The third temple

The claim that Christ’s second coming depends on a third temple being built represents a specific eschatological position, but it lacks the scriptural foundation its advocates claim.

Some Christian writers argue that prophecies in Matthew 24:15–22 and 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 were not completely fulfilled when Rome destroyed the temple in A.D. 70, and therefore a third temple must be built for the “abomination of desolation” to occur.[1] However, this interpretation faces significant challenges.

The passages cited don’t actually require a future physical temple. Matthew 24 alludes to Daniel 9:27, which describes the desecration of the temple at the midway point before Jesus’ return, and 2 Thessalonians 2:4 describes the Antichrist sitting in “the temple of God.”[1] Yet when Jesus spoke of destroying the temple and raising it in three days (John 2:19–22), he used metaphorical language about his resurrection body, not a literal structure.[2] Similarly, metaphorical language about a temple describes the church (Ephesians 2:19–22).[2]

Critically, the church is never called the Third Temple and Jesus’ resurrection body is never called the True Temple of Israel.[2] Jesus refers to his body as the temple raised in three days; Revelation states there is no temple in the New Jerusalem; and Paul describes believers as each being a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells.[3] These diverse uses suggest conflating them into a single “third temple” doctrine confuses distinct biblical metaphors.

Practically, Hal Lindsey declared the temple’s rebuilding “the most important sign of Jesus Christ’s soon coming” and predicted construction would soon begin—a prediction published in 1970, yet forty years later no third temple construction has been initiated.[1] This failed prediction should prompt caution about binding Christ’s return to a specific architectural event.

[1] Eckhard J. Schnabel, 40 Questions about the End Times, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle, 40 Questions Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2011), 144–145.
[2] Mike Stallard, “A Dispensational Response to the Knox Seminary Open Letter to Evangelicals,” Journal of Ministry and Theology Volume 7 (2003), 7:2:32.
[3] Brian E. Barnes, The Sola Scriptura Challenge: Understanding Revelation (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2022). [See here.]