The Word of God
states that the temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt. This will be the
third Temple and it will be located on a site that God has foreordained.
Many faithful Jews are in advanced stages of planning for the rebuilding
of the third Temple and strongly believe that the Temple will be rebuilt
soon. The governance of the Temple Mount is now a matter of great debate
and importance. The media is focused on the pivotal role of the governance
of Jerusalem as the leaders of the world seek to establish peaceful
relations between Israel and her neighbors.
There are disputes among all interested parties as to the exact location
of Solomon's Temple. There are at least three possibilities and each
of them have supporters who persuasively argue their case. One group
places the original temple site on the area now occupied by the AL Aqsa
mosque. Another group supports a location alongside the Mosque, meaning
the Temple could be rebuilt without tearing down the mosque. Another
group believes the location is as far as a quarter mile away from the
mosque site. In my opinion, it does not matter. The Scriptures say the
temple will be rebuilt under peaceful circumstances and as a result
of treaties.
As mentioned below, the one who negotiates
the treaty, which cover many more issues than the rebuilding of the
Temple, will be greatly respected and heralded. That person, according
to Scripture, is the anti-christ and the victory of a rebuilt Temple
will be short-lived. In 3 ½ years it will be torn down and the
persecution will begin.
As of this writing, the primary
issue is one of governance. The Palestinian Authority is demanding sovereignty
over all of the eastern part of Jerusalem, including the Old City and
its holy sites. The United States has proposed complex sovereignty arrangements,
including placing some areas under "divine sovereignty" to
enable both sides to save face in accepting the compromise. The Pope
has proposed ideas of shared governance.
At this time, both the rhetoric and the aggression have intensified.
It appears that severe hostility may necessarily precede any formal
resolution regarding the governance of the holy sites in Jerusalem.
This December 2001 quote, from an Arutz-7 news report, characterizes
what remains as the Arab position: Arafat… said the Palestinian Authority
would hold steadfast to its goals for a Palestinian state that has Jerusalem
as its capital. "We frankly want a Palestinian state ... in the
full sense of the word ... with Jerusalem being its capital, alongside
Israel," he said. And subsequent to that remark, Arafat has died
and trust levels have diminished even further. A storm may have to occur
before the air clears. Hopefully it will not completely destroy Jerusalem
and Scripture seems to point in that direction.
Scripture makes it clear that the placement of the foundation for the
third Temple will be resolved through negotiations. Then he (the prince)
shall confirm a covenant with many for one week. Covenants are generally
preceded by disagreements and the decision to rebuild the third Temple
will not be made unilaterally. There will be negotiations. The individual
who plays the lead role in resolving this pivotal dispute between Muslims
and Jews is of great significance. The treaties between Israel and her
neighbors will necessarily allow Israel to rebuild the Temple in an
air of compromise.
The following complex prophecy by Daniel is relied upon by many as a
Messianic prophecy, with mysterious mathematical properties. Read "weeks,"
as "years" and you will see why.
Daniel 9:24-27
24 "Seventy weeks
are determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sins, to make reconciliation for iniquity,
to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy,
and to anoint the Most Holy.
25 "Know therefore
and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore
and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven weeks
and sixty-two weeks; the street shall be built again, and the wall,
even in troublesome times.
26 "And after
the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; and
the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the
sanctuary. The end of it shall be with a flood, and till the end of
the war desolations are determined.
27 Then he shall confirm
a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week he
shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations
shall be one who makes desolate, even until the consummation, which
is determined, is poured out on the desolate." (NKJ)
Daniel said that "until Messiah the
Prince" there will be 7 weeks and 62 weeks until the street and the
wall (the Temple wall) is rebuilt. This is a designation of two "rebuildings." The first was based on the decree of King Cyrus.
His decree to rebuild is the starting point of the time line prophesied
by Daniel. Understand that Daniel's prophecy concerning the first
rebuilding was fulfilled and that event set the calendar for the Messiah's
return and crucifixion. The flood mentioned is not one of water,
but of sin, since God promised that no flood would ever destroy man
again. "Then," that is, after the flood of sin which led to the
destruction of the 2nd Temple, he, the prince (Antichrist),
will confirm a covenant for one week (read 7 years) and in the middle
of that week (read 3½ years) he shall bring an end to
sacrifice and offering.
In order to consider Daniel's prophecy
more carefully, read of the event that Daniel is referring to in verse
25, above:
Ezra 6:1-15
1 Then King Darius
issued a decree, and a search was made in the archives, where the treasures
were stored in Babylon.
2 And at Achmetha,
in the palace that is in the province of Media, a scroll was found,
and in it a record was written thus:
3 In the first year
of King Cyrus, King Cyrus issued a decree concerning the house of God
at Jerusalem: "Let the house be rebuilt, the place where they offered
sacrifices; and let the foundations of it be firmly laid, its height
sixty cubits and its width sixty cubits,
4 with three rows of
heavy stones and one row of new timber. Let theexpenses be paid from
the king's treasury.
5 Also let the gold
and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from
the temple which is in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, be restored
and taken back to the temple which is in Jerusalem, each to its place;
and deposit them in the house of God"--
6 Now therefore, Tattenai,
governor of the region beyond the River, and Shethar-Boznai, and your
companions the Persians who are beyond the River, keep yourselves far
from there.
7 Let the work of this
house of God alone; let the governor of the Jews and the elders of the
Jews build this house of God on its site.
8 Moreover I issue
a decree as to what you shall do for the elders of these Jews, for the
building of this house of God: Let the cost be paid at the king's expense
from taxes on the region beyond the River; this is to be given immediately
to these men, so that they are not hindered.
9 And whatever they
need-- young bulls, rams, and lambs for the burnt offerings of the God
of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, and oil, according to the request of the
priests who are in Jerusalem-- let it be given them day by day without
fail,
10 that they may offer
sacrifices of sweet aroma to the God of heaven, and pray for the life
of the king and his sons.
11 Also I issue a decree
that whoever alters this edict, let a timber be pulled from his house
and erected, and let him be hanged on it; and let his house be made
a refuse heap because of this.
12 And may the God
who causes His name to dwell there destroy any king or people who put
their hand to alter it, or to destroy this house of God which is in
Jerusalem. I Darius issue a decree; let it be done diligently.
13 Then Tattenai, governor
of the region beyond the River, Shethar-Boznai, and their companions
diligently did according to what King Darius had sent.
14 So the elders of
the Jews built, and they prospered through the prophesying of Haggai
the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. And they built and finished
it, according to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according
to the command of Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.
15 Now the temple was
finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth
year of the reign of King Darius. (NKJ)
This rebuilding of the Temple establishes the starting point of the
70 weeks mentioned in Daniel 9:25. The temple was rebuilt and Daniel’s
prophecy says that 62 weeks would pass before the Messiah would be "cut
off" (this prophecy says the Messiah will have been rejected and killed).
If the 62 weeks represent one year periods, given the Roman calendar
of 360 days in a year, the Messiah did come, triumphantly riding
into Jerusalem on a donkey, right on schedule (173,380 days after the
decree) and then was "cut off."
Of course this 2nd Temple
was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Read verse 12 above and you will
understand that those who alter or destroy the house of God and His
Temple will be destroyed. Those who destroyed the 2nd Temple
and those who will yet destroy the 3rd Temple will be dealt
with very harshly.
The crucifixion of Jesus completed
the first 62 "week" period. That would leave the completion of a one-week
period (7 years) until the Messiah will return again. The prophecy (Daniel
9:24-27) pointing to the "rebuilding of the Temple," for the 3rd time, will, according to the beliefs of many, commence the final 7 year
period. This event is clearly linked to the return of the Messiah.
When Daniel says "in the middle of
the week" sacrifices and offerings will cease, they would, of course,
had to have commenced. This prophecy is not about a time in the past,
but it is focused on the future until Messiah the Prince. The
Messiah will come and His millenium kingdom will be established and
it will "follow the consummation," which will be poured out on
the desolate, the battle of Armageddon.
The rebuilding of the temple and the
re-institution of sacrifices will be the preamble to the period of tribulation
described in Daniel. There is not one prophecy yet to be fulfilled,
in my opinion, more pivotal than this prophecy. Seven years is not a
very long period of time and the events that are prophesied will shake
the earth to its foundation, setting in motion the millenium.
As I write this, the leadership of
Israel and the world has become totally focused on the fate of Jerusalem
and its Holy sites. You are witnessing the events leading to the rebuilding
of the 3rd Temple. It will happen sooner or later and peace
will appear to have come to Israel. But listen to Daniel: and the
people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary…..
in the middle of the week he shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
The prince referred to is going to
deceive many. He shall even deceive some of the chosen people, the elect.
Many will buy into the belief that peace and safety has come to Israel
and for a brief time it will be true. But this very powerful and very
attractive and very persuasive prince will, "in the middle of the week"
destroy the Temple and assert that he is to be worshipped and followed.
Obedience and cooperation will be required and you will agree to participate
(accept the mark of the beast) or you will be persecuted.
For those of you doubting that Daniel's
prophecy of weeks should be interpreted as years, do the math that makes
the decree of Cyrus accurate regarding the rebuilding of the 2nd Temple. I believe that you will agree that the destruction of the Temple
is in the middle of a period of 7 years, in order for these prophecies
to be consistent.
I have capitalized the Temple in Jerusalem
as "The Temple," although I want to say it is not capitalized in
Scripture. I am treating it as a proper noun but I am not attributing
Deification to the Temple. In New Jerusalem, heaven, there will be
no temple. Referring to heaven the Scripture says:
Revelation 21:22
22 But I saw no temple
in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. (NKJ)
Our focus in our worship will be God,
then, and should be now. We do not worship a temple built with human
hands. We worship at such temples but our praise and our joy
is directed to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, not pillars nor statues
or furnishings. We worship a true and living God and celebrate together
His presence in such places as synagogues, churches and temples. The
very ground we stand upon when communing with God is Holy ground. Listen:
Exodus 3:1-5
1 Now Moses was
tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian.
And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the
mountain of God
2 And the Angel
of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush.
So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush
was not consumed
3 Then Moses said,
"I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not
burn."
4 So when the LORD
saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of
the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."
5 Then He said,
"Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the
place where you stand is holy ground." (NKJ)
Yes, the temple will be rebuilt, but
let's not ever forget what the temple is and what it is not. It is Holy
ground because the Spirit of God is there but it is not a place in which
we worship any item in it. We worship our Lord and Savior and our relationship
is a personal one, with Him, whether in a temple or in a place where
you have gone to be alone with Him. The worship of icons is an error,
in my opinion. It was an error made by Aaron when he made the molded,
golden calf and it is an error that persists in many quarters today.
Listen to the admonition of our Lord.
Exodus 20:4-5
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of
anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your
God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, …" (NKJ)
Yes, the temple will be rebuilt and
it will be a time for joyous celebration because our Lord will be glorified.
But, listen to the prophecy of Daniel stated above. It is a temple that
will be destroyed in a short time. Do not let the events surrounding
the construction and destruction of the temple confound you. Be ready.
Turn and live. Get the "new heart" that Ezekiel told you to seek.
Ezekiel 18:30-32
30 "Therefore I
will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,"
says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so
that iniquity will not be your ruin
31 "Cast away from
you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves
a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel?
32 "For I have no
pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD. "Therefore
turn and live!" (NKJ)
God wants you to turn to Him
as these calamitous events unfold. He will judge "each one" according
to his ways."
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