Page Content (OCR)
11 As the last millennium B.c.£. began, the appearance of the Sign of the Cross was a harbinger of the Return. It was also then that a temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem forever linked its sacred site to the course of historic events and to Mankind’s messianic expectations. The time and the place were no co- incidence: the impending Return dictated the enshrinement of the erstwhile Mission Control Center. Compared to the mighty and conquering imperial powers of those days—Babylonia, Assyria, Egypt—the Hebrew king- dom was a midget. Compared to the greatness of their capi- tals—Babylon, Nineveh, Thebes—with their sacred precincts, ziggurats, temples, processional ways, ornate gates, majestic palaces, hanging gardens, sacred pools, and river harbors—Jerualem was a small city with hastily built walls and an iffy water supply. And yet, millennia later, it is Jerusalem, a living city, that is in our hearts and in the daily headlines, while the grandeur of the other nations’ capitals has turned to dust and crumbled ruins. What made the difference? The Temple of Yahweh that was built in Jerusalem, and its Prophets whose oracles came true. Their prophecies, one therefore believes, still hold the key to the Future. The Hebrew association with Jerusalem, and in particular with Mount Moriah, goes back to the time of Abraham. It was when he had fulfilled his assignment of protecting the spaceport during the War of the Kings that he was greeted by Malkizedek, the king of Ir-Shalem (Jerusalem), “who was a priest of the God Most High.” There Abraham was blessed, THE DAY OF THE LORD