Temples: Old and New

Mo. 4/22/13: 2 Chronicles 6:18            Can God live with men?

¹⁸“But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You. How much less this temple which I have built!

Can God live with men? Solomon recognized that God is greater than the atmosphere and the universe.

Tu. 4/23/13: 2 Chronicles 7:1-2            Why could none enter the temple?

¹When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. ²And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.

Why could none enter the temple? The glory of the Lord filled the entire temple, not just the holiest place.

We. 4/24/13: Ezra 6:15-16            Which temple was this?

¹⁵Now the temple was finished on the third day of the month of Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. ¹⁶Then the children of Israel, the priests and the Levites and the rest of the descendants of the captivity, celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.

Which temple was this? This was the second temple.

Th. 4/25/13: Ezekiel 10:18            What occurred because of idolatry?

¹⁸Then the glory of the Lord departed from the threshold of the temple and stood over the cherubim.

What occurred because of idolatry? The shekina glory departed the temple forever.

Fr. 4/26/13: 1 Corinthians 12:16-17            Does a third temple exist?

¹⁶Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? ¹⁷If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are.

Does a third temple exist? Yes, it does, in every believer.