The Jews in Israel have reportedly started building the long-awaited THIRD TEMPLE that, to many in the Christian world, signal we've entered apocalyptic times and the Messiah is about to appear.

Recall that the First Temple was built by King Solomon in 1000BC, but was destroyed in 586BC by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon who carried people like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego off to Babylon (2 Kings 25:8-10). In Babylon, after that whole incident of the mysterious hand writing on the wall, Babylon was conquered by the Medes and Persians. It was king Cyrus the Great, a Persian, who allowed the exiled Jews to return to Jerusalem to build the Second Temple circa 538BC. This is the temple that lasted till Jesus's birth but was destroyed together with Jerusalem by the Romans in AD70, some 40 years after His death.

Now, according to many Christians, there's going to be a Third Temple built in Israel during the Endtimes that will usher in the anti-Christ who'll supposedly stop the sacrifices in it and introduce the Abomination that causes desolation in apparent fulfillment of Daniel 9:27.
Many are waiting for the building of this temple as the cue that the end has begun. And as long as this is not happening, they don't see the world ending any time soon.

But this doctrine is NOT Scriptural.

Let's talk about it...

THE FIRST COMING OF JESUS.
When Jesus Christ was born, the most powerful nation at that time was the Roman Empire. And the Jewish nation, like every nation, was under this super power.

At that time the 12 tribes of Israel had dwindled down to just 2 tribes - Judah and Benjamin. The other 10 had disappeared when they broke away from Israel after King Solomon's death - more than 700 years before Jesus's birth - and went to form their own independent kingdom, which they called the Kingdom of Israel whose capital was Samaria, only to be vanquished by the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:6) who scattered them to the wind. (The scattering of these tribes is why there are many groups around the world, both black and white, who claim to be Israelites looking forward to being gathered back to Israel at the end times).

Judah And Benjamin meanwhile had thrived calling their union the Kingdom of Judah with Jerusalem their capital and the people there referred to as Jews.

Moreover, the people of Judah knew they were still in God's plan because the promised Messiah was to come from the tribe of Judah as a dying Jacob had prophesied back in Egypt at the time of Joseph when he said concerning his son Judah, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, Nor a lawgiver from between his feet, Until Shiloh come; And unto him shall the gathering of the people be." (Genesis 49:10)

When Jesus was born, Shiloh had come in fulfillment of that prophecy and his birth specifically in Bethlehem was in fulfillment of yet another prophecy that pinpointed Bethlehem as his point of origin: Micah 5:2 "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting."

Because the Jews were a conquered nation and longed for freedom they pinned their hopes on the promised Messiah whom they well expected to come from king David's line and whom they pictured coming in great power to set them free and elevate them above all nations and usher in that beautiful prophesied age when all the world "... shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks; nation will not lift sword against nation and they will no longer study warfare."
Isaiah 2:4, when "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the
ox..."Isaiah 11:6, 7

But these prophecies apply to the Second Coming of the Messiah. Not the First Coming. The Jews failed to understand the First Coming was not going to end with the Jewish nation exalted to super power status but end, rather tragically, with the Messiah hanging on the cross offered as a sacrifice for the sins of the world and with their beloved Jerusalem laid to waste soon after.

Daniel had foretold these gruesome events.

In chapter 9:26,27 of his book, he says -
"And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst 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 upon the desolate"
"Daniel 9:26,27

Jesus the prophesied Messiah was indeed cut off (abruptly killed), but not for Himself but for us being the Lamb of God offered for the sins of the world. The desolation of Jerusalem after the Messiah's cutting off, Jesus Himself foretold saying there was coming a time when "no stone will be left on top of each other" Mark 13:2. When they "shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh." Luke 21:20. This prophecy fulfilled in 70AD when Roman generals came and laid Jerusalem to waste, 40 years after Jesus's death.

Talking about Shiloh, Jacob had said, "And unto him shall the gathering of the people be."
Which gives the same picture as Daniel's own words, "And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week". Because they're both talking about the Messiah/Shiloh/Jesus Christ.

Daniel continues, "and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,".

Daniel is still talking about the Messiah.

Christ/Shiloh/Messiah's ministry was meant to last for a week or 7 years prophetically speaking. But in the middle of that week (that is in the middle of the seven years) he was to end the sacrifices in the temple. In other words, after 3 and a half years Messiah was to end all sacrifices.
This is a reiteration of "shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself". When Christ the Messiah was killed but for us, He was 3 and a half years into his ministry. At which time He THE MESSIAH caused the sacrifices to cease because He, the true Lamb of God had been finally sacrificed. This end of the sacrifices was signaled by the tearing of the temple veil at the moment of Jesus's death.

The Jews overlooked these prophecies.

So when the meek lowly man Jesus, whom they all knew was the carpenter's son, declared himself the long promised Messiah you can understand why the Jews were not prepared to accept it.

And they didn't accept it for three and a half years that culminated with Him being murdered. But His murder was really the Sacrifice that automatically ended all sacrifices. From that point onwards the Temple, where all sacrifices took place, was obsolete hence the temple veil tore up.

The High Priest's job also came to an end. As far as God was concerned.

Yet the Jews had continued to sacrifice until the destruction of Jerusalem four decades after the death of Christ. Unknown to them, God no longer recognized their sacrifices and everything was for nothing because Jesus the Lamb of God had been sacrificed. It was the equal of Abraham continuing to sacrifice Isaac when God had provided the ram caught by horns in the thicket.

WHY THE MESSIAH ENDED THE SACRIFICES.
To understand why the sacrifices ended when Jesus died, we have to understand what was the purpose of the sacrifices in the first place.

When Adam and Eve sinned, death was pronounced upon us. In mercy, Christ offered to sacrifice His life and die in our place. That promise was made known to Adam when God told them the woman's seed will crush the serpent's head. Genesis 3:15. The woman's seed is Jesus the Messiah who was to be born of a woman. The serpent is Satan.
Now because God had planned Jesus to sacrifice his life some 4,000 years later, God created a system for humans to observe in the meantime that would remind us of the coming Sacrifice as we waited. That will keep the great Sacrifice in our minds so we never forget and stay grateful. That system was the animal sacrifices. Every animal sacrificed over the long centuries pointed to Christ the true Sacrifice who was coming. The pain and agony of every sacrificed animal showed the future pain and agony of Jesus. And impressed vividly on the people the very real and very terrible consequences of sin.

When the Messiah finally came and died on the cross, but not for Himself, the ultimate Sacrifice had been offered on behalf of man. There was therefore no need for the animal sacrifices to continue because the thing the animal sacrifices represented had come. The thing God talked about in the Garden of Eden had happened. The woman's seed had crushed the serpent's head. Mission accomplished.
Says Paul speaking of Jesus, "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God." Hebrews 10:12

THE HEAVENLY TEMPLE.
With the sacrifices ended, the sanctuary (temple) desolated and the priesthood discontinued at Christ's death, what was to happen next?

Well the action moved to Heaven, where - surprise surprise - there's another temple complete with its own High Priest.

Says Paul, "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Hebrews 8:1,2.

And who is the High Priest of this true tabernacle in Heaven? Paul again names Him: "Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession." Hebrews 4:14.

The only temple that matters from now till the end of time is the Temple in Heaven, in which Jesus, our High Priest who was once a man like us and therefore understands our sufferings, ministers on our behalf before God pleading for mercy, grace and forgiveness for us. As long as Jesus ministers in that Temple, God's wrath - His righteous wrath against sinful men - is held back. But one day Jesus will have to stop His ministry and step aside and let the guilty world feel God's wrath.

And this happens with the seven last plagues of Revelation soon after the saints have triumphed over the Mark of the Beast. .

Revelation 15:5-8. "And after that I looked, and,
behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony in
heaven was opened:
And the seven angels came
out of the temple, having the
seven plagues, clothed in pure
and white linen, and having
their breasts girded with
golden girdles.
And one of the four beasts
gave unto the seven angels
seven golden vials full of the
wrath of God, who liveth for
ever and ever.
And the temple was filled
with smoke from the glory of
God, and from his power; and
no man was able to enter into
the temple, till the seven
plagues of the seven angels
were fulfilled."

The seven last plagues are poured soon after the world has accepted the Mark of the Beast as the earlier verses of Revelation 15 show how the saints triumphed over this mark. And when they're poured out, there'll be no High Priest in the heavenly Temple because smoke and glory makes it impossible for Christ to continue His ministry. Meaning for the first time in the history of the world, sinful men stand before an angry God with no Messiah to ask for leniency.

LAST QUESTIONS.
With Jesus's death having discontinued animal sacrifices at the temple and with the action having moved to the Temple in Heaven that God built and not man, where Jesus, our High Priest ministers on our behalf, Why would there be a need for another earthly temple? What would its purpose be, this so-called Third Temple at which the anti-Christ will supposedly stop the sacrifices and put the Abomination that causes Abomination? What sacrifices will be performed there when sacrifices were discontinued at Christ's death?
Christ's death stops all sacrifices as Paul says concerning Christ's mission on earth: "Sacrifice and offering thou
wouldest not, but a body hast
thou prepared me:
In burnt offerings and
sacrifices for sin thou hast
had no pleasure.
Then said I, Lo, I come (in
the volume of the book it is
written of me,) to do thy will,
O God." Hebrews 10:4-7.

Of what use will a Third Temple In Israel be? What sacrifices will be offered there that the anti-Christ is supposed to stop, when Christ already stopped the sacrifices by His own Sacrifice.

Answer: There's no 3rd Temple featuring in any prophecy. Yes the Israelis today may build another temple, and even offer sacrifices in it, but it won't be by God's command. And it won't be spiritually significant. And nothing about it signals anything about the return of Christ.

The Bible students who are waiting for the Third Temple base some of their belief in
Matthew 24:14,15, 21, "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. 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)"
"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be."

But the Abomination of Desolation is not simply the defiling of a temple and its holy place. The caution: "whoso readeth, let him understand" shows there's a lot going on here that needs additional study to really understand.

And as these writeups progress, we'll do just that.

# KissTheTruthAndShameTheDevil