Jerusalem - The future of a city with history - Jerusalem is holy to Jews for over 3,000 years - First Jewish Temple

By DON MORRIS and NATALIE WATSON of the Times Staff Jerusalem is holy to Jews, Muslims and Christians and has been under each of their control at points in its long history. Settling the "Jerusalem question" is at the core of any possible peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians.  Here is a look at the city at the center of it all.

A high and holy place This 35-acre plateau that towered over ancient Jerusalem is important to Jews as Temple Mount, site of the first and second temples, to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary, and to Christians. First Jewish Temple Jewish tradition holds that 3,000 years ago Solomon, son of King David, built the first Temple on the site of a threshing floor, the place where David originally erected the Tabernacle, a huge tent that housed the Ten Commandments. The Babylonians destroyed it 400 years later. Second Jewish Temple A few generations after the First Temple's destruction, Jews returned from exile and built the Second Temple on Temple Mount, which became the site of holy places for all three religions. The Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 A.D. Dome of the Rock Muslims call the site Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary). They believe Mohammed was transported from Mecca to Jerusalem, where he was lifted to heaven and received instructions on how to pray. The Dome of the Rock was built over the spot. With Al-Aqsa Mosque, the site is Islam's third holiest after Mecca and Medina.

TIMELINE: Jerusalem 3000 B.C. A settlement dates from this era, near Gihon Spring. 2000 - 1500 B.C. Abraham settles in Canaan. Christians and Jews believe Jerusalem is where God orders Abraham to sacrifice Abraham's son Isaac to him. Around 1000 B.C.: David, founder of the joint kingdom of Israel and Judah, captures Jerusalem from the Jebusites and makes it his capital. David's son, Solomon, builds the First Temple. 586 B.C. The Babylonians conquer Jerusalem, destroy the Temple and exile the Jews. 64 B.C. Pompey conquers Jerusalem for Rome. Herod, made king in 40 B.C., begins a building program, including refurbishing the Second Temple. Around 28 A.D. Jesus of Nazareth arrives in Jerusalem, where he will be crucified. He foretells the destruction of the Temple. 70 A.D. Romans destroy the Temple following a Jewish revolt. In 135, they put down another revolt and rename the city Aelia Capitolina. 313 The city comes under the control of Constantine I, who restores its name and with his mother, Helena, builds the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. 638 Muslim Arabs capture Jerusalem; the Dome of the Rock is built by 691. 1099 European Christians capture Jerusalem during the First Crusade. 1187 Muslim leader Saladin recaptures Jerusalem. Jews return and the layout of the Old City into quarters is fixed. 1517 The Muslim Ottoman Turks capture the city. 1917 The British conquer Jerusalem during World War I and make it the administrative seat of Palestine. 1947 The British turn over Palestine's future to the new United Nations, which partitions it into Arab and Jewish states. Jerusalem would be an international city. 1948 Rejecting the U.N. plan, Arab forces attack the newly proclaimed state of Israel. By war's end, Israel controls West Jerusalem, which it makes its capital. Jordan controls East Jerusalem and the Old City. 1949 - 1967 Jews are barred from from praying at the Western Wall and some Jewish areas vandalized. 1967 During a second Arab-Israeli war, Israel captures East Jerusalem, reclaiming Temple Mount and the Western Wall. It annexes East Jerusalem and some 17,500 acres. TODAY The future of East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel but regarded by Palestinians as the eventual capital of their own state, remains one of the most sensitive hurdles in peace talks. Sources: World Book, Encyclopedia Britannica, BBC News, USA Today, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peace Now, B’Tselem, InfoPlease Almanac, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Jerusalem During the Second Temple Period Jerusalem in the year 66 CE: Four years later, on Tisha B'Av, the Roman Emperor Titus destroyed the city during the period of the Great Revolt against Rome. Herod's palace: Herod was responsible for building ambitious structures such as Herodion, Massada, and the reconstruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. Both sides of the palace were symmetrical. In between are pools and fountains. Many of the rich in Jerusalem lived a comfortable life with their own pools. The Upper City, or Western District: This area was reserved for the rich (the Sadducees, Jewish aristocracy of that period) who lived in multi-storey mansions with wooden roofs. This area was situated on a hill across from the Temple mount, which can be seen in the backround. The Holy Temple and its large courtyard, and rear view of the Temple Mount: Herod began rebuilding the Temple in the year 19 BCE. The construction took seven years. Some say that it did not rain during the day throughout those seven years so as not to disturb the construction. Notice the Antonia fortress (named after Herod's Roman ally Mark Antony) overlooking the Temple. The Antonia fortress: The structure was built originally during the period of Ezra and was strengthened by the Hasmoneans. Herod rebuilt it completely on top of a rock 82 feet high. A close up look at the Temple: The Temple was built on Mount Moriah and Herod built the Temple floor 100 feet above street level. The Temple complex was very large with Herod building new walls on the outside, supported by rooms , buildings and tunnels on three levels. Isaiah said the Temple Mount is built like a lion, narrow in front, broad behind. For him, Jerusalem was the Lion of G-d, or "Ariel." The Phasael Tower, Hippicus Tower and Miriamne Tower: These three towers are situated close to where Jaffa gate is today. These towers protected the main entrance to the city. Phasael tower was named after Herod's brother, Hippicus was named after Herod's friend who fell in battle, while Mariamne tower was named after Herod's wife. The only remains of these towers today is the base of Phasael's, found in the Tower of David. During Herodion times: There were social tensions during Herod's time with the upper class Sadducees living in luxurious accomodation while the lower class Pharisees lived at the bottom of the city having to climb up to reach the Temple. A Saducee bathroom in the year 66 CE, Jerusalem. A Saducee living room in the year 66 CE, Jerusalem.

The  Temple  of  God  

In earliest times there were no permanent buildings such as temples where people could worship the One True God.  The heavenly Father just needed a sanctuary, which is a dedicated place where He could dwell with His children. “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.”  (Ex. 25:8)  When the children of Israel were wandering in the wilderness they could not build a permanent place of worship.  God would reveal Himself to them and let them know where they could erect a sacrificial altar (Deut. 112:11-14).  The Tabernacle In The Wilderness was a Tent of Meeting for the people.  The Tabernacle became the pattern for the first Temple of God to be built in Jerusalem.  King David had the desire to build the temple but God chose his son King Solomon who completed it in about 960 B.C. (2 Sam. 7:1-17; 1 Kn, 6:1-38).  It was a magnificent temple.

The Old Testament Temple

The Temple of God was used primarily for worship on the Sabbath day.  God had warned Israel that if it violated the Sabbath commandment He would destroy the gates and palaces of Jerusalem (Jer. 17:27).  Israel did not heed God’s warning so He allowed the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar to burn “the house of God, broke down the wall of Jerusalem, burned all its palaces with fire, and destroyed all its precious possessions.” (2 Chron. 36:18-19).  Those that survived became slaves in Babylon “until the land had enjoyed her Sabbaths.  As long as she lay desolate she kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.” (2 Chron. 36:20-21). 

At God’s appointed time the Persians permitted the Jews’ return from the Babylonian captivity about 538 B.C., they began to rebuild the Temple, which was completed about 15 years later. While almost certainly not as grand as the original Temple of Solomon, it survived over 450 years. It was this Temple that the Syrian king Antiochus IV desecrated in 168 B.C., triggering the revolt byThe Maccabees. This Temple was largely destroyed by the conquering Romans under Pompey in 63 B.C. (see Ancient Empires - Rome)

The Herodian Temple, a rebuilding of the earlier Temple by Herod The Great, was the magnificent structure that existed at the time of Jesus Christ. It was there that The Lord drove out the money changers and had numerous confrontations with the Pharisees and Sadducees. This Temple was completely destroyed by the Roman Legions in 70 A.D., exactly as Jesus Christ prophesied, nearly 40 years earlier, that it would be (Matthew 24:1-2) (see Fall of Jerusalem In 70 A.D.). Since then, there has been no Temple in Jerusalem.

Will the Physical Temple in Jerusalem be Rebuilt?

There are a number of Jewish groups working toward the rebuilding of a physical Temple in Jerusalem. Their preparations are genuine, professional, and well financed. They would begin building today if the political situation permitted it. But will it happen? Many Christians reject the thought of any such possibility, because their Christian perspective of "Temple" is now purely spiritual, and so they disregard the minds and actions of the Jewish people. But Jews aren't Christians. Jews have a religious perspective of their own, and since 1948, the Jewish state of Israel has been a reality.  

Whether or not the physical temple will be rebuilt depends on factors that relate to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.  Consider the incident on September 28, 2000 when the Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif in Arabic) regarded as Islam’s third holiest place.  He made this statement which is considered highly provocative to the Arabs::'The Temple Mount is in our hands and will remain in our hands. It is the holiest site in Judaism and it is the right of every Jew to visit the Temple Mount.'.  Since that time, Palestinians have engaged in a violent insurrection that has been dubbed the "al-Aksa intifada” which continues to this day.  Read “The Struggle for the Temple Mount” 

It is beyond the time limitation and scope of this sermon to deal with this issue of whether or not the physical temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt.  I have made a special study on this subject in the ARK Forum.   If you are interested in this study please 

Link to another web site on this issue please 

May God bless you

After the 70 babylonian captivity God allowed the Jews to return toJerusalem to rebuild the temple that must be built over the original foundation. (Ezra 2:68; 4:12; Amos 9:11)

Here is a super-colossal problem.  There is only one genuine and valid site for the temple - on Mount Moriah where Abraham had offered Isaac as an offering to God.  In the Seventh Century when the Islamic forces occupied the land, Caliph Omar built the Dome of the Rock over the same site of Solomon's temple.  This building is still standing there and has become one of the chief tourist attractions in Jerusalem.  In order to rebuild the temple in its proper place the Dome of the Rock must be demolished.  The temple site in Jerusalem is considered a holy place for the Islamic religion, second only to Mecca.  How can the Dome of the Rock be removed without provoking all the Islamic nations of the world to anger and start a "Jihad - holy war?"  Several suggestions have been made to choose an alternate site that is close to the Temple Mount, but so far none have been acceptable to the religious Jews.

6.    In the fourth year of Solomon's reign (c. 960 B.C.) the temple began construction.  It was completed in the eleventh year of Solomon's reign. It took seven and a half years to complete the construction of the First Temple.  The Second Temple that was reconstructed by King Herod took much longer.  Herod began his work in his eighteenth year (20-19 B.C.) When the Jews said to our Lord Jesus Christ that the temple had been under construction forty six years (Jn. 2:20); it was not until A.D.64 - more than thirty more years before it was finally completed.   Why did it take so long?  Those were large hewn stones and fine construction. How long do you think it will take modern technology to complete the temple if it were to be rebuilt today?  It depends on the materials and the construction system.  So, how long do you think it will take to rebuild and reconstruct the original temple that was destroyed in A.D.70?   The length of construction time is not important!

We shall come back to this question - "Will the Temple in Jerusalem beRebuilt?"  All I can say is this - "God has not given us a clear and positive answer".  Up till the present time I am not convinced the Temple inJerusalem will ever be rebuilt.

The Struggle for the Temple Mount

A briefing by Gershom Gorenberg
May 2, 2001

Gershom Gorenberg, author of The End of Days: Fundamentalism and the Struggle for the Temple Mount (Free Press), is senior editor and columnist for The Jerusalem Report. In addition, he is a regular contributor to The New Republic and an associate of the Center for Millennial Studies at Boston University. He was a co-author of Shalom, Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin, which won the National Jewish Book Award. American-born, Mr. Gorenberg has degrees from the University of California and the Hebrew University. He spoke to the Middle East Forum on May 2, 2001.

The Temple Mount in Context

The Temple Mount is an area of only thirty-five acres in the southwest corner in the old City of Jerusalem, but it is the most contested real estate on earth.

By calling it the Temple Mount, I am already standing in one political corner. Muslims call it al-Haram ash-Sharif, which includes the Dome of the Rock and al-Masjid al-Aqsa, or "the furthest mosque." People ask me if there is a neutral term for the Temple Mount. The answer is no. There is no neutral term or neutral story.

As a journalist, I have a standard paragraph to describe the Temple Mount: It is the site of the first and second temple in ancient Jewish times. It is also the place that the prophet Muhammad, according to the Qur'an, was said to have stepped before taking his "night journey" to heaven, where he met Allah, and received the Islamic commandment to pray five times a day.

A Nationalist Symbol

Israelis and Palestinians have both constructed their national narratives around the Temple Mount. In each narrative, an ideal past is seen as a time when the Temple Mount was under their sovereignty. In both cases, the present is seen as a disruptive time when the site is disputed. The ideal future is then seen as a time when the Temple Mount will be theirs again. The Temple Mount is now an emblem of the hopes and aspirations for both peoples.

In early Palestinian nationalist history, the Temple Mount was used as a rally cry: to protect the al-Aqsa mosque from the dangerous presence of Zionists in Palestine. That cry for liberation intensified after 1967 when Israel conquered the Temple Mount.

During the 1967 Six Day war, an Israeli colonel proudly announced "the Temple Mount is in our hands." For Israeli nationalists, this was seen as the ultimate achievement; the Jewish people had reclaimed their homeland.

Interestingly, Jewish homes have traditionally been adorned with a landscape of the Temple Mount, as a symbol of national yearning. Since the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has intensified, the same landscape has become a symbol among Palestinians.

Recent Events

Last July at the Camp David peace talks, Palestinian and Israeli negotiators came together and attempted to discuss the final status of the Temple Mount. They couldn’t do it because the issue is too loaded with symbolism for either side to negotiate.

Prime Minister Ehud Barak suggested that the mount come under de jure Palestinian administration but under the roof of Israeli sovereignty. For him, this was a concession. For Palestinians, it was a demand and a threat.

After the summit, the Palestinians stated publicly that the historic Jewish temple never stood on the Temple Mount; that there was no Jewish historical link to that area. This Palestinian provocation served as an engraved invitation to a nationalist Israeli leader who wanted to assert Jewish control of the Temple Mount.

This is exactly what Ariel Sharon did on September 28, 2000, when he toured the compound, accompanied by hundreds of policemen. Palestinians claimed Sharon's visit was proof that Israel never intended to give up sovereignty over the al-Aqsa mosque. Sharon, however, says that the uprising that followed had nothing to do with his visit to the Temple Mount. Rather, it resulted from a decision by the Palestinians to gain concessions.

Violence and the Temple Mount

There is a precedent of violence around the Temple Mount. In 1929, the first major outbreak of violence in the Arab-Israeli conflict spawned from conflict over the site, as Jews attempted to assert control over the Western Wall. In hindsight, the Temple Mount was somewhat incidental to this struggle, which was mostly an expression of the nationalist struggle between Arabs and Jews.

In the 1980s, Israeli authorities uncovered a Jewish extremist plot to destroy the Dome of the Rock. In the end, it was discovered that the Dome of the Rock was ancillary to the plot. The conspirators were really protesting Israel’s withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula. Still, the symbolism of the Temple Mount was there and significant.

In early 1996, the Palestinian "Tunnel Riots" took place, when Israeli antiquity authorities began excavating beneath the Temple Mount. While there was little to no chance of damaging the structure of the Temple Mount, the riots were really symbolic of the breakdown of the peace process.

Similarly, the current al-Aqsa intifada is less about the al-Aqsa mosque and more about a crisis in peacemaking.

Symbolism and the Temple Mount

To exclude religious symbolism surrounding the Temple Mount, however, is a mistake. That would be equivalent to saying that the conflict is only about practical issues like control, power, and territory. Indeed, the Temple Mount is a symbol of the hopes, fears, and aspirations on both sides.

It matters little whether the Prophet Muhammad actually ascended to heaven from the Temple Mount on his "night journey." The important thing is that millions of Muslims believe it. This is the imagined past of Islam. Historians ponder at what time Muslims agreed that the "furthest mosque" mentioned in the Qur'an became the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. It’s an interesting question, but today it is politically irrelevant. What’s relevant is that millions of people believe it.

Today, there are Palestinians who argue that the Jewish temple never stood on the Temple Mount. From an archaeological and historical perspective, I would say they are completely wrong. But this is also irrelevant, because the Jewish people believe it is the holiest spot in Jerusalem.

According to Jewish tradition, the Temple Mount is also where Abraham was said to have bound Isaac in the story of Genesis. It is the place where the ultimate religious individual underwent the ultimate religious test and founded the faith. Similarly in Islam, al-Haram ash-Sharif is where the ultimate religious individual underwent the ultimate religious experience, ascended to heaven, and founded the ultimate religious faith.

The Site of the End of Days

While the Temple Mount is seen as the site where two faiths began, it is also seen as the place, according to all three monotheistic religions, where the world will end.

In Jewish tradition, since the destruction of the temple in 70 CE, saying that the Temple will be rebuilt is tantamount to saying that the messiah will come and that God's kingdom on earth will be established.

In Islam, it is also the place of the end. According to one oral tradition, or hadith, final judgement will take place at al-Haram ash-Sharif when a thread will be stretched from the Mount of Olives to the Temple Mount. Thereafter, the souls of all who have ever lived must walk it. Those who were good will make it across and go to heaven. Those who were evil will fall off and be damned for eternity.

There is also an interpretation embraced by millions of evangelical Christians in which the Temple Mount is central to the scenario of the end of days. According to this theology, the temple of the Jews must be rebuilt in order for Jesus Christ to return and bring an end to the world as we know it.

Fundamentalism

All traditions around the Temple Mount can be interpreted metaphorically and allegorically and have been throughout history. Today, however, we live in an age of fundamentalism.

"Fundamentalism" is originally a Christian term for those who believe that the bible is completely accurate in its literal interpretation. Fundamentalists, then, are those who assert that they do not make moral judgements because the text makes those judgements for them.

Christian fundamentalist theology sees the creation of Israel and the subsequent history as heralding the end of days. There are also those who call themselves "fundamentalists" in Islam. They, too, take a literal interpretation of the sacred texts.

Today, Christian fundamentalists support radical Jewish fringe groups who seek to destroy the al-Aqsa mosque so that the third temple can be built and herald the messiah. While they are a minority, this is enough to keep Muslims paranoid. That is to say, the assertion that all Jews want to rebuild the temple is wrong, but there are some out there that provide proof to the contrary.

Fundamentalists today are encouraged by the current mini-war. They believe that this so-called battle for Jerusalem is the battle that will lead to the end of days.

What if the mount were destroyed?

This question was widely discussed by Israeli experts after the plot to destroy the Temple Mount was uncovered in the 1980s. Some assert that this could prompt the entire Muslim world to attack Israel. Others say it could bring a second holocaust. Those interpretations are too radical, however.

The implications of damage to the site depends on the political context. If this happened during a period of dialogue, it is possible that leaders could maintain control. The effect could be far worse during times of tension. In any case, Israeli security forces are very careful to ensure the safety of the entire compound.

Conclusion

The struggle for the Temple Mount is a complicated one. If Palestinians and Israelis are to make progress towards peace, each side must begin to understand the narratives of the other as a point of departure for mutual understanding.

Summary account by Jonathan Schanzer, research associate at the Middle East Forum
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