Click on the following for earlier articles in the series: Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.
Paul said to Festus, “This has not been done in a corner.”
Paul’s remark referred to the ministry, trial, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. You see, everyone in Jerusalem knew about Jesus and His ministry. It was not carried out in secret. Thus, Jesus’ words were trumpeted via Jewish grapevines into every Jerusalem home.
Now, because of this awareness, the apostles and believers had great favor with the people after the ascension of Christ (Spring, 30 AD). The Apostles taught daily at a Temple colonnade and held healing services in the streets.
This tenuous status quo lasted for almost five years. Then, with the martyrdom of Stephen, Saul and Jewish leaders brutally persecuted the Christians. The bloody campaign caused many believers in Jerusalem to relocate to other cities in Judea and Samaria, but the original apostles stayed behind.
The persecution by Jewish leaders lasted for the next twenty-nine years in an on-again and off-again fashion. Ironically, Saul became the Apostle Paul, and then received the heaviest persecution from the Jews for his work with the Gentiles. And the apostles in Jerusalem – Peter, James and John – eventually achieved a peace of sorts with Temple leaders.
From 35 AD until 64 AD, Jerusalem Christians assembled in home churches, but Jerusalem Christianity still had a distinct Jewish flavor about it. Some writers even refer to Jerusalem’s brand of Christianity as “Temple Christianity” to distinguish it from Paul’s Christianity.
As for the Roman leaders, they paid little attention to Christians and considered them a small sect of Judaism during this time period.
All of this changed in 64 AD when Nero began persecuting Christians and in 66 AD when Jewish zealots openly fought Roman armies.
Okay, all of the above history helps lay the groundwork for a powerful prophecy concerning the siege of Jerusalem:
In 66 AD or 67 AD, depending on what source you read, a Christian gave a prophetic word to the Jerusalem church. In the word, believers were reminded of Jesus’ prophecy and warned anew about the upcoming devastation of Jerusalem and advised to move out of the city.
By early 69 AD, all the Christians heeded the prophecy, left their homes, their livelihoods and their Jewish friends, and relocated to Pella (a city sixty miles northeast of Jerusalem) and other Transjordan cities.
The result of this prophecy was that none of the Christians perished in the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Let’s look at this prophetic word:
1. Who was the prophecy intended for? People living in Jerusalem.
2. What audience heard the prophecy? Christians.
Remember: According to Josephus, one-third of Jerusalem (population 120,00) converted to Christianity. So, as forty-thousand Christians packed up and left the city, the other eighty-thousand residents watched on.
Even though the prophecy was given to Christians, believers certainly would have explained to their neighbors why they were leaving. They would have mentioned both prophecies and tried to convince their Jewish friends and neighbors to leave, too. The neighbors then would have told others. On and on, until the whole city knew the reason for the Christian exodus: a prophecy about the soon coming destruction of Jerusalem.
But sadly, at the time, the Jewish zealots were winning the war with Rome. And after all, Jerusalem was the City of God and the Jews were God’s chosen people. Thus, very few Jews listened to the Christians.
So, when the Siege of Jerusalem happened in 70 AD, all had been warned ahead of time about the upcoming calamity.
(Continued in Part 5)
Larry Who 