Question:
Robert, from your study of the Scripture do you think the temple will be rebuilt in Jerusalem? Regards,
Response:
Yes, the temple will be rebuilt. While Zech.6:12-13 implies that the Messiah will build it, it is likely that yibneh there means "build up" (cf. Ps.147:2; 1Ki.6:1; Is.60:7; 60:13, et al.), and so refers not the construction of the central edifice, but to the cleansing, repair, and expansion of the whole temple complex (cf. Ezek.40-44; and consider what Herod did to turn the small second temple into a massive structure). Revelation 11:1-3 clearly puts a temple (a naos = the building with its altar and inner court) in Jerusalem at the time of the Tribulation, and 2nd Thessalonians 2:4 has the antichrist actually enthroning himself in the naos (the inner shrine where ark of the covenant resided). The latter passage calls the place "the temple of God", i.e., a real and in some sense "authorized" temple. Also, the events of Daniel 9:27 clearly assume a temple. For this reason (and others that space and time do not permit full exposition here; see the links below) I believe Moses and Elijah (the two witnesses) will be the ones who initiate and complete the rebuilding of the temple (Elijah "restores all things" = not only true worshipers but also true worship including that of the temple), and that this will happen at the outset of the Tribulation. So I don't think that secular efforts before the fact are going to be successful, but I do believe scripture clearly assumes another temple during the Tribulation, requiring a rebuilding.
Please see the following links where these matters are discussed in greater detail:
The Two Witnesses (Moses and Elijah) in CT 3A
The "Abomination of Desolation" and the "Session" of Antichrist
The Red Heifer and the Future Temple
Yours in Christ,
Bob Luginbill