“And Jesus began to say to them, ‘See that no one leads you astray. Many will come in my name, saying, “I am he!” and they will lead many astray.’” (Mark 13:5-6 ESV)
Here Mark records several prophetic teachings of Jesus. We often hear these teachings in reference to end time events, things that will happen in the future. We often forget that, although some of these prophecies may have future significance, they have already been fulfilled. What Jesus prophesied concerned the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 AD by the Romans. What Jesus was foretelling was unbelievable, a calamitous event of epic proportions that would change the world forever. Jerusalem and God’s Holy Temple would be destroyed and the sacrificial system would cease. Many Jews would be slaughtered, while the rest would either be enslaved or dispersed throughout the world.
When the destruction actually occurred, it was as if the world ended. The surviving Jews would have felt something like many Americans initially felt on 9/11. Most people were confused, dazed and filled with terror. Many turned to God and felt the initial pangs of repentance. This revival was short-lived., as people soon began to forget these feelings to return to their old habits of selfishness and self-destruction.
God allows suffering and all calamitous events and catastrophes for His own reasons, reasons which we do not always know. Yet we do know that He uses calamity to lead people to Him to repent. Yet it is politically incorrect to say this let alone think it so not even most Christians will even began to admit this as a possibility. However, when Jerusalem was destroyed the Christians knew without a doubt that God’s judgment had fallen. They knew that the reason for this was because the Jews had crucified Jesus. Christians were kept safe from the destruction because they heeded the words of Jesus’ prophecy.