As long as it stood, however, the Temple was held by the Jews in high veneration. An utterance of the Savior, construed by the dark-minded as an aspersion upon the Temple, was used against Him as one of the chief accusations on which His death was demanded. When the Jews clamored for a sign of His authority He predicted His own death and subsequent resurrection, saying, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."[[98]] They blindly regarded this remark as a disrespectful allusion to their Temple, a structure built by human hands, and they refused to forget or forgive. That this veneration continued after the crucifixion of our Lord is evident from accusations brought against Stephen, and still later against Paul. In their murderous rage the people accused Stephen of disrespect for the Temple, and brought false witnesses who uttered perjured testimony saying, "This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words against this holy place."[[99]] And Stephen was numbered with the martyrs. When it was claimed that Paul had brought with him into the temple precincts, a Gentile, the whole city was aroused, and the infuriated mob dragged Paul from the place and sought to kill him.[[100]]
For thirty or more years after the death of Christ, the Jews continued the work of adding to and embellishing the temple buildings. The elaborate design conceived and projected by Herod had been practically completed; the Temple was well-nigh finished, and, as soon afterward appeared, was ready for destruction. Its fate had been definitely foretold by the Savior Himself. Commenting on a remark by one of the disciples concerning the great stones and the splendid buildings on the Temple hill, Jesus had said, "Seest thou these great buildings? There shall not be left one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down."[[101]]
This dire prediction soon found its literal fulfilment. In the great conflict with the Roman legions under Titus, many of the Jews had taken refuge within the temple courts, seemingly hoping that there the Lord would again fight the battles of His people and give them victory. But the protecting presence of Jehovah had long since departed therefrom and Israel was left a prey to the foe. Though Titus would have spared the Temple, his legionaries, maddened by the lust of conflict, started the conflagration and everything that could be burned was burned. The slaughter of the Jews was appalling; thousands of men, women and children were ruthlessly butchered within the walls, and the temple courts were literally flooded with human blood. This event occurred in the year 70 A. D.; and according to Josephus, in the same month and on the same day of the month as that on which the once glorious Temple of Solomon had fallen a prey to the flames kindled by the king of Babylon.[[102]] Of the temple furniture the golden candlestick and the table of shewbread from the Holy Place were carried by Titus to Rome as trophies of war; and representations of these sacred pieces are to be seen on the arch erected to the name of the victorious general.
Since the destruction of the splendid Temple of Herod no other structure of the kind, no Temple, no House of the Lord as the terms are used distinctively, has been reared on the eastern hemisphere. Sometime between 361 and 363 A. D. the Roman emperor Julian, surnamed because of his reversion from Christianity to paganism Julian the Apostate, attempted to reconstruct the Temple at Jerusalem. His purpose was not that of devotion to nor love for God; but that of controverting prophecy, and thus proving false the Christian belief.[[103]] So ends the category of Temples reared to the name of the living God prior to the dispensation of the fulness of times.
FOOTNOTES
[1]. Exodus 3:5.
[2]. Exodus 16:32-34.
[3]. See Exodus 31:18; 25:16; 32:15; 34:28, 29.
[4]. Exodus 33:7-11.
[5]. In the Authorized Version of the Holy Bible this sanctuary is called the Tabernacle of the Congregation; in the Revised Version it is designated the Tent of Meeting; preponderance of authority is in favor of the latter reading.