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.