The Third Temple

[Gary Oak]

Temple Institute To Raise Funds For The Third Temple Via Crowd Funding

August 05, 2014 | Tom Olago

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2014/A ... T3rb7AF.99

The campaign to rebuild the Third Jewish Temple has entered a new phase beyond the praying, preparation of vessels and training of Temple priests: the raising of additional funds for the project. This would hasten the rebuilding of the temple and in the words of The Temple Institute

[Gary Oak]

Fate of Ark of the Covenant Revealed in Hebrew Text

By Owen Jarus, LiveScience Contributor | January 07, 2014 09:07pm ET

This bas-relief image showing the Ark of the Covenant being carried is from the Auch Cathedral This bas-relief image showing the Ark of the Covenant being carried is from the Auch Cathedral in France. A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal the locations of treasures from King Solomon's Temple and discusses the fate of the Ark itself.
Credit: Photo by I. Vassil, released into public domain through Wikimedia
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A newly translated Hebrew text claims to reveal where treasures from King Solomon's temple were hidden and discusses the fate of the Ark of the Covenant itself.

But unlike the Indiana Jones movie "Raiders of the Lost Ark," the text leaves the exact location of the Ark unclear and states that it, and the other treasures, "shall not be revealed until the day of the coming of the Messiah son of David

[Blue Frost]

So where is it ? It sure goes around in circles in the article going nowhere.
My guess the Babylonians melted it down.

[Gary Oak]

With all these preparations for the third temple I can't help but think that they have the Ark Of The Covenant.

Preparing For The Third Temple

[Gary Oak]

This third temple will be an amazing sight to see.

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/April09/092.html


Discovery Of Red Heifer Increases End Times Speculation

April 09, 2015 | Simcha Jacobovici
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A fully red cow on a small farm outside Lakewood, New Jersey is attracting worldwide attention in orthodox Jewish circles and various movements with a Messianic or

[Gary Oak]

Temple Mount Faithful To Commemorate Jerusalem Day With March For Rebuilding Third Temple

May 14, 2015 | Templefaith

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/M ... Pubkdje.99

On Sunday, May 17, 2015, 28 Iyar, 5775, the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement will conduct an historical event that will on one hand commemorate the greatest moment in the history of Israel and the entire world. It was the great victory that G-D gave to His people Israel in June 1967 when G-D, together with His brave Israeli soldiers, liberated the Holy Temple Mount and Biblical Jerusalem.

The intention of the G-D of Israel was to complete the end-time redemption of His people Israel that began in the year 1948 and that would open a new end-time age in the history of Israel and the entire world exactly as the prophets of Israel prophesied.

On the other hand, the Faithful Movement will call on Israel to immediately fulfill the expectation of G-D for His people Israel when He liberated and returned the Holy Temple Mount and Biblical Jerusalem to His people Israel: to immediately build the Holy Third Temple with no delay in order to fulfill the prophetic dream of G-D and His people Israel.

The march of the Faithful Movement will start from Jaffa Gate of Biblical Jerusalem. We shall march carrying the flags of Israel with the star of David through the historical streets of Biblical Jerusalem to the Holy Temple Mount.

In front of the Holy Temple Mount we shall demonstrate. Gershon Salomon, the chairman of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement will call the people of Israel and the government to not waste any more time. Forty-eight years since the greatest moment in history are quite enough. Let us immediately start the building of the Holy Third Temple that will change the face and image of mankind just as G-D planned since He created man.

We shall walk up to the Holy Temple Mount with a prayer for the fulfillment of this call to Israel with no delay. This will be another major step of the Faithful Movement towards her campaign and holy work for the rebuilding of the Holy Third Temple in our lifetime and the fulfillment of the biblical call of G-D to His people Israel to be: '...a kingdom of priests, a holy nation and a light to the nations'.

Israelis and visitors who are staying in Israel on this day are all invited to participate in our march. The march will start on Sunday, May 17th, 2015 at the front of Jaffa Gate in Biblical Jerusalem at 11:00 am. This will also be a day of thanksgiving to the G-D of Israel for the godly miracles of the Six Day War in 1967.

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/M ... Pubkdje.99

[Gary Oak]

Jewish Priests Perform Pentecost Temple Service In Anticipation Of Third Temple

June 02, 2015 | Yisrael Rosenberg

On Monday, on a mountain ridge overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem and the ancient Temple Mount, kohanim (ancestral priests) performed a dry run of the Temple Service for the Shavuot (Pentecost) holiday.

All three of the major components of the holiday service

[Gary Oak]

If this gold treasure trove is found then I believe few Jews will doubt that it's time for the third temple to finally begin construction.

Hidden Gold Treasure In Israel To Be Used To Build Third Temple?

June 16, 2015 | Tsivya Fox

A treasure-trove of raw gold worth billions of dollars is believed to be sitting under Mount Eilat in southern Israel, Breaking Israel News has learned.

In an exclusive interview, Rabbi Yehuda Glick, the Executive Director of The Temple Mount Heritage Foundation in Jerusalem, revealed the news, which had been kept under wraps for the last several years.

Glick is perhaps best known for his life

[Blue Frost]

It would be interesting to see, but the gold would be placed in museums i believe, or vaulted up since they are antiquates
I'm sure they would, or could borrow against it for any use.
It would be nice to see even if I don't believe any of it is still there in that quantity.

[Gary Oak]

image: http://engine.newsmaxfeednetwork.com/i. ... TEk6nujEDo

Red Heifers In Israel Prompt 3rd Temple Speculation

July 20, 2015 | WND.COM

The altar and sacred vessels have been reconstructed. The architectural plans are being drawn up. Now a group is taking another step toward fulfilling the biblical prophecy of a restored Temple by raising a group of red heifers in the land of Israel.

And evangelical Christian leaders are divided about what it means if the Third Temple, prophesied to play a key role in the end times, can actually be constructed in Jerusalem.

Before the Temple can rise, builders must secure a red heifer, or

[Gary Oak]

Check out the video. It's more than coincidence that both temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av. I doubt that the Israelli's merely made the architectural designs for fun.

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/2015/July27/271.html
Today, on the Fast of Av, Jews throughout the world mourn the destruction of the two Holy Temples of Jerusalem and pray for the rebuilding of the Third Temple.

But one organization has been doing a lot more than just praying.

The Temple Institute has released a modern three-dimensional architectural rendition of the future Third Holy Temple, utilizing the latest building material and techniques.

The vivid, three-minute video walks viewers through the main sanctuary, showcasing decades of research and tens of innovative Halakhic (Jewish law) solutions to various perplexing issues that were resolved to create fully functional, ready-to-use plans.

While staying true to the Halakhic requirements and dimensions, the project also adds some clear modern twists.

As the visual tour sweeps through the sanctuary, one can see the menorah, incense altar and showbread table, all of which have already been prepared by the Institute, among 70 other sacred vessels.

The presentation was specially released to coincide with the Ninth of Av, the Jewish national day of mourning which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

The video comes one year after the Temple Institute appealed to its supporters to take part in an Indiegogo crowd funding campaign that raised over $100,000 for the architectural plans. The video was first released to supporters of a current campaign to raise the first kosher Red Heifer in Israel in over 2,000 years. Over the past five years, the organization has released its most ambitious campaigns and poignant videos to reframe the mourning period into one of active preparation for the Third Holy Temple.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of The Temple Institute noted that one of his organization's key aims is to educate Jews about the centrality of the Temple to Judaism, after nearly 2,000 years without it

"One third of all Torah commandments pertain to the building of and service in the Holy Temple," Rabbi Richman noted. "Today, we not only mourn the destruction of the two Holy Temples, but also our inability to fulfill one third of the Torah."

"Over the last three decades, the Temple Institute has done everything in our power to research and prepare for the Third Temple. As world Jewry sits on the ground mourning the first two Temples, we have taken a huge leap towards the rebuilding, by releasing a 3D architectural rendition of the Third Temple.

The Temple Institute is the center of research and preparation for the Holy Temple. In addition to educational activity focused on the centrality of the Temple Mount and Holy Temple, the Institute have also recreated over 70 sacred vessels for use in the Third Holy Temple, which can be seen at their Visitors Center in the Old City of Jerusalem.

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[Gary Oak]

I believe that this third temple will finally be built in my lifetime.

Rebuilding The Jewish Temple On The Horizon?

image: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/images ... 202016.jpg
News Image By Matt Ward January 20, 2016

"See, I will send the prophet Elijah to you before that great and dreadful day of the LORD comes." (Malachi 4:5)

The world is suddenly awash with talk of rebuilding the Jewish Temple. This is one of the last pieces of the jigsaw that yet needs to fall into place. It is another significant indication that we are right at the gates of the Tribulation period itself.


The second Temple of Jesus time was constructed over a period of thirty to forty years. If the Temple were to be constructed today, it would be built in a fraction of that time. The Temple Institute in Israel has already made many of the sacred artifacts needed for use in the Temple itself.

The Temple Institute has prefabricated large sections of the Temple structure, as well as drawn up comprehensive and complete architectural plans, so that when the right time comes these pre-made sections can simply be taken to the site and built into the superstructure of the Temple itself. It is even possible to visit their website and view an in-depth three dimensional computer tour of what the newly built Temple will look like after its completion.

Other crucial pieces of the Temple, much more difficult to construct than the building itself, has also been completed and are now ready for use. Based in the Old City area of Jerusalem, the Temple Institute has completed the reconstruction of the sacred Temple altar, to the specific and exacting standards prescribed in the Pentateuch. This absolutely essential piece of the puzzle means that the Jewish nation now has the holy altar necessary once again to begin offering sacrifices. It is the altar itself which would make the sacrifices offered on it holy before God. Aside from the Holy of Holies, it is the lynchpin of the entire Temple. It is now ready for use.

The significance of this development should not be underestimated. Building this altar has been quite an undertaking; approximately 5 meters (16 feet) tall and 16 meters (52.5 feet) wide, with four "horns" or raised corners, and a ramp. It is unique. Nothing like this altar has been seen on this earth in two thousand years.

To complete the preparations, the Temple Institute has also made all the priestly garments necessary for the priesthood to minister, even going so far as to train priestly families in the conduct and expectations of a Priest who ministers inside a newly built Temple.

Passover sacrifices have been reenacted and practiced so that the mechanics of the process are understood and closely adhere to the standards laid out by the Law of Moses. They have, in effect, carried out historically accurate trial runs in preparation for the real thing.

Understanding the various processes is, in itself, is also no small undertaking. The roots of sacrifice are found in the Book of Exodus. In preperation for the 10 plagues on Egypt, the death of the firstborn, God tells Moses to speak to the people of Israel and instruct each household to obtain a lamb on the 10th of Nisan. The lambs should be kept until the 14th, when the people of Israel should slaughter them at dusk. Next, they should take its blood and put it on the doorposts and on the lintel of the house in which they were eating. The fire-roasted lamb should then all be consumed that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This Feast of Passover has been observed ever since, with one exception. Ever since Jesus Christ died on Calvary as the spotless Lamb of God, the sacrificial lamb has been missing from the Passover celebration. See also: Revelation 5.6

Pure olive oil, fit for use in the Menorah of the Temple, has been produced in the last few months, the only time this has happened since the fall of the Second Temple. The production of four and a half litres of the precious olive oil this year was an extremely complex process due to the necessity of keeping it pure according to Jewish law. In addition, ceramic flasks to hold the oil also had to be made to conform to the standards of religious purity required for use in the Temple itself. The production of the olive oil required precise knowledge of an extremely specialized and complex area of Jewish law.

Oil of this quality has not been produced since the beginning of the Diaspora of the Jews in 70AD. Literally nothing like this has been seen in Israel for almost two millennia.

The Temple Institute is well-advanced in its efforts to produce a Red Heifer of such purity that it satisfies the exacting standards set forth in the book of Leviticus as being suitable to purify and re-dedicate the Temple itself, thus making it fit for worship and sacrifice once again.

A perfect Red Heifer or para aduma, a three-year-old female cow with totally red hair that is supposed to be able to restore a state of purity after ritual slaughter is exceptionally rare. Indeed, so rare are perfect Red Heifers that none have been seen for over two thousand years. They just have not been born. Jewish sages and Rabbis through the ages believed that perfect Red Heifers now being born is, itself, a signal from God that the rebuilding of the Temple should begin in earnest.

Red Heifers are being born right now in 2015-16, and many believe they will meet the exacting standards of perfection as stipulated in the Mishnah. Rabbis within Israel therefore believe that the rebuilding of the Third Temple is an imminent event.

The Temple will ultimately be rebuilt in Jerusalem as it is crucial to the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. Beginning with Daniel, who had a vision of the Temple in Daniel 9:27, Jesus Himself echoed Daniels warning about an abomination standing in the holy place in the Last Days in Matthew 24:15. Paul also mentioned it in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4. The Temple Institute is making fulfillment of this Biblical prophecy a near reality through their work and dedication.

The only thing that seems to be missing is the political will, the 'go ahead', to move this process forward. All things humanly possible are being done to prepare for the rebuilding of the Third Temple.

However, hugely significant problems remain which must be overcome before even a stone can be put down.

For political and safety reasons, rebuilding a Temple would seem almost an impossibility at present. This is because Islam currently controls the Temple Mount and for Jews to destroy the Dome on the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque so as to build the Jewish Temple would likely provoke an immediate world war.

Amazingly, these political and safety impediments on rebuilding the Temple are not the most significant problems.

The current raging debate within Judaism is exactly who has the authority to begin the rebuilding process of the Temple itself? Is it God, the Messiah or someone else? Nobody really knows and there is no consensus on this absolutely vital issue within Judaism.

Without resolution of who has the authority to rebuild there can be no Temple, and these are the reasons why.

The question of who has the authority to begin the rebuilding process exists because nobody today really knows exactly where the Holy of Holies from the Second Temple was located on the Temple Mount. This is the reason why Jews are forbidden from entering the precise area where the second Temple was built, lest they inadvertently stand on the sacred and consecrated area which housed the Holy of Holies. To do so, even inadvertently, is punishable by death under Mosaic Law.

The second major stumbling block is that all Jews are currently ritually impure, which also prevents any Jews from entering the precise area where the Temple used to stand. In order to become ritually pure Jews would need the ashes of a Red Heifer, administered by a priest who could trace his family and ancestral lineage back far enough to validate his claim to priesthood. No such priest exists who can trace his lineage to this exacting standard. The reason is that when Israel and Judah were dispersed to the four corners of the world, all lineage records were lost.

This therefore means that under Mosaic Law there are no priests eligible to administer the ashes of a Red Heifer and therefore able to make Jews ritually pure enough to enter the Temple complex area. It is a terrible Catch-22 situation.

The next major problem concerns the Altar of the Temple itself, specifically the location of the Altar. The Law of Moses is very precise about exactly where the Altar must be located. It cannot go just anywhere; it needs to be in exactly the right place. When they built the Second Temple the Jews used reliable witnesses who could testify to the correct spot. In fact, the prophets Haggai, Zephaniah and Malachi are believed within Judaism to have been the three witnesses used to verify the Altars correct location.

No such witnesses exist today. Even if a Temple could be built, they could never offer sacrifice as they simply do not know where to locate the Altar. They have absolutely no idea where it should go; no idea whatsoever.

Assuming that they were able to rebuild the Temple in exactly the right spot and then locate the Altar allowing for sacrifice, also in exactly the right spot, the Temple would still need Priests whose genealogy can be absolutely determined and verified. No such verification exists anymore. It would be a Temple with no priests.

The next major issue is the High Priest. There can be no functioning Temple without a functioning High Priest. To appoint a High Priest there needs to be a Sanhedrin, 70 - 71 ordained Rabbis acting as the Supreme Council of all Israel. There can currently be no Sanhedrin that satisfies Mosaic Law because each Rabbi must satisfy Mosaic Ordination, which was transmitted from Rabbi to Rabbi since the time of Moses. Mosaic Ordination ceased in 358 AD because of persecution. Although a re-established Sanhedrin was set up in 2004 it still lacks the religious and governmental authority needed to take the process forward. There can be no legitimate Sanhedrin and therefore no legitimate High Priest.

[Note: the priesthood was a familial thing, i.e. you were born into it; not ordained to it. All the priests were Levites; of the Tribe (family) of Levi. This problem of identifying legitimate priests is now being simplified through the use of DNA]

These problems would seem insurmountable. There is no human solution to them. On the face of things then, there can be no Temple.

Jewish tradition does provide an answer though, as does scripture. Scripture strongly suggests that the person who may well provide the necessary authority to begin the rebuilding process of the Third Temple will be the Prophet Elijah himself.

Jesus, in Matthew's Gospel revealed that at the end Elijah, "...will restore all things..." (Matthew 17:11). According to Jewish tradition it will be Elijah who will reveal himself to the Jews before the advent of Messiah. In revealing himself he will also answer all questions and resolve all doubts. He will be the necessary authority to reveal the exact location of the Holy of Holies and the precise location of the Altar.

It will be Elijah who will be able to reveal to the Priesthood their exact genealogies, it will be Elijah himself who will be able to reinstitute Mosaic Ordination for Rabbis, thus finally enabling the reestablishment of a legitimate Sanhedrin and High Priest.

And further to satisfy Mosaic Law, which prescribes the presence of Two Witnesses as being necessary for legal satisfaction (Deuteronomy 19:15) Elijah will also likely return with another great prophet of old, Moses, through whom the Law was delivered.

This is exactly the picture we see revealed in Revelation during the first half of the Tribulation period,

"And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands standing before the God of the earth. And if anyone wants to harm them, fire proceeds from their mouth and devours their enemies. And if anyone wants to harm them, he must be killed in this manner." (Revelation 11: 4-6)

In the book of Jude, we come across the strange passage detailing Michael, the Archangel, disputing with Satan over the body of Moses,

But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, the Lord rebuke you (Jude 1:9)

There is clearly something unique about the body of Moses and although he did die, perhaps God has a miraculous purpose for him in the last days. The only other person besides Elijah to not die was Enoch, who was taken up to heaven, and as such many scholars also suggest he could yet be this 2nd witness who accompanies Elijah.

These two men appear to be an exception to the scripture in James that tells us man is "appointed once to die" (Hebrews 9:27) and perhaps it is because of this role in the last days in which their death and miraculous resurrection on the streets of Jerusalem would yet fulfill this scripture and baffle the world.

When these men are put to death (temporarily) in Jerusalem, we are told in Revelation 11 the whole world sees it and celebrates. Interestingly enough, there is great controversy between Israel, Jordan, the United States and the Palestinian Authority over a proposal to install security cameras in the Temple Mount area - which would capture such events for the whole world to see.

The testimony of these two witnesses would be during the first 42 months of the Tribulation Period and it would be a testimony for Jesus Christ against Antichrist.

Is it also incidental that 1,260 days is 42 months exactly, the amount of time God gives for the first half of the Tribulation period? Is it also merely coincidental that the amount of time the Jewish priesthood would need to perform all the necessary purification rites and rituals as prescribed in the Torah to purify and inaugurate the new Temple would also last exactly 42 months, from the initial ritual of purification to final one?

42 months of testimony, 42 months to compete purification, 42 months designated for the first half of the Tribulation.

Scripture tells us that at the midpoint of the Tribulation, after 42 months, the Temple will be desecrated by the Antichrist.

Scripture suggests that Elijah will return soon to the Jewish people at the very beginning of the Tribulation period. He will then restore all things, (Matthew 17:11), appoint the reconstruction of the Temple, reinstitute the Rabbinical priesthood according to the Law of Moses defining who is eligible for priesthood and who is not. He will also re-form the Sanhedrin which will then oversee the appointment of a new High Priest. Elijah will guide the building of this Temple once it has been started until it reaches its conclusion at the Tribulations mid-point.

Scripture also tells us, ominously, one other important thing concerning the Two Witnesses,

"If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die." (Revelation 11:5)

Elijah and his companion will actively defend the Temple and its rebuilding process until the 42 month process is complete. They would have to, because if the Temple were to be rebuilt today, the whole Muslim world would come against them.

The growing excitement and speculation over the potential rebuilding of the Temple is a huge indicator that the very end of this age is at hand

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... jBjE54q.99

[Gary Oak]

This is getting exciting. I wonder when construction of the third temple will finally begin. I believe that the Jews will do such an amazing job that it will truelly be an artictic masterpiece.

Priests And Sacrifice - Rebuilt Temple Moves Closer To Reality

Public reenactment of the Passover Sacrifice is enjoying new popularity as the Jewish people rediscover their Biblical roots in anticipation of this Friday's Passover celebration

This year's reenactment took steps to getting closer to the actual Temple Mount after its previous location proved to be too small for the amount of interest in the reenactment and festivities.

The new location at Mitzpeh Beit Orot, is between Mount Scopus and the Mount of Olives, which faces the Temple Mount. The celebration is also receiving more public awareness thanks to the attendance of numerous rabbis and public figures such as the Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem, Rabbi Aryeh Shtern, and several Members of Knesset and the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem, Dov Kalmanovitch.

Although the organizers, the Joint Staff of Temple Organizations, emphasized that the event on Monday was a simulation and not supposed to represent the actual sacrifice, several speeches gave clear expectation of where they hope this reenactment to lead:

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, expounded on passages from the Talmud relating to the Temple, "We came here to say we are preparing for when the day will come, when they will flatten the Temple Mount, clean everything out, build the Temple, offer the Passover sacrifice, and all the Jewish people will come up in their droves for the pilgrimage and we'll see the Kohanim and Levi'im at their service."

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu underlined what he said was the importance of realizing practical prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple, "When we talk of the Temple we're talking about something practical and not something imaginary. In order to feel how practical this is we are doing this Passover sacrifice ceremony. All Jews, every day for 2,000 years, prays three times a day that this will be practical."

Part of the celebrations included a procession with the sheep, simulating the Passover pilgrimage to the Temple Mount as in the time of the Holy Temple, culminating in an exact reenactment of the Paschal Sacrifice which includes: checking the animal for blemishes, slaughtering it, collecting its blood and bringing it to the corner of a model altar, skinning the animal and separating its inner parts, and roasting it whole in a special Passover oven.

All of this was done to the blowing of the silver trumpets by the Kohanim in their authentic priestly garments, all of which were made by the Temple Institute for use in the Holy Temple.

Last month the Temple Institute announced that it was launching a new program to identify and register Kohanim (priests) who would be eligible to participate in the process of preparing the Red Heifer, which is necessary to perform numerous Torah-based commandments, including ritual purity that is necessary for ascending the temple.

To be eligible, the men must prove they have a clear patriarchal heritage from the priestly class (descendants of Aaron), have been born and raised in Israel and observed the laws of purity which include not coming into proximity with the dead. This would rule out those born in hospitals, have visited hospitals, or have entered cemeteries.

Those qualified for the priestly office will be invited to take formal training at an institute established three years ago to educate priests in the details of Temple service.

Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of the Temple Institute, commented on this historic move: "This is a huge jump for the Temple Institute and a huge leap for the Jewish people. For the first time in 2,000 years, after miraculously returning to the Land of Israel, we are beginning the process of reinstating the Biblical purity of the Jewish priesthood.

This is another bold move for our Institute, having already painstakingly prepared more than 60 sacred vessels for the Third Temple. We proudly call upon all those who may fit the bill to contact the Temple Institute immediately."

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... Git2y1B.99

[Gary Oak]

I am very curious as to when the building of this third temple will begin.


Israel Prepares To Build Third Temple As It Mourns Previous Temple Destruction

It may have been almost 2000 years since the Roman Empire destroyed the Second Temple in 70 AD and even more since the Babylonians destroyed the First Temple but a growing movement of Jews is determined to see the Temple rebuilt and once again take its place at the center of Jerusalem.

This past weekend saw thousands of Israelis from across the country converge on the capital to participate in the Fast of the 9th of Av (Tisha B'Av), the day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem which took place on this same day centuries apart.

Events to commemorate the day of mourning include gathering at the Western Wall as well as marching around the walls of the Old City and reading from the Book of Lamentations. Traditional customs also include not greeting one another during the fast, refraining from studying Torah, except for certain selections, sitting on low chairs until noon, refrain from bathing, leather footwear, cosmetics and intimate relations - all this a culmination of three weeks of keeping various customs that symbolize mourning and even more stringent ones during the nine days leading to the fast.

The Ninth of Av is a date marked by tragedy in Jewish history in addition to the destruction of the first and second Temples. Several other terrible events in Jewish history occurred on this date:

- The decree in Numbers 13 and 14 that they would not be allowed to enter the promised land until the entire generation had died out due to unbelief and murmuring against the Lord.

- The Bar Kokhbah Revolt was crushed resulting in the plowing of Jerusalem and the killing of 600,000 Jews by the Roman Empire

- The expulsion of the Jews from Britain in 1290

- The expulsion of the Jews of Spain by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492

- World War I erupted in 1914, causing untold suffering to the Jews of Europe and Palestine and setting the stage for World War II and the Holocaust.

- Tisha B'Av of 2005, the expulsion of 9,000 Jews from the region of Gaza by Israel's own government. This has resulted in Hamas creating a missile launching area that has seen thousands of missiles and rockets fired at Israeli civilians and consequently leading to three IDF operations...with more expected.

Speeches by many prominent Rabbis at rallies across Jerusalem were directed not only toward a sense of mourning for the past, but looking to the hope of redemption and the importance of the future, including the rebuilding of the Temple.

Rabbi Ben-Dahan spoke of the centrality of Israel's capital to the Jewish nation."We aren't the only ones who know this, our enemies know it too. There is a reason [Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas] [a.k.a. Abu Mazen] claims that the Temple in Jerusalem never existed; there's a reason why he makes sure every archeological discovery found linking the Jewish people to the Temple Mount will disappear.

He understands that the Temple Mount is the beating heart of the Jewish people. The Temple Mount and the Temple are the heart of the nation of Israel, and without a heart there is no body."

Rabbi Ben-Dahan added that the rebuilding of Jerusalem would not be complete until the Temple, too, is rebuilt and the Temple Mount redeemed."We are all here to declare that we have returned to Jerusalem and God-willing we will prepare the hearts of the people to return to the Temple Mount as well and to rebuild the Temple. We aren't embarrassed to say it: We want to rebuild the Temple on the Temple Mount."

MK Yehuda Glick, a notable Temple Mount activist, said the time had come to replace mourning with action. "For 2,000 years we lived out the verse in the Book of Lamentations 'you shall surely weep at night'. No more! We must stop weeping and start to take action.

The founders of the Zionist movement taught us that the Exile was not just a punishment but a sin as well. Today we are in a different place. Anyone who reads the Book of Lamentations cannot possibly think we are still there in that situation. We are not under siege and we are not isolated."

Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of the Temple Institute, declared: "Everyone that has ever attended a Jewish wedding knows that we break a glass, but how many internalize the message.

The broken glass isn't supposed to let guests know when to shout 'mazal tov', on the contrary it is a catalyst to move people into a new level of consciousness that fuses mourning with celebration - giving hope for a time in which we will finally rebuild the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Every single bridegroom announces the proclamation that he and his future household will not forget Jerusalem, because it is incumbent on everyone of us, at all times to prepare for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple. With the work of the Temple Institute over the last three decades, preparation for the Temple is no longer a dream, it's a reality, in which everyone can play a part".

In the run up to the annual commemoration of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple Institute has released a video proposing the rebuilding of the third Temple. The video uses the metaphor of a glass, which is broken as part of the Jewish wedding ceremony, to signify that the celebration is incomplete so long as the Temple isn't rebuilt.

Despite the 2000-year-old fast and palpable longing for the Temple to be rebuilt on Judaism's holiest site on Mount Moriah, UNESCO and the EU are entertaining proposals to recognize it as a Muslim site, ignoring all of the above. Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold blasted the proposal, saying, it "deliberately ignores the historical connection between the Jewish people and their ancient capital".

It is told that the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte was walking down a street one night and saw a darkened synagogue lit by several candles and people lamenting while sitting on the floor.

Wondering what terrible catastrophe could have befallen them, he asked and was told they were mourning the destruction of their Holy Temple in Jerusalem. He was sure this was a recent tragedy and upon hearing that it had occurred almost two millennia earlier, is said to have remarked: "A people who mourns their Temple for thousands of years will also live to see it rebuilt."

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... bmpdGOG.99

[Gary Oak]

I find this all very exciting. The third temple construction seems to be getting ready to commence !


Temple Institute Moves Ahead With Plans For Third Temple


The Temple Institute is unrelentingly pulling out all the stops via a multi-faceted approach to ensure that the 3rd Jewish Temple will finally be built. If sheer zeal and commitment alone could accomplish the project, it would certainly have been accomplished a long while ago.

But as Andrew Tobin for the Times of Israel recently reported, the problem for proponents of this project is that the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem is sacred not only to Jews but to Muslims and Christians too.

The site includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, two of the most significant shrines in Islam.

The Temple Institutes growth has coincided with increased mainstream support for Jewish access to the Temple Mount. A large minority of Israelis now opposes the restriction on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, according to polls.

The ardent drive to build continues to manifest in various ways. The Temple Institute, dedicated to rebuilding the ancient holy site, is now using new internet tools to bring its message to the masses.

A new YouTube video message titled Its Time To Build was released ahead of the Jewish fast day of Tisha BAv (which commemorates the Second Temples destruction in 70 CE by the Romans) as part of the Temple Institutes strategy of using the new tools of the internet to bring its ancient message to the masses.

The phrase encapsulates the groups controversial mission to rally Jews to reconstruct the temple that was the heart of their religion until its destruction 2,000 years ago.

Tobin further notes that over much of those two millennia, mourning the loss of the temple and longing for its restoration has been central to Jewish thought and practice.

Our goal is to raise the consciousness of the Jewish people and all humanity toward the central role that the holy temple plays in the life of mankind, Rabbi Chaim Richman, the Massachusetts-born co-founder and the international director of the Temple Institute said. Were very much focused on getting the message out on all the channels of social media and all the things people are into today. Most of my work is internet related.

The Temple Institute focuses on preparing the objects and skills needed for the sacrifice of animals and the esoteric rituals that were carried out by Kohanim, or priests, in front of crowds of Jewish pilgrims before the last temples destruction. All its work is led by a rabbinical council and based on meticulous analysis of Jewish scripture and academic research.

The institute has reconstructed nearly all the sacred vessels needed to perform the services in a rebuilt Temple, including the High Priests breastplate featuring the 12 precious stones of the tribes of Israel, the half-ton golden menorah and the musical instruments of the Levitical choir.

The group also works to build support for its mission and itself, which is where the internet comes in. After his cable television show that aired in Texas was canceled in 2006, Richman found an audience for his temple-centric scriptural exegesis online.

These days, his weekly TV and radio shows are among the 914 videos that appear on the Temple Institutes YouTube channel, which has more than 17,000 subscribers and 4.6 million views. The groups Facebook page has more than 186,000 followers. The Temple Institute email newsletter, which you can sign up for on its website, lands in 24,000 inboxes every week.

Most content is in English, to maximize reach, including to the many evangelical Christians who support the group, many through tax-exempt charities in the U.S. For many evangelicals, the construction of a third Temple fulfills a prophecy about the Second Coming of Jesus.

In a further demonstration of commitment to re-establishing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple Institute announced it is opening a school for training Levitical priests for their eventual service in a new temple, based on a recent jta.org publication.

The institute ran several pilot programs in recent years and now is embarking on a mission to teach Kohanim all the practical skills required to serve in the Third Holy Temple, it said in a statement.

According to the Institute, the curriculum at the Nezer HaKodesh Institute for Kohanic Studies will include courses on the Temple service, theory and practice and the role and application of modern technology in the Third Temple.

In a separate report, David Israel for jewishpress.com noted that the curriculum at Nezer HaKodesh will also include courses such as The Sacred Temple Vessels Aspects of Engineering and Design; and The Mathematics of the Holy Temple.

We are extremely excited to announce this new step toward the restoration of the Holy Temple service. We call first and foremost upon Kohanim worldwide to support this special project, which signifies a return to their birthright.

We have chosen to use IndieGogo as a tool to enable as many people as possible to be a part of this historic initiative, Rabbi Chaim Richman, international director of the Temple Institute, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, many Jews and Christians await with great anticipation the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple. For Jews, a long-held passionate desire to see the temple restored will finally be fulfilled.

For Christians, although there is some debate on the timing of the rebuilding of the temple the overall focus is more on the exciting impact of this eschatological event on Gods prophetic time-clock.

It will signal the imminent return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the fulfillment of the new Heaven and the new Earth under His divine righteous and eternal rulership. (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1)
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[Gary Oak]

i never thought of th is. If Israel is going to build a third temple they Donald Trumphas got to be the best American president to make this happen. Not just characterwise but also he is a very top accomplished builder himself.

Trump And The Third Temple

image: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/images ... 132017.jpg

News Image BY ENOCH LAVENDAR FEBRUARY 13, 2017


The Jewish Temple Mount movement are excited over the recent election of Donald Trump. They know very well that rebuilding the Jewish temple in today's world would be a dangerous and politically incorrect task.

In their view, if there is any modern political leader with the guts and determination to stand behind such a project, it could be President Trump.

Biblically, many Christians affirm that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt at some point in the End Times.

Could President Trump's strong pro-Israel stand be the game changer which could help lay the groundwork? What role would President Putin play in the mix?

The Cyrus Mandate

A number of Christian leaders have been comparing Trump to the Biblical King Cyrus. They point out that King Cyrus was a leader called and appointed by God.

Despite the fact that this Persian King did not know the God of Israel, God appointed him by name with the mandate to fulfil God's divine purposes concerning the nation of Israel.


President Trump, like King Cyrus, appears an unlikely champion for God's purposes. Despite the controversies swirling around him, Trump has though already taken action to re-align America with important Biblical values (such as pro-life) as well as making an unusually firm stand alongside the nation of Israel.

While several Christian bible teachers have pointed out similarities with Cyrus, few have raised the point that a primary part of Cyrus' divine calling was to order the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem (Isaiah 44:28, Ezra 1:2).

If President Trump really has a similar calling to King Cyrus, could it be that God would use this real estate developer turned President to facilitate the greatest property development of modern time - the rebuilding of the Temple?

A Letter from the Sanhedrin

Key figures in Israel's Temple Mount movement certainly are optimistic that Trump's victory could be the catalyst needed to bring their dream to reality.

Within days of the election victory, long time Temple Mount advocate and now prominent member of the Israeli Knesset Rabbi Yehudah Glick, issued a public call inviting Trump to visit the Temple Mount.

This call was followed days later by an open letter from the re-convened Jewish Sanhedrin. The open letter addressed BOTH Russian President Putin and the new US President Trump - asking them both to fulfill the Cyrus mandate of enabling the rebuilding of the Temple.

Rabbi Hillel Weiss, who serves as spokesman for the Sanhedrin, explained that Donald Trump's rise to power had 'made the eternal Jewish dream a very real possibility'.

Trump's strong stand in support of the Jewish claim to Jerusalem and the West Bank (Biblically known as Judea and Samaria) has led to the Sanhedrin to the belief that he could also support full Israeli rights to the Temple Mount.

Compared to President Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin might seem like an even more unlikely Cyrus. Many would instead view him as a potential 'Gog' - one of Israel's great End Time enemies.

The Sanhedrin however are basing their letter to Putin on unverified positive reports concerning Putin's attitude to the Temple Mount. Visiting the Western Wall in 2012, Putin allegedly disclosed that he was personally praying for the rebuilding of the Temple.

On this basis, the Sanhedrin decided to write to both Putin and Trump - inviting them both to fulfil the Cyrus mandate.

The optimism of the Sanhedrin is palpable. Rabbi Weiss explains: "We are poised to rebuild the Temple.

The political conditions today, in which the two most important national leaders in the world support the Jewish right to Jerusalem as their spiritual inheritance, is historically unprecedented".

Cyrus or the Anti-Christ

While the Sanhedrin is looking for a Cyrus type figure to arise to help support the building of the Third Temple, many Christians tend to link the rebuilding of the Temple not with a Cyrus but rather with the anti-Christ himself.

The Scriptures appear clear that the coming anti-Christ will defile the temple, but we shouldn't necessarily equate foreign leaders who facilitate the rebuilding with the coming anti-Christ.

In his day, King Cyrus helped build a temple in Jerusalem at divine instruction, which was later defiled by Antiochus and then frequented by Jesus the Messiah.

Could it be that God will likewise in the End Times raise up a new Cyrus figure that will help facilitate the rebuilding of the temple - which will later be defiled before the Messiah finally returns to take His rightful place in the Temple?

Trump's got the numbers

Jewish leaders have pointed out that the gematria (numerical value) of Donald Trump's name equals that of the phrase 'Meshiach Ben David' (Messiah, Son of David). These same rabbis are quick to point out that they do not believe that Trump is the Messiah (just as well!).

They view the gematria of Trump's name as an indication of him playing a role in the 'redemptive process' - a role in preparing the conditions for the Messiah's arrival. What could prepare the way for the Messiah more than the rebuilding of the Temple?

It is interesting in this context to also consider Michael Snyder's calculations that Trump was born 700 days before Israel became a nation, won the election on Prime Minister Netanyahu's 7th year, 7th month and 7th day in office, and served his first full day in the White House at the age of 70 years, 7 months and 7 days old.

While we should be careful of reading too much into these numbers, it would seem that God Himself has had His hand on the unusual rise of Donald Trump and if so would have a particular purpose for his presidency.

Could these Jewish leaders be right that Trump could have a Cyrus call on his life?

Summary

There is great excitement within the Temple Movement in Israel that the time might be drawing near for the long desired rebuilding of the House of God.

While the Sanhedrin is obviously excited about the rise of Trump and rumours of Putin being supportive, it is still early days, and we have no definite statements from either leader to support these assumptions.

As believers we should none-the-less be watching these developments, praying for God's prophesied purposes to be accomplished, and checking our own spiritual lives to make sure that we are ready to meet the soon coming King.
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[Gary Oak]

It's getting closer. The Jews do believe. I wonder when construction will begin. Perhaps with Trump in the oval office it can begin soon.

Rabbi: DNA Holds Secret To Rebuilding Temple

Posted with permission from WND

An Israeli rabbi is making the case the Hebrew priesthood can be re-established through genetics, making it time to rebuild the Temple.

"Genetics connects modern Judaism to the Bible, confirming 3,000 years of Jewish tradition," explained Rabbi Yaakov Kleiman to Breaking Israel News. "This is an amazing testament to God's covenant and the Jewish people. Despite more than 2,000 years of exile we have maintained our religion, our customs, our Torah, and our genetic identity."

Kleiman opened the Center for Kohanim in Jerusalem nine years ago as a practical endeavor, and has authored a book on DNA evidence of the priesthood. Kohanim, or priests, are Jewish men believed to be descendants of Aaron, the first high priest of Israel. Only kohanim are permitted to conduct Temple services, according to the Bible.

Isn't it time for you to take a tour of Israel with WND's Joseph Farah, author of "The Restitution of All Things: Israel, Christians and the End of the Age"?

The tools he is using only became available in the last 20 when genetic researchers in Haifa discovered a Y chromosome, a genetic marker passed from father to son, that indicated a common ancestry for Jewish men whose family traditions hold that they are descended from the biblical priestly class.

"According to prophecy, there will be a Third Temple, and when there is, we will need to identify the priests," Kleiman said. "Kohanim are the manpower of the Temple. Without them, it is an empty building."

He cites Ezekiel 44:15 as the authority.

"This scientific proof is an affirmation that, as the Torah said, the priestly covenant would be eternal," the rabbi said, citing also the Book of Numbers 25:13.

Priests are a subset of the tribe of Levi, but this genetic tool has proven ineffective in identifying the Levites, who also have a role in the Temple.

priest-temple-kohen-600

"Levi is the same concept and you would expect the same genetic markers but there is not the same percentage of the J group, the genetic marker showing that Jews originated in the Middle East," he said. "This indicated that the tradition of being a Levi is not as strong as that of kohanim."


The rabbi noted that genetics will not have the final word. According to Malachi 3:23, Elijah the prophet will appear before the Messiah to clarify precisely this issue: who is a priest and who is not, and the tribe to which each Jew belongs.

"When Elijah arrives, If he wants the DNA information, we will be happy to give it to him," Kleiman joked. "But he will probably be making his determinations based on a higher source."

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... ws_id=1279

[Gary Oak]

This is getting exciting. Why shouldn't the Jews be able to build the third temple that so many of them desire. Muslims in their countries are free to build their mosques.

Temple Institute Moves Ahead With Plans For Third Temple

The Temple Institute is unrelentingly pulling out all the stops via a multi-faceted approach to ensure that the 3rd Jewish Temple will finally be built. If sheer zeal and commitment alone could accomplish the project, it would certainly have been accomplished a long while ago.

But as Andrew Tobin for the Times of Israel recently reported, the problem for proponents of this project is that the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem is sacred not only to Jews but to Muslims and Christians too. 

The site includes the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque, two of the most significant shrines in Islam.

The Temple Institutes growth has coincided with increased mainstream support for Jewish access to the Temple Mount. A large minority of Israelis now opposes the restriction on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount, according to polls. 

The ardent drive to build continues to manifest in various ways. The Temple Institute, dedicated to rebuilding the ancient holy site, is now using new internet tools to bring its message to the masses.

A new YouTube video message titled Its Time To Build was released ahead of the Jewish fast day of Tisha BAv (which commemorates the Second Temples destruction in 70 CE by the Romans) as part of the Temple Institutes strategy of using the new tools of the internet to bring its ancient message to the masses.

The phrase encapsulates the groups controversial mission to rally Jews to reconstruct the temple that was the heart of their religion until its destruction 2,000 years ago. 

Tobin further notes that over much of those two millennia, mourning the loss of the temple and longing for its restoration has been central to Jewish thought and practice. 

Our goal is to raise the consciousness of the Jewish people and all humanity toward the central role that the holy temple plays in the life of mankind, Rabbi Chaim Richman, the Massachusetts-born co-founder and the international director of the Temple Institute said. Were very much focused on getting the message out on all the channels of social media and all the things people are into today. Most of my work is internet related.

The Temple Institute focuses on preparing the objects and skills needed for the sacrifice of animals and the esoteric rituals that were carried out by Kohanim, or priests, in front of crowds of Jewish pilgrims before the last temples destruction. All its work is led by a rabbinical council and based on meticulous analysis of Jewish scripture and academic research.

The institute has reconstructed nearly all the sacred vessels needed to perform the services in a rebuilt Temple, including the High Priests breastplate featuring the 12 precious stones of the tribes of Israel, the half-ton golden menorah and the musical instruments of the Levitical choir.

The group also works to build support for its mission and itself, which is where the internet comes in. After his cable television show that aired in Texas was canceled in 2006, Richman found an audience for his temple-centric scriptural exegesis online.

These days, his weekly TV and radio shows are among the 914 videos that appear on the Temple Institutes YouTube channel, which has more than 17,000 subscribers and 4.6 million views. The groups Facebook page has more than 186,000 followers. The Temple Institute email newsletter, which you can sign up for on its website, lands in 24,000 inboxes every week.

Most content is in English, to maximize reach, including to the many evangelical Christians who support the group, many through tax-exempt charities in the U.S. For many evangelicals, the construction of a third Temple fulfills a prophecy about the Second Coming of Jesus.

In a further demonstration of commitment to re-establishing the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, the Temple Institute announced it is opening a school for training Levitical priests for their eventual service in a new temple, based on a recent jta.org publication.

image: http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/images ... anner1.jpg


The institute ran several pilot programs in recent years and now is embarking on a mission to teach Kohanim all the practical skills required to serve in the Third Holy Temple, it said in a statement.

According to the Institute, the curriculum at the Nezer HaKodesh Institute for Kohanic Studies will include courses on the Temple service, theory and practice and the role and application of modern technology in the Third Temple.

In a separate report, David Israel for jewishpress.com noted that the curriculum at Nezer HaKodesh will also include courses such as The Sacred Temple Vessels Aspects of Engineering and Design; and The Mathematics of the Holy Temple.

We are extremely excited to announce this new step toward the restoration of the Holy Temple service. We call first and foremost upon Kohanim worldwide to support this special project, which signifies a return to their birthright. 

We have chosen to use IndieGogo as a tool to enable as many people as possible to be a part of this historic initiative, Rabbi Chaim Richman, international director of the Temple Institute, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, many Jews and Christians await with great anticipation the rebuilding of the 3rd Temple. For Jews, a long-held passionate desire to see the temple restored will finally be fulfilled. 

For Christians, although there is some debate on the timing of the rebuilding of the temple the overall focus is more on the exciting impact of this eschatological event on Gods prophetic time-clock. 

It will signal the imminent return of Jesus Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and the fulfillment of the new Heaven and the new Earth under His divine righteous and eternal rulership. (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1)

Read more at http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... DEVrFfV.99

[Blue Frost]

They should build it, why not ?
Personally I would love to see what it is like, and visit, but I cannot.
The politics aside, it would be a place they would worship, and be inspiring to them. Like you said, the Muslims have their own places, they have little to no link to the place like the Jews have.

[Gary Oak]

It very well could be that the Jews had noticed that the muslims always built mosques on top of the sites of other religions whenever they take over had deliberately misled them to where the actual Jewish temples were built. The muslims would start a thrid world war over destroying the dome of the rock however they have a real zeal for destroying anything of equal importance to infidels.

Was The Temple Really Located On The Temple Mount?

In recent years, Bob Cornuke and Dr. Ernest Martin have proposed that the Temple was not actually located on what we today call the Temple Mount.

While the idea certainly is novel, is it really plausible in the light of Biblical and archaeological evidence?

Does it fit with the predictions of Bible prophecy?

Dr. Ernest Martin's Temple Theory

In 1867, archaeologists made the stunning discovery that the original City of David was located to the south of - and outside of - the walls of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Taking this research further, Dr Martin suggested that

1. The Temple needed water to rinse away the sacrifices. It therefore had to be located close to Jerusalem's only water source - the Gihon spring in the City of David - rather than at the modern 'Temple Mount'.

2. Furthermore, Dr. Martin pointed to Jesus' prediction of 'not one stone being left upon another'. He proclaimed that the massive stones left in the Western Wall contradict Jesus' words if the Temple Mount was the site.

3. Primarily based on these two main ideas, Dr Martin proclaimed that the Temple must therefore have been located in the City of David and not on the Temple Mount

4. Finally, building on references from Josephus, Dr Martin made the case that the massive structure today known as the 'Temple Mount' was rather the Roman Fortress of Antonia

The implications of this theory when it comes to Bible Prophecy are dramatic. If this theory was true, it could open the way for the rebuilding of the Temple without sparking World War 3!

While proponents of the theory are excited about this possibility, does it actually fit the Biblical and archaeological evidence?

The Biblical Evidence

The Scriptures are very clear that the Temple of Solomon was built on Mount Moriah. 2 Chron. 3:1 tells us: "Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite"

Does Mount Moriah fit with Dr. Martin's theory?

UK based Bible teacher Pastor Derek Walker points out that the City of David is hardly a mountain. It is surrounded by mountains but is situated lower down than the surrounding areas - and is therefore to start off with a poor fit for 'Mount Moriah'

Furthermore, Mount Moriah is first mentioned in the story of Abraham going to sacrifice his son Isaac on this mountain. Derek Walker points out that if Mount Moriah was located inside the City of David - as necessitated by this theory - then at the time of Abraham, it would have been inside the city of Salem where Melchizedek was serving as priest. However, the biblical account gives no indication that the sacrifice of Isaac was taking place inside a bustling city!

Finally, the Scriptural account tells us that the Temple of Solomon was built on a threshing floor on Mount Moriah. Threshing floors were places where the wheat was threshed and separated from the chaff - and the worthless chaff would blow away in the wind.

Therefore threshing floors were not generally located inside a city - as the chaff would go everywhere in town! Threshing floors would often be located on higher ground outside a city to facilitate for the wind to gently blow away the chaff, leaving only the precious grain behind.

Further contradicting Dr. Martin's theory, 2 Chron 5:2 tells us that the Ark of the covenant was taken 'out of the City of David' to the temple built by King Solomon.

It would appear that the Scriptural account contradicts the view that the Temple was located in the City of David.

Archaeological Evidence

The Temple Mount is the fuse in the Israeli / Muslim conflict and due to its extreme sensitivity, archaeologists are unable to carry out archaeological digs at the site. Never the less, Archaeology has found compelling evidence linking the Temple Mount to the original Temple location.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence is known as the Stone of Trumpeting. This stone was inscribed in clear Hebrew with the words 'to the place of trumpeting' and was found among other stones that the Romans had thrown down from the Temple Mount to the pavement below. While Martin and Cornuke assert that the Temple Mount was a Roman garrison, it is hard to see what a stone with this inscription would do in a Roman fortress!

The Scriptures are very clear that the Temple of Solomon was built on Mount Moriah. 2 Chron. 3:1 tells us: "Now Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where the Lord had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite"

Does Mount Moriah fit with Dr. Martin's theory?

UK based Bible teacher Pastor Derek Walker points out that the City of David is hardly a mountain. It is surrounded by mountains but is situated lower down than the surrounding areas - and is therefore to start off with a poor fit for 'Mount Moriah'

Furthermore, Mount Moriah is first mentioned in the story of Abraham going to sacrifice his son Isaac on this mountain. Derek Walker points out that if Mount Moriah was located inside the City of David - as necessitated by this theory - then at the time of Abraham, it would have been inside the city of Salem where Melchizedek was serving as priest. However, the biblical account gives no indication that the sacrifice of Isaac was taking place inside a bustling city!


Finally, the Scriptural account tells us that the Temple of Solomon was built on a threshing floor on Mount Moriah. Threshing floors were places where the wheat was threshed and separated from the chaff - and the worthless chaff would blow away in the wind.

Therefore threshing floors were not generally located inside a city - as the chaff would go everywhere in town! Threshing floors would often be located on higher ground outside a city to facilitate for the wind to gently blow away the chaff, leaving only the precious grain behind.

Further contradicting Dr. Martin's theory, 2 Chron 5:2 tells us that the Ark of the covenant was taken 'out of the City of David' to the temple built by King Solomon.

It would appear that the Scriptural account contradicts the view that the Temple was located in the City of David.

Archaeological Evidence

The Temple Mount is the fuse in the Israeli / Muslim conflict and due to its extreme sensitivity, archaeologists are unable to carry out archaeological digs at the site. Never the less, Archaeology has found compelling evidence linking the Temple Mount to the original Temple location.

One of the most compelling pieces of evidence is known as the Stone of Trumpeting. This stone was inscribed in clear Hebrew with the words 'to the place of trumpeting' and was found among other stones that the Romans had thrown down from the Temple Mount to the pavement below. While Martin and Cornuke assert that the Temple Mount was a Roman garrison, it is hard to see what a stone with this inscription would do in a Roman fortress!

The Trumpeting stone does however fit many other archaeological finds and strengthens the case for the Temple Mount being the original location of Solomon and Herod's Temples.

As Jesus was gazing at the magnificent Temple buildings (Matt 24:1-2), it is true that He said: 'not one stone will remain upon another'. And while the Temple buildings were destroyed as foretold, the gigantic retaining wall that upheld the huge Temple Mount plaza remains standing to this day.

While a completely destroyed Temple Mount as suggested by Martin & Cornuke could fit Jesus' prediction, the current Temple Mount with its retaining wall intact does not necessarily contradict Jesus' words.

Finally, Dr Martin's theory asserts that the Temple needed a source of water to wash away the sacrifices - and that since the Spring of Gihon in the City of David was Jerusalem's only source of water, the Temple would have to be located nearby. However, the Jewish records tell of how the Temple was supplied independently with water via an aquaduct, overcoming this hindrance.

In addition, critics of Martin & Cornuke have pointed out that building the Temple over Jerusalem's only water source and polluting it with the blood and guts of thousands of sacrifices would hardly have been a good idea!

In short, I believe that both the Scriptural and the archaeological records better support the traditional view of the Temple Mount rather than the more recent Martin & Cornuke theory.

X Marks the Spot

The fact that there is such an intense religious power struggle over this site indicates to me that there is more to the site than it simply being an ancient roman fortress.

God decreed in the Scriptures that He would place His heart and His eyes at the site of the Temple forever (2 Chron. 7:16). The repeated waves of violence that have broken out to 'defend the Al-Aqsa mosque' and the ongoing silencing of Christian and Jewish prayer at the site, is indicative of the spiritual conflict over these grounds.

I believe that we as Christians are not called to simply sit in our arm chairs and watch prophecy unfold, but have an active role to play through prayer and intercession. Let us pray for God's purposes to come to pass, for His decrees and Will to be done on earth as in Heaven.

God has always longed to dwell among His people, and the day is coming soon when He will indeed return and dwell among Jew and Gentile. May that day come soon and may we all be found ready at His Coming!

http://www.prophecynewswatch.com/articl ... ws_id=1570