“And
beside the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the allotment
which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits in width, and in length like one of
the portions, from the east side to the west side; and the sanctuary shall be
in the middle of it. “The allotment that you shall set apart to the LORD shall
be 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in width. “The holy allotment
shall be for these, namely for the priests, toward the north 25,000 cubits in
length, toward the west 10,000 in width, toward the east 10,000 in width, and
toward the south 25,000 in length; and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in
its midst. Ezekiel 48:8-10 NASB
As
most are by now aware, one of the largest flashpoints and point of contention
between Muslims and Jews is access to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The movement to rebuild the Jewish Temple
seems to grow stronger by the day, and lately it also seems that it has begun
to evolve from a solely religious movement to a political one as well. As more and more Jews begin to express their
desire to see the Temple rebuilt, we see anger and violence on the part of the
Muslim community grow to an extent that not only are there protests, but as we
saw a few weeks ago, an attempted assassination of a Jewish rabbi who has long
advocated simply for the right of Jews to pray on the mount.
Many
scholars believe that the only person capable to solve this conflict to the
satisfaction of both sides is the coming world leader known as the
antichrist. After the defeat of Israel’s
enemies by God revealed in Ezekiel 38-39, it is believed that as part of the
peace agreement enforced by the antichrist Israel will be allowed to rebuild
their temple and resume their worship according to Old Testament law. The generally accepted school of thought is
that this temple will be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem sharing space
with the existing Muslim shrines, will be defiled by the antichrist after three
and one half years, and eventually be destroyed at the end of the Great
Tribulation when the Temple Mount is split in two by a great earthquake.
And in
that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, Which faces Jerusalem on
the east. And the Mount of Olives shall be split in two, From east to west, Making
a very large valley; Half of the mountain shall move toward the north And half
of it toward the south. Zechariah
14:4 NKJV
This
destruction will naturally require a fourth temple to be built, which is the
one we find described by Ezekiel in chapters 40-48 which scholars refer to as
the “Millennial Temple”. It is a massive
structure much larger than the original temple, and according to the
description given in the passage above, is located not in Jerusalem but north
of the city “beside the border of Judah”.
By studying scripture and comparing the geographical descriptions of
the different areas revealed in this passage, many believe that the location of
the temple will be where the ancient city of Shiloh was located. There is historical precedent for this
location because this is where the Tabernacle stood for close to 400 years
before the Israelites made Jerusalem their capitol.
Of
course, leave it to me to throw a wrench into the accepted school of
thought. As I studied the subject of the
temple, and began to search the scripture for passages relating to temples past
and present, I noticed a few things that made me wonder if there was something
we might be missing if we follow the accepted school of thought concerning four
temples. First of all, the Bible only
speaks of three temples, not four.
Nowhere are we told of a third temple being built on the Temple Mount,
rather it has simply been assumed that one will be. The only temples revealed in scripture are
Solomon’s temple, Zerubbabel’s or Herod’s temple, and the Millennial temple.
Now
you might think that in itself may not be enough to cause those who advocate
for four temples to rethink their position, and I would agree. So let’s look at something else that might be
cause to reconsider. Most understand
that the antichrist will defile the temple after three and a half years have
elapsed after the peace agreement, an event referred to as the “abomination of
desolation”.
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.” Daniel
9:27 NKJV
We
also know that this has happened once before in 167 BC by Antiochus IV
Epiphanes. This resulted in a revolt by
the Jews and eventually to a cleansing and rededication of the temple which is
celebrated to this day by the Jewish holiday Hanukkah. So what is my point? There is a saying by biblical scholars which
states; “pattern is prologue”. The study
of typology in the scripture has shown that much of what has happened throughout
the Bible was setting a pattern that would be repeated at a later date. My question is this; if the antichrist
defiling the temple is a repeat of the first “abomination of desolation”,
wouldn’t it be logical to assume that the future temple will be cleansed and
rededicated rather than destroyed?
I
want you to look closely at a verse from this same chapter from Daniel, which
contains a phrase that I believe may be overlooked by many.
“Seventy
weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the
transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring
in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the
most holy place. Daniel 9:24
NASB
This
verse relates what has come to be known as the prophecy of Daniel’s seventy
weeks. It reveals God’s plan for the
nation of Israel from that time until the end when He will return to
earth. It also lists six things which
will be accomplished at the end of those seventy weeks. Did you catch that last phrase? “and to anoint the most holy place”. This phrase in the Hebrew is “mashach qodesh qodesh” , which is
translated “to Anoint; to smear, anoint, spread a liquid”. Anoint
what? Scholars and commentators agree
that the most holy (place) is the temple.
If this is the case, doesn’t it seem logical to assume that it is not
destroyed, but rather consecrated for millennial worship? Are we
being told here that there are just three temples, not four? This phrase was used in the book of Exodus as
well and was also referring to anointing the Tabernacle.
And
thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint (mashach) the
tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the vessels
thereof: and it shall be holy. Exodus 40:9
Again,
this might not be enough for some to change their belief in how many temples
there will be, but I want to suggest that this scenario is a very believable
one in light of the current situation that exists between the Muslims and the
Jewish people. It seems much more
believable that the antichrist could get the Islamic world to allow a temple to
be built in Shiloh rather than on the Temple Mount. With the authority of the prophecy of Ezekiel,
it seems reasonable that the Jewish people would agree as well. As I have studied this subject, I have found
that there are others who have asked this same question and written their own
take on this possibility. One whom you
might be familiar with is Jack Kelley of gracethrufaith.com.
I would highly recommend that if you are interested in this idea, visit his
website and read his conclusions about the temple in Shiloh.
Whatever
God’s plans for the temple mount are, it appears that we will know very, very
soon just what they are. Of course, let’s
not forget that as believers in Jesus Christ, and having accepted His sacrifice for our sins, we will watch these events from the comfort of our heavenly home.
Keep
watching.
