View source for Temple Mount

==Jesus==
Several well-known episodes in the life of Jesus occurred at the Herodian temple. Mary brought Jesus to the temple forty days after he was was born.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|2:22-2:40|ESV}}.</ref> He returned as a 12-year-old to debate the Pharisees.<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|2:41-52|ESV}}.</ref> During his ministry, Jesus visited the temple and was outrage by the sight marketers defiling it. He angrily overturned the tables of the money changers.<ref>{{bibleverse||Mark|11.15-19|ESV}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|21.12-17|ESV}}, {{bibleverse||Luke|19:45-48|ESV}}, and {{bibleverse||John|2:13-25|ESV}}.</ref> In the temptation [[narrative]], the devil brought Jesus to the "pinnacle of the Temple" and challenged him to prove that he was son of the God by throwing himself off.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|4:1-11|ESV}}; {{bibleverse||Luke|4:1-13|ESV}}, [[English Standard Version]]. '''Note:''' ''Other Bible quotes are from the same translation''.</ref>

According to Matthew: {{cquote|Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|24:1-2|ESV}}.</ref>}} This prophesy was fulfilled with the destruction of the Herodian temple by Titus in 70 AD.

After Jesus appeared at Pentecost, believers began to meet at the temple.<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|2:46|ESV}}.</ref>

===Christian Prophecy===
There are various prophecies that deal with the temple. In a letter to a Christian community in Thessalonica, Paul prophesied that the temple would be rebuilt and presided over by a "man of lawlessness": {{cquote|Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day [the day of the Lord] will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Thessalonians|2:3-4|ESV}}.</ref>}}

Paul wrote this letter in 51-52 AD when the Herodian temple was still standing. The man of lawlessness is identified with the anti-Christ of John's letters.<ref>The term “anti-Christ” is used {{bibleverse|1|John|2:18|ESV}}, {{bibleverse|1|John|2:22|ESV}},{{bibleverse|1|John|4:3|ESV}}, and {{bibleverse|2|John|1:7|ESV}}.</ref> It is a construction parallel to "Son of Man," a phrase applied to Jesus in the gospels. There is a history of identifying this character with various political figures such as a Roman emperor, pope, or Napoleon. The ''[[Geneva Bible]]'', used by the Puritans and by Shakespeare, identifies the anti-Christ with Pope Boniface VIII (r. 1294-1303).<ref>''Geneva Bible'', Notes on Revelation 14:1. Boniface issued ''Unan Sanctum'' in 1302 in which he proclaimed papal supremacy over both the church and secular authority. "It is altogether necessary to salv. ation for every human creature to be subject to the Roman pontiff," it stated.</ref>

According to Paul, the [[Old Testament]] prophecies concerning the rebuilding of the temple were fulfilled by the coming of Jesus:{{cquote|Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|3:16-17|ESV}}.</ref>}} "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man," according to Acts.<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|17:24|ESV}}.</ref>

Revelation says that the messianic temple will be built in heaven, not on the Temple Mount: {{cquote|Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.<ref>{{bibleverse||Revelation|11:19|ESV}}.</ref>}}

The sacrifices of non-Jews' sacrifices were accepted in the Temples, according to the Talmud.<ref><blockquote>The Beis Hamikdash was meant to serve gentiles as well as Jews... Not only was the Beis Hamikdash a place where gentiles could pray and serve Hashem, it was also a place where they could offer korbanos ([''Talmud''], Zevachim 116b).</blockquote>("Bnei Noach and Korbanos." R. Yirmiyohu Kaganoff, Beit Midrash, yeshiva.co.)</ref> In the Herodian temple, there were signs on the balustrade to exclude non-Jews from the area around the Temple.<ref>"[http://www.livingwithfaith.org/blog/the-gentiles-and-the-temple The Gentiles and the Temple]," Dec. 11, 2019.</ref> The messianic temple will be for people of all nations. It will be presided over by a messiah, which should be understood simply as a position that combines the roles of high priest and king.