A temple or no temple?

Many say that a temple needs to be rebuilt before Yahushua returns. This comes from the the following verse where people understand the Holy place to be a physical temple, the place where the sacrifice and offering take place.

Matthew 24:15
15 “So when you see the abomination of desolation [the appalling sacrilege that astonishes and makes desolate], spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the Holy Place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains [for refuge].

In Daniel 9:27 we read:

New International Version
Daniel 9:27
27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’ In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.”

However the scriptures clearly say that we are the temple and there is no need for a physical temple until after He returns.

1 Corinthians 3:16-19
16 Do you not discern and understand that you are Yahuwah’s temple, and that Elohim’s Spirit has His permanent dwelling in you?

17 If anyone does hurt to Yahuwah’s temple or corrupts it or destroys it, Yahuwah will do hurt to him and bring him to the corruption of death and destroy him. For the temple of Yahuwah is holy and that [temple] you are.

18 Let no person deceive himself. If anyone among you supposes that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool [let him discard his worldly discernment and recognise himself as dull, stupid, and foolish, without true learning and scholarship], that he may become [really] wise.

19 For this world’s wisdom is foolishness (absurdity and stupidity) with Yahuwah, for it is written, He lays hold of the wise in their [own] craftiness;

Revelation 21:9-11

9 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven final plagues came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a vast and lofty mountain, and showed me the holy (sanctified) city of Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from Yahuwah,

11 having Yahuwah’s glory [filled with His radiant light].22 I saw no temple in it, for the Yahuwah Elohim Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all] and the Lamb are its temple.

So if the understanding of a rebuilt temple is not correct, what is? Let’s start by looking at each of the words used in Daniel 9:27 using the strongs concordance and see the translation:

Daniel 9:27

27 And the powerful one will confirm (H1396) His covenant (H1285) with many (H7227) for one (H259) period of seven (H7620) and half way through (H2677) the period of seven (H7620) the sacrifice of the passover (H2077) shall no longer be observed (H7673) and the extremity (H3671) of the detestable things (H8251) shall cause those to be stunned, stupefied and desolate (H8074) until complete destruction (H3617) is decreed (H2782) and has been poured upon (H5413) those who have been stunned, stupefied and are desolate (H8074).

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So what is it that stuns, stupifies and causes desolation? To learn about this, I have written an explanation here.

A foundation to build his spiritual set apart ones upon.

A new temple needs a foundation. That foundation was Yahushua. – the cheif cornerstone which is built upon. That temple was Yahushua. That temple is spiritual, no longer physical.

Ephesians 2:19-22

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens [outsiders without rights of citizenship], but you are fellow citizens of the kingdom, and are [members] of Yahuwah’s household,
20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Yahushua haMaschiach Himself as the [chief] Cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole structure is joined together, and it continues [to increase] growing into a holy temple in Yahuwah.
22 In Him [and in fellowship with one another] you also are being built together into a dwelling place of Yahuwah in the Spirit.

1 Peter 2:6-9
6 For this is contained in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious (honoured) Cornerstone, And he who believes in Him [whoever adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Him] will never be disappointed [in his expectations].”

7 This precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve,

“The [very] stone which the builders rejected
Has become the chief Cornerstone,”

8 and,

“A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense”;

for they stumble because they disobey the word [of Yahuwah], and to this they [who reject Him as Saviour] were also appointed.

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a consecrated nation, a [special] people for Yahuwah’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies [the wonderful deeds and virtues and perfections] of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

John 2:19-21
19 Yahushua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 Then the Jews replied, “It took forty-six years to build this temple, and You will raise it up in three days?”
21 But He was speaking of the temple which was His body.”

1 Peter 2:5
5 You also (like Yahushua), are like living stones, being built up into a spiritual house (the temple) for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to YHWH through Yahushua haMashiach.

Psalm 51:16-17
16 For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.

17 My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to Yahuwah is a broken spirit;
A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O Yahuwah, You will not despise.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Rauch haKodesh who is within you, whom you have [received as a gift] from Yahuwah, and that you are not your own [property]? 20 You were bought with a price [you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Yahushua and made His own]. So then, honour and glorify Yahuwah with your body.

He tells us that Israel will have few left upon the olive tree. Two, or three upon the topmost branch and four or five on the outermost branch. He then tells us they shall not look to man made alters, but rather they shall look towards Him.

Isaiah 17:6-8
6 “Yet gleanings will be left in the land [of Israel] like the shaking of the olive tree,
Two or three olives on the topmost branch,
Four or five on the [outermost] branches of the fruitful tree,”
Declares Yahuwah, the Elohim of YisraEl.
7 In that day a man will look to his Maker,
And his eyes will have respect for the Holy One of YisraEl.
8 He will not look towards the (physical) altars,
made with the work of hands;
He will not respect what his fingers have made,
Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.

The man made temple of the past was not to be made of stones cut be human hands for it was to be a shadow of the things to come in Yahushua. This shadow was a shadow of the  spiritual truth. Yahuwah would cut the stones for the temple was His.

Exodus 20:25
25 If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you use a chisel on it, you will profane it.

The human body was not made by human hand, but rather it was made by Yahuwah Himself. The stone which the builders rejected became the chief cornerstone and those who follow Yahuwah are stones which are built upon the chief cornerstone (1 Peter 2:5 above).

There is no need for another crucifiction as Yahushua paid the price which could not be paid for by the blood of the lambs at the alter. The things we see as physical all have a spiritual meaning and it was these things the physical was provided to teach.

So what are the sacrifices He wants from us today?

Prayer with a spirit broken with has sorrow for sin, and for us to obey His will and to provide thanks for the things He has done for us, through praise and exclamations of joy!

The verses below list these things:

Psalm 141:2
2 Let my prayer be counted as a sweet smoke of a sacrifice before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

1  Samuel 15:22
22 Samuel said,
“Does Yahuwah delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the voice of Yahuwah?
Behold, to obey is better than (physical) sacrifice, and to reverently submit to His Will [is better] than the fat of rams.

Psalms 116:17
17  I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving,
And will call on the name of Yahuwah.

Psalm 54:6
6 With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You;
I will give thanks and praise Your name, O Yahuwah, for it is good.

Psalm 107:22
22 And let them offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving,
And speak of His deeds with shouts of joy!

Moving from the physical to the Spiritual

Yahushua revealed the moving from the physical to the spiritual when He pointed to the shadow of things to come.

John 6:53-56
53 And Yahushua said to them, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood [unless you believe in Me as Saviour and believe in the saving power of My blood which will be shed for you], you do not have life in yourselves.
54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood [believes in Me, accepts Me as Saviour] has eternal life [that is, now possesses it], and I will raise him up [from the dead] on the last day.
55 For My flesh is true [spiritual] food, and My blood is true [spiritual] drink.
56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood [believes in Me, accepts Me as Saviour] remains in Me, and I [in the same way remain] in him.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
23 For I received from Yahushua Himself that [instruction] which I passed on to you, that  Yahushua haMashiach on the night in which He was betrayed took bread;
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is (represents) My body, which is [offered as a sacrifice] for you. Do this in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.”

25 In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant [ratified and established] in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in [affectionate] remembrance of Me.”
26 For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are [symbolically] proclaiming [the fact of] Yahushua’s death until He comes [again].

The physical is now transposed to the spiritual. The physical Law is now transposed to the spiritual Law, removing the need for the sacrifices.

Hebrews 7:12
12 For when the (physical) priesthood is transferred to heaven (to Melchizedek – The Kingdom of Righteousness), of necessity (because the Law is what gives us the authority to make sacrifices) there takes place a transposition of the Law (to the spiritual) as well (to heaven to serve Yahushua as the High Priest).

Hebrews 10
1 For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come (physical to spiritual parallels) — not the very image of those things (which is spiritual – true reality) — it can never, by offering the same (physical) sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its physical altars].

2 For if it were otherwise, would not these sacrifices have stopped being offered? For the worshipers, having once [for all time] been cleansed, would no longer have a consciousness of sin.

3 But [as it is] in these (physical) sacrifices there is a reminder of sins  year after year,
4 for it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

5 Therefore, when Yahushua enters into the world, He says,
(Psalm 40:6-8)

“Sacrifice and offering You have not desired,
But [instead] You have prepared a body for Me [to offer];

6  In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, You have taken no delight.
7  “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come, To do Your will, O Yahuwah —
[To fulfill] what is written of Me in the scroll of the book.’”

8 After saying, “You have neither desired, nor have You taken delight in (physical) sacrifices and offerings and whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin”
9 then He said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.”
[And so] He does away with the first [covenant as a means of atoning for sin based on physical animal sacrifices] so that He may inaugurate and establish the second [by the Priesthood of Melchizedek].

10 And in accordance with this will [of Yahuwah] we [who believe in the message of salvation] have been sanctified [that is, set apart as holy for Yahuwah and His purposes] through the offering of the body of Yahushua Ha Maschiach (the Messiah, the Anointed) once for all (as the passover lamb).

11 Every priest (of Levi) stands ministering daily, offering the same (physical) sacrifices over and over, which are never able to strip away sins;

12 whereas Yahushua (as the Melchizedek High Priest), having offered the one (spiritual) sacrifice for sins for all time (there is no longer a need for another), sat down [signifying the completion of atonement for sin] at the right hand of Yahuwah [the position of honour], 13 waiting from that time onward until his enemies are made a footstool for His feet.
14 For by the one offering He has perfected forever and completely cleansed those who are being sanctified (because He lives eternally, and has offered His body as the daily sacrifice before Yahuwah).
15 And the Rauch haKodesh also testifies to us; for after having said,

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them
After those days, says Yahuwah:
I will imprint My laws upon their heart,
And on their mind I will inscribe them [producing an inward change],”

He then says,
17
“And their sins and their lawless acts
I will remember no more [no longer holding their sins against them].”
18 Now where there is [absolute] forgiveness and complete cancellation of the penalty of these things, there is no longer any (physical) offering [to be made to atone] for sin.

19 Therefore, believers, since we have confidence and full freedom to enter the Holy Place [the place where Yahuwah dwells] by [means of] the blood of Yahushua,
20 by this new and living way (as we offer ourselves as a living sacrifice) which He initiated and opened for us (as High Priest) through the veil, that is, through His flesh,
21 and since we have a great and wonderful Priest [Who rules] over the house of Yahuwah (offering the spiritual sacrifices prescribed by the Law on our behalf),
22 let us approach [Yahuwah] with a true and sincere heart in unqualified assurance of faith (in the true passover lamb), having had our hearts sprinkled clean (at the alter of Yahuwah) from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure (living) water.

This is because the sacrificed body of Yahushua is now forever before the throne of Yahuwah, so those who teach that the reinstatement of physical sacrifices will occur, are not teaching what He shows us in His word. His sacrifice was all that was needed.

Romans 12:1
1 Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of Yahuwah, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to Yahuwah, which is your spiritual act of worship.