(Blog) Could It Be The Unified Islamic & Jewish Temple? - Ep. 937 - July 2, 2026

Could a Third Temple Become a Shared Sacred Site?

Support for rebuilding a Jewish temple on the Temple Mount has moved beyond a distant theological discussion for many Israelis. Reported polling, temple-service training, and the preparation of worship items have led some Bible prophecy teachers to ask whether a future temple could be closer than many expect.

The Smith and Rowland Show frames these developments through Ezekiel, Daniel, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and a dispensational reading of Scripture. Their central message is direct: it is later than you think.

Why the Third Temple Question Matters

For generations, rebuilding the Jewish temple in Jerusalem seemed politically impossible. The subject appeared most often in prophecy conferences, Jewish religious discussion, and theological debates about the end times.

That perception may be changing. The episode discusses a report attributed to the Temple Mount Heritage Foundation and Direct Polls Institute that found 55% of Israeli Jews support rebuilding a third temple on the Temple Mount. The hosts see that figure as evidence of a broader cultural and political shift within Israel.

The question reaches far beyond construction. The Temple Mount is one of the most contested religious sites in the world. Jewish longing for a future temple intersects with Islamic claims connected to the Dome of the Rock and Al-Aqsa Mosque. Any major change at the site would carry religious, political, and international consequences.

For Jeff Smith and Alan Rowland, the issue also matters because they read biblical prophecies about a future temple as literal statements about a real place. They believe the temple will play a major role during the tribulation period and in the revelation of the Antichrist.

Temple preparations have moved past theory

The discussion cites reports that 150,000 men have enrolled in training for future temple service, with plans that could eventually include as many as 200,000 participants. The hosts point to the scale of that preparation as significant. People do not devote years to priestly training for a temple they believe will never exist.

Organizations committed to temple preparation have also produced items associated with biblical worship, including:

• A golden menorah

• Priestly garments

• Silver trumpets

• Incense altars

• Priestly crowns

• Additional vessels and instruments connected to temple service

These preparations do not prove that construction will begin soon. They do show that the idea has an organized, practical side that goes beyond abstract expectation.

A future temple is no longer discussed only as a distant possibility. Training, sacred vessels, and public support give the discussion a practical dimension.

Dispensationalism and a Literal Reading of Prophecy

The episode begins with criticism of a recent Tucker Carlson interview that discussed dispensationalism, Israel, Zionism, and the history of the Scofield Reference Bible. Smith and Rowland objected to claims that Jewish financial influence secretly drove the development or publication of the Scofield Bible.

They argued that the historical timeline does not support the theory presented in that interview. John Nelson Darby's conferences and teaching on prophetic themes date to the 1830s. The first Scofield Reference Bible appeared in 1909, while the Balfour Declaration came in 1917.

Oxford University Press published the Scofield Reference Bible. However, the hosts rejected the allegation that there is evidence of hidden Jewish money directing the project in order to produce a political Zionist program.

The speakers presented these points as a response to claims they considered historically unsupported. The episode does not establish a full historical case for every point raised in the wider media debate.

The Bible passages behind the hosts' view

Smith and Rowland argue that Scripture should be read plainly when it speaks about a future temple. Their position draws on passages in Ezekiel, Daniel, and 2 Thessalonians.

They do not treat the third temple as symbolic language for the church or as a theological metaphor. Instead, they believe a literal temple must exist during the tribulation because the biblical texts place major end-times events there.

Their basic claims are:

• A temple will exist during the tribulation.

• The Antichrist will have a direct connection to that temple.

• A rebuilt temple does not create another way of salvation.

• Biblical prophecy does not teach separate plans of redemption for Jews and Gentiles.

The hosts also reject the charge that dispensationalism teaches salvation through restored sacrifices. In their view, the future temple belongs to the prophetic timeline, while salvation remains grounded in Christ.

Ezekiel's Temple and the Departure of God's Glory

The discussion turns to Ezekiel 10, where the prophet records the departure of God's glory from the first temple. Smith and Rowland stress the sequence because it shapes their understanding of any later temple.

In the passage, the glory of the Lord moves away from the inner sanctuary. It appears at the threshold, then by the eastern gate, and finally departs toward the Mount of Olives. The temple had once been the place of God's manifest presence, but the Spirit did not remain there because of Israel's sin and rebellion.

That history creates a sobering contrast with modern temple preparations. A building can be beautiful, costly, and carefully organized. It can also be spiritually empty.

A structure can be prepared for worship, yet still be empty of God's presence.

A temple can exist without restoring true worship

The hosts argue that Israel's present desire to rebuild a temple does not mean the nation has already returned to God through faith in Jesus. They see it as part of a longer journey that will eventually lead Israel to recognize Christ as Messiah.

This point shapes their view of Ezekiel's temple vision and of the future tribulation. A restored sacrificial system, in their reading, would not reverse the completed work of Christ or create a second path to God. Rather, it would show Israel's continuing religious blindness before its future awakening.

Smith and Rowland warn that a temple without the Spirit of God can become a place that Satan uses. They connect that warning with the biblical description of the Antichrist entering the temple and declaring himself to be God.

The Antichrist and the Tribulation Temple

The episode points readers to 2 Thessalonians 2, where Paul describes "the man of lawlessness" exalting himself and taking his seat in the temple of God. The hosts identify this figure as the Antichrist.

For them, Paul's wording requires a future physical temple. They believe the Antichrist will use a setting associated with worship to make his ultimate claim to authority and divinity.

That is why the current discussion about temple preparation carries such weight in their teaching. The hosts are not saying every vessel, garment, or training program proves the tribulation has begun. They are saying these developments fit the kind of preparation a literal future temple would require.

The future temple does not offer another salvation

A frequent objection to a future-temple interpretation is that sacrifices would imply a return to salvation by works or religious ritual. Smith and Rowland reject that conclusion.

Misunderstanding: A rebuilt temple means people can be saved through sacrifices apart from Christ.

Clarification: The hosts say Scripture does not teach a second way of salvation. In their view, temple worship during the tribulation is part of Israel's prophetic story, not an alternative gospel.

They connect this to Israel's present spiritual condition. The nation may seek to return to the place where God's glory departed, yet the hosts believe the decisive recognition of Jesus as Messiah will come later, after the Antichrist reveals his true character.

Could the Temple Mount Become a Shared Religious Site?

The episode's most provocative question concerns the Temple Mount itself. Smith and Rowland speculate that the conflict around the site could become part of the agreement that allows the Antichrist to gain power.

They discuss the Dome of the Rock, which now stands on the Temple Mount, and raise the possibility that an existing Islamic structure could somehow become part of a future Jewish and Islamic arrangement. They also wonder whether apostate Christianity could have some role in that arrangement.

The video presents this possibility as speculation, not as a documented fact or a settled interpretation of prophecy.

A covenant could address a religious conflict

The hosts connect their theory to Daniel 9:27, which describes a covenant confirmed with "many" for one week, commonly understood in this framework as seven years.

They suggest that escalating Temple Mount tensions could create an opening for a political and religious broker who promises peace. In their scenario, the Antichrist would offer a settlement that addresses Jewish and Islamic claims at the site.

Such an agreement could make him appear to be a peacemaker. Yet the hosts believe it would eventually expose him as the man of sin described by Paul.

No one can state with certainty how a future temple would be built, where it would stand, or how competing claims to the Temple Mount would be resolved. The episode treats the proposed unified site as an idea worth considering because the biblical texts connect the Antichrist, Israel, a covenant, and a temple.

Israel, Antisemitism, and the Right to Exist

Smith and Rowland also address what they see as growing hostility toward Israel across the political spectrum. They argue that some voices on the far left and far right share a refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist as a nation.

Their concern is not that every critique of the Israeli government is antisemitic. They draw a clear distinction between supporting Israel's existence and approving every action of its government.

The hosts call themselves Zionists in the limited sense that they believe the Jewish people have a biblical right to live in their historic land. They base that conclusion on their reading of prophecy, particularly the belief that God regathered Israel to the land and will preserve the nation.

"Israel is going to survive."

In their view, America cannot change Israel's ultimate future by either supporting or abandoning it. They believe God's word determines that future. However, they also argue that America's treatment of Israel has spiritual consequences for America.

Israel's Journey Back and the Prodigal Son

The episode uses the parable of the prodigal son as a practical picture of Israel's future return. The son left his father's house, reached the hog pen, came to his senses, and began the same road home that he had traveled away from his father.

Smith and Rowland apply that pattern to Israel. They believe the nation's interest in rebuilding the temple shows a desire to return to the place of worship from which God's glory had departed. Yet they also believe that journey will not reach its destination until Israel recognizes Jesus as Messiah.

The journey home follows the same path as the journey away, but in reverse.

The hosts connect that principle to individual Christian life as well. When believers drift from God, restoration often involves returning to the point of compromise, confession, or disobedience rather than avoiding it.

Holding fast in a spiritual holding pattern

Smith compares spiritual delay to an airplane in a holding pattern. Air traffic control may keep a plane circling because conditions make landing unsafe. In the same way, he says God may delay a believer's progress because danger lies ahead.

The hosts also acknowledge another possibility. Sin can create a holding pattern that a person must confront before moving forward.

Their counsel centers on the repeated biblical phrase "hold fast." Holding fast means retaining what God has already given, even when someone lacks strength or clarity for the next step.

1. Recognize that a delay may be taking place.

2. Examine your life honestly and address known sin.

3. Hold on to the faith, truth, and grace God has already given.

4. Move forward when the Holy Spirit provides strength and direction.

They warn that believers can remain in a holding pattern too long. The phrase "we have dwelt in this mount long enough" becomes a call to leave spiritual paralysis behind when God opens the way forward.

Worship in a Time of Transition

The hosts see modern worship as another sign of spiritual movement. They note that younger Christians often worship with more visible expression than earlier generations did in many traditional churches.

That change does not automatically make worship shallow or performative. Smith and Rowland acknowledge that any style can become a show, but they also believe many people are worshiping God with sincerity and freedom.

They compare current expressions of worship with older Southern Gospel traditions and with the openness of contemporary worship. Before COVID-19, they recall large worship gatherings filling multiple stadiums during the same weekends. To them, it looked like a wider movement of praise was gaining momentum.

David-like worship and priestly preaching

The hosts wonder whether the end of the present age could bring a renewed worship pattern that resembles David's worship. They describe a return to the Psalms as a living songbook, open praise, and preaching with a priestly seriousness.

They also believe the world is experiencing a transition between ages. In their reading, 1 Thessalonians 4 teaches the rapture of the church, while 1 Thessalonians 5 begins Paul's discussion of the day of the Lord.

Smith and Rowland define the day of the Lord as extending from the tribulation through the kingdom age. That framework leads them to interpret current events, temple discussions, worship movements, and conflict around Israel as signs of an approaching change.

What the Hosts Believe Is Converging

The episode brings several developments into one prophetic picture.

For Smith and Rowland, the clearest biblical claims concern a future temple, the Antichrist's self-exaltation, Israel's future recognition of the Messiah, and Christ's return. Their proposals about a shared Islamic and Jewish site, the exact form of a covenant, and the timing of events remain interpretations rather than certainties.

A Call to Watch and Hold Fast

The third-temple discussion is not only about ancient stones, sacred objects, or political agreements. It raises the larger question of whether people are paying attention to the biblical story they claim to believe.

Smith and Rowland see temple preparation, conflict around Israel, and renewed interest in worship as reasons to remain alert. Their message is that it is later than many people think, and spiritual readiness matters more than speculation alone.

Whatever future events bring, the practical call remains the same: hold fast to Christ, measure every claim against Scripture, and do not mistake religious activity for the presence of God.

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