of white marble, of one stone, with excellent polish. The gates were so rich and the stones so large that it was wonderful to behold. Some stones of the purest white marble were sixty-seven feet long and nine feet wide.

8

The Talmud (of the Jews) as well as Josephus, gives excellent descriptions of the grandeur and glory of the temple. Josephus describes the courts of the temple with their buildings, walls, gates, and pillars of the royal cloisters (walks, with their pillars), which ran along the southern border of the temple mountain from east to west. says:

He

"This cloister deserves to be mentioned better than any other under the sun. . . . If any one looked down from the top of the bat. tlements, or down both those altitudes, he would be giddy, while his sight could not reach to such an immense depth. This cloister had pillars that stood in four rows one over against the other all along, for the fourth row was interwoven into the wall, which also was built of stone; and the thickness of each pillar was such that three men might, with their arms extended, fathom it round and join their hands again, while its length was twenty-seven feet, with a double spiral at its basis; and the number of all the pillars in that court was an hundred and sixty-two. Their chapiters were made with sculptures after the Corinthian order, and caused an amazement [to the spectators], by reason of the grandeur of the whole.

"These four rows of pillars included three intervals for walking in the middle of this cloister; two of which walks were made parallel to each other, and were contrived after the same manner; the breadth of each of them was thirty feet, the length was a furlong, and the height fifty feet: but the breadth of the middle part of the cloister was one and a half of the other, and the height was double, for it was much higher than those on each side; but the roofs were adorned with deep sculptures in wood, representing many sorts of figures; the middle was much higher than the rest, and the wall of the front was adorned with beams, resting upon pillars, that were interwoven into it, and that front was all of polished stone, insomuch that its fineness, to such that had not seen it, was incredible, and to such as had seen it, was greatly amazing."

Josephus's" Wars of the Jews," book v, chap. v, par. I, 2, 6. 9"Antiquites of the Jews," book xv, chap. xi, par. 5.

The Prophecy of the Temple, and How it Was Fulfilled.

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Such a building was, from a human standpoint, worthy of admiration. Any one would naturally expect that it would stand for centuries. But Jesus said unto them, see ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." 10

Jesus was not carried away by outward show as the disciples were; and those who become enlightened by the word of the prophecy will look on the glittering things of this world as did our Saviour. They know that all human glory must soon pass away, and that all visible things shall be folded up like a garment and changed." But God is the same, his years fail not. His words are divine words, and his dominion, for which they prepare us, is an everlasting dominion. 12

Josephus states how exactly the words of our Saviour were fulfilled. When the Romans had taken the city, Titus ordered his soldiers to dig up all the foundations. The temple, however, was so grand and beautiful that it was worth saving for the honor of the Romans as a memorial of their victory. Titus therefore desired greatly to save it, and promised to spare the Jews if they would stop their resistance. Several times he sent Josephus to persuade his countrymen, but the providence of God directed otherwise.

First the Jews themselves set fire to the court of the temple, and afterwards the Romans. One of the soldiers threw a burning brand through a window, whereby the building was set on fire. soldiers quench the fire. threatening could subdue the beautiful temple was changed into a heap of smoking ruins, 13

Titus tried in vain to make his Neither encouraging words nor their rage; thus in a short time

10 Matt. 24: 2.

11 Heb. I: 12.

12 Dan. 7: 14.

13 Josephus's "Wars of the Jews," book vi, chap. ii, par. 5.

These events fulfilled the words of our Saviour, as well as the words of the Lord by Micah, very definitely: "Therefore shall Zion for your sake be plowed as a field, and jerusalem shall become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the forest." 14

The Question of the Disciples and the Answer of Jesus.

The disciples desired, however, to obtain further information of this matter (the destruction of Jerusalem). They supposed that the glorious revelation of Christ, and the end of the world, would follow immediately thereupon. So they went to Jesus, as he sat alone upon the Mount of Olives, and said: "Tell us, when shall these things be; and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world." 15

Jesus did not turn them away saying that they should not trouble themselves with such useless thoughts. He did not answer that it was something foreign to the Christian religion, as many try to make out in our time. On the contrary, he instructed them patiently concerning the things of which they desired information. Yet he warned them against false teachers who should come in his name. "And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. "16 The word "deceive" means "to lead into error; to cause to believe what is false." 17 To deceive in a religious sense is evidently to lead away from truth and virtue. The word of God is truth. 18 The example of Jesus is the way of life and glory. If any one endeavors to lead us away from the plain testimonies of the word of God, and from following the meek and humble example of Jesus,

14 Micah 3: 12.

17 Webster.

15 Matt. 24: 3.

18 John 17: 17.

16 Matt. 24: 4, 5.