Following last weeks announcement by the Temple Institute, that craftsmen have completed the manufacture of the Golden Crown of the High Priest, Rabbi Chaim Richman has provided further details on the organization's preparations for the building of the Third Temple. In an interview with Arutz 7 regarding the completion of the Golden Crown, Richman comments that the vessels presently being manufactured for use in the Temple are impure, until the day Israel is in possession of a Red Heifer and they can be cleansed according to the Law. "For one thing," he said, "they are made in impurity - for now we are impure, and will remain impure until we are able to have a Red Heifer whose ashes can be used in the Torah-prescribed purification ceremony. If no Red Heifer is available, then the High Priest must even serve in the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur in a state of impurity". He also says the Temple Institute is presently engaged in several other projects relating to the rebuilding of the Temple...

Quote: "Asked what project they're working on at present, Rabbi Richman said, "We have begun work on 120 sets of garments for 'regular' priests, not the High Priest. This involves special thread from India, etc. In addition, we have begun work on architectural blueprints for the Third Temple, including cost projection, modern supplies, electricity, plumbing, computers, etc." 

Richman states in the Arutz 7 article that the  Golden Menorah, which is also loaned to the Temple Institute until the rebuilding of the Temple, is soon to be relocated to the steps that lead down from the Jewish quarter towards the Wailing Wall. He believes that through the rebuilding of the Temple, the Jewish people can bring the presence of God back into this world.

Quote: ""We are now approaching the holiday of Chanukah," Rabbi Richman continued, "which is the holiday that commemorates the re-dedication of the Holy Temple. We're not just building beautiful vessels; we're interested in granting G-d the dwelling place that He wants in this world; the Temple is not merely a building, but a way of bringing G-d into our lives in a very real way. And that is what we aim to do. This tzitz is G-d's Chanukah present to us, and our Chanukah gift to the Jewish People."

Richman is a member of the recently established Sanhedrin council. The group consists of 71 prominent rabbis and considers itself the highest ruling religious authority in the land of Israel. The Sanhedrin reformed on the 13th of October, 2004, for the first time in over 1600 years. They announced in 2005 that one of the tasks they are employed in is locating the exact site on which Herod's Temple once stood. They have also set themselves the task of choosing the modern state of Israel's first king, for they are entirely opposed to Israel's present democratic government. The Sanhedrin were recently investigated by the Israeli government regarding their staunch opposition to the disengagement from the Amona settlement in Samaria. Earlier in the year the Sanhedrin also sent a letter to every nation on earth, warning that the world is nearing a catastrophe, and that the only way to bring peace on earth is through the rebuilding of the Temple. If I were Jewish, I would probably say the same thing. But the Bible states that Israel will have no peace until they recognize their Messiah.

Matthews 21:13
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

Luke 13:35
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Praise God that we don't need a Temple in order to experience God's presence in our lives. The Bible says that Jesus Christ has not entered into a Temple made with hands, but has now entered into heaven itself as our Great High Priest, to appear in the presence of God on behalf of those who believe (Hebrews 9:24). Jesus Christ has not entered the Holy of Holies in a "state of impurity", He entered it with the blood of the Lamb - His own precious blood, so that our sins might be forgiven. As the Red Heifer is sacrificed outside the gate of the city (Numbers 19), so Jesus Christ suffered for us outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12). And as the priest becomes unclean in slaying the Red Heifer, yet its ashes are used to cleanse the people, so Jesus Christ who knew no sin was made sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2nd Corinthians 5:21).

Would you like to be cleansed from all your sins? Would you like to know this Man, who is just and lowly, and having salvation (Zechariah 9:9)? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved (Acts 16:31).

Source Arutz 7, Sanhedrin, Jerusalem Post