No More House of Prayer, Only a House That Prays
Why do we no longer have a house of prayer today? It is a question that came from a diligent seeker of biblical truth and it is apparent that his question is premised on MATTHEW 21:13 (KJV) which says,
And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.
To understand this, please take note of what the Lord Jesus Christ said, “It is written”. Therefore, Christ was quoting the part of the Scriptures where it was written.
In ISAIAH 56:7 (KJV), it says,
Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.
The Lord’s house shall be a house of prayer. This particular pronouncement of God is also recorded in the book of Chronicles and in 1 Kings. Jeremiah, a prophet unto nations, likewise prophesied that there would really be people who would turn God’s house of prayer into a den of robbers or thieves.
JEREMIAH 7:11 (KJV) says,
Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the Lord.
So, even before it was said by the Lord Jesus Christ, it had already been prophesied by the prophet Jeremiah.
When Christ said, “My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (MATTHEW 21:13), He was quoting the Scriptures. It did not originally come from Him. Remember the Lord Jesus Christ was sent by the Father to preach the word of the Father. That is why there are pronouncements of the Father in the Old Testament that were repeated by the Lord Jesus Christ.
JOHN 12:49-50 (KJV) says,
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
50 And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.
We can be sure that whatsoever the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken they were the very words of the Father because He had been commanded to speak exactly what the Father told Him.
Christ said that they had made God’s house, which is a house of prayer, a den of thieves because it had become a business place for money changers and sellers of doves, lambs, etc. Remember doves and lambs were what the Jews offered in the altar then, so those businessmen during the time of the Lord Jesus Christ made those items easily accessible for them, hence, the house of prayer of God had become a den of thieves.
Now, why is there no house of prayer anymore? This question has to be dealt with a little touch of history and a little touch of spirituality.
During the time of the Lord Jesus Christ, more or less year 40 A.D. . . . Why did I say 40 A.D? It is because our present calendar, the Roman calendar, is erroneous; it is short of about 5 or 6 years. The Roman calendar tells us that this is the year 2019 when it should be 2025 or 2024 already.
IN WHAT YEAR WAS CHRIST ACTUALLY BORN?
ZENIT International News Agency
When Dionysius Exiguus computed the date of Christ’s birth in the Middle Ages, he named the year of the Nativity 1 A.D., and stated that Jesus’ birth date was December 25 of that year. The year immediately before this was the year 1 B.C. Whether from mathematical ignorance or design, he did not include a year zero.
To complicate matters further, it seems that Dionysius made an error in his calculations. Herod the Great, who the Bible says was alive at the time of Christ’s birth, died in the year 4 B.C. based on the reports of Josephus. According to the Gospel of Matthew, when Herod was unable to trick the astrologers into leading him to the Child, he ordered the slaughter of all male babies in Bethlehem. Since Herod’s command (which is not attested outside the Gospels, but is consistent with his historical character) was to kill all babies under age 2, this event occurred no more than 2 years after Christ’s birth. If we assume that this happened near the end of Herod’s life (which seems likely), this puts Christ’s birth in the year 5 or 6 B.C.
The reality is, Christ was not born in 1 B.C. as what the historians are trying to make us believe. The article cited above has put the birth of Christ in 6 B.C considering the fact that, to arrive at A.D., we have to count 10 B.C., 9 B.C., 8 B.C., 7 B.C., 6 B.C., 5 B.C., 4 B.C., 3 B.C., 2 B.C., 1 B.C., 0 B.C., and then 1 A.D., and so on. Therefore, our calendar now is short of more or less 6 years.
If we are going to use the calendar that we have now (which lacks almost 6 years), when the Lord Jesus Christ was there in Jerusalem, according to the estimate of the Catholics, he was 33 years old. It was then that He told the apostles that the temple, or the house of prayer, would be destroyed. If He was 33 years old that time, and if we are going to add the 6 lacking years, it must be something like 39 or less than 40 A.D. then.
What He told the apostles was actually a prophetic pronouncement of the would-be total destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. There are facts that will prove that the war in Jerusalem caused by the Roman army, which destroyed the temple, happened in 70 A.D.
From The Arch of Titus in Rome . . .
The Arch of Titus is a first century honorific arch located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in 82 A.D. by the Roman Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his brother Titus to commemorate Titus’ victories, including the Siege of Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
That memorial arch, called the Arch of Titus, in Via Sacra, Rome confirms that there was really a war in Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
In MATTHEW 24:1-2 (KJV) this is what the Lord Jesus Christ said,
1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.
Christ had foretold to the apostles the destruction of the temple, or the house of prayer.
To answer the question, why is there no house of prayer anymore now? Physically, we do not have the temple anymore because it had been destroyed during the war. What is left is the wail of the wall of Jerusalem now called The Wailing Wall. It is where members of Judaism pray. The original temple is not there anymore; it had been replaced by other temples. In Jerusalem there is a Catholic edifice, and there is the Dome of the Rock that belong to the Muslims. There is also a particular portion there where the Muslims, the Jews, and the Christians are always in contention; there is always a fight there.
The house of prayer, or the temple in Jerusalem, which was originally built by Solomon, had been destroyed during the 70 A.D. war caused by the Roman Empire. Its destruction had been foretold by the Lord Jesus Christ 30 years before it happened; and it had also been prophesied by the prophet Daniel.
DANIEL 9:2 (KJV) says,
In the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.
The prophet Daniel prophesied that there would be desolation in Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus Christ likewise foretold of an abomination of desolation that would happen in Jerusalem.
MATTHEW 24:15 (KJV) says,
When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
We all know that the holy place being referred to is the temple. The Lord Jesus Christ had predicted its destruction, citing what the prophet Daniel had spoken. In other words, the Lord Jesus Christ made reference to the prophet Daniel who, on his part, also made reference to the prophet Jeremiah. The prophet Jeremiah provided more information about the desolation that was to befall Jerusalem.
JEREMIAH 4:11-13 (KJV) says,
11 At that time shall it be said to this people and to Jerusalem, A dry wind of the high places in the wilderness toward the daughter of my people, not to fan, nor to cleanse,
12 Even a full wind from those places shall come unto me: now also will I give sentence against them.
13 Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
The “wind” that Jeremiah mentioned does not refer to the literal wind because the literal wind, especially if it is strong, actually fans and cleanses. The literal wind has a cooling effect and it is capable of removing dirt. Yet, the “wind” that he mentioned does the opposite: it is not to fan, but to bring heat; and it is not to cleanse, but to bring filth.
What is that “wind”? Definitely, this is not an ordinary wind because it has chariots. The “wind” referred to something bad that was bound to happen in Jerusalem.
JEREMIAH 4:19 (KJV) says,
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
Very clearly, the “wind” signified the war that would happen in Jerusalem. Indeed, this war happened and it caused the destruction of Jerusalem. The temple, which is called the house of prayer, was totally destroyed that not a stone was left above another stone. But now, that temple or house of prayer had been replaced by temples of different religions which are all anti-Christ.
However, there is another “house” that God teaches in the Bible, a house that is symbolic of the Church.
1 TIMOTHY 3:15 (KJV) says,
But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
Now we have a “house” that is meant to last forever; a house that is indestructible as it was built by no less than the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, “Upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” (MATTHEW 16:18) No power in this world could ever destroy the church, or the house of God.
The spiritual house that we have now on earth is the Church of God whose tenets, rules, laws are completely recorded in the Bible. The Church is the house of God that is meant to exist forever.
EPHESIANS 3:10-11 (KJV) says,
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
It is the Church that God tasked to teach the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose. The Church that the Lord Jesus Christ built in the first century of our era is an entity that God has destined to be eternal. It will never be destroyed anymore.
The first house of God in Jerusalem was a house of prayer; it had been destroyed; it is gone. Now we have another house which is eternal, the Church, or the house of God. That is why it is no longer fitting to call it a house of prayer; it now fits to be called a house that prays.
HEBREWS 3:6 (KJV) says,
But Christ as son over his own house; whose house are we, . . .
To understand this better, let us go over HEBREWS 10:21 (KJV). It says,
And having an high priest over the house of God;
We have a high priest over the house of God, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. HEBREWS 3:1 (KJV) says,
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
Christ is the high priest in the house of God, which is the Church of God. The house is the Church itself. It is not an edifice; it is not a structure made of concrete, brick, steel, etc.
The Church is the house of God now. I agree that the house of God in Jerusalem is called the house of prayer. But it does not stand anymore; it had been destroyed 2000 years ago. But there is a house that will never be destroyed; it is the house of God, which is the Church of God.
The first century Christians said, “Christ as son over His own house; whose house are we.” (HEBREWS 3:6) If we, in the Church of God, are the house of God, then the Church of God should not be called a house of prayer. Instead, it must be rightfully called a house that prays.
Praise be to God!
A House That Prays,,,,Amen
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God for the enlightenment!
ReplyDeleteThe literal house of God which King Solomom built in Jerusalem was already gone because it was totally destroyed during the war in 70 AD. It was actually called the “House of Prayer”. The false religious leaders built their religious buildings which they called the house of god. We as MCGI members, are considered the Spiritual House of God. We prays, and therefore, we are the House of God that prays. To God Be The Glory!
ReplyDeleteEndless thanks to God
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God, To God be the Glory.
ReplyDeleteIndeed, a house that prays. Thanks be to God!
ReplyDeleteThanks be to God
ReplyDelete