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THE ALTAR OF SACRIFICE
Every Sunday we bring what we call a prophecy update. We show how news and trends in the world corroborate centuries-old prophecies you read in the Bible.
From our literal reading of Bible prophecy we expect a Jewish Temple to be rebuilt on its original site in Jerusalem:
•In His talk about prophecy on the Mount of Olives Jesus was clear that there would be a Temple in Jerusalem during the period of time known as the Great Tribulation.
•The Tribulation Temple in Jerusalem plays a prominent role in the prophecies of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
News about the rebuilding of the Temple, or its various articles and implements, is therefore always very interesting to us.
On August 2nd IsraelNationalNews.com posted an article titled, Unique Temple Model to Overlook Kotel.
Excerpts:
…the Aish HaTorah center in Jerusalem’s Old City plans to unveil a one-of-a-kind model of the Temple. The model will be located in the Aish headquarters, overlooking the Kotel (the Western Wall) and the Temple Mount.
The model will be unveiled at 11 a.m. It will be the focal piece in a museum dedicated to Judaism
The model is unique in two ways, its designers say. For one thing, it is the largest of its kind. In addition, it will be the first to provide a view inside the Outer Sanctuary. An elevator system will move parts of the model, allowing visitors to view depictions of the Holy of Holies, the menorah and the Ark of the Covenant.
Another article, on July 30th, was titled, Temple Altar Construction Begins On Day Of Destruction.
Excerpts:
The Temple Institute began work on the sacrificial altar Thursday, Tisha B’av, the day the Second Temple was destroyed almost 2,000 years ago.
During Thursday’s ceremony, which took place in Mitzpe Yericho just east of Jerusalem, the Temple Institute laid the cornerstone for the altar and demonstrated how tar will be used to cement the stones together. The Institute plans on bringing the altar to its proper place on the Temple Mount when the Temple is rebuilt.
“Today, Tisha B’av, is not just a time to mourn the destruction of the Temple,” said Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the head of the Temple Institute. “It is also a time to build.”
The main force behind the construction of the altar, Yonaton Tzadok, was also on hand to explain why its stones were taken straight from the Dead Sea.
“The altar is supposed to represent going back to our roots, to the time of creation when everything was pure,” he said. “We took rocks from the Dead Sea, where it is likely that they were never touched by human hands.”
World Net Daily reported,
Nearly two-thirds of Israelis say the time is right to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple, according to a Ynet-Gesher survey.
Even half of non-religious Jews favor rebuilding the Holy Temple – an idea politically unthinkable in Israel just 10 or 20 years ago.
The poll was release on the saddest day on the Jewish calendar – the fasting day of Tisha B’Av, or the 9th day of the Hebrew month of Av. It commemorates a series of tragedies that befell the Jewish people all on the same day, most significantly the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which occurred about 656 years apart on the same day.3
“Unthinkable… just 10 or 20 years ago.” Not to the folks who read the Bible! There will be a Temple in Jerusalem during the Great Tribulation. It has to be operational at least by the mid-point of the Tribulation because it is within the Temple that the world leader we call the antiChrist will declare himself to be god and demand his subjects swear allegiance to him or face execution.
In related news, World Net Daily reported on an interesting development. The article was titled, Muslim Leader Wants Temple Rebuilt.
Excerpts:
Adnan Oktar, who uses the pen name of Harun Yahya, is a controversial but highly influential Muslim intellectual and author with more than 65 million of his books in circulation worldwide. Oktar recently met with three representatives from the re-established Jewish Sanhedrin, a group of 71 Orthodox rabbis and scholars from Israel, to discuss how religious Muslims, Jews and Christians can work together on the project.
Oktar added that the Temple of Solomon “will be rebuilt and all believers will worship there in tranquility.” During his meeting with the Sanhedrin Rabbis, Oktar expressed his belief that the Temple could be rebuilt in one year:
“It could be done in a year at most. It could be built to the same perfection and beauty. The Torah says it was built in 13 years, if I remember correctly. It could be rebuilt in a year in its perfect form.”
Will we see the Temple rebuilt?
I know we will not see any portion of the Great Tribulation. Jesus will return to resurrect and rapture the church from off the earth before the Great Tribulation begins.
These are the end times.
Get ready, stay ready, keep looking up.
Ready or not, Jesus is coming!
