Will the Jews Rebuild the Temple?

Wayne Jackson wrote this article which appeared in the December 1973 edition of the "Christian Courier", published by the East Main Street Church of Christ in Stockton, California.

In the December issue of "Moody Monthly", a religious journal published by the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago, there appears an article entitled: "When Will the Jews Rebuild Their Temple?" Malcolm Couch, author of the article, contends that it could be within the next ten years. Couch, who spent last summer making a documentary movie on archaeological excavations of the temple, says: "What I saw and heard there, plus our research of past months, convinces me that within the next ten years Israel could move to rebuild the temple." (p. 34.) However, Couch admits: "This of course is only an opinion. Many Bible scholars disagree. Some argue that the temple will never be rebuilt." This is but another in a long series of attempts to find some support for the Scripture-bare, materialistically oriented theory of premillennialism.

In the first place, to even ask the question: "When will the Jews rebuild their temple" is to reveal Biblical ignorance. The temple was never the Jews' temple! It was God's temple (Matthew 21:13). He planned it, designed it and had it built (Hebrews 8:5). He organized its functions to be merely preparatory to the coming of a spiritual system (Hebrews 10:1). And when the Jews finally filled up the measure of wickedness that was characteristic of their ancestors (Matthew 23:32), God sent "His armies" (the Romans) and destroyed Jerusalem (Matthew 22:7), including the temple, of which not one stone was left that was not thrown down (Matthew 24:2).

Classic premillennialists contend that the temple will be rebuilt and the Jewish economy reinstated in the Millennium. This view is based upon a perverted view of certain Old Testament prophecies (e.g. Ezekiel 40-48, Zechariah 6:12-13). This simply is not admissible for the following reasons.
     1. The death of Christ completely nullified forever the Old Testament system of sacrifices. (Hebrews 9:10-15; 10:1-4, 18)
     2. Christians are strongly warned against reverting to the Old Testament system. (Galatians 3:23-25; 4:3-9; 5:1; Colossians 2:16-17; Hebrews 10:11-14)
     3. Christ abolished the law which was the middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentile (Ephesians 2:11-22), so that the "Israel of God" now consists of those who obey the gospel of faith thereby becoming "Abraham's seed." (Galatians 6:16; 3:26-29)
     4. The temple that Zechariah prophesied Christ would build was the church (Matthew 16:18) which was the spiritual "temple of God." (I Corinthians 1:2; 3:16-17; Ephesians 2:19-22) This is evidenced by the fact that in connection with the building of that temple, Christ was to serve as a priest (Zechariah 6:13), which He could never do on earth. (Hebrews 7:14; 8:4) Consequently, it was never prophesied that Christ should build a literal or material temple on this earth!

Furthermore, it would be impossible for the Jews to rebuild the temple since the details of the original plan have been lost for centuries. As McClintock and Strong observe: "It thus appears that as regards the building itself we have little more than a few fragmentary notices, which are quite insufficient to enable us to make out a correct architectural representation of it, or even to arrive at a very definite idea of many things belonging to its complicated structure and arrangements. All attempts that have been made in this direction have utterly failed and for the most part, have proceeded on entirely wrong principles." (Cyclopedia, Vol. X, p. 255.)

An interesting example of an attempt to rebuild the Jewish temple occurred in the reign of the Roman emperor Julian (363 A.D.). The infidel historian Edward Gibbon points out that the very purpose of Julian in initiating this project was to refute the Christian conviction that the Mosaic economy had passed away by divine authority. He writes: "As the Christians were firmly persuaded that a sentence of everlasting destruction had been pronounced against the whole fabric of the Mosaic law, the Imperial sophist (Julian) would have converted the success of his undertaking into a specious argument against the faith of prophecy and the truth of revelation." (Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. 1, p. 778.) Gibbon states that the Jews were very enthusiastic for this venture. They came from all parts of the empire and donated generously for the work. As the project was begun however, "horrible balls of fire" kept "breaking out near the foundations, with frequent and reiterated attacks." So incessant and severe were these fires, that the "scorched and blasted workmen" soon abandoned the undertaking. Incidentally, Julian died within six months after the work was started.

In his remarkable book Christ's Second Coming, Professor David Brown emphasizes that it is not surprising that "the unbelieving Jews should look for a rebuilt temple, a re-established priesthood, the restoration of their bloody sacrifices, and an Israelitish supremacy - at once religious and civil - over all the nations of the earth when their Messiah comes." To believe otherwise would necessitate the Jews forsaking their entire scheme of Old Testament interpretation; a scheme by the way, which resulted in the crucifixion of Christ! What is amazing, Dr. Brown points out, is that men who profess to believe that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Old Testament prophecy should agree with the Jews views of Old Testament prophecy! (p. 338.)

Surely it must be that many of those who are contending for the theory of premillennialism are unaware of the serious implications necessarily resulting from that doctrine.