FromNowUntilForeverBook8.5x5.5 REV.indd

place of worship. Yet, “It is beyond all doubt that a Temple existsat the time of the Antichrist.” 29 Daniel speaks of the Anti- christ putting a stop to sacrifice and offering, which implies the presence of a temple. Jesus mentioned the Abomination of Desolation, “Standing in the holy place,” while Paul indicates that the Antichrist “Takes a seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God” (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4). All this begs an inquiry and a comment – first, the inqui- ry . Could Temple number three have been constructed prior to the tribulation? It’s possible, but highly unlikely. The “conditionsof peace” initially facilitated by the Antichrist could allow for such a project. And the comment : “A rebuilt Jewish Temple would most likely be the product of orthodox Judaism, which rejects the Christian reality of the Temple of the Believer.” 30 Why? Because the death of Jesus on the cross eliminated the need for any further sacrifices on the Temple altar. “By this we will have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once and for all” (Hebrews 10:10). By receiving Christ and becoming born again believers, spiritually speaking, we become a living temple. As Paul writes, “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). He also described the spiritual church as, “having been built on the foundation of the apos- tles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you are also being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:20-22). Note, finally, that the first half of the tribulation will be characterized by an identification. Recall from the last chapter the mark of the beast, symbolized by the number 666.

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