The Siege of Jerusalem

The longsuffering of God toward Jerusalem only confirmed the Jews in their stubborn impenitence. In their hatred and cruelty toward the disciples of Jesus, they rejected the last offer of mercy. Then God withdrew His protection from them, and removed His restraining power from Satan and his angels, and the nation was left to the control of the leader she had chosen. Her children had spurned the grace of Christ, which would have enabled them to subdue their evil impulses, and now these became the conquerors.TA 240.2

Satan aroused the fiercest and most debased passions of the soul. Men did not reason; they were beyond reason—controlled by impulse and blind rage. They became Satanic in their cruelty.... Satan was at the head of the nation, and the highest civil and religious authorities were under his sway.—The Spirit of Prophecy 4:29, 30.TA 241.1

Angels of God were sent to do the work of destruction, so that one stone [of the temple] was not left upon another that was not thrown down.—Manuscript Releases 21:66.TA 241.2