1 Kings 6 – John 2
The temple in Jerusalem
For a thousand years the house of God stood on one hill: built, destroyed, rebuilt, splendidly enlarged and destroyed again. Jesus walked there as a child, taught there and overturned the tables there. And He said: I am the temple.
A thousand years of the temple
From a threshing floor to the greatest temple of its day, and then not one stone left on another. Follow the temple through the ages.
Step 1 of 8: A threshing floor on Moriah
A threshing floor on Moriah
David buys the threshing floor of Araunah on the hill above his city and builds an altar there. Chronicles says this is Mount Moriah, where Abraham once brought Isaac. This is where the temple will stand.
David bought a piece of land on a hill. Later the house of God would be built there.
A walk through Herod’s temple
This is what the temple looked like in the time of Jesus. Go from the great courtyard to the Most Holy Place, and read what happened there.
Step 1 of 10: The Court of the Gentiles
The Court of the Gentiles
The great open courtyard, where everyone could come, including non-Jews. Here traders sold animals and money changers exchanged coins. Jesus overturns their tables: my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
On the big square people bought and sold. Jesus said: this is a house for praying, for everyone!
A sketch seen from above, north at the top, not to scale. What the temple looked like exactly, we know mainly from Flavius Josephus and the Mishnah.
Jesus, the true temple
The New Testament says: where Jesus is, God lives among people. Turn the cards over.
His body
Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days. He was speaking about his body, and after the resurrection the disciples remembered it.
In Spirit and in truth
Not on this mountain nor in Jerusalem: the true worshippers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth.
Living stones
Like living stones, you are being built into a spiritual house, with Christ as the cornerstone.
No more temple
In the new Jerusalem there is no temple: the Lord God and the Lamb are its temple. God lives among people for ever.
The tabernacle, God’s tent · The temple through the whole Bible
Do you remember?
Six questions about the temple.
6 questions about the story. Each answer shows where you can read it.
Questions people ask
Honest, also where Christians think differently.
What has been found of the temple?
Van Salomo’s tempel weinig zeker; het tempelplein is nooit opgegraven omdat het een heilige plaats is voor joden en moslims. Van Herodes’ werk wel: de Westelijke Muur en de andere steunmuren, een trap aan de zuidkant, en een waarschuwingsbordje van de afscheiding. Ook de Boog van Titus in Rome toont de buitgemaakte lampstandaard.
Where exactly did the temple stand?
Op het platform dat nu de Tempelberg heet, met de Rotskoepel en de al-Aqsamoskee. Waar op dat platform het heiligdom zelf stond, daarover verschillen onderzoekers.
Will there ever be a third temple?
Sommige joden en sommige christenen verwachten een nieuwe tempel in Jeruzalem. Veel christenen lezen de profetieën daarover (zoals Ezechiël 40–48) als vervuld in Christus en zijn gemeente, of als beeld van de nieuwe schepping. Het Nieuwe Testament legt de nadruk op Jezus als de ware tempel.
Why did animals have to be sacrificed?
De offers lieten zien dat zonde ernstig is en dat verzoening iets kost. Ze wezen vooruit naar het ene offer van Christus, zegt Hebreeën. Na het jaar 70 hield de offerdienst op; het jodendom ging verder met gebed, Schrift en goede daden.