At the base of the Temple Mount

MAY 14—An archaeological museum at the western and southern base of the Temple Mount provides physical evidence of countless conflicts that have wracked this region of millennia.

Of special interest is a pile of huge rocks left in a jumble after the Romans destroyed the temple and the city in 70 A.D. It was a scene Jesus had predicted. “When some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, he said ‘As for these things that you see, the days will come when not one stone will be left upon another; all will be thrown down’” (Luke 21:5,6).

A little further up the mountain along the western wall is an open plaza where Jews from all over the world come to gather and to pray. Signs advise visitors that this is a place “where the divine presence always rests.” It is certainly a place of great devotion, where prayer is fervent and Scripture reading sincere. Minute cracks in the walls are stuffed with papers detailing the petitions of those who seek the presence and power of God Almighty.