The ancient Greeks had many gods whom they worshipped. They built elaborate colonnaded temples for them and believed that the gods lived in them. But these lifeless gods were not able to help them with their problems or answer their prayers.
Jewish Temple. Centuries earlier King Solomon constructed a beautiful Temple in Jerusalem. No doubt it was one of the great wonders of the world at that time. People from many nations came to see this structure and learn about the wisdom of Solomon. The Temple was designed to let everyone know that the true and living God resided with the Jews in Jerusalem. Once constructed and dedicated, the “Shekinah glory cloud” came and rested above the ark of the covenant that was housed in the holiest place of the Temple. It signified God’s presence with the Jews (1 Kings 8:10).
Departure. As time progressed some of King Solomon’s pagan wives convinced him to offer sacrifices to their gods as well as to Jehovah. God was very displeased with his actions. In the days of his son, his kingdom was split in two and eventually the “Shekinah glory cloud” was removed from the Temple just prior to its destruction by the Babylonians. The Jews were taken into captivity (Ezekiel 9:3; 10:4; 11:23).
Rebuilt. When the predicted 70 years of the Babylonian captivity were over God used King Cyrus of Persia (current day Iran) to allow the Jews to return to Israel to reconstruct the Temple (Ezra 1:1-4). About 50,000 Jews returned to the land that God had promised to give to them as an everlasting possession (Genesis 15:18). They rebuilt the second temple under Zerubbabel which was later beautified by King Herod (John 2:21). This was the Temple that Christ entered to cleanse it from the defilement of the money changers (John 2:14, 15). He predicted its destruction (Matthew 24:3) when the Romans came in A.D. 70 and dispersed the Jews everywhere until 1948 when many returned to the “Promised Land.”
Unbelief. It may be safe to say that many of the Jews who live in Israel today are probably agnostics. They aren’t sure about God and the future survival of their race or nation. Things are getting very tense between Israel and her neighbors. Perhaps some of them believe that God has no future plans for them as a nation. Then there are people who claim to be atheists even though this claim can’t be made honestly since no man has been to every corner of the universe to see if God exists there or not.
Replacement Theology. It erroneously teaches that the Christian church has replaced the Jews and that it (the church) has the right to claim the promises that were given to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants. Don’t believe this. God isn’t finished with the Jews. Although they have been set aside temporarily until the fullness of the Gentiles comes in (Romans 11:25), the Jewish people will once again be restored and reattached to the vine and become the source of blessing to the rest of the world (Zechariah 14; Genesis 12:1-3). God will preserve a believing Jewish remnant to help repopulate the earth. It will be depopulated by at least one half of its inhabitants during the “Time of Jacob’s trouble” (Jeremiah 30:7; Daniel 9:27; Revelation 6:8; 9:15). By today’s standard that would be about 3 1/2 billion people dying during this terrible holocaust. This event may be just around the next corner.
Future. There will be another Jewish Temple constructed on the same site that is now occupied by the “Dome of the Rock.” It will be in existence during “The Tribulation” that will last for seven years. This Temple will be desecrated by the “Beast” known also as the “Antichrist” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-11).
Image. When the false prophet sets up the image of the “Beast” in the Jewish Temple and demands that the Jews worship it (Revelation 13:11-18), they will refuse to do that and will flee down to Petra where God will protect them for 3 1/2 years and keep them from total annihilation by the Antichrist (Isaiah 16:1; Matthew 24:15ff). This Temple will also be destroyed to make way for a more glorious Temple to be erected on the same site when the Lord Jesus Christ returns from heaven to earth (Acts 1:11). He will establish His 1,000 reign over the earth (Ezekiel 40:5ff; Revelation 20:1-7). The “Shekinah glory cloud” will return and rest upon this Millennial Temple (Ezekiel 43:2-5).
Today. It seems strange that God the Holy Spirit would choose to reside in the bodies of Christians today. Some people, like the tabernacle in the wilderness, aren’t very attractive according to the standards of the world. It is God’s desire to use true Christians who are totally dedicated and yielded to Him (Romans 12:1, 2; 2 Timothy 2:19-21). He produces within them Christ like qualities called “The Fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22, 23). As these qualities of love, joy, peace, etc are displayed before others, Christ’s kind of life will be exhibited for people to see the change that God is able to make in a person’s life (Galatians 4:19). This is when a Christian can truly be called “godly” (1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 3:12). Hopefully unbelievers will then make inquiry as to how this Christian can behave in such a Christ like manner under adverse conditions and/or when interacting with obnoxious people (1 Peter 3:15).
Defiled. Those who would try to defile a Christian’s life or a Bible believing local church (1 Corinthians 3:17) through false teaching or by promoting carnality and/or lawlessness (Revelation 2:14) are sure to experience the displeasure and vengeance of the living God (Hebrews 10:30, 31). Teachers of God’s truth must be careful to handle the Scriptures accurately and explain it correctly to others or face heavier judgment (James 3:1; 2 Timothy 2:15).
A Temple? Is your body a Temple of the Holy Spirit? It is if you are a true Christian. How does one become a Christian? He must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively as the One who died for his sins…and rose again bodily on the third day (Acts 16:31; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8). He must not depend on any of his good works or his faith plus his good works to get him to heaven lest he should boast (Ephesians 2:8-10). Good works are the evidence of one’s faith in Christ for the benefit of other human beings (James 2:18). Don’t get this important truth mixed up or you could end up in hell because you “believed in vain” by adding or subtracting from the Gospel or changing the means by which we are saved (1 Corinthians 15:2).
Dedicated? If you’re a true Christian, have you dedicated yourself to God as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1, 2)? It’s the reasonable thing for a Christian to do after all that God has done for us.
Questions. If you have questions about your eternal destiny, or other Bible related questions, we invite you to contact us at 805-238-3549 or visit our web site where you can read “God’s Simple Plan Of Salvation.” We have it in 24 languages. Go to www.kelseypeach.com . What you do with the Lord Jesus Christ is the most important decision of your life.
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