The THIRD TEMPLE Entrance

In Alignment With The East Gate

According to the Scriptures and verified by archaeology and the historical works of men.

There are three principal conjectures as to the original, and hence the FUTURE Temple location. 

1. Northern Location aligned with the East Gate (North of the Dome of the Rock) placing the Holy of Holies over the Dome of the Tablets/Spirits
--as supported by Dr. Asher Kaufman and The House of Yahweh.
2. Central or Traditional Location (Dome of the Rock) placing the Holy of Holies over the As-Sakhrah
--as supported by Traditional Judaism, Dr. Leen Ritmeyer, etc.
3. Southern Location (South of the Dome of the Rock) placing the Holy of Holies over the Al Kas fountain
--as supported by Dr. Bagatti, Tuvia Sugiv, etc.

The original Temple location has been hidden and protected for nearly 1900 years --UNTIL NOW!  The Third Temple with its inner court will be built soon on the "greatly exalted mountain" in Yerusalem  [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:2; Tehillim (Psalm) 48:1-2; 24:3; 2:6] in the same location as the previous two Temples.  According the following prophecy, the Dome of the Rock and other structures will be left standing (on the south [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:2]) unharmed before, during, and after this great rebuilding project --a Peaceful Solution!

Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:2 2  In the visions of Yahweh, He brought me into the land of Israyl, and set me upon the greatly exalted mountain; and on it like a building of a city on the south.

The Scriptures document well that the previous Temples were built according to a certain pattern, and as part of this pattern they had to be built in a certain place. If it is not built in the correct location, exactly according to the Pattern of Yahweh, and if it is not built according to its correct dimensions as it is written, it will not be a Temple of Yahweh --but a temple of man.  According to the Scriptures, men of The Faith were instructed and inspired by our Heavenly Father whose Name is Yahweh, to operate according to the Law and the Prophets [Yeshayah (Isaiah) 8:20]; NOT as it was in the days of Noah, and is now, lawlessness --according to traditions devised in the imaginations of the hearts of men. [Berashit (Genesis) 6:5 & 8:21; Zecharyah (Zechariah) 7:11-13; Yeshayah (Isaiah) 29:13; Yeremyah (Jeremiah) 17:9]

Many prophecies show that this Temple will be rebuilt in these last days.  And there is a specific last days prophecy and vision of the future Temple and Temple complex sent from Yahweh to one of His Temple priests, also called a prophet,  [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 1:3 -priest; 2:5 -prophet; 40:2-...] showing that this Temple will be rebuilt with the inner court, with a pavement in the outer court AREA on the east and north. [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:17-19]  Notice it does not mention a pavement on the south side --just outside the inner court, because that is where the Moslem Mosque sits; as described in the Scriptures --"like a building of a city on the south", [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel). 40:2 & Revelation. 11:1-2] hence the outer court will not be built at this time. 

Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:2-5
2  In the visions of Yahweh, He brought me^a into the land of Israyl, and set me upon the greatly exalted mountain; and on it like a building of a city on the south b.
3  When He took me there, then behold, a man, whose appearance resembled bronze.  With a line of flax and a measuring reed in his hand, he stood at the gate.
4  Then the being said to me:  Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and fix your mind on everything that I show you; for the purpose that I show this to you, were you brought here.  Declare all that you see to the house of Israyl.
5  And behold, there was an adjoining separation (a dividing structure) around the House (The Temple).  In the being's hand was a measuring reed six long cubits (about 10 1/2 feet), each cubit (about 18 inches) with a handbreadth (about 3 inches).  So he MEASURED the separation's width to the structure (the Dome of the Rock) one reed (10 1/2 feet), and the height, one reed.

--The Prophet literally viewed the Dome of the Rock (located south of the inner court in the outer court area) and the other structures built on the Mount on the south.  This Prophet from the past in his vision of the future saw what will be at the time of the building of the Third Temple!  "Arabic QUBBAT AS-SAKHRAH, also called MOSQUE OF OMAR ...The Dome of the Rock was built between AD 685 and 691 by the caliph 'Abd al_Malik ibn Marwan, not as a mosque for public worship but rather as a mashhad, a shrine for pilgrims. It is virtually the first monumental building in Islamic history and is of considerable aesthetic and architectural importance; it is rich with mosaic, faience, and marble, much of which was added several centuries after its completion. Basically octagonal, the Dome of the Rock is more typically Roman or Byzantine than Islamic. A wooden dome approximately 60 feet (18 m) in diameter and mounted on an elevated drum rises above a circle of 16 piers and columns. Surrounding this circle is an octagonal arcade of 24 piers and columns. The outer walls repeat this octagon, each of the eight sides being approximately 60 feet (18 m) wide and 36 feet (11 m) high. Both the dome and the exterior walls contain many windows."  [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Dome of the Rock"]

b- "city on the south"  --Many have presumed that this refers to the ancient city of Yerusalem being located exclusively to the south, not understanding that most of early Yerusalem was to the west of the Temple Mount.   "Since 1967 archaeological excavations have been going on in various places in Jerusalem and the finds have been astonishing.   They include discoveries that considerably enhance our knowledge of the First Temple period and cast light on the scope of the city's boundaries during that era.   The fact is that finds from the First Temple period have turned up all over the western hill.  ...Consequently, a good part of the western hill must have been included in the fortified city of Jerusalem at that time.  ...it proves that by the end of the First Temple period organized settlement extended to the western hill.  We are therefore able to state with confidence that the city covered the broad area suggested by a minority of scholars."   "...today we know that the city's walls in the First Temple period encompassed a broader area than was originally believed, including the western hill.   So if the walls reconstructed by Nehemiah followed a course similar to the walls at the end of the First Temple period, they must have embraced the southern hill (the City of David) and the western one." [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The discovery of Ancient Jerusalem, "The Boundaries of Jerusalem", p.34 & "The Persian and Hasmonean Eras", p.60] "Hezekiah reinforced the walls of Jerusalem and included in the city part of the western hill, the Mishneh (II Kings 22:14) or "second" Jerusalem, which was already settled in his time." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, David and First Temple Period, Under The Kings of Judah"]   Nehemyah clearly rebuilt and restored the outer walls and gates of the city which included the northern and eastern Temple Mount walls as well as the southern and  western city walls. [Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 3:1-32]  Without a doubt we see that Yechetzqyah was not referring to a condensed form of the city of ancient Jerusalem in verse 40:2 but was obviously speaking of the future (present) structures a short distance to the south of the inner court the first being the massive Dome of the Rock..
a- "Ezekiel was a functioning priest probably attached to the Jerusalem Temple staff. He was among those deported in 597 to Babylonia.... It is evident that he was, among his fellow exiles, a person of uncommon stature." [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Ezekiel"]   "Ezekiel was immersed in the whole range of Israel's prophetic tradition. ...prophesying under seizure by "the hand of YHWH" (cf. Elijah [I Kings 18:46] and Elisha [II Kings 3:5]), transportation by the "wind^x of YHWH" (cf. Elijah, I Kings 18:12; II Kings 2:16). He is the only prophet after Moses who not only envisions the future but lays down a blueprint and a law for it." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Ezekiel, Influences Upon The Prophet"]  [^x wind, i.e. ruach meaning spirit]

Again, notice this vision was for a future time.  To this day it is admitted that this Temple was never built!  According to this vision,to the South of the Temple inner court, where they were standing, was the MOSLEM MOSQUE (or shrine) called The Dome of the Rock!    Notice verse 5 again: "And the separation's WIDTH (between the dividing wall by the inner court wall) to this structure (The Dome of the Rock) was one reed" which is about 10 1/2 feet!

It is acknowledged (with much bafflement) that when the exiles returned from Babylon and rebuilt the Temple (the Second Temple complex), it was not Yechetzqyah's plan that was used.  Many still do not understand what the Second Temple builders understood; that Yechetzqyah's vision was not for those who came out of the Babylonian captivity for the building of the Second Temple, but for the far future and the Third Temple --for today!  "The least influential part of Ezekiel's prophecy was his program for the future (chs. 40-48). Medieval exegetes were painfully aware of the contradictions in detail between what Ezekiel laid down and what the community of the Restoration did; they "saved" Ezekiel by declaring his program to be purely messianic... The authorities of Second Temple times may also have thought so; in practice, they made the Torah their rule, and ignored Ezekiel's program entirely." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Ezekiel, Ezekiel's Message And Its Effects"]  This confusion has led many in the past to speculate that a future coming messiah will "do it all for them" (an idea that runs rampant through much of the world to this day). No, the Temple will not descend from heaven. Yahweh has always worked through His authorized men, and this Third Temple, the Temple to be built now in these last days, will be no different. [Shemot (Exodus) 18:19-20; 25:8-9;  See also:   A Heaven-Sent Temple: In Halakha by Yisrael Ariel, Director, The Temple Institute, Jerusalem, Israel]

The Encyclopaedia Judaica and many other references concerning this prophecy admit that the prophet Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) describes in great detail in his vision a FUTURE Temple complex which to this present day has not been built!

"A Messianic Priestly Code
(Kaufmann; chs. 40–48). Following the general topical order of the priestly writings in the Pentateuch, a description of the future sanctuary, regulations for the cult and its personnel, and provisions for settlement in the land are set out in detail. Modernization and rectification of past wrongs are pervasive motives.
A VISIONARY TRANSPORTATION TO THE FUTURE TEMPLE
(40:1–43:12; a counterpart to chs. 8–11). A blueprint of the Temple area is narrated as a tour through its courts, gates, and rooms, the prophet being guided by an angelic “man” with a measuring rod and line. The design appears to follow the latest form of the Solomonic Temple..." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Ezekiel, Prophecies of Israel's Restoration"]

Did you notice?  This FUTURE Temple will NOT be modeled after the Hellenistic --Greco-Roman architecture of Herod; [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Architecture And Architects, In Antiquity; and also:  History: Second Temple Period (The Hellenistic-Roman Period), Erez Israel, Herod's Rule"] but the same pattern as used for Solomon's Temple.  "Original Israelite elements are also contained in the design of the Temple, particularly in the Holy of Holies, which continue the tradition of the early Tabernacle." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 947, "Temple, First Temple, Structure, The Ground Plan of the Temple"]  "The descriptions of the Temple found in Jewish literature, talmudic and other, from the end of the Second Temple period reflect, for the most part, the building as it was after the Herodian reconstruction." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 962-963, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, Reconstruction by Herod"]  Herod and his minions did not fully understand this pattern --this plan of Yahweh.

Again, please understand "the dimensions are not arbitrary but were arrived at through precise planning."  [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15,  947, "Temple, First Temple, Structure, The Detailed Plan of the Temple"]   Yahweh has a certain pattern, or plan. This same pattern was always revealed to only a chosen few at the proper time.

Shemot (Exodus) 25:8-9
8  And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9  According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its furnishings, EXACTLY so shall you make it.

Dibre Hayamim (I Chronicles) 28:19
19  David said:  All this is written because Yahweh made me understand all the details of this plan (pattern), for His hand was upon me.

The Ancient East Gate

Solomon's Temple, as well as Zerubabel's Temple, was built according to the same pattern used for the Tabernacle.  One element of the Temple pattern was that it faced to the east, with an east inner court gate and an east outer court gate. "There is no doubt that the building was oriented from east to west, so that the porch faced eastward. Evidence of this can also be found in the words of Ezekiel." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 951, "Temple, First Temple, Structure, The Temple's Site and Orientation"; See also:  Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 11:1; 40:3; 47:1]   The prophecy shown to us in the Book of Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) for the building of the future Temple with its gates, is according to this same pattern: facing east with its line of eastern gates. At the end of this straight line of gates (west to east) was another gate: the eastern (old city) Temple Mount enclosure gate.

The Temple Mount enclosure is called Har HaBayit* ["Mount (Mountain) of the House" or "the Temple Mount"] in Hebrew and Haram al Sharif ("Noble Enclosure") in Arabic.  Today, a gate is indeed visible in the eastern wall of this Temple Mount enclosure.  "The eastern wall of the Temple Mount contains a magnificent gate that appears from the outside to be composed of two arches but is actually a complex structure built into the wall. ...The earliest identification of this gate can be found in the writings of tenth-century Arab historians and geographers who referred to it by two names, one for each of its arches: the Gate of Mercy and the Gate of Repentance.  ...The name used by the Christians (and translated into all the languages of Europe) is the Golden Gate."  [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The discovery of Ancient Jerusalem, "The Start of the Moslem Age" p. 282-283; See also:* "Har HaBayit Yahweh" i.e. "Mount of the House of Yahweh" -Dibre Hayamim (II Chronicles) 33:15]

Since the location of  the ancient East Gate in the Temple Mount enclosure that led to the Temple precincts is one of the keys to finding the ORIGINAL location of the previous Temples and the future Third Temple, some have speculated on the existence of yet another gate in the eastern wall located across from the present Dome of the Rock (traditional location). They do this in order to give some credence to their idea of the original Temple location, but to no avail. No such gate has been found!  Even though the traditionalists admit that a gate across from their supposed location in the eastern wall has not been found, they also grant the fact that there has indeed been an ancient gate discovered north of the traditional location!  "The location of the gate to the Temple court in the eastern wall is, as yet, undetermined.  The only visible entranceway, the Golden Gate, dates from the Omayyad period (seventh century A.D.).  The arch of another gate lies directly beneath the blocked entranceway of the Golden Gate, but the location of this lower gate precludes its being Herodian." [Secrets of Jerusalems's Temple Mount, "Reconstructing Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem", p. 37-38]   Even the Mishnah admits to only one original gate which led to the inner Temple Mount area from the east; called Shushan.  "The Mishnah (Mid. 1:3) mentions only five gates to the Temple Mount: the two gates of Huldah on the south, Coponius Gate in the west..., the Gate of Tadi in the north, and the Shushan Gate in the east. This description fits the archaeological findings except for the western side."*  [Encyclopaedia Judaica Vol. 15, 963, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, Reconstruction by Herod"] 

*The Mishnah mentions five gates, the five gates that gave one access to the inner Mount itself, whereas  Josephus describes all the gates; including those which led to the other public areas of the Temple Mount surround, which was sealed off from the inner Mount.   "If a person standing in the vicinity of these public institutions wished to to reach the Temple's precincts, he had to leave the compound and re-enter it through one of the gates specifically designed for that purpose, since there was no direct access between these two sections of the Temple Mount.  The Mishna, by its nature, deals only with the aspects of the Temple Mount related to halakhah, so the Midot Tractate mentions the five gates that led to the sanctifed area.  Josephus, on the other hand, described all the gates of the Temple Mount, not only those leading to the Temple's precincts." [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The Discovery Of Ancient Jerusalem, "The Gates of the Temple Mount", p. 136]

The walls and gates around the Old City were repaired and partially rebuilt by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (1537-1541) after the Ottoman conquest of Israel. [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, Under Ottoman Rule (1517-1917) Suleiman The Magnificent And His Work"]  However, this east wall, and the eastern gate to the old city and the Temple Mount enclosure, was the only one not rebuilt by him. 

The present eastern Temple enclosure wall of the old city is believed to have been built upon, and its gate constructed along with the rebuilding and repairs done to the other old city walls in the 7th century by Abd al-Malik (5th Umayyad caliph (685-705)). [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, Arab Period, Umayyad Rule"; & Jerusalem, An Archaeological biography, p. 180]  (Abd al-Malik is also known to have built the Dome of the Rock and the Mosque of al-Aqsa. [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Temple Mount"])  It was this newer East Gate (above ground level today) which came to be called the Golden Gate.  It was walled up by the Arabs and has remained closed now for many centuries. 

What is not commonly known is that this east old city wall along with the present day East Gate was built on top of the old existing city wall with its ancient East Gate.  "When Herod enlarged the Temple Mount, he did not change the line of the eastern wall (the steep slope of the Kidron Valley was too close to the existing wall to move it).  So the line of the eastern wall was pre-Herodian--perhaps even Solomonic." [Secrets of Jerusalems's Temple Mount, "Locating The Original Temple Mount", p. 66]  The ancient East Gate built into this wall was sealed up but left intact, and is presently below ground.  The top of this ancient wall is seen today at the present ground level of the East Gate.  "Monolithic stones in the wall just above ground have been identified as 6th Century BC masonry from the time of Nehemiah".  [Biblical Archaeological Review, Mar/Apr 1992, p. 40]  Discovered in April 1969 below ground, beneath the the present Golden Gate built into the wall, were five wedge-shaped stones set in a massive arch.  "Then I noticed with astonishment that on the eastern face of the turret wall, directly beneath the Golden Gate itself, were five wedge-shaped stones neatly set in a massive arch spanning the turret wall. Here were the remains of an earlier gate to Jerusalem, below the Golden Gate, one that apparently had never been fully documented." [Biblical Archaeology Review, Jan./Feb.1983, p. 30]  The stones of the arch are definitely not Herodian; "they are flat, with no margins, bosses or decorations and there appears to be no frame of any kind". [Jerusalem: An Archaeological biography, p. 183]   Here, beneath the present day East Gate, were the remains of an ancient gate to Jerusalem which had been buried over and forgotten in the midst of time. "To his astonishment, directly beneath the arches of the Golden Gate he found five wedge-shaped stones set neatly in a massive arch.  Here, beneath the Golden Gate, were the remains of an earlier gate to Jerusalem that had been hitherto unknown." [Jerusalem: An Archaeological biography, p. 181]  

"Sha'ar Harahamim (the Golden Gate) is located on the northern half of the eastern wall. At the southern base of the gate is the remains of an older gate that has been sealed. It is upon this that Sha'ar Harahamim has been built. This earlier gate cannot be seen from the outside as the Moslems have covered it with a big grave that is built up against the structure of Sha'ar Harahamim. During the Six-Day War this grave was damaged (probably from mortar fire) and for over a year afterwards the interior of the grave was visible and photographed. These photographs reveal the remains of an arch, the area under which has been sealed by small stones.  Sha'ar Harahamim today has been sealed up and a Moslem graveyard lies at the foot of the section of the wall where the gate is.  There has been much research into finding the eastern entrance to Har Habayit that according to most sources was in line with the entrance to the Temple."  [Har Habayit Archaeological Summary, 9. "The Golden Gate (Sha'ar Harahamim) and Sha'ar Hakohen"]

"The Second Temple, as well as Solomon's Temple before it, faced east; that is, it was entered from the east.  The only clearly visible entrance to the Temple Mount from the east is through the blocked Golden Gate.  ...the mid-point of the Golden Gate is located about 348 feet (106 meters) north of the line running through the center of the Dome of the Rock in an east-west direction.  This fact is, of course, consistent with the placement of the Temple north of the Dome of the Rock, in the northern part of the Temple Mount.   Moreover, it now seems clear that before the Golden Gate was constructed, the entrance to the Temple Mount from outside the city was in exactly the same location.  Recently, part of an arch was discovered directly beneath the Golden Gate.  This partial arch definitely belongs to an older gate, a gate that may date even to Solomonic times"  [Biblical Archeology Review,Vol IX No.2, Mar./Apr. 1983, "Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood, Extant "Foundation Stone" for the Ark of the Covenant Is Identified", p. 45; See also:  Biblical Archeology Review, Jan./Feb. 1983, "The Undiscovered Gate Beneath Jerusalem's Golden Gate";  Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography, p. 179-183 & 70-73]

This ancient eastern wall and gate, which has so recently been re-discovered, was part of the ancient walls and gates of the old city as refortified by King David and by his son, King Solomon,  [Sefer Melakim (I Kings) 3:1, 9:15; & Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, David and First Temple Period, Conquest By David & Under Solomon"] as reinforced by Hezekyah, [i.e. Chezekyah (Hezekiah); See:  Dibre Hayamim (II Chronicles) 32:5; Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, David and First Temple Period, Under the Kings of  Judah"] and then rebuilt and restored by Nehemyah!  [Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 3:29 & 2:13, 17-20; 3:1-32; 4:1-23; 6:1, 15; 7:1...]  "Nehemiah's Account of the Walls: The most complete Scriptural description we have of the walls and gates of Jerusalem is that given by Nehemiah. His account is valuable, not only as a record of what he did, but of what had been the state of the walls before the exile. It is perfectly clear that considerable traces of the old walls and gates remained, and that his one endeavor was to restore what had been before..." [International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, "Jerusalem, Parts VI,12."]  Yes, these very stones in this area of the wall have indeed been dated to the time of Nehemyah, when the Second Temple was built.  [Biblical Archaeological Review, Mar/Apr 1992, p. 40]  Nehemyah's repair work was built upon "considerable surviving elements of the wall" and upon "pre-existing gates".  [Digging Up Jerusalem, "The Post-Exilic Period", p. 182]  Some 600 years after Nehemyah, King Herod rebuilt and repaired the old city walls and gates.  However, according to Josephus, this ancient eastern Temple Mount enclosure wall was the only one not entirely rebuilt by Herod the Great. [Wars V, 184-189]

"The arch of another gate lies directly beneath the blocked entranceway of the Golden Gate, but the location of this lower gate precludes its being Herodian.  This lower gate is flush with the Golden Gate that is visible today.  The Golden Gate protrudes from the line of the wall, so the lower gate does also.  But none of the other gates of the Herodian enclosure wall around the Temple Mount protruded from the wall as this one does.  In fact, gates set flush in the wall are also the rule in other Herodian sacred precincts such as the ones at Damascus and Hebron."  [Secrets of Jerusalems's Temple Mount, "Reconstructing Herod's Temple Mount in Jerusalem", p. 37-38] This unquestionably confirms that this ancient gate below the Golden Gate is much older than any of the other gates on the Mount!

"THE NORTHERN PART OF THE EASTERN WALL
...The Golden Gate may have been built over the original Temple Mount's Eastern Gate.   Ritmeyer identifies two monoliths (large, upright stone blocks), visible only from inside the Golden Gate, as the jambs for the Eastern Gate.  These monoliths are about 12 and 15 feet high.  Ritmeyer also identifies the lowest course visible above ground on either side of the outside of the Golden Gate as sixth-century B.C. masonry from the time of Nehemiah, characterized by large, bulging bosses" [Secrets of Jerusalems's Temple Mount, "Locating The Original Temple Mount", p. 80]

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?   A section of Nehemyah's RESTORATION of this ANCIENT WALL and ENTRANCE GATE on its ORIGINAL FOUNDATION IS STILL THERE!

Yes! Underneath the present East Gate (rebuilt in the 7th century) under the present day ground level is a very much intact ancient east wall and gate!  Please understand --this means that this closed underground gate beneath the new East (Golden) Gate is the ancient Shushan Gate!

"It is called 'the Shushan Gate', from the sculptured representation over it of the city to which so many Jewish memories attached. From this gate an arched roadway, by which the priests brought out the 'red heifer', and on the Day of Atonement the scapegoat, is said to have conducted to the Mount of Olives. Near the spot where the red heifer was burned were extensive lavatories, and booths for the sale of articles needed for various purifications.

* Jewish tradition mentions the following five as the outer gates of the Temple: that of Shushan to the east, of Tedi to the north, of Copponus to the west, and the two Huldah gates to the south. The Shushan gate was said to have been lower than the others, so that the priests at the end of the 'heifer-bridge' might look over it into the Temple. In a chamber above the Shushan gate, the standard measures of the 'cubit' were kept.

The Holy Place itself faced east-wards, and was approached from the east; but most assuredly the ministering priests and the worshippers looked not towards the east, but towards the west." [The Temple: Its Ministry and Services,  Ch. 1 "A First View of Jerusalem, and of the Temple, The Shushan Gate", p. 36-37]

With Herod's abominable Greco-Roman refurbishing of the Second Temple and precinct areas there was a series of five Gates (at different levels) that ran in a straight line from the East (Shushan) Gate to the entrance of the Temple!  These gates were called as follows; "the Eastern Gate, the gate of Chayl*, the gate of the Women's Courtyard, the gate of Nicanor and the gate of the entrance hall.  So if the temple was built on flat ground, one would have been able to see through all the gates at once". [Mishneh Torah, Commentary Halachah 5 & 6] 

*The Temple Mount of Herod had the 500 by 500 cubit soreg designating the original outer court^x area.  "At the end of the court was a soreg (a stone lattice work) which surrounded the consecrated area--the Temple Mount proper in the narrow mishnaic sense, i.e., the "500 cubits by 500 cubits" (Mid. 2:1). According to the Mishnah (Mid. 2:3) the height of the soreg was 10 handbreadths (70 cm. = 28 in.), but Josephus states that it was 3 cubits (1.5 m. = 5 ft.); this latter measurement seems more appropriate for a fence to which were attached plaques written in Greek and Latin forbidding gentiles to pass that point on pain of death. Remains of these inscriptions bearing the Greek text (one complete plaque and one partly preserved) have been discovered in Jerusalem (in 1870 and 1936). Beyond the soreg were 14 steps and then the hel [Chayl] ("rampart"), which was 10 cubits (5 m. = 17 ft.) broad (Mid. 2:3; Wars 5:195-7). Beyond the hel [Chayl] were the wall of the main forecourt (azarah), and the Court of the Women (ezrat nashim). In the outer court were the store-chambers for the shekels and the Temple vessels, and also "shofarot" (chests in the form of horns, i.e., narrow at the top, where the opening was, and wider lower down) for the donations (terumot) of the people (Shek. 2:1).." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, The Temple Square"; (^x "the great court" - I Kings 7:12, 9; Ezekiel 42:15-20, 8)]
[Many erroneously think that the Mishna describes the original entire Temple Mount area as being 500 by 500 amah (cubits) when in reality it was merely describing the dimensions of the Outer Court soreg area as located on the northern portion of the Temple Mount.]

During the time of the First Temple, one standing on the Mount of Olives could look over this Eastern Gate (also called Shushan or HaKohan gate) into the huge area presently north of the Dome of the Rock and see all the gates (at different levels) in a perfect line:  the East (or Shushan) Gate --Outer Court Gate [see * above] --Inner Court Gate --Temple Entrance.  "All the walls which were there were high, except the wall in the east, so that the priest who burned the heifer, standing on the top of the Mount of Olives, and directing himself to look, saw through the gateway of the sanctuary, at the time when he sprinkled the blood."  [Mishnah, Middot 2:4]

The Gate found underneath the present day Golden Gate is the ancient Shushan Gate noted in the Mishnah. [Mishnah, Middot 1, 3]  This Gate was also called the East Gate. [Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 3:29; Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 43:1, 2, 4]  Going out this East or Shushan Gate to the east was a causeway supported by arches that ran across the Kidron Valley, and was known as the Causeway of the Heifer, since the High Priest used this path to reach the Mount of Olives where the ritual burning of the Red Heifer took place, to purify the pilgrims with its ashes. [Parah 111, 6; Shekalim 4, 2]

"Charles Warren examined the gate in 1867-69 and found a wall descending 13 m below the level of the gate, the wall of the Temple Mount at this point is thus 20 m high. 80 m further north Warren found the base of the wall at a depth of 40 m. Schick cleaned the gate in 1891. It is to be hoped that this magnificent gate will again serve its original purpose, making possible pilgrimages to the Temple Mount from the Mount of Olives."  [This is Jerusalem, "Ch. VI, The Gates And Walls Of Jerusalem In Our Time, The Mercy Gate", p. 247]

"During the period of the Second Temple, the Mount of Olives was of great importance in Jerusalem: the red heifer was burnt upon it; a bridge, or possibly two such bridges, connected its slopes with the Temple Mount. During the period of the Roman procurator Felix, thousands gathered upon it, there to be beguiled into believing the words of a false Egyptian prophet (Jos., Ant. 20:169; Wars 2:262). During the siege of Jerusalem, the Tenth Roman Legion encamped on it (Wars 5:70, where the location of the Mount of Olives is clearly established as being six ris (=3,707 ft.; 1,110 meters) east of Jerusalem, across a deep valley called Kidron)."  [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Mount of Olives"]

Dr. Asher S. Kaufman concluded that the original site of the Temple was at the northwest corner of the Temple Mount; north of the Dome of the Rock.  He has determined that the east-west line aligning the Mount of Olives with the Eastern Gate and the Temple bisect on a small shrine called the Dome of the Spirits. The Holy of Holies is thought to have been located on the bedrock covered by this small cupola.  He noted that the bedrock inside this little domed area is the only such bedrock appearing on the Temple Mount --it sticks up from the surface.   The rest of the area around the Dome of the Rock has been paved. This is the "Eben Shetiyyah" (Foundation stone) that was the floor in the ancient Holy of Holies.  [Biblical Archeology Review, Vol IX No.2, Mar./Apr. 1983, "Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood, Extant "Foundation Stone" for the Ark of the Covenant Is Identified", p. 42-59; See also: Jerusalem: An Archaeological Biography, p. 70-73]

The EAST Gate in Alignment with the Holy of Holies! The east-west axis of the Dome of the Tablets lines up exactly with the Ancient Eastern Gate located underneath the Southern side of the present day East Gate!  The dome (in the background) marks the place (red arrow) where the Holy of Holies was located!  "At the southern base of the gate is the remains of an older gate that has been sealed".

Herod's Reconstructions and Additions to the Mount

According to Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides) in referring to Talmudic writings from the times before the destruction of Herod's refurbished Temple in 70 A.C.E.,  the Temple was not built in the center of the Temple Mount (in the Dome of the Rock location [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Temple Mount"]).  He states that the Temple Courtyard was not situated directly in the center of the Temple Mount. Rather, it was set off farther from the southern wall of the Temple Mount than from the wall of any other direction.  [Mishnah, Middot 2:1]   This explains why the entire inner court fits perfectly in the area north of the Dome of the Rock and west of the present day East Gate!  This is fully understood when one studies Herod's rebuilding of (as well as additions to) the Temple Mount.  Herod rebuilt the west and north retaining walls as well as making a southern extension to the Temple Mount.  Most of the enlargement to the south was by means of fill and underground vaults and supports.  The Temple Mount area was rebuilt primarily to accomodate the large amount of people coming for the Holy days as commanded in the Law,  [i.e. the three traveling feasts: Pasach (Passover), Succot (Tabernacles) and Shabaut (Weeks) and the other Holy days: Deuteronomy 16:16; Leviticus 23]. Only by adding this southern extension to the Temple Mount and building a huge entryway and exit on the south could the considerable number of worshipers be accommodated.  This southern area of Herod's extension of the Temple Mount became the main public area, and hence it is written concerning the area outside of the northern 500 by 500 cubit (soreg) area "it was largest on the south; next largest on the east; then on the north; smallest on the west." [Mishnah, Middot 2:1; See also:   Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, The Temple Square"]  "From the Mishna we also know that 'the two Hulda Gates in the south that served for coming in and going out' were the main gates to the Temple Mount.  ...The two gates in the southern wall are about 70 meters apart and served the pattern established for entry and exit:  'Whoever it was that entered the Temple Mount came in on the right and went around and came out on the left...'"  [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The discovery of Ancient Jerusalem, "The Gates of the Temple Mount", p. 135-136]  The entry and exit gates were built on the far south because only this southern area (the largest area on the Mount) could withstand the many thousands who came to the Temple for "The place where there was most measurement there was also most service." [Mishnah, Middot 2:1]

"Ever since first being built by Solomon, the Temple stood at the top of a hill that came to be known as the Temple Mount.  The summit of this mountain was a relatively small area...  As a result of this topography, the masses that streamed to the Temple were forced to crowd into the small area of the summit, most of which was occupied by the Temple itself.  The first builders of the Temple Mount dealt with this problem by constructing retaining walls on the slopes to support an esplanade around the Temple and make it possible for more people to take part in the events centering on  it.  This same solution was adopted by Herod and his engineers in enlarging the Temple Mount to its present dimensions.   ...the pilgrimage to Jerusalem on the Jewish holidays and festivals was actively promoted and soon became the goal of Jews everywhere.  This custom brought crowds of pilgrims from abroad and within the country as well.  Some scholars have estimated the number of pilgrims during the Roman period at 80,000-100,000 people on each festival.   This swarm of visitors turning up on the holidays presented the city fathers with a major logistical headache.  Above all it was imperitive that this huge congregation be able to visit the Temple Mount at one and the same time.  Jerusalem was then one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 150,000-200,000.  Add to this number the tens of thousands of pilgrims from outside the city and you have a constituency of over 200,000 people massed together in one spot.  And equivalent volume of traffic to a single site is rare even in our day.  Thus the extension of the Temple Mount was designed to host this formidable crowd on an esplanade so that it could witness the ritual ceremonies performed in the Temple's courts."  [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The Discovery of Ancient Jerusalem, "Herod's Monumental Enterprise", p. 74-75]  "According to Josephus, the pilgrims making sacrifices and assembling in the Temple square numbered 255,600 reckoned by the number of sacrifices at Passover.   These were made by heads of families only; the total number of people gathering at Jerusalem on the festivals reached a million." [This Is Jerusalem, "The Temple Mount, Temple Courtyard", p. 95] "Herod's other project in Jerusalem concerned the eastern hill of the city. He transformed the old Baris fortress into a much larger structure, with high towers dominating the Temple area, and called it Antonia, in honor of the triumvir Mark Antony. In the Temple area itself, the esplanade was enlarged, especially on its southern side, and it was given the trapezoid shape which is still preserved."  [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, Second Temple Period, Herodian Period"] 

The evidence clearly points to the original northern Temple complex location on the Mount, yet some still think that the northern side of the Temple Mount including the northern portion of the eastern wall beyond the east gate was "in toto" a Herodian extension.  These theorists have their own preconceived notions on the origins of the northern wall and what they speculate to be the original Temple complex location without any evidence; and yet it is admited that this "northern wall" has not been studied at length!  "The Northern Wall of the Temple Mount has been little studied, its situation being unfavourable for investigation." [Jerusalem Revealed , Archaeology In The Holy City 1968-1974, "The Architecture of Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period", p. 17]   Herod refortified the northern Temple Mount; but to proclaim that this northern area is "entirely Herodian" is without merit. The ancient foundation and line of the northern Temple Mount wall, as well as the northern corner of the east wall were no doubt established in First Temple times though Herod obviously rebuilt it.

This northern wall of the ancient city and the Temple Mount was defensively the "weak side".  "...this side must always necessarily have been the weak side for defense because it was protected by no, or at best by very little, natural valley..." [International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, "Jerusalem, Parts VI,18"]  The northern wall of the city, including the Temple Mount enclosure wall (which was originally part of the northern wall of the ancient city), had to be rebuilt and refortified (including the Birah (Baris) fortress located on the north-western corner of the Mount) after the extensive destruction caused by "ramming engines" when Jerusalem was besieged.  "The invasion of the Parthians, Rome's enemies, into Syria in 40 B.C. enabled the Hasmonean, Antigonus, to reestablish his sovereignty over Jerusalem (40-37 B.C.). He remained in power for only a brief period, while Herod was busy securing effective Roman support for a counterattack. Anthony and Cleopatra saw in Herod a useful instrument against the Parthians, and the Roman Senate crowned him King of the Jews and Friend of Rome. With Roman help, Herod besieged Jerusalem. Josephus gives a dramatic account of the siege, then of his successful assault on the city, in which the walls north of the Temple were smashed with the use of ramming engines, and finally of the capture of the Upper city and the Temple (Antiquities: XIV:487)." [The Mountain Of The Lord, Excavating in Jerusalem, "F. Herod's Period", p.76]  Herod built the western retaining wall [no doubt upon ancient lines] as well as rebuilt the northern wall to the Temple Mount including a fortress he named Antonia.  "ANTONIA, fortress north of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, known after the return from Babylon as "The Citadel" (Heb. birah). Herod fortified it and renamed it in honor of Mark Antony. According to Josephus, it was situated at the corner of the northwestern colonnade of the Temple Mount." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Antonia"; And see:  "Birah" in the Heb. of Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 7:2] "The fortress was built on a hill 25 m high, in the north-west part of the Temple Mount, as a defense for it.  The length of the fortress, from east to west, was about 115 m; on the western side its width from north to south was 35 m and in the east 42 m.   During the time of Nehemiah this was the site of the Hananel Tower, also called Birah i.e., tower; it was also known as the Tower of the Hundred.  Nehemiah appointed Hananiah commander of the Birah.  The Hasmoneans called the fortress Baris, and Herod named it Antonia in honor of Mark Antony, ruler of Rome, who appointed Herod over the Jews..." [This is Jerusalem, "The Temple Mount, The Antonia Fortress", p. 99]  This fortress was built on the north-western corner on top of the previous structure called originally the Birah, and by Josephus, the Baris fortress.  "...the Letter of Aristeas, an Alexandrian, recounts the journey of Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.), an official of the court of Ptolemy II, from Alexandria to Jerusalem. Aristeas describes Jerusalem and the Temple in glowing terms, as well as the fortress known as the Birah. This citadel, known since the time of Nehemiah (2:8), stood at the northwestern end of the Temple Mount and protected the sanctuary. It contained a garrison which, according to Aristeas, consisted of five hundred men. The citadel was called Baris by Josephus (Antiquities XV:403); Herod would transform it into a massive stronghold and rename it the Antonia in honor of his patron, Mark Anthony." [The Mountain Of The Lord, Excavating in Jerusalem, "1 The Letter of Aristeas" , p.65]  "The fortress rebuilt by Herod was that formerly built on the same spot and called Baris.  This fortress, Josephus goes on to say, "was erected on a great precipice," and " stood at the junction of the northern and western cloisters, that is, on the north-west angle of the enclosure of the Temple;" and that "it had passages down to both cloisters, through which the guard (for there always lay in the tower a Roman legion) went several ways among the cloisters with their arms on the Jewish festivals, in order to watch the people."   Josephus, in his description of the siege of the Temple by Pompey, BC 63, says that the Roman Commander found it impossible to attack it on any other quarter than the north, on account of the frightful ravines on every other side..." [Ordinance Survey of Jerusalem] 

The Baris which Herod built Antonia upon was in the same area where the ancient towers of  "the Mea" (i.e. Hammeah) and Hananayl stood. (The towers which had been rebuilt west of the Sheep Gate by Nehemyah.) [Nechemyah (Nehemiah) 3:1; 12:39; See also: Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, David and First Temple Period, Under Solomon"].  "Sheep Gate: This last gate was the point from which the circuit of the repairs was traced.  The references, <Neh 3:1,31; 12:39>, clearly show that it was at the eastern extremity of the north wall.  ...this side must always necessarily have been the weak side for defense because it was protected by no, or at best by very little, natural valley... West of the Sheep Gate two towers are mentioned <Neh 3:1; 12:39>.  Of these HANANEL was more easterly than HAMMEAH, and, too, it would appear from <Zec 14:10> to have been the most northerly point of the city.  Probably then two towers occupied the important hill where afterward stood the fortress Baris and, later, the Antonia.  At the Hammeah tower the wall would descend into the Tyropoeon to join the eastern extremity of the first wall ..." [International Standard Bible Encylopaedia, "Jerusalem, Parts VI, 18"] 

If the Baris was located next to or even in the same place as the Dome of the Rock as some claim, rather than farther north as many ancient writers proclaimed, there would have been no reason for Herod to extend the western wall as far as he did!  "Herod's other project in Jerusalem concerned the eastern hill of the city. He transformed the old Baris fortress into a much larger structure, with high towers dominating the Temple area, and called it Antonia, in honor of the triumvir Mark Antony."  [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, Second Temple Period, Herodian Period"]  "At the north-west corner the bedrock projected above the surface of the precinct. It was cut away to create a more or less level surface, leaving an exposed scarp up to 10m high.  Above that scarp stood a massive fortified tower which Herod had built on the site of an earlier Hasmonean structure shortly before commencing work on the Temple. This new fortress he named Antonia after his Roman overlord, Mark Antony. The extent of the Antonia has been more precisely defined by our recent discovery of extensive remains of its southern wall incorporated into Mamluk buildings now occupying part of the site. Details in Josephus's account of the siege of Titus show that the north wall of the Temple enclosure adjoined Antonia. A north-west corner stone of the enclosing wall, with typical Herodian marginal draft on both north and west outer faces verifying that it is in situ (see p. 204), confirms Josephus's account."  [Mamluk Jerusalem, An Architectural Study, "The Pre-Mamluk Development of Jerusalem, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine Remains (37B.C.-A.D.638)", p. 43; And See: Mamluk Jerusalem, An Architectural Study, "14 Al-Jawiliyya, IV Architecture, Earlier Remains (i) Herodian Tower Antonia", p.204]   The ancient Birah (Baris) was used exclusively to protect the Mount and the City; whereas this fortress called Antonia was used to defend both the inner city and the entrance to the Mount, as well as to enforce the public order (i.e. "watch the People") on the Mount.  In order to adequately "watch the people" it was necessary to have this fortress overlooking the very courts of the Temple precincts which was not possible if the Temple was in any other location but on the northern side of the Mount.  The northern wall of the outer court was very close to the farthest extremity of the northern Temple mount wall, which contained the fortress of Antonia.  In fact, one of the ancient inscriptions warning the Gentiles not to enter the outer court was found in the courtyard of the Antonia fortress! "This courtyard formed part of the Antonia fortress, and the inscription on the Temple partition prohibiting the entry of strangers was found at this place." [This is Jerusalem, "Ch. VIII, The Christians In Jerusalem And Their Holy Sites, Christian Churches And Chapels In Jerusalem, p. 299]

The Temple precincts of 500 by 500 long (royal) cubits were without question located on the northern portion of the Herodian Mount.  Quite simply, due to the topography of the Mount, it can only fit in this location.  "The area of the Temple Mount and Herod's Temple was originally broader in the north and narrower toward the south, due to the topography of the site."  [This is Jerusalem, "Ch. II, Jerusalem During The Second Temple Period, The Temple Mount", p. 93]

Remember the  prophet Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) describes in great detail a FUTURE temple with its inner court and outer court on on the Northern part of the present Temple Mount.  This prophecy took place over 2,500 years ago!  "Ezekiel's prophecies conclude with a vision of a restored Temple in Jerusalem. The Temple's form of worship would be reestablished in Israel." [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Ezekiel"] 

"A Messianic Priestly Code
(Kaufmann; chs. 40–48). Following the general topical order of the priestly writings in the Pentateuch, a description of the future sanctuary, regulations for the cult and its personnel, and provisions for settlement in the land are set out in detail. Modernization and rectification of past wrongs are pervasive motives.
A VISIONARY TRANSPORTATION TO THE FUTURE TEMPLE
(40:1–43:12; a counterpart to chs. 8–11). A blueprint of the Temple area is narrated as a tour through its courts, gates, and rooms, the prophet being guided by an angelic “man” with a measuring rod and line. The design appears to follow the latest form of the Solomonic Temple.... The prophet witnesses the return of the divine Majesty through the east gate, by which it had exited in 11:1, into the inner sanctum." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Ezekiel, Prophecies of Israel's Restoration"]

""It had a wall around it, five hundred cubits long (875 feet) and five hundred cubits wide, to make a separation between the holy and the common" (Ezekiel 42:20). This is echoed by the Mishnaic passage in Middot 2:1: "The Temple enclosure was five hundred by five hundred cubits." It formed a square which encompassed the Temple's structures and its Inner Courts, and was bounded by the Soreg or balustrade."  [The Mountain Of The Lord,  Excavating in Jerusalem, "What Were The Inner Courts Of The Sanctuary Like?, b. The Inner Core of the Temple" , p.113]

This 500 by 500 cubit outer court area (Herod's soreg area) was on the north of the Temple Mount and the GREATER PART of the Temple Mount OUTSIDE of the outer court area was on the SOUTH.  Yechetzqyah's Temple vision shows that within this 500 by 500 long cubit area the inner court will be built.  This vision shows that to the south of the inner court the outer court only extends ONE REED--about 10 1/2 feet!  This MEANS that The Dome of the Rock was built on what is known as the SOUTH Outer Court Area!  Yes, there are PAVEMENTS extending only on the east side and on the north side. There is no pavement on the west side, because the Building (with the Priests' Kitchens) will take up this area, just as Yechetzqyah 41:12 states. There is NO PAVEMENT on the SOUTH SIDE [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 40:17-19], because that is where the Moslem mosque sets!

The original Temple entrance, the inner court, and the outer court gates lined up in a straight line west to east with the east old city Temple Mount enclosure gate.  Dr. Kaufman has proven in this article, the original Temple Site is approximately 330 Feet (100 Meters) NORTHWEST of the Dome of the Rock. The Dome of the Rock was built SOUTH of it! 

The prophet speaks of this future Temple's outer court (outer dimensions) as being 500 by 500 cubits.  [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 42:15-20]

The prophet speaks of this future Temple's outer court (outer dimensions) as being 500 by 500 long cubits as measured by the reed.  [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 42:15-20]  Many are confused by the use of the word translated as reed (or rod) in these Scriptures.  They think that this is referring to 500 by 500 REEDS (rods) (1 reed being 6 long cubits i.e. 10 1/2 feet) when in reality the scripture is speaking of the 500 by 500 long CUBITS measured with the measuring reed which is 6 long cubits. [500 reeds would equal 3000 long cubits, making the Temple complex ridiculously out of proportion to the Temple Mount and known Temple precinct size, as well as the camp of Israyl.]

"The Temple enclosure [soreg¹ on the Temple Mount] was 500 cubits by 500 cubits; it [the Temple Mount² outside the soreg] was largest on the south; next largest on the east; then on the north; smallest on the west. The place where there was most measurement there was also most service." [Mishnah, Middot 2:1; See also:  Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 965, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, The Temple Square"]

¹The Temple Mount of Herod had the 500 by 500 cubit soreg designating the outer court area. "At the end of the court was a soreg (a stone lattice work) which surrounded the consecrated area the Temple Mount proper in the narrow mishnaic sense, i.e., the "500 cubits by 500 cubits" (Mid. 2:1) ...to which were attached plaques written in Greek and Latin forbidding gentiles to pass that point on pain of death. Remains of these inscriptions bearing the Greek text (one complete plaque and one partly preserved) have been discovered in Jerusalem (in 1870 and 1936)." [Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 965, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, The Temple Square"]
[Many erroneously think that the Mishna describes the original entire Temple Mount area as being 500 by 500 amah (cubits) when in reality it was merely describing the dimensions of the Outer Court soreg area as located on the northern portion of the Temple Mount.]
²This is speaking of the Temple Mount --not the 500 by 500 cubit outer court square, (Herod's soreg) because it is written: "All who entered the Temple inclosure entered by the right, and turned and went out by the left"  [Mishnah, Middot 2:2]   Speaking of the south Temple Mount entrance and exit gates on Herod's massive south addition and extention of the Mount.  "From the Mishna we also know that "the two Hulda Gates in the south that served for coming in and going out" were the main gates to the Temple Mount.  ... The two gates in the southern wall are about 70 meters apart and served the pattern for entry and exit:  "Whoever it was that entered the Temple Mount came in on the right and went around and come out on the left..."  [In The Shadow Of The Temple, The Discovery of Ancient Jerusalem, "The Gates of the Temple Mount" p. 135]

As part of this pattern, the Temple and its sacred precincts must be double the size in cubits of the Tabernacle and its sacred precincts.  "On comparing the Temple (as described in I Kings 7 and II Chron. 2 and by Josephus 7:3) with the Tabernacle, the first thing that strikes us is that all the arrangements were identical, and the dimensions of every part were exactly double those of the preceding structure.  Thus, the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle was a cube of 10 cubits each way; in the Temple it was 20 cubits. The Holy Place was 10 cubits wide by 20 cubits long and 10 cubits high in the Tabernacle; in the Temple these dimensions were exactly double. The porch in the Tabernacle was 5 cubits deep; in the Temple it was 10. Its width in both instances being the width of the house." [King Solomon's Temple, A Study Of Its Symbolism,  p. 26]    The Tabernacle's inner court --inner dimensions in Exodus 27:18 is 100 by 50 cubits.  In the future Temple of Yechetzqyah it is doubled!  In Yechetzqyah 40:47, the east half of the inner dimension of the inner court is 100 by 100 cubits. This dimension doubled (for the western half which contains the Temple) gives the inner dimension of the inner court to be 200 (east to west) by 100 (north to south) cubits.  In fact, the layout of the whole 25,000 by 25,000 cubit area, [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 48:20]  with the rebuilt city of 4,500 by 4,500 cubits, follows this exact same cubit by cubit pattern on top of the Mountain.  The reason it could not be referring to 500 by 500 reeds as some speculate is that it would not fit on the present Mount.  However the 500 by 500 cubit outer court will fit there perfectly "cubit by cubit" just as it had in Solomon's day.  Some think the city of Yerusalem and the Temple Mount will be relocated. No!  The city all nations will come to is in the one, same, past, present and future location --Yerusalem. [Tehillim (Psalms) 68:29; 125:2]  The Temple will be in the midst of Yerusalem (the camp). [Tehillim (Psalms) 116:19; Bemidbar (Numbers) 2;Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 43:7]   Also, contrary to opinion, Yerusalem (with the Temple in the midst) will indeed be in the center or midst of the 25,000 by 25,000 cubit holy offering (terumah) area situated in the center of the 25,000 by approximately 150,000 cubit area. [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 48:8, 20]  [A few corruptions and mistranslations of the book of Yechetzqyah by those who have no understanding of Yahweh's pattern has brought mass confusion to the understanding of these key texts.]

This future Temple with its inner court and outer court, with the outer dimensions being 500 by 500 cubits as measured by the reed [Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 42:15-20] (with their gates) fits perfectly on the Temple Mount aligned with the ancient and the present day East Gate. 

Again, the fact that the Temple Enclosure was 500 cubits by 500 cubits is admitted also in the Mishnah!.  "The Temple enclosure [soreg on the Temple Mount] was 500 cubits by 500 cubits; it [the Temple Mount outside the soreg] was largest on the south; next largest on the east; then on the north; smallest on the west. The place where there was most measurement there was also most service." [Mishnah, Middot 2:1; See also:  Encyclopaedia Judaica, Vol. 15, 965, "Temple, Second Temple, Structure, The Temple Square"]

[Many erroneously think that the Mishna describes the original entire Temple Mount area as being 500 by 500 amah (cubits) when in reality it was merely describing the dimensions of the Outer Court soreg area as located on the northern portion of the Temple Mount.]

The traditional and southern Temple conjectured locations do not measure up.  The 500 by 500 square long cubit outer court did not and will not fit in these locations!  They do not have the largest area of the Temple Mount, the area of most service, "on the south; next largest on the east; then on the north; smallest on the west."    "The area of the Temple Mount and Herod's Temple was originally broader in the north and narrower toward the south, due to the topography of the site."  [This is Jerusalem, "Ch. II, Jerusalem During The Second Temple Period, The Temple Mount", p. 93]

The Rock under the Dome of the Rock

The following reference admits that the rock is located "approximately in the center of the Temple Mount" and that this rock was "believed to be"  the even shetiyyah (foundation stone) of Herod's Temple!  This is interesting since it is also admitted in the Mishnah that the Temple complex was not built in the center of the Temple Mount but on the North!  [Mishnah, Middot 2:1]

"In 684 (or 687) the Ummayyad caliph Abd-al-Malik began to build the Dome of the Rock (wrongly called the Mosque of Omar); a shrine over the rock believed to be the even shetiyyah of Herod's Temple, located approximately in the center of the Temple Mount. This monumental piece of architecture of octagonal shape was completed in 690–91. Abd-al-Malik built the Mosque of al-Aqsa in about 700 on the spot where Omar is supposed to have offered his prayers. (According to some historians, al-Aqsa was only completed in 795 by his son Al-Walid.) The present building was constructed in 1033. After the conquest of Jerusalem by the crusaders, the Dome of the Rock was converted into a church and called Templum Domini (the Temple of the Lord) and al-Aqsa became a church called Templum Solomonis (Solomon's Temple). They were reconverted into Muslim houses of worship after Saladin's conquest of Jerusalem in 1187 and have remained so ever since."  [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Temple Mount"]

"The Christian Arabic historian Eutychius, who wrote in Egypt at the beginning of the tenth century, says that Omar refused to pray in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, whereupon Sophronius showed him the site of the Holy Rock identified with the talmudic Even ha-Shetiyyah, the site of the Temple Holy of Holies, on which the world was believed to be founded. Muslim writers, on the other hand, relate how the Christians attempted to deceive the caliph when he asked about the site of the Rock..." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Jerusalem, History, Arab Period"]

These traditions and deceptions of man continue today!  The position held by many that this Temple complex is "too large to fit on the present Temple Mount site" is no more than conjecture and opinion.  In reality, the Temple complex fits PERFECTLY in only one location --North of the Dome of the Rock.

How could  the belief of a few Arabs and then later the Crusaders be transferred in the minds of our people as fact?  The Encyclopaedia Judaica even admits that the origin of this thought or belief "is not fully clear"!  "The relationship of the even shetiyyah to the rock presently housed under the Dome of the Rock (the "Mosque of Omar") built on the Temple Mount is not fully clear. Muslim tradition identifies the two, and this is the view most widely held today. The major difficulty here is the size: the rock housed in the Dome of the Rock measures approximately 58 by 51 feet, an area larger than the entire Holy of Holies in which the even shetiyyah was found." [Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "Even Shetiyyah"] 

"Was the Rock indeed the site of the Holy of Holies in the Temple? Several problems arise in connection with this.
1. Acording to Josephus (Wars, V, 5) the Holy of Holies in Herod's Temple measured 10 m x 10 m, whereas the Rock within the Dome of the Rock is 17.7 m x 13.5 m.
2. The High Priest used to place the pan of incense on the Rock of the Foundation, as stated in the Mishnah (Yoma V, 2): "...there was a stone from the time of the earlier Prophets, called the shethiyah, three fingers above the ground, on which he would place (the pan of burning coals)". The Rock, therefore was three fingers high, but the Rock within the present Dome is one to three meters high." [History confirms that this rock under the Dome of the Rock was MUCH larger than this for many a pilgrim flocked to this site to get a "piece of the rock".] "The Crusaders chipped of fragments of the Rock and sold them as souvenirs to devout pilgrims, who paid their weight in gold. To put a stop to this trade, the Crusader kings surrounded the Rock with an iron screen, sections of which exist to this day. [This is Jerusalem, Ch. IX, "The Temple Mount And Jerusalem Under The Moslems", p.333] This once massive (now mangled) rock could never have been the spot of the Holy of Holies!

The rock (Sakhrah) located today under the Dome of the Rock (Qubbat As-Sakhrah), was in reality in pre-Herodian times nothing more than the base for a podium for public announcements and teaching. [similar to: 2 Chr. 6:13; Neh. 8:4]  In the Herodian period, however, this rock became the designated area for promoting merchandising on the Temple Mount. Rather than teaching the people the knowledge of the great 613 Laws of mercy and to seek Yahweh, bringing their sacrifices --which brought to mind one's sin (i.e. the breaking of the Law), and therefore one's repentance; the teachers of Israyl allowed this podium upon the rock for promoting merchandising in the outer court area (within the soreg) of our Father's House!  They exchanged profane coins for shekels at a profit, and the buying and selling of animals for sacrifice, and therefore (in their eyes) atonement, at greatly inflated prices. [Hos. 6:1; 6-7; Jer. 7:11; Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-46; similar to "the church's" selling of indulgences]  During this time period this rock was called "sakhrah" (vowel pointed as: "sekhorah"), which carries the meaning of  "to merchandize" in Hebrew, and refers to the profit acquired by commerce.  ["sekhorah -  merchandise" -The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon  p. 695b; "sekhorah - merchandize, traffic, as a concr. merchants." -Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, p. 583; from the root  "sakhar ...seat of commerce...wealth, profit acquired by commerce." -The Analytical Hebrew And Chaldee Lexicon, p. 575]  The Arabs quite easily took this Hebrew word, "sakhrah", referring to this place, and used the similiar sounding Arabic "sakhrah", meaning rock, in its place.

Temple Prophecies

The prophecy and curse written in Micahyah 3:12 concerning the destruction of the Temple site on the Temple Mount and Yerusalem came to pass because Israyl went back again to transgressing the Law [Micahyah (Micah) 2:1-7; 3:1-12] and obeying the gods, the elohim of the surrounding nations. [Debarim (Deuteronomy) 29:24-29]   They also defiled the Holy Temple precincts just as they did with the first Temple.  In first Temple times "Ezekiel said that Judah was guiltier than Israel had been and that Jerusalem would fall to Nebuchadrezzar and its inhabitants would be killed or exiled. According to him, Judah trusted in foreign gods and foreign alliances, and Jerusalem was a city full of injustice. Pagan rites abounded in the courts of the Temple."  [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Ezekiel"; Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 2; 5:5-17;8:5-18 etc.]  "In chapters 6 and 7 Ezekiel prophesies that Jerusalem's "altars shall become desolate," its people will be "scattered through the countries," and "because the land is full of bloody crimes and the city full of violence," Yahweh "will put an end to their proud might and their holy places shall be profane." In chapter 8 he attacked the people of Jerusalem for their idolatry, as manifest by the women sitting before the entrance to the north gate of the Temple of Yahweh weeping in cultic despair for the Mesopotamian fertility deity Tammuz's "annual death."" [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Biblical Literature and Its Critical Interpretation Ezekiel, Prophetic themes and actions"] 

As shown above, one of the Gods (elohim) of the surrounding nations which was worshiped at Yerusalem against the express command of Yahweh was Tammuz; who was known among the Cananites, and then the people of Israyl in their god worship, as Adon (Lord) or Adonai (My Lord) (Gr. Adonis) --just as is said today 'Lord'.   "Adon, 'Lord,' of the god Tammuz" [A Dictionary of the Bible, Vol. 1, p. 40]  "After the Babylonian Exile in the 6th century B.C., Adonai ("My Lord") and Elohim ("God") were gradually substituted for "Yahweh." [The Encyclopaedia Americana International Edition, Vol. 16, p. 13]  Israyl and the Hebrew people have not, as a people, been blessed above all peoples these last 2400 years because of this lord god worship.  Israyl the people and Israyl the land were given over to the surrounding lord god worshiping nations to do with as they willed for a limited time period.  The extent of the destruction in the area of the Temple Mount was also done for another purpose.  Zion was "plowed like a field" and became "like the high places of a forest" to hide (seal up) the knowledge of the original Temple location!

These things were not to be understood UNTIL NOW.  "And the whole vision has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one who is learned saying; Read this, I ask you, but he says; I cannot, for it is sealed."  [Yeshayah (Isaiah) 29:11]  "..seal the book to the time of the end; many will run to and fro, and knowledge will be increased."   [Daniyl 12:4]

Micahyah (Micah) 3:12
12 Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field, Yerusalem will become heaps of rubble, and The Mountain of The House of Yahweh* like the high places of a forest.
[See also Matt. 24:1-2; * "Har HaBayit Yahweh" i.e. "Mount of the House of Yahweh" aka  "the Temple Mount"  -Dibre Hayamim (II Chronicles) 33:15]

This was allowed and ultimately brought to pass to hide the correct location!  In order for this to be successful, all outward signs of the original Temple precincts, meaning all the land that could lead one to distinguish the correct location, was made to look "plowed like a field" and like "the high places of a forest."  If the rock under the Dome of the Rock was anything other than a "big rock" --it would have been leveled!

The Mountain of the House of Yahweh had to become like the high places of a forest.  This is the reason why in 1967 the Mount was given over to the Arabs.  No one man --no organization of, by and for man (by man's authority) would be able to discern the correct location without someone of, by and for Yahweh to come and show them the will of Yahweh!  This area was hidden and protected for a purpose!  And revealed for a purpose!  It will be built according to the precepts in the Law, and has been revealed according to what is written in the prophets.

Today the world's so-called scholars do not keep the Law, and they do not believe, nor do they understand, the prophecies.  Yet, even they admit that the Temple plan written in Yechetzqyah was never carried out!   STUDY!  This prophecy, clearly written of in the Scriptures of Yechetzqyah, specifically lays out the plan for the FUTURE Third Temple and the surrounding city of Yerusalem and consecrated areas that will eventually be rebuilt and resanctified.

This same pattern was always revealed to only a chosen few at the proper time.

Shemot (Exodus) 25:8-9
8  And let them make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
9  According to all that I show you, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all its furnishings, so shall you make it.

Dibre Hayamim (I Chronicles) 28:19
19  David said:  All this is written because Yahweh made me understand all the details of this plan (pattern), for His hand was upon me.

And again in these last days concerning the FUTURE Temple, notice that someone must show this PATTERN to the House of Israyl!

Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 43:10-11
10  Son of man, show the HOUSE to the House of Israyl, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them MEASURE THE PATTERN.
11  And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form (pattern) of the House, and the arrangement of it --its exits and its entrances; all forms of its ordinances, and all forms of its Laws.  Write these in their sight, that they may keep the whole form of it with all its ordinances, that they may do them.

Who in these days has the knowledge and authority to show Israyl this pattern?  Most reference books admit that the prophet Zecharyah who wrote the book of Zecharyah prophesied not just of contemporary times, but prophesied of a far future Israyl and Yerusalem --a time when Yahweh's work would be revived by two men --a time when the Temple would be rebuilt and the knowledge of Yahweh would be increased.

"According to dates mentioned in chapters 1-8, Zechariah was active from 520 to 518 BC. A contemporary of the prophet Haggai in the early years of the Persian period, Zechariah shared Haggai's concern that the Temple of Jerusalem be rebuilt. Unlike Haggai, however, Zechariah thought that the rebuilding of the Temple was the necessary prelude to the eschatological age, the arrival of which was imminent. Accordingly, Zechariah's book, and in particular his eight night visions (1:7-6:8), depict the arrival of the eschatological age (the end of the world) and the organization of life in the eschatological community. ...Other visions announced the rebuilding of the Temple and the world's recognition of Yahweh". [Encyclopędia Britannica CD, "Zechariah, Book of"]

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 1:14-16
14  Then the malak who was speaking with me said:  Cry out; This is what Yahweh of hosts says!  I am zealous for Yerusalem; for Zion, with great zeal!
15  And I am exceedingly angry with the complacent heathen; for I was only a little angry, but they added to the distress.
16  Therefore, this is what Yahweh says:  I have returned to Yerusalem with mercies!  My House will be rebuilt in it, says Yahweh of hosts:  and a measuring line will be stretched out over Yerusalem!

If He has returned to Yerusalem, and since He always works "through men", who is it He has returned with?  That is:  Who is He working with today?  And why was there a lapse in the knowledge of Yahweh in the land of Israyl and in Yerusalem?  If He is returning to Yerusalem (verse 16) it is obvious that He was not there, and neither were his servants working there.  The following scripture, which is an admitted latter day prophecy, shows that there will be two men in these last days who are indeed authorized to revive this great work.

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 4:12-14
12  Then I spoke to him again, and said to him; What are these two olive branches (trees -v.4:3) which through the two golden pipes (of their throats), empty the golden oil (the Law and the Prophets) through them?
13  He answered me, and said:  Do you not know (understand) what these are?  And I said:  No, my ruler.
14  Then he said; These are the two anointed ones (having authority) who stand (minister) for the Supreme Ruler of the whole earth.

[The above scripture is speaking of the two men [Yeshayah (Isayah) 43:1-10; 44:1-8, 21, 24-28; 45:1-6] who have established this organization --the great congregation called the House of Yahweh, and whose work is even now bringing forth knowledge of the Temple of Yahweh; which was originally also called Bayit (House) of Yahweh. (The Temple represented the great congregation and was called by the same name.)  --See the following:   [ARCHAEOLOGY and the TEMPLE INSCRIPTIONS]]

Yeshayah (Isayah) 43:1, 10
1  But now, this is what Yahweh says, Who created you, O Yaaqob, and He who formed you, O Yisrayl: Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine.
10  You are My witnesses, says Yahweh, and My servants whom I have chosen; so you may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He!  Before Me there was no god formed, nor will there be after Me.
11  I, even I, am Yahweh; and beside Me there is no savior.
12  I have declared, and I have saved, and I have showed; and no strange god is among you!  Therefore, you are My witnesses, says Yahweh: that I am Yahweh!

Prophecies concerning the rebuilding of the future Temple and inner court by HIS SERVANTS in the last days:

Tehellim (Psalms) 102:12-18  [Heb.102:13-19]
12(13)  But You, O Yahweh, have sat enthroned from eternity, and the remembrance of Your Name endures to all generations.
13(14)  You will arise and have mercy on Zion, for it is time to honor her; the appointed time has come!
14(15)  How Your servants take pleasure in HER STONES, and show honor to her dust (foundations).
15(16) THEN will the nations reverence Your Name, O Yahweh, all kings of the earth will reverence Your glory;
16(17)  For You, O Yahweh, have REBUILT Zion, and You appear in Your glory.
17(18)  You will regard the prayer of the destitute; You will not despise their prayer.
18(19)  This will be WRITTEN FOR A FUTURE GENERATION, and A PEOPLE NOT YET CREATED will praise You, O Yahweh

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 60:2-10, 13
2  For behold, the darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness will cover the people; but Yahweh will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you.
3  The Gentiles will come to your light*, and the kings to the brightness of your rising.
4  Lift up your eyes around you, and see.  They all gather together, they come to you; your sons will come from afar, and your daughters will be nursed at your side.
5  Then you will see, and shine forth; and your heart will swell with joy; because the forces of the Gentiles will come to you.
6  The multitudes of camels will cover you, the dromedaries of Median and Ephah; all they from Sheba will come, they will bring gold and incense, and they will proclaim the praises of Yahweh.
7  All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebayoth will be at your service; they will ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the House of My glory.
8  Who are these who fly like a cloud, and like the doves to their resting places?
9  Surely the isles; countries, will gather to Me, with the ships of Tarshish first, to bring your sons from afar, their silver and their gold with them; to the Name of Yahweh your Father, to the Holy One of Israyl, because He has glorified you.
10  The sons of the strangers will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you; for in My wrath I struck you, but in compassion I have had mercy on you.
13  The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box tree together, to beautify the place of MY SANCTUARY; and I will make the place of My feet glorious.

* See:  Yeshayah (Isaiah) 8:20

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 1:16
16  Therefore, this is what Yahweh says:  I have returned to Yerusalem with mercies!  My House will be rebuilt in it, says Yahweh of hosts:  and a measuring line will be stretched out over Yerusalem!

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 6:15
15  And they who are afar off will come and help build The House of Yahweh.   Then you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you.  And this will surely be, IF you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your Father.

Many are waiting for Yliyah (Elijah) to appear, but will they recognize Yliyah?

Malakyah (Malachi) 4:1-6  [Heb. 3:19-24]
1(19)  For, behold, the day comes that will burn like an oven; and all the proud, yes, and all who do wickedly, will be stubble --the day that comes will burn them up, says Yahweh of hosts; and it will leave them neither root nor branch.
2(20)  But for you who revere My Name (YAHWEH), the light of righteousness will arise with healing in its wings; and you will go out, leaping like calves released from the stall.
3(21)  And you will tread down the wicked; for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I will do this, says Yahweh of hosts.
4(22)  Remember the LAW of Mosheh My servant, which I commanded through him in Horeb for all Israyl, with the statutes and the judgments.
5(23)  Behold, I will send YLIYAH^{3 4}  (the strength of Yahweh --the correct teaching of the Law and the Prophets) before the coming of the great and dreadful day of Yahweh;
6(24)  And it will turn the hearts of the fathers (teachers) to the children (converts), and the hearts of the children (converts) to their fathers (teachers); before I come and strike the earth with a curse; (cherem:  utter destruction in The Day of Yahweh).

[ YLIYAH ³   - Traditionally and erroneously represented as Elijah.  This word is composed of two parts: 'yl, (the original  'yl i.e. alef, yod, lamed) meaning: strength, power and might  ["strength, power" -The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon  p. 43a; "It is commonly thought that the term derived from a root yl or wl, meaning "to be powerful"  -Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "God, names of, EL"; & "#410-el from #352-'yl" -Strong's Hebrew Dictionary]; and yah, which is the first syllable and representation of the Name of Yahweh. ["The true pronunciation of the name YHWH was never lost. Several early Greek writers of the Christian Church testify that the name was pronounced "Yahweh." This is confirmed, at least for the vowel of the first syllable of the name, by the shorter form Yah, which is sometimes used in poetry (e.g., Ex. 15:2) and the-yahu or-yah that serves as the final syllable in very many Hebrew names."  -Encyclopaedia Judaica CD, "God, names of, YHWH"]  Yliyah literally means strength of Yahweh.  The strength of Yahweh which is conveyed to His people is the correct teaching of the Law and the Prophets as taught by His anointed ones. [Isa. 8:20; Ps. 105:4; Mic. 5:4(3); I Chr. 16:11; Prov. 24:5; Zech. 8:9; Matt. 5:17; Acts 24:14; Acts 9:22; Rev. 3:8]
ha-nabia ⁴   - Usually translated as "the prophet" but also can be applied to those whom Yahweh made known His will and has authorized to bring forth the correct interpretation of the Law and the Prophets. ["The idea of a prophet is sometimes more widely extended, and is applied to any one admitted to the familiar intercourse with [Yahweh], to whom [Yahweh] made known his will" -Gesenius Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon, p. 528b; "nabia - spokesman, speaker, prophet"  -The New Brown-Driver-Briggs-Gesenius Hebrew-English Lexicon  p. 611b; root "nub: Action of speaking by inspiration; producing exteriorly the spirit with which one is filled."  -Hebraic Tongue Restored, p. 396; See Zecharyah 4:12-14]. ]

The following scripture shows that for a period of time there were no righteous teachers in Yerusalem --there were none to guide her.

Yeshayah (Isaiah) 51:17-18
17  Awake! Awake! Stand up, O Yerusalem, which has drunk at the hand of Yahweh the cup of His fury; you have drunk the dregs from the cup of trembling, and drained them out.
18  There are none to guide her among all the sons she has brought forth; nor are there any who take her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up

Yes --there were none to guide her --there were none to guide her and take her by the hand...UNTIL NOW!

"Come let us reason together..."  [Yeshayah (Isaiah) 1:18]

Understanding and proving the correct location of the Holy Temple can only come by believing the prophecies that Yahweh had the prophets of old write for these last days --A PEACEFUL SOLUTION. There is no need for war or even one death --either Jew or Arab --with each one's worship protected without fear. This Temple represents our Father Yahweh and His pattern (the plan of salvation) which is contained in His Law. This work, or project, is larger than any group or even nation; nor will any group or nation be able to stop this from going forth.  Proving this location, and hence the prophecies, takes away all the stumbling blocks about who is right, and now focuses our minds on building with all our efforts combined. This, the greatest building project of our time, can come into being if our hearts are right --whether we are Jews, Christians, or Arabs --let us all prove we want peace not just with our mouths but with our actions. If we can start here, side by side without fear and hatred, who knows how far this example may take us? Let us all stand together and now prove our hearts' intentions before we consume ourselves in hatred and fear. Let us show our belief in the right of all mankind to exist in peace.

WE, the House of Yahweh, are ready to build the Temple with its inner court NOW!  All of these MEASUREMENTS have been checked over and over, And WE DO HAVE these MEASUREMENTS: The Excavations; the Gates; the Courts; The House of Yahweh with the Vestibule, the Holy Place, and the Most Holy Place.  Our staff of engineers, construction experts and Priests are ready to work on this project.   We can build the inner court NEXT TO the Dome of the Rock NOW with no harm to this Muslim structure.

[Not to scale]

The inner court (outer dim. 200 x 350 cubits), Temple and altar rebuilt in its original location north of the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount in the old city of Yerusalem.

The outer court of the Temple complex will NOT be REBUILT at the time this Temple is, only the inner court!  There was ample space around the inner court (shown above) for the entire outer court area to be built.   The entire 500 x 500 royal cubit* complex could only fit on the northern portion of the Temple Mount.   Due to the topography of the Mount, it can only fit in this location.  "The area of the Temple Mount and Herod's Temple was originally broader in the north and narrower toward the south, due to the topography of the site."  [This is Jerusalem, "Ch. II, Jerusalem During The Second Temple Period, The Temple Mount", p. 93;  * The royal (or long) cubit being the standard cubit plus a handbreadth (about 21 in.) -Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 43:13, 40:5]

We have new information proving this location!  We will be revealing this in the near future in Yerusalem --to those involved in this great work!

Dibre Hayamim (I Chronicles) 22:1  --First Temple
1  David said then; This is the place for The House of Yahweh our Father, and this is the place for the Altar of burnt offering for Israyl!

Ezrayah (Ezra) 5:15  --Second Temple
15  ...let The House of Yahweh be rebuilt on its original site.

Yechetzqyah (Ezekiel) 43:10-11  --Third Temple
10  Son of man, show the HOUSE to the House of Israyl, so that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them MEASURE THE PATTERN.
11  And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, show them the form (pattern) of the House, and the arrangement of it --its exits and its entrances; all forms of its ordinances, and all forms of its Laws.  Write these in their sight, that they may keep the whole form of it with all its ordinances, that they may do them.

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 1:14-16  --Third Temple
14  Then the malak who was speaking with me said:  Cry out; This is what Yahweh of hosts says!  I am zealous for Yerusalem; for Zion, with great zeal!
15  And I am exceedingly angry with the complacent heathen; for I was only a little angry, but they added to the distress.
16  Therefore, this is what Yahweh says:  I have returned to Yerusalem with mercies!  My House will be rebuilt in it, says Yahweh of hosts:  and a measuring line will be stretched out over Yerusalem!

Zecharyah (Zechariah) 6:15  --Third Temple
15  And they who are afar off will come and help build The House of Yahweh.   Then you will know that Yahweh of hosts has sent me to you.  And this will surely be, IF you will diligently obey the voice of Yahweh your Father.

In the March/April 1983 issue of the Biblical Archaeology Review, Vol. IX, NO.2, former Hebrew University physicist Dr. Asher S. Kaufman--in his article on pages 40-58: Where the Ancient Temple of Jerusalem Stood; extant 'Foundation Stone' for the Ark of the Covenant Is Identified--has shown that the First and Second Temples, including Herod's abominable refurbishing of the Second Temple, sat IN LINE with the ancient EAST GATE.

[Click image to see details]

Dr. Kaufman's research builds upon details given in the Mishnah tractate known as Middot (Measurements), calculations of angles of line-of-sight between the Mount of Olives where the red heifer was sacrificed, and the eastern court of the Temple, as well as physical evidence discovered around the outside of the platform. He believes [and as we have shown, the prophecies also verify] that the Temple was built on the northwestern corner of the platform only about 330 feet from the rock (or platform base) which is presently covered by the Muslim Dome of the Rock. He believes that the bedrock identifiable within a small cupola at this site, known in Arabic as the Dome of the Tablets, was the Foundation Stone within the Holy of Holies.

*** It should be noted that although we agree with Asher Kaufman's information on the Northern Temple location we do not support all of his views. ***