The Temple Mount Doubled in Size
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE TEMPLE IN PROPHECY To those who hold to a Futurist view of prophecy (i.e. most prophecy is yet to be fulfilled) one cannot fail to note the allusions to a Temple in the events which must still unfold. Matt 24:15–16 “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 Thess 2:3-4 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. WHICH TEMPLE? With all the prophecies about the Temple, the natural question is – which temple? There is clearly no Jewish Temple in Jerusalem today. Of course, Historicists will say that the Abomination is the pope who sits in a spiritual temple, which they claim is the Church. And while Preterists will accept it as the Jewish Temple they will assign the event to the first century and the destruction of the 2nd Jewish Temple. The Futurist view is that it is a future 3rd Jewish Temple to be rebuilt in Jerusalem. Temple Defiled by Office Preterist 2nd Jewish Titus A Roman general Temple Historicist The Church The papacy A Roman Catholic pope Futurist 3rd Jewish The A neo-Roman political Temple Antichrist world leader EARLY JERUSALEM CHURCH After Jesus ascension we see that Jesus’ disciples “stayed continually at the temple, praising God” (Luke 24:53). In the early apostolic church, Christians in Jerusalem still used the Temple as a regular place of worship and instruction. See Acts 5:42 Day NOTE 1 after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ. EARLY JERUSALEM CHURCH Peter and John would pray in the Temple and this was on one of these occasions that they healed the lame man who sat at the Temple gate (Acts 3). See NOTE 1 The apostles used the Temple as a platform for proclaiming Jesus’ resurrection to the people (Acts 4,5), being arrested by the Temple guards on more than one occasion for doing so. PAUL & THE TEMPLE What would Paul have understood by the phrase “temple of God” when he used it in 2 Thessalonians, and how would his readers would have understood it. Paul was educated by Gamaliel in Jerusalem (Acts 22:3) and would have frequented the Temple in his youth. As the persecutor of the Church, Paul obtained letters of authority to arrest Christians in Damascus from the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:4-5), who convened at the Jewish Temple. At the outset of his ministry, Paul would pray at the Temple while in Jerusalem (Acts 22:17-18). At the time Paul wrote 2 Thessalonians (c. AD 52 ), the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing. PAUL & THE TEMPLE When Paul himself visited Jerusalem, 5 years after this epistle was written (c. AD 57 ), he went to the Temple to worship (Acts 24:17- 18). In fact See it was on this NOTE 1 occasion that he was attacked by a mob, dragged outside and subsequently arrested by the Romans (Acts 21). PAUL & THE TEMPLE Remember that Paul was writing to the Thessalonians to clear up confusion that existed in their church, caused by some who were teaching that Christ had already returned (2 Thess 2:1-4). So Paul was not intending to be obscure or figurative when he referred to “the temple of God”. By using the definite article and speaking of “the temple of God” with no further qualification, it clearly indicates that Paul was referring to the Jerusalem Temple. There is no compelling reason to believe that the Thessalonians would have understood it in any other way. And Paul was intending to clear the confusion that existed in their ranks, not to create additional uncertainty. CHURCH FATHERS Author Lived Future Antichrist would sit in: Irenaeus 130-202 Hippolytus 170-235 Victorinus d. 303 Cyril of Jerusalem 313-386 Ephraim the Syrian 306-373 Future Jewish Temple Zenobius 337-417 Sulpicius Severus 363-425 John of Damascus 676-749 Adso the monk d. 992 Anselm 1033-1109 John Chrysostom 349-407 Future Jewish Temple & every church Augustine 354-430 Future Jewish Temple or the church John Cassian 360-435 The church Athanasius 293-373 For details see Appendix. Temple Built Destroyed 1st By Solomon – completed in By the Babylonians 957 BC (Nebuchadnezzar) – c. 587 BC 2nd By Zerubbabel (515 BC), The Romans (Titus) - renovated by Herod the AD 70 Great (20 BC-26 AD) 3rd Still must be built before the middle of the Tribulation 1ST TEMPLE David decided to Now then, tell my servant David, build a temple in “… I will raise up your offspring to Jerusalem, to succeed you… and I will establish replace the his kingdom. He is the one who will tabernacle in use build a house for my Name…” as a place of worship since the time of the See Exodus. Through NOTE 1 the prophet Nathan, God told David that his son Solomon, would build the Temple instead (2 Sam 7). 1ST TEMPLE And so the First Temple was constructed by Solomon in the 10th century BC and, along with his royal palace, it took 20 years to build. This temple housed the famous Ark of the Covenant. See NOTE 1 1ST TEMPLE The First Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 587 BC, after the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem and burnt the Temple, along with most of the city. A portion of the population of Judah was taken into exile to Babylon. See NOTE 1 2ND TEMPLE After the fall of the Babylonian Empire to the Persians, many of the Jews were still in exile, but now under Persian rule. After 70 years in captivity in accordance with the prophecy of Jeremiah, the Jews received authorisation from Cyrus the Great to return and rebuild the Temple (Ezra 1:1-4). See NOTE 1 2ND TEMPLE Zerubbabel led the first group of Jews returning from exile. Construction began in 538 BC at the original site of the First Temple and was completed 23 years later. Although this Temple was a more modest version of the original, and lacked the Ark of the Covenant, it resumed its role as the centre of worship for Jews. See NOTE 1 REFURBISHED 2nd TEMPLE Despite being a cruel dictator, Herod the Great was known for his great architectural achievements, the most famous and ambitious project being the renovation and expansion of the Temple, whereby the area of the Temple Mount doubled in size. Beginning in 20-19 BC, it was only completed around AD 26. This Temple was the Herod the Great headquarters of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish supreme court. REFURBISHED 2nd TEMPLE This Temple played a significant role in the life of Jesus. After his birth, he was dedicated here, as a 12-year old boy he amazed the teachers here. Satan later tempted him to jump off the highest point of the Temple. Jesus celebrated the Jewish feasts there and twice chased out the moneychangers. He taught the people and healed the sick there. When he died, it was in this Temple that the curtain to See the Holy of Holies NOTE 2 was torn in two. Model of the 2nd temple at the Shrine of the Book (Jerusalem) And it was of this Temple that it was written in Mark 13:1, “As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him: Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What See NOTE 1 magnificent buildings! In response, Jesus predicted the Temple’s destruction . Do you see all these things? I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on See another; every one NOTE 1 will be thrown down. TEMPLE’S DESTRUCTION In fulfilment of Jesus’ prophecy, the Temple was destroyed about four decades later on the 9th day of the month of Av in AD 70 by the Roman military commander and future emperor, Titus. It is a strange coincidence that both Nebuchadnezzar, and the Romans destroyed the respective temples on the same date on the Jewish calendar. Titus (41-81) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. (Matt 23:37-38) Jesus wept over Jerusalem and spoke of the desolation of her ‘house’ (a reference to the temple). Earlier in his ministry (John 2:16) Jesus had referred to the temple as “my Father’s house”. He now calls it “your house” to show that See God had abandoned it. NOTE 1 HADRIAN In the early 2nd century, there were messianic groups in Judea who believed that Jeremiah’s prophecy promising the rebuilding of the Temple 70 years after its destruction would be repeated. Jeremiah was speaking of the restoration of the First Temple after the Babylonian exile, but these groups held that in a similar fashion, the Second Temple would be restored around AD 140. These hopes were cruelly dashed by the Emperor Hadrian when he decided to build a new Roman city called Colonia Aelia Capitolina on the ruins of Jerusalem.