The Antichrist and the Third Temple
December 16, 2015, taken from WayOfLife.org, David Cloud
The following is excerpted from THE FUTURE ACCORDING TO THE BIBLE. ISBN 978-1-58318-172-0.
Bible prophecy associates the Antichrist with the building of the Third Temple (2 Th. 2:3-4). (The First Temple was built by Solomon, and the Second Temple was built after the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity and was extended and glorified by King Herod, so that it was called Herod’s Temple.)
Great preparations are being made in Israel for the building of the Third Temple. The Temple Institute, founded in 1986, has prepared all of the articles, including a menorah (candlestick) fashioned from 95 pounds of gold (valued at $2 million) and the high priest’s golden crown costing $30,000. When I (David Cloud) visited Jerusalem in 2010, the menorah was on display on the Western Wall Plaza across from the Temple Mount. The Temple Institute is constructing a full-scale model of the Temple near the Dead Sea to use for training priests.
What Messiah are the Jews looking for?
The Jews today are looking for the Messiah, but the Messiah they are looking for is actually the Antichrist.
1. The Jews are looking for a Messiah that will rebuild the temple.
In Jewish tradition, the rebuilding of the temple is associated with the coming of the Messiah. According to Maimonides (also called Rambam), the highest rabbinical authority, any Jew that starts rebuilding the Temple is a potential Messiah. Shimon ben Kosiba was considered a Messiah in the second century A.D. when he led a revolt to recapture Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple. He was named Bar Kokhba (“Son of the Star”) based on the Messianic prophecy of Numbers 24:17, and a coin was struck depicting the Temple with the Ark of the Covenant inside and the Messianic star on the roof.
A representative of the Temple Institute told us in 2010 that they are looking for a temple builder: “We are waiting for a Messiah. In Jewish tradition, we believe that in every generation there is someone who can be the Messiah. The question is who will he be. The answer is only someone who does specific things can be called the Messiah. The one who brings Israel back to Israel. The one who builds the temple again.”
By this tradition, it is simple to see how the Antichrist will be looked upon as the Messiah. He will come as a peacemaker and by his satanic power he will make a way for the Jewish Temple to be rebuilt in spite of Muslim animosity.