Associates for Scriptural Knowledge
P.O. Box 25000
Portland, OR 97298-0990
Phone: 503-292-4352
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In this large world in which we live, no man is ever an
island. Each of us is constantly coming in contact with others from whom we
learn many valuable teachings that cause us to change our minds on some
important occasions. In regard to the discovery of the site of the Temples in
Jerusalem, I have had the pleasure and the good fortune of being brought into
the company of many of the top historians and archaeologists of Jerusalem over
the period of my professional career as a historian and theologian. My first
visit to Jerusalem in 1961 set my mind on solving the problems that affected
the true geographical comprehension of early Jerusalem throughout all its
periods of history. I watched closely how Professor Benjamin Mazar and Meir
Ben Dov (his assistant at the time) went about their professional duties and
this was a great learning experience. Both of them were more than willing to
answer questions for me in the many private times that I could learn from
them. I later met Professor Mazar's son, Ory, who was the first to recommend
to me that the Temples of Solomon and Zerubbabel were located on the Ophel
mound just to the north of the original Mount Zion on the southeast ridge. He
said that his father was leaning in that direction at the time of his death.
After a study of six months, in 1995 I wrote a preliminary report that
suggested strongly that this theory was indeed correct for the two earlier
Temples. I was then under the impression that Simon the Hasmonean (along with
Herod a century later) moved the Temple from the Ophel mound to the Dome of
the Rock area. Mr. Bill Lavers in England in reading closely the texts in
Josephus mentioned that Herod stated dogmatically that his Temple (though
enlarged to be double in size of the former Temple) was still located in the
same general area as that of the former Temples. This was also pointed out to
me by Dr. James Tabor and David Sielaff (My historical and compositional
editor).
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But then I noticed the eyewitness account of Eleazar who led the
final contingent of Jewish resistance to the Romans at Masada. He stated that
the Roman fortress which had long been in Jerusalem was the only structure left
by 73 C.E. With this key in mind, I came to the conclusion in 1997 that all
the Temples were indeed located on the Ophel mound over the area of the Gihon
Spring. It then became clear that the dimensions of the Temple (with its
unique shape and characteristics) was not the Haram esh-Sharif. We then began
to draw (as would an architect) the Temple at its location over the Gihon
Spring. I had the good fortune of having a professional artist, who was also
interested in biblical matters, draw what Josephus stated in his writings. My
thanks go to Lydia Cooper who provided the pictures showing how the Temple and
Fort Antonia looked in relationship to one another. The illustrations she
provided help make the matter much clearer to those who have only a limited
amount of study into these historical and geographical matters.
This book is a result of my concluding research that shows
that the Temples of God in Jerusalem were indeed located over the Gihon Spring
and not over the Dome of the Rock. What has been amazing to me is the
vast amount of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian records that remain available
from the first to the sixteenth centuries that clearly vindicate the
conclusions that I have reached in this book of research. Any information that
you readers may have or discover that either support or detract from the
conclusions that I have made in this book, would be greatly appreciated by me.
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