THERE WILL BE A THIRD TEMPLE BUILT
II Thessalonians 2:3,4 Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He opposes and exalts himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, and even sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.
That day that Paul is talking about is the day of Jesus’ return. Some in the early church thought that the day of his return was when he came back to earth for the forty days before he ascended up to sit at the right hand of God the Heavenly Father. But as we look to Matthew 24, we see that what Paul and Jesus were talking about is not his appearance following his death and resurrection, but his return to earth to reign for 1,000 years with his church and mighty army.
In Matthew 24:11 Jesus like Paul tells of how there will be many even within the church that will be deceived to believe the lies of the antichrist and false prophet. Down through time since Jesus ascended up to be with his Heavenly Father there have been people that have declared themselves to be Jesus reincarnated and that the end of the world was near. Until Jesus actually does return there will continue to be people that will claim to be Jesus, but I have never heard of any that have proclaimed to be the antichrist or false prophet. The reason for that is the antichrist and false prophet will not want to be seen that way. So anyone claiming to be either has inadvertently declared themselves a liar, and not the false prophet or the antichrist. Now this is not to say that there haven’t been people that are antichrist, because the world is full of people that even hate Jesus. But there will come a time when what Jesus and Paul have said regarding the antichrist and false prophet will come to pass.
As we look to scripture like Daniel, Zechariah, Matthew, and of course the Book of Revelation, we see certain things that will take place during the seven years of tribulation that will lead up to the revealing of the antichrist, the countries he will rule, the false prophet, and the return of Jesus himself. Possibly one of the most obvious and unmistakeable signs will be the building of the next Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount. Surprisingly there has already been preparation for this temple by the Jews. Around 2001 there was a symbolic cornerstone made for the new temple. It was not allowed on the Temple Mount, but was placed in the old city. Other things needed for the temple such as the vestment for the priests and the utensils used have already been made as well. It is obvious that the Jews desire a third temple to be built. Because we know that it faces the eastern gate called Beautiful, that here is room for it without removing either of the Islamic buildings. All that is left is for the need to arise. I personally believe that need will be the discovery of the ark of the covenant. The ark is more than a historical artifact, but a very important part of Jewish worship. The Jews see it as the very presence of God. To put it in a museum would cause an uproar among the conservative Jews all over the world. World opinion will use this as a means to pacify the Palestinians and Arab people by making concessions to them by Israel in exchange for the temple to be built. Once it is built the next big step in revealing the return of Jesus is that a powerful leader (antichrist) will enter it and declared himself leader of the world or God. When this happens not only will the wise recognize him to be the antichrist, but that there will be about 3 ½ years left until Jesus returns. Until then there will be many antichrists that will come and go. In some ways much speculation will only add to the deception of the real antichrist. Many will become disillusioned and see the entire antichrist and end of days prophecy as a joke and pay no attention to what is happening right before their eyes. Because of this rejection of God’s warnings, God will bring a powerful delusion on them, and they will welcome all the lies and deceptions that the antichrist has to offer. Instead of seeing him as the great threat to humanity, people will love and welcome him to lead them into what they see as a new world order of blessing and prosperity that the world has never seen before. Because they will have believed poorly, God’s great judgment will come on the world like has never been seen before. By the time they realize their error in trusting in the antichrist it will be too late. So you see the same sign that Paul and the early church looked for is still valid today. When you see the rebuilding the Temple of God know that the return of Jesus is on the way.
Prayer: Lord, please help us and our descendants not to be deceived, but always be alert to the signs that you said to watch for as the day of your return gets closer. Please keep us to yourself. We ask this in your holy name.
