2.091 A Major Temple Mount Shake-up?
September 2002
With regard to the mention of earthquakes in the Bible, 2 or possibly 3 were in ancient times, one
accompanied the crucifixion, one upset Paul's jail tenure, but the big one [or ones] are yet on hold
with some 5 references in Revelation. Included in the list is a quite literally described devastation
in Rev 11:13 that presumably takes place in Jerusalem, and which makes for some interesting
speculation.
But I must call your attention to one fascinating observation. After the Rev. 11:13 event the
survivors "gave glory to the God of heaven." However, after the really Big One of Rev. 16:18,
the onlookers curse Him!
Another interesting calculation is that if--as the Scriptures point out--a thousand years to God are
like one day, that ratio puts a mere 50 years (see article below) in the ball park of just over an
hour!
Moreover, a classic assumption of the "latter day prophets" is that it is going to be a mighty
earthquake that brings down the Al Aksa Mosque (or the Dome of the Rock may do). Well, we
now have the scientists on side (that next article IS coming up), so let's watch and see what the
Almighty chooses to do--and when!
The following 4 abridged media reports make an interesting combination. I cut them down a bit
to keep them short and focused.
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Government unveils earthquake emergency plan
By Stuart Winer, Jerusalem Post, Aug 28, 2002 (Abridged)
A plan to prepare the country for the possibility of a major earthquake was unveiled after
geologists predicted such a disaster is possible within 50 years. The first stage of the plan by the
Israel Government Information Center will be a public awareness campaign to begin in
November.
"We know it will happen, just not when," said Avi Shapira, director of the Seismology Division
of the Israel Geophysical Institute on Wednesday. "History shows that about every 80 years
there is quake of more then 6.0 on the Richter scale in the area."
The African-Arabian fault line, the boundary between two tectonic plates, runs the length of the
country along the Jordan Valley. The two plates are now rubbing against each other, which
experts say means that the country is heading for a major earthquake in the next 50 years.
A study by the geophysical institute found that a 7.0 Richter scale earthquake at Beit She'an
would devastate the center of the country. It would bring down buildings in Tel Aviv and
Haifa…Emergency services would find themselves without communications or power as they
tried to tend to the survivors...
Estimates say that such a quake could kill about 7,500, leave another 20,000 seriously injured
and 230,000 homeless…The potential blow to infrastructure is also seen as a security
threat…"For the first 24 hours or so there is no government, no army, no communications.
Nothing. Just us and our neighbors," Shapira said.
There is a long history of major earthquakes in the region. In 1927, a strong earthquake in
Jericho killed around 350 and demolished some 800 houses as far away as Jerusalem. In 1837,
4,000 were killed in an estimated 6.5 Richter scale earthquake in Safed, and in 1759, a similar
quake killed 3,000 in Lebanon.
In 1202, an estimated 7.0 Richter quake is reported to have killed 30,000, and in 1068, a quake
under Eilat killed 15,000 across the country. There was also an earthquake that devastated Beit
She'an in 749.
UN group offers to inspect Temple Mount wall facing collapse
By Etgar Lefkovits, Jerusalem Post, Aug 28,2002 (Abridged)
An offer has been made by a group affiliated with UNESCO to inspect the southern wall of the
Temple Mount which is in danger of collapsing, Israel Radio reported Wednesday.
Muslim officials in charge of the site insisted the wall lining the Al Aksa Mosque compound is
stable. They accused Israel of exploiting the situation to try to increase its supervision of the
site, a political flashpoint revered by Muslims and Jews.
The 35-foot-wide bulge is in the wall holding up the southeastern corner of the mosque
compound, built on the site of the biblical Jewish Temples. The raised mosque platform is known
to Israelis as the Temple Mount.
Eilat Mazar, head of Israel's Public Committee for the Protection of the Antiquities on the
Temple Mount said the wall has deteriorated beyond repair. "The wall will collapse," she told
the radio. "The central issue at present is whether it will collapse on the heads of thousands of
people who are praying there, or whether it will be done in a controlled manner as it should be
done."
Shuka Dorfman, head of the Israel Antiquities Authority said Monday: "I cannot tell you when
it will happen, and I do not know what section will fall, but I can tell you that the southern wall
is indeed in danger of collapse."
Dorman said over a year of contacts with the Wakf, the Muslim religious trust, to fix the
problem have been fruitless. "The necessary cooperation needed with the Wakf is nonexistent,"
Dorfman said bluntly. "We cannot get in to carry out the tests," he added, although only "several
days" are needed. His archeologists and engineers are prevented by Wakf officials from
carrying out needed tests on the Temple Mount to survey the damage and enable repairs,
Dorfman said.
Adnan Husseini, director of the Muslim trust which supervises the mosque complex, said the
bulge has not grown or shifted for about 30 years and poses no immediate threat. "This bulge is
under our monitoring since the 70s," he told The Associated Press. "It is stable, we don't feel that
there is any dangerous situation." …"It's a principle. The Wakf works alone at the mosque," he
said.
Concern is mounting in the Israeli archeological community ahead of the upcoming Ramadan
holiday in November, when hundreds of thousands of Muslim worshipers visit the site, with
perhaps 10,000 able to attend the mosque at Solomon's Stables.
UNESCO to inspect Western Wall damage
Jerusalem Post Internet Staff,
Aug. 29, 2002
(Abridged)
A UNESCO- (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) related group
for the preservation of antiquities offered to send an expert to Israel to assess the damage to the
southern part of the Western Wall and any danger of it collapsing, Israel Radio reported. The
offer follows reports Tuesday that the wall in question has gradually moved outward from its
original position.
Some people have claimed the shift is the result of illegal construction on the Temple Mount by
the Waqf, the Muslim religious trust. …
Mayor of Jerusalem Ehud Olmert called on the government Tuesday to take immediate action
to prevent a potential "historical and human disaster" should the wall collapse. "In my opinion,
we have reached the moment of truth," Olmert said. "The government of Israel has no
alternative but to decide to exercise our natural authority with regard to the Temple Mount. We
made all kinds of efforts to reach understandings on the issue, both here in Israel and abroad, to
pinpoint the reasons for the movement of the Wall, so we can properly address the matter," he
said…
According to Antiquities Authority data, the bulge stretches over 190 square meters. The most
prominent bulge reaches a depth of about 70 centimeters and is located west of the southeastern
corner of the Mount.
Temple Mount Wall in Danger of Collapsing
And finally an abridged summary from the ICEJ NEWS 20.08.02
The southern retaining wall of the Temple Mount is in danger of imminent collapse, according
to Israeli archaeologists.
A growing 190 square meter bulge in the southern retaining wall is the reason behind the fears.
Although a bulge has been there for some time --since the first half of the 20th century - in the
last year it has protruded by at least a further 1.5 centimeters. Some claim the bulge has grown
by 70 cm in the last 12 months. At its worst, the bulge protrudes by 1.5 meters from the vertical.
"A centimeter-and-a-half a year is a lot," said Jerusalem District archaeologist Gon Zeligman.
"The wall isn't elastic. It reaches a certain unknown point and then, boom, it breaks."
There are fears that the cause of the sudden worsening is due to work being carried out by the
Wakf, the Islamic authority that oversees the Temple Mount, in the adjoining area known as
Solomon's Stables. In recent years, the underground cavern has been hastily converted into a
large prayer chamber, part of an ambitious plan to turn the entire Mount into the largest
mosque in the world, to rival the Grand Mosque of Mecca…
Among the government's choices are renewing informal contacts with the Wakf, and declaring
a portion of the southern wall a site that is in danger of collapse. Such a declaration would
empower the Jerusalem Municipality to ban any activities or presence in or around the area on
the grounds that the site constituted a threat to the safety of the public.
The latter move would be very controversial. Although it could potentially save thousands of
lives, restricting access to the al-Aksa Mosque, which is on the southern edge of the Mount,
would raise the ire of the Arab/Muslim world. Some 40,000 Muslims, mostly Israeli Arabs,
attended a protest on the Mount last Saturday called to "defend" Islam's hold over the site.
The Wakf refuses to allow any Israeli authorities on the Mount, and since the outbreak of the
armed intifada in September 2000, Israel has allowed only Muslims onto the Temple Mount….
The Israel Antiquities Authority has also found evidence of "very advanced erosion of the rocks
of the southern wall that is causing a real and grave danger to the structure... If the erosion
issue is not dealt with, it could also cause the southern wall to become unstable."
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So there you have it!
And don't forget. Keep your eye on Zechariah and the other Hebrew prophets, not to mention the
book of Revelation.
Victor Schlatter, South Pacific Island Ministries