Have you ever had an experience during deep and meditative prayer where the words seem to flow from the heart towards the heavens? It’s a moment where you can hardly contain the words as they stream from the mind freely, barely touching the lips to speak the words. On the other hand, maybe you’ve experience times where it is difficult to even find words that can match how you feel in your heart. Somehow the words feel redundant, or the prayer is not as spirit filled. In times like this, I will turn to the Psalms and ask that the Father accept the words of the Tehillim from my mouth, asking that He provide me with the words that reflect how I feel inside. More often than not, when asked sincerely, I open directly to the Psalm that He has given me.

Once for me it was Psalm 141:

1 יהוה, I have cried out to You; Hasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.

2 Let my prayer be prepared before You as incense,

The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

3 O יהוה, set a guard for my mouth; Watch over the door of my lips.

4 Let not my heart be inclined to evil, To practice deeds of wrongness

With men working wickedness, And let me not eat of their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous one smite me Or reprove me in kindness – It is oil on my head. Let my head not refuse it. My prayer is still against their evil deeds.

6 Their judges have been thrown down By the sides of the rock,

But they have heard my words, For they have been pleasant.

7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave, As when one plows and breaks up the earth.

8 But my eyes are upon You, O Master יהוה.

In You I take refuge; Do not pour out my life.

9 Guard me from the clutches of the trap they have laid for me,

And from the snares of the workers of wickedness.

10 Let the wrong fall into their own nets, while I pass by.

While reading this Psalm, I felt a deep conviction in my heart, a longing and pleading with the Almighty to hear, come, and listen to my voice! Please do not let my heart be inclined to evil, and guard me from the clutches of the trap they have laid out for us. Verse 2 stood out: Let my prayer be prepared before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

There were two daily offerings in the Levitical service: a morning offering, and an evening offering. Most people who study the Bible are in some way familiar with the sacrificial system that included the slaughtering of bulls, goats, lambs, and pigeons, grain and wine offerings, etc. Each day, morning and afternoon, there were lambs that were sacrificed as daily burnt offerings. There were actually other daily offerings – or perpetual, continual, offerings – besides the lambs that were offered as well: a bread and an incense offering.

Moses received the instructions in Exodus 30:1-8:

“And you shall make an altar to burn incense on, make it of acacia wood,

a cubit long and a cubit wide – it is a square – and two cubits high, its horns of the same.

“And you shall overlay its top, and its sides all around, and its horns with clean gold. And you shall make for it a molding of gold all around.

“And make two gold rings for it, under the molding on both its sides. Make them on its two sides, and they shall be holders for the poles to lift it with.

“And you shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold.

“And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Witness, before the lid of atonement that is over the Witness, where I am to meet with you.

“And Aharon shall burn on it sweet incense, morning by morning. As he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it.

“And when Aharon lights the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn incense on it – a continual incense before יהוה throughout your generations.”

In Psalm 141, King David compares his prayer to the evening offering of incense, which was to be a continual – or perpetual – offering. This is a significant key to help understand much of Biblical prophecy, particularly in the books of Revelation and Daniel.

We can see an example of this evening incense offering during the second temple era as read in Luke 1:5-10:

“There was in the days of Herodes, the sovereign of Yehuḏah, a certain priest named Zeḵaryah, of the division of Abiyah. And his wife was of the daughters of Aharon, and her name was Elisheba. And they were both righteous before Elohim, blamelessly walking in all the commands and righteousnesses of יהוה. And they had no child, because Elisheba was barren, and both were advanced in years.

And it came to be, that while he was serving as priest before Elohim in the order of his division, according to the institute of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to burn incense when he went into the Dwelling Place of יהוה. And the whole multitude of the people was praying outside at the hour of incense. And a messenger of יהוה appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense.“

Here Zekariah, acting as priest, went before the altar to offer incense at the hour of incense while the whole multitude was praying outside. Interestingly, the word used for “people” in this passage is the Greek word “laos.” G2992 laós is the root of the English term, “laity” and “Laodicea.” It means a people, particularly used of “the people of the Lord.” It is also the equivalent of the Hebrew word ʽam – as in “Am Yisrael.” So this group of people who were praying could have been at the Temple in the court of Israel, or the court of the nations – both being the people of Elohim – and coming to pray at the hour of incense.

Turning to the book of Revelation, we can see a few references where incense is equated with prayers. Revelation 5:8 says:

“And when He (the Lamb) took the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the set-apart ones.“

Chapter 6 of Revelation talks about martyrs who are underneath the alter, and given white robes. Revelation 6:9-11 says that they were killed for the Word of Elohim:

“And when He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the beings of those having been slain for the Word of Elohim and for the witness which they held, and they cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Master, set-apart and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” And there was given to each one a white robe, and they were told that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brothers, who would be killed as they were, was completed.”

The martyrs of Revelation 6 are slain before the 6^th seal, which is when there is a great earthquake and the sun becomes black as sackcloth and the moon as blood. These are the saints who have been slain for the Word of Elohim all throughout history and culminating during the great tribulation. However, they are told that they must rest until their fellow servants would be killed as they were. Notice then, Revelation 7:9-14 just after the sealing of the 144,000:

“After this I looked and saw a great crowd which no one was able to count, out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, and palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the messengers stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped Elohim, saying, “Amĕn! The blessing, and the esteem, and the wisdom, and the thanksgiving, and the respect, and the power, and the might, to our Elohim forever and ever. Amĕn.”

13 And one of the elders responded, saying to me, “Who are these dressed in white robes, and where did they come from?” And I said to him, “Master, you know.” And he said to me, “These are those coming out of the great distress, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

These great multitudes of people, who are dressed in white robes, are those who are coming out of the great distress. They are the servants who are to be killed as the martyrs of Revelation 6 were. Notice that when they call out, “Deliverance belongs to our Elohim who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb,” that the messengers, elders, and four living creatures fall on their faces in worship – they bow at the prayers of the saints, just like they did Revelation 5 holding bowls of incense that is the prayers of the set-apart ones.

Revelation 8:2-5 also makes the correlation between incense and the prayers of the saints:

“And I saw the seven messengers who stand before Elohim, and to them were given seven trumpets. And another messenger came and stood at the altar, holding a golden censer, and much incense was given to him, that he should offer it with the prayers of all the set-apart ones upon the golden altar, which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the set-apart ones, went up before Elohim from the hand of the messenger. And the messenger took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, and thunders, and lightning, and an earthquake.“

We get an idea about how the saints are martyred in Revelation 20:4-6:

“And I saw thrones – and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them – and the lives of those who had been beheaded because of the witness they bore to יהושע and because of the Word of Elohim, and who did not worship the beast, nor his image, and did not receive his mark upon their foreheads or upon their hands. And they lived and reigned with Messiah for a thousand years (and the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended) – this is the first resurrection. Blessed and set-apart is the one having part in the first resurrection. The second death possesses no authority over these, but they shall be priests of Elohim and of Messiah, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.“

During the first five seals in Revelation we see a conqueror, war, pestilence, death, and martyrdom, which has happened to the set-apart ones all throughout history. At the sixth seal there is a great earthquake, as well as the sun becoming black, and the moon like blood. We have seen the sun become black and the moon as blood, and there have been a lot of earthquakes in various places – as was foretold by Messiah in Matthew 24. There has yet, though, to be an earthquake so great that it causes the heaven to depart like a scroll, and moves every mountain and island. Until then we should be searching for the 144,000 servants of Elohim who are sealed on their foreheads, and prepare our hearts for great tribulation that is yet to take place.

Until then, the prayers of the saints will continue up to the Most High. The martyrs will begin to be beheaded – if it hasn’t already started – more and more frequently. Abominations will increase, nation will rise against nation, there will be more earthquakes in many places – and the prayers of the saints will continue to go up as incense because of the affliction that their eyes see. When the seventh seal is opened, just before the seventh trumpet, in Revelation 8:3:

“The messenger took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth. And there were noises, and thunders, and lightning, and an earthquake.”

I’m digressing a little bit, but to set the stage for end-time events, we may be looking for a great earthquake which would be at around the 6^th seal, the sealing of the 144,000, another earthquake because of the prayers of the saints, and then the 7 trumpets prepare to sound…

Many people are expecting a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem to also be built so that the Jews can re-institute the slaughtering of lamb twice a day, and for the daily sacrifices” to begin. This, as they believe, is an end-times marker as well. There is a lot of talk about the “third temple,” as I’ll refer to it. There was the 1^st temple that was build by King Solomon, and the “2^nd Temple” that was eventually destroyed by the Roman legions in 70 A.D. And folks are expecting a 3rd temple to be constructed.

Many groups of people are endeavoring to rebuild a new temple in Jerusalem, and a the very least they want to set-up the alter of sacrifice. Once the alter is built at the location of the Temple Mount, they can then recommence the sacrificial system of the Levitical priesthood. Some even believe that when the alter is set-up and sacrifices commence, then the 7 year period before Messiah returns will begin. This is believed to be a sign of the 7 years of tribulation and the revealing of the man of sin. This understanding is based off of scriptures from the book of the prophet Daniel.

Daniel 8:11-13:

“Yea, he (the little horn) magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and by him (the little horn) the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His (the Prince of the host) temple was cast down. And an army was given him (the little horn) against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.

Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spoke, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the temple and the host to be trodden under foot?“

I put a strike through sacrifice, because the word is not in the original Hebrew text, it was added in by the King James Version translators. The text should say “daily,” or “continual.” This is also true for the following verses as well:

Daniel 11:31: And strong ones shall stand on his (the King of the North) part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.

Daniel 12:11: And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that makes desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

All of these verses that use the term “daily sacrifices” are translated from the Hebrew word, תָּמִיד tâmîyd, taw-meed’; from an unused root meaning to stretch; properly, continuance (as indefinite extension); but used only (attributively as adjective) constant (or adverbially, constantly); elliptically the regular (daily) sacrifice:—alway(-s), continual (employment, -ly), daily, (n-)ever(-more), perpetual.

The word means perpetual, continual, daily – but “sacrifice” isn’t included along side it in the original text.

Another reason that many believe that beginning the daily sacrifices in the 3^rd temple means we are near the beginning of the 7-year period is because of how they interpret Daniel 9:24-27, which reads:

“Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublesome times.

And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolator.“

The word translated as sacrifice in Daniel 9:27 is actually in the original text, and it is “זבח” zeh’-bakh; from H2076; properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act), offering. Because the one who causes abominations in Daniel 9 also confirms a covenant of peace for one week (a week of years, or 7 years), and in the middle of the week he causes the sacrifice to cease, many people believe that once the daily “sacrifices” commence again that will be the indicator for the 7-year period to soon begin.

There is a problem with this understanding, we can’t conflate the “zebach” of Daniel 9 with the tawmeed of Daniel 8, 11, and 12. The reason why is because the “tawmeed olah” or “continual (daily) burnt offering” is completely burned up and not to be eaten at all. However, a “zebach” offering is to be eaten, and “zebach” is never used in the Torah in reference to the daily burnt offering. Therefore, the “zebach” mentioned in Daniel 9, that is cut-off mid-week, is not the daily burnt offering.

Numbers 28:3-6 describes the daily burnt offering: “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you bring to יהוה: two male lambs a year old, perfect ones, daily, a continual burnt offering. The one lamb you prepare in the morning, and the other lamb you prepare between the evenings, with one-tenth of an ĕphah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil, a continual burnt offering which was offered at Mount Sinai for a sweet fragrance, an offering made by fire to יהוה.”

The continual burnt offerings are never called a zeh’-bakh (like in Daniel 9), but they are taw-meed (like Daniel 12). So, some say that by implication, the daily burnt offering could be what is cut off in the midst of the 7-year period. This is mainstream Christian, Messianic, Hebrew Roots prophecy doctrine. But, could it be something else?

Could it be that the stopping of the daily sacrifice – or that which is continual – refers to something else. I believe that it may. Daniel 8:11 says that the little horn exalts itself as high as the Prince of the hosts, and takes away the daily/continual/perpetual from Him. Next I’m going to make an assumption, but if we assume this “Prince of the host,” is a reference to Yeshua the Messiah – as some interpret it – then it is Yeshua who the little horn is taking away the daily/perpetual/continual from. So this begs the question: would those who are offering sacrifices in a renewed 3rd temple – i.e. religious Jews – be offering their sacrifices to Yeshua? The answer to the questions is most likely a resounding “no.”

So, if Yeshua is the Prince who has that which is continual/perpetual/daily taken from Him, where is that which is continual offered? Everywhere believers are. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Ruach HaQodesh. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3:16-17:

“Do you not know that you are a Dwelling Place (Temple) of Elohim and that the Spirit of Elohim dwells in you? If anyone destroys the Dwelling Place of Elohim, Elohim shall destroy him. For the Dwelling Place (Temple) of Elohim is set-apart, which you are.”

Additionally, Yeshua said of the temple in Matthew 24:1-2:

Yet, And going out, Yeshua went away from the Temple, and His taught ones came near to point out to Him the buildings of the Temple. And Yeshua said to them, “Do you not see all these? Truly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, at all, which shall not be thrown down.”

And John 2:19, speaking of the temple of His body, Yeshua said:

“Destroy this temple, and in three days I shall raise it.”

The apostle Paul echoes the description of the little horn and the King of the North of Daniel, who exalts himself as high as the Prince of host, takes away the “daily,” and sets-up the abomination of desolation. This Beast will trample on the set-apart sanctuary. In his eyes, he himself as god, and opposes and exalts himself above all that is worshiped. He opposes all that is worshiped, and sets himself up as god, as read in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4:

“Let no one deceive you in any way, because the falling away is to come first, and the man of lawlessness is to be revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called Elohim or that is worshipped, so that he sits as Elohim in the Dwelling Place of Elohim, showing himself that he is Elohim.”

Yeshua gives more details in His warning from Matthew 24:15-31:

“So when you see the ‘abomination that lays waste,’ spoken of by Dani’ĕl the prophet, set up in the set-apart place” – he who reads, let him understand – then let those who are in Yehuḏah flee to the mountains. Let him who is on the house-top not come down to take whatever out of his house. And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his garments.

“And woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing children in those days! And pray that your flight does not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. For then there shall be great distress, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And if those days were not shortened, no flesh would be saved, but for the sake of the chosen ones those days shall be shortened.

“If anyone then says to you, ‘Look, here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe. For false messiahs and false prophets shall arise, and they shall show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the chosen ones. See, I have forewarned you.

“So if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines to the west, so also shall the coming of the Son of Aḏam be. For wherever the dead body is, there the eagles shall be gathered together.

“And immediately after the distress of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give its light, and the stars shall fall from the heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then the sign of the Son of Aḏam shall appear in the heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth shall mourn, and they shall see the Son of Aḏam coming on the clouds of the heaven with power and much esteem. And He shall send His messengers with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

How true are the Master’s words? Those who are reading are supposed to understand. Yeshua HaMashiach seemlessly blends both the Prophecies of Daniel (which were prior to His sojourn on earth), and Revelation (which came after ascension into the Shamayim). If the abomination of desolation is set-up, then there must be a temple set-up right? But, the man of lawlessness tramples the sanctuary? So, he sets himself up in a temple that he tramples upon?

Yet, Peter says, “Draw near to Him, a living Stone – rejected indeed by men, but chosen by Elohim and precious – you also, as living stones, are being built up, a spiritual tabernacle, a set-apart priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Elohim through Yeshua the Messiah.” (1 Peter 2:4-5)

So, what is the daily sacrifice that is stopped mid-week? There was more than one “daily,” remember? There were the lambs, the bread, and the incense. Let’s go back to Exodus 30:

“And Aharon shall burn on it sweet incense, morning by morning. As he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. And when Aharon lights the lamps between the evenings, he shall burn incense on it – a continual incense before יהוה throughout your generations.” (Exodus 30:7-8)

The word used for “continual” in this verse is the same as the word translated as “daily,” in Daniel: H8548, taw-meed. If, then, Yeshua is the “Prince of the host” in Daniel, and our bodies are temples, and the continual incense offerings are the prayers of the saints – then it is the incense offering that is stopped mid-week.

In that context we could read Daniel 8:11 as:

“The man of lawlessness exalts himself as high as and over Yeshua, and took away the daily prayer offerings from Yeshua, and trampled upon the body of believers.“

Daniel 8:10 says that the little horn caused some of the host and stars to fall to the earth. In Revelation 12, the dragon also falls to the earth and brings a host with him. The dragon then proceeds to persecute the woman and fight with her seeds. In other words, the dragon tramples upon the body.

In Revelation 11, John is told to measure the temple, but not the outer court. Why not the outer court? The outer court was called the “court of the gentiles” which will be trampled on, along with the city for 42 months. The entire body of believers makes up the temple, but in the tribulation, it is only 144,000 from the tribes of Israel who are sealed. The Great Multitude, from every tribe, tongue, peoples and nation, are also part of the temple – but they will be trampled upon.

Why does Revelation chapter 11 describe the two witnesses directly after John is told to measure the temple? I believe that it is for the same reason that John is told the number of the Tribes of Israel to be sealed just before given a vision of the Great Multitude of Revelation 7. This is a chiastic structure: John sees the chosen servants sealed, then those who will be martyred. Chapters 8, 9, and 10 describe the first 6 trumpets leading up to the 7^th. Alternatively, John sees those who will be martyred, then sees the two witnesses – who eventually will also be martyred – and then the 7^th trumpet, when the true sanctuary is made righteous.

Will the Jewish people will ever be able to set up an alter, and begin the daily burnt offerings? Only time will tell. The Almighty says through the Prophet Isaiah, “Of what use to Me are your many slaughterings?” declares יהוה. “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats.” (Isaiah 1:11) King David writes in Psalms 51, “The slaughterings of Elohim are a broken spirit, A heart broken and crushed, O Elohim, These You do not despise.” To put it plainly, an alter is not what Elohim desires. The offerings of our hearts, our prayers, are as fragrant as incense though.

There have been riots on the Temple Mount involving rocks thrown and Molotov cocktails in attempts to thwart the Jews from praying there. Prayers by Christians and Jews are forbidden on the Temple Mount itself. During the United Nations General Assembly’s 70^th Anniversary, which they were calling a “jubilee.” Many were expecting the assembly to grant Palestinian statehood – taking away land from the state of Israel. The world systems are continually trying to take the land.

In a true Jubilee, YHWH commands that the land goes back to the children of Israel. The false, worldly Jubilee attempts to take it away. If the endeavor to establish an alter is successful, this could be a major point of contention. Time will tell. We’ll have to watch.

I believe, though, that it’s not the “daily” offering to be looking for. Have we ever seen it become illegal to pray? Why was Daniel thrown into the lions den for praying. Why were Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the furnace? Is it legal to pray in public places, like schools or federal buildings, today in the United States if you are a Christian?

Whether or not the earthquake of seal 6 is a literal earthquake, or a spiritual shaking (as some claim), or even economic shaking doesn’t matter so much as what comes after it. The 144,000 will be sealed, Babylon will fall, and the two beasts will rise. The man of lawlessness will be praised for his peace-making efforts, and when he makes it illegal for anyone to pray to anyone else but him – when he takes away the “daily” – then know that the time is near, and the great tribulation is at hand.

“O Elohim, deliver me! Hasten to my help, O יהוה!

Let those who seek my life Be ashamed and abashed, Let those who are desiring my evil Be turned back and humiliated.

Let those who say, “Aha, aha!” Be turned back because of their shame.

Let all those who seek You Rejoice and be glad in You; And let those who love Your deliverance always say, “Let Elohim be made great!”

But I am poor and needy; Hasten to me, O Elohim! You are my help and my deliverer; O יהוה, do not delay.“

– Psalm 70