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End Time Prophecy By Tim McHyde / June 2, 2017 Share 0 Tweet Many Christians consider the rebuilding of the Holy Temple and restarting of animal sacrifices not a prophetic sign, but an affront to Christ and the church (the "real" temple?). If you learn what the Book of Hebrews says is the actual purpose of the Temple and sacrifices, the plain prophecies about them coming again will make more sense. Discover what must happen first before Temple construction can begin, what prophecy may bring it, when it happens in relation to the 70th week, and what if anything you should do when you see the Third Temple rebuilt. No Jewish Temple Since 70 AD Since AD 70 when a rebel faction inside the Roman army disobeyed orders and destroyed the Holy Temple, the Jews have been without their central place of worship. The Western “Wailing” Wall has been serving as Judaism's most sacred site in place of the Temple. But it only a remnant of a retaining wall of the Temple Mount, not a remnant of the Temple itself. For most Christians, the absence of Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount is far from a problem. It is just as it should be, to them. After all, that's a relic of the Old Covenant. Jesus said something about him being the Temple (John 2:21) and didn't Paul say that the church is the Temple of God now (1Co 3:16)? Given those perceptions, most Christians are not expecting another temple to be built or perhaps for God to ever allow it. Especially—God forbid—one with renewed animal sacrifices that Christians imagine as an affront to Jesus' one sacrifice for all time. But for Jews, both religious and secular, the Holy Temple not only makes sense, a large segment of the population desire it. In a recent survey, one third of secular Jews and 43% of religious Jews were in favor of construction on the Temple Mount. What's more, there is real progress towards making it happen. The Temple Institute and dozens of other organizations are preparing for a Third Temple. They are making the priestly vestments, reconstructing the Temple's past ceremonial objects and furnishings (including the 200 pound golden seven branch menorah) as well as preparing for, yes, a renewal of animal sacrifices. So who is right about God's will for the Holy Temple, Christianity or Judaism? Will the Holy Temple be rebuilt or is God really against it? What does Bible prophecy say? Four Holy Temples in the Bible – All Literal Christians who are against another Temple and renewed animal sacrifices in Jerusalem are probably unfamiliar with how many end time prophecies predict exactly that. Christians mostly just know about the past two temples: Solomon's Temple (destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II) Zerubbabel's/Herod's Temple (destroyed by the Romans) They would be surprised to find out that there are not just one, but two more Holy Temples predicted by the Bible: The Tribulation Temple (taken over by the Antichrist – 2 Thessalonians 2:4) Ezekiel/Millennial Temple (built under the Messiah – Ezekiel 40-46; Zechariah 8). Even Christians who are aware of the passages above often see only one Temple among them, or none (by treating them allegorically). However, the context of both the Ezekiel and Zechariah Temple prophecies is millennial, making them distinct from the prophecies of an end time Great Tribulation/Antichrist Temple such as Daniel, Revelation and Second Thessalonians describe. Zechariah 6:12-13 names "the Branch" (Christ) as the builder of the Temple. (It's kind of hard for him to do that until the Millennium, after he returns.) Ezekiel spends several chapters detailing the Millennial Temple dimensions, priestly chambers and duties, altar, animal sacrifice schedule and contributions from the people. It's difficult to sweep all that away as allegory. The Real Purpose of Animal Sacrifices The reason Christians are tempted to dismiss Temple prophecies in that way is because they do not understand the purpose of the Temple animal sacrifices. Most Christians think they served to take away sin until Christ came or only foreshadowed his sacrifice. Yet, the Book of Hebrews makes it clear that “the blood of bulls and goats never could take away sin” (Heb 10:4). It gives the true purpose of the sacrifices as being a “reminder of sin” (Heb 10:3). In other words, God in his love gave us forgetful humans helpful object lessons about sin through these sacrifices. As long as humans remain fallible as we are, we can benefit from both the foreshadowing in past sacrifices and the "back-shadowing" (if you will) in future sacrifices at the Holy Temple. When Christ comes to set up his Kingdom over the whole earth, the Fourth Temple will become a center of worship of YHVH God again. Animal Rights? Still, Christian animal lovers struggle with a God who would command adorable, precious, innocent animals to be slaughtered. It can challenge their faith in a loving God to see the Torah of Moses (given by God) command the sacrifice of animals. Then to hear that it will be allowed for a Th...

The Third Temple Prophecy: What’s Holding Back Its Fulfillment? – Escape All These Things (Luke 21:36)