Page 178 - Eschatology - Masters revised

considered a biological anomaly and is extremely rare. Fortunately, the ritual requires an infinitesimally
small quantity of ashes. From the time of Moses, who personally prepared the first heifer, until the
destruction of the Temple, only nine red heifers were prepared. Nonetheless, this was sufficient to
maintain the ritual purity of the entire nation for almost 2,000 years. “If there has been no red heifer for
the past 2,000 years, perhaps it is because the time was not right; Israel was far from being ready. But
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now… what could it mean for the times we live in, to have the means for purification so close at hand?

The Nation of Israel has also developed the physical plans for the new temple. The cornerstone is
already prepared. And as we learned in section 9, the location of the Temple being in the City of David,
and not on the current “temple mount” means that Israel can begin construction of the third temple
without problems with moving the Dome of the Rock on the site of its original location.

Much work has been done in preparation for the building of the third Jewish temple.

Remaining Challenges

Issues are presently prohibiting the Nation of Israel from building their new temple.

First, Jewish scholars do not agree on the exact location of where the past temples stood. Until some
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significant archeological find occurs to indicate the real sight of the 2 temple, the tradition of the
Temple Mount location stands strongly against its reconstruction. Muslim control of the Temple Mount
would obviously have to change, which is highly unlikely in the foreseeable future.

So today Israel faces is the control issue of the Temple Mount. Ever since the Jews gained control, in the
six-day war, of the Temple Mount, they have allowed the Muslims to have authority over it up to the
present day. The Muslims do not want to allow a Jew to pray on the Temple Mount. They will not want
to allow any Jewish temple to be built there. How will this get worked out?

We think that Israel will soon discover that the temple was not actually located near the Dome of the
Rock, and construction can soon begin.

Needless to say, there are lots of interesting things occurring in our world today, and especially with the
Nation of Israel. These present-day realities seem to be preparing for the Tribulation period. If that is so,
then the Rapture could be getting quite close!

A valuable source of additional information regarding prophetic issues is the website of the pre-
Tribulation Research Center (http://www.pre-trib.org). Here any student can find a host of excellent
studies on a range of issues related to pre-tribulational and pre-millennial viewpoints.

Conclusion

This study has shown the importance of studying Eschatology. Biblical prophecy is a very important part
of Scripture in which God reveals His sovereignty and power to fulfill His promises. Prophecy still to be
fulfilled has been given to us by God in order to prepare us and to give us confidence in Him and His
ultimate plan.

Prophecy will help us understand what is happening in our world today. Faith and anticipation can
replace depression and despondency.

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