Practicing for 3rd Temple in Jerusalem

Most of my readers know by now that there have only been two Jewish temples in Jerusalem.  The first one was built by Solomon and was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. Then when the Jews came back from Babylon, they rebuilt it as best they could.  King Herod then shored it up some more so the 2nd temple is many times referred to as Herod's Temple.

So, Solomon's Temple and Herod's Temple have been the only two Temples for the last 3000 years! Herod's Temple is the one that Jesus saw and told his disciples that not one stone would be left standing....and sure enough, the Romans destroyed it and pried all the rocks apart about 35 years after Jesus ascended into heaven.

BUT.....the 3rd Temple may soon be built!  The Jews of Israel are now desirous of one!  The preparations are all in place to build it and the priests have started practicing how to serve at it!

A special ceremony was held in the Cardo in Jerusalem on Thursday,  March 10th. It was the beginning of the month of Adar, or, to be precise, the second day of Rosh Chodesh Adar Bet. In temple Times, the new month was considered a minor holiday and the ceremony, a reenactment of the Temple service, gloriously illustrated that.

On the day of the new month, special sacrifices were brought to the Temple: two oxen, a ram, seven lambs, wine libations, flour, and oil (Numbers 28:11-15). This is identical to the sacrifices offered on Passover and Shavuot, indicating the holy aspect of the new month. Special trumpet blasts were also added in celebration.

To commemorate the special nature of the day, the Temple Institute, in conjunction with the Sanhedrin and other Temple organizations, held a reenactment of the service as it would have been performed in the Temple. The ceremony was intended to be educational for the spectators and a dry-run for the priests who participated.

The priests,  students of the Temple Institute’s Nezer HaKodesh Academy for Kohanim, wore authentic garments made to Biblical specifications, and performed the Kohanic blessing. Musicians played instruments suited for use in the Temple provided by the Temple Institute, accompanied by a choir.

Though no animals were actually slaughtered, the organs and special fats were displayed and explained. There was also a demonstration of how blood is sprinkled on the altar. A mincha offering of semolina was burned on the altar, a precise scale model, approximately one meter tall and two-and-a-half meters square.

In addition to the demonstration of the sacrifices, three members of the Sanhedrin accepted the testimony of two witnesses for the Torah commandment of declaring the new month.

Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, the founder and head of the Temple Institute, also gave a lesson about the Biblical commandment of the Machatzit HaShekel (Exodus 30:11-16) , the half shekel-weight of silver,  given to the Temple every year by Jewish men in this month. Rabbi Ariel explained that the half-shekel was used to purchase the daily sacrifices offered for all of Israel.

Events like this help prepare for the actual Temple. Not only does it raise public awareness, it also helps instruct Kohanim, Jews of the priestly class.

Joshua Wander, a resident of the Mount of Olives who has attended several of the Temple Institute’s events, noted that it also helps fix lapses in practical knowledge.

“When we did the reenactment of the Pesach offering, we discovered that it is difficult to roast a whole animal without burning the outside and leaving the inside raw,” Wander said. “We found out that you have to wrap it up and seal it, which had to be done carefully since it is forbidden to break any of the bones.”

Read more at http://www.breakingisraelnews.com/64009/photos-priests-reenact-biblical-temple-service-celebrate-new-month-jewish-world/#4wKWGg1ved5b3GiX.99

Friends, this is just one more piece of evidence that shows the nearness of The Lord's return....which means the Bridegroom coming for His bride is EVEN CLOSER!

"But Dennis, what possible connection can there be between some stupid Temple and Jesus' return?"

Because Jesus told us there would be a Temple that would endure through the Great Tribulation!  And Daniel told us that one day the Antichrist would sit in the 3rd Temple and demand to be worshiped as God.

Matthew 24
15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

Friends, "the holy place" that Jesus refers to is in the 3rd Temple.

Daniel 9
27 He (Antichrist) will confirm a covenant with many (Israel and it's enemies) for one ‘seven.’ (year period (hence, why it is called, the 70th Week of Daniel) In the middle of the ‘seven’ (3 1/2 years into agreement) he (Antichrist) will put an end to sacrifice and offering. (in order to have animal sacrificing there HAS TO BE A 3rd TEMPLE!)

So let me repeat it:  There will be a 3rd Temple that WILL be on earth for the final 7 years before Christ returns to cut the days short at Armageddon.

The fact that we are seeing preparations for events that WILL HAPPEN during the final 7 years before Christ returns SHOULD give us reason to understand that we are in the VERY LAST DAYS.

Now here is the VERY GOOD NEWS and our BLESSED HOPE:  Christ comes for His bride BEFORE the Antichrist is even revealed! (Read 2nd Thessalonians again)  

Are we all ready for the trumpet to blow and meet Christ in the air??  It could happen today, tomorrow, next week or next month!  There is no other prophecy or event that needs to happen!  The next prophetic event on God's calendar is the rapture of the Church.

Even so, COME LORD JESUS!