The Lord Is Coming To His Temple! (Part 2)
Introduction
What we have established in Part 1
Main Points
The Lord is coming to purify His People
The Lord will like Refiner’s Fire
The Lord will like Launderer’s Soap
The Refining and Washing is done through the Five-fold Ministry
The Lord is coming to finish His Temple
Ezra 3–6 details the building efforts of the returned exiles. The account suggests that reconstruction of the temple began quickly (536 BC), but after the altar was built (Ezra 3:1–7) and the foundation was reconstructed (Ezra 3:8–13) the project was soon frustrated. The builders encountered resistance from the people of the land (Ezra 4:1–5), who convinced the king to withdraw the support of Persia from the project (Ezra 4:19–23)—work on the temple stopped for fifteen years (535–520 BC) until the second year of the reign of Darius (Ezra 4:24). Zechariah and Haggai came to Zerubbabel’s aid and work began again on the temple in 520 BC (Ezra 5:1; Hag 1:1; Zech 1:1). Temple construction was finished in the sixth year of the reign of Darius (515 BC; Ezra 6:15) and the temple was dedicated by the people in a joyous celebration (Ezra 6:16–18).