Judgment: Wrath of the Lamb

by Brian Godawa

  Sulpicius Severus, The Sacred History 2.30.6-7

  “Titus is said, after calling a council, to have first deliberated whether he should destroy the temple, a structure of such extraordinary work. For it seemed good to some that a sacred edifice, distinguished above all human achievements, ought not to be destroyed, inasmuch as, if preserved, it would furnish an evidence of Roman moderation, but, if destroyed, would serve for a perpetual proof of Roman cruelty. But on the opposite side, others and Titus himself thought that the temple ought specially to be overthrown, in order that the religion of the Jews and of the Christians might more thoroughly be subverted; for that these religions, although contrary to each other, had nevertheless proceeded from the same authors; that the Christians had sprung up from among the Jews; and that, if the root were extirpated, the offshoot would speedily perish. Thus, according to the divine will, the minds of all being inflamed, the temple was destroyed.”

  Sulpicius Severus, “The Sacred History Of Sulpitius Severus,” in Sulpitius Severus, Vincent of Lérins, John Cassian, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, trans. Alexander Roberts, vol. 11, A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, Second Series (New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894), 111.

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  Titus orders the destruction of the Temple: Josephus paints a picture of Titus reluctantly allowing the destruction only after unruly soldiers started the flames. But Josephus was a paid collaborator of Flavius Vespasian who took on his patron’s Flavian name, so he was an untrustworthy apologist for Titus. Titus ultimately “gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and temple” (J.W. 7:1:1 §1).

  “As an important consequence, Feuillet (229) states that “the Jewish war and the destruction of Jerusalem… are of tremendous importance because they mark the definitive independence of the Christian religion from that of Israel, thereby preparing the way for the advance of the Church among the pagans of the Gentile world.” It is likely, however, that Titus actually intended the opposite effect: to destroy Christianity in the process. Since apostolic Christianity was so tied up with Israel and the temple, Titus apparently hoped to crush both Judaism and Christianity with the destruction of the temple. According to Sulpicius Severus (ca. AD 400), whose “authority is undoubtedly Tacitus,” we learn that “Titus is said, after calling a council, to have first deliberated whether he should destroy the temple, a structure of such extraordinary work. For it seemed good to some that a sacred edifice, distinguished above all human achievements, ought not to be destroyed…But on the opposite side, others and Titus himself thought that the temple ought specially to be overthrown in order that the religion of the Jews and of the Christians might more thoroughly be subverted; for that these religions, although contrary to each other, had nevertheless proceeded from the same authors; that the Christians had sprung up from among the Jews; and that, if the root were extirpated, the offshoot would speedily perish” (Severus 2:30). Tommaso Leoni notes that “very few have doubts… that the version of the Christian chronographer [Severus] should be preferred” over Josephus’ account, which states that Titus tried to prevent the burning of the temple (Jos., J.W. 6:4:3 §236–43).44 J. Barclay (1996: 353) argues that “this notorious feature of Josephus’ account is certainly ‘economical with the truth’ and possibly a complete fabrication.” Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation Vol. 2 (Dallas, GA: Tolle Lege Press, 2016), 57-58.

  “Most historians agree that Josephus whitewashed many of Titus’s activities and motivations regarding his hostility toward the Jewish religion. Commenting on the unlikely assertion that the Temple was destroyed contrary to Titus’s wishes, Paul Spilsbury writes: The Jewish War’s description of the events surrounding the fateful burning of the Temple is notorious for its disingenuousness. Josephus reports that on the night before the event itself Titus held a council of war in which he argued against the advice of most of those present that the Temple should be spared. In the actual event, though, the Temple was burned to the ground after an unruly soldier, “moved by some supernatural impulse,” (War 6.252) threw a firebrand into the sanctuary. Titus’s personal efforts to extinguish the fire, we are told, were thwarted by the recalcitrance of his men (War 6.260). The majority of modern historians find this account of events implausible.

  “G. Alon, Jews, Judaism and the Classical World. Studies in Jewish History in the Times of the Second Temple and Talmud, trans. Abrahams (Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1977), 253] states unambiguously that “we cannot avoid the almost certain conclusion that the Temple was put to the torch at Titus’s behest.” [emphasis original to Alon]. His argument is based on: (1) comparison with other sources, most notably Sulpicius Severus’ Chronica, perhaps derived from Tacitus’ lost Histories, which attributes the decision to burn the Temple to Titus himself; (2) examination of the events immediately preceding and following the burning of the Temple, which indicate that it was always part of the Roman intention; and (3) indication in other parts of Josephus’ works where he seems to betray that he knew Titus was to blame for the burning of the Temple (e.g., War 7.1; Ant 20.250). Alon’s conclusion is that Josephus distorted the truth and “adjusted” his history to meet “the demands of his benefactors” [Vespasian and Titus].41 Roman historian Dio Cassius presents a very different picture of Titus’s intentions concerning the Temple. Dio said the Roman troops were afraid to violate the sanctity of the Temple and that it was Titus who compelled them to enter it: “… the Temple was now laid open to the Romans. Nevertheless, the soldiers because of their superstition did not immediately rush in; but at last, under compulsion from Titus, they made their way inside.”

  “The suggestion that the Temple was destroyed by out-of-control troops is especially unlikely when you read Josephus’ own description of how disciplined the Roman army was: “Military law demands the death penalty not only for desertion of the ranks but even some slight neglect of duty….” Burning the Temple in violation of a (supposed) direct order from Titus Caesar would have been far worse than some slight neglect of duty. Technically, this would have made the troops’ actions worthy of death. An example of an obvious omission of Titus’s actions by Josephus can be found in his failure to even mention Titus’s relationship with the Jewish queen Bernice. Titus met Bernice in AD 67 when he first came to Judea. She lived with Titus and essentially became his common law wife, and yet Josephus fails to mention her or their scandalous relationship. The reason for this is that, since the time of Mark Antony’s disastrous relationship with Cleopatra, the Roman public was very leery of alliances between its leaders and foreign queens. If one depends only on Josephus’ record, the relationship between Titus and Bernice (who has been referred to as the “little Cleopatra”) never happened. This should make one suspicious of what other items Josephus left out of his account of Titus’s actions during this time.”

  McKenzie PhD, Duncan W.. The Antichrist and the Second Coming: A Preterist Examination Volume I (K-Locations 2035-2045). Xulon Press. K-Edition.

  “[T]he Temple was now laid open to the Romans. Nevertheless, the soldiers because of their superstition did not immediately rush in; but at last, under compulsion from Titus, they made their way inside.”

  Dio Cassius, Roman History 15.6.2, in Dio’s Roman History, vol. VIII, trans. Earnest Cary (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1982), 269 Quoted in McKenzie PhD, Duncan W.. The Antichrist and the Second Coming: A Preterist Examination Volume I (Kindle Locations 7543-7545). Xulon Press. Kindle Edition.

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  Shattering of the holy people and the end of days:

  Daniel 12:7–13

  7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished... But go yo
ur way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days.”

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  CHAPTER 68

  The Feast of Trumpets:

  Leviticus 23:23–25 (NASB95)

  23 Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 ‘You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall present an offering by fire to the LORD.’ ”

  “No man knows the day or the hour” of the beginning of the Feast of Trumpets: Thanks to David Curtis from Berean Bible church for his online sermons on the Feasts of the Lord. http://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/transcripts/topical/feasts_lord_02.htm

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  Matthew 24:36–44

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  Joel 2:1.

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  Pentecost, Joel and the Day of the Lord:

  “In Acts 2, Peter was preaching on the day of Pentecost. Jews from many nations had been filled with the Spirit of God and began to speak gospel truth in their own tongues. The nations were beginning to stream into the mountain of the house of the Lord, the new covenant. Unbelievers accused them of being drunk and Peter responded.

  Acts 2:15–20

  For these people are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel: 17 “And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; 18 even on my male servants and female servants in those days I will pour out my Spirit, and they shall prophesy. 19 And I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke; 20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.”

  “Look at what I underlined. Peter said that the Spirit of God falling on “all flesh” at Pentecost (another figurative, nonliteral expression for Gentiles and the nations outside of Israel) was the fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy about the last days!

  “That had always bothered me because I wondered how he could say that the last days were his own days when the day of the Lord was not for another few thousand years? What about the sun and moon turning dark? Was that all just a metaphor, or did he literally mean what he said?

  “He was an apostle who spoke with God’s authority and he said that the last days prophecy was being fulfilled in his own day, not thousands of years later. We have already discussed the notion that in the Old Testament the cosmic catastrophes of sun, moon, and stars were poetic metaphors for the fall of earthly and spiritual powers. And we also learned that the day of the Lord was not necessarily the end of history but a day of judgment on a nation or people or city.

  “And the temple and Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed as Jesus predicted. So the Spirit of God being poured out on the nations began to be fulfilled at Pentecost, and that happened just years before the heavenly and earthly power of Israel was abolished in the destruction of the holy city and temple. The last days were the last days of the old covenant that was replaced by the new covenant mountain of God, finalized in the destruction of the Jewish temple and holy city.”

  Brian Godawa, End Times Bible Prophecy: It’s Not What They Told You (Los Angeles, CA: Embedded Pictures Publishing, 2017), 85.

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  Jesus as the end goal of Torah:

  Romans 10:4

  4 For Christ is the end [final goal] of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

  All God’s promises fulfilled in Jesus:

  2 Corinthians 1:20

  20 For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.

  Jesus ends sacrifice and vision and prophecy:

  Daniel 9:24-27

  24 “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place…27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering.

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  Fleeing citizens and soldiers in the tunnels beneath the city were found by Romans and killed:

  Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.9.4, §429-430

  “and others they made search for underground, and when they found where they were, they broke up the ground and slew all they met with. (430) There were also found slain there above two thousand persons, partly by their own hands, and partly by one another, but chiefly destroyed by the famine.”

  Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 749.

  Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 6.7.3, §370-373

  3. (370) So now the last hope which supported the tyrants and that crew of robbers who were with them, was in the caves and caverns underground; whither, if they could once fly, they did not expect to be searched for; but endeavored, that after the whole city should be destroyed, and the Romans gone away, they might come out again, and escape from them. (371) This was no better than a dream of theirs; for they were not able to lie hid either from God or from the Romans. (372) However, they depended on these underground subterfuges,

  Flavius Josephus and William Whiston, The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1987), 746.

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  CHAPTER 69

  Demoniacal experience in Jerusalem:

  “Although Josephus does not mention demonic activity during the War, the cruel barbarity of the Jews’ internal strife strongly suggests such.14 As Henderson (1903: 374) expresses the situation: “That unhappy city during all this year of grace had been prey to the most bloody anarchy and demoniacal fanaticism.” Or as Rudolf Stier (cited in Farrar 1884: 454) puts it (though speaking more broadly than of the final five month siege): “In the period between the Resurrection and the Fall of Jerusalem the Jewish nation acted as if possessed by seven thousand demons. The whole age had upon it a stamp of the infernal.” Terry (351) summarizes this whole fifth trumpet scenery as “an apocalyptic symbolizing of the demoniacal possessions and mad fury which came upon the Jewish people, and especially upon their leaders, during the last bitter struggle with Rome.” By “leaders,” Terry probably does not mean the high-priestly aristocracy (many of whom had their throats cut by the Sicarii, J.W. 7:8:1 §267), but the forces of the rebel leaders, hell. Josephus writes: “For the present sedition, one should not mistake if he called it a sedition begotten by another sedition, and to be like a wild beast grown mad, which, for want of food from abroad, fell now upon eating its own flesh” (J.W. 5:1:1 §4).”

  Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr., The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation Vol. 1 (Dallas, GA: Tolle Lege Press, 2016), 737.

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  Day of Atonement:

  Leviticus 23:26–32

  26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “Now on the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be for you a time of holy convocation, and you shall afflict yourselves and present a food offering to the LORD. 28 And you shall not do any work on that very day, for it is a Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the LORD your God. 29 For whoever is not afflicted on that very day shall be cut off from his people. 30 And whoever does any work on that very day, that person I will destroy from among his people. 31 You shall not do any work. It is a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwelling places. 32 It shall be to you a Sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict yourselves. On the ninth day of the month beginning at evening, from evening to evening shall you keep your Sabbath.”

  Numbers 29:7–11

  7 “On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a
holy convocation and afflict yourselves. You shall do no work, 8 but you shall offer a burnt offering to the LORD, a pleasing aroma: one bull from the herd, one ram, seven male lambs a year old: see that they are without blemish. 9 And their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil, three tenths of an ephah for the bull, two tenths for the one ram, 10 a tenth for each of the seven lambs: 11 also one male goat for a sin offering, besides the sin offering of atonement, and the regular burnt offering and its grain offering, and their drink offerings.

  Also, thanks to David Curtis from Berean Bible church for his online sermons on the Feasts of the Lord. http://www.bereanbiblechurch.org/transcripts/topical/feasts_lord_02.htm

  The scapegoat ritual:

  Leviticus 16:6–10

  6 “Aaron shall offer the bull as a sin offering for himself and shall make atonement for himself and for his house. 7 Then he shall take the two goats and set them before the LORD at the entrance of the tent of meeting. 8 And Aaron shall cast lots over the two goats, one lot for the LORD and the other lot for Azazel. 9 And Aaron shall present the goat on which the lot fell for the LORD and use it as a sin offering, 10 but the goat on which the lot fell for Azazel shall be presented alive before the LORD to make atonement over it, that it may be sent away into the wilderness to Azazel.