(Read Part 3)
(See footnote [1].)
The Ruin of the Second Temple
The most important event that occurred since the creation and fall of humankind took place during the Second Temple period. Micah prophesied in approximately 690 B.C. that the future “Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting,” would be born in Bethlehem, speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mic. 5:2). The One who will one day claim His rightful position as the King of kings, first had to endure the pain and suffering of crucifixion to pay for the sins of fallen, sinful humanity (John 3:16-17).
During the passion week of Jesus Christ, He visited the beautiful second temple in Jerusalem with His disciples. The temple was without a doubt the most beautiful awe-inspiring building of its day. Jesus walked from the temple towards the Mount of Olives and Scripture reveals the following:
Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.” (Matt. 24:1-2).
Jesus prophesied that the beautiful temple would be completely destroyed. However, before the fulfillment of His prophecy, Jesus would first be arrested and crucified. God revealed a marvelous mystery after the death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, which was the formation of the church, the body of Christ (Rom. 7:4; 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:27). The dispensation of law would transition to the glorious church age, the dispensation of the age of grace (cf. Acts 20:24; Eph. 3:1-7; Col. 1:24-29). The sacrifice of Jesus Christ, once for all, paid the entire penalty for mankind’s sinful condition (Heb. 7:27; 9:12; 10:10). The time now arrived for the prophecy regarding the second temple, uttered by Jesus Christ, to come to fulfillment.
History vividly recorded the horrific slaughter of many of the Jewish people and the complete destruction of the second temple by the Romans under the leadership of General Titus in A.D. 70.[2] “Not one stone” of the second temple remains on the Temple Mount. That Temple Mount, which once supported the first and second temples, now provides the foundation for the Muslim Dome of the Rock shrine, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
A Mystery Period
The dispensation of the age of grace is a mystery period, not prophesied in the Old Testament, which does not require a physical temple in Jerusalem. The individual bodies of Christians provide the temple where the Holy Spirit chooses to dwell in this dispensation (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19).
God’s plan for the ages will once again drastically change when Jesus Christ raptures all Christians, both dead and alive, and takes them to heaven (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:50-54). God vividly describes the subsequent events in the prophetic Scriptures, which will lead us to our future examination of the Tribulation Temple (Dan. 9:27; Matt. 24:15; 2 Thess. 2:4; Rev. 11:1).
Here we stand; we cannot, and must not, be moved from this distinctive dispensational doctrine.
(Read Part 5)
Dr. Richard Schmidt is the founder of Prophecy Focus Ministries, having previously served as a pastor and church planter. His love for the prophetic Scriptures resulted in writing a doctoral dissertation on a dispensational perspective on the mystery church age existing between the 69th and 70th weeks of Daniel. Dr. Schmidt offers seminars on a variety of prophetic topics to local churches and conferences. We are very excited to involve him as a contributing author to Dispensational Publishing House.
Copyright © 2016 by Dr. Richard Schmidt. Used by permission of the author.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Randall Price, The Temple and Bible Prophecy (Eugene, OR: Harvest House Publishing, 2005), pp. 25, 112.
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