day at Cæfarea", which foon made the whole body of the Jews defperate, and do all the mifchief they could, where-ever they were, by burning and flaughter; and they were dealt with accord ingly, as the common enemies of mankind; fo that thirteen thousand were butchered in one night at Scythopolis P (in Syria,) fifty thousand at Alexandria (in Egypt,) without diftinction of age or fex; eight thoufand four hundred were put to the fword at Joppa, (a fea port town of their own,) men, women and children ". At Damafcus (in Syria,) the people fell upon the Jews, and cut the throats of ten thousand of them in one hour $. The forces of Vefpafian altogether made up a body of fixty thousand horfe and foot ', and marching into Galilee, (a country affording the most refolute and warlike " perfons,) the foldiers depopulated the fame, night and day, with fire and fword, putting all to death, where they found refiftance, and making flaves of the reft, till the country was all covered with fire and blood, and nothing left them to trust to, but fome fortified towns, which by degrees were all fubdued, with the most difmal flaughters that ever were ▾. At length, after fome revolutions in the Roman empire, and Vefpafian being declared emperor, when nothing else was wanting to put a final end to this terrible war, Jerufalem was befieged " by his fon Titus, which our Lord foretold near forty years before-hand, calling it the abomination of defolation n Jofephus, book ii. chap. 19. book ii. chap. 19. book ii. chap. 22. book iii. chap. 3. ek nepion. V u o Ibid. ¶ Ibid. book ii. chap. 21. P Jofephus r Ibid. t Ibid. s Ibid. book ii. chap. 25. Jofeph. book iii. chap. 3. Gr. Machimsi Jofeph. Wars, book iii. chap. 3, &c. and book iv. to the end of chap. 4. w Book vi. chap. 5. to the end of chap. 11. * Matth. xxiv. 15. Luke xiv. 43. defolation standing in the holy place, that is, the idolatrous army of the Romans, with their military enfigns and images of their gods, (which the Jews held in abomination,) about Jerufalem, and the temple. That we may the better apprehend the deftruction of Jerufalem and the temple, it may not be improper to fet down, in fhort, the account which Jofephus, a Jew, and who then lived, gives of the ftrength and glorious buildings thereof. "The city of Jerufalem was furrounded with three walls, faving only upon the quarter to"wards the inacceffible valleys, where there was "but one. It was erected upon two hills, the one "directly fronting the other ", and a deep valley betwixt them. The oldeft of the three walls "was extremely ftrong, by reafon of the depth "of the valley before, and the over-hanging "of the rock from above, whereupon it was erected. Besides the natural advantage of the "fituation, it had all the helps that David and "Solomon, and feveral other princes, could con"tribute to the further strengthening it by art, in"duftry, and expence. The walls were fortified "with towers: Upon the third wall there were ninety towers; the middle wall had fourteen "and the old one fixty; and thirty-three furlongs "was the compafs of the whole city. Juft with"in the city there ftood a royal palace, fo rich "and curious, that it is not for the tongue of man "to exprefs it, being magnificently built, with ftately rooms, and furnished with veffels of gold and filver, and whatever elfe was pre 66 66 ❝cious. VOL. I. Jof. Wars, b. vi. c. 6. 66 .. "The temple was built upon the very top of "a mount, (Moriah, within the city,) encompaffed with three walls, with a prodigious expence of time and treafure; for it was not only a work of many ages, but the whole mafs of "religious oblations from all parts of the world, 66 to the honour and fervice of God and his worfhip, was spent upon this undertaking. The pillars were of white marble, and twenty-five "cubits in height: Some of the gates were plated "all over with gold and filver, together with the pofts and lintels; but there was one without the "temple of Corinthian a brafs, which was much "the more valuable. The beauty and curiofity "of the temple on the outfide was agreeable and "charming beyond imagination, being faced eve"ry where with fubftantial gold plates, that fpark"led like fire at the fun-rifing, dazzling the eyes "of the beholders. The roof of the temple was "armed with pointed fpikes of gold. "were fome ftones in this building of forty-five "cubits long, five in height, and fix cubits broad.". He fays this of fome particular ftones; but when he gives an account of Herod's providing materials in general, for the repairing or rebuilding the temple, he thus writes: The whole fabric was built of durable white ftone, about five and twenty cubits long, eight in height, and twelve over. There Now fuppofing the cubit about a foot and a half, these ftones laft mentioned, must be large planks, at least twelve yards long, four in height, and fix yards broad: And as to the poffibility thereof, he mentions the plenty of money, the good-will of the people, It was that mixture of precious metal, found when Corinth was burnt by the Romans, which confifted of several images of gold, filver, and brafs, melted together. Antiq. book xv. chap. 14. people, their perfeverance, and the length of time; and for a confirmation thereof, it may be here mentioned, that a late judicious traveller, of good credit, measured three ftones raifed twenty feet high, in the building at Balbeck, (near mount Libanus in Cælefyria,) one whereof was in length twenty one yards, the other two, each, twenty yards, and in deepnefs and breadth four yards each d From all which accounts we perceive that Chrift's difciples had caufe, when they came to him for to fhew him the buildings of the temple, to fay, See what manner of stones and building are here, and to admire how it was adorned with goodly ftones and gifts. Nay, even the very place where this glorious temple ftood, doth ftrike the beholder with admiration; of which the fame traveller € writes thus: In the middle of the area, on the top of mount Moriah, ftands at present a mofque or Turkish church: It is neither eminent for its largeness nor its Aructure; and yet it makes a very stately figure, by the fole advantage of its fituation. Let us next proceed to the hiftory of the fulfilling our Saviour's prophecy in the destruction of Jerufalem, and the temple of the Jews. In the first place, it is remarkable, that their own obftinacy, violent diffentions, and infatuation, was a great cause of their ruin. This had been exprefly foretold: & The Lord fhall fmite thee with madness, and blindness, and aftonishment of heart. Accordingly, when the fate of their city and temple drew near, fince they had not known in that their day the things that belonged to their peace, now they were hidden from their eyes, there 3 D 2 were d Mr. Maundrell's Journey Mat. xxiv. 1. Mark xiii. 1. Luke c Ibid. book v. chap. v, &c. to Jerufalem, p. 138. XXI. 5. f Maundrell's Journey, p. 107. fecond edition, Deut. xxviii. 28. were (as their hiftorian relates) irreconcileable divifions, and the most deftructive factions among themfelves, chiefly occafioned by fome turbulent perfons, efpecially the zealots, whereby they did one another as much mifchief by cruelty and injustice, as the Romans; till, in conclufion, fome of the principal of the faction entered Jerufalem with a great body of their party, the most domineering of which were the zealots, whofe infolence was the ruin of their city and country ". Thefe zealots pretended to be the successors of Phineas, who, in his zeal for the glory of God, flew Zimri and Cofbi in the act of their fin ; in imitation whereof thefe men took upon them to execute justice on extraordinary occafions, without the formality of law, till at length they became most extravagant and licentious, and the authors of confufion. Of other parties oppofing these zealots, there were three factions at once in the city, and each against the other; one in the upper part of the city, another in the lower part, and a third in the temple; till, amongst them, all was brought to confufion; the fucceffion of the high-priesthood was abrogated, and unworthy vile perfons promoted: The very temple was made a field of battle, and, together with the altar, polluted with beaps of carcales, and the gore of dead bodies, even before the Romans took the city": Yet fill they continued obftinate in refufing fubmiffion to the Romans; notwithstanding Jofephus, by the commiffion and appointment of the Roman general Titus, Jofephus's Wars, book iv. chap. 5, &c. and book v. chap. 3, 7, 9. |