Why Temple Practices Cannot Truly Restart: The Missing Anointing Oil and the Evidence for the Messiah’s Arrival

For decades, discussions about restarting ancient Jewish temple practices have focused on the same list of highly visible requirements: the rebuilding of the Temple, the preparation of red heifers for purification, the restoration of priestly garments, the reconstruction of Temple vessels, and the identification of Levites and Kohanim. These topics dominate theology debates, prophecy channels, and modern movements in Jerusalem.

But almost no one mentions the one requirement that makes the entire system impossible to restart: the holy anointing oil and sacred incense, the only substances that consecrated priests, vessels, altars, and the Tabernacle itself. These formulas were lost forever, because the priestly families entrusted with their preparation were scattered and the Temple system ended. Without these elements, biblical temple service cannot return.

This absence is not accidental. It functions as theological evidence of Scripture’s greater truth: God Himself ended the Old Covenant system because the Messiah has already come.

The Things People Expect for Temple Practices to Restart

When people speak about a restored Temple, they commonly focus on visible symbols:

A rebuilt Temple structure on the Temple Mount
Red heifers for purification under Numbers 19
Priestly garments recreated according to Exodus 28
Temple instruments, including the menorah, trumpets, and altars
A verified priestly lineage (Kohanim) to resume service
A reinstated Sanhedrin to oversee sacrifices

Movements in Israel have already completed or attempted many of these things. Some groups have bred red heifers, made priestly garments, built replicas of Temple vessels, and trained men claiming priestly descent.

But all of this overlooks a foundational truth: none of these things can function without the consecration commanded in Exodus 30.

The Overlooked Problem for Temple Practices: The Anointing Oil and Sacred Incense Are Lost Forever

The holy anointing oil was required to consecrate:

The Tabernacle
The Ark of the Covenant
The table of showbread
The menorah
The altars
The laver
Every priest, including the high priest

Without this oil, nothing could be made holy and no priest could be ordained, meaning no sacrifices could lawfully occur.

Likewise, the sacred incense—a unique formula placed before the veil—was essential to the daily ministry of the priests.

But here is the critical reality:

The exact preparation method, measurements, and species identifications were secret, guarded by a priestly family, and were permanently lost after the destruction of the Temple in 586 BC and again in 70 AD.

Rabbinic sources openly acknowledge that parts of the formula were unknown even by the time of the Second Temple. No modern reconstruction is authentic.

Therefore:

No Temple can ever be restarted—not according to the Law God Himself gave.

Why Would God Allow the Temple Practices Formulas to Disappear?

The disappearance of the anointing oil and incense is not a historical accident. It is a theological pointer.

The Law required that:

Only those consecrated by that oil could serve.
Only vessels anointed by that oil could be used.
Only incense made according to that divine formula could burn before God.

If God intended for temple service to return after Christ, He would have preserved the means to consecrate it.

Instead, He allowed the key elements to vanish, making restoration impossible.

This aligns perfectly with the New Testament revelation:

Jesus is the final High Priest (Hebrews 4:14).
Believers are now the Temple (1 Corinthians 3:16).
The Holy Spirit—not oil—is the true anointing (1 John 2:27).
The veil was torn, ending the separation (Matthew 27:51).
Christ ended the sacrificial system by fulfilling it (Hebrews 10:1–18).

The loss of the Exodus 30 formulas serves as God’s own testimony that the Old Covenant priesthood cannot return—not physically, not spiritually, not legally.

Attempts to Recreate the Oil Only Prove the Point

For a related study of the biblical requirements that made Temple worship function, see our Exodus 30 Summary, which explains the essential role of the holy anointing oil and the altar incense—two elements necessary for consecration and daily priestly service.

For a primary source discussing reconstruction attempts and the acknowledged loss of the original formulas, see: Temple Institute – The Incense

Modern groups, including the Temple Institute, have attempted reconstructions of:

The anointing oil
The incense

But they concede publicly that they are:

Recreating from partial memories
Using botanical guesses
Lacking priestly tradition

No one—not even the most devoted Jewish authority—claims to possess the exact ancient preparation.

Attempts to reproduce it only highlight the absence of the original.

The Theological Conclusion: The System for Temple Practices Ended Because the Messiah Arrived

The Torah-required elements for consecration no longer exist. Therefore, no priest can be ordained according to the Law, and no temple can be sanctified according to Exodus 29–30.

This does not prove failure. It proves fulfillment.

The Old Covenant was always a shadow pointing toward Something—and Someone—greater.

The Temple pointed to Christ’s body.
The sacrifices pointed to His atonement.
The priesthood pointed to His intercession.
The anointing oil pointed to the Holy Spirit.
The incense pointed to prayer in His name.

When the fulfillment came, the shadows passed.

God did not preserve the formulas because they are no longer needed.

Final Reflection

People debate red heifers, priestly garments, and the Temple Mount. But the real evidence is simple:

Without the anointing oil and incense of Exodus 30, temple service cannot return.
And the reason it cannot return is because the Messiah has already come.
God Himself closed the system.

If you’d like, I can expand this into a multi-part series connecting:

Daniel’s prophecies
Ezekiel’s temple
Hebrews’ explanation of the New Covenant
The symbolism of oil and incense in Scripture

Just let me know.