1 Oct 2013
Revelation 11:2
Revelation 11:2: “But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
There are a few important things going on here. First of all, this says that Jerusalem will be “tread under foot” for 42 months, or 3.5 years. What this means is that the Gentiles (led by the Antichrist) will oppress Israel during the Tribulation.
The reason this is important is because the Bible says that the Gentiles will continue to divide Jerusalem until the time of the Gentiles is over. Some have speculated that since the Jews regained Jerusalem in 1967, that marked the end of the time of the Gentiles. However, we see in Revelation that even during the Tribulation the Gentiles will still oppress Jerusalem. This means that the time of the Gentiles has not ended, and it will not end until the Lord returns and defeats the Gentile armies that have sacked Jerusalem.
During the Tribulation the city of Jerusalem will be occupied for 3.5 years. (Jerusalem is “the holy city”). We also see that when this happens the third Temple will exist. Since it doesn’t exist right now, that means it will be built between now and then.