Jewish Lords' Witness

​The Third Temple

​​​​​​Introduction

The writing of this paper has been inspired by my good Christian friend, Isaac, with whom I have many scriptural disagreements but also share many of the fruits of Christ’s promise. Amongst other things, Isaac believes in the physical nature of the prospective third temple whereas I believe the third temple will be a purely spiritual one. The objective of this project is to attempt to prove the point one way or another by studying the Holy Scriptures on the subject. I think this will prove a more than interesting exercise for the both of us. Amen.
 

History of the First Two Temples

Before we go on to consider the third temple, I think it only proper to investigate the history of the first two temples to try and put some context into the building of the third one. So let us start out with a potted history of the build and destruction of the first two temples: https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/timeline-for-the-history-of-jerusalem-4500-bce-present.

From this we see that the First Temple was built in 960 BCE by King Solomon and destroyed in 586 BCE by Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon. The second was built by the returning Jewish exiles (who had been taken to Babylon [modern Iraq] by the Babylonians but were freed by the Persians in 539 BCE), roughly around 516 BCE. This second Temple was extended and beautified by King Herod the Great in 37 BCE. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 CE.

Let us look at some of the scriptures that support the above history of the two temples. First up we have the building by King Solomon of the first temple in the fourth year of his reign as recounted by Ezra and Jeremiah respectively:

1 Then Solomon began to build the house of Jehovah at Jerusalem on mount Moriah, where [Jehovah] appeared unto David his father, which he made ready in the place that David had appointed, in the threshing-floor of Ornan the Jebusite.
2 And he began to build in the second [day] of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. (2 Chronicles 3 ASV)

1 And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Ziv, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of Jehovah. (1 Kings 6 ASV)

Together with confirmation from Jeremiah of its completion:

1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of Jehovah, and the king's house, and all Solomon's desire which he was pleased to do, (1 Kings 9 ASV)

King Solomon cannot say that he was not warned well in advance by Jehovah that He would have no hesitation in destroying the first temple should Israel cease in their worship of Him to follow foreign gods:

8 And though this house is so high, yet shall every one that passeth by it be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say, Why hath Jehovah done thus unto this land, and to this house?
9 and they shall answer, Because they forsook Jehovah their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath Jehovah brought all this evil upon them. (1 Kings 9 ASV)

5 But if ye will not hear these words, I swear by myself, saith Jehovah, that this house shall become a desolation. (Jeremiah 22 ASV)

God was as good as His promise as again recorded by the Prophets Ezra and Jeremiah:

12 But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon. (Ezra 5 KJV)

8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem.
9 And he burnt the house of Jehovah, and the king's house; and all the houses of Jerusalem, even every great house, burnt he with fire. (2 Kings 25 ASV)

And now the building of the second temple again recorded by Ezra. I have to say that to me it is nothing short of amazing that the King of Persia (Babylon being retained as its capital city) heard the Word of Jehovah to enable the building of the second temple. Clearly whatever is in God’s mind to do He will accomplish regardless of any prospective manmade obstacle:

22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, Jehovah stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and [put it] also in writing, saying,
23 Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath Jehovah, the God of heaven, given me; and he hath charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whosoever there is among you of all his people, Jehovah his God be with him, and let him go up. (2 Chronicles 36 ASV)

13 But in the first year of Cyrus the king of Babylon [the same] king Cyrus made a decree to build this house of God. (Ezra 5 KJV)

3 In the first year of Cyrus the king [the same] Cyrus the king made a decree [concerning] the house of God at Jerusalem, Let the house be builded, the place where they offered sacrifices, and let the foundations thereof be strongly laid; the height thereof threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof threescore cubits;
4 [With] three rows of great stones, and a row of new timber: and let the expenses be given out of the king's house:
5 And also let the golden and silver vessels of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took forth out of the temple which [is] at Jerusalem, and brought unto Babylon, be restored, and brought again unto the temple which [is] at Jerusalem, [every one] to his place, and place [them] in the house of God. (Ezra 6 KJV)

Strangely, there do not appear to be any scriptures relating to Herod’s restoration of the second temple. However, there are a couple of verses indicating that the first build of the second temple did not match the glory of Solomon’s:

12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, [who were] ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:
13 So that the people could not discern the noise of the shout of joy from the noise of the weeping of the people: for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard afar off. (Ezra 3 KJV)

3 Who [is] left among you who saw this house in her former glory? And how do you see it now? When compared to it, [is it] not as nothing in your eyes? (Haggai 2 GLT)

So, there appear to have been mixed feelings about the plans for the second temple. Some were overjoyed that a second temple was even being planned but others clearly felt that the plans for the second temple did not match up to those of the first. The issue seems to have been related to its planned height of 60 cubits; this was half of the 120 cubits of Solomon’s temple so must have been seen as a significant reduction in its grandeur:

3 Now these [are the things wherein] Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure [was] threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits.
4 And the porch that [was] in the front [of the house], the length [of it was] according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height [was] an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. (2 Chronicles 3 KJV)

However, notwithstanding the misgivings, it was clearly God’s intention that the second temple was to be built:

9 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Let your hands be strong, ye that hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets that were in the day that the foundation of the house of Jehovah of hosts was laid, even the temple, that it might be built. (Zechariah 8 ASV)

So how was this to take place given Cyrus’ original plans for the edifice? Well, here we need to consider King Herod’s determination in the matter for which a good place to start is the following useful document regarding the second temple rebuild: https://www.intotheword.net/pdfs/HerodTemple.pdf. According to this paper, this was to be a massive undertaking; no wonder God commented that the second temple would surpass the glory of the first:

9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that of the former, says Jehovah of Hosts. And in this place I will give peace, says Jehovah of Hosts. (Haggai 2 GLT)

The only scripture that seems to reference Herod’s rebuilding of the temple appears in the New Testament when the Jews responded to Christ’s claim that he would raise the temple after its destruction. They refer to its 46 year rebuild, while Christ was referring to the third temple, of which more later:

20 The Jews therefore said, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou raise it up in three days? (John 2 ASV)

According to the historical records, the destruction of the second temple by the Romans occurred in 70 CE. This was some years after the resurrection of Christ and the bulk of the biblical writings had been completed by then. Consequently, there are no direct historical biblical references to the actual destruction itself. Christ did, however, live in the times of the rebuilt second temple and there are prophetic pronouncements of its destruction in the scriptures:

37 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the [one] killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her. How often I desired to gather your children in the way a bird gathers her chicks under [her] wings! And you did not desire it.
38 Behold, "your house is left to you desolate." [Jer. 22:5] (Matthew 23 GLT)

1 And as he went forth out of the temple, one of his disciples saith unto him, Teacher, behold, what manner of stones and what manner of buildings!
2 And Jesus said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left here one stone upon another, which shall not be thrown down. (Mark 13 ASV)

One aspect of the above scripture worried me somewhat since we, allegedly, still have the Western Wall in place which is used for Jewish worship as the last remnant of the second temple. I do not think Christ would have made the mistake that the stones of the second temple were not all thrown down in their entirety! Many commentators believe that the western wall is actually the remnant of the retaining wall of a later built Roman fortress, a view that I would subscribe to, not wishing to catch Christ in a false prophesy: (The Strange Story of the False Wailing Wall).
 

The Third Temple

Paul clearly states in his first epistle to the First New Covenant (1NC) Saints at Corinth that they ARE God’s temple. God lives within His Holy ones thereby making them His holy sanctuary. It is made very clear here that the third temple is to be of a spiritual nature. The original temple buildings were the physical manifestation of the spiritual to come, as we find throughout the scriptures when comparing the Old Testament to the New:

16 Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and [that] the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
17 If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, and such are ye. (1 Corinthians 3 ASV)

And just in case the Corinthian congregation did not quite get it the first time, Paul’s consistent message to the Corinthian congregation is clearly saying that God’s temple consists of the saints and is therefore an explicitly spiritual temple. This, therefore, must represent the third temple since it still exists today after the destruction of the second temple with no physically rebuilt edifice to date:

19 Or know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own;
20 for ye were bought with a price: glorify God therefore in your body. (1 Corinthians 6 ASV)

16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in [them]; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (2 Corinthians 6 KJV)

John’s vision of the Holy City shows the new Jerusalem to be a heavenly manifestation. Within in it there is no visible temple building as such, apart from God and His Son. Since Christ is married to the 1st New Covenant (1NC) Saints and is therefore ‘one flesh’ with them, this again argues that the third temple will be a solely spiritual one. (The Structure of the Kingdom of God: New Jerusalem and the Great Crowd of Revelation 7:9 and Revelation 19:6):

10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (Revelation 21 KJV)

22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. (Revelation 21 KJV)

This next scripture from the Gospel of John, is a very telling one. Here Jesus is describing His resurrection as the rebuilding of the temple. Since He is married to the 1NC Saints, as described above, His body would thereby include his wife, the Saints. This is a very clear statement that the 3rd temple will be of a spiritual nature:

19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body. (John 2 KJV)

Since the Book of Revelation represents a symbolic vision to John, could the following verse be a description of the third temple on the mount? Certainly, the symbolism would fit:

1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads. (Revelation 14 KJV)

Also, those dwelling in heaven (the 1NC Saints) are described as God’s tabernacle. This could well be describing those ones as God’s temple:

6 And he opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, [even] them that dwell in the heaven. (Revelation 13 ASV)

John’s end-times vision saw God’s temple opened in heaven. Now while we have already acknowledged the symbolic nature of that vision, it nonetheless indicates that God’s temple will be in heaven and therefore of a spiritual nature and not a physical edifice on the Earth:

19 And there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven; and there was seen in his temple the ark of his covenant; and there followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake, and great hail. (Revelation 11 ASV)

Then we have more evidence from Peter that the third temple will be spiritual in nature. His first letter identifies Christ as its cornerstone and the 1NC Saints as the living stones making up its building:

3 if indeed you "tasted" "that the Lord is good;" [LXX-Psa. 33:9; MT-Psa. 34:8]

4 to whom having drawn near, a living Stone, indeed having been rejected by men, but chosen by God, precious;
5 you also as living stones are being built a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
6 Because of this, it is also contained in the Scripture: "Behold," I lay in Zion" an elect, "precious Stone," "a Corner-foundation;" "and the [one] believing in Him shall not be ashamed, never!" [Isa. 28:16]
7 Then to you who believe [belongs] the preciousness. But to disobeying ones, [He is the] "Stone which those building rejected; this One became [the] Head of the Corner," [Psa. 118:22] (1 Peter 2 GLT)

From the Old Testament references in Green’s Translation above, we see the early prophecies that the Messiah would be the temple’s cornerstone from the Book of Isaiah and from the pen of David:

16 therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-[stone] of sure foundation: he that believeth shall not be in haste. (Isaiah 28 ASV)

22 The stone which the builders rejected Is become the head of the corner. (Psalms 118 ASV)

Paul’s letter to the congregation at Ephesus adds further fuel to the spiritual temple argument by confirming the nature of the cornerstone and the foundations of the apostles:

19 So, then, you are no longer strangers and tenants, but [you are] fellow citizens of the saints and [of the] family of God,
20 being built up on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being [the] cornerstone,
21 in whom all the building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in [the] Lord,
22 in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling place of God in [the] Spirit. (Ephesians 2 GLT)

Paul here seems to be going one step further in effectively saying that there will not be a need for a third physical temple:

24 God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; (Acts 17 KJV)

The following passage from Isaiah is clearly talking about the third temple since this is an end-times prophecy. The wording suggests to me that we are again looking at the symbolism of a spiritual temple although this is not so explicit as some of the previous scriptures:

1 The Word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem:
2 And it shall be in the last days, the mountain of the house of Jehovah shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow into it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come and let us go up to the mount of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob. And He will teach from His ways, and we will walk in His paths. For out of Zion the Law will go forth, and the Word of Jehovah from Jerusalem.
4 And He shall judge among the nations and shall rebuke many people. And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. (Isaiah 2 GLT)

As further evidence of a spiritual third temple, Zechariah’s vision tells us that Christ will build the temple of God. Clearly this must refer to the third temple and strongly implies that Jesus will build the temple from His own resources in heaven, i.e., the Saints, as previously discussed:

12 and speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh Jehovah of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and he shall grow up out of his place; and he shall build the temple of Jehovah;
13 even he shall build the temple of Jehovah; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne; and the counsel of peace shall be between them both. (Zechariah 6 ASV)

While the following verses of Paul’s first letter to the congregation at Corinth do not explicitly mention the third temple, it is made clear that the 1NC Saints are making a building with Christ as its foundation stone. I guess since the third temple is mentioned frequently elsewhere in his letters to the Corinthians, he takes it as a given:

9 for of God we are fellow-workmen; God's tillage, God's building ye are.
10 According to the grace of God that was given to me, as a wise master-builder, a foundation I have laid, and another doth build on {it},
11 for other foundation no one is able to lay except that which is laid, which is Jesus the Christ; (1 Corinthians 3 YLT)

Paul, in his first letter to the congregation at Corinth, also relates the third spiritual temple back to the days of Moses. Here he confirms that the Israelites’ physical experiences and supplications were indeed the forerunners of the spirituality found in the New Testament. This not least including that of the third temple as represented by the rock-mass of Jesus Christ:

1 For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 and did all eat the same spiritual food;
4 and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10 ASV)

I think all the above scriptures make it clear that the third temple is of a spiritual nature and is already in existence and shortly to be made manifest to the world prior to the final end of the current system of things.

Now all the above scriptures, together with my commentary on them, relate to the heavenly temple of the 1NC Saints. However, the Lords’ Witnesses believe we are the church of the Second New Covenant to be represented by the 2NC Kings (LW Understanding 11 - Jeremiah 31 and Hebrews 8: The Earthly Lord Covenant of Paul, the covenant of Bilhah, the ELC, the 2NC of Rachel and the HLC of Zilpah). The 2NC Kings will be the earthly kings of God’s Kingdom and are in 1-to-1 correspondence with their 1NC spiritual fathers. It follows therefore that there will also be a spiritual temple on Earth in the Kingdom, the structure of which will consist of the 2NC Kings in correspondence with that of the 1NC Saints in Heaven. Apart from the LW evidence of this in the above understanding, I think a very succinct statement of this is contained within the Gospel of Matthew which identifies the parallels of the Kingdom in Heaven and upon the Earth:

18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 16 KJV)
 

Promises/Evidence for The Prospective Building of a Physical Third Temple

Looking at the mind-set of those seeking a physical third temple building on the existing temple mount site this, to my mind, seems a forlorn hope (https://www.jewishvoice.org/read/article/update-building-third-temple). They talk in terms of the spiritual readiness of the religious Jews but do not seem able to make the leap from that to a spiritual temple. Mind you they would probably need to read the New Testament to help them with this thought. They talk of the man of sin sitting in the temple as part of the end-times prophecy, but when do they think the end-times will be? For myself, I cannot see that there is enough time left to overcome all the religious and political objections to build the physical edifice before the man of sin will appear (Signs of The End Times - Part 2).

As we come into the final throes of the end-times we have this prophecy from Paul that the man of sin will sit in God’s temple. I include the original Greek text for later reference:

1 Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and [by] our gathering together unto him, (KJV)
1 Ἐρωτῶμεν δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, ὑπὲρ τῆς παρουσίας τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ ἡμῶν ἐπισυναγωγῆς ἐπ' αὐτόν, (OGB)
2 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. (KJV)
2 εἰς τὸ μὴ ταχέως σαλευθῆναι ὑμᾶς ἀπὸ τοῦ νοὸς μηδὲ θροεῖσθαι μήτε διὰ πνεύματος μήτε διὰ λόγου μήτε δι' ἐπιστολῆς ὡς δι' ἡμῶν, ὡς ὅτι ἐνέστηκεν ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου. (OGB)
3 Let no man deceive you by any means: for [that day shall not come], except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; (KJV)
3 μή τις ὑμᾶς ἐξαπατήσῃ κατὰ μηδένα τρόπον: ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἔλθῃ ἡ ἀποστασία πρῶτον καὶ ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνθρωπος τῆς ἀνομίας, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς ἀπωλείας, (OGB)
4 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2 KJV)
4 ὁ ἀντικείμενος καὶ ὑπεραιρόμενος ἐπὶ πάντα λεγόμενον θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸν ναὸν τοῦ θεοῦ καθίσαι, ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἔστιν θεός. (2 Thessalonians 2 OGB)

On the face of it, this certainly sounds much like the infiltration of the man of sin into a physical temple which has not yet been built. However, since all the previous scriptures in this paper clearly refer to a spiritual temple, I think that we must be looking at someone, in God’s Third or Fourth True Christian Churches, who will become demon-possessed and attempt to pollute their teachings and congregation. Now the LWs have attempted to identify such a one within its own ranks, but I do not necessarily subscribe to the current views on this. Certainly the ‘falling away’ described in verse 3 above could well be describing the loss of members from the Watchtower upon its spiritual fall and the resultant creation of the Lords’ Witnesses (LW Understanding 246 - The Watchtower joined the UN for 10 years in secret, the Harlot rode the Beast). From the Bible Code, the LWs argue that this followed the pattern of the fall of the Roman Catholic Church as the First True Christian Church through its liaison with the Roman Empire and its consequential loss of members to the Gnostic Church (LW Understanding 159 - Revelation 17: The Roman Catholic Church and the UN). Now whilst the fall of the Watchtower does seem to us to be an end-times event, in God’s terms any event occurring after the resurrection of Christ might be deemed to be an end-times event perhaps. From our knowledge of the Bible Code there is no reason why both meanings do not apply in different timeframes.

But then will the man of sin physically sit in God’s temple? Let us have a closer look at verse 4 above. One aspect of the True Bible Code is that every word has power. The key word in this verse is a very small one, ‘as’ in the KJV translation of the Greek word ‘ὥστε’. But what does the ‘as’ refer to? Most commentators, myself included until the present moment, consider that it refers only to ‘God’. However, if one extends that reference to the whole of the phrase ‘God sitteth in the temple of God’ then consideration of any corruption of a physical or spiritual temple becomes irrelevant. It is arguably not actually referring to God’s temple but is being compared to it! So, what are the implications of this? Well blasphemous comments from the Pope of a false Roman Catholic church could now be included here. One example might be the Pope’s address to the United Nations in 2015 where no mention of God was made, just that the Pope was speaking in his OWN name (https://veritas-vincit-international.org/2017/06/11/pope-to-u-n-assembly-i-come-in-my-own-name/). Given the ambiguity of the original Greek text, all possibilities could be included according to the Ambiguity Principle of the True Bible Code.

Another scripture that could be taken to confirm a third physical temple is to be built is this from the Book of Jeremiah:

14 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will perform that good word which I have spoken concerning the house of Israel and concerning the house of Judah.
15 In those days, and at that time, will I cause a Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute justice and righteousness in the land.
16 In those days shall Judah be saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell safely; and this is [the name] whereby she shall be called: Jehovah our righteousness.
17 For thus saith Jehovah: David shall never want a man to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel;
18 neither shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to offer burnt-offerings, and to burn meal-offerings, and to do sacrifice continually. (Jeremiah 33 ASV)

In common with other commentators, I think the ‘Branch of Righteous’ must refer to Jesus Christ and His return as the King of Israel. No surprises there, I think, but what should we make of verse 18 which states that the Levite priests will not want for a man to perform their daily sacrificial service. Well, I think it can be argued that Christ also comes as the High Priest, being both mankind’s secular and religious king. Jesus is mankind’s ultimate living sacrifice so the Levites will not be short of a man to spiritually effect this previously physical requirement of the Law:

11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10 KJV)

Paul confirms to the congregation at Corinth that Christ is their Passover sacrifice:

7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened [bread] of sincerity and truth. (1 Corinthians 5 KJV)

And to the congregation at Ephesus:

2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. (Ephesians 5 KJV)

So, again we have further evidence that the third temple will be of a spiritual nature since there is no longer the need for animal sacrifice in God’s Kingdom. Jehovah has already given the ultimate sacrifice of His only begotten son for all our sins for all time. Since sacrifice is a very important factor in the worship of God, I highly recommend the following piece for those of my readers who are particularly interested in that subject: https://shamelesspopery.com/animal-sacrifice/.

The following scripture is also often used to justify that the third temple will be a physical one in that it is being measured for building purposes. However, this is a symbolic representation which the Lords’ Witnesses have interpreted to be describing the fall of the Watchtower and the raising of the LWs (the two witnesses). They are the building blocks for the spiritual temples of the 1NC Saints and the 2NC Kings respectively (https://www.truebiblecode.com/history30.html):

1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and one said, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 And the court which is without the temple leave without, and measure it not; for it hath been given unto the nations: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
3 And I will give unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth. (Revelation 11 ASV)

The measurement here, I believe, is counting the number of faithful FDS3 servants there were left in the Watchtower at its fall. The rest of the congregation were then to be left outside of the 1NC spiritual temple.

As an aside, the two timeframes mentioned in the above account are demonstrating the LW understanding that the Biblical Lunar Calendar needs to be used to calculate dates from the scriptures into the current timeline (LW Understanding 90 - Ancient Calendars all had 360 day years).
 

Conclusion

After carrying out the promised research, there is no doubt in my mind that the third temple will be a spiritual one. If men wish to build a physical temple in the Kingdom on Earth, then I am sure that our two Gods, Jehovah and His Son Jesus, will have no objection so long as it is used appropriately. However, it will not be mandated as a requirement of the new system since God’s temple will reside in the 1NC Saints in Heaven and the 2NC Kings on Earth in the Kingdom. So, Isaac, it looks like I have won my bet unless you can come up with a scripture to the contrary that I have missed in the forgoing! 

​Date of Publication: 16th December 2021