We rode into Jerusalem and begun to hear a song blaring over the bus’ CD player. It was a song entitled “Jerusalem” and the chorus was almost overwhelming with the words “Jerooosalem…Jeroooooooohhhhsalem” repeated over and over again. We came around a bend and went through a tunnel and upon our exit we were staring out from an overlook onto the temple mount and the Dome of the Rock. It was a world class vision.
The Mount of Olives was separated from Mt. Moriah (The Temple Mount) by the Kidron Valley. This was the East side of Jerusalem. The center of Jerusalem is the Temple Mount which is surrounded by the Kidron Valley in the East, the City of David to the South, and the Central Valley to the West. On the other side of the Central Valley to the West of the Temple Mount is Mt. Zion. The Hinnom Valley is West of Mt. Zion and turns to travel underneath the City of David.
The City of David was built near water. King Solomon built the first temple on Mt. Moriah which was destroyed in 586 B.C. During the return of Ezra and Nehemiah a second temple was built…a smaller one than the first. Herod gave much attention to expanding and beautifying this second temple (second temple Jerusalem 19 BC – 63 AD). Back in those days when you were rebuilding something that had fallen you would just put dirt over the ruins and build on top of the dirt. Herod built restraining walls that would be filled to build the temple on. These four walls make up the Temple Mount. This became the site of the second temple and therefore the Holy of Holies. This area of the temple was close to the Western retaining walls of the Temple Mount. The temple was destroyed in the 60’s when the Romans squelched a Jewish revolt. The Muslims eventually controlled the site and built the Dome of the Rock on the site of the old temple. The Jewish people are forbidden by religion to go onto the site because it is a Muslim site. Thus they worship and pray at the Western Retaining Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, which is their holiest site because they believe that this site is as close as they can come to the biblical Holy of Holies that used to reside on the West end of the Temple Mount.
Herod knew about the Messianic promises that the Bible links to a person who has zeal for the temple. It seems like many of his provisions for a better temple had to do with his delusions of Messianic grandeur. I asked if this was weird for the Jewish people receiving such “outside”- gentile- help in establishing the temple. Dr. V. put it this way “What if someone wanted to rehab your home for free?” I don’t really think that God was OK with such ungodly establishment with the temple but what do I know? Herod worked with priests of the time to ensure that he was expanding the temple in a kosher way.
There was an interesting note concerning the coming of the Messiah. In Daniel 9 there is a prophecy that says that the Messiah will come before the city of Jerusalem is destroyed like a flood. This would seem to point to the Roman destruction in the 60’s which would mean that the Messiah would have needed to come before 60 AD.
On the side of the Temple Mount facing the Mt. of Olives there is a gate into the Old City named the East Gate. This gate has been sealed. Ezekiel 43:4 promises that the
Messiah will appear through the East Gate. The Jewish people built a cemetery on the Mt. of Olives facing the East Gate hoping that when the Messiah appeared that the dead would be raised and would be the first to see Him. The Muslims sealed the East Gate to keep the Messiah out. The Muslims also built a cemetery directly outside of the East Gate knowing that a righteous Jewish person would not approach a dead body.
The Mount of Olives was separated from Mt. Moriah (The Temple Mount) by the Kidron Valley. This was the East side of Jerusalem. The center of Jerusalem is the Temple Mount which is surrounded by the Kidron Valley in the East, the City of David to the South, and the Central Valley to the West. On the other side of the Central Valley to the West of the Temple Mount is Mt. Zion. The Hinnom Valley is West of Mt. Zion and turns to travel underneath the City of David.
The City of David was built near water. King Solomon built the first temple on Mt. Moriah which was destroyed in 586 B.C. During the return of Ezra and Nehemiah a second temple was built…a smaller one than the first. Herod gave much attention to expanding and beautifying this second temple (second temple Jerusalem 19 BC – 63 AD). Back in those days when you were rebuilding something that had fallen you would just put dirt over the ruins and build on top of the dirt. Herod built restraining walls that would be filled to build the temple on. These four walls make up the Temple Mount. This became the site of the second temple and therefore the Holy of Holies. This area of the temple was close to the Western retaining walls of the Temple Mount. The temple was destroyed in the 60’s when the Romans squelched a Jewish revolt. The Muslims eventually controlled the site and built the Dome of the Rock on the site of the old temple. The Jewish people are forbidden by religion to go onto the site because it is a Muslim site. Thus they worship and pray at the Western Retaining Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, which is their holiest site because they believe that this site is as close as they can come to the biblical Holy of Holies that used to reside on the West end of the Temple Mount.
Herod knew about the Messianic promises that the Bible links to a person who has zeal for the temple. It seems like many of his provisions for a better temple had to do with his delusions of Messianic grandeur. I asked if this was weird for the Jewish people receiving such “outside”- gentile- help in establishing the temple. Dr. V. put it this way “What if someone wanted to rehab your home for free?” I don’t really think that God was OK with such ungodly establishment with the temple but what do I know? Herod worked with priests of the time to ensure that he was expanding the temple in a kosher way.
There was an interesting note concerning the coming of the Messiah. In Daniel 9 there is a prophecy that says that the Messiah will come before the city of Jerusalem is destroyed like a flood. This would seem to point to the Roman destruction in the 60’s which would mean that the Messiah would have needed to come before 60 AD.
On the side of the Temple Mount facing the Mt. of Olives there is a gate into the Old City named the East Gate. This gate has been sealed. Ezekiel 43:4 promises that the
Messiah will appear through the East Gate. The Jewish people built a cemetery on the Mt. of Olives facing the East Gate hoping that when the Messiah appeared that the dead would be raised and would be the first to see Him. The Muslims sealed the East Gate to keep the Messiah out. The Muslims also built a cemetery directly outside of the East Gate knowing that a righteous Jewish person would not approach a dead body.
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