ISRAEL - “Even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices shall be acceptable upon Mine altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7 (The Israel Bible™)
Until now, the bloody battle for the Temple Mount has been fought between Muslims and Jews, but a new awakening among some Christians to its significance is creating a shifting pre-Messianic reality at the already volatile site. The developing status of Christians on the Temple Mount played out a few weeks ago in a Muslim-Christian confrontation that nearly ended in violence.
The Temple Mount showdown involved Nate Waller, Director of Operations at Hayovel, an organization which brings Christian volunteers to Israel to fulfill Biblical prophecy by working on vineyards in Samaria. As a frequent visitor to the Temple Mount, Waller’s connection to the site is an increasingly important part of his belief – and he thinks other Christians should see it that way, too.
“When I first started visiting the Temple Mount, I didn’t understand the holiness of the place,” Waller told Breaking Israel News. “I used to walk all around the site, like all the other Christian tourists. I would go to the site of the actual Temple, something that is forbidden for Jews to do.”
Through his close work with religious Jews, Waller began to understand the significance of the site. “Christians generally believe that God’s presence has left the Temple Mount since the destruction of the Temple,” Waller explained. “From the Jews, I am just now beginning to understand that this is still the place of God’s name, and His name has not been removed.”
Yaakov Hayman, Chairman of the United Temple Movements, encourages this awakening and sees it as having a significant place in the Third Temple. Hayman’s organization has brought a suit in the Israeli High Court to bring this vision of a House of Prayer for all nations to reality. “It is frightening that in this day and age that people are prevented from praying anywhere, especially on the Temple Mount,” Hayman lamented.