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The Spirit of Prophecy Volume 3
temple for the last time, he said with mournful pathos, “Behold, your
house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall no more
see me henceforth till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the
name of the Lord.” Hitherto he had called it his Father’s house, but
now, as the Son of God passed out from those walls, God’s presence
was withdrawn forever from the temple built to his glory. Henceforth
its services were to be a mockery, and its ceremonies meaningless; for
Jerusalem’s day of probation was at an end.
Jesus had spoken clear and pointed words that day, which cut his
hearers to the heart. Their effect might not be seen at once, but the seed
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of truth sown in the minds of the people was to spring up and bear fruit
to the glory of God, and be the means of saving many souls. After the
crucifixion and resurrection of the Saviour, the lessons he had given
that day would be revived in the hearts of many attentive listeners,
who would in turn repeat the instruction which they had heard, for the
benefit of future generations to the close of time. The disciples were
astonished at the bold and authoritative manner in which their Master
had denounced the hypocritical Pharisees. And the priests, scribes,
and rulers were never to forget the last words Jesus addressed to them
in the temple: “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” The
words fell solemnly upon their ears, and struck a nameless terror to
their hearts. They affected indifference; but the question kept rising
in their minds as to what was the import of those words. An unseen
danger seemed to be threatening them. Could it be possible that the
magnificent temple, which was the nation’s glory, was soon to be a
heap of ruins?
The disciples shared in the general foreboding of evil, and anx-
iously waited for Jesus to make a more definite statement in regard to
the subject. As they passed out of the temple with their Master, they
called his attention to its strength and beauty and the durability of the
material of which it was composed, saying, “Master, see what manner
of stones and what buildings are here.” Jesus, to make his words as
impressive as possible, also called attention to the lofty structure: “See
ye not all these things? Verily, I say unto you, There shall not be left
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here one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.”
This was a startling statement to the disciples. The matter was
now made plain: The glorious edifice, built at immense cost, which
had been the pride of the Jewish nation, was to be destroyed from its