Temple Institute Completes Altar of Unhewn Stones

Temple Institute Altar

The Temple Institute has completed an altar:

12/25/09

Model Altar of Unhewn Stones Completed at Temple Institute

by Gil Ronen

(IsraelNN.com) The Temple Institute in Jerusalem announced Friday the completion of a model of the biblical altar which G-d, through Moses, commanded the nation of Israel to build at the Mount of Eval (Ebal) overlooking Shechem:

“And there you shall build an altar unto Hashem your God, an altar of stones: you shall lift up no iron tool upon them. You shall build the altar of Hashem your G-d of unhewn stones.” (Dvarim / Deuteronomy 27:5,6).

For many years, the Institute has been examining ways of building a model of the altar from whole stones that had not been touched by iron tools. In the end, the Institute commissioned artist Assaf Kidron of Givot Olam Farm at Itamar, Samaria, to design and create a model which conforms with the specifications described by authoritative Jewish sage Rambam (Maimonides) – one cubit wide, one cubit deep, and three cubits high.

It has been placed in the Institute’s visitor center.

The rocks were collected from the Dead Sea (http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/135199).

The rest of the scripture in Deuteronomy talks about using the particular altar for burnt offerings and peace offerings.

An altar project was mentioned at COGwriter two weeks ago (see Sacrificial Altar to Be Built in Jerusalem–though it is unclear if these are the same altars as the other one is to be portable–though in the back of a flatbed truck, the above altar would be portable). Altar construction represents an important step in biblical prophecy.

For while the goal of the Temple Institute is to build another temple, only an altar is actually necessary for sacrifices to resume. For while an actual temple is not needed for sacrifices according to the Bible (Ezra 3:6) and the Temple Institute (Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required?), a sacrificial altar is (Ezra 3:2-3).

And as watchers of biblical prophecy are aware, the Bible is clear that the final King of the North will stop sacrifices (Daniel 11:31) and then Christians are to flee per Jesus statements in Matthew 24:15-21 as the Great Tribulation will be ready to start.

Some articles of related interest would be:

Why is a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem Not Required? Although people like Timothy LaHaye teach a third Jewish temple is required, who is ‘the temple of God” in the New Testament? What does the Bible teach about the temple in the end-times? Do Jewish sources or the Bible mandate a completed temple for sacrifices? What did Ezra do when there was no temple?
Who is the King of the North? Is there one? Do biblical and Roman Catholic prophecies point to the same leader? Should he be followed? Who will be the King of the North discussed in Daniel 11? Is a nuclear attack prophesied to happen to the English-speaking peoples of the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand? When do the 1335 days, 1290 days, and 1260 days (the time, times, and half a time) of Daniel 12 begin? When does the Bible show that economic collapse will affect the United States?
There is a Place of Safety for the Philadelphians. Why it May Be Petra This article discusses a biblical ‘place of safety’ and includes quotes from the Bible and Herbert W. Armstrong on this subject–thus, there is a biblically supported alternative to the rapture theory.
Can the Great Tribulation Begin in 2010, 2011, or 2012? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord?