Travel Reflections: The Third Temple

Inspired by a recent comment in a previous entry.

Religion is always fascinating, and this of course proved to be true during my visit to Jerusalem (2005). Every evening Hasidic Jews gathered prayed at the Wailing Wall; many of these prayers were for the restoration of the temple that had been destroyed by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago. This dedication extends beyond regular prayer, though: the blueprints and utensils (including an enormous golden menorah) for the Third Temple are all complete. They are simply waiting for the Dome of the Rock to collapse.

Many conservative Christians believe Judaism has been fulfilled with Christianity, but these people support the building of the Third Temple almost as much as the devout Hasidic Jews. By a strict interpretation, the New Testament book of Revelation requires the rebuilding of the Jewish temple before the second coming of Christ. So the conservative Christians are hoping for the same outcome as the Hasidic Jews–but for completely different and largely opposing reasons!

I can’t say that I’d be a fan of this type of support if I were an Israeli Jew: “Let’s rebuild your temple so that our messiah can return.”