Idol of the Antichrist in the Third Temple?
Summary
It is not about an idol of the Antichrist in the temple in Jerusalem, but about an image that all the inhabitants of the earth will make (Revelation 13).
According to the doctrine of Pre-Tribulation Rapture, the Third Temple will be built in Jerusalem before the visible return of Christ. Exactly 3.5 years before the visible Second Coming, the Antichrist will:
- sit in the temple,
- set up his abomination / idol there and
- abolish the sacrificial service.
The setting up of the idol is the abomination of desolation.
Revelation chapter 13 tells us about this idol.
Answer
Revelation 13 says nothing about a temple, nor anything about Jerusalem, nor anything about an idol:
Rev 13:11-18 11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to do homage to the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven onto the earth in the sight of men.
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by means of those signs which he was granted to do in the presence of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
15 And it was given to him to give spirit to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not do homage to the image of the beast to be killed.
16 And he causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, that they give them a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 so that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
The Bible text says that the inhabitants of the earth make an image to the beast. However, these are not only the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but also the inhabitants of Europe, America and Asia and all the way to the other side of the world. So it is not - as is claimed - an idol that the Antichrist sets up in the temple in Jerusalem, but rather an image that is made to the beast by people all over the world ... perhaps it is a QR code so that you can gain access. The Greek word for image is "eikon" (cf. to the English word “icon”).
The image, the mark and the worship of the beast (Antichrist) are only mentioned in the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible. There the three are always mentioned together (Rev 13:11-17 / 14:9-11 / 15:2 / 16:2 / 19:20 / 20:4).
The mark literally means:
“A carved, pierced, burned, pressed, engraved, etched or cut mark or sign."
Verse 16 says it comes on/upon/in/at/by/near/towards (= Greek "epi" with the genitive) the hand or the arm (the Greek word has both meanings: hand or arm) or
it comes on/upon/over/in/at/above/by/near/against/towards (= Greek "epi" with accusative) the forehead (the Greek word literally means "between the eyes").
The Greek word for worship literally means to prostrate oneself before someone.
Rev 13:8 And all who dwell on the earth will do worship to him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.