Will the Temple be rebuilt as a “SIGN” before the Rapture?
July 2, 2007
http://www.tribulationperiod.com/
The Jerusalem Post Article, which immediately follows, is then followed by our five year old Archive Prophecy Update Number 79, July 2, 2002. The majority of prophetic expositors teach that the Jewish Temple must be rebuilt before what is called “the rapture” of the saved. In my early ministry I taught that the Temple would be built before the rapture, but began to teach in 1974 it “might” or “might not” be rebuilt before Jesus catches out the saved. By 1988 the use of two different words, which are both translated “temple” in the New Testament, and the way Paul
used them in frequency and application, convinced me I was wrong, and I began to teach that the Jewish Temple would not be built until after the Second Advent of Christ, during the early part of his Millennial Reign.
I urge you to consider Archive Prophecy Update Number 79 even if you are confident it will be rebuilt before the rapture, because if you are not correct in your teaching,
then some of the ones you have taught are now under the impression they can wait until the Jews start rebuilding the Temple before getting serious in serving the God who saved them. Some are waiting for it to be the “sign” the rapture is no longer in the distant future.
Since I believe the words used by the writers of the Bible are inspired, in many cases I consider how the writer of a particular passage, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, used the same word in all the passages of the Bible he employed it. And, if he uses a different Koine Greek word, which is also translated as “temple” in the N.T., in a different manner when using it to describe a specific object, then I use it in the context to determine which one of its different meanings he intends it to represent. I realize this may sound complicated to s
ome, but if you will examine what I present in Archive Prophecy Update Number 79, which follows the Jerusalem Post article, it will be much easier to understand.
Begin Jerusalem Post Article
Shin Bet foils Hamas’s plans to control Temple Mount
Yaakov Katz, THE JERUSALEM POST
July 2, 2007
Hamas attempts to take over control of the Temple Mount as well as spread its ideology
and recruit new members in Jerusalem have been foiled by the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency,) senior security official announced Monday.
According to offici als, H
amas has invested millions of shekels in recent years in Jerusalem charities, religious institutions, as well as in construction on the Temple Mount in an effort to recruit Israeli Arab residents of Jerusalem into its ranks, thus bolstering its presence in the capital.
The official said that Hamas recently built a bathroom on the Temple Mount and also enlarged a library and prayer halls in Solomon’s Stables.
“Their goal is to gain full control over the Temple Mount,” a high-ranking security officer said Monday, adding that Hamas also tried to infiltrate members into the Temple Mount as maintenance staff , in addition to its religious leaders who preach, give tours, and teach Koran classes there.
he official said Hamas had taken advantage of the Jordanian Wakf, which is responsible for the holy site. The Wakf has been suffering from finance constraints since 2000, when the Temple Mount mosques were closed to visitors.
Official said the Hamas takeover of the Temple Mount was a “strategic” move to bolster its standing in the Palestinian territories and throughout the Muslim world.
During a year-long operation, Shin Bet arrested 11 Hamas officials based in Jerusalem, 10 of whom held Israeli identity cards.
Hamas’s Jerusalem headquarters were funded by Hamas headquarters in Syria, as well as a chain of charity institutions based in Saudi Arabia . In addition to Hamas’s efforts to take over the Temple Mount, the movement increased in recent years its activity in east Jerusalem, where it had set up religious institutions and used what seemed to be innocent festivities to “brainwash” Muslims with Hamas ideology.
In order to implement its goals, Hams had also set up a number of institutions of a semi-religious nature to front illegal activities.
According to officials, there are no Hamas institutions currently active in Jerusalem.
The Shin Bet also focused its operations in curbing the flow of money into Hamas. A senior Hamas official, Yakub Abu Assab, was arrested for allegedly running a courier service that transferred funds from the West Bank and abroad to the Hamas headquarters in Jerusalem.
Israeli efforts to stop Hamas also included the arrests of Hamas parliamentarians, including Khaled Abu Afa, former Hamas minister for Jerusalem affairs.
All 11 detainees were due to be indicted for membership in a terror group and financing illegal terror activity.
Begin Archive Prophecy Update Number 79
PROPHECY UPDATE NUMBER 79
August 3, 2002
Will The Temple Be Rebuilt in Jerusalem Before The Second Advent
?
I long ago lost count of the number of men and women who have reminded me that the temple MUST be rebuilt before Jesus returns. A majority of believers are certain that it must be rebuilt because antichrist must set in it “showing himself that he is God.”
As a young man I was taught that it “would” be rebuilt before Jesus returned. But as I studied the Greek language in Seminary, I began to say it would “probably” be rebuilt. I finally came to believe it will not be rebuilt until the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ. Why?
Much of what follows is quoted primarily from the “New Testament Greek-English Dictionary of the Complete Bible Library,” Volumes 13 and 14.
In the New Testament the word “hieron,” translated as “temple,” is found ONLY in the Gospels, in Acts, and in I Corinthians 9:13, where Paul’s ONLY use of the word appears as “temple.”
I Corinthians 9:13 – Jerusalem’s Literal Stone Temple
[13] Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple (hieron)? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
“Hieron” refers to the entire temple including its precincts and the temple hill or, in a limited sense, any portion of the temple, such as the court of the women (Luke 2:37) where Jesus stood before the altar after his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Mark 11:11), the court of the Gentiles out of which Jesus drove the money changers (John 2:15), or the temple proper where the veil separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies (Matthew 27:52). “Hieron” is ONLY used in a literal sense in the entire New Testament. This is in very sharp contrast to its closely related term “naos,” which is used both literally and figuratively in the New Testament. It is used figuratively at times to refer to the human body or a local church body.
I Corinthians 6:19 – The Human Body – Naos
[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own
?
I Corinthians 3:16,17 – The Local Church Body – Naos
[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
(All the “ye’s” in this verse are plural, and the “in” of verse 16 may be translated with equal validity as being “among” you, because “you” is plural.)
Now, let’s take a look at the word “naos,” translated as “temple” in the New Testament. “Naos” denotes the “dwelling place of a god.” Consequently, the “naos” was the inner “sanctuary” of a temple where the image of the God was placed, or where he dwelled. It is frequently translated as “temple,” but the association with the word “sanctuary” should not be overlooked.
The following verses contain ALL the uses of the word translated “temple” in the writings of the Apostle Paul.
TEMPLE – HIERON – I CORINTHIANS 9:13
[13] Do ye not know that they which minister about holy things live of the things of the temple? and they which wait at the altar are partakers with the altar?
(This is absolutely referring literally to the great temple of stone in the city of Jerusalem)
TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 6:19
[19] What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
(This is absolutely referring to the body of someone who has experienced the new birth as figuratively being a temple)
Now, Let’s take a look at the use of NAOS in I Corinthians 3:16.17, II Corinthians 6:16, and Ephesians 2:21,22.
TEMPLE – NAOS – I CORINTHIANS 3:16,17
[16] Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? [17] If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.
TEMPLE – NAOS – II CORINTHIANS 6:16
[16] And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
(All the “ye’s” and the “them” and “they” are plural, and the two “in’s” may be translated as “among”)
TEMPLE – NAOS – EPHESIANS 2:21,22
[21] In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: [22] In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.
(The “ye” in verse 22 is plural)
It is perfectly obvious in the verses in the two books of Corinthians and Ephesians that Paul was not referring to the literal temple in Jerusalem, and it is also equally obvious he knew the distinction between “hieron” and “naos.” That is why his ONLY other use of the word “naos,” occurring in I Thessalonians 2:4, is so puzzling. I am convinced that if he meant the literal stone temple in Jerusalem, then he would have used the word “hieron.”
TEMPLE – NAOS – II THESSALONIANS 2:4
[4] 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.
The precise meaning of “naos” in this verse is uncertain.
I believe Paul pictures the antichrist sitting on the temple mount in a sinful body of flesh, with his inner soul and spirit claiming he is God to prove it to himself, and to show the world he is God. This would parallel his use of the word “naos” in I Corinthians 6:19. In any case, I Thessalonians 2:4 falls far short of proving that the temple must be rebuilt before Jesus comes.
The companion Old Testament Scripture often used to link with II Thessalonians 2:4 to prove the temple must be rebuilt is Daniel 11:45.
Daniel 11:45
[45] And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
However, the word translated “palace” is “appeden.” It is never translated as “temple” in the entire Bible. So it means, in the context of this verse, that antichrist returns to Jerusalem just before the battle of Armageddon, and puts up a command post palace pavilion on the temple mount, from which he plans to sit and direct the final battle. The tents (tabernacles – ohel) are the tents of all the troops from Europe, Eurasia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa which have poured into Israel in answer to his call, and he will direct their final attack against Israel in the Negev from his “appeden” on the temple mount. I have heard about the rebuilding of this temple for some 54 years. F or better
or for worst, I do not believe the temple will be rebuilt until Jesus returns.
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