03.06.05. Appendix V

Part V Islamic Teaching / The Temple Mount

The existence of a Jewish state in the Middle East forms a contradiction in Islamic teaching. Islam teaches that 1) "Allah" has predetermined all things, and 2) "Allah" is through with the Jews.

Judaism (along with the Christian faith) is looked upon by Moslems as an older religion whose people strayed from the true path of "Allah." Resultingly, God is through with the Jews (and Christians as well); and since "Allah" has predetermined all things, for the land of Palestine and the holy sites to once again come under Jewish control is looked upon by Moslems as theologically impossible.

This belief then naturally gives rise to an unanswerable question: "How can a Jewish nation presently exist in the Middle East, especially in the land of Palestine with Jerusalem as its capital?"

This is the land God covenanted to Abraham and his posterity, which Moslems believe was to be inherited by Abraham’s descendants through Ishmael; and this is also the land which, for centuries, until modern times, had been under Islamic dominion and control -- possessed by Moslems for "Allah," but now possessed by the Jewish people.

Moslems attempt to answer the question about present Israeli dominion and control of this land, solving the problem for the moment, through simply refusing to recognize the existence of the nation of Israel. This is why the Moslem nations have such a difficult time when it comes to any type dealings with Israel. Such dealings, in their eyes, are with a people who have no right to exist and who form a nation which, according to Islamic teaching, actually, can’t (and, consequently, doesn’t) exist. This is one problem which Antichrist will have to solve in order to bring about his covenant of peace.

The actions of Arab delegates at the United Nations assembly provide a case in point to illustrate Moslem thinking about the existence of the nation of Israel. When an Israeli delegate gets up to speak, the Arab delegates (Moslem delegates) either ignore him or get up and leave. They do neither within a framework of what might be called bad manners. Their actions are governed strictly by reasoning within the Moslem way of thinking: "The Israeli delegate is a nobody, representing nothing, so why listen to a nobody saying something about nothing?"

Any negotiations with Israel by Moslems are not normally done directly (as in the case of Anwar Sadat’s dealings with Menachem Begin and others in Israel during the late ’70’s). Rather, such dealings are normally carried out through a third party. And this is possibly the way Antichrist will enact peace between the Moslems and the Jews.

At the heart of the problem today is the Jewish occupation and control of the old city of Jerusalem, the third most holy place in the world for the followers of Islam. The Arabs occupied and controlled this part of Jerusalem from the time of the inception of the Jewish state in 1948 until the Six-Day War of 1967, but the Israelis have occupied and controlled all of Jerusalem (the new and old sections) since that time. And in 1980, the Israeli Kenesset passed a law declaring Jerusalem to be "eternal and indivisible."

It is the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem which makes this city the third most holy place in the world for the followers of Islam. This is the place Moslems believe Abraham offered Ishmael as a burnt offering (a corruption of Genesis 22:1-24), and this is the place where Moslems believe Mohammed bodily ascended to heaven and remained for a short time (he is buried in Medina).

The Temple Mount though is not sacred to just the Moslems. It is sacred as well to the Jewish people. And to them the Temple Mount is the most holy place in the world. In the eyes of the Jewish people, there is nothing which can even remotely compare with the Temple Mount. Moslems face toward Mecca when they pray, but religious Jews face toward the Temple Mount. These Jews, facing toward this mount, pray for the coming of their Messiah and the rebuilding of their temple.

On the Temple Mount today there are two Moslem mosques: the Dome of the Rock (the Mosque of Omar, built in the seventh century over the site where Moslems believe Abraham offered Ishmael and Mohammed ascended to heaven), and the Al Aksa Mosque (built at a later date). And it is on this mount that a Jewish temple will stand in the immediate future.

The temple must be built on the exact spot where the previous two temples stood; and from the best calculations of those who have studied the matter over the years (such as Rabbi Goren, Chief Rabbi for the Israeli armed forces when the Jews captured the old city of Jerusalem in 1967), conclusions are that the Jewish temple, in order to stand on this exact spot, must be built exactly where the Dome of the Rock now stands.

How can this be brought to pass? No one seems to know. Rabbi Goren answers the question by simply saying, "It’s a big problem." But it is going to occur, and it will occur shortly after Antichrist establishes his covenant with "the many" in Israel.

For decades the Jews have been openly praying at the Wailing Wall for their temple to be rebuilt. And the Moslems, knowing that the only place this temple can be rebuilt is where the Dome of the Rock now stands, have, over the years, expressed grave concern about the Jews praying after this fashion at this particular location. Sometimes the matter breaks out into open, hostile actions, such as the much-publicized outbreak of violence which occurred October 8, 1990 when several thousand Moslems moved toward the Temple Mount to attack Jews praying at the Wailing Wall.

Thus, at the center of the Arab-Israeli dispute over the old city of Jerusalem is the Temple Mount. Possession and control of this one piece of real estate is at the center of the intractable problem which exists concerning the old city of Jerusalem as a whole. This is where the impasse is centered, which makes the Arab-Israeli dispute basically a religious problem. And until this problem is resolved, very little in the overall dispute can change.

In one sense of the word though, it matters little what Moslems, Jews, or the nations at large do about the matter today, for, according to the Scriptures, during the first year of the Tribulation the Jews are going to build a temple on this mount (Daniel 8:11-14). The covenant (peace treaty) which Antichrist will establish between Israel and the Moslem nations will either have something directly to do with allowing Israel to rebuild her temple or it will provide conditions which will allow Israel to undertake this task apart from the actual terms of the covenant itself.

In either case, the covenant will be broken by Antichrist entering the temple on the Temple Mount, desecrating the temple, sitting in the Holy of Holies declaring himself to be "God," and then destroying the temple (Daniel 9:26; Matthew 24:15; 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). The Moslem clerics will be exercising control over his military endeavors at this time; and, because of the importance of the Temple Mount to the Moslems and Jews alike, it will only be natural for a desecration and destruction of the Jewish temple to occupy a strategic part in Antichrist’s initial act of breaking his covenant.

Also, it is possible that the Jews gaining access to the Temple Mount to rebuild their temple will be the trigger-mechanism which brings Russia down into Israel during the first year of the Tribulation, seeking to help Moslem nations to the north and south of Israel do what the Moslems have been trying to do since May 14, 1948 -- drive the Jews into the Mediterranean sea and reclaim the land of Palestine for "Allah."

After all, the temple must stand where the Dome of the Rock now stands, something unthinkable within the framework of the current status of events in the Middle East. And any move by Israel toward the Temple Mount today, with a view to building a Jewish temple on the spot where the Dome of the Rock stands, would bring the wrath of the Moslem world down upon Israel.

A few years ago, the head of the Supreme Moslem Council in Jerusalem stated concerning the matter, "The Moslems are prepared to die for this place [a statement actually referring to the Temple Mount as a whole]." And certain Moslem nations during the Tribulation (which will possibly not be among the nations having a part in the peace treaty with Israel) may very well look upon the matter after a similar fashion when Israel sets about to rebuild her temple, with Russia taking advantage of the situation at that time through direct military intervention.

Daniel reveals that Israel will rebuild the temple during the same year that Ezekiel reveals Russia will come down to help four Moslem nations destroy Israel -- during the first year of the Tribulation. The timing of both events is seemingly right for the events to be interrelated; but they may or may not be. Scripture is silent on this possible connection.