Jerusalem Watchman

Visitors to Jerusalem who see the scrubby little hilltop called the Temple Mount may understandably be led to wonder a few things:

Why do the Arabs want it so badly?

Why should the Jews not give it up?

And then, if that visitor is a Bible-believing Christian or Jew, he might ask: What does the Bible say about it?

The answer to the third question would actually cover most bases, but let’s work through them anyway. (Needless to say this will not be an exhaustive inquiry into what has been called “the hottest piece of real estate on the planet.”)

Question 1: Why do the Arabs want it so badly?

This question has a number of answers ranging from the spiritual to the material.

First of all let me note that it is Muslim Arabs, and not all Arabs (although Muslims make up the overwhelming majority of the Arab people) who insist on having sovereignty over the Haram al-Sharif - as they call it. This is primarily because - like the rest of the Holy Land - the Temple Mount was once under Islamic control.

To understand why this is relevant we need to grasp this simple but fundamental Muslim view of the world.

According to Islam, the world consists of two houses:

All countries and territories that are governed by Muslim authorities are in the Dar el-Islam, the House of Islam.

Those lands yet to be brought into submission to Allah are in Dar el-Harb, the house of war.

Once territory has become part of Dar el-Islam it cannot revert to Dar el-Harb. In other words, lands that have once been under the rule of a Muslim can never again be ruled by an infidel - neither a Christian nor a Jew. Jews and Christians may live in these lands, and even practice most aspects of their faith in these lands, but they may not be sovereign there.

Muslims must rule over them.

The reversion - against this doctrine - of geographical territory to infidel rule brings into question the very “omnipotence” of Allah and therefore the whole religion of Islam itself.

Such a reversal in the “divine” order is not simply frowned upon; it is supposed to be impossible for, as the Muslim repeatedly affirms, “allahu akhbar” - ‘Allah is greater’ than any other god.

It is therefore the duty of every good and devout Muslim - not just the “extremist” or “fundamentalist” follower of the faith - to keep these “sanctified” lands from reverting to Jewish or Christian control.

If - Allah-forfend - some part of the House of Islam has been lost back to the House of War, then every effort must be made to restore it to the House of Islam.

To bring land into Dar el-Islam the Muslim wages jihad - holy war. And the ultimate act of valor and sacrifice as a Muslim is to give one’s life in jihad; dying while killing the enemies of Allah.

If this is true when it comes to the ownership of land, how much more it applies to land on which “holy” mosques mark important events in Islamic history?

Regarding the Temple Mount - Islam teaches that Abraham offered up his son Ishmael from the rock located under the Dome of the Rock. And Muslim myth has it that Mohammed visited Jerusalem and ascended into heaven from the mount after tethering his “horse” to the Western Wall.

These, then, are the primary reasons why not just the Palestinian Arabs, and not just the Arab nation, but Muslims everywhere insist on the return of the Temple Mount to Islamic rule.
 
Please note, I said return to Islamic rule, not return to the “Palestinians.” For as the Arabs themselves know, the “Palestinians” have never been sovereign over the Temple Mount.

In fact, they have never been sovereign over anything.

Lesser issues here have to do with Arab pride - which is known to be an extremely powerful force and motivator  - and the monetary benefits derived from controlling access to such a popular tourist attraction.

Question 2: Why should the Jews not give it up?
 
It belongs to them.

The Temple Mount, and not the Western or Wailing Wall, is the holiest site to the Jewish people, and has been the heart of their heart for more than 3000 years.

According to the Hebrew Scriptures (”Old” Testament), it was on this mountain that Abraham offered up Isaac when God tested the first Patriarch of what would become the Children of Israel.

On this hill stood the First Temple, which was constructed by Solomon, and which marked the high point in Israel’s national history to date - when the nation was at its most powerful, its borders were at their largest, its king was visited by leaders from all over the world, God’s glory was visibly seen on the Temple Mount, and Israel’s people enjoyed real peace for as long as this first son of David sat on his throne.

Here too stood the Second Temple, built by Zerubbabel and the Jews who returned from their first exile in Babylon, and beautified by Herod the Great. As long as it stood it marked the last time in history the Jews were able to live fully as a nation and practice temple worship.

Along with Jerusalem, the Temple Mount was a focal point for Jews scattered in the Diaspora for over 2000 years. The site was held in constant prayer; the appeals of millions of Jews down the ages to return to and see the temple rebuilt upon it ascending daily to the heavens.

When it was finally restored to Jewish control in the miraculous Six Day War 40 years ago this year, rapture was almost universal among Jews both in Israel and in the Diaspora. “The Temple Mount is in our hands!” they exalted, tears streaming down countless cheeks.

God had remembered His ancient people and had finally heard their cries. He was preparing to return to Zion, from whence His glory had departed so many centuries ago. The Temple would be built again! This expectation breathed life into the remnant of a nation that had barely survived the recent Holocaust, and which had truly wondered whether all its hope was lost.

The secular Israeli leadership refused to extend de facto Israeli control over the area, permitting - in an act of good will - the Muslim authorities to hold sway up there.

For a great many Jews, however, the return of the Temple Mount to full Israeli sovereignty is as assured as was the return of their people to their homeland. It matters not the odds that are stacked against them ever again being able to construct a temple on the mount, or that billions of people on the planet are determined to prevent them from doing so. It will happen, for God has said that it will.

Question 3: What does the Bible say about it?

Mount Moriah makes its first appearance in Scripture as the place where Abraham offers up his son Isaac in obedience to God’s command (Genesis 22). After the LORD provides a ram to take Isaac’s place, the Bible tells us:

And Abraham called the name of the place, The-LORD-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the LORD it shall be provided.” (Gen 22:14)

Hundreds of years pass before the site is mentioned again. The Twelve Tribes are still wandering in the wilderness when Moses tells them about a mysterious place that awaits their discovery in the Promised Land.

“…as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you. But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide…” (Deut 12:9-11)

Before they even cross over the Jordan, long before they get to Jerusalem, and centuries, in fact, before David buys the threshing floor of Ornan to offer up a sacrifice to God; before there was any talk of building a temple on that site, God prepared His people for the day they would reach that place, and told them what would happen there.

The Mount was set apart for an exclusive purpose. Once identified and sanctified, it was to be the only place where sacrifices could be offered to the LORD.

God goes further, saying that it is on this unimposing little mountain that He desires to dwell: (Psalm 68:16)

He foretells the building of the Third Temple on this site.

And He goes even further, declaring that the Temple Mount is the place of His throne and of His footstool. (Ezekiel 43:7)

The Temple Mount is His holy habitation and the Mountain of His inheritance (Exodus 15:13;17)

It is His holy hill upon which He will set His King - the Messiah (Psalm 2:6).

Here on the Temple Mount, God will spread a magnificent feast for all the nations that serve and honor Him. And on this mountain He will remove the veil of tears that covers all nations when He sets up His pain-and-death-free Kingdom on the earth. (Isaiah 25:6-9)

Most Jewish pilgrims to Israel visit the Western Wall, not a remnant of the Temple, but one of the walls that retain the Temple Mount. (For many, reverence and the wish not to accidentally step on the site where the Holy of Holies once stood keeps them off. Others, however, simply do not attach any real value to the Mount and are happy with their piece of Wailing Wall.)

Most Christian pilgrims reverently visit the Garden Tomb or the Church of the Holy Sepulcher - two possible sites where Jesus was crucified and lay buried for three days.

As to the Mount itself, to which Messiah is destined to come in power and great glory, and from which, seated on David’s throne, He will rule over the nations of the world for 1000 awesome years - only a fraction of these pilgrims pay it more than a passing glance, and then often restrict themselves to marveling at the Dome of the Rock.

Satan is more savvy than many Christians and Jews. He knows the Bible pretty well too. He knows what a central role this hill has to play in the culmination of God’s redemption plan for this world. This is why the Temple Mount sits slap-bang in the middle of the enemy’s sights: If he can wrest it from the Jews and entrench the Muslims up there for the endless future a United Nations’ recognition would ensure, he can delay, perhaps even prevent, the coming of the One he dreads.

This is the real reason, the behind-the-scenes reason, why the Temple Mount plays such a pivotal part in the land-for-peace process.

This is why it stands center stage as the most sensitive of all the issues in that process.

This is why it exists.

It is the throne room of the coming King.