Temple Institute – Jerusalem, Israel

Founded in 1987 by Rabbi Israel Ariel, the institute is located in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem’s old city. Their stated goal is to prepare and work toward the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.  

The following excerpt is taken from their website: 

www.templeinstitute.org/about.htm

“The major focus of the Institute is its efforts towards the beginning of the actual rebuilding of the Holy Temple. Towards this end, the Institute has begun to restore and construct the sacred vessels for the service of the Holy Temple. These vessels, which G-d commanded Israel to create, can be seen today at our headquarters in Jerusalem. They are made according to the exact specifications of the Bible, and have been constructed from the original source materials, such as gold, copper, silver and wood. These are authentic, accurate vessels, not merely replicas or models. All of these items are fit and ready for use in the service of the Holy Temple. 

Among the many items featured in the exhibition are musical instruments played by the Levitical choir, the golden crown of the High Priest, and gold and silver vessels used in the incense and sacrificial services. After many years of effort and toil, the Institute has completed the three most important and central vessels of the Divine service: the seven-branched candelabra, or Menorah, made of pure gold; the golden Incense Altar, and the golden Table of the Showbread. 

The Institute is currently creating the sacred uniform of the Cohein Gadol, the High Priest. This project, the culmination of years of study and research, has been underway for several years. To date, the High Priest’s Choshen (Breastplate) and Ephod have already been completed.” 

This photo shows the Golden Menorah made by the Temple Institute.  The three craftsmen kneeling are making final adjustments. Behind them are three rabbis making sure everything is done in keeping with the original candelabra.

Interestingly enough, the Sanhedrin has also seen a recent reestablishment in the past decade: http://www.thesanhedrin.org/en/index.php/The_Re-established_Jewish_Sanhedrin

What’s the Point?

Israel’s existence today is a direct fulfillment of Bible prophecy!  There are numerous passages in Scripture directly stating that the Jewish people would be re-gathered into the Land near the time of the end. Here are just a couple:

“Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’ but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers…” 

Jeremiah 16: 14-15

“It shall come to pass in that day that the Lord shall set His hand again the second time to recover the remnant of His people who are left, from Assyria and Egypt, from Pathros and Cush, from Elam and Shinar, from Hamath and the islands of the sea.  He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” 

Isaiah 11: 11-12

There are also numerous passages in Scripture that infer a Jewish presence in the Land at the time of the end. This one comes from the New Testament and refers to events that occur prior to the Lord’s Second Coming:

“Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the Temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

II Thessalonians 2: 1 – 4 

For a Temple to exist, the Jews must once again be in the Land of Israel. The existence of the Temple Institute signals that events are coming together for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple. This would not have been possible prior to Israel’s rebirth as a nation on May 14, 1948.

Did You Know?

1917 – During England’s desperate struggle with Germany during WWI, the British Government issued the Balfour Declaration whereby the UK called for the establishment of a national homeland for Jewish People in Palestine – this was done to rally world Jewry to the side of the Allies. There were two men who contributed greatly in bringing this about:

• Lord Balfour, a believer, was England’s Foreign Secretary during WWI
• Chaim Weizmann (later to be Israel’s first president) had contributed greatly to England’s war efforts as a result of his chemical expertise

1918 – Turkey’s defeat in WWI led to the liberation of much of the territory of the old Ottoman Empire. The British Empire gained control territory of a good deal of the Middle East due to the successful military actions of its armed forces. This included Palestine. 

1922 – Great Britain issues the British Mandate and recognized the rights of the Jews to establish a state in Palestine. This was not followed through though due to Arab uprisings in part.

1933 – The rise of Hitler and Nazi Germany brings about the slaughter of more than 6 million Jews over the course of the next twelve years.

1945 – The Holocaust convinces much of world Jewry of the need to return to the Holy Land and set up a state of its own.

1947 – United States leads the way in the United nations voting for the establishment of the State of Israel.

May 14, 1948 the Nation of Israel is born.