Woe, woe, woe, upon
Jerusalem
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The apostle John tells us
in Relegation that he beheld and heard an angel flying through the midst
of heaven saying with a loud voice, "Woe, woe, woe, to
the inhibitors of the earth (Rev. 8:13.) Then he tells us he sew locusts
who shapes were like horses prepared for battle. They had breastplates as
iron and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many
horses running to battle (Rev. 9:7-9). Josephus in his account of the
miseries of Jerusalem that grow worse and worse said: there were seen
chariots and troops of soldiers in their armor running about the clouds,
surrounding the city. There was also a man who cried "Woe, woe,
against Jerusalem for the time of seven years and five months. It is well
observed by Josephus that God's judgement had come upon that generation.
There was a star
resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that continued
a whole year..
Book 6 Chapter 5, Section
3 (Entire)
(288) Thus were the
miserable people persuaded by these deceivers, and such as belied God
himself; while they did not attend, nor give credit, to the signs that
were so evident and did so plainly foretell their future desolation; but,
like men infatuated, without either eyes to see, or minds to consider, did
not regard the denunciations that God made to them. (289) Thus there was a
star resembling a sword, which stood over the city, and a comet, that
continued a whole year. (290) Thus also, before the Jews rebellion and
before those commotion's which preceded the war, when the people were come
in great crowds to the feast of unleavened bread, on the eight day of the
month Xanthicus [Nisan] and at the ninth hour of the night so great a
light shone round the alter and the holy house, that it appeared to be
bright day time; which light lasted for half an hour (291) This light
seemed to be a good sigh to the unskillful but was so interpreted by the
sacred scribes as to portend those events that followed immediately upon
it (292) At the same festival also a heifer as she was led by the high
priest to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the midst of the temple.
(293) Moreover the eastern gate of the inner [court of the] temple, which
was of brass and vastly heavy and had been with difficulty shut by twenty
men and rested upon a basis armed with iron and had bolts fastened very
deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was
seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night.
(294) Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the
captain of the temple and told him of it who then came up thither and not
without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. (295) This also
appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy as if God did thereby
open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it
that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and
that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies (296) So these
publicly declared that this signal foreshadowed the desolation that was
coming upon them. Besides these a few days after that feast on the twenty
first day of the month Artermisius {Jyar}, (297) a certain prodigious and
incredible phenomenon appeared; I suppose the account of it would seem to
be a fable, were it not related by those that saw it (298) and were not
the events that followed it of so considerable a nature as to deserve such
signals; for before sunsetting, chariots and troops of soldiers in their
armor were seen (299) running about among the clouds, and surrounding of
cities, Moreover at that feast which we call Pentecost as the priests were
going by night into the inner court of the temple as their custom was to
perform their sacred ministrations they said that in the first place they
felt a quaking, and heard a great noise (300) and after that they heard a
sound as of a great multitude saying, "Let us remove hence." But what is
still more terrible there was one Jesus the son of Anna's a plebeian and a
husbandman who four years before the war began and at a time when the city
was in very great peace and prosperity came to that feast whereon it is
our custom for every to make tabernacles to God in the temple, (301) began
on a sudden cry aloud "A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a
voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house a
voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against this
whole people!" Thus was his cry, as he went about by day and by night, in
all the lanes of the city. (302) However certain of the most eminent among
the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up
the man, and gave him a great number of severe stripes yet did not he
either say anything for himself, or anything peculiar to those that
chastised him but still he went on with the same words which he cried
before. (303) Hereupon our rulers supposing as the case proved to be that
this was a sort of divine fury in the man brought him to the Roman
procurator (304) where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare yet
did he not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but
turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible at every stroke of
the whip his answer was, "Woe, woe to Jerusalem!" (305)
And when Albinus (for he was then our procurator) asked him who he was and
whence he come and why he uttered such words he made no manner of reply to
what he said but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty till Albinus
took him to be a madman and dismissed him (306) Now during all the time
that passed before the war began this man did not go near any of the
citizens nor was seen by them while he said so but he every day uttered
these lamentable words as if it were his premeditated vow, "Woe,
woe to Jerusalem!" (307) Nor did he give ill words to any of
those that beat him every day, nor good words to those that gave him food;
but this was his reply to all men and indeed no other than a melancholy
presage of what was to come (308) This cry of his was the loudest at the
festivals and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months,
without growing hoarse or being tired therewith until the very time that
he saw his presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege when it ceased (309)
for as he was going round upon the wall he cried our with his utmost
force, " Woe, woe, to the city again and to the people, and to the
holy house!" And just as he added at the last, Woe, woe
to my self also!" there came a stone out of one of the engines
and smote him, and killed him immediately and as he was uttering the very
same presages he gave up the ghost.
Comments
This account is given that you might better understand some of the
historical background of what led up to the great tribulation upon the
Jews and the desolation of their land and city and Temple. If the
Christians had not fled from Judaea and Jerusalem after Cestius Gallus'
withdrawal from the city, they too would have suffered the awful
consequences of what was happening in those days. Thou John the Baptize
declared Jesus as the sacrifice who takes away the sin of the world, the
Jews continued 'the Daily Sacrifice' to God. "The daily sacrifice ceased
July 17th, 70 A.D. because the hands were all needed for defense of the
city. The last and the bloodiest sacrifice at the alter of burnt offerings
was the slaughter of thousands of Jews who had crowded around it." (Philip
Schaff, vol. 1, p. 397).
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