Step of the model

Destruction of Jerusalem and the second Temple (70)

**Artist’s impression** The Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in 70, artist’s impression by Wilhelm von Kaulbach (1846). An allegorical composition, not a historical reconstruction. — Wilhelm von Kaulbach (Neue Pinakothek, Munich), Wikimedia Commons · Domaine public

Historical landmark: 30–70

See the full entry: sources, objections, answers

In short

The announcement. Jesus, in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, announces that Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies and then laid waste, and that of the Temple “not one stone will be left on another”.

What happened. In 70, Jerusalem is surrounded and destroyed, and the second Temple disappears. This is the most solid historical anchor point in this whole graph.

What is still debated. no verse gives a date: it is the reader who links Luke's very precise description to the event of 70.

The text (World English Bible)

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the middle of her depart. Let those who are in the country not enter therein. For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath to this people. They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Luke 21:20-24