These ancient teachers called these terrible events the "birthpangs of the Messiah."

     Even though they longed for the deliverance of the chosen people of Israel; this fear led some Jewish rabbis to say, "Let the Messiah come, but let Him come at a time when I will not see Him."

All through the Talmud teachers interpreted the Bible's prophecies about the last days and the time of the coming of the Messiah.

    It lists the prophetic signs that will point to His coming:
an increase in oppression,
rampant inflation,
pride,
irresponsible government,
wars,
widespread poverty,
despising of wisdom,
lack of respect for elders,
the breakup of families, and
hatred of Christianity.

Thanksgiving 2015

The Talmund is a group of writings written by rabbis during the exile from Jerusalem.

     The rabbis mixed Jewish beliefs and interpretations of the Law.

         The Jews believed that Moses gave these instructions verbally through a series of some receivers who faithfully preserved them.

During the leadership of one rabbi this oral tradition was finally recorded in writing known as the Talmud.

In the New Testament, Jesus describes the prophetic events just before He returns as "the beginning of sorrows."

     The old Jewish teachers called this time of trouble "the time before the Messiah."

It is possible that God will use Elijah as one of the two witnesses to miraculously determine the proper identities  of the 144,000 Jewish witnesses during the Tribulation Period.

Ezekiel, one of the prophets, tells us that God will divide the Promised Land between the twelve tribes of Israel in the Millennium [1000 year rule of Jesus Christ], in Ezekiel 47 and 48.

     We wonder how the Jews will learn their proper identity. The only Jew who can definitely determine their origin are those named Levi or Cohen, they belong to the Levites or Kohanim, the 'Sons of Aaron.'

The Book of Revelations tells us that God will choose twelve thousand Jews from each of the twelve tribes of Israel as His special 144,000 witnesses.

The ancient teachers believed that in the age of the Messiah, a priest will stand up "with the Urim and Thummim."

     They hope this will happen when Elijah comes back with the breastplate of the High Priest.

         The Urim and Thummim was lost in the destruction of Solomon's Temple by the Babylonians. It was a device connected to the Breastplate of the High Priest and supernaturally revealed the will of God for Israel.

When the Jews returned from their captivity in Babylon, Nehemiah determined their families lineage by witnesses.

    Without the records that were lost when the Temple was burned, they couldn't determine who truly belonged to the priesthood.

The old teachers believe that the prophecies of rebuilding of the Temple and the division of the land in Ezekiel 40 thru 48 cannot be fulfilled unless someone identifies every Jew's proper lineage.

     They interpreted Malachi's prophecy that Elijah "will sit as a refiner and purifier to indicate that Elijah will return from heaven to supernaturally determine the identities and linage of all the Jews worldwide.

         They also believe he will identify who is qualified to be priests or proper Levites in the resumed Temple worship

Jewish mentors expected Elijah the Prophet to appear as a forerunner of the Messiah as told in Malachi 4:5-6, Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

The Jews expecting that the Messiah will rebuild the Temple might explain why many of them will accept the antichrist as their Messiah.

    If the false Messiah actually helps Israel to rebuild the third Temple, many Jews would accept it as proof that he is their true Messiah.

When Jesus sets up His Kingdom, He will build the fourth Temple north of Jerusalem described on Zechariah 6:12 and Ezekiel chapters 40 to 48.

     The Millennial Temple is predicted to have walls over a mile long. This huge size would not fit in Jerusalem, let alone on the Temple Mount.

           Ezekiel indicates that it will be located in the section of land known as the prince's portion, Ezekiel 45:7, about 25 miles north of Jerusalem in a new Millennial city.

After the defilement of the Temple by the antichrist, Jesus, the Messiah, will defeat him in the Battle of Armageddon during the Great Day of the Lord.

    Then the Messiah will cleanse and sanctify the Third Temple.

Other sources believe that the Temple will be built by the Jewish people or by God just before Jesus returns.

    The prophecies teach that the Jewish people, inspired by God, will rebuild the Third Temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount.

Most of the Jewish commentators interpret the prophecies to teach that the Messiah would build the Third Temple Himself.

     Zechariah 6:12 declares, "Thus says the Lord of hosts, saying: 'Behold, the Man whose name is the Branch! From His place He shall branch out and He shall build the temple of the Lord.'"

Some old rabbis believed that Zechariah and Ezekiel predicted that the Messiah would restore the Temple in the last days.

   After predicting the miraculous return of the exiles to the Promise Land, Ezekiel prophesied: Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set My sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore,Ezekiel 37:26.

Later when the antichrist defiles the rebuilt Temple, Israel will recognize him as an evil imposter.

     Many Jews will form part of the 'remnant' during the Tribulation Period who will flee into the wilderness to escape him.

It was claimed that anyone who did not believe in the Messiah or long for His coming actually denied the Torah, the law of Moses.

     This was great inspiration that gave them hope for thousands of years. But this expectation will cause Israel to accept the antichrist's and false prophet's claims.

The belief in the Messiah and the ultimate redemption of Israel is one of the most basic beliefs of their religion.

     The Jewish people comforted themselves all the centuries of exile by remembering the prophecies of a coming Messiah who will return the captives to their homeland and reestablish the throne of David.