Not a lot of good news in what Jesus is foretelling today. The destruction of the Temple is the most devastating blow imaginable to the Hebrew people, and the killing of many is just as horrible. But Jesus isn’t speaking in parables now. This really did happen, just a few decades after he foretold it. During this time, there also came several false Messiahs, all of whom also met some pretty horrible ends. It seems that this would be a sign that God had left his people and yet Jesus says, “you can know that the Kingdom of God is near.” While that seems like very little consolation to those going through the horror, God is still on the throne.