Excerpts from George Holford's book "The Destruction of Jerusalem"...published in 1805
The day on which Titus encompassed Jerusalem, was the feast of the Passover; and it is deserving of the very particular attention of the reader, that this was the anniversary of that memorable period in which the Jews crucified their Messiah!
Jerusalem was not captured merely, but, with its celebrated temple, laid in ruins. Lest, however, the army of Titus should not be sufficiently designated by this expression, our Lord adds, “Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matt. 24:28). The Jewish state, indeed, at this time, was fitly compared to a carcass. The sceptre of Judah, i.e. its civil and political authority, the life of its religion, religion, and the glory of its temple, were departed.
It was, in short, morally and judicially dead. The eagle, whose ruling instinct is rapine and murder, as fitly represented the fierce and sanguinary temper of the Romans, and, perhaps, might be intended to refer also to the principal figure on their ensigns, which, however obnoxious to the Jews, were at length planted in the midst of the holy city, and finally on the temple itself.
The day on which Titus encompassed Jerusalem, was the feast of the Passover; and it is deserving of the very particular attention of the reader, that this was the anniversary of that memorable period in which the Jews crucified their Messiah!
Jerusalem was not captured merely, but, with its celebrated temple, laid in ruins. Lest, however, the army of Titus should not be sufficiently designated by this expression, our Lord adds, “Wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together” (Matt. 24:28). The Jewish state, indeed, at this time, was fitly compared to a carcass. The sceptre of Judah, i.e. its civil and political authority, the life of its religion, religion, and the glory of its temple, were departed.
It was, in short, morally and judicially dead. The eagle, whose ruling instinct is rapine and murder, as fitly represented the fierce and sanguinary temper of the Romans, and, perhaps, might be intended to refer also to the principal figure on their ensigns, which, however obnoxious to the Jews, were at length planted in the midst of the holy city, and finally on the temple itself.
