The Temple of Jerusalem - Biblos Foundation · temple is no human fabrication, but the superstructure 30 of Truth, reared on the foundation of Love, and pinnacled ... “Purging the

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The Temple of JerusalemA Bible Study Resource for the Tabernacle and Temple

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Section I: Relationship to Christian Science Citations on the Temple Mary Baker Eddy’s references on the Temple Christian Science articles relating to the Temple

Section II: The Significance of the Tabernacle Why study the Tabernacle Biblical references to building the Tabernacle (Story of Moses in Exodus) Diagram of the Tabernacle Synonyms of the Tabernacle Selected citations on “the Tabernacle” “The Veil of Materiality,” by Willis F. Gross (The Christian Science Journal, Oct. 1894)

Section III: Introduction to the Temple The Timeline of the Temple Mount The Three Jewish Temples Diagram (“Church in the Wilderness”) Introduction to the Temple & Why Study the Temple Introduction to the Temple Mount Area Jesus Cleansing the Temple Temple and Synagogue Jewish Religious Sects Temple Mount Rendering Map of Ancient Jerusalem Map of the Temple Mount Map of Herod’s Temple Paul in the Temple

Section IV: The Inner Courts of the Temple The Gates into the Temple Antonia Fortress Trumpeting Place Court of the Gentiles Mikveh Court of Women Court of Priests Holy of Holies Events Concerning the Ark Holy of Holies Furnishings

Section V: The Temple Mount Today Map of Dome of the Rock (Today)

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Biblical CitationsRelationship of Christian Science to the Temple

Luke 2:22-24Lev. 12:3-8Luke 2:25-33Luke 2:36-38Luke 2:41-50Matt. 4:5-7Luke 4:9Matt. 26:55Luke 22:53John 18:20Matt. 21:12, 13Mark 11:15-17Luke 19:45, 46John 2:14,15Matt. 21:14Matt. 21:23Mark 12:41Luke 21:1, 2Matt. 12:6John 2:19-22John 10:22, 23Acts 21:26-30Eph. 2:14Lev. 16:2, 3Heb. 10:10, 11

Heb. 9:25Mark 13:1, 2Matt. 27:51Mark 15:38Luke 23:45Acts 3:1-4Eph. 2:19-22Rev. 11:19Matt. 12:5-8Matt. 21:15Matt. 27:5Acts 21:26-30Heb. 5:1-6Heb. 8:3-5Rev. 7:14, 15Matt. 23:16-24Matt. 27:40Acts 24:12Heb. 7:23-28Heb. 9:6-25Heb. 13:10, 11Rev. 14:15Rev. 15:8Rev. 16:1Rev. 21:3-5

Section 1: Relationship of Christian Science to the Temple

Selected Citations on the Temple

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Mary Baker EddyRelationship of Christian Science to the Temple

Partial list of “Temple” references in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures and Prose Works, by Mary Baker Eddy:

Pul 2:27-227 How can we do this Christianly scientific work? By intrenching ourselves in the knowledge that our true temple is no human fabrication, but the superstructure30 of Truth, reared on the foundation of Love, and pinnacled 1 in Life. Such being its nature, how can our godly temple possibly be demolished, or even disturbed?

595:7 TEMPLE. Body; the idea of Life, substance, and intelligence; the superstructure of Truth; the shrine of 9 Love; a material superstructure, where mortals congre- gate for worship.

My 194:5-10 The letter of your work dies, as do all things material, 6 but the spirit of it is immortal. Remember that a temple but foreshadows the idea of God, the “house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens,” while a silent, grand 9 man or woman, healing sickness and destroying sin, builds that which reaches heaven.


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From Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, by Mary Baker Eddy:

596:28-15 (to .)

VEIL. A cover; concealment; hiding; hypocrisy. The Jewish women wore veils over their faces in token 1 of reverence and submission and in accordance with Pharisaical notions. 3 The Judaic religion consisted mostly of rites and cere- monies. The motives and affections of a man were of little value, if only he appeared unto men to fast. The 6 great Nazarene, as meek as he was mighty, rebuked the hypocrisy, which offered long petitions for blessings upon material methods, but cloaked the crime, latent in thought, 9 which was ready to spring into action and crucify God’s anointed. The martyrdom of Jesus was the culminating sin of Pharisaism. It rent the veil of the temple. It re-12 vealed the false foundations and superstructures of super- ficial religion, tore from bigotry and superstition their coverings, and opened the sepulchre with divine Science,15 — immortality and Love.

142:18

18 As in Jesus’ time, so to-day, tyranny and pride need to be whipped out of the temple, and humility and divine Sci- ence to be welcomed in. The strong cords of Temple21 scientific demonstration, as twisted and wielded cleansed by Jesus, are still needed to purge the temples of their vain traffic in worldly worship and to make them meet24 dwelling-places for the Most High.


6Section 1: Relationship of Christian Science to the Temple


288:20 The chief stones in the temple of Christian Science are21 to be found in the following postulates: that Life is God, good, and not evil; that Soul is sinless, not The chief to be found in the body; that Spirit is not, and stones in24 cannot be, materialized; that Life is not subject the temple to death; that the spiritual real man has no birth, no material life, and no death.

365:25-30 If hypocrisy, stolidity, inhumanity, or vice finds its way into the chambers of disease through the would-be27 healer, it would, if it were possible, convert Truth into a den of thieves the temple of the Holy desecrated Ghost, — the patient’s spiritual power to resuscitate him-30 self.

428:1212 Thus we may establish in truth the temple, or body, “whose builder and maker is God.”



576:8-25 In Revelation xxi. 22, further describing this holy city, 9 the beloved Disciple writes: —

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

12 There was no temple, — that is, no material structure in which to worship God, for He must be worshipped in spirit and in love. The word temple also The shrine15 means body. The Revelator was familiar celestial with Jesus’ use of this word, as when Jesus spoke of his material body as the temple to be temporarily rebuilt18 ( John ii. 21). What further indication need we of the real man’s incorporeality than this, that John saw heaven and earth with “no temple [body] therein”? 21 This kingdom of God “is within you,” — is within reach of man’s consciousness here, and the spiritual idea reveals it. In divine Science, man possesses this24 recognition of harmony consciously in proportion to his understanding of God.

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Christian ScienceChristian Science articles relating to the Temple

The following articles are made available by The Ark: www.arkpublications.com, and in Christian Science Reading Rooms.

• Russell D. Robinson. “Our Inspiring Lesson - Sermons.” The Christian Science Journal, August, 1964.

• Maude E. Roberts. “Oil and Wine.” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 31, No. 52, August 24, 1929, p. 1024-5.

• Richard P. Verrall. “Building the Temple.” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 12, No. 16, December 18, 1909, p. 304-5.

• Eila Foster. “Purging the Temple.” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 25, No. 12, November 18, 1922, p. 227.

• Richard P. Verrall. “Ark of the Convenant.” Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 17, No. 25, February 20, 1915, p. 485.





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304 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE SENTINEL [Vol. XII., No. 16.

because the triumph over error comes slowly, nothingwill help us more than to stop and consider what we haveaccomplished, what God has already done for us. It isnot the thought of what God has not done for us thathelps us, but the recognition of what He has doneMortal, material sense would limit God in all His waysand works, but Christian Science teaches that God is in-finite and there is no good thing which He has not freelybestowed upon His children. Jesus said, "What thingssoever ye desire, when ye pray, believe [understand] thatye receive them, and ye shall have them." It is evidentthat one could not understand that he receives a thingunless that thing had already been bestowed. All goodbelongs to man now, and all that is necessary to gain thedesired good is to awaken to this fact.

In Science and Health we read (p. 260) , "Science re-veals the possibility of achieving all good, and sets mor-tals at work to discover what God has already done."To begin one's work by recognizing what has already beenaccomplished in human experience, is to start with theassurance of the divine presence and help. Work begun inthis way and continued along Christianly scientific linesmust of necessity be successful, for if one works in har-mony with good, who or what can hinder him ? The senseof discouragement or impatience cannot find an entrance,much less an abiding-place, in that consciousness whereinare found the continued proofs of God's power and love.

To know no other presence or power than divine Love isto realize perfect and eternal harmony. The realization ofthe oneness and allness of God comes not suddenly in thepresent or the future. It is a gradual unfoldment in hu-man consciousness, and the recognition of blessings receivedhelps one to find the kingdom of heaven within. Thismost effectual help is within the reach of all, and no oneshould fail to appreciate this opportunity to bring him-self into harmony with the divine Principle of all good.

VERIFICATION.HELEN ANDREWS NIXON.

T H E student of Christian Science who watches the work-ings of the truth in his own life, sees verified its teaching,viz., that divine Principle is ever operative, ever imperative,ever loving. The Discoverer of Christian Science and theauthor of its text-book, "Science and Health with Key tothe Scriptures," has aroused human consciousness to ac-knowledge the paramount necessity of obeying the FirstCommandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods beforeme." Facing this unequivocal command, one may well re-joice that through Christian Science has come also theunderstanding that it is no mere arbitrary requirement, butthe all-impelling, and joy-bestowing Science of God andman in His image and likeness. The revelation to Mrs.Eddy of God as the only Mind, laid bare the false beliefof mortals in an evil mind, a mind opposed to good.Upon the acceptance of the finality of this revelation con-cerning the allness of good and the supposititious characterof evil, an intelligible and progressive life begins to unfold,for this revelation constitutes a working basis. Spiritualfacts are thenceforth to be declared, material beliefs areto be contradicted. The verification of statements madein Science and Health is a daily experience with the obe-dient student of Christian Science. If at a given pointscientific growth away from old habits of thinking isimperative to insure one's advance, experience is sure toprove a thorough teacher. The end of an experience willoften bring to mind a right scientific thought which passedunheeded prior to the experience.

Among many others the three following statements inScience and Health are continually proven true, viz., "He[Jesus] taught mortals the opposite of themselves;" "Love

will force you to accept what best promotes your growth;"and "Divine Love always has met and always will meetevery human need" (pp. 20, 266, 494) . Throughout allof Mrs. Eddy's writings it is taught that the kingdom ofGod is within reach of the purified consciousness. Theprocess of purification, in which God "worketh in you,"includes for each one conscientious study and applicationof the rules laid down in Science and Health, and a con-stant effort to divest himself day by day of erroneousmaterial thinking and to exercise the sense of gratitudeand praise to God. The kingdom of God appears in fairerproportions with every forsaking of error.

No work for ourselves and others equals in importancethe demonstration of our divinely-bestowed ability to freeour own thought from evil and the fear of evil. The heal-ing of the sick through Mind is the first step toward thisliberation. To attempt the control of another's thought,or to be influenced by another's thought, is not Chris-tian Science practice. The legitimate task to be undertakenis the demonstration of man's spiritual individuality. Thistask admits of no self-deception, but calls for clear-sightedvision. If we are becoming even slightly acquainted withthe selfhood derived from God, it is not difficult to appre-ciate the divine right of our neighbor to self-government.Remove the wrongs, the cruel enactments against mankind,and human lives flow naturally toward God. The utmostrespect for our own and for our neighbor's ability to reflectthe divine intelligence should be granted. One point inthe working out of life's problems which demands carefulguarding is this, that one need not adopt another's modus operandi, though tempted to do so by the satisfaction ofbeing consulted and by the sympathy of human friend-ship. One should seek first the divine guidance, and followhis own upward individual convictions, ever keeping inthe light reflected upon his own pathway.

BUILDING THE TEMPLE.RICHARD P. VERRALL.

AMONG the mural decorations in the Congressional Li-brary at Washington there is an epigram by the Germanmystic, Novalis, who held that religion without a churchwas impossible, which reads, "There is but one temple in theuniverse, and that temple is the body of man." Comment-ing on this statement, but apparently overlooking the factthat if "there is but one temple" there can be but one man,Carlyle writes: "I would bow to every man. . . . Is henot a temple, then; the visible manifestation and impersona-tion of the divinity? And yet, alas, such indiscriminatebowing serves not. For there is a devil dwells in man, aswell as a divinity; and too often the bow is but pocketedby the former" (Sartor Resartus, Chap. 6 ) . Perceivingthe false pretensions of mortal man, but knowing not howto handle the insidious claim of finite personality, Carlylesees the impracticability of obeying his first impulse, andsays, "Therefore we must withhold it."

Mrs. Eddy, armed with the sword of the Spirit andprotected by the breastplate of righteousness, has at lastprevailed against this beast, or false prophet, of animalmagnetism, and has taught her students how to cast outthe devil or false belief that dwells in mortal man, thusrevealing "the visible manifestation and impersonation ofthe divinity."

Cruden defines the word "temple" as "a house or dwell-ing of God, a building erected and set apart for the wor-ship of the true God." The Latin derivation of the termwas templum, meaning "an open space, the circuit of theheavens, a place from which one can survey, a prospect,or range of vision." It thus appears that in the originalmeaning the word did not suggest a material structure, butrather stood for discernment, wisdom, or "the place of un-derstanding."

Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 12, No. 16, December 18, 1909Public domain Collection contents made available by The Ark: www.arkpublications.com


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NOVEMBER 18, 1922] Christian Science Sentinelsometimes stated, that they have reached perfection; butthey do maintain that, through a better understanding of theScriptures, they are enjoying a higher degree of health, hap-piness, and freedom than before they knew of ChristianScience.

Purging the TempleEILA FOSTER

HOW grateful should we, who are students of ChristianScience, be to our dear Leader, Mrs. Eddy, for revealing

to us the many pearls of great price which lie hidden allthrough the Bible! One may be quite familiar with certainstories and incidents therein, when suddenly, perhaps in a moment of need and as the result of our awakened under-standing, they stand out before us in a new light, and wegrasp their meaning as never before.

One such experience came to a student in connection withthe story of the purging of the temple by Jesus. For sometime she had been trying to bring her understanding ofChristian Science to bear upon a certain problem without,however, any very satisfactory results. Then one day theimport of this story dawned on her with startling signifi-cance. As given in Matthew's gospel, it states that afterJesus had cast out those that bought and sold in the temple,"the blind and the lame came to him in the temple; and hehealed them." In the Glossary of "Science and Health withKey to the Scriptures" (p. 595), Mrs. Eddy gives, as partof the metaphysical interpretation of the word "temple," thefollowing: "The superstructure of Truth; the shrine ofLove." This student then saw quite clearly that in orderto accomplish healing for herself or others her own con-sciousness must first be purged of wrong concepts regardingGod and man; that by giving power or presence, intelli-gence or action, in thought, to anything apart from God, shewas harboring false beliefs typified by the buyers and sellersin the temple; and that only as "any thing that defileth . . . or maketh a lie" was cast out, could the Christ, Truth, ap-pear, and eliminate every phase of discord or disease thatseemed to human consciousness to separate man from God,good. The effect of patient work along these lines broughthealing, and a deeper sense of gratitude for Christian Science.

The sick, the sinning, and the sorrowing are irresistiblydrawn to a consciousness purged of belief in materiality; andtherein is fulfilled one of the greatest blessings open to hu-manity,—that of doing the works of the Master, bringinghealth and harmony to a suffering world, and thus into one'sown experience; or, as Science and Health so beautifullyexpresses it (p. 261): "Hold thought steadfastly to the en-during, the good, and the true, and you will bring these intoyour experience proportionably to their occupancy of yourthoughts."

[Written for the Sentinel]

A Song of ThanksMINNY M. H. AYERS

FOR life, for love, for days of peace,We thank Thee, Father, here.

For joy in Thee which shall not cease,Since Thou art ever near!

For the good earth, so rich in all,For sun, for soil and seed—

For answering our ev'ry call,For filling ev'ry need.

And, best of all, for knowing TheeThrough truth that bringeth bliss—

Ah! Through this truth our Life to see—We thank Thee Lord for this!

Selected Articles[Clifford P. Smith, Committee on Publication for The Mother Church,

in the Tribune, New York, N. Y.]The report of the Episcopal convention at Portland,

Oregon, in a recent issue of your paper, attributed to anAnglican clergyman a misleading and mistaken reference toChristian Science. The speaker was quoted as saying thatthe growing number of adherents to Christian Science, NewThought, and theosophy in the United States indicates an"Indianization" of the religious life of this nation. Such anassertion involves at least two erroneous assumptions. Itassumes that there is a distinctive Indian religion, and thatChristian Science is related to it. In fact, there is no basisfor either of these assumptions. As any public speakerought to know, India is peculiarly a land of many religions;and there is no relation or connection between any Indianreligion and Christian Science. Christian Science is purelyChristian.

[Richard E. Prince, Committee on Publication for the State of Virginia,in the Baptist Religious Herald]

Christian Scientists, as do many other Christians, acceptwithout reservation the Scriptural statements that Jesus wasborn of the virgin Mary, and that he was crucified and rosefrom the grave on the third day. Christian Science teachesthat he was divinely appointed to reconcile man to God; andit also makes the same precise distinction which Christ Jesusmade between his human selfhood as Jesus, "the Son ofman," and his spiritual, eternal nature as "the Christ, theSon of the living God." Jesus was not referring to his fleshly nature, but to the Christ, when he stated, "Before Abrahamwas, I am." As the writer of the epistle to the Hebrews hasexpressed it, the Christ, or spiritual idea of sonship, has"neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made likeunto the Son of God."

On page 583 of the Christian Science textbook, "Scienceand Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mary Baker Eddyhas defined the Christ as "the divine manifestation of God,which comes to the flesh to destroy incarnate error." ChristJesus manifested this Christly nature throughout his earthlycareer. He healed every form of discord that confrontedhim, whether it were sin, disease, or death; and he proved incountless instances the superiority of spiritual law over theso-called laws of matter. Jesus was the Way-shower, recon-ciling man to God by teaching humanity how to bring "intocaptivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

Principle is but one of the synonyms Mrs. Eddy em-ploys to reveal the true nature of God. This term conveyssome idea of the unfailing love, stability, and compassionof our heavenly Father, which Jesus so beautifully por-trayed in the parable of the prodigal son; and of God ascause or creator.

There is a widespread misconception of the teachings ofChristian Science in regard to sin, disease, and matter, justas there is a diversity of opinion as to what Jesus meantby many of his statements relative to these subjects. Onethat puzzles the theologian was made to Nicodemus: "Thatwhich is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which isborn of the Spirit is spirit." The Apostle James alsohandled this subject when he stated, "Doth a fountainsend forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" Tothe Christian Scientist there is but one explanation of theseScriptural passages, and it is that Spirit, God, is notthe creator of the flesh, or matter, with its attendant dis-cords; therefore, these have no place in the divine plan ofcreation. Christian Science explains these inharmonious

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Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 25, No. 12, November 18, 1922Public domain Collection contents made available by The Ark: www.arkpublications.com


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Christian Science SentinelEach child, then, should surely go on from grade to grade,

"from glory to glory," as he, individually, sees the lightahead clearly enough to walk in it. Moving steadily, con-fidently, freely, in that light, he can give earnest thanks, andgladly anticipate the road ahead. In his journeying he musttrustingly know, too, that though the brother with whom heis accustomed to travel may not be visibly close beside him,he also must needs be going on. The pathway may be some-what different, but the goal is the same: the overcoming of allfalse beliefs, and a complete restoration to the knowledge ofthat perfect creation which has been theirs, together, fromthe very beginning, throughout all time. Then will the mor-tal dreams and shadows be forever laid aside, and He "whoseright it is" will reign.

Ark of the CovenantRICHARD P . VERRALL

T H E significance of the ark as a type of divine protectionbecomes apparent at three distinct periods of Hebrew history.First, Noah and his family are saved from the flood in an arkof gopher-wood; second, Moses is hidden from Pharaoh forthree months in an ark made of bulrushes; and third, theIsraelites are guided through the wilderness of sin by theark of the covenant.

It must be remembered that prior to their emancipationfrom Egyptian bondage, the children of Israel had lived forfour centuries in the land of Goshen. It is probable that theythere learned and adopted many of the pagan customs whichprevailed so generally in Egypt. After crossing the Red sea,instead of attempting to elevate these recently emancipatedslaves to a plane of spiritual worship at a single bound,Moses was wise enough to begin at the kindergarten ofreligious instruction. Through divine inspiration it wasmade apparent to him that the thought of the people couldbest be developed by gradual stages of mental discipline. Inthis respect Moses did what all wise and successful teachersof children have always done, he led human thought along theline of least resistance, from the known to the unknown, fromsymbol to idea.

In the thirty-first chapter of Exodus it is related that theLord filled "Bezaleel the son of Ur i" with wisdom and under-standing "in all manner of workmanship," in order that hemight make the ark and the tabernacle according to thepattern revealed to Moses on the mount. The ark was re-markably similar in appearance to the sacred shrines usedon Egyptian festal occasions. Thus the children of Israelwere only ready to elevate their thought one degree at a time in the scale of spiritual ascension.

From that time onward, the presence of God among theHebrew people was identified with the ark. I t was kept in"the most holy place," in the inner sanctuary of the taber-nacle, and it was carried by the priests before the peoplewhen they journeyed or made war. Like the brazen serpent,however, it eventually became a national fetish, and it finally disappeared altogether, about the time of the capture ofJerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. During the seventy yearsof captivity in Babylon, and for five centuries after, theJews had to bear the intense humiliation of believing thatthey had lost their most sacred national treasure. As a matter of fact, however, their real loss was not of thesymbolic ark, the need of which they should long ago haveoutgrown, but of the spiritual idea of God's ever-presence,for which it had stood merely as a symbol.

The eternal coexistence of God and man was never quitelost sight of by the seers of Israel, even when the hourseemed darkest. Such spiritual thinkers as Daniel and his

three companions in captivity, and later Zerubbabel, Ezra,and Nehemiah, helped to illuminate the firmament of humanconsciousness and to prove that the divine idea, when onceconceived, is never entirely without a manifestation. Later,the advent of the gospel, with its spirit of healing, not onlyfulfilled the Mosaic law, but abolished its symbols. The arkwas now revealed as a living presentation of Immanuel, "Godwith us." This higher manifestation of the Christ, orSaviour, while expressed by the human Jesus, was in realityincorporeal and spiritual. To those who still limit theMessiah to the person of Jesus, the Christ has not yet come;but those who recognize in his teachings the word of God,of Life and Truth, have the Comforter promised by Jesus,and this Comforter is now leading mankind into an under-standing of all truth.

In her definition of "ark" in the Christian Science text-book, "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures," Mrs.Eddy interprets it as "the understanding of Spirit, destroy-ing belief in matter;" also as "God and man coexistent andeternal" (p. 581). This sense of the word completely anni-hilates any remaining necessity for a type or symbol, andreveals the spiritual idea, or word of God, in its pristinepurity. The demonstration of man's oneness with God indivine Science, redeeming mortals from sickness and sin, isthe acme of true religion. This proof that the same Mindmay be in us "which was also in Christ Jesus," is surely thesecond coming, and this coexistence of God and man, accord-ing to Mrs. Eddy, is the true "ark," which she says, on thepage above quoted, "indicates temptation overcome and fol-lowed by exaltation."

Eleventh-hour MenBARBARA COOPER-CUSHMAN

I N the gospel of Matthew a parable is told by Jesus to hisdisciples which by the human sense of justice has often beenregarded as a stumbling-block, because it demonstrates thedivine economy, not the human. The story is of a "householder," or owner of a vineyard, who went out early in themorning to seek laborers. He found men standing in themarket-place waiting to be engaged for the day's work.These he sent into his vineyard, after making an agreementwith them for a certain sum of money for their day's work,namely, a penny. After three hours he returned to themarket-place and there saw others, whom he likewise hired.He continued to return and hire at intervals throughout theday, and even "about the eleventh hour" he found others stillstanding idle, and inquired of them, "Why stand ye here allthe day idle?" Their answer was, "Because no man hathhired us." They also were sent into the vineyard, with theassurance, "Whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive."

When the day's work was done and the workers receivedtheir reward, each man was given a penny,—the man whohad worked twelve hours and the man who had worked one.Then those who had worked twelve hours grumbled, and theirmurmur has come down to the present time: "Thou hastmade them equal unto us, which have borne the burden andheat of the day." And the gentle rebuke was simply given:"Friend, I do thee no wrong." Mortal mind, slow to perceivereal issues but quick to judge, says here: "These men werejustified. They had worked hard and long. The others hadsimply stood still in the market-place all day." Ah, but thatwas perhaps the most difficult thing they could have done,while others were called to work, while others were beingchosen, given opportunities for accomplishment! Do we sup-pose that the sun did not beat fiercely down on the roughstones of the market-place, or that it was at all pleasant to

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Christian Science Sentinel, Vol. 17, No. 25, February 20, 1915Public domain Collection contents made available by The Ark: www.arkpublications.com


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Why Study the Tabernacle

Before leaving Mt. Sinai, Moses is given specific instructions in the wilderness on how to build the tabernacle, and that portable structure goes with the children of Israel into the Promised Land. We might think of this “church in the wilderness” (Acts 7:38) in its original Hebrew description – “Tent of Meeting” (’ohel mo’ed). The word “tabernacle” in Hebrew is mishkan, which means “dwelling, place, habitation or tabernacle.” The Hebrew word for “meeting” means “to meet by appointment” (IDB 4.498). The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary states: “In Ex. 29:42; 33:11 and Num. 7:89 the purpose of this meeting is further defined as communication, and so ‘tent of meeting’ really means ‘tent of revelation, tent of the testimony’” (IDB 4.498). The Anchor Bible Dictionary indicates that the tabernacle or Tent of Meeting is frequently referred to as “the location of revelation” (ABD 6.292). How would that definition coincide with our concept of church? Do we think of church in those terms when we enter a church environment?

In Ps. 77:13 we read, “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary.” From this verse we know the highest destination for humanity. The way leads into the sanctuary, and specifically, that means the Holy of Holies or Most Holy Place. Since it represents God’s presence, it must be the only safe place to live. So the tabernacle, far from being an abstract, historical concept – one that is far removed from our current experience – is one of the most relevant biblical concepts to understand. The Scriptures state that God’s presence will go with us (Ex. 33:14). Wherever God is, His children are. So we are never separated from our Father-Mother God. Any time the Bible mentions being present with the Lord, we discover that the only way we can be present with the Lord and the only place in which we can be present with the Lord is in the Holy of Holies. According to the apostle Paul, in order to be “present with the Lord” we must be “absent from the body” (II Cor. 5:8). Now are we learning that the way to be in the Holy of Holies is to be there in thought? And what steps must we take in order to see ourselves at-one with God? That is what the furnishings of the tabernacle offer as an answer. To live in this mental state of the Tabernacle, specifically, in the Holy of Holies – where every thought is holy, where every word is an expression of holiness and purity, where every act or deed exemplifies the holiness of God, we can know and feel that we have come home – back to our original state living as the image and likeness of God.

Section 2: The Significance of the Tabernacle

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TabernacleThe Significance of the TabernacleBiblical References to the building of the Tabernacle

Ex 24:15-1815 ¶ And Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered the mount.16 And the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days: and the seventh day he called unto Moses out of the midst of the cloud.17 And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.18 And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Offering from the people

Ex 25:1-401 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.3 And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold, and silver, and brass,4 And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,5 And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,6 Oil for the light, spices for anointing oil, and for sweet incense,7 Onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.


“. . . the glory of the Lord abode upon mount Sinai . . .”

“ And Moses went up into the mount and a cloud covered the mount”

Dawn at Mt. Sinai

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Levite priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant

8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.9 According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instru-ments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

Ark of the Covenant

10 ¶ And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.11 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about.12 And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.13 And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.14 And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not be taken from it.

Mercy Seat with Cherubims

16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.17 And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof.18 And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.


The Ark of the Covenant with the Two Cherubims

The Ten Commandments, Aaron’s Rod and the Golden Pot of Manna in the Ark of the Covenant (Ex 16:33)© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

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Diagram of the Tabernacle


© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

19

19 And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub on the other end: even of the mercy seat shall ye make the cherubims on the two ends thereof.20 And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another; to-ward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.21 And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will com-mune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Table of Shewbread

23 ¶ Thou shalt also make a table of shittim wood: two cubits shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.24 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, and make thereto a crown of gold round about.25 And thou shalt make unto it a border of an hand breadth round about, and thou shalt make a golden crown to the border thereof round about.26 And thou shalt make for it four rings of gold, and put the rings in the four corners that are on the four feet thereof.27 Over against the border shall the rings be for places of the staves to bear the table.28 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, that the table may be borne with them.29 And thou shalt make the dishes thereof, and spoons thereof, and covers thereof, and bowls there-


The Ark of the Covenant and the Two Cherubims

Table of Shewbread© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

The Table of Shewbread, at the Model of the Tabernacle atthe Timna Copper Mines (Solomon’s Mines), Israel© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

20

of, to cover withal: of pure gold shalt thou make them.30 And thou shalt set upon the table shewbread before me alway.

The Menorah - Seven Branch Candlestick

31 ¶ And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same.32 And six branches shall come out of the sides of it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side, and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:33 Three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the six branches that come out of the candlestick.34 And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto almonds, with their knops and their flow-ers.35 And there shall be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out of the candlestick.36 Their knops and their branches shall be of the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.38 And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall be of pure gold.39 Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it, with all these vessels.40 And look that thou make them after their pat-tern, which was shewed thee in the mount.


The priest lighting the menorah©1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

Map showing location of menorah in The Holy Place© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

A cut-away diagram of the Tabernacle

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Tabernacle Tent & Veil

Ex 26:1, 31-371 Moreover thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet: with cherubims of cunning work shalt thou make them.

31 ¶ And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims shall it be made:32 And thou shalt hang it upon four pillars of shit-tim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of gold, upon the four sockets of silver.33 ¶ And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the holy place and the most holy.34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.35 And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the candlestick over against the table on the side of the tabernacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the north side.36 And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework.37 And thou shalt make for the hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast five sockets of brass for them.


The veil between The Holy Place and The Holy of Holies©1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

The Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle, Model of the Tabernacle at Timna Copper Mines (Solomon’s Temple)© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

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The Altar of Animal Sacrifice

Ex 27:1-211 And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare: and the height thereof shall be three cubits.2 And thou shalt make the horns of it upon the four corners thereof: his horns shall be of the same: and thou shalt overlay it with brass.3 And thou shalt make his pans to receive his ashes, and his shovels, and his basons, and his fleshhooks, and his firepans: all the vessels thereof thou shalt make of brass.4 And thou shalt make for it a grate of network of brass; and upon the net shalt thou make four brasen rings in the four corners thereof.5 And thou shalt put it under the compass of the altar beneath, that the net may be even to the midst of the altar.6 And thou shalt make staves for the altar, staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with brass.7 And the staves shall be put into the rings, and the staves shall be upon the two sides of the altar, to bear it.8 Hollow with boards shalt thou make it: as it was shewed thee in the mount, so shall they make it.

Outer Courtyards

9 ¶ And thou shalt make the court of the taberna-cle: for the south side southward there shall be hang-ings for the court of fine twined linen of an hundred cubits long for one side:10 And the twenty pillars thereof and their twenty sockets shall be of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver.11 And likewise for the north side in length there shall be hangings of an hundred cubits long, and his


The altar of animal sacrifice©1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

The altar of animal sacrifice

The Tabernacle tent in the wilderness

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twenty pillars and their twenty sockets of brass; the hooks of the pillars and their fillets of silver.

12 ¶ And for the breadth of the court on the west side shall be hangings of fifty cubits: their pillars ten, and their sockets ten.13 And the breadth of the court on the east side eastward shall be fifty cubits.14 The hangings of one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.15 And on the other side shall be hangings fifteen cubits: their pillars three, and their sockets three.

16 ¶ And for the gate of the court shall be an hang-ing of twenty cubits, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen, wrought with needlework: and their pillars shall be four, and their sockets four.17 All the pillars round about the court shall be filleted with silver; their hooks shall be of silver, and their sockets of brass.

18 ¶ The length of the court shall be an hundred cubits, and the breadth fifty every where, and the height five cubits of fine twined linen, and their sockets of brass.19 All the vessels of the tabernacle in all the service thereof, and all the pins thereof, and all the pins of the court, shall be of brass.20 ¶ And thou shalt command the children of Is-rael, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the veil, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning be-fore the Lord: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.


The priests setting up the Tabernacle

Children of Israel traveling with the Tabernacle

Tabernacle in the wilderness

The Twelve Tribes of the Children of Israel surrounding the Tabernacle

24

Synonyms used in Scriptures

used inScience and Health

used inProse Works

tabernacle 297 (times) 0 6

sanctuary 132 4 8

dwelling place 22 2 2

holy of holies 0 0 1

most holy place 19 0 0

dwell 315 14 23

abide 77 8 34

dwell in house 22 1 1

house 1,715 13 86

temple 182 17 87

body 152 376 170

holy place 71 0 2

city of God 64 8 6

presence 108 42 95

angels of his presence 1 2 1

new Jerusalem 4 4 2

way 608 140 265

pavilion 4 0 0

secret place 1 0 2

secret of His tabernacle

1 0 1

the tabernacle of the congregation

141 0 1


Synonyms of the Tabernacle

25

Citations on TabernacleThe Significance of the Tabernacle

Selected Citations (there are hundreds)

Is. 33:2020 Look upon Zion, the city of our so-lemnities: thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation, a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken.

Ps. 63:1, 21 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.

Ps. 43:33 O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy taber-nacles.

Ps. 91:1He that dwelleth in the secret place shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

Ps. 15:1, 21 Lord, who shall abide in thy tab-ernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?2 He that walketh uprightly, and wor-keth righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.

Ps. 27:4, 54 One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.

Ps. 77:1313 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctu-ary: who is so great a God as our God?

Rev. 21:33 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the taber-nacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.


26

Article from C.S. Journal“The Veil of Materiality” by Willis F. Gross


THE VEIL OF MATERIALITY.WILLIS F . GROSS.

THE tabernacle, set up by Moses in the wilderness, was a type of that true worship which enables man to realizethe ever presence of God. In accordance with the

directions given in Sinai, it was placed within an enclosurecalled the Court of the tabernacle. Into this court, all thechildren of Israel were allowed to enter. The tabernacle wasdivided into two parts,— the holy place and the holy of holies.Into the holy place, all the priests could enter, and offer sacri-fices for all the people; but the holy of holies was closed to all,except the high priest, and he was allowed to enter but " onceevery year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, andfor the errors of the people."

This privilege, granted the high priest, was denied the priests;as were their privileges denied the common people. But thiswas in a measure atoned for by the belief that the priests did allthat was necessary to be done.

It seems that mortal man has always lived in the thought thatanother can do his work for him, and was satisfied to think itwas being done. And even yet, many have hope of salvation,because of the labors and sacrifices of another, regardless of theinspired command, " Work out your own salvation."

Metaphysically regarded, the tabernacle would seem to repre-sent three conditions of thought. The outer court is the mortalconsciousness which believes in something better than itself. Theholy of holies is spiritual being. The holy place is the inter-mediate condition through which all must pass, if they wouldbecome perfect as the " Father in heaven is perfect." It is thatcondition wherein man not only has a desire to know and wor-ship God, but also becomes his own priest and physician, becausehe is gaining an understanding of Truth, and with that under-standing, is enabled to overcome his own beliefs of sin andsickness, instead of trusting in the personality of another.

A veil separates one condition from another; and it is only asthis veil is taken away, that man can go from one to the other.

289

27Section 2: The Significance of the Tabernacle

290 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL.

Paul speaks of the flesh as being the veil. (Heb. 10; 20).Because the flesh hides the spiritual man, it is believed that thespiritual man is within the material body. Science reveals thefalsity of this belief. It is true that the flesh, or material sense,hides from mortal consciousness the Truth of being, but it is nottrue that the spiritual is within the material.

Seeing that this veil must be taken away before man canenter the holy of holies, or even the holy place, it is of greatimportance to consider how and when the flesh will disappear.In the first place it is necessary for man to learn that it is hisprivilege to enter the holy place. Unless he is convinced ofthis he will not make the necessary effort. Because the Israelitesbelieved it would not be right for them to enter, they made noattempt to do so; but were content to know about this placejust what the priests could tell them. The priests entertainedthe same feelings regarding the holy of holies. Jesus uncoveredand destroyed these errors, for when he gave up the ghost ofmateriality, " the veil of the temple was rent in twain from topto bottom." Thus the way into the holy of holies was madeplain so that all who will may enter.

To-day Christians do not enjoy all the benefits of the Gospel,because they do not understand how much is required of them,and how much it is their privilege to enjoy. But the time of anawakening is at hand. It is becoming apparent that man mustdo more than simply be honest and conscientious in his convic-tions. He must know the Truth. Not merely know it becausesome one has told him it is the Truth; but know it because hehas gone to the fountain head, himself, and proven what heknows by actual demonstration. Blind belief, no matter if it ispainted with many beautiful colors, and adorned with the mostplausible theories and satisfying speculations, is nothing but a leaky craft, which cannot carry one in safety o'er the troubledsea of life, midst dashing waves and boisterous winds, to reach atlast the haven of eternal rest. Nothing but the understanding ofTruth can live in the storm, surmount the waves of error, steerclear of the hidden rocks, and make a successful voyage.

The Christian is awakening to this fact and beginning tothink for himself. Perhaps he has regarded his minister inmuch the same way that the Israelite looked upon his priest.Perhaps he was satisfied to have him enter the holy place, andfrom there to proclaim the Gospel. Doubtless he thought he


THE VEIL OF MATERIALITY. 291

received in this way all that was necessary. Now he begins tosee that he too must enter the holy place, and having gained theunderstanding of Truth, to put it into daily practice.

Christian Science enables man to be his own physician as wellas his own priest. It is admitted that the early Christiansentered the holy place, and from there, exerted what sense callsa supernatural influence over the sick and sinful, by healingdisease and casting out devils. To-day it is being shown thatthis influence was, and is, divinely natural. It is still theChristian's privilege to be healthy as well as holy. All may behealed, and all may gain the understanding of Truth whichprevents sin and suffering.

When man sees what his privileges are, he is then ready tolearn what he must do to enjoy them. Science teaches that hecan enter the holy place and enjoy the blessings it affords, onlyas the veil of materiality or the flesh is taken away. This veil soobstructs the vision that at times nothing but the veil is seen,but when it grows thin, man faintly discerns that which it hides.

The flesh must entirely disappear before existence will be fullyunderstood. It is argued, that if this be true, man must waituntil he dies. But such is not the case, for death does notexpress the power of Truth which destroys the manifestation ofmateriality. Even Jesus did not get rid of the flesh by dying.When he gave up the ghost, the veil was rent from the top tothe bottom, but it was not until he ascended, that the flesh disappeared, and man was revealed as the likeness of Spirit,invisible to the corporeal senses.

We cannot begin where Jesus began; then where shall webegin ? We must begin right where we are, and begin by de-stroying the works of the flesh. As we overcome these evils inour thought, the veil grows thinner, and we see more of the manwho does not live in the flesh.

Sometimes the truth of being is taught by the use of negativeterms. We say true manhood is unselfish i. e., not selfish.What that condition is we cannot know while we manifest a selfish disposition. But as we overcome the sense of selfishnesswe begin to know the reality of unselfish being and the truehappiness it affords. We say that in Love there is no malice,envy, jealousy or hatred. We must cease to express theseerrors — works of the flesh — before we can know what Love is.

In heaven, we are told, there is no sin, no sickness, no death,


292 CHRISTIAN SCIENCE JOURNAL.

" and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." We do not know byactual experience what will take the place of all these, for theyhave not entirely disappeared from consciousness ; but this we doknow, that existence is more real and more harmonious as weovercome these errors through the demonstration of Truth.The destruction of the works of the flesh brings spiritual con-sciousness. The flesh becomes less real to us because we thinkless of it, even though corporeal sense may declare it is just asreal as ever. To this sense the physical form of Jesus did notlose any appearance of reality until he ascended; but to hissense it was becoming less and less real all the time.

So long as disease exists in thought it will be expressed onthe body, but when this sense of it is destroyed it will entirelydisappear. Likewise, so long as the belief of substance in matteris entertained it will be expressed as a physical body.

We are sometimes told that the flesh will finally disappear " ina moment, in the twinkling of an eye." So it did when Jesusascended, but we must consider the great work that he didbefore this moment could come. He resisted every temptationto sin, healed all manner of diseases, and even gained the victoryover death. To-day it is our privilege to enter the holy place,and therein do all the works that he did. We must do thisbefore our sense of the flesh will entirely disappear, and we arepermitted to enter the holy of holies — the kingdom of heaven.

Source:The Christian Science Journal 12, no. 7 (October 1894). Public Domain.Collection contents made available by The Ark: www.arkpublications.com.

30

Moses was instructed by God to build the Tabernacle, the tent in the wilderness, as a place to sacrifice animals on the altar, and to worship God and to hold the Ten Com-mandments. In 953 BCE, Solomon’s Temple was built in the City of David on the threshing floor of Mt. Moriah. It lasted until 586 BCE when it was destroyed by Nebuchad-nezzar. The Hebrews were taken into captivity in Babylon.

Around 538 BCE, Zerubbabel returned to Jerusalem with Nehemiah and rebuilt the Temple. It was in place from approximately 520 BCE until 19 BCE when Herod the Great tore it down and rebuilt a massive structure called the Temple Mount. Herod began the building project in 19 BCE and it lasted until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 CE. In 687 CE the Dome of the Rock was built by Muslims directly on top of the ruins of the Temple Mount.

DATE EVENT

1220 BCE Introduction of Tabernacle from God to Moses962 BCE King Solomon builds the First Temple587 BCE Destroyed by Babylonians

537-516 BCE Restored by Ezra and Nehemiah; building of Second Temple167 BCE Desecrated by Antiochus IV

164 BCE Altar rededicated; Hasmonean extension of the Temple63 BCE Romans capture the Temple37 BCE Herod becomes King of Israel19 BCE Herod starts to rebuild Third Temple

70 CE Rome sacks Jerusalem and destroys the Temple687-691 CE Dome of the Rock is built and occupies the site of the Third Temple

Section 3: Introduction to the Temple Mount

Timeline of Temple MountTabernacle tent in the wilderness

Solomon’s Temple Zerubbabel’s Temple Herod the Great’s Temple Dome of the Rock (Muslim)

31Section 3: Introduction to the Temple Mount

Today: Dome of the Rock & Al Aska Mosque

(Muslims built 687-691 CE: called the Temple Mount)

Herod’s Temple - 19 BCE to 64 CE

(destroyed by Romans in 66 CE)

Zerubbabel’s Temple - 520 BCE to 19 BCE

(built after return of the Jews from Babylon in 520 BCE)

Solomon’s Temple - 953 BCE to 586 BCE

(Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE)

3 Jewish Temples:BCE = Before the Common Era CE = Common Era

Church in the Wilderness - 1220 BCE to 953 BCE

(Tabernacle according to the “pattern shown to thee on the mount”)

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IntroductionImportance of studying The Temple

“My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord . . . . Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee . . . . I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.” - Psalm 84:1, 4, 10

The Temple is an important focus for any Bible student not only because of its status as one of the greatest building accomplishments of Herod the Great but also due to the biblical events that took place here during Jesus’ lifetime. One can still visit the retaining wall, known as the Western Wall (ha-Kotel or the Wall), and view it as a reminder of the grandeur of that place of sacrifice which once dominated the landscape of Jerusalem. At the southwestern corner of the Western Wall there are stones forty feet long, three feet high, and their estimated weight is fifty tons each. No mortar was used. Herod spared no expense in erecting this magnificent site for the Jews. It became their judicial, economic, social and religious center. One scholar has written: “Over the years the Temple had come to express the essence of Judaism; it has been placed in the center of the emotional map of the Jews, constituting the heart of their beleaguered identity. It was regarded as the core of the nation, the course of its life, creativity, and survival” (Armstrong 110). For the Jew the Temple becomes the holiest enclave where the world can be shut out.

Jesus is presented in the Temple (Luke 2:22, 23); at the age of twelve Jesus is found talking to the scribes in the Temple precincts (Luke 2:41-50); one of the temptations happens at the pinnacle of the Temple (Matt. 4:5); Jesus teaches in the Temple ( John 7:14); Jesus heals the man born blind ( John 9:1-7); Jesus does not condemn the adulterous woman ( John 8:2-11); Jesus and the disciples witness the contribution of the widow’s mite into the Temple treasury (Mark 12:41-44); Jesus cleanses the Temple by overturning the tables of the moneychang-ers (Matt. 21:10-17); Jesus refers to the Temple as the “house of prayer” (Luke 19:46); Jesus makes a triumphal entry into Jerusalem prior to his crucifixion (Mark 11:1-10).


33Section 3: Introduction to the Temple Mount

We recall from the Gospel of Mark that when Jesus leaves the Temple Mount area, one of the disciples reminds him: “Master, see what manner of stones and what buildings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Mark 13:1, 2). When the Roman army conquers Jerusalem in 70 CE, that prophecy is fulfilled.

The Bible, however, ends with a higher view about the Temple or church: “And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it” (Rev. 21:22). God’s presence is no longer confined to a sanctuary. Everywhere God is, church is. And maybe that is the lesson about the Temple biblical students must eventually learn and cherish.

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Temple MountIntroduction to the Temple Mount Area& Jesus Cleansing the Temple

The Temple Mount area consisted of the Temple and its individual courts and was surrounded by a great courtyard. Each courtyard represented a higher degree of ritual purity for the Jewish male who passed through the gates.

To the Jews this large complex in eastern Jerusalem represented the house of the living God, the place for prayer as well as sacrifice. Its outer court was an immense meeting place where Jew and Gentile could talk together. The Temple Mount area could accommodate huge crowds.

Herod the Great enlarged the former area by building new walls on the south, north and west and extending the eastern wall. In today’s terms, the area surrounding the Temple Mount would enclose twenty-five football fields. It was a very popular tourist site; hundreds of visitors – both Jews and Gentiles – foreign kings, merchants, slaves, would travel long distances just to glimpse this wonder of the ancient Roman world.

In the cool colonnades around the inside of the outer court, school was held for young boys and men; there were opportunities for discussion and lectures from learned wise men.

Outside the huge Temple complex, there was a commercial center. Foreign moneys could be exchanged into the currency of the Temple Shekel for use in buying animals for sacrifice.


Model of the Temple Mount©2010. Biblos Foundation.


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Jesus Cleansing the Temple

Mark 11:15-1815 ¶ And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.18 And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because all the people was astonished at his doctrine.

The story of Jesus over-turning the tables of the moneychang-ers occurs in all four gospels. In the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) it is near the end of the Gospels. In John it is near the beginning. Because of the placement of the story, some scholars believe that there might have been two instances of Jesus overturning the tables.

One can imagine what the scene is like during the Passover Week with thousands of Jewish pilgrims making their way into the Temple to make ritual-istic sacrifices of animals. The courtyard is filled with livestock, pigeons, lambs, oxen, etc., and many more banking tables than usual because of the crowds.

It was necessary to exchange their foreign money from their home countries (Roman and Greek coins) into the Jewish Temple Shekel or Tyrian money, so that they could purchase the sacrificial animals. In that exchange an extra cost was in-volved and the moneychangers made quite a bit of extra profit. Jesus made a huge demonstration of his displeasure of the commercialization of “his Father’s house,” and as a result of that, earned the anger of the scribes and Pharisees.

g

z


El Greco, Christ Cleansing the Temple, National Gallery DC© 2009 Biblos Foundation.

Gustave Doré, Christ and the Moneychangers© 2009 Biblos Foundation.

Artist Rendering, MoneychangersThe Lion Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Bible, John Drane

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Temple & SynagogueIntroduction to the Temple Mount AreaThe difference between the Temple and a synagogue

Temple

The Jews had only one Temple, and it was located in their holy city, Jerusalem. In Jerusalem alone, there were over 450 synagogues. And in every city or village all over the Roman world there were synagogues.

The synagogue had no animal sacrifice or priest-hood. The Temple was used for ritual animal sacrifice. Only domestic animals that were raised for food were acceptable for sacrifice. Cattle, goats, sheep, pigeons, doves—all had to be free from blemish, injury, disfigurement, and disease. Some were sacrificed as guilt or sin offerings, some peace offerings, etc., acknowledging that all life belongs to God.

“The rituals performed by the priesthood [in the Tem-ple] were its reason for being, but the actual day-to-day work of the Temple required veritable armies of admin-istrators, security forces, priests and Levites assigned to a variety of essential functions. At a feast such as Passover in Jesus’ day, some 17,000 priests and Levites would probably have been in working attendance at the Tem-ple. Besides the high priest and some 200 chief priests, there would have been about 7,200 ordinary priests and 9,600 Levites” (Jesus 140). Herod the Great had torn down the second Temple built by Zerubabbel around 520 BCE and his workers had rebuilt the Third Temple on that same site (al-though scholars and historians include it in the second Temple Period). He began the work in 19 BCE but the Temple wasn’t completely finished until 63 CE.


The Temple Mount© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.


37

To rebuild the sacred Temple, Herod had to hire 10,000 laborers and ordered 1,000 wag-ons built for hauling stone. The most sacred areas of the Temple could not be entered unless the men were priests, so he had 1,000 priests trained as masons and carpenters. The sanctuary was finished in about a year and a half, but work continued on the extensive Temple Mount area until 63 CE, just seven years before it was destroyed by Titus in 70 CE. The Temple Mount area was about 27 football fields large. Herod’s Temple was the one that Jesus visited when he was twelve, and the one in which he taught and healed at various points during his three year ministry.

This Temple is the one which Jesus cleansed from the moneychangers and is the one that he prophesied would be destroyed.

Synagogue

The word “synagogue” means “congregation” or “assembly.” Some scholars believe that the first synagogues were erected during the Babylonian Captivity (sixth century BCE), when Jews no lon-ger had the Temple in which to pray and to teach. Ten men could form a synagogue. A Pharisee was in charge of the services. By 70 CE, 480 syna-gogues were in Jerusalem. Each one consisted of a house for reading the Law and a place where school children received their elementary instruction. All synagogues were destroyed when Rome destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.

Services on the Sabbath consisted of readings from the Scriptures—the Law and Prophets. Services always began with the shema: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord; and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might” (Deut. 6:4). The text was read in Hebrew, but most Jews during Jesus’ time spoke Aramaic, so an interpreter gave a verse-by-verse explanation (a targum).


The Temple Mount© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

Synagogue at Nazareth Village©2010. Biblos Foundation.

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The furnishings in the synagogue consisted of:

• The Torah shrine, where one or more Torah scrolls and probably some prophets’ scrolls were kept. It was a chest (sometimes called an “ark”) covered and screened from the sight of the congregation by a veil or curtain. In the center was the bema, or elevated podium, for reading of the lessons and benedictions.• The Menorah, the seven-branched candlestick or lampstand located in the large assembly room. • Stone benches, rather than chairs, lined the walls. Women and children sat upstairs in a gallery separate from the men.

The synagogue was open three times a day for prayer. The Torah was read in its entirety once every three years. It was customary to invite any stranger who happened to attend the services to deliver a prophetic lesson. Ten elders chose a head of the synagogue.

How did the synagogue differ from the Temple? There were no animal sacrifices, no altar, no priests.


Synagogue at Nazareth Village©2010. Biblos Foundation.

The Torah scrolls, inside the synagogue at Nazareth Village©2010. Biblos Foundation.

Reading from the Torah in the Synagogue (photo still from Jesus of Nazareth film)© 1977. Paul Ronald.

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Pharisees Sadducees• means the “separate ones” • from aristocratic, wealthy families• upheld tradition and Scriptures • controlled Temple worship• usually middle class, artisans • accepted only written Law (Torah)• teachers and preachers of the Law (Torah) • rejected oral law and prophets

• controlled every phase of Jewish daily life • denied existence of angels and saints• taught in the synagogues • denied resurrection or any afterlife• hoped for Messiah, King and Kingdom • held power in the Sanhedrin• believed in the prophets’ writings which nourished a Messianic hope

• hostile to Jesus’ movement

• believed in resurrection and future world • “high priest” of the Temple came only from this sect• often arrogant, pious, self-righteous, hypocritical, spiritually dull

• rigid, narrow-minded, conservative

• plotted Jesus’ death • wanted to keep status quo• Paul, Nicodemus, and Jairus were Pharisees • maintained their position as long as they worked

with the Romans (chief priests belonged to this party)• this sect died out with the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE

Scribes Essenes• some sat on the Sanhedrin • lived in communes; withdrew from the world• their job was to study, preserve Jewish Law • became monks: believed in purity, no marriage, gave

up worldly goods• copied and edited all Scripture; taught and interpreted the law

• opposed slavery, war, animal sacrifice

• they were not paid; had to have another job • copied the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were discovered in 1947 in caves near Qumran

• most were Pharisees• held the seat of honor in a synagogue• represented a distinctive class in the community• Gamaliel was a Pharisee and scribe• professional lawyers—interrogated Jesus on certain points of the law• they were venerated with reverential awe and respect• their words had sovereign authority


Jewish Religious Sectsat the time of Jesus

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Sanhedrin Zealots• supreme court for the Jews, their highest author-ity for 200 years

• patriotic, fanatical group

• 70 members consisting of priests, scribes, elders • wanted to make war against Rome• met in Temple area; sat in semicircle for trials • waited for a David-like king to be Messiah• the high priest presided over it (Roman procurator appointed and deposed the high priest; 7 high priests were appointed and deposed during Herod the Great’s reign)

• right-wing extremists

• plotted Paul’s death • Simon, one of the disciples, was a zealot• debated and passed judgement • fought the Romans in 67 CE, which caused the Fall

of Jerusalem• crimes they could judge: heresy, blasphemy, Sab bath-breaking, could ask for death penalty if it had approval from Roman Governor

• made a last stand at Masada 73 CE—almost all committed suicide

• capital cases could not be tried on the eve of the Sabbath or festival• could intervene when a lower court couldn’t agree on the interpretation of the Mosaic law


Jewish Religious Sects (cont.)at the time of Jesus

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Temple Mount Rendering


©1987. Jesus and His Times, Reader’s Digest.

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JERUSALEM

LOWER CITY

UPPER CITY

Garden Tomb

Pool of Bethesda

Antonia Fortress

Temple

Garden of Gethsemane

Kidron

Valley

Pool of Siloam

to B

ethany

Golgotha

Herod’s Palace

Mt. of Olives

Lion’s Gate

Golden Gate

So

lom

on’s P

ortico

Sheep Gate

Court of Gentiles

PRESENT NORTH WALL

Herod’s Gate

Damascus Gate

Struthion Pool

Solomon’s Quarry

HADRIAN’S

WALL

THIRD WALL

+

SECOND WALL

FIRST WALL

ROYAL PORTICO

WE

STE

RN

WA

LL Double GateTriple Gate

HasmoneanPalace

Lower Palaceof Herod

RoyalGardens

Jaffa Gate

Mariamme

PhasaelHippicus

PRESENT SOUTH

WALL

Dung Gate

Pinnacle of Temple

Oph

elC

ity o

f Dav

id

Tyropeon

Valley

GihonSpring

Hezekiah’sTunnel

Steps

Palace ofCaiaphas

Zion Gate

Gate of Essenes

House ofLast Supper

FIRST WALL

FIR

ST

WA

LL

to B

ethl

ehem

the road to Joppa

and Emmaus

Hinnom

Valley

Potter’s Field

Map of Ancient Jerusalem


© 2011. Biblos Foundation.

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1

1

2

3

27

27

25

24 23

19

22

20

18

19

17

22

16

11

12

10

2

14

8

5

4

15

13

THE HERODIAN TEMPLE AREA

13

6

6

6

6

6

7

25

16

9

Mt. of Olives/Valley of Kidron

Map of Temple Mount



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Map of Herod’s Temple


18

19

21

21

20

22

19

21

21

23

25

27

28

27

2430 29

31

26

THE INNER COURTS

2025

26

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1. Antonia Fortress2. Supporting Wall3. Street beside the Western supporting wall4. “Robinson’s Arch” (leading to street below)5. Shops outside Western Wall (moneychangers)6. Porticoes/Columns7. Royal Portico (Royal Stoa) & Sanhedrin located on top (Court of Law - The 70)8. Hulga Gate (entrance & exit)9. Triple Gate (entrance & exit for priests only)10. Solomon’s Porch11. Eastern Gate (Shushan Gate)12. Mt. of Olives/Valley of Kidron13. Court of Gentiles (Outer Courtyards)14. Entrance to the Plaza (connected to tunnel to Triple Gate - #9)15. Entrance to the Plaza (connected to tunnel to Hulga Gate - #8)

16. Balustrade prohibiting Gentiles going further17. Inner Court18. Eastern Gate for male Jews19. Southern & Northern Gates for female Jews20. Court of Women21. Inner porticos (columns)22. Nicanor Gate (only male Jews enter)23. 2nd Gate for male Jews24. Altar for burnt sacrifices25. Court of Israelites 26. Parapet (fence) separating priests from male Jews27. Court of Priests28. Entrance to Sactuary29. The Holy Place30. The Holy of Holies31. Upper Floors (for storage/library of scrolls)


45

Paul in the TempleActs 21:26-3126 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying him-self with them entered into the temple, to signify the accom-plishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them.27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place.29 (For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. )

30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar.

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Raphael, St. Paul Preaching at Athens, 1515-16, Victoria and Albert Museum, Picture Library, London© 2010. Pelikan, The Illustrated Jesus Through the Centuries.

Paul at Thessalonica, Gustave Doré Bible Illustrations© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Icon of Paul© 2010. Biblos Foundation.


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Eastern Gate (Shushan Gate)

Hulga Gate (entrance & exit)

Triple Gate (entrance & exit)

“Robinson’s Arch”

Section 4: The Inner Courts of the Temple

Gates into TempleThe Inner Courts of the Temple& Trumpeting Place


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Gates into TempleThe Inner Courts of the Temple& Antonia Fortress, Trumpeting Place

Pilgrims entered the southern side of the Temple Mount through the Huldah Gates, or the Double Gate. This was the main public entrance to the Tem-ple Mount. Thirty large steps alternated with little landings so that pilgrims would climb them slowly and with reverence. The Huldah Gate had two large doors, the right one to enter into the area and the left one to exit it. Once through this gate, pilgrims would enter a huge passageway under the royal Porch, which when approached from the ramp led out into the sun-shine in the Court of the Gentiles.

The Triple Gate (located further to the east of the Double Gate) was used by the priestly class when they came to serve in the Temple.

On the southwestern end of the Western wall, a monumental staircase was built (over what is now called “Robinson’s Arch”). It came out onto the Royal Stoa where the moneychangers kept their stalls. Coins bearing the image of Caesar had to be exchanged for silver shekels. In all prob-ability, it was here where Jesus overthrew the tables of the moneychangers.

The Eastern or Shushan Gate which looked over the Valley of Kidron would have been the gate that Jesus used most frequently.


Eastern Gate (Shushan Gate)

Hulga Gate (entrance & exit)

Triple Gate (entrance & exit)

“Robinson’s Arch”

“Robinson’s Arch” Model, David Museum, Jerusalem©2010. Biblos Foundation.

The Huldah Gates© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

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Today the only visible gate on the eastern side is the Golden Gate, but it dates from the early seventh century. An arch of another gate does lie beneath the Golden Gate, but archaeologists do not believe it is Herodian.

On the eastern side the colonnade was termed “Solomon’s Porch.” A high retaining wall sup-ported this platform. John 10:22-23 mentions that Jesus entered into Solomon’s Porch at the Feast of the Dedication.

Enormous amounts of cash flowed into the Temple treasury not only because of the local and Diaspora Jews paying their Temple tax an-nually, but also because of other donations given throughout the year.


The Eastern Side - the Golden Gate and Solomon’s Porch© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

Southwest corner of the Royal Portico (“Robinson’s Arch”)© 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.

The Golden Gate© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

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Antonia Fortress

Located on the northwestern wall of the Temple during Jesus’ day, the Antonia Fortress stood on a high, raised rock platform, twenty cubits above the Temple platform. It was built by Herod the Great in 36 BCE and remained stand-ing until the Fall of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Antonia was named after Herod’s patron in Rome, Marc Antony.

The fortress was on the most strategic position in Jerusa-lem, protecting the city from the north, and looking over the massive Temple Mount. A Roman garrison, about 480 men, were stationed in the fortress, so it was a military barracks. Besides that, according to Josephus, it held luxury apartments and baths. Josephus writes: “by its magnificence, it seemed a palace” (Josephus 5:8). Pontius Pilate would have stayed here when he came to Jerusalem during the feasts, even though his more permanent home was Caesarea Maritima.

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Model of Temple, Antonia Fortress© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Model of Temple, Antonia Fortress© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

The Roman Barracks at Antonia Fortress, The Tower of David Museum © 2010. Biblos Foundation.

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Trumpeting Place

The Trumpeting Place was on the southwest Pinnacle of the Temple in Jerusalem. During excavations, a stone which was about 2.4 meters by 1 meter in size, was found broken off of the Temple on the ground below the spot where the Trumpeter stood. Inscribed in stone were the words: “To the Trumpeting Place.” It was excavated by B. Mazar at the southwestern foot of the Temple Mount. The priest would blow the trumpet to announce the beginning and the end of the Sabbath worship.

Josephus, the Jewish historian, wrote: “where one of the priests stood of course, and gave a signal beforehand with a trumpet, at the beginning of every seventh day, in the evening twilight, as also at the evening when that day was finished, as giving notice to the people when they were to leave off work and when they were to go to work again” (12).

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The Temple Mount (Davidson’s Center)© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Artist Rendering, Davidson’s Center© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Inscription of Trumpeter on Corner of Temple© 2008. Biblos Foundation.

The Corner of the Temple, Davidson’s Center© 2008. Biblos Foundation.


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Court of GentilesOuter, Gentiles’ and Women’s Courts& Mikveh



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Court of GentilesOuter, Gentiles’ and Women’s Courts& Antonia Fortress & Mikveh

Court of Gentiles

The Court of Gentiles was a vast area sur-rounding all the inner courts of the Temple. There were huge colonnades that filled the inside of the Court of Gentiles’ walls, and here the Royal Stoa or Portico was located. It was a huge two story building on the inside southern wall and held a busy market,purification baths, money changers, and administration for the Temple and Jewish courts. Underneath these columns Jews might have listened to sages, rabbis and teachers.

The Royal Stoa filled the same role as a Roman forum did in other cities. Business was conducted under the columns, people came together to meet and trade, sacrificial offerings could be purchased—all under the huge colonnade that ran the length of the portico. One can picture Jesus’ overturning the tables of the mon-eychangers and the seats of those who sold doves, sheep and oxen for sacrifice (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17; Luke 19:45-56; John 2:14-16; See Jesus and the Temple, page 35).


The Court of the Gentiles©2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple

The Royal Portico (Stoa)©2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple

Artist rendering of the Marketplace near the Temple©2010. Biblos Foundation.

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“The Royal Stoa was built in the style of a basili-ca with a central nave and side aisles – four rows of forty columns each. At the eastern end of the nave, the apse was the setting for meetings of the Sanhedrin – the Supreme Court of the Jews and the court which put Jesus and Stephen on trial” (Shanks 40).

At the northwestern wall of the Temple Mount was Antonia Fortress, a Roman fort and barracks for the soldiers stationed in Jerusalem. (See article on Antonia Fortress, page 49.)

Along the southeastern side of the outer court, a magnificent Herodian tower once stood. It overlooked the Kidron Valley and is sometimes identified as the “pinnacle of the Temple,” where Jesus was taken during one of the temptations (Matt. 4:5; Luke 4:9).


The Royal Portico (Stoa) and the location of the Sanhedrin (and Court of Gentiles)


The Pinnacle of the Temple (Southeast corner) © 2000. Garrard, The Splendor of the Temple.


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Mikveh

Mikveh (also, mikvah or miqwah) A mikveh is a very small bath used for attaining ritual purity before worship. One had to fully immerse oneself into the bath by climbing down a set of tiny stairs, divided by a very low wall of stone. These low partitions were used to separate those who were going into the bath from those who were exiting–in other words, those who were not pure from those who were pure. Before walking down the tiny steps, the individual had to wash his hands and feet in a shal-low pool of water.

The mikveh needed to have some kind of “pure water” in the form of “living water” (like a running stream) or rain-water. Living water was better because it was able to purify while flowing, as opposed to rainwater which must be stationary a long while in order to be pure.

There were dozens of public mikvehs near the Temple so that those coming into the holy place could purify them-selves before entering. In the Temple, there were several mikvehs for the priests.

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Excavations of a mikveh on southern side of Temple Mount© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Excavations of a mikveh on Masada© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Excavations of a mikveh at Qumran© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

55Section 4: The Inner Courts of the Temple

Court of WomenThe Inner Courts of the Temple


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Court of WomenThe Inner Courts of the Temple

The Court of the Women was thought to be holier than the outer courts. Open only to male and female Jews, this Court was as close as women could be to the innermost sanctuary. Senior rabbis and teachers taught under the colonnades that surrounded this courtyard. The Court of the Women was a regular place of assembly for public wor-ship and a wonderful place for greetings and meeting with friends. Women could occupy the raised gallery which surrounded the space on three sides, most likely above the colonnades. From a raised gallery in their own court, they could view the altar of ani-mal sacrifice in the Court of the Priests. The case of the woman taken in adultery would have occurred in the Court of the Women. This court was surrounded by treasury chests (shofars). Thirteen collection boxes were available for people to give donations. These were freewill contributions and not compulsory. Jesus at one time watched a poor widow putting all her living into the treasury (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4). Jesus preached in this Court at the end of his ministry.

Four giant candlesticks, or menorahs, were stationed in the four corners and were lit during special times. Also located in each of the four corners of the Court were chambers: the Chamber of Wood, where priests inspected wood for the altar; the Chamber of Lepers, where those who had been healed of the dreaded disease would come to wash in a ritual bath for purification and then present themselves to the priests; the Chamber of Oils, which held oil and wine for the drink-offerings; the Chamber of the Nazarites or “consecrated ones,”


The Court of Women in front of The Holy of Holies, Model© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Artist rendering of Court of Women

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who were not allowed to cut their hair, drink wine or approach the dead.

At the end of the Court of Women stood the Nica-nor Gate, the beautiful bronze door through which the male Jew who was ritually clean could enter to take his sacrificial animals. It took twenty men just to open one side of the Gate.


The Great Gates leading into The Temple Sanctuary (Gate and detail)


The Court of Women with Nicanor Gate in the background, Model© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

58Section 4: The Inner Courts of the Temple

Court of PriestsThe Inner Courts of the Temple


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Court of PriestsThe Inner Courts of the Temple

This Court was located in front of and on both sides of the Sanctuary or Holy Place. Only priests were allowed in this area. The most prominent object in the area was the immense altar of animal sacrifice. Lambs, goats, rams, doves, pigeons and cattle were all brought to be sacrificed to God. They had to be free from blemish, injury, disfig-urement or disease.

The altar was approached by a huge long ramp up which the animals walked to the top. On the floor at one end of the altar was an area with poles and rings where animals could wait for their turn to ascend the ramp.

Each corner of the altar had a horn. A red linen was draped around the altar, halfway up, guiding the priests. Sometimes blood from the sacrificed animal would be thrown against the altar below the line, sometimes sprinkled above it.

The bronze laver, a huge brass bowl supported on the backs of twelve brass oxen, provided water for priests to cleanse themselves while performing their temple duties. This was located southwest of the altar and was provided for the priests to wash their hands and feet. The intent of this cleansing was to make thepriests holy, a form of ritual purification.


The Altar of Animal Sacrifice© 1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

The Altar in front of The Holy Place

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Hall of Israelites

This hall was a narrow strip and raised somewhat above the Court of Women. Only the ritually clean male Jews could enter. Here they would hand the priests their sacrificial animal. They were to stay on one side of the balustrade and only priests were allowed in the main part of the courtyard.


Carrying the animals to sacrifice© 1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

Laver at the Model of the Tabernacle (near Solomon’s Mines)© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

The Altar of Animal Sacrifice at the Model of the Tabernacle© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Priests attending various duties on top of the Altar© 1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

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The Holy of Holies The Holy Place


Holy of HoliesThe Inner Courts of the Temple

“It was to enter unshod the Holy of Holies, where the miracle of grace appears, and where the miracles of Jesus had their birth, – healing the sick, casting out evils, and resurrecting the human sense to the belief that Life, God, is not buried in matter. This is the spiritual dawn of the Messiah and the overture of the angels.”

Miscellaneous Writings, by Mary Baker Eddy, p. 77-78.


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Holy of HoliesThe Inner Courts of the Temple& Events concerning The Ark

The Temple Building

Details of Herod the Great’s magnificent Tem-ple have come down to us in tractate Middot of the Mishnah by Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob who lived at the end of the Second Temple period and in the two works of Josephus: The Jewish Wars and Antiquities of the Jews (Shanks 65).

The Temple was built of blue, yellow and white polished marble and limestone, quarried in a nearby mine in Jerusalem. The façade was covered with massive plates of gold, which created a stunning effect: “. . . at sunrise the Temple façade radiated so fierce a flash that persons straining to look at it were compelled to avert their eyes in order not to be blinded” (Shanks 66). The other walls were plated with gold in the lower portions. The upper parts were whitewashed. Gold spikes lined the parapet wall on the roof.

The Holy Place

The first room in the Tabernacle and Temples (both Solomon’s and Herod’s) was called “The Holy Place,” or Sanctuary. It contained three furnishings: the seven-branched lampstand or menorah, a table for the shewbread and flagons of wine, and the altar of incense. The menorah was the only light inside the sanctuary and it was supposed to burn continually. It was made of pure gold and had seven lamps attached to one stem. The lamps burned with the use of olive oil and they were to conform to the “pattern shewed to [Moses] on the mount” (Ex. 25:40).


The Holy of Holies The Holy Place

Herod’s magnificent Temple

The Holy Place© 1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

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Table of Shewbread

The Table of Shewbread had twelve loaves, situated in pairs of six, each leaning against the other. On the Sabbath day, the outgoing priests would eat the old loaves of shewbread, which would be replenished by the incoming priests. To the Jew, bread was Torah, and so it symbolized the Word of God. The table also held flagons of wine, and together, these items —the bread and the wine—would later become the symbols for communion.

Altar of Incense

The last furnishing before the Holy of Holies in the Holy Place was the altar of incense. It was made of pure gold, indicating its importance. This stood directly in front of the veil which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. This incense was to be burned morning and evening and was thought to be necessary to find favor with God. Psalm 141:2 states: “Let my prayer be set forth before thee as incense,” which suggests that incense can be a symbol of prayer. The priest brings the incense into the holy place so that the mercy seat is covered with the smoke of the burning incense and has had its fire started.


High Priest burning incense© 1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

The priests eating the bread from the Table of Shewbread©1997. Richman, The Holy Temple of Jerusalem.

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Holy of Holies, or Most Holy Place

The most important building on the Temple grounds was the Holy of Holies. In this square room, God was supposed to dwell.

The word “veil” means to break apart. It was to repre-sent a separation between God and man. When Jesus was crucified, the Gospel of Mark tells us: “the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bot-tom” (15:38).

The Holy of Holies was representative of God’s pres-ence – where God dwelled. This room was four square, twenty cubits by twenty cubits and forty cubits high. When Solomon’s Temple existed, this room contained the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark was lost when Solomon’s Temple was destroyed in 586 BCE. In the time of Jesus, this room was completely empty. A veil or tall curtain covered the entrance to the Holy of Holies, and only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies once a year on the Day of Atonement. According to Josephus, it was “inaccessible and inviolable, and not to be seen by any…” (707).


Veil of the Temple

High Priest going into The Holy of Holies© 1987. Jesus and His Times, Reader’s Digest.

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Ark of the Covenant

This was the most sacred piece of furniture in the Tab-ernacle and in Solomon’s Temple. It was placed in the inner room of the Holy of Holies. In Herod the Great’s Temple, the Most Holy Place was empty.

At God’s direction, Moses was told every detail about how to build this ark. The Ark was built to hold the Ten Commandments. Two cherubim, or winged crea-tures, were attached to the lid called the “mercy seat.” The Hebrew word for “mercy seat” is kapporeth, and it is not used anywhere else in Scripture. It means in Hebrew “lid” (Strong #3727).

The verb root, kaphar, means “to make atonement, to cleanse, to disannul, to forgive, to purge away or to reconcile” (Strong #3722).

“Cherubim” in Hebrew means, “one who is near to God, ministers to Him, one admitted to his presence” (Gesenius 414). The two winged crea-tures symbolize the two witnesses to God’s nature. They were never to take their eyes off of the Com-mandments and never to take their eyes off of each other. Hebrews 9:5 reads: “. . . cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.”

Throughout the Old Testament, the Ark of the Covenant had great power and helped the Children of Israel win battles and perform miracles during their wilderness sojourn. It was carried between poles and always went before them as they journeyed into the Promised Land.


The Ark of the Covenant, the Mercy Seat (or Lid) and the two Cheribum

Rendering of praying before the Ark of Covenant

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Events concerning The Ark

• Was placed inside the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle during Moses’ day

• Always was carried in front of the Children of Israel when marching

• Went before the multitude as they crossed the River Jordan and the waters parted

• Helped the Children of Israel capture Jericho – they carried it with them as they circled the city seven times

• Led the Children of Israel to many victories on the battlefield as they carried it before them

• Was captured by enemies when the people were disobedient to God

• Was recaptured by David and taken to Jerusalem

• Was housed in the Holy of Holies in the Temple that Solomon built for it (I Kings 8)

• Was destroyed or carried away by the Babylonians when they took Jerusalem

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Domenico Gargiulo, David Bearing the Ark of Testament into Jerusalem, Pushkin Museum, Moscow© 2010. Biblos Foundation.

Gustave Doré, Walls of Jericho Falling, Gustave Doré Bible Illustrations


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Furnishings & Worship Literal Meaning Deeper, Symbolic Meaning

#1 Entrance • way to go into worship• cloudy pillar descends

• desire to commune with God

#2 Brazen Altar Bowls

• burnt offering• Heb. 10:1-4, 9-10

• sacrifice of sin• sacrifice of cherished beliefs• ultimate sacrifice – to do God’s will• as we enter the tabernacle we must sacrifice any animal-like thinking

#3 Laver

• priests wash their hands and feet, animals also washed before sacrificed

• purificiation of thought• washing, baptism• immersing thought in purity, cleansing of conscience

#4 Seven- Branched

Candlestick

• only light inside tabernacle• pure gold – has 7 lamps supplied with olive oil• lamps are always to burn• made after the “pattern shown to thee on the mount”• conforms to original, close to the divine

• spiritual illumination• completeness• all 7 branches from one base• 7 lamps – 7 eyes of the Lord – see as God sees• Zech 4:2, 10; Mt. 5:15, 16; Rev. 1:12, 13, 20; Rev. 2:5.

#5 Table of Shewbread

• replaced once a week on the sabbath day• 12 loaves represent 12 tribes• unleavened bread represents leaving Egypt in haste• table made out of acacia wood• also holds flagons of wine

• spiritual supply – daily bread• continuous nourishment from God• means “bread of His presence”• wine and bread within the tabernacle– symbolic of communion

#6 Altar of Incense

• cloud of incense must be taken into Holy of Holies once a year – Day of Atonement – and surround the commandments

• gratitude and praise• prayer rather than burnt offerings (Ps. 141:2)• prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the angel’s hand (Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4)

#7 Veil

• means “to break apart”• separation between God and High Priest and man• veil is sundered (Mk. 15:38, Isa. 25:7, 8)

• final barrier gone – divine right to enter Holy of Holies (Heb. 10:19, 20)• “to rend” in half – crucifixion – direct access to God – no hierarchy


Holy of Holies Furnishings

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Furnishings & Worship Literal Meaning Deeper, Symbolic Meaning

#8 High Priest

• mediator between God and man• man demanded a priesthood at Sinai• only one allowed into Holy of Holies• must wear linen in Holy of Holies; linen has no animal element in it

• not geneaological (Melchisedec Order)• we are all made kings and priests (Rev. 1:6, 5:10)• How can we qualify as a priest? Obey God, keep his covenant (Ex. 19:5, 6)• “Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy” (Lev. 19:2)

#9 Day of Atonement

• High Priest enters the Holy of Holies on this day• communes with God• atones for the sins of the nation

• at-one-ment with God• God and man inseparable – no barrier or obstacle to prevent man from being in God’s presence

#10 Urim & Thummim

• stones on Aaron’s heart• on breastplate of judgment• consulted for “yes” and “no” answers• decision element

• God’s divine purpose made known• inspiration• complete truth

#11 Ark of Covenant

• contains the Ten Commandments• located in Holy of Holies• made of pure gold• cherubim are attached to the lid (mercy seat)

• where God and man commune• God’s presence

#12 Mercy Seat

• lid or cover of ark of covenant• made of pure gold

• where God and man commune• God’s presence

#13 Cherubim

• two – on either side of the mercy seat• two wings (one each)• Ten Commandments between the two• looking at each other and at the Ten Commandments

• word means “one who is near to God”• represent everything that is in harmony with God• witnesses to God’s nature• two anointed ones (Zech. 4:3, 11, 14)• protect and shelter the Ten Commandments• their eyes never leave – never lose sight of – the Ten Commandments

#14 Holy of Holies

• inner chamber• no man enters except High Priest (only enters once a year)• holds the Ten Commandments

• where God and man meet• presence of the Word of God• holy state of mind – synonym for heaven (Rev. 21:3)


Holy of Holies Furnishings (continued)

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Map of Dome of Rock (today)

Section 5: The Temple Mount Today


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Sources for The Temple:

Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Buttrick, George Arthur, Editor. The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Vol. 4. Nashville: Abingdon, 1980.

Connolly, Peter. Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth. Israel: Steimatzky, 1993.

Conte Jr., Ronald L “Herod the Great.” Bible Chronology.com. Online. http://www.biblicalchronology.com/herod.htm (accessed June 8, 2011).

Freedman, David Noel, Editor-in-chief. The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 6. New York: Doubleday, 1992.

Garrard, Alec. The Splendor of the Temple. Grand Rapids: Angus Hudson, 2000.

Gesenius, William. Gesenius’ Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. trans. Samuel Prideaux Tregelles. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992.

The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible. Ed. George Arthur Buttrick et al. Nashville: Abingdon, 1989.

Jesus and His Times. Ed. Kaari Ward et al. Pleasantville: Reader’s Digest Assn., 1987.

Josephus. Complete Works of Josephus. William Whiston, trans. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1981.

Merrill, Kathryn L. and Kristy L. Christian. In Jesus’ Time. Highland City: Rainbow, 1993.

Mizar, Eilat. The Complete Guide to Temple Mount Excavations. Shoham Academic Research and Publication. Jerusalem: The Old City Press, 2002.

Richman, Chaim. The Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Temple Inst. & Carta, 1997.

Ritmeyer, Leen and Kathleen. From Sinai to Jerusalem: The Wanderings of the Holy Ark. Jerusalem: Carta Publishing, 2000.

Shanks, Hershel, ed. Archaeology and the Bible, The Best of BAR, Vol. 2, Archaeology in the World of Herod, Jesus and Paul. Washington, D.C.: Biblical Archaeology Society, 1992.

Shotwell, Berenice Myers. Getting Better Acquainted with Your Bible. Kennebunkport: Shadwold, 1972.

Strong, James. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1987.

“The Temple,” Archaeology of the Bible, Bible Study Resource. Online. http://www.bible-archaeology.info/temple_of_jerusalem.htm (accessed June 8, 2011).

Vamosh, Miriam Feinberg. Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Herzlia: Palphot, 1992.

Walker, Peter. In The Steps of Jesus. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2007.

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Images Sourced:

Armstrong, Karen. Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1996.

Connolly, Peter. Living in the Time of Jesus of Nazareth. Israel: Steimatzky, 1993.

Garrard, Alec. The Splendor of the Temple. Grand Rapids: Angus Hudson, 2000.

Jesus and His Times. Ed. Kaari Ward et al. Pleasantville: Reader’s Digest Assn., 1987.

Merrill, Kathryn L. and Kristy L. Christian. In Jesus’ Time. Highland City: Rainbow, 1993.

Richman, Chaim. The Holy Temple of Jerusalem. Jerusalem: Temple Inst. & Carta, 1997.

Ritmeyer, Leen and Kathleen. From Sinai to Jerusalem: The Wanderings of the Holy Ark. Jerusalem: Carta Publishing, 2000.

Vamosh, Miriam Feinberg. Daily Life in the Time of Jesus. Herzlia: Palphot, 1992.

Walker, Peter. In The Steps of Jesus. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2007.


Abbreviation Key:

AB = The Anchor Bible EBC = The Expositor’s Bible CommentaryIDB = The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible

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