Site of the Dome of the Rock Not Site of Jewish Temples

Associates for Scriptural Knowledge ^ | April 4, 1998 | Dr. Ernest L. Martin

[gscc]

With the "Temple Mount" in Jerusalem playing such a prominent role in the current Israeli-Palestinean conflict, what if the "Temple Mount" was not the site of the Temples of Solomon & Herod?

[Eala]

Welcome to Free Republic

[mrs tiggywinkle]

ping

[breakem]

I'll be back.

[Petronski]

Ping!

[SaveTheChief]

And what if the "Dome" was the result of an Islamic attempt to take away one of the most holy sites in the Jewish faith?

What is your point?

[Pharmboy]

The Temple Mount and Fort Antonia

[Alouette]

Ernest L. Martin died on this day two years ago. He appears to have had some rather unorthodox ideas of scriptural history. His theories appear interesting, but he has been completely ignored outside of his own organization.

[50sDad]

Reg: All right. But apart from the sanitation, the medecine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system, and public health... What have the Romans ever done for us?

Noticed the aquaduct and had to chime in! ;)

[TheGeezer]

The Greek word Jesus used in his prophetic context to describe the Temple and its buildings was heiron (this means the entire Temple including its exterior buildings and walls).

Jesus did not use a Greek word to describe the Temple, since He spoke Aramaic. I know nothing about Aramaic, except for little things like the fact that there is no Aramaic word for "cousin". Translators do the best they can, I know, but some translations are squishier than others, leading to misinterpretations. I wonder what the original Aramaic was? There are no extant originals...

Hyperbole was a common instrument of expression used by rabbis. I had always regarded "not one stone left upon the other" just as such, an emphatic way to describe terrible destruction. I don't know that a literal interpretation of the text is necessary. Biblical Archeology Review last year (or was it the year before, I cannot recall) extensively described the Temple Mount, using the most reliable and learned data today available. It placed the Temple in basically the same area is has always to have been. To realign the Temple theoretically, based more upon envisioned appearances than archaeological evidence is pretty thin. Interesting ideas, though.

[My2Cents]

Hyperbole was a common instrument of expression used by rabbis.

I think this is a good point. Two-thousand years from now, will a historian studying late 20th Century American politics observe that references to the "Reagan landslide" of 1984 were wrong, because no earth actually moved upon his re-election?

[sr4402]

With the "Temple Mount" in Jerusalem playing such a prominent role in the current Israeli-Palestinean conflict, what if the "Temple Mount" was not the site of the Temples of Solomon & Herod?

You mean undermine scripture or something like that? I doubt that. Or would it have some end-times significance... Lord knows.

Yes, why the question? What do you imagine you will find?

[woerm]

ping pending look at what Roman maps I can dig up from the seige(s) of Jerusalem

[CobaltBlue]

Of course it would be nice if the real Temple Mount was someplace not such a political hot potato - hot potato is putting it mildly, I can't think of a sufficient word. Yes, if the real Temple Mount wasn't occupied by armed Palestinians, that would be a Good Thing.

In fact, I'd love it if God sent an angel to the Israelis and told them that the Promised Land had been moved to America, maybe around Lake Tahoe, maybe Miami. ;^)

Somehow, though, I think the confrontations and struggle are all part of the deal. No idea what God thinks about the Wall - my guess is that He was hoping we'd all learn to get along, but maybe He approves of the idea of a Time Out.

[stainlessbanner]

bttt

[70times7]

would it have some end-times significance... Lord knows.

Well, Just speculatin’ here, but:
If the temple is actually supposed to be located in a place other than the dome of the rock, then it is possible to rebuild it without causing instant middle east war. Many are not aware that Israel has been preparing for the rebuilding of the Temple for quite a few years. They have worked at everything from breeding red heifers to getting proper colored dye from rare shellfish to amassing sufficient gold to fashion the various temple artifacts required. Rumors have circulated that the location of the original Arc is known, and that it has been seen by a select few.

All of this would be interesting, at the least, were it not that the temple rebuild is also a key prophetic signal in the time-table of the tribulation period. With a literal interpretation of scripture, the closer we are to the rebuild of the temple the closer we are to bridle deep blood in the valley of mageddo.

[richardtavor]

It absolutely is the Temple Mount. I have excavated underneath it, and you can still find Temple artifacts in the rubble that the Palestinians have been removing on the Mount to try to remove all traces of the Temple. In fact, Underneath the el Asqa Mosque, I have visited Solomon' stables--the were perserved until the Oslo Accords were signed and the Pals gained more control over the mount (they have destroyed the stables and put in a gigantic mosque). I am familiar with the people this guy quotes, and they are all British "revisionists" archaelogists. HeThere is no question about the authenticity of the site, because below the Temple Mount, on the North Side and below the Fortress is Solomon's quarries. You can still see the cut marks where the stones were quarried (they have been verified.) This guy supports the old Kathleen Kenyon thought (probably was the most revisionist British Archaelogist to ever live.) He calls the Mount by the Palestinian Arabic name "Haram esh-Sharif", and as anyone knows, Islam wasn't invented until the 7th century C.E. This "expert" apparently has not read all of Josephus, because Josephus gave great information concerning Solomon's Stables, Quarries and the Fortress. The British have been trying to De-Jew Jerusalem for Centuries and deny their ownership. They will not succeed. That is why the Palestinians have useless idiots like this--to claim ownership of the Temple Mount. In fact, last week, the Imam at el Asqa denied the Jewishness of the Western Wall.

[AAABEST]

what if the "Temple Mount" was not the site of the Temples of Solomon & Herod?

Sorry but it is.

Even if it weren't, I say we demolish that POS anyway. The Ishmaelites have enough "holy sites" (holy site being anywhere Mohammed claims he took a dump), they don't need another one on the location of the Temple of David. Where the Arc was kept and where our Savior was judged.

The Ishmaelites built their monument of evil purely for politcal spite and knew exactly what they were doing when they did it.

SMASH THE DOME!!!

[richardtavor]

My comments to the poster:

It absolutely is the Temple Mount. I have excavated underneath it, and you can still find Temple artifacts in the rubble that the Palestinians have been removing on the Mount to try to remove all traces of the Temple. In fact, Underneath the el Asqa Mosque, I have visited Solomon' stables--the were perserved until the Oslo Accords were signed and the Pals gained more control over the mount (they have destroyed the stables and put in a gigantic mosque). I am familiar with the people this guy quotes, and they are all British "revisionists" archaelogists. HeThere is no question about the authenticity of the site, because below the Temple Mount, on the North Side and below the Fortress is Solomon's quarries. You can still see the cut marks where the stones were quarried (they have been verified.) This guy supports the old Kathleen Kenyon thought (probably was the most revisionist British Archaelogist to ever live.) He calls the Mount by the Palestinian Arabic name "Haram esh-Sharif", and as anyone knows, Islam wasn't invented until the 7th century C.E. This "expert" apparently has not read all of Josephus, because Josephus gave great information concerning Solomon's Stables, Quarries and the Fortress. The British have been trying to De-Jew Jerusalem for Centuries and deny their ownership. They will not succeed. That is why the Palestinians have useless idiots like this--to claim ownership of the Temple Mount. In fact, last week, the Imam at el Asqa denied the Jewishness of the Western Wall.

Another form of proof is Hezikaya's Tunnel. This was tunnel dug from what would become the Temple Mount to the Gihon Springs to the South. It is still there, and you can still walk through it. Josephus talked extensively about that as well.

[richardtavor]

Try this site if you haven't seen it:

http://www.templeinstitute.org/

They have reconstructed all of the Temple Utensils - The Ephod (Breastlplate) The Menorahs, etc. They are just waiting for the day to reinstitute Temple Worship. Sadly, their chief Rabbi was murdered by Palestinians about a year ago (certainly no coincidence!)