Brilliant Engineer's Theory: Third Temple Already Built and Destroyed

Yehoshua Peleg, a brilliant engineer who worked for Israel's defense industry and won three Israel Security Prizes, developed a revolutionary theory in his doctoral research: the Third Temple was already built and destroyed. Peleg, who passed away at 80, dedicated his retirement to studying the Temple Mount and the Temple, aiming to reconcile discrepancies between descriptions in the Mishna's tractate Middot and those by historian Josephus. His research, which led him to learn ancient Latin and Greek, challenged established archaeological and historical conventions.

Peleg's central thesis posits that the Third Temple was constructed and subsequently destroyed for a brief period. He argued that Emperor Hadrian's visit to Judea in 117 CE, following the suppression of the Diaspora Revolt, led to a decision to rebuild the Temple. This move, Peleg believed, was a strategic attempt by Hadrian to undermine Christianity, which had gained traction among Jewish communities after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. The rebuilding, according to Peleg, aimed to negate Christian claims based on Jesus' prophecy of the Temple's destruction.

Evidence for this theory, Peleg suggested, lies in historical accounts and archaeological findings. He pointed to the "Epistle of Barnabas," a text from the era, which mentions a change in imperial policy towards Jews and the Temple. Peleg also cited excavations near the Western Wall revealing a Roman-era colonnade, the "Eastern Cardo," built by 120 CE, suggesting Jerusalem's reconstruction under Hadrian occurred earlier than previously thought. This period, Peleg contended, saw the construction of a Temple described in the tractate Middot, which he believed differed from Josephus's accounts due to its later construction date.

Peleg further argued that Hadrian's initial cooperation with Jews soured by 130 CE, leading him to declare Jerusalem an idolatrous city, Ilia Capitolina. This reversal, he suggested, was a catalyst for the Bar Kochba Revolt. Peleg also referenced writings by John Chrysostom and Emperor Julian, who spoke of multiple failed attempts to rebuild the Temple, but Peleg interpreted these as referring to different periods and circumstances, with Hadrian's era being the one successful attempt that lasted about 11 years before its destruction in 130 CE.

Peleg also challenged the widely accepted model of the Temple, particularly the straight lintel over the Temple's hall, as depicted in Professor Michael Avi-Yonah's famous model. Citing numismatic evidence from the Bar Kochba revolt, Peleg argued for an arched entrance, consistent with Roman architectural innovations like concrete and arches. He believed the description in the Mishna regarding "miltraot" referred to arched structures, not straight beams, and that the use of concrete, developed by the Romans possibly after the Vesuvius eruption, enabled the construction of such a Temple. The eventual destruction of this Third Temple, Peleg concluded, was a consequence of Roman policy shifts and Jewish resistance.