A God Sighting at the Temple Mount

STRANGE SIGHTINGS ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT ON HOSHANNA RABBAH. Hoshanna Rabbah, the last day of Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days) of Sukkoth, is prophesied to be the beginning of the pre-Messiah War of Gog and Magog, an event that will be accompanied by unprecedented sights and sounds. So it was particularly concerning when an correspondent spotted an inexplicable white apparition hovering near the Dome of the Rock.

As a resident of the Mount of Olives, Joshua Wander sees the Tempel Mount from his living room window. So when he joined a prayer event on the Mount of Olive, Wander was surprised to see a nebulous white shape hovering in the air adjacent to the Dome of the Rock. Wander inquired about the apparition from people who had been on the Temple Mount at the time of the sighting and none reported seeing anything out of the ordinary. According to Jewish tradition, the Shekhinah (שכינה) (Divine Presence) used to appear through the Eastern Gate and will appear again when the Messiah arrives., he will do so via Sha’ar HaRachamim.

Out of a mistaken belief that Jewish tradition speaks of the Messiah being from the priestly caste, the Ottomans built a cemetery in front of the gate in order to prevent the Jewish Messiah from arriving. The express purpose of Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, the 21st day of the month of Tishrei, is rejoicing. Its roots are in celebration of thanksgiving for a bountiful harvest.

Always the seventh day of Sukkot, it reminds observant Jews that just as when they wandered in the wilderness more than 2000 years ago, God is their source of protection and determines what the new year will bring. At the conclusion of the seven processions, a special ritual is conducted in which the branches of the willow (the lulav) are struck upon the ground.

This is a symbolic attempt to rid ourselves of any remaining sins (the leaves representing these transgressions) that might influence God’s decision to send the seasonal rains. On the evening following Hoshanah Rabbah, the festival of Shemini Atzeret begins. While for many Jews, Hoshanah Rabbah is the last day one shakes the lulav and etrog and dwells in the sukkah, a number of traditional Jews continue to dwell in the sukkah through Shemini Atzeret. God reveals a fascinating and detailed prophecy about a future war campaign against Israel in the book of Ezekiel. This war is known as the “Gog and Magog War” because the people of Magog and their leader Gog will lead the attack against Israel.

Scripture clearly teaches that this particular war will be a turning point for Israel, with regard to their relationship with God. The sobering, yet exciting aspect of this study is that for the first time since Ezekiel penned these prophecies, the countries that will gather against Israel have built an alliance in recent years. The prophetic puzzle pieces are now in place. It is just a matter of time, that is, God’s timing before these prophecies find fulfillment. The first page of this study is a verse-by-verse study of Ezekiel 38-39.

The second page is a study of the placement the “Gog and Magog War” on the prophetic timetable. Ezekiel wrote down the ancient names of the nations as he knew them. To make sense of these names, we need to do some investigative work using Scripture and history.

Many prophecy teachers have done the detective work for us already. The graphic below, shows the most widely held interpretation of the nations that will come against Israel: