Will the Temple Wall Come Down?
Editorial Opinion by Chris Josephson
A new
immigrant from the U.S., Ezra HaLevy, asked a simple question of a police
guard at the entrance to the Temple Mount, “Can I pray on the Temple Mount
today?” He was interrogated for five hours at a nearby police station and
warned not to ask questions like that again.
Levy said he
was treated politely by the police and they even indicated an understanding
of how he felt when he made his departing statement, which was: “I just
think its incredibly absurd that there is a nation (Islam) of a billion
people who are trying to wipe us off the face of the Earth, Imams who preach
our destructions from atop our Holy Mountain every Friday… and I, a new
immigrant who came willingly from the U.S., am sitting in a police station
being interrogated because I inquired as to the status quo of the holiest
site of my religion….”
There are
things happening this very day to the actual walls on the Temple Mount that
are indicative of spiritual and mental walls, between God and mankind, that
must come down before true peace can reign. There can be no peace when
evil is in control.
The trouble spot is the Southeast corner
of the Temple Mount.
Damaged Walls
There is a 35-foot-wide bulge in the retaining wall
of the Temple Mount. This is located in the southern portion of the wall and
toward the eastern edge. This wall is outside the area called “Solomon’s
Stables”. The bulge is of serious structural concern. While Israeli experts
claim the bulge is increasing in size, Islamic authorities who are in charge
of the Temple Mount (Wakf) say it has not increased in size and there is no
danger. They accuse Israel of using this as an excuse to supervise the
Temple Mount.
(Incidentally, this reminds me of the time years ago: a young lady
was teaching me some tricks on the steel guitar. She said, “When you make a
mistake, turn and glare at the pianist.” The same tactic is used here – but
of course in a much more serious environment and with much greater
crescendos and repercussions!)
Several academic organizations and individual
experts in Israel have stated that the cause for this serious movement in
the supporting structure of the Temple Mount is due to the extensive changes
that have been made by the Moslems in building a mosque in the
area under the Temple platform known as Solomon’s Stables.
In our early trips to Israel, several times we were
allowed to visit this area called, “Solomon’s Stables”, and indeed there
were what appeared to be holes for hitching horses in the pillars. The
debris on the floor nearly reached these holes and blocked an ancient gate
archway in the wall leaving only the top visible.
Another Bulge: Circle marks new
bulge. Al Aksa Mosque can be seen above. This is just to the right of the
Western Wall area where tens of thousands of people pray.
The rubble, without doubt, concealed a lot of
Israel’s history – if only archaeologists were allowed to uncover it. This
history is no longer there: destroyed by the heavy machines excavating to
build a mosque. (Evidently, the Star of David we viewed in the pavement just
outside the Mosque of Omer has also been destroyed – See Bible Light on the
News Vol. 8, No. 4.)
To the surprise of many Israelis, UNESCO (United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), has offered to
send a team of experts to examine the areas for serious structural damage.
Dr. Eilat Mazar of the Hebrew University predicts
that the southern wall will fall “within a matter of months, and possibly
even weeks. I have trouble believing that it [the southern wall at its
eastern corner] will last the entire winter.”
Foreign Minister Shimon Peres made an attempt to
bring both Egypt and Jordan to seek a solution to the problem. Egypt showed
no interest while Jordan did send a group to look at the problem and agreed
that the southern wall of the Temple Mount is not safe. Apparently, the only
opinion that counts is that of the Wakf and they are under the control of
the Palestinian Authority which means Chairman Arafat. Dr. Mazar said that
the Wafk has placed some scaffolding there to try and hold up the wall, but
it amounts to a joke. In her opinion, no scaffolding would be strong enough.
“The wall has to come down and [be] rebuilt,” stated Dr. Mazar.
A guide to such problems was given long ago. God
called Jeremiah the prophet and told him it was necessary to “pull down …
[then you can] build.” The same goes for producing life-giving
crops: first fallow ground has to be broken and prepared. It bears
repeating: There can be no peace when evil is in control.
More Than One Bulge
The bulge presently protrudes 70 centimeters (almost
30 inches) and stretches more than 35 feet horizontally. The bulge is
visible at a distance to the naked eye.
It would still be a tragedy of monumental
proportions if it were only the Southern wall that would be affected by a
partial or total collapse. However, the physical impact on the holy site
could stretch far beyond the Southern Wall itself. Experts say it could
collapse at any time and cause a type of domino effect on other parts of the
wall and Temple Mount. The Al Aksa Mosque is only 300 feet from the bulge.
Concern has been expressed lately for the safety of
Jewish worshippers at the Western Wall. If a chain reaction took place with
the Southern wall collapsing, it would bring huge blocks of stone down on
those praying at the Wall. This would be far worse than the throwing down of
rocks and large stones from the Temple Mount by Moslem rioters on numerous
occasions.
The possibility of the Western Wall being affected
was made real when scientists discovered a new bulge located just to the
South of the Western Wall. This bulge area is visibly damp and observers say
it looks the same as the Southern wall did two years ago. The protrusion in
this case may be caused by poor drainage.
Dr. Mazar says, “There are serious cracks in the
Southern wall not connected to the bulge, as well as cracks elsewhere. The
ancient site has not been taken care of as it should be. It is not in good
shape.”
There are Israelis who believe that all the above
problems could have been avoided had certain decision made regarding the
Temple Mount been different following the Six-Day War in June of 1967.
Israel captured the Temple Mount and General Moshe Dayan summoned the
spiritual leader of the Moslems at that time from Jericho, where he had fled
before Israel took control of the Temple Mount.
Years later it was learned that the Moslem cleric
came trembling to Jerusalem expecting to be told to pack his belongings and
with his associates leave immediately. Instead General Dayan told him to
move back in and they were free to carry out their worship as before, but
Israel would monitor all activity and have the final authority on usage of
the area. The “monitoring” has failed.
Stones Are Crying
Is not “The stone crying out of the wall”
today? (Hab. 2:11).
“Because ― and again because ― they led My
people astray, saying, ‘Peace,’ but there is no peace; it is building a
partition, and they are even smearing it with plaster. [weak plaster
instead of strong building material]
“Say to those who smear with plaster: ‘It will
collapse! There will be pouring rain.’ And as for you, O huge hailstones,
you will fall and a stormy wind shall break forth.
“Then behold, the wall will fall! Surely it will
be said to you, ‘Where is the daub that you smeared?’
“Therefore, thus said the Lord HASHEM/ELOHIM; I
will cause a stormy wind to break out in My wrath, and cause annihilation;
“And I will break down the wall that you smeared
with plaster and bring it down to the ground, and its foundation will be
bared; it will fall and you will be annihilated within. Then you will know
that I am HASHEM.
“Thus will I spend My wrath upon the wall and
upon those who smear it with plaster, and I will say to you. ‘The wall is no
more, nor those that smeared it’,” (Ezekiel 13:10-16 Stone’s translation
directly from the Hebrew). God is speaking loudly and not just about
material walls.
Beginning Where?
Where does one begin this business of tearing down
walls and rebuilding with love blocks? We need to begin in the place where
we are. Elmer Josephson gave us a motto for our work place: “Keep the
walls down [between each other] and the roof off”
[between us and the Lord].
We are in “boot camp” now for the Kingdom of God.
Walls of hate cannot stand in that Kingdom. We must begin now to pull down
the personal walls that gender hatred, and replace them with the Golden
Rule: “Love thy neighbor as thyself”. It is often the theme of our
friend, Zev Kedem’s lectures. As a child, he survived the Holocaust, which
he terms, “The Culture of Death”. He emphasizes this can only
be overcome by The Culture of LIFE”, motivated by caring love
for one another. Then it will be no longer necessary to erect ugly walls of
separation for protection.
In preparing this article, the thought persists:
will the fall and destruction of the Temple Mount walls set the stage for
the crumbling of the more devastating walls that separate God’s top creation
from walking with Him? Such as fanatic Islam – and the god of materialism
and comfort keeping Israel in bondage in the West? Will it trigger the great
and sudden act of God, spoken by the prophets, after which all shall know
that the God of Israel lives and loves His creation? (Isaiah 29:5-8, 47:11,
Ezekiel 30 - 33, Malachi 3:1, I Thessalonians 5:3)
What is held onto for selfish purposes, brings
destruction upon one’s self. The revelation of truth brings down walls of
prejudice, hatred, misunderstanding and selfish greed. Truth exposes. There
is nothing hidden behind walls now that won’t be brought out in the open for
all to see.
Part of the prophecy of Jacob on Joseph was that he
would “run over the wall”, – illustrating that the Gospel of the
Kingdom is for all peoples. It’s a mere play on words, but since I am a
“Joseph-son” I have responsibility to promote, in my limited way, that
Gospel of true Peace wherever I am and whenever I can. At this time of the
year when the birth of the Prince of Peace is celebrated, what are we
really doing?
(We are indebted to
George Ekeroth, editor of the AMI newsletter for much of the above news
items.)
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