Page 56 - Satan in the Sanctuary

58 Satan in the Sanctuary

if it amounts to no more than a comparisons," Dr. Jaffee said in
half shekel—the basic tribute of an interview. "One gets in hot
each practicing Jew to the an- water even to hint at such a
cient Temple. thing. Conditions are out of the
Furthermore, the new house question for re-establishing the
of worship is being built of a Temple."
special radiant stone like that of Doing so, to many Christians
the Temple of Bible times, and who interpret the Bible literally,
is to be situated next to the head- would be a prophetic indication
quarters of Israel's rabbinic au- of the imminent return of Christ.
thority, as was the historic Many Jews also link restoration
Temple. of the Temple to a coming Mes-
2
"THERE ARE MANY anal- siah.
ogies, but we're wary of drawing

The latent longing for the golden days of biblical Israel is
apparent through the rabbi's remarks. Dr. Jaffee, along with
every other religious Jew everywhere, would rather have the
holy shrine of the Temple of God in Jerusalem than the Great
Synagogue, even with all its beauty and significance. But
perhaps the synagogue will accomplish the purpose of bring-
ing world Jewry to Jerusalem more often, as in the days when
the grand festivals drew the chosen people together in com-
mon worship. Perhaps Jews of many lands will regard the
synagogue as next to the Temple in godliness and signif-
icance.
And again, we have a step toward the Temple. As with
the steadily increasing pressure for prayer on the mount, the
Synagogue represents a move toward rebuilding the Temple
of God. If world Jewry recovers its pilgrim ways of old and
comes to the Great Synagogue to worship, or even if the Jews
of foreign lands merely agree to support the synagogue proj-
ect financially, we have a real identification with a "central
shrine" of Judaism. Once the concept is understood by Jews
everywhere, rebuilding the Temple becomes a more under-