Jerusalem

A.D. 70

June 19. Titus decides to starve the city to the worst decree.

In the doomed city, dead bodies are on the streets. Burials are neglected; some people die while burying others. All hope of escape has already been lost in the stronger siege. Many die with their eyes fixed on the Temple Mount.

Among those who died is Jeshua bar Ananias, the prophet who was chanting woe to the city. He was about the walls; "Woe once more to the city and the people and the Temple," he was saying. Then a stone hurled from over the wall struck him in the head, killing him on the spot.

His last words: "Woe to me also!"

Titus from the Mount of Olives could see the city full of dead bodies. His humane side is touched, and he groans, spreading his hands upward to heaven. "I call God to witness that this is not my doing."

The Romans are so joyful, however, because no more sallies are happening. The Jews are weakened by famine. The Romans are eating well while the Jews faint of hunger.

The Romans are running out of wood for their engines of war—most of it had gone to crosses, after all. So wood has to be transported from Syrian soil.

The Jews still do not yield, despite cannibalism starting to occur. Then Matthias, Josephus' father, is in prison by orders of Simon bar Giora. Perhaps also Josephus' mother, at this time.

Well, not all Jews refuse to yield. A certain Judah and ten others go to a tower and call out that they wish to surrender. The Romans didn't believe them, but they got their evidence too late, when Simon bar Giora and his men arrived and killed them before the Romans, throwing their bodies down the wall.

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Josephus is still going around the city, hoping the Jews might reconsider their decision to not surrender.

This time Josephus is too close, since someone throws a stone at him. It hits him in the head, and he falls down.

Seeing this, the Jews make their sally, preparing to finish him off. But Titus' men arrive and take him back into the camp, while the other soldiers fight off the Jews.

The Jews conclude Josephus was killed by a mere strike in a stone, just as Jeshua had. They rejoice! The "traitor" is dead, they cheer.

But the common people are in despair. "Only he was our hope so that we could dare desert to the Romans," one silently says, fearing being heard by the spies of the Sicarii.

Josephus' mother, in prison, gets this news, and she laments. "Is this all the advantage I had to bring such an extraordinary person as my son into the world?" she asks.

But she doesn't grieve long. Neither do the Sicarii make merry long.

Josephus recovers, and he shows up before the wall—but far enough that no such accident can happen again. He shouts, "It won't be long until you get punished for this wound you gave me! People, come out to the security that you would be given!"

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John of Gischala melts down the Temple vessels for gold and distributes sacred wine and oil to his men. He reasons that they can employ divine things on behalf of the Deity while they fight for Alaha. So, is he really a Jew? He cannot plunder the people anymore, after all. His sacrilege only makes things worse.

When Josephus gets the news, he supposes that if the Romans delayed in coming against these "villains", then God himself would act against this abomination of a city. It was originally God's holy city, but even Josephus thinks the city would end up "swallowed up by the ground opening on them, or overflowed by water, or destroyed by thundering fire".[Josephus was referencing three acts of judgment in the Torah of Moses. The ground opening can be found in Numbers 16, the flood in Genesis 7, and the fire in Genesis 19.]

Now a deserter for the Romans, Mannaeus, is assigned by the Romans to calculate how many dead bodies there are in the city of Jerusalem. From May 1st to July 20th, he counts 115,880 dead bodies from the high height. Really, things have gone wrong within the walls of Jerusalem!

July 20. The earthworks against Antonia are done. They are heavily guarded along with all timber used within 10 miles of the city.

The Jews plot to burn these banks, or else they will be taken by the Romans. John of Gischala and his Sicarii come out with their torches. But they are nervous. They observe the Romans in array, more courageous than ordinary. The banks are guarded with themselves clad in all their armor. They can throw darts and stones at the Jews when they come out of the city.

The Sicarii of John don't get into a close fight when they turn back again. But they reproach themselves and each other for being cowards.

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Attack at the Antonia Fortress begins from the north. But to no effect. But the next day, July 22, Titus encourages his soldiers, saying God is on their side.

So a Roman soldier named Sabinus—who has black skin—says, "I readily get myself to you, O Titus."[Josephus, recounting the siege, keeps calling Titus, "Caesar". He cites Sabinus saying "Caesar" (The War of the Jews 6.1.6.).]

He and eleven others go first to climb up the wall "as excited by divine fury". The Jews fire arrows and stones, but Sabinus and some of the 11 get to the top of the wall and put the enemy to flight.

But he slips on a stone and falls down "with a very great noise". The Jews immediately try to shoot at him with arrows. He gets his shield to protect him, but he is overwhelmed. He dies with courage.

Only eight of twelve get back to camp.

Two days later, some soldiers in the dead of night silently break into the Antonia Fortress. Possessing the wall around Antonia, they order the trumpeter they brought with them to sound the trumpet. It is almost three in the morning

The trumpet is a loud blast, alarming the rebels. Titus, getting up, orders his army to put on their armor and to come with his commanders. However, the rebels fall back into the Temple grounds, battle fiercely and prevent further Roman advances toward the Temple, after a few hours.

The Romans are content with the Antonia Fortress.

The Jews still offer their daily sacrifices... in vain.

Finally, on August 5, the last sacrifice ever offered by the Jewish people is offered.

Many upper-class citizens, especially priests, now flee away from the city and go for the Romans. They desert Jerusalem.

Josephus then calls out to the rebels. He was told by Titus to do this. Titus wants to make an earnest appeal to them not to force him to defile the sacred place with blood. If they would fight anywhere else, no Roman soldier should violate the sanctity of the Temple. Titus does not want to offend God.

Josephus in Aramaic speaks in a place where he can be heard by John of Gischala and many others. He earnestly begs them to spare their own city and prevent fire from burning the Temple.

The people say nothing. The people show sadness.

But "the tyrant" John of Gischala screams out many reproaches on Josephus. "I won't ever fear the taking of the city, for it's the very city of Alaha!"

Josephus answers loudly in a mocking tune, "Oh yea! You did keep this city wonderfully pure for Alaha's sake! The Temple is still and totally unpolluted! You are not guilty of any wickedness against him, in whom you trust! He is still getting his accustomed sacrifices!"

Now he speaks in a serious tune, "You vile wretch! If anyone deprive you of your daily bread,[The famous "Give us this day our daily bread" line Jesus of Nazareth spoke in the Sermon of the Mount either inspired Josephus, or "daily bread" was an Aramaic phrase.] you would count him an enemy! Why hope on Alaha when you deprived him of his everlasting worship!" Then Josephus dares say Gentiles are correcting the impiety of the Jews. "You're a Jew, educated in our laws. But you're now a greater enemy to the Jews than a non-Jew!"

Even now, Josephus says not all hope is lost. "John, it is never dishonorable to repent and amend what wrong you were doing. Take, for example, Jechoniah, the king of the Jews. When the Babylonian king made war against him, he went of his own accord out of the city and went under a voluntary captivity with his family, so that the sanctuary may not have been delivered and burnt. This, John, is an excellent example in such a time of danger. I dare promise the Romans can still forgive you. Remember, I who make this exhortation to you, am of your own nation. I, a Jew, make this promise to you."

But darts are thrown at Josephus, their final human mediator.

Josephus survives, and gets away from there.

This was their last chance!

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August 10. The rebels set fire to the Temple porches connected to the Antonia.

By August 12, Antonia has become completely disconnected from the Temple.

Then news get to Josephus about the hunger in the city. It is terrible! People even gnaw on the leather in their shields. The report of a certain Mary eating her baby horrifies both the rebels and the Romans.

Titus excuses himself before God in this. "I had proposed peace and liberty to the Jews," he says, "but they prefer war to peace."

Titus finally decides to take the Temple by storm. But he wants the Temple to be preserved from destruction.

August 27. Titus orders the gates of the Temple to be set on fire. But Titus doesn't want the Temple on fire.

August 28. He gathers his counselors, among them Marcus Antonius Julianus, who had replaced Florus as procurator of Judea. Also the tribunes are let in in this war council. Titus asks them what they think about what should be done about the Temple.

Some say, "The best way would be to act by the rules of war. The Jews would never quit this war while that House is standing. They get together there."

Others say, "The Jews would leave it, and none would lay their arms on it. You could still save it. But if they do and fight more, then burn it. The impiety of burning it would fall on the Jews, not us."

But Titus does not want to burn the Temple. He says he would save it at all costs, since its beauty should be kept as a possession of Rome.

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August 29. The Jews are still defiant. Titus is planning to attack tomorrow.[What Titus didn't realize is that it is Av 10 for the Jews in their calendar. That day was when Jerusalem was destroyed by the king of Babylon centuries ago; see Jeremiah 52:12-16, where Av is called "the fifth month".] So he goes to sleep in his camp.

But the rebels attack Antonia. They are routed back to the Temple. They then shut themselves up in the inner court of the Temple.

A soldier, without any orders, throws a burning piece of timber through a window at a room about the Temple building, on its northern side.

Now the Jews are concerned about the flames. The Temple is in danger! Nothing cares more than the Temple now!

Titus, receiving the news, rushes to the Temple court with his generals and legionaries. Also Josephus. Titus shouts at the soldiers to quench the fire. But they are so enraged with the Jews that they heed him not. "Each one's own passion was his commander at this time", Josephus would later write, since he is now observing all this. They get into the inner courts, killing all the people in there. Dead bodies are about the big altar. So much blood flowing the steps up the altar.

Titus with his commanders arrive into the holy House itself. They observe it. It is beautiful. Titus says, "The building itself may still be saved." He hurries out and begs the soldiers to quench the fire, he and the centurion Liberalius. But their passions are so hard, including their hope of plunder.

With nobody inside the Temple building, a soldier throws fire on the hinges of the gate.

Josephus writes: "The flame burst out from within the holy House itself immediately, when the commanders—with Caesar also—retired, while nobody any longer forbids those without to set fire. And thus was the holy House burnt down without Caesar's approbation."

Josephus watches as the Temple is burnt to the ground. He also hears the screams of people being slain by fire and sword. There were many false prophets in Jerusalem, but only one—Jeshua bar Ananias—has proven true.

The plundering is occurring also. Voices can be heard shouting "The glory has departed!" Of course, since the Temple is dying.

The number of the slain exceeds that of the slayers. The legionaries has to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination.

August 29. The last day of the Temple.

The Jews refused to believe the Temple of Alaha would have an end.

But it did get to that end.

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Jesus of Nazareth's prophecy has come true. He said that within a generation, Jerusalem would pay for his martyrdom. The Temple is gone by the end of the forty years. By the end of September, the whole city would be gone and torn down to the foundations. Josephus managed to save people he knew and some sacred scrolls from the Temple, all this with Titus's permission. He even saved—or tried to save—three friends who were crucified, as only one survived this horrid execution.

97,000 are prisoners. About 1,100,000 are dead.