The Temple Mount

        Have you been able to visit the Dome of the Rock lately? Have you been able to see the structure that was built in the 7^th century? I haven’t lately. It’s one of the shrines of Islam because they believe that Mohammed ascended to heaven on a horse at this place. This was at Jerusalem so it must be true right? I am not so sure. They say that the dome was built on top of the site where Solomon’s temple was. Is that true? Where does the evidence lead? I am going to take you on a journey through time, and give you the truth about the Dome of the Rock, and about Solomon’s temple. I am going to use history, and scripture to explain what’s actually there. Hopefully, I would be able to measure out the temple mount at the location where the evidence leads.

        Here is a brief history of the Dome of the Rock. The building was built in 685-691 by Umayyad Caliph Abdul al-Malik. A former rabbi named Ka’ab Al-Ahbar told the builders that the site that they were building on was Solomon’s temple—even though it was built on top of a large rock. Today that rock is still inside the middle of the main building. The building was not built to replace Solomon’s temple. It was a building used to convert Christians to Islam by walking into the building, reading the Arabic inscriptions denouncing the divinity of Jesus Christ centered around a rock, and exiting the building in the direction of Mecca. If you didn’t convert, you were considered an infidel by the Muslims.

        Muslims building the Dome of the Rock weren’t thinking about the Temple of Solomon at the time because there were mostly Christians in Jerusalem. In fact, Solomon’s Temple was never built on top of a single large rock at all. It was built on top of a threshing floor of wheat. When King David of ancient Israel numbered the people, God was displeased with him and sent a plague on Israel for three days. To stop the plague, David was commended by God to build an altar on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. When David finished the altar and gave God burnt and peace offerings, the plague stopped. David said after this in I Chronicles 22:1: “This is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of burnt offering for Israel”. Solomon never built the Temple of God on top of a rock, but on ground paved with the stumping of oxen.

        The threshing floor was an outdoors floor made with small rocks. It’s slightly sloped in order to avoid water build up from the rain. The slope would help wash away the water from the floor. Josephus said: “Now this temple as I have already said, was built upon a strong hill. At first the plain at the top was hardly sufficient for the holy house and the altar, for the ground about it was very uneven” (The Wars of the Jews Book 5 chapter 5). Because the land was uneven, although useful for a threshing floor, the temple would need a foundation to keep it leveled. The foundation had been built with stones that you see at the western wall today. You don’t use a big cornerstone for the foundation because it wouldn’t fit the side of the hill. The Dome of the Rock has a foundation stone under it. It makes no sense to use a large cornerstone for a project that has to be built on a hill. You have to use small stones.

        Before the Dome of the Rock was built, there was another structure built before it. It was the Roman Fortress of Antonia. Josephus said: “Now as to the tower of Antonia, it was situated at the corner of two cloisters of the court of the temple; of that on the west, and that on the north” “It was erected upon a rock, of fifty cubits in height”. “it contained also four other distinct towers at its four corners; whereof the others were but fifty cubits high; whereas that which lay upon the southeast corner was seventy cubits high, that from thence the whole temple might be viewed.” (The Wars of the Jews Book 5 Chapter 5). It makes sense to not measure the court of the temple because it was given to the Gentiles in the form of the Dome of the Rock because the dome was built where the Romans built the Fort of Antonia.

In measuring Solomon’s Temple, a cubit is used. A cubit is a measure from the elbow to the middle finger, which is about 18 inches: a feet and a half. The temple was measured as followed: “its length was sixty cubits, its width twenty, and its height thirty cubits” (1 kings 6:2) Today, the measurements would be a length of 90 feet, width of 30 feet, and a height of 45 feet. The vestibule in front of the front door of the temple was twenty cubits wide, and ten cubits long. The vestibule was 30 feet by 15 feet in today’s measurements. The altar of God would most likely be located at the vestibule of the temple. Solomon also built side chambers on both sides of the temple that were five cubits high (seven feet, six inches). 

“The temple resembled a citadel” a first-century Roman historian named Tacitus said in the histories “It contained an inexhaustible spring”. How could the temple have a spring? there was only one source of water in Jerusalem; that source of water was the Gihon Spring. Aristeas of Egypt wrote in 285 B.C. that the temple had an inexhaustible spring that was welled up in the interior of the temple. That spring was needed for the washing of the priests and Levis during and after sacrifices. In the tabernacle that Moses made, a bronze laver was used for the washing rituals. That changed with the building of the temple in the days of Solomon. The Gihon spring was used for Solomon’s temple, and was also used for the second temple. It will be used again for the third temple as well.

 

        Solomon’s Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians on 586 B.C. It remained desolate until Cyrus of Persia allowed the Jews to return to the Holy land and rebuild the temple. “Who says of Cyrus, ‘He is My shepherd, / And he shall perform all My pleasure, / Saying to Jerusalem, “You shall be built,” / And to the temple, “Your foundation shall be laid.”’” (Isaiah 44:28). “The hands of Zerubbabel / Have laid the foundation of this temple; / His hands shall also finish it. / Then you will know / That the Lord of hosts has sent Me to you.” (Zechariah 4:9). The second temple foundation and building was done by Zerubbabel, and it took 46 years to complete the temple. It stood from 516 B.C. until 70 A.D.

         

The second temple was destroyed by the Roman’s because the Jews didn’t accept Jesus as the messiah during His first coming. Jesus saw the foundation stones and said: “not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down”. Jesus was prophesying about the destruction of the temple by the Romans at 70 A.D. Yet Jesus must have known about a third Temple that has yet to be built today, but will be built soon. First the temple needs to be built in the right location, and that location requires a spring. The Temple needs to be at the Gihon Spring, and the court of the temple was given to the Gentiles. The Dome of the Rock was built on the same rock as Fort Antonia, and the Fort was built on the court of the Temple. The Dome of the Rock is at the court of the Temple.