Bible prophecy reveals that the Jewish temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem (on the Temple Mount) as a key component of the end-times treaty with Israel. Now a leading Jewish rabbi says everything is ready to rebuild the temple today.

The rabbi is Rabbi Nachman Kahane, who has guided many Jewish students of the Scriptures on the subject of the temple. In addition, he has been the main source of serious study and preparation to rebuild the Jewish temple.

How soon will the temple be rebuilt? Rabbi Yehuda Glick, the former head of the Temple Institute, says even the priestly garments are ready and the temple will stand in full operation very soon.

Where will it be rebuilt? Rabbi Chaim Richman, the leading authority on the red heifer, says the temple will be built on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.

Rebuilding the temple will be an important fulfillment of Bible prophecy. It will be integral to the seven-year (end-times) treaty with Israel. After all, the rebuilt temple shows up in Jesus’ warning to His Jewish followers in Matthew 24:15 (“the holy place”); and it appears in Paul’s revelation that the “man of sin” (a.k.a. the beast of Revelation) will enter into the temple (after killing God’s two prophets) and set himself up to be worshipped as God.

In addition, Daniel 9:27 shows us how important the rebuilding of the temple will be to the fulfillment of end-times Bible prophecy. Here is what that verse says:

“Then they shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week they shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering."

Though many translations have “he” in place of “they,” it is a mistake to translate it that way. This is because the pronoun goes back to the nearest subject, which is “people” in verse 26. The reason “he” appears in so many Bible translations is because the pronoun is singular. However, it is singular because, in Hebrew (the language in which Daniel was originally written), “people” is a singular noun which requires a singular pronoun. But “he” in English does nothing but confuse the reader. To refer to “people,” the English translation of the pronoun should be “they.”

This means that “people” will make a treaty (“covenant”) with the “many.” But which “people”? Verse 26 reveals that this is a reference to those within the old Roman Empire. The “people” in the future (to which this refers) will be leaders within the boundaries of the Roman Empire. Daniel 7 and Revelation 17 indicate there will be ten “kings” or leaders from nations within those boundaries who will confirm this treaty with the “many.”

So, who are the “many”? The Hebrew word translated as “many” in 9:27 is also used in Daniel 8:25; 11:33, 39, 44; 12:2, 3, 4, and 10 and in each case, the “many” refer to Jews in Israel. Thus, 9:27 is predicting that the ten leaders of other nations will make a treaty with Israel. (By the way, this makes added sense when we see that this vision focuses on the Jews and Jerusalem—see verse 24.)

It is important to see that the context of verses 24-27 of Daniel 9 predicts a 490-year period of time for the Jews in which God will prepare them for His coming kingdom. (That is, ultimately, what the six infinitive phrases in verse 24 reference.) Given that the Hebrew word translated as “week” is literally “seven,” and considering that the first 69 “sevens” began with the command to rebuild the city of Jerusalem, which was decreed in 444 B.C. by the Persian king Artaxerxes, and ended with the “announcement” of “Messiah the prince,” which was the hailing Jesus as the Messiah at His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, “weeks” have to refer to years. That would mean that what has been fulfilled in Daniel 9:24-27 is a 483-year, consecutive period that began on March 5 (Nissan 1 on the Jewish calendar), 444 BC and ended on March 30 (Nissan 10), AD 33, exactly 483 years to the very day on a Jewish calendar (which consists of 360 days per calendar year)!

This leaves a seven-year timeframe open for God to work with Jews in Israel to prepare them for His coming kingdom. According to Daniel 9:27, this seven-year era will begin with the signing of a seven-year treaty with Israel, and this treaty will involve the rebuilding of the temple as an important component of it. This is evidenced in the verse by the fact that the breaking of the treaty will stop “sacrifice and offering,” which cannot be offered by Jews without the temple. So if the breaking of the treaty stops sacrifices and offerings at the temple, that means that one is intricately tied to the other.

Thus, in negotiating the treaty, Jewish leaders will demand they be given permission (and protection) under the treaty to rebuild the temple; and they will be granted that by the ten co-signers. To prepare for this, God has orchestrated the Jewish state in such a way that it has moved from a secular state toward a conservative religious one (as surveys in Israel over the past ten years have shown).

So, coming back to claim of the Rabbis at the beginning of this article, the question to be asked is this: Why the timing on this? Why has God prepared everything for the rebuilding of the temple at this point? Since God’s timing is always perfect, we have to suspect that this means the rebuilding of this temple is most likely very near.

[John Claeys serves as Executive Director of John Claeys Ministries through writing, speaking, and radio ministries and is the author of Apocalypse 2012: The Ticking of the End Time Clock—What Does the Bible Say?, a riveting look of the events leading up to the return of Christ. See www.JohnClaeys.com for more information.]