I am interested in reading accounts of the destruction of Jerusleum in A.D. 70. Are there any eye-witness writings or anything?

Thanks,

-- Michael (williams007@aol.com), February 01, 2001

Answers

I'll try to help, Michael. Check here...

http://www.msnbc.com/news/469571.asp

-- jackiea (jackiea@hotmail.com), February 01, 2001.

Jmj

Hello, Michael.
(Flavius) Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived from 37 to 101 A.D. may be your man.
He wrote three works in Greek that may be just what you need:
1. The Jewish War (sometimes referred to by a Latin abbreviation, "Bell. Jud.")
2. Jewish Antiquities ("Antiq. Jud.")
3. Autobiography

The (old) Catholic Encyclopedia's article on Josephus -- and the "history" section of its article on "Jerusalem before A.D. 71" should provide you with some background information that may be helpful before delving into the works of Josephus themselves.

When you are ready to read the works, I found a very special Josephus site for you to visit. It has lots more information, as well as links to the text of his works on-line. Click here for the home page.

Please come back some day and tell us a bit about what you have learned. (I am pretty ignorant on the subject of "Jerusalem A.D. 70," so I could use your help.)
God bless you.

St. James, pray for us. Mother of our Savior, pray for us.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), February 01, 2001.

The magnificent life of Christ Jesus And His Times, written by Frenchman Henri Daniel-Rops has several detailed insights into the seige and destuction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. He places it in context with the Holy Tuesday prophesies of the end times, of Jesus Christ. I wish to introduce a new thread on this book, in case anyone's interested. I'll title it ''Jesus and His Times''.

Daniel-Rop's work is to my estimation an indispensable guide to the historical Christ, and to the full understanding of Jesus' Messianic mission, Passion, Death and Resurrection. I believe there are two versions, Catholic and Non-Catholic. (Probably an editorial decision, to make a more generic treatment available, obviously.) This writer helps us understand every aspect of the Hebrew, Hellenic, and Latin backdrops to the life of Christ. The American publisher was E.P. Dutton & Co. New York. My English translation was edited in 1956. Probably anyone that is able to read the original French would find this book marvelous; the English is certainly close to marvelous. I'll give you a quick excerpt of the subject of this thread in the new thread.

Mary, Refuge of sinners, Pray for us, and Saint James pray for us, too! Amen.

-- eugene c. chavez (chavezec@pacbell.net), February 02, 2001.

Now, that was in the days after our Lord, when He warned them of it in Matthew 24, how that "When you see Jerusalem compassed about with armies, don't let--don't come down off the housetop, or let him that's in the field come not back and get his coat, but go into Judaea. Josephus gives the writing of it there, and how they fled. And only those escaped was those who taken the Words of the Lord Jesus. And when they seen the armies compassed, and Titus, in A.D. 70, when they seen Titus compass the walls of Jerusalem and hemmed them all in there; they eat the grass off the tree.

They eat the bark off the trees; they eat the grass off the ground, they absolutely boiled one another's children and eat it. They starved them, just set them in there. And finally they run in there and slaughtered them till the blood run out the gate like a--like a pool was coming down, streams of blood flowing out the gate. They burnt the temple, tore down the walls, and it stands there till this day.

And the Moslem of Omar was erected where the temple stood. And Jesus spoke of that in Matthew 24, He said, "When you see the abomination that maketh desolation standing in the holy place, where the prophet Daniel spoke, said about it," then it's in parenthesis, said, "(he that readeth, let him understand)." See..

"When you see this abomination, the filthiness of the Moslem of Omar standing there where the holy place once stood..." And today the Moslem stands there exactly where the holy place, right on the temple site. The Mohammedan Moslem stands as Jesus said it would do, as Daniel said it would do, and Jesus verified it that it would do.

-- William (prophet@email.com), February 10, 2001.

Jmj

William, William, what am I going to do with you? As the saying goes, "A little learning is a dangerous thing."

You have repeatedly referred to the "Moslem of Omar." How can you not know a "Moslem" is a member of the religion called Islam? You are speaking of the MOSQUE of Omar (also called the Dome of the Rock), which was built by followers of Mohammed (founder of Islam) in the late 600s, as you can read here.

Now, is Jesus referring to the Mosque of Omar in Matthew 24 when he refers to the "abomination that maketh desolation"? No. That is William's imaginative interpretation -- or something he got via a Protestant "tradition."
The truth, handed down since apostolic times (and written down by St. Jerome) is that the abomination was a Roman statue (possibly of the emperor) set up where the Holy of Holies had been in the Temple. That is why Jesus could say, "When you see the abomination ...". Those hearing his words could later see it. But they could not see the Mosque of Omar, built 600 years later.
Still not convinced? Remember that William referred us to St. Matthew's gospel. In a letter, St. Augustine wrote: "Luke [21:20], in order to show that the abomination of desolation foretold by Daniel had reference to the time of the siege of Jerusalem, repeats these words of our Lord, "When ye shall see Jerusalem encompassed by armies, then know ye that its desolation draweth nigh."

St. James, pray for us. O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to you.
God bless you.
John

-- J. F. Gecik (jgecik@desc.dla.mil), February 10, 2001.

The abomination maketh desolation, the Moslem of Omar was put on the holy ground where the Jewish Temple was, as God said, twenty-five hundred years before it happened, it would be standing there. The prophet saw it, and seen it, and said, "They would... The Gentiles would be in possession there, until the Gentile dispensation would be finished."

And the Moslem of Omar was erected where the temple stood. And Jesus spoke of that in Matthew 24, He said, "When you see the abomination that maketh desolation standing in the holy place, where the prophet Daniel spoke, said about it," then it's in parenthesis, said, "(he that readeth, let him understand)." See, "When you see this abomination, the filthiness of the Moslem of Omar standing there where the holy place once stood..." And today the Moslem stands there exactly where the holy place, right on the temple site. The Mohammedan Moslem stands as Jesus said it would do, as Daniel said it would do, and Jesus verified it that it would do.

listen close now what He said. "Jerusalem shall be trod down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles be finished." The siege of the--of Titus, then come in, taken in Jerusalem. He said, "Now--now, you heard about the abomination that maketh desolation?" "Yeah." "Well, that's when the Gentiles come in." "Yeah, we understand that," said the disciples. "Now, the Gentiles has had their government now." "Sure." "Jerusalem under Gentile government then?"The Romans, they still had the government in Jerusalem. And it started back yonder by the abomination that maketh desolation that Daniel spoke of.

Now, He said, "That time's near at hand, for they're going to tear down this temple and put up the Moslem of Omar, is going to stand on the same place here, the Mohammedans, Gentiles. And it's going to stand there." .."Gentile" means "unbeliever." That wasn't the Church now. That was the Gentile (See?), the unbeliever. Now, and that will stand until the Gentile dispensation will be finished. Then when the Gentile dispensation be finished, the great Prince is to stand for the people Who is Christ, at the end time.

-- William (prophet@email.com), February 10, 2001.

Keep in mind that God had originally told the people NOT to build a Temple (the "Temple" was different from the modern "temple" or synagogue). It was built, and then destroyed, with the people desolated (Babylonian captivity). It was rebuilt, and destroyed again with equally disastrous consequences for the Jewish people. Jesus seemed to have a real beef with the whole Temple/sacrifice system. It appears to me that God wasn't crazy about the idea of the Temple to begin with.

......................

-- anthony (fides_spes_et_caritas@hotmail.com), February 11, 2001.