Page 26 - Satan in the Sanctuary

28 Satan in the Sanctuary

sacrifice, which collected the blood of sacrificed animals
and the burned remains, had to be washed down and
flushed clean by the priests every night. These facilities
required quite a drainage system for their times. I was in
the water drainage tunnels, and I was able to stand up-
right. They are more than six feet in height. It has been
estimated that the total water that was stored in cisterns
and reservoirs within the Temple mount amounted to 10
million gallons.
Also discovered in the diggings have been clues to in-
formation about weights and measures lost for millennia.
The law of Moses requires a strict system of these weights
and measures as regards Temple worship. Grain and other
offerings must be reckoned very exactly, and the precise
value of many of the recorded weights and measures had
been buried for 1900 years. Many people wondered how
these important provisions of the law could be observed
even if the Temple were rebuilt at once. But the excava-
tions uncovered coins and stone weights with Hebrew in-
scriptions on them. Some of these go back to prehistoric
times. The exact weight of a "sheckel" is now known, as
well as other important weights and measures. And of
course the excavations have only begun.
Also uncovered now are the steps to the Huldah Gate
through the south wall. These were undoubtedly the steps
used by Jesus and the apostles when they ascended to the
Temple. The Huldah Gate was used by the common peo-
ple coming to worship, as opposed to the gates on the
Western Wall, which were used by priests and royalty.
The guide notes another phenomenon in Israel concern-
ing the Temple site work:

A great and cohesive body of knowledge is being col-
lected about the past Temples, and new discoveries are