Page:The House of the Lord.djvu/195

Rh appear inscriptions which are alike at both ends of the building. The keystone of the lower window bears on a carven scroll "I am Alpha and Omega." This inscription, a figurative epitome of both time and eternity, and a proclamation of Him who is without beginning and without end, has a peculiar appropriateness over the central casements of this, the House of the Lord; and he who pauses to read may well consider the text and its context in full:  "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

Immediately beneath this inscription in the lower window arch of the centre tower appears in relief the emblem of the clasped hands, betokening the bond of brotherhood and the free offering of the right hand of fellowship. On the corresponding stones above the upper windows in each of the center towers is the carven emblem of the All-seeing Eye.

Entrance to the Temple directly from without is afforded by four great doorways, two at either end; each of these portals occupies a court between the center tower and the adjoining corner tower. The four doorways are of like construction. A flight of sixteen granite steps leads up the court; the lowest of these steps is approximately sixteen feet in length, the top step about nine feet, and each of the steps between about ten feet long. On the uppermost granite slab rests the threshold or door-step proper, which is of cast bronze. The doorway is eight feet wide, and sixteen feet six inches in extreme height. This is closed by double doors with