Daniel 9:27 (NKJV)
“Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; But in the middle of the week He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate, Even until the consummation, which is determined, Is poured out on the desolate.”
Matthew 24:15-16 (NIV)
“So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand—then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.”
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 (NIV)
“Don’t let anyone deceive you in any way, for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
Numbers 19:1-9
“Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, ‘This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting.
“Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening.
“And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin.'”
After reading these verses from both the Old and New Testaments, either you are way ahead of me, or you are asking yourself, “Where is she going with all these different threads? What do all these Scripture passages have to do with each other?” Well, I am so glad you asked!
The news of the world just keeps getting gloomier and gloomier, and I’m not even going to give you a ‘for instance’ of what I mean because I want nothing to dampen the joy that I hope this message will bring to the reader.
As God’s Chosen People, the Israelites were instructed, in the wilderness, to build a portable tabernacle to very exacting specifics of measurement and right down to the design of the ornamentation on the huge light stand, the gigantic menorah which illuminated the sanctuary where the priests prayed and burned incense.
About 1000 B.C., the LORD commissioned the first permanent temple, and God again gave directions from heaven. He imparted to King David the exact measurements, ornamentation and overall design, and Solomon built it exactly to those instructions. The result was a masterpiece of a building that was admired by all the surrounding nations as being the most beautiful building ever erected.
When the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem, they burned the beautiful temple, destroying it completely. Then, sometime around 515 B.C., under the direction of King Ezra, a new temple was built on the ruins of the old one, and even later still, King Herod restored that temple to utter magnificence. That was the temple at Jerusalem where Jesus taught and which He prophesied would be so destroyed in the future that not one stone would remain upon another.
In 70 A.D., the Romans sacked Jerusalem and burnt the second temple to the ground, confiscating all its furniture and worship articles, including, some say, the Ark of the Covenant. All that remained of the Jewish temple was rubble and a huge flat mesa-type surface on what the Jews knew as the “Temple Mount.” As predicted by our Saviour, not one stone remained upon another.
Sometime between 685 and 715 A.D., the Muslim Caliphate declared ownership of the Temple Mount and built the al Aqsa Mosque near where the Jewish Temple had been. Ever since then, both Jews and Christians have wondered about all the prophecies in the Bible about a third temple being built in the last days. How could it happen?
For about 2,000 years, the Jews were not in control of Jerusalem. In fact, there was not even a Jewish State for about that long. Some Christian factions began to believe the prophecy stories were allegories and that it was actually the Christian Church that would become the third temple where Christ would reign for a thousand years. (Although a literal reading of the Bible cannot possibly lead to that conclusion, as we will see in a bit.) It’s called Replacement Theology and cites the abrogation or negation of the Covenant between the LORD and Abraham in favor of the New Covenant. Again, it is a real stretch to draw this conclusion, given that Jesus Himself said He did not come to abolish the Law (the Old Covenant) but to fulfill it.
In other words, Jesus Himself says He came to make a path straight for the whole of the Old Testament to be accomplished. Some are still teaching that the third temple will never be built because Jesus is the temple. I say here, that is simply not Biblical.
And now we come to the present day. Above are four important pieces of Scripture which substantiate that a Jewish temple will exist in Jerusalem at the end of the age. The first one is from Daniel, and the second, by Christ Himself, substantiates Daniel’s prophecy.
Daniel 9:27 is talking about the end times Anti-Christ who shall cleverly devise a seven-year peace contract between the Chosen People and their surrounding enemies. For three and a half years, the Jews will be lulled into thinking that the anti-Christ is their long-awaited Messiah. Then, suddenly, in the middle of the contract, the anti-Christ takes off his kid gloves and shows himself for who he really is. He will defile the sanctuary of the temple with his abominations and desolate the Jews who supported him by claiming to be God Almighty.
On the Temple Mount, when Jesus is instructing the disciples in end times prophecy, He actually points to Daniel 9:27, saying, “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel [and then says this wonderfully cryptic phrase] —let the reader understand—”
In the narrative of Matthew 24, Jesus is speaking to His disciples. Why would He reference a reader? Some Bible scholars say He is telling His friends that if they have read the Book of Daniel, they will know what He is talking about. While that makes sense, it also makes sense that Jesus is targeting us, the readers of the distant future, to ensure we make the connection between what He is saying in the First Century A.D. and what Daniel said so many years before.
In 167 B.C., a Greek ruler of the Seleucid Empire by the name of Antiochus IV Epiphanes decided to get rid of the Jews once and for all time. He was among the arrogant terrorist-tyrants who have attempted to do what God will not allow to happen. He joins the likes of Haman and Hitler and could easily be described as an anti-Christ prototype. A revolt, led by the Jewish Maccabee family, broke out in Jerusalem against Antiochus and his army, which managed to stamp it out handily. Antiochus then desecrated the temple sanctuary by killing a pig there and declared Himself God, commanding all to worship him. The Maccabees revolted again and, this time, routed Antiochus’ army. He was so distraught by his defeat that he drowned himself in the sea. This account is considered provable history by both Jews and Christians.
Because of this, some preachers maintain that the Abomination of Desolation has already happened – that a third temple does not need to be built because Daniel’s prophecy has already been fulfilled. But if so, why did Jesus mention it as a Last Times occurrence some 150 years after the fact?
And then there’s Apostle Paul’s account in 2 Thessalonians of the same event Jesus and Daniel spoke of. The Apostle calls the perpetrator the Man of Lawlessness. At some point in history, toward the end, there will be a great falling away from the faith, a rebellion, Paul calls it. In 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2, Paul says, “Concerning the coming of our LORD Jesus Christ and our being gathered to Him [which describes perfectly the Rapture in which we the Church are gathered to Jesus in the air], we ask you brothers and sisters not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us … that the day of the LORD has already come.”
He goes on in verse 3 to say that we are not to be deceived. “For it will not come until the rebellion [the great falling away in some versions] occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed. Verse 4, “He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up [where?] in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.”
The third temple WILL be built, according to these three very clear accounts of scripture – one of them by our Saviour Himself.
For nearly two thousand years, there seemed to be no hope for a third temple for the Jews. There was no indication for the Christian Church that any of these prophecies could ever come to pass. First of all, there was no nation of Israel. The city of Jerusalem had been under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for centuries. It wasn’t until the middle of World War I that the city fell from Muslim hands and came under British rule. And even then, there was no reason to believe it would ever be held by Jews again.
In Isaiah 66:8b, we read, “Can a country be born in a day or a nation be brought forth in a moment?” You know the history! On February 29, 1947, the United Nations voted 33-13 to partition the land known as Palestine to allow the Jews to establish, or re-establish, a homeland. On May 14, 1948, the modern nation of Israel was born.
In June 1967, Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia declared war on tiny Israel, which had only been a nation again for less than 20 years. The large Arab nations thought they could put an end, again, once and for all, to the Jews in the mid-East. They did not reckon with God’s love for His Chosen People. Within six short days, the tiny Israeli army stunned the world by decimating the opposition and recapturing the territories known as the West Bank (including the whole city of Jerusalem), Gaza and Golan Heights. They ceded back Gaza to the so-called Palestinians, a major mistake on their part. They had trusted the LORD to bring them victory at astronomical odds. They ought to have trusted Him to hold onto Gaza, for there has been nothing but war since.
So, now they held Jerusalem once again. For 60 years, the Jewish Sanhedrin has been planning for the building of the Third Temple. Behind the scenes, they have reconsecrated Temple Kohanim or priests and high priests. They have designed and created traditional clothing and utensils to be used in the sacrifice rituals. An enormous Menorah, an oil-burning lamp stand made entirely of gold, stands in a non-smashable glass case for all to see, as does a model of the temple to be built once the temple mount is back in Jewish hands.
And that is one of two huge stumbling blocks, for the Muslims claim ownership of the Temple Mount, even though documentation shows it clearly is the property of the nation of Israel. Two revered Muslim mosques sit on the Mount, and there has been speculation that the temple could actually be built on adjacent land, so the mosques could stay intact. Interestingly, some Arab Muslims are okay with that.
The second stumbling block had to do with the reading from Numbers 19. A flawless red heifer is needed to make the purifying water to cleanse everything connected to the temple, including all the utensils, the furniture, the priests and even the land that the temple will be built on. Because the Temple Mount has been defiled for so many years, the priests say only the recipe as outlined in Numbers 19 is good enough. It is not just desired; it is, in their estimation, completely required by the LORD God. And now, prophecy has come to pass, once again, in our sight! I say “once again,” for over the past several years, we have seen Bible prophecies manifesting just as Jesus said they would, increasingly and with greater intensity.
In the past, all attempts to breed a flawless red heifer have failed. But last month, that all changed. The following is a copy from a news story at Christian.com: “A huge buzz reverberated worldwide the week of September 12, 2022, when five red heifers arrived in Israel. The Jerusalem Post described how a Christian farmer in Texas raised and shipped five unblemished red heifers, delivered to the Temple Institute in Jerusalem. The heifers were inspected and approved by Jewish rabbis. Upon the arrival of these five red heifers, a group of roughly 300 people welcomed them. One person blew the shofar. The red heifers are now secured on a farm in Haifa.”
The significance for End Times cannot be underestimated. The examinations the heifers had to pass are minute and painstaking, including the fact that not more than two hairs on the entire beast can be other than red. All five have passed muster. This event is bringing unimaginable joy to Israelis, and it ought to cause this same joy in those of us who eagerly await the LORD Jesus and the pre-tribulation Rapture.
The heifers are a year old now. They must be two years old before they can be sacrificed, according to Jewish Law. So just one year from now, the sacrifice can occur, and if all present efforts at obtaining the necessary permits to build the temple are in order, then the land can be consecrated, and the temple, say Jewish authorities, can be built in as little as three months.
The Third Temple has to be rebuilt in order that Scripture be fulfilled and in order that the man of lawlessness, the anti-Christ, can come to power. But, before that can happen, according to Apostle Paul, there will be a great rebellion, a great falling away, the Apostasia.
How many people are clinging to their Christian faith at this time? Easily acquired statistics from Pew Research Center show the numbers of faithful Christians are dropping in western countries at an alarming rate, especially among the young. If you factor in core beliefs, that is, the traditional view of Jesus’ Sacrifice and Redemption as experienced through a Biblical worldview, we are fast approaching what will become “the remnant Church.” So put all that together with the joyous news of Bible Prophecy being fulfilled in our sight, and we can know that the time left before Jesus will come to take His Bride to heaven for the marriage feast is very short, indeed. We are so close, my friends.
This news ought to strengthen our resolve to hold firm to our faith and not to be moved by what is happening in the world today. Everything the LORD God has told us would happen is now happening before our very eyes. You cannot make this up.
I’m going to close with some of the most joyful words in the Bible. They are from Revelation 21:5-6: “He Who was seated on the throne said, ‘I am making everything new!’ Then He said, ‘Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.'”
Before long, dear ones, we will be in heaven with our Saviour, giving glory in person to the One Who has given us life, abundant life, and everlasting life. What could possibly be more exciting or more wonderful to contemplate? And all God’s children said, AMEN!
THE ABCs OF SALVATION
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).
Going to heaven is as SIMPLE as ABC.
A) ADMIT YOU ARE A SINNER
“All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
A sinner needs to acknowledge that they have sinned
B) BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED FOR YOUR SINS, ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND THAT YOU TRUST IN HIM ALONE FOR YOUR SALVATION, COMMITTING YOUR LIFE TO HIS SERVICE.
“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
All Jesus asks us to do to receive salvation is to believe in Him.
C) CONFESS YOUR SINS.
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins” (1 John 1:9).
We only need to tell Jesus that we have sinned and ask for forgiveness. Then He will forgive us, no matter what sins we have committed.
Follow these steps –
- You need to be saved.
“There is no one righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10 quoting Ecclesiastes 7:20).
- Realize that you cannot save yourself.
“For by grace you have been saved, by faith, and that faith is not of yourselves; it is a gift of God; not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).
- God loves us enough to provide salvation.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
- By faith, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
“And they said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).
“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).
If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, repeat this prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I understand that I am a sinner, and I ask You for forgiveness. I believe that You died on the cross for my sins so that I could receive Your forgiveness and have eternal life. I ask You to come into my life right now and become my personal Savior. From this day forward, Lord, I give you control of my life. Make me a new person and help me to live for You. Amen.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” John 3:16-18).
This information about the ABCs was downloaded from a website operated by Evangelical Free Church, Christian and Missionary Alliance.
With thanks and praise to the LORD.
Lynda Janzen