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Empty Temples. Acts 17:24. Temples. The Gentiles had many temples Some were more famous than others The Temple of Diana at Ephesus The Parthenon, temple of Athena, in Athens Temples to Apollos and Aphrodite in Corinth Yet they were all empty.
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Empty Temples Acts 17:24
Temples • The Gentiles had many temples • Some were more famous than others • The Temple of Diana at Ephesus • The Parthenon, temple of Athena, in Athens • Temples to Apollos and Aphrodite in Corinth • Yet they were all empty
The greatest temple of New Testament times was in Jerusalem • Only one the Jews ever had • Built by Solomon in 957 BC • Took 183,600 men 7 ½ years to build • Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC • Rebuilt by Zerubbabel in 516 BC • Remodeled and expanded by Herod the Great in 20 BC • Yet God did not dwell therein (2 Chron. 2:5-6) • What Paul said in Acts 17:24 applies to the temple in Jerusalem also
The Modern Concept • Church buildings are temples • Believed to be the dwelling place of God • Yet Paul’s words hold here also • What about us? • Brethren sometimes get overblown on the building • It is a means to an end • God does not dwell in this building either
What The NT Teaches • God does have a temple • A temple more glorious than any other before • “You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house” (1 Peter 2:5) • Saints are a habitation of God (Eph. 2:19-22) • Christians are the temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16-17) • A spiritual dwelling for a spiritual Being • Thus, it is “not made with hands”
“Holy” • Dedicated (consecrated) to God • Notice use of word “holy” • Romans 12:1 • 2 Corinthians 7:1 • 1 Peter 1:15 • We are caretakers of the temple • What is it like? • Is it acceptable to God?