Before Jerusalem Fell

176 BEFORE JERUSALEM FELL
sword, and will be led captive into all the nations; and Jeru.ralem will
be trampled underfoot by tb Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be
fulfilled.” Revelation 11 :2b reads: “it [i.e., the holy city, Rev. 11:1]
has been given to the nationq and they will tread under>ot the fw~ tip
for forty-two months.” Here the correspondences are so strong, they
bespeak historical identity rather than mere accidental similarity:
Luke 21:24 / Revelation 11:2
Gentiles (~evfiv) = nations (g@dEv)
trampled underfoot (~a~ov@vq) = tread under foot (nanjooucnv)
It is evident that John’s Revelation and Luke’s Gospel look to the
same events. And these events were literal occurrences that happened
to historical institutions and structures, and that had not already
occurred, but that lay in the future for both Jesus (whose words Luke
records) and John (in Revelation). The context of Luke demands a
literal Jerusalem (Luke 21 :20) besieged by literal armies (Luke21 :20)
in literal Judea (Luke 21:21) – which as a matter of indisputable
historical record occurred in the events leading up to A.D. 70.
Objections to the Thesis
Despite the above observations, it is frequently argued by many
that the Revelation 11 indication of the Temple’s existence does not
demand a pre-A.D. 70 date. And this for several reasons.
77w Objection>orn Ck-ment of Ronw
Both Guthrie and Mounce,4 for example, argue that Clement of
Rome spoke of the Temple as still standing, even though he wrote
around A.D. 90+. Clement’s relevant statement is as follows: “Let
each of you, brethren, in his own order give thanks unto God,
maintaining a good conscience and not transgressing the appointed
rule of his service, but acting with all seemliness. Not in every place,
brethren, are the continual daily sacrifices offered, or the freewill
offerings, or the sin offerings and the trespass offerings, but in Jerusalem
alone. And even there the offering is not made in every place,
but before the sanctuary in the court of the alta.q and this too through
the high-priest and the aforesaid ministers, after that the victim to
48. Guthrie, Introdutwn, p. 960; Mounce, Revelation, p. 35.