ATP said:
The Muslims allowing the Jews to rebuild the third temple, how is that going to happen. It has to happen supernaturally because everyone is saying the Muslims in no way will allow this. The only way the Muslims will allow it is a supernatural event taken too by the Lord. So what will this event be? Will the Lord soften the Muslim's heart? Will Israel win the Psalm 83 war first, THEN build the temple? This is where I'm confused. - ATP
ATP,
You said: "It has to happen supernaturally". How right you are. Christ's continually building the 3rd temple is a supernatural event. The Muslims cannot change this.
Ezekiel's prophecies were made before the 2nd temple was built. It's a fine line to walk through all the prophecies that you and others use to come to your conclusions. Some apply to the 2nd temple, even the 2nd temple that Herod improved upon. The gap of centuries makes no difference. And some apply to the 3rd temple which is Christ as the chief cornerstone and His children as the building blocks. 1 Peter 2:5 KJV, "Y
e also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."
In Daniel 9:27, who do you say stopped the sacrifices? The answer is Christ. If you do not have this answer, then the rest will make no sense. Daniel's 70th week is in our past, not our future.
I have a 2 part teaching that I've written, here is part 1.
1 Corinthians 3:9 KJV, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”
The Third Temple
Part I - The Third Temple Is A Spiritual Temple
Born Again Christians Are The Third Temple
1. John 2:19 KJV, "
[Yahoshua] answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." Yahoshua was foretelling of the beginning of the building of the third temple. He was to be the chief corner stone, the foundation of the third temple. He was to be crucified and dead by Thursday afternoon and rise again on Saturday night, prior to Sunday sunrise, in accordance with the Scriptures. John 2:21-22 KJV, "
21 But he spake of the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which [Yahoshua] had said." All Christians, those born again, ever since have been being added as building blocks to complete the third temple. 1 Peter 2:5 KJV, "
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by [Yahoshua the] Christ."
2. Isaiah prophesied of this event to come. Isaiah 28:16 KJV, "Therefore thus saith Lord [Yahowah], Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried
stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
" And Paul taught of this miraculous event after it had already started. Ephesians 2:19-22 KJV, "19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20 And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, [Yahoshua the] Christ himself being the chief corner
stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:
22 In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
"
3. The conclusion of the matter is foretold in Revelation 3:12 and 21:2-3 KJV, "12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God,
which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and
I will write upon him my new name.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God
is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them,
and be their God.
" Did you catch what happened here with these three verses? We have been talking about a temple. In verse 12 it states "the temple of my God," then calls it "the city of my God," and then identifies this temple/city as "new Jerusalem." Verse two repeats that the "holy city" is "new Jerusalem." Then in verse 3 it is identified as "the tabernacle of God." The third temple is the dwelling place of God, it is His tabernacle, it is His city. And born again Christians are "pillars," building stones in this tabernacle, as it says in 1 Peter 2:5 above: It is a spiritual dwelling place, not a physical temple.
Daniel Prophesies 70 Weeks Of Years Until The Third Temple Begins To Rise
4.a. We were told in Daniel that Yahoshua would be coming 69 weeks (69 weeks counted as years) after the command to restore and build Jerusalem came.
Daniel 9:24-25 KJV, “24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times."
And Christ Yahoshua, who is Messiah the Prince, was right on time. He began His ministry immediately after 69 weeks of years had passed, at the beginning of the 70th week. In the middle of that week, after 3 1/2 years of ministry, he allowed Himself to be crucified, thereby putting an end to the requirement for animal sacrifices - forever!
This is explained in Daniel 9:26-27 KJV, “26 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.
”
But three days later, He came out of the grave, allelu
iah! The building of the third temple began right then and right there.
4.b. So, the Temple Yahoshua would be building is the third Temple. The third Temple will not be made of stone and wood, instead, it will be a spiritual house. It will be built by Yahoshua one spiritual stone at a time.
He told us He would do it in Matthew 16:18 KJV, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my [ekklesia]; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
”
4.c. A partial exegesis is give for Daniel 9:24-27 at the end of this treatise.
5.a. Now that we have seen the prophecies and how they come together for the building of the third Temple, we need to explore the prophecy given for the time line given to Daniel (9:25-27) for when Messiah would come and begin the building of the third Temple, a spiritual Temple. It comes at a most amazing place. It comes at the time of the rebuilding of the second Temple, a physical Temple.
Isaiah 44:28 KJV, “That saith of Cyrus,
He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure: even saying to Jerusalem, Thou shalt be built; and to the temple, Thy foundation shall be laid.
”
5.b. 2 Chronicles 36:23 KJV, “Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath [Yahowah] God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to build him an house in Jerusalem, which
is in Judah. Who
is there among you of all his people? [Yahowah] his God
be with him, and let him go up.
”
This is the beginning of the command to return to Jerusalem. It was begun by king Cyrus. But Cyrus’ decree did not include the rebuilding of the city, only the restoration of the Temple. Nevertheless, Cyrus’ decree was the beginning and thus it can be said that it was his decree even though his successors added to and completed the original decree. The last of these successors added the command to rebuild Jerusalem and this is when the clock started ticking for the 69 weeks of Daniel 9:25 to begin.
5.c. Ezra 1:1-4 KJV, “1 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of [Yahowah] by the mouth of
*Jeremiah might be fulfilled, [Yahowah] stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and
put it also in writing, saying,
2 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, [Yahowah] God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which
is in Judah.
3 Who
is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which
is in Judah, and build the house of [Yahowah] God of Israel, (he
is the God,) which
is in Jerusalem.
4 And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that
is in Jerusalem.
”
*Jeremiah 29:10 KJV, “For thus saith [Yahowah], That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
”
This command was for rebuilding the Temple, it makes no mention of rebuilding Jerusalem. Cyrus gave this decree possibly 536 BC and died in 530 BC.
5.d. Ezra 4:12 KJV, “Be it known unto the king, that the Jews which came up from thee to us are come unto Jerusalem, building the rebellious and the bad city, and have set up the walls
thereof, and joined the foundations.
”
Even though the command only mentioned the building of the Temple, it is obvious that the walls and foundations were being built as well.
5.e. Ezra 5:8 KJV, “Be it known unto the king, that we went into the province of Judea, to the house of the great God, which is builded with great stones, and timber is laid in the walls, and this work goeth fast on, and prospereth in their hands.
”
5.f. Ezra 6:8 KJV, “Moreover I make a decree what ye shall do to the elders of these Jews for the building of this house of God: that of the king's goods,
even of the tribute beyond the river, forthwith expenses be given unto these men, that they be not hindered.
”
This command was for rebuilding the Temple, it makes no mention of rebuilding Jerusalem. This command was made by Darius I, a successor to Cyrus, probably about 520 BC.
5.g. Ezra 7:21,23 KJV, “21 And I,
even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which
are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,
23 Whatsoever is commanded by the God of heaven, let it be diligently done for the house of the God of heaven: for why should there be wrath against the realm of the king and his sons?
”
It appears that this story is the same story as told in Nehemiah 2:7-8.
5.h. Nehemiah 2:7-8 KJV, “7 Moreover I said unto the king, If it please the king, let letters be given me to the governors beyond the river, that they may convey me over till I come into Judah;
8 And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king's forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which
appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.
”
King Artaxerxes, a successor of Cyrus, sent letters with Nehemiah to build the gates, walls, and Nehemiah’s house. Even though it does not say houses, it can easily be discerned that this was the intent of Nehemiah going to Jerusalem - to restore and rebuild the city, not just the Temple. And even though the word decree was not used, it is obvious that if a king sends letters that this is the king’s decree. So, now we have a decree that we can use. In the twentieth year of king Artaxerxes, in the month of Abib (Nisan) the decree was given to rebuild Jerusalem.
5.i. Various historical sources have estimated that 455 BC was the 20th year of Artaxerxes. By adding 69 weeks of years (69 x 7 = 483) to 455 BC it brings us to 29 AD (skipping a year from 1 BC to 1 AD, because there is only 1 year not 2 between 1 BC and 1 AD). This means that Yahoshua began His ministry at the approximate age of 29 which would be the beginning of the 70th week. Approximately 3 ½ years into His ministry He was crucified. However, we cannot dismiss the possibility that this count was not as we would count days and years in the twenty-first century.
We must ask ourselves, why was the terminology of 70 weeks used? Why did not they simply say 490 years? I have an idea that they used weeks instead of years, because that means the count will be different when broken down into days. I will continue this explanation in the next paragraph.
5.j. Let us go back to the Feast of Weeks as given to us in Leviticus 23:15 KJV, “And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete
[.]”
As shown in our teaching Seven Perfect Weeks, this count of weeks does not advance us to the same place on the Calendar of Scripture as counting 49 days does. When counting seven complete or perfect weeks, new moon days are skipped, but when counting 49 days, new moon days are counted. Therefore, counting weeks takes us further into the future than counting days does.
Possibly, when counting 70 weeks of years, it can be converted to days, skipping new moon days. A month has only four weeks plus two new moon days. So, if one only counts the weeks within a month, the total day count is 28, not 30. New moon days are part of a month, but not part of a week. In a twelve month year 24 total days would be skipped. In 70 weeks of years that would mean that 24 x 70 = 1,680 days would be skipped. So, possibly 70 weeks of years might be 1,680 days short of 70 years. One thousand six hundred eighty days is the equivalent of approximately four years. So, 70 weeks of years could be 4 years short of a full 70 x 7 = 490 years. Or, it might not be. It depends on that which our Heavenly Father meant when he gave this prophecy to men. It is cryptic. God conceals things, and short of us being provided with exact calendars that were used by the Hebrews during this 490 year period, we may never know how to correctly complete the count. And there are a couple of other variables that could possibility be factored in.
So, for those who think that they can accurately count and come up with exact dates, consider that it may not happen. I am satisfied that we have a count that brings us to the time of the beginning of Yahoshua’s ministry. If I am provided with a convincing exact count sometime in the future, then praise Yah. If I am not, then praise Yah.
Now Back To The Spiritual Third Temple
6. Do you have any doubts that you, if you are a born again Christian, will be a building block in the third temple? 1 Peter 2:5 above told you so. Here are some more Scriptures that support this doctrine.
John 2:21 KJV, "But he spake of the temple of his body.
"
1 Corinthians 3:16-17 KJV, "16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which
temple ye are.
"
1 Corinthians 6:19 KJV, "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost
which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
"
2 Corinthians 5:1 KJV, “For we know that if our earthly house of
this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
”
2 Corinthians 6:16 KJV, "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in
them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
"
7. Therefore, if these Scriptures be true, then how should we interpret 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 KJV, “3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 4 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 Thessalonians 2:3 talks about a falling away. The Greek word is actually apostasy (Strong’s G646 apostasia αποστασια) People fall away, not buildings. Verse 11 says that God sends them a strong delusion. People are deluded, not buildings. So, what is the temple of God that the son of perdition sits in? It must be men who claim to be Christian and are not. How do we know that they are not really Christians? Why, because they did not receive the love of the truth.
Thessalonians 2:10-11 KJV, “10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie
[.]”
8. Most of the churchy world is focused on looking for a physical temple, a physical single man as the antichrist instead of a system, a physical mark of the beast, and not looking to the author and finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2 KJV, "Looking unto [Yahoshua] the author and finisher of
our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the [stake], despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
”
Appendix
Partial Exegesis Of Daniel 9:24-27
9.a. Daniel 9:24-27 KJV, “24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 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.”
9.b. Perhaps the most important part of verse 24 which needs to be identified is “to anoint the most Holy.”
The most Holy can be nothing less than Yahoshua the Messiah. Can you think of anyone that could possibly be called the most Holy other than God’s Son, Who is also God? I cannot.
9.c. Why does Yahoshua need anointing and when did that anointing take place? Yahoshua needed the anointing of the Holy Ghost for Him to minister. He also needed the anointing of water baptism to identify Him to the Hebrews. John the Baptist anointed Yahoshua with water baptism and at the same time the Holy Ghost descended on Him in the form of a dove. John 1:32 KJV, “
And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.” Parallel Scriptures are Matthew 3:16, Mark 1:10, and Luke 3:22.
9.d. So, Daniel 9:24 tells us that this prophecy is about Yahoshua the Messiah.
9.e. Daniel 9:25 tells us that this prophecy is about Messiah the Prince, who is none other than Yahoshua the Christ.
9.f. Daniel 9:26 tells us that Messiah will be cut off after the 69th week. Since He was cut off in the midst of the 70th week, that certainly qualifies as after the 69th week. Another prince is introduced in this verse. The prince of the people that shall come and destroy the city and the sanctuary. This other prince can be none other than the Roman General Titus who destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD.
9.g. Daniel 9:27 speaks of “he shall confirm the covenant”. “He” is Yahoshua. The covenant seems to be the prophecy begun in Daniel 9:24 and continued through verse 25. At the end of 69 weeks Messiah would show up, and with only one week left in the 70 week period, the confirmation would be for one more week, which is a 7 year period of time. But in the midst of that 70th week He, Yahoshua, caused the sacrifice and oblation to cease by allowing Himself to be the final and forever sacrifice for all the sins of all men.
9.h. So what do we do with the rest of Daniel 9:27 which begins with “and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make
it desolate…”. This of course is referring back to verse 26 and the prince that shall come, which is Titus.
10. We welcome constructive input supported by Scriptures from the Bible. Please contact us by our email address
[email protected]. Copyright © 2014 Richard Douglas Mauck and/or Sandra Faye Mauck.
Notes:
Cambyses reigned after Cyrus.
False Smerdis reigned after Cambyses.
Darius I reigned after False Smerdis.
Artaxerxes I (Longimanus).