THE EMMAUS WALK PRESENTS:

"When and Where Will the Jewish Temple be Built?", Excerpt from Gordon Lindsay's "Fire Over the Holy Land," 1967

Note: This book we are excerpting will undoubtedly ask you (by implication): Emmaus Walker, has anything really changed in the Middle East since 1967? We seem to be facing the same circumstances Gordon Lindsay described 43 years ago! There has been, clearly, no progress toward peace in all that time. Why? The answer is in this article: Muslim Arabs (but not all, of course, for some are the Druze, who are Muslim Arabs, are citizens of Israel and even serve in the Israeli Army and send representatives to the Knesset)began a guerilla war in 1948 when Israel was made and declared an independent nation, sanctioned by a positive vote in the United Nations when the British Mandate territory of Palestine was broken up there and divided into Jordan and Israel. Before 1948 those Muslim Arabs fought the Jewish settlers, who had come to revive the lands they bought from the Arabs, land the Arabs themselves considered worthless and so loved to sell to Jews whom they thought had lost their minds, that they would want to buy land nobody could make anything from. But that is not the question in this excerpt--who should possess "Palestine" or "Israel." Jerusalem, and the re-building of the Jewish Temple, that is the question concerned. When and where exactly will it be built? Gordon Lindsay quotes extensively from a TIME magazine article. A group of Messianic Jews has been working for years on the Temple Institute projects of reproducing exact golden replicas of Temple utensils and also the robes of the Levite priests and their training. Other Messianic Jews even have gone so far as to re-discover the incense ingredients, and the sea worm, thought extinct, that produces the blue dye used in the robes of the high priest. There has even been progress toward breeding a line of cows that can lead to a pure red heifer whose ashes must be used for cleansing in the restoration of the Temple service. This means little to Gentiles of course, but to Jews who believe in a coming Messiah it is essential preparation for the building and operation of the Third Temple. In other words, they are not content to wait, they are preparing the way for the Messiah to come and sit in His own Temple in Jerusalem!

We ought at least, as Christians, to take serious note of these preparations, chiefly as a sign that these are truly the Latter Days, and the Third Temple's emergence is closely at hand. Before it appears, however, we believe the Rapture of the Church will occur, and the Anti-Christ will take the reins of world power, and the events of the End will unfold, one by one, as described in Revelation. We must prepare ourselves too, even if we aren't Jews and have no real stake in creating red heifers and altar incense and sacred blue dye and the golden utensils and such. The Bible tells us to watch and pray and be sober (be serious-minded, focused on the eternal things of God, not the passing thing this vain, dying world, with our priorities being evangelism and holiness). Are we watching, are we praying, are we "sober"? If not, or even if we need improvement, it is high time to become so! Forty three years have passed since Gordon Linsay wrote this portion, using the TIME magazine article, and surely we are going to see the last events take place that will clear the way for the Third Temple and the Anti-Christ's appearance. When those events happen, it will be too late to prepare, for the Rapture will suddenly take place, and the Church will be lifted instantly out of this world.

Personally, I see those events are now unfolding before our eyes at this very time, in 2010. What do you see happening? Is it all chaos to you? Do you see only what the liberal media and Hollywood are telling you to see, or do you see present events through the lens of the Bible? Those who look at things through the lens of the satanic world system will be blinded to what is actually taking place. But we should have clear vision, thanks to the Bible. We shouldn't be surprised, fooled, or bewildered. We should know, as Christians, what is going on right now, and be making all the preparations needed to be a Wise Virgin waiting expectantly for the soon-coming Bridegroom, instead of sleeping with the foolish virgins who haven't prepared and won't, therefore, be ready when the Bridegroom does suddenly show up. Don't go with the masses of Christians who are sleeping today, despite all the warning bells and signs and prophetic scriptures. They will be very sorry they didn't pay attention--but being sorry won't help them at all, it will be too late for them to do anything, they will be shut out of the Bridegroom's wedding. The masses are always wrong, always lazy and neglectful of their responsibilities, so choose to be among the holy Remnant, the few of the watchful believers, the "five Wise Virgins" who keep their lamps trimmed and extra oil on hand so they will be ready when the Bridegroom comes for them.--Ed.].

According to Revelation 11: 1-2, a Jewish temple will be in existence in Jerusalem in the closing days of the age [note that the Bible does not ever mention an "Al Quds, the Muslim name for Jerusalem, or a divided, Jewish-Moslem Arab Jerusalem by that Muslim name--Ed]. A question being asked is, how soon will that temple be built? The Scriptures do no tell us the exact time, only that it will be built by the time of the Great Tribulation. TIME magazine (June 30, 1967), has this interesting comment to make:

'Israel's conquest of Jordanian Jerusalem, which sent thousands of devout Jews to pray for freedom before the historic Wailing Wall for the first time in centuries, has raised an interesting theological conumdrum. Assuming that Israel keeps the Wall, which is one of the few remaining ruins of Judaism's Second temple, has the time now come for the erection of the Third Temple?

'Since the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, in A.D. 70, Conservative and Orthodox Jews have beseeched God four times a week to 'renew our days as they once were'--a plea for the restoration of the Temple. Although Zionism was largely a secular movement [I have to disagree, for devout, biblical Christians were promoters of Zionism in the very earliest stages, even encouraging the Founding Zionist, Herzl, to seek a national homeland in the territory called "Palestine" first by the Romans after they destroyed Judaea and Jerusalem in 70 A.D.--Ed.], one of its sources was the prayers of the Jews for a return to Palestine so that they could build a new temple...

'Whether or not the building of a new Temple should wait until the Messiah arrives, Jewish theology presents several obstacles to its construction...An even greater obstacle is that the Temple must be constructed on its original site; this could only be done by demolishing Islam's sacred Dome of the Rock, the spot from which Mohammed ascended into heaven [sic]. Despite their enmity with Arab nations, devout Jews would be reluctant to destroy the shrine of another faith [actually, Jewish law prohibits any substantial changes to the existing religious structures by a second party and prohibits their removal.--Ed.].

'Nonetheless, such is Israel's euphoria today that some Jews see plausible theological grounds for discussing reconstruction. They base their arguments on the contention that Israel has already entered its 'Messianic era.' Says Historian Israel Eldad: 'We are at the stage where David was when he liberated Jerusalem. From that time until the construction of the Temple by Solomon, only one generation passed. So it will be with us.' and what about the Moslem shrine? [it is a shrine, correctly said, not a mosque as is so often reported--Ed.] Answers Eldad: 'It is of course an open question. Who knows? Perhaps there will be an earthquake.'" [or a missile attack from Iran? or...? Actually, the Temple location has been disputed by equally learned authorities of Jewish and Christian faiths, and there are several sites that have been considered likely, and one is even north of the Temple Mount, I understand. Perry Stone, the evangelical Bible prophecy teacher who has his own Mannafest ministry broadcasts on Trinity Broadcast Network and Daystar, speaks of a site beyond the Temple Mount that may have been the original site of the Second Temple, so then a rebuilt Temple would not have to be on the Muslim-administered Temple Mount itself, which would probably inflame the Muslims, whereas a Temple just yards beyond the Mount would probably not incite the same amount of outrage.--Ed.].

One thing is certain. If the Jews retain the Old City--a matter that is by no means settled and which is being bitterly contested by the Arabs [also the world community!--Ed.]--the question of the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple will become a pressing one. Nevertheless, even the Jews at the present moment would noto consider the razing of the Mosque of Omar [sic]. Something else of a catastrophic nature must occur for that to happen. Hopwever, not all the temple site is occupied by the mosque. Would the Jews be content to build in the outer area? Time alone will answer these questions.

As we go to press, the Arabs have thus far made it clear that they will not give up their belligerency, therefore, Israel will continue to occupy the territory they have won. The Arabs announce they will institute a guerilla warfare against israel and there the matter stands.

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