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OF THE TEMPLE) and there he was crucified (and stoned to death) -- Secrets of Gol-
gotha, p. 248.

Since Christ died on the Mount of Olives facing the eastern gate and the entrance to the
Temple and Holy of Holies where the glory of God (or "Shekinah") resided -- just WHO was this
"God" that he died "in the presence of"? Think about it -- if the holy "Shekinah" in the Temple was
the same as Jesus Christ (as many seem to think) then Christ died in the presence of Himself!! This,
of course, is totally ludicrous! When Christ was dying on the tree facing the Temple he cried, "Eli,
Eli, lama sabachtani?" that is, "MY GOD, MY GOD, why have You forsaken Me?" (Matthew
27:46). Luke, in his account of Christ's death, has Him saying (after He cried out the above heart-
wrenching plea): "FATHER, into Your hands I commend My spirit" (23:46). Christ DID NOT die
in the presence of Himself -- but in the PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER who was residing (shakan)
in the Temple in the form of the physical representation or "Shekinah" glory of YEHOVAH or the
YHVH of the Old Testament!

Christ's outburst in Matthew 27:46 refers back to Psalm 22:1 where David is praising YE-
HOVAH (YHVH). What could be clearer? Jesus Christ was NOT the Yehovah or YHVH of the
Old Testament.

Jesus Christ lived in Israel while the "Shekinah" of His Father indwelt the Temple! Not
only that, but He prophesied the DEPARTURE of the "Shekinah" in A.D. 66, which would make
the Temple "desolate" --

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets, and STONE them which are sent to
you, how often would I have gathered your children together, even as a hen gathers her
chickens under her wings, and you would not! BEHOLD, YOUR HOUSE [TEMPLE] IS
LEFT TO YOU DESOLATE (Matthew 23:37-38).

The "Shekinah" Glory, which made the Temple holy in the first place, moved from the
Temple and positioned itself directly over the very region where Christ was put to death and
where He was resurrected from the dead. In this area the "Shekinah" manifested itself now and
then as a divine apparition -- as it once did when it resided (shakan) in the Temple. And, accord-
ing to Rabbi Jonathan, it gave its warnings to repent to the people of Jerusalem over a period of
three and a half years before departing as the Roman armies encircled the city.

Vision of the New Temple

Ezekiel, still in a vision, returned to the captives in Babylon and later saw the restored
THIRD TEMPLE -- which is recorded in chapters 40-43 of his book. In his vision of the Third
Temple, as it would be after being built at the time of the end, Ezekiel saw the "Shekinah" RE-
TURN to the Holy of Holies. Ezekiel states that this is THE SAME "Shekinah" he saw leave the
Temple when he had the vision by the river Chebar --

And behold, the glory ["Shekinah"] of the God of Israel came from THE WAY OF THE
EAST [FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES]. His voice was like the sound of many wa-
ters; and the earth shone with His ["Shekinah"] glory. It was like the appearance of the vi-

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