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Reuven Rivlin, a Likud MK who had accompanied Sharon, replied: “If there is a provocation here, then so is the very existence of the Jews in the Land of Israel. For Wakf officials, the very presence of Jews in Jerusalem is a provocation. This is an area under Israeli sovereignty, and we do not have to apologize for allowing religious freedom of movement in the capital.”

“Every Jewish person has the right to visit Judaism’s holiest site,” Sharon asserted.

Meanwhile, Jordanian Moslem fundamentalists called immediately for a “holy war – jihad” against Israel, condemning Sharon’s visit as “an atrocious act which requires Moslem and Arab leaders to declare jihad to liberate… the shrines in Jerusalem.” They urged the cancellation of all peace accords signed with the “Jewish enemy,” and the shedding of blood of those Jews who plan to implement the “outrageous crime” of establishing their “alleged” temple in the yards of the blessed Al-Aqsa Mosque.

However, Prime Minister Barak, at a conference during the UN Millennium Assembly, firmly replied the following: “Jerusalem and the Temple Mount are the cornerstones of Jewish identity. I made it very clear that no Israeli Prime Minister will ever sign a document that gives up sovereignty on the Temple Mount… when young Jesus walked around Jerusalem, he did not see mosques or churches, but only the Holy Temple.”

This Muslim “sanctuary” to be built beneath and above the Temple Mount, under the cover of “renovating Islamic holy sites,” will be devoted to jihad, terror, lawlessness and bloodshed, a hiding place for weapons and terrorists in the very heart of Jerusalem! Who would dare attack it? This, and not the third temple, will in all likelihood be the “abomination that shall render the earth desolate,” as prophesied by Daniel, the Lord Yeshua, and the apostle Paul. Daniel 12:11, and likewise 11:31, makes no mention of the Temple. The Hebrew Scriptures merely state that the “continual” will be taken away, and that the abomination that makes desolate will be set up.

The key to this mystery are the words of our Lord Who speaks of the “Holy Place.” The Greek word for “holy” here is hagiõs, which in its sacredness and holiness is awe-inspiring, pure, blameless, i.e. most holy. The “Place” instead is tõpõs, which is a spot, or place of limited occupancy, i.e. not a large place, but a small one, a specific location. 

This IS what the reader is supposed to understand: that anything other than the Temple of the G-d of Israel standing in that most holy spot is an abomination, because it desecrates the place where G-d promised that His heart and eyes would be continually.

In review: Daniel speaks of a sanctuary of strength; the Lord Yeshua of a holy place; and Paul the apostle of a most holy place.

But none of the prophecies mention the Temple proper. The Holy Spirit never indicated a “Third Temple” wherin the “Man of sin” would set himself up. Therefore, let us not keep looking for a wrong “sign” but recognize the one in progress right before our eyes¹.