The Buildings
Three ancient Temples were built according to a common design in Jerusalem. The three sites form a unique pattern which apparently also identifies the site of a future Temple to be built by "Darius the Persian," called "Cyrus." In addition, a fourth ancient Temple, Roman Emperor Hadrian's pagan Temple, was situated beneath what eventually became the phony traditional mount. And Roman Emperor Hadrian's pagan Temple, of course, was of a very different, an unrelated, design.
None of the three Biblical Temples were located on or under the phony traditional mount. However, as mentioned, the three Biblical Temples conformed to a common design criteria even to a common destruction pattern which preserved each of the inner Temples; albeit, not one rock was left atop the ground in either of the three sites.
Scripture explains:
"... and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof."Jeremiah 30:18
Yes, the city has been built atop the ruins and the palace, the inner Temple, has been preserved intact in each case. Hadrian's pagan Temple excepted.
Each of the three Biblical Temples were situated within one quadrant of three separate, relatively large, tri-level amphitheatres called "the City," the seating for the flock. Centered therein, in the court before each Temple, was a large altar of rock which supported the great brazen altar.
Each Temple amphitheatre contained restaurants called "boiling courts" in each corner on each of the three levels. Therein food and drink could be obtained by the flocks.
Thus, the historic Last Supper, the disciples' Passover Supper, attended by Jesus took place in the upper room, the third or top level, within the Herodium Temple amphitheatre, high up in "the Mount of Olives" as the great amphitheatre was called.
The Temple's large inner structure occupied one quadrant of the Temple amphitheatre and contained:
A main front porch frames and towers above a majestic entrance. The interior holds crosswalks from side chamber to side chamber as it extended upwards for 18 floors. On the face of the porch, pulpits open majestically before the myriad flocks, "the City," occupying the surrounding great amphitheatre. The pulpits also look down upon activities in the great courtyard below with its imposing central altar before the Temple.
An entry tunnel, a main passageway overlaid with gold, traverses from the porch directly to the Holy of Holies.
The Holy of Holies is a cube-like room with a circular vaulted ceiling all overlaid with gold with concentric circles of inlaid gemstones. Squinches at each corner provide the transition from the square base to the round ceiling. These squinches portray the four great powers before the throne of GOD.
A pair of golden staircases lead from beside the entry to the Holy of Holies back and upwards to above the tunnel entrance. A landing then joins the golden staircases above the tunnel and a single, broad, golden staircase continues upward to the throne room atop the Holy of Holies.
A large majestic throne room is described as a triclinium, a three sided (Roman) couch, as the two sides of the throne room extend outboard of the staircase to the porch in the shape of a giant 'U'. The throne room's high vaulted ceiling is also overlaid with gold and supports an inner Temple courtyard between the porch and the tower of Siloam that rises from atop the throne.
The inner courtyard above the throne room serves as a large air and light shaft as it opens upward and extends from side chamber walkways to side chamber walkways and from the porch to the tower of Siloam.
Two large towers: (a) The aft or rear tower provides for utilities and heating. This "Tower of Furnaces" arose from behind the traverse walkways separating it from the Holy of Holies, the throne room, and the Tower of Siloam. (b) The Tower of Siloam, as mentioned, arose atop the throne room atop the Holy of Holies. This interior structure served both the high priests and heads of government.
Two extensive 18 story side chambers served as offices, living spaces, and other facilities for the priesthood and the government. These side chambers were encircled with exterior walkways with connecting crosswalks through the front porch and between the towers. These walkways are called separate places or separating places as they separate one building or component from another.
Three elevator systems: Yes, ancient writings reveal that the Solomonic Temple built nearly 3,000 years ago and the two subsequent Temples had elevators. These elevators were called "chambers of the slaughter knives," "disappearing stairs," "crank up staircases," and "boxes wherein the workmen were lowered that they could not look upon the Holy of Holies" as the elevators were outboard on the side chambers and within the utilities tower. Thus, the view of anyone using the elevators could not see the Holy of Holies as the side chambers and tower blocked their view.
Furthermore, Jewry's Talmud, for example, explains matters such as that the altar in the main court before the Temple was where disobedient Levites and others were scourged.
Thus, Jesus' whole experience from Passover Supper unto His resurrection apparently took place within the bounds of the Herodian Temple amphitheatre. Even the "vail" that was rent by the earthquake was the dome atop the Herodian amphitheatre, likened to a ballerina's whirling skirt. The amphitheatre, itself, apparently was called "the Mount of Olives" wherein the seats and people represented the olives.
Therefore, from when the disciples' Passover Supper took place, Jesus' praying upon the Mount, to Jesus' arrest, to when Jesus was taken in the night unto Annas, then to a daybreak hearing before Caiphas the high priest, then to Pilate for a second hearing, to Herod for a third hearing, and back to Pilate for a fourth hearing and sentencing -- all occurred between sundown Thursday unto 9 am Friday (the 3rd hour of Passover Day). Then at the 3rd hour Jesus' crucifixion began with scourging on the altar, being paraded about the amphitheatre ("the City") where He was mocked and spat upon, and then nailed to the cross at noonday (the 6th hour). Jesus then remained on the cross before the Herodian Temple, in the amphitheatre courtyard (called Golgotha, the place of the skull), until death occurred at 3 pm (the 9th hour).
Again, from the Last Supper unto Jesus' death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection ... all took place within the Herodian Temple complex including the surrounding amphitheatre, the inner Temple, and the previously unused Holy of Holies which became Jesus' tomb.
The preserved ruins of the Herodian Temple remain beneath the mound beneath the modern Moslem Quarter East of the Damascus Gate. And it's well North of the phony traditional mount built on a site which was excavated by Bar Kochba to acquire earth to conceal the remains of the Herodian Temple from Roman Emperor Hadrian c. 132-134 AD.
Subsequently, (c. 134-138 AD) Hadrian renamed the city Aelia Capitolina, built the Cardo, etc. and built his pagan Temple upon the area excavated by Bar Kochba. Then about 190 years later, c. 324-326 AD, Helena, Byzantine Emperor Constantine's mother, appropriated materials from Hadrian's unused pagan Temple in building her traditional Church of the Holy Sepulchre and her Church of the Nativity. That was when Constantine changed the city's name back from Aelia Capitolina and restored the name Jerusalem.
Almost 300 years later, the phony traditional mount was initially heaped up by the Byzantine Christians between 617 and 637 AD. That's when the Byzantines made it their dump to clean up and rebuild Jerusalem following the three year reign of terror and destruction (c. 614-617 AD) under the Persian Sassanids during the reign of Chosroes I.
For evidence that the traditional mount did not exist as a mount until 617-637 AD just examine the Medaba Map found on the floor of a Byzantine Church in Medaba, Jordan. It's a pictorial mosaic tile map of Jerusalem (dated c. 562 AD) which shows no traditional mount but reveals that there is a Roman Gate through the East wall. And today that literal Roman Gate still exists and was physically located beneath the traditional East Gate by archaeologist James Fleming who confirmed its existence in 1972 AD. Also, exposed portions of huge pillars of the Herodian Temple amphitheatre are incorporated into the facilities of a modern day convent, again, well North of the traditional mount.
"Arimathaea" defined as "a city of the Jews" (Luke 23:51) refers to the Herodian Temple complex which was called the home of Joseph. And Joseph's unused tomb was the unused Holy of Holies of the Herodian Temple wherein Jesus was buried.
Then, since the inner portions of each of the three Biblical Temples were preserved in a common manner, each should be reenterable via their respective water-sewer system in a matter of hours, days, or weeks depending on the condition of the respective tunnels.
The Solomonic Temple, of course, is situated West of the Valley of Ben Hinnom (Jeremiah 19:2); whereas, the second Temple's remains will be found beneath the Western Hill (i.e. West of the Tyropoean Valley).
The Biblical design for the city and later the Talmudic measures which prescribed that the city wall may be pushed out here if it is pulled in there, etc. indicate that the modern wailing wall, for example, is part of both the Second Temple's city wall which was later built upon by Hadrian and much, much later by the Moslems when they too got suckered into the phony site. Yes, in 637 AD when Caliph Omar took Jerusalem, Sophronius the vanquished Christian Governor kept the great ruse alive by telling Omar that the Byzantine dump site was the Temple Mount.
Thus, various wall remnants also affirm locations of the three Temple sites. However, when people get serious and reenter via the Temple water-sewer tunnels, people will once again Reenter Temple History where much awaits.
| Prepared By Father - Son Team George & Dana Brown P.O. Box 320932 Cocoa Beach, Florida USA 32932-0932 Email: brianshouse@yahoo.com
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