THE TEMPLE OF TIME part 2
In part one of this post, we took an overview of what it means for the timeline of creation in Genesis to be a temple. We saw that the structure of the narrative is similar to the linear structure of the Jewish temple, and we saw that similar events happened on both the first Sabbath of Genesis and the Sabbath of the Solomon’s temple dedication: God fills the temple in His rest. Now we look at the three fold structure of the temple to see the pattern first laid in Genesis.
A view of the temple of Solomon
Solomon’s temple, like the tabernacle before it, had three sections: The Outer court, the Holy place, and the Most Holy Place (also called the Holy of Holies). Each section represented a different grade and intensity of holiness and proximity to God’s presence, with the Most Holy place being the Holiest section.
Cut-out of the Holy and Most Holy place
The temple building itself was surrounded by the Outer court, where the Bronze Sea and an altar stood on the same line. The main temple building had two sections, which were the Holy and Most Holy place, the Most Holy place being smaller and cube shaped, which probably alludes to the fact that the Sabbath of the Lord is perfect, since a cube can symbolize perfection.
The Holy Place
The Holy and Most Holy place were decorated with images of trees and cherubim on their Gold Overlaid walls. The Holy place featured Menorahs, tree-like lampstands with seven lamps each, an altar stood before the steps to the Most Holy place and a table of showbread (or bread of the presence) towards the side of the room.
The Most Holy Place
The Most Holy place was the Holiest site in the temple, indeed in all Israel. Tim Mackie of the Bible Project calls it “the hotspot of God’s presence”. There the Ark of the Covenant is flanked by two huge olive wood cherubim, which are overlaid with Gold. They cover and “guard” the presence of the Lord (Sound familiar? Read Genesis 3:24). Now how does this apply to the Genesis creation narrative? Well, if you look at each day, you see God forming the physical world for three straight days, and from the end of day three till day six filling the formed physical world with life and ultimately with His presence on the seventh day. The creation narrative of the first three days is followed by the design of the Outer court of the temple. No plants, animals (except perhaps animals for sacrifice) were normally in the Outer court, no animals or plants were depicted except those of the Brazen Sea. Similarly, the first three days of creation, no life was created until the end of the third day, after the land, seas and sky were formed. The two objects that draw our attention in the court are the Brazen Sea and the Altar.
A front View showing the Altar and the Brazen Sea
These two symbols, placed on the same plane, represented two aspects of creation separated in Genesis, which are Water and Land. Water of Sky was separated from Water of Sea, and Land was “raised” above the surrounding Seas. Israel as a whole is separated as “Land” above the surrounding gentile “Seas”. This is symbolized in the Temple’s separation as Holy Land in the “Holy Land” of Israel. This is also symbolized in the fact that the Altar is made of rock. An altar is elevated Land, a small “mountain” raised and separated as Holy, It represents raised Land. The Brazen Sea however is not the Sea it is separated from, the Altar is separated from the Surrounding area as Holy, and the area around the temple is treated as symbolic of the “earthly sea”. What then does the Brazen Sea represent? The waters of the Brazen Sea purified he who was permitted to enter the temple, it was a form of baptism symbolized everywhere, from Noah’s flood to the Red sea crossing, symbolizing the crossing through purifying waters into God’s land and presence.
Biblical cosmology In Genesis, the way to God’s intense presence is from sea, to land, to garden, where heaven touched earth. The garden was on elevated land, a mountain (Ezekiel 28: 13-14), like the stone altar of the outer court. Mountains “touched” the sky, they represented the union of Heaven and earth, because they reached for heaven. In the world depicted in Genesis, the waters of the sky separated earth from Heaven, where God was. So, for mountains to touch heaven, they have to pass through the waters of the sky firmament, they have to be “baptized” to reach God. The Brazen Sea represented this firmament or “Heavenly Sea” separating Heaven and earth, purifying those who pass through. In the next post we will consider what those who passed through were passing through into, and how this also relates to the other three days of Genesis and the first Sabbath. In the meantime, thank you for reading, if you have any questions, feel free to ask in the comments section. Peace.