The Olivet Discourse: Historical Fulfillment: False Christs and Prophets, Wars

Many never read the historic record of Josephus regarding the Wars of the Jews. His history is about the time period of the first century ending with the time of the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. In his record we find many reports that are a fulfillment of the prophesies of the end times recorded in the Bible.


I am working to provide the corresponding record of Josephus showing the first century fulfillment of end times prophesies. I am using the Olivet Discourse as my main reference. All quotes are from the eSword bible software publications. http://www.e-sword.net/index.html

During the reign of Nero, Josephus reports of numerous small wars taking place, with many false Messiahs and prophets leading the people in rebellion and deceit.

Matthew 24:4-6   (LITV, eSword edition)
4 And answering, Jesus said to them, See that not any leads you astray.
5  For many will come in My name, saying, I am the Christ. And they will cause many to be led astray. 6  But you are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See, do not be terrified. For all things must take place, but the end is not yet.


Josephus reports in the Wars of the Jews, book 2, that many made war with Rome and many false prophets rose up in the time period after the death of Herod. We have the record of Herod’s death in the book of Acts.

Josephus, War of the Jews
Book 2
CHAPTER‭ ‬13

NERO ADDS FOUR CITIES TO AGRIPPAS KINGDOM‭; ‬BUT THE OTHER PARTS OF JUDEA WERE UNDER FELIX.‭ ‬THE DISTURBANCES WHICH WERE RAISED BY THE SICARII THE MAGICIANS AND AN EGYPTIAN FALSE PROPHET.‭ ‬THE JEWS AND SYRIANS HAVE A CONTEST AT CESAREA.


1.‭ ‬NOW as to the many things in which Nero acted like a madman,‭ ‬out of the extravagant degree of the felicity and riches which he enjoyed,‭ ‬and by that means used his good fortune to the injury of others‭; ‬and after what manner he slew his brother,‭ ‬and wife,‭ ‬and mother,‭ ‬from whom his barbarity spread itself to others that were most nearly related to him‭; ‬and how,‭ ‬at last,‭ ‬he was so distracted that he became an actor in the scenes,‭ ‬and upon the theater,‭ ‬-‭ ‬I omit to say any more about them,‭ ‬because there are writers enough upon those subjects every where‭; ‬but I shall turn myself to those actions of his time in which the Jews were concerned.


2.‭ ‬Nero therefore bestowed the kingdom of the Lesser Armenia upon Aristobulus,‭ ‬Herod's son,‭ ‬(17‭)‬ and he added to Agrippa's kingdom four cities,‭ ‬with the toparchies to them belonging‭; ‬I mean Abila,‭ ‬and that Julias which is in Perea,‭ ‬Tarichea also,‭ ‬and Tiberias of Galilee‭; ‬but over the rest of Judea he made Felix procurator.‭ ‬This Felix took Eleazar the arch-robber,‭ ‬and many that were with him,‭ ‬alive,‭ ‬when they had ravaged the country for twenty years together,‭ ‬and sent them to Rome‭; ‬but as to the number of the robbers whom he caused to be crucified,‭ ‬and of those who were caught among them,‭ ‬and whom he brought to punishment,‭ ‬they were a multitude not to be enumerated.


3.‭ ‬When the country was purged of these,‭ ‬there sprang up another sort of robbers in Jerusalem,‭ ‬which were called Sicarii,‭ ‬who slew men in the day time,‭ ‬and in the midst of the city‭; ‬this they did chiefly at the festivals,‭ ‬when they mingled themselves among the multitude,‭ ‬and concealed daggers under their garments,‭ ‬with which they stabbed those that were their enemies‭; ‬and when any fell down dead,‭ ‬the murderers became a part of those that had indignation against them‭; ‬by which means they appeared persons of such reputation,‭ ‬that they could by no means be discovered.‭ ‬The first man who was slain by them was Jonathan the high priest,‭ ‬after whose death many were slain every day,‭ ‬while the fear men were in of being so served was more afflicting than the calamity itself‭; ‬and while every body expected death every hour,‭ ‬as men do in war,‭ ‬so men were obliged to look before them,‭ ‬and to take notice of their enemies at a great distance‭; ‬nor,‭ ‬if their friends were coming to them,‭ ‬durst they trust them any longer‭; ‬but,‭ ‬in the midst of their suspicions and guarding of themselves,‭ ‬they were slain.‭ ‬Such was the celerity of the plotters against them,‭ ‬and so cunning was their contrivance.

The Sicarii considered themselves freedom fighters against the Roman occupiers. At one point these “daggermen” were after the apostle Paul, because he advocated peace with Rome.


False prophets deceiving and leading men into the wilderness as Jesus prophesied.

4.‭ ‬There was also another body of wicked men gotten together,‭ ‬not so impure in their actions,‭ ‬but more wicked in their intentions,‭ ‬which laid waste the happy state of the city no less than did these murderers.‭ ‬These were such men as deceived and deluded the people under pretense of Divine inspiration,‭ ‬but were for procuring innovations and changes of the government‭; ‬and these prevailed with the multitude to act like madmen,‭ ‬and went before them into the wilderness,‭ ‬as pretending that God would there show them the signals of liberty.‭ ‬But Felix thought this procedure was to be the beginning of a revolt‭; ‬so he sent some horsemen and footmen both armed,‭ ‬who destroyed a great number of them.

False prophet from Egypt deceiving and leading 30,000 men into the wilderness and into an assault upon Jerusalem.

5.‭ ‬But there was an Egyptian false prophet that did the Jews more mischief than the former‭; ‬for he was a cheat,‭ ‬and pretended to be a prophet also,‭ ‬and got together thirty thousand men that were deluded by him‭; ‬these he led round about from the wilderness to the mount which was called the Mount of Olives,‭ ‬and was ready to break into Jerusalem by force from that place‭; ‬and if he could but once conquer the Roman garrison and the people,‭ ‬he intended to domineer over them by the assistance of those guards of his that were to break into the city with him.‭ ‬But Felix prevented his attempt,‭ ‬and met him with his Roman soldiers,‭ ‬while all the people assisted him in his attack upon them,‭ ‬insomuch that when it came to a battle,‭ ‬the Egyptian ran away,‭ ‬with a few others,‭ ‬while the greatest part of those that were with him were either destroyed or taken alive‭; ‬but the rest of the multitude were dispersed every one to their own homes,‭ ‬and there concealed themselves.

More wars among the factions of the Jews.

6.‭ ‬Now when these were quieted,‭ ‬it happened,‭ ‬as it does in a diseased body,‭ ‬that another part was subject to an inflammation‭; ‬for a company of deceivers and robbers got together,‭ ‬and persuaded the Jews to revolt,‭ ‬and exhorted them to assert their liberty,‭ ‬inflicting death on those that continued in obedience to the Roman government,‭ ‬and saying,‭ ‬that such as willingly chose slavery ought to be forced from such their desired inclinations‭; ‬for they parted themselves into different bodies,‭ ‬and lay in wait up and down the country,‭ ‬and plundered the houses of the great men,‭ ‬and slew the men themselves,‭ ‬and set the villages on fire‭; ‬and this till all Judea was filled with the effects of their madness.‭ ‬And thus the flame was every day more and more blown up,‭ ‬till it came to a direct war.

Warring between Syrian Jews and Greeks in Cesarea.

7.‭ ‬There was also another disturbance at Cesarea,‭ ‬-‭ ‬those Jews who were mixed with the Syrians that lived there rising a tumult against them.‭ ‬The Jews pretended that the city was theirs,‭ ‬and said that he who built it was a Jew,‭ ‬meaning king Herod.‭ ‬The Syrians confessed also that its builder was a Jew‭; ‬but they still said,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬that the city was a Grecian city‭; ‬for that he who set up statues and temples in it could not design it for Jews.‭ ‬On which account both parties had a contest with one another‭; ‬and this contest increased so much,‭ ‬that it came at last to arms,‭ ‬and the bolder sort of them marched out to fight‭; ‬for the elders of the Jews were not able to put a stop to their own people that were disposed to be tumultuous,‭ ‬and the Greeks thought it a shame for them to be overcome by the Jews.‭ ‬Now these Jews exceeded the others in riches and strength of body‭; ‬but the Grecian part had the advantage of assistance from the soldiery‭; ‬for the greatest part of the Roman garrison was raised out of Syria‭; ‬and being thus related to the Syrian part,‭ ‬they were ready to assist it.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬the governors of the city were concerned to keep all quiet,‭ ‬and whenever they caught those that were most for fighting on either side,‭ ‬they punished them with stripes and bands.‭ ‬Yet did not the sufferings of those that were caught affright the remainder,‭ ‬or make them desist‭; ‬but they were still more and more exasperated,‭ ‬and deeper engaged in the sedition.‭ ‬And as Felix came once into the market-place,‭ ‬and commanded the Jews,‭ ‬when they had beaten the Syrians,‭ ‬to go their ways,‭ ‬and threatened them if they would not,‭ ‬and they would not obey him,‭ ‬he sent his soldiers out upon them,‭ ‬and slew a great many of them,‭ ‬upon which it fell out that what they had was plundered.‭ ‬And as the sedition still continued,‭ ‬he chose out the most eminent men on both sides as ambassadors to Nero,‭ ‬to argue about their several privileges.

The Messiah King has Come

One of the errors that has arisen from John Darby’s dispensationalism is the two fold coming of Messiah. As I have heard it many times, Jesus came the first time as the suffering servant and will come the second time as triumphant king. They also teach that the Jews of Jesus day were all confused to this as they were expecting the Messiah to come, reestablish the throne of David and drive out the presence of the Roman Empire occupiers, returning the glory of the kingdom of Israel.

This is not what scripture teaches. Jesus was born the Messiah King. His kingdom started with his birth, when he came into his majority, he was revealed as Messiah by his herald, his cousin John and started to gather citizens into his kingdom. He taught the immediate coming kingdom to his disciples, and proclaimed it to Israel. He warned of the soon coming judgment of God upon Israel for their rebellion to God and his commands.

Daniel recorded that the Messiah would come within a certain time period. seventy sevens from the decree to rebuild Jerusalem after the Babylonian captivity.

Daniel 9:24-26
24  "Seventy 'sevens' are decreed for your people and your holy city to finish transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.

25  "Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One, the ruler, comes, there will be seven 'sevens,' and sixty-two 'sevens.' It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.

26  After the sixty-two 'sevens,' the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing. The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.

The Jews knew that they were living in the time period that the Messiah would come, based on when the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem was issued. They knew it was time and they were looking for the promised Messiah.

Note that this time period would bring an end to sin, an atonement for wickedness, and bring everlasting righteousness, as well as fulfillment of vision and prophecy.  This is the salvation and redemption work of Messiah Jesus. Who fulfilled all things spoken of him in the law and prophets.  This redemptive work established the new covenant in his blood, which is the foundation of the Messianic kingdom just as the old Mosaic covenant was ratified with the blood sacrifices of bulls and rams and was the foundation of the kingdom of God in Israel.

Daniel calls the Anointed One, the Messiah, the ruler, giving when he would come, within sixty two sevens. He was born Messiah King as Isaiah states.

Isaiah 9:6,7

6  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7  Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

We also read that in this same time period that, “ The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed. “

This is the final part of the establishment of the Messianic kingdom, the end of the old kingdom rule. Both the city of Jerusalem, where the old throne of David stood, and the temple where the mercy seat of God stood were to be destroyed during a war. We see the fulfillment of this in what Josephus calls the Wars of the Jews happening in the time of 63-70AD.

Some in their dispensational zeal have suggested a indeterminate time gap between when the Messiah is cut off and the final last week of Daniel’s prophecy. But in reading this passage there is no time gap suggested.  Instead it reads as one time period, starting at a set time after the decree to rebuild Jerusalem, the coming and work of the Messiah, King, ending with the destruction of the city and temple.

Let me end here with an excellent quote from Matthew Henry’s Commentary on Daniel 9: 20-27 (eSword ed.). (I present Matthew Henry’s (1622-1740) comments here as an example of what was understood and taught in the church before the teaching of John Darby’s dispensationalism was accepted by American and other Evangelicals, which is the foundation of  modern futurist eschatological teaching. )

(2.) Concerning the Messiah and his undertaking. The carnal Jews looked for a Messiah that could deliver them from the Roman yoke and give them temporal power and wealth, whereas they were here told that the Messiah should come upon another errand, purely spiritual, and upon the account of which he should be the more welcome.
 
     [1.] Christ came to take away sin, and to abolish that. Sin had made a quarrel between God and man, had alienated men from God and provoked God against man; it was this that put dishonour upon God and brought misery upon mankind; this was the great mischief-maker. He that would do God a real service, and man a real kindness, must be the destruction of this. Christ undertakes to be so, and for this purpose he is manifested, to destroy the works of the devil.

He does not say to finish your transgressions and your sins, but transgression and sin in general, for he is the propitiation not only for our sins, that are Jews, but for the sins of the whole world. He came, First, To finish transgression, to restrain it (so some), to break the power of it, to bruise the head of that serpent that had done so much mischief, to take away the usurped dominion of that tyrant, and to set up a kingdom of holiness and love in the hearts of men, upon the ruins of Satan's kingdom there, that, where sin and death had reigned, righteousness and life through grace might reign. When he died he said, It is finished; sin has now had its death-wound given it, like Samson's, Let me die with the Philistines. Animamque in vulnere ponit - He inflicts the wound and dies.

Secondly, To make an end of sin, to abolish it, that it may not rise up in judgment against us, to obtain the pardon of it, that it may not be our ruin, to seal up sins (so the margin reads it), that they may not appear or break out against us, to accuse and condemn us, as, when Christ cast the devil into the bottomless pit, he set a seal upon him, Rev_20:3. When sin is pardoned it is sought for and not found, as that which is sealed up.

Thirdly, To make reconciliation for iniquity, as by a sacrifice, to satisfy the justice of God and so to make peace and bring God and man together, not only as an arbitrator, or referee, who only brings the contending parties to a good understanding one of another, but as a surety, or undertaker, for us. He is not only the peace-maker, but the peace. He is the atonement.

     [2.] He came to bring in an everlasting righteousness. God might justly have made an end of the sin by making an end of the sinner; but Christ found out another way, and so made an end of sin as to save the sinner from it, by providing a righteousness for him.

We are all guilty before God, and shall be condemned as guilty, if we have not a righteousness wherein to appear before him. Had we stood, our innocency would have been our righteousness, but, having fallen, we must have something else to plead; and Christ has provided us a plea. The merit of his sacrifice is our righteousness; with this we answer all the demands of the law; Christ has died, yea, rather, has risen again.

Thus Christ is the Lord our righteousness, for he is made of God to us righteousness, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. By faith we apply this to ourselves and plead it with God, and our faith is imputed to us for righteousness, Rom_4:3, Rom_4:5.

This is an everlasting righteousness, for Christ, who is our righteousness, and the prince of our peace, is the everlasting Father. It was from everlasting in the counsels of it and will be to everlasting in the consequences of it. The application of it was from the beginning, for Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world; and it will be to the end, for he is able to save to the uttermost. It is of everlasting virtue (Heb_10:12); it is the rock that follows us to Canaan.

     [3.] He came to seal up the vision and prophecy, all the prophetical visions of the Old Testament, which had reference to the Messiah. He sealed them up, that is, he accomplished them, answered to them to a tittle; all things that were written in the law, the prophets, and the psalms, concerning the Messiah, were fulfilled in him. Thus he confirmed the truth of them as well as his own mission.

He sealed them up, that is, he put an end to that method of God's discovering his mind and will, and took another course by completing the scripture-canon in the New Testament, which is the more sure word of prophecy than that by vision, 2Pe_1:19; Heb_1:1.

     [4.] He came to anoint the most holy, that is, himself, the Holy One, who was anointed (that is, appointed to his work and qualified for it) by the Holy Ghost, that oil of gladness which he received without measure, above his fellows; or to anoint the gospel-church, his spiritual temple, or holy place, to sanctify and cleanse it, and appropriate it to himself (Eph_5:26), or to consecrate for us a new and living way into the holiest, by his own blood (Heb_10:20), as the sanctuary was anointed, Exo_30:25, etc.

He is called Messiah (Dan_9:25, Dan_9:26), which signifies Christ - Anointed (Joh_1:41), because he received the unction both for himself and for all that are his.

     [5.] In order to all this the Messiah must be cut off, must die a violent death, and so be cut off from the land of the living, as was foretold, Isa_53:8. Hence, when Paul preaches the death of Christ, he says that he preached nothing but what the prophet said should come, Act_26:22, Act_26:23. And thus it behoved Christ to suffer. He must be cut off, but not for himself - not for any sin of his own, but, as Caiaphas prophesied, he must die for the people, in our stead and for our good, - not for any advantage of his own (the glory he purchased for himself was no more than the glory he had before, Joh_17:4, Joh_17:5); no; it was to atone for our sins, and to purchase life for us, that he was cut off.

     [6.] He must confirm the covenant with many. He shall introduce a new covenant between God and man, a covenant of grace, since it had become impossible for us to be saved by a covenant of innocence. This covenant he shall confirm by his doctrine and miracles, by his death and resurrection, by the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper, which are the seals of the New Testament, assuring us that God is willing to accept us upon gospel-terms.

His death made his testament of force, and enabled us to claim what is bequeathed by it. He confirmed it to the many, to the common people; the poor were evangelized, when the rulers and Pharisees believed not on him. Or, he confirmed it with many, with the Gentile world. The New Testament was not (like the Old) confined to the Jewish church, but was committed to all nations. Christ gave his life a ransom for many. ‘

     [7.] He must cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. By offering himself a sacrifice once for all he shall put an end to all the Levitical sacrifices, shall supercede them and set them aside; when the substance comes the shadows shall be done away. He causes all the peace-offerings to cease when he has made peace by the blood of his cross, and by it confirmed the covenant of peace and reconciliation.

By the preaching of his gospel to the world, with which the apostles were entrusted, he took men off from expecting remission by the blood of bulls and goats, and so caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease. The apostle in his epistle to the Hebrews shows what a better priesthood, altar, and sacrifice, we have now than they had under the law, as a reason why we should hold fast our profession.

(3.) Concerning the final destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Jewish church and nation; and this follows immediately upon the cutting off of the Messiah, not only because it was the just punishment of those that put him to death, which was the sin that filled up the measure of their iniquity and brought ruin upon them, but because, as things were, it was necessary to the perfecting of one of the great intentions of his death.

He died to take away the ceremonial law, quite to abolish that law of commandments, and to vacate the obligation of it. But the Jews would not be persuaded to quit it; still they kept it up with more zeal than ever; they would hear no talk of parting with it; they stoned Stephen (the first Christian martyr) for saying that Jesus should change the customs which Moses delivered them (Act_6:14); so that there was no way to abolish the Mosaic economy but by destroying the temple, and the holy city, and the Levitical priesthood, and that whole nation which so incurably doted on them.

This was effectually done in less than forty years after the death of Christ, and it was a desolation that could never be repaired to this day. And this is it which is here largely foretold, that the Jews who returned out of captivity might not be overmuch lifted up with the rebuilding of their city and temple, because in process of time they would be finally destroyed, and not as now for seventy years only, but might rather rejoice in hope of the coming of the Messiah, and the setting up of his spiritual kingdom in the world, which should never be destroyed. Now,

     [1.] It is here foretold that the people of the prince that shall come shall be the instruments of this destruction, that is, the Roman armies, belonging to a monarchy yet to come (Christ is the prince that shall come, and they are employed by him in this service; they are his armies, Mat_22:7), or the Gentiles (who, though now strangers, shall become the people of the Messiah) shall destroy the Jews.

     [2.] That the destruction shall be by war, and the end of that war shall be this desolation determined. The wars of the Jews with the Romans were by their own obstinacy made very long and very bloody, and they issued at length in the utter extirpation of that people.


     [3.] That the city and sanctuary shall in a particular manner be destroyed and laid quite waste. Titus the Roman general would fain have saved the temple, but his soldiers were so enraged against the Jews that he could not restrain them from burning it to the ground, that this prophecy might be fulfilled.

     [4.] That all the resistance that shall be made to this destruction shall be in vain: The end of it shall be with a flood. It shall be a deluge of destruction, like that which swept away the old world, and which there will be no making head against.

     [5.] That hereby the sacrifice and oblation shall be made to cease. And it must needs cease when the family of the priests was so extirpated, and the genealogies of it were so confounded, that (they say) there is no man in the world that can prove himself of the seed of Aaron.

     [6.] that there shall be an overspreading of abominations, a general corruption of the Jewish nation and an abounding of iniquity among them, for which it shall be made desolate, 1Th_2:16. Or it is rather to be understood of the armies of the Romans, which were abominable to the Jews (they could not endure them), which overspread the nation, and by which it was made desolate; for these are the words which Christ refers to, Mat_24:15, When you shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel, stand in the holy place, then let those who shall be in Judea flee, which is explained Luk_21:20, When you shall see Jerusalem encompassed with armies then flee.

     [7.] That the desolation shall be total and final: He shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, that is, he shall make it completely desolate. It is a desolation determined, and it will be accomplished to the utmost. And when it is made desolate, it should seem, there is something more determined that is to be poured upon the desolate (Dan_9:27), and what should that be but the spirit of slumber (Rom_11:8, Rom_11:25), that blindness which has happened to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in? And then all Israel shall be saved.

The Olivet Discourse: Historical Fulfillment

Introduction.

In my first thirty years in Christ, I was not taught or studied history outside that of the Bible. I learned about historic records that supported the record of the bible, and of archaeology finds that proved the existence of many cities recorded in the bible, but I learned little about the history of the first century beyond the book of Acts.

I had a copy of Josephus a reliable historian of the first century, but read little in it.

It was about seventeen years ago, in an online discussion about eschatology that the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70AD was mentioned. I knew there was no temple in Jerusalem, and that it had to have been destroyed some time in the past, but I never placed any significance on it not existing. I knew from the teaching I read and heard that end times prophesies includes the desecration and destruction of the Jerusalem temple, and was taught that it had to be rebuilt for the end and the return of Christ to occur. None of these teachers mentioned when the temple of Jesus day was destroyed, it just was not addressed at all.

In my online discussions it was mentioned that the destruction of the temple in 70AD placed it within a forty year biblical generation, as was prophesied by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, recorded in Matthew 25,25; Mark 13 and Luke 21. This started me to consider and come to understand the truth of fulfilled eschatology or preterism.

We have a record of 70AD and the times leading up to the destruction of the temple. The historian Josephus had been a Jewish general in the early stages leading up to the Roman war of the Jews. He was captured and made a slave, recognizing his learning as a priest and his knowledge of Israel as a general he was tasked with making a report and writing a history on Israel up to and through the war of Rome with Israel.

Josephus is a recognized authority and historian on his contemporary times and first century Israel. There are other historians of the time, but their writings are more centered on the Roman Empire in general, while Josephus’ writings are centered on Israel and of great importance to understanding the first century fulfillment of eschatology.

I will continue my studies on the context of the Olivet Discourse, by comparing it to the historical record of Josephus, showing the record of its fulfillment during the time he titled the War of the Jews. I am using the eSword edition and will present annotated copy of the text with the passages of the Olivet Discourse that coincides with it.


The title is: “The Wars of the Jews or The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem, Book 2, Containing the interval of of sixty-nine years. From the death of Herod till Vespasian was sent to subdue the Jews by Nero.”


Interesting note by the translator, William Whiston,

‭“(‬3‭)‬ That these calamities of the Jews,‭ ‬who were our Savior‭’‬s murderers,‭ ‬were to be the greatest that had ever been since the beginning of the world,‭ ‬our Savior had directly foretold,‭ ‬Mat‭_‬24:21‭; ‬Mar‭_‬13:19‭; ‬Luk‭_‬21:23-24‭; ‬and that they proved to be such accordingly,‭ ‬Josephus is here a most authentic witness.”