David Reagan - Jeanne Nigro on the Jewish Temples
Most of you are aware of the fact that there have been two Jewish Temples in the past. But, did you know the Bible prophecies there will be two more in the future? When will they be built, and what will be their purpose? And what is the relevance of any of this to Christians living today? Stay tuned for an interview with a Bible teacher who specializes in teaching about the Jewish Temples.
Dr. Reagan: Greetings in the name of Jesus, our Blessed Hope, and welcome to Christ in Prophecy. My special guest with me today is a wonderful Bible teacher by the name of Jeanne Nigro. She used to live here in the Dallas, Texas area but she now resides in New York City. Welcome back to God’s country!
Jeanne Nigro: Oh, thank you so much. Great to be here. Thanks for having me.
Dr. Reagan: Well, Jeanne your ministry statement on your website reads as follows, “The mission of Jeanne Nigro Ministries is to empower people to stand strong in these uncertain, turbulent times through a more intimate relationship with God.” And your latest book called, Unshaken, certainly focuses on that mission goal. The subtitle of the books is, Standing Strong in Uncertain Times. What’s it all about?
Jeanne Nigro: We all need to stand strong in these times. Well, these times get–the book keeps getting more and more relevant every day. The times are so uncertain. But we need to be able to stand unshaken.
Dr. Reagan: Yeah.
Jeanne Nigro: So, how do we do that? So that’s what the whole book, and the ministry is we are empowering people to be unshaken so that we can release God’s purposes in these times, and be light.
Dr. Reagan: And is that by developing a more personal relationship with the Lord?
Jeanne Nigro: It’s that experiencing intimacy with Him. That’s got to be the root to everything we do, or else its performance.
Dr. Reagan: Well, it certainly a relevant book because in these days and times when I watch the evening news on television by the time it’s over with I have the feeling the whole world is just falling apart.
Jeanne Nigro: That’s the way they want to make you feel too.
Dr. Reagan: And the only way I can cope with it is I remember Psalm 2 which says that while all this is happening, all this rebellion, everybody against God that God sits in the heavens and laughs. Not because He’s not concerned but because He has the wisdom and the power to orchestrate all the evil of mankind for the triumph of Jesus Christ.
Jeanne Nigro: Amen. Amen.
Dr. Reagan: So, it’s in His hands and He’s got it under control.
Jeanne Nigro: And in Him we can be unshaken no matter what.
Dr. Reagan: Right. Amen. Now, what is the relationship of all that to the fact that I know you primarily as a teacher on things like Jewish Feasts, Jewish Temples, and the Millennial reign of Jesus Christ? What is the relationship between all that?
Jeanne Nigro: And I love to teach on those things, especially the Millennial Temple. Well, it’s all about intimacy with God, and being unshaken. And so how do you experience intimacy with God? Well, when your heart is aligned with God’s heart. When you’re passionate about what He’s passionate about you experience intimacy with Him. And so, what is God’s passionate about? Well, He’s passionate about you first of all, and people. But He’s passionate about Israel. He’s passionate about the Feasts: the Passover, Sukkot, Shabbat. He designed them, right? He’s passionate about the Millennium to come. And He’s passionate about the Millennial Temple. So, when I align my passions with what He’s passionate about then I experience intimacy with Him. And you think about the future. For example Jesus, Yeshua builds the Millennial Temple, Ezekiel’s Temple. And so, the more that I can find out and study about Ezekiel or the Millennial Temple the more I know about my future with my Bridegroom. If I was getting married next week I’d want to know something about my spouse.
Dr. Reagan: I like that.
Jeanne Nigro: Right? Wouldn’t I want to know what at least what he likes to do? Am I going to golfing with him? Or am I going to be scuba diving with him? Well, we have a Bridegroom coming, Jesus and we don’t even know what we’re going to be doing with Him. So the Millennial Temple helps us.
Dr. Reagan: Well, that is such an important point because I often point out that we have a nation full of professing Christians, like 72-73% but many of them have never really been born again, they are cultural Christians and many of them have no personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jeanne Nigro: And on top of that I find, to add to that I think many times the Church in general defines Jesus the way they want to. So, He can be a personal shopper. He can be a best friend. He can be all these things, but wait a minute when He comes back He’s going to Jewish. He is going to set up a Temple. Are we even going to recognize Him when He comes back?
Dr. Reagan: Now, you say that Jesus is passionate about Israel. That flies in the face of what the majority of Christianity teaches today. Both the Catholic Church and the majority of all Protestant denominations teach that God has washed His hands of the Jewish people, has no purpose left for them because they are Christ killers.
Jeanne Nigro: You know I believe that God is in these times saying wake up. He–I’m serious, He wants the Church. I have a radio program in New York called, “Wake Up Call,” because I believe this is the time He’s waking up the Church and saying, “Jesus is coming back soon.” Yeshua is coming back we need to wake up to who He is. Who He is going to be. What is going to be happening in Israel? Where the Temple is going to be? Why are there sacrifices? What is this whole Jewish thing? Jesus is Jewish? What? Because He wants to prepare us. Well first it helps us to grow in intimacy with Him knowing. So it is preparation. It’s growing in intimacy. Well, then how can we be lights and release His purposes now if we don’t? We have to align with where God is going. He’s saying I believe in these times, wake up, no more our own plans, our own good plans, you know. He wants us to align with where He’s going.
Dr. Reagan: Well, you know if you read Romans 9-11 you cannot read that without coming away with a conviction that God still loves the Jewish people. God is still pursuing the Jewish people. And God still has a purpose for the Jewish people; He’s going to bring a great remnant to salvation.
Jeanne Nigro: And we need to understand the roots of Anti-Semitism through the Church, thousands of years.
Dr. Reagan: Oh, yes. Absolutely.
Jeanne Nigro: There is a reason why here we are in 2018, 2019, 2020 these years, and the Church doesn’t know Israel. The Church thinks that they’ve replaced Israel. Well, it is because of Anti-Semitism obviously from the Garden, but that comes through from the Early Church Fathers and we need to wake up to that.
Dr. Reagan: Well, I happen to know personally because I’ve heard you teach on it that you have some magnificent teachings about the Temples. And there have been two temples in the past. There was Solomon’s Temple. And then there was the temple that was built by the Jews who returned from Babylonian captivity, that later was greatly adorned and expanded by King Herod. So there has been two temples. But that temple was destroyed in 70 AD. There hasn’t been a temple since then. What about the future? Are there going to be temples in the future?
Jeanne Nigro: There are.
Dr. Reagan: Alright, tell us about that.
Jeanne Nigro: And I believe there are going to be two more. And I have names for them. But the third temple I believe is what I call the Antichrist Temple.
Dr. Reagan: Yes.
Jeanne Nigro: And that we–that Yeshua told us about in Matthew 24, that Daniel prophesied–
Dr. Reagan: That is the temple that will exist during the Tribulation?
Jeanne Nigro: Yes, the abomination that causes desolation in Daniel 9, 11, 12. So, there is that temple. And I believe that that is the temple that right now many in Israel are preparing for. The Temple Institute, the Orthodox Jewish Community are preparing. They are kind of just waiting for the time when they can build it because obviously right now there is a mosque on the Temple Mount. So, I believe, and we can talk about this more but there is going to be a lot of deception caused by this Third Temple. But the actual Ezekiel Temple there is so much in God’s Word in Ezekiel 40-48. So, I want to wake up the body to read Ezekiel 40-48 about the Millennial Temple.
Dr. Reagan: Well, I want to talk in detail about that Millennial Temple. But let’s go back to the Third Temple, the one that will exist during the Tribulation. You know one of the things that has really concerned me is that there are Jewish representatives of that Temple who come to the United States and speak in American churches all the time and try to raise money for it. And American Christians give thousands of dollars.
Jeanne Nigro: Thank you, thank you for pointing that out.
Dr. Reagan: And let me tell you in God’s permissive will He is going to allow that Temple to be built. But that’s not His perfect will for the Jewish people. His perfect will is for them to accept Yeshua as their Messiah. And many of those people who are raising that money take some of it and use it to fight Messianic Jews in Israel. So, tell us about that.
Jeanne Nigro: Thank you. Can we go around the country and preach just on this? Now I have a friend because I’ve felt like I’m the only voice in the world to be honest. There is so much deception around this Temple, and many layers. And I have a real burden to wake up the Christian church about this because not–I believe obviously we should have God’s passion for Israel. That doesn’t mean that everything that Israel does we should support.
Dr. Reagan: Yeah.
Jeanne Nigro: That means having God’s heart for the Jewish people for their salvation; that they would know their Messiah, Yeshua. And that we support obviously that Israel is not divided, and that Jerusalem is not divided. But it doesn’t–the fact–okay so we need to get back the Temple itself we’ve got to understand first of all that especially in the Orthodox which is what in Israel the religious Jews are Orthodox. They believe that–let me put it this way, if you just say the word temple and replace it with Yeshua they believe the Temple will bring peace. The temple will bring eternal life. The temple will bring relationship with God. So, if you understand their theology in a sense, so when you’re supporting the temple it is almost like it’s replacing Jesus.
Dr. Reagan: That’s right. That’s right.
Jeanne Nigro: And so, there is that deception. But then there is the deception about which Temple this is, and the Temple Institute is building everything for it. Well, it’s a remake of Herod’s Temple. And it is based on a misinterpretation. You know they study the Rambam, and the Mishneh Torah, and so forth which is just commentaries, upon commentaries, upon the Mishnah, and the oral traditions. And so, he has spoken that it is the Messiah who will build the Temple. That when, that the Messiah will stand on the Temple and say, “Now, your salvation is here.” So, I believe, I truly believe in my heart of hearts that the Jewish population especially in Israel will be deceived and believe that the Antichrist is the Messiah. Because the Antichrist, I mean think about when you used to read Revelation and think, “Who is going to follow the Antichrist?” Well, now it’s like, well however could probably bring peace and enable a Jewish Temple to be built on the Temple Mount. Maybe alongside the mosque, I don’t know. But however he does that they are going to say, “He’s the Messiah.” And remember the Jewish Messiah is, or the Messiah that the Jewish people are waiting for is a man. He’s not–when we think of Messiah. Because sometimes we think, “Oh, well they just think He hasn’t come yet, and we think He’s coming again.” No, their Messiah is a man. He’s not divine. And so, they believe that He is going to build the Temple. And He’s going to cause peace. And his temple, that is why they are so excited about the Temple because they believe that is going to be peace. That will bring relationship with God. That will bring eternal life. There is no need for a Savior. There is no need for the blood of Yeshua. And that’s why we need to be careful about what we support because I believe that when we support this Third Temple we’re supporting the Antichrist Temple.
Dr. Reagan: Well, very well put. In this ministry we are strong supporters of the nation of Israel. We believe they have a right to that land; that God gave it to them as an eternal possession. And we certainly are concerned about Jewish souls. We support a lot of Messianic ministries in Israel. But, the one thing that American Christians should not be supporting is rebuilding a temple. And they shouldn’t be giving their money for the rebuilding of a temple. If they want to give money to help Israel they should be giving money to the Jewish ministries over there that are proclaiming Yeshua as the Messiah of Israel.
Jeanne Nigro: Many Messianic ministries there. And they are under persecution.
Dr. Reagan: Oh, absolutely all the time.
Jeanne Nigro: And it is not easy to believe in–to be Jewish and believe in Yeshua and be Israeli, and so they need support, they need prayers, they need finances. I can’t agree with you more.
Dr. Reagan: Well, I tell you what, let’s take a brief pause here and when we come back I want you to tell us about the Millennial Temple because that is what you love to talk about it.
Jeanne Nigro: That’s right.
Dr. Reagan: And why it has any relationship to us today? Okay?
Jeanne Nigro: It sure does, alright. Thank you.
Part 2
Dr. Reagan: Welcome back to Christ in Prophecy and my discussion with Jeanne Nigro about the Jewish Temples. Now, Jeanne I want to shift gears here from the Third Temple to the Millennial Temple which you do a lot of teaching on.
Jeanne Nigro: I love teaching on the Millennial Temple.
Dr. Reagan: I tell you glorious teaching. I’ve heard it and it’s wonderful. And let’s just start out with this observation, Ezekiel 40-48 a total of nine chapters, nine chapters are devoted to the Millennial Temple.
Jeanne Nigro: That’s right.
Dr. Reagan: And that is a lot of chapters. And yet, the Church takes the position and when I say the Church I mean the Church at large, both Catholic and Protestant would take the position that this is referring in allegory, and symbolic language to the Church, and not to a temple. Is it the Church or is it a temple?
Jeanne Nigro: Don’t get me started. Let me just say it’s the Temple. We are missing so much. When God gives all that detail I think, you know it’s not because He’s bored, right? There is reason for the detail.
Dr. Reagan: Alright, tell us about all this.
Jeanne Nigro: It is not just a symbol.
Dr. Reagan: Why does God spend so much time talking about the Millennial Temple?
Jeanne Nigro: It is so critical. It’s exciting. Think about being unshaken in these uncertain times, we have so much we don’t know what is going to happen, right? You get up in the morning you look at the news, always something. Let’s focus on what we do know about the future, not about what we don’t know. Well, there is so much detail about the Millennial Temple, or Ezekiel’s Temple let’s focus on what we do know. Let’s get excited. We have a visual picture. We have something to look forward to. And let’s get excited about what it tells us about how God sees us. About what we are going to be with Jesus, with Yeshua when He comes back. And let’s get excited about something going forward, and how does this– Also there is much that the Millennial tells us about how to live today, and how is God calling us to live today. And what is He calling us to do? And how do we release His purposes today?
Dr. Reagan: Well, give us some examples of this.
Jeanne Nigro: So, well for example we learn from Ezekiel 40-48 and from the Temple many things, that the Temple Mount will be the highest mountain on earth. Well that is from Micah 4 and Isaiah 2.
Dr. Reagan: That’s right.
Jeanne Nigro: The Temple Mount will be 36 times larger than it is now. The outer court–
Dr. Reagan: The whole topography of Israel is going to be changed.
Jeanne Nigro: Yes. Right. And I think it is going to happen through what we learn in Revelation through the judgments and so forth. But so, it will be the highest place on earth. And we learn from Zechariah that it is Yeshua, it is the branch who builds the Temple. Now, I don’t know if He’s going to build it in a day, I don’t how He’s going to do it. But I know that when He returns He will build this Temple, so that’s exciting. And His throne is there forever. So, there is just so much excitement about Jesus but then to think about the Millennium we are going to rule and reign with Him implementing righteousness in all nations. So, all the things that we can complain about now, our boss, or our government, or the GMO’s in our food or something is all going to finally righted. Everything will be the way that God, back to the Garden in a sense that God designed it to be. But the fact that we are going to ruling and reigning with Yeshua, with Jesus from this Temple, what does that tell you about how He sees you? How much worth you have? That what other ruler would want to share His authority with you? And yet He values you so much that you will be ruling and reigning with Him. So, what could you do now in your own life to prepare for that? You know if you want to rule and reign over nations with Yeshua how about ruling and reigning over your own thoughts and emotions, let’s start there, right? In the small things. And then the fact that–I know we can talk about this–this is a whole another show we could do but on why are there sacrifices in the Millennial Temple? I believe that it has to do a lot with we have to go back to Leviticus to understand why there were sacrifices in that Temple, and understand that Temple sacrifices had a completely different purpose than Yeshua sacrifice. Never were Temple sacrifices to have to do with eternal life or to remove sin. They were more about physically going into God’s presence, the manifest presence of God in the Temple and not burning up. And so it is going to be the same thing when there are people in the Millennium that are having babies, they’re dying they are populating throughout the Millennium they will have physical bodies. We will have spiritual bodies, but they’ll have physical bodies.
Dr. Reagan: Let me just pause there for a moment before you go on because I’m sure there are some viewers who do not know Bible prophecy very well. So, let me just summarize something right quick. When Jesus Christ comes back at the end of the Tribulation He is going to judge everyone who is left alive at that point. And those who have accepted Him as Messiah will go into the Millennium in the flesh, and those who have not will be consigned to death. So, there will be population that will go into the Millennium in the flesh. You and I and all Believers will be in glorified bodies, and we will be dispersed over the earth to reign over those who are in the flesh. Jesus will reign from Jerusalem as King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Jeanne Nigro: Amen. He’ll be Jewish. Still.
Dr. Reagan: Yes. And I think King David in his glorified body is going to be the King of Israel.
Jeanne Nigro: That’s right. Exactly.
Dr. Reagan: So, we’re going to have the focus on Jerusalem. The blessings of God are going to flow through the Jewish people. To the point that and I love this, that Zechariah says that in that day and time there will be so many blessings flowing thru the Jewish people that when a Jew walks by ten Gentiles will grab his robe and say, “May we walk with you because we know God is with you.” Today the Jews is despised. Today the Jew is persecuted. They are murdered. But in that day and time they are going to be highly exalted. Isn’t that exciting?
Jeanne Nigro: That’s amazing.
Dr. Reagan: And with regard to reigning with Jesus a lot of that is going to depend on how we use our spiritual gifts in this life to advance His kingdom because there are going to be degrees of rewards.
Jeanne Nigro: If we are faithful in the little.
Dr. Reagan: He said, “I may put one over one city, one over five, one over ten.” But everybody that’s reigning in that time is going to be in a glorified body with the mind of Christ. And there is no wonder the earth is going to be flooded with peace, righteousness, and justice.
Jeanne Nigro: Yeah. And I think when we fight for righteousness now it will continue on into the Millennium. You know we fight for righteousness, we pray for righteousness, and we don’t see what we want.
Dr. Reagan: We’ll see it then.
Jeanne Nigro: But yet we’ll see it then. So what we do now for righteousness is never wasted because it will continue on.
Dr. Reagan: Well, go ahead I’m sorry to interrupt you.
Jeanne Nigro: That’s okay. I’m so glad you did
Dr. Reagan: But go ahead and talk about the Millennial Temple.
Jeanne Nigro: It will continue on into the Millennium. Well, you mentioned the feasts, and reigning from Jerusalem. That’s why when we talk about God’s heart for Jerusalem, His passion look He is going to be ruling and reigning from there, so that’s why we support Israel. That is why we have a heart for Israel we think about the future, and that He is going to be Jewish. And the description in Ezekiel 40-48 mentions the new moons, the Shabbats, the Sukkot, Passover. So, it indicates we will be celebrating the biblical feasts when Jesus comes back.
Dr. Reagan: Particularly the Feast of Tabernacles.
Jeanne Nigro: Yes, and those who don’t will experience plagues and all kinds of things.
Dr. Reagan: We will be expected to send representatives to Jerusalem every year.
Jeanne Nigro: Yes. Yes. And so we will be worshipping, all tribes and tongues together. So, when I read about that and I live in Manhattan, and I go on the subway and every tribe and tongue, I think this is a picture of the Millennium. God is getting me ready for the Millennium. I need to have a heart for everyone here. You know we are going to be worshipping at the Millennial Temple. But to know that King David will be–it is so specific it is so detailed when it tells us exactly which feast King David will be over. And he will almost like the King of Israel in the sense he will be presiding over the feast, and the new moons and the Shabbats. So that’s another reason why I think it’s so critical that we as Christians celebrate the feasts now because we are preparing for the future.
Dr. Reagan: Well, that is an interesting thing that I would suggest people do. If they’ve never celebrated the feast that they go to a Messianic congregation in their area and participate for example in a Passover Feast.
Jeanne Nigro: Exactly.
Dr. Reagan: Because everything in the Passover Feast is speaking of the Messiah.
Jeanne Nigro: And we are going to be doing in the future.
Dr. Reagan: Yeah.
Jeanne Nigro: So, when Jesus comes back we don’t want to standing on the sidelines going, “Wait, what is He doing?” We want to join in with Him, right? We want to know, that is how we grow close. People want to have closeness with God, and they want to have intimacy with Jesus, well get to know who He is not how the Church has defined Him to be.
Dr. Reagan: Let me ask you a question about the Millennial Temple and that is the fact that in those chapter 40-48 there is no mention of the Ark of the Covenant, in fact there is no mention of anything being in the Holies of Holies. In Jeremiah 3 he says that during those days that they will not even talk about the Ark of the Covenant anymore, it won’t even be mentioned. Why is the Ark missing?
Jeanne Nigro: Well, that is a good question. There are a lot of things we don’t know, the missing pieces. But I would have to speculate it has to do obviously with Yeshua, and His blood.
Dr. Reagan: I think so. I think He fulfilled the Ark of the Covenant.
Jeanne Nigro: And His blood. Although the manifest, His presence He will be there, and I believe He will still be in a spiritual body, and we will have spiritual bodies and He’ll still have the nails where in His hands and feet, and so forth. But again I think the sacrifice will have a different purpose. I think it is exciting that the Bible goes into so much detail in Ezekiel about even like the things about the sons of Zadok for example. It tells us exactly what jobs the Levites will have. What jobs the sons of Zadok will have. Well, the sons of Zadok where the only ones who were faithful to David and to Solomon, and they were rewarded in the Millennium. Because they are the ones they live in a certain place. They are assigned specific set. They allowed to go into the inner court. They do the actual sin offerings, and so forth. Whereas the rest of the Levites are more like they wash the dishes. But it tells you what you do now does make a difference in the future. And look at how God rewarded the sons of Zadok back in David’s time are being rewarded in the Millennium. And also it tells us exactly where the Temple will be. Where David will live. Where the sons of Zadok will live. Where the Levites will live. There is a walled city. And it also tells you the exact dimensions that each tribe will be assigned in Ezekiel 47 & 48, their specific land track in a sense. And it gives you the dimensions, the exact. So it tells you that God does love borders. God does have a plan for Israel. And the land is not replaced by some allegory. It is very, very specific, His heart.
Dr. Reagan: And during that time Israel will have all the land they’ve been promised, which will go all the way across to the Euphrates River. It is going to be a huge portion.
Jeanne Nigro: Right, exactly. And it tells you all of that in Ezekiel 40-48. It tells you the pattern that will be in the Temple. And that there will be–I mean it goes into so much detail. There won’t be curtains, they’ll be doors. I could talk forever on just even the details of it. But from an application standpoint it also tells you that the law–I love this Ezekiel 43 the law of the Temple is holiness. And that is something that the church needs to wake up to. We have forgotten that God is holy. And we’ve assigned Him into this personal shoppers, or something like that. So, we need to remember the law, so what does that mean in my life today that the law of the Temple is holiness? Well, Ezekiel 44 it talks about that the priests and the Levites will teach the people the difference between the holy and the common. The difference between clean and unclean. And that is almost a mirror scripture to Leviticus 10. What does it mean holy verses common? Well, it doesn’t mean that’s it sinful something that is common. It just means that it is natural, it’s not 100% lined up with where God is going. So, God has been showing me so much about–This sounds kinds of funny I know but that apartment, our apartment in Manhattan should be a model of the Millennial Temple. We should be models in the sense that everything should be for service to God. There is no more time these days for our own goals and plans, and we are going to buy this and that. Everything in our lives that we own that we are, that we think needs to be in line with 100% with God’s heart, with where He’s going.
Dr. Reagan: Well, certainly what you teach about the Millennial Temple emphasizes the fact that we have a holy God. A God who is a God of love, grace and mercy but also a God of justice and righteousness. And because the average person I think thinks of God as a great big cosmic teddy bear who is soft and warm and furry and winks at sin and says, “Well, you know, I know you didn’t do very well, but I grade on the curve come into my kingdom.” Well, that God doesn’t exist.
Jeanne Nigro: Then why did Yeshua have to die the way He did?
Dr. Reagan: To me one of the most exciting things in all of Ezekiel is the very last verse which says that God is going to change the name of the city from Yerushalayim to Yahweh Shammah which means the Lord is there. God is going to be there. I want you to look right into that camera in front of you and tell people how they can get in touch with you and your ministry and the wonderful materials you have.
Jeanne Nigro: Alright, well, thank you. The best way to get in touch with me Jeanne Nigro is through my website: jeannenigro.com, and that is J-E-A-N-N-E-N-I-G-R-O.com. And there you can find lots of writings on the feasts and on Wake Up. And also a store where you can purchase my book Unshaken: Standing Strong in Uncertain Times. I also have audio CD set called What’s Next? that is all about the Millennium and the Millennial Temple. And you can find out where I’ll be teaching and everything about the ministry, Jeanne Nigro Ministries, again at jeannenigro.com.
Dr. Reagan: Well, Jeanne thank you so much for being with us today. I praise God for your ministry. And I’ll pray that He’ll continue to bless in the future as He has in the past.
Jeanne Nigro: Thank you so much.
Dr. Reagan: Well, folks that’s our program for this week. I hope’s it been a blessing to you, and I hope the Lord willing that you will be back with us next week. Until then this is Dave Reagan speaking for Lamb and Lion Ministries saying, “Look up, be watchful, for our redemption is drawing near.”