Will there be a Third Temple in Jerusalem?
There is a lot of discussion in evangelical circles today as to whether there will be a third Temple built in Jerusalem before the second coming of Jesus Christ.
For Christians that believe the Bible to be the fundamental, inerrant Word of God, it is important that we examine scripture to see what the Word says.
We know that there is a movement in Israel that is working towards the building of a third Temple and is supported by many evangelical churches around the world.
The Temple Institute are overseeing the work.
On the Temple Institute website you can see what is being done by the Israelite Jews towards bringing about the building of a third Temple. https://templeinstitute.org/
On this site, you may view photographs of the actual sacred Temple vessels that have been produced by the Temple Institute. Each vessel has been created by accomplished craftsmen. These vessels and priestly garments are being fashioned today according to the exact
Biblical requirements, specifically for use in the future Holy Temple. They await the day when they will be called into the Divine service of the Holy Temple.
The scholars of the Temple Institute have dedicated their lives to raising public awareness of the importance of the Holy Temple in the life of all mankind, both Israel and the nations of the world. The Institute seeks to disseminate this knowledge, rekindle the desire and yearning for the rebuilding of the Holy Temple, and help to prepare as much as possible for the actual rebuilding.
At this site you can view educational articles and essays about the Holy Temple, as well as an archive of newsletters and news items.
Even if a third Temple is built, it raises a question to Christians.
We know that God is Sovereign and that nothing comes to pass unless it is in His Sovereign will.
However, the question is: is this Temple in the preferred will of God or is it in the permissive will of God?
Are there any scriptures that support the rebuilding of a third Temple?
Secondly, should Christians be involved in its construction or be involved in any way?
There does seem to be scriptures that do point to a rebuilding of a physical third Temple.
One scripture that seems to be suggesting a Temple is found in Thess 2.
In this passage, the Apostle Paul is talking about the time of the Rapture and the second coming of Christ.
2Th 2:1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,
2Th 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5 Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6 And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
Paul here is saying that the Rapture will not happen until three other things happen first.
1. The Apostia, (the falling away).
2. The man of sin revealed. (recognised by the church)
3. The building of a Temple.
If the antichrist is going to set himself up as God in the Temple, then there would have to be a Temple.
The argument here is whether this is a literal Temple or whether it is a spiritual Temple.
Is it possible that the antichrist could occupy the seat of the Spiritual Temple of God?
Well first we need to find out what this Temple is.
Christians know that the body is the Temple of God.
Man is a (trinity) being, the image and likeness of God. He has the body, the soul and the spirit. Both the soul and the spirit are in a vessel; the body.
When a person connects his/her spirit with the Spirit of God i.e accepts Jesus, the spirit of God moves and dwells in the body of that person.
Rom 8:8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
Rom 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
The spirit dwells in the material vessel, the body, thus the body is the dwelling place of the Spirit of God. The body is the temple of God. And when the Holy Spirit dwells in the body, the person becomes a church, the body of Christ.
1 Cor 6:19: Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own?
Paul asked the Corinthians’, (1 Cor 3:16) Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that God’s spirit dwells in you?
Ephesians 2:19-21 Paul describes the church as a temple: Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
1 Peter 2:5 Peter describes the church as a temple: You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.
When the Holy Spirit dwells in the body, He brings the soul and the spirit in His control. He sits on the throne of the heart as it were.
So, this brings with it another question.
If the church, (the Body of Christ), is the Temple of God and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, which is correct, according to scripture is correct.
How then, can Satan in the person of the antichrist sit on the seat of this Temple?
However, if this temple in (Rev 11:1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.) is a symbolic representation of the church, why should it be measured?
What is the significance of the courts and the altar and if the church itself is the temple, who are the worshippers (those who worship there)? There is too much specific detail here for this to be using the generalized picture of the church as a temple unto God.
If this Temple is the Body of Christ, the Church, how can the antichrist occupy this seat?
2 Thess 2:4 so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
It is more likely that what this Temple refers to is the one that must be on the earth for the fulfilment of the prophecy Daniel spoke about, when the antichrist shall defile the Temple.
Dan 9:27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Dan 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
The prophet Daniel told us the Antichrist will break his covenant with the many and bring sacrifice and offerings to an end; the Antichrist will defile the temple by setting something abominable there .
Dan 12:11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.
Also, Jesus said in Mat 24:15 and 24:21 to look for an abomination standing in the holy place, which would be the pivotal sign that the season of God's wrath was upon the earth.
The holy place could have two meanings. It could be that the third temple is the abomination that stands in the holy place or it could mean that the temple is the holy place.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand):
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 Paul told us that the Antichrist would sit in the temple as God.
2Th 2:3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
The concept of the abomination of desolation is often spiritualized with explaining it as idolatrous worship established in the hearts of God's people (His "temple").
But in what sense can people be called God's temple if they worship the Antichrist - an emissary of Satan himself?
Certainly, this isn't the most plain (Pesher—literal) or straightforward interpretation. The simplest explanation of all these passages is to see a real Jewish temple in Jerusalem, yet to be built.
The temple of God mentioned in 2 Thess2: 4 is the same place as “the holy place” in Matthew 24:15. Verse 4 indicates that the temple of God will be rebuilt before the Lord comes back.
The temple was destroyed more than nineteen centuries ago. But this verse says that Antichrist will seat himself in the temple of God.
Therefore, the temple must be rebuilt.
The nation of Israel has been formed again, and the city of Jerusalem has been returned to Israel.
However, the temple has not yet been built.
Some Jews are deeply stirred concerning the rebuilding of the temple. One day, this temple will be rebuilt, and, according to the prophecy of Daniel, Antichrist will seat himself in it.
Christians get excited when they see efforts to rebuild the temple. At the same time, we should understand that the basic impulse behind rebuilding the temple is not of God at all. Although it is included in His permissive will, it is not His preferred will.
The desire to have a place to sacrifice for sin is not in line with the Gospel teaching.
Christians believe that all sacrifice for sin was finished at the cross, and any further sacrifice for sin is an offense to God, because it denies the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
Hebrews 10:18 18 Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Hebrews 10.26 "There Remaineth No More a Sacrifice for Sins"
Orthodox Jews consider that the Messiah will rebuild the temple; however, the man they may initially embrace as their Messiah may in fact be the Antichrist:
John 5:43 I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.
Rev 13:3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
In Revelation, John is told, leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles.
The holy city (Jerusalem) will be tread underfoot for a period of forty-two months, which equals 1260 days (three and one-half years). This "trampling" by Gentiles takes place in the last half of the final seven year period described by Dan 11:26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
Dan 11:27 And both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
When the Antichrist pours out his fury on the people of Israel and those who have the testimony of Jesus Christ, as described in Revelation.
Rev 12:13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
Rev 12:14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
Rev 12:15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
Rev 12:16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
Rev 12:17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Jesus speaks of this also in Matthew 24:15-28.
Mat 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
Mat 24:16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
Mat 24:17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
Mat 24:18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
Mat 24:19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
Mat 24:20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
Mat 24:21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the
beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
Mat 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
Mat 24:23 Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
believe it not.
Mat 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect.
Mat 24:25 Behold, I have told you before.
Mat 24:26 Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not.
Mat 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
Mat 24:28 For wheresoever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.
Rev 11:2 The outer court of the temple.
Rev 11:2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
When the third Temple has been rebuilt, the antichrist will occupy it and set himself up as God and demand worship. He will cause the Jewish sacrifices to cease. Then shall begin the great Tribulation which will last for 3 and half years, which will be cut short for the elects sake.
Matt 24:22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
It is at this point that the Rapture of the church will take place.
It is at this time that Jesus Christ will return in the clouds to receive His church to Himself.
Then the wrath of God will be poured out on the earth.
See also: Blog 23, The intra Seal Rapture.
https://jeffreyunsworth.wixsite.com/teleiosbibleblogs/intrasealrapture
Blog104: The Rapture verse by verse.
https://jeffreyunsworth.wixsite.com/teleiosbibleblogs/copy-of-104-rapture-verse-by-verse
