Posted on 09/25/2001 1:31:33 PM PDT by Doctor Freeze
We've got World War III going on right now!! Israel oughtta just go ahead, take the Temple Mount and say "to hell with you filthy Muslims" now that we're finally getting it on.
C'mon Israel, you've no excuses this time. Blow up that damnable dome and retake what's rightfully yours.
Actually...there is no reference in the bible to "A" (singular person) Antichrist. The references to the word "antichrist" are:
1 John 2:18......YE HAVE HEARD THAT ANTI-CHRIST SHOULD COME..
1 John 2:18......EVEN NOW ARE THERE MANY ANTI-CHRISTS.
1 John 2:22.....HE THAT DENIETH THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST...HE IS ANTI-CHRIST.
1 John 4:3.......THIS IS THAT SPIRIT OF ANTI-CHRIST.
2 John 7...... MANY DECEIVERS ......WHO CONFESS NOT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS COME IN THE FLESH. THIS IS A DECEIVER AND AN ANTI-CHRIST..
I don't know where that teaching that there will be a man who is the "Antichrist" came from but it is not backed up with scripture. The word simply means against-Christ.
First, the Dome of Rock is not a Mosque. It is a shrine. It was built in the late 7th century, shortly after the Arabs took the Holy Land from the Byzantine empire. At the time, the Byzantines were using the Temple Mount as a garbage dump. The Arabs rightly found this appauling and forced the local rulers to clean it up. They then built the Dome out of respect for the site, which they revered because it was the site of the ancient temple, but they did not yet come to believe it to be the spot from which Mohammed ascended to heaven. It took another century or so for that belief to develop.
My second point is addressed to my fellow Christians who support Israel demolishing the Dome of Rock and renewing the Levitical sacrifices. Have you, brother and sisters, ever read the book of Hebrews? The sacrifice of Our Lord on the Cross suppercedes all Old Testament sacrifices and makes them useless. This is not only explicitly clear in Hebrews, but it is also the universal teaching of all the Church Fathers since time immemorial. Therefore, I believe your desire to see the temple rebuilt is quite misplaced, and perhaps based on a misreading of some of the apocalyptic sections of the Bible.
Get off your Chomskian horse, and stop parroting the anti Israeli propaganda that you have heard, and try to start thinking for yourself.
Well yes, if you're only looking for the word "antichrist" you will only find it in 1st and 2nd John. But, the "beast from the sea" in Rev 13:1 is interpreted by most scholars to be a/the antichrist. I think this is a reasonable interpretation, one few would argue with.
Gershon Salomon, head of the Temple Mount Faithful, gave some wonderful informational talks in the U.S. last month and it was clear he is sincere in following God’s leading in all they do. For those associated with the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement, regaining the Temple Mount is a priority, but they have to work with the Israeli government officials whose opinions are more cautious. The Temple Mount Faithful have the cornerstones and are making the utensils, etc., necessary for the temple worship/sacrifice according to Jewish customs. Last July they took the cornerstone up and it caused quite a ruckus. They plan to do so again in October.
On Aug. 21, 2001, our local newspaper carried an AP article by Yaov Appel entitled "Disputed holy site in danger of collapse". It went on to say that a section of the stone retaining wall near the Al-Aqsa Mosque (Dome of the Rock) is in danger of collapse. The Israelis and Palestinians blame each other for the 35’ wide bulge in the wall and that despite warnings the wall could cave in; fingerpointing is holding up repairs (nutshell version). In his talk, Mr. Salomon, who, by the way, has an incredible account of God’s intervention in his own life, commented on this report calling it "…a great wonderful danger. They are afraid of an Apocalyptic event!" Mr. Salomon seems to thoroughly rely upon God’s intervention in the Mosque matter and believes it exists on the site of the Temple to challenge the Jewish people. Would that I could have this outlook on all my obstacles in life!
Why build the temple only on this site? Isn’t it amazing that the focus of the world is Israel, the focus of Israel is Jerusalem, and the focus of Jerusalem is the Temple Mount (Sherlock Bally) ? According to the Zondervan Pictorial Dictionary, "…three temples stood successively on Mr. Moriah (IIChron. 3:1) in Jerusalem" (the Temple Mount). Mr. Salomon numerous times referred to "Jerusalem, the holy city of God", and "the holy hill" (temple site) . It is my understanding that people of the Jewish faith believe that even though the temple is not there (except for the remains underground that the Palestinians are currently destroying), God’s presence never left the site, which helps me to better understand the importance of the Wailing Wall. I Kings 9:3 states, "And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually."
Now for the fun part! Amos 9:11 reads: "In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof;…." . Literally taken it says that in whatever timing God chooses, David’s tabernacle (or tent) (I have read elsewhere it was made of skins, possibly draped over rock walls), will be (found and) raised up - and it sounds like God is planning to miraculously repair the damage to it that time has caused. In that case, temple worship could begin in just a few hours, not a longer period of time one would assume it would take to actually build a temple (which I would assume would still take place later). Personally, I like the idea that this will be one of God’s miracles as we get closer to what appears to be the nearing end of the Church Age, as world events get stranger, rather than looking for a symbolic meaning in a passage that seems to have a literal meaning. (Thanks to J. R. Church, and the Zondervan Prophecy Study Bible edited by Grant Jeffrey for this understanding).
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