“Therefore behold, I am going to make them know—this time I will make them know My power and My might; and they shall know that My Name is Yahweh.” (Jeremiah 16: 21)

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No Praying on the Temple Mount for Non-Muslims?

I don’t visit the Temple Mount every time I go to Israel.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy it.  It’s simply that I don’t like the Muslim presence there.

It’s not Muslims per se that I resent.  I’ve known and liked lots of Muslims.  I taught many of them at the University of Virginia.  They were some of my favorite students, but the Muslims on the Temple Mount are belligerent Palestinians.

That’s 99% of the problem.  Their in-your-face “I’m going to show you” attitude bothers me.  The way we let them get away with murder bothers me even more.

The gauntlet begins when you set foot on the Temple Mount platform.  You are met, I would say greeted but that would be a lie, by a Palestinian Muslim man who inspects you to see if you are “properly attired”.

I put quotation marks around “properly attired” because the rules change all the time.  For me, it’s not a big problem, but for Katie it is.

I wear shorts on the Temple Mount when it’s warm.  That’s a no-no.  Men aren’t supposed to expose their legs, you see.

Where is that written?  It’s not.  It’s just a way of saying, “I’m in control here, and you will do what I say.”  I could refuse to buy the cheap shawl that they force me buy to cover up my legs, but if I did, I would have to leave.

Katie is different.  She always covers her shoulders and legs the way she knows she must.  This year, she had to buy a shawl, too, to cover her arms to her hands.  Next time, she might have to buy a burka to cover her body from head to toe.  Again, it’s not written, but they want to make a point.

If you are a Jewish man and you wear a kippa (yarmulke), you are asking for trouble.  Once they know that you are Jewish, they follow you around screaming “Allahu Akbar” at you the whole time you are there.  Israel just banned that practice, but I’ll believe it when I see the ban enforced.

Praying is forbidden on the Temple Mount unless you are a Muslim.  A few days ago, a Jewish man was arrested for saying “amen” while he was on the Temple Mount.  I’ve seen people accosted for moving their lips silently.  Non-Muslims are not allowed to do anything that resembles prayer.

Keep in mind that Muslims are very dramatic when they pray.  They get out their prayer rugs, kneel down on them, and pray with their faces on the ground.  It’s more demonstration than prayer.

Thankfully, the ban against prayer can’t be enforced.  I pray every time I go to the Temple Mount.  I have a camera with me that I use to take pictures and videos, and I pray into the microphone while I’m capturing images.  One of my prayers is that Yahweh will deal with the problem on the Temple Mount.  It’s recorded, but they don’t know.

I also pray silently.  My prayer is the same.  Remove these scoundrels from Your holy hill.

The Messiah said, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6: 5-6)

To Yahweh, prayer for show is a no-no.  He calls people who do it “hypocrites”.

I don’t like prayers for show anywhere.  The ritual group prayer before meals is an example.  I know how to thank Yahweh, and I do it without saying a word.  Yahweh knows.  That’s good enough for me.

I’ve been in restaurants with Christians who insist that we have a group prayer before we eat right there for everyone to see.  The person who says the prayer usually says it loud enough for everyone to hear, and the pious way that everyone is supposed to bow their heads is for show, too.  I think that’s wrong most of the time.

Praying is not the problem.  The way it’s done and the reasons for doing it are.  The Messiah wasn’t making small talk when He told us how to pray.  Preachers in particular should think about that.

In a nutshell, we should pray inconspicuously.  If I want to send people a message, I won’t do it while pretending to pray.

ISIS just announced that they intend to kill 1,700 people who are synagogue and church members.  They call it their “kill list”:

The notoriously bloodthirsty terror group ISIS has released a new “kill list” naming over 1,700 targets — specifically members of synagogues and churches — for attack across the US, the International Business Times reported on Wednesday.

The list was released online by ISIS’s cyber hacking arm the United Cyber Caliphate (UCC) and first uncovered by intelligence analyst group SITE. The terror group called on its supporters to carry out lone-wolf terror attacks, and urged: “kill them all,” “slay them.”

According to SITE, the list was first published on July 3 but was then quickly deleted. A new list was uploaded on July 5 with additional links and information. The notice doesn’t explain why specific religious organizations are being singled out by the terror group.

US security officials appear to be taking the most recent target list seriously. As reported by Nashville’s WSMV, the FBI has begun warning residents in the area of their inclusion.

Most of the churches that I have attended are big on pomp and circumstance.  Catholics are the worst offenders.  If you want to see a gaudy sight, go to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City of Jerusalem.  The site is important because it’s where the Messiah was crucified and buried, but they have created a carnival atmosphere.  I don’t like what they have done.  I try to get in and out of there as quickly as I can.

Muslims don’t understand what real prayer is.  Sadly, far too many Christians don’t understand what real worship is.

The word that’s translated as “church” means “the called out ones”.  It has nothing to do with a building or a place.  If you are a Christian, you are the church.  Anything that we do to draw attention to ourselves isn’t worship no matter where we are and no matter what we say.  Prayer for show is one example.  Gaudy edifices that are intended to wow the public are another.

I’ll continue to pray on the Temple Mount every time I go there, and there isn’t one thing they can do about it.  When Yahweh’s people, especially the Jewish people living in Israel, wake up to what real worship and prayer are, they will be amazed at how quickly these problems and others like them will be solved.

One day I’ll write about an interesting experience I had in Jerusalem in October 2004.  You’ll like it.

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His Name is Yahweh, the website, is a companion of the book His Name is Yahweh.

To see videos that explain the importance of God’s Name, click here.

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“The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.” (John 17: 22-24)

See “His Name is Yahweh”.