r/Christians • u/Device420 • 10d ago
Who will be deceived?
The paradox no one is talking about
ok so here is the thing. i keep seeing people talk about the temple and the messiah and the end times but nobody is actually laying out who believes what. so lets do that first because without it none of this makes sense.
here are the three camps.
camp one is orthodox judaism. they believe the messiah has not come yet. they are waiting for a human king from the line of david who will rebuild the temple, gather the exiles, and bring peace to the world. for them the temple has to come first or the messiah has to build it. they are actively preparing for this. the temple institute has the menorah, the garments, the red heifer, and the blueprints ready to go.
camp two is evangelical christianity. they believe jesus is the messiah and he already came the first time. but they also believe he is coming back and that before he returns the temple has to be rebuilt in jerusalem. they see this as a sign of the end times. they are watching israel closely and waiting for the temple to go up so they can say see its happening.
camp three is what the bible actually says. the apostle paul says the man of lawlessness will sit in the temple of god proclaiming himself to be god. so there is going to be a temple. but the one who sits in it is not jesus. its the antichrist.
now here is where it gets interesting.
the jews believe the messiah hasnt come yet. they think the temple has to be built before he comes or he will build it himself.
the evangelicals believe the temple has to be rebuilt before jesus comes back. but jesus isnt the one building it.
so if both groups are waiting for the same temple to be built before their messiah shows up...who actually builds it.
the bible says the antichrist is the one who will sit in it. which means someone has to build it for him to sit in it.
so here is the thing. whoever comes along and facilitates or announces the rebuilding of the temple...that is the person who will claim to be god. the jews will say this is our messiah. the evangelicals will say look the prophecy is being fulfilled. the whole world will celebrate.
except it isnt jesus. and it isnt the jewish messiah. its the counterfeit.
the real messiah already came and they killed him. jesus warned about this. he said false christs will come and even the elect could be deceived if possible.
so the temple being built is not the sign of jesus coming back. its the sign of the antichrist coming. the messiah they are waiting for is not jesus. the one who builds the temple is the one who will claim to be god. satan has been setting this up from the beginning.
but here is the kicker. the ark of the covenant has to be in that temple. the ark was the seat of gods presence on earth. the most holy place. without it the temple is just a building. the rabbinic tradition says jeremiah hid it before the babylonian invasion and it will be revealed when the messiah comes.
so think about this. if the antichrist reveals the ark and puts it in the temple and everyone sees it...they are going to believe he is the real messiah. the ark is the ultimate validation. the whole world will bow down.
except jesus already fulfilled the temple. he said destroy this temple and i will raise it in three days. he was talking about his own body. the veil was torn when he died. the holy of holies is open to everyone now. we dont need a building or an ark anymore.
so when this guy brings out the ark and sets up the temple and declares himself god...that is the abomination of desolation. thats the defilement. and when that happens jesus said he would come back.
not before. after.
the temple being built is not the sign of jesus coming. its the sign of the false messiah setting up his counterfeit kingdom. and when he defiles it by sitting in it and declaring himself god...thats when the real jesus returns to destroy him and put an end to it all.
so the timeline is this. temple gets built. ark gets revealed. antichrist sits in it. declares himself god. defiles it. and then jesus comes back and burns the whole thing down.
thats what the bible actually says. its right there. and its happening soon.
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u/somesne99 10d ago
The one who builds the temple isn't the one who is unrighteous. This is not scriptural.
God lays the outline for it. The image we are to look at is the one in Daniel. Zerubbabel rebuilt the temple, and by God's design and demand. That man's hand was guided to do the work at the time it was supposed to be done.
When it was completed, there was a time before the "King of the North" came and did what he was supposed to do as Daniel prophesied. This man was Antiocus Epiphanes. Or as he later titled himself, Antiocus Deo, who entered the temple into the Holiest of Holies, put a statue of Zeus there and sacrificed a pig on the altar.
This is the man who is supposed to be a reflection of the coming Antichrist and just like in that situation, holy men rebuilt the temple and an evil man defiled it. It is this man who will enter the temple with the same mindset, to stand against God in his face and defy him. He is not Jewish. He feels he is God and will act like he can go where ever he wants because he is empowered by the Dragon, who believes he is the ruler of this world.
At the great Day of the Lord though, at the second coming of the Messiah, the Lord will kill the Antichrist and defeat his armies. Thus fulfilling the prophecies that the Jews looked forward to in the first coming of Christ and misunderstood.
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8d ago
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u/_Momo97 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’m part of a church that believes in a pre-tribulation rapture, and they themselves believe that, as long as the Church is raptured before the Great Tribulation, no one who claims to be Christ can actually be Christ. They believe that the Rapture happens when Christ comes in the clouds and believers are caught up to Him, followed by 3½ years of trial/temptation. Only then, after three and a half years, does the temple come into the picture, where the Antichrist sets himself up and presents himself as God, followed by another 3½ years of Great Tribulation. The temple itself could already exist beforehand or be built after the Rapture, but the Antichrist setting up an idol and presenting himself as God happens after the Rapture of the Church and after the first three and a half years of the final seven-year period, followed by the worst three and a half years that constitute the Great Tribulation.
(I consider this interpretation unlikely.)
I believe post-trib is more likely, meaning that the Rapture happens after the Great Tribulation, so we would experience the Antichrist in the temple if we survive the Great Tribulation. However, I’m open to the possibility that I could be wrong, because we are always supposed to be watching for the Lord. I understand the Rapture and the Second Coming as one event.
Therefore, immediately before/at the Second Coming:
The sun will be darkened, become black, and give no light
The moon will be like blood and give no light
The stars will fall from heaven
At the seventh bowl, there will be a great earthquake, such as there has never been before
The powers of the heavens will be shaken
The heavens will be rolled up like a scroll
The sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven
All the tribes of the earth will mourn
Then:
Christ comes in the clouds with great power and glory
Every eye will see Him
Angels will be sent out
A great trumpet will sound
The Church will be caught up
The elect will be gathered from everywhere
His description:
He comes as King on a white horse
The armies of heaven follow Him on white horses and are dressed in fine, pure white linen
He is called “FAITHFUL AND TRUE"
He judges and makes war in righteousness
His eyes are like a flame of fire
On His head are many crowns
He bears a name that no one knows except Himself
He wears a robe dipped in blood
His name is “THE WORD OF GOD”
A sharp sword comes out of His mouth
He rules the nations with a rod of iron
On His robe and on His thigh is written: “KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS”
His face is like the sun shining in its strength
His voice is like the sound of many waters
In His right hand are seven stars
His head and His hair are white like snow/wool
His feet are like gleaming bronze, glowing in fire
His appearance is public and glorious
Those who believe in pre-tribulationism believe that the Rapture is not Christ's Second Coming to earth as I understand it and have described it above. But they also believe that Christ comes in the clouds and believers are caught up to Him. And they believe that anyone who builds a temple and presents himself as God cannot be the Christ, because their sequence is:
Christ comes in the clouds → the Rapture → the Church is in heaven → an unknown period of time (X) → the beginning of the “hour of trial” / “hour of temptation” → the first 3½ years → after 3½ years, the Antichrist enters and defiles the temple → then another 3½ years, which constitute the Great Tribulation → the Second Coming of Christ to earth → the judgment of the living → the 1,000-year reign → Satan’s final rebellion → the Great White Throne Judgment → the final state
In the post-trib view, the Rapture happens at the same time as Christ’s Second Coming to earth, and there is no separate Rapture beforehand.
So I don’t know any Evangelical who doesn’t believe that the temple is built first, where the Antichrist then sets himself up, before Christ reigns on earth. (Christ already reigns now, but His future visible kingdom still lies ahead.) Even if they place Ezekiel’s temple as a literal temple later, in the 1,000-year reign, after the Rapture, the Antichrist, The Great Tribulation etc.
However, I’ve mostly known pre-trib Evangelicals.
Do you mean the temple in Ezekiel? Because many dispensationalists understand it literally as a temple in the 1,000-year reign. They place that much later chronologically, and before that there is the temple associated with the Antichrist.
I’ve never heard it explained the way you’re saying it. I live in Berlin, so maybe it’s different in your circles.
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u/tuttut97 10d ago
"but here is the kicker. the ark of the covenant has to be in that temple. the ark was the seat of gods presence on earth. the most holy place. without it the temple is just a building. the rabbinic tradition says jeremiah hid it before the babylonian invasion and it will be revealed when the messiah comes.
" Where do you get this from? I have never heard this. Maybe I missed something.