This is our seventh and I believe our final study on Israel and Zionism. Before we get into our study for today, I want to add a few things from our last study, Zionism and the Land. Do you remember what I said the Land represented? The Land represented the presence of Yahweh. When they were out of the land they were away from Yahweh. The Land was a type. This week I was reading 2 Kings and this stood out to me.
Therefore, the LORD was very angry with Israel, and he removed them from his presence. Only the tribe of Judah remained. 2 Kings 17:18 CSB
I like the way the Christian Standard Bible translates the Hebrew panıym here as “presence.” Paniym means face, which means presence. How did Yahweh remove them from his presence? He removed them from the Land. He sent Israel (the Northern Kingdom) into Assyrian captivity (700 B.C.). Out of the Land equals out of his presence.
For the LORD had said, “I will also remove Judah from my presence just as I have removed Israel. I will reject this city Jerusalem, that I have chosen, and the temple about which I said, ‘My name will be there.’” 2 Kings 23:27 CSB
In 586 B.C. Judah was taken captive and removed from the Land in the Babylonian captivity. The Babylonian captivity has assimilated into it the Assyrian captivity. Because the Babylonians destroyed the Assyrians, now all those that were in Assyrian captivity are now in Babylonian captivity.
Yahweh is omnipresent which means all of God in every place. Yahweh is capable of being everywhere at the same time. His divine presence encompasses the whole universe. There is no location where He does not inhabit. So, you cannot literally be out of His presence. To be out of his presence is to be out of His favor.
So, the Land was a type and the anti-type is the New Covenant where believers are in his presence.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3 ESV
In the New Covenant, all of God’s people dwell with God; we are in his presence. Glorification is nothing more than dwelling in God's presence. Believers, Christ is our life. He is in the presence of God, and, therefore, we are in the presence of God.
Zionism as well as Christian Zionism not only put great emphasis on the Land. They also focus on a rebuilt Temple and priesthood because they fail to see these as types. They look to the future for a re-built Temple and priesthood.
Christian Zionism is a misunderstanding of the Bible that negatively affects our current politics. Christian Zionists are convinced that a future Temple will be built in place of, or near, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. There is one major problem barring the construction of a future Temple. That obstacle is the second holiest place of the Muslim faith—the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Christian Zionists are working toward the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, and that clearly has political ramifications which threaten to destabilize the entire Middle East.
What we believe affects the way we behave. And the way we behave affects the world in which we live. Christian Zionism is a faulty theology that has many negative side effects. But I would guess that this is what most believers in American churches are taught and believe.
What drives this errant theology? Errant teachers—a bunch of them. In his book, The Late Great Planet Earth, Hal Lindsey wrote, “Religious Jews have prayed three times a day, ‘May it be Thy will that the Temple be speedily rebuilt in our days.’"[Hal Lindsey, Planet Earth 2000 AD (Palos Verde, California: Western Front, 1994), p. 156.]
Hal probably prays this same prayer every day even knowing the chaos it would bring if fulfilled. In 1994, Lindsey predicted that “Two religions, Judaism and Islam, thus are on a collision course with global and heavenly repercussions Islam will never accept Jerusalem as the undivided capital of the Jewish state, and Israel will never agree to give it up. This is the intractable, insoluble crisis that will soon result in the climax of world history.” [Lindsey, Planet., p. 155.]
Randall Price, a Christian Zionist who teaches at Liberty University’s School of Divinity, claims that the Torah, “Obligates the Jewish nation to rebuild the Temple whenever it becomes possible to do so (Ex 25:8).” ['Time for a Temple? Jewish Plans to Rebuild the Temple.' Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry www.foigm.org/img/timetemp.htm]
Then he gives Exodus 25:8 as his proof text, which is actually a spoof text.
And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst. Exodus 25:8 ESV
Tell me how does this text teach that the Jewish nation is to rebuild the Temple whenever it becomes possible? Yahweh is speaking to Moses about building the original Tabernacle. Does Yahweh still want a sanctuary to dwell in? He does, but the Church is His sanctuary, “the dwelling place of God is with man”. Revelation 21:3
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16 ESV
There are many groups today that are striving to rebuild the Jewish Temple. The Temple Mount and Eretz Yisrael (Land of Israel) Faithful Movement is an Orthodox Jewish movement, based in Jerusalem, whose goal is to rebuild the Third Jewish Temple on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem and re-institute the practice of ritual sacrifice. How many of you have heard of this movement? In 1999, the US Anti-Defamation League (ADL) included Gershon Salomon, leader of the Temple Mount Faithful, on a list of "threats to (US) national security." And yet Pat Robertson's Christian Broadcasting Network has assisted in fund raising for Gershon Salomon's Temple Mount Faithful. [Jay Gary, 'The Temple Time Bomb' Presence Magazine www.christianity.com/partner]
The International Christian Embassy as well as mega-churches such as Chuck Smith's Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa in California have been associated with the funding of the Jerusalem Temple Foundation (JTF).
There is a clear symbiotic relationship between Christian and Jewish Zionist organizations committed to rebuilding the Jewish Temple. For example, Jews for Jesus provides information on, and offers direct Internet links to, eight extreme and militant Jewish organizations involved in attempts to destroy the Dome of the Rock, rebuild the Jewish Temple, and re-institute Jewish Temple worship and sacrifices. These include the Temple Institute and Temple Mount Faithful. [Rich Robinson, 'Israeli Groups Involved in Third Temple Activities' Jews for Jesus Newsletter Issue 10, Adar 5753, 1993.]
Christian Zionists believe passionately that the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is imminent and actively support those committed to achieving it. Even groups like Temple Mount Faithful.
So where do the Christian Zionists get the idea that there is a Temple to be built in the future? The get that view from twisting Scripture.
“But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where he ought not to be (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Mark 13:14 ESV
Do you see how this verse supports the rebuilding of a third Temple in our future? Me neither. As preterists, we’re familiar with this verse and understand what it means. The abomination of desolation is the Roman army with its heathen images and standards, ready to sacrifice to idols on the temple altar and working the desolation of Jerusalem and the temple. We know that the predicted "abomination of desolation" mentioned by Yeshua is a thing of the past, fulfilled during the events of A.D. 66-70.
But John Walvoord, commenting on this verse in Mark said, "Such a temple will be rebuilt, and these prophecies literally fulfilled [like Jerusalem's destruction in A.D. 70 wasn't literal enough]. If upon this revival of their sacrificial system such a future temple is suddenly desecrated, it would constitute a sign to the nation of Israel of the coming time of great trouble just preceding the Second Coming" [words in brackets mine, DBC].
In this text in Mark, Yeshua is talking to His disciples. When He told them “When you see the abomination of desolation,” He was not addressing the Jews in general, certainly not the Jews of some future generation. How could the disciples see it if it is to happen in our future? The Liberty Commentary says, "You, must be taken generically, since the disciples have not lived to see this take place." So, Yeshua said His disciples would see it, the Liberty Commentary says they didn't. I wonder whom we should believe?
The New Testament says nothing about a temple being set up in our future. Nothing. The Tanakh tells about a rebuilt temple, but it is referring to the rebuilding of Solomon's temple, the very temple which Yeshua said was going to be destroyed. Yeshua was talking about an event that would happen in His generation (Mark 13:30).
Contemporary Christian Zionists who have written on the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple include Thomas Ice, Randall Price, Grant Jeffrey, Hal Lindsey, Tim LaHaye, and Dave Hunt. Here’s the problem: Their combined published book sales exceed 70 million in more than 50 languages. Their views are therefore influential and have to be confronted with the Scripture. They are endorsed by some of the largest theological colleges and missionary institutions as well as a significant proportion of evangelical, Charismatic, Pentecostal and fundamentalist Christians worldwide.
Christian Zionists see the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 and the capture of Jerusalem in 1967 as highly significant because they signaled the end of 2000 years of exile and the end of the 'Times of the Gentiles'. And they are united with Jewish Zionists in the conviction that the Muslim Dome of the Rock must be destroyed, the third Jewish Temple built, priests consecrate, and sacrifices reinstituted in fulfilment of biblical prophecy. All to ensure the coming of Messiah.
Hal Lindsey wrote the following:
Obstacle or no obstacle, it is certain that the Temple will be rebuilt. Prophecy demands it… With the Jewish nation re rn in the land of Palestine, ancient Jerusalem once again under total Jewish control for the first time in 2600 years, and talk of rebuilding the great Temple, the most important sign of Jesus Christ's soon coming is before us… It is like the key piece of a jigsaw puzzle being found… For all those who trust in Jesus Christ, it is a time of electrifying excitement. [Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth (London: Lakeland, 1970), pp. 56-58.]
John Walvoord wrote this about the book, Ready to Rebuild, by Thomas Ice and Randall Price:
Something is happening in Israel! For many years there has been speculation as to whether the Second Temple, destroyed in 70 AD, will ever be rebuilt - even though Scripture predicts it. Now you can read the startling evidence. The move is already underway. This fascinating, fast-moving overview of contemporary events shows why the Temple is significant in Bible prophecy and how, more than ever, Israel is ready to rebuild. A masterpiece presenting all the various views with substantiating evidence… A mine of information for those concerned about prophecy… A solid basis for faith and what can actually be expected in regard to the rebuilding of the Temple… (it) is highly recommended." [John F. Walvoord, Jews for Jesus review of Ready to Rebuild by Thomas Ice and Randall Price (Eugene: Harvest House, 1992), www.store.jewsforjesus.org/books/products/bk154.htm]
This speculation about the rebuilding of the Temple is largely the consequence of a futurist literal hermeneutic. Scofield wrote that “Not one instance exists of a 'spiritual' or figurative fulfilment of prophecy… Jerusalem is always Jerusalem, Israel is always Israel, Zion is always Zion… Prophecies may never be spiritualised, but are always literal.” [C.I. Scofield, Scofield Bible Correspondence Course (Chicago: Moody Bible Institute), pp. 45-46.]
Let me prove Scofield wrong. Malachi writes,
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. Malachi 4:5 ESV
This is a prophecy of the coming of Elijah. Some rabbis taught that the prophet Elijah, who was caught up to heaven, would reappear. But in the New Testament we learn that John the Baptist is the Elijah of Malachi. The disciples knew the prophecy about Elijah, but apparently, they thought it would be fulfilled physically. It was actually, literally fulfilled, but it was not physically fulfilled. This is an important interpretive principle. Something can be fulfilled literally and spiritually, but not physically. John came in the spirit of Elijah.
The conviction that the Temple must be rebuilt is based on the assumption that certain prophecies in the Tanakh referring to the Temple have not yet been fulfilled. One of the most frequently quoted passages by Christian Zionists is Daniel 9:24-27.
Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal th vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place. Know therefore and understand that from the going out of the word to restore and build Jerusalem to the coming of an anointed one, a prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again with squares and moat, but in a troubled time. And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator. Daniel 9:24-27 ESV
Commenting on this text, Hal Lindsey argued, “This prophecy speaks of sacrifice and offerings which demand that the Jews rebuild the Temple for the third time upon its original site. At that point, Judaism and Islam will be placed on an inevitable course of war over the site, a war that will start Armageddon… any move toward that direction is a crucial clue to what hour it is on God's prophetic timetable.” [Lindsey, Israel and the Last Days (Eugene, Oregon: Harvest House, 1983), p. 23.]
The problem with this is that there is nothing in the text of Daniel 9 that requires a futurist scenario or predicts the rebuilding of a Jewish Temple. This prophecy is about the destruction of the Temple that took place in A.D. 70.
Moishe Rosen, following a futurist literal reading, claims Ezekiel 43 also refers to contemporary events leading to the imminent rebuilding of the Temple. He asserted that, “…at some point in these stressful days, the ancient Jewish Temple will be rebuilt on the holy Temple Mount in Jerusalem… Prophecy foretells the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple and the reinstitution of the sacrifices prescribed in the law of Moses.” ['Future Events of the Temple Mount Faithful' The Voice of the Temple Mount Faithful, The Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful, Summer 5761/2001, pp. 22-23.]
Ezekiel 40-48 is not about a literal Temple; this is clear from the descriptions given. How can this be a detailed plan of what God wants people to follow to construct this Temple when he never gives height measurements? Two out of three dimensions are there, but the third one is not. And there is no clear description of a roof for the temple. How would you build that?
The most important New Testament passage used to support the belief in the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple is Matthew 24:1-2 and 15. This is Matthew’s text of Mark 13:14 about the abomination of desolation. While Dispensationalists agree that in the first two verses Yeshua is warning of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem, they claim that by verse 15 Yeshua is describing the desecration of another future Temple which has yet to be built. This futurist interpretation of Matthew 24, like that of Daniel 9:24-27, requires a gap of some 2000 years between these verses. John Walvoord contended that
This prediction obviously could not refer to A.D. 70 as it is an event immediately preceding the second advent of Christ described, in Matthew 24:27-31. The prediction, however, gives us the clue concerning the future Temple. The abomination of desolation has reference to a future event paralleling to some extent "the abomination that maketh desolate" of Daniel 11:31 fulfilled in the desolation of the Temple in the second century B.C. by Antiochus Epiphanes which sparked the Maccabean revolt. [John F. Walvoord, 'Will Israel Build a Temple in Jerusalem?' Bibliotheca Sacra, 125 (April 1968), p.103.]
Hal Lindsey takes a similar view.
Of course, for Temple rites to be stopped in the last days, we know they must be restarted. The words of Jesus Himself in Matthew 24:15 require that a new holy place be built and a complete sacrificial system re-instituted. And since only a consecrated temple can be defiled, this prophecy shows that the physical Temple must not only be rebuilt, but a functioning priesthood must begin practicing once again. [Lindsey, Planet., p. 158.]
Lindsey adds a few words to the text to help support his interpretation.
“Therefore, when you see the abomination which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place [of the rebuilt temple] (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains…” [Lindsey, The Apocalypse Code (Palos Verdes, California: Western Front, 1997), p. 78.]
While Lindsey and Walvoord believe Yeshua was predicting a future desecration of a rebuilt temple, preterists know his words were fulfilled in the events leading up to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.
Yeshua promised that these events would be witnessed by “this generation.” Lindsey understands the word “this” to refer to his own generation who the founding of the State of Israel in 1948 and the capturing of the Old City of Jerusalem in 1967.
So, the rebuilding of the Temple is significant not only because of the potential firestorm it will create between Jews and Muslims in the Middle East. It is also a critical development in the entire prophetic scenario. The Bible makes it clear that in the last days the Antichrist will establish his reign in the Temple of Jerusalem. Therefore, the Temple must and will be rebuilt. [Lindsey, Planet., p. 104.]
The Christian Zionists find evidence for the rebuilding of a future Temple in the instructions given to John to measure the Temple in Revelation 11:1-2. Lindsey wrote:
The Apostle John wrote the book of Revelation about the year A.D. 95. This means that the Temple… was non-existent for the twenty-five years preceding John's writing… What Temple, then, was John referring to? There can be only one answer - a yet-to-be-built structure! [ Lindsey, There's A New World Coming, A Prophetic Odyssey (Santa Ana, California: Vision House, 1973), p. 160.]
It is on the basis of these passages and a literalist logic that Christian Zionists believe the Bible promises that a future Temple will be built in order to be desecrated and destroyed once again.
That’s enough of this nonsense. What do the Scriptures say about a rebuilt Temple? Let’s look at what Paul says about the Temple in Ephesians 2.
So, then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Yeshua himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22 ESV
“Built”—this is not just any building, but rather, the Temple, where Yahweh manifests his presence in a special way. Yahweh is omnipresent, but there is a special sense in which He dwells in His Holy Temple. The Jews experienced this as the Shekinah, the brilliant manifestation of the glory of God. But now, Paul says, the Church is this Temple. For New Testament believers, there is no such thing as a sacred building. God's Temple now consists of His people.
Please notice that this New Temple is not built on the foundation of the Mosaic Law but on the teaching of the apostles about Yeshua the Christ.
"Christ Yeshua Himself being the cornerstone"—the cornerstone was the major stone that was set down. Every other block in the entire building fit into that stone. You don't begin building a wall from the center up and out. You set a cornerstone, and from it, the trajectory of the walls is already set. The builder would place the cornerstone so that the rest of the building would grow out from it. The cornerstone was the thing that framed everything. It was the thing to which everything was adapted. The cornerstone was the support, the unifier, the connector, the strength giver. It was everything. And that is Yeshua the Christ.
The word "structure," from the Greek oikodome, is used by classical writers of a building or the act of building. In the present context, oikodome has to refer to the act of building because the following participle and main verb denote that the building is still in the process of construction. This building that is being built is the New Jerusalem. Believers are the Temple of God.
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? 1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV
Paul uses the plural to emphasize that the entire Church community is God's Temple (His dwelling place on earth).
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
"Your body"—refers to the body of each believer. Paul's use of the singular form of "body" may emphasize that each believer is a temple of God. In this context, Paul focuses on individual believers instead of the entire Church community. One is individual and the other is corporate. It is a plural pronoun. Therefore, we are the temple of God th corporately and individually.
What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 2 Corinthians 6:16 ESV
This is a quote from Leviticus 26:12 which God gave to Israel and Paul sees it fulfilled in the Church, the true Israel. Look at what Peter says about this Temple:
As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Yeshua the Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV
First-century believers were being "built together" into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. The Church is a Temple, and the Temple was where worship was carried on.
in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. Ephesians 2:21 ESV
"Grows into a holy temple"—the present tense verb, along with the preceding participle, shows the continuance of the growth process. In other words, Paul defines a living organism that continues to increase. There is no future tense here that indicates some eschatological temple. We find the present tense dealing with a present temple that is not finished and continues to grow. The Greek word for "temple" here is naos, which means the inner sanctuary. If the temple with its porches and outbuilding were in mind, Paul would have used the Greek word, hieros.
In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:22 ESV
"Being built together into a dwelling place for God"—the ongoing process results in a building where God dwells. The verb is a present indicative with the tense again indicating the continuance of the building.
We saw in verse 21 that the building is still in the process of construction; it "is growing into a holy temple.” The present tense verb shows the continuance of the growth process and indicates a living organism that continues to increase. Verse 22 talks about the ongoing process of the building being built. This growing process can only be understood by someone who understands fulfilled eschatology. Only the he knows what time it is. This building is no longer being built because it was finished in A.D.70, and Yahweh moved in. Most see this as a process that is still happening.
John MacArthur wrote: "And it grows, the temple grows. Why? New stones are added all the time, right?" Wrong! New stones are being added, but the temple is complete, and Yahweh indwells it. This is the New Temple promised throughout the Tanakh:
It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the LORD shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. Isaiah 2:2-3 ESV
Isaiah is talking about the new Living Temple. Dispensationalism and Christian Zionism put great emphasis on a rebuilt physical temple and priesthood because they fail to see these as types. Physical Israel was a type and so was the tabernacle.
They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, “See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8:5 ESV
The writer of Hebrews is saying that the tabernacle was a type. What is the anti-type? Yeshua is the anti-type.
So, the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” John 2:18 ESV
It was expected that the Messiah would repeat the "signs" of Moses (see John 1:21). So Yeshua gave them a sign.
Yeshua answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” John 2:19 ESV
Hey Scofield. Is this a prophecy? Remember what Scofield said: “Not one instance exists of a 'spiritual' or figurative fulfilment of prophecy. Is temple here a literal temple?
The word for "Temple" here is naos, which indicates the Sanctuary of the Temple area, including the Holy Place and the "inner sanctum" or place where God dwells called the "Holy of Holies."
The Sanhedrin later used Yeshua's words about destroying the Temple as a capital charge against Him at His trial (Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:58; cf. Matt. 27:40; Mark 15:29). This was dishonest because Yeshua had said, "Destroy the Temple," not, "I will destroy the Temple." Furthermore, Yeshua was speaking of His body, not the Temple.
So, the sign that Yeshua gives them is His resurrection. They would destroy the Temple, His body, and He would raise it in three days.
The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” John 2:20 ESV
Because of their blindness they think that He is talking about the physical Temple. But Lazarus makes it clear for us.
But he was speaking about the temple of his body. John 2:21 ESV
His resurrection, then, will be the sign from heaven that ultimately validates His claim to be the Son of God.
Ever since the Temple's rebuilding after the return from the Babylonian exile in the late 6th century BC, the Temple in Jerusalem had been an "empty house." God had not taken possession of the Temple the way He had filled and in-dwelt the desert Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-45) and Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 8:10-11). The Holy of Holies was an empty room because the Ark of the Covenant was not there. The glory of Yahweh returned in the person of Yeshua.
The body of the risen Christ is the spiritual Temple from which the living waters of salvation flow (John 7:37-39; 19:34; Revelation chapter 22). Yeshua is declaring His body (Himself personally and His body, the Church) to be the true Temple! The physical resurrection of Christ's body is the foundation for His New Covenant people being constituted as the Temple. Yeshua replaces the temple itself. Yeshua is the anti-type of the temple. The Temple represented the presence of Yahweh among His children.
And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. Acts 2:2-3 ESV
What is the significance of tongues of fire? Throughout the Scriptures, fire is always a sign of Yahweh's presence among His people. Note how at Pentecost the manifestation of the flaming presence of Yahweh is not positioned over a tent/temple as it was in the Old Covenant. This time it is over PEOPLE. Why? Because they are the New Tabernacle—the dwelling place of God. Yahweh is descending in fire on the New Temple of His people by His Spirit. This is the promise of the New Covenant where Yahweh would dwell with His people.
The building that Paul talked about in Ephesians 2 is the New Jerusalem. Look at what John wrote:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Revelation 21:1-2 ESV
The "building" is now finished and comes down from God. Notice that the New Heaven and Earth is the New Jerusalem, and according to Scripture, the New Jerusalem is the New Covenant.
Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother. Galatians 4:24-26 ESV
Paul speaks here of two Covenants—the Old and New. The Old is Mount Sinai, and the New is the Jerusalem above. So, the New Jerusalem is in the New Heaven and Earth, which is the New Covenant. Now notice the dimensions of this New Jerusalem.
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. Revelation 21:16 ESV
The New Jerusalem is a perfect cube just as the Holy of Holies was in the tabernacle. The Holy of Holies was Yahweh's dwelling place and so is the New Jerusalem.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. Revelation 21:3 ESV
The New Covenant (the New Jerusalem and the New Temple) is where Yahweh dwells with His people. Believers, we live in the New Covenant, thus we are in the Temple of the New Jerusalem dwelling with Yahweh now. Believers, the Church is God's Temple, which was completed in A.D.70. Our God is not "up there, out there, somewhere"; He is "with us, He dwells in us, we are His people."
The shadow has been replaced by the reality. The anti-type has replaced the type. Since the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, there are no "sacred" buildings or places, nor will there ever be. Yeshua Himself is our Temple, so there is no purpose for a rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. We meet with God in Yeshua. We dwell in Him and He dwells in us.