The Dragon’s Prophecy: Secret on the Temple Mount

The Ground Zero of Prophecy

Could an event foretold in end-time prophecy and the Book of Revelation actually be the hidden cause and secret behind October 7?

Now when the Dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the Serpent.

In the vision of the Dragon’s war the woman is taken into the wilderness to find safety. The duration of her hiding is given in a mysterious phrase: “a time and times and half a time.” What does it mean?

“When All These Things Shall Be Finished”

In the closing chapters of Daniel an angel gives the prophet a glimpse of Israel’s future in the coming centuries and the last days. The glimpse includes war, persecution, and the ruler referred to in Revelation as the Beast. At the very end of the prophecy a second angel asks how long it will be until all is fulfilled. The answer given is this:

It shall be for a time, times, and half a time; and when the power of the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

It is the same phrase given to describe the time of the woman’s hiding from the Dragon. Earlier in the Book of Daniel an angel gives the prophet another revelation concerning the Beast and the End of Days:

He shall speak words against the Most High, shall persecute the holy ones of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. And they will be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.

From Daniel to the Book of Revelation, the consistency of the Scriptures is striking, as is the reappearance of the phrase “a time, times, and half a time.” Each appearance refers to a time of persecution. The persecution is orchestrated by the Dragon and carried out by the Beast.

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The Beast’s Dominion

The prophecy of the Beast in Revelation 13 matches precisely that given in Daniel:

And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.

In Daniel it is for “a time and times and half a time.” In Revelation it is for forty-two months. Forty-two months is three and a half years. Thus a time is one year, times is two years, and half a time is half a year—three and a half years. This is the time of the Beast’s dominion.

The Refuge

The meaning of the phrase is further confirmed in another verse from Revelation 12 where the woman’s time of refuge from the Dragon is given in terms of days:

Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days.

One thousand two hundred and sixty days is another version of three and a half years. So three and a half years are given for the reign of the Beast, the power of the Dragon, and the demonic persecution of the woman, Israel.

The Temple Mount

But the Scriptures give us even more specific revelation as to what will happen in that time. It all centers on the Temple Mount. In Revelation 11 an angel tells the disciple to measure the Temple Mount with one exception:

But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months.

Again, we have the span of forty-two months. In that time the Temple courts and the city of Jerusalem will be given to God’s enemies and the enemies of Israel. The foremost of those enemies will be the Beast. So the reign of the Antichrist at the end of the age is connected to the Temple Mount.

Shikutzim—The Abominations

Daniel 9 gives us one more clue as to what will happen on the Temple Mount:

Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week; but in the middle of the week, he shall bring an end to sacrifice.

The word translated here as week is the Hebrew shavuah. It speaks of a span of time marked by the number seven—in this case, seven years. This has become known as the Tribulation Period, the last seven years leading up to Messiah’s return. The middle of the week, or seven divided by two, comes out to, again, three and a half years, a time, times, and half a time. What will then happen? The Antichrist will abolish the offerings and sacrifices of the Temple. The prophecy continues:

And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate.

The word translated as abominations is the Hebrew shikutzim. The same word is used in the Hebrew Scriptures to speak of idols. This is what Messiah referred to as the “abomination desolation.” It is commonly understood as the Antichrist’s setting up of an idol on the Temple Mount in the last three and a half years of the Tribulation Period—thus causing the desecration of the holy place.

The Ground Zero of Prophecy

So it all centers on the piece of earth known as the Temple Mount. The Beast’s possession of that mount will constitute his ultimate conquest. Its desecration will represent his ultimate act. Why the Temple Mount? The Temple Mount is the center of Jerusalem, the center of Israel, the center of God’s purposes on earth. It is the most holy of grounds. It was there that the people of Israel ascended to worship the Lord, observed His appointed holy days, and celebrated His appointed feasts. It was there that the house of God stood and His presence rested.

So if the Temple Mount is the central ground of God’s purposes, it will also become the central ground of the Enemy’s purposes. And if the Temple Mount is the nearest thing on earth to God’s throne, and the Enemy seeks to sit on God’s throne, then it is inevitable that he will seek to take possession of the Temple Mount.

Further, if the Temple Mount is the place from which Messiah will reign, and the Enemy seeks to stop the purposes of God, then he will seek to establish on that Mount his own reign. Lastly, if the Temple Mount is God’s most holy of grounds, then it must become the ground of the Enemy’s most unholy of desecrations.

So it was inevitable that the Temple Mount should become the most fought-over ground on earth, the central space in the war of God and the Enemy, the woman and the Dragon, the Lamb and the Beast.

The Creature’s Territory

The Dragon is a territorial creature. He never gives up ground without a fight. For the land of Israel to be given back to the Jewish people—it took the force of the First World War. For the land to actually become the nation of Israel, it took the War of Independence. For Jerusalem to be restored to the Jewish people, it took the Six-Day War. In each case the focus narrowed, from the land to the nation to the city. In each case it came through war and bloodshed. The final narrowing of focus must concern the Temple Mount. And so the slightest movement with regard to that ground can ignite a firestorm. What we are about to see is that it actually already did—and we all witnessed it.

If the Temple Mount is the central ground in the war of the Dragon and the woman, could it have played a part in the calamity of October 7? Could it, in fact, be the prophetic mystery that lay behind it all?

This excerpt was taken from Jonathan Cahn’s No. 1 New York Times Bestselling book, “The Dragon’s Prophecy.” Order your copy here.

Prepared by Charisma Media Staff.