A few years ago, I read an article on http://www.templemountfaithful.org/ and got on their mailing list. They are the group of Jews who are trying to reestablish the temple and its worship. They never fully spell God's name - out of respect. They just sent this very stirring newsletter. Of course, they are blindly waiting for another messiah . . . yet they know that we are approaching the end of time. Does the lighting of "the Hanukkah menorah in front of the Hulda Gate of the Temple Mount" for the first time in 1,938 years have historical significance? Was the lighting of the menorah ever a signal of great events to come in their past? In other words, I guess what I am asking is . . . could it be a sign that the rebuilding of the temple will happen in the VERY near future? By the way they write on their website, they plan to put it up very quickly once they start. This article on their site is similar to the newsletter that was sent:http://www.templemountfaithful.org/Events/hanukkah5769.htm
_________________Michael Strickland
If we are getting close to the end times (and I believe we are) then the Temple will have to be rebuilt in the near future. But instead of a "time of messianic redemption" we'll see "the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place" (Matt. 24) Archaeologists have determined the exact location of Herod's temple and the Restorationists want to build the new Temple on the exact same location. The problem is that the Mosque of Omar--Islam's second most important shrine--sits right where the outer court is supposed to be. So, instead of knocking down the shrine to make room for the outer court, and starting a holy war with a billion Muslims, the plan for now is to rebuild the Temple and the inner court, but not the outer court. This is fascinating because in Rev. 11:1 the angel tells John to measure the temple and the inner court, but not to measure the outer court "for it has been given over to the Gentiles, and they will trample the holy city for 1260 days."
_________________Wayne Kraus
VERY INTERESTING! Thanks for your input!