We are working our way through 1 Thessalonians. Last week we looked at 2:13-16. For our study today, I want to focus on verse 16 and Paul's statement that, "But wrath has come upon them at last!" Let's look at the passage,
…For you suffered the same things from your own countrymen as they did from the Jews, who killed both the Lord Yeshua and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last! 1 Thessalonians 2:14b-16 ESV
This is a strong indictment against the Jews. Paul mentions the persecution that the Judean church was suffering from the hands of the Jews, and then we have an abrupt change when Paul launches into a tirade against the Jews ending with "But wrath has come upon them at last!" The verb here is phthanō, an aorist indicative. This use of the aorist tense, I believe, affirms something that is so inevitable and so certain that it can be spoken of as if it has already come to pass. I said last week that the wrath that Paul is referring to is what Yeshua called the "Great Tribulation." Twenty years earlier Yeshua had predicted this wrath, this great tribulation upon Israel. So, Paul could speak of it as a past event, because Yeshua, the God-Man said it was coming.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Matthew 24:21 ESV
Let's get some context on this verse. In Matthew 24, Yeshua is answering the disciple's questions about the destruction of Jerusalem. They wanted to know when it would be destroyed and what signs would precede the end of the age and His Parousia.
Yeshua left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, "You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down." As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?" Matthew 24:1-3 ESV
The Mount of Olives was just east of Jerusalem across the Kidron Valley. It is about a mile in length and about 700 feet in height. It overlooks Jerusalem so that from its summit almost every part of the city could be seen.
This walk, uphill with sandals, would have taken them maybe 15-30 minutes. During this time, they were no doubt thinking about what Yeshua had just said about the destruction of the Temple and how their house would be left desolate. Once Yeshua sat down on the mountain, the disciples approached Him and questioned Him about the Temple's destruction. According to Mark 13:3, the questions were asked by Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Matthew and Mark say they came "privately." In both Matthew and Mark, this is used to set the disciples apart from the crowds and not from each other. I think that this means that they were the ones who raised the questions, not that they were the only disciples present.
Their question was two-fold. First, they asked "when will these things be?" All three of the Synoptic Gospels ask "when."
Matthew 24:3 ESV "Tell us, when will these things be?"
Mark 13:4 ESV "Tell us, when will these things be?"
Luke 21:7 ESV "And they asked him, "Teacher, when will these things be?"
The "these things" refers to the Temple's destruction in verse 2. In verse 1, the disciples point out the Temple buildings to Yeshua. In verse 2, Yeshua says, "'All' these things' shall be destroyed." It should be clear that they are asking, "WHEN will the Temple be destroyed? When will our house be left desolate?" After all, Yeshua had just announced judgment on Jerusalem and predicted that not one stone would be left upon another. The disciples' natural response is "When?" That makes sense, doesn't it? I would hope so. It is the second part of their question where things get sticky.
The second part of their question is "What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age." To help us understand the question, we need to compare the three Synoptic Gospels.
Matthew 24:3 ESV "and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Mark 13:4 ESV "and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?"
Luke 21:7 ESV "and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?"
The comparison shows us that the disciples considered His "coming" and "the end of the age" to be identical events associated with the destruction of the temple.
"Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when all these things are about to be accomplished?" Mark 13:4 ESV
Notice in the first part of the verse they ask, "When will these things be." They are referring to the Temples' destruction. Then in the second half, they ask, "What will be the sign when all 'these things' will be fulfilled?" The sign of His coming and the end of age was the same as the "these thing," which referred to the destruction of Jerusalem in the year A.D. 70. These are not separate questions that can be divided up into different time events. The disciples had one thing, and only one thing, on their mind and that was the destruction of the Temple. With the destruction of the Temple, they connected the coming of Messiah and the end of the age.
After talking about the abomination of desolation, which was Jerusalem surrounded by armies according to Luke (Luke 21), Yeshua taught about the great tribulation. Is the "Great Tribulation" something that looms in our future or is in a past event? Is Matthew 24 talking about an event yet future to us or something that happened in the time of the disciples? The Scriptures are clear that The Great Tribulation is PAST! It happened in the first century.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Matthew 24:21 ESV
"Then" is when? Within a few thousand years? The "then" is found in the context of verses 15-20 when Yeshua told His disciples that when they saw the abomination of desolation, (i.e., the surrounding of Jerusalem by armies—Luke 21), they were to know that its desolation was near. This happened in A.D. 67 when Cestius Gallus, the Roman general, laid siege to Jerusalem. The Great Tribulation, therefore, is not an event yet future to us. It occurred "then," during the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in the first century. This is made abundantly clear in the parallel text in Luke's Gospel.
"But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. Luke 21:20-24 ESV
Notice whom in particular the tribulation would come upon—"the earth" (vs. 23). The Greek word ge ("earth") refers here to Jerusalem and "this people" refers to the first- century Jews. It has nothing to do with a world future to us. Verse 24 gives us added details as to exactly what would happen in the Great Tribulation. We will look more closely at the details of verse 24 in a few moments. Right now, I want us to examine Luke 21:22.
for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. Luke 21:22 ESV
Luke tells us here that ALL that is written will be fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem. What does he mean by that? "All that is written" refers to prophecy. All prophecy was to be fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem. Daniel tells us this very same thing in Daniel 9:24.
"Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Daniel 9:24 ESV
Daniel was told that 70 weeks had been determined on his people Israel and the city of Jerusalem. By the end of this prophetic time period, God promised that six things would be accomplished. One of the things that Daniel was told would happen by the end of that period was that God would "seal both vision and prophet." The Hebrew commentaries are in agreement on the meaning of "to seal both vision and prophet." It means the end and complete fulfillment of all prophecy.
Daniel's prophecy, then, tells of the time when all prophecy would cease to be given and what had been given would be fulfilled. When would this be? Daniel's vision ends with the destruction of Jerusalem which we know occurred in A.D. 70.
And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. Daniel 9:26 ESV
Luke clearly is saying the same thing that Daniel said—at the time Jerusalem is destroyed, all prophecy will be fulfilled. What does that include? That would include the prophecy of the Second coming, the resurrection, and the new heavens and earth. Everything prophesied to Israel would be fulfilled at the time of Jerusalem's destruction.
"At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. Daniel 12:1 ESV
Does that sound familiar to you? It should. We just read that same idea in Matthew 24:21.
For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. Matthew 24:21 ESV
Now, notice the next verse in Daniel;
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:2 ESV
This is the resurrection of the just and of the unjust. It happens at the time of Jerusalem's destruction, and so does the Second coming. This is so important for us to understand. The completion of the plan of redemption and the fulfillment of all prophecy were tied up in Jerusalem's destruction. It was an age-changing event.
William Kimball, in his book, What the Bible Says About the Great Tribulation, said: "This period of great tribulation is not an event which the entire world is yet awaiting, but a past historic event of unparalleled concentrated severity specifically afflicting the Jewish nation in 70 AD."
Eusebius of Caesarea, who lived in the third century, said, "He believed that the flight of the Christians, the abomination of desolation, and the great tribulation, were all connected with the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD."
Let's look at what exactly happened in A.D. 70 in order to see if it truly was "the Great Tribulation" and "the days of vengeance." Because most Christians are totally unfamiliar with the events of A.D. 70, they cannot understand how it was the great tribulation. Because all of the Bible was written before A.D. 70, it only predicts the events of Jerusalem's fall. In order to find out what happened at that time, we need to look to history.
Most of the history that we are going to look at this morning comes from Josephus, a Jewish historian who lived and wrote at the time of Jerusalem's destruction. In the preface to The War of the Jews, Josephus wrote: "Whereas the war which the Jews made with the Romans hath been the greatest of all those, not only that have been in our times, but, in a manner, of those that were ever heard of." (PREFACE, Section 1)
Josephus, who was not a Christian, agrees with Yeshua's words in Matthew 24:21 that the war with the Romans was "the greatest of all" wars "ever heard of."
What was it that caused this war? Many think that the Romans just decided to crush the Jews, so they laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed it. This is not the case. Notice a verse in Daniel 9.
"And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. Daniel 9:26 ESV
Who is the prince to come?
Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. Daniel 9:25 ESV
The nearest antecedent for the coming prince in verse 26 would carry us back to the "Messiah the Prince" (verse 25) who was cut off (verse 26). Therefore, Christ becomes the one and only "Prince" in the whole context. The "people of the prince" speaks of the Jewish people who were the ones responsible for the destruction of the city of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70.
Rome did not initiate the war against Jerusalem. The zealots in Jerusalem had incited the Jews to rebel against Rome and to quit paying their taxes. The Jews stopped paying their taxes and rebelled against Rome. A recurring theme in Josephus' work on the Roman war is the clear imputation of guilt upon the Jews themselves for the starting of the war. Josephus wrote:
However, I will not go to the other extreme, out of opposition to those men who extol the Romans, nor will I determine to raise the actions of my countrymen too high; but I will prosecute the actions of both parties with accuracy. Yet I shall suit my language to the passions I am under, as to the affairs I describe, and must be allowed to indulge some lamentation upon the miseries undergone by my own country; for that it was a seditious temper of our own that destroyed it; and that they were the tyrants among the Jews who brought the Roman power upon us, who unwillingly attacked us, and occasioned the burning of our holy temple; Titus Caesar, who destroyed it, is himself a witness, who, during the entire war, pitied the people who were kept under by the seditious, and did often voluntarily delay the taking of the city, and allowed time to the siege, in order to let the authors have opportunity for repentance.
Accordingly it appears to me, that the misfortunes of all men, from the beginning of the world, if they be compared to these of the Jews, are not so considerable as they were; while the authors of them were not foreigners neither. (PREFACE Section 4)
The Jews also rebelled by ceasing to offer a sacrifice for Caesar. Josephus says this was the beginning of the war.
And at this time it was that some of those that principally excited the people to go to war, made an assault upon a certain fortress called Masada. They took it by treachery, and slew the Romans that were there, and put others of their own party to keep it. At the same time Eleazar, the son of Ananias the high priest, a very bold youth, who was at that time governor of the temple, persuaded those that officiated in the divine service to receive no gift or sacrifice for any foreigner. And this was the true beginning of our war with the Romans: for they rejected the sacrifice of Caesar on this account: and when many of the high priests and principal men besought them not to omit the sacrifice, which it was customary for them to offer for their princes, they would not be prevailed upon. These relied much upon their multitude, for the most flourishing part of the innovators assisted them; but they had the chief regard to Eleazar, the governor of the temple. (Josephus Book II, Chapter XVII, Section 2)
The city was full of wickedness and the people appointed high priests of unknown people who cooperated with them in their wickedness. Josephus records that the regular high priest, Ananus, as saying, "Certainly, it had been good for me to die before I had seen the house of God full of so many abominations." The wickedness within the city was great; the city was in civil war. Josephus tells us what went on in the city.
And indeed many there were of the Jews that deserted every day, and fled away from the zealots, although their flight was very difficult, since they had guarded every passage out of the city, and slew every one that was caught at them, as taking it for granted they were going over to the Romans… Along all the roads also vast numbers of dead bodies lay in heaps, and even many of those that were so zealous in deserting at length chose rather to perish within the city; for the hopes of burial made death in their own city appear of the two less terrible to them.
But these zealots came at last to that degree of barbarity, as not to bestow a burial either on those slain in the city, or on those that lay along the roads; but as if they had made an agreement to cancel both the laws of their country and the laws of nature, and, at the same time that they defiled men with their wicked actions, they would pollute the Divinity itself also, they left the dead bodies to putrefy under the sun; and the same punishment was allotted to such as buried any as to those that deserted, which was no other than death; while he that granted the favor of a grave to another would presently stand in need of a grave himself.
Nay, the terror was so very great, that he who survived called them that were first dead happy, as being at rest already; as did those that were under torture in the prisons, declare, that, upon this comparison, those that lay unburied were the happiest. (Josephus Book IV, Chapter VI, Section 3)
In light of what Josephus says here about the dead bodies lying in heaps and rotting in the sun, listen to the prophecy of Amos.
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, "Amos, what do you see?" And I said, "A basket of summer fruit." Then the LORD said to me, "The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them. The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day," declares the Lord GOD. "So many dead bodies!" "They are thrown everywhere!" "Silence!" Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, Amos 8:1-4 ESV
Why was this happening to Israel? They had broken the covenant with their God. They had turned from God and thus were suffering a covenantal judgment.
But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Deuteronomy 28:15 ESV
And as the LORD took delight in doing you good and multiplying you, so the LORD will take delight in bringing ruin upon you and destroying you. And you shall be plucked off the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Deuteronomy 28:63 ESV
The destruction of an immense quantity of corn and other provisions by the rebels was the direct occasion of a terrible famine which consumed incredible numbers of Jews in Jerusalem during its siege. Josephus writes that there were three factions fighting within the city, killing each other and burning their own supplies.
Accordingly, it so came to pass, that all the places that were about the temple were burnt down, and were become an intermediate desert space, ready for fighting on both sides; and that almost all the corn was burnt, which would have been sufficient for a siege of many years. So they were taken by the means of famine, which it was impossible they should have been, unless they had thus prepared the way for it by this procedure. (Josephus Book V, Chapter I, Section 4)
The famine during the great tribulation was predicted in Ezekiel 4:10-12.
And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels a day; from day to day you shall eat it. And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin; from day to day you shall drink. And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung." Ezekiel 4:10-12 ESV
We also see this famine predicted in John's Olivet discourse (i.e., the book of Revelation).
When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand. And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!" Revelation 6:5-6 ESV
The pair of scales is a symbol of famine. This famine destroyed many in Jerusalem. After the horse of famine comes death.
When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, "Come!" And I looked, and behold, a pale horse! And its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth. Revelation 6:7-8 ESV
Josephus records the history that bears out the fulfillment of these awful prophesies.
By reason the city was all walled about, some persons were driven to that terrible distress as to search the common sewers and old dunghills of cattle, and to eat the dung which they got there; and what they of old could not endure so much as to see they now used for food. (Josephus Book V, Chapter XIII, Section 7)
The depth of this famine is so clearly seen in the gut-wrenching story that Josephus tells of Mary.
Now there was a certain woman that dwelt beyond Jordan, her name was Mary; her father was Eleazar, of the village Bethezub, which signifies the House of Hyssop. She was eminent for her family and her wealth, and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude, and was with them besieged therein at this time. The other effects of this woman had been already seized upon; such I mean as she had brought with her out of Perea, and removed to the city.
What she had treasured up besides, as also what food she had contrived to save, had also been carried off by the rapacious guards, who came every day running into her house for that purpose. This put the poor woman into a very great passion, and by the frequent reproaches and imprecations she cast at these rapacious villains, she had provoked them to anger against her; but none of them, either out of the indignation she had raised against herself, or out of the commiseration of her case, would take away her life; and if she found any food, she perceived her labours were for others, and not for herself; and it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself: nor did she consult with anything but with her passion and the necessity she was in.
She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, 'O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine, and this sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be slaves! The famine also will destroy us, even before that slavery comes upon us; yet are these seditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets and a bye word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews.' As soon as she had said this, she slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed.
Upon this the seditious come in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not shew them what food she had gotten ready. She replied, that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them; and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight; when she said to them 'This is mine own son; and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, as I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also.' After which, those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at anything as they were at this, and with some difficulty they left the rest of that meat to the mother.
Upon which, the whole city was full of horrid action immediately; and while everyone laid this miserable case before their own eyes, they trembled, as if this unheard-of-action had been done by themselves. So those that were thus distressed by the famine were very desirous to die; and those already dead were esteemed happy, because they had not lived long enough either to hear or see such miseries. (Josephus Book VI, Chapter III, Section 4).
Listen again to the covenantal curses of Deuteronomy 28:
And you shall eat the fruit of your womb, the flesh of your sons and daughters, whom the LORD your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you. Deuteronomy 28:53 ESV
her afterbirth that comes out from between her feet and her children whom she bears, because lacking everything she will eat them secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your towns. Deuteronomy 28:57 ESV
I would strongly encourage you to read Deuteronomy 28 in its entirety keeping in mind all we have discussed today. I hope that by now you are beginning to understand the wrath that Paul said would come upon the Jews at last.
Israel had crucified the Lord and publicly called God's judgment down on themselves.
And all the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" Matthew 27:25 ESV
God's judgment on Israel in A.D. 70 matched their crime, the crucifixion of Christ. This crime was the worst in history, so their punishment was also the worst in history. To call anything else "the great tribulation" is to downplay the immensity of that generation's guilt.
Joseph Ernest Renan, who was a Semitic scholar and an expert of Semitic languages said, "From this time forth, hunger, rage, despair, and madness dwelt in Jerusalem. It was a cage of furious maniacs, a city resounding with howling and inhabited by cannibals, a very hell. Titus, for his part, was atrociously vindictive; every day five hundred unfortunates were crucified in the sight of the city with hateful refinements of cruelty or sufficient ground whereon to erect them."
Now you may be wondering how what happened in Jerusalem affected those in Thessalonica? We need to realize the scope of God's wrath in the great tribulation upon the people of Israel. It was not just those in Jerusalem that suffered and died, but also those all over Palestine. The whole country felt the wrath of God. Josephus said, "There was not a Syrian city which did not slay their Jewish inhabitants and were more bitter enemies to us than were the Romans themselves."
David Clark said, "It is doubtful if anything before or since has equaled it for ruthless slaughter and merciless destruction. From the locality of these churches in Asia Minor to the borders of Egypt the land was a slaughterhouse, City after city was wrecked, sacked, and burned; till it was recorded that cities were left without an inhabitant."
The destruction of Jerusalem was far more than just the destruction of a city. Jerusalem and the temple were the center of worship of Yahweh, the God of gods and Lord of Lords. With its destruction came a covenantal change. God's kingdom was taken from them, and no longer would Gentiles rule over God's kingdom because His Kingdom was now a spiritual kingdom, entered not by a physical birth but by a spiritual birth. The old heavens and earth of Judaism were destroyed and the new heavens and earth of Spiritual Israel were established. It signaled the end of the age. God had utterly destroyed the physical temple, the genealogical records which qualified descendants of Aaron to serve as priests, and the city of Jerusalem. The old system of worship was forever over.
Many today within churchianity believe that Israel is still God's people and that He has a future plan for racial Israel. John MacArthur writes, "You say, ‘Is that all there is for Israel?' No, Romans 11 says someday in the future all Israel will be saved. God will not be unfaithful to His original promise. God must keep His Word."
MacArthur is wrong! Yahweh is finished with national Israel, ethnic Israel. Some may ask, "What about Romans 11?"
And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; Romans 11:26 ESVDispensationalism says that at the end of the church age the Church will be raptured out, and God will once again begin to deal with national Israel. During the Tribulation, many Jews will be saved and the Millennium will be a time of Jewish dominance. They claim that "And so all Israel will be saved" refers to Israel's being restored as a nation.
There is nothing in this text about "national" Israel. Paul opened his argument with a clear signal that he was redefining "Israel."
But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, Romans 9:6 ESV"Not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel." There is a true Israel, a believing remnant, within nation Israel. He was telling them that physical decent didn't mean that they were the true people of God.
I see "all Israel" here as referring to the remnant of the house of Israel and the remnant of the house of Judah and all the believing Gentiles. "All Israel" is all of true Israel, all of spiritual Israel, all of those who are united to Christ by faith.
Yahweh ended His relationship with National Israel in A.D. 70. Since A.D. 70 and the destruction of the Jewish Temple, Judaism has had no priests and has done no sacrifices.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Matthew 5:17-18 ESVYeshua said that nothing in the Law would change until heaven and earth passed away. Has the Law changed since A.D. 70? Yes. How do you have Judaism with no Temple, no priests and no sacrifices? The sacrifices and priesthood were at the very heart of Israel, but all that has been fulfilled in Christ. And those who call themselves Jews today, those who say they are living under Torah, are just a cult of Christ-rejecting, God haters. Their religion is that of their own making; they do not follow Torah. Yahweh put all that to an end with the consummation of the New Covenant.
In his book, City of Ruins, Mourning the Destruction of Jerusalem Through Jewish Apocalypse, Dereck Daschke writes, "The tragedy that befell the ancient Judaic religious system was a symbolic loss of the highest order. It offered a stark choice: reinvent the Yahwistic worldview or be lost forever" (p. 10).
This is what Judaism did: It reinvented the Yahwistic worldview; it is nothing like the true Yahwistic worldview. Judaism as a religion and ethnic Jews as a people all ended in A.D. 70. God's wrath came upon the Christ rejectors and ended that system forever. The New Covenant was fully consummated at this time, and we now dwell in the kingdom of God.