Hope of Israel Ministries (Ecclesia of YEHOVAH):

A.D. 66 -- The Fulfillment of 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and the Chariots in the Sky!

In A.D. 66, instead of helping Israel win the war with the Romans that the people of Judea were about to start, angelic hosts were seen in the clouds in chariots and as armed soldiers encompassing the cities of Judea and enclosing them on all sides for capitulation. This is precisely what the Messiah said to watch for in his Olivet prophecy. And the only event that can fulfill 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 is the sighting of the angelic army in the sky in A.D. 66 by thousands across the land of Judea, and written about by a pagan Roman historian!

by John D. Keyser

Yeshua the Messiah told the disciples that when they (or any of the saints) would see Jerusalem surrounded by armies then let the people of YEHOVAH God flee from Jerusalem and Judea. "When you shall see Jerusalem compassed [completely surrounded] with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." (Luke 21:20)

Now the meaning of this verse has puzzled many people. How can it be that when Jerusalem is completely surrounded (encircled on all sides) with armies, then the people of YEHOVAH God are told to flee the whole area of Judea (of which Jerusalem is a part)? If this is the strategy, then it seems that the Messiah is saying to surrender to the armies of Rome because there was no way to escape through the Roman lines and walls put up around the city. But this is not what the Messiah meant in his warning.

In actual fact, this prophecy of the Messiah (as well as others) was fulfilled to the letter in the period just before the war that destroyed Jerusalem from A.D. 67 to 70. We have the eyewitness account of Josephus himself (he was the Judahite historian who saw or reported all that occurred in Judea within that three-and-a-half year period, and also that which occurred in the heavens that could not be identified as having its origin on earth. This was clearly a "sign" from heaven and I have not the slightest hesitation in stating that it was an exact fulfillment of what the Messiah said would occur that is recorded in Luke 21:20. Note what Josephus said happened just before the war with Romans commenced:

On the twenty-first of the month Artemisium [the last day of the 2nd Passover season in A.D. 66], there appeared a miraculous phenomenon, passing belief. Indeed, what I am about to relate would, I imagine, have been deemed a fable, were it not for the narratives of eyewitnesses and for the subsequent calamities which deserved to be so signalized. For before sunset throughout all parts of the country [everywhere throughout Judea] chariots were seen in the air and armed battalions hurtling through the clouds and encompassing the cities" (Wars, VI. 5. 3 or Loeb VI. 298, emphasis mine).

The pagan Roman historian Tacitus (c. A.D. 56-120) records the same event in his Histories:

Prodigies had occurred, but their expiation by the offering of victims or solemn vows is held to be unlawful by a nation which is the slave of superstition and the enemy of true beliefs. In the sky appeared a vision of armies in conflict, of glittering armor. A sudden lightning flash from the clouds lit up the Temple. The doors of the holy place abruptly opened, a superhuman voice was heard to declare that the gods were leaving it, and in the same instant came the rushing tumult of their departure. Few people placed a sinister interpretation upon this. The majority were convinced that the ancient scriptures of their priests alluded to the present as the very time when the Orient would triumph and from Judaea would go forth men destined to rule the world. (Histories, Book 5, v. 13)

Notice what Eusebius of Caesarea (A.D. 263-339) says in his Ecclesiastical History --

For before the setting of the sun chariots and armed troops were seen throughout the whole region in mid-air, wheeling through the clouds and encircling the cities. (Book 3, Ch. 8)

The parallels between these three accounts and 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 are striking. Although the Messiah is never identified as being at the head of this angelic army in the clouds, it is clear that he must have been. Throughout his ministry, the Messiah predicted that he would come on the clouds in the presence of the heavenly host within the lifetimes of those present during his ministry. Notice the following scriptures:

Matthew 24:29-31: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

Note the word "sign" in the above passage. The Greek word that this is translated from means, according to Strong's Concordance, "miracle," "sign," "token," or "wonder." The Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament, by John Dawson, renders the Greek word "a mark," "a sign," "a signal," "a prodigy," "a miracle." The English meaning of the word "sign" is "to represent by a sign" -- in other words, a representation of the Messiah appeared in the heavens in A.D. 66, not the actual, literal return of the Messiah to this earth as prophesied to occur in the future at the beginning of the Millennium (see Revelation 10). 

Mark 9:1: "And he [the Messiah] said to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you that there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God having come with power.'"

Luke 9:26-27: "For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when he comes in his glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. But I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste death till they see the kingdom of God."

In Mark 14:61-62 the Messiah also declares that the high priest who delivered him over to the Temple Guard for execution will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven. Then, in John 21:22-23, the Messiah says that the apostle John will remain alive until his appearance. The Messiah also promised to return within his generation in Matthew 16:27-28, Matthew 24 and Mark 8:38-9:1. Because of statements like these, the disciples all believed that the Messiah would return within many of their lifetimes.

Could these first-century A.D. eye-witness accounts of angels in the clouds have been the same angels that the Messiah said he would dispatch before the great tribulation to gather out of Jerusalem his elect (Matthew 24:31) and the Judahites whose names were written in the Book of Life that the archangel Michael would deliver (Daniel 12:1), similar to how YEHOVAH God sent His angels to gather Lot and his family out of Sodom before its destruction (Genesis 19:15-17)? Unless there are multiple gods with armies of angels at their disposal (Isaiah 45:5), the answer must be in the affirmative. Writing sometime before the beginning of the Roman-Jewish War (A.D. 66-70), the apostle Paul states that some believers have “entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2).

Church historian and bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius, recorded the miraculous absence of holy men (i.e., saved Judahites and those of the northern Ten Tribes) from the doomed city of Jerusalem before its destruction by the Romans in A.D. 70:

But the people of the church in Jerusalem had been commanded by a revelation, vouchsafed to approved men there before the war, to leave the city and to dwell in a certain town of Perea called Pella. And when those that believed in Christ had come thither from Jerusalem, then, as if the royal city of the Jews and the whole land of Judea were entirely destitute of holy men, the judgment of God at length overtook those who had committed such outrages against Christ and his apostles, and totally destroyed that generation of impious men. (Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea  in Church History, 3.5.3  (circa A.D. 260-340)

Independent Accounts

Josephus and Tacitus appear to have written their accounts independently. The fact that two different historians record what appears to be the Son of Man coming with the clouds is another sign of historical reliability. Tacitus describes a war in the sky -- something Josephus does not mention. Josephus also provides details that are absent in Tacitus’ account, like the day and approximate time of this specter. The differing details provided by each historian suggest that each author wrote largely, if not entirely, independently of the other. Therefore, Tacitus did not simply copy Josephus or vise versa. Though possibly drawing from Tacitus’ and Josephus’ accounts, it is interesting to note that this army in the clouds is also mentioned in the Sibylline Oracles.

Tacitus wrote The Histories approximately thirty years after the event recorded therein. Josephus wrote The Wars of the Jews around A.D. 75 -- just nine to ten years after this event is said to have occurred. These accounts of the Son of Man coming on the clouds were published within the lifetimes of many potential eyewitnesses who could either confirm or deny it. If an angelic army really did appear in the skies over Judea at the start of the Jewish War, many or most Judahites from Judea who survived the war would have either seen or heard about it. Because this army in the sky would have been so publically observable, I do not believe that Tacitus or Josephus would have risked straining their credibility by writing about such a publically observable event within the lifetimes of eyewitnesses in the absence of a sufficient number of people to corroborate their accounts.

Furthermore, if the Messiah had been identified at the head of this army by Josephus, Tacitus, and others, it could be considered strong evidence that the account of the army in the clouds as a whole is a spurious Christian interpolation intended for apologetic purposes. Since as non-Christians unfamiliar with the details of Christian eschatology, Tacitus and Josephus would never be expected to make such an identification.

Notice that according to Josephus, this angelic army in the clouds "were seen running about among the clouds, and surrounding of cities." The Sefer Yosippon, compiled in the early 10th century, expounds upon this event by saying, "Moreover, in those days were seen chariots of fire and horsemen, a great force flying across the sky near to the ground coming against Jerusalem and all the land of Judah, all of them horses of fire and riders of fire." Josephus says that this supernatural army on the clouds surrounded (encompassed) the cities of Israel.

And the Sefer Yosippon implies that when this army from the clouds surrounded these cities in Judea, that this army flew near to the ground. Why did this army fly near to the ground presumably while surrounding the cities of Judea? Was this army acting as if it were besieging these cities? Was this miraculous appearance of the Messiah a mirror of the popular conception of the appearance in which a king or general arrives outside of a city with his retinue or army waiting to be let in? Or, perhaps, when this army surrounded the cities of Judea they intended to convey both messages? Having surrounded the cities of Judea at the start of the Jewish/Roman War, this angelic army certainly appears to have enacted and imparted a warning of an imminent siege.

Event

Josephus

Eusebius

Sefer Yosippon

Hegesippus

Tacitus

 

Wars 6:296-300
(6.5.3 Whiston)

Eccl. Hist. Bk. 3,
Ch. 8, Sect. 5-6

Sepher Yosippon
Ch. 87

Pseud. Heg. Ch. 44
Blocker translation

Histories Bk. 5,
Section 13

Angelic armies
seen wheeling
through the clouds
in the sky over all
of Judea
Whiston -- chariots
and troops of
soldiers in their
armor were seen
running about
among the clouds,
and surrounding of
cities
McGiffert -- chariots
and armed troops
were seen
throughout the
whole region in mid-
air, wheeling
through the clouds
and encircling the
cities
Bowman -- were
seen chariots of fire
and horsemen, a
great force flying
across the sky near
to the ground
coming against
Jerusalem and all
the land of Judah, all
of them horses of
fire and riders of fire
Blocker -- there
were suddenly seen
in the clouds
chariots and armed
battle arrays, by
which the cities of all
Judaea and its
territories were
invaded
Wellesley -- There
had been seen
hosts joining battle
in the skies, the fiery
gleam of arms
  Thackeray --
throughout all parts
of the country
chariots were seen
in the air and armed
battalions hurtling
through the clouds
and encompassing
the cities
Kirsopp Lake --
there appeared in
the air over the
whole country
chariots and armed
troops coursing
through the clouds
and surrounding the
cities
     
    Cruse -- there were
seen chariots and
armed troops on
high, wheeling
through the clouds
around the whole
region, and
surrounding the
cities
     

The heavenly army depicted above literally fulfills many of the predictions made by the Messiah before his death.

1). In fulfillment of Matthew 24, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 10:23, Mark 9:1, Mark 14:61-62 and John 21:23, this event occurred within the lifetime of the Messiah's generation.

2). In fulfillment of Matthew 24:30 and Mark 14:62, this event was reported to have occurred in the clouds.

3). This supernatural specter pictures what appears to be the Messiah -- the Son of Man -- in the presence of a multitude of angels in the clouds fulfilling Matthew 16:27, Mark 8:38, and 2 Thessalonians 1:7.

4). This event was visible to a large number of people across Judea (at least in visionary form) in fulfillment of Matthew 16:27-28, Matthew 24:27, Matthew 24:30, and Mark 14:62.

5). This event was accompanied by lightning, fulfilling Matthew 24:27.

6). The Messiah appeared with a heavenly army radiating with brilliant luminosity that resembled fire and lightning, in fulfillment of Matthew 24:27 and 2 Thessalonians 1:7.

The Dichotomy of 2 Thessalonians 1:7 and Acts 1:9-11

We read in Acts 1:9-11 the following:

And when he had said these things, as they [the disciples] were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. (ESV)

How did the Messiah ascend to heaven? Was he surrounded by crowds of people, and was the event witnessed by thousands the across the land of Judea? Did he ascend to the sounds of trumpets and with an angelic host mounted on fiery horses? NO! He quietly ascended to heaven in sight of a few of his disciples. It went by unnoticed by the masses of Judea and unrecorded by contemporary historians. So, if we are to believe the Messiah's words -- this is exactly the way he will return at the beginning of the Millennium! No fanfare, no angelic hosts on fiery horses and chariots, no flashes of lightening -- a quiet event unnoticed by most of the inhabitants of the future land of Judea and the world.

So what do we make of 2 Thessalonians 1:6-8? Notice!

...since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (ESV)

Clearly, these are two different events! And the only event that can fulfill 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 is the sighting of the angelic army in the sky in A.D. 66 by thousands across the land of Judea and written about by a pagan Roman historian! The Sefer Yosippon adds the fact that this angelic army in the sky of A.D. 66 was composed of cavalry that blazed (flamed) with fire literally fulfilling 2 Thessalonians 1:7.  

The appearing of the Messiah in the presence of fiery angels riding horses and chariots recorded in A.D. 66, and predicted in 2 Thessalonians, mirrors the future coming of YEHOVAH God in Isaiah 66:15 in a surprisingly literal way: “For behold, the LORD [YEHOVAH God] will come in fire and His chariots like the whirlwind, to render His anger with fury, and His rebuke with flames of fire.” 

These chariots and armed forces seen in the skies all over Judea and encompassing the cities of the Judahites was similar to times recorded in the early history of Israel. Angelic powers (in this case, good angels) accompanied the armies of Israel when it was the normal period (in ancient times) for hostilities to occur. The Bible says: "And it came to pass, after the year had expired, at the time angels go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon" (II Samuel 11:1). The King James translators (and most modern ones) read the Hebrew as "kings," not "angels." But there is no reason whatever for reading the text as "kings." The verse was intended to show that angelic powers were there to aid Israel in their battles when they went to war.

A further reference (which even corroborates angelic connections with wars or the preparations for wars on earth) is 2 Samuel 5:23, 24. YEHOVAH God said to David that when he heard "the sound of a going [forth] in the tops of the mulberry trees, then you [David] shall bestir yourself [to war]." This swishing sound in the top of the trees of a turbulent waving action of the wind was recognized by David as caused by YEHOVAH God and His angelic hosts going to battle with David (see also Genesis 32:1-3 and II Kings 6:17 about angels accompanying YEHOVAH God). But in A.D. 66, instead of helping Judea win the war with the Romans that the people of Judea were about to start, the angelic hosts were seen in the clouds in chariots and as armed soldiers encompassing the cities of Judea and enclosing them on all sides for capitulation. This is precisely what the Messiah said to watch for in his Olivet prophecy!

The Book of Maccabees, a chronicle of the Judahite victories against Antiochus Epiphanes IV, king of the Seleucid Empire (175-164 B.C.), recorded "people all over Jerusalem" who witnessed angelic armies "charging across the sky" for almost forty days:

For nearly forty days people all over Jerusalem saw visions of cavalry troops in gold armor charging across the sky. The riders were armed with spears and their swords were drawn. They were lined up in battle against one another, attacking and counterattacking. Shields were clashing, there was a rain of spears, and arrows flew through the air. All the different kinds of armor and the gold bridles on the horses flashed in the sunlight. (2 Maccabees 5:2-3)

Descriptions of the coming of YEHOVAH God in judgment in Psalm 68:17 and Habakkuk 3:1-8 are also described in a similar fashion:

Psalm 68:17: "The chariots of [YEHOVAH] God are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels: the LORD is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place."

Habakkuk 3:1-8: "A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet in shigionoth. O Jehovah, I have heard the report concerning You and am afraid. O Jehovah, revive Your work in the midst of the years; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember compassion. God comes from Teman, even the Holy One from Mount Paran. Selah. His splendor covers the heavens, and the earth is filled with His praise. And His brightness is like the light: Rays come forth from His hand, and the hiding of His power is there. 

Before Him goes pestilence, and the fire bolt comes forth at His feet. He stands and measures the earth; He looks and startles the nations; and the ancient mountains are shattered into dust, and the everlasting hills sink down; His goings are eternal. I see the tents of Cushan under affliction; the tent curtains of the land of Midian tremble. Is it against the rivers, O Jehovah, against the rivers that Your anger is kindled? Is Your overflowing wrath against the sea that You ride upon Your horses, upon Your chariots of salvation?

Interestingly, the fiery army of angelic horsemen and charioteers of A.D. 66 was not the first time a specter like this was recorded in the Bible. In 2 Kings 6:17 Elisha is protected by an army of angels like those who were expected to accompany YEHOVAH God during His future appearance at the beginning of the Millennium (see Revelation 19:11-16). This fiery army of angels is described exactly as the army of horsemen, horses and chariots of fire recorded by the Sefer Yosippon.  2 Kings 6:17 reads, “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.’ Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”  Notice that in both cases an army of angelic horsemen appeared as horsemen and chariots of fire.

What were these horses and chariots of fire? Notice how Elisha answers --

"You have requested a difficult thing,” said Elijah. “Nevertheless, if you see me as I am taken from you, it [the mantle] will be yours. But if not, then it will not be so.” As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire with horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up into heaven in a whirlwind. As Elisha watched, he cried out, “My father, my father, the chariots and horsemen of Israel!” And he saw Elijah no more. So taking hold of his own clothes, he tore them in two.…(2 Kings 2:10-11, BSB)

Other Anomalies in the Year A.D. 66

And then ("seven Sabbaths complete" and 50 days later) Josephus tells us:

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, and after that they heard a sound as of a great multitude, saying, "Let us remove hence." (Jewish Wars, VI. 209, 300)

Josephus, in his preface to his history of the Judahite war, undertakes to tell us about "the signs and prodigies, which preceded the taking of the city [of Jerusalem];" and he relates accordingly, that "a star hung over the city like a sword, and the comet continued for a whole year;" that "the people being assembled to celebrate the feast of unleavened bread, at the ninth hour of the night there shone so great a light about the altar and the Temple, that it seemed to be bright day, and this continued for half an hour;" that "at the same feast a cow, led by the priest to sacrifice, brought forth a lamb in the middle of the Temple;" that "the eastern gate of the Temple, which was of solid brass and very heavy, and was scarcely shut in an evening by twenty men, and was fastened by strong bars and bolts, was seen, at the sixth hour of the night, to open of its own accord, and could hardly be shut again."

In the year A.D. 66, at the start of the Judahite revolt against Rome, Nero Caesar was in Greece building a canal. Concerning the construction of this canal, the Roman historian Cassius Dio writes that, "[W]hen the first workers touched the earth, blood spouted from it, groans and bellowings were heard, and many phantoms appeared. Nero himself thereupon grasped a mattock [a digging tool] and by throwing up some of the soil fairly compelled the rest to imitate him."

In recording this same event, the historian Suetonius indicates that as Nero broke the ground the sound of a trumpet was heard.

A.D. 66 and the Shekinah Glory

YEHOVAH's "Shekinah" glory remained in the Temple all through the life and death of the Messiah and up to the year A.D. 66 -- when it was seen leaving the Temple and alighting on the Mount of Olives. Notice!

There is also another reason why Christians in the first century were very interested in the Mount of Olives. This is because it was believed that the Shekinah Glory of God which supposedly dwelt inside the Holy of Holies at the Temple left the sanctuary and went to the Mount of Olives and hovered over that spot at the time of the Roman/Jewish War which ended in A.D. 70. The fact that the Shekinah Glory left the old Temple and migrated to the top of the Mount of Olives was an important event to Eusebius. (Secrets of Golgotha, by Ernest L. Martin. 1988: ASK Publications, Alhambra, CA, p. 83)

In Eusebius' book Proof of the Gospel we find this passage --

Believers in Christ congregate from all parts of the world, not as of old time because of the glory of Jerusalem, nor that they may worship in the ancient Temple at Jerusalem, but...that they may worship at the Mount of Olives opposite to the city, whither the glory [the Shekinah Glory] of the LORD [YEHOVAH, YHVH] migrated when it left the former city [in A.D. 66]. (Book VI, Chapter 18 (288)) 

According to Eusebius the "Shekinah" Glory left the Temple and hovered over the Mount of Olives during the siege of Jerusalem (A.D. 66 to 70). However, Eusebius was not the only observer who mentioned that the "Shekinah" Glory left the Temple in A.D. 66 before its destruction and hovered over the Mount of Olives. A Judahite rabbi named Jonathan -- who was an eyewitness to the destruction of Jerusalem -- said the "Shekinah" Glory left the Temple and for three and a half years,

abode on the Mount of Olives hoping that Israel would repent, but they did not; while a Bet Kol [a supernatural voice from heaven] issued forth announcing, Return, O backsliding children [Jer. 3:14]. Return unto Me, and I will return unto you [Mal. 3:7], when they did not repent, it said, I will return to My place [Hosea 5:15] (Midrash Rabbah, Lamentations 2:11). (Secrets of Golgotha, by Ernest L. Martin. 84)

Josephus recorded the fact of the "Shekinah" presence of YEHOVAH God moving from the Temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 66 just before the war with the Romans. As we have seen above, he mentioned that in the Spring of A.D. 66 some astonishing events took place within the Temple. He recorded three miracles associated with YEHOVAH's "Shekinah" and the Temple -- and each one showed clearly that the "Shekinah" was departing from the Holy of Holies. In Wars VI, 290 he stated "that a great light shone over the altar for thirty minutes at 3 o'clock in the morning (a week before Passover in A.D. 66) and then it departed." He said "the sacred scribes interpreted this sign as a bad omen for the Temple. It was like the Shekinah Glory moving away from the Tabernacle in the wilderness as a sign to disassemble the Tabernacle and transport it to another location" (ibid.). 

Josephus goes on to say that "a few days later (during Passover itself) the enormous brass gates of Nicanor, requiring twenty men to open and close them, opened at midnight of their own accord" (Wars VI, 293-295). This was also interpreted as showing a desolation coming upon the Temple. And then, on Pentecost, the final sign was given which definitely showed that the Shekinah Glory was departing the Temple as the other signs indicated (ibid.):  

Moreover, at the festival which is called Pentecost, the priests on entering the inner court of the Temple at nightfall, as their custom was in accomplishment of their ministrations, stated that they first became aware of a commotion and a roar, and after that the voice of a great multitude saying 'We are departing hence.' (Wars VI, 299) 

When we couple Josephus' information with that of Rabbi Jonathan (also an eyewitness) we can see that the "Shekinah" went directly to the Mount of Olives and remained over the top of the mountain for 3 and 1/2 years -- from late Spring in A.D. 66 to about December of A.D. 69, some eight months before the Temple was destroyed by the Romans. It then went back to heaven and had not returned to earth up to the time he wrote. 

These miraculous events had much more significance to the early Christians than may meet the eye today. Eusebius mentioned the importance of this removal of the Shekinah glory. It was clearly a sign that YEHOVAH's physical presence had departed from the Temple on the western hill of Jerusalem and had retreated to the Mount of Olives on the east as the new place of His divine residence. This event of the "Shekinah" glory leaving the Temple and residing on the Mount of Olives became highly significant to the early Christians because this is the mountain where YEHOVAH's holy "Shekinah" will RETURN in the near future!
 

Event

Josephus

Eusebius

Sefer Yosippon

Hegesippus

Tacitus

 

Wars 6:296-300
(6.5.3 Whiston)

Eccl. Hist. Bk. 3,
Ch. 8, Sect. 5-6

Sepher Yosippon
Ch. 87

Pseud. Heg. Ch. 44
Blocker translation

Histories Bk. 5,
Sect. 13

On the evening of
Pentecost, in the
Temple, the Priests
heard a voice of a
great multitude in
the unseen realm
shouting in unison,
"Let us go from
here!"
Whiston -- 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, and
after that they heard
a sound as of a
great multitude,
saying, "Let us
remove hence."
McGiffert -- when
the priests entered
the Temple at night,
as was their custom,
to perform the
services, they said
that at first they
perceived a
movement and a
noise, and afterward
a voice as of a great
multitude, saying,
"Let us go hence."
Bowman -- during
the night the priests
heard within the
Temple something
like the sound of
men going and the
sound of men
marching in a
multitude going into
the Temple, and a
terrible and mighty
voice was heard
speaking: "Let's go
and leave this
House."
Blocker -- the priests
entering the interior
of the Temple at
night time, that they
might celebrate the
usual sacrifices,
asserted themselves
at first to have felt a
certain movement
and a sound given
forth, afterwards
even to have heard
shouted in a sudden
voice: "We cross
over from here."
Wellesley -- a voice
of more than mortal
tone was heard to
cry that the gods
were departing. At
the same instant
there was a mighty
stir as of departure.
  Thackeray -- the
priests on entering
the inner court of the
Temple...they were
conscious, first of a
commotion and a
din, and after that of
a voice as of a host,
"We are departing
hence."
Kirsopp Lake -- the
priests passed into
the Temple at night,
...and said that they
first perceived
movement and
noise and after that
a sudden cry, "We
go hence."
     
  Warren -- as the
priests entered the
inner court...they
were overtaken by a
shaking and by a
loud noise, and after
that by a voice that
cried out in unison,
"We are leaving this
place."
Cruse -- the priests
entering the Temple
at night...said they
first perceived a
motion and noise,
and after this a
confused voice
saying, "Let us go
hence."
     
  Voll -- the priests,
after passing along
into the Temple's
inner court...said
they experienced an
agitating motion,
also a loud noise,
and...a collective
voice, "We are
departing from this
place!"
       
  Stevens -- as the
priests were going
inside the Temple...
they noticed a
movement and a
loud noise, and...a
voice of a multitude
[in unison shouting],
"Let us go from this
place."
       

The Messiah Kept His Word

With all these signs what did the Christians in Jerusalem and Judea do? Eusebius tells us that this is the time they began to leave the region because of the command of the Messiah and went to a city called Pella on the east side of the Jordan River (Ecclesiastical History, III. 5). They and the apostles obtained safety from the holocaust that soon enveloped Jerusalem and Judaea. The Messiah warned his followers when he said: "...when you see all these things, know that it is near, at the very doors. Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled" (Matthew 24:33-34) In Hugh Smith's History we read the following:

Under the reign of Vespasian, Rome declared war against the Jews because of their repeated revolts, and General Titus besieged the city of Jerusalem [in] 70 A.D. It is said that eleven hundred thousand [1,100,000] Jews perished in the six months' siege, but the church there escaped the horrors of the siege by following the instruction of Christ in Matt. 24, and fleeing to the mountains beyond the Jordan. This timely retreat was made to the small town of Pella.

This is echoed by Hurlbut's Story of the Christian Church:

In the fall of Jerusalem, few if any Christians perished. From the prophetic utterances of Christ, the Christians received warning, escaped from the doomed city, and found refuge at Pella, in the Jordan valley. (Pages 41-42).

The Messiah not only warned his Ecclesia before he died, but reinforced those warnings with the appearance in the sky in A.D. 66 and all the other events that transpired during this time. He was being a true shepherd to those YEHOVAH God gave him.

 

Hope of Israel Ministries -- Correcting the Errors of Modern "Christianity"!

Hope of Israel Ministries
P.O. Box 853
Azusa, CA 91702, U.S.A.
www.hope-of-israel.org

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