Does the Bible say that the temple must be rebuilt before Christ's second coming?
Answer:
Bible prophecy shows that before Christ returns, sacrifices will begin again in a holy place (and that a world-dominating religious authority will stop them). Christ prophesied that "the 'abomination of desolation,' spoken of by Daniel the prophet, [would be] standing in the holy place" (Matthew 24:15). He was referring to Daniel 11:31, which said: "Then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation."
It's possible that religious Jews will rebuild the temple. But, surprisingly, offering sacrifices doesn't necessarily require the presence of a temple. See, for example, what the Jews did under the leadership of Ezra (Ezra 3:1-3). They simply set up an altar and began to offer sacrifices on it.
The apostle Paul did refer to "the man of sin," an actual person who claims to be God in the flesh sitting in the "temple of God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4). If "temple of God" is to be taken literally here, then this would imply the temple will be rebuilt.
Where God does not provide full details, we simply have to wait to see what will happen. It's important to constantly watch how world events unfold in the context of Bible prophecy. This is what we strive to do in The Good News and World News and Prophecy .
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