ISRAEL - The first Temple Jerusalem Convention took place at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center on Wednesday, aimed toward educating Christians about the relevance of the Jewish Temples to their belief. The focus is not only on the Biblical Temples but also on the future Third Temple written about in prophecies. In his opening address, John Enarson, the Christian Relations Director of Cry for Zion and co-organizer of the conference explained the ground rules for the conference.
“The conference will be a meeting place of Jews and Christians with different perspectives. This should be done with mutual respect, acknowledging differences, and finding common ground on important issues without signing up for any political or religious position. We ask that all participants show grace toward each other.”
Doron Keidar, one of the organizers and the executive director of Cry for Zion, has high hopes for the event. “This is like the first Zionist conference which brought people together to talk about their hopes and dreams for a Jewish state,” Keidar told Breaking Israel News. “That led to the establishment of the modern state of Israel. We are bringing people together to talk about the Temple Mount. It is pretty clear what can come from this.”
These three articles focus on this conference – from differing viewpoints. The multi-faith forum discussed… “the past and the future of the Temple Mount as it related to their respective religions”.
One of the main points concerns Jewish sovereignty of the Temple Mount:
“At the Western Wall, there is total freedom of worship for all religions. Muslims are free to pray at the Kotel (Western Wall) as are Christians. Jewish sovereignty on the Temple Mount would bring equality of religion to the site. Freedom of worship is also established in international law as described by the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights,” Keidar said. “The right for all faiths to pray on the Temple Mount was upheld by the Israeli Magistrate’s court. Right now there is illegal discrimination taking place where only Muslims can pray.”
The problem is that whatever they do will cause problems – major problems.
When the Beast-led European army invades the Middle East we are told in Daniel chapter 12, that they stop the daily sacrifices. “And from the time that THE DAILY SACRIFICE SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” (Daniel 12:11)
As Mr Armstrong explained:
What is this abomination? “This refers to Daniel 11:31 and Matthew 24:15. In Daniel 11:31, the armies of Antiochus Epiphanes were at Jerusalem, and some commentators have interpreted it as Antiochus placing a statue of Jupiter in the Holy of Holies in the Temple. Not only does Matthew 24:15 also refer to this, but in a parallel New Testament scripture, Luke 21:20 speaks of the same thing as ‘Jerusalem compassed with armies.’ This is the correct meaning of this abomination. IT IS THE ARMIES – not a statue – that make Jerusalem desolate. From this time (Dan. 12:11) to Christ’s coming will be 1290 days.” (Pastor General's Report - November 1979)
Jesus Christ mentions this same event: “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains.” (Matthew 24:15-16)
Jesus Christ tells us that WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND!
This is what we understand from Bible prophecy. All other questions and issues regarding the Temple Mount - Jewish sovereignty, the exact location of the original Temples, involvement of Christians, the construction of a third Temple, the Muslim sites possibly destroyed, “Indiana Jones” conspiracy theories - these are all just distractions, a smoke screen, hiding what is actually going to happen.
The big questions are – what is going to have to happen to allow the Jews to start the daily (evening and morning) sacrifices? ...and how long will they be allowed to continue before they are cut off?
The time when these sacrifices are cut off is a major point in Bible prophecy - just 1290 days before the return of Jesus Christ! End time prophecy focuses on Jerusalem. And we are warned to remain alert as the events unfold!
“Just what is an APOSTLE?”
Today we find the Church of God in a “wilderness of religious confusion!”
The confusion is not merely around the Church – within the religions of the world outside – but WITHIN the very heart of The True Church itself!
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