Temple

 

… this bible study has some findings regarding the temple …  

… in Jerusalem following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ …

… up to the destruction of the temple 38 years later in 70 AD …

 

 

Jerusalem Yerushalmi Yoma Talmud 6:3:6

… it was stated that during every year for the forty years before the temple was destroyed ( in 70 AD ) … every night … the Eastern light would extinguish by itself and the door of the temple sanctuary would open by itself … … and every year … the Lot for God came to the left hand and the crimson thread remained red  … they kept locking the doors of the temple sanctuary each evening and in the morning they found them open … during this time Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai asked … temple sanctuary why do you frighten us we know that you will be destroyed …

… note … Rabbi Johanan’s quote is a reference to Zechariah ch 11 vs 1 …

Jerusalem Yerushalmi Yoma Talmud 6:3:6

[תַּנֵּי.] אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה עַד שֶׁלֹּא חָרֵב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ הָיָה נֵר מַעֲרָבִי כָּבָה וְלָשׁוֹן שֶׁלִזְהוֹרִית מַאֲדִים וְגּוֹרָל שֶׁלַּשֵּׁם עוֹלֶה בַשְּׂמֹאל. וְהָיוּ נוֹעֲלִין דַּלְתּוֹת הַהֵיכָל מִבָּעֶרֶב וּמַשְׁכִּימִין וּמוֹצְאִין אוֹתָן פְּתוּחִין. אָמַר לוֹ רַבָּן יוֹחָנָן בֶּן זַכַּיי. הֵיכַל. לָמָּה אַתָּה מְבַהֲלֵינוּ. יוֹדָעִין אָנוּ שֶׁסּוֹפָךְ לִיחָרֵב. שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר פְּתַח לְבָנוֹן דְּלָתֶיךָ וְתֹאכַל אֵשׁ בַּאֲרָזֶיךָ

 

Babylonian Tractate Soma 39b

… during the last forty years before the destruction of the temple … the Lot for God did not come up in the right hand … nor did the Crimson-Colored Strap become white … nor did the Westernmost Light shine … and … the Doors of the Hekal would open by themselves … 

… note the Hekal is the temple sanctuary …

 

Babylonian Talmud Rosh Hashanah 31b

… during the forty years before the temple was destroyed … the Strip of Crimson wool would not turn white … rather … it would turn a deeper shade of red …

 

… so … for the 38 years following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and perhaps for the years that included His ministry among the people of Israel these are independent observations that were recorded after the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem in 70 AD … these four reoccurring events were known to all the folks who ran the temple at Jerusalem and who were responsible for the spiritual health of the people of Israel … they recorded these observations in the Talmud and Mishnah … written dialog and comments which are still available today …  

 

 

… the references above note that for the 38 years between the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD four reoccurring events were painfully encounterd …

 

A … each night … seven days a week … every day of the year …

 

                                1 … the Western Light would extinguish itself …

                               

2 …the locked doors of the temple sanctuary would unlock and open …

 

B … annually … observations on and just following the festival of Yom Kippur …

… note – Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement for the forgiveness of unknown sin …

 

                                3 … the Lot for the Lord would be picked up in the left hand of the

     High Priest and select the goat at the left for the temple sacrifice …

 

                                4 … the Crimson Thread would remain red and not turn white …

 

 

… so … regarding these statements which record an interesting set of historical facts regarding the temple at Jerusalem in the first century AD … first from a Christian perspective there is a frame for consideration and understanding which includes the darkness from noon to 3 PM on the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ … and … the tearing of the curtain before the Holy or Holies in the temple at 3 PM on that day … second … from a Hebrew ( Jewish ) perspective which we note from the Hebrew ( Jewish ) commentaries that we have reviewed … these verses consider these events as omens of the impending destruction of the temple in 70 AD … in our analyses we agree with both frames of reference and also see the wonderful grace of God Who following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ continued to offer a call for repentance which was speaking in directed repetitive actions to folks who might not otherwise listen to the intended meaning of the messianic messages of the Old Testament prophets or the … life … death on the cross … and … resurrection from the dead … of Jesus Christ … God … our Lord … our Savior … our Teacher … our Pilot … and … our Friend … God is good … intending that no one perish without every opportunity to turn to Him and be saved from evil and sin … the meaning of repentance in both the Old and New Testaments …

 

2 Peter chapter 3, vs 9

… the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise … as some understand slowness … rather … He is patient with everyone … now wishing any person to perish … giving time for all who are willing to turn to Him … to come to repentance …

 

1 Timothy chapter 2, vs 3 - 4

… God our Savior wants all people to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth …

 

John chapter 3, vs 16 - 17

… for God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son … so that … everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life with God forever … God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world but to save the world through Him …

 

Ezekiel chapter 18, vs 23                     God speaking

18:23 החפץ אחפץ מות רשע נאם אדני יהוה הלוא בשובו מדרכיו וחיה

… I do not take any pleasure in the death of the wicked … declares the Sovereign LORD … rather … I AM pleased when they turn from their ways and live …

 

Ezekiel chapter 33, vs 11                     God speaking

33:11 אמר אליהם חי-אני נאם אדני יהוה אם-אחפץ במות הרשע כי אם-בשוב רשע מדרכו וחיה שובו שובו מדרכיכם הרעים ולמה תמותו בית ישראל

… as surely as I live declares the Sovereign LORD … I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked but rather that they turn from their ways and live … turn from your evil ways … why should you die …

 

 

… in these Talmud and Mishnah references review events that primarily reference the time frame of the 38 years between the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD … those 38 years may have been rounded off to forty years by these authors in remembrance of the famous Shimon HaTzaddik ( Simon the Just ) who served as High Priest ( Kohen Gadol ) at the Second Temple in Jerusalem for the 40 years which included the Middle East Greek invasion by Alexander the Great … Shimon HaTzaddik met with Alexander on the Mount of Olives to the East of Jerusalem and convinced him that the Hebrew ( Jewish ) scriptures had prophetically announced his reign … and so … Alexander did not destroy Jerusalem … during all forty years that Shimon HaTzaddik served as High Priest the Lot for God arose in his right hand and then from his death onward the Lot for God sometimes arose in the right hand and sometimes it arose in the left hand of the High Priest … also … each year during his tenure as High Priest the Strip of Crimson Wool that was tied to the head of the goat which was sent to Azazel turned white indicating that the sins of the people of Israel had been forgiven on that specific Day of Atonement … this belief was held by both the folks who controlled the temple and the people of Israel based on … Isaiah chapter 1, vs 18 …

 

Isaiah chapter 1, vs 18                          God speaking

1:18 לכו-נא ונוכחה יאמר יהוה אם-יהיו חטאיכם כשנים כשלג ילבינו אם-יאדימו כתולע כצמר יהיו

… though your sins are as crimson … you will be made white as snow …

 

Mishnah Yoma 39:15a          

… the Sages have taught us that during the tenure of Shimon HaTzaddik the Lot for God always arose in the High Priest’s right hand … however … after his death … it occurred only occasionally … but … during the forty years prior to the destruction of the Second Temple the Lot for God did not arise in the High Priest’s right hand at all … and so too … the Strip of Crimson Wool that was tied to the head of the goat that was sent to Azazel did not turn white and the Westernmost Lamp of the Menorah did not burn continually …

 

 

the Lot for the Lord  ( also termed … the Lot for God )

… the Lot for God also termed the Lot for the Lord and the Crimson Thread are related to the annual festival for Hebrew ( Jewish ) people termed the Day of Atonement … when there was a temple in Jerusalem … on that day … the High Priest would enter the Holy of Holies in the temple and make a request to God for both himself and all the people of Israel to ask forgiveness from God for all unintentional and unknown sin during the previous year … the request in the Holy of Holies included the springling of blood … that blood came from a goat that was sacrificed prior to the request by the High Priest in the Holy of Holies … there were two goats selected for the Day of Atonement … the reference for this is Leviticus chapter 16, vs 8 … the High Priest would reach into a box which contained two stones … when translated one stone was marked … Lot for God or Lot for the Lord … the other stone when translated was marked … Lot for Azazel … note that in the book of Enoch Azazel is identified as the leader of the fallen angels … when the High Priest pulled the stones out of the box he would pick up one stone with his right hand and one stone with his left hand … it was interpreted that when the Lot for God was picked up with the High Priest’s right hand it was a sign of favor from God and the Atonement for the sin of the people of Israel was accepted that year … the forty years of Shimon HaTzaddik’s term as High Priest was without president either prior to or after that term because the Lot of the Lord came to his right hand during each year of his term … in the following time periods when the Lot of the Lord came to the High Priest’s left hand it was interpreted that the Atonement for the sin of the people of Israel was not accepted that year … the 38 years before the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD was unprecedented over one thousand years of temple worship because the Lot for the Lord came to the left hand of the High Priest each year … as the High Priest chose these two stones there were two goats present … one on the right of the High Priest and one on the Left … the hand the stones were picked up in determined the fate of each goat … the Lot for the Lord’s goat would be sacrificed at the temple and its blood would be used for the atonement request made in the Holy of Holies by the High Priest … the other goat which was selected by the Lot for Azazel would be taken into the wilderness where from the time of the second temple’s construction to 70 AD that goat would be pushed over a high cliff to its death … not necessarily the original intent found in the TORAH but the accepted Rabbinic practice after the Babylonian captivity …

 

the Crimson Thread

… the Crimson Thread does not have a reference in biblical scripture like the reference for the Lot of the Lord in Leviticus chapter 16, vs 8 … however there is actually quite a bit of text in the Talmud regarding the Crimson Thread … originally … when the goat selected as the Lot to the Lord was sacrificed some of the blood was used to stain two strips of wool … one strip would be tied to the horns of the goat selected as the Lot for Azazel and one strip would be tied to the outer door handle of the temple sanctuary … it was interpreted that if the Crimson Thread turned white after a few days this was a sign of favor from God that the Atonement for the sin of the people of Israel was accepted that year … if the Crimson Thread remaind red it was interpreted that the Atonement for the sin of the people of Israel was not accepted that year … during the forty years that Shimon HaTzaddik was High Priest the Lot of the Lord always came to his right hand and the Crimson Thread always turned white … in the decades and years that followed the Talmud documents that the people of Israel became upset when these two validations for the success of the annual Atonement failed … the Talmud readings are interesting as there are spiritually grounded arguments which feel these negative results in the years when they occur are a communication from God with a call for repentance … and … there are more secular perspectives with arguments which seek to use red dyes that will automatically turn white after a few days  or seek to make changes in protocol so that the people of Israel will not view the Crimson Thread that was traditionally hung on the outer door handle of the temple sanctuary … one thoughtful recommendation was to hang it on the inside handle of the temple sanctuary door and lock the door … I’m not sure what they actually did but for sure there was a concern among the folks who  ran the temple and who were responsible for the spiritual health of the people of Israel …

 

 Front Doors of the the Temple Sanctuary

… at the time of Jesus Christ and up to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD the temple as a building sat on an elevated thirty-six acre platform that we now call the temple mount … the temple faced East toward the Mount of Olives with two massive bronze doors that opened into the temple sanctuary on the East end before which was the inner courtyard of the temple … within the temple the Holy of Holies was at the Western end of the temple sanctuary … the temple itself was set within two concentric enclosing courtyards … an inner court where direct actions related to temple worship were performed like the slaughter of sacrificial animals and the alter of burnt offering … also … around the inner courtyard there was an outer courtyard where the interactions of the people of Israel with the temple services initiated … in this building complex for the 38 years following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross the massive bronze  doors would open between midnight and morning by themselves … this was not the custom for the thousand years since the first temple was built by King Solomon … the Talmud records dialog and considerations for actions taken to prevent this during that 38 year period however for those 38 years every night and without any previous similar occasions for over a thousand years the doors would open … they were locked watched chained however regardless of whatever remedial action was taken the doors would be open in the morning according to the documentation that we read in the Talmud … when one considers the Talmud and Mishna references which use forty years as the time period … we feel that perhaps it was forty years and the anomaly began during the ministry of Jesus Christ … alternately … we remember that the Hebrew ( Jewish ) people were sent into the desert for thirty-eight years by God however when remembered they often state it as forty years … and … perhaps they also were remembering the fourty year tenure as High Priest of Shimon HaTzaddik … whatever the case for sure the temple sanctuary doors were opening each night and we find that interesting …

 

Western Light (Ner Ma'aravi)

… the temple at Jerusalem had a Menorah inside the Holy Place … this is the name for the space inside the sanctuary of the temple … the Menorah was located along the south wall of the temple sanctuary and it had seven lamps … depending on the references which you are reading some folks believe that the Western Light was the center lamp of the Menorah and other folks believe that it was the most western lamp … the lamp closest to the Holy of Holies … so there is some question as to which lamp was the Western Light … however … regardless of its location … the Western Light was kept burning continually and the other six lamps were lit nightly from the flame of the Western Light … for the 38 years following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ … on every night and without any previous similar occasions over a thousand years … the Western Light would extinguish during the night … Talmud and Mishnah recorded text indicate remedial actions to stop this were taken … however … the references following 70 AD all record that this occurred each night of each year for that entire time period …  so … there are four observations related to the temple at Jerusalem in the thirty-eight years following the crucifixion of Jesus Christ until the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 AD …

 

 

… each night                 … the Western Light would extinguish itself …

                                                …the locked door of the temple would open …

… annually                      … the Lot for the Lord was picked up by the left hand …

                … the Crimson Thread would remain red and not turn white …

 

Mishnah Yoma 6:8

Rabbi Yishmael says … they had an indicator … the Strip of Crimson tied to the entrance to the Sanctuary … and … when the goat reached the wilderness the mitzva was fulfilled and the strip would not turn white … as it is stated … though your sins be as scarlet they will become white as snow …  

 

Talmud, Rosh Hashannah, 31b

Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said … the ordinance was with regard to the Strip of Crimson Wool used on Yom Kippur as it is taught in a Baraita … at first they would tie the Strip of Crimson Wool to the opening of the Entrance Hall of the Temple on the outside and If after the sacrificing of the offerings and the sending of the scapegoat the strip turned white the people would rejoice as this indicated that their sins had been atoned for … if it did not turn white they would be sad … when the Sages saw that people were overly distressed on Yom Kippur year after year they instituted that they would tie the Strip of Crimson Wool to the opening of the Entrance Hall on the inside where only a few could enter to see it …  

                … note … the term … scapegoat … refers to the goat selected by the Lot for Azszel …

 

Talmud Soncino Tractate Yoma 39b

… during the last forty years before the destruction of the Temple … the Lot for the Lord did not come up in the right hand … nor did the Crimson-colored Strap become white … nor did the Westernmost Light shine … and … the doors of the Hekal would open by themselves … 

 

Psalm 37

37:1 לדוד אל-תתחר במרעים אל-תקנא בעשי עולה

37:2 כי כחציר מהרה ימלו וכירק דשא יבולון

37:3 בטח ביהוה ועשה-טוב שכן-ארץ ורעה אמונה

37:4 והתענג על-יהוה ויתן-לך משאלת לבך

37:5 גול על-יהוה דרכך ובטח עליו והוא יעשה

37:6 והוציא כאור צדקך ומשפטך כצהרים

37:7 דום ליהוה והתחולל לו אל-תתחר במצליח דרכו באיש עשה מזמות

37:8 הרף מאף ועזב חמה אל-תתחר אך-להרע

37:9 כי-מרעים יכרתון וקוי יהוה המה יירשו-ארץ

37:10 ועוד מעט ואין רשע והתבוננת על-מקומו ואיננו

37:11 וענוים יירשו-ארץ והתענגו על-רב שלום

37:12 זמם רשע לצדיק וחרק עליו שניו

37:13 אדני ישחק-לו כי-ראה כי-יבא יומו

37:14 חרב פתחו רשעים ודרכו קשתם להפיל עני ואביון לטבוח ישרי-דרך

37:15 חרבם תבוא בלבם וקשתותם תשברנה

37:16 טוב-מעט לצדיק מהמון רשעים רבים

37:17 כי זרועות רשעים תשברנה וסומך צדיקים יהוה

37:18 יודע יהוה ימי תמימם ונחלתם לעולם תהיה

37:19 לא-יבשו בעת רעה ובימי רעבון ישבעו

37:20 כי רשעים יאבדו ואיבי יהוה כיקר כרים כלו בעשן כלו

37:21 לוה רשע ולא ישלם וצדיק חונן ונותן

37:22 כי מברכיו יירשו ארץ ומקלליו יכרתו

37:23 מיהוה מצעדי-גבר כוננו ודרכו יחפץ

37:24 כי-יפל לא-יוטל כי-יהוה סומך ידו

37:25 נער הייתי גם-זקנתי ולא-ראיתי צדיק נעזב וזרעו מבקש-לחם

37:26 כל-היום חונן ומלוה וזרעו לברכה

37:27 סור מרע ועשה-טוב ושכן לעולם

37:28 כי יהוה אהב משפט ולא-יעזב את-חסידיו לעולם נשמרו וזרע רשעים נכרת

37:29 צדיקים יירשו-ארץ וישכנו לעד עליה

37:30 פי-צדיק יהגה חכמה ולשונו תדבר משפט

37:31 תורת אלהיו בלבו לא תמעד אשריו

37:32 צופה רשע לצדיק ומבקש להמיתו

37:33 יהוה לא-יעזבנו בידו ולא ירשיענו בהשפטו

37:34 קוה אל-יהוה ושמר דרכו וירוממך לרשת ארץ בהכרת רשעים תראה

37:35 ראיתי רשע עריץ ומתערה כאזרח רענן

37:36 ויעבר והנה איננו ואבקשהו ולא נמצא

37:37 שמר-תם וראה ישר כי-אחרית לאיש שלום

37:38 ופשעים נשמדו יחדו אחרית רשעים נכרתה

37:39 ותשועת צדיקים מיהוה מעוזם בעת צרה

37:40 ויעזרם יהוה ויפלטם יפלטם מרשעים ויושיעם כי-חסו בו

¹ Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;

² for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

³ Trust in the LORD ( YHVH ) and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

⁴ Take delight in the LORD ( YHVH ), and He will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the LORD ( YHVH ); trust in Him and He will do this:

⁶ He will make your righteous reward shine like the Dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before the LORD ( YHVH ) and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸ Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

⁹ For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD ( YHVH ) will inherit the land.

¹⁰ A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³ but the LORD ( YHVH ) laughs at the wicked, for He knows their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;

¹⁷ for the power of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD ( YHVH ) upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The blameless spend their days under the LORD ( YHVH )’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever.

¹⁹ In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish: Though the LORD ( YHVH )’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously;

²² those the LORD ( YHVH ) blesses will inherit the land, but those He curses will be destroyed.

²³ The LORD ( YHVH ) makes firm the steps of the one who delights in Him;

²⁴ though they may stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD ( YHVH ) upholds them with His hand.

²⁵ I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken n have I seen their children begging bread.

²⁶ They are always generous and lend freely;  their children will be a blessing.

²⁷ Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.

²⁸ For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed and the offspring of the wicked will perish.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.

³¹ The teaching of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.

³² The wicked lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death;

³³ but the LORD ( YHVH ) will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴ Hope in the LORD ( YHVH ) and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,

³⁶ but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek peace.

³⁸ But all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD ( YHVH ); He is their stronghold in time of trouble.

⁴⁰ The LORD ( YHVH ) helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in Him.

 

… so … we have included the entirety of Psalm 37 because it does such a good job of defining the difference between being redeemed and in relationship with God verses not in relationship with God … in our analyses … we find that there does not seem to be a battle or war between good and evil … rather … there is the opportunity for free will choice by adults over the age of reason to choose good or to choose evil … essentially we all choose sin at one time or another and in one way or another … the choice that we have once we recognize sin in our lives is to repent and return to the truth which God has provided for us or to continue tp follow sin into the deception that results in a decent into wickedness … we find all the communications of God to be teaching … the laws of the Old Testament are teaching … all the history of the Holy Bible is teaching … we are surrounded by a physical creation which is God’s teaching … all that teaching calls us back to God … to repent from sin and avoid wickedness … the four events at the temple in Jerusalem for the 38 years from the crucifixion of Jesus Christ to the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple were a call to repentance … God says to each person … come … however after we have reached the age of reason we have a free will for which we are accountable for those decisions and their consequences … everyone who turns back to God from sin is no longer a sinner … those who do not turn back from sin are making a free will decision which leads into ever increasing deception and wickedness … in verse 22 and verse 38 of Psalm 37 we note the use of a Hebrew verb which in this English translation is given the meaning … destroyed … a good interpretation of the meaning … however … in our analysis … we would consider that in our analysis for this Hebrew verb … KARATH … Strong# Hebrew 3772 …  כָּרַת … the best literal meaning is … to cut off … in Genesis chapter 17 vs 14 we note that male Hebrew ( Jewish ) men who are not circumcised are … cut off … and throughout the book of Leviticus we note that many teachings which when not followed lead to being cut off … so while this verb translated … destroyed …  is consistent with the basic concept it does not completely reflect that it is not a cessation of existence but rather separation … separation from God and His children … another aspect of KARATH is found in Genesis chapter 15 vs 18 where KARATH is the action verb for the covenant which God makes with Abraham and his descendants through Issac and Jacob … linked with the concept of covenant associated with KARATH is the description of a mutually agreed upon action that is separation with the associated quality of permanence … in Psalm 37 vs 22 … KARATH … יִכָּרֵֽתוּ … has the prefix YOD and the suffix VAV … in our analyses the YOD provides the emphasis that it is the LORD ( YHVH ) Who will cut off the wicked and the VAV provides the emphasis that there are a lot of folks who are wicked … in Psalm 27 vs 38 …  KARATH …  נכרתה  … has the prefix NUN and the suffix TAV ,,, the NUN again provides an emphasis on the plurality of the verb’s action and the TAV provides a direct reference to a covenant that is an action initiated by the other party rather than by God … interesting …