Israel is the sure signal that Bible prophecy is on track to fulfillment. The Third Temple will be built just as foretold and precisely on time in bringing all things to fruition that are scheduled prior to the Second Advent of Jesus Christ.
God’s chief adversary, Satan, will do all he can to prevent fulfillment of things to come. He must change history as predicted by God’s Word. To change that prophesied future would be to change his own fate—being cast into the Lake of Fire.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)
The following article frames the battle being waged even now, while things surrounding the Temple Mount are ramping up for the dénouement of human history.
Satan’s Plan to Steal Jerusalem
On May 14, 2018, the U.S. moved its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The Jews were rejoicing in Jerusalem (dancing, praising God, etc.) and the Palestinians were rioting in Gaza (about 60 killed, more than 2,000 wounded, etc.).
A Christian friend called and asked, “What is the big deal?”
The big deal is that God has a plan for Jerusalem and Satan is using Turkey, Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Palestinians and others to try to stop it.
The Bible mentions Jerusalem more than any other city on earth (over 800 times).
Prime Minister Netanyahu quoted Zech. 8:3 at the U.S. embassy Dedication Service. Here is Zech. 8:2–8 and what I think God said.
“Thus saith the Lord of hosts; I was jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I was jealous for her with great fury. Thus saith the Lord; I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and Jerusalem shall be called a city of truth; and the mountain of the Lord of hosts the holy mountain. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If it be marvellous in the eyes of the remnant of this people in these days, should it also be marvellous in mine eyes? saith the Lord of hosts.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will save my people from the east country, and from the west country; And I will bring them, and they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in truth and in righteousness” (Zech. 8:2–8 KJV).
This has not been fulfilled. God’s jealousy means God doesn’t intend to let Satan have Jerusalem (Jesus was presented to God at Jerusalem; Jesus suffered and died at Jerusalem; Jesus ascended into heaven at Jerusalem; Jesus is coming back to Jerusalem; the Church began at Jerusalem and more).
God’s plan calls for Jesus to dwell in Jerusalem (on the Temple Mount), for Him to rule and be worshiped there, and for His Word to go fourth out of Jerusalem during the Millennium (Isa. 2:1–2; Psa. 132:13; Isa. 2:3). Satan wants to stop this.
Satan wants to be worshipped. He doesn’t want Jesus to dwell in Jerusalem, be worshipped and the Word of God to go all over the world. Satan doesn’t want to be cast into the bottomless pit for a thousand years (Rev. 20:1–3).
To fulfil His plan, God said He would bring the Jews back to Israel from other countries. He would cause Jerusalem to be rebuilt as a dwelling place for Jews of all ages. He said the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of Jerusalem will be marvelous in the eyes of the Jewish people (thus the rejoicing). But that is just a foretaste of the future because all Israel will be saved and He will be their God.
About 2% of the Jews are Messianic Jews and, as far as I know, they understand God’s plan. Some of the Jews are religious, but they wrongly think they can go back under the Law (rebuild the Temple, resume the animal sacrifices, etc.) and fulfil God’s plan. The remainder of the Jews are secular (not religious) and they have other ideas about what the nation should be doing.
Jerusalem occupies a unique position in two Bible timelines: the beginning and the end of the “times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) and the beginning and the end of the “seventieth week of Daniel” (the Tribulation Period; Dan. 9:24–27).
The “times of the Gentiles” began with the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in Old Testament times (Dan. 1:1-2; 2:31–45) and they will end when Gentiles can no longer influence the events in Jerusalem (at the Second Coming of Jesus [Zech. 14:1–4; Luke 21:24]);
The “seventieth week of Daniel” (Tribulation Period) will begin when the Antichrist confirms a worthless treaty with Israel and many others for seven years of peace in Jerusalem and the Middle East (Dan. 9:27) and it will end when Jesus comes back to the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem (Zech. 14:1–4).
The existence of Jerusalem was necessary to fulfill all of these prophecies plus another very important one, “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem. And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it” (Zech. 12:2–3).
Dr. John Hagee delivered the closing benediction at the U.S. embassy service. Among other things, he said, “It was You oh Lord who gathered the exiles from the nations and brought them home again. It was You who made statehood possible. It was You who gave a miraculous victory in 1967 when Jerusalem was reopened to worshipers of all faiths. Jerusalem is the city of God. Jerusalem is the heartbeat of Israel. Jerusalem is the place where Abraham placed his son on the altar of the Temple Mount and became the father of many nations. Jerusalem is where Isaiah and Jeremiah penned principles of righteousness that became the moral foundations of western civilization. Jerusalem is where Messiah will come and establish a kingdom that will never end.”
He added, “Let the word go forth from Jerusalem today that ‘Israel lives.” Shout it from the housetops that ‘Israel lives.’ Let every Islamic terrorist hear this message: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it be heard in the halls of the United Nations: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it echo down the halls of the presidential palace in Iran: ‘Israel lives.’ Let it be known to all men that ‘Israel lives’ because He that keepeth Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps.”
Just prior to Dr. Hagee’s words, Prime Min. Netanyahu told the gathered dignitaries, they had come to Jerusalem “at a time when Israel is a rising power in the world.”
That reminds me of something Jesus said, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled” (Matt. 24:32–33).
The fig tree (Israel) is putting forth leaves. It is a rising power. The U.S. has moved its embassy to Jerusalem. Two more nations (Guatemala and Paraguay), followed suit before the week was over.
On Monday, May 14, 2018, Gaza was in turmoil. Hamas terrorists and Palestinians were being killed. Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan recalled his ambassadors from the U.S. and Israel.
On Wednesday, Turkey’s Pres. Erdogan said, “We will continue to be with our Palestinian siblings not only with our hearts, but with all our resources.” He added, “We will never allow Jerusalem to be stolen by Israel.”
On Thursday, a Turkish newspaper with ties to Mr. Erdogan was calling for the creation of an Islamic army to attack Israel, and Iran’s Ayatollah Khameni said, “Palestine will be liberated from the enemies and Jerusalem will be its capital.”
God’s kingdom on earth is approaching. The Jews are rejoicing. Satan is raging. Israel’s enemies are deceived. Jerusalem is a burdensome stone.
Israel is not trying to steal Jerusalem from the Palestinians. Satan is trying to steal Jerusalem from God. And He has already assured us that we win.[i]
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO
THOMAS HORN EXPLAINS TO JIM BAKKER WHAT COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD DEMAND THE BUILDING OF THE THIRD TEMPLE!
Jacob’s Trouble Temple
Joyful excitement abounds among some today over prospects for the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. This variety of excitement, however, displays a profound lack of understanding about what God’s Word has to say about the Third Temple that will certainly, without a shadow of doubt, be constructed atop Mount Moriah. And, as I said at the start of this series, I predict a re-elected President Donald Trump would, as the rabbis in Israel hold, speak in favor of its construction. And if I am right, this will be the single most important and prophetic event in our lifetime! When it happens, those who find great joy in the Temple’s recreation will shortly thereafter experience exuberance turning to terror. From that Temple will flow the very source of all the hatred that has existed since the third part of the angelic throng rebelled in Heaven.
Its construction and establishment as the first Temple Mount place of worship for the Jews since the destruction of the Second Temple in AD 70 will indeed produce elation. It will be the answer to the desire most religious Jews have clung to down through the centuries.
Many believe the Temple again being built atop Moriah will be the result of a peace agreement between Israel and its enemies—between Israel and the rest of the world, for that matter.
When the announcement allowing that Temple construction is made, there will be celebrations like nothing that has been seen in the streets of Jerusalem since the time of King David. Not only the Jews, but most people around the globe who are aware of matters involved in the peace agreement, will be ecstatic. Cessation of hostilities will at last have come to this one place on Earth where World War III could have broken out at any moment.
Diplomats of the international community, of the United Nations and all other such august geopolitical bodies, will congratulate themselves for such a master stroke of genius, guaranteeing the peace of the Middle East, and of the world. And, it will, indeed, be a genius at the heart of confirming such a brilliant covenant, as that coming document will appear to be.
As has been pointed out several times before in this series, everything is already in preparation for the moment the Temple is built and the Temple worship is again established. The priests and their attire, all the vessels, and other items of Temple activity are in place. The sacrifices and oblations will begin in earnest. The sons and daughters of Abraham will have returned to the most holy place of their Mosaic system. No longer will it be: “Next year in Jerusalem!”
It is easy to imagine that even the totally secular, that is, the non-religious Jewish populations of the world, will feel their Jewishness. They will feel victorious as they sense their biological ties to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob surging within.
They have been outcasts throughout the millennia. They have been hated, hunted, and hounded in practically every nation into which they have been scattered. Now…now…they can cry with a loud voice as one, “Peace and safety at last!”
All who have hated, hunted, and hounded them will now be governed by a personage like no other in memory. His sense of fairness and his passionate and compassionate championing of the Jewish race that has been so persecuted throughout the centuries will no doubt bring tears of love and adulation for the leader who has stepped forth from the nations to set all things right to give them a respectful place among their fellow man.
His preternatural ability to convince Israel’s most hate-filled antagonists to allow the Jews to establish their Temple upon its holy place where the Ark of the Covenant once sat will move many within Judaism to declare him their long-awaited Messiah. This leader of unprecedented abilities will appear to have answers to not only the problems of the Jews, but to all the world’s problems.
Those who hold to the literalist view of end-time matters believe there is first coming a an event that will bring the world into chaos, anarchy, and great trouble—socially, geopolitically, economically, and religiously. When it occurs, normal life will be turned upside down. People will clamor for a savior—one who will make things right. But, they will not seek the true Savior. They will look to the one the apostle John called “Antichrist.”
This man who will seem to have the answers to the great dilemmas of mankind will step onto the stage of human history for his prophesied destiny as earth’s last and most terrible despot. He will be the man of the hour ready to step forward and take control.
At first, Antichrist will seem to restore sensibility to a world gone mad. He will start the process that appears to bring world peace through the covenant that Israel will accept. That covenant will almost certainly include the guarantee of Israel’s security and will allow the building of the Third Temple on Mount Moriah.
This will happen because Antichrist’s irresistible presence will be the result of an invisible network of thousands of years of collective knowledge. He will be the embodiment of a very old, super-intelligent spirit. As Jesus Christ was the “seed of the woman” (Genesis 3:15), this man will be the “seed of the serpent.” Moreover, though his arrival in the form of a man is foretold by numerous Scriptures, the broad masses will not immediately recognize him for what he actually is—paganism’s ultimate incarnation: the “beast” of Revelation 13:1.
It’s been assumed for centuries that a prerequisite for the coming of Antichrist would be a disturbance in the world order—such as we witnessed with the 2016 election of Donald Trump—following which national boundaries would dissolve and ethnic groups, ideologies, religions, and economics from around the world would grow to orchestrate a single and dominant sovereignty. At the head of the utopian administration, a single personality will surface. He will appear to be a man of distinguished character, but will ultimately become “a king of fierce countenance” (Daniel 8:23). With imperious decree, he will facilitate a one-world government, universal religion, and global socialism. Those who refuse his New World Order will inevitably be imprisoned or destroyed until at last he exalts himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God” (2 Thessalonians 2:4).
NEXT: Third Temple Proof Texts
[i] Daymond Duck, Prophecy Plus Ministries, Inc., Raptureready.com, May 23, 2018.
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