One reason that the third Jewish temple of Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 has not been built yet is the Israeli government has been careful to protect the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque (which are on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem) ever since Israel took military control of the Temple Mount back in 1967. For the Israeli government knows that if the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel were to ever destroy these two buildings (the third-holiest sites in Islam) to clear the Temple Mount for a third Jewish temple, this could mean the end of the current state of Israel. For enraged Muslim armies and militias could attack Israel en masse in an all-out jihad and defeat and occupy it completely.
While the ultra-Orthodox Jews are no doubt aware of this danger, they believe that the third Jewish temple must nonetheless be built exactly where the prior Jewish temples stood: right over the Rock of Sacrifice (the Rock of the Dome of the Rock) on which Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. And the ultra-Orthodox Jews could be brought to the point where they will even desire to see the end of the current, secular state of Israel, believing that only in its demise will God make it possible for them to establish a new, perfectly ultra-Orthodox, theocratic city-state of (what they could call) "the True Israel". They could establish this within the walled Old City of Jerusalem (which contains the Temple Mount), and build on the Temple Mount a third Jewish temple in front of which they can restart the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices and perfectly keep every jot and tittle of the Mosaic law, and banish every non-kosher person and thing from ever entering within Old Jerusalem's "Holy walls".
(This could point to another reason that the current, secular government of Israel does not want to let the ultra-Orthodox Jews ever build a third Jewish temple: out of fear that the secular authority of the Israeli government could subsequently get undermined. For once temple practices resumed and a priesthood came into power, a creep toward theocracy could ensue in Israel where priests and rabbis would become powerful enough to replace the secular leaders. So the latter could want to place a hold on any drift in that direction by forbidding the building of a third Jewish temple.)
Something which could help to bring the ultra-Orthodox Jews to the point of desiring to see the end of the current, secular state of Israel would be them getting squeezed out of their settlements in Samaria and Judaea (also called the West Bank), and in eastern Jerusalem, as part of a peace deal handing these areas over to a Palestinian state. For the ultra-Orthodox Jews (rightly) see Samaria, Judaea, and Jerusalem as the historically most important and holy parts of the land promised by God to Israel since the time of Abraham (Exodus 32:13). So when they start to get squeezed out of these areas, in a rage they could mass in their tens of thousands, armed with machine guns (which they are allowed to have for self-defense against the Palestinians). And led by three huge bulldozers, they could march as a great army to the Old City of Jerusalem and go up onto the Temple Mount and completely destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
A fear of the ultra-Orthodox Jews resorting to violence could be one of the reasons that the current Israeli government refuses to hinder Jewish settlement activity in Samaria, Judaea, and eastern Jerusalem. It could also be one of the reasons that the U.S. government has been convinced by Israel to back off from requiring any such hindrance, even though the U.S. sometimes complains about the settlements. But if down the road, the current, geriatric, lifeless Palestinian leadership of Fatah in the West Bank is replaced by a younger, very-energetic leadership, which is able to whip up pressure from the Middle East's Arab masses and governments (and even from non-Arab governments such as the French and the EU) for a Palestinian state; and if this pressure becomes so extreme that it begins to threaten to overthrow the current U.S. hegemony over the Arab world, then the U.S. could decide to force Israel to surrender the Jewish settlements to a Palestinian state.
But this will never happen so long as Netanyahu is in power. (This is why he, and even his wife, is now being attacked legally to try to remove him from power.)
Also, besides the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel getting squeezed out of their settlements at some point in our future, something else which could help to tip the scales toward them becoming violent would be the rising up in Israel of a miracle-working, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" (cf. Matthew 24:24), who could tell the ultra-Orthodox Jews something like:
"God says that now is the time for us to take back religious control of the Holy Temple Mount and to rid it of all the detestable shrines which the Muslims have placed upon it. We are to sanctify it in the name of our God so that we might rebuild His Holy Temple there. Listen, my brethren, fear not the Muslims' reaction when we retake religious control of the Holy Temple Mount. For God Himself is with us. He will protect us perfectly. Have I not shown you His mighty Power working through Me? Fear not any men, but fear only our Mighty God, who now commands us to rebuild His Holy Temple at the place which He determined from the time of our Father Abraham. Our God gave us back the Holy Temple Mount way back in 1967 C.E. But what have we done with it over all the time since then? Nothing! How can this be? How can we have allowed some merely-secular, so-called 'Israeli' government invented by sinful men to keep us, God's holy people, from even setting foot back on the Temple Mount, and to let it remain under the religious control of the vile Muslims? Let us all rise up now, my brethren! Let us all rise up, in the name of our God, and let us do mighty exploits to the Glory of His Holy Name!"
With such rhetoric, accompanied by his working of amazing miracles (cf. Matthew 24:24), a false, ultra-Orthodox Jewish "Messiah" in Israel could whip up the ultra-Orthodox Jews there into a religious frenzy, so that they will all with great zeal, and without any fear, march in their tens of thousands to the Temple Mount and take total control of it, and then rejoice there and dance and sing holy hymns to God "for His great and mighty Victory".
Something else which could help to tip the scales toward the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel becoming violent would be a great earthquake in Jerusalem which will severely damage the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque to the point where they will stop being used. For the ultra-Orthodox Jews could see this as (in their words) "Clearly a portent from God that He will no longer allow the Muslims to trample His Holy Mountain. We must now reassert Jewish religious control over it and rebuild His Holy Temple there".
Something else which could help to tip the scales toward the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel becoming violent is their finding out the location of the Ark of the Covenant, which could be hidden in a sealed cave in Mount Nebo in Jordan (2 Maccabees 2:4-8, cf. Deuteronomy 32:49). Or the Ark could be buried under an ancient ruined fort in the desert east of Jerusalem. The Copper Scroll could contain the clues as to where the Ark is buried in the fort (e.g. "under the third step"). The Ark could have been located there already with ground-penetrating radar by some non-religious treasure hunters, but the Israeli government could be holding up a digging permit to retrieve the Ark because the government is afraid that the ultra-Orthodox Jews could see a retrieval of the Ark as (in their words) "An unmistakable sign from God that now is the time for us to rebuild His Holy Temple". So the Israeli government has a motive to keep the location of the buried Ark top secret.
Fearing that some ultra-Orthodox Jews could nonetheless somehow discover the top secret location of the buried Ark and go there in the dead of night and dig it up without a permit from, or any notification to, the Israeli government, the government could have placed armed guards and surveillance cameras to watch over the buried Ark's location day and night.
But if the buried Ark's location is found out by some ultra-Orthodox Jews, they could then round up tens of thousands of their fellows, armed with machine guns, and they could suddenly swarm the location, overwhelm any armed guards there, and hold off any subsequently-arrived IDF troops and tanks long enough to get the Ark out of the ground. Once it is out and the IDF troops actually see it, it is unlikely that they are going to try to stop the ultra-Orthodox Jews from parading it to the Temple Mount, they will be in such awe.
Also, once the ultra-Orthodox Jews make it to the Temple Mount and begin completely destroying the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, it is unlikely that IDF troops are going to open fire, whether with lead bullets or rubber bullets, on their fellow Jews, slaughtering or injuring hundreds or thousands of them. Also, increasing numbers of IDF officers are very religious, so that they could order their troops to stand down. And if some non-religious officers convince their troops to employ tear gas in an attempt to simply disperse the ultra-Orthodox Jews without harming them, this could be thwarted by the ultra-Orthodox Jews having brought along gas masks (which, ironically, could have been issued to them by the Israeli government itself, back when there was a fear that Saddam Hussein would send Scud missiles into Israel with chemical weapons payloads).
So the Israeli government could be unable to prevent the complete destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque at the hands of the ultra-Orthodox Jews. And so the Israeli government could be unable to prevent the subsequent, retaliatory destruction and occupation of the state of Israel at the hands of enraged Muslim armies and militias.
One way that the defeat and occupation of Israel by Muslims could even become possible is the U.S. could...
(See "undertake" under the "War" section of Revelation 13:5 below)
~
(Re: Is not the Church now the only temple of God?)
While the Church as a whole is indeed a figurative temple building (Ephesians 2:21), it is not the only temple of God. For it coexisted with the literal, second temple building which was in Jerusalem in the first century AD (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17), just as the Church coexisted, and still coexists today, with the literal temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19), and with the temple of Jesus Christ's individual human body (John 2:21), and with the temple of every Christian's individual human body (1 Corinthians 6:19). And if the Church-as-a-whole temple can currently coexist with all of these other temples of God, it will be able to coexist with the future, third, earthly, literal temple building which Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 show will exist in Jerusalem during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. This third temple will be accepted by God as a valid temple, just as the second temple was accepted by God as a valid temple, even at the time of Jesus' first coming (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16), and even at the time of the early Church (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17).
For the ultra-Orthodox Jews will build the third temple, and they will offer animal sacrifices in front of it, under the auspices of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which remains holy before God (Romans 7:12). This is why God still keeps an ark of the Old Covenant Mosaic law in His temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19), and why it was possible for the apostle Paul one time to involve himself with the second temple's Old Covenant Mosaic law practices without him committing sin (Acts 21:20-26; 1 Corinthians 9:20). This is not to say that the Jesus-denying motives of the ultra-Orthodox Jews will be holy before God, but that the Old Covenant Mosaic-law third-temple in itself and its animal sacrifices in themselves will be holy before God, because the Old Covenant Mosaic law in itself remains holy before God (Romans 7:12), even though its letter is no longer meant to be practiced by people (Romans 7:6), because the New Covenant has been inaugurated by Jesus Christ and His once-for-all-time sacrifice on the Cross for our sins (Hebrews 10:1-23, Matthew 26:28).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
~
(Re: Is not a Christian's individual human body the third temple?)
While every Christian's individual human body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), and there is also the temple of Jesus Christ's individual human body (John 2:21), such human bodies are not the only temples of God. For they coexist with the figurative temple building of the Church as a whole (Ephesians 2:21), and with the literal temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19). And if such human-body temples can currently coexist with these other temples of God, they will be...
(See "able to coexist" above)
~
(Re: What about *Sozomen's account of God miraculously preventing the building of a third Jewish temple in the fourth century AD? Was this because God saw the Jews as His enemies?)
No, it was just not the time for the third Jewish temple. For God subsequently allowed the Muslims to build the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque on His holy Temple Mount, even though the Muslims are His enemies. He allowed this so that these structures could serve as placeholders until the time comes for the third Jewish temple. God may even cause the future destruction of these Muslim structures through a large earthquake in order to help clear the way for the third Jewish temple.
(See also section 2 of Revelation 16:18 below)
~
(Re: Was Revelation 11:2b fulfilled in 70 AD?)
No, see Revelation 11:2b below.
~
(Re: Does there have to be a huge war in the Middle East before peace is arranged and the Jews can build their temple?)
It could be the other way around: The Middle East may not explode into an all-out war until after a major peace treaty has been made between Israel and the Palestinians (forming a Palestinian state), which peace treaty could totally rile up the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel to build their temple at that time, regardless of what anyone else wants.
(See "One reason" above)
~
(Re: Can the original Greek word for "temple" in Revelation 11:1-2 even refer to an actual, physical temple?)
Yes, see section 4 of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 above.
~
(Re: If the apostle John wrote down Revelation in 95 AD, then why does it make no mention of Jerusalem and the second Jewish temple being destroyed in 70 AD?)
See section 5 of Revelation 1:1,3 above.
~
(Re: Is the Revelation 11 temple either not literal, or heavenly?)
The temple in Revelation 11:1-2 is the same, future, literal, third, earthly Jewish temple as Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the outer court of which will eventually be given to non-Christian Gentiles (Revelation 11:2), the same non-Christian Gentiles who will later tread the earthly Jerusalem under foot for forty-two literal months (Revelation 11:2).
(See also paragraph 2 of Revelation 11:2 below)
~
(Re: What about Revelation 11:19, 3:12, 7:15, 14:15,17, 15:5-8, and 16:1,17?)
That is a different, literal temple building, up in heaven (Revelation 11:19, Revelation 14:17, Revelation 15:5, Revelation 16:17).
~
(Re: Is the holy city which is trodden down specifically "outside the temple", that is, on the earth, while the temple is in heaven?)
No, see Revelation 11:2 below.
~
(Re: When Christian Futurists predict the restoration of animal sacrifices before a future Jewish temple, are they rejecting the book of Hebrews?)
No, for the future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36; 2 Thessalonians 2:4) will be built by the ultra-Orthodox Jews, who, unlike Christian Covenantal Futurists, mistakenly reject the book of Hebrews, and think that the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law is still in effect. So the ultra-Orthodox Jews will mistakenly resume the Mosaic animal sacrifices for atonement (e.g. Leviticus 4:26, Leviticus 17:11), not realizing that the animal sacrifices could never atone for anything but the flesh (Hebrews 9:9,13, Hebrews 10:1-4).
Also, regarding the future, fourth temple building in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:20-21), which will be built by Jesus Christ (Zechariah 6:12-13) after His future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:3-21), some Christians feel that it will be the temple building described in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48.
(See Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 above)
~
(Re: The Bible contains *no command to build a third temple and resume animal sacrifices)
But the ultra-Orthodox Jews could still build a third temple and resume sacrifices out of their own mistaken zeal for the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which they do not believe has been abolished (as in Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6). Also, a miracle-working, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" (cf. Matthew 24:24) claiming to speak for God could be the one who will command them to build the third temple and resume animal sacrifices.
~
(Re: But the Bible does not give any *measurements for a third temple)
The Jews could use the measurements which the Bible gives for Solomon's temple (e.g. 2 Chronicles 3). Or, the future, false "Messiah" could make up his own blueprint (or be shown one in a vision by a fallen-angelic or demonic entity masquerading as an angel of God), and say that the new measurements are from God.
This future, false "Messiah" is referred to in parts of the book of Daniel.
(See Daniel 9:26 above)
~
(Re: But how could the Jews know which of them are truly descended from *Aaron to serve in a *priesthood, or know how long a *cubit truly is?)
Even though there may be no historical records which prove exactly how long a "cubit" is (2 Chronicles 3:3), and even though there are no genealogical records to prove which Jewish males alive today are descended from Aaron -- and so could serve as priests under the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Exodus 29:9) -- unclean spirits could have this knowledge and pass it on to a future, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" in Israel. For unclean spirits can pass on to non-Christians true knowledge (Acts 16:16-18), just as they can give non-Christians miraculous powers (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).
~
(Re: But how could the Jews ever rebuild the temple without first obtaining a *red heifer without three white hairs?)
A red heifer without three white hairs could be obtained before the ultra-Orthodox Jews rebuild the temple. Or, they could decide to reject that non-Biblical, man-invented, three-hair requirement, and just take any red heifer which fulfills Numbers 19:2, just as they could reject any other insurmountable, man-made requirements for rebuilding the temple. And they could decide, for example, that ultra-Orthodox Jews named "Cohen" (or any of its many, modern variants) must be descended from the Aaronic priesthood. For the Hebrew word "kohen" (H3548) means "priest" (Exodus 35:19). And if the ultra-Orthodox Jews will be led by a false, ultra-Orthodox Jewish "Messiah", he could pronounce all sorts of "dispensations from God" allowing this or that exception (cf. 2 Chronicles 30:2-27), so that (as he could say) "we might do God's will and commence the greater, ultimate goal of rebuilding His Holy Temple".
~
(Re: Were the prior Jewish temples not located where the Dome of the Rock now stands?) / (Re: Various ideas)
What evidence supports the idea that the site of the previous Jewish temples was north of the Dome of the Rock instead of directly underneath the Dome?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the Rock under the Dome supported the "sea", the huge metal basin (1 Kings 7:23) southeast of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 7:39b), instead of supporting the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:6)?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the twelve metal bulls (1 Kings 7:25) stood on top of the Rock, instead of some distance southeast of the Rock? And if a natural ramp led up to the top of the Rock, how would the natural ramp help the priests gain access to the huge metal basin on top of the bulls, if the bulls stood on top of the Rock? For the top of the basin would then still be the same height above the priests as it would be if it was not on the Rock but some distance southeast of it.
Also, if the Rock has a hole in the top to drain water away from the Temple Mount, how could it drain any water if it was just said to be in a raised position with a natural ramp leading up to it?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the Jews carved a rectangular indentation in the top of the Rock which was the same dimensions as the Ark of the Covenant to deceive the Muslims into thinking that the Rock was the location of the temple's most holy place?
Also, why would the walls of the temple foundation have had to have been altered to accommodate the Rock if the Rock was bigger than the most holy place? The most holy place could simply have been built within the dimensions of the Rock.
~
(Re: Is the *Rock of Sacrifice misnamed?)
Nothing about the Rock of Sacrifice requires that the long-held tradition regarding it is incorrect.
National Geographic magazine has an excellent fold-out map of the Temple Mount in its December, 2008 issue, which explains that the name "Rock of Sacrifice" is based on the long-held tradition that it was where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac (the Muslims mistakenly say Ishmael) some 4,000 years ago (Genesis 22:2).
No archaeological evidence has ever disproven the long-held tradition that the most holy place of both the first and second Jewish temples was built on the Rock of Sacrifice, over which the Muslims later built the still-standing Dome of the Rock.
The aptly-named "Rock of Sacrifice" in the Dome of the Rock could have appeared quite different over 3,000 years ago (in the time of King David). It could have been paved over with tight-fitting stones to serve as a threshing floor (2 Chronicles 3:1) sometime before David began to use it to make animal sacrifices (1 Chronicles 21:28), and about 1,000 years after Abraham had been commanded to go there and sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2).
The second temple complex included various chambers, colonnades, and walls built around its inner court, around its outer court called the Treasury or Women's Court, and around its outermost court which covered the entire Temple Mount. None of these structures were part of the innermost temple building which contained the holy place and the most holy place.
~
(Re: What about the Dome of the Spirits?)
Note that nothing about the little, insignificant Dome of the Spirits requires that both of the past Jewish temples in Jerusalem stood there instead of over the Rock of Sacrifice, which is where the Muslim Dome of the Rock now stands.
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Next entry / Prior / Table of Contents
Dec 31, 2018
While the ultra-Orthodox Jews are no doubt aware of this danger, they believe that the third Jewish temple must nonetheless be built exactly where the prior Jewish temples stood: right over the Rock of Sacrifice (the Rock of the Dome of the Rock) on which Abraham almost sacrificed Isaac. And the ultra-Orthodox Jews could be brought to the point where they will even desire to see the end of the current, secular state of Israel, believing that only in its demise will God make it possible for them to establish a new, perfectly ultra-Orthodox, theocratic city-state of (what they could call) "the True Israel". They could establish this within the walled Old City of Jerusalem (which contains the Temple Mount), and build on the Temple Mount a third Jewish temple in front of which they can restart the daily Mosaic animal sacrifices and perfectly keep every jot and tittle of the Mosaic law, and banish every non-kosher person and thing from ever entering within Old Jerusalem's "Holy walls".
(This could point to another reason that the current, secular government of Israel does not want to let the ultra-Orthodox Jews ever build a third Jewish temple: out of fear that the secular authority of the Israeli government could subsequently get undermined. For once temple practices resumed and a priesthood came into power, a creep toward theocracy could ensue in Israel where priests and rabbis would become powerful enough to replace the secular leaders. So the latter could want to place a hold on any drift in that direction by forbidding the building of a third Jewish temple.)
Something which could help to bring the ultra-Orthodox Jews to the point of desiring to see the end of the current, secular state of Israel would be them getting squeezed out of their settlements in Samaria and Judaea (also called the West Bank), and in eastern Jerusalem, as part of a peace deal handing these areas over to a Palestinian state. For the ultra-Orthodox Jews (rightly) see Samaria, Judaea, and Jerusalem as the historically most important and holy parts of the land promised by God to Israel since the time of Abraham (Exodus 32:13). So when they start to get squeezed out of these areas, in a rage they could mass in their tens of thousands, armed with machine guns (which they are allowed to have for self-defense against the Palestinians). And led by three huge bulldozers, they could march as a great army to the Old City of Jerusalem and go up onto the Temple Mount and completely destroy the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
A fear of the ultra-Orthodox Jews resorting to violence could be one of the reasons that the current Israeli government refuses to hinder Jewish settlement activity in Samaria, Judaea, and eastern Jerusalem. It could also be one of the reasons that the U.S. government has been convinced by Israel to back off from requiring any such hindrance, even though the U.S. sometimes complains about the settlements. But if down the road, the current, geriatric, lifeless Palestinian leadership of Fatah in the West Bank is replaced by a younger, very-energetic leadership, which is able to whip up pressure from the Middle East's Arab masses and governments (and even from non-Arab governments such as the French and the EU) for a Palestinian state; and if this pressure becomes so extreme that it begins to threaten to overthrow the current U.S. hegemony over the Arab world, then the U.S. could decide to force Israel to surrender the Jewish settlements to a Palestinian state.
But this will never happen so long as Netanyahu is in power. (This is why he, and even his wife, is now being attacked legally to try to remove him from power.)
Also, besides the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel getting squeezed out of their settlements at some point in our future, something else which could help to tip the scales toward them becoming violent would be the rising up in Israel of a miracle-working, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" (cf. Matthew 24:24), who could tell the ultra-Orthodox Jews something like:
"God says that now is the time for us to take back religious control of the Holy Temple Mount and to rid it of all the detestable shrines which the Muslims have placed upon it. We are to sanctify it in the name of our God so that we might rebuild His Holy Temple there. Listen, my brethren, fear not the Muslims' reaction when we retake religious control of the Holy Temple Mount. For God Himself is with us. He will protect us perfectly. Have I not shown you His mighty Power working through Me? Fear not any men, but fear only our Mighty God, who now commands us to rebuild His Holy Temple at the place which He determined from the time of our Father Abraham. Our God gave us back the Holy Temple Mount way back in 1967 C.E. But what have we done with it over all the time since then? Nothing! How can this be? How can we have allowed some merely-secular, so-called 'Israeli' government invented by sinful men to keep us, God's holy people, from even setting foot back on the Temple Mount, and to let it remain under the religious control of the vile Muslims? Let us all rise up now, my brethren! Let us all rise up, in the name of our God, and let us do mighty exploits to the Glory of His Holy Name!"
With such rhetoric, accompanied by his working of amazing miracles (cf. Matthew 24:24), a false, ultra-Orthodox Jewish "Messiah" in Israel could whip up the ultra-Orthodox Jews there into a religious frenzy, so that they will all with great zeal, and without any fear, march in their tens of thousands to the Temple Mount and take total control of it, and then rejoice there and dance and sing holy hymns to God "for His great and mighty Victory".
Something else which could help to tip the scales toward the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel becoming violent would be a great earthquake in Jerusalem which will severely damage the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa Mosque to the point where they will stop being used. For the ultra-Orthodox Jews could see this as (in their words) "Clearly a portent from God that He will no longer allow the Muslims to trample His Holy Mountain. We must now reassert Jewish religious control over it and rebuild His Holy Temple there".
Something else which could help to tip the scales toward the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel becoming violent is their finding out the location of the Ark of the Covenant, which could be hidden in a sealed cave in Mount Nebo in Jordan (2 Maccabees 2:4-8, cf. Deuteronomy 32:49). Or the Ark could be buried under an ancient ruined fort in the desert east of Jerusalem. The Copper Scroll could contain the clues as to where the Ark is buried in the fort (e.g. "under the third step"). The Ark could have been located there already with ground-penetrating radar by some non-religious treasure hunters, but the Israeli government could be holding up a digging permit to retrieve the Ark because the government is afraid that the ultra-Orthodox Jews could see a retrieval of the Ark as (in their words) "An unmistakable sign from God that now is the time for us to rebuild His Holy Temple". So the Israeli government has a motive to keep the location of the buried Ark top secret.
Fearing that some ultra-Orthodox Jews could nonetheless somehow discover the top secret location of the buried Ark and go there in the dead of night and dig it up without a permit from, or any notification to, the Israeli government, the government could have placed armed guards and surveillance cameras to watch over the buried Ark's location day and night.
But if the buried Ark's location is found out by some ultra-Orthodox Jews, they could then round up tens of thousands of their fellows, armed with machine guns, and they could suddenly swarm the location, overwhelm any armed guards there, and hold off any subsequently-arrived IDF troops and tanks long enough to get the Ark out of the ground. Once it is out and the IDF troops actually see it, it is unlikely that they are going to try to stop the ultra-Orthodox Jews from parading it to the Temple Mount, they will be in such awe.
Also, once the ultra-Orthodox Jews make it to the Temple Mount and begin completely destroying the Muslim Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, it is unlikely that IDF troops are going to open fire, whether with lead bullets or rubber bullets, on their fellow Jews, slaughtering or injuring hundreds or thousands of them. Also, increasing numbers of IDF officers are very religious, so that they could order their troops to stand down. And if some non-religious officers convince their troops to employ tear gas in an attempt to simply disperse the ultra-Orthodox Jews without harming them, this could be thwarted by the ultra-Orthodox Jews having brought along gas masks (which, ironically, could have been issued to them by the Israeli government itself, back when there was a fear that Saddam Hussein would send Scud missiles into Israel with chemical weapons payloads).
So the Israeli government could be unable to prevent the complete destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque at the hands of the ultra-Orthodox Jews. And so the Israeli government could be unable to prevent the subsequent, retaliatory destruction and occupation of the state of Israel at the hands of enraged Muslim armies and militias.
One way that the defeat and occupation of Israel by Muslims could even become possible is the U.S. could...
(See "undertake" under the "War" section of Revelation 13:5 below)
~
(Re: Is not the Church now the only temple of God?)
While the Church as a whole is indeed a figurative temple building (Ephesians 2:21), it is not the only temple of God. For it coexisted with the literal, second temple building which was in Jerusalem in the first century AD (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17), just as the Church coexisted, and still coexists today, with the literal temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19), and with the temple of Jesus Christ's individual human body (John 2:21), and with the temple of every Christian's individual human body (1 Corinthians 6:19). And if the Church-as-a-whole temple can currently coexist with all of these other temples of God, it will be able to coexist with the future, third, earthly, literal temple building which Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 show will exist in Jerusalem during the future Tribulation of Revelation chapters 6 to 18 and Matthew 24. This third temple will be accepted by God as a valid temple, just as the second temple was accepted by God as a valid temple, even at the time of Jesus' first coming (Matthew 23:21, John 2:16), and even at the time of the early Church (Luke 24:53, Acts 2:46, Acts 22:17).
For the ultra-Orthodox Jews will build the third temple, and they will offer animal sacrifices in front of it, under the auspices of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which remains holy before God (Romans 7:12). This is why God still keeps an ark of the Old Covenant Mosaic law in His temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19), and why it was possible for the apostle Paul one time to involve himself with the second temple's Old Covenant Mosaic law practices without him committing sin (Acts 21:20-26; 1 Corinthians 9:20). This is not to say that the Jesus-denying motives of the ultra-Orthodox Jews will be holy before God, but that the Old Covenant Mosaic-law third-temple in itself and its animal sacrifices in themselves will be holy before God, because the Old Covenant Mosaic law in itself remains holy before God (Romans 7:12), even though its letter is no longer meant to be practiced by people (Romans 7:6), because the New Covenant has been inaugurated by Jesus Christ and His once-for-all-time sacrifice on the Cross for our sins (Hebrews 10:1-23, Matthew 26:28).
(See also the "Law" section of Ephesians 2:15 above)
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(Re: Is not a Christian's individual human body the third temple?)
While every Christian's individual human body is a temple (1 Corinthians 6:19), and there is also the temple of Jesus Christ's individual human body (John 2:21), such human bodies are not the only temples of God. For they coexist with the figurative temple building of the Church as a whole (Ephesians 2:21), and with the literal temple building in heaven (Revelation 11:19). And if such human-body temples can currently coexist with these other temples of God, they will be...
(See "able to coexist" above)
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(Re: What about *Sozomen's account of God miraculously preventing the building of a third Jewish temple in the fourth century AD? Was this because God saw the Jews as His enemies?)
No, it was just not the time for the third Jewish temple. For God subsequently allowed the Muslims to build the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque on His holy Temple Mount, even though the Muslims are His enemies. He allowed this so that these structures could serve as placeholders until the time comes for the third Jewish temple. God may even cause the future destruction of these Muslim structures through a large earthquake in order to help clear the way for the third Jewish temple.
(See also section 2 of Revelation 16:18 below)
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(Re: Was Revelation 11:2b fulfilled in 70 AD?)
No, see Revelation 11:2b below.
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(Re: Does there have to be a huge war in the Middle East before peace is arranged and the Jews can build their temple?)
It could be the other way around: The Middle East may not explode into an all-out war until after a major peace treaty has been made between Israel and the Palestinians (forming a Palestinian state), which peace treaty could totally rile up the ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel to build their temple at that time, regardless of what anyone else wants.
(See "One reason" above)
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(Re: Can the original Greek word for "temple" in Revelation 11:1-2 even refer to an actual, physical temple?)
Yes, see section 4 of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 above.
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(Re: If the apostle John wrote down Revelation in 95 AD, then why does it make no mention of Jerusalem and the second Jewish temple being destroyed in 70 AD?)
See section 5 of Revelation 1:1,3 above.
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(Re: Is the Revelation 11 temple either not literal, or heavenly?)
The temple in Revelation 11:1-2 is the same, future, literal, third, earthly Jewish temple as Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4, the outer court of which will eventually be given to non-Christian Gentiles (Revelation 11:2), the same non-Christian Gentiles who will later tread the earthly Jerusalem under foot for forty-two literal months (Revelation 11:2).
(See also paragraph 2 of Revelation 11:2 below)
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(Re: What about Revelation 11:19, 3:12, 7:15, 14:15,17, 15:5-8, and 16:1,17?)
That is a different, literal temple building, up in heaven (Revelation 11:19, Revelation 14:17, Revelation 15:5, Revelation 16:17).
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(Re: Is the holy city which is trodden down specifically "outside the temple", that is, on the earth, while the temple is in heaven?)
No, see Revelation 11:2 below.
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(Re: When Christian Futurists predict the restoration of animal sacrifices before a future Jewish temple, are they rejecting the book of Hebrews?)
No, for the future, third Jewish temple in Jerusalem (Revelation 11:1-2, Matthew 24:15, Daniel 11:31,36; 2 Thessalonians 2:4) will be built by the ultra-Orthodox Jews, who, unlike Christian Covenantal Futurists, mistakenly reject the book of Hebrews, and think that the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law is still in effect. So the ultra-Orthodox Jews will mistakenly resume the Mosaic animal sacrifices for atonement (e.g. Leviticus 4:26, Leviticus 17:11), not realizing that the animal sacrifices could never atone for anything but the flesh (Hebrews 9:9,13, Hebrews 10:1-4).
Also, regarding the future, fourth temple building in Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:20-21), which will be built by Jesus Christ (Zechariah 6:12-13) after His future, Second Coming (Zechariah 14:3-21), some Christians feel that it will be the temple building described in Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48.
(See Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48 above)
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(Re: The Bible contains *no command to build a third temple and resume animal sacrifices)
But the ultra-Orthodox Jews could still build a third temple and resume sacrifices out of their own mistaken zeal for the letter of the Old Covenant Mosaic law, which they do not believe has been abolished (as in Ephesians 2:15-16, Colossians 2:14-17, Romans 7:6). Also, a miracle-working, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" (cf. Matthew 24:24) claiming to speak for God could be the one who will command them to build the third temple and resume animal sacrifices.
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(Re: But the Bible does not give any *measurements for a third temple)
The Jews could use the measurements which the Bible gives for Solomon's temple (e.g. 2 Chronicles 3). Or, the future, false "Messiah" could make up his own blueprint (or be shown one in a vision by a fallen-angelic or demonic entity masquerading as an angel of God), and say that the new measurements are from God.
This future, false "Messiah" is referred to in parts of the book of Daniel.
(See Daniel 9:26 above)
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(Re: But how could the Jews know which of them are truly descended from *Aaron to serve in a *priesthood, or know how long a *cubit truly is?)
Even though there may be no historical records which prove exactly how long a "cubit" is (2 Chronicles 3:3), and even though there are no genealogical records to prove which Jewish males alive today are descended from Aaron -- and so could serve as priests under the Old Covenant Mosaic law (Exodus 29:9) -- unclean spirits could have this knowledge and pass it on to a future, ultra-Orthodox Jewish false "Messiah" in Israel. For unclean spirits can pass on to non-Christians true knowledge (Acts 16:16-18), just as they can give non-Christians miraculous powers (Matthew 24:24; 2 Thessalonians 2:9).
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(Re: But how could the Jews ever rebuild the temple without first obtaining a *red heifer without three white hairs?)
A red heifer without three white hairs could be obtained before the ultra-Orthodox Jews rebuild the temple. Or, they could decide to reject that non-Biblical, man-invented, three-hair requirement, and just take any red heifer which fulfills Numbers 19:2, just as they could reject any other insurmountable, man-made requirements for rebuilding the temple. And they could decide, for example, that ultra-Orthodox Jews named "Cohen" (or any of its many, modern variants) must be descended from the Aaronic priesthood. For the Hebrew word "kohen" (H3548) means "priest" (Exodus 35:19). And if the ultra-Orthodox Jews will be led by a false, ultra-Orthodox Jewish "Messiah", he could pronounce all sorts of "dispensations from God" allowing this or that exception (cf. 2 Chronicles 30:2-27), so that (as he could say) "we might do God's will and commence the greater, ultimate goal of rebuilding His Holy Temple".
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(Re: Were the prior Jewish temples not located where the Dome of the Rock now stands?) / (Re: Various ideas)
What evidence supports the idea that the site of the previous Jewish temples was north of the Dome of the Rock instead of directly underneath the Dome?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the Rock under the Dome supported the "sea", the huge metal basin (1 Kings 7:23) southeast of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 7:39b), instead of supporting the Ark of the Covenant in the most holy place of Solomon's temple (1 Kings 8:6)?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the twelve metal bulls (1 Kings 7:25) stood on top of the Rock, instead of some distance southeast of the Rock? And if a natural ramp led up to the top of the Rock, how would the natural ramp help the priests gain access to the huge metal basin on top of the bulls, if the bulls stood on top of the Rock? For the top of the basin would then still be the same height above the priests as it would be if it was not on the Rock but some distance southeast of it.
Also, if the Rock has a hole in the top to drain water away from the Temple Mount, how could it drain any water if it was just said to be in a raised position with a natural ramp leading up to it?
Also, what evidence supports the idea that the Jews carved a rectangular indentation in the top of the Rock which was the same dimensions as the Ark of the Covenant to deceive the Muslims into thinking that the Rock was the location of the temple's most holy place?
Also, why would the walls of the temple foundation have had to have been altered to accommodate the Rock if the Rock was bigger than the most holy place? The most holy place could simply have been built within the dimensions of the Rock.
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(Re: Is the *Rock of Sacrifice misnamed?)
Nothing about the Rock of Sacrifice requires that the long-held tradition regarding it is incorrect.
National Geographic magazine has an excellent fold-out map of the Temple Mount in its December, 2008 issue, which explains that the name "Rock of Sacrifice" is based on the long-held tradition that it was where Abraham was commanded to sacrifice Isaac (the Muslims mistakenly say Ishmael) some 4,000 years ago (Genesis 22:2).
No archaeological evidence has ever disproven the long-held tradition that the most holy place of both the first and second Jewish temples was built on the Rock of Sacrifice, over which the Muslims later built the still-standing Dome of the Rock.
The aptly-named "Rock of Sacrifice" in the Dome of the Rock could have appeared quite different over 3,000 years ago (in the time of King David). It could have been paved over with tight-fitting stones to serve as a threshing floor (2 Chronicles 3:1) sometime before David began to use it to make animal sacrifices (1 Chronicles 21:28), and about 1,000 years after Abraham had been commanded to go there and sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2).
The second temple complex included various chambers, colonnades, and walls built around its inner court, around its outer court called the Treasury or Women's Court, and around its outermost court which covered the entire Temple Mount. None of these structures were part of the innermost temple building which contained the holy place and the most holy place.
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(Re: What about the Dome of the Spirits?)
Note that nothing about the little, insignificant Dome of the Spirits requires that both of the past Jewish temples in Jerusalem stood there instead of over the Rock of Sacrifice, which is where the Muslim Dome of the Rock now stands.
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