Hi, Steve. I welcome your question and will show you what verses gives me the understanding that Israel is the center of GOD’s plan. I will also show the verses which indicate to me that Satan will seat himself in the Holy Temple.

In Isaiah 2, it reads:

2 Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
That the mountain of the LORD’s house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
And shall be exalted above the hills;
And all nations shall flow to it.
3 Many people shall come and say,

“ Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
He will teach us His ways,
And we shall walk in His paths.”
For out of Zion shall go forth the law,
And the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.

This passage reflects the New Jerusalem spoken of in Revelation 21: “2. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from GOD, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.”

Whether you want to believe that this is a literal or figurative city, GOD chooses it as the place where Messiah Christ Jesus will sit and rule among the nations. As we know it today, there is only one Jerusalem, and it’s located in Israel. The world will not be then, as it is now, but if GOD established HIS covenant first to the children of Israel through Moses (Abraham first), and will sit and rule from New Jerusalem when everything is made new, then it indicates to me that Israel is of some grave importance.

In the visions of Daniel, especially, we see that most of the prophecies are centered around Israel. It speaks of the rebuilding of Jerusalem, the false peace brokered between Israel and her neighbors.

And I base my sentence about Satan seating himself in the temple at Jerusalem on 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:

3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.

I interpret that to be literal. That at the time of the end, when ‘the son of perdition’ is revealed, he will take it upon himself to actually sit in the temple of GOD… and it has to be an earthly temple, for I don’t suppose Satan can enter the temple in heaven. And I say this is Satan because it will be his spirit inside this person Christians call the great Anti-Christ.

And I take all of these to be future events, for the verses always say at the time of ‘the end’ or in the ‘final days.’

I doubt this is what you were looking for, as you showed in your comment, that you simply just don’t believe as I do. You make it apparent that you simply don’t believe what you do know: [You must've forgot to ask me; I'm a Christian and I don't know...or should I say, believe Israel is God's "time piece".]

But hey, we don’t have to agree on any of that. We just have to agree that salvation is through Jesus Christ and that HE is the Only Begotten Son of GOD, who died, conquered death in resurrection and ascended to heaven, and will one day return to give final judgment.

If you want to know why I say what I do about Satan, you can get a better idea in this previous post of mine: http://lavrai.com/blogs/2008/05/05/satan-is-still-trying-to-convince-us-we-are-god/

And I must say, that I am not too interested in arguing over whether Israel is GOD’s ‘time piece’ or whether Satan will sit in a physical temple in Jerusalem, for, as I said, I don’t believe these interpretations affect our salvation through Christ Jesus.

But if you have a point to make, sure, I’ll listen.