Half in Israel Want Temple Built, But…

Temple Institute Altar

A newly released poll shows that nearly half of the people in Israel support the construction of a third temple:

Half the Public Wants to See Holy Temple Rebuilt

Israel National News – July 18, 2010

Half the Israeli public wants the Holy Temple (Beit HaMikdash) to be rebuilt. This is the main finding of a poll commissioned by the Knesset Television Channel and carried out by the Panels Institute…

Given the current political climate, the onset of construction of the Beit HaMikdash, and possibly even a poll on the subject, is not likely to go over quietly in the Islamic world, which currently has day-to-day control over the Temple Mount. http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/138655

There is a group called the Temple Institute that has been preparing implements for a new temple. They also have produced a sacrificial altar and many of the associated implements (Temple Institute Completes Altar of Unhewn Stones).

Yet, because the Muslims have a strong presence at the site of the old Temple Mount (Har HaBayit) with their al-Aqsa Mosque, some consider the actual construction of a Jewish temple there to be impossible.

Now, though many feel that the Jews must have a physical temple prior to the arrival of the final Antichrist, the reality is that the Jews do not need temple to perform animal sacrifices (Ezra 3:6), only an altar–which they already have, plus governmental permission–which they do not have.

Israeli courts have agreed that Jews have the right to perform animal sacrifices, but have repeatedly denied this right as the timing would have excessively negative consequences. And to rebuild a temple in the area that the Muslims consider sacred would be even more problematic politically.

To verify my belief that religious Jews understand that animal sacrifices are possible without a temple, I (a Southern Californian) emailed the group calling itself the reconstituted Sanhedrin in Israel. Here is the most relevant portion of their response:

…IT IS PERMITTED TO PERFORM SACRIFICES despite having no Temple, since the sanctity of the Temple is eternal. (Part of an email from the Sanhedrin webmaster Abrahamson to Bob Thiel of San Luis Obispo, California, September 17, 2008)

Thus, a temple is not required for sacrifices as far as the Sanhedrin in Israel is concerned.

So what about the temple survey?

The temple survey suggests that there is significant support within Israel to try to more publicly restore ancient religious practices and symbols in that land. And while the Jews are fairly pragmatic and the Israeli government would be careful to not intentionally destroy Islamic buildings, the fact is that at some point in time, the allowance of animal sacrifices will be allowed. And it may be as part of a compromise to only use an altar as opposed to rebuilding a temple in the old Temple Mount area.

Of course, in a nation as politically fragmented as modern Israel, the time may come when a ruling coalition will itself have in it some members of a small religious group that will insist on the resumption of sacrifices for it to remain in office. And allowing sacrifices on a small altar certainly would seem politically more plausible than the construction of a Jewish temple on the dome of the rock or otherwise next to the al-Aqsa Mosque. While this may not be seen as viable in every possible Israeli administration, it certainly is a possibility for a future one.

The Bible is clear that sacrifices will be stopped by the final King of the North (Daniel 9:27; 11:31). And in order for them to be stopped, they must start first. And while a temple could be built for that purpose, politically and biblically, the idea that sacrifices will start on an altar outside a rebuilt temple is more likely. But the fact that almost half of Israelis support the idea of a temple being rebuilt strongly suggests that a significant amount of them would support the idea of sacrifices–with or without a rebuilt temple.

An article 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 for end-time prophecies to be fulfilled, who is ‘the temple of God” in the New Testament? What does the Bible teach about the temple in the end-times? The Bible teaches that the sacrifices will be stopped (Daniel 9:27; 11:31), but do Jewish sources or the Bible mandate a completed temple for those 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?
Some Doctrines of Antichrist Are there any doctrines taught outside the Churches of God which can be considered as doctrines of antichrist? This article suggests at least three. It also provides information on 666 and the identity of “the false prophet”. Plus it shows that several Catholic writers seem to warn about an ecumenical antipope that will support heresy.
Is There an Islamic Antichrist?Is Joel Richardson correct that the final Antichrist will be Islamic and not European? Find out.
Anglo – America in Prophecy & the Lost Tribes of Israel What will happen to Israel? Are the Americans, Canadians, British, Scottish, Welsh, Australians, Anglo-Southern Africans, and New Zealanders descendants of Joseph? Where are the lost ten-tribes of Israel? Who are the lost tribes of Israel? Will God punish the U.S.A., Canada, United Kingdom, and other Anglo nations? Why might God allow them to be punished first? What about the modern nation of Israel and Jerusalem?