"Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem."
(Isaiah 2:3)
The Word Of The Lord
Dear Friends,
Greetings! There has been much in the news recently concerning a peace treaty, (covenant Daniel 9:27) between Israel and the Palestinians some of which we have published on this web site. There has also been numerous articles dealing with the rebuilding of the third temple in Jerusalem, some of which have also appeared on this web site.
Those familiar with Bible prophecy will know the significance of these events,in that they herald the soon coming returning of Jesus Christ and His thousand year reign on earth,more commonly referred to as the "millennium".
We would like to give you some thoughts we have had on the third temple to let you draw your own conclusions. We want to say right from the beginning that this is a theory and we are not saying "Thus saith the Lord......". We found these points interesting and thought you may as well. If you have any feedback concerning these ideas we would be happy to hear from you.
Thoughts concerning the Third Temple.
Revelation, Chapter 11, verses 1 and 2 say: "And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months".
This temple described here seems that it could only be the rebuilt Jewish temple from which the Anti-Christ will rule. Now the question that arises, is that in verse one it calls this temple 'the temple of God'. How can the rebuilt Jewish Temple from which the Antichrist rules be called the "Temple of God".
Also, Matthew 24:15 states, "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:)
Again the Temple or at least the inner sanctuary, is referred to as the 'holy place'.
Daniel 8:11 and 12 says, "Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host,...And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of the transgression , and it cast down the truth to the ground;..."
We again see a reference to 'truth' in the temple and the prince.
Well one possible explanation that we thought could be an explanation is that up until the time of the breaking of the covenant the religious Jews are actually allowed to worship in the temple. With today's technology, through lasers or other means a fake but very realistic God-like 'Shekaniah Glory' could be made to appear between the wings of the Cherubim.
This explanation, however, does not really answer the question as to why it is called "The Temple of God". We know from Romans 2:28, and 29: "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God". The Scriptures show that God is no longer in Jewish ceremonial worship. When Jesus was crucified and the veil of the Temple rent, the Ark of the Covenant disappeared along with God's presence as manifested in the 'Shekaniah Glory'.
A possible clue could come from Isaiah 2:2-4: "And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem".
And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more".
We know that these verses refer to the "Thousand Year Reign" of Christ upon the earth. We also know that Jerusalem serves as the center of Christ's Kingdom on earth from where "...the law and the word of the Lord" go forth. (Even though in Revelation 11:8, it is referred to as 'Sodom' and 'Egypt'.)
Then in Revelation 20:7-9: " And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them."
Again 'the beloved city"'would seem to be referring to Jerusalem during the thousand year reign of Christ. Therefore Jerusalem seems to be of primary importance throughout the entire thousand year reign of Christ. Which brings us to a possible explanation poised at the beginning of this letter.
We cannot find in the Bible the fate of the Third Temple explained. In the past it seemed it was assumed it was destroyed during the Battle of Armageddon, but nowhere is that written, that we are aware of.
The third temple, from what we understand, is to be rebuilt and designed to the specifications of the earlier temples. If the Temple is not destroyed, what is to prevent Jesus from cleansing and sanctifying that Temple for His use, "..for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem" and making it his earthly headquarters during the millennium?
This could explain why Revelation 11:1, calls it "The Temple of God". Daniel 8:13 and 14 says; "Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed. Cleansed not destroyed!
We find there has been a precedent of such an event occurring before. The entire conquest of Canaan/Israel and Jerusalem. The land of Canaan was occupied by seven Canaanite tribes who dwelt in thirty one fortified cities which included amongst others Jericho and Jerusalem. Jerusalem before its conquest by the Israelites was called Jebus and inhabited by a sub grouping of Canaanites called Jebusites.
To give you some idea of Canaanite religious practices we will quote from Halley's Bible Handbook: "Baal was their principal god; Ashtoreth, Baal's wife, their principal goddess. She was the personification the reproductive principle in nature. Ishtar was her Babylonian name; Astarte her Greek and Roman name, Baalim, the plural of Baal, were images of Baal...In an excavation at Gezer, MacAlister of the Palestine Exploration Fund, 1904-1909, found, in the Canaanite stratum, which had preceded Israelite occupation, of about 1500 B.C. the ruins of a 'High Place,' which had been a temple in which they worshiped their god Baal and their goddess Asntoreth (Astarte).
Under the debris, in the 'High Place', McAllister found great numbers of jars containing the remains of children who had been sacrificed to Baal. The whole area proved to be a cemetery of new-born babes."
The very parcel of ground where Solomon's Temple was believed to have been built, and where the Mosque of Omar currently stands was bought by King David from a Jebusite named Araunah.
The point being made here with that refernece is that God took a Satanic strong hold and turned it into the place of His presence here on earth where He dwelt between the wings of the Cherubin represented as the 'Shekaniah Glory'.
If He could do that with a seat of Satan could He not do it with the rebuilt Temple from where Jesus will rule and reign for one thousand years after the battle of Armageddon!
In the Doway-Rheims version of the Bible in Jeremiah 38 it talks about a great destruction taking place in Jerusalem and the temple being saved. Jeremiah.30:18; "Thus saith the Lord: Behold I bring back the captivity of the pavilions of Jacob, and will have pity on his houses, and the city shall be built in her place, and the temple shall be found according to the order thereof." (Other versions of the Bible use the word palace instead of temple.)
This however raises another question concerning Ezekiel, chapters 40-48, which of course follow Ezekiel 38 and 39, the battle of Armageddon, and deals with the building of another temple, sometimes referred to as "Ezekiel's Temple". From what we understand this temple has never been built. There are also marked differences in the practices of this temple in that it does not exclude the gentiles. If according to Revelation 19:15 ...he (Jesus) shall rule them with a rod of iron:...why not ruling with something very similar to the Old Testament law.
(The only problem we see with all of this is animal sacrifice during the Millennium because in Isaiah 11:9 and 65:25 it says, "They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain...".)
There are also other important differences: A prince will enter through the eastern gate: "Then he brought me back the way of the gate of the outward sanctuary which looketh toward the east; and it was shut. Then said the LORD unto me; This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter in by it; because the LORD, the God of Israel, hath entered in by it, therefore it shall be shut. It is for the prince; the prince, he shall sit in it to eat bread before the LORD; he shall enter by the way of the porch of that gate, and shall go out by the way of the same."
In the previous two temples that were built, the high priests entered through the south gate. Also, from reading these scriptures, especially verse three, the prince and the Lord are two separate individuals. At this point in time we do not know who the "prince" is.
Another thing different about this Temple is that, it is much bigger than the two temples proceeding it. There is, apparently, not enough room on the Temple Mount to build it, with all its courtyards etc.
One possible explanation for this I sthe geography of the area will be altered after Jesus returns, as explained in Zechariah 14:4: "And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south."
This restructuring of the land after the Mount of Olives is split could provide the area needed for the completion of Ezekiel's temple.
Zechariah 14:8 is very interesting: "And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be." This is very similar to Ezekiel 47: 1-12:
"Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and, behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and, behold, there ran out waters on the right side.
And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles.
Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through; the waters were to the loins.
Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over, for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river.
Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other. Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed.
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto Eneglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.
But the miry places thereof and the marshes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
Today the Brook Kidron flows very intermittently toward the Dead Sea, but with the advent of the Mount of Olives splitting, it could very well open up underground reservoirs that could turn the Brook Kidron into a river that flows into the Dead Sea and create another river that could flow into the great Mediterranean Sea.
In Ezekiel's Temple it even describes the Levites, (who worshiped idols), still having a place of service in the Temple. Ezekiel 44:10-14
"The Levites who went far from me when Israel went astray, and who wandered from me after their idols, must bear the consequences of their sin. They may serve in my sanctuary, having charge of the gates of the temple and serving in it; they may slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them. But, because they served them in the presence of their idols and made the house of Israel fall into sin, therefore I have sworn with uplifted hand that they must bear the consequences of their sin, declares the Sovereign LORD.
They are not to come near to serve me as priests or come near any of my holy things or my most holy offerings; they must bear the shame of their detestable practices.
Yet, I will put them in charge of the duties of the temple and all the work that is to be done in it."
It seems pretty clear from Zechariah 14:2,3,8-10 that, once the Lord gathers the nations against Israel, He then turns around and defends them.
"For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
In that day shall the LORD defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them. And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn."
***
Additional verses that could seem to support this theory:
Jeremiah 3:17-18
Jeremiah 16:14-16
Jeremiah 30:1-7,24
Jeremiah 31: 8-9,40
Jeremiah 32:37-40
Jeremiah 33:7-8,14
***
You are of course invited to write us with any thoughts you may have on this subject or any other subjects concerning the web site you may have. If you would like to contact one of our Christian mystics to help peer beyond the veil concerning a question or problem you may be experiencing we also invite you to write via the web site.
God bless and keep you in the week ahead.
Almondtree Productions
"
The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea."
(Isaiah 11:9)