Section 1: The sins commited by the New Testament churches and the truth in the spoken words of God

Aftermath of the Siege

The aftermath of the siege was catastrophic for Jerusalem and its people. The city lay in ruins, with much of its population killed, starved, or enslaved. Survivors were dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, many sold into slavery. The destruction of the Second Temple was not only a material loss but also a deep spiritual and cultural blow to the Jewish community.

Transformation of Jewish Religious Life

With the Temple gone, traditional sacrificial worship ended. Jewish religious practice shifted towards prayer, Torah study, and synagogue services. Key figures like Yohanan ben Zakkai, who escaped the city during the siege, helped establish a center of learning at Yavneh. This became the foundation of Rabbinic Judaism, which emphasized oral law and scholarship and eventually became the dominant form of Judaism.

Roman Control and Rebuilding

Rome reasserted its control firmly after the war. Jerusalem was rebuilt as the Roman colony Aelia Capitolina, and Jews were largely barred from the city. The Roman military presence, particularly Legio X Fretensis, was used to maintain order and prevent further rebellions. However, harsh Roman policies and ongoing Jewish dissatisfaction set the stage for the Bar Kokhba revolt (132–136 CE).

Legacy and Historical Impact

The siege and destruction of Jerusalem were turning points in Jewish history, marking a profound loss but also the beginning of new religious and cultural directions. The event also influenced early Christianity, which gained momentum after the war. The changing relationship between Jews and the Roman Empire continued to shape the region for centuries.

Progress of the Roman Army During the Siege

Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple

The account of Josephus describes Titus as initially moderate, ordering that the 500-year-old Temple be spared after consulting with others. According to Josephus, it was the Jews who first set fire to the Northwest approach of the Temple to halt the Roman advance. Only then did Roman soldiers set fire to an adjacent apartment, starting a blaze that the Jews worsened.

Later Christian sources, traced back to Tacitus, claim Titus personally authorized the Temple’s destruction—a view modern scholars generally support, though the debate remains unsettled.

Josephus, who acted as a mediator for the Romans, wrote about the siege’s aftermath:

“Now as soon as the army had no more people to slay or to plunder… [Titus] Caesar gave orders that they should now demolish the entire city and Temple, but should leave as many of the towers standing as they were of the greatest eminence; that is, Phasaelus, and Hippicus, and Mariamne; and so much of the wall enclosed the city on the west side. This wall was spared… to demonstrate to posterity what kind of city it was… but for all the rest… it was so thoroughly laid even with the ground… there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited.”

He described the city’s transformation from a place of beauty and gardens to a desolate wasteland, lamenting the complete destruction brought by the war.

Archaeological Evidence

Archaeological discoveries support Josephus’ account. Reich notes that while remains relating directly to the Temple’s destruction are limited, evidence around the Temple Mount walls, Upper City, western city areas, and the Tyropoeon Valley corresponds closely to historical descriptions.

In the 1970s and 1980s, Nahman Avigad’s team found traces of great fires in the Upper City’s residential buildings. The fires destroyed organic materials, collapsed ceilings, and caused widespread damage. The “Burnt House” in the Herodian Quarter shows clear signs of fire damage from this period.

The fires even affected household items: limestone vessels were burned and turned to lime, glass vessels exploded, while pottery and basalt survived. Ash layers reached about a meter in depth, with rock falls up to two meters or more.

Large stone collapses from the Temple Mount’s walls were found over the Herodian street near the Western Wall. Among these stones is the Trumpeting Place inscription, a monumental Hebrew artifact thrown down by Roman soldiers during the destruction.

The city’s urban drainage systems, including the Pool of Siloam, were silted up and stopped working, and the city walls collapsed in many places.

Deaths, Enslavement, and Displacement

Josephus claims 1.1 million people, mostly Jewish, were killed during the siege, attributing the high death toll in part to the Passover crowds. After killing the armed and elderly, Josephus says 97,000 were enslaved, with 40,000 survivors allowed to leave Jerusalem freely. He also describes multiple waves of desertion before and during the siege.

Tacitus wrote that about 600,000 people of all ages and sexes were besieged, many armed and willing to fight, with men and women equally determined.

Modern scholars like Seth Schwartz reject Josephus’ death toll as exaggerated, estimating around a million people lived in all of Israel at the time, about half Jewish. He suggests the captive number of 97,000 is more reliable and notes that pilgrimage to Jerusalem continued even during the revolt, causing many trapped pilgrims to perish in the siege.

People from surrounding areas were also driven from their land or enslaved.

Aftermath of the Siege

Triumph and Roman Celebration

Titus and his soldiers celebrated their victory in Rome by parading the Temple Menorah and Table of the Bread of God’s Presence through the streets—items previously only seen by the High Priest. This triumph is immortalized in the Arch of Titus.

About 700 Judean prisoners were paraded in chains, including Simon bar Giora and John of Giscala. Simon was executed by being thrown from the Tarpeian Rock, and John was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Suppression of the Revolt

After Jerusalem’s fall, remaining rebel strongholds at Herodium, Machaerus, and Masada held out. Herodium and Machaerus fell within two years, and Masada was the final stronghold. In 73 CE, Romans breached Masada’s walls; Josephus claims nearly all Jewish defenders committed mass suicide before Roman entry. This marked the end of the First Jewish–Roman War.

Bar Kokhba Revolt

In 132 CE, about 60 years after the revolt’s suppression, the Bar Kokhba revolt broke out. The building of a Roman colony named Aelia Capitolina over Jerusalem’s ruins and a temple to Jupiter on the Temple Mount were major catalysts.

Supported by the Sanhedrin, Simon Bar Kosiba (Bar Kokhba) established an independent state, which Rome reconquered in 135 CE. This revolt caused even greater depopulation of Judean communities—some scholars describe it as genocide. Despite devastation, Jewish communities remained strong elsewhere in Israel. Emperor Hadrian renamed Judaea as Syria Palaestina.

Commemoration

The Arch of Titus in Rome commemorates the victory, depicting soldiers carrying Temple spoils like the Menorah. Built around 82 CE by Emperor Domitian, it still stands today on the Via Sacra.

A second, lesser-known Arch of Titus was constructed near the Circus Maximus in 82 CE, with only traces remaining.

In 75 CE, Emperor Vespasian built the Temple of Peace (Forum of Vespasian) in Rome, celebrating Jerusalem’s conquest and reportedly housing the Temple Menorah.

The Colosseum, built between 70 and 82 CE, was partly financed by spoils from the Jewish War, as evidenced by archaeological finds.

Judaea Capta coins were issued by Vespasian to mark the capture of Judaea and the Temple’s destruction.

Jewish Tradition and Memory

Tisha B’Av, an annual fast, commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples, which according to tradition, occurred on the same Hebrew calendar day.

After the destruction, some Jewish communities adopted a calendar system starting from the Temple’s destruction year. This system was used in cemeteries like Zoara and spread in the Levant and Jewish diaspora to mark life events.

In Jewish and Christian Eschatology

Jewish Amoraim saw the Temple’s destruction as divine punishment for internal hatred within Jewish society. Some Jews abandoned Judaism for paganism, while others joined the emerging Christian sect.

The destruction was pivotal in Christianity’s separation from Judaism. Many Christians distanced themselves from Judaism, viewing Jesus as anti-Temple. They saw the 70 CE events as fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy of the Temple’s destruction (Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13) and interpreted it as divine punishment for Jewish rejection of Jesus.