Here is another important
distinction that needs to be made in order for one to understand the Scriptures and Bible Prophecy.
In the Dispensation of Grace (Church Age), the temple of God is in the body of every true born again Christian:
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (King James Bible)
16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.
18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. - 2 Corinthians 6:16-18 (King James Bible)
So again, we see that today, the temple of God is the body of a born again Christian.
Now this is also a proof text to show the importance of right division of Scripture and also to show why Christians cannot be on the earth during the time of Jacob's trouble.
And here is how this is so.
In the time of Jacob's trouble, the temple of God will be a physical building. It will be a physical temple located in Jerusalem:
13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.
15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand
16 Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains:
17 Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house:
18 Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.
19 And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!
20 But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. - Matthew 24:13-21 (King James Bible)
<SNIP>
So from reading those passages of Scripture (Matthew 24:13-21, Mark 13:13-19, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-10), we can see that
the tribulation temple that is going to be in Jerusalem during Daniel's 70th week is being referenced.
There is a clear dispensational distinction.
The temple of God in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 is NOT the same temple of God that is referenced in 2 Thessalonians 2:4. It cannot be.
If you are going to read the Scriptures literally, you are going to have to be dispensational folks. There is no getting around that.
This shows why
Christians cannot be here for the time of Jacob's trouble.
If Christians were to be here for the time of Jacob's trouble, there would be two temples of God on this earth, and that would create confusion.
And this is more proof that the temple of God which the antichrist stands in will be a physical temple and it will obviously be located in Jerusalem.
And it is further proof to the fact that
Christians will be gone when Daniel's 70th week (time of Jacob's trouble) is taking place.
Ever wondered why there is no physical temple in Jerusalem right now??
BECAUSE IT WAS DESTROYED IN 70AD AND THE CHRISTIANS WERE 'REMOVED' FROM THE SCENE BY LISTENING TO CHRIST'S INSTRUCTIONS ABOUT THE A.O.D. (DANIEL'S PROPHECY) TO FLEE JUDEA WHEN THE ROMAN ARMIES APPROACHED.
THEY DID.
what had happened a few decades before God's patience and time for the preaching of repentance came to and end (in 70AD)?
KEEP THIS IN MIND:
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (King James Bible)
HERE'S WHAT HAPPENED - AND WHY PAUL COULD SAY "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"
Acts 2
The Holy Spirit at Pentecost
(Joel 2:28-32; John 14:15-26; John 16:5-16; Acts 10:44-48; Acts 19:1-7)
1And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
5And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. 6Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. 7And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans? 8And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? 9Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, 10Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, 11Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. 12And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this? 13Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.
Peter Preaches to the Crowd
14But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;
17And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:
19And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.
25For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:
26Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
28Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.
29Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,
35Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
Three Thousand Believe
37Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41
Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
The Fellowship of Believers
(Acts 4:32-37)
42And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
43And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47Praising God, and having favour with all the people.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
^^ WERE THOSE JEWS? ^^ WAS THAT THE CHURCH? WAS THAT WHAT PAUL MEANT:
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. - 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 (King James Bible)
???
and GUESS WHAT?
THE TEMPLE WAS STILL STANDING.....for a little while longer.
.........
now would you address this Chosen?
2. Dispensationalism and the Church
In its doctrine of the Church, Dispensationalism holds that
the Jewish rejection of the kingdom caused Jesus to postpone the kingdom until the Second Advent, and to establish the church as an interlude between the two advents
DID ALL JEWS REJECT THE KING AND THE KINGDOM?
WAS IT POSTPONED?
Luke 11:20
But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
did Jesus cast out demons by the power of God?
consider your answer really carefully.