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The Holy Temple is rebuilt and then
Messiah
returns.
Ground
rules for interpretation of scripture.
Scripture can only be interpreted by
scripture. If it does not all flow together something is not
right. Secondly, scriptural interpretation must be simple enough
that common people can understand it. If interpretation becomes a
convoluted mixture it causes confusion, and that, we know, is not
of God, because it does not allow instruction in righteousness.
Thirdly, let’s put the idea of "rapture" in correct
perspective. What is called “rapture” by many is actually a
misnaming of "our gathering together unto Him
[Messiah]," 2 Thess 2:1. This “gathering together”
includes two events: 1) the resurrection of the righteous dead,
and 2) the changing & catching away of the righteous living to
meet Messiah in the atmosphere. These two events happen in unison,
with the resurrection of the dead preceding the changing/catching
away of the living, if only by a short span (1 Thess 4:16,17). So,
being faithful to scriptural terminology, I will not use the
unscriptural term “rapture”, but instead I will use “catching
away” or “gathering up” as a paraphrase of the scriptural
“gathering together unto Him” and being “caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet the LORD in the air,” 1 Thess
4:17. By using the term “gathering up” I will refer to both
the resurrection and the catching away. With this understood, I
will rephrase the first sentence: The Temple of YHVH (GOD) in
Jerusalem will be built
again before Messiah Y'SHUAH returns at the gathering up of His
holy ones.
Prophetic
timetable for the Temple rebuilding
The Temple of GOD
will be built again
before Messiah Y'SHUAH (Jesus) returns for His people. This is proven
on the basis of the New Covenant (B’rit Chadashah) writings of
Paul (Sha’ul), John (Yochanan) and Matthew (Mattityahu) quoting Y'SHUAH. It was
Y'SHUAH who said, “in the mouth of two or
three witnesses every word will be established,” Matt 18:16. So,
starting with Paul, as the first witness, I intend to show
unmistakably that the Temple must be built before Y'SHUAH comes
in His Kingdom. In fact, it will be built before the resurrection
and “rapture” of the saints.
SHA’UL, (Paul) our first witness
Let’s prove this by the prophecy of
Rabbi Paul (the Apostle Paul)
2 Thessalonians 2: 1-4: “Now
we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Ruler, Y'SHUAH the Messiah, and by our gathering together unto Him, that you not
be soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Messiah is at
hand. Let no man deceive you by any means, for that day shall not
come, until there comes an apostasy first, and that man of sin be
revealed, the condemned offspring, who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called Elohim, or that is worshipped. So that
he, as Elohim, sits in the Temple of GOD, demonstrating himself
that he is Elohim.”
Paul
is assuring the holy ones that they have no need to be troubled
about whether or when they will be gathered to be with the
Messiah. He warns them not to be deceived otherwise. Y'SHUAH will not return and they will not join Him at His coming until
there comes an apostasy (a falling away from the truth which began
almost immediately after the apostles died) and, the “man of sin”
be revealed. So as not to leave anything in doubt, Paul gives
the sure event which will reveal this man. The event is the act of
him sitting “in the temple of G-d, showing himself that he is
GOD”. This means the “man of sin” cannot be revealed without
the Temple being rebuilt. In addition, this whole event precedes
the coming of Y'SHUAH and the “gathering up” of the holy
ones. Therefore, according to the record of the Apostle Paul, the
end cannot come until the Temple of GOD is rebuilt. The
rebuilding of the Temple precedes what many Christians call the
“rapture”, which is the gathering up of the holy ones, both
dead and living.
YOCHANAN,
(John) Our second witness
The second witness, John, in the
book of Revelation, is not as straight forward as Paul, because
there are various opinions concerning the chronology of
Revelation, and Revelation is more allegorical in nature. However,
if we accept the general chronology of Revelation, which this
writer does, then we can see a correlation between Revelation and Paul’s prophecy in 2 Thessalonians. The Messiah returns to
earth:
Revelation 19:11,14,15:
“And I
saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He who sat on it
was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and
makes war. And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon
white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean ... And out
of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should punish the
nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron. and He treads
the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of El-Shaddai.”
And
relating to the resurrection event with the time of Messiah’s
coming:
Revelation
20:4, 5 “And I
saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them ... and they lived and reigned with the Messiah a thousand
years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection ”
Paul
showed that both the resurrection of the dead and catching away of
the living happen when Messiah returns to the earth (2 Thess
4:16,17), and Revelation confirms that these events coincide. In
chapter 13 of Revelation we see the “man of sin”
revealed,
herein called the “beast” or “creature.”
Revelation
13:1,6: “And I
stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a creature rise up out of
the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten
crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy ... And he opened
his mouth in blasphemy against GOD, to blaspheme His Name, and
His dwelling place, and those that dwell in heaven.”
Here the
“man of sin” blasphemes GOD’s dwelling place. This
parallels Paul’s account of him sitting in the Temple and
declaring he is GOD. In addition, in Revelation’s chronology,
the Temple is already rebuilt at this point, because it’s
reconstruction is told before chapter 13:
Revelation
11:1, 2: “And
there was given to me a reed, like a rod. Then the messenger
stood, saying, ‘Rise, and measure the Temple of GOD, and the
altar, and those that worship therein. But the court which is
outside the Temple leave out, and do not measure it, for it is
given unto the Gentiles, and they shall tread the holy city under
their feet forty and two months.’ ”
Therefore,
if we accept the general chronology of Revelation, allowing
exception for some parenthetical historical material which is set
forth in parabolic passages (such as, “the Woman and the
Man-Child” in Revelation 12), then there is a firm scheduling of
events in John’s Revelation which shows the Temple is rebuilt
(Revelation 11,13) before the coming of Y'SHUAH and our
gathering to Him (Revelation 19, 20).
Matittyahu
(Mathew) quoting Y'SHUAH, (Jesus) our third witness:
Y'SHUAH also prophesied these last
day events with succinct clarity. It was His desire to prepare His
disciples that were to come for the events surrounding His “day”,
the time of His return.
Matthew 24:4 “And Y'SHUAH answered and said unto
them, ‘Take heed that no man deceive you,’ ” .
He then began to describe a definite chronology of events which
must transpire in the order given (if you believe He is the
infallible Holy One).
Matthew 24:15,16,21,22,29-31: “Therefore,
when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel
the prophet, stand in the Holy Place, then let them which are in
Judah flee into the mountains ... For then shall be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world
until this time, no, nor ever shall be again, and except those
days should be shortened, there would no flesh be preserved, but
for the chosen ones’ sake those days shall be shortened ...
Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
darkened, and the moon shall not give it’s light, and the stars
shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in the
atmosphere, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of the
atmosphere with power and great glory ... And He shall send His
messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather
together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the
atmosphere to the other.”
The “Holy
Place” (Mikdash) in which the abomination takes place is, of
course, the Temple, for Mikdash is the correct Hebrew word for
Temple. The one committing the abomination is the “blasphemer”
spoken of by Daniel, who must be Paul’s blaspheming “man
of sin” and Yochanan’s blaspheming “beast”. The record
shows that the Temple must be in place before the abomination
takes place. It shows the abomination must take place before the
great tribulation period. The great tribulation takes place before
sun and moon are darkened. The sun and moon are darkened before
the Messiah appears in the clouds. The “gathering together”
of
the chosen holy ones takes place with the appearance of Y'SHUAH.
This gathering by the angels/messengers is the only act of
preservation of the holy ones which Y'SHUAH mentions, and must
be the same as the “gathering together unto Him”
which Paul tells about, which means it is the resurrection of the dead and
the catching up of the living. Therefore, Y'SHUAH declares the
Temple to be in place before He comes again, and before the
resurrection and catching away (“rapture”).
These
three witness agree as one, without any conflict. It’s simple,
easy to understand, clear, and without confusion. The Temple of GOD
will be reconstructed before Y'SHUAH returns for His holy
ones.
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