refreshed/updated Jan 2019
amazing new information is highlighted in red below
A Disturbing Discovery.....
(The Impossibly Wonderful becomes the Unthinkably Horrible)
As one
studies the Scriptures it becomes more and more apparent that not
only will Israel be restored (Romans 11:25-33, Jeremiah 31:35-37 and
countless others), but also that the Temple will be rebuilt.
This
seemingly impossible event will have an unspeakably powerful effect
on Christian and Jew alike, it will be mesmerizing. And be viewed as
a bellwether event, and the harbinger of the coming of Christ and his
Kingdom.
And you'd think it would be.
But some pieces didn't seem to fit a completely happy event, and a funny feeling began to nag. And the euphoria that should have accompanied the anticipation of that happy event began to become a queasy feeling instead.
Here
are a
few of those pieces that didn't seem to fit:
In 2 Thessalonians
2:3,4, it speaks of the "Man of Lawlessness" sitting in
that rebuilt Temple. Wouldn't that make it unholy ?
Repeatedly in
Daniel, it speaks of the "Daily Sacrifice" being removed
(Daniel 8:11,-13, 11:31, 12:11).
But
much
more disturbing, is that other Scriptures seemed to indicate even
worse things.
For instance, Daniel 8:11 says: "The
place of his sanctuary was thrown down" (NAS).
Daniel
11:31 says "forces from him will arise, desecrate
the
sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice."
Compare with this Scripture in Psalms 74: 3-8 "3 Turn Your footsteps toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary. 4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of Your meeting place; They have set up their own standards for signs. 5 It seems as if one had lifted up His axe in a forest of trees. 6 And now all its carved work They smash with hatchet and hammers. 7 They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground: They have defiled the dwelling place of Your Name. 8 They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them." They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land." (NAS) (please see note at bottom of page on Psalm 74)
O.K., (gulp) here it is: The Temple will be rebuilt, destroyed and rebuilt again. IN THREE DAYS !!! (see note below)Yeah, I know, pretty "out there". But before you write this off as total lunacy consider these clues:
In
Revelation 11:1,2 the Temple
mentioned there is measured, but it's
courtyard is not measured. Note
too; this takes place
in the Second Woe, Before the
final 3 1/2 years of the
"reign of terror" of the AntiChrist (Third Woe).
In
what, at first, seems to be a
parallel account at
Ezekiel chapter 40, the Temple
of Ezekiel is measured and
it's courtyard is
measured*. Note too, that
"Gog", The AntiChrist, has completed the last 3 1/2
years of his reign of terror and has already been destroyed
back
in Ezekiel chapter 39, Before this Temple
is built.
Also,
in Daniel 8:13,14, the 2300 days begin when the
"Daily
Sacrifice" is removed, and it takes until the end of
the
2300 days to get the Temple back into it's "right condition".
That's fully 1040 days beyond the end of the
Beast's/Man of
Lawlessness/The AntiChrist/King of the North's, "reign of
terror". I don't think it will take almost three years just to
get his smell out of the Temple. The Next Temple will be
rebuilt
at the beginning of this 1040 day period. WITHOUT HUMAN HANDS
!!!
The fact that the "Man of Lawlessness" even sits in
the first rebuilt Temple and declares himself to be God, defiles it
(2 Thess 2:3,4). And by virtue of this fact it becomes unholy. And
frankly, the Scriptures make it clear that it is burned to the ground
about 3 1/2 years after that defiling event anyway.
Paralleling
the first century event, it will be 1335 days from the beginning of
the third woe ("Man of Lawlessness" sits it Temple)
bringing it to the 1335th
day of Dan 12:11-12.(Tisha B'Av) This would
correspond to the siege of Titus (see Timeline
point 16, and please see the bottom of the page Some
Bible Math on this Website).
Thus, the last 3 1/2 years will be truly devastating. And so, Daniel 12:7 begins to take on its true depth of meaning when it says, "As soon as there will have been a finishing of the dashing of the power of the Holy people to pieces, [Christian and Jew] all these things will come to their finish".
It
just makes me feel sick. This is going to be horrible.
To
recap:
The Temple will be
rebuilt Twice.
(This is being written in January 2009)
The first time, will be
before the removing of the "Daily Sacrifice" (obviously),
this first rebuild will be in the time of the Second Woe. (Two
Witnesses) Or right before.
It will be destroyed after the end of
the Third Woe, on Tisha B'Av of 2035. And be the marker for the end
of the destruction of Babylon the Great process.
It will be
rebuilt again,
after the casting of
the "Beast" a.k.a. AntiChrist, etc. etc., into the Lake of
Fire (Rev 19:20). And logically, after the Great Earthquake that will
happen in Jerusalem (Rev
16:18). But, oddly
enough, before the cleansing of the Earth described by Peter
(2
Peter chapter 3). As the book of Joel shows that that area of earth
remains protected (Joel 2: 30-32)
It would appear that this New (Fourth)Temple “Made Without Hands” will be built “IN THREE DAYS” after the destruction of the “Third Temple”, thus on Day 670, the Temple having been destroyed on Day 666. Suggesting that Day 677 and Day 777, may also be of significance as well. Please take note and remember that. (and please see ThoughtSherds 43thru46)
This Scripture: John 2:19-21, that is referenced here, wherein Jesus says, “Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up... ...but he was speaking of the Temple of His body”.
IS ALWAYS INCORRECTLY TRANSLATED !!! The Greek DOES NOT say “But”, it says ALSO . The context is Super-Duper abundantly clear:
A. Jesus had just cleansed the Literal Physical Temple. He was right there !
B. His own Disciples, standing right there at The Temple, specifically called to mind the Scripture that said “The Zeal for YOUR house will consume me” referring to his Father's house.
C. Everyone there knew EXACTLY what he was referring to. The Pharisees and Priests specifically referring to this at his trial (Matt 26:61). And mocking him with the Phrase at his Crucifixion “you who would destroy The Temple and rebuild it in Three Days!”
D. But here's the Point: He was ALSO referring to Himself !
E. “de” (G1161) is correctly translated as: also, and, moreover, etc.etc. and can be “but”. But it's worth noting that the First 38 usages of "de" in the Gospels is, "and" (please Matt 1:2-16 in an Interlinear )
F. Thus, When the rebuilt Temple is Destroyed on Tisha B'Av 2038, Jesus will literally rebuild the Temple Himself THREE DAYS LATER !!! Just as He promised !! (and please see ThoughtSherds 43thru46)
G. Please re-read Ezekiel chapters 40-48. It is NOT a blueprint for the construction of The Temple and environs, as is commonly thought, IT IS A PROPHETIC TOUR OF AN EXISTING FACILITY. Might I suggest; one that is made without human hands..... three days after the “Third Temple” is destroyed ….
(just
a note to keep in mind: The first Temple was destroyed on Av 9, and
the rebuilt Temple (Herod's) was destroyed in 70 c.e., on the exact
anniversary day of that event, i.e. Av 9, 70 c.e. Just thought you
should know. You can Search "Tish'a B'Av", just something
to keep in mind.)**
*In the case of this second-to-be-rebuilt-Temple, not only is the Temple, the inner, and the outer courtyard measured, (see all of Ezekiel chapter 40) but, the adjacent area for up to approximately 1 mile minimum , and worth noting, it covers a much larger area than the currently existing Temple area would allow for, thus there will be a geological "reshuffling" of the land by the Great Earthquake of Rev 16: 18 (see Ezekiel 42: 15-20). Actually, chapter 47 verses 2-5 also supplement/support that the measuring process extends for many thousands of cubits beyond the Temple/Courtyard area, but in a different context). This Temple "re-rebuild" is truly different from the first rebuild of Revelation 11:1,2. And it cannot be defiled by the "Man of Lawlessness".
**The Jewish month Av corresponds to approximately from mid-July to mid-August. Give or take.
(note: A Temple cubit is longer than a standard cubit. See Ezk 45:13, it could be as much as 20 inches, appx 1/2 meter)
(footnote
for Psalm 74:)
That the Seventy-fourth Psalm is an end-time
prophecy, seems to be indicated by four interesting passages in that
Psalm. The first being verse 3 where it says, "Turn Your
footsteps toward the perpetual
ruins".
The Temple mound area would not have been considered "perpetual
ruins" at the time of either the first or second destruction of
the Temple, as the Temple area had been occupied for
hundreds of years before each of those destructions.
In fact, from the time of the first destruction, during the time they
were taken into Babylonian captivity, until the laying of the
foundation for next Temple, there were men that had seen the first
Temple who were still
alive to see the
foundation laid for the Second Temple (Ezra
3:12,13), by some calculations it was as little as a 50 year
interval. In any case, it could not be considered "perpetual"
even in reference to one
human lifetime. But from the Jewish standpoint, the Temple area
currently (January
2009) could certainly be considered "perpetual ruins", and
if the Temple were rebuilt, and shortly thereafter destroyed,
the term "perpetual ruins" would still seem applicable.
The
second
passage is verse 9 which makes the comment, "
.
. .Our signs we have not seen; there is no prophet anymore, And there
is no one with us knowing how long. . .".
This was certainly
not true of the time of either the ending of the First Temple or the
beginning of the Second Temple. The first Temple being built under
Solomon's direct supervision, in a time of great peace.
And the
Prophet Daniel was well known in the time of the re-establishing of
the Second Temple, so there definitely was a "prophet" at
that time. And clearly he knew exactly "how long", as
Daniel 9:1,2 shows. And although, at the time of the
destruction
of the Second Temple, it could be said,"
.
. .Our signs we have not seen; there is no prophet anymore, And there
is no one with us knowing how long. . .". The term "Perpetual
Ruins" could not be used in reference to the Temple Mound at
that time.
And
the third passage is verse 19 which uses the term "Wild Beast",
which is certainly end-times terminology.
The fourth passage is verse 22 where it says "Do arise o God, do conduct your own case at law". Which could indicate the time of Judgement Day, could.
However in fairness it should be said that the last two verses cited here (19,22) are not nearly as convincing and solid as verse 3, or 9, but, they could be end-time indicators.
DeQuibblification:
How
many Temples are/will there be ?
Simple counting of physical
temples:
1. The Tabernacle (Moses's Portable Temple in
Wilderness)
2. Solomon's Temple.
3. The Rebuilt Temple
(Zerubbabel's Temple)
4. Herod's Temple (Refurbished Temple)
5.
The Temple soon to be Built and later destroyed.
(Often called the Third Temple)
6. Ezekiel's Temple (Ezek
40-48) To be Built after Third Woe.
7. Rev 21:22 God and Jesus are
the final Temple.
Which makes Seven......
hmmm......
Definition of the word Temple: Any Place or
person from/to
which Worship is either transmitted or received.
It's that simple.