Temples

Israel Temple History: Kingdom divides in 930 BC. Northern kingdom ended in 722 BC by Syria. Southern kingdom ended by Babylon in 586 BC.

First, tabernacle built by Moses in 1446 BC and was never destroyed. It took six months to complete. Last sighting was in 100 BC. It was replaced by Solomon’s temple (967 BC).

Second, temple built by Solomon in 967 BC. It took seven years to complete and was destroyed by Babylon in 587 BC.

Third, built by Persia, by King Darius in 536 BC. It took twenty years to complete and was destroyed by Rome, Pompeii, in 63 BC.

Fourth, built by Rome, by Herod in 19 BC Mark 13:1 John 2:15-16, 19-21 Acts 21:28-29. It took ten years to complete and was destroyed by Rome, Titus, in 70 AD.

Fifth, Revelation 11:1, builder to be determined. The “Palestinian” problem of our time will have to be resolved for this temple to be built. This temple is for the Tribulation period and built without an outer court (place for gentiles); therefore, this temple during the Tribulation will not have a place for gentiles, so there will not be any church-age believers in the Tribulation because God has no place for them to worship. The church-age temple is the believer’s body (1 Corinthians 3:16) (New Testament, dispensation of grace).

Sixth, Revelation 21:22, builder is God. “I go and prepare a

place for you” (John 14:2). Jesus builds the New Jerusalem. The descending of the New Jerusalem begins

with the Rapture and continues as a residence for believers

throughout the Millennial reign of Christ. The New

Jerusalem will be a physical structure, but it is not a

temple. Revelation 21 states that there will not be a

temple, that there will be no need of a temple, because

God will inhabit the New Jerusalem. So this sixth temple

is really not a temple. It’s like the time of the church-age

dispensation of grace where the temple is the body of the

believer (1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians

2:19–22).

Summary on the Temples of Israel

Of Israel’s history of 1,516 years (the Old Testament ending with first advent of the Messiah zero AD), it was with a temple for 1,377 years and without a temple for 139 years (from 1446 BC [the wilderness journey] to 70 AD, the fourth temple). These 139 years comprise 102 years of captivity or neglect, plus thirty-seven years of construction. Psalms 105:11–15 records God’s promise to the Jew to protect them. This changed with the split of the nation in 930 BC. The Jews have been under God’s judgment since (Psalms 78 and in specific verses 59 and 60). This judgment will end when the Jew as a nation accepts Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:16), which will occur during the Tribulation dispensation as recorded in Revelation 6:9–11 and Revelation 7:4–14.

Israel was divided as a nation in 930 BC, only thirty seven years after Solomon’s temple (second) was built.

Israel’s northern kingdom was taken into Syrian captivity 722 BC (during Solomon’s temple).

Israel’s southern kingdom was taken into Babylonian captivity in 587 BC (during Solomon’s temple). Since God allowed Israel to be taken into captivity during an active temple period (Solomon’s temple), I believe God started his current judgment of Israel as a nation when it divided as a nation in 930 BC. If this is so, then I do not believe God has recognized temples since Solomon. Why would God allow worship in a building built by pagans (Darius, Herod)? We need to remember Jesus’s own description of the fourth temple in 30 AD. “It is a house of thieves” (Matthew 21:13) and Ezra 4:1–3’s sentiment on His temple being built by pagans.

So Israel of today has been without God’s favor since 930 BC (2,938 years and counting).

This is important because this reveals how God sees His chosen people today to remember Genesis 12:1–3. His ways, His thoughts are not ours. God is a jealous God, and Israel has and is paying severely for its continued denial of Jesus the Messiah. Many today, teach that Israel is a ‘sacred cow’ to God. We must understand that God will keep His promise to Israel and see them restored to their ‘promise land’ but only after Israel accepts The Messiah, Jesus the Christ which will be ushered in as The Millennium dispensation which will occur with the Second Coming of Christ as Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

Therefore, Israel’s temple history is foundational to understand the dispensation of Tribulation. Part of the purpose of Tribulation is for the Jew to accept the Messiah, Jesus the Christ (John 4:24, Matthew 16:16). If you are a Jew by birth, by heritage, this is your last seven years to make that decision. If you are a gentile (any person not a descendant of Abraham, which includes all Muslims, descendants of Abraham through Ishmael and Esau), this is your last seven years to accept Jesus as your savior. Really, you only have the next 3.5 years because the last half of Tribulation will not have anyone making decisions to recognize the Messiah to accept Jesus as Savior (Revelation 16:9–11), to convert, experience conversion.