LEARNING DAILY

 

2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed.  The son of perdition who opposes all that is called God or that is worshipped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (The underlined is my emphasis.)

 

I am sure I have addressed this before.  Two things have to happen before the Lord Jesus returns to establish His millennial kingdom.  One, there has to be a falling away from believing in Jesus Christ as God’s Son and following Him.   Secondly, the temple must be rebuilt and the antichrist entering it and declaring himself to be God.  The falling away or apostacy will result in total rebellion against God.  The apostacy is already being seen.

 

The emphasis this morning is on the second aspect – the building of the temple.  Right now, there is no temple in Jerusalem.  It must be rebuilt for the antichrist to go into it and declare himself to be God.  In the book of Exodus, God gives Moses directions for building a tabernacle which includes every article that is necessary to worship Him.  Priests would use various utensils to perform the various tasks in their worship.

 

I am going to refer to the writings of Billy Crone this morning.  He has documented his research on what has been done to prepare for the rebuilding of the temple.  His research reveals that the articles given Moses for worship in the temple have already been remade to the specifications of God.  Let me give you a portion of the list and what he wrote about them.

 

Copper Laver – stands between the sanctuary and outer altar; used by the priests to wash their hands and feet before proceeding to the daily tamid offering.

 

Golden Menorah – made from a single piece of solid gold and stands in the southern side of the Sanctuary.  The oil and wicks are attended to in order to ensure it will never be extinguished.

 

Table of Showbread – stands on the northern side of the Sanctuary and is where twelve loaves of bread are placed each Sabbath to ensure the loaves remain perpetually on the table. 

 

Other utensils that have been made ready are the measuring cup, copper vessel, lottery box (used to draw lot to determine which goat will be sacrificed that day), mizrak ( used to collect the blood of the sacrifice and spill it in the corner of the altar), Three-pronged fork used to turn the offerings over on the altar, silver cup, sickle, cleaning vessels, Frankincense censor, incense altar. Silver trumpets, gold=plated shofar, silver-plated shofar, and harp (used by the Levites in the Divine service). 

 

What am I getting at today?  These utensils are ready to be used in the temple – the one to be built.  The Jewish people are ready and wanting the temple to be built.  The priestly garments are made and there is even the necessary red heifer (for purification from sin) has been born in Israel.  Everything is ready for the Jewish temple to be rebuilt.  The days of the antichrist and the seven years of tribulation are very near!

 

For you and me, we must walk on the narrow path that leads to God’s kingdom.  We need to wake up to any complacency we have about the days we live in and must not live in fear.  Instead, an excitement needs to be growing in our spiritual life that the time of God’s rapture of His church is near.  Yes, we live in uncertain times but they are sure are exciting!