The Third Temple :: By Randy Nettles
In a recent article regarding biblical eschatology, I wrote Scripture is clear that there will be a third temple built in Jerusalem, and it will be desecrated by one who opposes Christ (the Antichrist). “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 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 Thessalonians 2:3-4). {1}
This event never happened between when it was written by Paul and the Temple’s destruction in 70 AD. The Roman general Titus never set himself up to be God and sat in the Jewish Temple before it was destroyed by his soldiers in 70 AD. He actually tried to stop his soldiers from burning down the Temple, according to the Jewish historian Josephus. However, this sympathy and respect for the Temple was quickly forgotten when Titus ordered a victorious sacrifice near the eastern gate of the Temple (one of the animals burned there, which was the most insulting of all, was a pig), according to Josephus’ book/s, “The Wars of the Jews.” This event is mentioned in Book 6, Chapter 6, Verse 1.
The preterists think this act by the Romans was “the abomination of desolation,” as mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 24. “When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place (whosoever reads, let him understand), then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains” (Matthew 24:15-16).
Of course, this event didn’t occur in the Jewish Temple, and Titus didn’t proclaim himself as God in the Temple. Therefore, it must be yet future from 70 AD. So, which scripture is Jesus referring to regarding the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel? It can’t be Daniel 8:13, as that is the one Antiochus Epiphanes committed in 167 BC. It has to be Daniel 9:27, which says, “And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”
Daniel mentions it again in Daniel 12:11, “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.”
Notice the verse before Matthew 24:15 mentions the timing of this particular “abomination of desolation.” Jesus said, “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come” (Matthew 24:14). This abomination of desolation will occur at the end of the age before Jesus’ return to begin his millennial kingdom. The 1,290 days of Daniel 12:11 is the duration from the abomination of desolation (in the midst of the week) to the end of the “week” (or seven years) of Daniel 9:27. It is the last 3.5 years (time, times, and half a time) of Daniel’s 70th seven. Jesus called it the “great tribulation” in Matthew 24:21. Daniel 12:1 describes it as “a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation.”
These last seven years (“one week”) of Daniel 9:27 (for the Jews and Jerusalem per Daniel 9:24) are the equivalent of seven Jewish years, which can be either (approximately) 2,540 days or 2,570 days. The middle of 2,570 days is 1,285 days. I don’t believe the last seven years will be split into two equal halves of 1,260 days each. Daniel 12:11 clearly says the ‘end’ (of the 70th week) will not occur until 1,290 days after the abomination of desolation (in the midst event of Daniel 9:27).
Most theologians believe since Jesus fulfilled the first four Feasts of the Lord during Jesus’ first advent (and within the 69 sevens of Daniel 9:25-26), He will fulfill the last three Feasts during His second advent (and within the 70th week of Daniel 9:27). The 70th week/seven will not end with the return of Jesus Christ at Rosh Hashanah (the Feast of Trumpets) but must also include the remaining two Feasts of the Lord, Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and Sukkot (Tabernacles). All seven Feasts of the Lord are ultimately fulfilled by Jesus Christ within the 70 weeks/sevens of the Daniel 9:24-27 prophecy.
Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:4, and Revelation 11:1-2 all indicate a third temple will exist in Israel at the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The first two Jewish temples were built at Mount Moriah in Israel. Moriah is where God commanded Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a sacrifice to Him, to test Abraham’s faith (Genesis 22:2). The first Temple, Solomon’s Temple, was built on Moriah as mentioned in 2 Chronicles 3:1, “Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite.”
The account of David and Ornan, the Jebusite, is recorded in 1 Chronicles 21. Also, 2 Samuel 24:25 says that David built an altar to the LORD and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings on this spot (the same location Abraham built his altar and made his sacrifice to the LORD).
The Jebusites were a Canaanite tribe that inhabited Jerusalem (originally called Jebus). The Jebusites are associated with the city, Jebus, which many believe to be Salem, mentioned in the historic meeting between Abraham and Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18-20). David eventually captured Jerusalem from the Jebusites. He made Jerusalem his capital and lived in the Fortress of Zion, which is then called the City of David (or the old city of Jerusalem). See 2 Samuel 5:6-10.
The first Temple’s construction was finished by Solomon and the children of Israel in 959 BC and stood for 373 years until it was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. The second Temple stood for 585 years, from 516 BC to 70 AD, until it was destroyed by the Romans. According to Ezra 5:15, the second Temple was built on the same location as the first Temple. “He said to him, ‘Take these utensils, go and deposit them in the temple in Jerusalem and let the house of God be rebuilt in its place.'” So, the question/s is, “Will the third temple be built in the location of the first two temples, and where exactly is that?”
Nearly all historians and archaeologists believe the two Jewish temples were located on the Temple Mount where the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque currently stand. There are a few proponents of the second Temple’s location nearby at the Gihon Spring, but there is a lack of archaeological evidence for such a claim. The Temple Mount is known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) and, according to Islamic tradition, is the site of Muhammad’s ascent to heaven in the seventh century. The Al Aqsa Mosque is the third holiest site in Islam.
Since Israeli forces regained control of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six-Day War of 1967, Israel has extended its sovereignty over the site. “Day-to-day authority over the site rests with the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf. A waqf is a charitable trust recognized by Islamic law. Jordan, which had controlled eastern Jerusalem and the Islamic holy sites prior to 1967, continued to exercise a special guardianship over the mount, an arrangement later codified in the 1994 Israel-Jordan peace treaty, under which Israel “respects the present special role of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in Muslim Holy shrines in Jerusalem.” Overall security for the site, including entry to visitors and worshippers, rests with Israeli security forces. The religious sensitivities surrounding the Temple Mount have repeatedly made the site a flashpoint for violence and unrest.” {2}
So, if the first two Jewish temples were built on the Temple Mount, how can the third one be built there with the two Muslim shrines standing in that exact location? Most scholars and Jewish leaders believe it must be rebuilt at the same location as the first two. There are a few who believe it is possible that a new location could be found for the third Temple. The late Bible teacher, Jack Kelley, believed it could be built in Shiloh. In one of his articles, he writes, “Following instructions given by Ezekiel and needing to avoid the enormous problems a Jerusalem Temple would create in the Moslem world, this Temple will be located north of Jerusalem in Shiloh.
Using the boundaries of the Promised Land given in Ezekiel 47:13-20, and plotting the land grants for the 12 tribes listed in Ezekiel 48:1-29 on a map of Israel, places the precincts of the Holy City somewhat north of the current City of Jerusalem. This new location is the ancient City of Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood for nearly 400 years after the Israelites first conquered the Land. This is the Holy City, and its name is Jehovah Shammah, according to the last verse in Ezekiel. The Hebrew translates as “the LORD is here.” {3)
Mr. Kelley believed the Antichrist would convince the Jews to build the third Temple in Shiloh and not on the Temple Mount. This is one of the rare times that I disagreed with him on eschatological matters. Unless things change radically, I don’t think the Jews will build the Temple anywhere but on the Temple Mount. Jack thought If the Lord returns to the same area of the Mt. of Olives from which He left, as suggested by Acts 1:11, the earthquake creating an East-West valley will destroy the current Temple Mount and anything that may be standing upon it.
“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. And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee” (Zechariah 14:4-5).
Mr. Kelley thought that the third Temple would be the millennial Temple, as described in Ezekiel 40-44, so it would not be destroyed during the Tribulation or the Second Coming. Therefore, it must be built in Shiloh and not on the Temple Mount. As I said before, I think it has to be built on the Temple Mount. I believe there are two possible scenarios where this is possible. The first scenario is if the Muslim buildings on the Temple Mount are destroyed by an earthquake, making room to build the Jew’s third Temple. Many scholars believe this could happen during the Gog and Magog coalition when they attack Israel.
“‘ And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,’ says the Lord God, ‘that My fury will show in My face. For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground'” (Ezekiel 38:18-20).
The timing in this scenario seems to fit in with the chronology of other eschatology scripture. Most of the nations in the Gog (Russia) confederacy are Muslim nations, including Iran. What’s odd, however, is that the surrounding Arab countries of Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia are not actively involved in this war. It could be that they become participating members of the Abraham Accords (especially now that Donald Trump will become the 47th president of the U.S). I don’t think this is the ‘confirming of the covenant’ of Daniel 9:27, however. Russia, Iran, Turkey, and the other Muslim nations of this confederacy will be defeated by the supernatural power of God (including a catastrophic earthquake) according to Ezekiel 38:18-22.
God’s purpose in this extraordinary intervention in history is to glorify and sanctify His Holy Name in the sight of Israel and the Gentile nations. “Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord” (Ezekiel 38:23). “So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel” (Ezekiel 39:7).
Just when it looks like Israel is about to be wiped out (a Muslim’s dream), the God of Israel supernaturally intervenes and destroys the Muslim confederacy (a Muslim’s nightmare). In the Muslims’ eyes, Yahweh defeats Allah! Israel and all the nations of the world recognize that it wasn’t by Israel’s might, nor the United States, nor any other human power or nation, but only by God Almighty was Israel saved. Another proof that Yahweh has defeated the Muslim god Allah is the destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa mosque on the Temple Mount. I don’t think they will object too much when Israel decides to build their Temple there.
I believe the Rapture will have occurred a little ‘season’ before the Gog and Magog War. That is one reason why the U.S. is not involved in this war. The Antichrist will come upon the scene shortly after the G.M. War and will confirm the covenant with Israel and the many for seven years. One of his selling points is the allowance of the Jews to rebuild their Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem in exchange for a two-state solution in Israel. Here is how Isaiah describes this covenant. “Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves” (Isaiah 28:15).
The other scenario regarding rebuilding a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount doesn’t require the destruction of the Muslim religious buildings there. In John’s Revelation, the Angel says, “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 the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months” (Revelation 11:1-2).
Grant Jeffrey wrote, “The prophet saw in his vision that there would be a period after the rebuilding of the Temple and the sacrificial altar in which a part of the Temple Mount known as the Court of the Gentiles would still be given over to the Gentiles (the Arab Muslims) for forty-two months until Christ returns to set up His Kingdom. The solution to this problem of the rebuilding of the Temple has awaited the completion of recent archeological research on the Temple Mount. In the last few years, archeological discoveries have enabled Jewish authorities to determine that the original site of Solomon’s Temple – and hence, the location for the rebuilding of the Temple – is in the open area of the Temple Mount directly north of the existing Dome of the Rock.” {4}
Mr. Jeffrey goes on to say how Israeli archeologists dug a 900-yard-long tunnel (sixty-five yards below the level of the streets of Jerusalem) in a northerly direction along the Western Wall from the area known as Wilson’s Arch to the northwest corner of the ancient Temple Mount. They uncovered an ancient gate several hundred feet north of Wilson’s Arch that led into the subterranean passages beneath the Temple Mount which had been built by King Herod the Great in the time of the Second Temple. This Herodian gate was almost directly opposite the Eastern (Golden) Gate.
“The Mishna records that these Temple gates were precisely opposite each other and that the Eastern Gate led directly, in a line, into the Beautiful Gate of the Second Temple. Now, after almost 2,000 years, the Western Gate has been discovered. This proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the location of the Temple, which lay precisely between these two gates, is north of the Dome of the Rock. An interesting photo I took from the Garden of Gethsemane, directly opposite the Eastern Gate, shows clearly that the Dome of the Rock is built over 150 feet to the south of the true site, directly west of the Eastern Gate.
There is a small decorative Arabic cupola that lies over 150 feet to the north of the Dome of the Rock and is exactly on a line drawn between the Eastern Gate and the Western Gate. It is called the Dome of the Spirits (or Winds) and stands isolated on the site of a flat foundation stone composed of the original bedrock of Mount Moriah. The Arabs also call this site Qubbat el-Alouah, the Dome of the Tablets.
These two names may well reveal the ancient Muslim knowledge that this stone is, in fact, the ancient foundation stone that supported the Ark of the Covenant with the tablets in the Holy of Holies. The Mishna records that there was a foundation stone in the Temple known as “Even Shetyah” and that the Ark of the Covenant rested upon this foundation stone in Solomon’s Temple. The Mishna records that the foundation stone stood alone in the Holy of Holies in the Second Temple because the Ark of the Covenant was missing.
The Third Temple can now be rebuilt on the exact location of Solomon’s Temple, with the Holy of Holies built around the ancient foundation stone, now covered by the Dome of the Spirits. The Dome of the Rock (and the Al Aqsa Mosque) could then remain undisturbed in the ancient area of the Court of the Gentiles over one hundred and fifty feet to the south of the rebuilt Temple.” {5)
Regardless of which scenario is correct, we know the Jewish third Temple will be built on the original site that the first and second temples were built on. It’s only a matter of time, and I think that time is nearly upon us. See Time, Times, and Half a Time – Part 1. However, another question arises: Will the third Temple survive the topographical upheaval on Mount Moriah when Jesus returns, as recorded in Zechariah 14:4, or will it be destroyed? The prophet provided geographical details of the city where God’s reign will commence. Jerusalem will actually become elevated above the rest of the land that will be leveled.
Isaiah also mentioned Jerusalem’s elevation at the time of the Millennium. “The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. 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” (Isaiah 1-3).
Micah also prophesied of this time. “But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it” (Micah 4:1).
It is my personal opinion that the third Temple will be destroyed (no cleansing will be necessary), and a fourth temple (Ezekiel’s Temple of Ezekiel 40-44) will be built during the Millennium. James alluded to this in Acts 15. “And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, After this I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all his works from the beginning of the world” (Acts 15:15-18).
The prophet that James was referring to was Amos, who said, “In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
“And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens and eat the fruit of them. And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God” (Amos 9:11-15).
In Ezekiel’s vision, the city of Jerusalem and the Temple are upon a very high mountain, which means it is the millennial Temple. “In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain, by which was as the frame of a city on the south” (Ezekiel 40:2). The description and measurements of the Temple begin in Ezekiel 41. The name of the city from that day shall be “Yahweh Shammah,” which means “the Lord is there.” (Ezekiel 48:35).
A pure river of water of life will flow from under the threshold of the Temple. “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” (Ezekiel 47:1). After four thousand cubits the water will become a mighty river (Ezekiel 47:5). A tributary of the river shall run into the dead sea, and it will be healed. Zechariah further prophesies, “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” (Ezekiel 14:8).
“And it shall come to pass, that every thing that lives, which moves, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither…. 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” (Ezekiel 47:9, 12).
These verses in Ezekiel 47 sound remarkably similar to the first two verses in Revelation 22. “And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations” (Revelation 22:1-2).
“The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel. So shall ye know that I am the Lord your God dwelling in Zion, my holy mountain: then shall Jerusalem be holy, and there shall no strangers pass through her any more. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth out of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of Shittim” (Joel 3:16-18).
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Randy Nettles
Endnotes:
{1} Time, Times, and Half a Time – Part 1
{2} What Is the Temple Mount? | My Jewish Learning
{3} The Coming Temple – Grace thru faith
{4} Armageddon – Appointment with Destiny by Grant R. Jeffrey, pg.129.
{5} ibid pg. 132-133
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