Is Israel Ready to Rebuild the Temple? ā Program 4
| October 2, 2013 |
By: Dr. Randall Price, Dave Hunt, Dr. Dave Breese; ©1993 |
The Bible predicts a future leader we have called the Antichrist. What does the Bible say about the importance of the temple to the Antichristās future role in history? |
Who is the Antichrist? How Does the Future Temple Relate to the Antichrist?
Introduction
- John Ankerberg: Today on the John Ankerberg Show, are the Jewish people ready to rebuild their temple in Jerusalem? If they were to begin building this year, what political shockwaves would it cause the nations in the Middle East? And where would the erection of the third temple place us on the prophetic calendar of events predicted in the Bible? In a previous program, I asked this question of Dr. Gleason Archer, one of the premier Hebrew teachers in our country.
Excerpt]
- John Ankerberg: If you heard, Dr. Archer, that they were going to start rebuilding the temple next week, according to your Bible chronology, what would that say to you?
- Dr. Gleason Archer: Iād say that the tribulation is very near.
- Ankerberg: Gershon Salomon is the leader and chairman of the Temple Mount Movement in Israel. On October 8, 1990, he led a procession of Jewish people and attempted to bring the cornerstone for the third temple to the temple mount. It caused a riot that drew worldwide attention and resulted in the United Nations condemning Israel for this event and Saddam Hussein firing SCUD missiles against Israel during the Gulf War. But, concerning the rebuilding of the temple, Gershon Salomon confidently states:
- Gershon Salomon: And I have no doubt that you and I, we shall see the Ark of the Covenant in the middle of the third temple on the temple mount in Jerusalem very soonāin our life.
- Ankerberg: Randall Price is one of the authors of the new book, Ready to Rebuild. He has worked many years in Jerusalem and is finishing his PhD in Hebrew studies at the University of Texas. This is what he warns:
- Randall Price: The rebuilding of the temple, and even the temple mount itself, has the potential to ignite a conflagration in the Middle East of proportions of a third world war.
- Ankerberg: When will the third Jewish temple be built? What problems lie ahead for Israel? What significance does this event have to biblical prophecy? My guests who will be answering these questions are: Dr. David Breese, Dave Hunt, and Randall Price. We invite you to join us.
- Ankerberg: Welcome! Thanks for joining us tonight. And weāre talking with three biblical scholars about current world events and biblical prophecy. One of the things that many folks who read their Bible find is, they find this thing about Jesus Christ saying that Heās going to come back to earth. And they havenāt heard a lot about this possibly in their church. He said He would come back, and yet, just like in Isaiah 52 and 53 in the prophecies that were there, in 52 we find out that Heās going to be the King that the whole world is going to look at and admire. But in 53, all of a sudden He turns out to be this āsuffering servant.ā Nobody understood that. Jesus came as the Suffering Servant, so part two has got to be fulfilled that Heās coming back to be the King. Alright, so that still jives with the Old Testament. Hasnāt happened yet, but now Jesus said Heās coming back and weāve got these terms. And Iād like you to go through 2 Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians, and show this thing about the imminence of Jesus Christ coming back at any moment, and yet He also talks about His return in certain things having to transpire before He comes back. How do you reconcile that with biblical prophecy?
- Breese: Well, John, first of all, the apostle Peter deals with this, as to what the Old Testament prophets could see, in 1 Peter 1. He said they were āsearching what or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify when He testified beforehand, the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves but unto us they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven, of which things the angels desire to look into.ā Peter tells us the prophets could see the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, but they could not foresee that valley, shall we say, of revelation in between.
- So Christ helps us on that, and Christ talks about His Coming in two ways: His coming in power and great gloryāāYou shall see the Son of Man coming to sit upon the throne of His gloryā (Matthew 19:28). But also He speaks to His disciples in John 14 and says, āLet not your hearts be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In my Fatherās house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go I will come again to receive you unto myself.ā
- So Christ is speaking now to His disciples in a more intimate, a more personal fashion. Heās beginning, in my judgment, to suggest that the end of the world is not so simple as the brick in the gramophone, as one writer says, but rather the Church, the disciples, should look forward to the glorious return of Christ, but before that a time when He comes personally for them to take His Church out of the world.
- So, the apostle Paul clearly expands on this. People had concern about: What about the state of the dead? So they wrote to the apostle Paul, and he wrote back, and 1 Thessalonians 4 is saying, āI would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them who are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, them also who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord shall not precede them who are asleep; for the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, the trump of God; the dead in Christ shall rise first, and we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore, comfort one another with these words.ā
- Christ predicted His coming in terms of His coming in glory; but in terms of His coming for His own, the apostles of the New Testament expanded on that proposition so that the Church of our time, with this data that was not really understood by the disciples in the early days of the Gospel, this data being ours, as we look at a deteriorating world, a perfect fulfillment of prophecy, we also should walk in the confidence that, because āyou have kept the word of my patienceā (Revelation 3:10), God spoke to the Church, āI will keep you from that hour of temptation [trial, tribulation] which will come upon all the world.ā Weāre not looking for the āblessed hope of the tribulation,ā but rather the hope of the return of Christ for His own, clearly presented by Christ and then expanded to the point of irrefutable, irrefutable confirmation in the New Testament.
- Ankerberg: Okay, Randall, in 1 Thessalonians 4, which Dave quoted here, when that event takes place, we who are still alive and left will be caught up, snatched, seized, okay? Weāve got to get it across to people that are watching that sometime in the future the Bible is teaching, as far as we understand it, that the Lord will āsnatchā Christians from all around the world. Weāll just disappear. Weāre going to meet Him āin the air.ā And as John 14 where Jesus said, āI go to prepare a place for you, and if I go Iām going to come again and take you and youāre going to go with me to where Iām at,ā thatās why Heās preparing that place. Alright, when we go to be with the Lord in heaven, certain events are going to take place on earth during that time. After the rapture, bring us up to speed here. What does the Bible say will happen?
- Price: Just a moment before I do that. Let me say that this Blessed Hope is a corrective for all of the life that people live. Without it, we have no confidence that any of the promises of God are true; because if He does not fulfill all of His Word, none of His Word is true. Titus 2 tells us that weāre ālooking for that blessed hope and the appearing of Christ.ā
- And so as we move into the events that are going to happen after the rapture, I sound the warning that people need to be sure that they first know this Savior personally and that they are looking for Him, because He is soon to appear.
- Now, as soon as the rapture of the Church takes place, events will happen. We donāt know exactly how soon after the rapture they will happen. There could be a hiatus, a time in which many of the things with all of the players on stage now take their proper position. So we donāt know exactly how long it will be. Used to be, interpreters would sayālike Clarence Larkin, an old dispensational teacherāthat it could be as long as 50 years after the rapture before the tribulation began. But then they could not conceive how all of the events that would happen at that time could possibly take place: for Israel to return to her land when they hadnāt returned, or a temple to be rebuilt for many of these events. Now, we find all of the stage set.
- So, with the rapture of the Church comes a movement in the land of Israel, and particularly, as weāve looked at already, a restoration of the temple and of the temple worship. Somewhere, that has to begin immediately after the rapture, because we know from the book of Daniel, as well as from the book of Revelation and from 2 Thessalonians 2, that the mid-point of the tribulation already has a standing functioning temple that the Antichrist comes and desecrates. Also, at the time, after the rapture, the Antichrist, the anti-Messiah, will reveal himself. He will make a covenant with the people of Israel. Daniel 9:27 makes that clear. And out of that covenant may come the process by which the temple is rebuilt. But it will be a covenant of peace, a false peace, for Israel that will bring them into an alliance, into a dependence upon him as a type of Messiah.
- Ankerberg: Alright, letās hold it right there. Boy, youāve put a lot on the table. And if people are actually thinking about, what youāre saying is youāve got a temple that could be rebuilt in Jerusalem, or supposed to be when this takes place, and weāve talked in past programs, the Jews are talking about rebuilding it; they know the spot now where they should rebuild it; the Ark of the Covenant may be forthcoming, so there would be motivation to put that Ark into the temple. Weāre talking about Israel is already in the Holy Land. They already possess Jerusalem. So the fact is, these things were on the table as you say, but, boy, Iāll tell you, you just mentioned this guy called the Antichrist. And youāve talked about a peace covenant, and weāve got a peace covenant or weāve got a peace conference going on in the Middle East. And I want to find out if you guys think this is the peace conference thatās going to preclude going into that or where weāre at.
- And Dave Hunt, let me come to you and ask you, we have the rapture taking place. Now, weāve talked about certain characters doing certain things during the period of time called the tribulation. Take us a little bit further and document it.
- Hunt: Well, John, you know, the scenario that I adhere to, first of all, we have to have a united world. It says that all the world will worship him. The world will be unitedā¦
- Ankerberg: Worship him, meaningā¦
- Hunt: Meaning the Antichrist, Iām sorry. Will worship the Antichrist; literally worship him. They will also worship Satan, the Dragon, who gives him his power. I donāt know that they will necessarily call him Satan; probably will call him Lucifer. But they will be worshipping him. They will be united politically under one head, the Revived Roman Empire. They will be united religiously by worshipping him; and also, unless they worship him, they will be killed. Itās going to be a very ruthless rule. They will be united economically. You canāt buy or sell if you donāt have his mark. And I wouldnāt begin to try to say what 666 means and how this fits in, but we know itās a mark, an indication; probably I think a computer chip that has all the data. And you canāt buy or sell without this. We know that this will take place. Itās going to be a united world. Babylon, the Great Mystery, will be revived (Revelation 17:5).
- Ankerberg: Alright, before you go any further, hold on to that thought. Dr. Breese, okay, what he just said, if thatās coming, the guy says, āHey, weāve got a wonderful world going right now. Weāre not even close to that. I mean, weāve got peace and weāre talking peace in the Middle East.ā And do you think that weāre anywhere close to the events that Dave just talked about?
- Breese: Well, the idea of a wonderful world is an illusion. Take, for instance, the great prosperity of the United States. This is being run by a government thatās $4 trillion in the red and has to borrow one billion, one-hundred million dollars every day to keep up this imagined prosperity. So, the so-called prosperity of the world is an illusion. Itās like a bankruptcy Chapter 11 that keeps on going, but we wonder on what. Actually, we live in a paper-mache world as of now, and someone who says, āItās getting better and better and betterā hasnāt read the paper or faced reality.
- By the way, youāve heard about the person who said, āWeāve in the Millennium now and itās all wonderful.ā He said, āI can prove it. I have this lion and this lamb both in the same cage. See how well they get along? Of course,ā he said, āWe have to put a new lamb in now and then.ā So we ought not to chase rainbows about it being a wonderful world.
- And, therefore, what we must remind ourselves, too, is that in addition to these things that have been so accurately delineated, the Scripture says when the fourth horseman comes forth in Revelation 6, there will be a devastating war that kills one-fourth of the population of the world. Revelation 9, another one that kills one-third of the remainder. One half of the population of the world will die in those devastating wars in which the colossi of the world vie for hegemony and attempt to run things. It is going to be a very, very awesome day.
- But I would also say that the time of the tribulation will be a time of devastation in the world plus a time of tremendous evangelism. Out of the disillusionment with the collapse of a culture that people trusted, there will come a spiritual opportunity; 144,000 Jewish witnesses alone, and an innumerable company of Gentiles. My, what a time that will be.
- Ankerberg: Okay, okay, let me stop you though. You talk about a Revived Roman Empire. Do you see the facts of a Revived Roman Empire anyplace in the world?
- Breese: The answer is, āYes, we do!ā This very year, Europe has said they are coming together as a United States of Europe. When it comes together, which they are working on industriously now, they are putting together a united economic system. I even have some European currency. A united political system. When they come together, they will have 325 million people. They will have the largest gross national product in the world, larger than that of the United States. Itās awesome what is happening in Europe. If someone had said 10 years ago: āUnited States of Europe,ā that also would have been a laugh, but itās not now.
- Ankerberg: Okay, but he said also out of the Revived Roman Empire would come the Antichristā¦
- Breese: Thatās correct.
- Ankerberg: What is the Antichrist? Define that for people who are just tuning in.
- Breese: Well, the Antichrist will be the person who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshipped. The Antichrist, first of all, will come to power as the leader of a ten-nation or ten-area complex. Then he will be escalated in a second stage to world power. He will make a covenant with Israel, take credit, in my opinion, for the defeat of the Prince of Rosh coming against Israel. From thence he will be escalated to world power. So the Antichrist is called āthe prince that shall come,ā and for a period of 42 months he will rule the world as its absolute monarch. He will establish a global government and a global religion. Those who do not worship will be killed. Heāll be the master of everything, but his power will be destroyed by the glorious return of Christ, and we will return with Him and be part of that victory.
- Ankerberg: Dave, I want to ask you to comment on this. Weāve got a peace conference going on between Israel and its Arab neighbors right now. Youāre talking about a peace conference someday that this world leader called the Antichrist that the Bible says is going to come. Heās going to strike up a treaty with Israel. Is that happening now, or is this something thatās still to come?
- Hunt: I canāt say what will come out of the present peace process, but the fact is, we are moving in the direction that prophecy said we would. Weāre talking about a united world. And Iāll just try to make it very brief. I donāt think youāre going to get Arabs, Muslims, Jews, everybody together in what it says, and it will happen. I donāt think itās going to happen without the rapture. I donāt think without this sudden mass disappearanceātalk about a āconsciousness transformation;ā talk about a mind-boggling, mind-blowing experienceāI mean, thatās going to change the thinking of the world! Youāve got the United Nations meeting in an emergency session wondering, āWhere did they go?ā Youāve got the computers whirling, you know, trying to come up with an answer. We canāt even imagine. I mean, we talk about the rapture, we believe in the rapture, we canāt even imagine what that event will mean. And I think itās going to take that catalyst to catapult this man into power, to have the world recognize him.
- Let me just give you one example. If, letās say, here we are meeting tonight, God forbid, weāre the ones left behind. What does it do to you? If youāre the survivors of a crash of a jet liner in the Himalayas or somewhere, what does it make you feel like? It would give you a sense of unity, belonging to one another. These people who are left behind and people have vanished by, I donāt know, maybe 100, maybe 200 million have vanished, there would be a sense of unity, of togetherness, of wanting somehow to protect one another. Maybe, who knows, itās some intergalactic power snatching slaves. We donāt know what this is, but weāve got to get together now. Itās an emergency like you couldnāt even believe. And a man arises and he has an explanation for this and he has power from Satan to do signs and wonders. I think itās going to take that. Thatās another argument for pre-tribulation rapture.
- Ankerberg: Randall, if the rapture took place, how could the Antichrist, the world leader, take advantage of that to get that temple built?
- Price: I think first we need to understand that that messiah, that Antichristā¦
- Ankerberg: The false messiah.
- Price: ā¦the false messiah is what I mean, will be a human individual. The temple that is going to be rebuilt will be rebuilt in some way through his instigationāeither through a covenant that weakens Islamic power and allows the Jews some favor, but it will be that kind of an act. The interesting thing that I have seen today is thereās a growing messianic movement, messianic expectation, not for a supernatural messiah but for the very type of figure that will accomplish this work.
- Ankerberg: Document that.
- Price: Well, Menachem Brod, who is the publicity relations campaign manager for the Chabad-Lubavitch, which is a ascetic Jewish organization located in our country, in Brooklyn, Crown Heightsāalso, they are over the Middle East, Israelāthey are pushing for a Messiah and having bumper stickers and banners that say, āPrepare for the coming of the Messiah.ā This individual, quoted in the Jerusalem Post from October 5, 1991, said, āPeople who believe Meschiahāāthat is, messiahāāwill raise the deadāāthat is, a supernatural messiahāāare stupid. The true messiah will be a great leader of the Jewish people. He will be such a great charismatic leader that the whole world will unite behind him. But the people may only realize that he has been that person after the fact, after we see his actions.ā
- In other words, if a man arises, coming out of Europe, he is able to bring about this kind of alliance, this kind of covenant, bring about the type of peace that Israel has always envisioned the messiah establishing, and is able to bring about the process that enables the temple to be rebuilt, they will say, āThis man is none other than the messiah.ā Remember 1 Timothy 4 says that in the last days deceitful times or difficult times will come. People will give heed to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. And this would be the very thing that will sweep over the Jewish people and have them rely upon the Antichrist.
- Ankerberg: Next week weāre going to talk more about this, but Dr. Breese, for people that are saying, āYou know, a lot of these things we read in our paper and if this is what the Bible is saying, I can start to get the drift of where weāre going and this could possibly happen in my lifetime, and if it did, you know, Iām not thinking a whole lot about spiritual things. What should I do?ā
- Breese: You know, I second the motion about there being a vast world mentalism that could bring this to pass. We hear talk today about a New World Order mentioned by serious people. So I think the culture is already saying what we are suggesting to be a possible unification thing in the world. As this moves on, the Scripture says, āFor this cause, God shall send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie.ā And āthe lieā mentioned in 1 John 4 is the lie that Christ is not come in the flesh, and therefore salvation is not available. I strongly recommend the opposite to every listener. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins on Calvaryās cross, and by faith in Him receive life everlasting. How foolish to depend upon the vicissitudes of this world and the fading scenes of time when by receiving Christ one can have the hope of eternal life. Say āYesā to Christ and do it today. Thatās my recommendation.
- Ankerberg: Yeah, this is serious stuff, folks, and I hope youāll join us next week. Weāre going to continue to talk more about what the Bible says is going to happen in the Holy Land in the days ahead and weāre going to see if world events are starting to line up with what the Bible says. Please join us next week.