The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1903-12-17

a carved image, the idol which he hadmade
IN the house of God and which God had
said to David and to Solomon, his son:
IN this house and in Jerusalem. which
nave chosen before all the tribes of Israel,
VIII put my name forever" Gil Chron.
23:3-7)
Then again o4I B. c., Josiah purged
Judah and Jerusalem, DESTROYED all the
groves, alters and images etc.
And they broke down the alters of
Baalm in his presence; #** and made
dust OF them and strowed it upon the
graves OF them that had sacrificed unto
them, and he burnt the bonesof the priest
upon this alter, and cleansed Juhah and
Jerusalem. Gil Chron. 34:4-o)
ihe temple having been totally DESTROY
ed by 'Nebuchadnezzar and the Jews
carried its captivity, it layi in ruins till in
534 3. la new temple was commenced
under the superintendency of Zerubbabel
ana affer a long intermiSsion was resum-
cd 3. Z. $40, and completed B. c. SIC
anaer Darlons Hystaspes ezra 81 6-I5.D
MS secondtemple was removed by Herod.
as ne proceeded with the building or re-
pudding of a temple designed to rival the
Eirst rather than the second. The work
commenced B. c. 81 or 20; the temple
itself was finished in about wear
and half, the courts eight wears. but
the subsequent operations were carried on
SO dlltarlly that the Jews reckoned fortv-
SIX years as the whole time consumed
(John 2:2o)
In the courts Of this temple Jesus
preached and healed the sick; it was final
y destroyed by the Romans under Titus
A. D. 7o,WhIch eleven hundred thousand
Jews persisted QIooooI.) Titus tried to
save the temple but it had been doomed
by God to al.er destruction and no hand
or power could save it, (see Matt. 24:2. J
The prediction of Christ in regard to the
temple itself have been literally fulfilled,
mot one stone left upon another" all
thrown down. There are, however, on
and around the mountain, traces left of
the buildings which once adorned its crest.
massive walls, grand bridges, beautiful
gate-WayS, and other remains of the
temple and its courts. We may see
reservoirs supplied by aqueducts leading
OFT to mountain springs, thirty miles
away to Jacobs Well, hundred feet below
the surface, togetheri with large sewers
to convey the blood and washngs
OF the great alter into the Kedron
Valley. Much of the old material, such as
fragments of sculpture, rare marbles, and
beautiful columns, found in the MOSQUE of
Omar, Church of the Holy SepuIchre and
other more modern buildings. There are.
also, under the platform great vaults and
clsternS, secret doors and mysterious pas
sages which will evidently connect with
the Holy Sanctuary, and all the outer
walls OF the present surface of the ground,
which enclosed the courts of the Lord S
House IS still standing, with it's great
towers and immense stones, beautifully
beveled and laid regular courses, with the
marks of the Phoenicien masons still upon
them, just as they were laid by Hiram's
builders. This wall is almost mile in
extent, and from fifty to one hundred and
forty feet high, but mostly covered up
with debris. The stones are from ten to
forty feet long, with face from four to
six feet and depth greater. And yet
these huge blocks are cut and fitted with
SO much precision that after the lapse of
three thousand years, it is almost impossi-
Die to discover the seams where they are
joined together. There is no such piece of
Workmanship in Rome, Greece, or Egypt.
Under the city just north of the temple
enclosure may still be seen the extensive
quarries where most of the material was
obtained. There may be seen now, a
section of the city wall seventy feet high,
flfteenfeet thick entirely buried with rub