Dear Associates, Students and Friends:

The Search for the Temples that Jerusalem Forgot

The basic research for my new book on the Temples is now complete. I am presently closeting myself away from ordinary office work and the normal duties of answering mail and questions to finish the composition of this book (as well as creating maps, diagrams, and line drawings along with photographs of pertinent sites). These extra features will help make a rather complex subject to be plain and easy-to-understand. I truly believe that you will rejoice in the outcome when this book is published near the end of the year. Though I have done the research and the composing of the text, the book itself will still have to be professionally edited and placed into a book format before it is sent to the printers. This will prevent the inevitable typographical errors that emerge in the final text when an author does such things himself. The information in it will be a major revelation to the world. It will startle not only our Jewish friends with brand new historical facts they have never realized in the past 800 years, but Christians and Muslims alike will be utterly astounded at the outcome. I am stating this without exaggeration. In a word, the whole history of Jerusalem as we have known it for the past eight centuries will have to be drastically changed in order to arrive at the actual facts. The account will be eye opening.

As a matter of fact, I am pleasantly astounded myself at what this new research shows. As late as two and a half years ago, the knowledge that I possessed then led me to believe that the site of the Haram esh-Sharif (where the Dome of the Rock is presently located) was the area where Herod had constructed his Temple in which Christ Jesus taught. Indeed, as most of you readers know, for the previous three years I had good solid evidence that the Temples built in Jerusalem before the time of Herod and Jesus were located over the Gihon Spring (and I published research reports showing the reliability of my conclusions), but it never entered my mind until February, 1997 that Herod’s Temple was also situated over the same Gihon Spring. Now I have abundant biblical, historical and geographical information from all periods starting with the time of Herod and coming on down to even our modern era that dogmatically proves that Herod’s Temple was NOT located within the area of the Haram (near the Dome of the Rock). Even properly understanding prophecy depends on the accuracy of this matter.

When one puts together the historical and geographical information in my former book "Secrets of Golgotha" (which shows that Christ Jesus was actually crucified and resurrected on the Mount of Olives) along with this new research, it shows that Herod’s Temple was positioned over the Gihon Spring (at least 1000 feet south of the Dome of the Rock). This allows the real geography of Jerusalem to come on the scene with all its glory. And what a wonderful site it was before it was thoroughly destroyed in A.D.70. This new information about the Temple means I will have to adjust a few geographical points I suggested in my book "Secrets of Golgotha" (they are not major divergences) in order to make the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection more poignant and symbolically more significant. These two books mean that the whole of the encyclopaedias and atlases of Jerusalem that have been produced up to now (and that are presently being sold in the bookstores) are in profound error and they are completely out-of-date – indeed, they are all WRONG in even their prime details. The information that I will give to the scholarly and religious worlds will show how ERRONEOUS scholars and religious leaders of the Christians, Muslims and Jews have been. They will admit to teaching error.

Scholars will be amazed to find out that when the Dome of the Rock was built, people in the 7th century did NOT believe the Rock was the site of the Temple. They accepted in the main that it was the Rock on which Jesus stood when He was finally judged by Pilate near the Praetorium (the Rock around which Fort Antonia was built). They believed footprints of Jesus were cradled (embedded) into the surface of the Rock. Over this same spot (some two centuries before) a church was built called the Church of the Holy Wisdom to protect Jesus’ footprints supposedly indenting its surface. An Italian pilgrim in the middle of the 6th century (who described the Church with Jesus’ footprints) identified the exact site and he clearly separated the spot from Solomon’s former Temple. That Church of the Holy Wisdom was destroyed in A.D. 614 when Persian armies (aided by Jewish mercenary troops) thoroughly destroyed that Church and others in Jerusalem. And now for a shocker. I will show that Abd al-Malik of the Umayyad dynasty in A.D. 692 deliberately selected this well-known Christian site (it was NOT Jewish at all) to rebuild and restore the Church of the Holy Wisdom (following its exact floor plans). He rebuilt the Church with a minimum amount of Muslim decoration in order to make it into a style acceptable to Christians in order to entice Christians to embrace Islam that also accepted Jesus (with certain modifications in doctrine). Abd al-Malik even wrote an inscription around the inner Dome close to the Rock. It was a message addressed exclusively to Christians (not for Muslims and Jews), and that inscription is still there today. He also made a similar inscription for Muslims on the outer side of the same cornice inside the Dome but further away from the Rock. Those two inscriptions have long puzzled scholars, but they are so clear to understand. The Dome of the Rock is actually a "church\shrine" (NOT a mosque) built over a Christian holy place erected by Muslims and intended as a Muslim gesture of appealing to Christians in Jerusalem and to all Christian pilgrims to accept Islam.

Indeed, just inside the southern gate of the Dome of the Rock and underneath a cornice supported by columns is that inscription in Arabic to Muslims describing the greatness of Islam. It circles the inner building on the outside of columns supporting the cornice. But on the inside of the same cornice (and closer to the Rock) is a continuing inscription that is written exclusively to Christians (and only to Christians, NOT to Jews). Those two inscriptions contain a major KEY that demonstrates (with other historical and biblical facts) that the site is actually a Christian holy place and that the Rock was never associated with the Temples of God when the Dome of the Rock was built. You will be amazed at what this secret KEY really is. I will reveal it in my next "Doctrinal Report" for October. I will give you a translation of the two KEY inscriptions with the history that shows the Rock was located in Fort Antonia in the time of Jesus and that the early Christians until the Crusades knew this fact. I will have even more information (with full documentation) in my new book on the Temples, but this new Report showing that the Dome of the Rock is the restored Church of the Holy Wisdom is essential in knowing the truth. I hope you will send for this brand new Report titled: "The Secret Key to the Dome of the Rock."

The fact is, modern scholars and religious leaders (whether Christian, Muslim or Jewish) have made major mistakes in historical and biblical judgments. It is now time to straighten out the confusion that presently exists. I now have the facts and they are clear. I realize that it sounds arrogant of me to say that I have discovered this truth, but I am stating nothing but the facts. Actually, God prophesied that as the End of the Age would approach (and we are in that period now), that a proper knowledge of His divine word would be increased (Daniel 12:4,9). The prophet Isaiah gave a specific prediction that God would begin to take off the blinders that He has placed as a covering over all peoples’ eyes (including even yours and mine in the past) and that He would remove the ear-plugs that He has placed in our ears that prevented the absorption of proper and true knowledge (Isaiah 29:9-24). But now, it is my conviction that these prophecies of Daniel and Isaiah are being fulfilled.

But let us recognize one fact. It is not that Ernest L. Martin is some kind of "chosen one" to reveal these things at this time. In no way. I will admit, however, that I have been in the right place at the right time (chosen by a lottery from God before the foundation of the world as has each one of us) to be a part of this divine disclosure to the world. It simply means that I and each of you have had the wisdom and the gumption to take God at His word and that we believe Him when He said He was going to make these "secret things" known at the End of the Age. So, I along with you and many others have "taken the bull by the horns" so to speak and have "burned the midnight oil" (that is, working day and night) in searching biblical and historical documents in order to arrive at the truth regarding the Temples in Jerusalem. And that is not all. I also have been extensively devoting my time to greater understand all of God’s teachings and looking for information that would help us recognize the prophecies of God that must in all cases come to pass. The Father has much more to reveal. We are now on the verge of comprehending a whole host of other prophetic teachings now that we have entered the prophesied period of the End-Time. In a future book on Chronology, I will show how we can know that we have entered the End-Time era. The coming of the new Millennium will bring a renewed awareness to all.

Because of this new knowledge about the location of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection, and knowing the precise area where the former Temples of God were built, it will bring a new dimension of interest concerning the City of Jerusalem. This factual information has the potential of changing the way the Jewish and Muslim authorities in the Middle East view the Holy Places (as they are called) in Jerusalem. It will also involve some prime alterations in Christian viewpoints. The world will have to make some principal adjustments in their thinking over these religious issues that have erroneously plagued the history of Jerusalem for the past 2000 years. We are destined for some drastic changes in political and religious affairs and the important outcome will center directly on Jerusalem and the State of Israel (but the whole world will also be brought into the fracas that will soon develop). We should get ready in the near future to see the prophecies of Jeremiah that are found in Zechariah chapters 12, 13 and 14 start their fulfillment. Those prophecies have never yet occurred! Keep your eyes on Jerusalem. The prophetic future of the world will focus on that city. I will try to keep you up-to-date in the coming months and the next two decades about these momentous events that are just on the historical horizon. This is why ASK exists. We are here to keep God’s people aware of these impending prophetic events.

As a matter of interest, a film and television company that has made quite a number of excellent documentaries on subjects dealing with the Bible (such as the quest for Noah’s Ark, and other topics) contacted me to get my professional comments on portions of Christ’s life in a new documentary they are making. Because Professor Jack Finegan has accepted my research showing that Herod died after an eclipse of the moon in 1 B.C. (which he published in his new book "The Handbook of Bible Chronology"), they wanted to include this new historical and astronomical information in their production. So, on August 9th the television crew came from as far as Denver to Portland to interview me at my office. The questioning lasted just over an hour, and it was quite successful. Portions of that interview will be shown in the documentary that is soon coming out. I will let you know when it will be ready for distribution. God has all types of ways of getting His messages to the world, and the TV media are very effective in this regard. I was happy to participate in this production. This type of outreach goes along with our efforts on the Internet to provide the Gospel free to all who tune in to our Web Page. I am putting new material on the Web almost every week, and now anyone in the world who is tuned to the Internet can get our material very quickly. We are getting responses from all over the world. It is truly a marvel that God has raised up at this time to dispense His truth to the world. In my view, it is essential that all of God’s people should have access to the Web soon. It gives knowledge easily and quickly.

Things are speeding up toward the conclusion of this age that all of the prophets spoke about. God has called you and me at this strategic time in history to provide a message of meaning and hope to the world (among other devoted Christians who also teach the truths of the Gospel). We need you to continue your financial support on a regular basis to help us dispense these prime truths to others. Thank you for your regular and needed contributions. God bless you. Until next month, 

Ernest L. Martin