One of the more interesting debates about Bible prophecy revolves around whether or not there will be a third temple built on the Temple Mount. Christians are divided on whether this will happen, but some do believe that it NEEDS to happen before the return of Jesus.
Generally speaking, Christians who think that there WILL be a physical third temple contend that it’s because the Antichrist will one day sit or stand in that temple and proclaim himself to be God. This would happen approximately 3½ years before the return of Jesus.
Meanwhile, other Christians point out the Bible’s teaching that believers ARE the Temple of God, so therefor there is no need for a third temple to be built, nor for the actual Antichrist to physically enter it.
On the surface, these might seem like two irreconcilable viewpoints, but that is not the case. Let me show you what I mean by illustrating the following two facts that hopefully we can all agree on.
Fact #1: The Bible does teach that believers are the Temple of God
The Bible clearly states that believers are the Temple of God, and that is because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. There are several verses that make this teaching obvious.
One verse is in 1 Corinthians 3 and another in 1 Corinthians 6, both of which talk about believers being the Temple of God.
“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” – 1 Corinthians 3:16-17
“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? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” – 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
In addition, 2 Corinthians 6 also speaks of believers being the temple of God:
“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.” – 2 Corinthians 6:16
And of special note, in John 2:19 we have Jesus referring to his own body as a temple that will be raised in three days.
“Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.” – John 2:19
So, the Bible does clearly and unequivocally teach that believers are the Temple of God. That’s the first fact, and now here is the second.
Fact #2: Orthodox Jews believe that a third temple must be built
The importance of rebuilding the Temple to Orthodox Jews lies in its role in the redemption of the world, which they believe can only take place once the Temple is rebuilt. To them, the Temple of God must be a real, physical Temple.
There are, in fact, Jewish organizations that focus on the building of the third temple. One well-known example is The Temple Institute, which has already manufactured a number of different ceremonial objects to be used in the temple, including utensils, furniture, uniforms and silver trumpets.
Show: The preparations for the 3rd temple: https://youtu.be/tB8W0cLM9uA?si=2QgoUwcr1sOUmbNC
Chaim (khi-yem) Richman, who was the International Director of the Temple Institute from 1989 to 2020, said the following:
“The Temple Institute is actively engaged in the research and preparation of the resumption of service in the holy temple to the extent of actually preparing operational blueprints for the construction of the temple according to the most modern standards.”
Those preparations included The Temple Institute bringing in five red heifers from Texas back in 2022, as part of their fundamental belief that the sacrifice of a red heifer is necessary for purification purposes. A recent video on their channel explains the importance:
Thus, Orthodox Jews do believe that a third temple must and will be built, and are actively pursuing ways to help make that a reality. That’s the second fact.
Each of these two facts are true
It is true that the Bible teaches us that the Body of Christ is The Temple of God, but so is the desire of Orthodox Jews to build a physical third temple. Both of these things are simultaneously true. But here is where it gets a bit crazy:
Over the last couple of decades there has been a merging of America’s Christian Right with the Israeli Right, and in the case of the third temple, it has resulted in a kind of a Venn diagram – or an overlapping of interests.
Specifically, while Orthodox Jews want a third temple built since they believe it has an essential role in the salvation of the world, a number of Christians want to HELP them build their third temple because they believe it will usher in the return of Jesus.
Thus we have one group based in Israel and with a Jewish perspective, while the other group is primarily in America and has a Christian perspective. These two entirely different groups, and yet one common goal, are what is helping to push forward the building of the third temple.
Adding to this dynamic is the fact that the new Trump administration will likely have a number of high-level officials with Christian Zionism beliefs, which hold that Israel’s existence is tied to biblical prophecy and the Second Coming of Jesus.
One example is Pete Hegseth, Trump’s nominee for Secretary of Defense. Now, Hegseth may or may not end up being confirmed, but interestingly he is on record as saying this:
“There’s no reason why the miracle of re-establishing the Temple on the Temple Mount isn’t possible.” Here’s a short clip of his remarks.
Another example is Mike Huckabee, Trump’s choice for Ambassador to Israel, who has been a strong supporter of Israel for many years now. Everything about Israel, including a third temple, is viewed in biblical terms by Huckabee.
Ironically, back in 2023, Huckabee had a cameo appearance to close out a very popular end-times movie in which he led viewers in prayer to accept Jesus into their hearts. That movie was called “Left Behind: Rise of the Antichrist.”
Thus, we are now at the point where both the nominee for Secretary of Defense and the nominee for Ambassador to Israel both not only believe that a third temple must be built, but they will each be in a position to help influence those who can bring it about.
Two Objections
Before going further, let’s talk about the two main objections to the idea that a third temple will be built on the Temple Mount.
The first objection is that there can never be a third temple because of the location of the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque (al-ax-a). The Dome of the Rock, especially, is generally regarded as occupying the actual space where the second temple once stood.
However, some archaeologists and Jewish scholars disagree with this, and maintain that the Temple was actually located just north of the Dome of the Rock, or a bit more than 200 yards south, placing it in between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The fact that the EXACT location of the second temple is debated by Jewish scholars and archaeologists could actually work in the favor of those who want to see a Third Temple built.
That is because an alternate location for the building of the Third Temple could potentially be part of the negotiations for a shared sovereignty arrangement of the Temple Mount. I’ll talk a bit further about that in a few moments.
The second and perhaps bigger objection for Christians to believe that a Third Temple will be built is in how this temple could be referred to as holy, or the Temple of God. In other words, how could a temple built for animal sacrifices be considered holy by God?
But we have to understand that what a temple is CALLED is not relevant to what it is. In other words, Orthodox Jews can CALL it the Temple of God if that’s how they view it. They would, therefor, identify the Third Temple as their Temple of God.
That matters because the Bible prophecies in 2 Thess 2:4 and Matt 24:15-16 are to help us know WHERE the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be God, and he will do it in a building identified as the Temple of God.
Most importantly, we have to factor in a Bible prophecy which speaks of not only another temple, but of one that will include animal sacrifices.
The Ezekiel Prophecy
In the book of Ezekiel, from chapters 40 through 48, we see a description of a magnificent temple with dimensions and features that did not exist in the temple Solomon built.
These characteristics also didn’t exist in the second Temple, which replaced Solomon’s when Israel returned from Babylonian captivity. And they didn’t exist when King Herod refurbished and altered the second Temple centuries later, just before Jesus came into His ministry.
But here is where it gets interesting: This prophecy is a vision of a future temple, not instructions to build one. We know this because, first and foremost, there are no instructions from God that this temple should be built.
In addition, the descriptions of objects in this temple only give length and breadth, but not height. Thus, no builder of this temple could know specifically how to construct this temple since God had not given these specifics.
What this means is that this prophecy is a vision of a temple that will exist in the future, but it is not one that God commanded the Jews to build for Him.
This prophecy is describing a temple that is far larger than either the first or second temple, but, most importantly, beginning with Ezekiel 43:18 and continuing for over three chapters, it tells us that animal sacrifices are to be made.
Because of the unusual descriptions of the temple in this prophecy, and the fact that it will include animal sacrifices, Bible scholars have generally taken two different approaches when interpreting it.
The first view sees this prophecy as a vision of an actual temple DURING the Millennial kingdom, replete with animal sacrifices. In this view, the animal sacrifices are memorial in nature, and not for the cleansing of sin.
In the second view, the Ezekiel prophecy is figurative of a heavenly temple, with the animal sacrifices merely symbolizing one part of God’s plan for our salvation. In this view, the prophecy should not be taken literally, despite the fact that a literal temple was discussed earlier in the book of Ezekiel.
The obvious problem with both of these interpretations is that Hebrews 10 clearly states that Jesus is the final sacrifice for sin. In addition, Jesus declared this on the cross when he said, “It is finished.”
Therefor, there is simply no need to memorialize animal sacrifices in a Millennial kingdom, since Jesus is present during that time. There would also be no need to reference animal sacrifices if the Ezekiel prophecy was figurative, since again, Jesus is the final sacrifice for sin.
Since animal sacrifices are involved with this prophecy, the obvious interpretation that Bible scholars seem to avoid is that this all relates to a temple being built just before the return of Jesus.
However, I’m going to come back to this prophecy in a few minutes, as first we have to get to the heart of the matter. Do Bible prophecies speak of a future temple being connected to the Antichrist?
The Antichrist sitting in a physical 3rd temple
There are several Bible verses that strongly support the idea that the Antichrist will enter a physical 3rd temple, starting with this verse in 2 Thessalonians:
“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.” – 2 Thess 2:4
The description of this specific event is also connected to what Jesus said about the abomination of desolation standing where it ought not, which we read about in Matthew and Mark.
“When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:” – Matt 24:15-16
“But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains:” – Mark 13:14
Notice that Jesus specifically describes this event as something that will be seen, and that those who are in Judea should flee to the mountains. Importantly, Jesus also references Daniel and that is because of these three prophecies:
“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.” – Daniel 9:27
“And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.” – Daniel 11:31
“And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.” – Daniel 12:11
These prophecies in Daniel were partially fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, who sacrificed a pig on the altar of incense, and dedicated it to the Greek god Zeus. Antiochus Epiphanes was a foreshadowing of the final Antichrist.
I should add that some Christians consider that these prophecies in Daniel were completely fulfilled by Antiochus Epiphanes, but that is in error because Antiochus Epiphanes desecrated the temple roughly 200 years BEFORE Jesus referenced the prophecy of Daniel.
And, in fact, the entire chapter of Matthew 24 is Jesus answering his disciples question of: “what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?” Clearly, Jesus was referencing the abomination of desolation as an event in the future.
Interestingly, one of the signs Jesus gave as a sign of his second coming was how not even one stone of the temple would be left upon another:
“And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” – Matthew 24:2
When the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70AD, a portion of the western wall has remained, so in the literal sense that prophecy has not yet been fulfilled.
Getting back to Ezekiel
There is only one possible explanation for Ezekiel’s prophecy of a future temple that includes animal sacrifices, and that is that the Jews will build their third temple. It will then be defiled by the Antichrist, and then cleansed upon the return of Jesus.
The third temple is the Hanukkah story repeating itself. Antiochus Epiphanes claimed to be God manifest and defiled the second temple. So the Antichrist will enter the third temple and claim to be God, or savior of the world, and defile the third temple.
The prophecy in Ezekiel of a third temple is describing a building that will be constructed during the final 3½ years. It will include animal sacrifices, and then after the return of Jesus cleanses the temple, it will then continue into the Millennial kingdom
The Third Temple and the Covenant with Many
The Antichrist portrays himself as the great peacemaker. The one who will end all wars and finally bring us all peace and security. In the middle east, a major part of having that peace and security would be for there to be a shared sovereignty arrangement on the Temple Mount.
This arrangement would allow for the building of a Jewish temple near or in between the Dome of the Rock and Al-Asqa Mosque. The Jews would refer to this third temple as the Temple of God.
During the signing ceremony for the Abraham Accords, Donald Trump said it formed the foundation for a wider peace in the middle east – and that is exactly what he has in mind in order to bring peace to the entire world.
The Abraham Accords will evolve into the Covenant with Many, but I do believe that Trump’s name will be on this new deal. It will be The Trump Covenant or Trump Accords, or something along those lines.
As part of this covenant with many, and in order to forge a wider peace in the area, Israel will have a portion of the Temple Mount to construct their Third Temple – which is likely to be smaller on the surface but much more extensive below ground.
Because the Antichrist is so involved in bringing about this covenant, I also believe that his name will appear somewhere on the temple itself, as a way to commemorate his contributions to the Third Temple being built.
But this peace and security will only last a short time. It will soon be broken by the Antichrist himself, because that is what he does. He betrays others in order to glorify himself.
In this case, the Antichrist will betray the Jews by his entering the inner chamber of his own accord, and he will betray Christians by then proclaiming that HE and not Jesus is the Savior of the world. ♦
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