Three days before his death, Jesus gave a prophecy concerning Jerusalem, called at that time, the "holy city".(Matt 4:5) In this prophecy, he said that "when you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near."(Luke 21:20) That happened in the year 66 C.E. when Cestius Gallus led an army to besiege Jerusalem. In a parallel account, Jesus highlighted the need for urgency on the part of Christians back then: “Let the man on the housetop not come down to take the goods out of his house; and let the man in the field not return to the house to pick up his outer garment.” (Matthew 24:17, 18) In view of the fact that history shows that Jerusalem survived for four more years, why did Christians need to heed Jesus’ words so urgently in 66 C.E.?
While it is true that the Roman army did not destroy Jerusalem until 70 C.E., the intervening years were not trouble free. Those years were filled with violence and bloodshed. One historian describes the situation in Jerusalem during that time as “a fearfully bloody civil war, accompanied by acts of horrid cruelty.” Young men were recruited to strengthen the fortifications, to take up weapons, and to serve in the military. They underwent daily military exercises. Those who were not in favor of extreme measures were viewed as traitors. If Christians had lingered in the city, they would have found themselves in an extremely dangerous position.(Matthew 26:52; Mark 12:17)
It should be noted that Jesus said, at Luke 21:21, that “those in Judea,” not just Jerusalem, were to start fleeing. Unexpectedly, Gallus withdrew his troops, opening the way for Christians in Jerusalem and Judea to obey Jesus’ words and flee to the mountains.(Matthew 24:15, 16) This was important because within a few months of their withdrawal from Jerusalem, the Roman troops once again renewed their war operations. First, Galilee was subdued in 67 C.E., and then Judaea was systematically conquered the following year. This resulted in great misery throughout the countryside. It also became increasingly difficult for any Jew to escape from Jerusalem itself. The city gates were guarded, and any trying to escape were assumed to be deserting to the Romans.
With all these factors in mind, it can understood why Jesus emphasized the urgency of the situation. Christians had to be willing to make sacrifices, not allowing themselves to become sidetracked by material possessions. They had to be willing to “say good-bye to all [their] belongings” in order to obey Jesus’ warning. (Luke 14:33) Those who promptly obeyed and fled to the other side of the Jordan were saved.
Four years later, on April 3, 70 C.E., about Passover time, Roman troops returned under General Titus, who was determined to stamp out the Jewish rebellion. His army surrounded Jerusalem and built “a fortification with pointed stakes,” making escape impossible. (Luke 19:43, 44)
Despite the threat of war, Jews from all over the Roman Empire had flocked to Jerusalem for the Passover. Now they were trapped. According to Josephus, these hapless visitors made up the majority of the casualties of the Roman siege. When Jerusalem finally fell, about one seventh of all Jews in the Roman Empire perished. The destruction of Jerusalem and its temple meant the end of the Jewish state and its religious system based on the Mosaic Law.(Mark 13:1, 2)
In just 4 months and 25 days, from April 3 to August 30, 70 C.E., the conquest had been effected. Thus, the tribulation, though intense, was remarkably short. The unreasoning attitude and actions of the Jews within the city doubtless contributed to this shortness. Though Josephus puts the number of dead at 1,100,000, there were survivors. (Compare Matt 24:22.) Ninety-seven thousand captives were taken, many of whom were sent as slaves to Egypt or were killed by sword or beasts in the theaters of the Roman provinces. This, too, fulfilled divine prophecy.(Deut 28:68)
The entire city was demolished, with only the towers of Herod’s palace and a portion of the western wall left standing as evidence to later generations of the defensive strength that had availed nothing. Josephus remarks that, apart from these remnants, “the rest of the wall encompassing the city was so completely levelled to the ground as to leave future visitors to the spot no ground for believing that it had ever been inhabited.” (The Jewish War, VII, 3, 4 [i, 1]) A relief on the Arch of Titus in Rome depicts Roman soldiers carrying off sacred vessels of the ruined temple. Concerning the temple there in Jerusalem, Jesus told his apostles that "by no means will a stone will be left here on a stone and not be thrown down."(Matt 24:2)
