The Church in Israel
“How much more will these, who are natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree?” (Romans 11:24)
In AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans under Titus. It is said that not a single Jew was left alive in Jerusalem, as all were either killed or taken away as prisoners. The Romans destroyed much of the city, including the second temple, the very centre of Jewish life. Most of the information on the destruction of Jerusalem comes from the writings of the contemporary Jewish historian Josephus (AD 37-AD 100). According to Josephus, over a million Jews died as a result of either violence or famine. It has been noted that this number exceeded the entire population of Jerusalem. This has been accounted for by the fact that many were thought to have travelled to Jerusalem to partake of the Passover, but got trapped in the siege.
Last month marked the 75th anniversary of the creation of the modern nation state of Israel. On 14 May 1948, David Ben-Guiron, the Prime Minister of Israel, read out Israel’s Declaration of Independence, leaving Jews free to return to and govern themselves in their own land. Immediately after, Israel was attacked by 5 neighbouring Arab states. The Israeli-Palestinian issue remains one of the world’s most enduring conflicts with numerous political efforts made to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.
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