The True Temple Enters Jerusalem :: By Dr. Donald Whitchard

 

John 2:12-25, Psalm 11:4, Isaiah 6:1-8, 2 Corinthians 6:16,1 Kings 8

Summary: Jesus went into the Temple in Jerusalem and drove out all those who desecrated the house of the LORD, earning the scorn of the religious officials. The Lord Jesus declared Himself to be the true temple of God, holy, spotless, and free from corruption.

John’s account of the life and work of the Lord Jesus included the recording of specific miracles He performed to demonstrate His authority, power, and divinity to His disciples and to those among His countrymen who truly had a hunger for the deeper things of God. There were also those who witnessed these tremendous displays of power who ended up despising Jesus for His claims. His presence and teachings tended to upset the status quo of the religious community and their influence on the people. They were fearful of what Rome would do if His ministry became more powerful and influential.

I am convinced by years of study and prayerful consideration that the High Priest, Caiaphas, and many of the higher-ranking Pharisees knew perfectly well who Jesus was, yet because He cornered them on their hypocrisy and false teachings and called them out for the spiritual frauds they were, they deliberately chose to ignore the obvious presence of God in their midst. Instead, they chose to follow their deviant hearts and ideas. They foolishly believed that they could rid themselves of the Holy in order to continue in unholy rituals and practices that marked them as nothing more than rank apostates, ultimately condemning themselves to hell.

Much has been written about the corrupt state of religious practice that was being conducted within the Temple in Jerusalem. What had originated as a house of prayer and worship to the LORD God had turned into an arena of confusion, prejudice, noise, and the stench of numerous animals and birds being sold to pilgrims for the purpose of being a sacrifice for their sins in accordance with the Law of Moses.

The Temple of Jesus’ time had been one of the projects initiated by Herod the Great in his quest to build ports, cities, stadiums, and roads in conjunction with the Roman authorities who really governed the area. Herod was seen by the Jews as a usurper of the true royal line that started with King David over a millennia ago and was seen as nothing more than a puppet ruler over the former kingdom of Israel. Herod had built his version of the Temple upon the foundations of the one that had been erected by the returning Jewish exiles centuries before after being freed by the Persian Empire in 538 B.C and following.

The first Temple had been constructed by King Solomon and dedicated to the glory of the LORD early in his reign, around 960 B.C. Over the years, Solomon was drawn towards the worship of foreign gods through the influence of his numerous wives and was rebuked by God for doing so (1 Kings 11:1-14). The kingdom would be torn in two after his death, with the nations of Israel and Judah both spiraling into periods of idolatry, religious indifference, and apostate behavior (2 Chronicles 36:14-21). The citizens of Judah, which held onto the Davidic line, believed that even in the midst of this obvious evil behavior, God would overlook their sins due to the fact that the Temple was still there as a symbol of His presence and covenant.

By the end of the kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C., the house of God had turned into a place of wickedness and reprobate behavior by the very priests who had been entrusted to observe the Laws of the LORD and to teach the people to heed them as well. Prophets such as Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel warned the people of the consequences of going after pagan deities and their abominable practices that even included child sacrifice.

God punished His people by sending them into a seventy-year period of exile into Babylon that finally purged them of idolatry, but unfortunately, not of rote ritualistic observance of traditions and practices that had been interwoven into the teaching of Scripture to the point where the traditions all but buried the Word of God and worship ended up an empty, meaningless system with God’s name put on it for good measure (Isaiah 1:11-15; Hosea 6:6; Amos 5:22; Micah 6:6; Matt. 9:13; Romans 1:21-25).

By the time Jesus appeared (Galatians 4:4-5) on the scene, the order of worship in Herod’s Temple had become nothing more than a cacophony of confusion and frustration to the few who truly wanted to commune with God. This was more than the LORD could stand, and in righteous anger, He drove out the moneychangers who were fleecing the public with high rates of exchange and the selling of “Temple-approved” sacrificial animals for outrageous sums. Everything that had been held as sacred had turned into a religious racketeering scheme that made the High Priest, Caiaphas and his equally greedy and corrupt father-in-law Annas rich and influential. Jesus’ justifiable actions and words to them were a sharp and much-needed rebuke for what had been allowed to go on for years.

The officials demanded a reason or sign that gave Jesus the authority to do what He had done. He answered by pointing to Himself, telling them to “destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (2:19). The authorities thought that He was referring to the Temple complex that had taken years to construct, and was still being built, and would not be finished until 66 A.D., the year of the Jewish revolt against Nero and Rome, eventually ending with the destruction of not just the Temple, but the entirety of Judea by the hands of Vespasian and Titus and their legions in 70 A.D. This disaster would be predicted by Jesus at His Olivet Discourse during the last week of His ministry (Matthew 24:1-2; Mark 13:1-2; Luke 21:5-6).

This devastating event is strong proof that the majority of the New Testament had been written prior to the destruction of the Temple, since it was not mentioned in any of the writings. John’s gospel, letters, and the book of Revelation, which came later in the first century A.D., made no mention of it for the fact that the prophecy was already known, the event had occurred, and not something that needed to be presented again.

Jesus’ words were a condemnation of the apostate and corrupt religious practices that had turned Judaism into nothing more than a collection of rote practices that meant nothing and did nothing to awaken sinful humanity to the need to repent and adhere to the teachings of God. The Temple was nothing more to the Lord Jesus than a gaudy building full of dead men’s bones and all corruption. By walking out of it, He condemned it. God no longer lived there.

The work of redemption by the Lord Jesus that freed us from the curse of sin, death, and hell (John19:30; Romans 5: 6-11, 8:31-39; 2 Corinthians 5:17) by His death, burial, and resurrection has also initiated a new dwelling place for the Lord, which is not housed in any building, monument, or physical construction. The new Temple is within us when we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior (Acts 4:12, 16:31; Romans 10:9-10). We are His dwelling place, and He has promised never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

The True Temple could never be destroyed, not by the actions of men or the schemes of the devil (1Corinthians 2:6-9). We are His, now and forever when all of the temples, cathedrals, and buildings of current rituals and worship will be regulated to the fires of God’s final purge of this corrupted world and with it, the sin, evil, and malevolence that cursed it eons ago (Romans 8:18-23; 2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 21:1-7). We are the body of Christ, His people, and we will see Him, who is the center of our worship, hope, and life. No mere building, however grand and great it might be, can make that claim.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

My YouTube broadcasts titled “The Reality City Review” will be posted on Facebook, GETTR, Parler, and on my website when completed. My main area of discussion will be on the basics of the Christian faith but will also deal with prophetic issues and other topics as the Lord impresses upon me to handle.

 

50 Reasons Why Covid Vaccine Isn’t Mark of the Beast :: By John Chandler

 

Even as I write this article and give it the title, I know, and any student of Bible Prophecy likely knows, that there are way more than 50 reasons why the Covid-19 vaccine, or should I say … the jab, jab, jab … jab, is not the mark of the beast.

When one considers all the events that must actually achieve fulfillment within Daniel’s 70th-week before the Mark event is officially introduced, a student of Bible Prophecy understands 50 reasons is really just a smidgen of what will actually transpire before the Mark becomes an official reality.

But when I recall my overall goal in writing this article, I’m not so bothered by the scores of other reasons that I don’t address. My goal is not to delineate every possible reason but to merely give sight that our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, has a plan. His plan includes numerous carefully laid out mile markers on the road to His second coming and literal return to earth.

My primary goal in writing this article is to give church-age believers confidence that this Mark thing is not going to sneak up on you and catch you off-guard. You won’t wake up one morning to have it dawn on you that you have inadvertently accepted or received the Mark.

Church-age believers … just relax, don’t panic, don’t become loaded down with anxiety. As we see prophetic events trending, progressing, and building toward final fulfillment, you must remain sober-minded and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Nothing can officially happen before the Lord Jesus’ prescribed timing for the event. And at the same time, He reveals His plan to us in scripture. He wants us to know His plan. He is not trying to trick us or pull the wool over our eyes. He desires for us to understand. Those that take our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, seriously and who take His written word seriously will see the Mark thing coming well in advance of its official arrival.

If in the divine providential timing of our Lord Jesus, our Most High God, He allows us to see and experience some of these 50 reasons take place, it serves as a flashing red warning light that the actual Mark thing is incrementally drawing closer to its final total fulfillment.

If you are an unbeliever in the Most High God, the Lord Jesus, then you should be very afraid.

While what we see today related to Covid-19 and the rejection of the so-called Covid vaccine, i.e., some people being blocked from some limited forms of buying, selling, and participation in public activities, it is not officially the mark of the beast and the heavy-handed tyranny that accompanies it. However, these unfolding events do indicate and portend this Mark thing; this very real future event with all its nasty implications is coming faster than a speeding locomotive. And you, my unbelieving friend, are nowhere near ready to escape this Mark thing that is barreling down the tracks right at you. Yep!

You should be afraid … very afraid!

In this article, I’ll lay out: the 50 reasons, give a short summary, then briefly consider what IS going on and what it portends. So here we go.

50-Reasons Why the Covid Vaccine Jab Is Not the Mark of the Beast:

  • I have merely listed them. I have not attempted a chronological ordering of these 50 reasons.
  • As you read these reasons, take note of the repeating phrase … “not yet.”
  1. The Rapture has not yet occurred. (1 Thess 4:13-18; John 14:1-3)
  2. The Restrainer has not yet been taken out of the way. (2 Thess 2:5-8)
  3. Daniel’s 70th Week has not yet officially begun. (Daniel 9:27; Rev 6:1-2)
  4. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, is not yet revealed. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:6-7; Rev 6:1-2)
  5. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet made or confirmed a covenant with Israel and the Jewish people. (Daniel 9:27; Isaiah 28:15)
  6. Israel / the Jewish people have not yet begun to rebuild the third temple. (Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15)
  7. Israel / the Jewish people have not yet begun to worship and make animal sacrifices in the third temple. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thess 2:3-4)
  8. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given power, a throne, and great authority. (Rev 13:2)
  9. The man of sin, the anti-Christ/aka the beast, has not yet begun his rise to global renown. (Rev 13:2-8)
  10. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet deceived the nations with lying signs and wonders. (2 Thess 2:9-10)
  11. 11. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been indwelt/incarnated by the devil/ Satan. (Rev 11:7; Rev 17:8; Rev 13:12)
  12. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet presented with a deadly wound. (Rev 13:3, 13:12, 13:14)
  13. The angel war in heaven has not yet happened; Satan, the great fiery red dragon, is not yet cast out of heaven to the earth and to the sea. (Rev 12:7-12)
  14. The great dragon, who is Satan and the devil, has not yet inspired a global program against the Jews that is later thwarted by the Most High God’s direct intervention. (Rev 12:13-17)
  15. The Jewish remnant has not yet fled to their place of refuge in the wilderness where they are protected and nourished for 1,260-days, for 42-months, for a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 12:6; Rev 12:14)
  16. The world has not yet fallen headlong into Satan worship. (Rev 13:4)
  17. The world has not yet begun to marvel and worship the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:3; 2 Thess 2:4)
  18. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet demonstrated himself as unbeatable in battle/conflicts. (Rev 13:4)
  19. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies. (Rev 13:5-6)
  20. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given authority to reign over all nations for 42-months, 1,260-days, or a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 13:7)
  21. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet been given authority to make war and overcome the saints (the Jews) and Tribulation believers. (Rev 13:7)
  22. The two Jewish witnesses have not yet appeared on the scene to prophesy 1,260-days, 42-months, or a time, times, and half a time. (Rev 11:3)
  23. The two Jewish witnesses have not yet demonstrated acts of power to kill enemies and to torment the tribes, nations, and tongues. (Rev 11:5; 11:6, 11:10)
  24. The two witnesses have not yet cycled through and ended their prescribed time to prophesy. (Rev 11:7)
  25. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet made war against the two witnesses, overcome them, and killed them. (Rev 11:7)
  26. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet betrayed the Jewish people and acted to halt their temple worship and sacrifices. (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thess 2:4)
  27. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet entered the third temple to show himself as god and to demand the world worship him. (2 Thess 2:4; Matthew 24:15)
  28. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet destroyed the harlot global false religious system. (Rev 17:16-18)
  29. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet appeared on the scene. (Rev 13:7)
  30. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet demonstrated acts of power and authority in the name of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:12)
  31. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet caused or forced those who dwell on the earth to worship the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:12)
  32. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not performed great signs so that he calls fire down from heaven on the earth. (Rev 13:13)
  33. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet deceived the earth-dwellers by his signs and wonders. (Rev 13:14)
  34. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet told the earth-dwellers to make an image to the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:14)
  35. There is not yet an image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
  36. There is not yet a false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” given power so that he may animate and bring “life” to the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
  37. The three angels who will circumnavigate the globe with messages of warning have not yet appeared. (Rev 14:6-11)
  38. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet forced or caused the earth-dwellers to worship the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, whose deadly wound was miraculously healed. (Rev 13:15)
  39. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet begun to kill those people who will not worship the image of the man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast. (Rev 13:15)
  40. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet caused or forced people to receive a mark on their right hands or on their foreheads. (Rev 13:16)
  41. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet begun the practice of beheading those who reject the mark of the beast, and those who reject the worship of the beast, and who reject the worship of the image of the beast. (Rev 15:2; Rev 20:4)
  42. The technology of the mark of the beast is not yet fully perfected. (Rev 13)
  43. The technology of the mark of the beast system is not yet fully perfected. (Rev 13)
  44. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet fully implemented the technology of the mark of the beast and the technology of the beast system. (Rev 13)
  45. The economic/financial policy controlling all buying and selling is not yet perfected. (Rev 13)
  46. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet implemented the economic/financial policy controlling all buying and selling. (Rev 13)
  47. The technology of a standardized global digital or crypto-currency is not yet perfected. (Rev 13)
  48. The false prophet, “the man of peace and spirituality,” has not yet implemented the technology of a standardized global digital or crypto-currency. (Rev 13)
  49. The ten horns / ten kings who represent a systematized, unified, harmonized global government under the auspices of ten regions led by ten rulers, wealthy technocrat-leaders, or kings, have not yet ascended into positions of official global authority. (Rev 17:12-13)
  50. The ten horns / ten kings have not yet ceded their power and authority to the man of sin, the anti-Christ, aka the beast. (Rev 17:13; Rev 17:17)

In Summary: Why the Covid-19 Vaccine is not the Mark of the Beast:

  1. The Rapture has not yet happened.
  2. The Restrainer is not yet removed from His restraining role.
  3. 70th week of Daniel, i.e., the seven-year tribulation period, has not yet officially begun.
  4. The man of sin, the anti-Christ / aka the beast, has not yet officially appeared on the scene.

What I Believe Is Happening Right Now in Real-Time:

Our Most High God, the Lord Jesus, is very busy with a whole lot of stage-setting events. The Lord Jesus is at work, causing events to trend and progress toward fulfillment. He is gathering the elements and the players and coalescing them into the soon-to-come perfect last days’ storm.

Recall that we have learned: the shadow of the thing falls upon us and strikes us long before the thing that causes the shadow arrives on the scene. That shadow is now upon us, and its menace continually grows.

When we consider that we are seeing more and more events in our current day building that will see their total official fulfillment within that seven-year period of tribulation known as Daniel’s 70th week, then we know that the Mark thing is close, but not yet officially here.

Recall Daniel’s 70-weeks prophecy. In that plan for the ages, we see a very specific timing, a very specific timeline. That first grouping of 7 weeks then 62 weeks happened exactly as the Most High God laid it out. The final 70th week will happen exactly as the Most High God has specified.

Consider also King Nebuchadnezzar’s poly-metallic image; it overlays perfectly with the 70-weeks prophecy. And in that poly-metallic image, we also see a very specific timeline laid out.

The Most High God’s timing is perfect. We can know it without a doubt. He wants us to know it. His timing is never too early or never too late. His timing never fails. He is always right on time.

People Are Being Conditioned for What Is Coming:

There is no doubt every one of us has been changed to some degree in these past two years as we have responded and reacted to this covid-19 plandemic and its fallout.

Some were impacted a lot, and some maybe not so much, but psychologically we were all changed directly or indirectly. We altered our normal patterns to accommodate the constant stream of lies and deception fed to us. Directly or indirectly, we were all caused or forced to alter ourselves in some measure.

That we all altered our behaviors or attitudes is of significant note and bodes great ill and woe for humankind’s future.

For the foreseeable future, deceptive forces in our world will continue to condition and manipulate us in multiple ways:

  • Psychologically
  • Intellectually
  • Emotionally
  • Socially
  • Physically
  • And Spiritually.

Every day, we are hammered by the lies and deceptions that swirl around us. A good “global” citizen will comply. A good global citizen won’t question or push back against the authorities. A good citizen won’t hold a different opinion or idea than that of the authorities. A good citizen will believe and accept that his “benevolent leaders” have his best interest in mind. A good global citizen compliantly receives the jab, jab, jab … jab and any required future jabs on-demand. A good global citizen proudly carries and presents his vaccine passport as proof of his surrendered compliance.

A good citizen is tolerant and understands that some of his fellow citizens are made “that” way. A good citizen understands and accepts that there are 52+ genders. A good citizen always walks in unity and harmony with his fellow citizens. A good citizen won’t create division among his fellow citizens. A good citizen is always testing to know if and when he should isolate himself from other citizens. A good citizen is quick to wear the “I’m positive” label. A good global citizen knows that “wellness” detention camp will help him see, understand, and correct the error of his inconsiderate ways.

A good global citizen recognizes his privilege then takes action to make reparations to those who lack privilege. A good citizen must reduce his carbon footprint. A good citizen must exercise the ideals of green-living to show unfailing love and support of mother earth. A good citizen won’t expect more than he needs, regardless of how hard or how much or how little he works. A good citizen is tolerant of others and wishes equal outcomes for others regardless of the actions of others. A good global citizen won’t believe his faith or his God is morally superior to another’s faith or god.

It has become an endless stream of brainwashing and psychological warfare riding on the back of the vectors called Covid-19 plandemic, which is an exaggerated lie, and Global Climate Change is another exaggerated lie.

The people of the world are being hypnotized via mass psychosis. And if one forsakes, or abandons, or fails to remain anchored to the unfailing truth of God’s word, then you too will become increasingly drowsy.

We’ve corporately and individually become like Igor capitulating to Count Dracula: Yes, master, I must obey.

Humankind is being corralled little by little. Like a herd of cattle, the people of the world are being driven and pushed to the point of being totally surrendered to the global elite, the power-brokers, and the evil disobedient, defiant, and rebellious supernatural powers that control these elite.

The people of the world, generally speaking, are willingly surrendering control of their lives, liberties, and freedoms to those global leaders and global organizations that tell us they know better how we should all live our lives.

Wicked people with an evil agenda that are motivated, inspired, and energized by fallen supernatural powers are gladly taking the control that people are giving up. Their master requires it. And these wicked leaders are ready and willing to do so.

It’s classic Hegelian Dialectic, a socialist Marxist concept: They create the problem or crisis; they allow us to stew in it for a while. Then they tell us how bad and untenable the current situation is. They then point us to the pie-in-the-sky utopian desired condition, as they envision it. And finally, they tell us how we should follow their plan to achieve and arrive at utopia, as they say.

They won’t let a crisis go to waste. Klaus Schwab, the publicly presented mastermind of this mass deception, tells us we have a limited window of fleeting opportunity to build back better. “Come on, man! Get with it!”

Like lemmings, we all excitedly shout out the refrain: “Oh goody, I want to see the cliff, too!”

It does not end well for humankind. It will go from bad to worse to totally catastrophic.

There Is Hope:

Those of us hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ have the promise from Him, because He is our Blessed Hope, that He will evacuate His church-age believers from this world in the Rapture long before the Mark thing that already casts its shadow upon us officially arrives. We will likely experience some rocky times while we wait. That shadow may strike us mighty hard. But we ultimately are spared the Most High God’s wrath.

As I mentioned early, believers should not panic or become anxious. Our Lord Jesus is at work. In spite of all the ugly things we see happening in the world and maybe even experience, the Lord Jesus has everything fully in His hand and under His control. The pieces are all falling into place.

All that we see happening, to include the exponential increase of incredible wickedness, lawless leaders, the Great Reset, the Great Narrative, and the rise of godless pagan globalism, all serve the Most High God’s plan and purposes.

The Lord Jesus is at work shaping, molding, fashioning, crafting events that will bring Him glory, honor, and praise.

He is setting the stage. He is choreographing and orchestrating world events, circumstances, and environments that will ensure the maximum number of people will call upon His name before the Rapture and also call upon His name and trust Him during Daniel’s 70th week, i.e., the seven-year tribulation period.

Our Lord Jesus does not wish that any should perish but that all will come to repentance. Calling upon His name and trusting Him by faith now is smarter and preferred over doing this later.

Unfortunately, a large majority of people need a heavy hand of rebuke to incentivize them to call upon the Lord Jesus in faith. Here’s praying and hoping they do call upon Him before it’s too late. Maranatha!

John Chandler

Jray810@msn.com