Prophecy concerning a third temple is racing around the internet and there is almost as many interpretations as there are videos and blogs. There is a caution to all that Peter and also Timothy warns us in 2 Tim 4:3.

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accurate instruction [that challenges them with God’s truth]; but wanting to have their ears tickled [with something pleasing], they will accumulate for themselves [many] teachers [one after another, chosen] to satisfy their own desires and to support the errors they hold,

2 Peter 2:1-3
Now there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. / Many will follow in their depravity, and because of them the way of truth will be defamed. / In their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with deceptive words. The longstanding verdict against them remains in force, and their destruction does not sleep.

How do we know what is correct?

We must read the scriptures for ourselves and ask for wisdom, Proverbs and James 1:5-8 are promises that we will receive understanding. There is sometimes such a strong desire in the hearts and minds of Christians for the Messiah to return that we try to help that time come sooner by aligning real time events with certain prophetic promises. We zealously interpret things to mean one thing and in truth they mean another and many times when things don’t unfold as we think they are going to, we get discouraged and confused.

The answers we seek are all in the Scriptures. His truth is the word and we must read and understand it in context, to fully comprehend the plans and purposes of our Father and His perfect timing. We often read prophetic book like Daniel and Ezekiel, and think things will happen a certain way or mean a specific thing; without a full appreciation of the time in which it was written and many of those prophesies have already been fulfilled.

There is much speculation about the red heifer, which we looked at in the last post; and the building of a 3^rd Temple. Many are relating these 2 things as being necessary before Messiah can return.

Be encouraged to search the scriptures for yourselves and not to take certain scriptures out of context. There is far more going on behind the scenes in the world today than is reported or discussed. There is much misdirection and misunderstanding. A brief look at some biblical facts may help us to be guided along the ‘Way’, as Fathers’ Holy Spirit reminds us Yeshua/Jesus is the Way the Truth and the Life and it’s to Him we must listen, not to a multitude of mixed messages.

Recall that the scriptures tell us that for the Jews, the red heifers are for the purification of the people who have been in contact with a dead body and for the ritual cleansing of the priests. The excitement today is so they can offer sacrifices in a future temple to prepare for what they believe will be the first coming of the Messiah. 

The requirement comes from Numbers 19:2-10, where YHVH, the Lord God, commanded a sacrifice of this special heifer, whose ashes would be used for “the water of purification,” necessary to purify the priests before they could offer sacrifices in the Temple. 

Here’s the irony of the red heifers being provided by a Christian group:

As we already noted, for the Jews, the red heifers are for the purification of the priests, so they can offer sacrifices in a future temple in order to prepare for what they believe will be the first coming of the Messiah. 

But some Christian groups believe that the third temple must be built so it can be occupied by the “man of sin,” based on their reading of 2 Thessalonians 2:4.

This post is simply offering some prayerful thoughts that we may not have considered.

What if ‘the temple’ is our physical bodies and the man of sin, as in the spirit of the antichrist, will reign/sit in us?

Is this maybe the result of these who say they are Christian succumbing to the strong delusion? The reason so many will be taken in by the deception is sadly a lack of knowledge…

my people are destroyed because of that. Hosea 4:6.

It’s due to a lack of knowing the Word and the originator of that Word. If we do not cultivate a personal relationship with our Heavenly Father, His Messiah Yeshua and His Holy Spirit, we put ourselves in danger of misleading rhetoric and false doctrine. There are teachings that have been around so long that we just accept them as truth, and don’t take the time to research them in context; and especially in light of the translations, Hebraic idioms and language. We have a duty to search out truth as did the Bereans, who were commended for doing so in Acts 17:11. The Bible is a Hebrew Bible, written for the Israelites/Hebrew children/Jews, by Jewish people about a Jewish Messiah. Christianity has westernized so much of the content, we need to carefully consider what is Truth, and what has been modified to fit certain criteria for various doctrinal beliefs.

These are the last days, and days that come with serious warnings. Warnings that require strong faith and a sure foundation, which only comes through genuine relationship and spending time hearing the word, living it; and with worship and prayer which is literally time given in the Fathers presence. Our walk is not to be casual but one of a wholehearted committed decision…we must be authentic in all our ways. We may fool people but our Father sees it all and knows us better than we know ourselves.

The Orthodox Jews are looking for their Messiahs first coming and by providing the red heifers to the Jews, some groups of ‘christians’ seek to speed up end-time events. Ironically, the fulfillment they wish to hasten will be largely destructive to the Jews and the world. 

Though the Temple Institute represents just one group in Israeli society, many evangelical Christians support their efforts because they believe the building of a third temple is necessary to fulfill prophecy. (Both groups seem to conveniently ignore that their respective views of the end times and coming of the Messiah are diametrically at odds.)

The Bible talks about sacrifices resuming in Jerusalem, but does this mean a temple must be built there, for end-time prophecy to be fulfilled? Many believe so, but what does the Bible say?

For years, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has been preparing the implements and materials needed for a third temple.

In 2015 they completed an altar needed to restart sacrifices and performed a reenactment of the Passover sacrifice.

In 2017 they performed a sacrifice near the Temple Mount, a controversial act that resulted in some being arrested.

In 2018 they were given permission to perform a reenactment of the Passover sacrifice at the foot of the Temple Mount.

 

Then the Temple Institute overcame a major hurdle in their plans to build a third temple. It was something most people would not expect: cows. 

Why were red heifers sent to Jerusalem?

The Temple Institute made the news when five red heifers were flown to Israel from Texas to meet the requirements for resuming temple sacrifices. These five unblemished red heifers (a heifer is a young female cow that has not yet calved) were supplied by a Christian group in Texas. 

As we have discussed the requirement comes from Numbers 19:2-10, where God commanded a sacrifice of this special heifer whose ashes would be used for “the water of purification,” necessary to purify the priests before they could offer sacrifices. 

In times past, obtaining an unblemished red heifer was difficult. As a cow ages, hairs may turn white or black causing the animal to be rejected by the rabbis as blemished. 

Will daily sacrifices be resumed in Jerusalem?

A brief history…

After the collapse of Alexander the Great’s empire, his kingdom split into four smaller empires under his generals (Daniel 8:8). A ruler named Antiochus Epiphanes rose to power in the Seleucid Empire. He ruled over the Jews and outlawed worship of the true God. He stopped the daily sacrifices and offered unclean sacrifices to pagan gods instead. Daniel 8:11-12, 13; 11:31.

Yeshua/Jesus prophesied that this historical event would also have a future fulfillment. In the end times, a despotic ruler (“king of the North”) would stop the “daily sacrifices” again.

We know from Daniel that these events will occur at ‘the time of the end’, Daniel 12:9; and that ‘from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days’ (verse 11) indicating a countdown to Messiah Yeshua HaMashiach/Jesus Christ’s return.

If the ‘daily sacrifices’ are going to be stopped in the future, that means they must first be resumed!

This is why the actions of the Temple Institute and their plans to resume sacrifices are interesting.

Must a third temple be rebuilt?

After the destruction of Solomon’s temple, the Jews were subjected to 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Daniel 9:2; Jeremiah 29:10. Afterward, YHVH began the process of returning them to their homeland to rebuild.

Under Ezra’s guidance, a group of Jews returned to Jerusalem and resumed sacrifices to YHVH. These sacrifices were performed before work had even begun on the second temple.

Ezra 3:1-2, 3-4, 5-6.

This shows that only an altar is necessary for sacrifices to be offered therefore…a physical temple is not a requirement.  

So why do some believe a temple must be built in Jerusalem in the end times before Jesus Christ returns?

Does Ezekiel’s temple describe a rebuilt temple in this age? 

In Ezekiel 40-48 we read about a vision of a future temple. The vision is recorded after the destruction of the first temple and before the construction of the second temple.

The second temple was not a fulfillment of this vision because it did not have the physical features described by Ezekiel. So, some connect this with the prophecy of the sacrifices being stopped and conclude that there will be a temple built in Jerusalem before Messiah’s return.

However, as we have seen, the sacrifices don’t require a temple. When you study the description of Ezekiel’s temple, it becomes clear that this is a structure that will be built after Yeshua/Jesus returns.

Here are some reasons:

Jerusalem/Yerushalayim will be known as ‘ The Lord is there’. Ezekiel 48:35. So this temple will stand at a time when the Lord is ruling in Jerusalem.

A river will flow from the temple that will heal the land and the seas. Ezekiel 47:1, 8-9.

The time setting is after YHVH/God delivers Israel. Ezekiel 39:25-26, 27-28.

YHVH/God’s Spirit will be poured out on all Israel. Ezekiel 39:29.

These prophecies clearly describe a temple to be built during the millennial reign of Messiah/Christ on earth …not a temple built by human beings in this age.

Will the man of sin actually occupy a 3rd Jewish Temple? 

Does the prophecy about the man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4  require a third temple to be built in Jerusalem? Many do see this scripture as an indication that a Temple must be built in Jerusalem before Messiah/Christ returns. 

However, though it could possibly be fulfilled by a physical temple, there is another way this scripture could be fulfilled. 

The New Testament identifies the true Church of God, Assembly of the firstborn, His ecclesia/called-apart-ones, composed of believers who have His indwelling Holy Spirit/Ruach haKodesh, as the spiritual temple of our Heavenly Father.

1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:4 Paul described things that the ‘man of sin’ will claim are true, but are actually false. For instance, he claims to sit ‘as God’, though he is not God.

So, the reference to the temple of God could be another false claim that he will make namely, that the ‘church’ he leads, is the true temple of God. However, the ‘church’ he will lead, will be a counterfeit of the true temple of God, that being the faithful ecclesia Yeshua/Jesus built in the 1st century. 

Interestingly, many people have noted that the Roman Catholic Church has historically claimed to be the one true universal church and the Kingdom of God on earth.

It can be easy to assume a physical temple must exist for the sacrifices, but we need to be aware and not force conclusions into Scripture references, when there are other options.

However it’s important for us to understand that the building of a 3rd temple in Jerusalem before Messiah’s return is not necessarily a definite prophetic sign to watch for, and we mustn’t be sidetracked.

According to scripture what is essential, is the reinstitution of sacrifices in Jerusalem…

which only requires an altar,

not a completed temple.

We must keep our eyes on Yeshua/Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, and continue watching Jerusalem and Europe; because Yisrael/Israel is our Heavenly Father’s time-clock. Watch for continued efforts to reinstate sacrifices in Jerusalem and for the rise of a religious and political power in Europe, and a new leader who will eventually cause those future sacrifices to cease.

One thing is certain, time will prove all things, and whatever we think… our Father is always right; and

whatever we choose to believe… will not ever change His Truth.

Shalom shalom

‘Mishpachah’

‘Family/Tribe’

משפחה

Mish-pa-KHa,

friends, visitors and every reader…

Please don’t leave this page before making certain you are His

and are truly born again from above.

Know of a certainty that Jesus/Yeshua is

your Redeemer, Savior, Lord

and soon returning King

and that you have a personal relationship with Him.

You are greatly loved and precious in His sight.

It’s all about Life and Relationship, not Religion.

NOT SURE? YOU CAN BE..

SAY THE FOLLOWING FROM YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW…

Heavenly Father I come to you in the Name of Jesus asking for forgiveness of my sins for which I am truly sorry.

I repent of them all and turn away from my past.

I believe with my heart and confess with my mouth that Jesus is your Son and that He died on the cross at calvary to pay the price for my sin, so that I might be forgiven and have eternal life in the kingdom of Heaven. Father I believe that Jesus rose from the dead and I ask you to come into my life right now and be my personal Savior and Lord and I will worship you all the days of my life. Because your word is truth I say that I am now forgiven and born again and by faith I am washed clean with the blood of Jesus.  Thank you that you have accepted me into your family in Jesus’ name. Amen.