(From the Oldie, London, Sept. 2000)

When there is only one bone and two dogs are fighting over it, there is no room for compromise. That is a truth known to every village idiot, but it did not register with Mr Clinton when he thought he could fiddle a deal between Jews and Muslims over Jerusalem. In a dog & bone situation you either let them fight it out or you confiscate the bone. The first option would be a disaster if applied to Jerusalem, whereas the second is not only possible but the ideal, natural, inevitable solution which is also in accordance with prophecy. By confiscating the bone I mean raising Jerusalem - the holy, old city part of it - above the reach of politicians, reconsecrating it to its proper owner, the Almighty, and designating it a World Temple site under UN protection.

That would merely be recognizing the obvious fact of the matter - that old Jerusalem really is a temple and actually functions as one. A unique feature of this temple is that it is not exclusive to one faith but serves all three of the religions fathered by Abraham - Jewish, Christian and Muslim. Each has some of its holiest shrines in old Jerusalem. Pilgrims from all continents assemble there and return home edified. The three religions do not much like each other, but that does not prevent them from sharing the old city as one temple. It is the same situation in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest place in Christendom, where the various churches who share the building, eastern and western, Catholic, Orthodox and Coptic, are so quarrelsome amongst themselves that their keys are held by an hereditary Muslim doorkeeper. That is the status quo rather than the ideal situation, but it is stable enough to provide the basis for the next stage in Jerusalem's prophetic destiny - its recognition as (in the words of Isaiah, 56, 7) the temple "for all people". Jeremiah and other prophets insist that the temple which is Jerusalem shall be the sanctuary for every type and nation of humanity. This is not a reference to the distant future but to an actual, present reality which is now in the process of being revealed.

At about the same time the Camp David talks about Jerusalem were broken off, my book, The Temple at Jerusalem - a Revelation, was launched at a party in Glastonbury, that curious little town in Somerset whose history and prophecies echo those of Jerusalem. The ruins of its Abbey occupy the site of our first Christian oratory where, in earlier times, teams of Druid choristers maintained a perpetual chant in harmony with the seasons and cycles. One day, says the prophecy, the sacred tradition will be restored there, bringing with it the state of divine order and happiness that is symbolized by the Holy Grail. It so happened that at the launch party Sir Cliff Richard was singing to thousands of Christians on the very site of the old perpetual choir within the Abbey. His distant voice was enchanting and I had the pleasant feeling of prophecies approaching their fulfilment. I keep feeling this, and I know from personal experience and that of others that we are living in a time of revelation. But revelation of what? The short answer is that it is the revelation of a pre-existent, all-inclusive canon of number and harmony. Why is that important? Because it provides us with a true standard whereby to order ourselves and our societies, and because anyone who studies it is drawn towards the conclusion that the universe, to which we are central, is a divine creation. That is the traditional conclusion, reached by learned people in all ages, and recommended by them on two grounds, first because it is as near to the truth of things as our minds can grasp, and secondly because it comes naturally to our senses and leads the mind towards peace and happiness. That is the basic meaning of the revelation of Jerusalem the Temple.