But as Jesus came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, He began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.” (Luke 19:41-44 NLT)
Jesus spoke the above prophecy on Palm Sunday, just days before He was crucified. His prophetic words were fulfilled nearly forty years later when General Titus and his Roman army destroyed the Temple and burned Jerusalem in 70 AD. Over a million Jews –men, women and children – were slaughtered by the Romans.
Now, the Jews heard Jesus’ words on that Palm Sunday and most certainly talked about them, but they hung onto their traditions and just wanted to preserve their way of life.
The Christians on the other hand, remembered Jesus’ prophecy so that when a believer prophesied around 67 AD about the soon coming devastation of Jerusalem, they heeded his words. They fled Jerusalem and relocated to Pella and other TransJordan cities, sixty miles away.
Even though the believer’s prophecy was specifically spoken to Christians, believers certainly would have explained to their neighbors why they were leaving. They would have mentioned both prophecies, attempting to convince their Jewish neighbors to flee, too. The neighbors would have repeated the conversations to others. On and on it would have continued until the whole city knew the reason for the Christian exodus: the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem.
Yet, the Jews ignored the Christians warnings and were slaughtered by the Romans.
Could God have stopped this slaughter from happening?
God’s foreknowledge doesn’t always mean He can change the hearts of people fast enough to prevent calamities because He will not tamper with people’s free will. God is not a cruel dictator but a King who woos us with His love. It’s always a heart to heart deal between God and us.
If you look at the above prophecy by Jesus, you will notice that Jesus said, “But now, it is too late…”
Our Father loves His creation and usually gives us warnings far in advance to prepare us for calamities. Then, He will follow up with later warnings.
So, what should we do about my prophetic words about the inevitability of a civil war breaking out in America?
(Continued in Part 9…but if you want to read all of the parts to date, you can go here.)
Larry Who 