Throughout history, God’s dwelling among His people has taken several forms—from the wilderness tabernacle to Solomon’s magnificent temple, to its rebuilt version under Zerubbabel and Herod. Today, many Jews and some Christians anticipate the construction of a third Jewish temple in Jerusalem. But what does Scripture actually teach about this possibility? Let’s examine this question through the lens of Reformed theology.

 

BIBLICAL BACKGROUND ON THE TEMPLE

The temple represented God’s dwelling place among His covenant people. When Solomon dedicated the first temple, “the glory of the LORD filled the house of the LORD” (1 Kings 8:11). This magnificent structure stood until 586 BC when Babylonian forces destroyed it, sending Israel into exile.

After their return, the Jews rebuilt a more modest temple, later enhanced by Herod the Great. This Second Temple stood until 70 AD when Roman legions razed it to the ground, fulfilling Jesus’s prophecy: “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2).

Several prophetic texts are central to discussions about a possible third temple. Ezekiel’s detailed temple vision (Ezekiel 40-48), Daniel’s prophecies concerning the sanctuary (Daniel 9:24-27), and Zechariah’s messianic temple references (Zechariah 6:12-13) deserve particular attention. These passages require careful interpretation within their covenantal context.

 

CHRIST AS THE FULFILLMENT OF TEMPLE PROPHECIES

The Reformed understanding of Scripture sees Jesus Christ as the ultimate fulfillment of temple symbolism and prophecy. Consider Jesus’s bold declaration: “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up” (John 2:19). John clarifies that “he was speaking about the temple of his body” (John 2:21).

The incarnation itself represents God “tabernacling” among us. John writes “the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally ‘tabernacled’] among us” (John 1:14). In Christ, God’s presence was manifested more directly than in any stone building.

When Jesus died on the cross, “the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom” (Matthew 27:51). This dramatic event signified the end of the temple system and the opening of direct access to God through Christ. The book of Hebrews develops this theme extensively, showing Jesus as “a great high priest” (Hebrews 4:14) whose sacrifice was once for all.

 

THE CHURCH AS GOD’S TEMPLE

Reformed theology offers a profound understanding of how the Church has replaced the physical temple as God’s dwelling place. Consider these key aspects:

• The Church as collective temple: Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16). This communal understanding means the gathered people of God now constitute His sacred dwelling place.
• Individual believers as temples: Each Christian’s body is also a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). This dual reality—both corporate and individual—shows how thoroughly God dwells among His New Covenant people.
• Living stones in God’s house: Peter describes Christians as “living stones” being “built into a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5). This spiritual temple offers sacrifices of praise and good works rather than animal sacrifices.
• The ultimate temple-less reality: Revelation shows the New Jerusalem without a temple building because “its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb” (Revelation 21:22). This eschatological vision confirms that separate temple structures are temporary provisions now fulfilled.
• Fulfillment of Ezekiel’s vision: The river flowing from Ezekiel’s temple (Ezekiel 47) parallels the “river of the water of life” in Revelation 22. This correspondence suggests Ezekiel’s vision finds fulfillment in the expanding kingdom of God through Christ and His Church rather than in a future physical building.

 

REFORMED HERMENEUTICAL PRINCIPLES

The question of a third Jewish temple highlights important differences in biblical interpretation. Reformed theology employs covenant theology rather than dispensationalism, seeing Scripture as the unfolding of one covenant of grace with different administrations rather than disconnected dispensations.

This approach interprets Old Testament prophecies through the lens of their New Testament fulfillment. Christ Himself taught the disciples to read all Scripture as pointing to Him (Luke 24:27). This principle of typological fulfillment sees Old Testament institutions like the temple as shadows pointing to greater realities in Christ.

A Christ-centred hermeneutic recognises progressive revelation, where earlier texts must be interpreted in light of fuller later revelation. The New Testament consistently spiritualises temple language, applying it to Christ and the Church rather than anticipating a rebuilt structure.

 

CONCLUSION: A THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE

From a Reformed perspective, Scripture does not teach the necessity or likelihood of a third physical temple in Jerusalem. Rather, Christ himself is the true temple where God dwells in fullness, and the Church continues as the temple of the Holy Spirit in this age. The ultimate fulfillment awaits the new creation, where God will dwell directly with His people without need of temple structures.

While we should respect different eschatological views among sincere believers, we must be careful not to let speculation about future buildings distract from the present reality: in Christ, we have access to God’s presence now. As Jesus told the Samaritan woman, true worship is no longer about sacred locations but about those who “worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:23).

 

WILL THERE BE A THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE? RELATED FAQs

Is a literal interpretation of prophetic Scripture unbiblical from a Reformed perspective? Reformed theology doesn’t reject literal interpretation but distinguishes between literal and literalistic readings. A proper literal interpretation considers genre, context, and the Bible’s own interpretive patterns, especially how the New Testament authors understood Old Testament prophecies. Christ and the apostles often read temple imagery as typological rather than demanding a one-to-one physical fulfillment, showing us how Scripture itself teaches us to read these texts.

• Why would reinstating temple sacrifices be theologically problematic? Reinstating animal sacrifices would undermine the finality and sufficiency of Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice explicitly taught in Hebrews 10:11-14. The book of Hebrews presents Christ’s sacrifice as the definitive fulfillment that renders the old system obsolete, stating “where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary” (Hebrews 10:18). Any return to animal sacrifices would represent a regression to shadows when we now have the substance in Christ.
• What are the potential geopolitical implications of advocating for a third temple? Pushing for a third temple in Jerusalem involves displacing the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque, sacred Islamic sites that have stood there for over 1,300 years. Such advocacy can fuel religious conflict and potentially violent confrontations in an already tense region, while also redirecting Christian focus from gospel proclamation to political agendas centred on particular end-times scenarios. Reformed theology typically cautions against identifying specific political developments as necessary fulfilments of biblical prophecy.

How should Christians read seemingly detailed temple descriptions like those in Ezekiel 40-48? Ezekiel’s temple vision contains elements that cannot be literally constructed (like the river growing miraculously deeper) and measurements that don’t match any historical temple. Reformed interpreters typically understand these detailed descriptions as conveying theological truths about God’s perfect presence among His people through rich symbolism, much like Revelation’s New Jerusalem with its perfect cube shape. The vision’s purpose was to comfort exiled Israel with the promise of God’s restored presence, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in Christ and the Church indwelt by the Spirit.

• Are there Reformed theologians who do anticipate a future physical temple in Jerusalem? While the mainstream Reformed position sees Christ and the Church as fulfilling temple prophecies, some Reformed scholars like O Palmer Robertson acknowledge that prophecies concerning Israel may have additional fulfilments related to ethnic Israel’s future. Figures like Charles Spurgeon, though firmly Reformed, occasionally expressed openness to aspects of premillennialism that might include temple rebuilding, showing some diversity within the tradition. However, even Reformed thinkers open to a future temple typically emphasise it would have no salvific purpose and would not reinstate sacrifices for atonement.
• How do amillennial and postmillennial Reformed scholars differ in their understanding of temple prophecies? Amillennial scholars like Kim Riddlebarger or Anthony Hoekema tend to see temple prophecies fulfilled primarily in the present church age and ultimately in the new creation, with little expectation of distinct fulfillment for ethnic Israel. Postmillennial thinkers like Keith Mathison or Douglas Wilson, while sharing the view of Christ and the Church as the true temple, sometimes allow for more concrete historical fulfilments of Old Testament prophecies regarding Israel, though rarely in terms of a physical temple. Both positions firmly reject the dispensationalist expectation of a functioning sacrificial temple in a future millennium.

What did the Protestant Reformers themselves teach about the temple and Israel’s future? Luther, Calvin, and other major Reformers consistently taught the temple system was abrogated by Christ’s coming and the Church is now God’s temple. Calvin specifically interpreted Ezekiel’s temple vision as symbolising “the spiritual Temple” and “the perpetuity of the Church rather than the stability of the Temple.” The Reformers typically employed a supersessionist view wherein the Church inherited the covenant promises made to Israel, though this position has been nuanced by some contemporary Reformed thinkers in light of Romans 11 and ongoing theological reflection on God’s purposes for ethnic Israel.

 

A THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE: OUR RELATED POSTS

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