Building the Third Temple

The nation of Israel underwent radical changes of power in its government in the 1996 elections. The "land-for-peace" trades that characterized the former governments of Shimon Peres and Yitzak Rabin were replaced by hard-line tactics of Benjamin Netanyahu, the 49 year-old Prime Minister of Israel.

In past elections, the people voted for their favorite party, and the party that won installed its own Prime Minister. In this election, however, the people voted separately for the Prime Minister, and the numerous parties gained representation in proportion to their number of votes.

Israel now has quite a variety of political voices in Parliament. Out of the 120 seats in Parliament, a majority of them are filled by conservative (and some ultra-conservative) representatives. Their political objectives outrage world opinion and could truly provoke the Battle of Armageddon.


Believers have an interest in Jerusalem and Israel

Believers around the world are affected by events in Israel. How? They are looking for signs pointing to the second return of Yahshua the Messiah. Perhaps the most significant signs would be the building of the Third Temple on Mount Moriah, reinstituting Old Testament sacrifice, and the appearance of the Anti-Messiah and the sacrifice of an unclean animal in the Temple for the Abomination of Desolation.

In their last three years, Rabin and Peres had just about "given away the store" to achieve peace with their Arab neighbors. The likelihood of the Third Temple being built seemed to be diminishing, with Israel having less say, and United Nations having more say in the control of Jerusalem and its holy sites.

Now, with increasing pressure from just about every world power, Israel is being forced to fight for its real estate, and ultimately, its very existence.


Arafat vows to have Jerusalem

PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat has vowed to make Jerusalem the capital of a Palestinian state, and never to relinquish control of the Temple Mount. With the May deadline for the Oslo Accords to settle the issue, world leaders are pressuring Arafat to refrain from unilaterally declaring a Palestinian state and claiming Jerusalem as its capital.

On March 14, 1999, the European Community issued a statement asserting that Jerusalem is technically an "occupied territory", is NOT the capital of Israel, and does NOT even belong to Israel. This is a provocative statement, especially considering that it comes at a time when Germany holds the presidency of the EU.

Foreign Minister Ariel Sharon responded by saying, "Our government has no intention of making any concessions whatsoever regarding the status of Jerusalem. Jerusalem has been the capital of the Jewish nation for 3000 years now, the capital of the State of Israel for 50 years, and will remain so for eternity."

The Jerusalem Issue is certain to flair up into a major conflict in the near future. Scripturally, we can expect Jerusalem to be increasingly embattled, with ultimate domination by the New World Order, in the form of the United Nations and the Roman Catholic Church.


Temple Mount Faithful struggle for Third Temple

Gershon Salomon, Chairman of the Temple Mount Faithful (the preeminent organization in Israel working for the rebuilding of the Third Temple) says the Netanyahu government is still good news for the prospect of the rebuilding of the temple. While campaigning, Netanyahu incorporated into the platform of his Likud Party, that if he was elected Prime Minister, they would press for the opening of the Temple Mount for Jewish worship.


Present Government may help

With the Netanyahu - Likud government is in, and several smaller religious factions have more power, the chances of a change on the Temple Mount is still possible. In fact, on July 12, 1997, the Ministry of Justice (similar to our Justice Department in the US) announced that it would initiate legal proceedings to open up the Temple Mount to Jews. On July 13, 1997 the Associated Press reported that the Israelis announced their intentions to close the Muslim office that administrates the Temple Mount. These are developments of staggering potential.


The Seven Candles of the Menorah
Seven Planets in a row?

On May 7, 2000, Venus, Mercury, Sun, Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon will all be in a straight line.

This is a unique event that has never occurred before! Josephus, in "Antiquities of the Jews", Book 3, Chapter VII:7, says that these seven represent the menorah (candlestick) in the Temple.

This date corresponds to the date when Solomon started to build the first Temple and Ezra started building the second Temple.

Could this possibly be the day the construction of the Third Temple will begin? Do the heavens declare it?


Seventieth Jubilee in December 1999?

Even more impressive, according to some scholars, there have been exactly SEVENTY JUBILEE years since the days when Joshua crossed over Jordan into the Promised Land, based on the Jewish year of 360 days. 70 X 50 = 3,500 years. The anniversary is in December 1999 - the SEVENTIETH JUBILEE YEAR for Israel. Could this be spelling the last Jubilee before the end?

(Coincidentally, if a thousand years is as a day to the Lord, then 3500 years would be as 3 1/2 days. Is that symbolic?)


Dome of the Rock need not interfere

The Temple Mount is now controlled by Muslims. The Dome of the Rock and the al Aqsa Mosque are the only places of worship on the Temple Mount. Jews and Believers may not pray, worship, or read the Bible aloud on the Temple Mount.

Professor Kaufman of the Hebrew University claims that the Third Temple could be build next door to the Dome of the Rock without necessitating a change in that controversial Muslim landmark. The small cupola on the north side of the Temple Mount, called the Dome of the Spirit, is suspected to be the actual place where the ancient Holy of Holies was located.


Priesthood being verified

On Sunday, April 4, 1999, at the semi-annual "Priestly Blessing" ceremony at the Western Wall, a booth was erected nearby for the genetic testing Kohanim (priests), to see if they have what is now called "Priestly gene". Two years ago, an American geneticist found that all Kohanim share a common gene, supporting the belief that they have one common ancestor (presumably Aaron the Priest). Rabbi Nachman Kahane, said that 17 Kohanim have already been tested. Thirteen tested positive, one negative, and three cases were inconclusive.


Sacrifices begun at Western Wall

On Passover of 1998, Jewish rabbis conducted animal sacrifices at the Western Wall (the "wailing wall"), which may have been the first animal sacrifices conducted at the Temple site since 70 AD. It is difficult to assess the significance of this particular action. Gershon Salomon made his third unsuccessful attempt to conduct sacrifice on the Temple Mount itself on April 4, 1999. In 1998, it was made on a nearby hill called Givat Hananya.


Many are now ready to build the Temple

There are now champions for the cause within the government itself, more than have been in many years. That is good news for the Temple Mount Faithful, whose CORNERSTONE for the Third Temple now sits prominently in a busy traffic intersection downtown Jerusalem.


Temple Institute is preparing

It is also good news for the Temple Institute, whose temple vessels and priestly robes are in storage, and whose young rabbis are presently in training for the offices of Temple priests.

Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute has architectural building plans already drawn up and says the building could be built in less than one year.


Golden Menorah is now ready for the Third Temple

The Temple Institute in the Old City of Jerusalem has now completed the construction of a golden Menorah, similar to the one used in ancient times in the Holy Temple. The head of the Temple Institute, Rabbi Yisrael Ariel talked with Yosef Zalmanson, a reporter with Israeli media's Arutz-7 and explained that the Menorah was not constructed for profane or for personal use, but rather "for the sake of the commandment." Officially, the Menorah was not ritually consecrated for Temple use to avoid the prohibition in Jewish religious law (Halakhic) forbidding anyone from deriving a benefit from objects that will become property of God's Temple.

Rabbi Ariel explained, "It, or other Menorahs, will be consecrated when the Temple is rebuilt." The beautiful Menorah, a seven branched candellabra, is six and a half feet in height and was constructed with more than 92 pounds of pure gold.


What does it mean to the Body?

The Believers of Yahshua the Messiah will witness the Anti-Messiah's stand in the Third Temple, according to 2 Thessalonians 2. That event will precipitate the final three-and-a-half years of Daniel's seventieth week. We are certainly nearing the end.

The clock of prophecy is ticking towards sun-set! Time to prepare our souls for the final events leading the world to Armageddon.