End times prophecy is a tricky – and frequently contentious – business. It’s definitely confusing, but intentionally so I think.
 

Of course the confusion doesn’t stop the endless speculation and predictions, educated and otherwise. And scripture does provide us with some signs to watch and wait for.
 
One of the more commonly held beliefs is that, before Christ’s return, a new temple must be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The Third Temple would replace the first; constructed by King Solomon and destroyed by the Babylonians (587 BC), and the second; rebuilt in 516 BC and razed by the Romans a few decades after Jesus’ crucifixion.
 
Since reconstruction of the temple may or may not mean the Second Coming is imminent, it’s always interesting when talk of rebuilding heats up; In Jerusalem, rabbis are designing a new hi-tech temple.

 
Jake Wallis Simons (UK Telegraph) recently visited the Temple Institute exhibition, a collection of archaeological treasures in the heart of the Old City of Jerusalem, and spoke with its director, Rabbi Chaim Richman ~

A plush, hi-tech gallery, spanning 600 sq ft, (the exhibition) hosts a collection of vestments and sacred vessels to be used by the Jewish high priest. This is not a museum, insists Rabbi Richman, 54, the international director of the organisation. Apart from the Ark of the Covenant, every artefact on display has been painstakingly created in accordance with Biblical instructions and is intended for actual service in a “third Jewish temple”, which will be built as soon as possible.

The Temple institute employs 20 full-time Talmudic scholars…

… to study the elaborate, 2,000-year-old laws governing the construction of temple artefacts. But, before you accuse Richman and his colleagues of being old-fashioned, the Temple Institute has drawn up plans for the new temple that include two very contemporary features: a monorail, to transport visitors right to the door, and a 6ft-high computerised water dispenser with 12 taps so that an entire shift of priests can wash their hands at once […]
 
“There is no reason why we shouldn’t use technology, which is the modern miracle, alongside the heavenly miracles,” the rabbi tells me. “It’s part of our vision of [the temple] as a realistic potential in our times. I’m sure it will have elevators, underfloor heating and a car park.”

 

 
Of course, any mention of rebuilding the temple never sits well with Islamists: Muslims Outraged Over Construction Of The ‘Third Temple.’ Although the Jewish claim to the site goes back well over two millennia, Muslims assert that the temple mount belongs to them because they erected the Dome of the Rock there in 687 AD. And here’s the real flashpoint between the two faiths: for the temple to be rebuilt, the Dome of the Rock would have to come down. (And you thought the Middle East was in crisis already!)

 
Rabbi Richman doesn’t seem too fazed by any Muslim objections to the Third Temple ~

“This is about God’s territory. Islam took advantage of our exile and began to squat on Temple Mount and deny that Jews were ever here. We have a birthright to this place, and I don’t see why we should be embarrassed about it.”

 
Well, OK then.
 
As unlikely as the prospect of a new temple in Jerusalem may seem at the moment, keep in mind that the prophets had other things to say about Israel before the end times, one of which came about in just the last century. For almost 2000 years the Jewish people had been scattered throughout the world. Even 100 years ago, few would have believed the Israel would be reborn in 1948.
 
The Old Testament prophets didn’t just predict the Diaspora, they also foretold the eventual restoration of the nation. Ezekiel was one of these men. Writing some 2600 years ago, he not only said that Israel would be reunited after a world-wide dispersion but also predicted that, before the Messiah returned, a great enemy would rise up against the new nation…

 
If you find eschatology (the theological study of last things, i.e. end times) as fascinating as I do, I recommend checking out the Midnight Watcher for an interesting, thoughtful approach to current events and their relation to Biblical prophecies.
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Related:
Housing Minister Ariel launches virtual Temple Mount tours on Tisha B’Av ~ The virtual tour is pretty cool (one of those 360° viewers) but you won’t know what’s what unless you can read Hebrew (I couldn’t find an English version 🙁 ).
 
A Rebuilt Jewish Temple, or Something Else? (2 Thessalonians 2:4) ~ Many believe that scriptural references to rebuilding the temple refer to a spiritual – rather than physical – restoration of Christ’s church ~

… we first need to keep in mind that the Apostle Paul and Jesus both pointed to a Last Days event that would take place just before the Day of the Lord (Christ’s post-trib Second Coming). Paul referred to it as the man of lawlessness/man of sin who sets himself up in “the temple of God” (2 Thess 2:4), while Jesus described it as the Abomination of Desolation standing in “the holy place” (Matt 24:15). Many have assumed that the temple mentioned by Paul must be a physical temple in Jerusalem, however according to the verses below we are continually reminded that the true temple of God is no longer a physical temple — after the final sacrifice of Christ the veil was torn and animal sacrifices were no longer of any value — but is instead now a spiritual temple.

(1 Cor 3:17; 1 Peter 2:5; Eph 2:19-22)