“And there was given me (John) a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without (outside) the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles (non Jews): and the holy city (Jerusalem) shall they tread under foot forty and two months (three and one half years).”
Revelation 11:1-2
The map above of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem is a current picture of what the famed Temple Mount looks like today, with one glaring omission. Where is the Holy Jewish Temple? Afterall, this is the site where the first Temple (built by Solomon circa 832 BCE and destroyed by the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE) and the second Temple (which was rebuilt 70 years later in 516 BCE when the Jews were freed by Cyrus from Babylonian captivity and returned to Jerusalem). The second Holy Temple was later destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD and the Jews were dispersed throughout the world for almost 2,000 years. In the Scripture above John is told in approximately 95 AD, (well after the destruction of the second Temple) to measure THE TEMPLE MOUNT and where to build the third Holy Temple in the Last Days. Notice he is told to measure the area but NOT to measure the area already given to the Gentiles (Muslims). The total measurement of the Temple Mount is approximately 950 feet by 1550 feet.
By looking at the map above, a couple of important things stand out. First, there are the two holy Muslim sites, the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, which basically sit at either end of the Temple Mount. Please note! Not once in the Quran, the Muslim “bible”, is the City of Jerusalem OR the Temple Mount named one time. Both were built hundreds of years later during the Ottoman Empire when the Turks had control of Jerusalem. The Dome of the Rock is supposedly where Muhammed was raised to heaven even though there is zero evidence he ever even went to Jerusalem. There is more than enough room BETWEEN the two Muslim sites to build the 3rd Holy Jewish Temple and that will probably be in the anti-christ’s Peace Agreement which will allow the Jews to finally rebuild their Temple without destroying the two Muslim sites..
Also of importance is what is called the Mercy Gate (aka the Eastern gate). This gate was closed by Sultan Suleiman in 1543 after hearing the Jewish Messiah would one day Return to Jerusalem and enter the Temple Mount through the Eastern Gate. Not only did he seal the gate (it remains sealed to this day), but knowing Jewish tradition holds walking in a cemetery makes one “unclean”, he placed a very large cemetery on the outside of the Eastern Gate to dissuade the Jewish Messiah from entering through it. “Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut (sealed).” Ezekiel 44:1. “It is for the prince (Jesus); the prince , he shall sit in it to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch OF THAT GATE (capitals mine) and shall go out by the way of the same.” Ezekiel 44:3. A review of history will confirm that Jesus previously entered Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate on Palm Sunday riding an ass and when He Returns and touches His feet on the Mount of Olives, He will then enter the Temple Mount through the Eastern Gate after opening the gate. Interestingly, it is a STRAIGHT LINE from the Mount of Olives down through the valley into the Eastern Gate, and eventually directly into the then rebuilt Holy Temple.
“Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looketh toward the east: And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory.” “And the glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house. And I heard him speaking unto me out of the house; and the man stood by me. And he said unto me, Son of man, the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel for ever, and my holy name, shall the house of Israel no more defile, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoredom, nor by the carcasses of their kings in their high places.”
Ezekiel 43:1-2, 4-7
In 2018 I was blessed to be able to travel to Israel and spent 12 days seeing all the Biblical sites of the Holy Land. With my 44+ year interest in Bible prophecy going into Jerusalem and being able to pray at the Western Wall (aka the Wailing Wall) was an incredible experience which I will remember the rest of my life. To be at THE site where Jesus will one day reign in peace, justice and righteousness during His Millennial reign on earth and knowing all the prophecies regarding what must transpire before that occurs was life changing. Before I answer the topic question, let me first give an overview of the soon to be rebuilt 3rd Holy Jewish Temple.
“And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light always before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there.”
1 Kings 11:36
Not only did God give to the tribe of David His Promise for the Jews but also told him He had selected Jerusalem, the city, to be where He would place His name forever. Throughout Jewish history right up today, the city of Jerusalem is deemed to be God’s Holy city. Most true Christians recognize this and respect that not only does Jerusalem belong to the Jews because of His Promise, but more importantly Jerusalem is a holy place upon which God has placed His name. Even though the Jews have often failed in their worship of God and rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God’s Promise is eternal and the City of Jerusalem was given to them FOREVER. Every time they have been dispersed and then brought back to Israel, the Jews still rightfully claimed Jerusalem as theirs. Of course when the nation of Israel was reborn and declared their Independence on May 14, 1948, several Arab countries invaded and took back parts of Israel and Eastern Jerusalem where the Temple mount sits. In God’s miraculous plan, the 6 day war of 1967 changed all that and for the first time in almost 2,000 years the Jews once again had sovereignty over East Jerusalem, and more importantly, over the Temple Mount.
While the Jewish people desired to rebuild their Holy Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D., they knew any disruption to the Muslim “holy” sites that had since been built on the Temple Mount would result in a massive war so to appease the Arabs, they allowed Muslim worship to continue there. However, the desire to rebuild the 3rd Holy Temple is rampant because of its significance to the Jewish religion.
“Moreover I will appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own, and move no more; neither shall the children of wickedness afflict then any more, as beforetime. And as since the time that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel, and have caused them to rest from all thine enemies. Also, the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house. And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up the seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever.”
2 Samuel 7:10-13
So, it is critical for Jewish theology that their Temple is rebuilt. That is because their sins can only be forgiven by animal sacrifice and the their high priest entering the Holiest of Holies in the Jewish Temple ONE DAY A YEAR to sprinkle the blood on the Ark of the Covenant and ask for the forgiveness of the sins of his people. He alone can do this in their theology so if the Temple does not exist, he cannot perform the ritual Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement. This is why the Jews today view it as so important to rebuild their Holy Temple. How do we know for certain the Temple WILL be built? We know because the anti-christ will soon confirm a peace covenant between the Jews and “many” (Palestinians) which will allow the Temple to be rebuilt and which will begin the FINAL 7 year Tribulation period after which Jesus will Return. We knows this because midway (after 3 1/2 years) through the Tribulation, the anti-christ will enter the then rebuilt Holy Jewish Temple at what is called the abomination of desolation, causing sacrifices to cease and announcing he is God and demanding to be worshipped as God. If the Temple was not rebuilt, he obviously could not enter it.
“And he (the anti-christ) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week (seven years): and in the midst of the week (after three and one half years) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations (declaring he is God) he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation (when Jesus Returns), and that determined (Tribulation) shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Daniel 9:27
Of course most Christians who have read the Bible prophecies agree the Rapture of the Believers will occur BEFORE the Tribulation so we won’t be here to see the Abomination of Desolation. If we are here, be prepared for the worst 7 years in human history!
The more I study the Bible related to prophecy, the more amazed I am at the accuracy of the message being given to us. God wants us to know His plans for us and for the rest of the world. If you know what is coming and then see it happening first hand, you have to accept what He has told us. That is why as Believers it is so important for us to tell others what we have been told in order to help them see the Light God has given to us. As I have said many, many times, God doesn’t tell us these things to scare us. He tells us these things to make us aware of His Plan. Therefore, it is so important for all of us to do what He has told us directly to do, and that is to “…therefore comfort one another with these words.” You can easily do this by forwarding this email to others or to Like/Share it on Facebook and/or LinkedIn. Either way, be ready because construction will soon begin!
May God Bless you as we await His Return!
I was on the Temple Mount last January 2020, & felt assured that the rebuilt Temple will be on line with the Eastern Gate and the Mount of Olives. This would NOT be where the current Dome of the Rock is situated, but to the side of it in relatively open space. The removal of the Dome of the Rock is ALWAYS the huge impediment to rebuilding the Temple, if it’s supposed to be on the traditional location of the Rock where Isaac was to be sacrificed. I think the provision for making space for this rebuilt Temple was calculated by God, even when Solomon built it originally, and particularly when Herod expanded the walled in area. The Eastern Gate was originally in the corner of the walls, but when Herod expanded the Temple Mount area the Eastern Gate became more central to the area. Whether the rebuilt Temple is situated on the exact footprint of the original Temple, or Herod’s Temple, is not critical to Biblical prophecy. It should be in line with the Eastern Gate, so Jesus will travel on a straight line from the Mount to Olives into His reign in the new Temple. I don’t believe Kings turn corners, or make zigzags, when they’re designing the building configuration to begin with.
The drawing shown is off to a degree. The Dome is more to the south of where it is represented here. It definitely is not in line with the Eastern Gate which is more in line to a point further to the north on the East wall. There are some remnants of an interior wall structure north of the Dome that do align with the Eastern gate through which Messiah would enter the Mount in His triumphal arrival to the Temple. The graves placed there to prevent this entry will all be empty because of the final resurrection that has caused them to be vacated. The rebuilt Temple will be in line with that gate which is the most likely site of Solomon’s Temple. The court of the Gentiles would be south of that location where the Dome now stands.
The drawing was the best I could find in 3D view. When I went to Israel in 2018 and was on the Mt. of Olives looking at the Eastern Gate I could see where on a straight line the Temple could fit.