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In 70 AD, General Titus (destined to become Caesar) brought the Roman Legions to Jerusalem to quell a rebellion that had begun a few years earlier. He virtually destroyed Jerusalem and burned the temple (never to be rebuilt to this day). This monumental event signaled the effective end of the animal sacrifice system that had been in place since the time of Abraham and codified in the time of Moses. No longer would there be a ritual atonement offered by the high priest in the temple for the sins of the people. Synagogues replaced the temple as centers for worship, and rabbis replaced the priests as spiritual leaders. (Rabbinic Judaism was born.) The writer of Hebrews seizes upon this and points to Jesus as the one who has himself offered the final sacrifice on the cross, so that believers can be assured of their right standing before God through him.
