At this time in history, when God seems far from the fallen, wicked minds of man, upon observing the evil in every direction, we might legitimately observe that some within the theological milieu no doubt say that Deity, if indeed He exists, has thoughts turned to directions other than this minuscule dot in the universe called Planet Earth.
Many who are less existential—that is, less agnostic in their view of the interaction between God and man—most likely think God is just awaiting the moment when He gets fed up and will strike, like He did in the cases of Sodom and Gomorrah. That is, He will be “hands off” until that prophetic moment. (And there is much biblical evidence that that time is coming.)
But there is dramatic evidence, in full view, that the God of Heaven is neither existential nor brooding with building anger. The primary evidence sits starkly in God’s key city, Jerusalem. It is God’s very touchstone to humanity.
This touchstone is the key to thousands of years of wars fought by peoples, tribes, and nations. It is the one geographical feature on earth that will bring all rebellious humankind to the killing fields of Megiddo–Armageddon.
This touchstone is where God’s omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent attention once resided. It is the touchstone where God Himself will again take up residence.
Let’s look at this once and future dwelling place of the Creator of all there is, with the assurance that even now He is fully engaged with humanity.
David, king of Israel, wanted to build a house wherein God could reside. Jehovah, who called David “a man after my own heart,” proposed the question of whether He could be contained in such a structure. The answer, of course, was no…
The Lord did appreciate the thought, though, obviously. He told David he couldn’t build a place where God could dwell among men in that fashion. David had too much blood on his hands from all the wars he had fought to defend Israel and acquire land God gave the chosen people.
Instead, God told David that Solomon, David’s son, would build God such a dwelling place. The Temple Solomon built had at its heart the Holy of Holies, a fifteen-foot-cubed inner sanctum wherein sat the Ark of the Covenant, the elaborately prepared container wherein the Shekinah Glory, the very presence of God, would dwell.
That spot is still somewhere upon the Temple Mount—Mount Moriah, most scholars believe. Religious Jews still are afraid to walk upon the Temple Mount grounds for fear of accidentally treading upon that one spot on earth where God chose to once reside.
The Temple and the Holy of Holies constituted God’s touchstone to humanity—and particularly to the Jews. It is the place where Abraham was to offer Isaac before God intervened with the ram caught by its horns in a thicket, thus providing the sacrifice Abraham made to the God of Heaven.
Not far from the spot of the Holy of Holies is Golgotha, where the Son of God—Jesus the Christ—the once-and-for-all sacrifice for all the sins of humankind—hung on the cross. When Christ died, the veil in the Temple’s Holy of Holies tore from top to bottom, giving man direct access to God the Father through that sin-Sacrifice, God’s only Begotten Son.
Solomon’s Temple, then, was the First Temple. Its glorious beauty stunned even the queen of Sheba when her eyes fell upon its splendor.
A Third Temple will be built at a future time, Bible prophecy says. Solomon’s was the First Temple. Nebuchadnezzar destroyed it in 587 BC.
The building of the Second Temple took place following Israel’s Babylonian captivity. It lasted from 516 BC to AD 70. It became known as Herod’s Temple when it was commissioned by the king to be greatly expanded in size and beautified to the extent that it was considered magnificent by those who looked upon it.
This Temple was destroyed by the Roman military in AD 70, when Roman Emperor Vespasian sent his son, General Titus, to put down insurrection in Jerusalem. (This was a fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy in Daniel 9:26-27 and of Jesus’ foretelling as recorded in Matthew 24:1-2).
The Third Temple will be in place during the last seven years of human history prior to Christ’s return. Daniel prophesied about Antichrist: “In the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease” (Daniel 9:27b). This last, most vicious, tyrant will enter the Third Temple and desecrate it.
Paul the apostle says of that future temple and Antichrist: “Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
The Third Temple is mentioned in the book of Revelation. In 11:1-2 of that detailed account of unfolding events during the Tribulation, John is told to “measure” the Temple. This, apparently, is a symbolic way to assess its spiritual status.
Exactly when the Third Temple will be built is unknown. The prophetic Word says only that it will exist during the seven years of Tribulation—specifically, at the three-and-one-half-year mark.
Many who study the Third Temple matter believe construction of the structure must start well in advance of the Tribulation era. The completion of such an edifice, they believe, will take quite a measure of time. Others hold that the Jews are even now contemplating building a tent-type structure like Moses’ Tabernacle. They believe worship, with sacrifices reinstituted, could be going on there while the more grandiose Temple is under construction.
There are, of course, problems with beginning to build the Third Temple. These matters involve millennia-long hatreds against God’s blueprint for His chosen nation and the rest of humanity. The hatred is satanically driven. We watch it manifest as daily headlines unfold. Israel –the Jewish people—are beginning to be hated on a global scale, not just by Israel’s immediately surrounding neighbors in the Middle East.
Mount Moriah—the Temple Mount—is proof from Heaven that God’s mighty hand holds sway over all that’s said to occur. Watch with intense observation that great touchstone to humanity and all that unfolds from now until Christ calls the Church –all believers—to Himself in the Rapture.
***Pakistani Christian Ministry Need***
The Pakistani minister that you, our RR family, have so generously supported in the past brought to my attention a need in his ministry work at this time.
Prophecy Power: Strength From God To Face Your Future, my Sunday School quarterly-size book, which the minister translated into his Urdo Language, has once again been reprinted thanks to the generosity of a wonderful Rapture Ready friend.
However, the distribution of that little book needs additional funding in order for the continuing delivery of God’s end times Message to take place throughout that spiritually dark region.
If you are able and willing to support this much needed distribution effort, please go to my blog website and see where to send your donation. Any help will be much appreciated.
Here is the link: Please donate to this Gospel witness effort in Pakistan « Terry James Prophecy Line
This is a vital Mission in reaching out with the Gospel, using God’s Prophetic Truth at the center of the Message. As always, I’m Thankful for you, my Sisters and Brothers, for your compassion and generosity. I know your Rewards will be Great when our Heavenly Crowns are handed out during that Time before the Throne.