Question:  Dear Greg,

            Where in the Bible will I find a description of the temple being built shortly after the Second Coming of Christ?  I recall reading about it a while ago and I must have lost it.

            Your help would be much appreciated.  God bless you!

            Thanks,

            Nathan

Answer:  Dear Nathan,

            You are probably thinking of Ezekiel chapters 40-48.  Some thoughts as you consider this passage:

1.      Some see this passage as either historical or literal.  That is, these details would have been part of the temples of Herod, Zerubabel or Solomon.  But the problem with this view is that the details do not fit into any temple or worship pattern used in the past.

2.      If it is literal and future, after the Second Coming, many ask why worship (after Jesus’ return) would retrogress to Old Testament patterns of worship when so much in the New Testament explains the significance of the finished work of Christ—especially books like Romans, Hebrews and Galatians.

3.      A third possibility is that this passage teaches, figuratively and symbolically, about Christians—the church—and how Christians are blessed in their relationship with God.

4.      A fourth possibility (often used when the first three are discarded as illogical) is that this passage describes a heavenly temple where Jesus is now our advocate and high priest, a reality that we cannot fully comprehend while in the flesh.

            In Christ,

            Greg Albrecht