Matthew 24:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

The faithful among the Jews, referred to as the elect, were the reason the warfare was curtailed, so that they would not face destruction alongside the non-believers, and there might be an opportunity for some non-believers to attain salvation through their influence. This was intended to prevent anyone from claiming that the calamity unleashed by God's wrath was directed solely at those who believed. Furthermore, the survivors, recognizing that all of the faithful were preserved, would come to understand the true reason behind the events, realizing that it was not the believers who led to the demise of the dead, but instead their preservation was due to the faithful. The phrase "all flesh" is used to imply "none," as highlighted by David's words: “Let not every iniquity possess me” (Ps. 118:133), which means "none." This is a notable aspect of ancient texts. Additionally, notice how the Spirit of God has been distinctly manifest; John, who lived through these events and continued to do so for some time after Jerusalem's fall, refrained from documenting them, so as to avoid any impression that he was writing that which he had prophesied long beforehand. The accounts were clearly penned by those who perished prior to the fulfillment itself, ensuring that the prophecy of Christ would not raise any doubts. After concluding the discussion regarding the destruction of Jerusalem, He turns to another topic—His Second Coming—and foretells the signs that would be relevant for Christians. God has indeed eased the tribulation and warfare overall. Had the conflict persisted any longer, all those within the city would have starved.

And because this error will be peculiar to the Jews, that having rejected the truth they should adopt a lie, He warns them to leave Judæa, and flee to the mountains, that no pollution or infection might be gathered by admixture with a people who should believe on Antichrist. That He says, Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take ang thing out of his house, is thus understood. The roof is the highest part of the house, the summit and perfection of the whole building. He then who stands on the top of his house, i. e. in the perfection of his heart, aloft in the regeneration of a new spirit, ought not to come down to the lower desire of things of the world. Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his coat; i. e. He that has attained to obedience to the command, let him not return back to his former cares, to take on him again the coat of his former sins in which he once was clothed.

Innocent of Kherson reflects in amazement on the realization of these prophecies, exclaiming: “My God, what a dreadful and enlightening sight! What remarkable alignment of occurrences with foretold events! What unexpected randomness and accuracy in their fulfillment!”

Terrifying earthquakes, famines, plagues, and violent conflicts—all the calamities foretold by Jesus Christ—seem to signal to the entire world a profound event, leading us to anticipate one of God's great judgments. Yet, the calamities that had previously swept through various regions suddenly intensified over Palestine and concentrated over Jerusalem. This was seemingly due to the rebellion against the rulers, but ultimately stemmed from the Jewish rejection of their Messiah, the God of their forefathers. A period of tribulation unfolds, which, as described by the eyewitness Flavius, is unprecedented and will not be matched. Tens of thousands of Jews are slaughtered before the warfare begins, like wild animals; the cities held by the Jews fall into ruin one after another, and the land, once overflowing with abundance, is reduced to desolation. Only Jerusalem remains, but what a Jerusalem it is! Surrounded by Roman legions, whose fluttering standards depicting their false gods seem to beckon its ruin; within, filled with violent mobs of Zealots, Idumeans, and Sicarians who, falsely claiming to defend the sacred, defile it with unspeakable acts, mercilessly killing the best among them and turning upon one another, mocking the true prophets of the Messiah, the Lord Himself.

Can there be a greater offense than the abomination of desolation that Daniel prophesied? Friends, driven mad by hunger, battle over scraps of roots or a mere sip of water; those besieged offer gold in exchange for food that even animals would refuse, items too shameful to name. In a moment of desperate hunger, a noble mother consumes her own infant; the ravenous Zealots stagger through the streets like rabid beasts. All the streets, squares, and homes are littered with corpses, amounting to six hundred thousand, while outside Jerusalem’s gates, there is insufficient space for crosses, and not enough wood to crucify the forsaken Jews, who are mercilessly executed by Roman soldiers out of hatred and vengeance, impaled one upon another. The blood fills the streets and temple courtyards, washing even the flames of the fires.

The Roman commander is aghast at the suffering of the besieged and swears by the gods that he bears no responsibility for their plight, having offered peace numerous times. Titus aimed to compel the city to surrender through starvation, encircling it with trenches to block supplies and prevent escape. However, as the empire's matters required his swift return to Rome, he hastened the siege and assaulted the city. Thus, for the sake of the elect, God shortened these grim days of suffering, lest the Jews claim, as St. Chrysostom observed, that these events were the result of the Gospel’s preaching and Christ’s worship, demonstrating that the believers were not the cause of these calamities, but rather, if they had not been present, all would have perished.

At last, Jerusalem has fallen; everything is consumed by flames. Where once stood the majestic temple, unmatched in grandeur, wealth, and strength, now lie piles of rubble and ashes. Only three towers remain of what was Jerusalem in its former glory. One hundred thousand Jews, having outlasted their homeland, are carried off into captivity; the more robust and attractive among them are destined for the victor's procession in Rome, to perish in the arenas, while others are sold as lowly slaves throughout Asia, Europe, and Africa, where there are few buyers left. Over a million perish in this dire period. St. Chrysostom urges that one should not think this an exaggeration; rather, they should read the accounts of Josephus to discover the truth of Christ’s declarations. Josephus, being a devout Jew, does not embellish the miseries endured, yet he writes that the calamities surpassed any previous affliction, and the war that unfolded was unlike anything ever faced by a nation. According to him, the hunger was so profound that mothers consumed their children, debating the act among themselves; many of the dead were found with their bodies violated.

The astonishing number of deceased Jews can be attributed to the Romans laying siege during the Passover, when up to two million Jews, not counting women and children, gathered in Jerusalem. Thus, the harrowing statement spoken by the crowd was fulfilled: “His blood be upon us and upon our children.” Flavius, while recording his history, certainly had no intention to distort the facts to favor Christianity; indeed, much of his account serves to confirm how faithfully the prophecy of Jesus Christ was realized among the Jewish people, as noted by St. Innocent of Kherson. Moreover, St. Chrysostom highlights the divine wisdom in the Evangelist John’s silence on these events, lest it appear he chronicled them based on current accounts, for he lived long after Jerusalem's destruction. Instead, those Evangelists who perished prior to the devastation, having witnessed none of these occurrences, wrote about them so that the truth of prophecy shines forth. This remains evident even today. What has become of Jerusalem? What of the Holy Land, once vibrant and flowing with abundance? It now resembles a wasteland; gardens have vanished; rivers have run dry; parched fields, choked with sand, decay under the heat; cities have devolved into forlorn villages, or in some cases, unrecognizable cemeteries; the inhabitants continually face peril. As the prophecy regarding Jerusalem concludes, Christ transitions to His Second Coming, imparting to His disciples signs that are not only relevant to them, but also to us, and to those who will come after.

There, under the command of Josephus Flavius, a hundred thousand young Jews rallied. However, this hastily assembled and untrained Jewish force could not withstand the seasoned Roman legions; consequently, all the cities of Galilee, followed by Samaria and many regions of Judea, were captured and suffered immense destruction, with Josephus Flavius himself taken prisoner. Gadara fell first, leading to the mass slaughter of men, women, and children in the city and surrounding areas. At the siege of Jotapata, 40,000 Jews were lost, with 1,200 taken captive. Ascalon saw 10,000 killed, Japhia lost 27,000, and all women and children were sold into bondage. On Mount Gerizim in Samaria, 11,000 were slain. In Joppa, 8,400 died and 4,200 drowned. In Taricheae, 2,200 were killed, and 6,000 captured. At Gamla, 4,000 were lost, and 5,000 chose to leap from the cliffs and perish. Of those taken captive, 30,400 were sold into slavery. After conquering Galilee, Samaria, and nearly all of Judea, Vespasian planned to move towards Jerusalem, but upon learning of Emperor Nero's death, he temporarily halted military actions; upon being declared emperor by his troops, he returned to Rome, entrusting the campaign to his son Titus. Titus arrived near Jerusalem shortly before the Jewish Passover in 70 A.D. The Christians, recalling Christ's promise, fled from Jerusalem ahead of the siege and sought refuge beyond the Jordan in safe wilderness areas. Josephus Flavius reports that even prior to Jerusalem's siege, there were signs that foreshadowed the impending calamity: A star resembling a sword hovered over the city for an entire year; before the war’s onset, during the feast of unleavened bread, nighttime became as bright as day around the altar and sanctuary; moreover, the brass gates of the temple, which required twenty men to secure, opened of their own accord at night. During the feast of Pentecost, the priests entering the temple for service heard strange sounds, as if voices were saying: Let us depart from here!

Throughout the war, Jerusalem was rife with conflict among factions vying for power, leading to an influx of brigands known as the Zealots, who dominated the citizens and ruled ruthlessly over their lives and property. Fugitives from cities besieged by Roman forces flocked to Jerusalem; among them was John of Gischala, who quickly amassed followers, waging a civil war against both the Zealots and the peaceful inhabitants led initially by the high priest Ananus. This resulted in bloody skirmishes within the city and the temple courtyards, staining the sacred place with blood and littering it with the bodies of the slain, fulfilling the prophecy of an abomination of desolation (Matthew 24:15). The warring factions sought allies among the Idumeans, escalating the violence. Daylight turned into chaos, with rampant robberies, violence, and murders primarily targeting the wealthy. Jerusalem was plunged into utter lawlessness as Titus's army approached. Surrounding the city with trenches to block food supplies, he intended to force the besieged into surrender via starvation. A horrific famine ensued; many sought to escape starvation only to be captured by Roman soldiers, subsequently crucified in droves, to the point that captors lacked sufficient trees to crucify all. In the city, conflict, robbery, violence, and murder persisted; hunger claimed lives to such a degree that some resorted to cannibalism, with one mother driven mad by hunger roasting and consuming her child. Initially, the deceased were interred in caves and abandoned homes, but when that was no longer feasible, bodies were taken outside the city gates or heaped upon the walls. One account claimed that through a single gate, 150,880 corpses were disposed of, with estimates suggesting that around 600,000 bodies were ultimately removed.

As Titus surveyed the city walls, witnessing the ditches overflowing with decaying corpses, he raised his hands to heaven, horrified, calling upon God as his witness that he was not to blame for such devastation. In part, he was correct; he had offered the besieged the chance to surrender, but they refused. He even sent Josephus Flavius to the city walls to persuade the people, delivering a lengthy speech that recounted the entirety of Jewish history, asserting that the Jews enjoyed divine victory only when God intervened and had always faltered when relying on their own efforts. He posed a vital question: could they expect God's support now when they treated the holy temple as a den of iniquity? By arming themselves, were they not waging war against God Himself? Despite these earnest pleas, his efforts were futile. The destruction of Jerusalem could have been far more catastrophic had the days not been shortened, as prophesied by Christ, for the sake of the elect (Mark 13:20) who could not escape in time.

Desperation peaked among the besieged when Roman troops breached the city wall, entered, and seized the Tower of Antonia. All who remained gathered in the temple courts to lock the gates, vowing to defend it until their last breath. Yet the besieging forces invaded the temple, flooding it with blood. Titus wished to preserve the temple, but was unable to restrain his frenzied soldiers; they ignited the temple and slaughtered all the Jews within. The sacred grounds became a scene of horrendous carnage, with corpses littering the altar steps, and blood flowing onto the ground. The Romans pursued the fleeing Jews mercilessly, trampling them underfoot. Survivors attempted to reinforce their position in the temple, yet could not withstand the might of the Roman army. As the soldiers entered the city, they slaughtered all they encountered, obstructing the streets with bodies and inundating the city with blood. The temple was set ablaze, and the entirety of Jerusalem was incinerated. The soldiers, fatigued from the slaughter, were instructed not to kill everyone, but only those who resisted, while the rest were taken captive. Ultimately, up to 97,000 were imprisoned, while 1,100,000 lost their lives during the siege. The treasures of the temple and the city were plundered, and both the city and temple were reduced to rubble. Thus, the words of Jesus regarding the fate of the cruel people, who ruthlessly slew their prophets and ultimately crucified their Messiah, came to pass. The innocent blood of the righteous they had shed was reclaimed by God, as they themselves proclaimed, 'His blood be upon us and upon our children!'

The subsequent attempts to rebuild the temple by Julian the Apostate illustrate the futility of defying God’s will. Jesus foretold the temple's complete destruction, leaving no stone upon stone, and that Jerusalem would be trampled by the Gentiles until their time ended. Indeed, the temple's destruction was absolute; efforts to reconstruct it met with failure. Julian swore to erect the temple again to undermine Jesus’ prophecy, recruiting Jews from around the world to diligently clear the site. Yet at each attempt, balls of fire erupted from the ground, driving the workers away. Despite multiple efforts and restarts, the supernatural occurrences persisted, ultimately leading the builders to abandon the project, recognizing that it was futile to attempt to recreate what had been dismantled by divine decree.

However, due to pressing matters within the empire that required his urgent return to Rome, he abandoned his initial strategy, accelerated the siege, and ultimately captured the city by force. Thus, the time of distress for those besieged was diminished.