Is this the spiritual temple (us) or a literal temple (building)? Use scripture to prove either way if possible.
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 KJV
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come , except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
[4] Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.
First of all, yes a literal man would need a literal temple to sit in. (And by the way, I apologize for being a newbie - I have resolved in the year 2017 to participate in a couple of these Christian discussion boards!)
But secondly, any temple built up to the time of the arrival of the "man of sin" could not
possibly have any biblical validity. Jewish religious practices have been invalidated since the cross. In fact, the "temple" was an invalidated building even at the time of the writing of 2 Thessalonians.
Therefore thirdly, who has had the greatest motivation to replicate the "temple of God" and then try to set up a false worship in sacrilegious opposition to the true God? The Devil himself.
I believe he has been jonesing for centuries...to be able to go back to Jerusalem, to erect a near-perfect replica of the original temple...and to attempt to offend and affront God by having his 'man of sin' and himself receive worship.
Personally, for me it is has been sad to see American Evangelicals falling over themselves to support and finance an unbiblical, anti-biblical "temple"...when they should know better.
There is actually evidence (for what it's worth) that secret groups and 'secret societies' have for years been planning/conspiring to reconstruct the original Solomonic temple, FYI. Anybody who knows anything about "secret societies" knows that for hundreds of years their high and 'holy' objective has been to rebuild the temple...albeit, a (to put it politely) non-'Jesus honoring' version. In the late 1800's, "secret societies" expert Arthur Edward Waite
wrote:
"... in the High Grades we hear of a secret intention to build yet another temple at Jerusalem."
The people who have the greatest motive to rebuild the temple...are those who want a platform for the 'new world leader', in my understanding. I believe 2 Thess. is indicating that in an indirect way because...the author, Paul, had to have been keenly aware the temple was devoid of validity.