Jerusalem and the Temple

According to Derek Prince, a well-known bible preacher and writer, one primary purpose of prophecy is to help God's people visualise their divinely appointed destiny. Without a clear vision of their destiny, they will fail to rise up to claim their rightful place of victory in the spiritual battle against the forces of darkness. That is why Proverbs 29:18 warns that the people will perish without a prophetic vision of their destiny.

The prophet Jeremiah lamented in Lamentations 1:8-9 that Jerusalem fell because of her grave sins...for she failed to consider her destiny! History records that Jerusalem fell and was totally routed by the armies of Babylon in 586 B.C. The beautiful temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon at that time.

Some six hundred years later, the Lord Jesus Christ warned His Jewish brethren in Luke 19:43-44 "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

Sitting upon the Mount of Olives, Jesus was rebuking the scribes and the Pharisees (the religious people of His days) and the people of Jerusalem for being guilty of the blood of the prophets sent by God to warn them of their sins and disobedience to the commandments of God. All these will result in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, which had since been rebuilt after the demolition in 586 B.C. Though the prophecy was mainly for the Jews, the church of Jesus of Christ in the twenty first century can draw a lesson from these - that failure to understand their destiny will result in tragedy.

1) Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple

When Jesus warned in Matthew 23:38 "See! Your house is left to you desolate." His disciples asked Him privately, "Tell us, when will these things be?" (Matthew 24:3). The Lord Jesus answered, "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near." (Luke 21:20)

Following through in Luke 21:21, Jesus warned the Jews in Judea to flee to the mountains and those in the country not to enter Jerusalem. True to His words, the Roman armies under Cestus Gallus surrounded the city of Jerusalem in October 66 A.D. However, about a month later, for no apparent reason, the Roman armies withdrew. That left a window of opportunity for the Christian Jews to flee Jerusalem as was advised by the Lord Jesus.

In 70 A.D. the Roman general Titus besieged the city of Jerusalem, the temple and the city were burnt to the ground. Those who failed to heed the prophetic warnings of Jesus perished and the carnage left more than a million people dead. Those who were wise and heed the sign and prophetic warnings of Jesus given decades earlier, escaped the carnage. Not a stone was left standing in the temple mount after the destruction. Hence, the prophecies of Jesus concerning the city of Jerusalem and the temple were fulfilled.

2) The Abomination of Desolation

In the book of Daniel (Old Testament prophet) chapter 9:27, it is recorded that the Antichrist will desolate the temple of God in Jerusalem sometime during the second half of the seven-year tribulation period, also known as a time of Jacob's trouble. The seven-year tribulation is the seventieth week as prophesied in Daniel 9:24, which has yet to happen. It will be a time when God will deal with the nation of Israel in accordance to the laws of the Old Testament. Second Thessalonians 2:4 states that the Antichrist will sit on the temple and showing himself to be God for people to worship him.

However, to this day, the temple of Jerusalem has yet to be rebuilt since the destruction in 70 A.D. So for this prophecy to be fulfilled the temple mount will have to be rebuilt and probably to be destroyed again during the time of the great tribulation - the last days of this age.

It looks like the destinies of Israel and the church are converging...looking forward to the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth. Let us not waver, but watch and pray, so that we will not be found wanting and left behind 'because you did not know the time of your visitation'.


Adrian Fah is the author of the Book The Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven