3. THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. At last the word of Jesus was fulfilled: "For the day shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another: because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." The terrible judgment drew near! The cruel Emperor Nero at that time ruled in Rome. Under him the Jews rebelled and drove the Romans from their country. Nero sent his general Vespasian to chastise the rebels. Victoriously he pressed forward. Soon thereafter Nero died, and Vespasian was recalled and himself elected emperor. His son Titus was to complete the chastisement of the Jews. In the spring of 70 A. D. he marched against Jerusalem with an enormous army and laid siege to the city. His demand that the Jews surrender, in order to save their city and magnificent temple, was rejected with scorn by the proud leaders. Titus at once cast a trench about the city, and bombarded it by means of catapults. [Illustration: The Destruction of Jerusalem.] The condition of the city was frightful. It happened to be the time of the passover, and because of this festival more than two millions of people had assembled in Jerusalem. They were not at one among themselves; some were in favor of surrendering to the Romans, others were determined to resist to the last. The latter gained the ascendency, and filled with ferocity and desperation they fought against the Romans. No one dared even to speak of surrender, because the leaders had forbidden it under penalty of death. Soon frightful famine and much other misery arose. Everything was eaten, even the most disgusting things, as, for instance, the excrements of animals; yes, a woman of noble birth killed and devoured her own child. Epidemics broke out and carried off thousands. Because the corpses could not be buried, they were thrown over the walls and filled the trenches. Yet, in spite of this, the Jews would not surrender. Then Titus took the city by storm, and the Romans killed and slaughtered whatever came in their way. The temple was defended by the Jews with great stubbornness. Titus had commanded to preserve this building, but a soldier threw a firebrand into it, and soon the magnificent edifice was enveloped in flames. The city of Jerusalem was laid even with the ground, according to the word of the Lord: "Not one stone shall remain upon another," Luke 19, 14.