# Just spent a while typing this up and thought I would share



## ReformedWretch (Nov 22, 2004)

A defense against the rebuilding of the third temple. These are notes of mine taken from Gentry's "He shall have dominion".. I am sure I will be using them for a long time to come and thought others may be able to as well.

--------------------------------------------------------
The rebuilt temple of Ezekiel 40-48

1)This is a VISION, as such there are parts of this vision which simple cannot be taken literally.

a)The site of the temple is on a very high mountain (Ezek. 40:2)
There is NO very high mountain in the area of Jerusalem.

b)The source and flow of the river is incredible!(Ezek 47:1-2)
It becomes a "œmighty river".

c)The function of this river is to make the Dead Sea fresh, and bringing to life all that it touches. (Ezek. 47:6-12)

d)The 12 tribes are provided parallel tracks of land, which would be awkward in real geography. (Ezek 47:13)


2)Trying to say that "œsacrifices" will resume as memorials is just too much!

a)Ezekiel 43
19you shall give to the Levitical priests of the family of Zadok, who draw near to me to minister to me, declares the Lord GOD, a bull from the herd for a sin offering.

b)Ezekiel 40
39 In the portico of the gateway were two tables on each side, on which the burnt offerings, sin offerings and guilt offerings were slaughtered.

c)Ezekiel 43
21 You are to take the bull for the sin offering and burn it in the designated part of the temple area outside the sanctuary.

d)Ezekiel 45
15 Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings [1] *to make atonement* for the people, declares the Sovereign LORD .

e)Ezekiel 45
17 It will be the duty of the prince to provide the burnt offerings, grain offerings and drink offerings at the festivals, the New Moons and the Sabbaths-at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel. He will provide *the sin offerings*, grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings *to make atonement for the house of Israel.*

f)Ezekiel 45
20 You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are *to make atonement for the temple.*

g)Ezekiel 43
20 You are to take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar and on the four corners of the upper ledge and all around the rim, and so purify the altar and *make atonement for it.*

h)Ezekiel 43
26 For seven days they are to *make atonement* for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it.

As can READ here"¦.these are NOT "œmemorial" sacrifices! They make atonement!

THIS is the ONLY memorial we need for sin;

1 Corinthians 11

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.


3)This vision taken literally would Judaize Christianity instead of Christianizing the adherents of Judaism.

a)It would reimpose circumcision and displace baptism. 
Ezekiel 44
9 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary, not even the foreigners who live among the Israelites.

YET"¦.we have this teaching.

Ephesians 2
11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. 
14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit. 
19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.



*No, there is no literal rebuilding of a third temple for some 1000-year literal Millennial reign of Christ on Earth.*


----------



## SmokingFlax (Nov 22, 2004)

Yup... even before I ever heard of Gentry (or DeMar or preterism, etc.), I never could resolve within myself the issue of the sacrifices suddenly being resumed after 2000 years and The Lord's Sacrifice at Calvary. The internal conflicts of dispensationalism were eating at me early but I lacked the theological knowledge to reslove the issue.

When I saw how irreconcilable the temple sacrifices are with the REAL Sacrifice it was like a light being turned on. Then, once my confidence in the dispensational teachers was permanently fractured (because of this), it was only a matter of time till I found the deep protestant heritage of the reformers and puritans.

I pray that many will likewise have their "lights turned on" by your efforts at your site, etc.

I'm going to have to pick this book up.


----------



## ReformedWretch (Nov 23, 2004)

Here are some more notes from the book in regard to antichrist, the man of lawlessness, and The Beast

The Antichrist, the Beast, and the man of lawlessness

1 John 4: 2By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, *which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.*

1 John 2: 18*Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour.* 19They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge.[3] 21I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25And this is the promise that he made to us[4] --eternal life.
26I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything--and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you--abide in him.


Do you see what happened here? Johns audience was expecting a "œfuture anti-Christ." But John corrects them and tells them that the anti-Christ is ALREADY HERE! Because these anti-Christ´s and the spirit of anti-Christ had appeared it meant the last hours had already come! When John says "œeven now" John is saying what they feared was already here!

2 John 1
7For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist.

By these passages we learn;

-The Anti-Christ is not one single ruler looming in the future.

-The Anti-Christ IS a contemporary, heretical tendency regarding the person of Christ that was very current in John´s day!

NOW"¦

The man of lawlessness and The Beast of Revelation were also men of John´s time though distinct from Antichrist.


The Beast of Revelation;

I have mentioned before how John expected the events of this Revelation to happen SOON. (Rev 1:1 and Rev 22:10) The beast had to be someone relevant to the original audience of John´s letter.

Who was the beast?

Generically he was the ancient Roman Empire.

Revelation 17
9This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated;

The Rome of the time of this writing by John was KNOWN by their "œseven mountains".

Specifically he was Nero Caesar;

- Rev 13:18 = 666"¦the Hebrew spelling of Nero was Nrwn Qsr which equals the numerical sum 666. Later the number was translated 616. This was no accident! 616 is the numerical value of Nero´s name when spelled in Hebrew by translating it from the more common Latin spelling.

- His "œbeastly image" The pagan writer Apollinius of Tyana, an actual contemporary of Nero, specifically mentions that Nero was called a "œbeast".

- The war on the Saints! The beast is said to make was on the Saints and overcome them. Specifically for 42 months! Nero´s persecution of Christianity is the first ever assault on Christianity by the Roman Empire! The persecution came to an end 42 months later! Nero´s death even came by a sword as per Rev 13:14

Now"¦

2 Thessalonians 2
3Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness[1] is revealed, the son of destruction,[2] 4who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.

This refrence is in regard to AD70. The rebellion is the rebellion of the Jews from Rome. It has to be this because the revolt against Rome is datable, but the revolt against God is ongoing.
Now, what restrained this man of lawlessness? Well it appears to be the Roman government! At the time Judaism was a LEGAL religion and Rome considered Christianity to be a "œsect" of Judaism.

Acts 25
11If then I am a wrongdoer and have committed anything for which I deserve to die, I do not seek to escape death. But if there is nothing to their charges against me, no one can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar." 12Then Festus, when he had conferred with his council, answered, "To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go."

When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians he was still under the government of Claudius Caesar, he may have even used a word play on Claudius´s name in this passage! The Latin word for "œrestraint" is "œClaudere". If you take note, Paul shifts between the neuter and the masculine reference to the "œrestrainer".

2 Thessalonians 2
6And you know *what* is restraining him now so that *he* may be revealed in *his* time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only *he* who now restrains it will do so until *he* is out of the way.

While Claudius lived Nero was kept at bay. The Christian persecution did not begin until the Neronic persecution in November of A.D.64

As for sitting in the temple, this was always a desire of the Emperor´s starting with Caius who sought to place his image on the outside of the Jewish temple! Eventually Titus invaded the temple and did such a thing!

2 Thessalonians 2
8And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders,

Nero was revealed after Claudius was removed. He was destroyed in the midst of the Jewish war (June 8 A.D.68) on the Day of the Lord. He was destroyed with the coming and breath of the Lord like Assyria was destroyed in the Old Testament.

Isaiah 30

27Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,
burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;[1] 
his lips are full of fury,
and his tongue is like a devouring fire;
28his breath is like an overflowing stream
that reaches up to the neck;
to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,
and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray.
29You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. 30And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. 31The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod.


----------



## ReformedWretch (Nov 23, 2004)

Finally, a listing of "1000 years" as mentioned in scripture besides Rev 22

1000 years in Scripture

Psalm 50
10For every beast of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.

Deuteronomy 1
11May the LORD, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are and bless you, as he has promised you!

Deuteronomy 7
9Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,

Psalm 84
10For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 90
4For a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday when it is past,
or as a watch in the night.


----------

