Lay it to Heart

The Western Wall

Scholars will tell you that all that remains today of the second temple in Jerusalem is the western wall of the temple court at the time of Jesus. Actually, the Western Wall or Wailing Wall that is found today was built after the destruction of Jerusalem. It is not really the "western wall". It was built after the destruction of Jerusalem. It was not a part of, or associated with, the second temple.

Picture of the western wall with stones still in place

In Luke 19:37, Jesus was at the Mount of Olives. In verse 41, he beheld the city of Jerusalem and wept over it. Then he said:

Luke 19:
	42	Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
	43	For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
	44	And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

Jesus was talking about Jerusalem. If the name of Jerusalem is substituted for the pronouns it would read:

Luke 19:
	42	Saying, If Jerusalem hadst known, even Jerusalem, at least in this Jerusalem's day, the things which belong unto Jerusalem's peace! but now they are hid from Jerusalem's eyes.
	43	For the days shall come upon Jerusalem, that Jerusalem's enemies shall cast a trench about Jerusalem, and compass Jerusalem round, and keep Jerusalem in on every side,
	44	And shall lay Jerusalem even with the ground, and Jerusalem's children within Jerusalem; and they shall not leave in Jerusalem one stone upon another; because Jerusalem knewest not the time of Jerusalem's visitation.

If Jerusalem was laid even with the ground and not one stone was left upon another, the wall that is at the temple mount today was not a part of Jerusalem in Jesus' day.