Then
the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them
a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, “When it is evening you say,
‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red’; “and in the morning, ‘It will be
foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ Hypocrites! You know
how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the
times. Matthew 16:1-3 NKJV
I
think most of us who believe in the imminent rapture of the Church would agree
that we are living in what could accurately be called the times of the
signs. A quote I am sure that most of
you have heard concerning the times we are living in goes something like this; “when
you see the Christmas decorations going up, you know that Thanksgiving is near”. So too, we as the Church are seeing the
preparations for the events which we are told will occur during the seven year
period called the tribulation which follows the removal of the Church to be
with our Father in heaven.
In
the passage from the book of Matthew, the religious leaders were asking for a
sign from Jesus. I have always found
this rather funny considering Jesus had just fed the four thousand with seven
loaves and fishes. My question has
always been, just what would it take to convince them? I believe it is obvious that there was
nothing Jesus could have done, and Jesus Himself believed it as well because He
told them that the only other sign they would receive was His resurrection. Just as in Jesus’ day, we find today that
there are many who still are not convinced we are not living in the end times
in spite of what we see happening all around us.
While
some might wonder about where the results of our presidential election place us
in the scheme of end times events, I think it very telling that the position
and support our incoming President has towards the nation of Israel seems to be
so overwhelmingly positive. My immediate
thought after seeing the election results was just what moves might the nation
of Israel make now that they have such positive support from our incoming
administration? It did not take long to
get an answer as this past week the reestablished Sanhedrin asked both
President elect Trump and Russian President Putin to facilitate the rebuilding
of the Temple in Jerusalem. When I first
read that my immediate reaction was to remember the question from the passage
above and wonder, “How’s this for a sign?”
“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
Could
it be that with the support of these two leaders the Temple could actually be
rebuilt as predicted in the scriptures?
I believe it is entirely possible, especially if they can come up with a
solution which would somehow mollify the Muslim community with regards to the
Temple Mount. 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. It 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 KJV
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 Islamic world would 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 agree that this scenario is a distinct possibility.
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, if the Temple is rebuilt during the first half of the
seven year tribulation as many believe, we will watch these events from the
comfort of our heavenly home.
Keep
watching.
