Is Prophecy Being Fulfilled Now? #2
If you could see the future, would you want to? Would you want to know what is going to happen in this world so you can prepare yourself and your family to survive the crises and thrive with the victors? Or would you rather be surprised by fate and enjoy the blissful ignorance of this moment? I believe most people would want to have the advantage of knowing the future so they could prepare.
We can know what the future holds for us and when it is going to happen! The Bible is very clear on what is going to happen in the future. Most of us have been taught that the return of the Messiah will come suddenly and no man knows the day or hour. This is true but the context of I Thessalonians 5:2 (the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night) also says “but you, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and children of the day… therefore let us not sleep as others do.” We may not know the exact day or hour the Lord will return but we certainly can see the signs of His coming, which He said will take place. We can know the season the Messiah will come. Jesus exhorts us to read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3).
I wrote about one of those signs last week. The rebirth of the nation of Israel will happen before the Messiah returns. Israel became a nation again in 1948. For the first time in over 2,000 years Israel has become an autonomous state. Not only are they an independent nation again, they are a thriving world power. Another prophecy that will happen before the return of the Messiah is:
#2 Temple Worship will be Revived
Daniel 9:27 tells us that the anti-Christ will make a covenant in the seven-year tribulation that is coming. In the middle of that seven-year period he will break that covenant and cause Temple sacrifices to stop. There will be Temple sacrifices taking place in the end times.
These sacrifices will be different than the sacrifices before Christ died on the cross. Jesus fulfilled all the requirements for the Passover sacrifice. We do not need a sacrifice to atone for our sins. Those sacrifices pictured the coming of the perfect Lamb of God to this earth and being sacrificed for our sins. Jesus fulfilled this requirement when He died on the cross on Passover in 30 A.D.
Daniel 12:11 also mentions the daily sacrifices that will be stopped in the seven-year tribulation. Temple worship will have to be re-established before the Messiah returns. Revelation 11:1 indicates that there will be believers worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem in the end times.
Several phenomena have to happen in order for Temple worship to take place. There must be an order of qualified priests to have Temple worship. Not only has an order of qualified priests been structured in Israel, they have been trained in the Biblical methods of Temple worship and are ready to perform in the Temple.
Other aspects of the Temple worship system are coming to light. In 2004 archaeologist Eli Shukrun discovered the ancient mikvah (ritual bath) for the Temple. Jewish law requires a person to wash in the fresh water from a spring before ascending to the Temple. This was done in the Pool of Siloam. The Pool of Siloam and the Ophel (ascent to the Temple) have now been uncovered for the first time in almost 2,000 years.
The obvious question to me is why have these been uncovered now? Why do we have the privilege of seeing many parts of the Temple worship system come together in our lifetime? We don’t need a Temple miraculously falling out of the sky to see that Temple worship is coming soon. We are experiencing what God’s children have lived to see since the beginning of time! Yes, it is happening now! So wake up and don’t miss these exciting times! (I Thessalonians 5:6)
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016
We can know what the future holds for us and when it is going to happen! The Bible is very clear on what is going to happen in the future. Most of us have been taught that the return of the Messiah will come suddenly and no man knows the day or hour. This is true but the context of I Thessalonians 5:2 (the Day of the Lord comes as a thief in the night) also says “but you, brothers, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are all the children of light, and children of the day… therefore let us not sleep as others do.” We may not know the exact day or hour the Lord will return but we certainly can see the signs of His coming, which He said will take place. We can know the season the Messiah will come. Jesus exhorts us to read the signs of the times (Matthew 16:3).
I wrote about one of those signs last week. The rebirth of the nation of Israel will happen before the Messiah returns. Israel became a nation again in 1948. For the first time in over 2,000 years Israel has become an autonomous state. Not only are they an independent nation again, they are a thriving world power. Another prophecy that will happen before the return of the Messiah is:
#2 Temple Worship will be Revived
Daniel 9:27 tells us that the anti-Christ will make a covenant in the seven-year tribulation that is coming. In the middle of that seven-year period he will break that covenant and cause Temple sacrifices to stop. There will be Temple sacrifices taking place in the end times.
These sacrifices will be different than the sacrifices before Christ died on the cross. Jesus fulfilled all the requirements for the Passover sacrifice. We do not need a sacrifice to atone for our sins. Those sacrifices pictured the coming of the perfect Lamb of God to this earth and being sacrificed for our sins. Jesus fulfilled this requirement when He died on the cross on Passover in 30 A.D.
Daniel 12:11 also mentions the daily sacrifices that will be stopped in the seven-year tribulation. Temple worship will have to be re-established before the Messiah returns. Revelation 11:1 indicates that there will be believers worshipping in the Temple in Jerusalem in the end times.
Several phenomena have to happen in order for Temple worship to take place. There must be an order of qualified priests to have Temple worship. Not only has an order of qualified priests been structured in Israel, they have been trained in the Biblical methods of Temple worship and are ready to perform in the Temple.
Other aspects of the Temple worship system are coming to light. In 2004 archaeologist Eli Shukrun discovered the ancient mikvah (ritual bath) for the Temple. Jewish law requires a person to wash in the fresh water from a spring before ascending to the Temple. This was done in the Pool of Siloam. The Pool of Siloam and the Ophel (ascent to the Temple) have now been uncovered for the first time in almost 2,000 years.
The obvious question to me is why have these been uncovered now? Why do we have the privilege of seeing many parts of the Temple worship system come together in our lifetime? We don’t need a Temple miraculously falling out of the sky to see that Temple worship is coming soon. We are experiencing what God’s children have lived to see since the beginning of time! Yes, it is happening now! So wake up and don’t miss these exciting times! (I Thessalonians 5:6)
© Dr. Steven L Smith 2016