Well, fancy that! A day after yesterday’s post I came across an article in which the Mufti of Jerusalem, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein, is to have said “there is no place for non-Muslims” on the Al-Aqsa Mosque. He said,
“We affirm, time and again, that the blessed al-Aqsa Mosque,
with its entire area of 144 dunams [144,000 sq.m.], is Islamic and only for
Muslims,” he said. “There is no place for non-Muslims in any way in this
mosque, whether through schools, churches or other places of worship.”
Of course, in the back of my mind is the sayings in the
Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament that God’s house is to be called a
house of prayer for all peoples (Isa 56:7; Mk 11:17). In a twist of irony, the mention of the
Al-Aqsa Mosque, which here is the entire Temple Mount, does indeed measure
144,000 square meters from other accounts.
It reminded me of the Lamb and the 144,000 standing on Mount Zion from
the twelve tribes of Israel (Rev 14:1-5; 7:1-8), who are joined by a great
multitude from every nation, tribe, peoples, and languages (v. 9).
I was recently subbing at a school where students were
playing games. At one point they lost control and began throwing
Crayola markers around. After being told to stop and clean up, they
asked an adult if they could go play in the gym. She told them that
because of their bad choices their request was denied. In time, though,
they would be able to return to the gym.
So, which is it? Is it time to "comfort my people"
and say to the nations let them pray or is time to say wait, just wait? What
seems more certain is there is a longing in the hearts of some Jews and
Christians that there might be again on the Temple Mount a house of prayer for
all nations.
Eastern Gate to the Temple Mount 
Tribes Gate to the Temple Mount 
Olive Trees on Temple Mount with Al-Aqsa Mosque in the background.
No comments:
Post a Comment