the doors of the houses like drunken men; they would also, in the great distress they were in, rush into the very same houses two or three times in one and the same day. Moreover, their hunger was so intolerable, that it obliged them to chew every thing, while they gathered such things as the most sordid animals would not touch, and endured to eat them; nor did they at length abstain from girdles and shoes; and the very leather which belonged to their shields they pulled off and gnawed: the very wisps of old hay became food to some; and some gathered up fibers, and sold a very small weight of them for four Attic [drachmae].” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 3 section 3)
Josephus went to great lengths to describe how desperate the famine was as he related an incredible, yet horrible story of a woman who had once been well off, but was in dire straights because of the famine. Any food she had been able to save had been seized by the ravenous robbers that plundered the people. They came into her house every day looking for and seizing any food she might have. It was so hopeless, that she reasoned, even if she could obtain food it would only end up as nourishment for someone else. In desperation, as the famine pierced her very being, she slew her own child that nursed from her breasts and roasted him. She ate half of him and concealed the rest. When the seditious robbers came into her house they smelled the roasted child and threatened to cut her throat if she did not show them immediately where the food was. Once they discovered it was a child, even these hardened, wicked men were repulsed, along with the rest of the city, as this thing was told. (see Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 3 section 4)
When the Romans heard of it, some could not believe it, others pitied the state the Jews were in and others were moved to a bitter hatred of the Jews and desired to overthrow and destroy them all the more. (see Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 3 sections 5)
As horrid a picture as this is, the Lord predicted this though Moses in Deuteronomy 28:53 that if they turned away from God. “You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and your daughters whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and desperate straits in which your enemy shall distress you.”
The zealots were so weak they were not strong enough to fight with the Romans, but they continued to kill those that might try to flee to the Romans and throw their dead bodies to the dogs. The Jews were in such despair that any death was better than the famine. They were willing to subject themselves to death by the Romans or the zealots rather than suffer any longer. The whole city was covered with dead bodies from those that had perished from either sedition or famine.
After the Romans entered the city they went through the streets killing everyone they encountered alive, even obstructing the roads with bodies. They set fire to any home were the Jews fled burning them to death. As they entered houses to plunder, they found entire families dead from the famine and rooms full of bodies. Titus and the Romans grew tired of the slaughter so they sold a great number into slavery at a very low price; because there were so many and so few buyers. Some forty thousand Titus let go free. Those that continued to fight were put to death along with those that were determined to be zealots or robbers (based on incrimination by their fellow countrymen) and they put to death the old and sick. A large number of those over seventeen years of age were sent to Egypt to work in the mines. Moses had also warned the Israelites in Deuteronomy 28:68 that the Lord would take them back to Egypt in ships as slaves; all in the context of what would befall them if they did not listen and obey the Lord. The tallest and most beautiful were reserved for the triumph where they could be paraded as the spoils of war. A number of the captives were sent to various provinces to be used as sport in the theatres, to be destroyed by sword and beasts. Thus fulfilling what Jesus had said, not only they would suffer great tribulation and suffering but those who did not fall by the sword would be lead into all nations.
While they were deciding what to do with the captives 11,000 more died from starvation. Josephus reported that 97,000 prisoners were taken and 1,100,000 perished during the whole war with the Romans. Other historians place the number even higher (upwards of 3 million) especially when including the number of persons that may have been in Jerusalem for the feast of unleavened bread.
Josephus relates the fate of the tyrants John and Simon, “yet did God avenge himself upon them both, in a manner agreeable to justice. As for John, he wanted food, together with his brethren, in these caverns, and begged that the Romans would now give him their right hand for his security, which he had often proudly rejected before; but for Simon, he struggled hard with the distress he was in, till he was forced to surrender himself, as we shall relate hereafter; so he was reserved for the triumph, and to be then slain; as was John condemned to perpetual imprisonment. And now the Romans set fire to the extreme parts of the city, and burnt them down, and entirely demolished its walls.” (Josephus Wars of the Jews, Book VI Chapter 9 section 4)
Josephus says the Jews suffered more than any other people since the beginning of the world. Jesus said this tribulation would be like no other since the creation of the world nor would there be any to surpass it in the future. What about the Holocaust where 6 million Jews were systematically exterminated? Certainly the numbers were greater in the Holocaust. But as terrible as the Holocaust was and as horrendous the number that died, could it be that the suffering and terror the Jews experienced during the Roman wars was greater than we could imagine? As fearful as death is, it is the events that lead up to it that create the most terror and suffering. For those who were in Jerusalem the suffering was so great that many welcomed death even if it was at the hands of their enemies. Still, I think it is inappropriate to try to make any comparison between the sufferings the Jews experienced. Let me offer another explanation; consider that there is nothing in the bible that says God’s wrath on the Jews would end after the destruction of Jerusalem. In fact God warned them that if they did not continue to obey him all sorts of terrible things would befall them and their descendents (see Deuteronomy 28:46,59). The nation of Israel may have ceased to exist for centuries, but the Jews have at times experienced great tribulation and persecution throughout those centuries.
What about the statement that “unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved?” As with phrases such as, “all the world,” they must be taken in context. Jesus went on to say, “For (or because) there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people (the Jews).” Jesus was not referring to a worldwide tribulation. He was talking about the tribulation the Jews and the Jewish nation would experience. Therefore, the reference to “no flesh” or no one being saved unless the days were cut short applies to the Jews and the Jewish nation. The Lord spoke through Moses warning them of what would happen if they did not continue to obey him; “You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven in multitude, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. And it shall be, that just as the LORD rejoiced over you to do you good and multiply you, so the LORD will rejoice over you to destroy you and bring you to nothing; and you shall be plucked from off the land which you go to possess.” (Deuteronomy 28:62, 63)
The Lord would punish the nation of Israel. In fact, he would destroy them with the same passion that he once had for their good, but he would not allow them to be destroyed completely. This was a reoccurring theme throughout their history. Even though God would threaten to completely destroy them because of their sins, he would always preserve a remnant in his mercy (see Ezra 9:8,13-15; Isaiah 1:9). Jesus said that those days of tribulation would be cut short for the sake of the elect. True to character, it is never God’s intention to punish the righteous with the wicked. But to avoid these calamities required heeding Jesus's command to flee from Judea to the mountains when they saw the abomination of desolation. Neither would the Lord totally destroy the remaining Jews. Even in his anger He has always cut the days short that they may not perish from the earth.
Before Moses died, he told the Israelites if they diligently obeyed the voice of the Lord and carefully observed his commandments, he would set them high above all nations of the earth. He would bless them and they would prosper in whatever they did, but if they failed to obey him instead of blessings, they would be cursed until they would be destroyed (see Deuteronomy 28:45).
In the days of the prophet Daniel when the time approached for the Jews to return to Israel from their captivity in Babylon (as predicted by the prophet Jeremiah; see Daniel 9:2, Jeremiah 25:11 and 29:10), Daniel confessed, “The curse and oath which are written in the law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.” (Daniel 9:11) Daniel said the Lord brought calamity upon them because they did not desire to please God; they neither heeded the truth nor turned from their sins. What are some of these curses the Lord said through Moses in Deuteronomy 28 that would come upon them if they did not obey Him?
He told them they would be oppressed and crushed continually (verse 33). They would be driven mad because of the terrible things they would see (verse 34) They would become a saying or a taunt among the nations where the Lord would drive them (verse 37). These curses would not only come upon them, but they would pursue them and overtake them until they were destroyed (verse 45). These curses would be a sign and a wonder on them and their descendants forever (verse 46). The Lord would bring a nation from a far-off place, a fierce nation that would not show any respect for the old or any mercy for the young (verses 49 & 50). This nation would put their cities under siege throughout Israel pulling down their walls. As a result of being under siege they would suffer such severe famine that they would eat their own children (verses 52 & 53). Whereas they were great in number they would end up being few because they did not listen to and obey the Lord (verse 62). Even among the nations they would be driven to, they would find no rest. For there they would fear for their lives day and night (verses 65 & 66).
Throughout history the Jews have been objects of derision and hatred. Why? It doesn’t make any logical sense. As Christians should we mock and hate the Jews because they were responsible for turning Jesus over to the Romans to be crucified? Of course not! To redeem the world, Jesus had to die. For us to share the gift of eternal life, Jesus had to die. Jesus himself asked his Father, our God, to forgive them because they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34) and so must we. Peter preaching to the Jews in Acts 3 said they and their leaders had Jesus crucified because of their ignorance; it could not happen any other way because it was written that the Messiah must suffer as foretold by the prophets. It was God’s plan for the redemption of the Jews and us that Jesus died. If it was God’s plan that Jesus die, then why have the Jews suffered throughout history? Why do they suffer today? Once again, the Jews have their own nation, yet they are beset by enemies from within and without. Why do they have no peace? Because they did not listen to Moses and the prophets. They did not listen to (Jesus) the prophet Moses himself said God would raise up from among the Jews. A prophet who would speak the words God put in his mouth. And if they would not listen to him, God would hold them accountable (see Deuteronomy 18:15, and Deuteronomy 18:18, 19). Jesus said to those living in Jerusalem that they and their children would see the days when their enemies would surround them and build siege embankments for attacking the city; that they would level the city with them in it, because they did not recognize and pay heed to the visitation and message of God to their nation (Luke 19:43,44). Even though turning Jesus over to the Romans accomplished the purposes of God, what happened to the Jews was very similar to the fate of Babylon. God said king Nebuchadnezzar was his servant to come against the land to destroy them (Jeremiah 25:9). Yet, after punishing Israel through the nation of Babylon, God in turn punished Babylon for its actions (Jeremiah 25:12, 14).
It is difficult to fathom that God would still bring calamity on the Jews beyond that generation that suffered great tribulation in the wars with the Romans; yet history bears witness of it. Moses said if they failed to obey God these curses would come upon them and their descendants forever as a conspicuous indicator of their rejection of God (Deuteronomy 28:46). For some it is hard to fathom that a loving God could do something like this especially when the message of today is often one of only grace and mercy. But isn’t the God of the Old Testament also the God of the new? Has God changed? Of course not! But we now have Jesus at the right hand of God as our intercessor and advocate. Today many would like to think there are no consequences for not obeying God and having an acceptable attitude toward him. Yet, even in the New Testament Paul said many were sick and even dead among the believers in the Corinth church because they had not partaken of the Lord’s supper in a worthy manner (see 1 Corinthians 11:27-30). God has always and will always be merciful and extend grace to us; but we still may suffer the consequences of our wrongdoing.
What about the Jews? Though God speaks of their destruction he does not mean their extinction. Have the Jews stumbled and fallen so as never to get back up? As Paul might say if he lived today, “No way!” But by their failure to recognize the truth, salvation has come to other nations in the hope that it might cause the Jews to be envious (see Romans 11:11). If their failure to recognize the truth resulted in their loss and the worlds gain, how much more will the nations be blessed when their fate is reversed! (see Romans 11:12) Israel’s fortunes will be reversed. But that will not happen until the fullness of the nations has come in (see Romans 11:25). Then the inability of the majority of the Jews to recognize the good news of God’s salvation through Jesus the Messiah will be lifted.
In Matthew, Jesus was asked, “When will these things be? And what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” In the gospels of Mark and Luke, Jesus was simply asked, “When well these things be? And what sign will there be when these things are about to take place?” In all three of these gospels, Jesus includes in his answer a description of the end of the age when he would come in a cloud with great glory even though in only one gospel it is reported that he was actually asked about the end of the age. It is generally agreed that all three gospels record the same conversation. Why did Mark and Luke leave out the reference to the signs of Jesus coming and the end of the age? Is it possible that like many Jews they believed the time of an attack on Jerusalem was synonymous with the end of the age and would usher in the kingdom of God?
It is evident from the many verses where Jesus makes reference to the “end of the age,” that he meant the time of the judgment and the end of this worldly system.
Many Jews were expecting God to drive out the foreigners and establish his kingdom any day. Jesus’ own disciples expected that day would be soon, even though in Luke 17:22, Jesus said to his disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it.” Paul considered the “ends of the ages” to be upon them (see 1 Corinthians 10:11). Peter also states, “But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers” (1 Peter 4:7). The author of Hebrews wrote, “But now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26b). John said, “Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour” (1 John 2:18). Would they have referred to their time as the end of the ages or the last hour had they known that in 2026 we would still be waiting for the sign of Jesus coming?
The events surrounding the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple are well documented and easily fit a straightforward interpretation of Jesus’ predictions, at least until he begins to discuss what will happen after the destruction of Jerusalem. If the tribulation the Jews suffered during the 3 ½ years (the length of the Roman campaign against the Jews until Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed) leading up to AD 70. is the tribulation Jesus was speaking of; then a casual reading of Matthew 24 appears to indicate the signs of his coming and the end of the age should have occurred immediately afterwards.
Since this did not happen do we throw out an interpretation that appears to follow history so well otherwise? Mark also appears to indicate that in the days after the tribulation they would see would see signs in the heavens and then they would see Jesus (the son of man) coming.
Only Luke describes a time period that will last until the end of what he calls the “times of the nations” during which Jerusalem would be trampled on by the nations. After the time of the nations and signs in the heavens and earth, then they would see Jesus (the Son of Man) coming.
What do we do with these apparent differences between the gospels? The biggest problem is, we have been conditioned by popular thinking in many Christian circles to think of this tribulation as having a limited time period (usually 3 ½ years). When actually there is nothing in the Bible that places specific time limits on this tribulation or affliction the Jews would suffer. Instead of tribulation, Luke calls it days of vengeance. Did God’s vengeance on the Jewish people, this time of tribulation and affliction end after 3 ½ years in AD 70? No, and history confirms this. Although Jesus is mainly referring to the events which would occur in Judea and Jerusalem the tribulation and affliction the Jews suffered did not end there as they were taken out of their land into all nations as slaves and for sport. Also the war with the Romans continued for another 3 ½ years. Throughout history especially during World War II the Jews suffered greatly, and unfortunately their suffering and troubles continue.
“And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.”
Jesus states very simply that Jerusalem would be trampled by the nations until the times of the nations were fulfilled (see Luke 21:24). The bible gives us few clues about the meaning of the phrase, “times of the Gentiles (or nations).” The only other use of the phrase “the time of the nations,” is found in Ezekiel 30:3 and is used in reference to God destroying the nations (in this case Egypt and her allies by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon). Does “times of the nations” refer to the period during which Jerusalem is trampled by the nations, or does it refer to the time when the nations will be destroyed so that Jerusalem would no longer be trampled by the nations? In other words does “times of the nations” refer to the entire period or the does it refer to the time of the end. Regardless of its exact meaning the fulfillment of the “times of the nations” means Jerusalem will no longer be trampled by people from other nations.
Paul presents a slightly different angle that may be related to the term “times of the nations” when he used the term “fullness of the Gentiles (or nations).”
Paul says this blindness caused the Jews to stumble (though not permanently). The failure of the Jews as a nation to recognize Jesus as Lord caused the world to experience the blessing of salvation coming to them.
But when this blindness is lifted, Paul says how much more will the world be blessed! Will this be the time when God establishes his kingdom on earth? Jesus said in Luke 13:35 “See! Your house is left to you desolate (referring to their destruction and dispersion); and assuredly, I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!’” When Jesus returns the Jews will be ready to acknowledge his Lordship.
Now that Israel is an independent nation again and Jerusalem is its capital, have the “times of the nations” been fulfilled? Today Jerusalem is not at peace, and the temple area is still occupied by the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aksa Mosque by those of the Muslim faith. Because of the lack of references, whether “times of the nations” refers to the entire period throughout history or the time of the end when the nations are destroyed, it is difficult to say with any certainty. If we knew, it would be easier to determine when Jerusalem is truly no longer trampled by the nations.
In Daniel chapter eight, Daniel was shown a vision of a strong male goat with a large horn. In his vision the goat was identified as Greece (see verse 21) and the large horn its first king (i.e. Alexander the Great). The large horn was broken and from it came four horns (see verse 22). There is general agreement that the identity of these four horns represent four of Alexander’s commanders among whom the Grecian empire was eventually divided. Out of one of these horns came a little horn which grew exceedingly great towards the south, east and towards the beautiful land (i.e. Israel) This little horn exalts himself and tramples the temple and the holy people (see verse 13). Most feel this little horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes who was King of the Seleucid Empire (a descendant of Seleucus one of Alexander’s commanders represented by the four horns) from 175 BC to 163 BC Antiochus fits the description of the little horn which came out of one of the four horns quite well. During his reign he killed tens of thousands of Jews and halted the daily sacrifices. Antiochus set up the worship of the Olympian Zeus in the Jewish temple and actually sacrificed pigs there.
How long would the cessation of the sacrifices last while this desolation of the temple and the host were trampled underfoot?
Are these 2300 literal days? Or do they represent 2300 years as some interpret it? Before drawing any conclusion, it is important to understand that the word “days” in verse 14 is actually “evenings and mornings” as it is translated in Daniel 8:26.
There is not one instance in the bible where these words are used to represent prophetic years. The significance of the evenings and mornings probably have to do with the continual daily sacrifices which were offered in the evenings and morning. Israel would have to wait 2300 evenings and mornings before the temple would be cleansed and sacrifices would resume. Because the actual time period the sacrifices ceased under Antiochus is reported to be three years (3 years = 1,096 days by today’s reckoning); many feel the 2300 evenings and mornings actually represent 1150 evenings and 1150 mornings (1150 evenings +1150 mornings = 2300 evenings and mornings) or 1150 complete days. The Hebrew months of the year were lunar based. A lunar month was about 29.5 days. Therefore, the lunar year of twelve months was about 354 days. When the twelfth month ended too soon before the equinox or when the barley crop was not yet ripened to be available for Passover the addition of a thirteenth month was required periodically (every 2-3 years). During the years the temple was made desolate by Antiochus (167 BC to 164 BC) there was at least one additional month and possibly two. Two extra months would still only account for 1,122 evenings and 1,122 mornings (or 2,244 total), 28 days short. Supposedly, Antiochus caused the sacrifices to cease about a month before he started the pagan sacrifices which would match the time period predicted by the prophet Daniel that the sacrifices would cease and the temple would be profaned. Josephus and the 1stbook of Maccabees both state clearly that the desolation of the temple was exactly three years. Josephus even states this was a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy.
“The temple was made desolate by Antiochus, and so continued for three years. This desolation happened to the temple in the hundred forty and fifth year, on the twenty-fifth day of the month Apellaios, and on the hundred fifty and third olympiad: but it was dedicated anew, on the same day, the twenty-fifth of the month Apellaios, on the hundred and forty-eighth year, and on the hundred and fifty-fourth olympiad. And this desolation came to pass according to the prophecy of Daniel, which was given four hundred and eight years before; for he declared that the Macedonians would dissolve that worship [for some time].” (Josephus Antiquities of the Jews- Book XII chapter 7 section 6)
2ndMaccabees 10:5 agrees with Josephus account of the temple being profaned on the same day of the month as it was later purified or cleansed.
The reason the name of the month in Josephus’ account (Apellaios) is different from the Book of Maccabees (Chislev or Kislev) is because Josephus used the Macedonian calendar and the Book of Maccabees used the Jewish calendar. Both were lunar based with twelve months with the addition of extra months as needed. Under the rule of the Seleucid Greeks both calendars were used; the Macedonian calendar for official government records and the Jewish for religious writings.
1st Maccabees 1:54 and 4:52-53 also indicate the period was exactly three years (years 145-148 of the Seleucid Era). 1Maccabees 1:54 indicates the altar was erected 10 days earlier on the fifteenth of the month.
Some bible expositors try to parallel this king (represented by the little horn which came out of one of the four horns) and the little horn in Daniel 7:8. There are parallels in the actions of these kings toward the holy people and towards God, but there are major differences. The most significant is the little horn in Daniel 7:8 came up on the head of the fourth beast (which represents the Roman Empire) while the little horn in Daniel 8:9 grew out of one of the four horns on the head of the goat (representing the Greek Empire which preceded the Roman Empire).
The description of the little horn in Daniel 8 as “exceedingly great” (8:9) has caused some to believe this is not Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The goat with the single horn (Alexander the Great) was described as becoming “very great,” (8:8) throwing down and trampling the kingdom of the Medes and Persians (the empire which proceeded the Grecian empire on the world scene) represented by a ram which was described simply as “great” (8:4). Under Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Seleucids did regain some of the strength they lost to the Romans under Antiochus III when the Seleucid empire was at its height. Still his reign would not be characterized as “exceedingly great” when compared to Alexander’s “very great” and the Medo-Persian’s “great” power. Elsewhere in Daniel 7:7, the beast representing the Roman Empire was described as “exceedingly strong” using a related Hebrew word to that used to describe the little horn in Daniel 8 as “exceedingly great.” It is important to note that instead of being simply described as “exceedingly great,” the little horn of Daniel 8 is said to grow “exceedingly great” only towards the south, east and the beautiful land (i.e. Israel). These were the main areas of military campaigns and conquest under Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The little horn is described as being broken but not by human hand. Antiochus died from either illness or an accident.
After the vision in Daniel 8 where the little horn devastates Daniel’s people and desecrates the temple, Daniel lay sick for many days. At the time of this vision the temple in Jerusalem already lay in ruins at the hand of the Babylonians and Daniel now had a vision of its desolation and the trampling of the holy people. How could this be? He was appalled and did not understand the vision (Daniel 8:27) even though the angel Gabriel gave him an explanation. The angel Gabriel appeared again to Daniel to give him understanding (see Daniel 9:21,22). This has caused some to identify the little horn in Daniel chapter 8 with the Roman empire and parallel the destruction and desolation of the temple by the Romans in Daniel 9:26 with the ceasing of the daily sacrifices in chapter 8. The little horn of Daniel 8 is identified as a single king so it cannot represent the Roman empire moving south, east and toward Israel. What is not apparent unless you consider the year of the reigning king for each vision (see Daniel 8:1and 9:1) is that these visions took place approximately 13 years apart. The vision in Daniel 9 to give Daniel understanding is actually more directly related to his prayer confessing the sins of his people and for the restoration of the temple and the city of Jerusalem in the same chapter (Daniel 9:17,18). To help him understand he is told a decree will be issued to restore Jerusalem and that the city and wall would be restored in troublous times. And after that once again the city and temple would be destroyed.
The importance of understanding the application and length of the 2300 evenings and mornings is demonstrated by those who believed the message of William Miller in the early 1800’s. Miller calculated the 2300 evenings and mornings represented 2300 literal years and ended somewhere between March 21, 1843 and March 21, 1844. Miller predicted Jesus would return visibly at that time. Sure, no man knows the “day and hour,” but could someone calculate the year? (Of course, I’m not serious). As a result many sold their possessions and waited for Jesus second coming. He later revised the date to October 22, 1844. Each date came and went and the only fulfillment was the disappointment of those who thought they could calculate the date of Christ’s return. Miller used as a starting point the year 457 BC which is the year some figure is the starting point of the 70 weeks or 490 years of Daniel 9:24-27. The justification for considering the two time periods as having the same starting point is the phase, “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city.” The word translated “determined” can also mean “cut off.” Those who favor this view say that chapter nine offers an explanation of the only thing Daniel did not understand from the vision in chapter eight (i.e. the 2300 evenings and mornings). Thus the 490 years were “cut off” from the larger time period of 2300 years and both had the same starting point. I believe what Daniel did not fully understand, was the description of the desolation of the temple and trampling of his people when the temple already lay in ruins and his people were currently exiled in Babylon. Another thing overlooked is the very simple explanation that the 490 years could be “cut off” from time itself. Another basic point is that Daniel 8:13,14 explain that the 2300 evenings and mornings refer to the time that the continual daily sacrifices would cease and the temple profaned due to the actions of this future king. Both time periods cannot have the same starting point because the sacrifices did not actually cease in the vision in chapter nine until after the 490 years. If the 2300 evenings and mornings represent 2300 years, then the historical starting point must be AD 70. when the temple was destroyed and the sacrifices actually ceased for any substantial length of time. That would mean we still have 366 years to go before the daily sacrifices resume. I don’t think anyone is looking forward to the year 2370. History presents us with an excellent fulfillment of the verses in Daniel 8 based on days instead of years in the person of Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Also worthy of noting is it was after 2300 evenings and mornings that the temple would be “cleansed” not “rebuilt.” Antiochus defiled the temple but he did not destroy it.
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