Nowhere does Chaggai / Haggai say the messiah will visit the Second Temple. There are no second Temple prophecies associated with the messiah. . . The prophet Chaggai / Haggai lived under the rule of Queen Esther's son as king of Persia. Cyrus had given the word to rebuild the Temple and Jerusalem, but the building had been stalled. Seventeen years have passed. Now G-d tells the prophet Chaggai / Haggai to inspire זְרֻבָּבֶ֤ל / Zerubbabel (Z'rubavel) -- the governor of Judah under Persian control -- and the kohein gadol (high priest) יְהוֹשֻׁ֧עַ / Y'hoshua / Joshua son of Jehozadak / Y'hotzedok. This is about the building of the Second Temple -- not who might or might not visit it! Chaggai / Haggai 2. "In the seventh [month], on the twenty-first of the month, the word of the Lord came through Haggai the prophet, saying: Say now to Zerubbabel the son of Shaltiel, the governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak the High Priest, and to the remnant of the people. . ." The Second Temple stood about 400 years. Just how many people visited it in those 400 years? Millions, no doubt, and yet the list maker would have you believe that something millions have done is a messianic prophecies? Amazing! And not in a good way! During festivals such as Sukkot and Passover millions of Jews would visit Jerusalem and the Temple -- so how on earth could anyone think that there would be a messianic prophecy that the messiah would visit the Temple!! 2000 years ago the historian Josephus wrote "Passover... is a memorial of their deliverance out of Egypt. They observe it with enthusiasm. . . An innumerable multitude of people come out of the country, and from abroad also, in order to worship G-d." Wars of the Jews, Book II, Chapter 1. Chaggai / Haggai is speaking of the rebuilding of the Temple -- not anyone vising it! In the prophet says "For so said the L-rd of Hosts: [There will rise] another one, and I will shake up the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land [for] a little while." Chaggai / Haggai 2:6 The list maker seems to think that "another one" must refer to Jesus. Nope. Read it in context. Chaggai / Haggai is speaking of EMPIRES, not people. He is speaking of the Persian Empire -- the one controlling the Jewish nation in the land of Judah -- and saying it will fall, but "another one" will rise. As the list maker: if this is about Jesus will you admit he only had shook things up for "a little while"? Exactly. It isn't about Jesus. The list maker references Chaggai / Haggai 2:6 - 9. "For so said the L-rd of Hosts: [There will rise] another one, and I will shake up the heaven and the earth and the sea and the dry land [for] a little while. And I will shake up all the nations, and they shall come [with] the precious things of all the nations. And I will fill this House with glory, said the L-rd of Hosts. The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine, says the L-rd of Hosts. The glory of this latter House shall be greater than the first one, said the L-rd of Hosts. And in this place I will grant peace, says the L-rd of Hosts." How does any of that pertain to Jesus? G-d is speaking of the Second Temple being built under the Persians and existing under the Greeks (the Hasmoneans were Greek, and even the Romans were highly influenced by Greek culture). Some missionaries will point to "The glory of this last House shall be greater than the first one" and say this has to refer to Jesus. Why? Note that Chaggai / Haggai does not say the second Temple was holier than the first. It wasn't. It was physically bigger. It stood for 10-years longer than Solomon's Temple stood. It was also taller -- because the height to the second level was 10 cubits more than Solomon's Temple. It was very grand -- particularly Herod's additions to it. But it was not as holy as the first. It didn't have the ark of the covenant for one. . . for another it was the end of prophecy. Prophecy ended with the last of the prophets (Ezra and company). The high priesthood was bought and sold in the Second Temple. Consider that the first Temple stood for about 410 years and in that time there were only 18 Kohein Gadol (high priests). The second Temple stood for about 420 years -- and there were over 300 high priests! The Second Temple was "greater" than the first in two ways.
Rashi says: There was a controversy between Rav and Samuel. One said: In the building; and one said: In the years, that the years of the First Temple were four hundred and ten, and those of the Second Temple were four hundred and twenty. During most of the first Temple Jews were free. During most of the second Temple period Second Temple the Jews were under the rule of the Persians, the Greeks, and eventually the Romans. Glory, is NOT the same as holiness. While the second Temple was amazing, it never approached the holiness of the first. Some translations confuse readers by saying this second Temple is the "last" (rather than latter) Temple. This is a mistranslation. The terms רִאשׁוֹן (“first”) and אַחֲרוֹן (“last”) are often used relatively. Marcus Jastrow was a great scholar who authored the Dictionary of the Targumim, Talmud Babli, Talmud Yerushalmi and Midrashic Literature., He noted that the word אחרון (from the root for "after", "behind", "other") can be translated as other, next, later or last. So, no, "last" does not mean the second Temple was the "last" Temple. Remember that translations are as much art as science -- so "after", "behind", "other" or "latter" are all correct translations for אַחֲרוֹן . In this passage the Artscroll Stone Edition T'nach translates the phrase הַבַּֽיִת הַזֶּה הָאַחֲרוֹן as “this latter Temple.” Some wonder what Chaggai / Haggai meant when he said "they shall come [with] the precious things of all the nations" -- after all, unlike Solomon's Temple, the nations did not send wealth to build the second Temple. . . But, oh they did! After the Maccabean revolt which restored the second Temple after it had been desecrated with idols many nations gave gifts to the Jews to restore the Temple to a state of glory. Nowhere does Chaggai / Haggai say or even suggest that the messiah will "visit" the second Temple. This claim is about as far fetched as they come! Below is an image of the Artscroll translation.
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