Reconstructing the Temple

Dr. Couch, I keep hearing about the fact that there are some in Israel who are planning to reconstruct the temple in preparation for the coming of the Messiah. Is this so? ANSWER:  Yes, there is an organization of very conservative orthodox Jews who are planning to construct the temple. You asked the question, Where? And that I don't know. I do not put much credit to this, and I'll explain below why.    How many temples have there been? The (1) first temple was the one constructed by Solomon. It was destroyed in BC 586. Then there was a kind of (2) reconstruction or rebuilding of the temple when Nehemiah and Zerubbabel returned to Judah from Babylon. Some do not count this as a distinct temple construction project, though I do. Then (3) there was the Herodian temple that was still under construction while Christ was ministering. It was destroyed by Titus in 70 AD. There will be an (4) "Antichrist" temple that will be built by the orthodox Jews who may think that he is the Messiah. He will apparently give them permission to build the temple, probably after the signing of the seven year peace pact that begins the tribulation. He will enter it and desecrate it according to Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10. "He will take his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God." Finally, there is the (5) Millennial temple as described in Ezekiel 40-48.    Some argue: how can there be a restored sacrificial system, since Christ completed the needed sacrifice for our sins? I must remind you that we do a mini-Passover when we take communion. In fact, it is called a "memorial." The revised temple sacrifices are memorials as to what Christ did on the cross. They are not efficacious or required as if under the law. But they are a reminder of the fact that something (or someone—Christ) innocent had to die for our sins!    I hope this helps. Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch

Who or What is the Destroyer of Exodus 12:23?

Dr. Couch, who or what is the Destroyer of Exodus 12:23?  ANSWER:  Exodus 12 is the story of the Passover. The Jews were to slay a lamb and put the blood on the doorposts and then in haste leave Egypt before the Destroyer comes to take the first born son. The Destroyer was to take the first born sons of any family in the land, from both the Jews and the Egyptians. The sacrificed lamb represented the future death of the Messiah for the sins of the people. In a symbolic sense, the blood on the doorposts meant that the first born son "was dead." The lamb was a substitute, as Christ would be a substitute, for sin. This was thoroughly explained in Isaiah 53 where it is made clear that the Messiah would be the Suffering Servant for the sins of the people.    The Destroyer is the Angel of Jehovah who is actually Christ who appeared in the OT in the form of an angel. The Angel of Jehovah is deity, and is God the Son incarnate!    Some do not believe the Destroyer is the Angel of Jehovah. But other passages of Scripture make this clear. For example, 2 Samuel 24:16 uses the same Hebrew word in speaking about the Angel of destruction: "When the angel stretched out his hand toward Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord relented from the calamity, and said to the angel who destroyed the people …" Also, we read in 2 Kings 19:35: "Then it happened that night that the angel of the Lord went out, and struck 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians …"    In Exodus 12:23 the word Destroyer is "shachat" in the Hiphil Causative Participle form, and reads: "The Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the 'One who is causing destruction' to come in to your houses to smite you." The Jewish Rabbis call this One the Destroying Angel because of the use of the Participle. In verse 13 where it reads "I will pass over you," the Jewish Targum says it could read, "I will spare you," or "I will protect you" (LXX).    The text also says that it is the Lord who goes through the land to smite the first born. "For I will go through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike down all of the first born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast …" (Exod. 12:12). "When I see the blood, I will pass over you …" (v. 13). But it is also God who sends the Destroyer who is a separate person from the Lord Himself. The Destroyer is not simply a force but an intelligent Being who will take the first born from among those who do not have the blood on the door. The Destroyer "comes to smite …"    The question is often asked, is the first born of the men or also of the women? It is of the men, or boys, which were most important in continuing the families. We read in Exodus 13:2: "Sanctify to Me every first born, the first offspring of every womb among the sons of Israel; both of man and beast; it belongs to Me."    Thanks for asking.    Dr. Mal Couch