Does Israel Need to Rebuild the Temple?

Does the Bible say that the nation of Israel needs to rebuild the temple? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. You can also ask a question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. As always, you can post your question on our Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter accounts. You can watch us on YouTube and you can email us with your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com. First up today, let's go to Ronald in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Ronald, welcome to the program. Thank you.

What's your question? Okay, it has to do with Revelation 12. And before I ask the question, the lady yesterday that called and said it made her nervous that she couldn't find any information in the Scriptures on the subject, I looked up a lot, but I'd only get three locations. Zechariah chapter 5 says he saw a fly roll.

That would be like a UFO. Then he said, Two women and the wind and their wings, for they had wings like the wings of a stork. That's in the same chapter 5. Then in Isaiah 60, Isaiah says, Who are these that fly as a cloud and as the doves to their windows?

So that was three of the things I found. But in Revelation 12, Satan and his angels, there's war in heaven during the tribulation. And in the middle of the tribulation, they get kicked out of heaven to the earth. So it says there was war in heaven, that would be where God's throne is. Then in verse 12, he says, Therefore, rejoice ye heavens, that's plural, and ye that dwell in them. That wouldn't be where God's throne is, that would be out where the stars are. Therefore, rejoice ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and of the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.

My question is, how do you understand the difference between heaven singular and heaven plural? And it says, Rejoice ye heavens. And honestly, what we have here in the book of Revelation is this apocalyptic prophetic literature as well. And oftentimes, in this genre of literature, you have this great imagery, these depictions of these symbolic images.

And sometimes I think people today read those depictions and they try to say, Oh, look, that's a helicopter or a UFO or that kind of a thing. But I think we're completely missing the point when we read these texts in that way. They're communicating something specifically to the people of God. And here in Revelation chapter 12, what's being communicated to the people of God is comfort in the midst of persecution and suffering from the beginning of the chapter to the very end. What we have here is essentially a description of what took place through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. You have the evil one, the accuser, being cast out, sent to the earth. Verse 12, as you said, Therefore, rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them.

But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath because he knows that his time is short. And so what is he doing here on earth? He's persecuting the saints, but he no longer has this sort of privileged place in the heavenlies, if you will, as the accuser of the saints.

Why? Because he has been disarmed. He's been bound by the Lord Jesus Christ through the redemptive work of Jesus, in particular, his cross and his resurrection. And we have victory through that cross and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.

In fact, that's what John says just a little bit prior to this. They, that is, the saints, verse 11, conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives unto death. And so you have here really a great comfort that the people of God, the saints, are victorious.

They conquer by faith through the blood of the Lamb, through the word of their testimony, what Jesus Christ has done. But we also do experience the attacks and persecution of the evil one here on earth, and that's what the apostle John is getting at in verse 12. But we have the comfort that Christ is building his church.

The gates of hell are not going to prevail against her, and we know the end of the story. And so this really is meant to be a comfort to the saints, to believers, to us. Ronald, thanks for your question.

Thanks so much, Ronald. By the way, we have a great new Bible study on the book of Revelation. You can find that by going to corechristianity.com forward slash revelation. That's corechristianity.com forward slash revelation.

It really unpacks a lot of the mysteries and the type of literature that Revelation is. We'll help you understand that book in a lot greater detail. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Let's go to Duncan in Ottawa, Canada.

Hi, Duncan. What's your question for Pastor Adriel? Okay, Pastor Sanchez, would you please explain Galatians chapter 6 verses 4 and 5. It reads, But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another, for each one shall bear his own load.

This seems a contradiction on the surface. Paul has already instructed us to bear one another's burdens, and in so doing, we fulfill the law of Christ. On the other hand, it seems he's saying, well, we have to shoulder... Let me just begin in verse 1 of chapter 6 to give us some more context and maybe even taking a step back further. The book of Galatians was written to believers who were being drawn away from the gospel. Essentially, there was a group, agitators, Jewish, quote-unquote, Christians, who were sneaking the law back into the message of the gospel, if you will, saying, hey, if you really want to be justified, if you really want to be a part of the family of God, you need to observe these Hebrew ceremonies.

You need to basically become Jewish if you want to be Christian. Paul is combating that heresy, that compromising of the gospel. Here, in chapter 6, he says, Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.

Keep watch on yourself, lest you two be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. In other words, within the body of Christ, we're caring for one another. When someone falls into sin, is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of gentleness.

It's part of the way we bear each other's burdens. For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. That is before God, having a clear conscience before the Lord in our service to the Lord, not having too lofty or high of a view of ourselves. Let each one test his own work, Paul said, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. So he's talking really about two different things, and that's why there's no contradiction there. Of course, he goes on to say in verse five, for each will have to bear his own load.

In what context, right? In one sense, within the body of Christ, we're bearing and sharing one another's burdens. But before the Lord, in terms of our own standing, Paul says, you look to yourself in one sense, let each one test his own work. And again, remember, Paul is dealing with this heresy, this group that was saying, you're justified by the works of the law. And that's essentially what Paul is combating here. And so it's really important that we understand the context.

And I think as we understand the context, we realize, hey, there's really no contradiction here as the Apostle Paul is unpacking this. Duncan, thanks for your question. Thanks so much, Duncan. Appreciate that call. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Our phone lines are open for the next 15 minutes or so. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, give us a call at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Let's go to Shereen in Snowville, Georgia. Shereen, welcome to the program.

Yes. Hi, Pastor Sanchez. How are you? I'm doing well. How are you doing, Shereen? Fine. Thank you.

God bless. The reason I called you is because my sister, she lives in the islands, and we had a little debate over the phone the other day about Jesus being Michael the angel. And what happened is she used to be with the Christian church. She's now with the Seventh-day Adventist.

And they believe that in the Book of Daniel, where it speaks about Michael the archangel, they're saying that that's who Jesus Christ is. And I don't believe that. I try to tell her, but she said, no, that's their belief. And I wanted to ask you, isn't that belief wrong?

Hey, Shereen, thank you for your question. And yes, I would say that that belief is wrong in one place where you can show your sister. I think if you go to the Book of Hebrews in Hebrews chapter 1, in particular in the first chapter, I mean, the entire Book of Hebrews is about how Jesus is greater, Jesus is better. He's better than the Old Testament sacrifices. He's better than Moses.

He's better than the old covenant. Focusing on Jesus and the superiority of Christ in the New Covenant, that's what the Book of Hebrews is all about. And in chapter 1, you have the supremacy of Jesus even over the angels. In verse 5, the author of the Hebrews says, to which of the angels did God ever say, you are my son, today I have begotten you, or again, I will be to him a father and he shall be to me a son. And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, let all God's angels worship him.

In other words, the angels of God bowed down before Jesus in worship because Jesus is the second person of the Holy Trinity, the eternal son of God. And then the author of the Hebrews says of the angels, he says, he makes his angels winds and his ministers a flame of fire, but of the sun, he says. And so now again, speaking to Jesus, your throne, O God, is forever and ever. The scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore, God, your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions.

And I love this is a quotation from Psalm 102, you, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning. The heavens are the work of your hands. They will perish, but you remain. They will wear out like a garment, like a robe. You will roll them up like a garment.

They will be changed, but you are the same and your years will have no end. And so what if the author of the Hebrews doing here, inspired by the Holy Spirit, he's saying, look, Jesus is far superior to the angels. He's not an angel. He's not a created being. Actually, he's the one who created all things, even the angels. They bow down to him in worship.

And so I would talk to your sister and take her here to Hebrews chapter one. Remember also in Colossians chapter one, it talks about all things, even even the angels having been created by Jesus for him and through him for his glory. And so we can't get this confused here. The most important question for you for any of us is who do I say Jesus is? And getting the answer to that question wrong has eternal consequences. And the Bible makes it very clear to us. Jesus is the eternal son of God, equal with the father, the second person of the Holy Trinity, who for us and for our salvation came down from heaven so that we might be redeemed and our sins might be forgiven.

Don't get don't get this wrong. So important. Thank you, Shireen, for your question. You're listening to Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. Today, we'd like to offer you a wonderful new book that we believe will help you grow in your faith and really get a grasp of God's tender heart towards every one of us.

Dane Ortlund's book, Gentle and Lowly. And of course, that language comes from Matthew Chapter 11 towards the end of the chapter where Jesus says, Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Are you tired?

Are you exhausted right now? Just hear the words of our Lord Jesus. He says, I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light and you will find rest for your souls. It's that deep rest that each of us needs, that soul rest that Jesus offers to us in him. And that's what this book is about, the gentle and lowly heart of Christ who gives rest to his people. Get a hold of this resource.

We want to get it in your hands. You can get a copy of Gentle and Lowly for a donation of any amount at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. That's corechristianity.com forward slash offers. You can also call us for this offer or any one of our offers at 833-843-2673. Again, that number is 833, the core. One of the things you can also do is leave a voicemail at that number if you have a question and can't call during the live program.

Let's go to a voicemail that we received earlier this week. We all know that Israel doesn't have a temple right now because they have God and so much Jesus coming. If they were to build the temple, wouldn't that be against the worship of God? Could you please explain it, because I believe that there is so much confusion at this time.

Thank you very much. Bye-bye. Well, you're right, brother. There is a lot of confusion at this time, even on this very, very topic. This idea of rebuilding the temple and should the temple be rebuilt is, you know, a place for Jews and Christians to maybe come together and worship. Well, we have to understand what the temple was under the Old Covenant, the Old Testament. First, you have the tabernacle, right, which God gave instructions for in places like the Book of Exodus, and it was a meeting place for God and his people. I mean, the people of God, right, they had been through so much, starting even back in the Book of Genesis with Adam and Eve cast out of the garden.

The big question is, how are we going to get back into fellowship with God? What you have in books like the Book of Exodus and in the Book of Leviticus is God's plan for bringing his people back to the garden, quote, unquote, back to his house, and it was going to be through his worship. The tabernacle, the temple, actually, a lot of the imagery in the tabernacle was very much garden-like. Within the tabernacle, within the temple, you had this great big menorah that looked like a tree that was on fire, almost like this tree of life, we might say. It was a lot of this Edenic imagery, and God was bringing his people back to dwell in his presence.

How? Through sacrifices of atonement, dealing with sin, the very thing that separates us from God. So for a period of time, you had this temple with these sacrifices that were accomplished, these sacrifices of atonement, and then Jesus came. And Jesus identified his own body as the temple of God. In other words, Jesus says, you want to meet with God? I'm the meeting place between God and humanity. And quite literally, he was, because the eternal Son of God assumed humanity and made it his own, united the divine with human, if you will.

And so it really is this beautiful picture. Jesus says, if you want to know God, if you want to have a relationship with God, I'm where you need to come. Jesus is the temple of the living God, and in him, the church today, is a holy temple. The Apostle Paul says this to the Corinthians. We are the body of Christ, the holy temple of the living God. Peter says the very same thing.

And so, no, the answer is no. We don't, quote, you know, rebuild the temple as it was described in the Old Testament. And the reason is because Jesus Christ fulfilled those sacrifices of atonement. There are no more, you know, sacrificial offerings that need to be made, propitiatory sacrificial blood offerings that need to be made. Jesus Christ, John the Baptist said, is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And I was just reading from the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 1, earlier. The book of Hebrews makes this point so clearly.

The author of the Hebrews is writing to a group of Christians who are being tempted to go back to the sacrifices of the Old Testament system, going back under the law, back under the Old Covenant, and the author of the Hebrews says, don't do that. If you do that, what you're doing is you're minimizing the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You're putting your confidence in something besides his atoning work.

And that's a terrifying thing to do because there's nothing that we can do that can save us. There's nothing that we can put our confidence in apart from the work of Christ that will give us assurance that we are right in the sight of a holy God. And so we don't, it would be taking a step backwards in the flow of redemptive history to say we need to rebuild the temple. And so, no, Israel does not need to rebuild the temple. Right now, the temple on earth that God is building, you know what it's made out of? Living stones, we're told in the New Testament. Those living stones are the people of God. You are a part of the temple of the living God that he is building here on earth through his word and spirit.

And it's a temple that covers the face of the whole world. God bless. Amen.

Thanks for that explanation, Adriel. That is so true and so comforting. Here at CORE Christianity, we are not supported by a particular church or denomination. We rely on people just like you to make donations to keep us on the air. And if you find this program helpful, we would ask you to prayerfully consider making a gift of any amount. You can do that on our website at corechristianity.com.

Just click donate at the top of the page. Let's go to another email that we received with a question about heaven. I have a question. My mother-in-law says that if you are saved, but yet you're not really following the Lord, then you'll be outside the gate if you've accepted Christ. I don't think that's biblical.

Could you confirm that? I don't know of any scripture that talks about being outside the gate. I think you're either in heaven or hell. If you reject Christ, you're in hell. If you have a false conversion, you're also in hell. So if you could please clarify that.

Thank you. Yeah, well I agree with that last statement you made. There's not like the sort of purgatory kind of place where you have people in between. Maybe they weren't that bad and so they went to this place. Or they didn't totally believe like they should and so they didn't make it in, but they're not in hell or in perdition. It sounds to me like the language maybe that your mother-in-law is using is coming from the book of Revelation, the very end of the Bible, Revelation chapter 22. This is what it says in the beginning in verse 12. Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. This is Jesus speaking. Blessed are those who wash their robes so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. Now these same people are the people who earlier in the book of Revelation are cast into the lake of fire. So it's not like we have to remember John is using, as I've mentioned earlier in the same broadcast, this sort of prophetic imagery, apocalyptic imagery.

He's painting a vivid picture for us. He's saying, look, those immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, they're not within. They're on the outside. They're cut off from the community of faith, from the kingdom of God. And so, yes, they are in the lake of fire. They're condemned. There is a broader question here, though, as well, sister, related to, you know, well, what about those people who say, I believe in Jesus, but then they live however they want? And I'm sensitive to this because I think that there are a lot of people out there who maybe said a prayer years ago, have zero relationship to a church, have zero interest in the things of the Lord, in following the Lord.

They want to do their own thing. They were just looking for some sort of fire insurance, you know, so they said, what ritual do I need to go to to make sure I'm going to end up in heaven? I'm just going to live however I want. Well, that's not genuine faith, I would say. Genuine faith is laying hold of the promise of the gospel for you, recognizing I am a sinner. I need the grace of God and I embrace the gospel and the forgiveness of Jesus Christ.

I lay hold of it. And when we lay hold of the gospel by faith, we're saved, we're justified. We're not half saved or we're not half justified. We're fully justified, a part of God's kingdom, a part of God's family. But then he begins, by the grace of his spirit, day by day to work in us, putting to death our sinful deeds and desires.

And the fact of the matter is that's a lifelong work process. We're always going to struggle with sin, you know, here on earth, battling with the lusts of the flesh. We're called to follow the Lord and to love the Lord. And by the grace of the Spirit, God gives us even that. He works those graces in us, in our heart. And that's not what saves us, that's not what justifies us, it's just what God does for his children because he's good and kind.

And so maybe your mother-in-law is concerned with that very thing that I think should concern us. You know, people who just say, oh yeah, I believe in Jesus, I said a prayer many years ago, and haven't been to church in 10 years and could care less about the family of God, that kind of a thing. No, we should ask ourselves, do I love the Lord? Do I know the Lord?

Do I really have faith in him? Or am I looking for God to be this sort of quick fix to my life, to whatever problems I have, and even to the problem of eternity? Maybe one day I'll need to get right with God, that kind of a thing. No, friends, God is so good, he's so gracious, he's made a way for you to have communion with him through his Son, Jesus Christ. Don't neglect that, don't set that aside. Today, the author of the Hebrews says, is the day of salvation.

Go to the Lord and receive the grace and the kindness, the forgiveness and the love that he has for you. Amen. What an incredible promise that every one of us can take advantage of, and should take advantage of, if we haven't already. And of course, as you mentioned, we still fail, we still fall, but the sanctification process goes on, right?

Absolutely. And the good news is, even when we fall, you know, the Lord picks us up. He will never leave you or forsake you. It's a promise that we have in Scripture, and so we can rest in it, in God's faithfulness to his sinful people. Thanks for listening to CORE Christianity. To request your copy of today's special offer, visit us at corechristianity.com and click on offers in the menu bar. Or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833-THE-CORE. When you contact us, please let us know how you've been encouraged by this program. And be sure to join us next time as we explore the truth of God's Word together.