Portion For Reading 2 Chr 4-6Msg 2 Chr 6:12-14
The dedication of the Temple had great splendor. Solomon sacrificed 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep, with celebrations for 7 days. (1K.8:63,65)
The most solemn moment was when the priests placed the Ark of the Covenant with the two tables of Moses in it in the Holy of Holies, which was the reason of the whole Temple... and when the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD, the Glory of the Lord, the same columns of cloud and fire that will appear at the end of times when the Ark of the Covenant will be discovered, as it was just described (1K.8:6-11) .
Speech of Solomon (1K.8:12-53):
Solomon knew the house he had built with the most extravagant resources available to him, and with the finest workmanship, was as nothing in God’s eyes, The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1K.8:27).
However, the Temple was the heart and soul of Judaism, as Solomon describes at length in his speech.... today's Temples of Christianity are the heart and soul of the Christians.
Today's Judaism has no Temple, only synagogues, places of meeting, God is not there!... Judaism today is left with the scriptures and morals and teachings, the skeleton of the religion, but it has lost its heart and soul: No sacrifices to God, no priests, only rabies, teaches and preachers, but no altar, no temple... If David or Moses would come today to Israel or New York they would not recognize Judaism... without temple?, without altar?, without priests?... Judaism
In Christianity today happens the same: There are two kinds of Christianity:
- One kind, with temple, altar, priests... with morals and Bible and teachings... with the soul and the skeleton of Christianity!
- Other kind, without temple, nor altar nor priests... they keep the skeleton of Christianity, but they have lost its heart and soul.
The most solemn moment was when the priests placed the Ark of the Covenant with the two tables of Moses in it in the Holy of Holies, which was the reason of the whole Temple... and when the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the LORD, the Glory of the Lord, the same columns of cloud and fire that will appear at the end of times when the Ark of the Covenant will be discovered, as it was just described (1K.8:6-11) .
Speech of Solomon (1K.8:12-53):
Solomon knew the house he had built with the most extravagant resources available to him, and with the finest workmanship, was as nothing in God’s eyes, The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1K.8:27).
However, the Temple was the heart and soul of Judaism, as Solomon describes at length in his speech.... today's Temples of Christianity are the heart and soul of the Christians.
Today's Judaism has no Temple, only synagogues, places of meeting, God is not there!... Judaism today is left with the scriptures and morals and teachings, the skeleton of the religion, but it has lost its heart and soul: No sacrifices to God, no priests, only rabies, teaches and preachers, but no altar, no temple... If David or Moses would come today to Israel or New York they would not recognize Judaism... without temple?, without altar?, without priests?... Judaism
In Christianity today happens the same: There are two kinds of Christianity:
- One kind, with temple, altar, priests... with morals and Bible and teachings... with the soul and the skeleton of Christianity!
- Other kind, without temple, nor altar nor priests... they keep the skeleton of Christianity, but they have lost its heart and soul.
The glory of God fills the temple
a. The cloud filled the house of the Lord: This was the cloud of glory, seen often in the Old and New Testaments, sometimes called the cloud of Shekinah glory. It is hard to define the glory of God; we could call it the radiant outshining of His character and presence. Here it is manifested in a cloud.
· This is the cloud that stood by Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22)
· This is the cloud of glory that God spoke to Israel from (Exodus 16:10)
· This is the cloud from which God met with Moses and others (Exodus 19:9, 24:15-18, Numbers 11:25, 12:5, 16:42)
· This is the cloud that stood by the door of the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:9-10)
· This is the cloud from which God appeared to the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the veil (Leviticus 16:2)
· This is the cloud of Ezekiel's vision, filling the temple of God with the brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 10:4)
· This is the cloud of glory that overshadowed Mary when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
· This is the cloud present at the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34-35)
· This is the cloud of glory that received Jesus into heaven at His ascension (Acts 1:9)
· This is the cloud that will display the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns in triumph to this earth (Luke 21:27, Revelation 1:7)
i. "There is a parallel to this event in Acts 2:1-4 in which God marks the inception of the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit by making his presence known through the sound of a mighty rushing win and by filling those present with the Holy Spirit." (Patterson and Austel)
· This is the cloud that stood by Israel in the wilderness (Exodus 13:21-22)
· This is the cloud of glory that God spoke to Israel from (Exodus 16:10)
· This is the cloud from which God met with Moses and others (Exodus 19:9, 24:15-18, Numbers 11:25, 12:5, 16:42)
· This is the cloud that stood by the door of the Tabernacle (Exodus 33:9-10)
· This is the cloud from which God appeared to the High Priest in the Holy Place inside the veil (Leviticus 16:2)
· This is the cloud of Ezekiel's vision, filling the temple of God with the brightness of His glory (Ezekiel 10:4)
· This is the cloud of glory that overshadowed Mary when she conceived Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35)
· This is the cloud present at the transfiguration of Jesus (Luke 9:34-35)
· This is the cloud of glory that received Jesus into heaven at His ascension (Acts 1:9)
· This is the cloud that will display the glory of Jesus Christ when He returns in triumph to this earth (Luke 21:27, Revelation 1:7)
i. "There is a parallel to this event in Acts 2:1-4 in which God marks the inception of the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit by making his presence known through the sound of a mighty rushing win and by filling those present with the Holy Spirit." (Patterson and Austel)