Monday, October 19, 2009

-Exposing Political Antiquicide on Mount Moriah:
There is DANGER of the political antiquicide of the priceless treasures of the Temple Mount!! We propose a primary emphasis on establishing an agreement concerning the history of Mount Moriah. The Dome of the Rock Mosque was deliberately built in the seventh century A.D. above the Rock on which Abraham almost sacrificed his son, and the location increased people's faith. The fact that Solomon's and Herod's Temples stood on Mount Moriah (The Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary) is part of the same melody of faith for Islam and Christianity, and it's harmony should serve as a light for everyone.
The danger to that light is present today. The prominent issue of the history of Mt. Moriah should be put forward for all scrutiny, so that the Truth will be a light to all faiths, and serve to protect the antiquities from political antiquicide. The longer the issue drifts, the more likely Priceless Biblical artifacts will be DESTROYED!!

At Camp David in August 2000, Yassir Arafat had said: "There is nothing there [i.e., no trace of a temple on the Temple Mount]." Clinton responded that "not only the Jews but I, too, believe that under the surface there are remains of Solomon's temple." http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15501

The threat is evident and inherent in the status quo:

Evidence of Antiquicide
Israeli archaeologists and volunteers discovered a series of relics dating back to the periods of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem in piles of rubble at a garbage dump in the Kidron Valley.
"In November 1999, the Islamic Wakf carried out an illegal construction project on the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. The unsupervised digging caused irreparable damage to the important site, as well as to untold priceless artifacts contained in rubble removed during the construction and dumped clandestinely in the Kidron Valley." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/80176

Bar Ilan archaeologists transferred nearly 70 truckloads of rubble from the garbage dump to the Emek Zurim National Park. Pottery dating back to the Bronze Age and First Temple periods was extracted from the "garbage".
"Over 100 ancient coins were also recovered, including some from the Hasmonean dynasty." http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/templemountgarbage.html
Policemen on the Mount reported observing the dismantling of a water channel with arches. These arches were seen on the western side of the pit to a depth of 2-3 meters. Evidence for this is seen in the Kidron dumps:
Period
Number (Percentage)
First Temple (Iron II)
10 (14%)
Second Temple (Hell.+ER.)
14 (19%)
Late Roman
4 (6%)
Byzantine
11 (15%)
Early Muslim + Medieval
12 (17%)
Unidentified
21 (29%)
http://www.har-habayt.org/pictures/survey.html
One coin from the period of the First Revolt against the Romans reads "For the Freedom of Zion," and was coined before the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Other finds include a Hasmonean lamp (ca. 165 BCE-70 CE), arrowheads, an ivory comb, and figurines.Sources: Mark Ami El, "The Destruction of the Temple Mount Antiquities," JCPA, (August 1, 2002); Etgar Lefkovits, "Temple Mount relics saved from garbage," The Jerusalem Post, (April 15, 2005).
"The project of sifting layers of Temple Mount dirt has yielded thousands of new artifacts dating from the First Temple period to today. The dirt was removed in 1999 by the Islamic Religious Trust (Waqf) from the Solomon's Stables area to the Kidron Stream Valley." "When the dirt was originally trucked out, the late director of the Israel Antiquities Authority, Amir Drori, termed it "an archaeological crime," and the attorney general at the time, Elyakim Rubinstein, said it was "a kick to the history of the Jewish people. Now it turns out that the dirt removed from the Temple Mount harbors thousands of small finds from diverse periods. The oldest artifacts found are remnants of tools like a blade and scraper dating back 10,000 years. Some potsherds and shards of alabaster tools date from the Bronze Age - the 3rd and 2nd millennia B.C.E. (the Canaanite and Jebusite eras). Only a handful of potsherds were found from the 10th century B.C.E. (the reigns of King David and King Solomon), but numerous artifacts date from the reigns of the later Judean kings (the 8th and 7th centuries B.C.E.), such as stone weights for weighing silver." http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/776922.html

"Some archaeologists and Jewish leaders also raise concerns that the Waqf is attempting to remove any trace of a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount for political reasons." "40 percent of the recovered pottery was from the First Temple Period" http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/march6/18.27.html

"Among the discoveries so far:
Coin from the period of the First Revolt against the Romans that preceded the destruction of the Second Temple bearing the phrase "For the Redemption of Zion"* During the first days of the project, a coin was recovered from the time of the Great Revolt against the Romans, preceding the destruction of the Second Temple. It bore the Hebrew phrase L'Herut Tzion, "For the Freedom of Zion." The find was particularly meaningful, as the Temple Mount itself was one of the focal points of the Revolt. * A few days later, on the eve of Chanukah, workers discovered the "pinched style" spout of a Hasmonaean lamp.* Several weeks later, on the Tenth of Teveth - one of the fast days commemorating events that lead to the destruction of the First Temple - a crusader arrowhead was discovered. Though this was from a later period than the Temple's destruction, arrowheads were subsequently recovered from earlier periods.* An unexpected find, due to the Waqf's removal of almost all large artifacts, was a large segment of a marble pillar's shaft - one meter tall and 60 cm in diameter, streaked with purple veins and white spots. There is another segment of a column shaft with a similar texture lying in a heap of various marble column shafts near the southern wall within the Temple Mount. Both fragments seem to be from the same pillar.
The marble pillar dumped in the Kidron Valley (left) and another segment with a similar texture lying in a heap of various marble column shafts near the southern wall on the Temple Mount (right)* A large amount of pottery shards were discovered. Some 10-20 percent of it stems from the time of the First Temple period, and a small amount comes from the Second Temple period. * Animal bones - remnants of sacrifices.* A number of mosaic tiles and prehistoric flint implements.* An inscription chiseled on a jar fragment of the First Temple period, with the ancient Hebrew letters "Heh," "Ayin" and "Kof."
Seal with five-pointed star with ancient Hebrew letters spelling "Jerusalem" spaced between the points* A seal impression from the Hellenistic period showing a five-pointed star with the ancient Hebrew letters spelling "Jerusalem" spaced between the points. About 30 such impressions have been found in Jerusalem on handles from the Hellenistic period (3rd century BCE). This was apparently a kind of official stamp from a period about which very little is known.* Numerous ceramic oil lamps were found. The most common among them are "Herodian lamps" from the time of the Second Temple. Another frequently found lamp is the "sandal" type, characteristic of the late Byzantine period (6-7th century CE). Many are decorated menorah patterns.
Hasmonean coin bearing inscription "Yehonathan High Priest, friend of the Jews" one one side and a picture of a cornucopia with a pomegranate in the center on the other* About 100 ancient coins, including several from the period of the Hasmonaean dynasty. One of the Hasmonean coins bears an inscription "Yehonatan High Priest, friend of the Jews." On the other side is a cornucopia with a pomegranate in the center. Another coin is of Alexander Jannaeus. One side has the design of an anchor and the other side a star.* A fragment of a figurine from the First Temple period.* A Scytho-Iranian arrowhead, of the type used by the Babylonian army of Nebuchadnezzar that destroyed the First Temple in 586 BCE. Very few such arrowheads have been found in Jerusalem. * A bronze arrowhead from the Hellenistic period, possibly a remnant left by the Seleucid forces that were stationed in the Akra fortress, or by soldiers of Shimon the Maccabee, who liberated the Temple Mount. * An ivory comb, apparently from the Second Temple period. Similar combs have been found at Qumran, and it is probable that they were used as preparation for ritual purification in a mikveh (ritual bath), prior to entering the Temple courts." http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/80176
The First Jewish exiles returned to Jerusalem in 538 BCE, and completed the construction of the Second Temple in 515 BCE, which was destroyed by Roman armies in 70 CE. The site of the Temple remains the direction of prayer for many of the Jewish and Christian Faiths. There is a Biblical basis for this in Solomon's Prayer of Dedication for the First Temple:
Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE by the Babylonians.I Kings 8:29 "May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place."
The core motivation is to propagate faith with scientific evidence backing scripture. Not any denomination or religion, specifically. Just to help the unbelievers believe because of facts. The link of the believer to the Divine, and the fear of Divine Power is the first step, so that is the primary rationale.
The uncovering of archaeological evidence and the illumination of Truth in the Scriptures could bring about a revolution in Science.

The paradigm shift is this:
King David and King Solomon, and the Kings of Israel did exist, so the Biblical account of their existence is at least based on scientific facts.
Science doesn't have this Goldmine of evidence to persuade the heathen at the present time. To the contrary, the heathen have more science to disprove the Bible to a certain extent than to prove it, with millions of years worth of human remains, etc.

As part of the Middle East conflict, the evidence under the Temple Mount is threatened because there are extremist elements that specifically would like to destroy that evidence for political reasons. We are strongly against the destruction of antiquities on the Temple Mount because it is permanently destroying elements that could contribute to the power to persuade people to follow the Almighty.

All faiths should support this.

How better to bring the well being of the Temple Mount/Noble Sanctuary to the front than to expose the issue prominently into the light of Science and reasoning?
The Isaiah Peace Plan Category: News and Politics
A Plan for World Peace!
– Isaiah 2:2 “In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.”
Executive Summary: We are compiling a plan to nurture Peace on Earth. Instead of ending in Jerusalem, like the Roadmap http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roadmap_to_peace, this plan starts in Jerusalem. The goal is to formulate and propagate a Biblically based framework for perpetually arbitrating and resolving disputes among all nations.


Current peace plans in the World leave the Mosques on the Temple Mount for last. We propose addressing these thorny issues right away as part of the "Isaiah Plan":


objective 1 - Jerusalem


a. Construction of the Pavilion Canopy
Isaiah 4:5-6 "Then the Lord will create over the whole site of Mount Zion and over its places of assembly a cloud by day and smoke and the shining of a flaming fire by night. Indeed, over all the glory there will be a canopy. It will serve as a pavilion, a shade by day from the heat, and a refuge and a shelter from the storm and rain."
We propose to build a massive pavilion canopy structure over the entire Temple Mount area. We need help compiling documentation including detailed maps.
The structure would serve the following functions:

1) Court of Justice for the entire World circumventing the ICJ in the Hague, and the UN in New York.
Isaiah 2:3-4 “The law will go out from Zion, the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.”

2) The Third Temple for all nations.

Isaiah 56:7 “these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."

3) Three Capitols:

Jerusalem, Capitol of Israel
Al Quds, Capitol of Palestine
New Jerusalem, Capitol of the World

4) Representatives from all Nations:

There should be a place to centralize and organize the input of every nation’s opinions. The purposes would be to collect opinions for the representatives, provide voting standards for each nation’s populaces, and avoid and arbitrate political disputes. Infrastructure would be provided for each country’s statistical survey data for polling the populations, and election formats for central decision making as well as delegation. Guaranteeing fair political practices and processes, with systems put into place and maintained using standardized methods for surveying and capturing political opinions, with statistical analysis provided to and collected from those nation’s political and educational institutions. Aggregate opinions could be formulated by region or cross-tabbed, providing representation potential at multiple levels.

5) An Amusement Park
To reconcile having an amusement park and a religious site so closely meshed, we can site the practicality of having separate areas designated for children in Churches. A place to attract and support the presence of families, perhaps linked to the Museum of the Temple Mount area. For transportation around the canopy pavilion structure, the establishment of efficient rail systems could provide this function. Since Mount Moriah is elevated above the rest of the site, the rest of the site would need to have infrastructure raised to the level even with the existing Temple Mount. On the East side, the Brook of Kidron is the low point, and would need infrastructure elevated to a level near the Garden of Gethsemane below the Mount of Olives. The Mount of Olives to the Golden Gate could therefore be a chief attraction and entrance platform to the structure with Gondolas, escalators/powered walkways, (a roller coaster from the Mount of Olives to above the Golden Gate) Preservation and respecting existing burial areas between the Mount of Olives and the Brook of Kidron would be part of the project’s mantra of maintaining the status quo while leaping forward concurrently. The project’s transportation system would therefore be an extremely elevated one built about 100 feet above the existing areas below the Temple Mount so that it is all level to the Temple Mount.

Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain”

Zechariah 14:10 “All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin's gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king's winepresses.


6) Archaeological site and Museum:
All areas and structures on the Noble Sanctuary are to be preserved by accepted experts in the field, while extensive archaeological excavations are slowly implemented, absolutely guaranteeing the preservation or restoration of existing structures. The treasures of historical and scientific evidence may add to the faith of the unfaithful, so it really should be treated with sacred value. The care of what remains on the Temple Mount, both above and below the ground, is paramount!!