Church of God Knowledge Encyclopedia

Temple

The term temple means “holy house,” and in the Bible, it refers to a building established as the dwelling place of God and the site where priests offered sacrifices to Him. The first temple was built during the reign of Solomon on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem[1]—the very place where Abraham had once prepared to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. From that point onward, throughout the Old Testament era, sacrificial worship was conducted at this site.[2] The structure of the temple was based directly on the design of the tabernacle. However, compared with the tabernacle, the temple was larger in scale and contained more sacred furnishings. The ark of the covenant was placed in the innermost sanctuary, known as the Most Holy Place. Since the temple is the dwelling place of God, in the New Testament era, believers themselves are referred to as “temples of the Holy Spirit.”

The model of the Jerusalem Temple, which was once located at the Holyland Hotel, is now on display at the Israel Museum.

Overview of Temple History

The temple was called by various names in Scripture, including “a place for God to dwell forever,” “a place where God caused His name to dwell,” and “the house of the LORD.”[3] Inside the temple, the ark of the covenant was kept. During the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness, the ark resided in the sanctuary—the tabernacle, a portable temple. Even after entering the land of Canaan, the ark continued to be moved until King David brought it into the City of Zion. David desired to build a permanent house of God—the temple—to enshrine the ark, which had been kept in the tabernacle. However, it was foretold that the temple would be constructed by his son, Solomon. David prepared for the temple’s construction by gathering vast materials and providing Solomon with detailed instructions for the building and its furnishings, as revealed by God.[4] After David’s death, Solomon completed the first temple on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem.[1] Because this location was close to Zion, Mount Zion came to be known over time as “the mountain where the temple of God stands.”

The temple was destroyed in the 6th century B.C. during the Babylonian invasion. However, it was rebuilt by Zerubbabel (Hebrew: זְרֻבָּבֶל),[5] the governor of Judah, in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. This reconstruction was made possible by a decree from King Cyrus of Persia, which allowed the Jewish people to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. Over the following centuries, the temple endured under the rule of successive foreign empires. During the Roman occupation, Herod the Great initiated a major expansion of the temple complex, and the project was completed around A.D. 63. Tragically, only seven years later, in A.D. 70, the temple was completely destroyed when Roman general Titus led an assault on Jerusalem.

Solomon’s Temple (The First Temple)

The Temple of Solomon, also known as the First Temple, was the first grand temple built for the worship of God in Jerusalem. Though David had envisioned its construction, the temple was ultimately built by his son, Solomon. Construction began in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign and was completed in his eleventh year, taking a total of seven years to finish.[6] This magnificent temple stood in splendor for approximately 400 years, until it was destroyed in 586 B.C., when the southern kingdom of Judah was conquered by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon.

Construction Process

Though King David deeply desired to build the temple himself, God revealed to him that the task would be given to his son Solomon, as David had fought many wars and shed blood. In preparation, David made extensive arrangements so that Solomon could carry out the construction without difficulty. He handed Solomon the divinely revealed blueprints for the temple and its sacred furnishings, and prepared a massive stockpile of materials: gold, silver, precious stones, and other building supplies.[7]

According to the Bible, David set aside 100,000 talents of gold exclusively for the temple’s construction.[8] From his personal treasury, he contributed an additional 3,000 talents of gold, and the people of Israel gave willingly and joyfully, offering: 5,000 talents of gold, 10,000 talents of silver, 18,000 talents of bronze, 100,000 talents of iron, and numerous precious stones.[9] When Solomon began construction after David’s death, a massive workforce was mobilized: 70,000 laborers, 80,000 stonecutters in the mountains, and 3,600 supervisors. King Hiram of Tyre, an ally of Israel, supported the effort by sending skilled artisans and construction materials, which were transported by sea to Jerusalem.[10]

Structure and Layout

 
Diagram of the Sanctuary

The layout and features of Solomon’s Temple are recorded in 2 Chronicles chapters 3–5 and 1 Kings chapters 6–7.

The temple was constructed using pre-dressed stones, and at its core were the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place, surrounded by side chambers. These chambers formed a three-story structure with numerous small rooms. As the overall scale of the temple increased compared with the earlier tabernacle, the Most Holy Place was expanded to measure 20 cubits in length, width, and height, yet it retained the distinctive characteristic of having equal dimensions in all directions.[11]

Inside the Most Holy Place, in addition to the cherubim on the atonement cover of the ark of the covenant, Solomon commissioned two large standing cherubim. These cherubim faced the outer sanctuary, and their outstretched wings covered the entire space of the Most Holy Place.[12] The ark of the covenant was placed beneath their wings.[13] As in the tabernacle, a curtain separated the outer sanctuary from the Most Holy Place.

In the temple courtyard, a large “Sea” (bronze basin) was created for the priests’ ceremonial washing, and ten smaller basins were made for cleansing the burnt offerings. A massive bronze altar was built for sacrifices, and ten golden lampstands were positioned—five on each side of the outer sanctuary. Ten tables held the bread of the Presence, and one hundred gold bowls were crafted for temple use. A golden altar of incense was also placed in the sanctuary.

The temple was constructed on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem, at the site of the threshing floor of Ornan (Araunah), which David had purchased.[14] Its orientation followed that of the tabernacle used during the Israelites’ wilderness journey,[15][16] with the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place to the west, and the altar facing east.

Subsequent History

After the temple’s completion, Solomon held a grand dedication ceremony that lasted seven days, followed by the observance of the Feast of Tabernacles.[17][18] During the dedication, the glory of God filled the temple. Although Solomon’s Temple stood for approximately 400 years, it was completely destroyed by fire around 586 B.C. during the Babylonian invasion led by King Nebuchadnezzar. The temple’s sacred furnishings were looted, and the people—except for the poor—were taken into exile in Babylon.[19][20] This tragic event fulfilled the warning God had given: If the people turned away from His decrees and commandments to worship other gods, He would reject the temple and allow it to be destroyed.[21]

Zerubbabel’s Temple (The Second Temple)

The temple, completed under the leadership of Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, is commonly referred to as Zerubbabel’s Temple.[22] Because it was the second temple built in Jerusalem, it is also known as the Second Temple.

Following the 70-year Babylonian captivity, King Cyrus of Persia—who had conquered Babylon—freed the Israelites. He issued a decree ordering the reconstruction of the Jerusalem temple and even returned its sacred articles,[23] directly fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah.[24] Around 537 B.C., the people of the southern kingdom of Judah returned to Jerusalem. Under the leadership of Governor Zerubbabel, they laid the foundation and began rebuilding the temple.

Construction Process

  • Construction Halted Due to Opposition from Gentiles

The rebuilding of Zerubbabel’s Temple is detailed in Ezra chapters 3 to 6. Although the construction had been officially authorized by a royal decree, the process faced significant resistance. Prior to the Jews’ return from Babylonian captivity, the region of Samaria had been settled by a gentile population under Assyrian rule.[25] These settlers practiced a syncretistic religion, combining worship of foreign gods and the God of Israel. Upon hearing of the temple’s reconstruction in Jerusalem, they offered to join the project, claiming they, too, had been sacrificing to God. However, Zerubbabel and Jeshua (Joshua) declined their offer. In response, the gentiles grew hostile—bribing officials and intimidating the people to obstruct the work. Due to their persistent interference, construction came to a halt for about 15 years, with only the temple’s foundation completed. During this period, the people of Judah faced hardship, as they had turned their focus to personal affairs and neglected God’s temple, leaving it desolate.[26]

  • Construction Resumed Through the Prophets’ Encouragement

The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, disheartened by the delay, encouraged the people and Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah, to resume building.[27][28][29] Around 520 B.C., their prophetic messages sparked a renewed commitment to the temple’s completion. King Darius of Persia, upon locating King Cyrus’s original decree in the royal archives, reaffirmed the authorization for the temple’s construction. He issued a new order that not only forbade interference but also mandated that construction expenses be covered by the Persian treasury. With official support restored, the temple in Jerusalem was completed around 516 B.C. The people celebrated joyfully, holding a dedication ceremony and observing the feasts of God in thanksgiving.

  • Size of the Temple

The Bible does not record the exact dimensions or layout of Zerubbabel’s Temple. However, many were disappointed by its modest scale, especially when compared with the grandeur of Solomon’s Temple, built during Israel’s golden age. Through the prophet Haggai, God comforted the people by declaring that “the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house.” He promised to bless them greatly through the restoration of the temple.[28]

Subsequent History

  • Nehemiah’s Reconstruction of the City Wall

About 50 years later, Nehemiah, a Jewish official serving in the Persian Empire, learned that Jerusalem’s walls remained in ruins and that the people were living in hardship and disgrace. Appointed as governor of Judah, Nehemiah led the rebuilding of the city wall. The effort faced fierce opposition from figures such as Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Geshem the Arab, who mocked the workers and plotted violence to stop the project. Undeterred, Nehemiah inspired the people to continue the work, even posting guards to protect them while they built.

Despite the ongoing threats, the wall was completed successfully, and the surrounding nations were awestruck, recognizing that this work had been accomplished with the help of our God. On the first day of the seventh month, the Feast of Trumpets, the people assembled before the Water Gate, where Ezra the priest and scribe read from the law of God. On the fifteenth day, they celebrated the Feast of Tabernacles, building booths and rejoicing in holiness for seven days. Through the feast, the people gained a deeper understanding of God’s will and made a solemn vow never to neglect the house of God again. A dedication ceremony followed to commemorate the rebuilt wall, during which Nehemiah purified both the temple and the people of Israel.

  • The Intertestamental Period

Approximately 400 years passed between the writing of the last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, and the birth of Jesus. During this intertestamental period, Palestine underwent numerous shifts in power, leading to major transformations in politics, economy, society, and culture. Both Israel and the Jerusalem temple suffered greatly amid the struggles between powerful empires.

In the 4th century B.C., Alexander the Great, king of Macedonia, conquered the Persian Empire along with many other territories, establishing a vast Hellenistic Empire stretching from Macedonia to India. After Alexander’s death, his general Seleucus took control of the Syrian region, founding the Seleucid dynasty. One of the Seleucid rulers, Antiochus IV Epiphanes, desecrated the Jerusalem temple by placing a statue of Zeus within it and harshly persecuted the Jews, forcing them to adopt Greek religious customs. In response, Judas Maccabeus (also known as Maccabaeus or Maccabee) led a determined revolt against the Seleucid Empire and eventually gained the upper hand. Around 165 B.C., the Jews recaptured the Jerusalem temple, destroyed the statue of Zeus, purified the temple, and rededicated a new altar to God. However, their hard-won independence was short-lived. As Rome’s influence expanded, General Pompey conquered Jerusalem around 63 B.C., placing the Jews once again under foreign rule.

Herod’s Temple

 
A model of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, renovated by Herod the Great, is displayed at the Israel Museum.

After suffering damage during Pompey’s attacks on Jerusalem, Zerubbabel’s Temple—also known as the Second Temple—was not entirely destroyed.[30] Around 20 B.C., Herod the Great undertook a massive reconstruction of the temple to restore and expand it. This reconstructed version became known as Herod’s Temple.[31][32]

Construction Process

Herod, an Idumean (Edomite) by descent, had been appointed king of Judea by the Roman Empire. Though he had converted to Judaism, he was still regarded as a gentile ruler in the eyes of the Jewish people. To win their favor and strengthen his political legitimacy, Herod launched an ambitious renovation of the Jerusalem temple. Construction began before the birth of Jesus, and by the time Jesus began preaching gospel and cleansed the temple, the project had already been ongoing for 46 years.[33] Even after that, the construction continued for more than 30 additional years. The result was a magnificent and grand structure that impressed even Jesus’ disciples. Yet, Jesus foretold its downfall, saying: “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”[34][35]

Subsequent History

Just as Jesus had prophesied, Herod’s Temple was completely destroyed by the Roman army in A.D. 70, not long after its completion.[36] In the 2nd century, following a failed Jewish revolt, Rome expelled the Jews from Jerusalem, allowing them to enter the city only once a year—on the anniversary of the temple’s destruction. During this time, many Jews gathered at the remaining western wall of the temple to weep and pray. This site became known as the “Wailing Wall,” now commonly referred to as the Western Wall, one of the holiest sites in Judaism.[37] The Romans subsequently constructed a pagan temple on the ruins and renamed Jerusalem “Aelia Capitolina.”[38] They issued harsh decrees, prohibiting the observance of the Sabbath and God’s feasts, aiming to suppress Jewish religious identity.[39] In the 7th century A.D., the region came under Islamic rule, and the Dome of the Rock, an Islamic shrine, was constructed on the temple mount—where it still stands today.

The Temple Where God Dwells

In its essence, the temple is the dwelling place of God. During the Old Testament era, it was where the ark of the covenant resided and where sacrifices were offered to God. Although God primarily dwells in heaven, Scripture affirms that He also dwelled in His earthly temple.

In the time of Moses, God commanded the construction of a tabernacle to serve as His dwelling place.[40] Later, Solomon built the temple, declaring it to be the house where God’s name would dwell forever.[41] In this way, the term “temple” in a narrow sense refers to a specific building constructed on earth, but in a broader sense, any place where God dwells and where His covenant is present can also be called a temple. For this reason, in the New Testament, Jesus—God the Son—referred to His own body as the temple.


Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” They replied, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple he had spoken of was his body.

John 2:19–21


The reason Jesus referred to His body as the temple is that the Holy Spirit of God dwelt within His body.[42]

The New Testament teaches that the bodies of believers are called the temple of God, because the Holy Spirit dwells within those who are under the new covenant.[43][44] Although believers are not the Holy Spirit Himself—as Jesus was, being the Holy Spirit who came in the flesh—they are still called temples, since God’s Spirit lives in them. For this reason, the church, which is the gathering of believers, can also be considered a temple. However, those who do not keep the new covenant cannot be the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells, and a church without the new covenant cannot be regarded as a temple, either.

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "2 Chronicles 3:1".
  2. ↑ This was to fulfill the prophecy of offering animal sacrifices in the temple until the coming of Christ.
  3. ↑ "2 Chronicles 6:2–11".
  4. ↑ "1 Chronicles 28:11–19".
  5. ↑ Strong's Hebrew: 2216. זְרֻבָּבֶל, Bible Hub
  6. ↑ "1 Kings 6:37–38".
  7. ↑ "1 Chronicles 22:6–16".
  8. ↑ One hundred thousand talents of gold is approximately 3,500 tons. At the current rate, this amounts to about 266 billion USD (with the price of gold being around 76 USD per gram, as of August 8, 2024).
  9. ↑ "1 Chronicles 29:1–9".
  10. ↑ "2 Chronicles 2:1–18".
  11. ↑ "1 Kings 6:19–20".
  12. ↑ "1 Kings 6:23–27".
  13. ↑ "1 Kings 8:6–7".
  14. ↑ "2 Chronicles 3:1".
  15. ↑ "Exodus 26:22".
  16. ↑ "Numbers 3:38".
  17. ↑ "2 Chronicles 5:2–4".
  18. ↑ "2 Chronicles 7:8–10".
  19. ↑ "2 Kings 25:13–17".
  20. ↑ "Jeremiah 52:12–19".
  21. ↑ "2 Chronicles 7:19–22".
  22. ↑ "Ezra 3:8".
  23. ↑ "Ezra 1:1–8".
  24. ↑ "Isaiah 45:1–13".
  25. ↑ "2 Kings 17:23–24, 33".
  26. ↑ "Haggai 1:4–9".
  27. ↑ "Haggai 1:13–14".
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 "Haggai 2:3–9".
  29. ↑ "Zechariah 4:6".
  30. ↑ ‘PART ONE: JUDAISM’, Jerusalem, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Orion, 2011
  31. ↑ Temple of Jerusalem, Britannica
  32. ↑ Temples, tantrums and tyranny: The peculiar legacy of Judean King Herod the Great, Rich Tenorio, The Times of Israel, March 31, 2024
  33. ↑ "John 2:19–21".
  34. ↑ "Mark 13:1–2".
  35. ↑ "Luke 21:5–6".
  36. ↑ ‘The Temple of Herod’, in New Testament History, Culture, and Society: A Background to the Texts of the New Testament, David Rolph Seely, ed. Lincoln H. Blumell, Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2019, pg.53-70
  37. ↑ Western Wall, Britannica
  38. ↑ Aelia Capitolina, Britannica
  39. ↑ What was Hadrian’s relationship with his Jewish subjects?, Britannica
  40. ↑ "Exodus 25:8".
  41. ↑ "1 Kings 8:12–13".
  42. ↑ "Matthew 1:18–21".
  43. ↑ "1 Corinthians 3:16".
  44. ↑ "1 Corinthians 6:19".
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