An author claimed that the original location of the old Jewish Temple may not be where people believe it is today, the Dome of the Rock, but somewhere near.
Christian Widener detailed his explanation through his book, "The Temple Revealed: The True Location of The Jewish Temple Hidden in Plain Sight," clarifying the exact spot of the old Jerusalem temple built by Solomon.
Speaking to The Christian Post, Widener recalled about a rabbi who explained during a tour that the East Gate in Jerusalem is not really the Messianic gate as it is famed to be, since the real gate is supposedly situated at the front of the old Temple, which people believe today is where the Dome of the Rock sits.
But the author reviewed Ezekiel 44 and the Scripture described the gate exactly how the Eastern Gate stands today - closed.
"You look at a landmark like that, and you think it's either not a real landmark because the rabbis record a lot of things in the Mishnah about Temple practices that are not in the Bible but are their best faithful recollections of Temple practices and things like that. And they're very explicit that all of the gates in the Temple out to the outer sanctuary were in line," he added.
After the author's further historical investigation, evidences, he said, have proven that the Golden Gate, or the East Gate, is indeed the real gate, an original temple landmark.
He also cited 2 Chronicles 3:1, wherein the verse mentioned that Solomon built the Temple on Mount Moriah, at Araunah's threshing floor.
"A threshing floor has to be flat. It's a place where you lay out the grain, put the threshing sledges over it to separate the wheat from the chaff and tear off the stalks. ... It's a really common practice that you see all over Israel. And when we look at the rock in the Dome of the Rock, it's not flat. It's not even close to flat," Widener explained.
He also considered Asher Kaufman's revelations in his book "The Temple Mount: Where is the Holy of Holies?"
Kaufman said in the book that a small dome known as the Dome of the Spirits is an area of flat bedrock which is built into the platform, where the Dome of the Rock is situated, standing on the same level.
Widener further illustrated that the platform was built leveled around the bedrock.
"It's not some randomly located piece of flat bedrock out there. It's directly in line, in front of the Golden Gate," he added.
With this revelation, Widener pointed out that the Dome of the Spirits is really where the old Jewish Temple was originally built.
If the author's claim is true, rebuilding of the third temple will be possible on its exact location. But given the ethnic and religious conflict relative to the Temple Mount, the time of reconstruction remains a question.
The author said that organizations such as the Temple Mount, Temple Institute, Eretz Yisrael Faithful Movement and other Jewish groups are already preparing to rebuild the temple.
"They absolutely have all that they need. They have plans drawn. They have materials cut and prepared, very much like David did in his time before Solomon," he added.
Widener said that the Abraham Accords, a peace treaty signed by Israel, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and United States in September 2020, may usher in the possibility of the temple's reconstruction.
Widener also stated about the fulfillment of other prophecies, such as in Ezekiel 44:8, saying that "instead of carrying out your duty in regard to my holy things, you put others in charge of my sanctuary."
The Jews returned the Temple Mount to the Arabs 10 days after they recovered it in the 1967 Six-Day War. Thus, allowing their enemy to take charge of the Jewish site, instead of themselves.
The author said that the giving up of the holy site may be a nonsense idea but it was just a fulfillment of the biblical prophecy.
