Jerusalem
Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel.
Behold, they say, "Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off." Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus say the Lord God: Behold, I will open your graves, O my people; and I will bring you home into the land of Israel.
Ezekiel 37:11-12
As demonstrated by the map at the right, Jerusalem
has been the axis mundi, the center of the world,
throughout Judaic history. God gave the land of Israel, especially
Jerusalem, to the Jews as prophesied by Moses. Jews have not possessed
Jerusalem consistently during their history, but they feel that
she is rightly theirs. The Holy Land remains in the hearts of
Jews no matter who has owned her or how far away they were located.
God originally gave her to the Jews and He will ultimately give
her back to them for eternity.
In 1984, a Jewish underground, extremist group was arrested in Israel for planning to destroy the Dome of the Rock. The Muslim holy site, at which Muhammed supposedly ascended to Heaven, is located in the exact location of the First Temple built by Solomon and destroyed in 586 BCE, and the Second Temple which was consequently destroyed in 70 CE. This group thought that by destroying the Dome of the Rock, they would provoke a jihad, Islamic holy war. The holy war was then supposed to force God to send the Messiah down to Earth to redeem His believers. (Telushkin, 1991, p. 547)
This extremist group had good intentions, but they were a bit off the target. The coming of the Jewish Messiah will come in a natural way, not one forced upon God by mere mortals. The Messiah will descend from Paradise to enter Jerusalem only after three crucial actions have occurred:
1. Jews return to Jerusalem from the four corners of the earth.
2. The city of Jerusalem is rebuilt to its original form.
3. The Third Temple is built on the Temple Mount.
The Third Temple will be constructed by God and it is thought that it will be indestructible. Ideally, the Messiah will enter Jerusalem through the Golden Gate, seen at right, which is located on the eastern side of the Temple Mount. He will come to
redeem the entire world, especially Jerusalem, and transform the earth into the Kingdom of God. Heaven will descend to inhabit the earth. The arrival of the Messiah and the redemption of Jews must take place in Jerusalem because some commandments of the Torah can only be fulfilled on the Holy Land's sacred soil.
Unfortunately, reality and politics must play a role as well. Presently, the Muslim community has possession of the entire Temple Mount. The Dome of the Rock is located in the same spot where the Holy Temple was, and is projected to be again. In order for the Third Temple to be built, the Dome of the Rock would have to be destroyed. The Golden Gate, as well, has been transformed due to Muslim rule of the Temple Mount. Muslims discourage the coming of the Jewish Messiah and have therefore blocked the entire gate, as can be seen in the above photo. A cemetery has also been placed just outside of the Golden Gate because Muslims know that death and cemeteries are a ritual impurity for Jews. If the Messiah is supposed to enter through the Golden Gate, He must pass through a cemetery, thus causing Him to be impure and unable to enter the Temple Mount. This is Islam's way of hindering the coming of the Messiah.
Do not be discouraged. As believers would say, the Messiah is all-powerful and therefore a few stones blocking the gate and a cemetery outside the walls will not deter Him. When it is time for redemption, He will come to Jerusalem and redeem the believers, no matter what obstacles may stand in His way.
