JERUSALEM - TEMPLE - SACRIFICES - JEWISH PRIESTHOOD

 

Temple, in Jerusalem before Jesus returns?

Will the Jews in Jerusalem yet build a Temple and offer animal sacrifices?

by Keith Hunt  Time to try to show you, but in a brief way, how all can be literally fulfilled without any physical temple building and animal sacrifices ever coming to be done in Jerusalem (as some have been and still are teaching) until after the Messiah has returned. You can start by studying Daniel 9 from the Bible Commentaries by Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry and Albert Barnes. You may want to obtain Ralph Woodrow's booklet on the subject also.   This will put to rest the ideas by----- some sects of fundamental Protestantism about a 7 year treaty with the Jews by an Antichirst, a temple and sacrifices, the rapture of the church and all that they teach. All the above will prove their ideas about Daniel 9 are incorrect. Mainly became           popular through the idea by a guy named Scofield in his footnotes Bible in the          first decade of the 20rh century.  Afanciful putting two thousand years before          before the prophoc Now, take some time to look up all the places where the Hebrew words, numbers 1964 and 4720 (in Strong's Con.) are used in the OT. These words are given as "temple" and "sanctuary" dozen of time in the KJV translation of the OT. The physical structure in Israel that God often dwelt in was either called a temple or sanctuary. But now read the following verses: Ex. 15:17 (number 4720 is used); Ps.78:54,55; Dan.9: 16-19 (in this section of Daniel, number 4720 is used). The city of Jerusalem is the holy city - the holy mountain. It is the area of land that God has chosen, so it is known as the holy city or to put it another way holy place. The land of Palestine is also God's sanctuary that He brought the people of Israel into as we have also seen from the above verses. Palestine is the holy land. God brought Israel to His sanctuary - to the holy land of Palestine. At that time Jerusalem was not even chosen by God, but Palestine was, and was termed His sanctuary, or in other words His temple. So BOTH the holy land of Palestine and the holy city of Jerusalem are the temple and/or sanctuary of God. They are the physical place or holy place that God has chosen on this earth to call His very own, where He will one day literally dwell, and establish His Kingdom on and over all other kingdoms of the whole world. Prophecies that talk about the Messiah coming in glory to His temple or sanctuary, must include the possibility that it means no more than that He will come to the city of Jerusalem and the land of Palestine - His temple or sanctuary, which many other prophecies also proclaim over and over again. When Paul talks about a man sitting in the temple (shrine, sanctuary, temple) of God in the last days claiming he is God (2 Thes.2) it may well simply refer to the prophecies that Paul knew about from the OT, and from Daniel. Daniel 11:40 to the end of chapter 12 is for the last days, the time of the end. The king of the north is to plant his seat, his tabernacle, his self, between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. This is obviously in the holy land, the holy place, the holy city of Jerusalem, the temple and sanctuary of God. Then the Great Tribulation will take place and finally the resurrection (chapter 12 of Daniel). Jesus spoke about an abomination that makes desolate standing in the holy place (Mat.24: 15). The Greek words for "holy place"---- you can look up in Strong's Concordance, and see where else they are used throughout the NT. The words have nothing specifically within themselves to do with a physical building. When God was in the land that Moses stood on and was told to remove his shoes, it was a holy place. God has chosen the city of Jerusalem and the land of Palestine for Himself, it is then Holy, and it is a place, it is a holy place. But we also have the Bible interpreting for us what Mat.24:15 means, no guess work needed.  The plain interpretation is given to us in Luke's account. See Luke 21:20. The holy city place of Jerusalem will be taken by the king of the north (Daniel 11:40 etc.) and will be desolated, destroyed. The Jews will have to flee, all in that city will have to flee to the mountains (Mat.24: 16; Luke 20:21-24). The abomination that makes desolate will have arrived in the holy land and in the holy place of Jerusalem, in the sanctuary of God, in the temple of God, and he will sit there and act and be as God (2 Thes.2). As for the Temple in Revelation 11. You would do well to read what Albert Barnes says in his Bible Commentary about it all. That section is symbolic not talking about a literal physical building at all. As to the idea that the Scriptures teach physical animal sacrifices will again be done in Jerusalem by the Jews. This is taken from the book of Daniel. Please take the time to look up all the verses that people use to teach this. Then look them up in the Hebrew. You will see that the word "sacrifice" DOES NOT appear in the Hebrew, it is just NOT there. Oh, something daily is taken away alright by the end time Beast power, but the word sacrifice is not there. Sure, it maybe was once fulfilled in Jewish history that way, Jerusalem destroyed, the temple desecrated, animal sacrifices stopped, but that was then. The fact is that for the end time prophecies in Daniel the word sacrifice is NOT there. The argument that prophecy is dual is no argument at all. SOME prophecies ONLY are dual in nature. Some are clearly not dual. And those that could be argued as dual will not be exactly fulfilled the second time in precisely 100% the same way as before. All this I could prove to you, but here is not the time. Okay, what could be the daily that is taken away when the holy place of the city of Jerusalem is desolated and the man of the king of the north Beast power sits in the holy land temple/sanctuary of God? Mat.24 Jesus said that not one stone of the then physical Temple would be left standing on another. This has never yet completely taken place, as the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem is part of that very Temple Jesus was looking at when He spoke those words. It will come crashing down at the time of the end when the king of the north beast power comes into the holy land, and desolates the city of Jerusalem (Luke 21:20; Dan. 11:40 etc.). Today, each day, the religious Jews stand before and pray before that Wailing Wall. It is a daily religious event. It will one day be stopped when the Beast power takes Jerusalem, when the Jews and Christians(not part of the Beast power religion) will have to flee the city, as Jesus said they would and should. All DAILY worship by the Jews will come to an end at that time until the Messiah comes in glory. Certainly this DAILY activity will stop. The Beast power, king of the north, will stop the Jewish daily religious worship in Jerusalem. Ah, now do you begin to see that all the prophecies you may like to interpret as thinking a literal physical temple and literal animal sacrifices will begin again BEFORE Jesus returns, do not need to happen at all, in order to fulfil in a literal way those very prophecies. MORE THOUGHTS ON THE REBUILDING OF A JEWISH TEMPLE It is the teaching of the Evangelical Protestants that before Jesus Christ returns to this earth, a Beast power will enter into a peace treaty with the Jews in Palestine. The Jews will build a TEMPLE and re-institute the Levitical Priesthood with ANIMAL sacrifices. After three and one half years the Anti-christ leader of this Beast power will enter the Temple, so desecrating it, and destroy the Jews in warfare. The Saints will be raptured away to heaven for three and one half years, while on the earth there is great tribulation. Jesus returns with the saints at the end of the three and a half years,to set up His Kingdom. This has been a very popular teaching of the Fundamental Protestants for many decades. I realize that the Protestants do have some truths of God s word. But when it comes to understanding the PROPHECIES of the word of God, I have GRAVE AND SERIOUS DOUBTS that they understand much of those Scriptures. Why? The word of God says, "The fear of the Eternal is the beginning of wisdom, a GOOD UNDERSTANDING have all they that DO HIS COMMANDMENTS..." PS.111:10. As the Catholic and Protestant Churches REFUSE to do the commandments of God (certainly the 4th one) I MUST SERIOUSLY QUESTION THE VALIDITY OF THEIR TEACHING ABOUT A TEMPLE AND ANIMAL SACRIFICES to be re-instituted again by the Jews in Jerusalem before Jesus returns. I have written at some length in a special PROPHECY PAPER concerning how the word of God can be fulfilled WITHOUT THE NEED TO REBUILD A TEMPLE AND REINSTATE ANIMAL SACRIFICES.            How do you think the animal abuse crowd would think about all the animals killed in            sacrificial services---- not a slaughter house for human consumption, but just as a form           of religious worship.  I can see them getting mighty upset over it all, enough to burn the           place down.  Upon more meditation I would like to present yet another thought to add more weight to my previous investigation on this subject. The message and truths of Matthew 24 - were they given by Jesus to the unconverted world or Jew or to His disciples? Notice verse 3. "And as He sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto Him PRIVATELY, saying, Tell US, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?" Now notice verse 4, "And Jesus answered and said unto THEM." The famous "Olivet Prophecy" was NOT spoken to the general populace at large, but to Jesus' disciples in PRIVATE! This prophecy was not given to the Jews en mass. The signs are for His private followers - for those who are watching and understanding world events. Speaking about the abomination of desolation in verse 15, Jesus said, "When YOU therefore shall see...." When the DISCIPLES - when Jesus' followers would see. Not the Jews in Palestine, not the world at large, but when Christ's disciples would see... ......then they were to flee for their lives - verses 16-21. Now, ask yourself this question: In the way that Jesus spoke, does it sound like the abomination of desolation would come somewhat quickly and unexpectedly - that if not watching closely you may be caught off guard as to when it comes? I think from the context of what Jesus says about not coming down off your house roof to pack your bags before running, it would be safe to assume that this abomination of desolation comes suddenly - without very much warning at all. Now let's suppose the abomination of desolation is to do with a REBUILT TEMPLE in Jerusalem, a temple that the Jews have built and are now performing animal sacrifices in it, when a false religious leader of a great Beast power marches into Jerusalem and into the Temple to STOP the Jews from performing their rites. Suppose this is the sign Jesus was giving so His followers in Jerusalem could flee. If this be so - a Temple built that is desolated by the false prophet of the beast power - why would Jesus followers WAIT TO FLEE from Jerusalem? Why would they wait until the false prophet walks into the temple or even the city of Jerusalem for that matter? If this warning of Christ's is centered around a physical Temple in the city of Jerusalem, or some kind of building or altar, from which the unconverted Jews perform animal sacrifices or religious rites, then it will take TIME to lay the first stone, and them another, and then another, in order to LITERALLY BUILD such a building or altar. Such an undertaking will be first of all debated by the city officials, and most probably by the Israeli Government. Understanding the fact that MOST of the members of the Government and population of Israel are NOT RELIGIOUS people, it (the literal building of a Temple or altar) would certainly not come about easily or without much debate and Newspaper coverage. But let's argue that such an undertaking was granted by the city officials of Jerusalem - a Temple or Altar was to be built for a Jewish Priesthood. And remember those that teach such a doctrine, also say such a Temple can ONLY be built where the Dome of the Rock now stands. They teach that a Temple cannot be built in just ANY place in the city of Jerusalem. But supposing this was done, would not THIS ALONE be the sign that the Evangelical Protestant teaching was correct in how to understand the meaning of the abomination of desolation AND WOULD NOT THE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST IN JERUSALEM BE WISE TO PACK THEIR BAGS AND FLEE AS SOON AS THE BUILDING PROCESS WAS STARTED? Why wait around until the Temple was desecrated by some false prophet individual from the beast power coming into it? The followers of Christ in Jerusalem would know that the desolation was not far off, so why stay around? They could have ample time to sell their homes, and furniture - pack their cases, catch the wagon train and move on out. Someone could argue that they would stay around to continue to preach the Christian gospel and warn against the coming Beast power. But that makes little sense when you consider the truth they would know about the TWO WITNESSES of Revelation 11. Jerusalem will have God's truth thundered to it during the last three and a half years, by the two witnesses dwelling in the very city of Jerusalem. No, the followers of Christ would have a number of weeks or months to leave Jerusalem in the wake of a Temple or Altar being constructed in that city. Now, let us look at the other side of the coin. I have stated in my previous writing that the Bible definition of the phrase "abomination of desolation" is interpreted for us in Luke 21:20. It is Jerusalem being compassed about with armies and then being desolated by those armies. Let's imagine the Mid-East in turmoil - nothing new to that scenario - with many nations and peoples fighting over this or that. Jerusalem is in the midst of all this conflict - armies from this nation and that nation all over the place. There arises a union of Arab nations and a political leader the Bible calls the king of the south. At the same time Europe has united to form the beast power, or as Daniel calls it the king of the north. As stated by Daniel, the king of the south pushes at the king of the north, and the king of the north comes against him like a whirl wind. The king of the south is defeated in battle. This adds a little more unrest to the whole Middle East, but what's a little more to an already war-torn zone. God's people - the followers of Christ - are still living in Jerusalem - they are watching to see if the Beast power will enter the Holy Land or not. They wonder if this is the fulfilment of Dan. 11:40-45. There are many armies - much fighting - going on around them. Then one DAY (that's all it would take for the beast power to send its armies in to surround Jerusalem, because its armies are already down in Egypt, Libya, and Ethiopia) Jesus' disciples wake up, or see from their house tops, or hear on the radio in their fields or shopping malls, that the European Armies are around the city of Jerusalem, nobody knowing quite why or what is going to transpire, although Europe and the Jews have been having their differences lately, and that is also nothing new. Now Jesus' followers know for sure Daniel 11:40-45 has come to pass. The beast power will enter and desolate Jerusalem and Palestine - the HOLY PLACE and SANCTUARY of God Almighty. The Jews are about to be defeated in battle, by a sudden and somewhat unexpected source. They are taken by complete surprise. The secret commando of the European army has infiltrated the Jewish defenses and made them inoperable. So begins the start of THE GREAT TRIBULATION. Very quickly and suddenly. Just days from the time the European beast power came against the king of the south, to entering Palestine and desolating Jerusalem. So little time wise, that Christ's disciples in Jerusalem would have no long-drawn-out sign (like the building of a Temple) to prepare them to flee. Just a here it is - and a there be gone - flee for your life. The Jews would not expect it - they do not read the Bible, most of them in Palestine are not religious. The religious Jew would not look for it - they do not accept Jesus and the New Testament. Only those followers of Jesus who read, and understand, and watch, will escape the destruction to befall Jerusalem and the Jews. Let  me  add  one  more  thing.  Now  today [2023]  some  teach  the  physical  Temple  can  be  built  anywhere  in  Jerusalem.  If  so,  then  why  hasd  it  not  been  built?  Ah  well  there  is  also  the  fact  of  the  red  hefer  in  establishing  a  Jewish  Priesthood.  Last  year 2022  some  red hefers  from  the  USA were  sent  over  to  Jerusalem  by  some  fundamental  Protestant  ranchers.  I  have  never  heard  any  more  news  concerning  them.          ................. Written in 1991. Last paragraph March 2023.