Temples In The Holy ScripturesSample

THE TEMPLE OF THE TRIBULATION

This temple of the Tribulation will be built in the days before or during the first part of the coming Great Tribulation (Matt. 24:21), the 70th week of Daniel, by the Jewish people in Jerusalem. We read in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 about this temple where the Antichrist, the man of sin, will declare himself to be God and will sit in the temple as God and pretend that he is God.

The book of Revelation refers to the measuring of the temple in Jerusalem, but also to the desecration of it: Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” (Rev. 11:1, 2).

The apostle John received the prophecy of the third temple 25 years after Herod's temple (the second temple) was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Therefore, it can only relate to a future temple.

This third temple will be defiled after 3½ years by the false messiah (Antichrist): “Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week (prophetic week, seven years); But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.” (Dan. 9:27). This time is also known as Jacob's trouble (Jer. 30:7), or as the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21, 22; Rev. 7:13, 14). In the middle of the seven-year great tribulation, the Antichrist who initiated the seven-year covenant will break it. This period is one of the most documented periods of time in the entire Bible (Dan. 7:25; 9:27; 12:7; Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:14; 13:5). This has vast implications for the people of Israel in the end times.

The Lord Jesus Christ in close correlation to Daniel referred to the horrific image of the Antichrist that would be erected in the temple just before the start of the Great Tribulation (the last 3½ years of the Tribulation). “Therefore, when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ (the false messiah and his image) spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (temple) For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. (Matt. 24:15-21). In the end time, the disillusioned Jews in Israel will have to flee quickly because the Antichrist will in the middle of the Tribulation, after he breaks his covenant, try to obliterate the Jews when they refuse to worship him or his image.

Paul also refers to the desecration of the temple in the middle of the tribulation when the Antichrist declares himself God. He describes this man of sin as: who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4).

Revelation 11 refers explicitly to the temple service and the desecration of the temple in the tribulation period. Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, “Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months” (Rev. 11:1, 2). The courtyard is the place where trading took place. It was given to the Gentiles where they, under the rule of the Antichrist, will trample the holy city for forty-two months. This period is a measured period under divine determining. It is 1260 days or three-and-a-half years.

The full implications of the erecting of this idol in the temple are shown in Revelation 13. It will entail the forced worship of the Antichrist as the self-proclaimed god of this world, as well as a certain death sentence for anyone who would refuse to worship him as God. The false prophet will give the image occultic life: He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.  (Rev. 13:15). The false prophet will not only bring down fire from heaven, but he will also deceive the inhabitants of the earth saying that they are to worship the Antichrist (Rev. 13:12-14). Those who will refuse to worship the Antichrist will pay with their lives, others with their income (Rev. 13:16-18).

When the Antichrist declares himself God, he will not only prohibit all Jewish sacrifices, but also all other religions (Rev.17:1-7, 16-18). All other forms of worship will be strictly prohibited and punishable by death.

From all the Biblical data it is clear that the third temple, the one in the days of the Great Tribulation, will soon be built in Jerusalem, because Bible prophecy clearly states that a temple will exist in the end time. Sacrifices will also be brought at that time, which means that the temple service will be reinstated by the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel (Dan. 9:27). The Antichrist will exploit this situation for his own gain (Matt. 24:15-21; 2 Thess. 2:3-9; Rev. 11:1, 2; 13:4-18).

The fulfilment of the prophecies with regard to the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem will take place in the last days before or during the first half of the Great Tribulation. For Bible prophecy to be fulfilled regarding the Antichrist and his appearance before the true Messiah, Jesus Christ, appears from heaven, a temple must be established in Jerusalem in the last days.