The Basics of Bible - Herald of Hope

The Basics of Bible Prophecy
Another headline reads
The holy half shekel is sold to Jews around the world, who then donate
them once a year to be dedicated or "separated" as "Temple treasure".
Before Israel became a Sovereign State property sanctified to the
Temple (hekdesh) could not be safeguarded, but now that Israel has
its own security system the way is made clear for safe storage of the
holy half shekel. At a ceremony in Jerusalem on 26 March 1998, the
first of the coins were donated and Reuven Prager, who has worked
on the project for 15 years, is reported to have declared:
"With the sound of this coin dropping (into a special casket), THE
EXILE OFFICIALLY ENDS."
According to the ancient trumat ha lishkah ceremony, hekdesh was
stored in a special room and used to pay for the daily communal
sacrifices and the remainder went to pay for preparing Jerusalem for
the three pilgrimage holidays and for building up of the walls of the
city.
We know that King Joash, who reigned about 856BC, collected the
holy half shekel to repair the Temple building which had fallen into
disrepair. Reuven Prager claims to be a Levite, and says,
"We've got a role to fill. Our duty was to create the vessels and
maintain them. That's my job. I just create the vessels."
According to Your Jerusalem April 1998, Reuven Prager wants:
"To take an active role in trying to rebuild the Temple and bring the
Messiah...His version of the rebuilding of the Temple does not
concur with ideas espoused by other organizations calling for the
same goal. He insists that he would never dream of destroying the
mosques which sit on the Temple Mount; rather he believes that a
careful reading of the Koran yields the view that Moslems should
also favour the rebuilding of the Temple."
This is exactly what the New Testament teaches. During the Great
Tribulation John is told to
"Measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship
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