The Tribulation Temple's Location
Here is where I currently believe the Temple was located on the southern end of Mt. Moriah (just SOUTH of the Dome of the Rock). Any view that doesn’t place the Temple on Mt. Moriah violates Scripture (2 Chronicles 3:1): http://templemountlocation.com/
In my novel Silver Skies 1996 Version the Antichrist rebuilds the Jewish temple, just south of the Dome of the Rock. I think I will have him excavate this area and actually build upon the former foundation, which is lower in elevation than what’s presently there. He won’t remove the Dome of the Rock to placate the Muslims and will come up with a brilliant political solution to have the Jewish Temple and the Dome of the Rock side by side. Don’t want to ruin the book for you. I’ve said enough. However, I don’t agree with her about Bible prophecy in general, just about the location of the Jewish Temple. I think she’s nailed that.
I was convinced after reading Norma Robertson’s book called Locating Solomon’s Temple.
Jerusalem’s holy sites: why Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif is so volatile: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/11240846/Jerusalems-holy-sites-why-Temple-MountHaram-al-Sharif-is-so-volatile.html
HERE ARE OTHER VIEWS OF THE LOCATION OF THE TEMPLE:
Four Temple Location Theories by Lambert Dolphin and Michael Kollin: http://www.templemount.org/theories.html
The Temple Mount in Jerusalem: http://www.templemount.org/
Dr Ritmeyer Interview: What Is the Archeological Evidence on the Temple Mount? http://cryforzion.com/dr-ritmeyer-interview-what-is-the-archeological-evidence-on-the-temple-mount/
The Coming Temple—Center Stage for the Final Countdown. http://www.templemount.org/missler-1995.html
Temple Mount Videos: http://www.templemount.org/videos.html
Chuck Missler’s opinion:
Andy Woods perspective: https://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/08/temples-of-bible-part-2.html
THE DOME OF THE ROCK PROBLEM by Andy Woods
Most believe that the third temple will be rebuilt on the original temple mount where the Old Testament temples once stood. According to the traditional view, the archeological evidence suggests that the temple mount is located directly under the Dome of the Rock. This rock is a holy site in the Islamic faith since it is the place where Mohammed allegedly ascended to Allah. Needless to say, any attempt by the Jews to remove the Dome of the Rock in an attempt to rebuild their temple would result in a holy war with their Islamic neighbors. If this traditional view is accurate, it appears unlikely that the third Jewish temple will be rebuilt in the near future.
However, this traditional view is not the only view. Another view recently advocated by archeologist Dr. Asher Kaufman teaches that the archeological evidence indicates that the original temple mount is located a short distance away from the Dome of the Rock.
“Every ancient document describing the Temple placed the Eastern gate exactly on the east/west centerline of the Temple itself. The Dome of the Rock is at least 150 meters south of that centerline…As I stepped off the Temple and its inner court wall, I discovered that there was a 26-meter clearance from the Dome of the Rock’s nearest point.” [1]
This is a very exciting discovery in light of Bible prophecy. It indicates that the third Jewish temple could be rebuilt without disturbing the Dome of the Rock at all.
ANTICHRIST AS THE MEDIATOR
If the Kaufman conjecture is accurate, two of the greatest religious artifacts of the world, the third Jewish temple and the Dome of the Rock, may one day stand side by side of one another. Even if the Jews attempt to rebuild the temple in Jerusalem without disturbing the Dome of the Rock, such an action could cause the Jews to incur the wrath of the surrounding Muslim countries. According to the Islamic faith, Jerusalem is the third holiest city in the Muslim religion. As previously mentioned, it is believed that Jerusalem is the city where the prophet Mohammed supposedly ascended back to Allah. Thus, the more the Jews cause Jerusalem to look like a Jewish city, the more they run the risk of being attacked by the surrounding Islamic fundamentalists. This explains why any Jewish attempt to rebuild the temple may result in a holy war.
Therefore, it is commonly believed that the Jews will be able to rebuild their temple only after the Antichrist comes to power and begins to rule the world. Only the Antichrist will have the skill, power, and charisma necessary to peacefully mediate the differences between the Jews and the Muslims so as to allow the Jews to rebuild their temple next to the Dome of the Rock without causing a holy war (Dan 9:27a; 1 Thess 5:3a; Rev 6:2). The actual work of rebuilding the Jewish temple will thus most probably commence during the first half of the Tribulation period. While much of this is speculation, we do know for certain that the temple must be standing at the midpoint of the Tribulation period so that the Antichrist can desecrate it.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO THE THIRD TEMPLE?
The first temple was destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kgs 25:9) in 586 B.C. The second temple was destroyed by the Romans (Matthew 24:2) in A.D. 70. The Scripture does not specifically indicate what will happen to the third temple. Some believe that it will be destroyed as the judgment of God is poured out upon the world during the second half of the Tribulation period. Others believe that it will be preserved and eventually cleansed and dedicated in preparation for the millennial temple (Dan 12:11)
The LOST TEMPLE Mount- the REAL Location of Solomon’s Temple in the City of David, Jerusalem
Hillel Richman: The True Location of the Temple Mount
THE COMING TEMPLE
Site of Ancient Jewish Temple:
The Coming Temple – Full Documentary
JEWISH OPINION ABOUT LOCATION OF TEMPLE:
Michael Rydelnik
Adjunct Professor in Bible Exposition
BA, Azusa Pacific University, 1978; ThM, Dallas Theological Seminary, 1983; DMiss, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1997
Dr. Michael Rydelnik is Professor of Jewish Studies and Bible at Moody Bible Institute. He is the Host/Bible teacher on Open Line with Dr. Michael Rydelnik, answering listener Bible questions every Saturday morning for more than 200 stations across America. The son of Holocaust survivors, he was raised in an observant Jewish home in Brooklyn, New York. Michael trusted in Yeshua (Jesus) the Messiah in high school and began teaching the Bible almost immediately. He graduated from Moody Bible Institute, Azusa Pacific University, Dallas Theological Seminary, and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where his doctoral research focused on the messianic hope of the Hebrew Bible.
Dr. Rydelnik is the co-editor of The Moody Bible Commentary. He served on the translation team for the Holman CSB and has contributed to multiple study Bibles, books, and theological journals. Michael and his wife, Eva, have two adult sons who call and write all the time.
The Location of the Ancient Jewish Temples
By Dr. Michael Rydelnik April 7, 2018 4 Comments
Where were the Jewish Temples located in the city of Jerusalem? A new book and video contend it was in the more ancient part of the city, the one David captured from the Jebusites, sitting over the Gihon Spring. Is the traditional site of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem just a long misunderstood mistake?
In the past generation, the Palestinian Authority has famously and wrongly denied the existence of any Temples in Jerusalem. But more recently, a pastor has revived the long discredited theory of pseudo-archaeologist Ernest Martin, that the Temple actually stood in the original city of Jerusalem, called the City of David, located on the Southern slope of Mount Moriah. The major contention of this theory is that there wasn’t sufficient water to wash away the blood of sacrifices at the location of what has always been understood to be the Temple Mount. So, in this theory, it’s argued that the traditional Temple Mount was actually the Antonia Fortress and the real location of the Temple was in the City of David, over the Gihon Spring.
This theory is so wrong that it defies logic. But the problem is that in this internet age, all one needs is a free video and some publicity, and suddenly, people begin wondering if the historic Temple Mount is the legitimate site of the ancient Jewish Temples or has there been some sort of historical error or hoax.
There are many strong academic works (for example, one by Leen Rittmeyer and another by Randall Price) that show just how wrong this theory is. However, here are just a few reasons explaining why the Temple stood exactly where it was always thought to stand, on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
Let’s start with the issue of water. To begin, no one would build a Temple over a major source of water for a city. Therefore, the Temple could not have been built over the Gihon Spring. But then, how did the ancient Jewish people bring water to the Temple Mount? Recently, archaeologist Eli Shukrun discovered an ancient reservoir just West of the Temple Mount in the Tyropean Valley which brought water to the Temple Mount via aqueduct. According to him, this reservoir “supplied water for daily use in the Temple.”
Another reason for accepting the traditional site of the Temple is that according to 2 Chronicles 3:1, the Temple location was on the Threshing Floor of Arunah. Ancient threshing floors were never put in actual cities but outside of them, so the wind could winnow wheat from chaff. Arunah’s threshing floor would not have been in the city of the Jebusites, that David conquered and made his capital. It makes perfect sense for the threshing floor to be in the elevated place just North of David’s city and for David to choose that site for the Temple and for Solomon to use it to build it.
Another issue that is frequently raised is that the Lord Jesus said of the Temple, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here on another that will not be thrown down” (Mark 13:2; cf. Matt 24:1-2; Lk 21:5-6). So it is asked, how can the Western Wall, the site where Jewish people have gathered to pray for two millennia, still be standing? This misunderstands what the Western Wall actually is. It was not the Western Wall of the Temple, but the Western Wall of the platform that Herod the Great built to support the massive Temple complex he designed. The words of the Lord Jesus literally came true when the Romans razed the Temple complex and destroyed every building in it. The Western Wall was not part of that.
Beyond these arguments, the size of the Temple provides another bit of evidence. The original Temple of Solomon measured 861’ by 861’ or about three football fields in size. That would have been far too large to be in the city of David—it just would not fit. If that’s the case, how could the much larger Temple Herod built (about ten football fields) fit in the City of David?
Still another reason to accept the traditional site of the Temple Mount is that archaeology supports it. There are the Southern Steps to the Temple Mount, found just where the ancient Jewish historian Josephus said they would be. There is the famous trumpeting stone, found on the street just below the SW corner of the Temple Platform. It was the stone that marked the site where the trumpet was blown to announce the Sabbath. The Romans threw it over the side when they destroyed the buildings on the Temple complex. Another inscription separating the court of the Gentiles was found outside the northeast corner of the Temple complex, far from the City of David . These and other discoveries from the Temple Mount sifting project have yielded clear evidence that the Temple Mount was indeed the Temple Mount.
Finally, one more reason to trust the traditional site of the Temple Mount has to do with Jewish memory. Since the destruction of the Temple, we Jewish people have gathered at the Western Wall of the Temple platform to pray. The location was chosen because it was just beneath the site where the Holy of Holies had been. So Jewish people for two millennia have identified the Temple Mount as the Temple Mount. It’s unreasonable to think that the Jewish people could have gotten the site wrong so near to the time of the Temple’s destruction.
Beware of internet conspiracy theories and sensational books designed to distract believers from the truth. Just remember, sometimes the facts of history are just that, facts.
Iran, Islam & Israel – What Does the Future Hold? – Michael Rydelnik
Randall Price on the Jewish Temples