The Two Temples
(A Christian Workbook)
Introduction
n one of
the best known chapters of all Scripture, King David said with confidence,
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will
dwell in the House of Yahweh for ever.” (Psalm 23:6) The House of Yahweh is a
place of glory. It is a place of peace, and a place of reverence. It is
attended by angels, guarded by Cherubim, and designed to stand firm for all
eternity.
The house
of Yahweh is a mysterious place. The presence of the Most High dwells therein
(1 Kings 8:13), although the Creator cannot be contained by all of the Heavens.
The fact that our Almighty Father can be both infinite and at the same time
able to dwell with man is one of the most glorious revelations of His
character. Not only did His Presence light the physical Temple, but all the
majesty of Heaven came to earth in the course of mankind’s history, dwelling in
human flesh to set before us an example of what we are to be. For those who
accept this great revelation, and look upon the character of Yahshua, the Son
of the Most High and the One in whom this parable was fulfilled, they also may
become representatives of Heaven on earth.
What is
the House of Yahweh? What is His Temple?
As with
other things in the Scriptures, there is a letter and a spirit of every
principle. The letter of the law, for example, is “Thou shalt not kill.”
(Exodus 20:13) In addition to this, there is a spirit of that law that is founded
on the same principle. “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know
that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” (1 John 3:15) To
understand, and to cling to, the letter of the law – any law – without
understanding the foundational principle itself is to deny the spirit of that
law, and as it is written, without the spirit the letter of the law brings only
death. (2 Corinthians 3:6) In this book we will explore both the letter and the
spirit of the Bible’s teachings about the Temple of Yahweh, that our
understanding may be full.
We have
already begun to see one application. The physical “Temple” of the Old
Testament was a sign, a pattern, for the body of the individual believer.
(Romans 8:11, 1 John 3:24) Christ Himself was the Seed, the origin and perfect
representation of this principle whose worthy example we are instructed to
follow. Yet this is not the end of the story. After His death and resurrection,
the Messiah became the “Head” of a larger concept, and as He is our Savior and
Redeemer, it becomes necessary for us to know exactly what that means.
Looking
at the Scriptures regarding the Temple, particularly those in the New
Testament, we find some interesting statements that are often read, but seldom
fully understood.
“Know ye
not that ye are the Temple of Yah, and that the Spirit of Yah dwelleth in you?
If any man defile the Temple of Yah, him shall Yah destroy; for the Temple of
Yahweh is holy, which Temple ye are.” (1Corinthians 3:16, 17)
“And
what agreement hath the Temple of Yah with idols? For ye are the temple of the
living Elohim; as Yah hath said, ‘I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I
will be their Almighty One, and they shall be my people.’” (2Corinthians 6:16)
The
first application of the Temple of Yah is the body of the individual Christian.
(See also John 14:23) The verses from the letters to the Corinthians are often
used to explain that we must honor our Temples – meaning we are to take care of
our bodies, acknowledging that we are bought with a price. We belong wholly to
the Son by whom we live, and to whom we have yielded our lives, therefore we do
indeed bear this responsibility as stewards of the property of Another. This is
a sure and most important teaching, and may be supported by many other Scriptures
(e.g. Romans 12:1), however in his address to the Corinthians specifically,
Paul was talking about something else.
Looking
carefully at the two passages cited above, we find an interesting pronoun:
“ye.” This pronoun is plural; it is used to indicate that a given statement is
addressed to more than one hearer collectively. When Paul says, “ye are the
Temple of God,” what he means is exactly that – that the “Body of Christ,”
(Ephesians 4:12) which is one Body but consisting of many members, is the Temple
of God. He explicitly states this in other places to the same audience: “Now ye
[plural] are the Body [singular] of Christ, and members in particular.”
(1Corinthians 12:27) Just as we, collectively, are the Body of Christ, so are
we, collectively, the Temple of God, as the previous verses point out.
It is
only as a connected body, “fitly joined together,” (Ephesians 4:16) that we can
truly accomplish the mission that the Messiah has set before us. In prayer to
His Father, Yahshua said of His disciples, “And the glory which thou gavest me
I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are one: I in them, and
thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know
that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John
17:22, 23) When the Temple is finished, constructed and all set together, and
then dedicated, it is then that fire comes down from Heaven to bless the work,
and to establish the dwelling-place of the Most High with mankind. (2
Chronicles 5:1, 13, 14; Revelation 21:3) It is then that the Gospel will truly
go around all the world, and then the end of tears, pain and death will finally
come. (Matthew 23:14)
We as
individuals are the representatives of Yah on earth. We as individuals are His
Temple, because He dwells in us by the Holy Spirit and through His Son.
(Galatians 2:20) It is also just as true that we as a collective people, as the
Church of Christ, are this Temple; each individual member is a “stone” in the
larger and glorious construct. (1 Peter 2:5) We find in the Bible, then, two
ideas to consider when we are discussing the Temple of Yah. Considering the
very nature of the Godhead, that of a Father and a Son bound together by a
common Spirit, this multiple application should not come as a complete
surprise. Similarly, just as the Father is Spirit (John 4:24) and the Son was
made flesh (John 1:14), so human beings, made in the Image of the Elohim – and
restored to that Image by salvation – are linked by nature to a Temple of
the Body (the individual self) and a Temple of the Spirit (the
Church of Christ).
Adventist
writer Ellen G. White understood the intimate connection between these two
concepts when she wrote, “Church relationship is not a light matter. Every
believer should be whole-hearted in his attachment to the church of God. Its
prosperity should be his first interest.” [Bible Echo and Signs of the Times,
September 1, 1888] Far from being a statement to promote loyalty to an earthly
institution rather than Christ, this sentiment makes note of the fact that an
individual connection with the Redeemer directly involves a connection to His
Body on earth, and if the connection with the Head is there and functioning,
the connection with the Body must follow. (Acts 2:41, 42; 9:26) Christ and His
Body are as one flesh, joined in a spiritual marriage. (Ephesians 5:29-32)
Understanding
these Two Temples, therefore, and applying the principles of these teachings to
our lives and our community, is a key to our Christian experience. The purpose
of this book is to facilitate an exploration of this topic, to invite readers
to an examination of themselves as individuals, and an examination of the
Creator who set these things in place.
It
should be understood that this is a workbook, and therefore reads like one. The
topics are tied together closely, and sometimes the material may overlap in
order to treat the individual subjects fully. I have attempted to make the
transition from chapter to chapter as smooth as possible, but at the same time
I have balanced that with modularity. An individual who wishes to read about
one specific topic and not others may simply turn to that chapter in section 1
or 2 and see it covered effectively. Some technical notes on the book follow
here, in order to allow readers to get the most out of this work.
1) All
Bible readings are from the King James Version unless otherwise noted, with the
exception of the Names being changed. Some examples:
- “God”
usually becomes “Almighty One” or “Elohim,” and “the LORD”
becomes “Yah” or “Yahweh” in the Old Testament readings.
-
“Jesus” generally becomes “Yahshua”, “God” becomes “Yah,” and “Lord” becomes
either “Yah” or “Yahshua” (depending on the subject matter) in the New
Testament verses.
2)
Pronouns referring to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit (“He,” “Him,” “His,”
“It,” etc.) are all capitalized in Bible verses. So are certain key terms such
as “Book of Life” and “Woman” when used in reference to the Church.
3) At
times I have clarified the punctuation of the King James Version. Some features
of the text such as colons (:) have come to signify a different thing than when
the Bible was first translated. For example, a section of Psalm 119 reads in
the original, “I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught
me.” In modern English, this is more correctly written as follows: “I have not
departed from thy judgments, for thou hast taught me.” I have made minor
changes such as this without comment.
4) I
will sometimes capitalize the word Church, and sometimes leave it with a small
“c.” This is not an inconsistency – where I use the word “church” it generally
refers to the diverse organizations that claim this title. When I use the form
“Church,” it is in reference to the spiritual Body of Christ, the Body of
believers that is currently (or from the perspective of the timeframe used)
being faithful to the Head, which is Yahshua.
5)
Brief comments on Bible verses are added directly into those verses in [square
brackets]; longer comments and discussions of the verses are recorded outside
of the “quotation” signs that enclose the text.
6)
Entire verses are not always quoted. Sometimes I will introduce the speaker in
context and then take the verse from where he or she began to speak, leaving
out the initial section. For example, Isaiah 6:5 begins, “Then said I, ‘Woe is
me! for I am undone...’” If I have introduced the speaker as Isaiah in the
preceding sentence, however, I may leave out the “Then said I,” and continue
directly from his statement: “When Isaiah encountered a vision of the Most High
upon His Throne, he fell on his face and declared, ‘Woe is me! For I am
undone...’ (Isaiah 6:5)” The readers of this work are encouraged to study the
passages from which verses are taken for themselves, in order to maximize their
understanding of the principles I employ.
7)
After each chapter, several “workbook” style sections follow. First is a series
of quotations by Ellen White that re-iterate some of the principles in the
Bible study (chapter) preceding it, and then a set of self-examination
questions that congregations are urged to discuss in group settings. At a
recent Feast of Unleavened Bread held by the Creation Seventh Day
Adventist Church congregation in Guys, Tennessee, a similar activity was
undertaken throughout the course of the gathering, and it was a great blessing
to both the members and the visitors.
8)
Additional studies on key subjects are indicated by references to one of the
five Appendices.
May Yah
bless all who seek Him, and may they be found of Him in peace,
- David P. Aguilar
