The prophesy of temple destruction

The prophesy of temple destruction (1)

"Do you see all these great buildings?" replied Jesus. "Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down." (13:2)

Jesus’ prophesy about the destruction of the Jerusalem temple had already been mentioned in Jeremiah 26:6 which says, “…then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.” Micah of Moresheth prophesied in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah. He told all the people of Judah, 'This is what the LORD Almighty says： “Zion will be plowed like a field, Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.' (Jer. 26:18) The following verse that was referred to Absalom by Hushai is similar to the above mentioned verse. “If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we will drag it down to the valley until not even a piece of it can be found." (2 Sam. 17:13)

Such prophesy of the prophets was disgusting to the king of Israel, noble and the public. The prophets did not hesitate to speak out even though their prophecy was harsh to the ear of public. Why the prophets prophesied boldly, though their prophecies were not at all pleasing to the public. The answer is very simple. It was because they have experienced God’s word. The false prophet also insisted that they also had experienced God’s word but practically it was not true at all. They will only create misunderstanding among the people or deceive the public. They only prophesied what the public like. A true prophet and a false prophet can be distinguished in this way. The former concentrates on God only while the latter on man. It is not easy to distinguish between these two. In those days, nobody could distinguish these two. The history would judge. The Old Testament is the true prophet survived in the history.

The statement of today uttered by Jesus’ mouth is also a word of embarrassment for Israelites to hear. It sounds even bitterer than that of the prophets’ prophesy. Jesus said that the building that his disciples marveled at would be thrown down and not one stone here would be left on another. It sounds just like a curse. If he is a considerate and compassionate person, his criticism against the temple leaders is right but he should not have waited for the destruction of the temple.