The Temple Institute have announced the completion of the construction of the altar of sacrifice, which has been prepared for use in the Third Temple. According to Matzav Haruach magazine, the altar had been under construction for several years, and was officially inaugurated for use in December of 2014. It is currently on display in the Temple Institute's visitor centre in Jerusalem, although it has been manufactured in such a way as to be portable, so it can be disassembled and relocated to the Temple Mount at short notice...

Quote: “According to the Bible, the altar may not be made out of stones hewn by metal implements. The altar prepared by the Temple Institute, under the direction of architect Rabbi Shmuel Balsam, follows this requirement. It is constructed instead from bricks fired at roughly 1,000 degrees Celsius (1,832 degrees Fahrenheit), to withstand the immense heat of the Temple’s eternal flame and the weight of the sacrificial animals. Its measurements conform to the interpretation of Maimonides.

The Temple Institute began building the foundation of the altar back in 2009. The base of the altar was built using stones taken from the Dead Sea area. Rabbi Chaim Richman, member of the Sanhedrin and representative of the Temple Institute, remarked that this was the only way they could be sure that the stones used to make the altar had never come into contact with the tools of man. According to the book of Exodus the altar was originally to be made of earth, but if a stone altar was built then only whole stones were to be used in its construction. It was forbidden to cut them using a metal instrument. The reason for this is simple. Man has no part to play whatsoever in God's sacrificial work for the redemption of mankind. It is all of God.

Now I don't know whether using bricks to build an altar is in complete accordance with that truth. Certainly any time bricks are mentioned in the Scriptures, it is always in a negative sense. Bricks are first mentioned in Genesis 11:3 when they were used in the construction of the Tower of Babel. This was mankind's first attempt at establishing a one world government without God. They also remind us of Israel's bondage in the land of Egypt, when they were forced to make bricks to help build Pharoah's treasure cities. And again in Isaiah 9:10 and Isaiah 65:3, bricks are depicted as a poor substitute for stone, something that is temporary and manmade, rather than something that is permanent and established by God...

Isaiah 65:1-3
I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; that sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick;

It is also interesting to note that the stones used to create the foundation of the altar came from the Dead Sea, a place that remains under the curse of God to this day because of the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah. Certainly not the place you would expect stones to be taken from to build an altar to the Lord. The construction of the altar of sacrifice does prove one thing though. The prophet Daniel foretold of a day when Israel's sacrificial system would recommense. According to Daniel 9:27, the sacrifices will be halted whenever the Antichrist takes up residence in the rebuilt Jewish Temple. The fact that the Temple Institute have now completed the construction of this altar shows us just how close we must be to the coming of the Lord. But are you ready to meet Him?

As you can see from the altar of sacrifice, man really has no part to play at all in God's great work of salvation. And as Exodus says, if man tried to add to it, he would pollute it with his sin. When the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for us on the cross, He cried, “It is finished”, John 19:30. God's work of salvation was complete. There is nothing more to be done. And all God requires us to do is to accept it by faith. God loves you so much, He sent His Son Jesus Christ into this world to be your Saviour. He took God's punishment for your sins when He died upon the cross. And all who receive Him as their Saviour can know their sins forgiven and have everlasting life in heaven. As the hymn says, 'Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain, He washed it white as snow'. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Isaiah 1:18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Source Breaking Israel News