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Hi my name is Dean Smith and in this podcast I want to talk about a couple of odd facts about the Jewish temple.
Since the last Jewish temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD, Orthodox Jews have wanted to rebuild the temple.
But the biggest hindrance today is the fact that the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where the Temple once stood is currently controlled by Muslims through the Jordanian Waqf.
There are also two Islamic buildings on the Temple Mount including the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.
But despite that, there is still room for a Jewish temple on the site. But the Israeli government currently doesn’t have the political will to approve such a construction.
But the Temple Institute, an orthodox Jewish organization in Israel, is dedicated to seeing a third temple constructed.
It has built furniture for the temple, including the sacrificial altar. The only thing it hasn’t constructed is the Ark of the Covenant, on which the presence of God rested.
The Institute also created the priestly robes and is currently training priests to work in the Temple. In the fall of 2022, the Institute purchased five red heifers from America to be used for the purification ritual for the priests. The five animals were examined with a magnifying glass to ensure they had no off-colored hairs that would disqualify them for the sacrifice.
Recent reports state that three have since developed off colored hairs, and they are no longer suitable.
The ashes of the red heifer is mixed with water and sprinkled over the priests to purify them in Numbers 19:1-10. Without this ritual, the priests are not allowed to minister in the Temple.
Since the ashes from one heifer can purify hundreds of priests, only nine have been sacrificed since the start of the Jewish priesthood. But there has not been a red heifer sacrifice since the temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD
But there was some curious news recently. According to Israel365 News, a group of orthodox Jews conducted a practice ceremony of the red heifer sacrifice. The heifer was burned on a wood pyre at an undisclosed location in Samaria. It had discolored hairs which meant it couldn’t be used in the actual sacrifice.
A red heifer practice run was also conducted in 2024. In this instance, they only used a cut out of red bull (not a heifer), as they rehearsed the ritual itself.
Over the centuries, rabbis have added several rules to the red heifer sacrifice that are not mentioned in the Biblical text.
Though the Bible states the sacrifice only needed to be conducted outside the camp, rabbinical tradition states it must take place at a specific location on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives. This would require government permission to conduct the sacrifice.
Other non Biblical rules regulating the sacrifice include the type of rope used to halter the animal and the kind of sandals the priests must wear.
These practice rounds suggests that Orthodox Jews are seriously considering performing the red heifer sacrifice in the near future, provided they can get permission.
But there are a couple other things about the Jewish temple that you may not be aware of.
At One Point There were Two Jewish Temples in Operation at the Same Time
Did you know that at one time, there were two Jewish temples in operation at the same time?
In the late 1800s, ancient papyri was discovered that talked about a Jewish temple that existed on Elephantine Island located on the Nile River in Egypt around 525 BC.
It is believed that the descendants of Jews who fled to Egypt during the Babylonian invasion about 60 years earlier. settled on the Elephantine Island.
This group is even mentioned Jeremiah chapter 42, when they approached the prophet for a word about their decision to leave. Jeremiah told them to stay and warned that they would fall into idol worship if they left.
The group left. Babylon breached the walls of Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish temple.
On Elephantine, their descendants built a temple, including furniture and began making animal sacrifices, since the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed. They also set up altars to other gods, to appease the local inhabitants fulfilling Jeremiah’s prophecy.
But they ran into problems with the locals because they were sacrificing animals such rams who the Egyptians considered gods.
Those associated with an Egyptian temple dedicated to the ram god called Khnum attacked the Jewish Temple and damaged it.
At this point, the group on Elephantine heard that the Jews had returned to Jerusalem under Ezra and Nehemiah and were rebuilding the temple. So they sent letters on papyri asking for financial help to rebuild the temple on Elephantine.
The letters actually refer to people mentioned in Ezra and Nehemiah including Sanballat, Hananiah who was Nehemiah’s brother, and Johanan the high Priest.
They even agreed to quit sacrificing animals if they received financial help.
Though the Jews in Jerusalem refused funding, the Elephantine group received financial assistance from the Persian government who controlled Egypt at that time. The Persians had also provided assistance to rebuilding the Temple in Jerusalem.
When the Egyptians broke free from the Persians, they destroyed the Elephantine temple around 410 BC. But for about a century there were two functioning Jewish temples.
What Happened to the Ark of the Covenant?
But there is a second story that I need to discuss and that is the mysterious disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant.
The very presence of God rested on the Ark of Covenant making it the most important piece of furniture in the Temple.
Ironically, the Temple that Jesus visited did not contain the Ark of the Covenant, because it disappeared in 586 BC, when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem and destroyed the Jewish Temple.
Following the its destruction, the Babylonians hauled away booty from the temple. But in all the passages listing the items the Babylonians stole such 2 Kings 25:13-18, there is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant.
Following its destruction, the Babylonians hauled away the booty from the temple, but in all the passages listing the items the Babylonians such as 2 Kings 25:13-18, there is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant.
The most important piece of furniture in the Temple on which God’s presence rested wasn’t taken.
I suspect that the Jewish High Priest hid the Ark in the caves beneath the Temple Mount, before Jerusalem fell.
But when Babylon executed the high priest and his second in command in Jeremiah 52:24-27, the Ark’s secret location was lost.
The Jews at the time, however, believed the prophet Jeremiah took the Ark of the Covenant and hid it
That theory is seen in the Book of Maccabees. Though not considered scripture, it writes that Jeremiah hid the ark in a cave on Mt Nebo.
We read:
5 And Jeremiah came and found a cave, and he brought there the tent and the ark and the altar of incense, and he sealed up the entrance. 6 Some of those who followed him came up to mark the way, but could not find it. 7 When Jeremiah learned of it, he rebuked them and declared: “The place shall be unknown until God gathers his people together again and shows his mercy. 8 And then the Lord will disclose these things …” (2 Maccabees 2:1-8 RSV)
Many Jews believed Jeremiah was a prime suspect for taking the Ark because he was from the priestly tribe. This meant he had access to the temple or knew people who did.
The Jews believed he also had motive because Jeremiah prophesied that the Ark of Covenant would be lost and not rebuilt.
“It shall be in those days, when you are multiplied in the land, declares the Lord, ‘they will not say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord,’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.” (Jeremiah 3:16 NASV)
This prophecy is probably the reason why the Temple Institute has not constructed the Ark of the Covenant. They believe the original one will eventually be found.
And there is even a verse in the gospels that hints of this conspiracy that Jeremiah stole it. In Matthew 16:14, Jesus asked the disciples quote “Who do the people say that the Son of Man is?”
The Son of Man is mentioned in Daniel 7, and has a throne where He sits beside Jehovah. In verse 14, He will be given authority over all the earth at the end of the age.
Though we know now that Jesus is the Son of Man, at that time, the disciples said that some Jews thought that John the Baptist was the son of man. Others said Elijah.
But some believed Jeremiah was the Son of Man. Since 2 Maccabees stated the ark’s hidden location would eventually be revealed, the Jews believed the Jeremiah would return at the end of the age, restore the Ark.
So this theory that Jeremiah had stolen the Ark of the Covenant was still circulating in Christ’s day.
Will There be a Third Jewish Temple?
Today, many believe that the construction of a third Jewish Temple is necessary for the fulfillment of end times prophecy. Paul talks about the lawless one desecrating the temple in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 and John was told to measure a temple in Revelation 11:1-2.
While these could be referring to a physical temple, we know that that the church is now the temple of God because the presence of God is now inside people.
Paul write in 1 Corinthians 3:16:
“Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?”
So it’s possible, these passages in Thessalonians and Revelation are referring to a spiritual temple, not a physical one.
Does the Ethiopian Orthodox Church have the Ark of the Covenant?
On a final note, you may have heard that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Axum, Ethiopia claims to have the Ark of the Covenant. Over the years, many people have asked for permission to see it, but all have been refused.
As a result, many question if the church actually has it or if it’s just some fake, cheap replica.
However, I have a different theory. Like Elephantine, Axum is located on the Nile River and since Elephantine Island is about half the distance to Jerusalem I wonder if this church has a replica of the Ark of the Covenant that may have been made for the Elephantine Jewish Temple.
Thanks for joining me on the podcast, and I will talk to you again.
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