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found therein. No voice sounded from Heaven to make known to
the inquiring priest the will of Jehovah.
For centuries the Jews had vainly endeavored to show wherein
the promise of God, given by Haggai, had been fulfilled; yet pride
and unbelief blinded their minds to the true meaning of the prophet’s
words. The second temple was not honored with the cloud of Jeho-
vah’s glory, but with the living presence of One in whom dwelt the
fullness of the Godhead bodily,—who was God himself manifest in
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the flesh. The “Desire of all nations” had indeed come to his temple
when the Man of Nazareth taught and healed in the sacred courts.
In the presence of Christ, and in this only, did the second temple
exceed the first in glory. But Israel had put from her the proffered
gift of Heaven. With the humble Teacher who had that day passed
out from its golden gate, the glory had forever departed from the
temple. Already were fulfilled the Saviour’s words, “Your house is
left unto you desolate.” [Matthew 23:38.]
The disciples had been filled with awe and wonder at Christ’s
prediction of the overthrow of the temple, and they desired to un-
derstand more fully the meaning of his words. Wealth, labor, and
architectural skill had for more than forty years been freely expended
to enhance its splendors. Herod the Great had lavished upon it both
Roman wealth and Jewish treasure, and even the emperor of the
world had enriched it with his gifts. Massive blocks of white marble,
of almost fabulous size, forwarded from Rome for this purpose,
formed a part of its structure; and to these the disciples had called
the attention of their Master, saying, “See what ma
and what buildings are here!” [Mark 13:1.]
To these words, Jesus made the solemn and startling reply, “Ver-
ily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another,
that shall not be thrown down.” [Matthew 24:2.]
With the overthrow of Jerusalem the disciples associated the
events of Christ’s personal coming in temporal glory to take the
throne of universal empire, to punish the impenitent Jews, and to
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break from off the nation the Roman yoke. The Lord had told
them that he would come the second time. Hence at the mention of
Destruction of Jerusalem
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judgments upon Jerusalem, their minds revert to that coming, and as
they are gathered about the Saviour upon the Mount of Olives, they
ask, “When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy
coming, and of the end of the world?” [Matthew 24:3.]
The future was mercifully veiled from the disciples. Had they at
that time fully comprehended the two awful facts,—the Redeemer’s
sufferings and death and the destruction of their city and temple,—
they would have been paralyzed with horror. Christ presented before
them an outline of the prominent events to transpire before the close
of time. His words were not then fully understood; but their meaning
was to be unfolded as his people should need the instruction therein
given. The prophecy which he uttered was twofold in its meaning:
while foreshadowing the destruction of Jerusalem, it prefigured also
the terrors of the last great day.
Jesus declared to the listening disciples the judgments that were
to fall upon apostate Israel, and especially the retributive vengeance
that would come upon them for their rejection and crucifixion of the
Messiah. Unmistakable signs would precede the awful climax. The
dreaded hour would come suddenly and swiftly. And the Saviour
warned his followers: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination
of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy
place (whoso readeth let him understand), then let them which be
in Judea flee into the mountains.” [Matthew 24:15, 16.] When the idolatrous standards of the Romans should be set up in the holy
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ground, which extended some furlongs outside the city walls, then
the followers of Christ were to find safety in flight. When the
warning sign should be seen, judgment was to follow so quickly that
those who would escape must make no delay. He who chanced to
be upon the housetop must not go down through his house into the
street; but he must speed his way from roof to roof until he reach
the city wall, and be saved “so as by fire.” Those who were working
in the fields or vineyards must not take time to return for the outer
garment laid aside while they should be toiling in the heat of the
day. They must not hesitate a moment, lest they be involved in the
general destruction.
In the reign of Herod, Jerusalem had not only been greatly beau-
tified, but by the erection of towers, walls, and fortresses, added to
the natural strength of its situation, it had been rendered apparently
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The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 4
impregnable. He who would at this time have foretold publicly its
destruction, would, like Noah in his day, have been called a crazed
alarmist. But Christ had said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away.” [Matthew 24:35.] Because of her sins, wrath had been denounced against Jerusalem, and her stubborn
unbelief rendered her doom certain.
The Lord had declared by the prophet Micah: “Hear this, I pray
you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of
Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity. They build up
Zion with blood, and Jerusalem with iniquity. The heads thereof
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judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the
prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord,
and say, Is not the Lord among us? none evil can come upon us.”
[Micah 3:9-11.]
How exactly did these words describe the corrupt and self-righ-
teous inhabitants of Jerusalem! While claiming to rigidly observe
the law of God, they were transgressing all its principles. They hated
Christ because his purity and holiness revealed their iniquity; and
they accused him of being the cause of all the troubles which had
come upon them in consequence of their sins. Though they knew
him to be sinless, they had declared that his death was necessary to
their safety as a nation. “If we let him thus alone,” said the Jewish
leaders, “all men will believe on him; and the Romans shall come
and take away both our place and nation.” [John 11:48.] If Christ were sacrificed, they might once more become a strong, united people. Thus they reasoned, and they concurred in the decision of their
high priest, that it would be better for one man to die than for the
whole nation to perish.
Thus had the Jewish leaders “built up Zion with blood, and
Jerusalem with iniquity.” And yet, while they slew their Saviour
because he reproved their sins, such was their self-righteousness that