Temple Institute Update

Depiction of Levites Carrying the Ark of the Covenant

The Temple Institute, an Israeli-based group hoping “to build the Holy Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem” and also to resume sacrifices, recently reported (http://www.templeinstitute.org/bezichin.htm) that it has completed another instrument that it feels its priest(s) will need:

” …and you shall make for it a golden crown all around. And you shall make for it a frame a handbreadth [wide] all around, and you shall make a golden crown for its frame all around. And you shall make for it four golden rings, and you shall place the rings on the four corners that are on its four legs. The rings shall be opposite the frame as holders for the poles [with which] to carry the table. And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and you shall overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with them. And you shall make its forms, its spoons, its half pipes, and its supports with which it will be covered; of pure gold you shall make them. And you shall place on the table showbread before Me at all times.” Exodus 25:23-30

The two golden bezichin – frankincense vessels, referred to in the above passage from Exodus, as “spoons,” are an essential element of the golden show bread table and the service of the showbread. These two bezichin were used to contain the two handfuls of frankincense that the priests were instructed to place upon the showbread table beneath the twelves loaves of lechem hapanim – showbread. The twelve loaves were replaced every Shabbat and the loaves that were removed were eaten by the outgoing shift of priests in the Chamber of the Hearth, located along the Temple Courtyard. New loaves were set in their place simultaneously, and with them the two bezichin of fresh frankincense. Our sages tell us that the showbread never grew stale, that it remained hot and fresh, and that even a morsel of the bread was filling and satisfying the priests that ate it…

The Temple Institute has just completed the creation of two new golden bezichin – frankincense vessels. Each vessel, made of 150 grams of 14 carat gold is the result of intensive research, planning and painstaking craftsmanship. The bezichin, like all the vessels created by the Temple Institute, are made in strict accordance to the word of Torah, as it has been handed down from generation to generation since its revelation on Mount Sinai. The bezichin, like all the vessels created by the Temple Institute, are intended for use in the Divine service of the Holy Temple, may we merit to rebuild it soon.

The two bezichin were made from gold generously donated by individuals around the world who seek to play a part in the rebuilding of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem…

The Temple Institute (as well as many Protestants) believe that a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem is needed to fulfill certain biblical requirements.

However, both the Temple Institute and the Bible (Ezra 3:6) teach that Jewish sacrifices can take place without a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem.

Thus, while the end cannot come before 2012 (cf. Daniel 9:27), Protestants (and others) should not insist that a Jewish Temple is necessary prior to the rise (or shortly after the rise) of the Beast (the King of the North).

While a physical Jewish Temple in Jerusalem may be rebuilt, those who understand their Bibles realize that such a temple is NOT needed for sacrifices to resume nor for end-time prophecies to be fulfilled.

Several articles of possibly related interest may include:

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?
The Temple and the Work This article discusses the two temples of the Old Testament and gives insight as to their possible relevance to the situation which has impacted the Church during this past decade or so.
Solomon’s TempleThis is a a 5 minute animated film that shows one artist’s understanding of the details about Solomon’s temple.
End of Mayan Calendar 2012–Might 2012 Mean Something? There is a Mayan calendar prediction for change in 2012. 2012 changes were also centuries ago predicted by the Hopi Native Americans and others (who were not even on the same continent). Do these Mayan/Hindu/Hopi prophecies have any value? Why might Satan have inspired this date? Does the Dresden codex show destruction of the earth by flood? Can the great tribulation start before 2012? How might any of this tie into Daniel 9:26-27?
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?