Hi Lon!
Your question is the RIGHT ONE ("What
scriptures do you use") to
answer the primary question of whether
the temple will be built. The secondary
question, then, is "Must it be built for end
time events to move forward?"......which
then raises the final question of.....was Jesus,
in prophesying of the time of the Great
Tribulation, saying that the (physical act of)
abomination of desolation (in a physical
temple) was going to happen twice,
or was He telling us that what
Antiochus Epiphanes (who occupied Jerusalem and
desecrated the temple) did physically
in the Temple a prophetic forerunner of what was
to come in the spiritual ?
*Asking those three questions
and understanding the answers from
Scripture show TRUE "progressive
revelation" - which is when one works their way
through the scriptures, searching, comparing contexts,
reasoning, and letting them interpret themselves to
our understanding. So, to the first
question: "What scriptures are
used to show that the temple will
(supposedly) be built?
Below are the most used passages of Scripture
which I've seen tribulation-temple-believers
use to 'prove' a temple will be built. Under
each section of Scripture, I've offered an
explanation for your consideration of the spiritual,
rather than the physical, application.
* Who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple
of God, shewing himself that he is God. 2 Thess. 2:4
This is the abomination (against God
Himself!) - the very act of disobeying the 1st
commandment. The 2nd commandment deals with the
images/idols (which the antichrist will also
erect.) But to manyChristians, the most
important word in that passage is the word
"sitteth", from which they assume
there must be a rebuilt temple for the
antichrist to literally sit in.
However, the rest of the verse says,
"...sitteth in the temple of God."
We know that after Jesus was crucified, God sees
the body of Believers as the spiritual temple of
God. From this we must reason that if the
antichrist "sits" or "stands" anywhere in a
"temple", it must be that he is sitting
or standing in the midst of the body
of Believers who are also called
"Living Sacrifices" and the "oblations/offerings" are
their "prayers." Therefore, when those
Believers reject and oppose the antichrist, he
will seek to put an END TO THE SACRIFICES
(the Living Sacrifices, i.e. Believers) by killing
them, which will cause their
oblations/offerings/prayers to cease.
* When ye therefore
shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of
by Daniel the prophet, stand
in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand)
Matthew 24:15
Another physical temple would not be considered the holy place since it
would be an insult to the completed work of
Christ and God would
not consider it "the holy place." What
He considers "the holy place" - or temple -
is the body of Believers; and on that fact,
I do not see the "abomination" to be yet
another desecration of another rebuilt temple;
but instead, the abomination will be committed
within "the Holy Place" of the temple" which
is among Believers.
As a
matter of fact, the little
red flag that indicates a
defining moment where you might gain real
wisdom is in re-consideration
of the initial reading that the
abomination/idol/image that will "stand in
the holy place" just might not be where you
think it is! It is a warning
to whoso
readeth, let him understand
that something
is up with this verse.....that The
abomination will stand
in the holy place.....huh? Where?
In a physical temple that is
an insult to the completed work of Christ
so it isn't considered "the holy place" at
all? Rather, the true "holy place"
is among God's people! When
the abomination/image/idol is erected in
Jerusalem, New Believers, those left
behind at the Rapture (which had been
a SIGN UNTO THEM) will
understand.......and God's People the Jews
(the religious Orthodox
who believe that 'no man is God'
(and therefore have rejected Jesus Christ)
will reject yet another "man"
and FLEE, as Jesus warned them
to do.
In
addition, consider that the
antichrist's abomination of declaring
himself god, plus the erection of an
idol-image that is to be worshipped is
only an abomination (a vile disgusting
abhorrence) to those who know and
understand the ramifications of
worshipping something or someone other
than the True Living God! The
abomination would not be offensive to a
BUILDING, especially one that is not even
a true "holy place." But it would be
offensive to living
believers who believe in the One True
God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob!
So when the abomination "stands in the
holy place" it will be in the midst of
God's people.....new believers and the
religious Jews who will SEE IT for what it
is - an ABOMINATION!
* And he shall confirm
the covenant with many for one week: and in the
middle of the week he shall cause the
sacrifice and the oblation to cease,
and for the overspreading of abominations he
shall make it desolate, even until the consummation,
and that determined shall be poured on the desolate.
Daniel 9:27
The first point of this verse
concerns the confirming of 'THE covenant.'
The second point of this verse
concerns 'the
middle of the week'. The third
point concerns the 'sacrifice and the oblation.'
But first let's clear up any
misunderstanding of the fourth point of
this verse, that of: the
overspreading of abominations .
The
NIV has rendered this as "for the
overspreading of abominations "upon the wing"
(of the temple). There is no 'wing of the temple' in
the trustful version of the KJV. It
reads "for the overspreading
of abominations he shall make it
desolate..." In fact,
there is no mention of a temple in this
verse at all. Historically, the overspreading
of abominations referred to the
wrath of God which fell on Israel ( by means
of the Romans) by which the holy place was
polluted & subsequently destroyed.
"On the wing ("of the temple") was
likely "added" as a reference to the
'battlements' ( or, parapets - open spaces on the
temple walls from which to launch weapons) of
the Roman army during its historical
fulfillment of when they destroyed
the Temple in
70 AD.
The first point (THE covenant) refers to the Abrahamic covenant
of the Jews inheritance of the Land. This is
what the antichrist will "confirm" - an historical
and ancient covenant already in existence that he
will reaffirm to the "many" as the Jews "right to
exist in the Land given to them by God." Keep
in mind that shortly after he "confirms the
covenant", he WILL DECLARE THAT HE IS
GOD! The new believers and the
religious Jews will know this is not so -
BUT, those "who love not the truth" will
believe that he is god and that he had the
right to confirm that covenant.....but
shortly thereafter, he will
cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, for the
overspreading of abominations (i.e. the antichrist's wrath will
fall upon God's people and he will go after
them to persecute and kill them, thereby putting an
end to the (living) sacrifices and their
oblations/offerings of prayer.
The second
point ('the middle of the
week') refers
to the middle of the 70th Week
(which is the last 7 years of the 70 weeks that will
incorporate Christ's 2nd Coming!) This is
the time of "great
tribulation such as the world has never seen."
Because we believe the 70th Week began at the
beginning of the last Sabbatical cycle (Rosh
HaShanah 2008), we now believe we are IN the middle
year of the 70th Week (2011-2012). It is more
than likely (based on our understanding of the
Sabbaths and Sabbatical cycles as related to the
70th Week) that early this Spring 2012 will see
the casting out of satan from the heavens,
satan's empowering the antichrist to go forth
(opening of the first seal - the revelation of the
antichrist), and the time of great tribulation will
commence.
The third point of this
verse concerns the ('sacrifice
and the oblation.') The explanation
for the spiritual application of "living sacrifices"
and "oblations/offerings/prayers" is
given as the body of Believers
who are also called "Living Sacrifices" and the
"oblations/offerings" are their "prayers."
When these Believers reject and oppose the
antichrist, he will seek to put an END
TO THE SACRIFICES (the Living Sacrifices, i.e.
Believers) by killing them, which will cause
their oblations/offerings/prayers to cease.
This is based on the fact of scriptures
which continually demonstrate
that BELIEVERS ARE THE TEMPLE
OF GOD! Here are just a few:
Acts 17:24 - "God, who made the world and
everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and
earth, does not dwell in temples made
with hands."
1 Cor. 3:16 - Don't you know that
you yourselves are God's temple
and that God's Spirit lives in you?"
1 Cor. 6:19 - "Do you not know that your
body is a temple of the Holy Spirit?"
Acts 7:48 - "The Most High does
not dwell in houses made by human hands."
To reiterate, I believe that God now
sees only one "temple" > the "body of
Christ." I do not see
the "abomination" to be yet another desecration
of another rebuilt temple, but rather, what
Antiochus did physically, the antichrist will do spiritually
within the TRUE "temple"
* Then a reed was
given me to serve as a measuring rod;
and a voice said, "Rise, and measure God's
sanctuary--and the altar--and count the worshipers who are in it.
Rev. 11:1
A reed was used as a stick of
measurement for the former temples. It will
also be used to measure the future Temple of Ezekiel
40 which Christ will build in the Millennial Kingdom
upon a greatly enlarged Temple Mount (due to
topographical earthquake alterations).
But the former reeds and the future reeds are said
to be golden reeds. Yet the
reference to a REED LIKE
UNTO A ROD is given for the
temple mentioned in Revelation. Why? A
rod suggests punishment. The
ROD speaks of judgment, chastisement. It
is a reed like unto judgment that references the
temple. But you can't punish a building.
You can
punishment people. Why the punishment?
Because those who are going through the Great
Tribulation were left behind after the
Rapture. They must now go through
this chastisement for their previous unbelief,
although they are saved, although they
themselves are now the Temple of the Holy
Spirit, they will be martyred for their
testimony for Christ. The
Temple will be 'measured'with a ROD,
not a golden reed.
Yet, some people mistakenly
assume there will be a rebuilt temple
because they see a reference
to "measuring" that temple. However, notice
that there are NO MEASUREMENTS GIVEN!
Why? Because you can't "measure people!"
People -believers!- are the temple!
We are even told to count
the worshipers!
Don't make the same mistake that the Jews made at
Jesus' First Advent - they looked for physical
deliverance. Today people
are expecting a physical "tribulation
temple" to be built, which
would supposedly shed light on God's
Timeline regarding the end-days......which
brings us to the secondary question of "Must it be built for end
time events to move forward?"
One
of the things people have forgotten about
Daniel was that during his captivity in
Babylon, THERE WAS NO TEMPLE. It had
been destroyed and Daniel had been taken
captive. Yet, Daniel believed and
continued to worship the God of
Israel. Daniel himself, as far as God
was concerned, was the Temple of
God. His heart, soul, mind, and
spirit were the Temple in which he
worshipped God. He was a LIVING SACRIFICE
in that he was captive in a foreign land yet
remained true to the Living God of
Israel. He also offered OBLATIONS
(prayers) to God several times
daily. Yet there was no physical
temple for him to do this in.
Could
King Nebuchadnezzar have defiled the
Temple of God by stopping (killing) the
(living) sacrifices, thus causing the
oblations (prayers) to
cease..... just as the antichrist
will? YES . In fact he
tried. When Nebuchadnezzar SET
UP AN IMAGE/IDOL (again, just as the
antichrist will) to be worshipped, he
threatened that whosoever refused "should be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace."
"And there were
certain Jews whom thou has set over the
affairs of the province of Babylon,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego....." who refused...."O king, we will not
serve thy gods, nor worship the golden
image which thou has set up." And guess what? They
were bound and cast into the burning fiery
furnace. Yet they didn't burn.
In fact, Nebuchadnezzar commanded the fire
be notched up 7 times hotter. But they
were still safe for the Angel of the Lord
stood among them.
It is going
to be the same during the Great
Tribulation. There doesn't have to be a
physical temple built in order to have
sacrifices and oblations stopped by the
antichrist. When Jesus died, the Veil in
the Temple was torn in two....representing the
FINAL SACRIFICE, (Lamb of God) had been
made. There is no longer a need for a
Temple and sin &
guilt sacrifices. In John 4:23 Jesus
said: But the hour
cometh, and now is,
when the true worshippers shall worship the
Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father
seeketh such to worship him.
Jesus was saying NOW IS....NOW IS! He
hadn't died yet, nor had the temple
been destroyed, but He was already even
then saying THE TEMPLE BUILDING IS NOTHING BUT A
PHYSCIAL SYMBOL OF A SPIRITUAL REALITY THAT HAS
ALWAYS BEEN IN EFFECT!!!
"Jesus had begun building His Spiritual
Temple and has been building it ever
since. His Blood Sacrifice was made
once for all. The next Temple that will be
built will be the one He will build in His
Millennial Kingdom.....which is The Third
Temple/the Millennial Temple, which is the
Temple found in Ezekiel 40, to be
built by Jesus, the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords. There you will find
all the measurements needed to SEE that a
physical Temple will be built!
The conclusion to the question "Must it be built for end
time events to move forward?" is NO! In fact, believing
that a physical temple must be built in order to
move forward with the great tribulation
is a mistake that will derail you, causing
you to mistake the time. It doesn't
matter what plans are in the
works -and have been for quite some time- for
a Third/Tribulation Temple: breeding red
heifers for use in sanctifying the temple, the
cornerstone that has been quarried (and replaced
because the first one was stolen!), or that the
priesthood is being verified, or that the
Sanhedrin is claiming jurisdiction over official
religious matters (that's a prophecy that must be
fulfilled before Jesus returns anyway), or that
there have been a couple of "sacrifices" on a
nearby hill near the Western Wall, or that the
Temple Institute has recreated most of the
implements used in temple worship. None
of these things matter to God. They
matter to men, because these are man-made
preparations for something man wants!!!.....TO
BRING IN THE KINGDOM! But shouldn't this
show you just how close we are to the Millennial
Kingdom and the need for these instruments in a
righteous Temple built by Jesus Christ? But
it is Jesus Christ who will bring in the
Kingdom! He has been building HIS TEMPLE not
made with hands! He began it with His final
sacrifice of the Lamb of God .
Jesus tells us in Rev. 3:10 "I will keep thee from the hour
of temptation, which shall come upon all the
world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
What is that temptation? It is the same
temptation that Jesus was offered.....to bow down
and worship satan. THAT is what is coming
upon the world and most will indeed bow
down. Those who won't - those who overcometh
and hold fast, and love not their lives unto
death will become living sacrifices for their
testimony in Jesus Christ.
Those who don't
believe the end times can move forward until
a temple is built are not expecting that the
great tribulation is almost upon us...for we are
now in the 4th (middle) year of the 70th Week
and this coming Spring will be the
"midst of the 70th Week"!
Take the time to consider all of the events
that have been fulfilled pertaining to
the Nation of Israel, comparing it to the
first time God called Israel a nation, and the
parallel to the (2nd time) Israel became a
nation, from being born in a day (1948), to coming
to maturity (20 years old in 1967) and
reunifying Jerusalem, which began the
generation which "would not pass away"
but would see all things fulfilled. And
consider that just as the first nation
Israel was punished for their rebellion and
were not allowed to enter the Promised Land
for 40 years......we see from 1967, when God
gave Israel the victory to once again secure
Jerusalem, they rebelled again by returning
God's Holy Temple Mount to the Muslims. It
was not theirs to give away! It belongs to
God! I believe that rebellious
act began another 40 years of punishment
for their unbelief and
wrong choices & decisions.
However, that 40 years ended in the Sabbath year
of 2007. THIS generation (which will
not pass away as did the first generation) is
about to witness the completion of God's Plan for
the Redemption of Israel, and indeed, the
world! In 2008 a new Sabbatical cycle
commenced.....the last 7 years.....the long
awaited 70th Week. It will end with Jesus
coming to save Jacob out of his trouble just
before the Sabbath Year 2014-2015 to bring
Israel, His people and the earth into HIS
REST! The following year 2015-2016 will
begin the "second Sabbath/Year of Jubilee".
I hope this helps as you consider what all
of the scriptures say regarding the time we are in
right now and what we should
expect...and should not expect.
For more details visit godstimeline.net.
Until.....Sherry
Vance~