'Third Temple in Waiting' Prepared in Jerusalem

The Temple Mount in Jerusalem is one of the most sacred places on earth, and one of the most contested. For Jews, it's the place where the Holy Temple once stood. Today Muslims control the Temple Mount and Jews are forbidden to worhip there. But that hasn't stopped some people from making plans to build the next temple. Everyday, three times a day, Jews recite this prayer: "May it be your will that the temple be speedily rebuilt in our own time." It's a prayer they've prayed for almost 2,000 years. But today, Jews here in Jerusalem are doing more than just praying. Just a few steps away from the western wall, rabbis and craftsmen are building what they call a "temple in waiting." Chaim Richman is a director at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. "The Temple Institute is actively engaged in the research and preparation of the resumption of service in the holy temple to the extent of actually preparing operational blueprints for the construction of the temple according to the most modern standards," he said. This menorah is just one of several vessels being created for the next temple. It's covered with 95 pounds of pure gold and has a price tag of $2 million.

Piece by piece, the third temple is taking shape, with priest's garments, vessels of copper, gold, and silver, and a new generation of levite priests specially trained for temple service. "We have enough in place now to resume divine service and to build the temple," Richman said. Dan Bahat spent 40 years excavating the tunnels around the Temple Mount, and he says the most compelling case for the temple is yet to be discovered. "I believe that behind this stone is a large arch which forms a storehouse, which stored all the treasures of the temple," he said. "In the future, when it will be possible to dig, maybe we'll get to there." But Bahat's interest in the temple is strictly in its past, not in its future. "There is no chance whatsoever for the third temple. The third temple will be when the Messiah comes," he said. "Both Jews and Christians are waiting for him so when he comes, let us see what happens. It won't happen before."