Posted on 06/22/2009 1:48:53 PM PDT by TaraP
A new Jewish interfaith initiative launched last week argues building the Third Jewish Temple in Jerusalem would not necessitate the destruction of the Dome of the Rock.
"God's Holy Mountain Vision" project hopes to defuse religious strife by showing that Jews' end-of-days vision could harmoniously accommodate Islam's present architectural hegemony on the Temple Mount.
This vision of religious shrines in peaceful proximity can transform the Temple Mount from a place of contention to its original sacred role as a place of worship shared by Jews, Muslims and Christians," said Yoav Frankel, director of the initiative.
The Interfaith Encounter Association at the Mishkenot Sha'ananim's Konrad Adenauer Conference Center in Jerusalem is sponsoring the program, which includes interfaith study and other educational projects.
According to Islamic tradition, the Dome of the Rock, built in 691, marks the spot where Muhammed ascended to Heaven.
But according to Jewish tradition, Mount Moriah, now under the Dome of the Rock, is where the Temple's Holy of Holies was situated
Until now Jewish tradition has assumed that destruction of the Dome of the Rock was a precondition for the building of the third and last Temple.
However, in an article that appeared in 2007 in Tehumin, an influential journal of Jewish law, Frankel, a young scholar, presented a different option.
His main argument is that Jewish doctrine regarding the rebuilding of the Temple emphasizes the role of a prophet.
This prophet would have extraordinary authority, including the discretion to specify the Temple's precise location, regardless of any diverging Jewish traditions.
Frankel considers the scenario of a holy revelation given to an authentic prophet that the Temple be rebuilt on the current or an extended Temple Mount in peaceful proximity to the dome and other houses of prayer such as the Aksa Mosque and nearby Christian shrines.
However, both Muslims and Jews have expressed opposition to the initiative.
Sheikh Abdulla Nimar Darwish, founder of the Islamic Movement in Israel, said it was pointless to talk about what would happen when the mahdi, the Muslim equivalent of the messiah, would reveal himself.
"Why are we taking upon ourselves the responsibility to decide such things?" Darwish said in a telephone interview with The Jerusalem Post. "Even Jews believe that it is prohibited to rebuild the Temple until the messiah comes. So what is there to talk about.
"The mahdi will decide whether or not to rebuild the Temple. If he decides that it should be rebuilt, I will go out to the Temple Mount and help carry the rocks."
Darwish warned against any attempt to rebuild the Temple before the coming of the mahdi.
"As long as there is a Muslim alive, no Jewish Temple will be built on Al-Haram Al-Sharif [the Temple Mount]. The status quo must be maintained, otherwise there will be bloodshed."
In contrast, Baruch Ben-Yosef, chairman of the Movement to Restore the Temple, made it clear that the Temple had to be built where the Dome of the Rock presently stands.
"Anybody who says anything else simply does not know what he is talking about," he said. "A prophet does not have the power to change the law which explicitly states the location of the Temple."
Ben-Yosef also rejected the idea that rebuilding of the Temple had to be done by a prophet.
"All you need is a Sanhedrin," he said.
Mainstream Orthodox rabbis have opposed attempts to rebuild the Temple since the Mount came under Israeli control in 1967.
The Chief Rabbinate of Israel even issued a decree prohibiting Jews from entering the area due to ritual purity issues.
However, several grassroots organizations such as the Movement to Restore the Temple, and maverick rabbis, including Rabbi Israel Ariel, head of the capital's Temple Institute and a leading member of the revived Sanhedrin led by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz, have called to take steps to renew the sacrifices on the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple.
“For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”
Isaiah 56:7
Well, the indications are that it’s possible to build the Third Temple without tearing down the Dome of the Rock...
Three possible positions theorized and documented, by proponents of each...
http://www.templemount.org/
“Was not the location of Solomon’s temple designated by God due the holiness of the place?”
Anywhere on the mount fits the Law.
Good luck with that!
there will be bloodshed”
“When isn’t there bloodshed with these people?
Ben-Yosef also rejected the idea that rebuilding of the Temple had to be done by a prophet. "All you need is a Sanhedrin," he said.
However, several grassroots organizations...have called to take steps to renew the sacrifices on the Temple Mount and rebuild the Temple.
"From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.
Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches the end of the 1,335 days." (Dan 12:11,12)
Seems to me from the above verses in Daniel that sacrifices must resume in order to be ended. Also, no mention is made in the surrounding verses of the sacrifices being made in a temple - just in a "Holy place".
So please help me to understand: Are there factions in Israel today working to actively prevent the temple from being rebuilt at all, or is it a question of timing and/or location?
Not that the Israelis need it, but I think rebuilding the temple would be a great source of pride to them.
...but why wouldn't you want to?
Hmmm. Who cares?
Slight reminder for those who are not that aware of the lies of Islam, Mohamed could not have ascended to Heaven from the holy mound at the time of his death.
But, rather than take my word for it .... please research the material yourself. Find out when Mohamed died and when the mosque was built.
Thank you for the ping..
And put the big hemorrhoid in Mecca, which is actually holy to Muslims, unlike Jerusalem.
“But, rather than take my word for it .... please research the material yourself. Find out when Mohamed died and when the mosque was built.”
Exactly - at the time M died, the “westernmost mosque” was in Medina. It wasn’t until many years after his death that the Moslems reached Jerusalem.
Moslem claims to Temple Mount are recent: http://www.eretzyisroel.org/~jkatz/templemount.html
Well, that's a heck of a faction! Was that Ben-Gurion, Eshkol, or someone else? I had heard Dayan had something to with that - "non-defensible area" or something like that that.
Will it be called the Dome of Barack?
LOL...I wouldn’t doubt it!
There are those that say that the Temple should be built to the north of the Dome of the Rock that would be in line with the Eastern Gate. When Christ returns and lands on the Mt. of Olives... just as he did the first time... (when he came lowly and riding on a donkey, Palm Sunday)... He will come through that Eastern gate and walk right into the Temple to take His rightful place. And this time he will come in glory and power to defeat His enemies at Armageddon. I strongly suspect that the enemy will be the muslimes who will follow this coming Caliphate leader, better known as the Mahdi.
Daniel's prophecy that Jesus referred to in Matthew 24, says that the 'antichrist' has to go into the Temple, stop the sacrifice and declare himself God, which will set off the 7th week of Daniel (the tribulation). This is exactly what the Mahdi is going to do. The Mahdi (Amadinejad's messiah) will do exactly that. Islamic eschatology mirrors the one outlined in the Bible... except it's exactly the opposite. Check it out yourself.
I believe that the Temple will be a part of the coming 7 year peace pact between the muslims and the Israelis. I suspect the Jews will be able to rebuild the Temple in exchange for more land, Jerusalem as a split capital or something along those lines. Of course, the muslimes, whose Quran encourages them to practice 'hudna'... or a sessesion of hostilites until they are stronger... and 3 1/2 years after the peace pact is signed... will retake the Temple and play out the 'abomination of desolation' or the Mahdi saying he is God.
I've been looking at this for years and I believe, that with all that is happening before our eyes, that it will play out in the next few years. Yes, the temple will be rebuilt and I think it will sit right next to the Dome of the Rock. Incidentally, I visited the Temple Mount many years ago and was able to go inside the Dome of the Rock. Did you know that blasphemous sayings about the God of Israel are written all around it's exterior in Arabic? How perfectly is all fits. But then again, the prophet Daniel said his prophecy would be hidden until the end.
nah, it was not at the time of his death that he claimed to have ascended to Heaven - it was in a dream he said he had ascended on his white horse, whose name was Barak (unsure of spelling there). But he never mentioned where - just a big rock. In fact, I’ve read that Jerusalem isn’t mention in the Koran.
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