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Introduction There is no place on Earth that is considered a more

significant, as well as more volatile, than the small piece of real estate known today as the Temple Mount.

More blood has been shed over disputes of the ownership and control of this 45 acre parcel of land than anywhere else.

Some believe that it will be the focal point that ignites World War III.

It is considered holy ground by both Jew and Muslim alike. As it has been for as long as anyone can remember,

tensions remain high between Muslim and Jew over this small parcel of land.

Today, Muslim authorities administer the Temple Mount area, through the Ministry of Awqaf in Amman, Jordan.

Inside the Temple Mount area, also known as Haram Al-Sharif, or “Noble Enclosure” by Muslims since 638 AD, are these important structures: The Dome of the Rock, which covers the large rock from

which the Islamic prophet Muhammad purportedly ascended to Heaven, accompanied by the angel Gabriel, riding on his horse named Barack.

The el-Aqsa Mosque; considered the 3rd holiest site in Islam; behind: The Kaaba in Mecca, where the masses gather as part

of a required “pilgrimage”. The Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, or “Prophet’s” Mosque in

Medina. Until the mid-20th century, non-Muslims were not

permitted in the area of the Temple Mount.

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Since 1967, non-Muslims have been permitted limited access; however non-Muslims are not permitted to pray on the Temple Mount, or carry any form of religious artifact or anything with Hebrew letters. The Israeli police help to enforce these edicts.

Meanwhile, the Western Wailing Wall and its plaza is the area where Jews and others go to pray.

Some Jews desperately want to take control of the Temple Mount, as well as to build a 3rd temple there. Hard-liners such as Ariel Sharon once entered the Haram (in Arabic, meaning “forbidden”) with an armed security force of 1,000 Israeli soldiers, provoking a violent Muslim response, in which nearly 500 people died.

Muslims offer a stern warning that if a Jew ever puts one shovel to their professed holy site a war will follow.

The mutually exclusive viewpoints of the history and purpose of the Temple Mount has been going on for many, many years; decades; centuries.

But what if…what if… the basis for the scenario is flawed? What if, more specifically, the earlier Jewish temples were

never on this land to begin with? A new book; “The Temple”, by Bob Cornuke, may shed

some light on this question.

What Are the Claims? The original, or 1st temple, was built by Solomon in the

City of David. It was destroyed by the Babylonians about 586 BC, only to

have other successive temples rebuilt or expanded… with far less grandeur… finally ending with Herod building his temple which Messiah actually visited on many occasions.

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Herod’s temple was destroyed, just as Yahshua predicted, down to the very last stone, by Titus in 70 AD.

As time passed, no one knew where the completely destroyed temple really was.

The Stronghold of Zion, known as the City of David, appeared to have vanished as well.

Bob Cornuke is not the 1st to bring up the subject of an incorrect understanding of the location of Solomon’s temple, with their multiple destructions and rebuildings, and the 2nd temple built by Herod and in place at the time of Yahshua’s earthly ministry.

An earlier work by Ernest Martin introduced many of the same ideas. Cornuke’s ideas build upon Martin’s earlier findings.

These included: The temples never existed on the Temple Mount; they

existed at another location south… by many hundreds of feet.

The temples actually existed in an area of Jerusalem identified as the City of David.

The Temple Mount of today is actually the remnants of a Roman fortress known as Fort Antonia, which was the stronghold of the Roman 10th Legion.

The City of David A key element to understanding all of this is:

What was the City of David? Where was it located? Can we identify it today?

3,000 years ago, the City of David was small; about 12 acres; with an estimated population of only around 2,000.

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Then, and today, it’s a finger of land just south of the present-day, traditionally identified, Temple Mount.

It was, at one time, a Jebusite fortress, albeit a small one. David, newly recognized as the Israelite king, wanted it. It was strategically situated, with a high walled castle-

looking complex rising majestically from the Kidron Valley.

A spring flowed abundantly inside… with clear, pure water, making it even more desirable.

David took it from the mocking Jebusites. II Samuel 5:6-7: 6 And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against

the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, “You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you,” thinking, “David cannot come in here.”

7 Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion (that is, the City of David).

Note that the City of David is also referred to as the stronghold of Zion.

These two locales (Stronghold of Zion and the City of David) are the vital keys in solving the riddle as to where the true temple is located.

Another important event occurs shortly thereafter. David got a little big headed, and Yahweh allowed David’s

pride to make him do something foolish, and deadly; count the population in Israel.

After being punished and bringing David back to humility, Yahweh sent a message to David. II Samuel 24:18-25: 18 And Gad came that day to David and said to him,

“Go up, erect an altar to Yahweh on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.”

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19 So David, according to the word of Gad, went up as Yahweh commanded.

20 Now Araunah looked, and saw the king and his servants coming toward him. So Araunah went out and bowed before the king with his face to the ground.

21 Then Araunah said, “Why has my lord the king come to his servant?” And David said, “To buy the threshing floor from you, to build an altar to Yahweh, that the plague may be withdrawn from the people.”

22 Now Araunah said to David, “Let my lord the king take and offer up whatever seems good to him. Look, here are oxen for burnt sacrifice, and threshing implements and the yokes of the oxen for wood.

23 All these, O king, Araunah has given to the king.” And Araunah said to the king, “May Yahweh your Elohim accept you.”

24 Then the king said to Araunah, “No, but I will surely buy it from you for a price; nor will I offer burnt offerings to Yahweh my Elohim with that which costs me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.

25 And David built there an altar to Yahweh, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings. So Yahweh heeded the prayers for the land, and the plague was withdrawn from Israel.

It should be noted that, up to 150 years ago, the City of David was thought to be on the Western Hill in Jerusalem.

Archaeologists had confirmed that the original City of David was actually built on the southeastern ridge of Jerusalem.

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What changed the prevailing opinion was the discovery of Hezekiah’s water tunnel under the Ophel mount in the 1870’s.

The tunnel leads from the Gihon Spring to the Pool of Siloam, where Yahshua healed the man blind from birth in John 9.

This is where the works of Yahweh were to be revealed; where Yahshua created a clay ointment with His saliva, then sent the man to the pool of Siloam to complete the healing.

This is where the parents were questioned by the Pharisees accused Yahshua of sinning by healing on the Sabbath.

British archaeologist Kathleen Kenyon discovered in 1962 that the entire City of David, in the past, had been only that little rock ridge on the western bank of the Kidron Valley.

Solomon’s Temple So, how does this fit into the 1st Temple? One thing was certain; it would not be built by David. I

Chronicles 28:3, 6: 3 But Elohim said to me, “You shall not build a house

for My name, because you have been a man of war and have shed blood.”

6 Now He said to me, “It is your son Solomon who shall build My house and My courts; for I have chosen him to be My son, and I will be his Father.”

Where did Solomon built that house… the Temple? II Chronicles 3:1: Now Solomon began to build the house of Yahweh at Jerusalem on Mount Moriah, where Yahweh had appeared to his father David, at the place that David had prepared on the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.

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But is this area part of the Temple Mount area?

Water Source Needed One major activity for the Temple was the processing of

animal sacrifices. This requires the constant presence of an important natural

resource… water. For religious and sanitation reasons, due to the vast amount

of animal sacrifices taking place, it was necessary to build the Temple near fresh running water.

Then, as today, there are no natural sources of fresh water on the Temple Mount; in any amount.

No natural springs have ever been found within the Haram, only cisterns for collecting water.

The only source of plenty of fresh, flowing water at the time of King David and King Solomon, was then, and is today, the Gihon Spring.

Geologically, it’s the only natural spring in Jerusalem for five miles in any direction.

This makes sense when you think about it. We know what happens when blood and decaying flesh are left around for a period of time… disease! Not in Yahweh’s house!

There are many extra-biblical confirmations of the Temple containing a water source. Ernest Martin writes of an eyewitness account of a

person from Egypt named Aristeas who viewed the Temple ~285 B.C., who stated quite categorically that the Temple was located over an inexhaustible spring that welled up within the interior part of the Temple.

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Martin also cites Roman historian Tacitus, in ~105 A.D., stating that “the Temple at Jerusalem had within its precincts a natural spring of water.”

Today, noted Israeli archaeologist Dr. Eli Shukron has admitted… and presents evidence… that a temple once existed at the site of the Gihon Spring.

He has participated in excavations at the site of the Gihon Spring since 1995.

He does not acknowledge whether it was an Israelite or Jewish Temple; nor can he demonstrate that it was a pagan temple, either Jebusite or a later Greek site, or a temple from some other people.

Yet he does admit that remains of a temple at the Gihon dig site were dated from the 1st Temple era.

These references could only be describing the Gihon Spring.

It is located close to what is referred to as the Ophel, which is a bulge of earth abutting the City of David (Zion), laying just to the south, and roughly about 1,000 feet from, the Haram, or Temple Mount area.

A water spring is crucial for the true temple locale. Speaking of the future Temple, modeled after the original: Joel 3:18: A fountain shall flow from the house of

Yahweh. Ezekiel 47:1-2:

1 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.

2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led

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me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.

Again, there are no springs on the Haram; the Temple Mount area, and appears that there never was.

Only near an active, flowing source of water, and plenty of it, could the Temple have been located… and will be again in the future.

Water was vital to perform the daily sacrificial duties of the priests; before and in the future, of Yahweh’s Temple.

Not One Stone… In 2000 years of research, excavation and exploration

including a protracted search by the Templars, not one single artifact from the Temples of Jerusalem has ever been found. Why?

Yahshua’s prophecy concerning the fate of the Temple is repeated 4 times in the synoptic gospels; Matthew 24:1-2, Mark 13:1-2, Luke 19:43-44, and Luke 21:5-6: 5 Then, as some spoke of the temple, how it was adorned

with beautiful stones and donations, He <Yahshua> said, 6 “These things which you see – the days will come in

which not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down.”

Messiah’s words clearly state that the entire temple, each and every stone, would be dug up, dislodged, and tossed away.

Yet today, there remain massive stone blocks… by the thousands… set in the wall supporting the Temple Mount platform.

This does not include the many thousands of stones

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underground… down to the bedrock… which support those walls.

Was Messiah wrong in His prophesying that not one stone would remain standing, or… are we looking at the wrong place?

Roman Fort So what is, or more specifically was, the origins of the

Haram, the so-called Temple Mount area? This area was originally built for and used by the mighty

Roman Empire. It was built to administer control over the conquered people

of Jerusalem and the surrounding area. The Haram in reality is the remains of Fort Antonia; named

after Mark Antony; it was a Herodian structure which housed the Roman 10th Legion.

This garrison was as big as several cities, according to Josephus, housing approximately 6,000 men plus the needed support staff; as many as 10,000 personnel served there.

This mighty presence was the force used by Titus to crush the rebellions of the Roman/Jewish War of 66 to 73 A.D.

This is the same force which took Masada. The 10th Legion continued its presence within its walls for

over 200 years; until it left for present-day Aqaba, Jordon, in 289 A.D.

In early 1970s, Professor Benjamin Mazar, former President of Hebrew University, confirmed that the Haram was indeed a Roman fortress.

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Ernest Martin confirms that the style, size and water systems mimic other Roman fortresses of that time built to guard Roman-occupied cities.

Furthering evidence that the Haram is indeed Fort Antonia is the testimony from various so-called Church Fathers and pilgrims from the 4th to 6th centuries AD.

They speak of a large rock outcropping as the Praetorium; where Pilate judged Yahshua; John 18:33: Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Yahshua, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?”

The Dome of the Rock would later be built over this permanent natural feature.

The Fort Antonia is the only remaining part of the Jerusalem that existed in the period of Herod and Yahshua.

True to the nature of Rome, and in fulfillment of Yahshua’s prophesy; every structure in Jerusalem… not only the Temple… was uprooted and carted off by the Romans, often to be used to create new structures.

Our Messiah did not get it wrong. He knew what He was saying.

Paul’s Arrest In Acts 21, an interesting event occurred involving the

Apostle Paul. After fraternizing with his “unclean Gentile friends” he

entered the temple in Jerusalem. A mob quickly gathered with the intent to kill him. As news of the angry rioters reached the Roman

commander in the garrison, the officer rushed with a company of soldiers to take control of the situation. Acts 21:32-35:

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32 He <the commander of the garrison> immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them. And when they <the rioters> saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

33 Then the commander came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was and what he had done.

34 And some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. So when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks.

35 When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob.

The Romans needed to go down, and then back up stairs. This gives credence to the artist’s rendition.

Historical Record The historian Flavius Josephus wrote that the entirety of the

temple was indeed in total ruin and destruction after 70 A.D.

He said that if he had not personally been in Jerusalem during the war; and witnessed the demolition of the temple by Titus that took place there; he wouldn’t have believed it ever existed.

He speaks of widespread destruction in all Jerusalem as well. War of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 1, Part 1: It <Jerusalem with its walls> was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came after to believe it <Jerusalem> had ever been inhabited.

Josephus also records the words of Eleazar, the commander

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of Masada, relating his view of Jerusalem. War of the Jews, Book 7, Chapter 8, Part 7: Where is this city that was believed to have the Almighty Himself inhabiting therein? It is now demolished to the very foundations, and has nothing but that monument of it preserved, I mean the camp of those that had destroyed it, which still dwells upon its ruins.

Like all major fortresses, Josephus describes Fort Antonia as being built on the highest point of the area. In War of the Jews, Book 5, Chapter 5, Part 8 it says “There was also a peculiar fortress belonging to the upper city… and as that hill on which the tower of Antonia stood was the highest of these three, so did it adjoin to the new city, and was the only place that hindered the sight of the temple on the north.”

Conclusion This information may be news to a lot of people, but it is

not recent news. Lately, more and more information has been gathered,

primarily through archaeology digs near the area of the Gihon Spring.

More and more, they have found the remnants of an ancient animal sacrificial system; water troughs, sewage runoff trenches, slaughter areas, and other related artifacts.

All of this points to a very interesting scenario; if the ancient Hebrew temples were never on the Haram; the so-called Temple Mount; but was in reality south of that area, then creation of a new temple could be completed… while leaving the area sacred to Muslims completely untouched.

I personally once thought that the 3rd Temple would only

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occur after removal of the structures on the Temple Mount 1st; now I’m not so sure… I believe it is not needed… but an attempt may still occur.

In the meantime, that small parcel of land south of the Haram awaits its future.

A photo of that area… from several decades ago… with the land being used for tiered-level farming, reminds us of Yahweh’s prophesy. Micah 3:12: Therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field, Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins, and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest.

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