The People of the Coming Prince (Pt. 3)

Final Analysis

It has hopefully been made clear to the reader, as Mr. Whiston stated, that Josephus placed the blame for the ruin of the city and the temple squarely on the people, specifically the rebels, who “trampled upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws of God.” Also it cannot be stated more clearly by Josephus, who says, “I venture to affirm that the sedition destroyed the city, and the Romans destroyed the sedition.”

However, the type of destruction that the Romans brought is not the kind which Daniel’s prophecy attributes to the people of the prince. There are two types of destruction that came upon Jerusalem and its temple. One type of destruction was a polluting and corrupting, which is described in Daniel’s prophecy. This would lead to the second type, described by Jesus. The second was a complete demolition and razing to the ground, resulting in the utter desolation of the area.

It is the first type of destruction that Daniel’s prophecy speaks of. Remember, the Hebrew word for destroy in verse 26 is shachath (in Hiphil), means, to cause to,

• spoil, ruin, destroy,
• pervert, corrupt (morally),
• destroyer (participle).

In this use, something is destroyed when its intended purpose is perverted or corrupted. The first and foremost act wherein they corrupted their purpose, was in choosing a murdering rebel, Barabbas, and denying and crucifying their Messiah. They chose an insurrectionist (Mk. 15:7) over the Anointed of God. This choice would be a precursor to their national suicide, as it was those of the same ilk as Barabbas who led the revolt against Rome. It was men like Barabbas who were responsible for the destruction of the people, city and temple. When the people chose Barabbas over Christ, they were choosing the vehicle of their own destruction. This is why Peter pleaded with those present at Pentecost to “Save yourselves from this perverse generation.”

Not only their choice of leaders, but the time of this choice would come back to haunt them. It was at Passover when they chose a murderer over the Prince of Life. It was also at Passover when they were surrounded by the Romans and began in earnest to destroy themselves from within. We can summarize the ways in which the people and their leaders corrupted and ruined the city and the temple, by the following.

“These men, therefore, trampled upon all the laws of men, and laughed at the laws of God; and for the oracles of the prophets, they ridiculed them as the tricks of jugglers;”
(Wars 4.6.3)

Matthew 24:12 “And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.”

The seditious had a complete lack of respect for the laws of society, the Laws of God and the words of the prophets.

“for there was a certain ancient oracle of those men, that the city should then be taken and the sanctuary burnt, by right of war, when a sedition should invade the Jews, and their own hand should pollute the temple of God.” (Wars 4.6.3)

Josephus mentions a prophecy which points to the city being taken and the sanctuary burnt on account of war. This happens when a sedition “should invade the Jews, and their own hand should pollute the temple of God.” They polluted the temple with the blood of their fellow citizens and foreigners who had come to the temple to worship. They even killed their own high priest, and appointed a lewd drunk to take his place.

 

“And are not both the city and the entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen?” (Wars 6.2.1)
“and why do you pollute this holy house with the blood of both foreigners and Jews themselves?” (Wars, 6.2.4)

Attempting to persuade the rebels to move from fighting in the temple, Titus said,

“I do not force you to defile this your sanctuary;” (Wars, 6.2.4)

Again, Titus says that they have,

“like madmen, after a violent and inconsiderate manner, made such attempts, as have brought your people, your city, and your holy house to destruction.” (Wars, 6.6.2)

Titus reminds the rebels that he has given them many opportunities to leave the temple and fight elsewhere. However, they refused and set fire to the temple themselves.

“I allowed you a quiet exit out of it, and security for your preservation; nay, if you had a mind, I gave you leave to fight in another place. Yet have you still despised every one of my proposals, and have set fire to your holy house with your own hands.” (Wars, 6.6.2)

Josephus pleads with the rebels that in their zeal to fight for and defend the city and temple, they have only destroyed both. Therefore, God has no other choice than to completely purge both city and temple from their pollutions using the Romans.

This is along the same lines as when he said the sedition destroyed the city, while the Romans destroyed the sedition.

And are not both the city and the entire temple now full of the dead bodies of your countrymen? It is God, therefore, it is God himself who is bringing on this fire, to purge that city and temple by means of the Romans, and is going to pluck up this city, which is full of your pollutions.” (Wars 6.2.1)

The prophecy of the Seventy Weeks is the demonstration of God’s faithfulness and mercy expressed to Daniel and the House of Judah. He promised Judah through the prophet Jeremiah, that after a period of seventy years He would bring them back into the land.

In the Seventy Weeks, God gives His people a glimpse of both their future glory and their future desolation. In their future glory, along with the manifestation of their Messiah, God would,

In this one prophecy, we see the promise to rebuild Jerusalem, which would necessarily include the temple, and the destruction and desolation of the same. God lets them know that the city which they rebuilt will be brought to ruin and desolation by their own hand. Through this prophecy, He informs them that they had 490 years (Seventy Weeks) remaining of their present covenantal relationship [Daniel 9:24].

In the same prophecy, the Lord lets His people know that the promise of the coming Messiah, a Prince for the people, would be brought to reality, but this Prince would be cut off. In this cutting off, He made a strong covenant with them.

It should be easy enough to see, that it was the people of the Coming Prince, Messiah, who corrupted and ruined the city and the temple by their own hands. This corruption by the people necessitated its desolation by God at the hands of the Romans.