Christian Zionism and the Destruction of Al Quds
Institute of Islamic Studies, London: International Conference on Jerusalem, 1st March 2003


'As the navel is set in the centre of the human body,
so is the land of Israel the navel of the world ...
situated in the centre of the world,
and Jerusalem in the centre of the land of Israel,
and the sanctuary in the centre of Jerusalem,
and the holy place in the centre of the sanctuary,
and the ark in the centre of the holy place,
and the foundation stone before the holy place,
because from it the world was founded.'
1

This quotation from the Talmud, called the Midrash Tanchuma, epitomises the deep resonance many Jewish people have felt for the land of Israel, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple from their exile in AD 70 to the present day. It also explains, in part, the motivation behind the Zionist movement as well as the reason for the continuing Arab-Israeli conflict.

1. Christian Zionism Defined
At its simplest, Christian Zionism is a political form of philo-Semitism, and can be defined as 'Christian support for Zionism.'2 Walter Riggans interprets the term in an overtly political sense as, 'any Christian who supports the Zionist aim of the sovereign State of Israel, its army, government, education etc., but it can describe a Christian who claims to support the State of Israel for any reason.'3 Riggans elaborates on the relationship between theology and politics in Zionism:

'A Biblical Zionism, which is surely the desire of every Christian, will be fundamentally about God and His purposes. Thus Zionism, when seen in a proper Christian perspective, will be understood as a branch of theology, not of politics ... The State of Israel is only the beginning of what God is doing for and through the Jewish people.'4

He goes on to suggest that Christians should not only support the idea of a Jewish State, but also support its policies. '... in the most modest of ways I would suggest that Christians … must give support in principle to the State of Israel as a sign of God's mercy and faithfulness, and as a biblical mark that God is very much at work in the world.'5

Advocates argue therefore that Christian Zionism is born out of the conviction that God has a continuing special relationship with, and covenantal purpose for, the Jewish people, apart from the Church, and that the Jewish people have a divine right to possess the land of Palestine. This is based on a literal and futurist interpretation of the Bible and the conviction that Old Testament prophecies concerning the Jewish people are being fulfilled in the contemporary State of Israel.

Christian Zionism, that is Christians who support for the State of Israel, is founded first of all upon a literal and futurist interpretation of the Bible which leads proponents to distinguish between references to Israel and the Church. Injunctions and promises concerning the ancient Jews are applied to the contemporary State of Israel rather than to the Church. From this hermeneutic flows the conviction that the Jews remain God's 'chosen people', distinct from the Church. God's end-time purpose for the Jews is expressed in Restorationism. The destiny of the Jewish people is to return to the land of Israel and reclaim their inheritance promised to Abraham and his descendants for ever. This inheritance extends from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates. Within their land, Jerusalem is recognised to be their exclusive, undivided and eternal capital, and therefore it cannot be shared or divided. At the heart of Jerusalem will be the rebuilt Jewish Temple to which all the nations will come to worship God. Just prior to the return of Jesus, there will be seven years of calamities and war known as the Tribulation which will culminate in a great battle called Armageddon during which the godless forces opposed to both God and Israel will be defeated.6 Jesus will then return as the Jewish Messiah and king to reign in Jerusalem for a thousand years and the Jewish people will enjoy a privileged status and role in the world.

This view point emerged among some Christians in the early 19th Century and gained popular support in the USA in the late 19th Century. It is probably the majority view point among Christians in America today.

Christian leaders who advocate such a scenario include Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsey and many of America's political leaders, most notably former presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. They claim to represent over 100 million Christians with whom they communicate on a weekly basis.

Whether consciously or otherwise, in part or in total, Christian Zionism subscribes to the Zionist agenda best summarised by Rabbi Shlomo Aviner.

We should not forget... that the supreme purpose of the ingathering of exiles and the establishment of our state is the building of the temple. The temple is at the very top of the pyramid.7

2. The Temple: Rebuilding for Desecration
Many Christian Zionists today believe passionately that another Jewish Temple is not only mandated in scripture but that its rebuilding is imminent. Therefore they actively support those committed to achieving it. After considering the importance of the Temple within Christian Zionism, the biblical basis of their claims, together with its theological purpose, will be explored, followed by an examination of the practical issues associated with its rebuilding.

2.1 The Importance of the Temple to Christian Zionists
For the past 19 centuries, religious Jews have prayed three times a day, 'May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days.'8 Randall Price claims that the Torah 'obligates the Jewish nation to rebuild the Temple whenever it becomes possible to do so (Ex 25:8).'9 However, in August 1967, when IDF Chaplain Rabbi Shlomo Goren blew the shofar and performed a religious ceremony near the Dome of the Rock just days after its capture, he was criticised by both the secular Israeli press and Orthodox Jews.10 Some 20 years later Time magazine reported the findings of a survey undertaken in 1989 which showed that 18% of Israelis thought it was time to rebuild the Temple.11 A similar Gallup poll conducted just seven years later in 1996, to assess opinion on Israeli sovereignty over the Temple Mount, found that 58% of Israelis now supported the Temple Mount Faithful and the rebuilding the Jewish Temple. On the assumption that Arab Israelis would have opposed such a plan, the proportion of Jewish Israelis in favour must therefore have been significantly higher. Indeed, this was allegedly the largest show of support any organisation has ever received in Israel on any subject. Significantly, the highest percentage of support came from young Israelis.12

Contemporary Christian Zionists who have written on the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple include Thomas Ice and Randall Price,13 Grant Jeffrey,14 Hal Lindsey,15 Tim LaHaye16 and Dave Hunt.17 Their combined published book sales exceed 100 million and are available in more than 50 languages. Their views are therefore not marginal or obscure, indeed, Grace Halsell speculates that 10% of Americans support this movement.18 Other Christian Zionist leaders, including James DeLoach, Terry Risenhoover and Doug Kreiger, have been influential in gathering significant American financial and political support for extreme Jewish organisations such as Gush Emunim and the Temple Mount Faithful.19

Hal Lindsey claims the Temple Mount is 'the most disputed 35 acres on the Planet,'20 and the single most important key to prophecies yet to be fulfilled. He writes, 'I know this sounds crazy, but I believe the fate of the world will be determined by an ancient feud over 35 acres of land.'21 Lindsey is emphatic:

'Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it … With the Jewish nation reborn in the land of Palestine, ancient Jerusalem once again under total Jewish control for the first time in 2600 years, and talk of rebuilding the great Temple, the most important sign of Jesus Christ's soon coming is before us … It is like the key piece of a jigsaw puzzle being found … For all those who trust in Jesus Christ, it is a time of electrifying excitement.'22

He reminisces that 25 years ago the idea 'seemed quaint - even far fetched. Today, nobody's laughing about the notion.'23 Jews for Jesus also endorse and sell Ready to Rebuild: The Imminent Plan to Rebuild the Last Days Temple, by Thomas Ice and Randall Price, who advocate the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple next to, if not in place of, the Dome of the Rock.24 Jews for Jesus speculate, 'Something is happening in Israel! For many years there has been speculation as to whether the Second Temple, destroyed in 70 AD, will ever be rebuilt - even though scripture predicts it. Now you can read the startling evidence. The move is already underway … Israel is ready to rebuild.' 25 John Walvoord, Chancellor of Dallas Theological Seminary, who wrote the foreword claims it is, 'A masterpiece presenting … substantiating evidence ... a solid basis for faith and what can actually be expected in regard to the rebuilding of the Temple ... (it) is highly recommended.'26 Christian and Jewish Zionists are united in the conviction that the Muslim Dome of the Rock must be destroyed; the third Jewish Temple will be built; priests consecrated; and sacrifices reinstituted in fulfilment of biblical prophecy and to hasten the coming of Messiah.27

2.2 The Origins of Christian Support for the Temple Movement
The necessity of having a rebuilt Temple to desecrate is a logical conclusion if a literal and futurist reading of passages, such as Daniel 9 and Matthew 24, is accepted. However, it is rare to find such an expectation in Christian writings prior to the 20th Century.
28 Indeed this contradicts the stance taken by the Early Church, for which the Temple had ceased to hold any significance.29

When the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was built opposite the then derelict site of the Temple, it was deliberately designed to parallel the layout of Herod's Temple.31 In Eusebius' Life of Constantine, he explains the symbolism of the church's design: 'Over the true memorial of salvation was built the New Jerusalem, facing the far-famed Jerusalem of old time,'31 suggesting the new basilica had replaced the Temple both symbolically and actually.32 Thomas Ice and Randall Price claim, 'By placing the church directly opposite and facing the Temple, and in fact on higher ground overlooking the Temple, Christians dramatically emphasized the claim of Christ in John 2:19 that He would destroy the Temple.'33 During the Byzantine era, other churches were built and enhanced in Jerusalem but the area of the Temple was deliberately left desolate. Accounts of pilgrims describe wild animals prowling among the ruins. By the 7th Century reign of Emperor Heraclius, the Temple area had begun to be used as a rubbish tip, hence the naming of the Dung Gate which dates from about this time. The Muthir al-Ghiram, for example, reports of Muslims in Jerusalem who describe how local Christians offended the Jews by turning the site into a giant dung heap.34 The conviction that the Jewish Temple would never be rebuilt remained uncontested until the rise of Premillennialism in the early 19th Century. Since then, belief in the imminent rebuilding of a Jewish Temple has gradually grown in popularity. The Temple Mount now lies at the heart of the controversy concerning the Jewish claim to exclusive sovereignty over the Old City of Jerusalem.35

Scofield was probably the first and most influential writer to popularise the idea of the necessity for rebuilding the Jewish Temple. In his Bible notes, Scofield taught that it was God's intention, having restored the nation of Israel to Palestine, to build two more Temples and reinstitute the priesthood and sacrificial system: 'In a sense all the Temples (i.e. Solomon's; Ezra's; Herod's; that which will be used by the unbelieving Jews under the covenant with the Beast [Dan. 9:27; Mt. 24:15; 2 Thes. 2:3,4]; and Ezekiel's future kingdom Temple [Ezk. 40-47.], are treated as one house - the "house of the Lord."'36

  Scofield would probably, however, have been appalled to think Christians would ever want to support the building of another Jewish Temple since, in his opinion, it would be associated with satanic worship.

2.3 The Biblical Basis for the Rebuilding of the Jewish Temple
Soon after the capture of the Temple Mount in 1967, John Walvoord was already speculating when the Temple would be built. In an article published by Dallas Theological Seminary in Bibliotheca Sacra, he summarises the position of dispensationalists who take the authors of the Bible 'to mean what they say':

'Orthodox Jews for many years have been praying daily for the rebuilding of the Temple. In this expectation, they have had the support of premillenarians who interpret Scriptural prophecies as meaning what they say when they refer to a future Temple in Jerusalem. The world as a whole, as well as the majority of the church, have tended to ignore this expectation as being too literal an interpretation of prophecy.'37

The conviction that the Temple must be rebuilt is based on the assumption that certain Old Testament prophecies referring to the Temple have not yet been fulfilled and upon a few New Testament references which, when read using a futurist literal hermeneutic, imply the existence of a Jewish Temple immediately prior to the return of Christ.

2.3.1 Unfulfilled Old Testament Prophecies
One of the most frequently quoted Old Testament passages concerning the Temple is Daniel 9:24-27. The sanctuary is destroyed in verse 26 yet sacrifices are only brought to an end when the 'abomination that causes desolation' desecrates the Temple in verse 27. On the basis of a literal chronology in which it is necessary to place a gap of nearly 2000 years between the two verses, Lindsey confidently argues:

'This prophecy speaks of sacrifice and offerings which demand that the Jews rebuild the Temple for the third time upon its original site. At that point, Judaism and Islam will be placed on an inevitable course of war over the site, a war that will start Armageddon ... any move toward that direction is a crucial clue to what hour it is on God's prophetic timetable.'38

David Brickner reaches the same conclusion. Based on a futurist reading he deduces that the Temple must have been rebuilt, for 'Daniel tells us this ruler puts an end to sacrifice and sets up some kind of abomination (a loathsome horror that would be anathema to Jewish worship) right inside the Temple in Jerusalem.'

39 As has already been shown, there is nothing in the text of Daniel 9 that requires a futurist reading; suggests a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks, or predicts the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple.

The other important Old Testament passage used to support the rebuilding of the Temple is Ezekiel 43. Moishe Rosen believes, 'In a vision of the future Temple, Ezekiel received this word ... some way, somehow, the Temple will be rebuilt, in spite of the fact that two Arab shrines now stand on the only site on earth where this Temple may stand.'40 Such an interpretation is only possible by imposing dispensational presuppositions and a futurist hermeneutic upon the text. The same futurist assumptions are used in the interpretation of references to the imminent destruction of the Temple in the New Testament.

2.3.2 Unfulfilled New Testament Prophecies
The most important New Testament passage used to support the belief in the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is Matthew 24. While dispensationalists agree that in the first two verses Jesus is warning of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem,41 they claim that by verse 15 Jesus is describing the desecration of another future Temple which has yet to be built. This futurist interpretation of Matthew 24, like that of Daniel 9:24-27 requires a gap of some 2000 years between these verses. So, for example, John Walvoord argues that it could not refer to 70 AD since it appears to describe an event immediately preceding the return of Christ. 'The abomination of desolation has reference to a future event paralleling to some extent "the abomination that maketh desolate" of Daniel 11:31.'42 Hal Lindsey takes a similar if rather more dogmatic view:

'Of course, for Temple rites to be stopped in the last days, we know they must be restarted. The words of Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:15 require that a new holy place be built and a complete sacrificial system re-instituted. And since only a consecrated Temple can be defiled, this prophecy shows that the physical Temple must not only be rebuilt, but a functioning priesthood must begin practising once again.'43

While Lindsey and Walvoord believe Jesus was predicting a future desecration of a rebuilt Temple, non-dispensationalist commentators observe that within a generation of Jesus' prediction, Josephus was recording how Jewish Zealots desecrated the Temple, using it as a fortress against the Romans.44

2.3.3 The First Century Fulfilment
Eusebius, the 4th Century church historian, refers to the eyewitness accounts of Josephus to show how these predictions were understood as having been fulfilled by 70 AD.45 Writing in the Jewish Wars, Josephus links Daniel's prophecy to the desecration of the Temple and destruction of Jerusalem in 66-70 AD. 'In the very same manner Daniel also wrote concerning the Roman government, and that our country should be made desolate by them.'46

Josephus specifically associates the desecration of the Temple with the activities of Jewish Zealots who, between November 67 and the spring of 68 AD, used the Temple as a military fortress, executed Jewish opponents inside it and even entered the Holiest of Holies.47 He describes how those, 'Jews, do walk about in the midst of the holy places, at the very time when their hands are still warm with the slaughter of their own countrymen.'48 Believing God would intervene and deliver them by force, he records how the Zealots invited the Idumean army of some 20,000 troops to help defend Jerusalem from the Romans. Instead, they took advantage of the city and plundered it, 'nor did the Idumeans spare anybody ... and now the outer Temple was all of it overflowed with blood; and that day, as it came on, they saw eight thousand five hundred dead bodies there.'49 Josephus regarded the death of Ananus as the beginning of the destruction of Jerusalem,50 and it is possible that Christians saw in his murder and the appointment of apostate high priests like Phannias, the sacrilege Jesus had warned of in Matthew 24. It is known that many did escape Jerusalem and found a place of safety in the mountains of Pella on the other side of the Jordan.51 The Temple was subsequently defiled once more by the invading Roman army. Josephus describes the scene: 'And now the Romans … brought their ensigns to the Temple and set them near to its eastern gate; and there did they offer sacrifices to them, and there they did make Titus Imperator with the greatest acclamations of joy.'52 As a credible 1st Century eyewitness and historian, Josephus shows conclusively how the Temple was desecrated on numerous occasions, first by Jewish Zealots, then by the marauding Idumeans and finally by Titus and his Roman army. Whether at the hands of Jews or pagans, with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD the 'Abomination' had indeed brought desolation. John Calvin believed God, 'deserted his Temple, because it was only founded for a time, and was but a shadow, until the Jews so completely violated the whole covenant that no sanctity remained in either the Temple, the nation, or the land itself.'53

Dispensationalists ignore this historical evidence and the views of the Reformers, preferring to interpret Matthew 24, and passages such as 2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 as still awaiting fulfilment. Commentators such as F.F. Bruce suggest Paul is referring to the Temple 'in a metaphorical sense,'54 or describing the Church, a view also held by several of the early Church Fathers.55 While Jesus repeatedly warned of the destruction of the Temple, and was known by his critics to have done so, he never promised that it would ever be rebuilt.56 In Hebrews, the author describes the offering of sacrifices between the death of Christ and the destruction of the Temple as an 'illustration' of, and 'copies' of, heavenly realities, a 'reminder of sins' but unable, unlike the finished work of Christ, to take sin away.57 Peter uses the same terminology to describe the way Christians are being made into the new house of God,58 in which Jesus is the 'precious cornerstone.'59 There is indeed not a single verse in the New Testament which promises that the Jewish Temple would be rebuilt or that a 2000 year 'parenthesis' should be placed between references to its desecration and destruction. Christian Zionists consistently ignore the way in which the Temple is invested with new meaning in the New Testament as a 'type' for Jesus Christ and his Church.60 Instead, they advocate a return to the very practices made redundant by the once and for all atoning work of the Son of God.

2.4 The Theological Purpose for Rebuilding the Jewish Temple
Dispensationalists disagree on the precise reason for the rebuilding of the Temple. Most believe that the intention is to reintroduce the Levitical sacrificial system but they disagree on what kind of sacrifice will be offered and its purpose. Based on his reading of Daniel 12:11, Walvoord, for example, claims, '

Judging by scriptures, this is precisely what they will do as it would be impossible to cause sacrifices to cease if they were not already in operation.'61

Scofield in his Reference Bible claims that the sacrifices mentioned in Ezekiel 43:19, will however, only be a 'memorial' offering. 'Doubtless these offerings will be memorial, looking back to the cross, as the offerings under the old covenant were anticipatory, looking forward to the cross. In neither case have animal sacrifices power to put away sin (Heb. 10.4; Rom. 3.25).'62

In fact, the verse explicitly refers to the sacrifice of a 'young bullock as a sin offering.' While Scofield compromises on the issue, the New Scofield Reference Bible goes further, undermining the hermeneutical foundation of Dispensationalism:

'The reference to sacrifices is not to be taken literally, in view of the putting away of such offerings, but is rather to be regarded as a presentation of the worship of redeemed Israel, in her own land and in the millennial Temple, using the terms with which the Jews were familiar in Ezekiel's day.'63

If this particular reference to sacrifice need not be taken literally then the presuppositional base of dispensationalism is seriously weakened, flawed by its own internal inconsistency. 64

Following a literal reading, the sacrifice of a young bullock cannot be synonymous with a memorial offering which only consisted of grain and oil.65

The immediate context for Ezekiel's vision of a rebuilt Temple is the promised return of the Jews from Babylonian exile, not some long distant eschatological event. A futurist interpretation would have been meaningless to the exiles longing to return to Israel. Furthermore, if Ezekiel were referring to some future millennial age, according to Mosaic law, Jesus Christ could not serve in such a Temple because he is not of the tribe of Levi.66

Even if he could, it would surely be incongruous for Jesus to offer animal sacrifices when the New Testament asserts he has replaced them by the shedding of his own blood.67
Such an interpretation undermines the New Testament emphasis that the sacrifice of Christ was sufficient, final and complete.68
If religious Jews do indeed rebuild their Temple and reinstitute sacrifices for the atonement of sin it will simply demonstrate their rejection of the atoning work of Jesus Christ. For Christians to support them in this has been described as apostasy.
69 Several commentators even equate the 'abomination of desolation' with 'the blood of swine' in Isaiah 66:3 and the Temple sacrifices which were offered after the death of Christ between 33 and 70 AD, claiming it was these that desecrated the Temple.70 Indeed, George Pember, an early dispensationalist, takes a futurist view and yet controversially applies the verse to the renewal of sacrifices in the rebuilt Temple:

'Then, in reference to the sacrifices which are again being offered, the Lord adds; - "He that killeth the ox is as the slayer of a man: he that sacrificeth the sheep as one that breaketh the neck of a dog: he that offereth an oblation, it is swine's blood: he that causeth incense to rise up as a memorial is as one that blesseth an idol." Nevertheless, the Jews, while they profess to sacrifice to Jehovah, will continue to delight in their abominations.'71

Messianic dispensationalists take a diametrically opposed viewpoint to this, insisting that the reintroduction of Temple sacrifices will be an essential and authentic aspect of future Jewish worship. Zahava Glaser, of Jews for Jesus, for example, describes how over the past 1900 years the liturgy used in the synagogue has kept the memory of the Temple alive in Jewish hearts and prayers.
He therefore insists,
'when God instituted the sacrificial system, it was instituted for all time':

Glaser reflects the position of classical dispensationalists who hold that the Temple will be rebuilt because the Jews have a separate covenant relationship with God, apart from the Church. He therefore does not appear to see the high priesthood of Jesus as in any sense necessarily replacing or superseding the Jewish sacrificial system, but perpetuating it during the millennium.

3. The Political Implications of the Temple Movement in Christian Zionism
Dispensational Christian Zionists, in particular, believe the Jewish Temple must be rebuilt because their futurist eschatology leads them to believe that the anti-Christ will desecrate it just prior to the return of Christ. Brickner claims that the preparations for rebuilding the Temple began in 1967 with the capture of the Old City of Jerusalem.73

Lindsey is equally sure that, 'right now, as you read this, preparations are being made to rebuild the Third Temple.'74 Contemporary Christian Zionists have been active in assisting Jewish organisations dedicated to rebuilding the Jewish Temple by publicizing the Temple Mount organisations; searching for the Temple site; facilitating the building programme; breeding the red heifers and funding the Treasury. Given the number of books published recently by Christian Zionists about the Temple, it appears to be something of a growth industry.75

3.1 Publicising the Temple Mount Movement
Randall Price is the leading dispensational expert on the imminent plans to rebuild the Jewish Temple. In his 735 page The Coming Last Days Temple, he provides comprehensive details and addresses of all the Jewish organisations involved in facilitating the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.76 Together with Thomas Ice, their earlier book, Ready to Rebuild77 demonstrates that this is not a theoretical or fringe subject but one in which significant numbers of Christians, together with religious Jews, are already actively participating in the firm conviction that the Temple will be rebuilt very soon. While Jews for Jesus insist that they do not endorse the activities of any particular Jewish group committed to rebuilding the Jewish Temple, they nevertheless provide information on, and direct Internet links to, eight Jewish organisations some of which have been implicated in attempts to seize the Temple Mount, destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, rebuild the Jewish Temple and re-institute Temple worship, priesthood and sacrifices. These include the Temple Institute and Temple Mount Faithful.78 Gershon Salomon is the controversial figurehead of the movement and founder of The Temple Faithful. Zhava Glaser, of Jews for Jesus, praises Salomon for his courage to talk about 'the most important subject in the Jewish religion.'

'His credentials as an Israeli patriot are impeccable, beginning at age eleven when he was arrested by the British authorities for putting up Zionist posters during their occupation of Israel. He has stood up for what he believes to be true ever since ... one must take Salomon seriously. Nine thousand people are on his "Temple Mount Faithful" membership list.'79

Speaking as a guest of the ICEJ, at the Christian Zionist Congress in 1998, Salomon insisted:

'The mission of the present generation is to liberate the Temple Mount and to remove - I repeat, to remove - the defiling abomination there ... the Jewish people will not be stopped at the gates leading to the Temple Mount ... We will fly our Israeli flag over the Temple Mount, which will be minus its Dome of the Rock and its mosques and will have only our Israeli flag and our Temple. This is what our generation must accomplish.'80

Sam Kiley writing in The Times, however, gives another perspective. He claims Salomon represents the 'almost acceptable face of millennial cults.' In an interview Salomon insisted that the Islamic shrine must be destroyed:

'The Israeli Government must do it. We must have a war. There will be many nations against us but God will be our general. I am sure this is a test, that God is expecting us to move the Dome with no fear from other nations. The Messiah will not come by himself; we should bring Him by fighting.'81

Both the ICEJ and the ICZC promote Salomon's views.82 Van der Hoeven further speculates:

According to Grace Halsell, between 1967 and 1990 there have been over 100 armed assaults on the Haram Al-Sharif by Jewish militants, often led by rabbis. She regrets that 'in no instance has any Israeli Prime Minister or the chief Sephardic rabbi or the chief Ashkenazi rabbi criticized these assaults.'84 However, even if Jewish and Christian Zionists are successful in destroying the Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock, one of the unresolved difficulties they would still face is deciding where to rebuild the Jewish Temple.

3.2 Searching for the Temple Site
It is critical to religious Zionists that any future Temple is built on the same site as the Temples of Solomon, Zerubbabel and Herod. There appears to have been continuity between them with each enclosing the protrusion of Mount Moriah, also known as the Foundation Stone, within the Holy of Holies. There are three main theories advocated by historians and archaeologists as to the exact site of the earlier temples.85 The most commonly held, with both traditional support as well as a consensus among Israeli archaeologists today, is that the Temple stood on the site of the Dome of the Rock.

In the 1970s, Lindsey insisted the Jewish Temple would have to be built in place of the Dome of the Rock. 'There is one major problem barring the construction of a third Temple. That obstacle is the second holiest place of the Muslim faith, the Dome of the Rock. This is believed to be built squarely in the middle of the old Temple site. Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it.'86 Lindsey appeared to know the exact location of the Temple structure. 'Imagine my emotions as I stood under a sign at the Wall which read in Hebrew: 'Holy of Holies, 10 Metres', with an arrow pointing towards a spot thirty feet behind the existing Wall in the direction of the Dome of the Rock!'87 By 1983, Lindsey had changed his mind however. Now favouring the Northern Theory, Lindsey believed this discovery, 'has accelerated the countdown to the events that will bring the Messiah Jesus back to earth.' This was because, 'the predicted Third Temple can now be built without disturbing the Dome of the Rock ... the Temple and its immediate guard wall could be rebuilt and still be twenty-six meters away from the Dome of the Rock.'88 Having discovered the true site of the Herodian Temple, Lindsey proceeded to find scriptural verification for this new location based on clues as to its dimensions in Revelation 11. 'We are literally in the very last days of the Church Age. The Temple will be rebuilt soon!'89 Brickner also favours the claims made by Randall Price that the Jewish Temple could actually be rebuilt alongside the Dome of the Rock, although he concedes in something of an understatement, 'it remains a sensitive issue to say the least.'90

To suggest that a Jewish temple could be erected next to the Dome of the Rock, is rather naïve, as is Lindsey's claim that a new Jewish Temple would enhance Israel's tourism revenue and become 'the greatest tourist attraction in the world.'91 It is inconceivable that the Muslim authorities would countenance any Jewish construction within the confines of the Haram Al-Sharif. In any case, most orthodox Jews remain convinced that the Dome of the Rock is an abomination and must be removed before the Temple can be rebuilt.92

3.3 Facilitating the Building Programme
In order to sustain a fully functioning Temple rather than simply creates a tourist attraction or museum, it is also necessary to identify, train and consecrate priests to serve in the Temple. The dilemma facing prospective priests is how to become ritually pure before they can offer sacrifices for others. According to the Book of Numbers, the ashes of a pure unblemished red heifer, itself previously offered by a ritually pure priest, must be mixed with water and sprinkled on both them and the Temple furniture. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 AD the ashes used in the ceremony were lost and the Jews of the Diaspora have therefore been perpetually unclean ever since. The search for the ashes of the last red heifer have so far proved unsuccessful. In 1998, however, Clyde Lott, a Pentecostal Mississippi rancher, formed Canaan Land Restoration of Israel, Inc. for the purpose of raising livestock suitable for Temple sacrifice.93

According to Newsweek, in 1997, the first red heifer for 2000 years was born at the Kfar Hassidim kibbutz near Haifa and named 'Melody'.94 Unfortunately she eventually grew white hairs on her tail and udder. Undaunted, Chaim Richman, an Orthodox rabbi and Clyde Lott, the Pentecostal cattleman, have teamed up to breed red heifers in the Jordan Valley, in the hope of saving Israel's cattle industry as well as producing a perfect specimen for sacrifice.95

The design and construction work, furnishings and utensils, the training of priests and breeding of sacrifices all require funds and in large measure, like the red heifer, these are being provided by Christian Zionists. The Jerusalem Temple Foundation was founded by Stanley Goldfoot, a former terrorist member of the Stern Gang, together with Terry Reisenhoover and several other American evangelicals to facilitate the rebuilding of the Temple.96
According to Grace Halsell, Goldfoot raises up to $100 million a year for the Jerusalem Temple Foundation through American Christian TV and radio stations and evangelical churches,97 including Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California.98 Goldfoot has also acknowledged receiving funds from the ICEJ, Jerusalem. Jan Willem van der Hoeven admitted that 'when supporters volunteer to give money for building a Temple, he directs them to Goldfoot.' The ICEJ also sells an audio tape about plans to construct a Jewish Temple on Haram Al-Sharif.99 Pat Robertson's 700 Club and Christian Broadcasting Network as well as the ICEJ have also assisted in fund raising for Gershon Salomon's Temple Mount Faithful.100

Professor Gordon Welty of Wright State University, Ohio, a sociologist and anthropologist, explains the apparent contradiction of evangelical Christians supporting Jewish terrorists:

'Their power is to keep inconsistencies in airtight compartments, so that they themselves never recognize these inconsistencies ... If the money a muscular Christian donates to the Jewish terrorists buys the dynamite that destroys the mosque, the muscular Christian will say simply, "It was an act of God."'101

As Lawrence Wright has also observed, 'Jewish longing for the Temple, Christian hopes for the Rapture, and Muslim paranoia about the destruction of the mosques [are being] stirred to an apocalyptic boil.'102 The implacable hostility Christian Zionists show towards any compromise over the competing claims to the Land, the status of Jerusalem or plans to rebuild the Jewish Temple, combined with their formidable influence in US Middle East policy makes for an ominous future, given the inherent pessimism of their eschatology.

4. An Assessment of Christian Zionist Attitudes Toward The Temple
It has been shown that the Christian support for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, like the claim to Eretz Israel and Jerusalem, arises largely from a literal and futurist hermeneutic. On the basis of a few allegedly unfulfilled Old and New Testament prophecies, Christian Zionists are convinced that a Third Temple will be built in place of, or near, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem and believe that a Jewish priesthood will once again offer sacrifices. They also believe this yet-to-be-built Temple will then be desecrated by the Antichrist and replaced during the Millennium by a much larger Temple, as described by Ezekiel. This viewpoint is incompatible with the way the New Testament describes the Temple as an illustration, a copy and shadow for the atoning work of Jesus Christ. 103

Covenantalists affirm that the movement in the progressive revelation of scripture is always from the lesser to the greater. It is never reversed. The New Testament repeatedly sees such Old Testament concepts as the Temple, High Priest and sacrifice as 'types' pointing to and fulfilled in Jesus Christ.104 Typology in scripture never typifies itself, nor is it ever greater than that which it typifies.105 It is argued that Christians who therefore advocate the rebuilding of the Temple are regressing back to a pre-Christian sacrificial system, superseded and annulled by the finished work of Jesus Christ.106 The New Testament itself portrays the Temple as a temporary edifice, a shadow and type anticipating the day when God will dwell with people of all nations because of the atoning work of the true Temple, Jesus Christ.107

The purpose of the Temple therefore finds its ultimate significance and fulfilment not in another man-made sanctuary but in Jesus Christ and his Church.108 The writer of Hebrews assures, 'But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly' (Hebrews 12:22), and the Book of Revelation expressly says that in the future the Lord will dwell with his people without any need of a Temple.109 This is why the New Testament refuses to allow a return to the patterns of the Old Covenant. Regression to the older, shadowy forms of the Old Covenant, such as the Temple, are forbidden. This transition within the progressive flow of biblical history is explained more fully by the writer to the Hebrews. Hebrews 8:13 provides not only the hermeneutical key to challenge Christian Zionism, but also explains Paul's vehemence at the Judaizing tendencies corrupting the church in Galatia:

'By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear …The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming - not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship' (Hebrews 8:13, 10:1).

God's children have become temples in which His shekinah glory dwells. To suggest therefore that the shekinah is to return to a single local shrine to which Jews and Christians must come to worship in Jerusalem is to regress from the reality to the shadow, to re-erect the dividing curtain of the Temple, and to commit apostasy, since it impugns the finished atoning work of Christ.110 The preoccupation, therefore, among Christian Zionists with locating the site of the Temple; with training Temple priests; with breeding red heifers; and raising funds for the Temple Treasury is at best a distraction, and at worst, a heresy.111 Christian support for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is, however, also invariably linked to a belief in an imminent apocalyptic war, unparalleled in human history. Christian Zionists are therefore, in the words of Don Wagner, intrinsically, 'anxious for Armageddon.'112

 


1 Midrash Tanchuma, Qedoshim. Cited on http://www.templemount.org

2 Colin Chapman, Whose Promised Land, Israel or Palestine?, revised edition (Oxford, Lion, 2002), p274.

3 Walter Riggans, Israel and Zionism, (London, Handsell, 1988), p19.

4 Walter Riggans, The Covenant with the Jews, (Tunbridge Wells, Monarch, 1992), pp91, 93.

5 Walter Riggans, Israel and Zionism, (London, Handsell Press, 1988), p21.

6 Most dispensationalists, (but not covenant premillennialists) also believe in the Rapture when Christians will be removed from the earth either prior to, during or after the Tribulation – hence three sub divisions within Dispensationalism – Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib and Post-Tribulationists. See Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church, (Nashville, Thomas Nelson, 1990).

7 Rabbi Shlomo Chaim Hacohen Aviner, cited in Grace Halsell, Forcing God's Hand (Washington, Crossroads International, 1999), p. 71.

8 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p156.

9 Randall Price, 'Time for a Temple? Jewish Plans to Rebuild the Temple.' Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry, http://www.foigm.org/img/timetemp.htm

10 John F. Walvoord, 'Will Israel Build a Temple in Jerusalem?' Bibliotheca Sacra, 125, April (1968), p106.

11 Richard N. Ostling, 'Time for a New Temple?' Time, 16 October, (1989), p64.

12 Randall Price, The Coming Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1999), p26; A simple Internet search of the words 'Temple Mount' reveal 351,000 web pages using http://www.google.com (1st July 2001).

13 Thomas Ice & Randall Price, Ready to Rebuild, The Imminent Plan to Rebuild the Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1992); Randall Price, Jerusalem in Prophecy, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1998); The Coming Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1999).

14 Grant Jeffrey, Armageddon, Appointment with Destiny, (Toronto, Frontier Research Publications, 1988); Messiah, War in the Middle East & Road to Armageddon, (Toronto, Frontier Research Publications, 1991); Heaven The Mystery of Angels, (Toronto, Frontier Research Publications, 1996)

15 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., pp153-167.

16 Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins, Apollyon: The Destroyer Is Unleashed, (Wheaton, Tyndale, 1999).

17 Dave Hunt, The Cup of Trembling. Jerusalem in Bible Prophecy, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1995).

18 Grace Halsell, 'Militant Fundamentalists Plot Destruction of Al Aqsa Mosque' Lexington Area Muslim Network, http://www.leb.net

19 Grace Halsell, Forcing God's Hand, (Washington, Crossroads International, 1999), pp63-73.

20 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p156.

21 Hal Lindsey, 'World's fate hangs on 35 acres' http://www.FreeRepublic.com 21 February (2001).

22 Lindsey, Late, op.cit., pp56-58.

23 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p156.

24 Ice & Price, Ready, op.cit.

25 Jews for Jesus review of Ready to Rebuild by Thomas Ice and Randall Price http://www.store.jewsforjesus.org/books/products/bk154.htm

26 Ibid.

27 Ice & Price, Ready, op.cit.

28 In his 732 page analysis of the future Jewish Temple, Randall Price lists over 40 books written in the last 30 years but only two written in the 19th Century. See also B.W. Newton, 'The Renewal of the Near East' in B.W. Newton and Dr S.P. Tregelles, Teachers of the Faith and the Future, edited by George H. Fromow, (Taunton, Phoenix Press, n.d.), pp121-127; W.E. Blackstone, Jesus is Coming, (London, Fleming H. Revell, 1916), p191; G. H. Pember, The Great Prophecies of the Centuries Concerning Israel and the Gentiles, Fifth Edition, (London, Hodder and Stoughton, 1902). George Pember apparently dominated prophetic study in Britain during the Victorian era and was regarded by G.H. Lang as 'pre-eminently a teacher of teachers and one of the best exponents of prophetic scripture.' Price, Coming, op.cit.

29 While Irenaeus, Hippolytus and Origen believed a literal Temple would be rebuilt, in the Epistle of Barnabas and writings of Chrysostom and Jerome the Church itself was seen as the Temple described in 2 Thessalonians. Cited in T.L. Frazier, A Second Look at the Second Coming, (Ben Lamond, California, Conciliar Press, 1999), pp141-142.

30 Egeria's Travels in the Holy Land, translated by John Wilkinson, (Jerusalem, Ariel, 1981), p167.

31 Ibid., p167.

32 Ice & Price, Ready, op.cit., p33.

33 Ibid., p34.

34 G. Le Strange, Palestine Under the Moslems, (Beirut, Khayats, [1890] 1965), p139, cited in Ice & Price, op.cit., p36.

35 Brickner, Future, op.cit., p90.

36 Scofield, Scofield, op.cit., fn. 2, p963.

37 John F. Walvoord, 'Will Israel Build a Temple in Jerusalem?' Bibliotheca Sacra, 125 April (1968), p100.

38 Lindsey, Israel, op.cit., p23.

39 Brickner, Future, op.cit., p18.

40 Rosen., Overture, op.cit., p114. See also p166. For a critique of this view see John B. Taylor, Ezekiel, An Introduction and Commentary, (Leicester, IVP, 1969), pp250-254.

41 Walvoord, 'Will', op.cit., p103.

42 Ibid., p103.

43 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p158.

44 William Hendriksen, The Gospel of Matthew, (Edinburgh, Banner of Truth, 1973), p858; Michael Green, The Message of Matthew, (Leicester, IVP, 2000), pp249-58.

45 Eusebius, 'On the Predictions of Christ' Eusebius, The Ecclesiastical History and the Martyrs of Palestine, (London, SPCK, 1927), 3:5.4 p69; 3:7, pp73-4.

46 Flavius Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, The New Complete Works of Josephus (Grand Rapids, Kregal, 1999), 10, 2.7 (276), p357.

47 Ibid., 4, 5.4 (343), p823.

48 Ibid., 4, 3.10 (162-163), pp813-814.

49 Ibid., 4, 5.1 (313), p821.

50 Ibid., 4, 5.2 (318), p822.

51 William L. Lane, The Gospel According to Mark, (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974), pp468-69; Hans K. LaRondelle, The Israel of God in Prophecy: Principles of Prophetic Interpretation, (Berrien Springs, Andrews University Press, 1983), pp197-98.

52 Josephus, Wars, op.cit., 6, 6.1 (316), p900.

53 John Calvin, Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Daniel, translated by Thomas Myers, 2 volumes (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1948), volume 2, p390.

54 F.F. Bruce, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Volume 45, Word Biblical Commentary, (Dallas, Word, 1990), p169.

55 'The Epistle of Barnabas', Ante-Nicene Fathers, edited by Alexander Roberts & James Donaldson (Peabody, Hendrikson, 1994), 1: 16:6-10; John Chrysostom, 'Homily 3 on 2 Thessalonians, 2:4', Nicene & Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff (Peabody, Hendrikson, 1994), pp332-338.

56 John 2:19, Matthew 26:61, 27:40; Mark 14:58, 15:29.

57 Hebrews 9:9, 23, 10:1-3, 11.

58 1 Peter 2:5.

59 1 Peter 2:7.

60 Ephesians 2:19-21.

61 Walvoord, 'Will,' op.cit., p104.

62 Scofield, Scofield, op.cit., p890.

63 Schuyler English, op.cit., p864.

64 Venema, op.cit., p285

65 Leviticus 2:2, 9, 16.

66 Hebrews 7:14. Venema, op.cit., p286.

67 DeMar, Last, op.cit., p85.

68 Hebrews 2:17; Romans 3:25.

69 Hebrews 6:4-6; 9:25-26; 10:1-3.

70 DeMar, Last, op.cit., p86; Edward J. Young, The Book of Isaiah. 3 volumes (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1972), volume 3, p520.

71 Pember, op.cit., pp353-354.

72 Zhava Glaser, 'Today's Rituals: Reminders or Replacements' Issues., 8, 3.

73 Brickner, Future, op.cit., p137.

74 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p156; Final, op.cit., p103.

75 In his 732 page analysis of the future Jewish Temple, Randall Price lists over 40 books written in the last 30 years compared with only two written in the 19th Century. The most recent include Thomas Ice & Randall Price, Ready to Rebuild, The Imminent Plan to Rebuild the Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1992); Randall Price, The Coming Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1999); Yisrael Ariel, The Odyssey of the Third Temple, translated and adapted by Chaim Richman, (Jerusalem, G. Israel Publications, 1993); Bradley J. Chance, Jerusalem, the Temple and the New Age in Luke-Acts, (Macon, GA, Mercer University Press, 1988); Ernest L. Martin, The Place of the New Third Temple, (Portland, Oregon, Associates for Scriptural Knowledge, 1994); Don Stewart & Chuck Missler, The Coming Temple, (Orange, California, Dart Press, 1991).

76 Randall Price, The Coming Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1999), pp616-644; Randall Price, 'Time for a Temple? Jewish Plans to Rebuild the Temple.' Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry http://www.foigm.org/img/timetemp.htm

77 Thomas Ice & Randall Price, Ready to Rebuild, The Imminent Plan to Rebuild the Last Days Temple, (Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1992).

78 Rich Robinson, 'Israeli Groups Involved in Third Temple Activities' Jews for Jesus Newsletter 10, (1993), http://www.jewsforjesus.org

79 Zhava Glaser, 'Today's Rituals: Reminders or Replacements' Issues, 8, 3.

80 Nadav Shragai, 'Dreaming of a Third Temple', Ha'aretz, 17 September (1998), p3, cited in Price, Coming, op.cit., p417.

81 Sam Kiley, 'The righteous will survive and the rest will perish' The Times, 13 December (1999), p39.

82 'The Hanukkah Event of the Temple Mount Faithful on the Temple Mount, Jerusalem' ICEJ, 27 December (2000) http://www.cdn-friends-icej.ca/hanukkah.html; Jan Willem van der Hoeven, 'About the ICZC' http://www.israelmybeloved.com/about/organization.htm

83 Ibid.

84 Grace Halsell, 'The Hidden Hand of the Temple Mount Faithful' The Washington Report, January (1991), p8.

85 These are the Northern Theory, the Southern Theory and the Central Theory. See discussion in Price, Coming, op.cit., pp337-342; Tuvia Sagiv, The Hidden Secrets of the Temple Mount, (Tel Aviv, 1993); http://www.Templemount.org/tempmt.html; Asher Kaufmann, 'Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood', Biblical Archaeology Review 9, 2 (1983) pp40-59; Leen Ritmeyer, The Temple of Herod, (Harrogate, England, Ritmeyer Architectural Design, 1993); The Temple and the Rock, (Harrogate, England, Ritmeyer Architectural Design, 1996), pp38-48.

86 Lindsey, Late, op.cit., pp56-58. Lindsey is in error on this point. The Dome of the Rock is the third most holy shrine of Islam after Mecca and Medina.

87 Lindsey, There's, op.cit., p163.

88 Lindsey, Israel, op.cit., p29.

89 Ibid., p30.

90 Brickner, Future, op.cit., p61.

91 Lindsey, Planet, op.cit., p163.

92 Price, Coming, op.cit., p346.

93 Randall Price incorrectly attributes this story to Time when it actually appeared in Newsweek. He also misspells one of the contributor's names. Price, Coming, op.cit., p375. 'Red Heifers' New York Times, 27 December (1998), cited in Halsell, Forcing, p65.

'Shortly after this Rev. Lott (who is also a cattleman by trade) came to possess a red heifer that met all the biblical qualifications of Numbers chapter 19. Since that historic time in, November 11, 1994 God has miraculously unveiled His divine plan for the restoration of Israel, to the Church. The Holy Ghost has worked during this time to reveal to Apostolic ministers and laymen the need to unify their efforts in order to see this project move forward, both in the Spirit and in the natural. August 11, 1998 Israel is expecting to receive from Canaan Land Restoration, 500 head of registered Red Angus Heifers.' Joe Atkins, 'Biblical mystery of the red heifer affects farmer in Mississippi' The Daily Mississippian, 23 July (1998); Ethan Bronner, 'Portent in a Pasture? Appearance of Rare Heifer in Israel Spurs Hopes, Fears', The Boston Globe, Sunday, April 6, (1997), pp1, 22.

94 Kendall Hamilton, Joseph Contreras & Mark Dennis, 'The Strange Case of Israel's Red Heifer,' Newsweek, May 19, (1997).

95 Jeremy Shere, 'A Very Holy Cow' Jerusalem Post, May 25, (1997).

96 Louis Rapoport, 'Slouching towards Armageddon: Links with Evangelicals' Jerusalem Post International Edition, June 17-24, (1984); Halsell, Forcing, op.cit., p68. As a member of the Stern Gang and also Irgun, Goldfoot was responsible for planting the bomb at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22nd July 1946 which killed 100 British soldiers and officials. In 1948 he was also convicted and jailed by an Israeli court for the murder of UN envoy Count Bernadotte.

97 Halsell, Prophecy, op.cit., p106.

98 Halsell, Forcing, op.cit., pp63-73.

99 Ibid., p98.

100 Jay Gary, 'The Temple Time Bomb' Presence Magazine, http://www.christianity.com/partner

101 Halsell, Forcing, op.cit., p115.

102 Lawrence Wright, 'Forcing the End', Frontline, http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/readings/forcing.html

103 Hebrews 9:9; 9:23; 8:5.

104 John 1:14; 2:19-22; Colossians 2:9.

105 John Noe, The Israel Illusion, (Fishers, Indiana, Prophecy Reformation Institute, 2000), p16.

106 Robertson, op.cit., pp53-83, 194.

107 John 1:14.

108 Hebrews 9:24.

109 Revelation 21:22.

110 Robertson, Israel, op.cit., p82.

111 Hebrews 10:29; Galatians 1:8-9.

112 Donald Wagner, Anxious for Armageddon, (Scottdale, Pennsylvania, Herald Press, 1995).