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Returning to our primary discussion, it is in front of this spiritually dark backdrop of First Century apostasy that the Apostle Paul warns his readers that the Son of Perdition -- that is, the Antichrist -- would appear on the world stage. Once he did, what would be his agenda? Again, Paul makes it quite clear as we continue reading his sobering letter to the Thessalonians:

"Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?"


As the previous verses reveal, this man, who as I pointed out earlier, I am convinced would be a Jewish-born false messiah, would be so powerful, and so deceptive, that he would either be permitted by the misguided Jews to sit in the Temple in Jerusalem, or else he would forcibly place himself there, and would declare himself "God".

In the previous verse, the word "temple" is derived from the Greek word "naos", which is pronounced nah-os'. It is used forty-five times in the New Testament. Thayer's Greek English Lexicon states that this word is used to refer to the Temple at Jerusalem, but only to the sanctuary itself consisting of the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies. Upon reading this, I performed an examination of all of the verses in the New Testament where this word is used. I discovered that it is indeed true that "naos" is used to refer to the actual structure of the Jewish temple. This is also the word that Jesus used when He challenged the Scribes and the Pharisees to destroy His body, as we see by the following verses:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body."


The second Greek word which is translated as "temple" in the New Testament is the word "hieron". Pronounced hee-er-on', the Greek English lexicon defines it as a sacred place or a temple, and states that it is used to refer to the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, as well as to the temple at Jerusalem. "Hieron" is used seventy-one times in the New Testament. A more expanded definition found in the lexicon states as follows:

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"The temple of Jerusalem consisted of the whole of the sacred enclosure, embracing the entire aggregate of buildings, balconies, porticos, courts (that is that of the men of Israel, that of the women, and that of the priests), belonging to the temple; the latter designates the sacred edifice properly so called, consisting of two parts, the "sanctuary" or "Holy Place" (which no one except the priests was allowed to enter), and the "Holy of Holies" or "the most holy place" (which was entered only on the great day of atonement by the high priest alone). Also there were the courts where Jesus or the apostles taught or encountered adversaries, and the like, "in the temple"; also the courts of the temple, of the Gentiles, out of which Jesus drove the buyers and sellers and the money changers, court of the women."

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This definition is quite accurate. My examination of the Scriptures where this word is used revealed that "hieron" indeed refers to the interior of the temple enclosure. In many of the verses I looked at, the phrase "in the temple" was used, or a similar phrase which clearly showed that the writer was referring to the interior of the temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. This is likewise the word that is used when Satan tempted Jesus on the pinnacle of the temple. As stated in the previous definition, the only time "hieron" is used to mean anything else, is when it is used one time in reference to the temple of the Ephesian goddess Diana in Acts chapter nineteen. In that case, the Greek lexicon provides us with the following information regarding Diana, who was also known as Artemis:

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Artemis {ar'-tem-is}

Diana = "complete light: flow restrained"

Artemis, that is to say the so called Tauric or Persian or Ephesian Artemis, the goddess of many Asiatic people, to be distinguished from the Artemis of the Greeks, the sister of Apollo. A very splendid temple was built to her at Ephesus, which was set on fire by Herostratus and reduced to ashes; but afterwards in the times of Alexander the Great, it was rebuilt in a style of greater magnificence.

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Thus we see that collectively, "naos" and "hieron" are used one hundred and sixteen times to refer to the Second Temple at Jerusalem; that is, to Herod's Temple. Only one time is "hieron" used to refer to something else. From this evidence, it becomes apparent that when Paul used the term "temple of God", this is the Temple he was referring to. Consider the audience he was addressing in his Epistle. It was primarily Jews who had been converted to Christianity, as well as some Gentiles who had begun to receive the Word of the Lord.

In short, in those days during the First Century, when a Jew said "the temple of God", all Jews and Christian converts understood that the speaker was referring to the Temple at Jerusalem. As becomes evident in the Book of Acts, Jews from all over northern Africa, southern Europe and the Middle East would make pilgrimages to Jerusalem to worship at that one Temple, even though they had local synagogues in their places of residence. Consider the following example which mentions Paul's final persecution in Jerusalem by the Asian Jews:

"And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,"


One final interesting point worthy of note is the following. Considering that the Second Temple would be destroyed about three years after Paul's execution -- his death is assumed to have occurred around 67 AD -- what would motivate Paul to even write about "the temple of God"? I suspect that either through direct revelation from the Lord; or possibly from learning from the Apostles and Disciples who had actually been with Jesus; or most likely through his personal study of the Old Testament Scriptures -- the New Testament did not yet exist at that time -- Paul knew that the Second Temple was going to be destroyed in accordance with Jesus' own words, as we see by the following verses:

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."


"And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."


"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord."


"And as some spake of the temple, how it was adorned with goodly stones and gifts, he said, As for these things which ye behold, the days will come, in the which there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down . . . And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh."


While we know that this Temple was indeed destroyed in 70 AD by Roman general Titus and his armies, we also know that the true Temple of the Lord is a spiritual building made up of living stones who are built upon the solid Rock foundation of Jesus Christ Himself. I have elaborated on this subject quite amply in other articles, so I will only mention a few key verses below for your edification:

"Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."


"But he spake of the temple of his body."


"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?"


"And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ."


"If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,"


Continuing our discussion regarding the appearance of the Antichrist, in the following verses, Paul explains that this Son of Perdition -- that is, the Jewish false messiah -- would be extremely powerful, and would deceive many with the demonic inspiration of Satan himself, by performing great lying wonders which many Jews would be quick to believe:

"Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."


As can be seen, the Apostle Paul states that the Antichrist would be received and heralded as a "savior" by the stubborn, spiritually blind and unbelieving Jews, all because they had rejected the Truth of God's Word. In accordance with some of the Old Testament prophecies, those foolish people despised and rejected Christ as being God's one true Messiah. Thus, they would gladly welcome this devilish counterfeit with open arms. Consider the following verses which reveal that this is so:

"Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me. And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."


"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not."


"He came unto his own, and his own received him not."


This stubborn blindness of many of the First Century Jews is made quite evident in verses such as the following which are all found in the New Testament:

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."


"Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."


"Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! . . . Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."


"And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other."


"And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth."


"But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him."


"And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them."


"(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day . . . For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in."


"But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."


"But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart."


"But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."


"Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:"


Two thousand years later today, based on my own limited experiences with Jews, and just knowing how hard-hearted some of them can be when it comes to the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I can just imagine how extremely difficult it must have been for the First Century Apostles and Disciples to reach their own Jewish brethren with the Gospel. By Jewish standards, believing in Jesus equated to an absolute heresy; and as I have pointed out before, the common Jewish people greatly feared the religious hierarchy which was in power during that age. I suppose it was similar to people fearing the wrath of the Roman Catholic Church during the various Inquisitions. Consider the following verses which expose this deep-seated fear:

"Then the Jews sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring among the people concerning him: for some said, He is a good man: others said, Nay; but he deceiveth the people. Howbeit no man spake openly of him FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS."


"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, BUT SECRETLY FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus."


"Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you . . . And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you."


Thus we see that Paul informs us that God would send this wicked one to deceive those wicked people who had knowingly rejected the loving Sacrifice of His own dear Son. In other words, the arrival of this impostor and vile deceiver would be an opportunity for those evil, Christ-hating people to fill their cups of iniquity, so that God could righteously judge them for their sinful, rebellious hearts. As Paul informs us in those previous verses, they would all perish for that very same reason. He writes "in them that perish".

As I explain in a number of other articles, that is exactly what happened when several different factions -- namely the Sicarii and the Zealots -- fled into the Temple compound and transformed it into a military fortress against the invading Romans during the seven-year First Jewish-Roman War, which is also known as "The Great Revolt". Many Jews were killed when the Temple compound was burned to the ground by the Romans. Close to a million other Jews died as a result of disease or starvation, turned against each other, or were crucified by the thousands by the Romans on the great siege wall which surrounded Jerusalem. Many thousands more were enslaved and carried off to other Roman provinces. This is all verifiable historical fact. For example, on the Wikipedia website we read the following:

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The Zealots, Sicarii and other prominent revolutionaries finally joined forces to attack and successfully liberate Jerusalem in 66 AD, where they took control of the Temple in Jerusalem, executing anyone who tried to usurp their power. The local populace grew tired of their control and launched a series of sieges and raids to remove the radical factions. The radicals eventually silenced the uprising and Jerusalem stayed in their hands for the duration of the war. The Romans finally came to take back the city, and they led counter-attacks and sieges to starve the rebels inside. The rebels held for a considerable amount of time, but the constant bickering and the lack of leadership led the groups to disintegrate. The leader of the Sicarii, Menahem, was murdered by rival factions during an altercation; but promised to return in physical form to his people before the end of the 2nd fall of mankind right before his passing according to legend. Soon, the Romans stepped in and finally destroyed the whole city in 70 AD.

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As you can plainly see, rather than embrace the peaceful ways of Jesus Christ, rather than accept the spiritual liberation which He offered them through His own Death on the Cross, and rather than trust in God for their protection, those wicked unbelievers turned to violence and war. In fact, they even turned against their very own Jewish brethren who refused to take up their violent cause. They were indeed a very wicked and deceived lot. Consider the following verses:

"And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."


"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"


"Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God."


"With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah."


"Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."


"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."


You will notice that in his Epistle, Paul also wrote "God shall send them strong delusion". So we see then that not only did the Lord purposely allow that delusion to occur, but He personally chose that delusion for them, and made it so strong, that only those people who knew, understood and accepted His Word would fully comprehend what was really going on, and would be able to reject the deceptions of the Antichrist. Consider the following verses:

"I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not."


"For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."


Regarding the true Believers of that age who had accepted Christ as their Messiah, exactly what had Jesus instructed them to do when they saw these things occurring? Allow me to remind you again through the following verses:

"When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:) Then let them which be in Judaea flee into the mountains: Let him which is on the housetop not come down to take any thing out of his house: Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes. And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened."


"But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought not, (let him that readeth understand,) then let them that be in Judaea flee to the mountains: And let him that is on the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter therein, to take any thing out of his house: And let him that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter. For in those days shall be affliction, such as was not from the beginning of the creation which God created unto this time, neither shall be. And except that the Lord had shortened those days, no flesh should be saved: but for the elect’s sake, whom he hath chosen, he hath shortened the days."


"And when ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judaea flee to the mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people."


My friends, those were the people who were spared the great wrath of Rome which fell upon the city of Jerusalem and the Temple compound in 70 AD. The smart, obedient followers of Christ had already fled to the hills and were spared.

Please go to part three for the continuation of this series.

⇒ Go To The Next Part . . .

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