We’ve heard the rumors for years now. Will a Third Temple finally be built in Jerusalem? As prophesied by Jesus, the temple standing in His day—the Second Temple—was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Some in the Orthodox branch of Judaism believe a third temple must be in place to usher in the reign of their Messiah. So, they’ve formulated a detailed plan for the temple’s reconstruction despite ongoing tensions with Muslims, who now control the Temple Mount. Their goals include securing funding, successfully breeding qualified red heifers for purification rituals, creating an exact replica of the Ark of the Covenant, and establishing comprehensive training programs for priests and Levites.

Against all odds, the Temple Institute in Jerusalem has made remarkable progress in fulfilling these requirements. They’ve raised much of the necessary funding and have successfully recreated numerous Temple implements according to biblical specifications, including the menorah, altar of incense, and table of showbread—items essential for temple worship specifically commanded by God in Exodus. Additionally, they’ve constructed a modular altar that can be quickly assembled, making it possible to resume sacrificial worship when circumstances permit.

Is any of this significant for Christians? How would the successful rebuilding of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem impact our spiritual life? Is a new temple necessary for fulfilling end times prophecy, or is this project just a human attempt to secure God’s blessing by recreating something that worked in the past?

In all world religions, temple worship is a vital way to connect with God. As it says in Habakkuk 2:20, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”  God desires to dwell among His people—to protect, provide for, and fellowship with them. But our rebellious ways separate us from His presence and keep us from experiencing all He wants to give us. Only through new birth can we worship Him in spirit and in truth. 

Revelation 21 promises that this desire of God to dwell among His people will one day be fulfilled. Not by a Third Temple in present day Jerusalem, but by something far better.  

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them and be their God. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.”  (vv. 1-3)

Under the Old Covenant, Israel was given laws for worship in the tabernacle and temple. The rituals and sacrifices were designed to teach them to revere the Holy One among them. But when Jesus came, He fulfilled the Law and enabled us to enjoy a new kind of relationship with the Father. As Paul explained in Ephesians 2, “His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two [Jew and Gentile]. … Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers but fellow citizens with God’s people and members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord” (vv. 15-21).

God’s people make up the true temple of God, where God will dwell for all eternity. He doesn’t need us to rebuild something that’s been done away with—a temple made with human hands. He’s doing something brand new through His Son. Those who put their trust in Him are “temples of the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 6:19), both individually and corporately. Like the stones used in the construction of Solomon’s temple, God’s children are prepared for duty BEFORE they reach the construction site. “In building the temple, only blocks dressed at the quarry were used, and no hammer, chisel or any other iron tool was heard at the temple site while it was being built” (1 Kings 6:7). For us, the “quarry” is the world. Just like in Solomon’s time, God’s final temple is being built away from the gaze of man. Only when all the individual stone pieces are sufficiently shaped will the temple be erected and its beauty and splendor be revealed. “Then,” as Jesus said, “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43).

The significance of our faith won’t be fully known or understood until we see New Jerusalem coming out of heaven prepared as a bride for her bridegroom.Only then will we appreciate all that brought us to Him. “As you come to [Jesus], the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ … You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Peter 2:4-5, 9).

To be a part of God’s temple is a high and holy calling. Let’s rejoice in both our privileges and our challenges, knowing they are working together to prepare us for co-rulership with Christ in God’s kingdom. When He returns may we welcome Him with joy!     Heavenly Father, remind me as I walk through this sinful, unpredictable, painful world that I am being shaped for something far better. Help me to keep my eyes on Jesus, trusting in His finished work to provide everything I need to fulfill your good plans for my life. Thank you for including me in your glorious temple! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen