As war once again erupts in the Middle East—this time involving Iran—some voices in the Christian world are framing the conflict in prophetic terms. A growing conversation has emerged around the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, where the Islamic Dome of the Rock now stands on the site historically associated with Solomon's Temple and (what is known as) Herod's Temple. Some interpreters of biblical prophecy believe that a “Third Temple” must be rebuilt before the return of Christ, leading to speculation about what would have to happen to the Islamic structures currently occupying the site.

But is that really what Christians should expect—or even hope for—in the last days? Should believers anticipate the destruction of the Dome of the Rock and the restoration of temple sacrifices, or does the New Testament point us in a very different direction? In this episode of Plundering Leviathan, we examine the eschatology behind the Third Temple movement and what Scripture actually says about the future of God’s temple and the kingdom of Christ.