The Future of the Temple in Jerusalem – Remarkable Similarities between History and Prophecy
Israel’s Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi David Lau told the Knesset Channel in June 2016 that he would like to see the Third Temple built, and he added that the Muslim holy sites located on Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount need not be demolished in order to make room for it. Asked directly by journalist Nehama Douek whether the Temple must be rebuilt where it was previously located, Rabbi Lau answered, “yes. In that place, by the way, in the same place where it was, there’s room for Jews, there’s room for Christians, there’s room for Muslims, there’s room for everybody,” Rabbi Lau continued. “It won’t take up the entire Temple Mount — take a look at its measurements” .
Therefore, we will at first seek the original location of the Temple and then we will study the future of the Temple in the light of biblical prophecy.
What does the Bible say about the future of this place? How will world history come to a head here in the near future? With a fresh look at Scripture, this article seeks to strengthen believers' confidence that God's plans are real and tangible.
What is the exact location of the Holy Temple?
Rabbi Shalom Dov Steinberg  discusses various possibilities for the original location of the Temple. He provides arguments from Jewish literature for a location of the temple south of the Dome of the Rock (see Fig. 3).
First of all, there is clear evidence that the area of the Temple Square has been changed several times throughout its history. After the conquest of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. In the 4th century BC the walls were torn down by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon (2Chr.36,19). This probably also included the south-east corner of the Temple Mount. So, if Solomon's temple site reached up to today's southern wall, then Nebuchadnezzar also destroyed the porticos that compensated for the drop of height at this point. This possibility is supported by the complaint described in Ezra 3,12:
Many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, who were old men, who had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice;
The dimensions of this new temple building given by Cyrus (Ezra 6,3) cannot have been the reason for this complaint, because the floor plan of the temple building (1Kings 6,2) was not limited. The complaint, on the other hand, can be explained by a reduction in the size of the temple site.
Herod changed the temple site and expanded it considerably. The Israeli archaeologist Meir Ben-Dov  writes: “Herod laid the ancient foundations of the Temple (Ant. 15.391). However, archaeological evidence shows that he left the eastern wall standing, as near the southern corner of the eastern wall a seam is visible that separates the Herodian masonry from what is thought to be the Preherodian eastern wall becomes. From the seam there are
32 m of the Herodian Wall (of a total length of 460 m). From this it can be concluded that Herod's builders extended the outer wall around this area to the south.”
Rabbi Steinberg  assumes that Herod restored the original southern border of the Temple Square. Solomon's temple site extended probably about 30 m further south than previously thought.
The generally accepted location of the Holy of Holies is the rock in the Dome of the Rock. But this rock lies ca.10 m above the aqueduct which enters the temple mount at Wilson’s arch. The altar platform was less than 5 m lower than the Holy of Holies, because a staircase of 12 steps, each half a cubit high, led from the altar platform to the sanctuary. The stairs therefore had a total height of approximately 3 m, and there was no difference in height between the sanctuary and the holy of holies .
The most important argument for the location of the Temple south of the Dome of the Rock is the fact that the altar platform in front of the Temple was cleansed with water from the aqueduct. Rabbi Steinberg  quoted Tosephtah Pesachim 4:10 which says that the water pipe was un-corked and the water rinsed the Azarah (Temple Court).
A map by the British archaeologists C. Wilson and C. Warren, who explored the water pipes to the Temple Mount, shows a water pipe from Wilson's Arch to the Al Ka'as Well between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aksa Mosque but no water pipe to the Dome of the Rock (Fig.1). This is together with the source quoted by Rabbi Steinberg a sufficient argument that the temple could not have stood where the Dome of the Rock stands today.
Fig.1 Map of the temple mount by C. Warren and C. Wilson:
left with contour lines, right with water pipe .
Fig.2 The Temple Mount with the Dome of the Rock, the Western Wall, the Al Aksa Mosque and the original location of the Temple.
This confirms the location of the temple between the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque as indicated by Rabbi Steinberg  (Fig. 3). As Figure 2 shows, access to it from the western wall is possible without any problems.
Fig.3 Location of the Second Temple according to Rabbi S.D. Steinberg . Only the altar and inner building of the temple (marked in red) will be built before the arrival of the Messiah. The altar of the Second Temple had the measurements of the altar in the Messianic Kingdom (Ez.43,13-17).
The topic of the future of the temple is politically explosive
The biblical topic discussed here is politically significant and timely, as the quote from Chief Rabbi Lau shows. About 20 years ago, the Chief Rabbi at the time described the question of the Third Temple as “politically extremely explosive” and therefore only answered the questions I asked him verbally through a friend. He answered “yes” to my question as to whether, from the Chief Rabbinate’s perspective, it would be possible to carry out the sacrificial service in close proximity to the Muslim shrines.
In the meantime, the demand for equal rights for the three monotheistic religions on the Temple Mount has become so strong in Israeli political circles that the current Chief Rabbi Lau publicly commented on this question. As we have seen, he contradicted the popular belief that the Dome of the Rock prevented the construction of the Third Temple.
As part of the work on the Western Wall Tunnel, the original location of the temple was determined by Rabbi Getz and Rafael Eitan in April 1981. Nadav Shragai reported on this in 2003 under the title, “Raiders of the Lost Ark :
"As the excavation of the tunnels progressed," says Eitan, "I met with Rabbi Getz almost daily. Together with him, I studied the structure of the Holy Temple and its dimensions. We drew conclusions as to the location of the Holy Temple and the Holy of Holies. When we arrived at the spot that according to our studies was supposed to be the gate through which the priests set out in order to immerse themselves, we assumed that if we made an opening in the wall to the east, we could move forward and eventually reach the Holy of Holies …
Eitan reveals that the opening was planned at first for the floor under the level where the excavation to uncover the Western Wall was being carried out at the time, "and in this way, it was not supposed to be discovered at all. We planned to go in, see the tunnels and move ahead in the direction in which we estimated that the foundations of the Holy of Holies would be found …
Immediately after the excavations began, an opening was created and the huge eastward tunnel carved into the rock under the Temple Mount was discovered. Its dimensions were impressive – 28 meters long and six meters wide. The floor of the tunnel was covered with a great deal of water and mud. "I immediately approached the place and I was seized by an enormous excitement. For a long time I sat, unable to move, with burning tears pouring down my cheeks. I finally gathered up strength and entered. I sat on the steps and said Tikkun Hatzot [midnight prayers] as is our custom." … The first people brought in on the secret were the then director-general of the Religious Affairs Ministry, Gedalia Schreiber, and the two chief rabbis, Shlomo Goren (1972-83 Chief Ashkenasi Rabbi of Israel) and Ovadia Yosef. Goren was excited by the discovery as was Getz. He viewed the huge tunnels as a primary means to locate the precise location of the Holy of Holies, the area of the Holy Temple to which all but the High Priest on the Day of Atonement were forbidden entry, on pain of death.
(Haaretz.com Sunday, May 18, 2003 Iyyar 16, 5763).
In April 1981, I read in an English-language newspaper in Jerusalem a statement from the Chief Rabbinate of Israel that the location of the Holy of Holies had been found as part of archaeological work. This work was then stopped due to unrest in the Muslim world.
The headline of the Haaretz article quoted reads: “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and begins with Rabbi Getz and Rafi Eitan’s attempt in August 1981 to find the hiding place of the Ark of the Covenant. For this purpose, they tried to secretly open a bricked-up side door in the tunnel described because they hoped to find the Ark of the Covenant there. This attempt was thwarted by Arabs who heard the hammer blows. The ensuing confrontation was so dangerous that Prime Minister Begin had to personally negotiate a compromise in the tunnel.
The idea of building of the Holy Temple has been almost a taboo for many years. However, in the meantime equal rights for the three monotheistic religions on the Temple mount (Al-Haram Ash-Sharif) is demanded in the Knesset. The open statement of Chief Rabbi Lau in 2016 is evidence for this changed situation.
In the seven-year treaty of Oslo, the most difficult problem – Jerusalem – was to be solved in the last year (the year 2000). However, in the future seven-year treaty (Dan.9,27) this problem will be settled right from the beginning: i.e. the Jewish people will have free access to their most holy place – the original site of the Temple.
The archeologist Dr. Gabriel Barkay, professor at Bar-Ilan University, mentioned in an interview with Lela Gilbert : "In the Washington DC think tanks surrounding president Bill Clinton, it was understood that the Temple Mount was the crux of the problem of the Middle East conflict. These think tanks decided that if there could be 'split sovereignty' on the Temple Mount, then split sovereignty could also be achieved over the entire land of Palestine. So, they suggested that in a future agreement, the Temple Mount would be split horizontally. That is to say that whatever is above ground, the part that includes the shrines of the Muslims, would be under Palestinian sovereignty. Whatever is underground, which would include the remnants of the Temple of the Jews, would be under Israeli sovereignty."
The restart of the sacrificial offerings on the altar in Jerusalem is possible within a short period of time. When the “Coming Prince” manages to solve the Middle East conflict through a 7-years treaty, the sacrificial offerings on the altar in Jerusalem will start immediately.
Why was the Second Temple not built according to Ezekiel’s pattern?
Rabbi S.D. Steinberg  quotes Tosafos Yom Tov with the following explanation: “They knew by prophecy that it was not yet time to build Yechezkel’s Temple.”
To understand this prophecy, we will start with Daniel’s prayer. 70 years after his deportation, Daniel meditated on God's promise to restore the Temple after a period of 70 years. In the following prayer Daniel confessed his sins and the sins of his people and urged God to act without delay:
Now therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake (Dan.9,17 & 19).
His main concern was the full restoration of the Temple, which would include the return of the Shechinah, the cloud of the Divine presence. However, this was not in keeping with God's long-term plan for the Temple. Therefore, God sent his angel Gabriel to instruct His beloved servant Daniel. Gabriel explained to Daniel that it would take 70 times 7 years until the most Holy would be anointed:
70 weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy (Dan.9,24).
„This refers to the Third Temple, which, in contradistinction to the Second Temple, will be anointed. The sages (Yoma 21b) tell us that the Second Temple, which had not been anointed (Tosefta Sotah 13:2) lacked five things, among them Shechinah, the evident Presence of God. But the third Temple will be anointed, therefore, in comparison to the second, it will be a holy of the holies (Malbim“) .
We understand, therefore, that Ezra and the Jews, who had returned from Babylon knew, that the Temple, which they were allowed to build was not the Temple described by Ezekiel. However, the altar was built with the dimensions given by Ezekiel.
Most probably the sacrifices will be started before the Third Temple is built. This view is in accordance with the description of the “cleansing” of the altar in Ezekiel
And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These [are] the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon (Ez.43,18).
This cleansing of the altar is distinguished from the cleansing of the Sanctuary:
Thus, saith the Lord GOD; In the first [month], in the first [day] of the month, thou shalt take a young bullock without blemish, and cleanse the sanctuary (Ez.45,18).
In the following we will show that the Temple will be rebuilt and that the Messiah will come about seven years after the restart of the sacrificial offerings on the rebuilt alter in Jerusalem. Using a similar approach as the sages, who saw in the life of the patriarchs a type of future events, we will show that the history of the Second Temple can be used as a type of future events concerning the Third Temple.
The Third Temple in biblical prophecy
The following study of prophecy about Israel and the Temple in Jerusalem is based primarily on the book of Daniel. This is unacceptable for many Jewish scholars today. It is claimed by many that Daniel's prophecy only applies to the Second Temple period. This claim is false because, on the one hand, the messianic kingdom of peace represents the crowning conclusion of the prophecies about the four world empires (cf. Dan2 and 7). On the other hand, Dan.9:24 is also referred to the Third Temple in Jewish literature:
Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, …, and to anoint the most Holy (Dan.9,24).
„ArtScroll TanachSeries, Daniel  has this comment:
This refers to the Third Temple, which, in contradistinction to the Second Temple, will be anointed. The Sages (Yoma-Zlb) tell us that the Second Temple, which had not been anointed (see Tosefta Sotah 13 :2) lacked five things, among them Shechinah, the evident Presence (as it were) of God. But the Third Temple will be anointed, therefore, in comparison to the second, it will be a holy of the holies (Malbim).
The book of Daniel played an outstanding role in the intellectual survival of Judaism in the fourth century. By the time of Emperor Constantine, the Church claimed to have finally replaced Israel. The rabbis' response to this false claim was based on Daniel's prophecy. The highly honored Jewish religious scholar Jacob Neusner  writes: “Repeated reference is made to the four empires: Babylon, Media, Greece, Rome - and after the fourth, Israel will come as the fifth and last […]” Also the significance of the temple is underlined by Neusner: “Everything depended on the Temple, restored or in ruins […] The scholars linked the reconstruction of the Temple with the future coming of the Messiah.”
Let us now consider the prophetic message that Daniel received from the angel Gabriel after his prayer of repentance. The message in Daniel 9,22-27, is:
Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the commandment came forth, and I have come to show you; for you are greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision. 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon your people and upon your holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy. 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah, the Prince, shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times. 26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined. 27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Verses 22-23 form the introduction. In verse 24, the total length of God's appointed time for Israel and Jerusalem is 70 weeks, i.e. 70 x 7 years (“weeks of years”). From verse 25 onwards, details of the prophecy are described: The 490 years begin with the command to build Jerusalem (cf. Neh.2). From this point until the extermination of the Messiah, 7 + 62 = 69 weeks of years should pass. Taking into account the length of 360 days for a prophetic year, we arrive at April 33 AD (for details of the calculation see ).
The interim period between the death of the Messiah (33 AD) and the beginning of the final seven years of Israel's dispensation includes the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple (70 AD) and continues today. We read about this time in Hosea 3,4-5:
The children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince (Israel not a sovereign state), and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim (no sacrifices and priests): 5 Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the LORD their God, and David their king; and shall fear the LORD and his goodness in the latter days.
Since May 14, 1948, Israel has been a sovereign state again. The 2,500-year period without sovereignty is over. This means that “the many days without a king or ruler” are fulfilled. The sacrificial service is still missing because Israel does not yet have access to the original location of the altar and temple. However, another prophecy was fulfilled in 1989:
Therefore, behold, the days come, says the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD lives, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The LORD lives, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands where he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers (Jer.16,14).
This prophecy was fulfilled in 1989 by Gorbachev, who made it possible for Jewish people to leave the Soviet Union, which led to a huge wave of immigration to Israel.
History and future of the Temple in Jerusalem
Below we will compare the history and future of the Temple in Jerusalem. For this comparison, New Testament sources will also be used, which are clearly in line with the prophetic texts cited so far (in particular the book of Revelation). The parallels are so clear that we can conclude that God used the history of the Second Temple as a prophetic model for the Third Temple.
Table: The Second and the Third Temple – Past and Future
|1) Command of world ruler
|Cyrus (Ezra 1,1-4; 6,3-5), height & width limited to 60 cubits (ca.30 m)
|Coming Prince (Dan.7,19-26; 9,27) Reconstruction of the inner sanctuary only?
|2) Sacrificial offering without Temple
|Roughly 20 years only with altar (Ezra 3,3 & 6; 6,15-16)
|Possibly only with altar in 1st half of last 7 years of the 70 weeks of years (Dan.9,24 & 27)
|3) Rebuilding of the Temple
|Weeping, probably because only the inner sanctuary was reconstructed (Ezra 3,12)
|Inner sanctuary between Dome of Rock & Al Aksa Mosque, entrance underground from Western Wall
|4) Sacrifices stopped and desecration of the sanctuary
|By Antiochus Epiphanes for 2300 evenings & mornings (“Little Horn” from 3rd Kingdom, Dan.8,13-14)
|By the Coming Prince/Little Horn from end of 4th Kingdom for 3 ½ years (Dan.7,25; 9,27; 12,7)
|5) Consecration of the sanctuary and restart of sacrifices
|By Judas Maccabeus: Dec. 25, 165 B.C.E.
|By faithful Jews (Dan.12,11) 1290 days after desolation of sanctuary – 45 days later rescue by the Lord (Dan.7,27; Zec.14,3-9)
|6) Enlargement of the Temple
|By Herod (see Josephus)
|Completion by Messiah (Ez.40-42)
|7) Return of Shekinah
|Ez.43,1-9 Fulfilment of Daniel’s prayer (Dan.9,17) anointing the most Holy
Explanation of the Table1) The Coming Prince
The people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary (Dan.9,26b);
This prince is introduced here without further explanation since he was already described in chapter 7 as the "little horn". In the final phase of the fourth kingdom (Rome) the "Coming Prince" alias the "Little Horn" shall have power to wear out the saints of the Most High for "a time and times and the dividing of time" i.e. 3 ½ years. This most terrible time will be ended by the divine judgement at the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom.
However, seven years before the beginning of the Messianic Kingdom the "Coming Prince" will appear as the greatest friend of the Jewish people. Similar to the command of Cyrus, which enabled the restart of the sacrifices, he will enable the sacrificial offerings at the original site of the altar in Jerusalem in the frame of a seven-year treaty. This seven-year period is mentioned as "one week" in Dan.9,27a
And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease…
Since this "coming prince" (apparently a master diplomat) can stop the offering of sacrifices and meal offerings after half a "week" (i.e. after 3½ years), the sacrificial service must have begun at the beginning of the 7-year contract. Furthermore, Dan.12,11 says that the daily sacrifice will be taken away for 1290 days. It therefore follows that at the beginning of the 70th week of Israel, i.e. with the entry into force of the 7-year covenant, the Jewish sacrificial service must also begin.
Only the altar of burnt offering is necessary for the sacrificial service. Within 3½ years, the inner sanctuary of the Third Temple will be built, in which the “coming prince” will be worshiped as God beginning in the middle of the last week of the year, before the coming of the Messiah. This is evident from New Testament prophecy:
Who …sits in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2Thes.2,4).2) All that is needed to begin the sacrificial service is the altar
This statement can be made based on the events during the construction of the Second Temple: After the Babylonian Captivity (Ezra 3,1-3), the sacrificial service began without a temple; only the altar of burnt offering was rebuilt. While the sacrificial service takes place on the altar of burnt offering, the Third Temple will be built in a limited size (without a courtyard).3) Temple without a courtyard - only the inner sanctuary
The Revelation of John tells of a vision that the apostle had of the future temple (analogous to the vision of the prophet Ezekiel).
And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. But the court which is outside the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth (Rev.11,1-3)
The size of the rebuilt Second Temple was limited by the Persian King Cyrus. Analogously, the statement made here can be understood to mean that initially only the inner sanctuary (Greek “naos”: inner temple space) of the Third Temple in Jerusalem is being built. The court outside the sanctuary and the entire Holy City are “the “given to nations”. This would be consistent with a current Vatican goal: Free access to holy sites in Jerusalem for the three monotheistic religions. This is currently true for Muslims and Christians, only Jews do not yet have access to the site of their temple and altar.
The search for a compromise has produced a wide variety of suggestions: The journalist and religious scholar Shalom Ben-Chorin, for example, compares Jerusalem with Rome and the Vatican City: The Old City of Jerusalem could be under UN sovereignty, similar to the Vatican City which is an independent area.
The current floor of the Temple Square is approximately 6-12 m higher than at the time of the Second Temple. Access to the holy places would be possible underground from the Western Wall. The Third Temple would therefore be conceivable between the Dome of the Rock and the Al Aqsa Mosque, as shown in Fig. 3.
According to Daniel 9:27a, the Jewish sacrificial service will take place again in the first 3½ years of Israel's upcoming 70th week. In this time Jerusalem is called the Holy City in Revelation and – according to Revelation 11,1-3 – the "two witnesses" have authority. In the middle of the 70th week the two witnesses are killed; thereafter Jerusalem is called “spiritually Sodom and Egypt” (Rev.11,7-8).4) Interruption of sacrifices and desecration of the sanctuary
Analogous to the desecration of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes and the interruption of the sacrificial service, the coming prince will stop the sacrificial service in the middle of Israel's last 7 years before the coming of the Messiah and set up the "abomination of desolation" in the Temple:
in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (Dan 9,27b)
This future event is mentioned by Jesus Christ:
When you therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoever reads, let him understand:). Then let them who are in Judea flee into the mountains (Mt.24,15-16).
In the future the Coming Prince will not only stop the sacrifices but also set up the abomination and thereby desecrate the sanctuary:
And from the time [that] the daily [sacrifice] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, [there shall be] a thousand two hundred and ninety days
Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (Dan.12,11-12).
And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. (Rev.13,5).
The faithful remnant of Israel has a place of refuge for 1260 days during the reign of the beast:
And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score days (Rev.12,6).
After this time, the faithful Israelis will return to Jerusalem and cleanse the Temple – apparently in 30 days.5) Consecration of the sanctuary and restart of sacrificial offerings
Analogous to Judas Maccabee's cleansing of the temple desecrated by Antiochus, the faithful remnant of Israel will cleanse the temple and restart the interrupted sacrificial service for 45 days – apparently until the arrival of the long-awaited Lord and Messiah - this is probably the meaning of the words:
Blessed is he that waits, and comes to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days (Dan.12,12).
At this time Jerusalem is attacked by all nations, probably because of the cleansing of the Temple. It would be conceivable that the faithful Israelis would tear down the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa Mosque along with the abomination of the Coming Prince, so that both the Western world under the Coming Prince and the Muslim world would want to recapture Jerusalem.
In my opinion, Psalm 46 prophetically describes the situation in Jerusalem at that time:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. There is a river, the streams of which shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he has made in the earth. He makes wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and cuts the spear in two; he burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
Finally, Israel and Jerusalem will be delivered in their greatest tribulation by the coming of the Messiah when all nations gather against Jerusalem. It is written about this in the books of the prophets Zechariah and Malachi:
And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth are gathered together against it (Zech.12,3).
Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle. 4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east (Zech.14,3-4a).
And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. 10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zech.12,9-10a).
And the Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in: behold, he shall come, says the LORD of hosts (Mal.3,1b).
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one (Zech.14,9)-
These scriptures show that the Messiah is the LORD God himself.6) Enlargement and Completion of the Third Temple
Analogous to the significant enlargement of the Second Temple by Herod, the Third Temple will be significantly enlarged by the Messiah. The vision of the prophet Ezekiel provides information about this. In chapters 40-42 it says, among other things, that the temple site will have an area of approximately 1500 m x 1500 m (cf. Second Temple: 280 m x 490 m). The area of the Temple Square in the Messianic Kingdom will be approximately 164,000 times larger than the area of the Temple Square at present.7) Return of Shekinah
The Second Temple was not filled with God's glory. Ezekiel was shown the gradual withdrawal of glory from the Temple and Jerusalem, and Daniel requested in his moving prayer of repentance:
Cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary that is desolate (Dan.9,17).
But he was told by the angel that this request would not be fulfilled until after the 70 weeks. Ezekiel was allowed to prophetically see and record the details of this future fulfilment:
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters: and the earth shined with his glory (Ez.43,2).
And the glory of the LORD came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect [is] toward the east. So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house. (Ez.43,4-5)
With this filling of the temple with God's holiness in the messianic kingdom of peace, God's plan is being fulfilled, which He revealed to His servant Moses at Sinai:
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them (Ex.25,8).
The book of Ezekiel, which contains both the saddest and most glorious revelation of God's glory in the Temple of Jerusalem, concludes (Ez.48,35):
The name of the city from that day shall be,
“The LORD is there” (Hebrew: ADONAI SHAMAH).
Daniel's main concern in his prayer was the full restoration of the Temple, which would include the return of the Shekinah, the evidence of God's presence in the Temple. But the divine plan for the Second Temple was different. To Daniel the future history of the Second Temple till its destruction was revealed as well as the restart of the sacrificial offerings. However, the angelic message to Daniel included the anointing of the Most Holy: Dan.9,24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, …and to anoint the most Holy. „This refers to the Third Temple, which, in contradistinction to the Second Temple, will be anointed.". The Shekinah will return to the Third Temple at the beginning of the Messianic era. To Ezekiel the tragic event of the departure of the Shekinah from the First Temple was revealed. And to him was given a prophetic view of the Messianic Kingdom, including a detailed description of the Third Temple and the return of the Shekinah. The altar is necessary to restart the sacrificial offerings, which will be started at the beginning of the future seven-year treaty between the coming master diplomat and Israel. This coming ruler will forcefully stop the sacrificial offerings in the middle of these last seven years (Dan.9,27) before the coming of the Messiah. This is the beginning of the darkest time of trouble in all history (Dan.12,1), "The tribulation of the generation of the Messiah described in Sanhedrin 97b". The duration of this tribulation is limited to 3½ years (Dan.7,25 & 12,7). In Verse 12 Daniel was told: "Blessed [is] he that waiteth, and cometh to 1335 days." – "Verse 12 refers to the length of time allowed for the time of trouble mentioned above (v.1) … Here the angle was more precise and gave the exact amount of days". This tribulation will end with the divine judgement for Israel's enemies and followed by the Messianic Kingdom. Dan.7,25b-27 They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy [it] unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom [is] an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
- Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man: "Israel's chief rabbi urges building Jewish temple on Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif" In: 972mag.com. 11. Juni 2016. Online: http://972mag.com/israels-chief-rabbi-urges-building-jewish-temple-on-temple-mountharam-al-sharif/119972/
- Rabbi Shalom Dov Steinberg: The Third BeisHaMikdash, Moznaim Publications, Jerusalem, 5753 (1993)
- Meir Ben-Dov: In the Shadow of the Temple, HarperCollins, New York, 1985Norma
- Hamikdash, A description of the Second Temple according to Rambam, Brit Chalom Editions, Israel 1995, ISBN 965-222-641-6
- C. Wilson and C. Warren; https:images.app.goo.gl/Tt7h72AFoBEgTWb49
- Haaretz.com; from: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Sunday, May 18, 2003 Iyyar 16, 5763
- Jerusalem Post, Opinions, August 14, 2008
- ArtScroll Tanach Series, Daniel, Mesorah Pub. New York, 2002, ISBN: 0-89906-079-X
- Jacob Neusner: Jews and Christians: The Myth of a Common Tradition, Wipf & Stock Publ. Eugene, Oregon, 2003
- Harold W. Hoehner: Chronological Aspects of the Life of Christ, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1977