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REBUILDING
THE JEWISH TEMPLE
A study by |
 (third) Jewish temple. Notice that the temple is in perfect alignment with the eastern gate. |
THE JEWISH TEMPLE UNDER KING DAVID AND KING SOLOMON WAS A GLORY IN ITS TIME. TWO TERRIBLE DESTRUCTIONS IN 586 B.C. 70 A.D HAVE LEFT THE TEMPLE MOUNT AN EMPTY DESOLATION.
 Painting by Francesco Hayez (1791-1882) |
Jerusalem has seen two temples built on the Temple Mount. The first was built by King Solomon close to 3,000 years ago. It was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C. The second temple was built under Zerubbabel during the years 520-516 B.C. This was destroyed in 70 A.D. under the Roman general Titus.
The record of the Jewish historian, Josephus, embedded with the Roman forces, is very clear. It was a renegade mob from the Roman Army, acting against orders, who were the instigators and main actors here. They gathered at the Temple and then in a wild frenzy rushed in to set fire to it. According to Josephus General Titus tried valiantly to prevent this destruction. He actually took up sword to fight against these evil rampaging elements within the ranks of his own army. This is a very important fact of history. The order to destroy the Temple was never given by Roman authority. Titus had previously agreed with three of his generals that when Jerusalem was taken the Temple would be spared. These soldiers were acting on their own whim and against orders.
The conclusion we are drawn to here is this. The impetus to destroy the Jewish Temple may not be essentially a Babylonian or Roman spirit at all. When we get right down to the root cause this motivation to desecrate things holy may be something far more sinister, occult, and hidden from view. It may actually be an anti-Throne of David, anti-Semitic, anti-Messiah, or Anti-Christ spirit.
This abominably evil desecrating destroying spirit is well known in Jewish history and in Holy Writ. We saw it operate through Antiochus Epiphanes in the Greek era. He slaughtered a pig on the Jewish altar to desecrate the temple during the time of the Maccabees. Daniel spoke of this abominable demon spirit in Daniel 11. The chapter begins by speaking of Antiochus. Then it slides on to speak prophetically about the latter day blasphemer, the little horn or Man of Sin. The prince who brokers the Daniel 9:27 seven year peace treaty involving the sovereignty of Israel and the nations of Christendom will rise up and break the covenant midway through those final 7 years of this age before Messiah returns. He will stop the daily sacrifices, and commit the awful sacrilege, the abomination that makes desolate. Jesus confirmed the words of Daniel in His Olivet Discourse. This "man of sin" is energised to do this awful sacrilege against the rebuilt third temple because he will have just been taken over and possessed by the Beast demon of the Abyss spoken of by John the Apostle in Revelation 17:8.
John said that his abominable spirit, "was".
That is, it possessed Antiochus back in Greek times.
Then John went on to say that it "is not".
That is, it was not possessing a world ruler back in John's time, (Roman times).
Then he went on to say that the beast demon "will ascend or of the Abyss, (or bottomless pit)" and go on to perdition". So in a time yet to come the demon spirit will possess the "man of perdition", the future Antichrist. John said that the Antichrist in his final Beast role would reign for 42 months. See Rev.13:5 Then at the end of those 1260 days, (which is the end of the 70th Week), the beast would have his reign terminated, ( and we know this will be done by by the returning Messiah). The beast demon of the Anti-Messiah will be cast alive into the Abyss or Bottomless Pit.
STRICTLY SPEAKING THE TEMPLE WAS NOT DESTROYED BY ORDER OF THE ROMAN RULERS.
IT'S DESTRUCTION CAME AS A WANTON REBELLIOUS ACT BY A DEVILISH MOB,
"THE PEOPLE OF THE (666) PRINCE WHO IS TO COME"
So the Beast spirit who hates and despises the anointed holy things of the God of Israel
"was not" possessing a ruler in John's time (that is Roman times).
In fact Josephus writes that the Roman General Titus had made an agreement with his other generals
that the Temple would be spared.
The Roman sovereignty had acted nobly in deciding to preserve the Temple
and taking action to try to save it from the frenzied mob of soldiers and others.
The prophet Daniel had prophesied that this very thing would happen as a democratic or mob action and not by any an executive order by a ruler. He specifically said that "the people of the prince who is to come", (that is the people who belonged to the coming Beast Antichrist), will be agitated by this abominable spirit and that they, the people, the mob, would destroy the temple. So it was a profane and godless rabble who were driven into a frenzy on that awful day. They set fire to the temple and began destroying it to recover the gold that had melted and flowed down into the foundations. Daniel's prophecy was fulfilled precisely in 70 A.D.. The "people of the prince who is to come" destroyed the temple. This was a full 600+ years after Daniel had received God's Word on this from the angel Gabriel. The image below from "Ridpath's History of the World" is an accurate picture of what actually happened.
 Josephus, the Jewish historian embedded with the Roman Army reported that the Roman General Titus and soldiers loyal to him tried to prevent the raging mob from setting fire to the Temple. This old lithograph is taken from Volume III of 'Ridpath's History of the World' published in 1910. |
So this action by General Titus and loyal members of his army in trying to prevent the destruction of the Temple is fine point of history but a very telling one. The destruction was not essentially Roman. It was motivated by very evil renegade elements within the Roman Army and others who gathered there as well. These men and women, wittingly or unwittingly, were pawns of the most evil powers this world has ever seen or will ever see. They gathered as an unruly mob, raging against the things of God. Then they set fire to the Temple. These people were not just "out of line" or "crazy". This is an accommodation to evil, a "cloaking" of the truth, and a cop-out. Let us face the facts here. History bears the record that the burning of the temple was not planned by the Roman military. And the prophet Daniel clearly tells us that these were not just "Roman soldiers" who destroyed the temple. These people were in a special category. God's Word states that they belonged to 'the prince who is to come'. This is an unmistakable reference to the Beast, the Anti-Messiah or Antichrist who is to come.
These deluded godless mobsters may not have known what they were doing. But they were caught up and driven by destroying spirits of the most wicked kind. Unlike human anti-Semites who are mindless pawns and who do not know what they do or why the abominable evil spirit and his entourage of wicked spirits who are driving Anti-Semitism know very well what they are doing. The spirit of anti-Messiah/anti-Christ hates and loathes the Throne of David. And the hideous thing has an agenda. It wants to stop the witness that holy history will call for to herald the coming of Messiah.
And why do those who desecrate the holy things of God hate the Holy Place and hate the Holy People, the Congregation YHVH-God has called to Himself? It is because they bear witness to the Throne of David. And it is upon the Throne of David that the future Messiah, the Son of David, David's greater Son, will sit and rule.
Of course there is a conspiracy in this world against the coming of Messiah. King David wrote a song about it. You can see it here in Psalm 2. But the conspirators who are working on behalf of the coming anti-Messiah/Antichrist will be terminated by the Messiah when He returns at the end of this age. When Messiah comes in Judgment He will unseat and cast down the angelic principalities and powers, and the hierarchies, both angelic and human, who bear rule in this present evil age.
The destruction of the Temple was an awful thing. But God's people had allowed themselves to b ecompromised by evil. They had turned to other gods and neglected the true worship and service due to the Holy One of Israel. So this destruction was prophesied to happen. The sacrilege and the destruction was driven by hidden occult powers gathered around the most wicked spirit this world will ever see. It was energizing individuals down at the grassroots of humanity to desecrate the holy things of God. This came as a direct fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy in Daniel 9:26.
Daniel was given the message by the angel Gabriel. He then wrote it into Holy Scripture.
This was way back in the 6th cenury B.C. Here is the gist of that message.
"The people of the prince who is to come will destroy the temple".God's Word clearly and specifically states that the people will destroy and desecrate the Temple. In the wanton irreverence they demonstrate that they are the spiritual ilk of the future Beast Antichrist. This Man of Sin who is to come will assume global rule in the latter days. He will be the ultimate executive of this mid-70th Week blasphemy against the Holy Place. These godless type of people are in there with the Antichrist in his Beast role. They are perpetrators of this blasphemy, desecration, and destruction. They are the ones who war against the holy things of the Judeo-Christian God. These rebels against God's righteous rule and those who profaner His holy priesthood have always been with us. And they are still with us today.
THE DESIRE TO REBUILD THE TEMPLE.
Since the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D. there has been a deep desire among many observant Jews both out in the Diaspora and back in Eretz Israel to rebuild the Jewish Temple.At the present time the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is quite impossible from a political perspective. The Temple Mount area is under rather strict Islamic control. They give the permission for all and everything that goes on up on this the most prized real estate on the planet. But the prophetic scriptures indicate that the political equation will change at some point. And the Jewish Third Temple will indeed be rebuilt. We can only assume that those sad conditions we see and take for granted today will change quite dramatically as an outcome of some future history. It will of necessity have to be a major upheaval and a sudden turnaround in the political realities on the ground. At some point there will be a new peace on the Temple Mount.
What power will have come onto the scene to change the longstanding 'status quo' here? What national or international entity will have done this and what will have happened? Well at present we do not know exactly. But one thing we can say with some assurance. At some future time the Temple Mount in Jerusalem will be taken out of Islamic control and secured for Israel. A very significant Middle East peace will be confirmed and guaranteed. This rebuilding of the Temple will at some future time be permitted by a major world power, superpower, or international power. And that power will most certainly not be an Islamic one. We can surmise that this peace covenant will be brokered by someone who emerges on the scene after western powers have taken on the Islamic powers, flown at them with great fury, and brought them down.
ISLAMIC AUTHORITY UPON THE TEMPLE MOUNT IS THE PRESENT REALITY. MUSLIM PRINCIPALITIES AND POWERS STRONGLY FORBID THE REBUILDING OF THE TEMPLE. BUT STARTLING FUTURE EVENTS WILL OVERTURN THE STATUS QUO AND END THE PRESENT IMPASSE. A FUTURE WAR WILL BRING IN A FUTURE PEACE. AND A NEW AUTHORITY ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT WILL ISSUE THE LONG AWAITED PERMIT FOR THE REBUILDING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE.
So how will the peace necessary to allow this rebuilding of the Jewish Temple be secured? Will it come by shuttle negotiation by an American Secretary of State as they work to find common ground between Israel and Hamas and/or the PLO? Or is there no common ground to be had? Will that peace in fact come after a future war? Will the radical fundamentalist Islamic powers currently ruling the Temple Mount be defeated by a combined Judeo-Christian (anti-terror) alliance? That would seem to be the pattern and the direction that both world history and holy history is headed. Every Middle East war sees Israel get closer and closer to the Temple Mount.
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They made it as far as the Western Wall.
And that is where they stopped.
This was a pivotal moment in holy history.
At that awesome moment they paused and Rabbi Goren blew the shofar.
The Temple Mount was just a few meters away.
They were so close.
How about next time?
Will the Israelis make it all the way to the top?
Will Jewish forces end up capturing the entire Temple Mount?
If the pattern continues it is highly likely that they will.
If they do then another question arises.
Just who will then step in as peacemaker?
Who will step in and divide the spoils?
And who will broker the deal for the ensuing peace?
Clearly the Jewish Temple rebuilding project needs a secured pro-Israel peace on the Temple Mount. They must have this even to lay the foundation stone for the future Temple. The world community at large, is crying out for "peace and security" in the world. Nuclear disarmament is part and parcel of that.
Here is why this future peace is so crucial to the unfolding of Bible prophecy.
Peace on the Temple Mount will bring peace to Jerusalem.
Peace in Jerusalem will bring peace to the the Middle east.
Peace in the Middle east will bring peace to the world.
So somewhere down the line that future peace, albeit an imperfect compromising one, will surely come.
And a third Jewish Temple will be built.
AN HISTORIC PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WILL SURELY COME.
IT WILL NOT COME IN BY A COLD TREATY BROKERED BY DIPLOMATS.
IT WILL PROBABLY COME IN THE AFTERMATH OF A FUTURE
VERY DESTRUCTIVE WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
So the question arises.
Just how will this future blockbuster Middle East peace be brokered?
It seems that this coming Peace Treaty will be a very solid one.
It will be the completion and ratification of the very same
"Peace Process" or "Roadmap to Peace"
we have been seeing develop in recent years.
Quite clearly the peace required for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
will finally be established in the city. And more particularly that peace will be secured up
on the Temple Mount.
This peace will need to be guaranteed by a world power that has some clout. Quite clearly this peacemaking person backed by world power will at least ostensibly present themself as being pro-Israel.
Daniel tells us that a seven year covenant involving significant compromise, (even a giveaway of the sovereign and holy land of Eretz Israel), will be confirmed. The seven year treaty will be brokered by and with a certain "prince".
How will this have happened?
Well this is an interesting question. It is entirely possible that this future peace treaty will be brokered in the aftermath of a major future Middle East conflict. This coming war may turn out to be be a very destructive one. Could it be the war that the prophet Isaiah spoke about in Isaiah 17, the war that sees the destruction of Damascus?
History demonstrates a recurring pattern. Great treaties do not tend to happen just by diplomacy and in peacetime. A significant peace cannot be foisted upon unwilling contestants merely by the under the table monetary coaxing we see on White House lawns and rose gardens under the present day Pax Americana. Superpowers and their international bankers can do very little during times of peace. And much of what is showcased in the way of "peace agreements" during peace amount to little more than political theatre. The real test of a true peace is one that sees subsequent trade between the two parties. But usually this doesn't happen. We saw the handshake before the superpower. And the treaty paper was signed. But were the goods of peaceful trade crossing the border and delivered as promised? Did the loan guarantees get spent for peaceful purposes? Or did the money just go to purchase more missiles and guns? We have seen the handshakes and the political theater between Israel and the PLO. But is there peaceful trade between Israel and the Gaza Strip today? How about between Israel and Egypt?
Israel is forced to sit at a table with a neo-Philistine terrorist PLO leader. (Yassar Arafat was really an Egyptian but that fact was kept hidden for the sake of this fable of "Palestine".) The so-called Palestine Authority represents a rambunctious people who have been evicted from Jordan and are not permitted entry into other Arab or Islamic countries. Many of them have no interest in living peacefully and taking care of their families with the huge monetary handouts they are given. And their liberal minded supporters, including many governmental officials and ecumenical church leaders in the west, seem to overlook the bloody bombings of Israeli buses and cafes. They are fully aware that the Palestinians they dote over cannot settle down and be peaceful.
Liberal churchmen are the strangest of all. They pretend to worship and lift up the God of Israel. He sent His Son, the Jewish Messiah, to be the Savior of the World. But apparently it doesn't bother them that the Palestinians they support unconditionally just seem to want Israel's total destruction.
The Palestinians at present are under the name and spiritual covering of the Philistines. Yes, the spiritual power over the PLO is the same as the Philistine nation that lived on Israel's coast and fought against Israel in former times. The Romans destroyed the Temple in 70 A.D.. They drove the Jewish nation out of the land completely. Then they re-named the land "Palestine". They did this for a reason. They named Palestine for the Philistines who had been Israel's worst enemy.
The British continued the Roman tradition and they too called the land "Palestine".
But Palestine was never a nation. It was a byword and a term of derision by the Romans against Israel.
There have never been any Palestinian kings. There has never been a Palestinian currency.
There are no Palestinian archaeological digs.
Nor do chronicles exist of any significant or noteworthy Palestinian history.
The reason for this should be abundantly clear.
After the Romans scattered Judah the land was an empty wilderness.
Some nomads were there and caravans of Arab traders passed through.
There never was a sovereign Palestinian nation.
Let us look at the facts. For 1800 years Eretz Israel was a desolate wasteland with just a few trees and few inhabitants. Palestinians have come to work in Israel since its resettlement. They have human rights and perhaps even some squatters rights since they have come to live in the land. But the land was promised to Abraham 4,000 years ago in the Abrahamic covenant. And 3500 years ago under Joshua the Holy Land was parceled out to the 12 tribes of Israel. But global humanists along with those who champion Palestinian and Islamic rights to the land discount this claim. And Palestinian terrorists, and there are many of them, live for one reason, to destroy Israel.
History is going to have to settle this ownership issue. And Christians with a Biblical world view know how it will end. in the meantime all terrorists must be kept in check by the superpower who is called by God to keep the peace in righteousness and mercy in this evil world. Of course the terrorists against God's land and against his people are merely spiritual pawns in all this. Like Nazi skinheads and KKK antiSemites terrorists don't really know why they commit these seemingly senseless bloody acts of violence. Who commissioned them to do this? And why? They can't tell you. But the evil angels that pull their strings to bomb and to maim innocent civilians know precisely what they are doing and why they are doing it. The evil principalities and powers, the angelic rulers over the hierarchies of men, are a conglomeration of rulers in rebellion against God. But they are all in agreement over one thing.
The angelic principalities and powers hate the coming throne of David!
The reason for this is very obvious to those who know the God of the Bible.
The Throne of David is the seat of Israel's future Messiah where He will sit in judgment in times to come.
The angelic rulers know what will happen when Messiah comes back and they don't like it one bit.
They know that it will be
curtains for them!
There never has been peace between God's covenant people and these dark angelic powers. And there never will be. To believe otherwise is an impossible dream without any Biblical foundation whatsoever. The peace conferences are showcased by starry-eyed PollyAnna humanists and by people with a hidden agenda. The two parties, Israel and the so-called Palestinians will never see eye to eye. Nor can we expect them to sit down at table in true lasting peace. They are anathema to each other even as Jacob and Esau. One of them must be spiritually subdued, or defeated in war, or both.
But nevertheless, what have we seen time and time again? Two parties, one peaceful, the other terrorist, are there at the so-called "Peace Conference". There is no real peace between them, nor can there be. But there is an unseen money story that is not reported on. There at that "peace conference" there are billions of dollars in loan guarantees changing hands under the table. That was why the two parties really came. It had nothing to do with peace at all.
The two parties have been "economically encouraged" to "make peace". But they cannot really deliver. They can only make a show of peace. The pattern is always the same. The two parties are flown in to meet together at the camp meeting. Then, after a supposed "breakthrough in negotiations" they are hussled off to appear before the media microphones and cameras. They are obviously prepped for the occasion as they proceed to shake hands and smile for the photo-op. But it is a sham. The Peace of Jerusalem is a holy reality. It cannot be brokered in such a cheap way using the ways of Mammon. The Peace of Jerusalem will only come when Israel's Prince of Peace comes into the hearts of His covenant people. And this is prophesied to happen. And Israel's Messiah will certainly return to Jerusalem to enter into His Holy City in a time yet to come.
So significant peace agreements are usually resolutiuons that come at the end of of a great conflicts.
The League of Nations was a significant step toward real peace.
But it was only brokered at the conclusion of World War 1 and the loss of 20 million lives.
The League only lasted a few short years.
The United Nations was next.
It came out of World War 2 and only after the sacrifice of 50 million lives.
The principle from history is simply this.
Big peace accords do not come by diplomacy.
They usually follow big wars.
The future war that leads to this Middle East peace
may surprise the world. It may shock us to the depths of our being.
Because this future conflict may see
the detonation of a nuclear device over a city somewhere in the Middle East.
This would set the international community screaming,
"Somebody do something!"
Enter then the peacemaker, and the one who "confirms" the "Roadmap to peace".
Enter the "prince" of
Daniel 9:26-27.
Just who will this person turn out to be?
We do not know.
THE DESTRUCTION OF DAMASCUS WAS
PROPHESIED BY ISAIAH.
THIS MAY BE THE WAR THAT USHERS IN THE PEACE
THAT ALLOWS THE BUILDING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE.
Isaiah prophesied the coming destruction of Damascus.
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Faithful hearts and realistic minds in Israel know better. They will not be hoodwinked and blindsided by all this talk of "Peace, peace, when there is no peace". They are preparing to defend God's Holy Land, and there will be no Masada event next time. Because as we approach the end of this present era the Lion of Judah will roar.
There is a conspiracy of wicked angels and deluded men against little Israel. When the powers cannot defeat Israel in war they will try the hidden agenda. They will try to weaken her morally by compromise in the Fabian way of Balaam. So there is an overt and covert raging of nations against the coming of Messiah. King David wrote a song about this vain humanistic rebellion against Messiah/Christ 3,000 years ago, Oh yes, Antisemitism at its root is the spirit of Antichrist. King David's song told of this conspiracy against David's greater Son, our coming Messiah. We can read it here in Psalm 2.
One thing we can say with complete assurance. If the Jewish Temple is to be built then the balance of power will need to be changed, and changed in a dramatic sort of way. Something big will have to happen to break the present Islamic hold on the Temple Mount. The status quo in Jerusalem with respect to how it is divided up was established a long time ago. The current divisions of Jerusalem into Moslem, Jewish, Christian, and Armenian sectors was set forth by the Ottoman Turks half a millennium ago. Indeed this decreed sectioning of the Holy City was where the term "status quo" came into our language. Suleiman the Magnificent divided the Old City of Jerusalem into its various quarters. Then he capped off all his efforts by bricking closed the Eastern Gate. The sultan had heard that this was the gate through which Israel's Messiah had come through and would come through again upon His return. So his masons went to work to block the passage. The principalities and powers, angelic and human, were acting true to form. They were trying to prevent the return of the Jewish Messiah.
The principalities and powers are in rebellion against God. They hate the coming Throne of David upon which the future Messiah will sit. This is the real reason, the true origin of anti-Semitism. In its true essence anti-Semitism is anti-Messiah and anti-Christ. It may track down the lines of DNA and down the bloodlines of the faithful. But the story of the Seed of Abraham in the wider Commonwealth of Israel is far greater than that. Millions of Jews and millions of Evangelical Christians have died at the hands of the very same dark angels who bear rule among the worldly powers. Six million Jews died during the Holocaust. And every day across this world 500 Evangelical Christians die for the faith in the Jewish Messiah. So at its root and in the depths of its evil heart the fear, the hatred, and loathing of the coming Throne of David and the hatred against the coming Messiah who will rule this world from Zion is a spiritual reality. Anti-Semitism is not primarily a racial thing at all.
So here we stand, at the threshold of the Millennium of Messiah. And this is our present situation. The Temple Mount is under Islamic control. And unless the current political 'status quo' is dramatically and decisively overturned there will be no change. There will be no peace on the Temple Mount. And there will be no rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.
THE PLACEMENT OF THE FUTURE TEMPLE ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT
 The small cupola marked "A" marks the location of the Holy of Holies. The Third Temple could be built over this and leave room for the Dome of the Rock. This would be a compromise. Indeed compromise will mark the character of the final seven years of this age before the return of Messiah. |
The Dome is a revered Islamic site.
Will the Dome of the Rock be destroyed?
And is its removal even necessary?
Just where did the original temple stand? Was it really in the center as we see in the paintings? Or was it situated to the north of the present location of the Dome of the Rock? Some Jewish authorities on the subject, notably Asher Kaufmann are saying precisely this.
This is very interesting. It opens up the very real possibility that the Third Jewish Temple will be constructed on the north side of the Mount. The small cupola marked "A" is called "the dome of the Spirits". It is said to mark the point of the holy of holies in the former temple.
Could the Temple be rebuilt next to the Islamic Dome of the Rock? Could Israel's future Temple and its worshipers peacefully coexist with the Islamic Dome and their worshipers? This would be very politically favorable to world peace. If such a plan was acted upon then the Temple Mount would look something like what we see in the picture up above.
As we have previously stated, it seems that the Jewish Temple can only be rebuilt under the covering of an all encompassing world peace. This peace will most certainly involve Israel and her Islamic neighbors. Such a peace is something that we have not seen yet. Quite obviously it is out there in the future. Because all attempts by the Jewish 'Temple Mount Faithful' to place a foundation stone for the temple on the temple mount have incited Islamic rioting. When Ariel Sharon presumptuously decided to take a stroll on the Temple Mount some years ago the result was bloody mayhem. There was a huge hue and cry throughout the Islamic world. In fact it started off a historic wave of terrorism that came to be known as "the Intifada".
A DIVIDED TEMPLE MOUNT?
BOTH A JEWISH TEMPLE AND AN ISLAMIC DOME SIDE BY SIDE?
Let us look further at the details concerning
the placement of that future temple
on the Temple Mount.
We have evidence that the
former Jewish temple was built north
of the site where the Dome of the Rock presently site.
The Dome of the Spirits, a small cupola, is said to be the location
of the Holy of Holies. This is well to the north and in direct
alignment with the Eastern Gate.
This fact along with some mounting archaeological evidence
would seem to indicate that the former (second) Temple
was situated not in the center of the temple mount
at all but rather on the north side of temple mount.
This is directly opposite the Eastern Gate.
This layout has been set forth by noted scholar Asher Kauffman.
This alignment of the future Jewish Temple with the Eastern Gate
would only be appropriate.
The architectural layout
of the temple would surely have been to allow the Messiah to come
through the eastern gate and go straight ahead into the Holy City.
He would not be doing any turning
left and then right or any "jigs".
He would enter the city and go straight ahead and up
into the Temple.
Here is another issue. If the temple was in the center of the Temple Mount then Messiah coming through the Eastern Gate would have to turn left upon entering the city. Turning left in Biblical symbology is turning to evil. It would certainly not be good form for a returning Messiah to do any such thing. Such a zig zag route is, in fact, unthinkable. Surely Zerubbabel, (and Solomon before him), were mindful of this when the temple was designed. It was a magnificent Temple laid out for a coming Messiah who was King of Kings. And we can be sure that the whole temple mount area was meticulously and tastefully laid out. YHVH God Himself was the true divine Architect here. He guided King David as the king set forth the plans and the materials.
David had a heart for this but because of bloodshed was not permitted to build it himself. But he made preparations for his son Solomon to build the temple. We can well assume that the former two temples were faithfully constructed by the builders according to the blueprint of a holy and divine order. This would only be in keeping with the beauty of form our Messiah most assuredly deserves.
As it happens, this northern site is being looked at by one of several Jewish groups who are working towards the rebuilding of the Hebrew Temple. The last temple, the second temple built by Zerubbabel and embellished by Herod was destroyed by the Romans under Titus in 70 A.D..
As we look now at the present situation we see that the Dome of the Rock occupies the center of the Temple Mount. The future third temple could therefore be rebuilt to the north of the Dome. It would be on the same site as the former temple. There would be room to provide an acceptable easement between the two buildings. There would, in fact, be a clearance of 150 feet. This would allow the Dome to actually co-exist with the Third Jewish Temple provided the Temple is rebuilt straight across from the Eastern Gate. According to scholars such as Asher Kauffman his is in fact the archaeologically correct position.
To the current international political players this peaceful coexistence of and Islamic Dome and a Jewish Temple would be quite acceptable as well. It would not be the architecture of the ultimate Messianic dominion in holiness expected by the Jewish and Christian people of the Book. But the powers who rule in this present world would probably favor it. Such an arrangement would be "politically correct".
The good news in all this, from the perspective of an interim pre-Messianic or non-Messianic world peace,
is that to build a third temple there would be no necessity to destroy the
Islamic shrine, the Dome of the Rock. It could be constructed right next door to the Dome of the Rock.
THE TEMPLE MOUNT SHOWCASED THE
BLOOD COVENANT BETWEEN YHVH-GOD AND MAN.
THE OFFERING OF THE SEED OF ABRAHAM FOR SACRIFICE WAS THE KEY.
YHVH-GOD WOULD ALSO ACT TO
PROVIDE HIMSELF, A LAMB.
THAT SACRIFICE LAMB WOULD ALSO COME FROM THE LOINS OF ABRAHAM.
THE BLOOD OF ATONEMENT WAS THE ULTIMATE AND THE ONLY ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE FOR SIN.
OUT OF THIS BLOOD COVENANT LOVINGKINDNESS COMES PEACE WITH GOD,
AND PEACE ON EARTH AMONG MEN OF GOOD WILL.
The temple mount is one of the most holy and important places on the planet.
The Holy Place marks the place where Abraham sealed the covenant with YHVH-God.
As such it is a key place to celebrate true and genuine world peace.
This is why the powers of darkness have contested this place above all other places on earth.
 Up on the Temple Mount area is the place where Abraham offered up his son, Isaac, (or was prepared to do that). This was the place of Abraham's total blood covenant commitment of himself and his family to YHVH-God. It also marks the place of YHVH's provision of a sacrifice lamb. |
This was a picture of things to come. YHVH-God would provide a Lamb, spotless and without blemish. He too would end up being presented for sacrifice with thorns around His head. The prophet Isaiah spoke about the Suffering Servant in great detail in Isaiah 53. The atoning blood of Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb would provide a covering for the sins of men. All of Abraham's children of faith, all who would call out to God in faith believing would be saved. The Seed of Abraham was a key to all this. And that Seed of Abraham, even our Messiah, was to be offered up as Israel's promised Sacrifice Lamb. That Seed would then go on to be sown into the souls of multitudes in Israel and even greater multitudes out in the nations. This was Israel's promised Light to the Gentiles spoken of by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 49:6)
In the manner of covenants Abraham's part in offering up his son Isaac was vital. In this act of obedience Abraham showed a willingness to enter into a blood covenant with God. It was essential for Abraham, as God's blood covenant partner, to be willing to sacrifice his son. Because in the Redemption plan of the ages YHVH-God was going to offer up His Son too.
So here, acted out on the Temple Mount was the basis for true and lasting peace. And it was showcased 4,000 years ago. YHVH/God was Abraham's covenant partner. And He was taking the initiative in the covenant. He stated that "He would provide Himself a Lamb". YHVH God would offer up His only son from out of His own divine Spirit and essence. His shed blood would provide the final atoning Sacrifice. The Lamb of God would take away the sins of the world.
The suffering Church understands these things. But these issues of blood covenant are not well understood by modern and post-modern Christians in the west today. They live in a material world of merchants and lawyers. The covenants they deal in are merely low grade contracts, deals that are made and broken whenever one party finds it convenient to do so. Western Evangelicals, for the most part, do not understand the true blood covenant nature of their faith. Nor do they appreciate the necessity of the end-time blood covenant witness. They do not understand blood covenant Christianity as it relates to the New Covenant. A blood covenant relationship in the lovingkindness of YHVH-God , and not the legal intricacies of contract law, is the main issue here. The Law and righteousness of YHVH-God in the Torah and Tanakh have always been a matter of the heart, just as Jeremiah stated here in Jeremiah 31:31-33. Sinai was not merely a governmental judicial proceeding or just an assembly for a formality of state. The children of Israel at Sinai were gathered as individuals in a Congregation, even a a "camp meeting" before YHVH-God. Unfortunately, due to idolatry and rebellion, it did not end up that way. The Law was given, and the nation of Israel established. But the children of Israel were slow to respond to God in their hearts. So they were delayed in their entry into the Promised Land.
The New Covenant is and expansion of the Old Covenant. The same law and torah is there. But it has now ben taken up to the next level. The New covenant is a personal matter of the heart. God's covenant people only really succeed in obeying God when they invite him into their lives and come to love Him. This relationship with YHVH-God in Agape love is the true essence of the blood covenant relationship that Abraham knew, experienced, and walked in. This personal walk with God is the basis for the relationship Christian and Messianic believers presently have with the Seed of Abraham, the promised Son of David, Jesus Christ/Yeshua Hamashiach who is Emmanuel, "God with us". He is the Living Word, the indwelling Torah. We download Him into our hearts and lives and come to be "born again" into new creatures. And as YHVH-God's Law is written on the tables of our heart He energizes us to bring forth the works of righteousness in our lives. This is something we ourselves could never do. When He is invited in our Messiah as King sits upon the throne of our heart and as High Priest ministers at the altar of our hearts. Both offices of Melchizedek are there inside us with the indwelling Messiah. This is how He performs those hidden miracles in human hearts. He Himself is the engine of change and sanctification in our lives. When we repent of our sin and selfism and invite Him in He begins to change us from the inside out.
The binding of Isaac by our patriarch Abraham and his willingness to sacrifice His only true son was a crucial part of the Eternal Covenant. It was a reflection of Abraham's faith and his blood covenant commitment in the lovingkindness of YHVH-God. This willingness to sacrifice shown by Abraham, would be demonstrated in the character and witness of the myriad company of Abraham that would follow him. This act of total commitment and "unto death do us part" is the basis of the Eternal Covenant in the Gospel. It goes far beyond humanistic deals, contracts, compromises and the idolatry and rebellion of pagan witchcraft and the antinomian religion we see so much of nowadays. The Abrahamic covenant is in the true Gospel. It takes us far beyond the cheap religion that compromises in the way of Balaam and makes deals with the powers of this world. The Abrahamic Covenant, first seen on the Temple Mount, was the basis of the greater things that YHVH-God was going to do for Israel and for all mankind in future times.
We serve a God who is not slack concerning His promises. By faith Abraham said that "God would provide Himself a Lamb" for sacrifice. Abraham heard the voice from heaven which stayed his hand. Then he turned to see the sacrifice lamb that God had provided. He saw the ram caught by his horns. The thorns were wrapped around the head of the lamb. The Seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was preserved. And the seed of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, even a melo-hagoyim, a multitude of nations would be saved.
Abraham then unbound and released his son. The faith of Abraham in total surrender to the will of God is the essential blood covenant reality here. Total surrender to YHVH-God is still the basis for salvation in all of Abraham's family today.
So right there, on the Temple Mount,
in the divine typology, was a picture of a promised future
Sacrifice Lamb.
Here was the "Meshiach ben Joseph"
or the 'Suffering Servant' Isaiah spoke about. (See
Isaiah 53)
If the future Jewish Temple is to be rebuilt it will showcase Israel's Sacrifice Lamb. This is the first thing that confronts the visitor to the Temple, or the Tabernacle that preceded it. They see the brazen altar. And they see the lamb of sacrifice upon that altar. This is a powerful demonstration of the seriousness of God's Law and the penalty, paid in blood, for transgressing that Law.
Israel's promised Son will be lifted up in the hearts of men in times to come. He will return to His Temple and will be seen by all mankind. The Holy One of Israel will be a 'Light to the Gentiles'. (Isa.42:6, 49:6, & 60:3) Surely the Anointed One, the Messiah, is that Sacrifice Lamb.
In His earlier priestly role we saw Messiah fulfill all three of the earlier spring feasts of the Seven Feasts of Israel. It was on Passover that we saw Him sacrificed as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. He was also the Suffering Servant Isaiah spoke about. (See Isaiah 53) He is our true High Priest who brings the blood of a better sacrifice. (Heb.9:23-26) He is the Stone that the builders rejected. (Mat.21:42) And yet He remains the true Cornerstone. He alone can bring the Peace of Jerusalem. Because He, as Israel's Messiah, is the Prince of Peace. Indeed His coming is the only sure foundation for the restoration of Israel's Temple.
We know that Messiah will return and come to His Temple.
Because the Holy One of Israel declares,
"....I will shake all nations,
and the Desire of all nations shall come,
And I will fill this house with glory." (Hag.2:7)
MIDDLE EAST PEACE.
BY WHOM?
AND FOR HOW LONG?
There must be a future peace in the Middle east.
But how/ And by whom? And for how long?
The Holy Scriptures have the answers to these questions.
A future peace treaty will come in by a peace treaty.
And this will be brokered by
the prophesied global peacemaker of
Dan.9:27?
If such a man does arise on the world stage he will have to be a man of some stature and capability. He will need to be a convincing mega dealer and and a shrewd crisis manager. Will such a peacemaker arise in that future day? And just who will be the one who rises up on the world stage. Who will be the one to pick up the pieces and divide the spoils after that future war?
The jigsaw puzzle of Bible prophecy is coming together for us piece by piece. The prophetic Word of God is being unsealed, just as Daniel prophesied. Yes, early on a "prince" will appear on the stage of history. (Dan.7-12) At the beginning he will take the spotlight in his 'peacemaker' or "Mr. Niceguy" role. (This global power broker will not remain as a peacemaker). But early on he will secure for himself enormous international power. He may step onto the world stage in a time of crisis and assume enormous powers as a global crisis manager. Perhaps sovereign power will be given him to disarm the world of weapons of mass destruction. What a hit that would be!
But the dreams of secular humanism and
Dominionist religious humanism are vanity.
Yes, Lucifer must have his god-man as YHVH-God has his Emmanuel, God in the flesh.
But history shows us that human beings cannot be trusted with power.
Lord Acton said,
"Power corrupts,
And absolute power corrupts absolutely."
