A Roman Emperor Provides A Fact for Christian Faith
The Arch of Titus was built in 82 AD as a boastful tribute to the conquests of the Roman Emperor Titus.
Nearly two thousand years later it remains as an archeological testament to a very strange prediction made by Jesus. It was the kind of prediction that lends great credibility to the divinity of Jesus and, therefore, the existence of God.
The arch is located on the Via Sara in Rome, just south-east of the Roman Forum. The author visited it in 1969. It was built by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his oldest brother Titus to commemorate Titus' victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD.
Yet, the story starts much earlier. It seems that the disciples were out to impress Jesus with the grandness of the temple in Jerusalem. "Some were speaking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God." (Luke 21:5).
Jesus was crucified in AD 33; enter Titus in AD 70. Titus was sweeping the world in conquests; Jerusalem was not to be spared. In AD 70 the army of Titus defeated Jerusalem and burned the temple. In the process, the gold overlay on the wooden roof system melted and dripped into the cracks of the remaining stonework. As pay for their service, Titus gave the gold to his soldiers.
When the soldiers were finished prying the stones apart to get the gold (collect their pay), there was (as Jesus had predicted) "not one stone standing upon another."
Unbeknown to two ancient Roman Emperors, they left a "fact of faith" on the south panel of the arch built to honor themselves. The south panel depicts the spoils taken from the Temple in Jerusalem. The Golden Candelabra or Menorah is the main focus and is carved in deep relief.
Other objects being carried in the triumphal procession depicted on the panel are the Gold Trumpets and the Table of Shew Bread.