First of all it is important to have a little background in order to understand what Solomon's Temple was and why it is so important. Let's start with King Solomon himself, just who was he?
King Solomon
King of the ancient Hebrews (c.970–c.930 B.C.), son and successor of David. His mother was Bath-sheba. His accession has been dated to c.970 B.C. According to the Bible. Solomon’s reign was marked by foreign alliances (notably with Egypt and Phoenicia) and the greatest extension of Israel’s territory in biblical times. He built numerous cities, constructed copper smelting furnaces in the Negev, and had the first temple built at Jerusalem. However, his despotism resulted in the alienation of N Israel and the revolt of Jeroboam I. The biblical account of Solomon derives from the “Succession Narrative” in Second Samuel and First and Second Kings; Temple archives; and various folk-tales, but what the Bible says about the glory of his reign is impossible to confirm from the archaeological record.
Solomon’s wisdom is proverbial. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes were ascribed to him, as was Wisdom of Solomon, a book of the Old Testament Apocrypha, and the Song of Solomon bears his name. The Psalms of Solomon (1st cent. B.C.) and the Odes of Solomon (early 2d cent. A.D.) are found in the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha. Solomon’s original name was Jedidiah.
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Solomon's Temple
The temple of Solomon at Jerusalem, the only known monumental structure of the ancient Hebrews, consisted, according to biblical descriptions, of entrance pylons, courts, and a naos, a large rectangular chamber, giving entrance to the holy of holies, which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Its several destructions and reconstructions (one by Herod in 20 B.C.) have rendered unrecognizable any remains of the original edifice. The workmanship, characteristically Phoenician, was of stone, timber, and metal. The temple of Herod, to which Jesus went, was destroyed A.D. 70; its ruins have symbolized to the Jews their dispersion.
According to Second Chronicles, the location for the temple is Mt. Moriah the biblical name of a hill of eastern Jerusalem.
There are many significant elements to the temple and I will slowly cover them, for example-
Jachin and Boaz
in the Bible, two pillars in front of Solomon’s Temple, probably symbolic of God’s presence. But the root meanings to these words are "establish" and "strength".
Much more on this later.
Since the temple will play a role in the fulfilment of Bible Prophecy, it is important to watch for relvant news articles, I will post them here as events occur along with a few older items that set the stage for coming events.
Apr. 15, 2004 17:33 | Updated Apr. 15, 2004 18:28 Tests begin on Temple Mount's eastern wall By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
A team of senior Egyptian and Jordanian engineers on Thursday began tests to determine the stability of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount. The survey came just weeks after a report issued by the Israeli Antiquities
Authority stated that the 2000-year-old wall was in danger of immediate collapse as a result of the February earthquake that rocked the country.
The six-person team, which includes four Egyptian engineers and geologists as well as two architects from Jordan, was summoned to Jerusalem at the behest of the Jordanian Government, the Egyptian head of the team, Professor Saleh Lamei said Thursday.
Lamei who serves as the Director General of Cairo's Center for Conservation and Preservation of Islamic Architectural Heritage, said that the group would be carrying out a one-week survey of the wall and would then return to Cairo to prepare their report for the Jordanian Government, which he said would be completed in about one month.
The Israel Antiquities Authority refused comment Thursday, maintaining their virtual media silence on all matters related to the ultra-sensitive Jerusalem holy site.
The report says that the February 11 earthquake that rattled the country damaged the eastern wall of the Temple Mount to such an extent that sections of the wall are liable to cave in on the underground architectural support of the mount, known as Solomon's Stables.
New cracks and movements in the already fragile wall were discerned by archaeologists following the earthquake, the report states.
The earthquake, which measured 5 on the Richter scale, did not cause any serious injuries or damage. Just around the corner from where the Arab workers were at work Thursday on the eastern wall, another team of Jordanians has been repairing a bulge on the southern wall for the past year.
An ancient window in the epicenter of the bulge on the southern wall has been enlarged and opened, presumably to allow workers easier access to the outer wall from inside.
Israeli archaeologists say that the bulge on the southern wall was undoubtedly caused by the Wakf construction work at Solomon's Stables over the last decade, while a Jordanian report suggests that it was the result of the natural flow of rainwater over the centuries.
Israel maintains overall security of the site, while the Wakf, or Islamic Trust, is charged with day-to-day maintenance at the compound.
In the late 1990s, the Wakf turned Solomon's Stables into the largest mosque in the country, accommodating 30,000 worshipers. Its excavation caused extensive damage to antiquities at Judaism's holiest site, which were unearthed and then heaped onto a garbage dump.
Israeli archaeologists from the Antiquities Authority have not carried out routine supervision at the site for more than three years, despite the reopening of the ancient compound to non-Muslims last year, due to concern over renewed Palestinian violence at the site.
Apr. 1, 2004 19:28 | Updated Apr. 1, 2004 22:09 Eastern Temple Mount wall may collapse By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
The eastern wall of Jerusalem's Temple Mount is in danger of immediate collapse because of damage caused by the February 11 earthquake, a classified government report issued this week concludes.
The report, written by the Israel Antiquities
Authority, has been distributed to senior ministers by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's military attache, Brig.-Gen. Yoav Galant, officials said Thursday.
The classified report, details of which were first published in Yediot Aharonot, says that the earthquake damaged the eastern wall of the Temple Mount to such an extent that sections of the wall are liable to cave in on the underground architectural support of the mount, known as Solomon's Stables.
The Antiquities Authority refused to comment on the report.
But officials confirmed Thursday that the report has been sent to a number of government ministers including Internal Security Minister Tzahi Hanegbi, Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Ehud Olmert, Education Minister Limor Livnat, and Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Natan Sharansky.
The report has also been forwarded to the heads of the Shin Bet, Mossad, and to Israel Police Insp.-Gen. Shlomo Aharonishky, and Attorney-General Menahem Mazuz.
All of the recipients have been asked to forward their recommendations on the matter to the prime minister ahead of a planned meeting on the issue, expected shortly.
The report includes several documents prepared by officials in the Antiquities Authority, who suggest that the area in question be declared off-limits until repairs are carried out at the site.
New cracks and movements in the already fragile 2,000-year-old wall were discerned by archeologists following the February earthquake, the report states.
The earthquake, which measured 5 on the Richter scale, did not cause any serious injuries or damage.
Wakf (Islamic Trust) director Adnan Husseini on Thursday said that the report over damage to the wall caused by the earthquake was "incorrect." "We do not understand how such a report could be issued since there is no problem due to the earthquake," he said.
The report comes as a team of Jordanian engineers continues to carry out repair work on a separate bulge on the southern wall of the Temple Mount, adjacent to Solomon's Stables.
It was not clear Thursday if the Jordanians would be asked by Israel to repair the eastern wall as well.
In February, the head of the Jordanian team, Dr. Raief Najim, said that additional restoration work was needed in other areas, including the eastern wall.
Israeli archeologists say that the bulge on the southern wall was caused by the Wakf construction work at Solomon's Stables over the last decade, while a Jordanian report states that it was the result of the natural flow of rainwater over the centuries.
Israel maintains overall security of the site, while the Wakf is charged with day-to-day maintenance at the compound.
In the late 1990s, the Wakf turned Solomon's Stables into the largest mosque in the country, that can accommodate 30,000 worshipers. Its excavation caused extensive damage to antiquities at Judaism's holiest site, which were unearthed and then heaped onto a garbage dump.
Israeli archeologists from the Antiquities Authority have not been carrying out routine supervision at the site for more than three years, despite the reopening of the ancient compound to non-Muslims last year, due to concern over renewed Palestinian violence at the site.
Posted on Sun, Nov. 10, 2002
Jordanian Expert: Mosque Wall Safe
SHAFIKA MATTAR
Associated Press
AMMAN, Jordan - A Jordanian architect in charge of reconstruction work on Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque said Sunday there was no danger that a large bulge in the southern wall will cause it to collapse.
Archaeologists have warned the 35-foot-long bulge in the southern wall of the Al Aqsa mosque compound, around the corner from where Jews pray at the Western Wall, could cause the structure to topple. The mosque is built on the ruins of the biblical Jewish Temples and the site is sacred to both religions.
"The wall is so strong and thick that there is no danger, whatsoever, it would collapse," said Raef Nijem, vice president of the state-run Jordanian Construction Committee.
The committee was established in 1954 to supervise any reconstruction or renovation of the Al Aqsa mosque. Jordan ruled the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, for 17 years, until Israel seized the territory in the 1967 Mideast war. In 1988, the late King Hussein renounced all claims to the West Bank, but maintained his claim to the shrines in Jerusalem.
Palestinians and Israelis have been blaming each other for causing the bulge. Palestinians point to Israeli excavations at the base of the wall, far below the bulge, while Israel maintains that renovation work by the Islamic Trust, which oversees the compound, caused the wall to bulge outwards. A collapse could rain huge stone blocks onto Muslim worshippers. Jews do not worship at the site.
Nijem said the Jordanian team recently completed examination of the site and found a few gaps in the wall caused by rain entering cracks over hundreds of years, and several eroded stones that could fall outward, away from worshippers.
He said the Scientific Royal Society in Amman, which supervised the examination, has presented its report to Minister of Religious Affairs Ahmad Helayel, who will organize renovation works.
Waqf Expands Cemetery Outside Holy Temple Mount
Gary Fitleberg, June 2, 2004
As if the planned systematic destruction of ancient biblical archaeological evidence of the claim of the Jews to the Holy Temple Mount was not bad enough, the Arab Muslims seek to strengthen their position by expanding the cemetery outside Holy Temple Mount.
The Islamic Trust has been expanding the Muslim cemetery at the foot of the eastern wall of the Temple Mount south of Mercy Gate, and in recent months has stepped up the pace of preparing burial sites in the cemetery, including working at night.
The land is owned by the Waqf, but the area has been zoned as "green" not to be developed. Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski recently signed an administrative demolition order against the section of cemetery that has been expanded, but sources at City Hall said "the police refused to implement the order and prevented its execution."
Observers on the scene say the activities continue day and night, and that burials are taking place in the expanded cemetery area.
Adnan al Husseini, who heads the Waqf in East Jerusalem, said "the cemetery has been managed for hundreds of years as a Muslim cemetery. The city's orders are irrelevant, because the work being done in the cemetery is internal work, like cleaning work or gardening, which does not require any permit to conduct. This is an internal religious matter for the Waqf and the municipality has no justification for any intervention."
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has issued orders to the various authorities to try to reach an understanding with the Islamic Trust, as he has in the past when the Waqf was suspected of violating building regulations and antiquities rules inside the Haram el Sharif area, the Temple Mount plaza.
The Prime Minister's Office has ordered that no legal steps be taken against the Waqf without coordinating with them first.
At a recent session of the Knesset interior committee, Jerusalem municipality's Micha Ben Nun - who is in charge of licensing and inspectors for the municipality - complained that city hall was being kept in the dark by the Prime Minister's Office regarding what takes place on the plaza where the Waqf is in charge.
Antiquities Authority chief Yehoshua Dorfman said at the same session that his staffers operate in the plaza area under political constraints.
A source in the "Temple Mount Movement," which tracks developments on the Waqf-controlled areas, said it is possible that Jordan was involved in an informal deal under which Israel does not step in to halt zoning and construction violations in exchange for the Waqf reopening the area to tourists, including Jews.
Building a fraudulent claim to the Holy site while destruction of a proper claim to the Holy site of others is a devious illegitimate historical revisionism and the world should not permit this to continue any longer.
Christian and Jewish Holy places have not enjoyed the sanctity they deserve under the control and domination of the Arab Muslims residing in G-d's Holy Promised Land to the Children of Israel as set forth in the Old Testament (Five Books of Moses, Torah), New Testament, or the Koran.
Calls to Prevent Removal of Antiquities From Temple Mount 10:15 Aug 22, '04 / 5 Elul 5764
(IsraelNN.com) The heads of the Committee for the Preservation of Temple Mount Antiquities will meet today with the director of the Antiquities Authority, Shuka Dorfma. The meeting is part of continuing efforts to prevent the Muslim religious authority (wakf) on the Mount from removing ancient remains from the Temple area.
The wakf received permission early last week to remove tons of excavated dirt dug up in ongoing construction by Muslims on and inside the Mount - dirt likely containing priceless archaeological finds. The Antiquities Authority is seeking a freeze on the permit, which was issued by the Minister of Public Security and from the Office of the Prime Minister.
Where does the international community and the United Nations stand on this issue?
In the wrong place.
Nowhere.
Gary Fitleberg is a Political Analyst specializing in International Relations with emphasis on Middle East affairs.
Jerusalem Today
The Moslem Dome of the Rock Mosque sits atop the Temple Mount.
