More On The Temple

Q. I seem to remember the Bible speaking of the Jews having had two “Temples.”  Was one David’s tabernacle like the one in the Wilderness, and the other  Solomon’s Temple.

Is it possible, in the great scheme of things, that the first to be raised will be a portable tabernacle, and that it is there that the AC will declare himself to be God?  That would considerably advance the nearness of End Times since there would be no need to wait to resolve the political aspects of actually building a Temple of stone? Are we sure that it is the formal stone Temple that is referred to in prophecy of the End Times?

A. The Jews actually built two permanent stone buildings on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.  The first was built by Solomon in about 900 BC and was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC.  The second was built by Nehemiah after the Babylonian captivity and was substantially remodeled by King Herod in the time of the Lord’s first Coming.  It was destroyed by the Romans in 68-69 AD.

The next Temple to be built is described in Ezekiel 40-47 and is likewise a stone building.  I suppose there could be a temporary structure in the mean time, but the Bible doesn’t specifically describe one.

By the way, the tabernacle used by the Jews up to the time of the first Temple was the same one Moses built in the wilderness.  It lasted 400 years.