Recently some friends of mine sent me a list of Endtime questions and wanted to know what I thought about these questions, as it was contrary to what they had been taught about Endtime Bible prophecy.

When it comes to endtime questions, it’s always best to go to the Bible and look to the Word of God for the answers. And if you’re new to endtime Bible prophecy, this could possibly be helpful for your introduction to the study of Bible prophecy, as you "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (2Timothy 2:15).

Here is the list of questions that I received with my responses:

1. Is the rebuilding of a Jewish temple and the resumption of animal sacrifices a harbinger to the second coming of Christ?

In the following Bible verses we look at the scriptural evidence that a third Jewish Temple will be rebuilt and the daily sacrifices will be reinstated.

"Yea, he (Antichrist) magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him (the Antichrist) the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down" (Daniel 8:11).

“The place of His sanctuary was cast down.” It doesn’t seem that the Antichrist is going to destroy the Rebuilt third Jewish Temple, but rather occupy it himself, because we are told in 2 Thessalonians 2:4 that he “sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.”

So “cast down” apparently means that the Temple will no longer be sacred; it will be desecrated or “polluted”

"And an host was given him(Antichrist) against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered" (Daniel 8:12).

The ultimate fulfillment of this will be when the Antichrist demands that the whole world worship him as God, but anti-God, anti-Christ propaganda is already rampant in the world today, particularly in the mass media.

What is truth? Jesus said, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). God’s Word in the Bible is Truth!

"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary (Rebuilt Jewish Temple) and the host to be trodden under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary(Rebuilt Jewish Temple) be cleansed" (Daniel 8:13-14).

While this is a time prophecy concering the rebuilt Jewish temple and the animal daily sacrifices, the main point I want to bring out is that these events are happning during the endtime.

p>"And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel (Angel), make this man to understand the vision.

"So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be" (Daniel 8:15-19).

This clearly states that the vision of the “daily sacrifice” is during the time of the end! The “Transgression of Desolation”, is the same as the Abomination of Desolation that we see in Daniel 11:31 and Matthew 24:15, and this is referring to the image of the Beast (Antichrist) (Revelation 13:14-15) that I will deal further later in this article!

2. There is no Antichrist seven-year Middle East peace covenant prophesied in the Bible.

In Daniel 9:26 it talks about a prince that shall come, and then in Daniel 9:27 it says,”And he (the Antichrist) shall confirm the covenant with many for seven years."

In Daniel 11:21 it says, "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person (the Antichrist), to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries." It is clear that the Antichrist first rises to power with peace and flatteries.

"And after the league made with him (Antichrist) he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people" (Daniel 11:23).

The Antichrist rises to power peaceably, but then uses force to crush his opposition and strengthen his position. This could be war, the threat of war, or the preponderance of arms, but “the force of a flood” sounds a lot like war.

The phrase “and also the prince of the covenant” means that the Antichrist is also the prince of the covenant, not that the prince of the covenant is also broken. We know from Daniel 9:26-27 that the Antichrist makes a seven-year peace covenant and therefore the prince of the covenant is clearly the Antichrist.

"Then shall he (Antichrist) return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant... therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant" (Daniel 11:28, 30).

So this seven-year holy covenant appears to be some sort of religious pact, at least in part–quite possibly one that tackles the thorny issue of religious coexistence between Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Israel, and by which Jerusalem will be declared an international city with free and equal access guaranteed to people of all faiths.

It appears that this will also clear the way for the Jews to finally be able to rebuild their Temple on Jerusalem’s Mount Moriah and reinstitute animal sacrifices on its altar.

3. Is it prophesied in the Bible that the Antichrist is going to sit in a rebuilt Jewish temple in the middle of a seven-year peace covenant?

The Apostle Paul during the time of the early church was dealing with a situation where some Christian brethren thought the Rapture could happen very soon or at any time. Here’s Paul’s answer:

"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come (2nd coming Of Jesus and the Resurrection and Rapture), except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed (Antichrist), the son of perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he (Antichrist) as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God" (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4).

Here we see the Antichrist sitting in the rebuilt Jewish temple in Jerusalem claiming he is God and demanding that people worship him. The Antichrist wants to be worshipped as God.

"And they worshipped the dragon (Devil) which gave power unto the beast (Antichrist): and they worshipped the beast (Antichrist), saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?"

"And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (the Antichrist), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb (Jesus) slain from the foundation of the world" ” (Revelation 13:4, 8).

Why do we now have a pretty good understanding of the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation? Because we’re living in the latter days!

Here’s what the Lord told Daniel:

"But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased. And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things? And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end" (Daniel 12:4, 8-9).