5
stands the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and just to the north a relatively small, octagonal
cupola called the Dome of the Spirits, sometimes also referred to as
the Dome of the Tablets.
The Temple Mount is “what is left of Herod’s enlarged temple platform,
the masonry of which may best be seen in its Western Wall, the holiest
place within Judaism since the Roman destruction of Herod’s temple.”5
Mount Zion is actually part of a ridge of hills. “The southernmost hill
was conquered by David and called Zion, the city of David, and Ophel.”6
Clearly, “the evidence from both history and archaeology is conclusive for
the Jewish Temple having existed on the Temple Mount.”7
The Holy of Holies was the most sacred space in Jewish spiritual life. It was
the innermost chamber of both the Tabernacle in the wilderness and the
Temple, both Solomon’s Temple and Herod’s. One theory suggests that the
Holiest Place was built on the spot where the Dome of the Rock now sits.
Others suggest the Holy of Holies is a little north of the spot where the
Dome of the Spirits now stands.
According to another tradition, a mysterious sealed tunnel running below
the Western Wall, is thought to be very close the site of the Holy of Holies,
just to the north of Warren’s Gate.8 The area is now a place of prayer for
women.
Yet, even though evidence for the precise site of the Holy of Holies
remains inconclusive, we do know it must be close to the Temple Mount.
Whether or not the Dome of the Rock would impede the rebuilding of the
Temple is not clear. It would seem so.
What we do know for certain is that one day a Temple will be rebuilt,
during times of great tribulation and the man of lawlessness will be
revealed at that moment. As Paul writes:
“…the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who
opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of
worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying
himself as being God” (2 Thessalonians 2:3–4).
The search for the Holy of Holies will continue, but only God Himself knows
the exact place where it stood. Yet, in due course the Temple will be rebuilt,
with or without the Dome of the Rock still standing. At that future moment,
it will be a sign of the times to the faithful and will be one of the signals of the
Lord’s soon return to reign as Israel’s true and only King.
SHEKHINAH
David tells us that the greatness of the Lord is unsearchable
(Psalm 145:3) and His understanding beyond measure
(Psalm 147:5). The God of Israel knows everything (omniscient)
and is present everywhere (omnipresent) in ways we cannot fathom. How
can we know a God who is beyond knowing? How can we comprehend a
God who is beyond our physical senses?
To address this, God instructed the Israelites to construct a Tabernacle where
He could dwell in their midst (Exodus 25:8). The Tabernacle was where God
brought Heaven to Earth. This awe-inspiring feat overwhelmed the people
of Israel as the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle in the form of a cloud
(Exodus 40:34–35), through which Moses could not pass. Even the priests
were overwhelmed by the glory filling the Tabernacle (1 Kings 8:10–11).
At the heart of the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies,
which housed the Ark of the Covenant. Two golden
cherubs (angels) stood atop the Ark’s cover, also
called the mercy seat. From between those two
cherubs, God spoke to Moses (Exodus 25:22;
Numbers 7:89) and Aaron (Leviticus 16:2–3) to
deliver His word and provide atonement in response
to the sprinkling of sacrificial blood on the mercy seat.
The rabbis used the Hebrew verb literally
translated, dwelling—sh-k-n—as their primary
way of referring to this magnificent presence
of God dwelling in the Temple. Through this
Shekhinah—the glorious presence of God,
the Israelites received revelation, comfort,
and experienced a palpable sense of His
divine presence. One of the most poignant
moments in the history of Israel described
by the prophet Ezekiel was the step by step
removal of the Shekhinah’s presence from
Solomon’s Temple (Ezekiel chapters 8-10). It never
again resided in either the Temple rebuilt in the days
of Ezra and Nehemiah or the far grander Temple
built by King Herod. The leaders of Israel longed for
the return of the Shekhinah.
In light of this expectancy of the Shekhinah’s
return, the words uttered by the Apostle John about
Jesus are stunning. The beloved Apostle of Yeshua
wrote, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among
us” (1:14). The Greek term “dwelled” reflects the
Hebrew word for “tabernacle”—more of a reference
to the Tabernacle than the booths designed for
the last Festival of the Jewish calendar. The
tabernacle predated the Temple and was
where the Shekhinah glory dwelled with
all the divine radiance. John viewed
Jesus as the embodiment of the
Shekhinah and in fact was declaring
that through Jesus the long-hopedfor
Shekhinah presence of God
had returned!
Whereas previously Moses and
the High Priests were the only
ones who could approach the
Shekhinah, now through Yeshua,
He could be approached by all.
Yeshua’s incarnation allowed people
to see, touch, and speak with God
Himself. If the Shekhinah indwelling
the Tabernacle and the Temple was
God’s way of bringing Heaven to Earth,
how much more has this been accomplished
through Jesus the Messiah. And further, He now
indwells each one who received Him as their Savior
and has now become an individual Temple for His
Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16).
1 Andre Parrot, The Temple of Jerusalem (London: SCM Press LTD, 1957), 72–73.
2 Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Volume 7: Chapter XLI.
From the Online Library of Liberty. The J. B. Bury edition, in 12 volumes).
3 Procopius, Vandal Wars, Book IV. ix. 5.
4 Procopius, Vandal Wars, Book IV. ix. 9.
5 M. Pierce Matheney, “Temple of Jerusalem,” ed. Chad Brand et al., Holman Illustrated Bible
Dictionary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2003), 1561–1562.
6 Walter A. Elwell and Barry J. Beitzel, “Jerusalem,” Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids,
MI: Baker Book House, 1988), 1124.
7 Randall Price, “Where Was the Temple Located?,” Chosen People Ministries, accessed August 5,
2019, https://www.chosenpeople.com/site/where-was-the-temple-located/.
8 There were four gates in the Western (Wailing) Wall of the Temple Mount. The southern gate
stood at the top of a monumental stairway leading from the main street up to the Royal Portico.
The other three gates in the wall include: ‘Barclay’s Gate’, located today in the womens’ section
of the Western Wall; the gate above ‘Wilson’s Arch’ that formed part of a bridge leading to the
upper city, and the gate now known as ‘Warren’s Gate’. See Avraham Negev, The Archaeological
Encyclopedia of the Holy Land. New York: Prentice Hall Press, 1990, s.v. Jerusalem.