Question:
Can you give me the earliest historical proof for the statement so often made that the Christians fled from Jerusalem when the Roman army withdrew from its walls? If convenient, please give the statement and the reference whereby I may look it up.
Answer:
Gilfillan, in his book “The Sabbath” (page 371), says that, in fulfillment of Christ’s words, “both of promise and command, the Christians had escaped and taken refuge at Pella.” For this statement, he gives as authority Eusebius’s Ecclesiastical History, book 3, chapter 5. Olshausen, in his commentary, offers the same authority. Epiphanius is also mentioned as having written upon the matter. We don’t have their works at hand. See also Josephus, “Wars,” book 2, chapters 19, 20, and J.N. Andrews’s “History of the Sabbath.”
