The current
situation in Israel is one of constant tension and turmoil. Yet in the midst of Arab aggression and
opposition, it appears that Jewish interest in rebuilding their Temple
continues to grow. In the last few
months there have been a number of events that have taken place that appears to
be ratcheting up the interest level of the Temple movement in Israel among
Jews. One of the more interesting
developments has been the reestablishment of the Sanhedrin after 1600 years of
absence.
The Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was
a council of 71 rabbis that governed Israel under Roman rule during the time of
Christ near the Temple and continued to function outside of Jerusalem
(primarily in Tiberias) until around a.d.
400. The reinstitution of the
Sanhedrin is seen as a harbinger for the rebuilding of the Temple and the
coming of Messiah. Orthodox Jews
believe that a body like the Sanhedrin is needed today to oversee the
rebuilding of the Temple and to identify Messiah should he appear on the scene.
The body met for
the first time in October 2004 in Tiberias (the place where they last gathered)
but now meet monthly in Jerusalem in order to issue rulings on matters related
to Israeli Judaism. Their goal is
to eventually become the governing body for the modern nation of Israel, which
would replace their current social democracy. Orthodox sects are known for following their specific
leaders as opposed to valuing unity between themselves. This is why the founding of the
Sanhedrin is viewed by many within the Orthodox community as miraculous that
causes them to believe that great things are on the horizon for the Jewish
people of Israel.
Arnold
Fruchtenbaum, a Hebrew Christian scholar has noted the following:
The significance of Israel' s
reinstituting the Sanhedrin may be another event that leaves in place the
possibility of how the Lord will work out His will with His people. Almost sixty years after a 1900 year absence,
the nation of Israel came into existence.
Jewish people from the four corners of the world have made aliyah to live in the Land. The Temple Institute in Jerusalem has reconstructed the
instruments for Jewish Temple worship; Jewish men determined to be descendants
of Aaron, known as the Kohanim,
are being trained in ritual practices to serve as Temple priests; and now we
have the establishment of an authoritative body to speak to the nation of
Israel on matters of Jewish religion.
This is significant in light of such passages as Zechariah 12:10 and
Hosea 5:15, which speak of a time when the people of Israel will be led into
the acceptance of Jesus as their Messiah.
The existence of a religious authority for the entire nation will
facilitate the multitudes coming to faith.[1]
It is important
to note that as a result of the June 2005 meeting of the Sanhedrin, they have
issued a call for specific plans to rebuild the Temple. " The Israeli rabbinical council
involved with re-establishing the Sanhedrin, is calling upon all groups
involved in Temple Mount research to prepare detailed architectural plans for
the reconstruction of the Jewish Holy Temple." [2] This demonstrates that increasingly the
new Sanhedrin believes that it is taking steps to prepare the modern state of
Israel for a new Temple and the coming of Messiah. These stage-setting steps are things that are in concert
with the end time events that will take place during a future era known as the
tribulation.
In order to
specifically carry out the Sanhedrin' s call to prepare architectural plans for
rebuilding the Temple, " the group will establish a forum of architects and
engineers to begin plans for rebuilding the Temple- a move fraught with
religious and political volatility." [3] The Sanhedrin is also " calling on the
Jewish people to contribute toward the acquisition of materials for the purpose
of rebuilding the Temple- including the gathering and preparation of
prefabricated, disassembled portions to be stored and ready for rapid assembly,
' in the manner of King David.' " [4]
Ready To Rebuild
In 1992 Randall
Price and I wrote a book about current efforts in Israel to rebuild Israel' s
Third Temple called Ready to Rebuild.[5] Frankly, this book was the first in the
American Evangelical world to introduce many to the growing Temple movement in
Israel. Now, 13 years later, there
are even more organizations and Israeli Jews working toward this goal. I recall during a trip to Israel a few
years ago our visit to the Temple Institute in West Jerusalem. (This is the group of orthodox Jews who
have already reconstructed all of the implements that will be needed for the
Third Temple.) The young lady who
led our tour of their Institute was questioned by our group as to whether they
really believed that a new Temple would actually be built upon the Temple Mount
where the Arab Dome of the Rock now stands. She stated very clearly and repeatedly that they were 100%
sure that a Jewish Temple would one day be reconstructed upon that Mount. When ask how she thought this would
happen, she said that she had no idea but knew that the Lord would bring it to
pass in order for the end of days to unfold.
The main problem
facing those who would rebuild the Temple is political in nature. Israel recaptured the Old City of
Jerusalem and the Temple Mount in the Six-Day War (1967) and then Moshe Diane
returned day-to-day control of the Temple Mount to the Muslims. Until Israel comes to the point where
they are willing to exercise political control over the Temple Mount, they will
not be able to restore the Temple.
Increasingly, there are new organizations that arise among the orthodox
Jews seeking to regain hegemony over their most holy place.
One of the newer
organizations that have recently arisen to join older ones like the Temple
Mount Faithful and the Ateret Cohanim is the group called " Revava," led by
David Ha' ivri. The goal of Revava
is to restore Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount. Their tactics include an effort every
month to take a group of 10,000 Jews or more up to the Temple Mount.[6] The 35-acre Temple Mount platform is
the most volatile real estate upon planet earth. The mere (unsuccessful) attempt by Revava to take 10,000
Jews up to the Temple Mount in order to pray resulted in over 100,000 Muslims
in Indonesia rallying " for continued Islamic dominance over the Mount." [7] The police prevented the Jews from
ascending to the most holy place in all of Judaism, so they carried on a
demonstration near the Temple Mount.
" Demonstrators sang songs and danced, and chanted slogans about
reclaiming the Mount for Jewish worship.
Several Israeli Knesset members delivered speeches about the importance
of the Temple Mount to Jewish tradition." [8]
The point that
needs to be made is that Israeli Jews are increasingly interested in rebuilding
their Temple. It appears that the
more the Islamic militants increase their terrorist pressure upon the Jewish
nation, the more religious Jews step up their efforts to focus upon rebuilding
the Third Temple. " Islamic Jihad
issued a press release claiming Jews were planning to ' attack' the Mount, which
they would explode the entire region and open an unprecedented confrontation
with the ' Zionist entity.' " [9] In fact, on June 6, 2005, when Israel
was celebrating the 38th anniversary of Jerusalem' s liberation a
number of Jews were allowed to go upon the Temple Mount. This resulted in about 300 Palestinians
throwing stones at the Jews. " They
came from Al Aqsa, took off their belts, and ran through the Jewish Israeli
group to evict them while trying to throw stones," noted a Jewish police
spokesman.[10]
Conclusion
In spite of
contemporary turmoil, Israel' s Third Temple will one day be rebuild as Dr.
Price and I demonstrated in Ready To Rebuild from Daniel 9:24-27; Matthew 24:15; 2
Thessalonians 2:4; Revelation 11:1-2; 13:14- 15. Few observers of world events ever thought Israel would
become a nation again, but it did occur in 1948. Yet, there will be a rebuilt temple by the middle of the
seven-year tribulation in order to facilitate the fulfillment of Bible
prophecy.
I have often
taught that the long-awaited permission for the Jews to rebuild their Temple
will likely be part of the covenant between Antichrist and Israel that starts
the seven-year tribulation after the rapture. It appears to me that the Temple will be rebuilt and
supervised supernaturally by the two witnesses during the first half of the
tribulation. Since one of the two
witnesses will most likely be Elijah, this would mean that the ministry of
Elijah should tell us more about the ministry of the two witnesses. Malachi 4:4-5 says, " Behold, I am going
to send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and terrible day
of the Lord. An he will restore the hearts of the
fathers to their children,
and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land
with a curse." Perhaps the
ministry of Elijah, where he will help the Jewish people " get right with God,"
before the return of the Lord will involve their Third Temple, until
commandeered by Antichrist.
Regardless of how
the Lord works out the details, His plan will be brought to pass. In the meantime, many of the current
events now taking place in and around Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are setting
the stage for what will be a string of events that will usher in the second
coming of Christ. Meanwhile, the
church is looking for the rapture, where Christ will take us in an instance to
be with Himself for all eternity.
Maranatha!
