What the Bible says about Second Temple
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Jeremiah 30:1-3 God refers to both kingdoms here—the descendants of the northern kingdom of Israel as well as the southern kingdom of Judah. The return of Israel will be the larger migration because, aside from the 70-year captivity in Babylon, some of the descendants of Judah have always resided in the Promised Land. Today, the State of Israel is predominately made up of the descendants of Judah. However, neither Israel nor Judah has truly possessed the land since the time of their respective captivities. Despite some of Judah having returned to the land, ever since the Babylonian captivity, she has only rarely and intermittently held sovereignty over it. After Judah was taken into captivity, Babylon ruled the Promised Land under Nebuchadnezzar. Babylon later fell to the Medo-Persian Empire, which then became sovereign over Jerusalem and the Promised Land. Because of their vassal status, the Jewish captives that returned from Babylon had to ask permission from Cyrus and Darius, the Persian kings, to rebuild the wall and the Temple. The Jews enjoyed a measure of peace, but their freedom depended on the favor of the ruling Persian emperor. After Alexander the Great conquered Medo-Persia, the Greeks became the new overseers of the Land of Promise. Jews under the Maccabees gained a measure of independence until Rome took control of the area. Thus, during the time of Christ, Jews lived in the land and even worshipped in the Second Temple, but they did not really possess the land because it was under Roman jurisdiction. Since the collapse of the Roman Empire, notwithstanding some temporary Crusader holdings, the Promised Land has been under the sway of various Arab and Muslim nations—notably the Ottoman Empire—down to modern times. Even now, the state of Israel does not control all of the land. Jerusalem is a divided city, and the Israelis have not dared claim all of the Temple Mount for themselves, because they know that it would result in an all-out war with the Muslims. Even though the Jews regained a considerable amount of land when it declared statehood in 1948, gaining even more during the Six Day War, the ownership is endlessly argued. Judah is not truly sovereign yet. It does not yet "possess" the land in the fullest sense of the word. David C. Grabbe The Second Exodus (Part One) Related Topics: Babylonian Captivity | Crusaders | Cyrus | Darius | Jerusalem, Rebuilding of | Maccabean Revolt | Medo-Persian Empire | Nebuchadnezzar | Northern Kingdom of Israel | Northern Tribes of Israel | Ottoman Empire | Promised Land | Rebuilding Jerusalem | Rebuilding Temple | Second Temple | Six Day War | Southern Kingdom of Judah | Southern Tribes of Judah | Temple Mount | Temple, Rebuilding the

Haggai 2:10-23 The Bible contains the record of one extended family of people and its checkered history with God. The book of Genesis reveals the beginning of Israel through the fathers, and Exodus shows their first faltering steps. Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy define what God required of them—namely, for them to be holy. Joshua through II Chronicles contain their many adventures and misadventures as they continually turned from God. God also inspired seventeen prophetic books in the Old Testament to instruct His people, to correct them, and to warn them. These books were penned mostly before their captivity, but several were written after the Babylonian captivity of the Kingdom of Judah. The book of Haggai is one such post-exilic work. The immediate application of the prophecies it contains is the work on the Second Temple, but they incorporate definite dualities with end-time events. Of note in the last two prophecies of Haggai is God's desire to bless His covenant people, even when they do not deserve it. They stress that God blesses to improve the condition of His people, especially spiritually. Haggai received the last two prophecies on the same day. Haggai 2:10 and 20 identify that day as the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month, which is called Kislev (or Chislev). Kislev falls during November and December on the Gregorian calendar, near the beginning of winter. This date—Kislev 24—is easy to find on the calendar because it is always the day before the Jews celebrate Hanukkah on the twenty-fifth of Kislev. These prophecies in Haggai were given on, and refer to, the previous day. Historically, this date has been highly significant on several occasions. It was on Kislev 24 that the Temple was freed from its desecration by Antiochus IV (“Epiphanes”). The cleansing of the Temple began that evening, which, since it was after sunset, was technically Kislev 25. That is the origin of Hanukkah. A lesser-known fact is that it was also on Kislev 24 in 1917, during WWI, that British troops liberated Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire. We can see that this is a significant date in Jerusalem's history, and considering the dualities of these prophecies, it may be significant again. David C. Grabbe Cleansing God's People Related Topics: | Babylonian Captivity | Cleansing God's People | Cleansing of Sanctuary | Cleansing of the Temple | Desecration of Temple | Dualism | Haggai | Hanukkah | Israel's Failure as a Nation | Israel's Failure in the Wilderness | Israel's Faithlessness | Israel's Unfaithfulness | Ottoman Empire | Prophetic Duality | Prophetic Events, Timing of | Second Temple

 

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