Who Will Build the Third Temple? Addendum
- Pastor Jay Christianson
- May 23
- 5 min read
“Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers the priests along with Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his brothers began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it, as it is written in the law of Moses, the man of God. They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord even though they feared the surrounding peoples. They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed, and offered burnt offerings each day, based on the number specified by ordinance for each festival day. After that, they offered the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month and for all the Lord’s appointed holy occasions, as well as the freewill offerings brought to the Lord.” (Ezra 3:2-5 CSB)
I was reading through the Book of Ezra the other morning, and I came across the above Scripture. It captured me because in my last piece, I asserted that no Temple needs to be rebuilt on the Temple Mount for the primary End Time events to take place.
Whenever I discuss (well, argue) about this, I point out that from God’s mouth, we learn that the benchmark of the End Time Tribulation is “when you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place” (let the reader understand), “then those in Judea must flee to the mountains… For at that time there will be great distress, the kind that hasn’t taken place from the beginning of the world until now and never will again. (Jesus, Matthew 24:15-16, 21)
What is the Abomination that Desolates? Jesus points back to Daniel for a clear, irrefutable answer.
“He (the person who is the example of the future Antichrist – author) will make a firm covenant with many for one week (Daniel uses a week to describe seven years – author), but in the middle of the week (3 ½ years into the Israel-Islam[?] agreement – author) he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple until the decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.” (Daniel 9:27)
In the last piece, I covered the whole “wing of the temple thing” as meaning somewhere on the Temple Mount, not a part of a rebuilt Temple. I further pointed out that no Temple needs to be standing for offerings to be sacrificed. That’s why the verses from Ezra 3 jumped out to me. Check this out.
Ezra 3:1-7 says, “When the seventh month arrived… began to build the altar of Israel’s God in order to offer burnt offerings on it… They set up the altar on its foundation and offered burnt offerings for the morning and evening on it to the Lord… They celebrated the Festival of Shelters as prescribed… After that, they offered the regular burnt offering and the offerings for the beginning of each month… On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the Lord, even though the foundation of the Lord’s temple had not yet been laid” (italics author). This restart of the sacrificial service occurred in the first year of the exiles’ return.
So where was the Temple? They hadn’t begun it yet.
Ezra 3:8 says that it happened in the following year. “In the second month of the second year after they arrived at God’s house in Jerusalem, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, Jeshua son of Jozadak, and the rest of their brothers, including the priests, the Levites, and all who had returned to Jerusalem from the captivity, began to build.”
It’s clear that the Israelites who returned from the Babylonian Exile restarted the sacrificial requirements first, then undertook the Temple’s rebuilding. See? No Temple is required for a sacrificial service to function in order for the Antichrist to interrupt it.
There are many other examples where altars alone were used for sacrificial offerings:
Noah (Genesis 8:20), Abraham (Genesis 12:7-8, 13:18, 22:9), Isaac (Genesis 26:25), and Jacob (Genesis 33:20) all performed sacrifices on altars.
Joshua (Joshua 8:30-31) renewed Israel’s covenant with the Lord by building an altar for sacrifices on Mount Ebal, not at the Tabernacle that was set up at Gilgal.
The Book of Judges records Gideon (Judges 6:24-26), Samson’s parents (Judges 13:19-21), and the Israelites during the Benjamin episode (21:24), making sacrifices apart from the Tabernacle.
The prophet Samuel offered sacrifices in Ramah even though the Tabernacle was in Shiloh to the north (1 Samuel 7:17).
King David offered sacrifices at Ornan’s threshing floor (the future Temple Mount) long before his son, Solomon, constructed the glorious First Temple (2 Samuel 24:25).
So, why do I belabor a seemingly insignificant point? Because I believe it’s incredibly significant. An active sacrificial system on the Temple Mount, and not a rebuilt Temple, will be the rock-solid, undeniable indication of the nearness of Jesus’ return, in addition to an Israel-Islam agreement to share the Temple Mount.
If we’re looking for a non-existent prophetic sign, we may miss one of the most significant, most sure End Time prophetic signs. Also, Daniel, per Jesus, lets us know that when the Antichrist blocks the End Time sacrificial system, we’ll have 3 ½ years until Jesus’ return.
Get it? When the sacrificial system restarts on the Temple Mount, and the Islamic Antichrist shuts it down because a sacrifice denies Allah’s “supremacy over all gods, even Yehovah Himself,” get out your calendar. Count ahead 3 ½ years for your scheduled appointment with the Returning King, Jesus. You won’t want to miss His victory celebration.
It only takes one sacrificial offering performed on the Temple Mount. I firmly believe the Father has designated the moment when Jewish access to the Temple Mount for sacrifice will happen. No one can stop it from happening. But someone (*ahem*) will try to prevent it from continuing.
Watch the Temple Mount.
Watch for an altar.
Watch for a sacrifice.
Watch for an interruption.
Watch for Jesus.
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Shining the Light of God’s Truth on the Road Ahead
Pastor Jay Christianson
The Truth Barista, Frothy Thoughts