Temple Denial vs. Archaeology
[This] doctrine of ‘Temple Denial’ quickly became a new Palestinian dogma that was even repeated, with the firmest conviction, by Western-educated Palestinian officials who are assiduously courted by the international media. ...
Arafat’s eventual successor, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), also embraced Temple Denial. ... Temple Denial spread across the Middle East like wildfire from the editorial pages of al-Jazirah in Saudi Arabia to well-funded international seminars in the United Arab Emirates. It even subtly slipped into the writing of Middle East-based Western reporters. Thus Time magazine’s Romesh Ratnesar in October 2003 described the Temple Mount as a place ‘where Jews believe Solomon and Herod built the first and Second Temples.’ In three years, Arafat’s campaign had convinced a leading U.S. weekly to relate the existence of Jerusalem’s biblical temples as a debatable matter of religious belief rather than historical fact. Arafat had moved the goalposts of historical truth.
Temple Denial found fertile ground in the Arab world’s universities, particularly those with a more radical Islamist perspective, where it would affect an entirely new generation. A lecturer in modern history at Saudi Arabia’s Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University repeated a popular variation of Temple Denial in 2000, when he published a research arguing that King Solomon’s Temple was in fact a mosque. ...
The Temple Mount itself and the Western Wall attests to the Second Temple, built in the 6th century B.C. and expanded under Herod the Great in the 1st century B.C. The Western Wall contains original stones from the foundation of the Temple Mount in the days when the New Testament was written. [Benjamin Mazar, president of the Hebrew University, excavated the southern steps of the Temple Mount between 1968-78. Because of his labor, visitors today can see the actual steps upon which Jesus walked and where He preached at the main entrance to the temple area and where the Psalms of Degrees were sung.]
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The History of the Temple Mount
The Bible says that God has placed Jerusalem at the center of the nations to be a light to the world (Ezekiel 5:5). It is Israel’s failure to live up to this calling that has brought such great trouble upon her and upon the city that lies at the center of her hopes and aspirations.
Jewish tradition says that Adam and Eve were created on Mt. Moriah, but the Bible does not confirm this. In fact, the biblical description of the location of the Garden of Eden places it farther north in association with the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
The biblical history of the Temple Mount begins in 1870 B.C. when Abraham was instructed to offer his son Isaac, the inheritor of God’s promise, on Mt. Moriah (Genesis 22:2). God provided a ram in the place of Isaac to signify the coming of the Messiah to make the perfect atonement for man’s sin (Gen. 22:11-14). Abraham named the place Jehovah-jireh, the Lord will provide, and there God reaffirmed the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 22:15-18), the covenant that passed to Jacob or Israel, and through his 12 sons to the tribes of Israel.
In 957 B.C. the First Temple was built by King Solomon on Mt. Moriah (2 Chron. 3:1). It was built according to the divine plans given to his father David (1 Chronicles 22:5-6; 28:11-12, 19), and the glory of God filled it (1 Kings 8:10-11).
In 586 B.C., the First Temple was destroyed by the Babylonian armies under Nebuchadnezzar (2 Kings 25:9). The reason was Israel’s sin against God (2 Chron. 26:15-21). Before the destruction the glory of God had departed from the Temple according to Ezekiel’s vision (Ezek. 10:18; 11:23).
In 572 B.C., while living in Babylon fourteen years after the destruction of the First Temple, Ezekiel delivered a lengthy prophecy that looked beyond the Second and Third Temples and described the Millennial Temple that will be built when the Messiah rules in His kingdom (Ezekiel 40-48).
In 534 B.C., Daniel prophesied from the Babylonian captivity that a “vile person” would flatter the Jews, desecrate the temple (obviously the Second Temple that was yet to be built), cause the Jewish sacrifice to cease, and persecute the Jewish people (Dan. 11:30-35). Daniel also prophesied that some of the Jews would “be strong, and do exploits” but they would eventually fall.
The Second Temple was built by Ezra in 516 B.C. after the Jews returned from the 70-year captivity. There is no record that divine plans were given for its construction, and the glory of God never filled it.
In 168 B.C. the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, an incredibly proud man who struck a coin with his image inscribed with “Antiochus, God Manifest,” having won the Jews’ affections through flattery, plundered and desecrated the Temple. He sacrificed a pig on the altar and erected a statue of Zeus (Jupiter) in the Holy Place. Antiochus outlawed sabbath-keeping and circumcision, burned the Jewish Scriptures, and forced the Jews to sacrifice to Saturn and Bacchus, the god of debauchery. He killed over 80,000 Jews and sold 40,000 into slavery. He committed horrible atrocities such as forcing a mother to watch as her seven sons were roasted on a flat iron. Mothers who circumcised their sons were thrown off the walls of Jerusalem with their infants. The ensuing Maccabean revolt led by brave Jews was successful for awhile, but eventually failed and great numbers were slaughtered. These events are mere shadows of the coming Antichrist.
Testimonies That Israel Will Return
Those who interpret the Bible literally will not be disappointed!
“... a future restoration awaits this people, and will be to the world a glorious demonstration of the truth of prophecy. ... Three things are certain: the Jews themselves expect it; they are preserved by the providence of God as a distinct people for their country; and their country, which is in fact possessed by no one, is preserved for them” (Samuel Wakefield, Theology, 1869, p. 96).
“The Jews will then be settled in their own land. Having returned in unbelief, they will have formed themselves into a flourishing community. ... Reader, these things may soon take place. The mighty armies are to be mown down before the brightness of Christ’s glory, when like the lightning He shall descend from heaven. Let not the infidelity of our days lead you to question the possibility of such things” (Alfred H. Burton, The Future of Europe and Russia’s Destiny in the Light of Prophecy, 1896, pp. 72, 73
“Israel is yet to be revived, and Jesus says: ‘Learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh’ (Mat. 24:32). What is the meaning of the modern Zionist movement, and the widespread interest in the return of the Jews to Palestine? A distinguished Jewish Rabbi said recently: ‘There is no Jewish nation, and there never will be. The Zionists that make so much noise do not represent Jewish sentiment. There is no general movement to restore Israel to Palestine. We preach today not Jewish nationality but universal Judaism, humanitarianism, the unity of God and man. Washington is to us a second Moses. When he freed America from Tyranny he created a haven of refuge for all the oppressed, including the Jews. Why do we need Palestine? We have America. That is enough.’ The unbelieving surrender of the promises only shows how completely Israel has given up her God. But the God of Israel abides, and He will yet come forth and recover the glory due Him. Back the Israelites shall go, whether they know it or not, and God will vindicate His faithfulness and glory. The fig tree, though barren, still abides” (Ford C. Ottman, The Unfolding of the Ages in the Revelation of John, 1905, pp. 172).
“And their wonderful preservation, as a distinct people, through all the persecutions, vicissitudes and wanderings of the past eighteen centuries down to the present moment, is a standing miracle, attesting the truth of God’s word, and assuring us of His purposes in their future history. Said Frederick the Great to his chaplain: ‘Doctor, if your religion is a true one, it ought to be capable of very brief and simple proof. Will you give me an evidence of its truth in one word?’ The good man answered, ‘Israel.’ Other nations come and go, but Israel remains. She passes not away. God says of her, ‘For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, said the Lord, thy Redeemer.’ Isa. 54:7-8. But, perhaps, you say: ‘I don’t believe the Israelites are to be restored to Canaan, and Jerusalem rebuilt.’ Dear reader! have you read the declarations of God’s word about it? Surely nothing is more plainly stated in the Scriptures” (“W.E.B., Jesus Is Coming, 1908, Fleming H. Revell Company, pp. 161, 162).
“Israel is the subject of prophecy. In the drama of human history the Hebrew is the chief actor. In the domain of prophecy he is equally prominent. The past and future circle round the Jew. The Jew is the great factor in prophecy. ... The once mighty monarchies of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome have risen, flourished, and fallen, leaving no permanent results behind. But the Jews, whose reliable history goes further back than any of those ancient kingdoms, are with us to-day. In physiognomy and national characteristics the Jew is unchanged. In a history of nigh four thousands years. ... The Jews as a people cannot be destroyed. God is their keeper and preserver, even while under His governmental judgment as they are to-day. The Jews, without a home, without a country, without a government, without a head, are yet a people as distinct from the Gentiles in national faith, feeling, and hope, as in the days of David and Solomon” (Walter Scott, At Hand, Or, Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass, London: Pickering & Inglis, 4th edition, 1910, pp. 66, 68).
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The Antichrist and Israel
Bible prophecy describes a powerful man who will rule the world for a short period before the return of Christ. He is called by many names, including Antichrist, Man of Sin, Little Horn, the Beast, Son of Perdition, and that Wicked.
“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-4).
Here we have a description of the Antichrist’s peace program. Like Antiochus Epiphanes and Hitler and Stalin and many other tyrants, the Antichrist comes as a man of peace.
In Revelation 6:2 he arrives on the scene at the very beginning of Daniel’s Seventieth Week, and he is riding on a white horse with a bow but no arrows. He has military power but he is not using it at this point. He enlarges his power through deception. Daniel says he will destroy by peace (Dan. 8:25).
Daniel 9:27 says he will make a seven-year covenant with the Jews but will break it at the halfway point. The Antichrist will doubtless propose a plan that will solve the Middle East crisis and allow the Muslims to live peaceably with the Jews. I believe that it is at this point that the Third Jewish Temple will be built. The peace plan will make headlines throughout the world and will be blazed across the Internet. It will get 24/7 coverage on cable news networks. People the world over will rejoice, thinking that mankind is entering a millennium of glorious peace and prosperity.
This program is exactly what the Jews are longing for today. They just want peace.
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Temple Denial Vs. Archaeology
The following is excerpted from The Fight for Jerusalem: Radical Islam, the West, and the Future of the Holy City by Dore Gold (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 2007):
“[T]he Palestinians’ battle for Jerusalem incorporates more than just the frontal, military assault of the intifada. Its first stages entailed a campaign by Arafat to completely delegitimize the Israeli claim to the city. This began on the ninth day of the Camp David summit [in the year 2000], when Arafat subjected Clinton to a lecture of staggering historical revisionism. His central argument was that the biblical temple never existed on the Temple Mount or even in Jerusalem. Arafat baldly asserted that ‘There is nothing there [i.e., no trace of a temple on the Temple Mount],’ further insisting that ‘Solomon’s Temple was not in Jerusalem, but Nablus.’ ...
[This] doctrine of ‘Temple Denial’ quickly became a new Palestinian dogma that was even repeated, with the firmest conviction, by Western-educated Palestinian officials who are assiduously courted by the international media. ...
Arafat’s eventual successor, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen), also embraced Temple Denial. ... Temple Denial spread across the Middle East like wildfire from the editorial pages of al-Jazirah in Saudi Arabia to well-funded international seminars in the United Arab Emirates. It even subtly slipped into the writing of Middle East-based Western reporters. Thus Time magazine’s Romesh Ratnesar in October 2003 described the Temple Mount as a place ‘where Jews believe Solomon and Herod built the first and Second Temples.’ In three years, Arafat’s campaign had convinced a leading U.S. weekly to relate the existence of Jerusalem’s biblical temples as a debatable matter of religious belief rather than historical fact. Arafat had moved the goalposts of historical truth.Continue reading this article……
The Land of Israel in 1867
The following is Mark Twain’s description of the Holy Land in 1867 from the book The Innocents Abroad, documenting his journey to Europe, Asia Minor, and the Middle East:
This refutes the Palestinian myth that the land was developed and prospered under Arab rule. In fact, it was a wasteland until the Jews returned in force in the early 20th century.
Mark Twain’s description of the land is also a dramatic description of the how the great prophecy of Deuteronomy 28 was fulfilled.
“And thy heaven that is over thy head shall be brass and the earth that is under thee shall be iron. The Lord shall make the rain of thy land powder and dust: from heaven shall it come down upon thee, until thou be destroyed” (Deut. 28:23-24).
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Excerpts from The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain (1867):
Of all the lands there are for dismal scenery, I think Palestine must be the prince. The hills are barren, they are dull of color, they are unpicturesque in shape. The valleys are unsightly deserts fringed with a feeble vegetation that has an expression about it of being sorrowful and despondent. ... It is a hopeless, dreary, heart-broken land.
Harry Truman's Recognition of the State of Israel
April 1, 2009 (David Cloud, Fundamental Baptist Information Service, P.O. Box 610368, Port Huron, MI 48061, 866-295-4143, fbns@wayoflife.org; for instructions about subscribing and unsubscribing or changing addresses, see the information paragraph at the end of the article) -
I believe that one of the most important events in American history was Harry Truman’s recognition of Israel on May 14, 1948.
America’s friendship toward Israel has not been perfectly consistent by any means, but the fact remains that America has been Israel’s greatest friend in modern history, and that is significant. God told Abraham, the father of the Jewish nation,
“And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 12:2-3).
On this authority there can be no doubt that one of the chief reasons for God’s blessing on America has been her blessing of Israel.
Harry S. Truman (1884-1972) was vice president under Franklin D. Roosevelt and became president when died early in his third term in April 1945. Truman subsequently won the presidential election in 1948 and declined to run in 1952, so he was president for eight years. Continue reading this article……
