Haram esh-Sherif
In this picture we have a view of the entrance to the Haram esh-Sherif. It is one of the many pictures of the temple plateau and its buildings which we have given. This great area was, in a sense, at the very heart of the Jewish national life. Here were fore-gleams through all the centuries of the light that did shine in this sacred place when Jesus, the Light of the World, appeared to the people of Jerusalem. It was on Tuesday, April 4th, that Christ’s authority was questioned in the temple. On the same day He gave the parable of the two sons, and of the wicked husbandman and the marriage of the king’s son. It was at this time that the Pharisees questioned Jesus about tribute, and the Sadducees about the resurrection, and a lawyer about the great commandment. The first among the buildings of Jerusalem for extent, splendor and sacred interest was the temple. One of Captain Warren’s most interesting discoveries is to prove that the eastern wall of the present Haram area is part of the foundation laid by King Solomon. The present Mosque of Omar dignifies this important situation by its beauty and magnificence. Twenty-seven times has it been besieged, but for the last eleven hundred years it has been in the hands of fanatical Moslems. The Christian world hopes for its resurrection. One writer says: “Mohammedan power is fast passing away; the Turkish Empire is hastening to its fall,” and after that the emancipation of the Haram will not be very difficult. This holy city and this sacred area will come under other rulers, and its mysteries will then be laid open for the inspection of mankind.
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