Ian Heard's Blog - Until we see

ZION, BETHEL, JERUSALEM and 'THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD'…ARE ONE AND THE SAME!

25/11/2023

Or...
BETHEL IS ZION & IS THE MOUNTAIN OF THE LORD!
For those who confuse Jeroboam’s Bethel in Samaria with the true Bethel named by Jacob at Zion (or the City of David), see Isaiah 2:2-4 and Micah 4:1-3 (which are identical passages). Here are Verses 2 & 3 from the Wycliffe translation of Isaiah with English modernised...

'And in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be made ready in the top of hills, and shall be raised above little hills. And all heathen men shall flow to him; and many peoples shall go, and shall say, Come ye, ascend we to the hill of the Lord, and to the house of God of Jacob; and he shall teach us his ways, and we shall go in the paths of him. For why the law shall go out of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'

Note: 'the HOUSE OF GOD, OF JACOB' or 'the BETHEL of JACOB' is what is clearly stated. Isaiah and Micah mean the place at which Jacob said, 'this is the Beyt-El ('house of God', or Bethel)

Here it is clear that in the minds of the prophets, the ‘Mountain of the Lord’ or 'the' Bethel or Zion are all used to designate the same site.

They cannot possibly be referring to the site well north of Jerusalem which also became
popularly known as Bethel when Jeroboam set up his false 'house' of worship there!

SO...WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT ZION?

6/11/2023

The extraordinary place known as Tzion (or Zion)
We first encounter it as SALEM in the record of Abraham after the recovery of Lot’s family from the alliance of kings who had raided Sodom.
The king of Sodom came to meet and thank Abraham in the King’s Valley—that is, Kidron Valley on the east of today’s Jerusalem—ancient Salem. The mysterious Yahweh-worshipping king/priest of Salem also came out and Abraham offered him a tenth of the spoil he had taken.
The settlement called Salem was located there because of the ancient spring known as Gihon, meaning ‘gushing forth’.
It’s a long story, but after Israel’s sojourn in Egypt, followed by 40 years of wilderness folly, Joshua led them into the land long ago promised to Abraham.

The site featured early in the patriarchal narratives and came to be known as The Site or The Place—HaMakom in Hebrew. In my view it was where Jacob had his vision/dream and where earlier, Abraham had come on his mission of obedience with Isaac. Its importance is highlighted in true Hebrew form in those narratives by the almost tedious repetition of the term HaMakom. (For information on this almost tedious Hebrew repetition for emphasis, see my e-book ‘THE TEMPLE QUEST’ …details here).
God had His eye on this place, The Place. It was set apart by Him. It was there, after his extraordinary dream at HaMakom that Jacob declared, “this is the Beyt-El”…in our language “this is Bethel—House of God”!
Now we’re getting close to why this site is special.
But—what is significant in God’s plan, of course, attracts the attention of the adversary, and all of Israel’s enemies. And so, in time it became occupied by a Canaanite clan known as the Jebusites whose name means ‘to tread down’ or ‘to trample’.
This special place upon which God had his eye—was now a stronghold resisting Israel’s claim for many years…until David!
The Jebusites, who had enclosed the legendary spring with a great wall (see picture) mocked David from the walls; “you’ll never get in here—even the blind and lame will repel you!” But, as 2 Samuel 5:7 reveals with a wonderful…’NEVERTHELESS, David took the stronghold of ZION, that is, the City of David’.
So here emerges a new name. David’s commander Joab got into the fortress via the ‘tsinnor’ or water tunnel—that is, via the Gihon Spring water system. (I believe it’s a possibility that this first mention of Zion, or more correctly Tzion, derives from the word Tsinnor or Tzinnor describing the spring and its gushing stream of life-giving water).
In Psalm 42, those exiled with David due to Absolom’s actions are dispirited and long for the sounds of joy and praise—and of the ‘waterspouts’ or ‘cataracts.’ That word again is Tsinnor and I believe what the writer is expressing is his longing to be back in Zion where the roar of Gihon’s flow deep below the city walls where David had erected his tent for the ark, reflected the deep yearning of his own heart for God; ‘deep calls to deep at the sound of your tsinnors’!

Be that as it may, the truth is that the place known before David by the sad name ‘downtrodden’ or ‘trampled’ becomes Zion and the place of invigoration and encouragement. It becomes God’s City, from whence the voice of the Lord will sound forth! ‘They shall call you The City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel’ (Isaiah 60:14); ‘for the law shall go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem (Micah 4:2 and Isaiah 2:3); ‘the Lord roars from Zion and lifts His voice from Jerusalem (Amos 1:2; Joel 3:16) and in further scriptures God’s dwelling place is in Zion; He blesses from Zion and holds forth His sceptre from Zion.

We cannot diminish the strategic importance of Zion in God’s agenda.
That is why I believe that this place that both God and David had in their hearts—this Zion, which is the City of David—is where Solomon built the temple. Yes, in the City of David—which in their times was still limited to the south-east ridge of the Mount Moriah complex!

It’s no good pretending that Zion now embraces the so-called Temple Mount enclosure. No, Zion signifies a very specific spot, related to Gihon Spring representing the life-giving or living water.
The great walled enclosure several hundred metres to the north was the Roman Fortress Antonia housing the Legio X Fretensis—the Tenth Roman Legion. It was not built by Solomon and its western wall is not related to the temple of which Jesus said, “not one stone will be left upon another.”

Here is what is important to me: that somewhat insignificant stronghold, having life-giving water as its raison-d’être and held so long by people characterised by the awful name Downtreaders was transformed by the king who typified the Greater King to come. It was transformed into a place of lifting up.
It became the dwelling place, the home, the ‘fortress’, of God—the One who lifts up—and who lifts downtreaders and downtrodden alike.
How like God in His transforming work!
In the same way, His ‘Jerusalem to come’—the new, spiritual one which is coming down—will consist of both downtreaders and downtrodden alike, who’ve been made new in Jesus Christ and ‘like a Bride adorned for her Husband’—you know—the One who said in the same place, “behold, I make all things new!” (Revelation 21. Ponder also Hebrews 12:22-24)
Attached pics illustrate what the Jebusite stronghold which became the City of David, looked like in early times. The second pic retains the walled outline of the City of David superimposed over its appearance today.

CALL ME A ZIONIST...

3/11/2023

Yes, I’ll stick my neck out.
Mind you, I’m the first to agree that ‘isms’ create schisms—and Zion-ism, like all isms can easily do that.

BUT…and ‘but’ is in upper case simply because it is a big ‘but’—the scriptures have more than enough to say about Zion for all Christians to take notice!

Now, of course, Zion’s ‘location’ has drifted all over the place, even though it is quite clear where it was. When David captured the stronghold of the Jebusites (known then as Jebus—which incidentally translates as trodden down!) Joab his commander got in through the water ‘tsinnor’ above the Gihon Spring. You can read the story in 2 Samuel 5:6-10 (and also in 1 Chronicles 11). David, we are told, ‘took the stronghold of Zion…and named it the City of David.

What that stronghold looked like in those days has been disclosed by archaeologists and can be seen in the accompanying artist’s impression. The second picture has superimposed modern Jerusalem and the Haram al Sharif enclosure (actually the Roman Fortress Antonia) with the Dome of the Rock shrine visible.

It included a substantial enclosure built out from Zion to enclose and safeguard the Gihon Spring.
The scriptures say that David went on and became great, but one very important thing he did was to provide a temporary tent for the ark and the sacred items from the Tabernacle. That tent was at Gihon (as 1 Kings 1:32 ff reveals) and the holy anointing oil was there. It was, in my view, the spot known as HaMakom (The Place) where Abraham had offered Isaac and of which Jacob had said after his dream/vision of angels, “this is the Beyt-El” (House of God).

The all-important Zion from whence God would speak and utter His voice as so many of the Psalms say, and of which the prophets spoke—was the area close to the Gihon Spring encompassed by the (then) City of David (which later became known as Jerusalem).

The first picture gives you an idea of its size and shape in those days.
This was—and is, Zion, God’s holy hill—upon which Solomon eventually built the temple. Yes, IN Zion—not up the hill several hundred metres south on what people want to place it today.

Hundreds of scriptures speak of Zion. Hear what Psalm 132:13/14says: ‘For the LORD has CHOSEN Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.’

One would expect that if anyone knew where Zion was located it would be David and the Psalmists!
In Zechariah 8:2 we read that God is ‘zealous for Zion with great zeal’ and in next verse, of His promised return there. (He had said the same thing in Zechariah 1:16).
Whilst Zechariah is primarily speaking of events of his day and the re-establishment of the City and temple after exile, nonetheless it is clear that Zion is in God’s heart, symbolises the most important location in the earth, and is therefore the site of all of His ‘returns’. It is always where He comes back to.

Now—does God still have an interest in that place of His choice? Here is my answer…
If He does not, why on earth did Jesus say He would return to the same site on the Mount of Olives that looks directly across the Kidron Valley, to the true Zion. As He miraculously ascended, that true Zion was what He beheld from Bethany on the Mount. Remember, it was from Bethany that He had sent disciples to bring the ass on which He would ride into Jerusalem (Luke 19:29).
Before His departure, He walked back to Bethany with them (Luke 24:50), and from there, ascended and, as He went up, He had His last view across Kidron of His beloved Zion.

It is my opinion that upon His return, He will complete, as it were, a replay. He will come down to the Mount of Olives near ancient Bethany, viewing as He arrives, Zion—into which He will come again in triumph!

So yes, if that is what being a Zionist means (as it should)—count me in.

(If you want more on the real Zion and the temple location, read my e-book ‘THE TEMPLE QUEST’. Details at Home Page. Available at KOBO, APPLE BOOKS, BARNES AND NOBLE, SMASHWORDS.

Excerpt from the INTRODUCTION to my e-Book 'THE TEMPLE QUEST'

25/9/2023

INTRODUCTION

'....I have felt challenged, in addition to my previous
book, ‘THE PLACE HAMAKOM: Where Jerusalem’s
Temples stood’, in which I used both Biblical and
fictional characters to unfold the story of the site in
narrative style—to now make the case using
evidence exclusively from the Biblical text.

My hope is that this book makes the case even more clearly.
Of key importance are the following factors:

Recognition that early in the Patriarchal narratives and later, there was growing awareness and use of the Hebrew term hamakom, ‘the place’, with the definite article, in relation to a particular, special, and familiar location.
The naming by Jacob of the hamakom site as Beyt-El (Bethel) ‘House of God’ was a strategic and prophetic revelation meaning that we should treat it as the authentic Bethel—where God intended to reside.
Until David in the Biblical narrative, there remains a small element of uncertainty as to hamakom’s true meaning and location, but the stapling of that site by him to Gihon eliminates what doubt remains.

As the reader will learn, there are many other references and factors within the pages of the Bible which go on contributing weight to the side of the scales which argues for the City of David site for the temple of Solomon and the later temples.

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THE CITY OF DAVID AS THE ALTAR OF GOD in ISAIAH 29

23/6/2023

The Hebrew word we translate into English as Ariel is used in several places in the Bible.
In Isaiah 29 we see this prophecy,

“Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt!
Add year to year;
Let feasts come around.
Yet I will distress Ariel;
There shall be heaviness and sorrow,
And it shall be to Me as Ariel.
I will encamp against you all around,
I will lay siege against you with a mound,
And I will raise siegeworks against you….”

The NIV translates verse 2 as ‘Yet I will besiege Ariel; she will mourn and lament, she will be to me like an altar hearth’ as do margin readings in some other tranlations.

The Amplified Bible puts it this way, ‘Then I will harass Ariel, And she will be a city of mourning and lamenting (crying out in grief) Yet she will be like an Ariel [an altar hearth] to Me’ ...
and the Jewish Publication Society has it, ‘Then will I distress Ariel, And there shall be mourning and moaning; and she shall be unto Me as a hearth of God.’

Jerusalem has many poetic names in the scriptures and calling the City of David the Altar Hearth is another telling and most appropriate poetic description, for that is indeed where the altar of sacrifice stood, at the temple in the City of David.

In Isaiah 29 God is pointing up the awful irony of the city of the altar herself becoming in her entirety, a fire hearth.

(Note that 'Ariel' is also used in Ezekiel 43:15 & 16 to mean the hearth of the altar).

‘BUT ALL THE SCHOLARS AGREE THAT THE TEMPLES WERE ON TEMPLE MOUNT…’

18/6/2023

Sergiopolis Map

Well, actually, no--they do not...

As Marilyn Sams (Author of ‘The Jerusalem Temple Mount Myth’ and other works) has said, ‘…‘Today, the view upheld by those writing almost 2,000 years distant from the events is the illogical conclusion that the Romans preserved the temple mount, the religious symbol of their hated enemy, while destroying their own camp--the tower of Antonia*. While archaeologists have searched in vain for the tiniest vestige of its existence north of the alleged temple mount, the enclosure itself, with the shape and dimensions of a typical Roman camp, looms as the proverbial elephant (better--mammoth) in the room of Jerusalem topographical scholarship’ (End Quote).
(* That is, where the popular myth has placed it).

One only has to take a look at the shape and approximate dimensions of Roman military camps across their vast empire to be caused to take a deep breath—and have another think, as a growing number of academics are doing.
However, when so much time, energy, resources and commitment has been invested in what it appears cannot be true—not to mention the tourist dollars—we are dealing with an entrenched and almost intractible attitude. It approaches the mindest that says, “go away and don’t bother us with facts—our mind is made up!”

Hundreds of ancient secular sources (as Marilyn Sams and others have shown) make it impossible for the temples to be in the popularised spot.

My objective however, in ‘THE TEMPLE QUEST’ has been to provide the incontrovertible evidence and clarity of the Bible to show where they had to stand, and indeed, did stand.
My approach is, in the words of Paul in Romans 3:4, '...let God be true.'

The images shown above are to allow the reader to compare the 'alleged' Temple Mount enclosure which was actually Fortress Antonia, housing the Tenth Roman Legion, along with another, the ruins of which still stand at Sergioplois in Syria. I have also posted an article (Click here) with further fortress sites & detail and some quotes from scholars.

Click here, or on the words Sergiopolis Map beneath the map at the top right to be taken to the Sergiopolis location on Google Earth.

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A PERSUASIVE CASE FOR THE CITY OF DAVID SITE...

23/5/2023

‘…through enlightening discussions of extensive biblical passages, Ian illustrates how the Jews thoroughly understood what ‘the place’ meant to the Jewish psyche, but which most often escapes the modern reader. He clearly proves the location of the temple to be above the Gihon Spring in Jerusalem, and this by using only biblical passages…’ (Marilyn Sams, Author 'The Jerusalem Temple Mount Myth' and other books and important papers).

It seems that many have, for years, been over-invested in the 'traditional' but incorrect, site. That investment, which is so fiercely defended, is often emotional, academic, financial and tourist-centred. In my view archaeologists have been reading their 'findings' back into their presuppositions, calling it 'the science' and elevating it above the word of God which tells us where it was!

My approach in 'THE TEMPLE QUEST' is, 'let God be true...'

The massive investment in the so-called 'Temple Mount' misses or is blind to some elementary considerations of Scripture--the most glaring of these being the site embedded in the Jewish psyche, history and culture since the patriarchal period. That site was actually known by everyone as 'The Site' (or The Place), or in Hebrew, HaMakom. Once it is pointed out, you will wonder how you missed it--especially as Hebrew scholars have commented on the repetition and frequency of it in Torah and elsewhere.

It's as though God was ensuring everyone knew (and would know) where the chosen and special location was and was indicating throughout history where His 'house', the Beyt-El (House of God) was to be.

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THE RIVER OF LIFE THAT IS WITH GOD IN THE CITY OF DAVID

3/4/2023

Below is a portion from Psalm 36, of David...

(It is important to note that the site where the Ark of the Covenant sat after David's conquest of what had been Jebus was in the tent he erected for it at Gihon, in the City of David, or Zion)

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.

The wings under which the people shelter are those of Yahweh represented by His cherubim on the Ark and the river of His pleasure and the fountain of life is right there, with God and represented in Gihon's happy, bubbling flow.
Naturally, the plans given to David from God for a permanent temple to house the Ark and all its items--and which was to be built by his son Solomon--included all these elements; including the flowing stream that was with Him !!

A representation of David's Tent at Gihon which housed the Ark and the sacred items.

Read more in Ian Heard's
THE TEMPLE QUEST -- details HERE

CITY OF DAVID or 'TEMPLE MOUNT'?

9/3/2023

Here's the INTRODUCTION to my new e-Book which has a Foreword by Marilyn Sams...

INTRODUCTION

“Much of significance about the City of David site of the temple has been written by others—including Dr E L Martin, David Sielaff, Marilyn Sams, (the late) Emeritus Professor George Wesley Buchanan, Robert Cornuke et al. They have used both the Bible and a multitude of extra-biblical sources and investigations to piece together what is becoming, in my view, an insurmountable case for the City of David site.

I have felt challenged, in addition to my previous book, ‘THE PLACE HAMAKOM: Where Jerusalem’s Temples stood’, in which I used both Biblical and fictional characters to unfold the story of the site in narrative style—to now make the case using evidence exclusively from the Biblical text. My hope is that this book makes the case even more clearly.

Of key importance are the following factors:

• Recognition that early in the Patriarchal narratives and later, there was growing awareness and use of the Hebrew term hamakom, ‘the place’, with the definite article, in relation to a particular, special, and familiar location.

• The naming by Jacob of the hamakom site as Beyt-El (Bethel) ‘House of God’ was a strategic and prophetic revelation meaning that we should treat it as the authentic Bethel—where God intended to reside.

• Until David in the Biblical narrative, there remains a small element of uncertainty as to hamakom’s true meaning and location, but the stapling of that site by him to Gihon eliminates what doubt remains.

As the reader will learn, there are many other references and factors within the pages of the Bible which go on contributing weight to the side of the scales which argues for the City of David site for the temple of Solomon and the later temples.”

End Quote

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MICAH AND THE TEMPLE AT THE OPHEL...in ZION...!

14/2/2023

Micah 4:8 is a telling scripture, for, in my view, it unequivocally places the temple at the Ophel in Zion!
Micah has been prophesying a latter day reign of the Lord from Zion and says, that many will say, “come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the ‘bethel’ (house of God) of Jacob…etc”

And then Micah says about those who go up and about the lame and outcast who gather there, “the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion…and you O watchtower of the flock, the Ophel (stronghold) of the daughter of Zion, to you it shall come, the kingdom of the daughter of Jerusalem.”
(The ‘daughter of Zion’ is simply the township birthed out of Zion or the City of David; see 1 Chronicles 11:5)

Here Micah uses the Hebrew term 'migdal eder' to describe the temple. Migdal eder means the watchtower of the flock. Across the landscape in Israel, watchtowers were used for military and civil purposes. They were in vineyards, at strategic military positions and on city walls. A most famous watchtower was near Bethlehem where the lambs for the sacrificial system in Jerusalem were prepared—and where Jesus was born, the sacrificial Lamb who was destined to take away the sin of the world!

But, it is clear here that Micah sees the temple as a migdal eder, the watchtower over the flock of God, the people of Zion and Jerusalem—and tellingly he uses the word Ophel, which defines that area of rising ground beginning just above Gihon and rising northward.

(Incidentally, Isaiah also uses the same imagery for the temple in Isaiah 5:1-2 ‘Now let me sing to my Well-beloved A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard: My Well-beloved has a vineyard On a very fruitful hill. He dug it up and cleared out its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. He built a tower (migdal) in its midst, And also made a winepress in it; So He expected it to bring forth good grapes, But it brought forth wild grapes)

Pictured are typical watchtowers of the period

Location

Beautiful Newport Beach,
Sydney, AUSTRALIA

Marilyn Sams - author of The Jerusalem Temple Mount Myth: Ian Heard’s book adds a unique ....aspect to the growing movement of people accepting the City of David location for the temples in Jerusalem. His perspective .....brings many insightful possibilities to the table. Especially moving are his heartfelt expressions of faith in and love for the prophets and the Savior of the world'.
Pastor, Luke Yeghnazar of the Iranian Church of Los Angeles: Wonderful book. I trust it will be distributed widely. I read it with excitement. The reader will want to know what happens next. An exciting book to be read by Christians, Jews and others.

What readers of THE PEOPLE are saying...
The People is an enthralling and innovative approach, not only to telling old familiar stories but using narrative to portray, in a subtle but powerful way, the truth of good and evil in our world . . . There is good and evil, God and Satan, and in every human relationship/interaction and behavior a choice is to be made. The consequences, for those with the spiritual eyes to see, are clear. It is an exceptional and well written piece of work.” Allan Bull, Macquarie University, Sydney.