Titanic Truths about the Temple
(Taken from Chapter 9 of Steve Wohlberg's fast-selling book, Exploding
the Israel Deception)
On April 15,
1912, the Titanic sank to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. There it remained,
undiscovered for decades. In 1980, a rich oilman decided to fund a search for
the lost ship. Two expeditions went out to sea, yet they found nothing. In
1985, another group of researchers set sail from France. They pinpointed a
12-mile area in which they thought the ship had rested. After two months of
deep-sea surveying, their sophisticated ocean-scanning devices located a large
object on the sea floor. As the outlines of a ship became clearer, the shout
finally rang out: "This is it! We have found the Titanic!" The
discovery was reported in newspapers around the world.
In this chapter,
we will continue to survey the hidden depths of the Word of God. We do not need
any sophisticated equipment, though—only open hearts. As we set sail into the
following paragraphs, we will discover things more shocking than what those
researchers uncovered in 1985. It's time to discover Titanic truths about the
temple!
It is a fact
that several Jewish organizations in Jerusalem are now preparing for the
rebuilding of a third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount. A popular Christian
book called The Edge of Time, by Peter and Patti Lalonde, gives the following
report: "A model of the Third Temple has been constructed and sits on
exhibit in old Jerusalem. Even a computerized list of candidates who fulfill
the requirements of a Temple priest has been drawn up, and rabbinical students
have been training for ancient Jewish temple rites and sacrifice." Many
religious Jews want another Temple. Millions of Christians now believe the
Bible definitely predicts on will be built. But does it really? Is it possible
that the "third temple" theory is yet another grand delusion of the
last days?
First of all,
let's focus on what happened before the second temple was destroyed. When Jesus
Christ died, "the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the
bottom; and the earth did quake." Matthew 27:51. By ripping the veil, God
Almighty showed all mankind that the value of animal sacrifices was over. The
earthly temple service was coming to an end. Why? Because the great Sacrifice
had yet been offered! A few years later, Paul wrote in reference to the earthly
temple, "Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish
away." Hebrews 8:13. In A.D. 70, the second temple was demolished by the
Romans.
Now think for a
moment. Would the providence of God ever lead the Jewish people to rebuild a
third temple? Would the Father ever initiate the restarting of sacrifices that
ended with the death of His Son? When Jesus cried out, "It is
finished" (John 19:30), He abolished all sacrifices. He was the final
Sacrifice! Therefore, would not the restarting of sacrifices be an open denial
that Jesus Christ is the messiah? If Israel ever did rebuild a third temple and
begin to offer sacrifices, would not this be another official, national rejection
of the Saviour? What happened 2,000 years ago when the leaders of Israel
officially rejected their Messiah? The result was disaster! More than a million
Jews perished.
Three main sections of
Scripture are being used today by Christians to support the "third
temple" theory. They are Daniel 9:27, assorted "temple texts" in
the book of Revelation, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4. Yet in all three of these
sections, nothing is said about any temple being "rebuilt." In the
Old Testament, major portions of Scripture are devoted to the building of the
wilderness tabernacle, the first temple, and the second temple (Exodus chapter
35-40; 1 Kings chapter 6; Ezra chapters 3-6).
Yet as for the building of the third Jewish temple, we find nothing.
Popular prophecy
scholars today argue that when Daniel 9:27 describes the coming of one who will
"cause the sacrifice…to cease," this must refer to an end-time
Antichrist who will stop the sacrifices of a rebuilt Jewish temple. Yet we
proved in Chapter 5 of this book that it was Jesus Christ who already caused
"the sacrifice…to cease" 2,000 years ago through His death on the
cross. Matthew Henry faithfully declared that it was Jesus who would
"cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. By offering himself a
sacrifice once and for all he shall put an end to all the Levitical
sacrifices." Therefore, when people use Daniel 9:27 as a foundation text
to support the idea of a "rebuilt third temple," they are actually
trying to build a house on sand. Worse yet. They are building on top of a major
earthquake fault line!
These texts all concern the heavenly temple, not a rebuilt third temple on
earth. Revelation 11:19 says, "The temple of God was opened in
heaven." Revelation 14:17 says that "another angel came out of the
temple which is in heaven." Revelation 15:5 declares that "the
temple…in heaven was opened," and Revelation 16:17 says, "There came
a great voice out of the temple of heaven." Thus there is a temple in
heaven. And it is in this temple that Jesus Christ, our Great High Priest, now
ministers His blood in our behalf (Hebrews 8:1, 2; 9:12, 14). It is also to
this temple that Paul counsels Christians to look (Hebrews 10:19-22). We will
study this subject more thoroughly in Chapter 12 of this book.
o0000
This is probably
the most important passage used to support the "third temple" theory.
Here Paul wrote that the Antichrist would sit "in the temple of God,
shewing himself that he is God." 2 Thessalonians 2:4. Hal Lindsey
comments: "It is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands
it …"[The Antichrist] takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying
himself as being God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4. …We must conclude that a third
Temple will be rebuilt upon its ancient site in old Jerusalem."
2 Thessalonians
2:1-8 is one of the most controversial passages in the Bible. It is time to
examine this section carefully. In this analysis, I will draw on the past
insights of historic Protestants, which was commonly accepted doctrine in
Europe, England, and America for over 300 years—since the time of the
Reformation.
000o
Verse
1—"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and by our gathering unto him," Jesus is "coming" to gather His
children. The Greek word used here for "coming" is parousia, which
clearly refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ (Matthew 24:27).
Verse
2—"That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit,
nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at
had." Here Paul warned the Thessalonians not to be troubled by anyone who
would suggest that "the day of Christ" on which He would
"gather" His children was "at hand" in the first century.
No. Something big must happen first.
Verse
3—"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day [when Jesus comes to
gather His children] shall not come, except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin [Antichrist] be revealed, the son of
perdition." Here Paul is very clear. "That day" when Jesus comes
to "gather" us shall not come until there is first "a falling
away" and the Antichrist is revealed! Thus, contrary to popular opinion,
Antichrist comes before Jesus comes to gather His people! Paul warned,
"Let no man deceive you by any means" into believing anything else.
The phrase,
"a falling away," is for the Greek word "apostasia," which
means "a falling away" from the truth. Thus, there would be in the
history of Christianity, as in the history of Israel, a major "falling
away" from God’s Word that would result in the rise of Antichrist. Paul
called this antichrist "that man of sin." These words actually point
to an earlier prophecy found in Daniel chapter 7.
Daniel chapter 7
predicted the rise of a "little horn" with "eyes like the eyes
of a man." Daniel 7:8. Daniel did not say the little horn would be a man,
but that it would have "eyes like the eyes of a man." This horn would
arise out of "the fourth beast," or "fourth kingdom" (verse
23), which was the Roman Empire. It would arise "among" the 10 horns
in Europe (verse 8), would speak proud words against God (verses 8, 25) and
would make "war with the saints" (verse 21) in Christian history.
Paul also called
the Antichrist "the son of perdition," which is what Jesus Christ
called Judas (John 17:12). Judas was an insider, an apostle, one of the twelve.
Judas kissed Jesus, calling him "Master" (Mark 14:45). Yet it was a
kiss of betrayal. By calling Antichrist "the son or perdition," Paul
gives us a clue in that this deceiver would not be a pagan dictator like Adolf
Hitler, but rather a professed apostle of Jesus Christ. Yet in reality, he
would be a false apostle. (See 2 Corinthians 11:13.)
Verse
4—"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or is
worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself
that he is God." Paul did not say, as so many believe, that Antichrist
will walk into a temple and say, "I am God." Rather, he would sit
"as God…shewing himself that he is God." The difference is subtle,
yet very important. The Antichrist will not "say it," for this would
be too obvious. Yet he will "show it" by his actions.
The Antichrist
will "sit." This does not mean he will "sit down" on some
chair. In the language of the Bible, to "sit" means to sit in a
position of authority. Jesus Christ now "sits" at the right hand of
God (Mark 16:19). He is our supreme authority, the only Mediator between God
and men (1 Timothy 2:5). According to Paul, the Antichrist will also
deceptively "sit" in a position of authority. Yet this "sitting
will actually be in opposition to the supreme authority of Jesus Christ!
Antichrist will
even "sit in the temple of God." Here is the key text! Millions of
sincere Christians, like Hal Lindsey, apply this to a rebuilt third Jewish
temple in Jerusalem. But is that right? Think about it. Let’s say that a group
of Jewish people, who do not believe in the great sacrifice of Jesus Christ,
were to rebuild a third temple on the Temple Mount. Could that temple ever
really be called "the temple of God"? No! For that temple would be in
itself a denial of Jesus Christ! Notice what the famous Christian commentator
Adam Clarke had to say about Paul’s words: "By the temple of God the
apostle could not well mean the temple of Jerusalem; because that, he knew,
would be destroyed with a few years. After the death of Christ the temple of
Jerusalem is never called by the apostles the temple of God."
The Greek word
Paul used here for "temple" is "naos." One Titanic truth
about the temple is that every time Paul used the word "naos" in his
letters, he always applied it not to a building in Jerusalem, but to the
Church! Paul wrote to "the Church of God which is at Corinth,"
saying, "Know ye not that ye are the temple ["naos"] of
God?" 1 Corinthians 1:2; 3:16. (See also 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians
2:19-22.) Thus, to Paul, "the temple of God" is the Christian Church!
Again, Adam Clarke commented: "Under the gospel dispensation, the temple
of God is the Church of Christ." And this is where Antichrist will sit! He
will deceptively enter the Church, like Judas, who was one of the twelve! Then
he will "sit" in a position of supreme, apparently infallible
authority, which will ever so subtly counterfeit the supreme authority of Jesus
Christ!
If you were the
devil, wouldn’t you try to do the same thing? You wouldn’t spend most of your
time hanging out in a bar. Your goal would be to try and deceive Christians! If
you were Satan, wouldn’t you want to sneak into the Church, get behind the
pulpit, and then preach a sermon? (See Acts 20:28-31; 1 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy
4:3, 4.) This is exactly what Paul says the Antichrist will do! He will
cleverly enter the temple of God, which is the Christian Church, and then he
will "sit" in a position of apparently supreme authority as he makes
pronouncements on matters of Christian doctrine.
The world-famous
Matthew Henry, whose roots were firmly planted in historic Protestantism,
commented: "[Paul] speaks of some very great apostasy. …No sooner was
Christianity planted and rooted in the world than there began to be a defection
in the Christian church. …He is called the man of sin, …the son of perdition.
…These names may properly be applied, for these reasons, to the papal state.
…The bishops of Rome not only oppose God’s authority, …but have exalted
themselves above God. …The antichrist here mentioned is some usurper of God’s
authority in the Christian church, …and to whom can this better apply than to
the bishops of Rome?"
The above view
was shared by John Wycliffe, William Tyndale, Martin Luther, John Calvin, the
translators of the King James Bible, John Wesley, Sir Isaac Newton, Charles
Spurgeon, Bishop J.C. Ryle, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and countless other
Protestant reformers. Have we not just discovered a Titanic truth?
Verse 5,
6—"Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know what witholdeth [restrains] that he might be revealed
in his time." This is a very controversial sentence. Multitudes of
prophecy scholars today believe that the Christian Church is the restrainer.
They teach that when the Church is removed at the rapture, then the Antichrist
will appear. They also teach that after this Antichrist shows up, he will then
enter the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem and proclaim that he is God. This
will supposedly happen during "the seven years of tribulation." Yet
from what we have studied so far, can you not see that there is something wrong
with this picture?
Paul did not
specify in this letter "what" was restraining Antichrist. Yet the
Thessalonians knew, for Paul said in verse 6 that he had previously
"told" them. A study of the writings of the early Church fathers, who
were Christian leaders living after the apostles, reveals exactly what the
early church believed. "The early Church—from whom alone we can learn what
Paul told them by word of mouth, but refrained from committing to writing—has
left is on record that the Apostle had told them that this hindering power was
the dominion of the Roman Caesars; that while they continued to reign at Rome,
the development of the predicted power of evil was impossible. …While the
Caesars reigned he [the Antichrist] could not appear, but when they passed away
he would succeed them."
Based on
historical research, Matthew Henry agreed. "This is supposed [believed] to
be the power of the Roman empire, which the apostle did not think fit to
mention more plainly at that time; and it is notorious that, while this power
continued, it prevented the advances of the bishops of Rome to that height of
tyranny to which soon afterwards they arrived." Thus, the force that
"witholdeth," or restrains, was the imperial power of the Roman
Empire ruled by the Caesars. It was only after Rome fell, in A.D. 476, that the
popes were free to rule. This used to be a common interpretation among
Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist scholars for 300 years after the
Reformation. But times have changed. New scholars are here with new ideas.
Verse
7—"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth
[restrains] will let, until he be taken out of the way." In Paul’s day,
because of the restraining power of the Roman empire, the Antichrist’s rise to
power was being hindered. Yet Daniel’s previous prophecy predicted the eventual
fall of the fourth beast (the Roman Empire), which would then allow the
"little horn" (Antichrist) to fully spring into action (Daniel 7:7,
8). In his epistle to the Thessalonians, Paul did not specify in writing that
the Roman Empire would eventually be "taken out of the way." The
reason was because his letter might be discovered by Roman authorities, which
might have resulted in more "persecutions and tribulations" against
his converts for their perceived disloyalty to Caesar. (See 2 Thessalonians
1:4.) This view fits with prophecy and history. Not only that, it makes perfect
sense!
In Paul’s day,
the "mystery of iniquity" was already working. Yet it was largely hidden.
It was not until the Roman Empire finally fell in A.D. 476 that this
"mystery" was fully revealed for what it was to the eyes of the
world. Then came the Dark Ages, when Europe was held in a grip of terror for
almost 1,000 years. Historians estimate that the "Holy Office of the
Inquisition" was responsible for the brutal torture and deaths of 50-100
million Christians. And this was done in the name of Jesus Christ! Surely
Antichrist has entered the temple of God.
Verse
8—"And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume
with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his
coming." Thus "the mystery of iniquity" would start in the days
of Paul and would continue to the end. Then it would be destroyed by the
"brightness of his coming." The Greek word for "coming"
used in verse 8 is the same for "coming" used in verse 1. That word
is parousia, which clearly refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. Thus,
according to verses 1 and 8, it is at the second coming, after Antichrist is
revealed, that Jesus Christ will come to "gather" His children.
000o
Verse
1—Jesus Christ is "coming" [the parousia] to "gather" His
children.
Verse 2—Paul told the early Thessalonian believers not be
"shaken" by false ideas that this "day of Christ" was
"at hand" in the first century.
Verse 3—Before "the day of Christ" comes, "a
falling away" must come first, and the prophesied "man of sin"
must be revealed.
Verse 4—This "man of sin" will exalt himself and will
even sit in "the temple of God," which is the church, "shewing
himself that he is God."
Verse 5—Paul had previously warned the Thessalonians about this.
Verse 6—The Thessalonians knew "what" was then
restraining the Antichrist.
Verse 7—The Antichrist was already working secretly in the first
century. Soon the restraining power would be "taken out of the way."
Verse 8—Then the Antichrist would be fully "revealed."
After his revelation, he would continue until the second coming of Jesus. Then he
will be "destroyed" by the "brightness" of Christ’s
"coming" [the parousia]. And it is at this second coming, at the
parousia, after the Antichrist is revealed, that Jesus Christ will
"gather" His children who have remained faithful to the truth!
So what have we
discovered in the deep waters of the Bible? Something much bigger than what
those researchers uncovered in 1985. We have discovered Titanic truths about
the temple! We have learned that there is nothing in Scripture about the
rebuilding of a third Jewish temple on the Temple Mount! When Revelation speaks
of a temple, it is always referring to "the temple of heaven."
Revelation 16:17. And when Paul wrote about the Antichrist entering the temple
of God, he was talking about entering the Church! If certain people who reject
the final sacrifice of Jesus Christ ever do rebuild a third temple on the
Temple Mount inside Jerusalem, it definitely will not be "the temple of
God"!
So don’t be
fooled. Millions today are expecting some tricky Antichrist to show up after
all the Christians are raptured away from this world. Books that teach this are
best sellers. Videos that promote this are eagerly watched all over America.
Few seriously question these ideas. Even less are looking for deception to
occur inside the Church! Yet Paul was writing to us when he warned, "Let
no man deceive you by any means." 2 Thessalonians 2:3, emphasis added.
That word "you" means you and me! May God help us to stay close to
Jesus Christ and to avoid the deceptions of those who have "fallen
away" from the truth.