Archeological Find May Give Green Light To Jews To Build The Third Temple (By Pastor Ray)

This teaching is part of the Restoration Church, Camano Island ministry. Pastor Gary is a Church Planter in the Pacific Northwest. Your prayers and support are appreciated.

CHURCH WEBSITE ( RestorationChurchCamano.com ).     

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In Daniel Chapters 8 and 11, there are a number of prophetic passages regarding the coming of a terrible persecuter of God’s people—he is the Old Testament foreshadow of the New Testament Antichrist—Antiochus IV Epiphanes—one of the most evil men in all of history. Approximately 160 years before Jesus was born Antiochus marched against Jerusalem, killed tens of thousands of Jews, and desecrated the temple with pigs blood and pagan idols. A revolt against this savage ruler was led by the Hebrew, Judas Maccabeus. This struggle against the great Syrian king (Antiochus) reads like a David verses Goliath story.  Though vastly outnumbered and out-gunned,  in time Judas Maccabeus secured a decisive victory, vanquished the invaders from the land, and cleansed and rededicated the temple (this part of the story provides the foundation for the ancient Feast of Dedication or current celebration of Hanukkah).  Many are familiar with at least some aspect of this story. A lesser-known aspect of this story, however,  is that Antiochus brilliantly moved to control Jewish movement in and about the temple area by establishing a huge fortification—a kind of wall which was known as the Acra (or Akra). This fortification was leveled by the Jews after their decisive victory over the Syrian army, and in time, the exact location of the Acra was forgotten.

For centuries archeologist have been looking for the Acra. In fact, the Arca has been classified as one of the great archeological mysteries of all time. However, this week archaeologists in Israel announced that they believe they have found it.  What is amazing is that it’s location is some distance from where anyone thought it should be. If this is indeed the Arca fortification, and the fortification was near the Old Testament Temple (that fact is not disputed), then the location of the Jewish Temple was not exactly where the Al-Aqsa/Dome of the Rock Mosque is currently located. This means that the Jews do not need to wait for the Al-Aqsa/Dome of the Rock Mosque building to be removed or destroyed in order to begin building the new, third Temple.   

Setting up the third Temple is a high priority for many Jews today. The obstacle standing in the way of this project has been the thought that the Temple needs to be located in a particular place on the Temple Mount (where the Al-Aqsa Mosque is currently located). But if it is determined that the original site of the Temple was some distance from the Mosque—near the recent Acra find, then work on the new/third Temple is likely to begin soon. Establishing the third Temple would be the fulfillment of a key eschatological prophecy, and sets the stage for the Antichrist to rise to power. Scripture notes that in this third Temple, the Antichrist will proclaim himself to be divine. This will happen at the midpoint of the Tribulation period.

A few links to teachings on the Book of Daniel are noted below. Enjoy

LINKS TO STUDIES IN DANIEL:

• Daniel 12:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-WNKsafP_s
• Daniel 11:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0BiZNYtLVEQ
• Daniel 10:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c8mDuLDrmU
• Daniel 9: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKMkiVUy5uU