Last week we had a look at the
fourth Temple of God. It is the Temple that will be rebuilt before
the Tribulation period begins. The Jews will sacrifice there again,
but then the Anti-Christ will come and exalt himself in the Temple.
He will force them to start to worship him instead of God. At the
end of the day the Temple will also be destroyed when Jesus and His
army comes to destroy the Anti-Christ and his forces. Then Jesus
will lock the devil up for a thousand years and then He will reign
on earth for a millennium. And I believe this is where the Temple
prophesied by Ezekiel comes in. I call it the fifth Temple.
In Ezekiel 40-48 he prophecies
about a Temple that has to be built. The specifications are very
specific and direct. It is clearly an earthly Temple, with all the
dimensions and details given. When and where will this temple be
rebuilt? No one knows exactly, there is a lot of speculation. But
it will be the biggest and most beautiful of all the Temples thus
far. I personally believe that it will be Jesus' Temple when He
returns to earth. He will govern from there during His millennium
reign on earth. Look at these interesting verses. These verses were
written with the millennium context in mind:
"In that day 'HOLINESS TO THE
LORD' shall be engraved on the bells of the horses. The pots in the
Lord's house shall be like the bowls before the altar. Yes, every
pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holiness to the Lord of hosts."
Zechariah 14:20, 21.
"All the flocks of Kedar shall
be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaoith shall minister to
you; they shall descend with acceptance on My altar, and I will
glorify the house of My glory. The glory of Lebanon shall come to
you, the cypress, the pine, and the box tree together, to beautify
the place of My Sanctuary; and I will make the place of My feet
glorious." Isaiah 60:7, 13
So according to these verses there
is clearly going to be a Temple during the millennium period. And
God Himself will glorify the house of His glory. This Temple will
be filled with God's glory, the first time since His glory entered
Solomon's Temple and God declares that He will remain there
forever:
"The Spirit lifted me up and
brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord
filled the Temple. And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the
place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I
will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever." Ezekiel
43:5, 7
"…and the name of the city from
that day shall be: THE LORD IS THERE." Ezekiel 48:35
The Temple Ezekiel prophesied about
is going to be magnificent. And God will be there in His Shekinah
glory, with the soles of His feet resting there. He will sit on His
throne and rule over the earth for a thousand years. How glorifying
that will be! How wonderful to behold!
Reading these prophecies makes me
very excited. Go and read Ezekiel 40-48 for yourself and see the
magnificence of this Temple in your mind's eye and see Jesus ruling
from there. See Him in all His glory reigning over the earth as the
supreme King over all! Then you cannot help but look at your
current circumstances with different eyes. When I read this, my
current problems look so small; it pales in comparison to the glory
and honor that lies ahead. This world and all its problems and
lusts will fade away and only what was done for the honor of His
Kingdom will last. When I read these prophecies God is magnified in
my eyes and I see how great He is. I cannot help but feel lifted
up. I feel part of His royal family and I rejoice for what lies
ahead, no matter what is happening on earth at the moment. I
rejoice that I am part of the greater scheme of things, so much
bigger than I am. It excites me and lifts my spirit, looking
forward to what lies ahead!
Father thank you so much that we
are part of Your bigger plan for this earth. No matter what we are
facing, we are part of Your Kingdom now already. We glorify Your
Name and look forward to the physical manifestation of it all!
Amen