On Wednesday, June 7, 1967, shortly after noon, the Israeli army
took back sovereign
control over the city of Jerusalem for the first time in more than two thousand
years. Defense Minister Moshe Dayan rushed to be among the first to pray at the
Western Wall of the Temple Mount, and there he proclaimed, "We have returned
to our holiest of holy places never to leave here again." The chief rabbi of
the Israeli army blew the shofar (ram's horn) symbolizing the Jewish belief
that "... to the sound of the trumpet the Temple fell, and to the sound of
the shofar it will be restored.
But twenty-nine years ago, the very notion that the Jews would actually be
making plans to rebuild their Temple in Jerusalem - and on the same platform
that once held the First and Second Temples - was considered, by most political
observers, to be unrealistic, to say the least. Why? Because the thirty-five leveled
acres of land located at the pinnacle of Mount Moriah in the heart of Old
Jerusalem, the area known as the Temple Mount, was (as still is) occupied
by two Islamic shrines - the Dome of the Rock, and the Al Aqsa Mosque - the
most visible and recognizable landmarks in all of Jerusalem. The intrusion
of a Jewish holy site upon a Muslim holy site would be seen as the definite blasphemy
by the entire Muslim world, an act that would most certainly launch a massive
Jihad(Muslim holy war).
Although the Jews have controlled the entire city of Jerusalem since the Six Day
War in 1967, in their appeal for peace, they have permitted the Muslims to maintain
their shrines on the Temple Mount. In turn, the Muslims have used this concession
to restrict access to the site by Israeli archeologists and scholars, fearing that
discoveries they make will motivate the reconstruction of the Temple!
Could there be a more controversial site on the face of the earth? Probably not.
Nevertheless, Jews can never forget about rebuilding the Temple. For nineteen
hundred years, three times every day the devout have prayed, "May it be Thy
will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days..." During those nineteen
hundred years, they have not been able to perform their religious rites, and
therefore they have had no priesthood! Synagogues are places for teaching and prayer,
but can in no way substitute for the Temple worship, which has been missing from
the Jewish faith since the descruction of the Second Temple by Titus in 70AD. Of
the Torah's 613 commandments, as set forth in the Talmud nearly one-third refer
directly to rituals that can only be performed in the temple when it is rebuilt
on its original site, at the heart of the heart of Zion. How could anyone think
that Jews could just forget the rebuilding of the Temple?!
And so, Ishmael and Isaac continue fussing about the land. Thus far, the peace
negotiations between the Palestinines and the Israelis have dealt with Political
issues only - Samaria, Gaza, Jericho, and the Golan Heights - which are, to quote
a Jerusalem journalist, "...distractions, sideshows, preliminaries to the main
bout." The real dispute - the "burdensome stone" of Zechariah 12 -
is Jerusalem. And the issue of Jerusalem is not political but religious,
the culminating point of all Biblical prophesy, the war for David's throne.
The whole world is now watching as events, which God's children have been looking
forward to for two millennia, are now being swifttly played out in this smallish
city that is perched on a rocky hillside. Remember, as the fate of Jerusalem is
being determined, the antichrist will make his covenant, bringing together the Jews,
Protestants, and Catholics to form a Federation of Churches inorder to establish
his reign in the Temple of Jerusalem.
But first, of course, the Temple must be rebuilt! It is the next critical step in
the fulfillment of end time prophesy.
Shofar Call at the Western Wall is sounded by Army Chief Rabbi
Shlomo Gorn at the Western Wall and the Temple Mount on June 7, 1967, the day
Jerusalem was liberated.
"WE WILL DO"
In May of 1995, when I was touring in Jerusalem with several believers, one
of our stops in the Old City (the area of Jerusalem that is within the ancient
walls) was at a place called The Temple Institute. If anyone would ever doubt
the determination of the Jews regarding the rebuilding of the Temple, I am sure
that a visit here would change their mind!
Operating under the auspices of the ministry of religon and the Chief Rabbinate,
The Temple Institute was founded in order to begin preparations for the rebuilding
of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. Their declaration of intent echo the words
spoken by the children of Israel as they stood before Moses at the foot of
Mount Sinai: "All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be obedient." Exodus
24:7
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, founder and head of the Institute (and who also served
in the paratrooper brigade which liberated the Temple Mount in the Six Day
War), further explains their purpose: "The power of these words is that Israel
delared "we will do" everything that is in our power to do. Even if everything
is not perfectly understood, we will still give our utmost to "do" - and only
as things begin to develop can we expect to "obey" on an intellectual level...
to understand. With God's help we will complete the task, even if it does not
always seem humanly possible."
The list of what has already been accomplished by the Institute and other Jewish
religious organizations towards the rebuilding fo the Temple and the restoration
of Temple worship is impressive:
Two Talmudic schools are training nearly two hundred descendants
of the tribe of Levi in the demanding details of Temple service - including
animal sacrifice, a practice that has been absent from Jewish worship since the
Second Temple was destroyed.
Nearly one hundred sacred Temple vessels which are
required for
services
have been meticulously hand-crafted.
Freshly woven priestly garments from the high priest and
a number of
attending
priests have been made from flax that was spun by hand, according to the prescribed
design.
Muscial instruments that are necessary for Temple worship
- including
various types of authenti lyres, harps, trumpets, flutes and bells - have been
assembled.
The botanical department of the Temple Institue is
growing the
various
plants needed for the Temple service, such as herbs for incense and the plants
that are used as part of the thanksgiving offerings.
After scouting through Europe and the United States,
zoologists from
the Institure have found the pure red heifer cattle that are required for the
priestly cleansing ritual, and they are now being raised in Israel.
Both the religious and the nonreligious Jews are anxious for the Temple to be
rebuilt. For the religious it will provide the spiritual center where they can
practice full observance of God's commandments as He gave them to Moses for the
nation of Israel. For the nonreligious, it will be a unifying force, and a symbol
of wealth, power, and prestige of Israel. But for all the Jews, it will be a
magnet, drawing even the most non-observant to what may become, for a short time,
the greatest tourist attraction in the world!
And we know from the Scriptures that they will come. The dispersed will return
to their homeland, and then they will have an opportunity hear the Message of
Pentecost preached, and mighty signs and miracles performed (the same Message
that the Gentile nations of the world heard through the ministry of William
Branham). Two prophets - Moses and Elijah - will preach for three and one-half
years, and there will be an unprecedented revival in the land of Israel among
the Jewish people. One hundred and forty-four thousand will receive the Holy
Ghost.
We thank God that our consolation is anchored in the knowledge that when
the Temple worship is reinstated in Jerusalem, the Bride will be in Glory
at the Wedding Supper.
The Jews are preparing to build. Are you preparing to leave? Now is not the time
to be complacent!
SHALOM
1. Edward Norden, "Does Peace Have a Prayer?" Moment, December
1995.
2.
Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, translated and adapted by Chaim Richman; The Odyssey Of the
Third Temple;
G. Israel Publications & Productions LTD; page 102.
3. William Branhm, "The Seventy Weeks of Daniel," 61-0806: para.180.
The Menorah
In Exodus 25:31-40, we can read the detailed instructions which
God gave to Moses
concerning the design of the seven-branched candlesticks, the monorah, which was
to be made from "...one beaten work of pure gold" (one solid ingot), an item worth
nearly a million dollars in today's economy. The Institute has been raising the
money ti reproduce the menorah(and other solid gold items) for the rebuilt Temple,
but an article that caught my eye recently in the Jerusalem Post indicates that
it may no be necessary to do so!
After the destruction of the Second Temple, the menorrah and other Temple
treasures were carried on the shoulders of Roman soldiers in Titus' triumphal
procession,
as depicted here on the Arch of Titus in Rome, build in 81AD to commemorate
his victory in Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem Post; January 27, 1996:
Pope asked to return Temple menorah
Religious Affairs Minister Shimon Shetreet who met with Pope John Paul II
in Rome during the week of January 20th has asked for Vatican cooperation in
locating the 60kg gold menorah from the Second Temple that was brought to Rome
by Titus in 70AD... Recent research at the Universtity of Florence indicated
the menorah might be among the treasures in the Vatican's catacombs.
I won't say it's there for sure," he said, "but I asked the Pope to help in
the search as a goodwill gesture in recognition of the improved relations between
Catholics and Jews."
If Pope John Paul II is able to return the ancient and consecrated menorah of the
Second Temple to Jerusalem, his status amongst the Jewish people of the world will
instantly be elevated to nearly messianic proportions. It could even provide the
opportunity he needs, and is looking for, to secure his position as the peacemaker
who can promise Israel the security that the United States can no longer supply,
once a covenant is signed between them.
This is exactly the kind of messiah that most Jews are looking for today
- a very human messiah, a peacemaker, who will rule the world from Jerusalem and
guarantee their security. And this is the very deception that will lead all but
the 144,000 into accepting a false messiah, the antichrist.
"Jerusalem will be rebuilt again. The daily sacrifice will be set up. And the
antichrist will
make a covenant for them last seven weeks, and in the midst of it he will break
that covenant, turn them all to Catholicism. The abomination will spread over the
whole thing, like that, and then the end shall be."
Gabriel's Instructions To Daniel,
61-0730m
Believers International
P.O. Box 78270
Tucson, AZ 85703-8270
Phone (520) 297-9765 FAX (520) 297-7283
http://www.azstarnet.com/~believe
Editors: George & Rebekah Smith
e-mail:
believe@azstarnet.com
BELIEVERS NEWSLETTER
is published monthly by Believers International Inc.,
a non-profit Christian ministry dedicated to the furtherance of
the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and the Message of His prophet,
William Marrion Branham.
All Things Are Possible, Only Believe
