The Temple & the Kingdom - Spiritual or Physical ?

[Covenanter]

We have had a long discussion on whether the Jews will build a third temple, and whether it will have prophetic significance.

I believe, with the NT writers, that the Kingdom of God is a spiritual entity that was established by our LORD Jesus Christ as a direct result of his finished work at Calvary.

Mark 1:14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

1 Cor. 15:50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.
​

All believers in Christ - all sinners who come to Jesus in repentance & faith - are citizens of Jesus' spiritual, heavenly kingdom.

Also all believers in Christ are living, spiritual, stones being built into the true spiritual temple of God.

Eph. 2: 19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit.​

The present Gospel age, with a spiritual kingdom & spiritual temple will continue until Jesus returns in glory for resurrection & judgment. The Jesus will establish the New Heaven & New Earth (NH&NE) in perfect righteousness.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.[fn] 11 Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat? 13 Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.​

We do not look for a reestablishment of an Israelite/Jewish nation as the centre of Jesus' earthly kingdom. If such a kingdom is established, & a third temple built it will at best be of no prophetic significance, & at worst an evil, blasphemous Satanic deceit.

This is the last post of the previous "Temple" thread. The discussion developed with the argument that the 70 weeks prophecy predicted a sinless earth at the end of 490 years. Because the earth is not sinless we are still waiting.

IMO Jesus did indeed finish the work given him by his Father. Believers are perfect IN CHRIST living in a world under judgment. We are involved in spiritual warfare in this Gospel age. See Ephesians.

THe Psalm 103 is written as David's PRESENT experience. The experience of the LORD's redeemed people is the knowledge that we ARE in God's sight sinless & welcome in heaven when we die.

We know also that the LORD does reign.

The simple answer to your rejection of the fulfilment of the 70 weeks prophecy by the LORD Jesus Christ is that you do not know David's experience - an experience shared by all God's redeemed people.

What we must acknowledge is that David's experience & ours is spiritual in this life & only perfect, physical & spiritual, in the NH&NE. Only then will earth be sinless. God has a people to redeem by the Gospel in this present age. The saving work of Dan. 9 is FINISHED but is being applied in time.

Had Jesus in AD 35 finished sin on earth, the final events of 2 Peter 3 would have happened then. As it is, they will happen when Jesus returns.
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So there is no end of sins on earth yet.

Are you a Pharisee - looking for a visible, carnal kingdom, when it IS invisible & spiritual?

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: :21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

 

[Covenanter]

From the previous thread - with CMG's latest reply -

So there is no end of sins on earth yet.

Are you a Pharisee?

Luk 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: :21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.​

Latest reply -

What do you mean? All I am asking you is yes or no because you seem to think that the Second Advent has occurred but you have no evidence of either that event or the Anti-Christ defiling the Temple, which is the reason that we know that there will be a 3rd Temple.

The prophesied "end of sins" of Daniel 9:24 clearly refers to the saving work of the LORD Jesus Christ, accomplished within the 70 weeks, at Calvary in the middle of the 70th week.

The "end of sins" refers to the spiritual condition of the believer, NOT the physical earth. It is our spiritual experience NOW as we live by faith IN CHRIST.

Psalm 103:11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
12 As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Eph. 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,​

Any physical, carnal temple will NOT be the "temple of God." The true temple of God is built with believers -

1 Peter 2:4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.​

We are not personally sinless, but we are, as redeemed & forgiven sinners, in a sinless spiritual condition IN CHRIST - holy and without blame before Him.

At the end of the present Gospel age Jesus will return for resurrection & judgment & to establish a physical NH&NE which will be righteous, sinless.

 

[church mouse guy]

Nuts. There is no total end to sins.

 

[Covenanter]

Nuts. There is no total end to sins.

You've said that before. Jesus shouted "FINISHED" as he died on the cross, commending his spirit to his Father. Was he mistaken?

Do you believe that Jesus did indeed fulfill the Old Covenant prophecy by his life, death, resurrection & ascension? Or did he fail because of his rejection & crucifixion?

 

[Covenanter]

Nuts. There is no total end to sins.

O dear church mouse, you're always here;
but when you listen, do you hear?
and when you comment, have you thought
that comments without thought are fraught?

 

[church mouse guy]

O dear church mouse, you're always here;
but when you listen, do you hear?
and when you comment, have you thought
that comments without thought are fraught?

You are a poet and don't know it but your big feet show it, they're Longfellow!

 

[church mouse guy]

You've said that before. Jesus shouted "FINISHED" as he died on the cross, commending his spirit to his Father. Was he mistaken?

Do you believe that Jesus did indeed fulfill the Old Covenant prophecy by his life, death, resurrection & ascension? Or did he fail because of his rejection & crucifixion?

1 John 1:8

 

[Covenanter]

1 John 1:8

Context - 1 John 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. ​

We are forgiven & cleansed. Note - 1 John 3 -

7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. ​

I have not tried to argue that we believers are sinless, nor that salvation makes us perfect. The effect of the shed blood of our Saviour, together with the indwelling Holy Spirit means that we are sinless in God's sight.

 

[Covenanter]

What do you mean? All I am asking you is yes or no because you seem to think that the Second Advent has occurred but you have no evidence of either that event or the Anti-Christ defiling the Temple, which is the reason that we know that there will be a 3rd Temple.

The second advent hasn't occurred yet.
Antichrist defiled the temple on schedule before the temple was destroyed in AD 70, in the lifetime of "this generation" that rejected him.
Jesus fulfilled OC prophecy & established the NC in his blood.
Jesus fulfilled Dan. 9:24 within the 70 weeks by establishing the basis for every clause of the prophecy in a spiritual sense. This is being worked out in the present Gospel age.

 

[church mouse guy]

The second advent hasn't occurred yet.
Antichrist defiled the temple on schedule before the temple was destroyed in AD 70, in the lifetime of "this generation" that rejected him.
Jesus fulfilled OC prophecy & established the NC in his blood.
Jesus fulfilled Dan. 9:24 within the 70 weeks by establishing the basis for every clause of the prophecy in a spiritual sense. This is being worked out in the present Gospel age.

What was the name of this Anti-Christ because Pope Francis wasn't around then?

 

[Covenanter]

What was the name of this Anti-Christ because Pope Francis wasn't around then?

Read 2 Thes. 2 - he was alive at the time as Paul said he had explained to his readers. He did not reveal the name - John said there were many. (1 John 2) Was 666 a letter/number code for a name like Nero? Or as Revelation uses the repeated code of 7 for the things of God, does it indicate the Satanic lie "you shall be as God" but however often man tries he can NEVER be as God. 666 can never equal 7.

There are of course many antichrists today, & have been down the ages, but THE Antichrist lived & perished in the first century with the destruction of Jerusalem.

 

[church mouse guy]

Read 2 Thes. 2 - he was alive at the time as Paul said he had explained to his readers. He did not reveal the name - John said there were many. (1 John 2) Was 666 a letter/number code for a name like Nero? Or as Revelation uses the repeated code of 7 for the things of God, does it indicate the Satanic lie "you shall be as God" but however often man tries he can NEVER be as God. 666 can never equal 7.

There are of course many antichrists today, & have been down the ages, but THE Antichrist lived & perished in the first century with the destruction of Jerusalem.

Yeah, it is just that history forgot to report the history of that or record the name. Let me give you a hint--Pope Francis.

 

[Covenanter]

Yeah, it is just that history forgot to report the history of that or record the name. Let me give you a hint--Pope Francis.

Another useless one-liner.
Can you support Pope Francis as Antichrist from Scripture? There have been worse Popes. Remember the Inquisition?!?

 

[church mouse guy]

Another useless one-liner.
Can you support Pope Francis as Antichrist from Scripture? There have been worse Popes. Remember the Inquisition?!?

Naw, I was just a kid then. Tell me about it.

 

[Marooncat79]

John 2:19-21

Jesus is the “New Temple”

 

[Covenanter]

John 2:19-21

Jesus is the “New Temple”

See Eph. 2
And Jesus' body is his church of redeemed sinners. 1 Cor. 12
We look for spiritual understanding. Some contributors are too literal/physical/carnal.