The shock of all shocks!
For over 150 years premillennialists and dispensationalists have been teaching the prophecies of Scripture about the someday rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem. They take the Bible literally and realize from a stable of verses that historically this was predicted to happen.
For the first time that I know of, a contemporary orthodox rabbi is calling for the rebuilding of the temple. The article was published in the devotional section of the current International Jerusalem Post of July 13-19, 2007. The title is: The World Needs the Temple. While there have been certain fringe groups and Christian activists working in this direction, this is a first ever in a respected popular newspaper.
During the festival of Tisha Be'av (the ninth day of the fall month of Av) which takes place at about this time of the year, the Jews gather at the Temple Mount and mourn the fall of the temple that took place twice, in 586 BC and in AD 70. (The first was the Solomonic temple and the second was the Herodean temple) It was on the same day of both of those years that God Himself (through enemies of Israel) brought down the two temples and destroyed the city of Jerusalem!
I have been at the Wailing Wall on the Temple Mount during Tish Be'av. Jewish families come out at night, spread blankets on the ground, open up picnic baskets, and read the verses of mourning from Jeremiah's Lamentations. That book was written by the prophet to weep for the fall of the temple in 586 BC. Lamentations 3:22-23 was always especially read: "The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Thy faithfulness."
After discussing some of the history of the two temples, the Jerusalem Post article points out that it was rabbi Akiva (circa. AD 135) who called for the rebuilding of the temple. Akiva taught that Israel's purpose on earth was to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priest-teachers who would bless the earth. No better place to show God's work than in the City of Peace, Jerusalem!
The article concludes: "Only a Temple teaching absolute morality in the City of Peace can secure the future of freedom in our global village." Interestingly, the coming of the Messiah is not mentioned in the Post column! For now, that is the touchy point for the orthodox Jews because they know it shines a great big light on the teachings and the beliefs of the Christian premillennial futurists! However in my opinion, the fact that this article was written at all is a miracle and shows that maybe slowly the eyes of the Jews are being opened to end-time issues. The amillennial and allegorical covenant guys have no answers for this article or for the march of prophecy in the Middle East that is obvious to all who know prophetic Scripture. The amillennialists and the preterists remain brain dead and silent. They have boxed themselves in and teach that the church has replaced Israel. They take prophecy in an allegorical way, destroy and repudiate any literal, historical fulfillment. In their minds "God is through with the Jews!" But of course this is not so!
-- Dr. Mal Couch
