The destruction of the Temple in 70 AD

Joey1964 · May 31, 2021

I have a question that has been on my mind for a long time. Is there a reason the destruction of the temple in 70 AD was not mentioned anywhere in the Bible? John wrote the book of Revelation around 96 AD, according to what I have been taught at church. Why would he not mention it? Surely as a Jew and living during that time it would have been very important to him.

JaumeJ · May 31, 2021

When the disciples commented to Jesus-Yeshua as to the beauty of the Tmple, He responded saying there would be not one stone left upon the other before His return.............

randyk · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

Well, it's terribly obvious that Jesus mentioned the destruction of the temple in 70 AD in his Olivet Discourse! So you are obviously excluding that in your question? So it is clearly mentioned in the Bible! But I myself have asked why it isn't mentioned in the book of Revelation, if indeed it was written *after* 70 AD?

I do believe Revelation was written after 70 AD. But it would hardly need stating that the temple had been destroyed? Why would anybody reading the book of Revelation at that time need to be informed that the Jewish temple had already been destroyed? It was a universally-known fact. The major impetus for John seemed to be to communicate Jesus' message *following* this destruction. And it had to therefore be a vision of a heavenly temple in which a different kind of worshiper was being counted--different from how worshipers were counted under the Law of Moses in the book of Ezekiel, where the literal temple still stood. See Eze 9.

The temple in Rev 11 obviously, then, would represent *Christian worship.* And the reason it is not more literally spelled out is likely due to the fact Judaism was still being portrayed as fulfilled in Christianity. So OT symbols were used by Jesus in the Revelation to portray a NT fulfillment of the temple, determining true worshipers not by a law of sacrifices, but rather, by measuring up to the standards of purity of Christ, as God had portrayed it in the OT era.

In case there is any mistake about this, one has only to read the book of Hebrews. There, the fulfillment of the OT temple type is clearly explained as fulfilled in NT Christianity, involving a heavenly law and a heavenly temple, in which unredeemed people no longer served God in a way deficient in terms of obtaining eternal life. Pleasing God under Law and under an earthly temple was only meant to be a temporary fix, until human ways could be cleansed by Christ's better example.

Heb 8.6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another.
9.8 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning...
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands...
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.

ResidentAlien · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

There are a lot of historical facts not mentioned in the New Testament. But the destruction of the temple was very significant and one does wonder why its not mentioned. However, the New Testament focuses on how to live a Godly life in Christ and any historical references—when there are any—are incidental.

John didn't write Revelation, he was merely the scribe. Revelation isn't a history book.

JaumeJ · May 31, 2021

JaumeJ said:

I believe our Lord did foretell the destruction of the Temple. It foretells the actual Temple in Jerusalem, but I believe more importantly it tells that there shall be not one stone left upon the other, and I believe this is the scattering of the living stones of the Temple.
Actually, I believe this has already occurred. It began with the Chief and the Corner Stone being rejected and taken to Heaven.
He will return to rebuild the True Temple....

brighthouse98 · May 31, 2021

Hi joey1964, Most people define a temple as a building,but one should consider the Temple!! Jesus himself being that Temple. For inside of us believers is the Church, the temple which was torn at the death of Jesus could also represent that no man made structure can hold the Living God. Just a thought. For me if scripture does not say,I do not like to speculate.( 1 Tim 1:4)

Runningman · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

A theory is that they didn't need the temple built with hands anymore because Jesus was the only sacrifice they ever needed again and He's the high priest. Therefore, the temple system became obsolete. No need lamenting over it or wishing it back.

It would be like saying that Jesus was not enough and that the temple needs to return along with the Levitical priest hood, the laws, and animal sacrifices. It would be antithetical to the Gospel of Christ.

I think discussing the temple at any length in the epistles would have been redundant anyway. Jesus predicted it would be destroyed then it got destroyed. The Jews would have known and the Gentile recipients of the gospel would have found that irrelevant seeing as how the temple wasn't for them anyway.

Pilgrimshope · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

he does “Mention it “ or rather Gods shoes it to him and he records it . Revelation isn’t a literal book meant for human logical thinking it’s a spiritual book that uses prior prophetic imagery to communicate Gods message of Jesus Christ to the church.

so he’s not going to say literally “ d the temple In Jerusalem and all Jerusalem was destroyed by Rome in 70 ad. “

it’s going to be understood by the imagery John sees coming from established ot prophetic visions John is receiving the revelation of all prophecy in one vision

so to understand what he’s communicating he expects that the reader has heard the prophets beforehand or hear later after they have read revelation and see the revelation it offers of Gods entire Message to Man

the destruction of Jerusalem is in the vision of the great whore of Babylon . That imagery is from what God had said of Israel’s future in Old Testament prophecy like this one

There’s a ton of things in the messianic and end times prophecy like this about Israel because they continually worshipped idols and false gods even sacrifocing thier children to false gods within the earthly temple at times

“For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I will deliver thee into the hand of them whom thou hatest, into the hand of them from whom thy mind is alienated: And they shall deal with thee hatefully, and shall take away all thy labour, and shall leave thee naked and bare: and the nakedness of thy whoredoms shall be discovered, both thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. I will do these things unto thee, because thou hast gone a whoring after the heathen, and because thou art polluted with their idols. Thou hast walked in the way of thy sister; therefore will I give her cup into thine hand. Thus saith the Lord God; Thou shalt drink of thy sister's cup deep and large: thou shalt be laughed to scorn and had in derision; it containeth much. Thou shalt be filled with drunkenness and sorrow, with the cup of astonishment and desolation, with the cup of thy sister Samaria.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God; Because thou hast forgotten me, and cast me behind thy back, therefore bear thou also thy lewdness and thy whoredoms. The Lord said moreover unto me; Son of man, wilt thou judge Aholah and Aholibah? yea, declare unto them their abominations; That they have committed adultery, and blood is in their hands, and with their idols have they committed adultery, and have also caused their sons, whom they bare unto me, to pass for them through the fire, to devour them. Moreover this they have done unto me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my sabbaths. For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.”
‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭23:28-33, 35-39‬ ‭

this is only a small section but a more complete understanding of Jerusalem and then Samaria and eventually all
Israel as a whore that would be handed over to her lovers ( the nations surrounding her whose gods she worshipped ) for the utter destruction of this “figurative sodom and Gomorrah who crucified the lord , “

see this entire chapter of ezekiel
Above , ezekiel chapter 16 also and then the book of Jeremiah also has some of the same imagery

it’s very well established in Old Testament prophecy is my point I would wuote then but they are very very long . He tells of the beginning when he came tokisrael and washers them and enjoined himself to them as a husband and how they continually whored oit themselves to other gods and he still had patience and offered a reconciliation if they would stop doing this and return to him with their hearts like In the beginning

but they never did even when he sent Jesus they crucified him because of his words who was trying to save them. This ended the marriage and l
Of the established prophecy began to be fulfilled about jesrusalms destruction after Christ was crucified and rose up to the heavens the earthly Jerusalem of the ot covenant became the whore who is handed over to her lovers and left naked and bare in revelation and eventually

the covenant she had with God forever burns and isn’t restored not because God is unfaithful but because she was unfaithful to him

What I’m saying is revelation is a revelation of Christ and Old Testament prophecy is how the imagery is understood

OldSage · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

But it is not an argument for (the fallacious idea of) Revelation being written pre-AD67 either. The question would still remain:

"Why doesn't Jesus mention it?"

-------------------------

If the Church at Jerusalem had still been in existence, then why wouldn't Jesus have sent them a letter too?

Ahwatukee · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

Hello Joey1964,

The simple answer to your question is that, though John is the one who was shown the information in the book of Revelation, he is not the author. He wrote only what God wanted him to write. Remember in Rev.1:19, the Lord told John to write down:

What you've seen = everything from Rev.1:1 to 1:19

What is now = Represented by the letters to the seven churches which also represents the entire church period

What will take place later = all of the events that take place after the "What is now," i.e. what takes place after the church period

That said, we are still in the "what is now" portion of what John was told to write. Once the church has been gathered, the the "what must take place later" will begin.

Another reason that John did not write about the destruction of the temple, is also found right in the very first verse of Revelation:

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must take place in quickness."

The word 'apokalupsis' means 'an unveiling of something that was previously unknown to the extent (because "veiled, covered"). According to the context, it is the events that must take place in quickness that are being unveiled, said events being God's plagues of wrath and all related information.

As I said, John was not the author, but God was/is. And the destruction of the temple, which would have take place some 25 years earlier, was not information that God wanted in the book of Revelation.

eternally-gratefull · May 31, 2021

dan 9 and matt 24 are two spots where it is mentioned, If your asking why it was not mentioned as a historical event, well of that I have no answer, not sure it is relevant, it still happened, remember John was most likely in prison when it happened so he never would have witnessed it, and he only wrote what God wanted him to write by revelation

Pilgrimshope · May 31, 2021

OldSage said:

yes I think that the understanding that revelation is for the purpose of showing what’s ahead or was at johns time but all of it’s clear tent includes past , present and future accounts in its imagery to tell a complete story

it’s erroneous to think every word is applicable to the future but it’s overall intent is to reveal the things in the future by telling the story from the beginning he leads into the thkngs he was foretelling for instance the seven headed beast doesn’t appear until chapter 13.

but the beast that comes after the seven the eighth king arises in chapter 11 to kill the two witnesses. The explanation of the beast with seven heads who appears in chapter 12 before the eighth king comes , isn’t until chapter 17 .

and one of the things we are told of this beast with seven heads is that five of his heads are in the past they had already come to world power for a time , and had fallen from that power and in succession John was living in the days of the sixth king the sixth head of the beast , and also he tells us that another head was still to come in the future
given the fact that the seven headed beast exists of five past kings , one current king , and other yet to come all
Erode the eighth ( one of the seven ) rises from the abyss we can then grasp that the whole books events include some of the first five kings reigns , some of the current kings reign in johns day , and some of the future events of the seventh kings Riegn

it’s misleading in our minds to think everything shown was in the future it’s a story from the beginning until the future things in the end of the book

those seven kings that make the beast up are just about the times before John and you until johns day

all of the end times stuff happens during the riegn of the eight king and his ten nations that he rules , destroying three of them but wielding thier power to rule on earth for a short time .

the seven headed beast was about the conclusion of the ot prophecy concerning the end of Jerusalem’s covenant and thier pinishemnt ( the destruction of Jerusalem , (left in desolation )

but the eight king and his ten horns are a bout the ending events

“And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is,

and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭17:10-14‬ ‭KJV‬‬

so just in the explaination of the seven headed beast and ten horns we can see the nature of revelation covering past present and future . We see the seven headed beast of johns day , and a resurrection of sorts of the eighth king the anti christ of the end times and his ten nations of power.

much of what Jesus said happened during the first couple centuries after his resurrection beginning with Jerusalem’s destruction and the exile of the Jews from thier homeland left to desolation afterwards.

but that was all about his first coming to conclude the ot and offer the. New which is promised his second coming to earth his return .

cv5 · May 31, 2021

Joey1964 said:

Luke 21:20-24
Its all there man. This incident is also in Matt 24 and Mar 13....only as one line item.

This short video is EXTREMELY enlightening...!

cv5 · May 31, 2021

cv5 said:

BTW...Luke 21:24 is the "gap" of Dan 9.

This "gap" is also shown in MANY other places in Scripture. This nonsense that there is no gap between the 69th and 70th week is obviously incorrect.

Blik · May 31, 2021

brighthouse98 said:

It was not Jesus our Lord and Savior who was in the temple, but the body that our Lord lived in. Jesus as a man was the first fruits, dead in the body and alive in the spirit as we will be through what Christ did for us.

John 2:22 "They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” 21 But the temple he had spoken of was his body".

It is important to understand this because the earthly temple that was destroyed was the shadow of the temple that we are. Christ as a man was also God, but we most certainly are not to be compared with God in any way, yet we are now the temple. As we study about the earthly temple, it tells us a lot about us as the temple of God.

1 Corinthians 3:16 "Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?"

The ark of the covenant that contained the spirit of God was in the inner chamber of the earthly temple, as the spirit of the Lord is in our inner chamber---our heart. The High Priest (now Christ) took the sins of the people with blood that God gave on the altar as a sacrifice (now it is the blood of Christ) for the forgiveness of sin, just as our high priest (Jesus) through His sacrifice takes our sins to the Father and we are forgiven.

OldSage · May 31, 2021

Why in particular do you think Jesus should have mentioned it in Revelation?
To allow us to date the Book of Revelation, or simply because it was such a
mammoth prophecy that it deserved recognition?

Prophecy is fulfilled in reality. Jesus was prophesied, Jesus came in the flesh.
The temple was prophesied to be destroyed (4 prophecies I think: gospels and Daniel),
and lo and behold, it came to pass. The Titus Arch in Rome records the event.
The Al Asqa Mosque testifies to it also. There is no real doubt there is there?

As far as dating the Book of Revelation, if one combs the text, there are various clues and
consistent elements. Since Jesus prophesied that John would outlive Peter, (who was executed in the mid 60's AD), then logically 95AD is the correct date for the book to be written.

cv5 · May 31, 2021

OldSage said:

The Al Asqu Mosque and dome of the rock are actually located on the 35 acre Roman garrison known as fortress Antonia. Gentile territory. The actual and true location of the temple mount is in the city of David in the territory of Israel.

OldSage · May 31, 2021

cv5 said:

These are two different persecutions.

Luke is describing what happened immediately after the Resurrection, namely the persecution of the Church by the Jews described throughout Acts:

Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

Matthew describes a different persecution - probably that under Nero

Matthew 24: 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

cv5 · Jun 1, 2021

OldSage said:

These are two different persecutions.

Luke is describing what happened immediately after the Resurrection, namely the persecution of the Church by the Jews described throughout Acts:

Luke 21:12 But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.

Matthew describes a different persecution - probably that under Nero

Matthew 24: 9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

Review that video and get back to me. It's short and very informative....

OldSage · Jun 1, 2021

cv5 said:

I re-viewed it. It made me think, but he is not making a very coherent point.

The destruction of the Temple in 70 AD

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