A random collection of thoughts

In chapter nine of Daniel there is a four verse summary of the total future concerning Daniel’s people and the holy city of Jerusalem. Interpretations regarding these 4 verses are without number but the one point I wish to talk about regarding the prophecies can be found in verse 26. Following is the KJV of the passage and while reading it please take note of verse 26 and ask yourself what nation will this prince come from:

Daniel 9:24-27:
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Centuries have been spent studying these few verses and there is no end to the different interpretations. What I would like to look at today is one of the points made in the passage that has been taken for granted and yet I feel is incorrect, one that just might reshape how we view some of the end times passages and events. The issue I would like to look at is found in v26: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. For as far as I can find in all my research, this is simply assumed that it means the Romans. After studying the history of the actual event I believe it was the Jews that destroyed the city and the sanctuary and I’ll tell you why.

There is no question that there were only two main bodies of people at the destruction of the city of Jerusalem in 70AD, the Romans and the Jews. Why I believe it was the Jews who were responsible comes from the historical evidence of an eye witness to the events, the historian Flavius Josephus whose various writings on the Antiquities of the Jews (20 books) and the War of the Jews (7 books) written during the last half of the first century have been a fascinating read for anyone interested in Jewish history. Although he has other writings as well, he’s most famous for these two. Basing my opinion on a single historian’s account of the events seems risky at best and there are several writings regarding that time as well but other then putting to question very minor details of the event. The overall understanding and reporting of the conflict by Josephus is not in question and therefore is sound enough for the purpose of this study. Furthermore, let me give you a brief background on who Flavius Josephus was and why I believe his accounts of the events can be trusted.

Josephus was born in 37 AD and lived into the Domitian reign through the late 90′s. He was a Jew of the priestly line and trained as such. When upon returning from Rome where he successfully interceded for the life of several other priests held by Nero (around 66AD) he found the Jews in a revolt. At that point it was determined that he was to be dispatched as a commander of sorts to defend Galilee. While there he knew the futility of fighting the Roman’s on the open battle field so he retreated to the fortified city of Jotapata where he held off the Roman’s for nearly two months before the city finally fell and he was taken captive. Upon his capture he asked to speak to Vespasian, the commanding general of the armies, and when that was granted Josephus told the general of a dream that he had which told him that one day the general would be the leader of Rome. Not really caring for such matters the general nevertheless spared his life but kept him in bonds not knowing whether he was telling the truth or just lying to save his life.

But, sometime after that Nero was assassinated and Rome fell into a major power struggle over who was to be the next leader. During this power struggle Vespasian’s commanders and soldiers both implored him (at one point with swords drawn according to Josephus) to step in and take over. Begrudgingly he agreed not being able to persuade them differently. Knowing that he needed the armies and support of Alexandria before he could make a serious bid, he halted operations regarding the revolt and sent a letter of his intentions to Tiberius Alexander who was governor of Egypt and Alexandria at that time. When Tiberius received the letter he willing offered its allegiance and full support of Vespasian and from that point forward it was just a matter of getting to Rome to cement his power base and installing himself as leader.

For Josephus, this was most fortunate in that he was released from his bonds and ordered to stay with Titus who was Vespasian’s son and now general of the army. Titus was to take up the campaign again and quell the revolt by moving against Jerusalem. From that time forward Josephus was to stay with Titus during the seige of Jerusalem and actually to have a somewhat active role. During the lulls in the battles Josephus would ride around the city just outside of arrow shot calling out to the city, including the seditions to drop their weapons and come out and if they did they would receive a full pardon. You see, something that’s not told about the battle for Jerusalem is Titus’ thoughts on the battle. He didn’t want to destroy the city and especially he didn’t want the temple destroyed. He knew of its importance as a center of religion and that people came from all over the known world to worship and sacrifice there and he didn’t want it destroyed. The account from Josephus regarding Titus during the final battle at the temple when the roof was set on fire was that Titus needed to be restrained by his command staff from charging forward into the battle to try and stop the fighting to get everyone to help put the fires out. Needless to say he was held back and the battle and fire raged on unchecked.

Well, with that bit of history out of the way we now will take a look at the political scene in Jerusalem prior to Titus’ army approaching the city. What we will be looking at is what had been happening during the time the Roman’s pulled back and also leading up to the final siege.

Just prior to the death of Nero and while Vespasian was cleaning up the revolt in the surrounding cities, the leaders of the sedition at Jerusalem had begun their own power struggle. Splitting into three factions they began to root out and kill any prominent citizens that might be of any danger to their own little power bases. Once all of the citizens considered a danger to them were killed they then became suspicious of anyone else. The killings became so bad in the city that Vespasian had initially decided to hold off approaching the city at all simply to let them finish killing each other off. When his soldiers urged him to advance against Jerusalem he refused knowing that this would only cause the various seditions to join forces once again to oppose him. About this time Vespasian received news of the trouble in Rome and his attention was diverted.

While back in Jerusalem the three factions continued their attacks on each other. Eleazar (one of the leaders) had a party of men that were hold up in the temple which was on higher ground then a group controlled by a man named John. This group led by John held the grounds around the temple and the main courts, and the third group whose leader was a man named Simon held the upper city and most of the lower city which, as you can imagine was a fairly large area. These factions were constantly fighting between each other with John’s party fighting on two fronts. Unfortunately for the citizens of Jerusalem, they were caught in the middle of everything and also couldn’t escape from the city because all three factions had setup guards at all the exits keeping everyone in just incase they might side with the Roman’s. Also, as you might imagine wth all the anarchy reigning throughout the city some members would kill citizens for no reason at all. To give you an idea of the sizes of the factions, Simon’s group was roughly about 10,000 followers. To help describe the situation inside Jerusalem during this time here is a quote from Josephus’ War of the Jews, book 5, chapter 1, paragraph 4 (5.1.4);

And now there were three treacherous factions in the city, the one parted from the other. Eleazar and his party, that kept the sacred first-fruits, came against John in their cups. Those that were with John plundered the populace, and went out with zeal against Simon. This Simon had his supply of provisions from the city, in opposition to the seditious. When, therefore, John was assaulted on both sides, he made his men turn about, throwing his darts upon those citizens that came up against him, from the cloisters he had in his possession, while he opposed those that attacked him from the temple by his engines of war. And if at any time he was freed from those that were above him, which happened frequently, from their being drunk and tired, he sallied out with a great number upon Simon and his party; and this he did always in such parts of the city as he could come at, till he set on fire those houses that were full of corn, and of all other provisions. The same thing was done by Simon, when, upon the other’s retreat, he attacked the city also; as if they had, on purpose, done it to serve the Romans, by destroying what the city had laid up against the siege, and by thus cutting off the nerves of their own power. Accordingly, it so came to pass, that all the places that were about the temple were burnt down, and were become an intermediate desert space, ready for fighting on both sides of it; and that almost all that corn was burnt, which would have been sufficient for a siege of many years. So they were taken by the means of the famine, which it was impossible they should have been, unless they had thus prepared the way for it by this procedure.

As you can see from this reckless fighting they were simply out of control, they had store houses of corn that would have kept them with provisions for years if need be from a siege yet they destroyed them in order to clear the battle field against each other! In the previous paragraph (5.1.3) Josephus tells how the innocent citizens, those that had come to the temple to worship, were caught in numerous crossfires and killed:

For notwithstanding these men were mad with all sorts of impiety, yet did they still admit those that desired to offer their sacrifices, although they took care to search the people of their own country beforehand, and both suspected and watched them; while they were not so much afraid of strangers, who, although they had gotten leave of them, how cruel soever they were, to come into that court, were yet often destroyed by this sedition; for those darts that were thrown by the engines came with that 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 thither 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.

Later on, when the Roman’s finally mounted the siege and battles between the Roman’s and the Jews were taking place they halted their attacks on each other but would pick it up again during the lulls between the battles with the Roman’s. From the infighting that was taking place to the massacre of the innocent citizens there leaves little doubt as to who actually destroyed the city, Josephus brings attention to this in 5.6.1:

But although they had grown wiser at the first onset the Romans made upon them, this lasted but a while; for they returned to their former madness, and separated one from another, and fought it out, and did everything that the besiegers could desire them to do; for they never suffered any thing that was worse from the Romans than they made each other suffer; nor was there any misery endured by the city after these men’s actions that could be esteemed new. But it was most of all unhappy before it was overthrown, while those that took it did it a greater kindness for I venture to affirm that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition, which it was a much harder thing to do than to destroy the walls; so that we may justly ascribe our misfortunes to our own people, and the just vengeance taken on them to the Romans; as to which matter let every one determine by the actions on both sides.

As you can see from the section that even Josephus believed that had the Jews simply put down their arms and left that the city and the temple might have been saved. Other interesting points that I will only give passing mention here were on several occasions at the start Titus offered a type of amnesty to anyone that would just come out as Titus didn’t want to destroy the city. When the Roman’s finally gained a section of the city and made an assault on Eleazar’s men in the temple one of the Roman soldiers frustrated with being attacked from the upper ledge of the temple set fire to the doorway. When Titus saw this he made a charge to the front to order the soldiers to stop the fighting to put out the fire. Fearing for his life his commanders restrain him from doing so and thus the temple fire raged on unchecked throughout the fighting. And finally one final point I would like to bring up is Strong’s definition of the word destroy used in Daniel 9:26;

Destroy
H7843
sha^chath
shaw-khath’
A primitive root; to decay, that is, (causatively) ruin (literally or figuratively): – batter, cast off, corrupt (-er, thing), destroy (-er, -uction), lose, mar, perish, spill, spoiler, X utterly, waste (-r).

This shows that one of the first definitions of the word for destroy is actually to ’cause’ ruin which is clearly what was happening during the siege of Jerusalem. With this bit of information I hope I was able to compel you to look again at the Bible and not take anything you’ve read or heard for granted. Search the scriptures and see for yourself what the Bible has to say. I’m not saying not to read other commentaries or theories (especially mine ) that are proposed but when you do, check the scriptures for yourself to see if this is what God is telling you.

May God bless.
JB