These 10 Bible prophecies found fulfillment from the year 70 through
the 1800s. They foretold of the exile and persecution of the people of
Israel, and of the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple and of the land
of Israel.
1. Jesus prophesied that the Temple would be destroyed
Bible passage: Matthew 24:1-2
Recorded: about 30 AD
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Matthew 24:1-2, Jesus said that the Temple would be destroyed. The
Temple was destroyed about 40 years after Jesus was crucified by the
Romans. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and killed an estimated
1.1 million Jews. During the destruction, fire was set to the Temple.
The fire caused the gold-leaf ornamentation on the Temple ceiling to
melt. The melting gold flowed down the walls and settled into crevices
within the stones. The Romans pried apart the stones to remove the gold.
This fulfilled Jesus' prophecy that not one stone would be left standing
on another.
Here are more details about the holy Temple, using dates that are
commonly ascribed by various historians:
1. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC
and was rebuilt 70 years later. The rebuilt Temple stood for 586 years
and was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.
2. Both Temples were destroyed by the most powerful empires of
their day. (Babylonian Empire in 586 BC and the Roman Empire in 70 AD).
3. After the destruction of both Temples, hundreds of thousands
of Jews were slaughtered, taken as slaves and forced out of Jerusalem.
4. According to the ancient historian Josephus, both Temples were
destroyed on the same day of their respective years - the 9th day of the
Jewish month of Av.
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Matthew 24:1-2
Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to
him to call his attention to its buildings. "Do you see all these
things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be
left on another; every one will be thrown down."
2. Jesus said Jerusalem would be destroyed
Bible passage: Luke 21:24
Recorded: about 30 AD
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Luke 21:24, Jesus said that the Jews soon would be forced out of
Jerusalem and that the city would be destroyed. He said Jerusalem would
be trampled upon by the "Gentiles" (non-Jews), and that the Jews would
be scattered to all nations. And, that's exactly what happened. The
Romans destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70, and again in the year 135.
During the two destructions, the Romans killed an estimated 1.5 million
Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews were taken as slaves to other
countries, mostly throughout Europe and parts of Asia. During the next
several centuries, Jews had established communities on every inhabited
continent: Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America and South
America.
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Luke 21:24
They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the
nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times
of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
3. Daniel foretold the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple
Bible passage: Daniel 9:26
Written: about 530 BC
Fulfilled: 70 AD
In Daniel 9:26, the prophet said that a future ruler over the land of
Israel would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. Daniel said this would
happen after an anointed one (messiah) is "cut off," which means
"rejected" or "killed." A few centuries later, the Romans had taken
control of the land of Israel, Jesus announced himself as the Messiah,
and the Romans crucified him. Forty years later, the Romans destroyed
Jerusalem and the Temple.
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Daniel 9:26
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.
4. Jerusalem would be destroyed and "plowed like a field"
Bible passage: Micah 3:11-12
Written: sometime between 750-686 BC
Fulfilled: 135 AD
In Micah 3:11-12, the prophet Micah said that Jerusalem would be
destroyed and that "Zion" - a central part of Jerusalem - would be
"plowed like a field." Micah's prophecy is believed to have been
delivered in about 730 BC (about 2700 years ago). Since that time,
Jerusalem was destroyed in 586 BC by the Babylonians and by the Romans
in 70 AD. The Romans destroyed it again in 135 AD to crush a Jewish
rebellion for independence. According to a text in the Gemara - a
collection of ancient Jewish writings - the Romans ran a plow over Zion
on the 9th day of the Jewish month of Ab. The Gemara said that Turnus
Rufus, a Roman officer, plowed the area of the Temple. This prophecy was
fulfilled in literal detail. Incidentally, there was a Roman coin minted
during that era that shows an image of a man using a plow. The coin was
intended to commemorate the founding of the pagan Roman city called
Aelia Capitolina on the site of Jerusalem. The Romans sometimes minted
coins showing the plowing motif as a symbol of the establishment of a
new Roman city.
The Jews fast (go without food) on the 9th day of the Jewish month of Ab
(sometimes spelled Av) in remembrance of five historic events that are
recorded as occurring on that date. One of those events is the plowing
of all or part of Jerusalem by the Romans.
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Micah 3:11-12
Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her
prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the Lord and say,
"Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us." Therefore
because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become
a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.
5. The Bible foreshadowed Rome's destruction of Israel
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:49-52
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 70 AD
The Bible has several prophecies about various destructions of the land
of Israel. Here is one from the Bible's book of Deuteronomy that
foreshadowed the destruction caused by the Romans in the year 70 AD
(about 1900 years ago):
"The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends
of the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you
will not understand … They will devour … until you are ruined. … They
will lay siege to all the cities throughout your land until the high
fortified walls in which you trust fall down." (Deuteronomy 28:49-52 NIV).
And, here's what history says about what happened in the year 70 AD: The
Roman Empire sent an army, which marched in a formation called the
"flying eagle," and destroyed Jerusalem. Members of the Roman army came
from many different countries, speaking languages that the Jews did not
understand.
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Deuteronomy 28:49-52
The Lord will bring a nation against you from far away, from the ends of
the earth, like an eagle swooping down, a nation whose language you will
not understand, a fierce-looking nation without respect for the old or
pity for the young. They will devour the young of your livestock and the
crops of your land until you are destroyed. They will leave you no
grain, new wine or oil, nor any calves of your herds or lambs of your
flocks until you are ruined. They will lay siege to all the cities
throughout your land until the high fortified walls in which you trust
fall down. They will besiege all the cities throughout the land the Lord
your God is giving you.
6. Israel would become a wasteland
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 29:23
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135-1800s
In Deuteronomy 29:23, the Bible said Israel would become a wasteland.
This prophecy certainly was fulfilled. The land has been described many
times as having been a sparsely populated wasteland, as recently as the
late 1800s. American writer Mark Twain wrote this, in 1867, about the
land of Israel, which at the time was called Palestine: "Palestine sits
in sackcloth and ashes… the spell of a curse that has withered its
fields and fettered its energies… Palestine is desolate and unlovely… It
is a hopeless, dreary, heartbroken land." - from Mark Twain's
Innocents Abroad.
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Deuteronomy 29:23
The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur--nothing
planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like
the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord
overthrew in fierce anger.
7. The people of Israel would be exiled, scorned and ridiculed
Bible passage: Deuteronomy 28:36-37
Written: perhaps 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135-1900s
In Deuteronomy 28:36-37, the Bible said that the people of Israel would
be exiled, ridiculed and scorned. This prophecy has certainly found
fulfillment in many events throughout history. The people of Israel (who
today are commonly called Jews) have been expelled from their homeland
by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. And the Jews - perhaps more
than any other group of people - have been subject to hatred, scorn and
persecution throughout the world. Until 1948, the Jews did not have
sovereign control over any part of their homeland since the Hasmonaean
Period more than 2000 years ago. And, until 1948, Israel had not been a
united and sovereign country for nearly 2900 years.
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Deuteronomy 28:36-37
The Lord will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation
unknown to you or your fathers. There you will worship other gods, gods
of wood and stone. You will become a thing of horror and an object of
scorn and ridicule to all the nations where the Lord will drive you.
8. The land of Israel would be inhabited by enemies
Bible passage: Leviticus 26:31-32
Written: perhaps around 1400 BC
Fulfilled: 135 to today
In Leviticus 26:31-32, the Bible said that Israel would become a
wasteland and that it would be inhabited by enemies of the people of
Israel. Both parts of this prophecy have been clearly documented
throughout history. Many of the people of Israel were forced out of
their homeland by the Assyrians, Babylonians and Romans. Each time,
other people were able to move into the land. When the Jews began
returning during the 1800s and 1900s, they had skirmishes with the
peoples living there, namely Arabs, who continue to live in parts of the
land of Israel.
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Leviticus 26:31-32
I will turn your cities into ruins and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I
will take no delight in the pleasing aroma of your offerings. I will lay
waste the land, so that your enemies who live there will be appalled.
9. The people of Israel will never cease to be a nation of people
Bible passage: Jeremiah 31:35-36
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: Today
In Jeremiah 31:35-36, the Bible said that as surely as God has decreed
the sun to shine, he too has decreed that the people of Israel will
never cease to be a nation of people. This promise of preservation
continues to be fulfilled today, as the Jewish people maintain their
identity as a distinct group of people, with its own culture, religion
and language. This is a remarkable feat considering the vast number of
indigenous peoples throughout the world who have lost their language and
culture even without the additional burden of being exiled from their
homeland. The Jews, however, endured 18 centuries of dispersion since
they were exiled from their homeland by the Romans in 135 AD. Today,
there are Jewish people in Israel and throughout the world who can speak
the same Hebrew language that is found in even the oldest of the
Biblical scriptures. (By comparison, an Englishman today would have a
difficult time reading an English text written a mere 500 years ago).
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Jeremiah 31:35-36
This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who
decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so
that its waves roar-- the LORD Almighty is his name: "Only if these
decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, "will the descendants
of Israel ever cease to be a nation before me."
10. The exiled people of Israel would return to Israel
Bible passage: Jeremiah 32:37-41
Written: sometime from 626 to about 586 BC
Fulfilled: late 1800s to today
In Jeremiah 32:37-41, the prophet said the people of Israel would return
to their homeland. Jeremiah lived during a time when the Babylonians
were forcing the Jews out of their homeland about 2600 years ago. Many
Jews later returned but were forced out again, by the Romans, about 1900
years ago. During the past 200 years, millions of exiled Jews have
returned to Israel from countries all over the world.
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Jeremiah 32:37-41
I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my
furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and
let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their
God.
