Possible Muslim Approval of Third Temple Construction
As reported in The Jewish Press on March 14, 2013, there is a new call for something previously unthinkable. Sinem Tezyapar, a Muslim TV producer in Turkey, has called for the rebuilding of the “Prophet Solomon’s” Temple.She assures her fellow Muslims that they need not be nervous because:“There is a broad expanse of land around the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. The land there is quite convenient in that respect, and the Temple can be placed just a little way from Qubbat As-Sakhrah, and a little ahead of Masjid el-Aqsa.”There are overtones of wanting peace and togetherness with the Jewish people in her statements as well. This is a very interesting development and would be easy to dismiss as just one secular Muslim’s simplistic idea. Unfortunately, the fact that she is a woman in the Muslim world makes the idea even less feasible. However, this is not the first time this idea has come from the lips of a Muslim. According to an article in Word Net Daily, an influential Muslim leader by the name of Adnan Oktar in Turkey is described as making the same proposal, to rebuild the Jewish Temple, calling it the “Palace of Solomon.”The Jewish people have longed for their Temple to be rebuilt. In an article about the rebuilding of the Temple, Hassidic writer and publisher Mordechai Housman, describes the first and primary obstacle as being political, and second being safety reasons due to Muslims. If a significant Muslim leader would declare that Solomon’s Temple should be rebuilt, then if the Muslim community would follow, it is likely the Jewish people would jump at the opportunity and be able to overcome whatever ceremonial obstacles also lie in the path.
This is very significant prophetically, because the Jewish Temple must be standing at the mid-point of the time period commonly known as the Tribulation. The Apostles John and Paul, the Prophet Daniel, and Jesus Himself make references to this Temple standing.
Daniel 9:27a says:
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” (KJV) The “he” spoken of here is the coming world leader, known as the Antichrist. The “one week” is the seven years of the Tribulation period.
In Matthew 24:15-16, Jesus references this very passage:
“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:” (KJV) This “Abomination of Desolation” is set up in the Most Holy Place, which is well known to be the Holy of Holies in the Jewish Temple. Thus this Temple must be standing in order for the “Abomination of Desolation” to happen.
Paul writes in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:
“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” (KJV) Here also is a reference to the Antichrist (the man of sin) declaring himself God inside the Temple of God. This also is the Jewish Temple.
In Revelation 11:1-2, John tells us:
“And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.” (KJV) Forty-two months is also equivalent to half of seven years. In other words, the Temple which John refers to is standing, not only in the middle of the Tribulation, but it has been standing for the entire first part of the Tribulation.There are several big milestones that students of prophecy are waiting for. One of those is the construction of the Third Jewish Temple for it does indeed seem to be a prerequisite to the beginning of the Tribulation period. If not a prerequisite, then it does definitely need to be standing by the midpoint of the Tribulation. With hints that the Muslim world might be agreeable to its construction, it would seem this particular milestone might be nearer than many think.
