Every time we address the biblical fact that a Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem prior to Christ’s Return, we are confronted with criticism: “Where in the Bible does it say that?” “There will be no Temple prior to Christ’s Return.” “The reference to a Temple is strictly addressing the Church.” Or, to make matters still worse and pathetic, “Jesus is the Temple, and God the Father will send Him—the Temple—back to Earth.”
The last objection is, of course, totally ridiculous and not even worth the time of discussing. I am only bringing it up to show how spiritually uneducated and ignorant “religious” people can be. It is true, of course, that the Bible does sometimes speak about the Church—or each and every true Christian—as a spiritual Temple. And it is also true that Christ comes back to His Church—His spiritual Temple. But many Scriptures cannot be explained that way and require the existence of a physical Temple before Christ’s Return.
For instance, we read that the man of sin (the false prophet) will be in the Temple of God, claiming to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4). This cannot possibly be referring to the man of sin sitting in God’s true Church—the very thought borders on blasphemy. That is the reason why Herbert W. Armstrong taught dogmatically that this passage mandates the existence of a physical Temple prior to Christ’s Return. We also read that the Millennial Temple in the book of Ezekiel must be cleansed—the reason being that it was polluted through the man of sin and the abominations which will take place in the Temple, as for instance described in the early pages of the book of Ezekiel and in the book of Daniel. For anybody who is willing to open his or her eyes, our literature is filled with proof that a physical Temple MUST be built before Christ CAN come back.
But who is going to build that Third Temple? I have been saying for quite some time that I strongly believe that Donald Trump will have an important role to fulfill in this regard. In fact, I recently said that I believe that Mr. Trump has been placed in power, among other reasons, to fulfill the biblical requirement of helping to build that Temple. I said this already during his first term, and I’m saying this again now. It is true that I strongly felt that events would happen faster—that Mr. Trump would be in the White House again more than four years ago. As it turned out, he was not then, but he is now. I explained at the time why I was four years ahead of my time (as many of the early apostles were and as Mr. Armstrong was as well)—and that I felt strongly that he would be back.
Apart from the fact that I believed (and believe) that the 2020 election was rigged and that Donald Trump should have been the rightful President, I also believed that God delayed the timing as the Church, as a whole, was not ready for the prophesied end-time events (cp. 2 Peter 3:9). Sadly, I don’t believe that the Church, as a whole, is ready now, but God’s patience has limits, and we are told that God will not delay the fulfillment any longer. In fact, God says that He will do a short Work (Romans 9:28) which can be accelerated (2 Peter 3:12). This is not to say that everyone in the Church will participate in the hastening of the Work and of Christ’s coming—some will be counted unworthy to go to the place of safety (even if they still believed in one) or to stand before the Son of Man.
When I mentioned Donald Trump in relation to the Third Temple, criticism ensued… as was expected: “What biblical Scripture do you have backing up this bizarre claim?” Of course, if someone does not believe that a physical Temple must be built, he obviously would not believe that Mr. Trump would have anything to do with such an endeavor. But if we believe in a physical building, how does President Trump come into play? Let’s be logical for a moment.
We are told in the Bible that foreigners (“they that are far off”) will come and build IN the Temple of the LORD (compare Zechariah 6:15, Authorized Version). It is obvious that Israel will not be able to build the Temple on its own; it would need support and protection. This protection can only be provided by the USA—and who would be better equipped and qualified to do so and to engage in such a building process than Donald Trump, who has been undeniably very successful in erecting monumental and significant buildings?
Of course, there is no Scripture which says: Donald Trump will build the Third Temple. Nor has there been a Scripture which says that divided Germany would reunite. But Herbert Armstrong powerfully proclaimed that it would reunite because he understood the entirety of prophecy in this regard, and he was guided by the spirit of prophecy (Revelation 19:10; John 16:13). With that same spirit, he proclaimed that there would be no major war between Russia and America, and that America had won its last war. That spirit of prophecy is with God’s true servants today, and we proclaim as well that America will not win another war and that Russia will not attack America… but also, that a war will break out between Russia, Ukraine and Europe. After all, we read that God will do nothing unless He reveals His plan first to His servants (Amos 3:7).
And we believe that we are guided by that same spirit of prophecy which inspires us to see Mr. Trump’s role in building the Third Temple—provided, he is willing to fulfill this commission—even though this claim might sound strange to some people (compare Habakuk 1:5).
We are by far not the only ones who have seen the significance of Donald Trump being in power in relation to the Third Temple. Israel 365 News wrote on October 24:
“White House correspondent, Jake Turx, asked Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt whether President Donald Trump had ever discussed the prospect of supporting the Temple’s reconstruction in Jerusalem… after noting Trump’s reputation for large-scale building projects and his newly revealed plans for a White House ballroom…
“Leavitt pointedly did not reject the possibility that the president and real-estate tycoon would consider the project, responding, instead, ‘It has not. No it hasn’t. I’m sorry, Jake.’ The exchange was brief, but it immediately recalled one of the most symbolically potent moments of Trump’s first term: the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem in May 2018… Following the embassy move, the Sanhedrin minted a ceremonial coin depicting Trump alongside the Persian King Cyrus, who facilitated the Jewish people’s return from Babylonian exile and rebuilding the Second Temple…”
The press reported in some articles that Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt had said that President Trump will not build the Third Temple. The Jerusalem Post had the following headline: “Leavitt: Donald Trump not rebuilding Jerusalem’s third temple.” This is clearly misleading, as Leavitt did NOT say that.
Also, Benjamin Netanyahu seemed to announce the building of a Third Temple about 7 years ago. You might want to listen again to our StandingWatch program from May 16, 2018, titled “Netanyahu’s Announcement of a Third Temple?”
Books have been written about the Third Temple and Donald Trump’s involvement. One introduction reads: “Many believe that President Trump is Israel’s next King Cyrus, the facilitator and overseer of the building of the Third Temple and that his influential role in that pursuit is being guided by Hashem (God) Himself, in order to restore to His people the most sacred site of worship. Is a secret plan under development for [the] construction of the Third Temple? And as these plans are increasingly expedited, will Trump succeed in raising this landmark, only to usher in the end of days?”
The blueprint for building the Third Temple exists. Musical instruments, over 60 vessels, and priestly garments like the ephod, breastplate, robe and the high priest’s crown have already been prepared. These are not replicas or models, but authentic vessels, made from gold, copper, silver and wood. Also, the menorah has been made of one piece of pure gold. Even a replica of the ark of the covenant (made of gold and three tons of Egyptian Acacia wood) was painstakingly constructed to exact specifications of the Torah and was displayed for the first time in October of 2024 in Jerusalem. Descendants of the tribe of Levi, known as Levites, are actively being identified and trained for the future Third Temple service, including both the priestly “Kohanim” and other Levites for supportive roles.
Can one really believe that all these preparations have been done without God’s involvement or inspiration?
So, before being accused of proclaiming something bizarre and weird, let’s just patiently wait and see what the future holds. Maybe, our critics will end up very embarrassed and become silent when they will have to realize that true prophecy had been proclaimed to them (cp. Ezekiel 33:33).