In Luke 21:11 (ESV), Jesus warned of pestilences as a sign of the coming judgment:
“There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.”
Pestilences, or widespread diseases, were not distant events in the future but were actively present in the period leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. These calamities, recorded by ancient historians, provide evidence that these prophecies were fulfilled in that generation.
Historical Fulfilment of Pestilence #
The historian Josephus reports that in A.D. 40, a terrible epidemic struck Babylon, which led to mass migrations. As tensions with the Babylonians grew, many Jews fled to Seleucia, only to encounter the pestilence there as well. He wrote:
“The Babylonians… attacked the Jews, which made those Jews so vehemently resent the injuries they received… A pestilence came upon these at Babylon… which occasioned new removals” (Josephus, Antiquities, 18.9.8).
This outbreak was part of a wider pattern of pestilences affecting regions where Jewish populations lived. Similar devastating outbreaks are also recorded in Rome in A.D. 65, when historian Tacitus reported that a severe pestilence claimed 30,000 lives in a single autumn:
“In the days of Nero, there was a pestilence in Rome that was so severe that within the space of one autumn, there died no less than 30,000 persons” (Tacitus, Annals 16.13).
The historian Suetonius similarly chronicled these pestilences, noting that such calamities were common during this time, particularly within the Roman Empire as tensions and disasters mounted leading up to the fall of Jerusalem.
The Role of Pestilence in the Siege of Jerusalem #
As the Roman army, under Titus, surrounded Jerusalem, the pestilence became another horrific factor contributing to the city’s suffering. According to the historian Halford:
“After Jerusalem was surrounded by the army of Titus, pestilential diseases soon made their appearance there to aggravate the miseries, and deepen the horrors of the siege. They were partly occasioned by the immense multitudes crowded together in the city, partly by the putrid effluvia which arose from the unburied dead, and partly from the spread of famine.”
These accounts emphasise the severity of the pestilences that struck in this period. Jesus’ prophecy was not simply a vague prediction of distant future events; it was a direct reflection of the catastrophic circumstances that His followers experienced during the time of the Roman siege of Jerusalem. The pestilences were among the many signs that pointed to the fulfilment of His words.
A Prophetic Sign of Fulfilment #
The pestilences, as described in these ancient sources, confirm that Jesus’ words were fulfilled precisely in that generation. The physical pestilences were precursors of the spiritual pestilence that Israel faced for rejecting the Messiah. The nation was reaping the consequences of its hardness of heart and failure to recognise the time of its visitation.
Jesus had prophesied pestilences, famines, and earthquakes as signs that would precede the destruction of Jerusalem. These calamities were not just random natural events; they were divinely appointed signs to bring about the end of the old covenant system and the judgment of Israel.
Reflection #
The fulfilment of this prophecy, specifically the pestilences, shows us that God’s judgment was not only physical but also spiritual. Just as the city of Jerusalem was filled with physical disease and death, so too was it spiritually diseased due to its rejection of Christ. Pestilence was a form of judgment, but it also acted as a call for repentance and a reminder of the need for Christ—the true Healer.
As believers, we are reminded to view the calamities of our world not as mere random occurrences, but as reflections of deeper spiritual realities. Jesus’ prophecies were not just warnings of historical events; they were divine revelations that point us to a broader, ongoing truth: the final victory of Christ over sin and death.
In Christ,
Godwin.
