The Dome of the Rock is a Muslim shrine (not a mosque as many incorrectly believe) that, with its gold-covered dome, has come to be the iconic image of Old Jerusalem. Many Christians have visited inside the Dome itself in years past, although since the year 2000 non-Muslim access has been limited.
The Dome is often called magnificent and beautiful in Christian tour brochures and even in sermons I’ve heard. What many Christians who admire the architectural beauty of the Dome of the Rock fail to understand is that it is a pagan monument that stands against the most basic tenet of Christianity.
The Arabic inscription on the inside surface of the dome denies the Sonship of Jesus, saying …
“O People of the Book! Do not exaggerate in your religion nor utter aught concerning God save the truth. The Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, was only a messenger of God, and his word which he conveyed unto Mary, and a spirit from him. So, believe in God and his messengers, but cease saying God is three—it is better for you!—God is only One God. Far be it removed from [God’s] transcendent majesty that he should have a son.”
I cannot celebrate the Dome of the Rock in any way, either historically or architecturally. It is a monument to Islamic beliefs that represents something that is hateful to me, namely, the spirit of antichrist that denies the Father and the Son. In 1 John 2:22b, we are told, “He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” That Scripture is not ambiguous.
So, on your next visit to Israel, remember that anyone or anything that rejects the Sonship of Jesus is reflecting the spirit of antichrist. We are to show the love of Jesus to Muslims and Jews in Israel and elsewhere who hold such blasphemous beliefs by sharing the Gospel of Jesus with them, but we must do so with the knowledge that they are, as Paul put it, “enemies of the Gospel” in the present age and in need of salvation.
Lest anyone take the above comments out of context, the fact that the beliefs of Islam and Rabbinic Judaism make Muslims and Jews “enemies of the Gospel” according to our Scriptures does not in any way support or promote any thought or action by Christians other than our sincere expression of love and concern toward those individuals as lost souls. They are indeed enemies of the Gospel we preach, but as individuals they are not our enemies. Let me repeat: They are not our enemies. Instead, they are our mission field, and we are to love them as God loves them. (Rom. 11:25-32)
The highest expression of love for them is realized when we share the Gospel of salvation by faith in the atonement (at-one-ment with God) achieved by Jesus who died for them. Jesus is revealed in the Jewish Bible (the Tanakh) as the true Messiah and Redeemer of Israel and the Gentile world (see He Is The One).