This beautiful replica of Herod’s Temple is on display in Jerusalem. It is a grand scale tourist attraction. This temple was built by the Roman king of Judaea, Herod the Great. He began the project around 40 AD. It took 46 years to build.

King Herod had grown fond of his sovereignty over Jerusalem, which he had rebuilt. None opposed him there, and when he heard of a new-born Hebrew that was to be the king of the Jews, he became spitefully jealous. 57 Year old King Herod decreed that every Hebrew child under the age of two had to be killed.

So, before He was even two years old, Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, had to flee with the Christ child to Egypt. Jesus was not around when the temple was finished. When the family did move back to Israel, they chose to live in a little town in Galilee called Nazareth.

Jesus did not dwell in Jerusalem as a teenager or adult. After John the Baptist baptized Him in the Jordan River, He taught across the country-side. When the maverick minister did go to Herod’s Temple, He cleared out the merchants and their merchandise. They had made the house of prayer into a corrupted den of thieves.

Herod’s temple represented the mentality and beliefs of that period of time in many ways. The temple ordinances were intact, but they were not carried out by any who were righteously seeking YHWH. Herod reigned supreme over Judaea and passed it all on to his lustful son, also named Herod. He was the king that beheaded John the Baptist when he went to Jerusalem. The loss of John was tragic to those throughout the country-side where he had ministered, but it was business as usual in the temple. None of the officials were taken aback in the palace, or in the temple, after John’s head was paraded on a charger in the court of young Herod and his adulterous bride.

This king Herod eventually left his post there and the Romans turned on the Jews. The Jewish leadership had declined to anoint Jesus. At the rejection or cutting off of the Messiah, the judgment was then set. In 70 AD, the temple would fall in on the very Jews who conspired to kill the Lord Jesus at Golgatha years earlier (Luke 11:17). No one has attempted to build another Jewish temple there since that episode.

Jesus and the Transfiguration: At the time of Herod’s temple, Jesus spoke in parables. His presence there in Jerusalem at that time fulfilled prophecies of His first advent from the Old Testament. If Jesus had revealed any more of Himself in His daily life, it would have given that generation an unfair advantage over all other societies and generations in the eternal scheme of things. But Jesus did fully transfigure before three selected disciples, Peter, James, and John. In Matthew 17:9 they were instructed to “tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead”.

Three Temples: Peter, James, and John had been so profoundly affected by the vision, and by the voice out of the bright cloud, that they were willing to give up the rest of their lives to build three more temples, one for the Lord, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. The bright cloud had reminded them of the shekinah-glory cloud that the Israelites experienced on a regular basis at Moses’ tabernacle and in Solomon’s Temple. So they wanted to capture the effect within a temple. But God wanted the people to understand that He inhabits the praises of His people. YHWH indwells the hearts of men who have been made righteous, not just in temples just in temples made of stone (Acts 7). Besides, there was already a Jewish temple right where it was supposed to be: on the holy mount in Jerusalem!

A Prophetic Desire: The three disciples’ desire to build the three temples was prophetic. But Moses had already had a tabernacle. Jesus was not granted His temple that Herod had built, therefore, it was fallen. Thirdly, another temple will be erected in the time that Elijah will come. There will be perfect peace on that mount. Isaiah 11:9 They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Ancient rivals will not only lay aside their differences, they will embrace one another in brotherly love. By that time, many miracles will have happened to commend Moses and Elijah. But the main reason they will embrace the peace of God will be because of the manifestations of the Holy One who is to come!

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