X MARKS THE SPOT. I’ve been to Jerusalem a few times over the decades, and in all honesty, it is by far the unholiest place I’ve visited. So much hatred, centuries, if not thousands of years of bad blood.
The Hebrews fighting with the indigenous Jebusites. The Hebrews fighting amongst themselves. The Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, and Romans fighting with the Jewish people. Christians fighting with the Jews, Muslims fighting with both, and then Latin Christians fighting the Jews and Muslims during the Crusades.
The Dome of the Rock has occupied its current position on the Temple Mount since the end of the seventh century. The last time the Jews had a Temple in Jerusalem was in 70CE, almost two thousand years ago. Christians have never had a church on the actual Temple Mount, as the Holy Sepulchre falls outside of its boundaries.
The Crusaders only managed to keep hold of Jerusalem for less than a century during the Crusades (1099-1187). The first time Christians reconquered the city in more than 800 years was during WWI. The current crisis in the Middle East stems from this period. The British promised a homeland for the Jewish people in 1917, and as they say, the rest is history.
Israel declared itself a State in 1948, and since then multiple wars have been fought over Jerusalem. Israel occupied the Temple Mount in 1967, yet the Arabs control it. The Al Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock are managed by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. Radical elements in both Christianity and Judaism believe that the Dome needs to be destroyed in order to fulfill prophecy and usher in the Messianic Age of the Third Temple.
But what if there is a different solution to resolving the conflict? If you look closely at the map featured, X marks the spot. The Presence of God, described as light, also known as the Divine Shekinah, used to enter the Holy of Holies through the East Gate/Golden Gate during special occasions.
Ezekiel 43
1 Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east.
4 As the glory of the LORD entered the temple by the gate facing east, 5 the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
As can be clearly observed, the East Gate, the only Gate found on the eastern part of the Temple Mount, does not align with the Dome of the Rock. If the Dome was supposedly built on the exact spot of Solomon’s Temple, then why the holy misalignment?
Maybe the solution is rather simple, Jews and Muslims can share the Temple Mount and each can have their sacred Mosque and Temple. Nothing has to be destroyed, no one has to be killed. All that is required is for the brothers to come together and finally acknowledge that they worship the exact same God. All three the Abrahamic faiths, Jews, Christians and Muslims.