“For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the One who now holds it back will continue to do so till He is taken out of the way.” 2 Thessalonians 2:7
For years, my friends and I have been getting together on Tuesdays for lunch at a local restaurant. The waitresses call us the “Tuesday girls.” We enjoy having “girl time,” hashing over biblical topics, world news and whatever is going on in our lives. In March when the quarantine hit our state, we were forced to go “underground” and do something different. No more restaurants, so we decided to meet for lunch at my house and watch some biblical videos. What a treat this became! We are interested in the “End Times,” so dvds and videos from Olive Tree Ministries became the favorites. We look forward with anticipation to our time together!
This week the topic was “The Next Temple,” and how and when it would be built. Amir Tsarfati, a Jewish Christian believes the temple will be built after the Rapture of the Church. The Anti-Christ will deceive the whole world, will come as a “man of peace,” make a pact with Israel and the Arab world and the Muslims will allow the Jews to rebuild their temple. I’ve been on the temple mount and there is plenty of room to build another structure next to the Dome of the Rock. From pictures I have seen of the Third Temple, it will be quite magnificent, over-shadowing the Muslim mosque. The mosque is a holy site to the Muslims. They say that Mohammed ascended into heaven on that very spot. However, the name of Jerusalem is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran. In the Bible, Jerusalem is mentioned over 800 times, more in the Old Testament than the New! Amir also mentioned that during some plumbing repairs to the Mosque, Israeli plumbers were called in to do the work. As they were digging under the mosque, they discovered a foundation the same size as the Ark of the Covenant. The excavators believe they discovered the location of the Holy of Holies!
The story is told that in the early centuries after Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed, a group of Jews went up to the temple area to lament over the destruction of their city by the Romans. The Muslims asked them why they were grieving; they told them it was because their temple was gone. “Ah ha,” the Muslims thought, “we will get even with the Jews and build our Mosque there!” So in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock was built, named that because it’s built over a rock!
We are living in perilous times. Everywhere we look, the spirit of lawlessness is already at work! Satan is alive and well, attempting to deceive even the “elect.” We as believers need to be careful! We are living in the “post truth” generation. People believe what they want to believe and truth is not part of their lives. Good is evil, black is white, truth is a lie, and a lie is truth! People worship satan and don’t try to hide it. They’re proud of it! They take pleasure in sin and unrighteousness and persecute the godly. They will be swept up in the hype of the anti-Christ who will come as a “man of peace,” promising peace, prosperity, world unity and a temple for the Jews. He will make a pact with the Jews for a seven year period, then, at the end of three and a half years, he will set himself up in the temple to be worshipped as God! Revelation 13.
Where will the Church be? “I will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon.” Revelation 3:10-11a. When Jesus died on the cross, He suffered the wrath of God poured out on Him. He suffered God’s wrath so we wouldn’t have to! “For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Thess. 5:9. We are ambassadors for Christ, this world is not our country! Ambassadors are recalled before wartime! We should be good citizens, but remember our citizenship is really in heaven! He is coming soon to “take us out of the way!” Praise God!
Your friend, Jean