THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #207 | THE LIFE OF MOSES #188
Pastor Christopher Choo
Lesson 3893
THE LIVES OF THE PATRIARCHS #207
THE LIFE OF MOSES #188
MOSES AT MT.SINAI#87
THE TABERNACLE OF MOSES ( Part 46)
THE MENORAH #16
THE MENORAH AT THE ARCH OF TITUS
Today we will study the Second Temple Menorah.
For my personal research I went to Rome to see the Arch of Titus near the more popular Coliseum.
There I found a group of Israeli students gazing at the only depiction of their sacred Menorah taken by Titus as a spoil of victory in the Roman-Jewish Wars in AD 70 when their Temple was completely destroyed.
The most historically important element of the reliefs’ iconography is the display of spolia from the war, including such sacred vessels from the Jerusalem Temple as the seven-branched Menorah and the Table of the Showbread
To touch base with history 2,000 years ago was a profoundly moving experience for me - how God in His mercy preserved for His chosen people an enduring symbol to unite His scattered people and to restore their national pride.
Beginning in the 18th century, the Menorah has been a common image in Christian portrayals of the destruction of Jerusalem. In the 19th century the Menorah on the Arch of Titus took on iconic status in Jewish contexts and hence was chosen as the symbol of the State of Israel in 1949.
Constructed soon after the death of Emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus in 81 CE, the Arch of Titus commemorates the Roman triumph awarded to Emperor Vespasian and to Titus, his son and heir, for their victory in the Jewish War (66-74 CE).
This well-preserved, iconic monument located at the height of the Sacra Via on the route followed by Roman triumphators, contains important bas reliefs of the triumphal procession through Rome.
As stated earlier, the Arch of Titus was erected in the Roman Forum around A.D.81, the ancient civic center of Rome, Italy, as a kind of political propaganda.
The focus of attention was the Menorah panel and the relief showing the deification of Titus at the apex of the arch.
If you gaze closely with an enlarged copy in your handphone's picture of the relief, you will see that the golden candelabrum or Menorah is carved in deep relief and in great detail.
The arch was originally dedicated after Emperor Titus' death in 81 CE and celebrates his victory in the Jewish War of 66-74 CE, which climaxed with the destruction of Jerusalem and her Temple in the summer of 70 CE.
The arch has three bas reliefs. One shows the deification of Titus. Two other reliefs depict the triumphal procession held in Rome in 71 CE: in one we see Roman soldiers carrying the spoils of war through the city, including the famous Menorah (the seven-branched candelabrum) and other treasures of the destroyed Temple.
These were put on display in Rome in the Temple of Peace not far from the arch. The second panel shows Titus riding in triumph through the city.
The Menorah on the Arch of Titus has been a symbol of Jewish resolve for 2000 years and is now the symbol of modern Israel.
As a closure to our study of the Menorah, it may seem a tragic loss that historians do not exactly know what happened to the Second Temple Menorah kept in Rome. They speculate it was probably melted for its gold long before Rome fell to the barbaric Visigoths from the north in 410 A.D.
But for us, the Menorah is God's eternal symbol of hope.
Conclusion
1. The Feast of Hanukkah is the celebration of God’s miraculous preservation of His chosen people from a wicked ruler and the wicked hearts of some in Israel who turned away from their God.
The Lord has promised that He will never allow the Jewish nation to be destroyed, though many have tried with all their might.
The nation of Israel was, when Antiochus Epiphanies barged onto the scene, largely a nation in rebellion against God.
But God is faithful in spite of man’s unfaithfulness. He kept His promise to preserve the Jewish people for His purposes and for His glory.
Such knowledge demands heart-felt worship of our merciful God.
2. Hanukkah is especially meaningful for without it there would be no Christmas.
Consider how much different the world history might be had the Jewish people been destroyed even prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.
Jesus, who we believe to be the Messiah and the Savior of the world, may never have been born, His offer of salvation to anyone who would believe would never have been made.
We should be thankful for the Light He has given to the world through a tiny nation the world loves to hate.
3. Many do not know the Arch of Titus nowadays.
But the symbol of the Menorah remains especially in Jesus as the Light of the World.
Even the superpower of His times tried to snuff out His Light by crucifying Him and taking the Temple Menorah back to Rome in AD 70 but Rome failed and fell.
4. Even in Ephesus I found an ancient etching of the Menorah on the steps of the Library of Celsius - to the delight of my students we realised this was the only reminder of the Jewish-Christian presence among the ruins where once Paul taught, where the Ephesian Church was founded, the Church that Jesus warned that if they lost their first love, He would remove the Menorah of His Presence ( Rev.2:5 ) and they would as such be dispersed.
Without genuine Christians remaining, it is impossible for a church to produce light.
Those with illumination bear greater responsibility for bearing fruit.
When we fail to bear fruit, God raises up others in our stead (Mtt. Mat. 21:43; Mark Mark 12:9; Luke Luke 20:16).
This would be the destiny of the Ephesian church if it did not repent -
a timely warning to His Endtime Church who like the Laodicean Church is blissfully lukewarm in maintenance mode.
