The Orlando massacre and the U.S. Presidential race have dominated the news, so most people overlooked a recent story of prophetic significance. Israel’s Chief Rabbi, David Lau, is now calling for the building of the Third Temple in Jerusalem. I shivered as I read this story because it shadows biblical prophecy in a way past generations could hardly imagine.
The headline of The Times of Israel said: “Israel’s Chief Rabbi Urges Rebuilding Jerusalem Temple: Rabbi David Lau says structure could fit atop the Temple Mount without Need to Remove Muslim Houses of Worship.”
Speaking on Israel’s version of CSPAN (Knesset Channel), the Rabbi said, “I can’t tell you exactly what was in the Temple, but the truth is that when you see the prophets, the writings, the sayings of the sages, you understand that whoever went there came back full of inspiration, emotion, joy and satisfaction, so I yearn for those days.”
Asked directly by the interviewer if he would want to see the Jewish temple rebuilt in the same spot where it was previously located, Rabbi Lau answered with a plain: “Yes.”
The website 972Mag is a left-leaning news and commentary site named for the international dialing code 972 shared by Israel and the Palestinian territories. That’s where I first saw this story. The writer was alarmed by what he called the apparent “turnaround by Israel’s rabbinical leadership, which in the past has acted as a sane counterweight to the messianic Third Temple activists.” The article cited a poll from March 2016 showing over half of all Palestinians believe Israel intends to destroy the Muslim holy sites on the Temple Mount and replace them with the Third Jewish Temple. Nearly 4 in 10 Jewish Israelis think the current status quo forbidding Jewish prayer on the Mount should be cancelled.
Another Jewish Rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu of Safed, said, “The nation of Israel is waking up inside. The nation of Israel wants holiness. The nation of Israel wants the real deal, not the Reform…. We’ve been waiting for (the Temple Mount) for thousands of years, and none of us is going to give up on it. No one is intending to go halfway, it doesn’t work. We want the real deal, and just like we received the land of Israel and the nation of Israel went up to the land despite all the skeptics, the nation of Israel will go up to the mountain of God’s abode, soon and in our days.”
According to numerous passages in the Bible, the Third Temple will be rebuild just before or during the early days of the seven years of Tribulation, and the three-and-a-half final years of Great Tribulation will begin when the antichrist sets up his own image in this rebuilt temple. Until now, those calling for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple have been called “fringe” groups. Now the voices are growing louder and the ideas are entering the mainstream.
By watching this combustible little patch of land in the Old City of Jerusalem, we have the best countdown clock I know to soon coming events.
PS – Why is it called the “Third” Temple? The first was built by Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians. The second was build by the returning exiles in the book of Ezra and renovated by Herod the Great and destroyed by Rome. The next temple will the the Third Temple.