The believer’s pathways toward the future are illuminated through the prophetic Word of God. Many specific signs are posted along those pathways. God’s prophets—of whom Jesus, the Son of God, the Second Person of the Godhead, is greatest—foretells things to come with unerring clarity.
The Third Temple, the subject of this commentary, is one such prophetic sign. That Jewish house of worship is prophetically scheduled to be constructed atop the most volatile piece of real estate on the planet. That rocky plot of earth is feared by world diplomats to present the greatest threat to Mideast and world peace.
Mount Moriah, known as the Temple Mount, is a focal point for adherents of the world’s three most prominent religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Only worshippers within Islam, at present, are allowed to worship upon this promontory at the southern area of Jerusalem. Merely the hint of the other religions’ attempts to conduct worship atop Moriah is met with violence from Muslim militants. It seems inconceivable that a Jewish house of worship can ever be built there.
Yet, there is more than a concept—the matter of wanting to build a Jewish Temple on Moriah. In the thinking of some, it is as good as already done. That’s because the God of Heaven has declared that it will be built. His prophetic Word never fails to produce fulfillment. The nation in the midst of which Moriah sits is absolute proof in the thinking of those who believe the Third Temple is as good as already placed there.
Modern Israel is a miracle entity, guided by the very hand of God through more than 1900 years of dispersion. The Jewish people endured enemies and persecutions of every description while being brought to return and reestablish their nation on the very ground where ancient Israel surrounded the Temple Mount.
This fact is proof that God’s Word is truth. Bible prophecy foretold that Israel would be punished as a nation and removed completely from the land God promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
We remember that Jesus told His disciples while they sat on the Mount of Olives that not one stone of the Temple would be left upon another. This dismantling took place in AD 70 when the Romans, under General Titus and his father, Emperor Vespasian, destroyed the Jewish Temple. The people were scattered throughout the known world and, as prophesied, were brought back into their own land and reestablished as a nation on May 14, 1948.
Jesus also prophesied that someday there would be a Temple sitting on Moriah and that the deceptive man of sin the Jews would accept—rather than Jesus Christ, their True Messiah—would sit in that Temple and declare himself to be God and demand worship. This would be right in the middle of the last seven years of human history before Christ will return at Armageddon. We call this horrendous time, of course, the Tribulation.
With all of the other signals that point to that time shaping up for fulfillment, the Temple in which Antichrist will sit must be somewhere upon the end-times horizon.
Those who visit Jerusalem can go to the Temple Institute near Moriah and view all of the implements for Temple worship that are already prepared for such worship to begin. It’s more than rumor, we believe, that a Third Temple sits in modular form somewhere nearby and can be quickly assembled, once the go-ahead is given to place the Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount.
And most recently we see the reason for this commentary’s title.
Certain cleansing rituals must take place for the sacrificial system demanded by Torah. This involves the burnt ashes of a perfect red heifer, which are to be mixed with water to do the cleansing practices.
There have been searches over the years for the “perfect” such red heifer. We remember a number of years ago those responsible for the search thought they had found such an animal. Her name was Melody, as I recall. But hairs colored other than red were found, and the search went on.
Now they believe they’ve found five candidates for the red-heifer ritual cleansing requirements. The following, although the Hebrew language can’t be understood by most, I realize, gives information about the red heifer matter.
“The Temple Institute launched its Red Heifer program about a decade ago, led by Rabbi Azariah Ariel. But even in Temple times, an animal that fulfilled the Biblical requirements was exceedingly rare. Failing to produce a suitable candidate from ranchers in Israel, The Temple Institute began investigating alternative sources for a red heifer.
“Boneh Israel, an organization that connects Christian lovers of Israel to the Holy Land, stepped in to help. Led by Byron Stinson, a native Texan, Boneh Israel understood ranchers.
“ ‘I didn’t set out to do this, but right now, I am probably the best red heifer hunter in Texas,’ Byron quipped. ‘The Bible says to bring a red cow to purify Israel, and I may not understand it, but I am just doing what the Bible said.’
“ ‘The prophecies came true, and the Jews are back in Israel,’ Byron said. ‘Now they need to build a Temple. But it’s like buying a really nice car. If you don’t have the key, you aren’t going anywhere. The red heifer is the key to making the Temple work like it’s supposed to.’”
The cows [Byron found and acquired] were between 5–8 months old. To be suitable for the red heifer ceremony, the cow must be two years and one day old so these heifers will be raised in Israel until they reach the proper age.
Chanan pointed out that last year was 5781 in the Hebrew calendar.
“ ‘In Hebrew numerology, this is תשפא. That is an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה אדומה (it will be the year of the red heifer). The cows we are looking at now were conceived last year,’ Kupietzy said. ‘This year is תשפ,ב 5782, an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה בישראל (It will be a year for the heifer in Israel). In two weeks we will begin תשפג, 5783, the year in which the ceremony of the Red Heifer will be performed. This is an acronym for תהיה שנה פרה גאולה (It will be a year of the Red Heifer of redemption).’ (ISRAEL365 EXCLUSIVE: Red Heifers arrive in Israel, by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz, Israel365news 202, 9/16/22, Rapture Ready News, 9/17/22)
Sadly, all this is preparation for what Jesus called the worst time in all of human history. The prophetic clock is ticking swiftly toward that time of unimaginable horror.
But those who know Christ are promised to be kept out of that time (Revelation 3: 10). Here, again, is how to be assured that you are in God’s family and kept from the time of Tribulation.
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9–10)
Terry James Prophecy Line 
Terry, does the Bible say that the Jews will actually worship AC as their Messiah? Or that they will only enter into a covenant with him for 7 years?
Absolutely fascinating! What is not widely known is that a completed temple is not required for resuming the Mosaic sacrifices. Remember, before the Israelites reached the Promised Land, they had the Tabernacle which they’d constructed and brought along on their long travels.
I believe we may even see something like this happen in pre-Rapture times, but it will certainly mean that the Rapture is amazingly close.
Perhaps something significant will happen during the upcoming Jewish High Days which have just begun. (This comment was posted on September 25th at 7:38 EDT)
Hi Terry, fantastic article! I remember reading a few years ago where a Red Heifer in Israel had been found, as you mentioned, but then not hearing anything more about it. Your description of the significance of this timely discovery of a potential Red Heifer candidate coincides nicely with what I heard online pastor JD Farag say about a high speed train traveling from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem that is in the process of being finished. He said It’s supposed to be running by next spring, perhaps in time for the Passover celebration in April. The controversy surrounding this site where a Temple will one day be built has been fascinating to me for several reasons. I’ve never been to Israel, but I’ve read pastors and others who have visited the Holy Land describe it as an incredible experience! One thing has troubled me for years-and its this! I understand the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, and Mt Moriah are all in extremely close proximity to one another? I had a discussion (verbally) with a sister-in-Christ who I met on Facebook a few years ago. I told her wait just a minute, didn’t Jesus tell the Apostles in the Olivet Discourse you see this Temple, “I tell you not one stone shall be left one on top of the other!”. We know with certainty this must be an absolute truth! If the Jews have been praying at the Wailing Wall since Israel came into existence in 1948, they must believe this is the ancient remains of the 2nd Temple, right? Well, me and my FB friend exchanged many ideas, most of which I’ve long since forgotten, but I told her how can this be so? Meaning if Jesus said “No stone would be left one upon the other”, then how in the world can this site, the Wailing Wall be the true location of the 2nd Temple? I told her it cannot possibly be so! If this is the case and I believe it is, it only makes sense that when the 3rd Temple is constructed, perhaps a site “neutral” to where there is now conflict or opposition from Arab, specifically Palestinian interests. In other words, there will no conflict with the Dome of the Rock, Islam’s Holy site! Just a thought here, though I’ve certainly considered separately a ‘miracle’ from the Lord as to a resolution to this conflict as well. I’m interested hearing your thoughts about this ‘thorn’ as it relates to where a new Temple will eventually stand?
You brought up some good points, Dave.
If I were to pick an alternative site that might gain acceptance with the Jewish people, I’d say Shiloh, where the Tabernacle stood for some 369 years before the temple was built on the Temple Mount (Mount Moriah.) This would resolve any issues about putting it back where the original temples once stood.
I think you’ll find this as interesting as I did:
From Chabad.org:
“A Place of Fate and Destiny
When the Israelites settled the land during the days of Joshua, Shiloh was chosen as the site for the Tabernacle that traversed the desert with them for 40 years.3 There, the temporary boards that surrounded the structure were replaced with stone walls, giving the building a degree of permanence.”
I did not realize the Tabernacle was actually made semi-permanent in this manner.
Here’s a second possibility, based on this:
Matthew {24:1} And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. {24:2} And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Jesus may therefore have been referring to the Temple proper and not the wall surrounding the mount. In which case, this was totally fulfilled in A.D. 70 when Titus’ Roman legion burned it down and tore the stones apart to get to the gold that had melted down in between them.
Of course, in this scenario, the problem of the conflict of interest with the Muslims comes back. Even so, if the third Temple is supposed to end up on the Mount, that is exactly where it will end up being, even if we can’t see how at this point.
Thanks Ed, I will check out the site you suggest. It seems the Israeli Antiquities Authority as its called today would have known where the Temple once stood. Jews who began settling there in the 18th,19th & early 20th centuries must have known where the Temple once stood.The IAI didn’t exist back then so how else would they know other than what Jews claimed as their original Holy Temple passed down thru the centuries from what their parents told each generation going forward. Consider this too, maybe even as far back as when Islam began in about 680, when Mohammed supposedly ascended to Heaven at the Dome of the Rock location and close to where the Jewish Temple was because I’ve heard its written in the Quran this Land belongs to the descendants of Jacob-Israel although many won’t ever say this! I once told my FB friend I heard on CBN or some other Christian network many years back it was possible the wall was what was left of a Roman garrison in Jerusalem during Jesus’ time-pure speculation of course.
You’re welcome, Dave.
That the wall might not have been part of the original temple is also a possibility – I never considered that.
Regarding Islam, it has taken the Old and New Testaments and “modified” them to fit itself. A huge “modification” is that God’s chosen people aren’t the descendants of Isaac, but of Ishmael.
Now, the Bible clearly states whom the owner of the Temple Mount truly is and that the two temples were built there. It does stand to reason that the Muslims wouldn’t advertise these facts even if any of them did appear someplace in the Quran, because it would obviously discredit their claim of ownership, just as you said.
Someone will build something and call it the 3rd temple. Then the fight begins
That’s not the real temple. Yes it is, no it isn’t yes it is, no it isn’t………
It’s not even in the right place. Yes it is, no it isn’t yes it is, no it isn’t………
You didn’t follow God’s instructions in building it. Yes we did, no you didn’t, yes we did, no you didn’t ………
Oh my word. That is so funny. And true. As for building it in. Shiloh, I believe that area is in the West Bank. I think.
I didn’t know this, Gloria b and you are absolutely right. Looks siting the temple there would cause controversy, also. That’s a great aspect of this website, it is a continuing source of education.
We know it’ll be rebuilt somewhere, but at this point,we’ll just have to wait and see. Perhaps, it won’t even happen until Post-Rapture, so we may not know while we are still here.
Thank you very much for this important information
You know I’m right.
I totally agree, David.
It certainly will be built and one day, regardless of controversy, and end up being hijacked by the Antichrist three and a half years into the Tribulation.
“We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands’ ”
Mark 14:58
“And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.”
Revelation 21:22
Another sign of the coming Temple, is that Israel is building a train line from the Ben Gurion Airport directly to the Wailing Wall for pilgrims to access the Temple Mount. Announced a few weeks ago.
Thank you, Brother Terry.