DID THE ISRAELITES EXPECT HEROD'S TEMPLE TO BE DESTROYED BEFORE THE 70th WEEK OF DANIEL??
Did the people expect Herod's temple to be destroyed and to be rebuilt before the tribulation period? I believe they did not and the scripture bears this out: Matthew 24 verse 1 and 2. This temple that is spoken of here is Herod's temple and at the present time we see no temple in Israel. On the spot that the temple was built, a Muslin temple sits, called THE DOME OF THE ROCK. Much is made of the temple being destroyed in A. D . 70, meaning that it was according to prophecy.
Where in this Bible would we go to find a prophecy dealing with the destruction of the temple? How about Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 24 and Mark 13? Christ spoke of one being present when these people went through the tribulation period and this was Herod's temple. He didn't say it was going to be torn down before the antichrist went into the temple.
Let us turn to Luke 19 and search and see if we have another temple spoken of in Luke 19. Many Bible scholars believe this told of the temple destruction at A. D. 70. Reading Luke 19:41-47 we see that verse 41 to 43 agrees with Luke 21 and He speaks of Jerusalem being torn down and notice He taught all the people and they were attentive to hear Him. Note Chapter 20, He is teaching these same people, the same ones that He supposedly told of the destruction of the temple in A. D . 70.
Now ,if we check the context of the scripture in chapter 21 and search to see if the people understood that Christ spoke of two temples, one in Luke 19 and the other one in Luke 21. We must remember that He is talking to the same people in 21 as in the 19th chapter and also in Herod's temple.
What did the people say in Luke 21? Did they ask when will Herod's temple be torn down and when will this one be rebuilt? Luke 21:6 agrees completely with Luke 19:44.
The people then asked when will this temple be torn down and this was the same temple that He taught the people in Luke 19 and also Luke 21. Now, I am certain these people understood what Christ told them because they didn't ask about two temples they asked Him when this would happen and what would be the signs of the temple being destroyed? In Matthew 24, His disciples asked the same question and He told them from Matthew 24 :4-34, but the main point we want to look upon is the 15th verse which when the Anti-Christ goes into the temple this will be the beginning of the great tribulation. This is the same temple as Luke 19 and Luke 21, that is going to be destroyed and it has to be destroyed after the Anti-Christ goes into the temple.
It seems to me that it can be easily understood that no characters in scripture, meaning the people, understood that Herod's temple was to be destroyed until the Anti-Christ entered in the temple and the Lord will destroy the temple as He consumes the Anti-Christ and certainly it would be strange to me for the Roman ,Titus (2 Thessalonians 2:8) a man possibly belonging to Satan, to destroy the antichrist.
It is apparent that the temple was destroyed outside of prophecy because according to God's prophetic plan when the scriptures were completed there was a temple there at Jerusalem but we know there isn't any there now. We know also that the temple means so very much to the Jews so there will have to be a temple there before Christ's second coming. The Jew will build the temple back, not because of prophecy, but because God was there through the Old Testament and no Jew will be happy until it is restored to the same spot. Churchdom says that its rebuilding is the time of the end and God's prophetic program of the second coming of Christ. I don't believe this because it was not torn down according to prophecy and it won't be built back according to prophecy.
To sum up, there is not one line of scripture that speaks to the un-prophesied destruction of the temple in A. D. 70 and not one line to build it back. It seems to me that Israel's prophetic plan on the temple stopped at Acts 28:28 and their clock will have to start at the end of Acts. It seems that this is some proof that Acts 28:28 is the dividing line between God's prophetic plan to Israel and God's UN -prophesied plan that was kept secret until it was revealed to the Apostle Paul for us (Ephesians 3)
For bible believers to state that the A. D. 70 destruction happened according to prophecy there are a few questions that they must answer!
1.) Was Christ sincere when He spoke of things that must come to past before this destruction? (Matthew 24:4-15)
2.) Did Matthew 24:4-15 happen before A. D. 70?
3.) Did the abomination of desolation go into the holy place?
4.) If not, why didn't the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place
before A. D. 70?
5.) Can we arbitrarily ignore the step by step prophecy that Christ has laid down before this Temple destruction and still remain a sincere Bible student?
6.) If you admit that this A. D. 70 event is according to prophecy, where are we in God's time clock?
7.) If it is true that this A. D. 70 event is according to prophecy, did Christ know about it? If He did, why didn't He foretell that Herod's temple would be destroyed before the abomination of desolation stood in the temple?
8.) Are we living in the 70th week of Daniel or living in the millennium?
9.) Does prophecy tell us that this temple was to be destroyed before the 70th week of Daniel?
10.) Or does prophecy tell us that this temple was to be destroyed in the
last three and one half years of the 70th week of Daniel?
11.) If we say that Luke 19 and Matthew 24 was fulfilled in A. D. 70, then do we need a temple during the 70th week of Daniel?
12.) If prophecy demands a temple during the 70th week of Daniel, where will we locate one?
13.) If this A. D. 70 event completes the Matthew 24 and Luke 19-21
account, did Christ come back? If not ,why didn't He return?
14.) Do you have scripture that says that the A. D. 70 event is a dispensational dividing line? If your answer is "NO", why don't you have scripture?
15.) If you say that Herod's temple was destroyed "actually by God", do you have scripture for this?
16.) If there is no scripture that says that the A. D.70 event is a dispensational dividing line, is God's dealing with Israel according to His prophetic plan "today"?
Written by: Thomas Worth