Herod's Temple was destroyed stone by stone because, unlike Solomon's wood-built Temple, it was a stone structure that Roman soldiers literally pulled apart — reportedly searching for gold hidden between the building stones.
Jesus predicted this event when He said, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another" (Matthew 24:2). Les Feldick explains that the Romans did not merely burn the stone Temple; they dismantled it rock by rock. He notes the legendary account that Roman soldiers heard tons of gold were hidden between the building blocks, so they took the structure down stone by stone.
Matthew 24:2 — Jesus directly prophesied that not one stone of the temple complex would be left on another.
Daniel 9:26 — The Old Testament foretold the destruction of the city and sanctuary by the people of a coming prince.
In Matthew 24:2, Jesus told His disciples, "See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." This is the clearest biblical record that the temple complex would be completely dismantled. The Old Testament also anticipated this destruction. Daniel 9:26 states, "And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined." Scripture itself does not explain the soldiers' motive; it records the prophecy of the event.
Les identifies the temple in Matthew 24 as the one Herod remodeled, extended, and enlarged from the second temple. He says Jesus was speaking prophetically when He told the disciples that not one stone would remain on another. Les contrasts Solomon's Temple, which burned "like a matchbox" because it was predominantly cedar wood, with the later stone temple, which the Romans had to take apart. He notes the legendary story that Roman soldiers heard "tons of gold hidden between the building blocks" and therefore took the structure down stone by stone. Les also points to Titus, the Roman general, as the one who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple.
Les explains that the temple the disciples were admiring in Matthew 24 was the second temple that Herod the Great remodeled, extended, and enlarged. He says Herod began remodeling and enlarging the second temple — first rebuilt by Ezra — and that this was the temple standing at Christ's first coming. So the words of Jesus apply to the Herodian temple complex.
When the disciples pointed to the temple complex, Jesus answered, "See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Les calls this a prophetic utterance and says it refers to the literal dismantling of the temple.
Les explains that the earlier destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar was by fire because it was predominantly cedar wood and "burned like a matchbox." The Herodian temple, however, was built of stone, so the Romans could not destroy it the same way. Les says the soldiers "literally dismantled that temple rock by rock and stone by stone" after hearing rumors of gold hidden between the building blocks. He also notes that the Jews poured hot boiling oil on Roman soldiers, which made the Romans ruthless when they finally entered the city.
Les identifies Titus, the Roman general, as the one who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He connects this destruction to Daniel 9:26, which speaks of "the people of the prince that shall come" destroying the city and the sanctuary. In Les's teaching, this points to the Roman people and links the past destruction to the old Roman empire.
The White Horse Rider: Antichrist or Jesus? Revelation 6
long time in the Greek and out of the Hebrew, and of course even in our English the word B-O-W can be bow. You can bend over as someone after a tremendous concert, they bow to their audience. Or it can be a bow, the rainbow in the cloud. Or it can be a bow as we think of it as shooting arrows. But you can't really delineate this word out of the Greek as to what is implied.
The Stone-by-Stone Destruction
Les directly answers the question by explaining that the Romans dismantled the stone temple rock by rock, with the legendary story of gold hidden between the building blocks.
What Happens at the Midpoint of the Tribulation?
It was beautiful, and if you ever get to Israel, one of the tourist sites of course is the Model City, and in that Model City there is a replica of the temple as near as they can reconstruct it. It was beautiful. It was gorgeous. But see Herod put a lot of work and expense, he even put in great retaining walls and filled it in order to enlarge the mountain on which Solomon's temple had stood.
The Temple the Disciples Admired
Les explains that the disciples in Matthew 24 were admiring the Herodian temple, which Herod had remodeled and enlarged from the second temple.
What Happens at the Midpoint of the Tribulation?
Then the second temple was the one that was rebuilt first by Ezra as they came back from the Babylonian captivity, but it was pretty makeshift. It wasn't anything like the beauty of the temple of Solomon. After all they didn't have the numbers of Jewish people, they didn't have the accumulated wealth, and so it was just more or less a makeshift structure.
Roman Ruthlessness
Les describes how Jewish defenders poured hot boiling oil on Roman soldiers, causing the Romans to be ruthless when they broke into Jerusalem.
Why the Church Will Not Go Through the Tribulation
It's a place where city after city have been destroyed, and you know how they've done all through ancient history. When they destroy a city, they just simply level the rubble and build another one. Another enemy comes in, destroys it and burns it, they level off the rubble and they build another one.
Titus and Daniel's Prophecy
Les names Titus as the Roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple and connects the event to Daniel 9:26.
Matthew 24:2: And Jesus said unto them, "See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."
This is the verse where Jesus prophesies the complete dismantling of the temple complex.
Daniel 9:26: And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Les connects this Old Testament prophecy to the Roman destruction of the city and sanctuary.
Yes. In Matthew 24:2 Jesus told His disciples, "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Les says this was a prophetic utterance, and the Roman destruction fulfilled it literally.
Les explains that Roman soldiers had heard reports of tons of gold hidden between the temple's building blocks. To get to that supposed treasure, they took the temple down stone by stone. Les describes this as one of the legendary stories explaining the dismantling.
Les says Titus, the Roman general, destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple. He ties this destruction to Daniel 9:26, which says the people of the prince that shall come would destroy the city and the sanctuary.
Watch the Teaching: The White Horse Rider: Antichrist or Jesus? Revelation 6