Part VI — The Temple and Worship
Dispensationalism teaches that during the future Millennium, the Jerusalem Temple will be rebuilt and the Old Testament sacrificial system will be reinstated. Animal sacrifices will be offered in the millennial Temple as "memorials" to the atoning death of Christ. This is one of the most theologically problematic features of the dispensational system, and it illustrates the importance of the question "Who is the true Israel?"
The Finality of Christ's Sacrifice
The letter to the Hebrews is devoted to demonstrating the absolute finality and sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. "But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Hebrews 10:12). He offered Himself "once" — a word that appears repeatedly in Hebrews to emphasize the once-for-all character of His atoning work (7:27; 9:12, 26, 28; 10:10). To reinstate the Old Testament sacrificial system — even as "memorials" — would be to return to the shadows after the substance has appeared, to go back to Sinai after Calvary.
The True Temple
The New Testament teaches that the true Temple is not a building in Jerusalem but the body of Christ — both Christ Himself as the ultimate dwelling place of God (John 2:19–21) and the Church as the corporate temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16–17; Ephesians 2:19–22). "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:21–22).
The physical temple in Jerusalem was a shadow of the true Temple — Christ and His body, the Church. When Christ died, the veil of the Temple was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51), signifying that the age of the physical temple was over and direct access to God through Christ had been opened for all who believe.