The Gospel and Tisha B’Av

Av is the fifth month of the Hebrew calendar, and usually falls in the months of July and August on the Gregorian calendar. Tisha B’Av — also known as the 9th of Av — is what the Jews would consider “a date that lives in infamy.”

According to Jewish scholars, on the 9th of Av the following historic catastrophes occurred:

1. Ten Jewish spies returned from the Promised Land with a bad report (leading the people to lose heart and be consigned to wander in the wilderness for 40 years).
2. The First and the Second temples were destroyed.
3. The Battle of Betar was lost (the Jewish rebellion under Simon bar Kochba was crushed and the remaining rebels were annihilated).
4. The Romans plowed the Temple Mount — in fulfillment of the prophecy of Micah 3:11-12.
5. Jews were expelled from England (in 1290 AD).
6. Jews were expelled from Spain (in 1492 — the same year Columbus “sailed the ocean blue”).
7. Both World Wars in the 20th Century began — unleashing horrific tragedy upon the Jewish people. READ MORE