Survivalism is really nothing new. In fact, the survivalists are reminiscent of a group that existed in the first century of our Common Era: the Jewish Zealots. As the seventh decade drew to a close, hostility between the Jews and their oppressive Roman rulers was reaching its flash point. Religious fanaticism, natural catastrophes such as earthquakes and food shortages all fueled fears that the end of the existing system of things had come. (Matthew 24:6-8) Like the survivalists of today, some tried to fortify themselves for the future. When Roman armies under the command of General Cestius Gallus moved against Jerusalem, some Jewish Zealots managed to capture the city of Masada. In their 1,300-foot-high (400 m) rock fortress, the Zealots had a battery of weapons and an ample supply of food and water. Survival seemed secure.

Roman General Titus, however, destroyed Jerusalem in 70 C.E., leaving Masada as the focal point of Roman attack. For seven long months the Zealots held out. But Roman engineers succeeded in constructing a huge ramp that granted their soldiers access to the fortress. Knowing that capture meant a miserable existence as slaves, the 960 men, women, and children of Masada committed mass suicide.

“WHEN you see Jerusalem surrounded by encamped armies, then know that the desolating of her has drawn near. Then let those in Judea begin fleeing to the mountains.” (Luke 21:20, 21) Thus Jesus Christ instructed his disciples. And what of those who disobeyed Christ’s words? He predicted: “They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations; and Jerusalem will be trampled on by the nations.”​—Luke 21:24.

The Zealots would have been repelled by Jesus’ words. According to Abram L. Sachar’s book A History of the Jews, the Zealots “were extremists who shrank from nothing to bring down their heathen masters.” The thought of fleeing would have seemed not only impractical but, worse yet, cowardly! So in 66 C.E., Roman cruelty incited these Jews to open rebellion. After Masada was captured by Jewish rebels, Rome rushed to secure Jerusalem. Jerusalem was now “surrounded by encamped armies.” But when the Roman proconsul Cestius Gallus unexpectedly withdrew his troops, the opportunity opened for residents of Jerusalem to follow Jesus’ advice and flee. Says third-century historian Eusebius: “The whole body, however, of the church at Jerusalem, having been commanded by a divine revelation . . . removed from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella.” But what of those who remained?

Came 70 C.E., and the Romans returned under the leadership of General Titus. Bent on conquest, they blockaded the city. Flavius Josephus, a former Jewish rebel who now served the Romans, circled the walls of Jerusalem, begging his people to give up their futile fight. “Realize,” he cried, “that you are fighting not only the Romans but God as well.” The result? In his own words: “Yet, though Josephus with tears thus loudly appealed to them, the insurgents neither yielded nor deemed it safe to alter their course.” As a result, hundreds of thousands died by starvation and the sword, and tens of thousands more were hauled off for a wretched life of slavery! Safe at Pella, however, Christians could contemplate the blessing of obeying Christ’s warning.