For the Temple A.D. 70

For the Temple:
MY DEAR LADS,
In all history there is no drama of more terrible interest than that which terminated with the total destruction of Jerusalem. Had the whole Jewish
nation joined in the desperate resistance made by a section of it to the overwhelming strength of Home, the world would have had no record of truer patriotism than that displayed by this small people in their resistance to the forces of the mistress of the world. Unhappily the reverse of this was the case. Except in the defense of Jotapata and Gamala, it can scarcely be said that the Jewish people as a body offered any serious resistance to the arms of Rome. The defenders of Jerusalem were a mere fraction of its population, a fraction composed almost entirely of turbulent characters and robber bands, who fought with the fury of desperation, after having placed themselves beyond the pale of forgiveness or mercy by the deeds of unutterable cruelty with which they had desolated the city before its siege by the Romans. They fought, it is true, with unflinching courage, a courage never surpassed in history, but it was the courage of despair, and its result was to bring destruction upon the whole population as well as upon themselves. Fortunately the narrative of Josephus, an eye-witness of the events which he describes, has come down to us; and it is the store- house from which all subsequent histories of the events have been drawn. It is no doubt tinged throughout by his desire to stand well with his patrons Vespasian and Titus, but there is no reason to doubt the accuracy of his descriptions. I have endeavored to present you with as vivid a picture as possible of the events of the war without encumbering the story with details, and except as regards the exploits of John of Gamala, of whom Josephus says nothing, have strictly followed in every particular the narrative of the historian.
Yours sincerely,
G. A. HENTY.

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The story weaves an admirable and attractive story from the record of Josephus. The troubles in the district of Tiberias, the march of the legions, the sieges of Jotapata, of Gamala, and of Jerusalem, for the impressive and carefully studied historic setting to the figure of the lad who passes from the vineyard to the service of Josephus, becomes the leader of a guerrilla band of patriots, fights bravely for the Temple, and after a brief term of slavery at Alexandria, returns to his Galilean home with the favor of Titus.

Date: 70 A.D.
Location: Asia, Palestine
Main Event: Roman-Jewish War

• Siege of Jerusalem
• Temple Mount
  

• A.D. 70 and Christian eschatology: "Those who claim that Jesus Christ's Second Advent, and the final resurrection and judgment of the just and unjust occurred in A. D. 70, assault the Bible and the Faith. Acts 1:11 tells us that Jesus will return just as he ascended — bodily and visibly, with his disciples gazing at him, and we know that this has not yet happened in history. He is to come "[i]n flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thes. 1:8). Likewise, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 declares:

  For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

  This teaches that the final physical resurrection of the redeemed will occur when Christ returns, with great royal fanfare: "a shout and voice of the archangel, and the trump of God." This is the announcement of the King's return to his earthly jurisdiction. It is a physical coming creating momentous physical consequences: resurrection of bodies, and the equipment of the redeemed for the eternal state and the unredeemed for eternal perdition. It concludes human history."