[Gary Petty] Is the construction of a Third Temple
in Jerusalem the focal point of anti-prophecy or is God's focus on the construction
of a different, more permanent temple? In August 2020 an agreement was announced
between the State of Israel and the United Arab Emirates to normalize relations. Some held the
agreement as an historic step in bringing peace to the Middle East. Others felt very bad about
it, they denounced it because the Palestinians actually felt betrayed. One of the benefits
of the accord was the opening of air traffic between the two countries, but a commercial
by the Emirates Airlines immediately caused such a backlash from the Palestinians it had to be
pulled. Now watch a few seconds of the commercial and see if you can catch what was
offensive to the Palestinians. > Tel Aviv is known as the cultural hub of Israel. And the art scene is huge and noticeable
throughout the city. Between large festivals, private galleries, and street art tours,
you will find so much to be amused about. [Gary Petty] Did you notice what's offensive? Look at the upper corner up here. It's a
picture of the Second Temple in Jerusalem. They found this offensive, it's what caused the
protest. Why? We're going to look at the Biblical history of the Jerusalem temple, some Biblical
prophecies concerning a future endtime temple, and the real importance for God's people about
a temple for Christians about a temple. And we will see why this commercial is
offensive to so many Palestinians. According to the Bible the original Jerusalem
temple was built by Israel's King Solomon in the mid-1900s B.C. And it was a spectacular building
with an outer court where daily animal sacrifices were made in honor to God. An inner room was
known as the Holy of Holies. Now originally this most holy of all places contained the Ark of the
Covenant constructed during the time of Moses. Now Solomon's Temple had three basic functions. First,
it was a unique place for the worship of God. The animal sacrifices reminded the people of
Israel that they were God's special people and there were consequences for their disobedience
against Him. Animal sacrifices were a reminder that the result of sin was death. For God to
accept them there had to be a substitute offered to God for the legal penalty for their sins. And
this was the reason for the animal sacrifices. Now the second function of the temple was to
be God's special dwelling place on Earth. It's very interesting. When Solomon constructed the
temple, the people that were gathered outside, they were a huge mass of people there, they
actually saw a cloud come down into the temple. They called it the glory of God. This dense cloud
had such power in it that as it came down and filled the temple all the priests were forced to
leave. They actually left it because the presence of God was there in that temple. Now this doesn't
mean that God isn't present everywhere. He is. It does mean that the temple was something
special in God's interaction with humanity. Now the third function of the temple
was to teach the concept of holiness. Holiness is a concept that we don't think
about too much today. Holiness is when God declares an object or a person or even time to
be special and dedicated to Him, which means that this is important. Only God can make something
holy. And it's a basic principle of holiness that has to do with God's interaction with
humanity. And it's essential to understand what holiness is in our relationship
with Him. You know Solomon's Temple existed for hundreds of years before being
destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. A later temple called the Second Temple was built
in the late 6th century B.C. and remodeled by Herod the Great. And it was the new, in the New
Testament, it's the Second Temple, this complex where Jesus taught, He threw the money changers
out, and predicted His future destruction. In 70 A.D., the Romans destroyed Herod's temple.
The result was that for almost 1,900 years it was the desire of the Jewish people
who were now scattered all over the world, it was their desire to return to the land of
Israel, a land of their forefathers. And for some of them this yearning included
the building of a Third Temple. Since the modern nation of Israel was
established in 1948 the idea of a Third Temple has been reignited. And one of the
most active organizations in the movement to rebuild a Third Temple is the Temple Institute in
Israel. Through very intensive research they have identified actual Levitical priests, they
have reconstructed many of the instruments needed for the reinstitution of animal sacrifices.
And they've actually trained those priests in how to carry out the sacrificial ceremonies. You can
go to the website and see how they've done this. The deep Jewish religious beliefs and emotions,
and it's this very emotional issue concerning the Third Temple, are seen in some of the
statements of principles of the Temple Institute. They make this statement, "At this
one place on Earth, unlike any other, the one place that the Creator Himself chose to
rest His presence." This goes back to the idea of the very presence of God came into the
temple in Solomon's time. And so they look at this and say, "This is the place that
we have to rebuild for God's presence." Their principles go on to actually predict
something based on some Biblical prophecies. They say, "We are rapidly approaching climactic
times, in which the Holy Temple will once again become the focal point for mankind's spiritual
focus." They're very motivated people. And this brings us back to why the Palestinians
found the airline's commercial to be so offensive because it showed the Second Temple.
It's because Palestinian culture and education actually denies the historical existence
of Solomon's Temple of the Temple Mount. They see both the Jewish and Christian teachings
about the temple to be absolutely false. And of course you can imagine the result is that
many Palestinians feel that they are victims of Jews and Christians. And this creates in their
culture an overwhelming frustration and anger. Two different worldviews, two different beliefs,
two different views about how God interacts with humanity. And that's why there is no political
answers to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. Now if you're interested in the Biblical
prophecies about what is commonly called the "end times," we have a free study guide that will
help you, "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" There is a chapter here that's very interesting,
I'll just draw your attention to it very quickly. It's called "God's Framework for End
Time Prophecy," and actually lists some of the important things that must happen
before the end time prophecies can happen. And one of the important focal points as mentioned
here is the rebirth of the Jewish nation. The construction of a Third Temple, whether
it's a massive edifice or a small structure, a tent, an altar, it is going to be a major
prophetic event. And that's why the establishment in 1948 of Israel was monumental in fulfillment
of Biblical prophecy. Order your free copy, "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" by calling the
number on your screen or going to beyondtoday.tv where you can order a copy, read it online,
or just download it into your computer. Now let's take a look at some Biblical
prophecies about a future Third Temple. In the Old Testament Book of Daniel there
are a number of prophecies about a time when it says the daily sacrifices are stopped
and the abomination of desolation is set up. The daily sacrifices were offered in the temple
in Jerusalem. So we know what these prophecies are about. They're a direct reference to the
temple. Now here's what's really interesting. When Daniel was inspired to give these
prophecies there was no temple in Jerusalem. It had been destroyed by the Babylonians. You
see the fulfillment of these prophecies require a future place in Jerusalem to be dedicated
to the reestablishment of animal sacrifices in the name of the God in the
Bible. The key to Daniel's prophecy is in understanding that the abomination
of desolation happens more than one time. During the time of the Second Temple an
abomination of desolation, which was a statue of a pagan god, was set up by a Greek king during
the time of the Maccabees. But hundreds of years after that, hundreds of years after that, Jesus
talked about a future abomination of desolation. You see this prophecy has yet to be fulfilled.
Now to understand what the Bible means by the abomination of desolation I encourage you to
go to beyontoday.tv and watch the program, "What is the Abomination of Desolation?"
This program will help you understand how this prophecy has actual multiple fulfillments.
And when you see that you'll understand what this abomination of desolation is, sort of a
cryptic description, what it actually means. Let's now look at Christ's prophecy about the
abomination of desolation. It's in the Olivet Prophecy, Jesus's disciples had come to Him
and they had questions about when He would set up God's Kingdom on this Earth. Now when was
He going to do this? And Jesus says to them, He says, "Therefore, when you see the abomination
of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place," and Matthew adds
this little comment, he says, "Whoever reads, let him understand, then let those who
are in Judea flee to the mountains." Jesus goes on to describe His second coming. Now
the holy place here is a reference to the temple. Remember the most holy of all holy
places was the inner court of the temple. So when we see what Jesus says here and He
combines that with the prophecies in Daniel, which He references, we can see that before
the coming of the Messiah to rain on Earth there's going to be an altar connected to
some concept of a Third Temple where daily animal sacrifices will again be offered by
Levitical priest in the name of God. Now these prophecies have led many evangelicals here
in the United States to actively support the rebuilding of a Third Temple. They're
actually sending money to Israel to get these different organizations to actually build this
temple. Okay. Here's something to think about. Is it possible that the Third Temple
is going to be a place of evil? The Apostle Paul gives a prophecy about
just before the return of Jesus Christ. And he talks about a man of sin, someone who's
under the direct influence of Satan, who performs miracles, and actually deceives much of humanity.
Now this prophecy is usually connected in many denominations to the anti-Christ,
the coming great anti-Christ. Now let's look at something that Paul says about
this demonic person, the anti-Christ. He says, "Let no one deceive you by any means for that day
will not come..." That day is a reference to the return of Jesus Christ. "That day will not come
unless the falling away comes first and the man of sin has revealed, the son of perdition." This
terrible person is going to wield great power. If you read through this whole chapter you'll see
he wields great power, deceives the whole world, who opposes and exalts himself above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped so that as he sits, listen to this, “he sits as God
in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.” If the temple Paul is talking about
here is the future place of sacrifice that we've been talking about, that place is going to
be used by the anti-Christ to deceive the world. That's something to keep in mind as you watch
world events and we look towards a time when there's going to be a re-establishment
of animal sacrifices in Jerusalem. Now what meaning does God's temple have for
Christians today? I mean should we be collecting money and sending it over to Israel so they can
rebuild a temple? Is that what this is all about? Now we've touched on a number of prophecies
today that include Jesus's Olivet Prophecy. The study guide we're offering actually has an
entire section in here dedicated specifically to the Olivet Prophecy and what Jesus said. And it is
the foundation really of all end time prophecies. If you want to understand end time prophecies,
you start with Jesus's Olivet prophecy. So you need to get this so you can study the
section, "Jesus Christ's Olivet Prophecy: Where Are We Now?" In there you'll see that He predicts
a time of religious deception and confusion, wars and rumors of wars, famines, disease
epidemics, and an increase in earthquakes. Now the difficulties of our world today that we're
suffering from is just a small glimpse into the calamities that's going to befall humanity before
Christ's return. You need to know what Jesus predicted so that you're not caught off guard.
Order your free copy of, "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" by calling the number that's on
your screen or simply going to beyondtoday.tv. You can read it, you can download it. But be sure
to look at this material. It's very important. What is the real importance
of God's temple for Christians in your life? We've looked at the desire of
many Jews and Christians to construct a Third Temple. We've touched some Biblical prophecies
about future animal sacrifices in Jerusalem that's going to happen. But you know, there's
another temple mentioned in the New Testament that is actually more important in your
life than a Third Temple in Jerusalem. Here's something that the Apostle
Paul wrote to the church in Corinth. He's writing to a group of people, specifically
here they were having trouble with a lot of sexual immorality in the church. And he writes to
them and he makes this comment. "Do you not know that your body," he's talking to Christians, "your
body is," listen to this, "the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God
and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price, therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's." I want you to really think about this
because we're going to zero in on this. I'm going to read it again. If you're on
television, if you're watching at home, I want you to read this, okay? Read this with
me. "Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit in you, whom you have
from God?" That's a remarkable statement. Let's explore what Paul is teaching
here to the followers of Jesus Christ. Christians who have the Spirit of God dwelling
in their hearts and minds are the temple of God. They are the special dwelling place of God
on Earth. Try to wrap your mind around that. Try to wrap your mind around being the special
dwelling place of God, being the temple of God. Now remember we explored the functions
of Solomon's Temple in the beginning of the program. The first point was, it was
a unique place for the worship of God. You know the temple was a place for animal
sacrifices to remind the people of Israel that they were God's special people and that there were
consequences for their disobedience against Him. Here, what we just read, Paul tells Christians
to accept that they were bought at a price. There was a substitute given for Christians.
Christians are called out of human societies to become the special dwelling place of God. To
become one of these special people you have to have your sins forgiven through the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ and there is no other way. To say that all religions lead to the same God
is unacceptable according to the teachings of the New Testament. According to Jesus,
Peter, Paul, John, that's unacceptable. You know the main tenet of cultural Christianity
is that basically if you feel good about yourself, that you're a good person, then really
how you define God doesn't matter. It's time for you to wake up to the
perversion of that teaching because that's not what Jesus taught. Jesus is calling
people to become part of His spiritual temple. He may be calling you but the only ones that
are welcome to enter that temple are the ones who have been bought with the price of Christ's
sacrifice, otherwise you can't be part of the temple. No human being is worthy to be called good
before God. Only God in His mercy and His grace can make us worthy to become part
of the temple He is building. This brings us back to the second point, the
second function of Solomon's Temple. The temple was God's special dwelling place on Earth. When
Paul taught that Christians are the temple of the Holy Spirit, he was actually revealing
one of the greatest mysteries of all time. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul states
that Christians have the mind of Christ. To have God's Spirit in your mind and in your heart is to
receive the very mind, power, and love of God into yourself. And remember the glory of God filled
Solomon's Temple and it was so awesome that the people had to flee. The priests had to flee. But
understand it's this same power and glory that God will give to those who enter His spiritual temple.
It's the same spirit. You don't receive the power and glory of God simply by going to church for
claiming to know Jesus. God gives His Spirit to those who humbly repent, receive water baptism,
and have had hands laid on them to receive His Spirit. This is taught in the New Testament,
and unfortunately ignored by much of Christianity. Now the third function of Solomon's Temple was
to teach the concept of holiness. Remember, only God can make a person or a place or a time holy.
Human beings can't make anything holy. Holiness is an action of God to set aside something or someone
for His special use. To become the temple of God, to have the sacrifice of Jesus Christ applied to
you so that you become holy is something God must do. Now you must respond. You have to respond
to that through humble soul searching, remorse, and desire for forgiveness and change. And
this is what the Bible calls repentance. To become the temple of God you must seek
to receive His Spirit in your heart and mind. To become the temple of God you must live
as a holy vessel who has received God's Spirit. The concept that God declares objects and
people and time special and dedicated to Him, it's almost lost in our secular society and
cultural Christianity. And it is a vital lesson we need to learn from today's
program. The priests in Solomon's time dedicated their whole lives to God and
service in His temple. How much more as the very temple where God dwells should
Christians, His holy people, selected by Him for His purpose, dedicate our lives to submitting
to His direction and living by His desire for us? Now I have something more I want to talk about.
But before I do let me remind you of today's free study guide, "Are We Living in the Time
of the End? The study guide isn't just about knowledge. There are sections in here
called "Preparing for the end time, and you, what can you do?" Okay? To find the
answers to that question, get your free copy of "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" Call
the number on your screen or go to beyondtoday.tv. Paul said that Christians are to glorify God in
His temple. How can you glorify God as His temple? Well first of all you have to enter the
temple. You have to come to the cold, harsh reality that much of the feel-good,
Jesus loves you so just stay the way you are Christianity isn't what Jesus taught.
Real Christianity is a realization of your nothingness without God. It is a realization
that you are doomed by your own sins unless you become bought with a price
which is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is a realization that you are powerless to be
truly good without the indwelling of God's Spirit. It is the realization that God wants to change
your corrupted nature to becoming His Holy Child. You know here's something
that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, the church at Ephesus. These
were people who weren't from a Jewish background. These were people who were what the Bible calls
Gentiles, non-Jews. They were coming into a religion with the God of the Jews. And so they had
been outside that religion and they were coming into it. And here's what Paul tells them. He says,
"Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints
and members of the household of God." This is what God is doing. He's creating a household.
He's creating a family. "Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets,
Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone." He uses the analogy of a building. He's building
a temple. The prophets, the apostles, they're all part of this. Jesus Christ is the chief part
of it. He's what holds this temple together. This is more important than the Third Temple being
built because this is what God is doing. He says, "And whom the whole building fitted together grows
into," listen to this, "a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together
for a dwelling place of God in the spirit." The dwelling place of God in the spirit
isn't the temple that people want to build over in Israel. It's going to happen. There's
going to be something built over there because the Bible predicts it but that's not what God is
concerned with. He's concerned with building a holy temple and human beings discovering that they
can be the place who He dwells. That's remarkable. Any human attempt to construct a Third
Temple is going to fulfill Biblical prophecy but that's not what God is working with right now. Responding to God's call requires repentance
and publicly declaring repentance through water baptism. It also includes the laying on of
hands to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit in you. Do you understand that? Do you
understand what God's calling you to do? It is to be part of this holy temple. And yes,
baptism is important. And yes, laying on of hands for the receiving of the Holy Spirit and
God will dwell in you. That's what we're trying to tell you. That's what we want to reach out
to you and let you know what God is calling you to do. God is building a holy temple. And the
time is now for you to respond to that call. [Narrator] Please call for the booklet offered
on today's program, "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" This free study aid will point
you to the key Biblical signs leading up to Jesus Christ's return. We live in an unstable
world, raising many questions about our future. This booklet provides Biblical answers. For the
past two centuries history has reached a series of turning points that have brought us to the
doorstep of Bible prophecy. In this booklet, you will learn how some prophesied events have only
become possible to fulfill during our lifetimes. Most importantly, you'll find out what you can do
to prepare yourself for the troubling times ahead. Call us, 1-888-886-8632, to order your free
copy of, "Are We Living in the Time of the End?" or go online to beyondtoday.tv to
download or request it by mail. Jesus gave a list of specific signs to look for.
And yet he said many would still be deceived. You will learn about God's framework for end
time prophecy, such as world conditions that must exist when the Book of Revelation’s events
begin to unfold. Many prophecies could not happen prior to the advances of communication and
nuclear technology in the 20th century. Still others could not be fulfilled until
the Jewish state existed in the Middle East, which has only come about within our living
memory today. Jesus Christ warned that many of those who say they believe in Him will be caught
spiritually sleeping. This is a time to be awake. When you order this free study aid, we'll also
send you a complimentary one-year subscription to "Beyond Today" magazine. "Beyond Today"
magazine brings you understanding of today's world and hope for the future. Six times a year
you'll read about current world events in the light of Bible prophecy, as well as practical
knowledge to improve your marriage and family, and Godly principles to guide you
toward a life that leads to peace. Call today to receive your free booklet, "Are
We Living in the Time of the End?" and your free one-year subscription to "Beyond Today" magazine,
1-888-886-8632, or go online to beyondtoday.tv.
