Siting the Temple in Jerusalem

The following was sent to http://www.templeinstitute.org as a comment.

Is it true that the Temple cannot be placed on ground that was used for a pagan high place or for pagan sacrifices?

If that is the case, there is an outstanding allegation made by architect Tuvia Sagiv that the site of the Dome of the Rock is a former pagan high place, and in addition to this it's known that the Al Aqsa mosque was built over the Roman Temple of Jupiter. Sagiv's study of the geology of the area suggests that locating any remnant of either the First or Second Temples at the Dome or anywhere north of it would be very unlikely because the bedrock itself breaks through to the surface inside the Dome edifice. Historically, he argues that the wall surrounding the Temple grounds had to be raised to stop a nosy evil king from peering from his palace into the grounds; the sightlines required to substantiate this would have been broken by siting the Temple at the Dome or north of it, regardless of the height of the wall. In the southern location in the garden between the Dome and Al Aqsa, a low wall allows a sightline from that former ancient palace into the area, and a high wall prevents it, according to Sagiv.

So he suggests the likelihood of the Temple having been located in the garden of Al-Kas midway between the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa. Now, when I looked at the aerial photo and mapped diagram you have on the Bird's Eye Guide, I noticed a strikingly similar outline of a rectangular area in the garden, to the southwest of the Bird's Eye Temple diagram, matching the outline of the Temple, Inner Court and Women's Court, and it looks like it would fit very neatly right between the two Muslim structures. This also puts the Holy of Holies much closer to the Western Wall, where it would lie on the other side just to the northeast.

Sagiv himself suggests the Fountain of Al-Kas is centered right about where the Holy of Holies once stood, but I think that if it were located there, it would make it more difficult to ensure access to a clean water supply for the whole Temple; only the high priest would have been able to get to it, and how would it get channeled to the laver of cleansing in the inner court? I think it's more likely that it was on the south side of the inner court where regular priests could get the water to the laver and the altar. The Holy of Holies from what I understand received the blood tokens of sacrifice, so it would have been unsuitable to have the spring feed right under it because of sanitation issues. (Think about where the well of a house usually is. Not under the kitchen or bathroom! Near an outside wall or outside of the house entirely.)

However, it seems to me that the broad points of Sagiv's hypothesis would solve some vexing problems, most notably with having to demolish all or parts of the Dome mosque and with siting the Temple on any former pagan temple or worship site. I was also impressed by his scientific evidence of massive foundations right underneath the garden, as shown in nocturnal infrared imagery of the site. You can view a synopsis of his theory included with the other two major theories of siting in the following link:

http://www.templemount.org/theories.html

And another analysis here:

http://www.bible.ca/archeology/bible-archeology-jerusalem-temple-mount-threshing-floor.htm

So with qualifications, that's my two cents... what do you think?

Michael Savage still banned in Britain?

I sent the following to the Hon. Madam Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton:

"I'd like to know what the State Department is doing to lift the travel ban the United Kingdom has unfairly and possibly illegally imposed on radio talk show host Dr. Michael Savage, Ph.D. I'm told that under the new government of Prime Minister David Cameron, the UK still maintains a list on which this man, who has done nothing but exercise his freedom of speech, a right recognized both by the British unwritten Constitution and the US Bill of Rights, remains lumped in with terrorists and war criminals. Is speech that is controversial and disagreeable to be considered terrorism now? If that's so, how can anyone respect the rule of law under a Constitution in either country that specifies freedom of speech as a right? How can anyone even work for a government in either country that is so blatantly ignoring a law abiding citizen's right to speak his conscience directly to a nation and to the world? What is the United States' answer to this breach of a private citizen's freedoms by an ostensible allied nation that supposedly shares the values of liberty and fair play?"

Temple Mount may be in danger on Tisha B'Av 5770

The following was sent to the office of the Prime Minister of Israel:

It is my deep concern that there may be a lack of preparation for a possible total disaster on the Temple Mount and around the Western Wall. It seems to me there need to be systems in place to evacuate people rapidly in the event that the Mount really is unstable, and some precipitating event like an earthquake or careless or malevolent human activity causes it to collapse, God forbid during a holiday like Tisha B'Av or a Muslim feast day where many people are attracted to the Mount area.

I can't speak to expertise because I'm not an archaeologist or an engineer, I just see certain patterns in the way things are going. Ninth of Av in particular appears to be a very dangerous time historically to be around the Mount. A source called LightofZion.org points to the numerous instances in Jewish history where this particular date has figured in some disaster involving this site. Given that repetition of events, I should think it would be a very good time, if not to convince people to stay home, to at least be absolutely and fully prepared for the unimaginably worst to happen. My concern is tripled this year because of other circumstances such as increased threat of earthquakes connected to solar eclipses (such as the one coming up July 11, just 8 days before 9th of Av commences this year), continued reports of excavation, legal and not, and of rumors of impending war with Iran over its intentions of destroying Israel and acquiring nuclear weapons.

It should be noted that the Shiite sectarians very likely hold a grudge against the Sunni Muslims for their guerrillas having repeatedly and savagely attacked the third holiest shrine in all of Shia Islam -- the Mosque in the holy city of Najaf, Iraq. It is not out of the question that Shiite terrorists may try to avenge Najaf with an attack on the third holiest shrine in SUNNI Islam -- the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa, in other words, the Temple Mount. Shiite-ruled Iran may indeed be looking for a pretext to destroy the Mount by air attack or clandestine means in the event of a war with Israel.

Anyway, please forward this message to the appropriate authorities and may G-d bless the nation of Israel and its people. Shalom.

Does America need to ban Islam via Constitutional Amendment?

Watch this video I found on Sharia Law in America. It will blow your mind if you care about civil liberties. Here are a couple of Christians walking around just asking questions, and they get set upon by security guards working for some Muslim organization, who then lie to the cops about having attacked the camera-carrying Christians who were filming on a public street in Dearborn, Michigan, doing nothing but asking questions!

For best results, right click on the video before playing it and choose option Show All, then if desired left click the full screen icon (a little box with four arrows pointing out) at bottom right on the video.

Federal Jury System Reform

Sent the following to Senators George Lemieux and Bill Nelson, Congressman Bill Young and President Barack Obama:

Is it me or does the Federal jury system just plain suck? It seems to me that working people should not be drafted to do the government's bidding whenever Uncle Sam feels like it. I've been summonsed THREE TIMES in the past TWO YEARS and it is too much! Imagine being sick and having to work security at night, then becoming so alarmingly subject to memory lapses due to poor sleep that this time, you FORGET TO CALL THE JURY POOL! (They call it "failure to appear." It's up to a 3 day jail term and a $1,000 fine. Nice, huh?)

I have a proposal. MAKE JURY SERVICE STRICTLY VOLUNTARY. We have 16 million people out of work and they could use the money. Speaking of which, they should get paid $100 A DAY, FLAT RATE TAX FREE. A nice way to tide them over, without eating into unemployment budgets while serving. And offer them FREE TRANSPORTATION or mileage. And ELIGIBILITY to volunteer again within a SHORTER PERIOD, to make sure jurors are available.

I believe if these changes are made, the Federal Court system will never lack jurors to fill the pools. If impartiality is a concern, keep in mind most defendants will be as poor and likely to be minorities as most of the jurors, and voir dire takes care of that anyway; while the present system results in jurors abusing voir dire to get out of serving because they need to get back to their own jobs. Yes, we know how to fake prejudice. Don't kid yourselves.

Please consider and enact this proposal soon. Thanks for your time.

On my latest federal jury doody

This month of April starting the 13th I was on federal jury duty. Unfortunately, I forgot all about it. I hadn't even read half the material... something about a three month trial, that was something I only learned about on the 15th when I finally found the papers.

I failed to call the federal jury phone number Monday because I was sick, tired, was working that day, and nobody bothers to send you a reminder a few days early so us old farts with CRS can catch up with the times! Then they sent threats, arriving Thursday, which pissed me off, so I expressed my pissoff very eloquently to the court clerk's phone mail twice. Then I finally found the paperwork I was supposed to deal with Monday and called to find that my jury service was no longer required. Probably because I forgot to call them when they wanted me to. So I sent back an essay on their Order To Show Cause form, and it too was eloquent although absent the profanity and histrionics I am so very capable of on the phone.

You know, after being on call for jury duty twice in the past two years they really should have left me the fuck alone. But since they didn't, and I got sick and still had to work nights, and had other distractions, and basically night people just can't even think like day people, and I might actually be getting a touch of Alzheimers because lately I have been forgetting a lot of names, I'm about done with this idea of serving impartially on a jury. Hey, if anyone asks, I hate every ethnic group and both genders, I think he looks guilty, I think corporations are evil or government is depending who's asking, and I'll sabotage every voir dire I get invited to from now till fucking Doomsday! They want to waste their money getting me to open doors to constitutional nullification and preset verdicts, that's what they're getting from me from now on. Fuck them all!

Links to my research on religious topics

For convenience I've decided to gather up all the links to blog posts I've made about prophecy and the Bible and put them all here.

What was the real sin of Sodom?

Jesus Christ did not promise an immediate return! The Second Coming is in the future. http://turtleofxanth.blogspot.com/2007/10/mark-91-matthew-1628-luke-927.html
http://turtleofxanth.blogspot.com/2007/10/context-of-mark-91-matthew-1628-luke.html
http://turtleofxanth.blogspot.com/2007/10/addendum-to-mark-91-exegesis.html

The Rapture -- Could it be Rosh Hashanah in late September 2011?

Nostradamus, Mabus, the Last Days, and Mus'Ab Ibn Umair: the Type of Antichrist

Overview of the Evidence Validating the Gospels and the Existence of God via the Resurrection of Christ

The English Language: A Divine Numerical Design?

Is Iranian opposition leader Mir Hosain Mousavi the Mabus-Antichrist that Nostradamus predicted?

Are Compass Directions in the Bible diagonal to the modern compass? See how Daniel's use of directions limit the national origin of the Antichrist to just ONE COUNTRY -- IRAN.

Tisha B'av and The 2300 Days in Daniel: What if they end in 2018?