The traditional Christian view holds that the tabernacle/temple was necessary as a place for the sacrificial system, because that institution provided a temporary means of atonement (and pardon) for the sins of God's people. Later, Jesus' death on the cross provided the permanent means of atonement (and pardon) for the sins of God's people. There are at least three problems with this view:
During the late Second Temple Period (1st C.E.), there were some within Judaism who were familiar with the gospel but who considered it a competing alternative to the temple service as a means of reaching God. They also viewed angels as having an important role in the divine cosmology and seemed to regard Jesus as a lesser being in the hierarchy of creation. The author of Hebrews addresses both these issues. He deals briefly with Jesus' superiority to angels,1 then devotes considerably more attention to the relationship of Jesus to the temple (implying that the second concern is the more pressing).
Although the Church has long recognized Jesus as "head over everything" (Eph 1:22), including the angelic realm, it has generally accepted the notion that the temple offerings and Jesus' death were competing (or at least chronologically sequential) methods of atonement; in either case, that the efficacy of Jesus' sacrifice replaced the deficiency of animal sacrifices. This misunderstanding has generated a number of difficulties for Christians, such as an inability to understand biblical references to a future temple and to renewed animal sacrifices.2 What could possibly be the reason for restoring them if Jesus' atoning work accomplished the same end once for all?
Related to an erroneous view of sacrifices is the false assumption that the temple's purpose was to provide a place for sacrifices. On the contrary, the purpose of sacrifices was to provide a place for the temple.3 That is, the LORD chose to manifest His presence among His people as visible proof of His covenantal commitment to be their God,4 and He instituted the sacrificial system to preserve the holiness of that sacred place from the inevitable defiling influence of those same people. Hence, the kind of atonement that animal sacrifices provide is different from the atonement that Jesus' sacrifice provides, as the author of Hebrews makes clear.
The atonement of the sacrificial system (specifically the sin and guilt offering6) is purely ceremonial, made necessary by God's presence in the sanctuary. Pre-tabernacle sacrifices were of a different nature and for a different end, not ceremonial but devotional (i.e., whole burnt offerings).7
When the New Testament writers draw an analogy between the sacrificial system and Jesus' death, they are using the familiar to explain the unfamiliar, and are merely suggesting a similarity at some point not the one-to-one correspondence that typological interpretation often implies (e.g., Talbot 1978). This distinction between ceremonial and soteriological helps to clarify the function of renewed sacrifices in the Messianic Age. Unlike resurrected saints, who will have glorified bodies not subject to ceremonial impurity, those who enter that period in their physical bodies will still need a means of ceremonial cleansing to enter the presence of God in the (restored) earthly sanctuary;8 hence, the need for animal sacrifices.
So what is the purpose of the sanctuary, and how does that purpose relate to the sacrificial system? Several passages indicate that the tabernacle/temple provides a centralized place for worship and sacrifice,9 but that is not the primary reason for its existence. By far the most frequent reference is its designation as the place where God dwells.10 Moreover, although some texts are potentially ambiguous,11 the majority of them speak clearly about the earthly structure12 Consequently, activity there is "before the LORD,"13 and service there is "to the LORD."14 Its association with God requires that the sanctuary and its furnishings be holy15 and remain free from impurity. The importance God places on this requirement is evident in the penalty He prescribes for its violation: Unauthorized entrance or use of sanctuary facilities is a capital offense.16
The presence of the sanctuary imparts an objective holiness to Israel, setting that nation apart from all other nations.17 On the subjective level, however, those who would visit the place where God dwells are often unclean, having contacted some source of ceremonial18 or moral19 impurity by which they could potentially defile the sanctuary. God resolves this dilemma through the priestly caste and the sacrificial cult. He appoints the Levites, who devote their lives to service in the sanctuary, maintaining a higher level of holiness than is practical (or even possible) for most Israelites. The Levites serve in the stead of other Israelites,20 and their ministry precludes God's wrath on laymen when they enter the sacred precincts.21 That ministry consists, in part, of offering sacrifices for purification of the sanctuary22 in addition to those sacrifices that are a regular part of worship.23
What is the purpose of the sanctuary? It is a holy place where God may dwell (i.e., manifest Himself physically) among His people,24 and the sacrificial system helps to maintain the sacredness of that place. Again, the sanctuary does not exist so that Israel can offer sacrifices; Israel offers sacrifices so that the sanctuary can exist as a place for God to dwell. Furthermore, the sacrifices there are either devotional or ceremonial; they are not soteriological. The only soteriological sacrifice is the one Jesus made. Finally, just as God intends to dwell among His people forever, so He states that the sanctuary is (to be) a permanent fixture in Israel.25 Therefore, passages that speak about a future temple and about the resumption of sacrifices (e.g., Ezek 40-48) anticipate the fulfillment of His will.
[7] When biblical authors specify the kind of offering prior to the tabernacle/temple, it is not expiatory but dedicatory:
The two sanctuaries are qualitatively different from each other, however, in that God made the heavenly one.
[18] Ceremonial impurity reflects external status not internal character. As such, it indicates that an individual is unfit to enter the sanctuary precinct and bears no implication for that person's eternal standing before God.
- First, it misses the purpose of the sanctuary, which is to provide a place for sacrifices.
- Second, it implies that, in the absence of a sacrificial system during the Babylonian exile, God did not or could not forgive people's sins.
- Third, it renders inexplicable the many passages that speak about or that assume a rebuilding of the temple and a reinstatement of the sacrificial system in the Messianic Age.
During the late Second Temple Period (1st C.E.), there were some within Judaism who were familiar with the gospel but who considered it a competing alternative to the temple service as a means of reaching God. They also viewed angels as having an important role in the divine cosmology and seemed to regard Jesus as a lesser being in the hierarchy of creation. The author of Hebrews addresses both these issues. He deals briefly with Jesus' superiority to angels,1 then devotes considerably more attention to the relationship of Jesus to the temple (implying that the second concern is the more pressing).
Although the Church has long recognized Jesus as "head over everything" (Eph 1:22), including the angelic realm, it has generally accepted the notion that the temple offerings and Jesus' death were competing (or at least chronologically sequential) methods of atonement; in either case, that the efficacy of Jesus' sacrifice replaced the deficiency of animal sacrifices. This misunderstanding has generated a number of difficulties for Christians, such as an inability to understand biblical references to a future temple and to renewed animal sacrifices.2 What could possibly be the reason for restoring them if Jesus' atoning work accomplished the same end once for all?
Related to an erroneous view of sacrifices is the false assumption that the temple's purpose was to provide a place for sacrifices. On the contrary, the purpose of sacrifices was to provide a place for the temple.3 That is, the LORD chose to manifest His presence among His people as visible proof of His covenantal commitment to be their God,4 and He instituted the sacrificial system to preserve the holiness of that sacred place from the inevitable defiling influence of those same people. Hence, the kind of atonement that animal sacrifices provide is different from the atonement that Jesus' sacrifice provides, as the author of Hebrews makes clear.
- Animal sacrifices are temporal and ceremonial.
Heb 9:9 ... the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper.... 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean.
Heb 10:11 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.
- Jesus' sacrifice is eternal and soteriological (i.e., pertaining to salvation).
Heb 9:14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!
Heb 10:14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.They are not competing systems. Rather, they operate on different levels and accomplish different ends.5 Therefore, there is no contradiction to their existing and functioning at the same time, as they did for almost forty years after the crucifixion or as they will again during the millennium.
The atonement of the sacrificial system (specifically the sin and guilt offering6) is purely ceremonial, made necessary by God's presence in the sanctuary. Pre-tabernacle sacrifices were of a different nature and for a different end, not ceremonial but devotional (i.e., whole burnt offerings).7
When the New Testament writers draw an analogy between the sacrificial system and Jesus' death, they are using the familiar to explain the unfamiliar, and are merely suggesting a similarity at some point not the one-to-one correspondence that typological interpretation often implies (e.g., Talbot 1978). This distinction between ceremonial and soteriological helps to clarify the function of renewed sacrifices in the Messianic Age. Unlike resurrected saints, who will have glorified bodies not subject to ceremonial impurity, those who enter that period in their physical bodies will still need a means of ceremonial cleansing to enter the presence of God in the (restored) earthly sanctuary;8 hence, the need for animal sacrifices.
So what is the purpose of the sanctuary, and how does that purpose relate to the sacrificial system? Several passages indicate that the tabernacle/temple provides a centralized place for worship and sacrifice,9 but that is not the primary reason for its existence. By far the most frequent reference is its designation as the place where God dwells.10 Moreover, although some texts are potentially ambiguous,11 the majority of them speak clearly about the earthly structure12 Consequently, activity there is "before the LORD,"13 and service there is "to the LORD."14 Its association with God requires that the sanctuary and its furnishings be holy15 and remain free from impurity. The importance God places on this requirement is evident in the penalty He prescribes for its violation: Unauthorized entrance or use of sanctuary facilities is a capital offense.16
The presence of the sanctuary imparts an objective holiness to Israel, setting that nation apart from all other nations.17 On the subjective level, however, those who would visit the place where God dwells are often unclean, having contacted some source of ceremonial18 or moral19 impurity by which they could potentially defile the sanctuary. God resolves this dilemma through the priestly caste and the sacrificial cult. He appoints the Levites, who devote their lives to service in the sanctuary, maintaining a higher level of holiness than is practical (or even possible) for most Israelites. The Levites serve in the stead of other Israelites,20 and their ministry precludes God's wrath on laymen when they enter the sacred precincts.21 That ministry consists, in part, of offering sacrifices for purification of the sanctuary22 in addition to those sacrifices that are a regular part of worship.23
What is the purpose of the sanctuary? It is a holy place where God may dwell (i.e., manifest Himself physically) among His people,24 and the sacrificial system helps to maintain the sacredness of that place. Again, the sanctuary does not exist so that Israel can offer sacrifices; Israel offers sacrifices so that the sanctuary can exist as a place for God to dwell. Furthermore, the sacrifices there are either devotional or ceremonial; they are not soteriological. The only soteriological sacrifice is the one Jesus made. Finally, just as God intends to dwell among His people forever, so He states that the sanctuary is (to be) a permanent fixture in Israel.25 Therefore, passages that speak about a future temple and about the resumption of sacrifices (e.g., Ezek 40-48) anticipate the fulfillment of His will.
Bibliography
- Manuel, Paul (http://paulwmanuel.blogspot.com), 2004, "The Ark of the Covenant: What Did It Look Like and What Happened to It?"
- Manuel, 2005, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology. Soteriology Excursus 11: "Atonement."
- Manuel, 2012, A Reader's Digest Approach to Theology. Soteriology Excursus 6: "Unpardonable Sin."
- Talbot, L., 1978, Christ in the Tabernacle. Chicago: Moody Press.
Endnotes
[1] The author appeals to messianic Psalms 2 and 110 when making the contrast.Heb 1:5a . . . to which of the angels did God ever say, "You are my Son; today I have become your Father"? [Ps 2:7b] . . . 13 To which of the angels did God ever say, "Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet"? [Ps 110:1][2] This theme occurs mainly in the prophets.
Ezek 43:10a Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel.... Let them consider the plan, 11 and.. .make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.... 26 For seven days they are to make atonement for the altar and cleanse it; thus they will dedicate it. 27 At the end of these days, from the eighth day on, the priests are to present your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar. Then I will accept you, declares the Sovereign LORD.
Joel 3:18 In that day.... A fountain will flow out of the LORD's house and will water the valley of acacias.
Zech 14:20 On that day.. .the cooking pots in the LORD's house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.... 21b ...and all who come to sacrifice will take some of the pots and cook in them. And on that day there will no longer be a Canaanite in the house of the LORD Almighty.
Mal 3:1b "Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come," says the LORD Almighty.... 3b . . . he will purify the Levites and refine them like gold and silver. Then the LORD will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness, 4 and the offerings of Judah and Jerusalem will be acceptable to the LORD, as in days gone by, as in former years.[3] A David said...
1 Chr 29:1c .. .this palatial structure is not for man but for the LORD God.[4] The author of Maccabees makes a similar statement about the relationship between the people and the place.
2 Macc 5:19 ...the Lord did not choose the nation for the sake of the holy place, but the place for the sake of the nation.[5] While animal sacrifices are not of equal value to Jesus' sacrifice, they are necessary to maintain the sanctity of God's house.
Heb 9:23 It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.[6] These designations, while they are common, often give readers of the Bible, especially Christians, the impression that they serve as a moral remedy for man's iniquity, when they are, in fact, a ceremonial remedy for man's impurity. This misunderstanding of their purpose stems in part from a failure to allow the usage of these terms, not their etymology, to determine their meaning. While the Hebrew nouns for sin and sin offering as well as for guilt and guilt offering share the same root in each case, their nominal derivatives do not have the same definition. A better rendering of the offerings, that recognizes their usage, would be 'purification' (vs. 'sin') offering and 'reparation' (vs. 'guilt') offering. Examples of these terms along with the particular infractions they address demonstrate the purpose of these offerings, that they do not address moral iniquity but ceremonial impurity. This is especially clear in transgressions that have no moral or even mortal (human) component (see Manuel 2005 and 2012).
- The sin or (better) purification offering provides decontamination from acts that defile God's people or place.
- For ritual defilement of the altar
Exod 29:36 Sacrifice a bull each day as a sin offering to make atonement. Purify the altar by making atonement for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.
- For ritual defilement of a mother
Lev 12:6 When the days of her purification for a son or daughter are over, she is to bring to the priest at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting a year-old lamb for a burnt offering and a young pigeon or a dove for a sin offering. 7a He shall offer them before the LORD to make atonement for her, and then she will be ceremonially clean from her flow of blood.
- For ritual defilement of a mourner
Num 6:11 The priest is to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him because he sinned by being in the presence of the dead body.
- The guilt or (better) reparation offering makes restitution for acts that damage God's people or place.
- After the accidental violation of sanctuary holiness
Lev 5:15 When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD's holy things, he is to bring to the LORD as a penalty a ram from the flock, one without defect and of the proper value in silver, according to the sanctuary shekel. It is a guilt offering.
- After the healing of an infectious skin disease
Lev 14:2 These are the regulations for the diseased person at the time of his ceremonial cleansing, when he.... 12a Then the priest is to take one of the male lambs and offer it as a guilt offering...
- After the interruption of a Nazirite vow
The sin/purification offering and the guilt/reparation offering have limited efficacy (requiring repetition with each new transgression), limited functionality (treating ceremonial not soteriological impairment), and limited hegemony (operating only on the temporal, physical plane but not at all on the eternal, spiritual plane). NT authors use the sin/purification offering illustratively because it bears superficial resemblance to Jesus' offering, but it differs from his offering in these same three areas, his sacrifice being non-repeatable, soterialogical, and eternal.Num 6:12 He must dedicate himself to the LORD for the period of his separation and must bring a year-old male lamb as a guilt offering. The previous days do not count, because he became defiled during his separation.
[7] When biblical authors specify the kind of offering prior to the tabernacle/temple, it is not expiatory but dedicatory:
- Cain and Abel
Gen 4:3 . . .Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 [And] Abel brought fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. [But t]he LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering,
- Noah
Gen 8:20 Then Noah built an altar to the LORD and, taking some of all the clean animals and clean birds, he sacrificed burnt offerings on it.
- Abraham
Gen 22:13b He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son.
Cf. Gen 12:8b There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.
Gen 13:18b .. .at Hebron, where he built an altar to the LORD.
- Isaac
Cf. Gen 26:25a Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD.
- Jacob
Gen 46:1 So Israel set out with all that was his, and when he reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac.
Cf. Gen 33:20 There he set up an altar and called it El Elohe Israel.
Gen 35:3 Then come, let us go up to Bethel, where I will build an altar to God, who answered me in the day of my distress and who has been with me wherever I have gone." ...7 There he built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother.... 14 Jacob set up a stone pillar at the place where God had talked with him, and he poured out a drink offering on it; he also poured oil on it.
- Moses
Cf. Exod 17:15 Moses built an altar and called it The LORD is my Banner.
- Jethro
Exod 18:12 Then Jethro, Moses' father-in-law, brought a burnt offering and other sacrifices to God, and Aaron came with all the elders of Israel to eat bread with Moses' father-in-law in the presence of God.
- Israel
Exod 5:3b Now let us take a three-day journey into the desert to offer sacrifices to the LORD our God....
Exod 7:16b Let my people go, so that they may worship me in the desert.
Exod 10:25 . . .You must allow us to have sacrifices and burnt offerings to present to the LORD our God.
Exod 20:24a Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings....
Exod 24:5 . . . they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed young bulls as fellowship offerings to the LORD.... 11 But God did not raise his hand against these leaders of the Israelites; they saw God, and they ate and drank.
Exod 32:6 . . . the people rose early and sacrificed burnt offerings and presented fellowship offerings.Even when sin is a factor, as in Job's sacrifices, because they are specifically called "burnt offerings" suggests that the concern is to counter any appearance of disloyalty and to confirm the offerer's commitment to God.
Job 1:5b Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
Job 42:8 So now take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and sacrifice a burnt offering for yourselves. My servant Job will pray for you, and I will accept his prayer and not deal with you according to your folly. You have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has."The Passover sacrifice is also not related to sin—note that the offerer did not partake of his own sin or guilt offering, unlike the Pascal lamb—rather it serves to identify the offerer as belonging to God and, therefore, as being under His protection.
Exod 12:13 The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.
Moreover, the first actual attempt at securing atonement (when Moses intercedes for Israel following the golden calf incident) does not even involve sacrifice.Cf. Exod 13:15 When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in Egypt, both man and animal. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the first male offspring of every womb and redeem each of my firstborn sons.
Exod 32:30 The next day Moses said to the people, "You have committed a great sin. But now I will go up to the LORD; perhaps I can make atonement for your sin."[8] Those who survive the judgment of God will, with Israel, come under the millennial rule of God.
Isa 2:2 In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.... 4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
Isa 60:10a Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you.... 12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
Jer 3:17b ... all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD.
Zech 14:16 Then the survivors from all the nations that have attacked Jerusalem will go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, and to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 17 If any of the peoples of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD Almighty, they will have no rain.
Rev 19:15b "He will rule them with an iron scepter." [Ps 2:9a][9] God alone decides where He will dwell, and it is repeatedly in the same place.
Lev 17:3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD—that man shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; he has shed blood and must be cut off from his people. 5 This is so the Israelites will bring to the LORD the sacrifices they are now making in the open fields. They must bring them to the priest, that is, to the LORD, at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and sacrifice them as fellowship offerings.... 7b This is to be a lasting ordinance for them and for the generations to come.
Dept 12:5 But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; 6 there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, what you have vowed to give and your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.... 11 Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name—there you are to bring...your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, and all the choice possessions you have vowed to the LORD.... 14a Offer them only at the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribes.... 17 You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts. 18a Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose.... 21 If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put his Name is too far away from you, you may slaughter animals from the herds and flocks the LORD has given you, as I have commanded you, and in your own towns you may eat as much of them as you want.... 26 B Lit take your consecrated things and whatever you have vowed to give, and go to the place the LORD will choose.
Deut 14:23 Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name.... 24 But if that place is too distant and you have been blessed by the LORD your God and cannot carry your tithe (because the place where the LORD will choose to put his Name is so far away), 25 then exchange your tithe for silver, and take the silver with you and go to the place the LORD your God will choose.
Deut 15:19a Set apart for the LORD your God every firstborn male of your herds and flocks.... 20 Each year you and your family are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose.
Deut 16:2 Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.... 5 You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you 6 except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover.... 7a Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose.... 1 la And rejoice before the LORD Your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name.... 16 Three times a year all Your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed:
Deut 26:2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the LORD your God is giving you.... Then go to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name
Cf. 1 Kgs 3:2 The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the LORD.
2 Chr 7:12b I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices.
[10] The earthly sanctuary was a copy of the heavenly sanctuary, which served as a place for God to manifest Himself in that respective realm.Cf. Ezra 6:3 In the first year of King Cyrus, the king issued a decree concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices....
Exod 25:9 Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I will show you.
Exod 26:30 Set up the tabernacle according to the plan shown you on the mountain.
Ps 102:19 The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,
Acts 7:44b It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
Heb 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain."
Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.
The earthly sanctuary was as similar to its heavenly counterpart as possible, given their different environments. Isaiah's vision of the heavenly sanctuary, for example, included physical features,.Cf. Ezek 43:10 Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel.... Let them consider the plan, 11 and...make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.
Isa 6:4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.Both places included the presence of an altar and, perhaps, an ark.
Isa 6:6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar.
Rev 6:9 ...1 saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained.
Rev 11: 19a Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant.Some think the ark in heaven is from Solomon's temple (which would resolve its mysterious disappearance following the Babylonian invasion; see Manuel 2004).
The two sanctuaries are qualitatively different from each other, however, in that God made the heavenly one.
Heb 8:2 [Christ] serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.
Heb 9:11 ...Christ...went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not manmade, that is to say, not a part of this creation.... 24 For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence.While, the two structures are qualitatively different, they are functionally similar in that both are...
- Where God places His throne
2 Kgs 19:14 Hezekiah received the letter.... Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed...: "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth....
Jer 17:12 A glorious throne, exalted from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.
Ps 132:13 For the LORD has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling: 14 "This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it."
Ps 11:4 The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD is on his heavenly throne. He observes the sons of men; his eyes examine them.
Isa 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple.
Rev 7:15a ...they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple....
- Where God manifests His glory
Exod 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
Ps 29:9b And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
Ps 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
2 Chr 5:14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
2 Chr 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.
Ezek 43:5 Then the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
Ezek 44:4b I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD....
Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
- Where God executes His judgment
Isa 66:6 Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve.
Jer 50:28 Listen to the fugitives and refugees from Babylon declaring in Zion how the LORD our God has taken vengeance, vengeance for his temple.
Jer 51:11c The LORD will take vengeance, vengeance for his temple.
Rev 14:15 Then another angel came out of the temple and called in a loud voice to him who was sitting on the cloud, "Take your sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe."... 17 Another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle.
Rev 15:5 After this I looked and in heaven the temple, that is, the tabernacle of the Testimony, was opened. 6a Out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues.
Rev 16:1 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple saying to the seven angels, "Go, pour out the seven bowls of God's wrath on the earth." ...7 And I heard the altar respond: "Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments."[11] A few passages allow either an earthly or a heavenly dwelling.
2 Sam 22:7 (= Ps 18:6) In my distress I called to the LORD; I called out to my God. From his temple he heard my voice; my cry came to his ears.
Ps 60:6 (= 108:7) God has spoken from his sanctuary: "In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Succoth.
Isa 66:6 Hear that uproar from the city, hear that noise from the temple! It is the sound of the LORD repaying his enemies all they deserve.
Jonah 2:4 . . .1 have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.' ...7 ...1 remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.
Mic 1:2 Hear, O peoples, all of you, listen, O earth and all who are in it, that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you, the Lord from his holy temple.
Hab 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him."
Matt 23:21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.[12] A sampling of passages that refer to God's earthly residence includes:
Exod 15:17 You will bring them in and plant them on the mountain of your inheritance-- the place, O LORD, you made for your dwelling, the sanctuary, O Lord, your hands established.
Exod 25:8 Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them.
1 Kgs 8:13 (= 2 Chr 6:2) I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever."
2 Chr 6:24b ...when they turn back and confess your name, praying and making supplication before you in this temple,
2 Chr 20:9 'If calamity comes upon us... we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.'
Ezra 1:2 "This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: 3 Anyone of his people among you—may... go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the temple of the LORD.. .the God who is in Jerusalem. 4 And the people of any place where survivors may now be living are to provide him with silver and gold, with goods and livestock, and with freewill offerings for the temple of God in Jerusalem."
Ps 5:7 But I...will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple.
Ps 27:4 One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.
Ps 63:2 I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory.
Ps 68:17 The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands; the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.... 24 Your procession has come into view, O God, the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.... 35 You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people....
Isa 37:14 (= 2 Kgs 19:14) Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
Isa 60:13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.
Ezek 8:6a ...Son of man, do you see what they are doing--the utterly detestable things...that will drive me far from my sanctuary?
Ezek 42:13a ...The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests' rooms, where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings.
Cf. Exod 40:35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
1 Kgs 8:11 (= 2 Chr 5:14) And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.
1 Kgs 8:27 . . . will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! . . .29 May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there,' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.... 33 "When your people Israel.. .turn back to you and confess your name, praying and making supplication to you in this temple, (=2 Chr 6:18. 20,24)
2 Chr 2:6 But who is able to build a temple for him, since the heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain him? Who then am I to build a temple for him, except as a place to burn sacrifices before him?
2 Chr 7:2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.... 16 I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Ezra 6:12 May God, who has caused his Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem.
Ps 74:7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
Ezek 9:3a Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple.
Ezek 10:4 Then the glory of the LORD rose from above the cherubim and moved to the threshold of the temple. The cloud filled the temple, and the court was full of the radiance of the glory of the LORD.... 18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from over the threshold of the temple and stopped above the cherubim.
Ezek 43:4 The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.... 5b and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
[13] The phrase appears in...Ezek 44:4 Then the man brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the temple. I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD....
Lev 4:6 He is to dip his finger into the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the LORD, in front of the curtain of the sanctuary.
Lev 10:17 "Why didn't you eat the sin offering in the sanctuary area? It is most holy; it was given to you to take away the guilt of the community by making atonement for them before the LORD.
1 Kgs 9:25 Three times a year Solomon sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings on the altar he had built for the LORD, burning incense before the LORD along with them, and so fulfilled the temple obligations.
2 Kgs 19:14 (= Isa 37:14) Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it. Then he went up to the temple of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD.
Ps 96:6 Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
Ezek 44:15 But the priests...are to come near to minister before me; they are to stand before me to offer sacrifices of fat and blood, declares the Sovereign LORD. 16 They alone are to enter my sanctuary; they alone are to come near my table to minister before me and perform my service.
Ezek 45:4a It will be the sacred portion of the land for the priests, who minister in the sanctuary and who draw near to minister before the LORD.[14] The phrase appears in...
Num 28:7b Pour out the drink offering to the LORD at the sanctuary.
1 Kgs 8:44b (= 2 Chr 6:34b) ...when they pray to the LORD toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name,
Ezra 3:6 On the first day of the seventh month they began to offer burnt offerings to the LORD, though the foundation of the LORD's temple had not yet been laid.
Ps 27:6b .. at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.
Isa 66:20a And they will bring all your brothers, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD....[15] 11lustrative passages include...
Exod 40:9 "Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy.
Lev 5:15 When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD's holy things, he is to bring to the LORD as a penalty....a guilt offering.
Num 4:19 So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work....
1 Chr 23:28 The duty of the Levites was...the purification of all sacred things...at the house of God.
2 Chr 29:5b Consecrate yourselves now and consecrate the temple of the LORD, the God of your fathers. Remove all defilement from the sanctuary.... 15 When they had assembled their brothers and consecrated themselves, they went in to purify the temple of the LORD.... 16 The priests went into the sanctuary of the LORD to purify it. They brought out to the courtyard of the LORD's temple everything unclean... .and carried it out to the Kidron Valley.... 17b ...they consecrated the temple of the LORD itself, finishing on the sixteenth day of the first month. 18 Then they went in to King Hezekiah and reported: "We have purified the entire temple of the LORD, the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the table for setting out the consecrated bread, with all its articles.
Ezek 42:13 ...The north and south rooms facing the temple courtyard are the priests' rooms, where the priests who approach the LORD will eat the most holy offerings. There they will put the most holy offerings—the grain offerings, the sin offerings and the guilt offerings—for the place is holy.
Ezek 45:20b ...you are to make atonement for the temple.[16] The penalty for violating the sanctuary appears repeatedly in Numbers.
Num 1:51 Whenever the tabernacle is to move, the Levites.. . shall do it. Anyone else who goes near it shall be put to death.
Num 3:10 Appoint Aaron and his sons to serve as priests; anyone else who approaches the sanctuary must be put to death." ...38 Moses and Aaron and his sons... .were responsible for the care of the sanctuary.... Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
Num 4:19 So that they may live and not die when they come near the most holy things, do this for them: Aaron and his sons are to go into the sanctuary and assign to each man his work....
Num 17:13a Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die.
Num 18:3b [The Levites] must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar, or both they and you will die.... 7b-c I am giving you the service of the priesthood as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to death."
Cf. 2 Chr 26:16 ...Uzziah...entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense.... 18a-b They confronted him and said, "It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the LORD. That is for the priests...who have been consecrated to burn incense...." 19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests...before the incense altar in the LORD's temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead.
Ps 79:1 0 God, the nations have invaded your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple....
Lam 1: 1 O she saw pagan nations enter her sanctuary—those you had forbidden to enter your assembly.
[17] Objective holiness is God's decree concerning Israel, which He implements through Torah.Ezek 9:6 Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children.... Begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were in front of the temple.
Exod 19:6a you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.Holiness in space through the sanctuary and in time through the Sabbath are specific aspects of objective holiness.
Ezek 37:28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever.
Ezek 20:12 Also I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy.Subjective holiness is Israel's part in the sanctification process, as the people attempt to meet divine expectations.
[18] Ceremonial impurity reflects external status not internal character. As such, it indicates that an individual is unfit to enter the sanctuary precinct and bears no implication for that person's eternal standing before God.
Lev 12:4 Then the woman must wait thirty-three days to be purified from her bleeding. She must not touch anything sacred or go to the sanctuary until the days of her purification are over.
Lev 21:12 nor leave the sanctuary of his God or desecrate it, because he has been dedicated by the anointing oil of his God. I am the LORD.... 23 yet because of his defect, he must not go near the curtain or approach the altar, and so desecrate my sanctuary. I am the LORD, who makes them holy.
Num 19: 13a-b Whoever touches the dead body of anyone and fails to purify himself defiles the LORD's tabernacle. That person must be cut off from Israel.... 20a But if a person who is unclean does not purify himself, he must be cut off from the community, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD.
Ezek 44:7 ...you brought foreigners uncircumcised in heart and flesh into my sanctuary, desecrating my temple.... 9b No foreigner uncircumcised in heart and flesh is to enter my sanctuary....
Acts 21:28c ...he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)
Cf. 2 Chr 23:6a No one is to enter the temple of the LORD except the priests and Levites on duty; they may enter because they are consecrated.... 19 He also stationed doorkeepers at the gates of the LORD's temple so that no one who was in any way unclean might enter.
2 Chr 26:21a-b King Uzziah had leprosy until the day he died. He lived in a separate house.. .excluded from the temple of the LORD.
2 Chr 30:19 who sets his heart on seeking God...even if he is not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary.
Acts 21:26 The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
[19] Moral impurity reflects internal character, but it also renders an individual unfit to enter the sanctuary precinct or, on a larger scale, renders the nation unfit to host God's presence in the sanctuary.Acts 24:18a I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this.
Lev 20:3b ...by giving his children to Molech, he has defiled my sanctuary....
2 Chr 36:14 . . .the leaders of the priests and the people became more and more unfaithful, following all the detestable practices of the nations and defiling the temple of the LORD....
Ezek 5:1 la ...because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your vile images and detestable practices, I myself will withdraw my favor....
Ezek 23:38b ...they defiled my sanctuary and desecrated my Sabbaths.... 39b ...they entered my sanctuary and desecrated it.
Zeph 3:4b Her priests profane the sanctuary and do violence to the law.
Mal 2:1 ic Judah has desecrated the sanctuary the LORD loves, by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.
Ps 74:7 They burned your sanctuary to the ground; they defiled the dwelling place of your Name.
Ezek 24:21b I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the stronghold in which you take pride, the delight of your eyes, the object of your affection.[20] God states specifically that the Levites serve on behalf of the Israelites.
Num 3:8 They are to take care...of the Tent of Meeting, fulfilling the obligations of the Israelites by doing the work of the tabernacle.... 38b They were responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites. Anyone else who approached the sanctuary was to be put to death.
Num 8:19 Of all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.
Ezek 44:11 b they may slaughter the burnt offerings and sacrifices for the people and stand before the people and serve them.[21] The Levites are the only ones who have contact with most of the sanctuary furnishings, thereby, preventing contamination from ordinary Israelites, whose level of purity is not as high.
Num 1:53 The Levites, however, are to set up their tents around the tabernacle of the Testimony so that wrath will not fall on the Israelite community. The Levites are to be responsible for the care of the tabernacle of the Testimony.
Num 8:19 Of all the Israelites, I have given the Levites as gifts to Aaron and his sons to do the work at the Tent of Meeting on behalf of the Israelites and to make atonement for them so that no plague will strike the Israelites when they go near the sanctuary.
Num 18:5 You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that wrath will not fall on the Israelites again.[22] That things as well as people can become impure is evidence that uncleanness affecting the sanctuary is external.
Lev 5:15 "When a person commits a violation and sins unintentionally in regard to any of the LORD's holy things, he is to bring to the LORD as a penalty...a guilt offering.
Lev 16:16 In this way he will make atonement for the Most Holy Place because of the uncleanness and rebellion of the Israelites, whatever their sins have been. He is to do the same for the Tent of Meeting, which is among them in the midst of their uncleanness.... 18a Then he shall come out to the altar that is before the LORD and make atonement for it.... 19 He shall sprinkle some of the blood on it...to cleanse it...from the uncleanness of the Israelites.... 33 and make atonement for the Most Holy Place, for the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and for the priests and all the people....
2 Chr 29:21a They brought seven bulls, seven rams, seven male lambs and seven male goats as a sin offering for the kingdom, for the sanctuary and for Judah.
Ezek 45:18b ...take a young bull without defect and purify the sanctuary.[23] Dedicatory offerings had nothing to do with ceremonial purification.
Josh 22:27a ...it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings.
2 Chr 29:31c "Come and bring...thank offerings to the temple of the LORD." So the assembly brought...thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing, brought burnt offerings.
Ps 27:6b at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy....[24] God evinces this with a physical manifestation of His presence that abided over the ark in the tabernacle and in the first temple.
Exod 25:22 There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you....
Lev 16:2c I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.
Num 7:89 When Moses entered the Tent of Meeting to speak with the LORD, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the Testimony....
1 Sam. 4:4a ...they brought back the ark of the covenant of the LORD Almighty, who is enthroned between the cherubim.
2 Sam 6:2b [= 1 Chr 13:6b] ...the LORD Almighty... is enthroned between the cherubim that are on the ark.
2 Kgs 19:14 Hezekiah...went up to the temple...and spread [the letter] out before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: "O LORD, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim.... [= Isa 37:14-161
Ps 26:8 I love the house where you live, O LORD, the place where your glory dwells.
Ps 80:lb you who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
Ps 99: lb he sits enthroned between the cherubim....On more than one occasion, that presence expanded to encompass more of the sacred precincts.
Exod 40:34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.
1 Kgs 8:10 When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD. 11 And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled his temple.
2 Chr 5:13c Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.
2 Chr 7:1 When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2 The priests could not enter the temple of the LORD because the glory of the LORD filled it.
Prior to the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, Ezekiel saw the divine presence depart from the temple.Cf. Rev 15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were completed.
Ezek 9:3 Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in linen who had the writing kit at his side
Ezek 11:23 The glory of the LORD went up from within the city and stopped above the mountain east of it.
When the people returned from exile in Babylon, they rebuilt the temple according to God's command...Cf. b Shabb 33a ...the Temple was destroyed and the Shechinah departed from Israel....
Hag 1:8 Go up into the mountains and bring down timber and build the house, so that I may take pleasure in it and be honored," says the LORD.... 14 So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the LORD Almighty, their God,...but His presence did not return to (or abide in) the sanctuary, nor was there an ark.
Indeed, when Josephus recounted Pompey's entry into the sanctuary after the surrender of Jerusalem (63 B.C.E.), the ark was conspicuously absent from his report because, as Josephus indicated later, the holy of holies was empty.Cf. Hag 2:3 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory? How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?
Ant 14.72 There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money;
War 1.152 There were in that temple the golden table, the holy candlestick, and the pouring vessels, and a great quantity of spices; and besides these there were among the treasures two thousand talents of sacred money;
War 5.219c In this [room] there was nothing at all. It was inaccessible and inviolable, and not to be seen by any; and was called the Holy of Holies.Rabbinic sources also attest to the absence of the divine presence.
b Yoma 9b ...the Divine Presence [did not rest] over the second Sanctuary....
Exod R 2:2 ...when the Temple was destroyed, the Divine Presence removed itself to heaven....Ezekiel sees the divine presence return to the third temple, when it is built in the Messianic Age.
Ezek 43:2a and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east... .4 The glory of the LORD entered the temple through the gate facing east.... 5b and the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
Ezek 44:4b I looked and saw the glory of the LORD filling the temple of the LORD, and I fell facedown.There is no mention of the ark, perhaps because at that time it will be superfluous.
Jer 3:16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17a At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD.It is a distinction that will expand in the new heaven and earth, eliminating the need for a temple at all.
Rev 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.[25] Several passages refer to the sanctuary as the place where God will dwell forever.
1 Kgs 8:13 (= 2 Chr 6:2)1 have...built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.
1 Kgs 9:3b (= 2 Chr 7:16b) I have consecrated this temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there.
Ps 68:16 Why gaze in envy, O rugged mountains, at the mountain where God chooses to reign, where the LORD himself will dwell forever?
Ps 78:69 He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.
Ezek 37:26d I will put my sanctuary among them forever.... 28 Then the nations will know that I the LORD make Israel holy, when my sanctuary is among them forever."
Cf. Isa 2:2 (= Ma! 4:1) In the last days the mountain of the LORD's temple will be established as chief among the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it.
Isa 56:5 ...within my temple...! will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.
Ezek 43:10 Son of man, describe the temple to the people of Israel.... Let them consider the plan, 11 ...make known to them the design of the temple—its arrangement, its exits and entrances—its whole design and all its regulations and laws. Write these down before them so that they may be faithful to its design and follow all its regulations.
Zech 6:13a-b It is he who will build the temple of the LORD.... And he will be a priest on his throne.
Rev 21:22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
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Relevant and civil comments are welcome. Whether there will be any response depends on whether Dr. Manuel notices them and has the time and inclination to respond or, if not, whether I feel competent to do so.
Jim Skaggs