Jerusalem

by Simon Sebag Montefiore

Jesus left no writings and his teachings have been endlessly analysed, but the four Gospels reveal that the essence of his ministry was his warning of the imminent Apocalypse – Judgement Day and the Kingdom of Heaven.

the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death . . . Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.’ This was not a social or nationalistic revolution: Jesus was most concerned with the world after the Last Days; he preached social justice not so much in this world as in the next: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’

‘Daughters of Jerusalem,’ he said, ‘weep not for me but weep for yourselves and your children,’ because the Apocalypse was imminent – ‘the days are coming’.