Category: Where Was Herod’s Temple

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death,  Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

I believe that the case presented by Dr. Ernest Martin for the ancient Jewish Temples being located above the Gihon Spring in the former City of David, south of the traditional “Temple Mount,” and for Fort Antonia being located on the Haram esh Sharif to the north, is very strong. Without question, this is a controversial topic, since the traditional “Temple Mount” location is supported by virtually all present-day theologians, historians, and archaeologists.  It is where you will be taken by your tour guide if you are on a tour of Jerusalem.

If the southern location is ultimately proven correct, then we will be forced to admit that for hundreds of years untold millions have stood in line to pay homage at the wrong place, that untold numbers of prayers have been tucked into the cracks of the wrong Western Wall, and that thousands of photos have been taken of a Jerusalem model depicting the wrong location and dimensions of the Fortress Antonia. If Dr. Martin’s controversial case is one day proven correct, it will be as if God has lifted a veil that for centuries has hidden the eyes of the world from viewing the truth.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Conclusion”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death,  Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

By now a rather obvious question has probably occurred to you: How is it possible that the Rabbis lost their Temples? How in the world could the location of Temples built in Jerusalem by the likes of Solomon, Zerubbabel, Simon the Hasmonean, and Herod the Great be lost? How could the location of the Temples to the Most Holy God, the worship center of the Lord’s Chosen People Israel, have been misplaced for so many hundreds of years? That truly is a question for the ages!

Clearly, it is not just the Rabbis who misplaced the Temples.  The entire Nation of Israel and – dare I say – the entire world are just as complicit.  As Dr. Ernest Martin stated in his remarkable book The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot (2001):

“Not only did all Israel forget, all the peoples of the surrounding nations also forgot. All the Arabs and even later, all the peoples of Islam forgot. And too, all Christians in the world forgot. In fact, everyone on earth (including me) forgot.”

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – The Rabbis Forgot”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

What would the final movements of Jesus look like if Herod’s Temple was actually located in the ancient City of David over the Gihon Spring, as proposed by Dr. Ernest Martin? How would His movements from arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane to crucifixion and burial on the Mount of Olives be different than tradition would have us believe?

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Jesus’ Movements”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

The ninth and final puzzle piece in the topic Where Was Herod’s Temple? presents the case argued by Nancy Kuehl, who maintains that the traditional “Temple Mount” is the true location of the Temple, but that the walls of the Temple remained standing not in spite of the prophesy of Jesus, but because of that prophesy.

It is highly unlikely that you have ever heard this argument before!

Nancy Kuehl is the author of the noteworthy book, A Book of Evidence – The Trials and Execution of Jesus (2013), which I used extensively in my various Posts under the topic How Did Jesus Really Die?

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Kuehl’s Temple”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

In the eighth puzzle piece of my search for the true location of Herod’s Temple I present evidence for the case presented by Dr. Ernest Martin in Dr. Martin’s own words.  Much of what follows in this Post is excerpted from the article, A Critique by Dr. Leen Ritmeyer, Rebuttal by Dr. Martin (2001).

Dr. Martin – and his case that the Temples of Jerusalem were located over the Gihon Spring south of the traditional “Temple Mount” – is certainly not without critics. If I were to conduct a formal survey, it is extremely likely that Dr. Martin’s critics would be found to include virtually all present-day historians, theologians, Jewish religious leaders, and archaeologists. His critics would also include the usual group of traditionalists who blindly support the currently-celebrated dates and sites related to the birth and death of Jesus in Jerusalem, as well the traditional sites of the “Temple Mount” and Fort Antonia.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Critique and Rebuttal”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

What would Herod’s Temple and Fort Antonia look like if we were to build them using the eyewitness descriptions recorded by Josephus? This was precisely the question asked by Dr. Ernest Martin.

Dr. Martin discovered that the answer to the question looked entirely different than what is presented in the maps and models of Jerusalem that are popular with tourists today, and he developed a striking graphic to display what he believed represented the truth regarding the Temple location. The presentation of this image and Dr. Martin’s rationale for the location of Herod’s Temple and Fort Antonia constitute the seventh puzzle piece in my case for the true location of Herod’s Temple.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Temple Graphic”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

As we evaluate the sixth puzzle piece in our quest to determine the correct location of Herod’s Temple, we will once again be relying on the eyewitness testimony of Josephus and others, as well as other key evidence presented by Dr. Ernest Martin in his acclaimed book, The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot.

Let’s begin again with the accounts of eyewitnesses from the first several centuries.  Writing during the first century AD, Josephus was intimately familiar with the locations and descriptions of Fort Antonia and the Temple of Herod.  Another eyewitness, known in historical literature as the Bordeaux Pilgrim, traveled from Bordeaux (in what later became France) to Jerusalem during the fourth century AD. He recorded his journeys in Itinerarium Burdigalense, and it is there where he wrote of his visit to Jerusalem in AD 333. He is the only eyewitness from the period AD 70 to AD 370 to record the existence of the walls of the Haram esh-Sharif in Jerusalem.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – The Rock”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

The case being made by Dr. Ernest Martin – which I am inclined to support – is that the Jewish Temples were located over the Gihon Spring, which would place them near the northern foot of the original Mount Zion (the Akra) and just below the Ophel summit in the crescent-shaped original city of Jerusalem.  Certain evidence in support of this has already been presented in my previous Posts, and additional evidence will follow in succeeding Posts.

The fact that the traditional “Temple Mount” is located a third of a mile north of the Gihon Spring and is nowhere near any source of water is strong evidence that this is most likely not the site of the ancient Jewish Temples. In his book, The Temples that Jerusalem Forgot, Dr. Martin made a strong case that the traditional “Temple Mount” – now called the Haram esh-Sharif – was actually the site of the Roman Fort Antonia. As our fifth puzzle piece in this study to find the historically correct location of the Temple of Herod, we will now look more closely at the Haram esh-Sharif.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Fort Antonia”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

In this fourth puzzle piece in our search for the true location of Herod’s Temple, I briefly discuss the significance of the Gihon Spring, the only source of fresh water available to the city of Jerusalem.

History is clear that King David originally conquered the Jebusites, who lived in what would later become the City of David. The account provided in 2 Samuel 5:8 reveals that David told his men to use the “water shaft” to conquer the fortress of the Jebusites. This “water shaft” led down to the Gihon Spring.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Spring Water”

Where Was Herod’s Temple?

Note: The following Post is taken from the book by Joseph Lenard entitled Mysteries of Jesus’ Life Revealed—His Birth, Death, Resurrection, and Ascensions. For an overview and complete chapter listing of this fascinating study, click here.

Which is the Right Location?

This is the third of nine puzzle pieces in my examination of the topic Where Was Herod’s Temple? In this Post I look at some of the evidence regarding the location of the City of David, the Jewish Temples, and the Gihon Spring.

The First Jewish Temple was built by King David’s son, King Solomon, between 960 BC and 957 BC. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The Temple was rebuilt following the Babylonian captivity under the leadership of a Jewish Governor named Zerubbabel, with the foundations laid in 538 BC and the Temple dedicated in 515 BC. This Second Temple was a modest reconstruction of the truly magnificent First Temple built by King Solomon.

The Second Temple existed for almost 500 years, until it was replaced by a new Temple during the reign of Herod the Great, beginning in 19 BC. The Second Temple was built on the same site as the First Temple, and Herod’s Temple was built at the same location. There is wide agreement with these facts.

Continue reading “Where Was Herod’s Temple? – Key Locations”