This week we continued our detour exploring questions about the purpose and origin of the temple. We did a cursory overview of temple history and discussed a number of Scripture passages for the purpose of better understanding whether the temple was something God desired or not. We have been looking into the possibility that God (1) had no desire of a Temple and (2) permitted it to be built even though it was not part of His perfect plan.
Scroll down for a bunch of extra resources to help you do your own research.
Click to read this week’s passages in KJV, CSB, ESV, NIV:
- Acts 7:45-50 (our main focal passage that got us on this rabbit trail)
- Ezra 1 (reference to Cyrus sending the Israelites back home in 538 B.C.)
- 2 Samuel 7:1-17 (David’s desire to build; Nathan’s word from the LORD)
- 1 Chronicles 17:1-15 (David’s desire to build; Nathan’s word from the LORD)
- Isaiah 44:24-28 (Isaiah predicts Cyrus would return the Jews to the Holy Land)
- 1 Kings 9:1-9 (God tells Solomon that He would bless the Temple)
Acts 7:45-50 ~ A House of Cedar (part two)
Solomon’s Temple; Zerubbabel’s Temple; Herod’s Temple; Cyrus the Great
* Recorded: LIVE. This audio has been edited for class member privacy, time, and content.
PowerPoint Presentation:
There was no PowerPoint this week.
Whiteboard:
Recommended Resources:*
- “The Destruction and Reconstruction of the Temple” by Tamara Cohn Eskanazi
- “Who was Cyrus in the Bible?” by GotQuestions.org
Here are some articles that will be helpful in exploring the position that the Temple was not God’s perfect will:
- “David’s Magnificent Temple Built in the Flesh” by Shawn Nelson (PDF)
- “A Temple Made by Human Hands” by Lynette Woods
- “The Tragedy of the Temple” by John H. Patterson
- “Did God Really Want a Temple” by Joshua S. Hopping
* Please note: Links to these articles do not equate to endorsement of the author’s theology or point of view. These links are provided as supplemental resources and should be read in conjunction with published commentaries on Acts.
Additional Resources:
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