The Temple in the Apocalypse of Weeks and in Hebrews

Several Second Temple texts make no explicit mention of the temple, but it cannot be assumed that this silence indicates a lack of interest. While the Apocalypse of Weeks reveres Solomon’s temple and describes it in ways that indicate that it anticipates the eschatological temple, the Second Temple...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Philip Church
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Tyndale House, Cambridge 2013-05-01
Series:Tyndale Bulletin
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53751/001c.29343
Description
Summary:Several Second Temple texts make no explicit mention of the temple, but it cannot be assumed that this silence indicates a lack of interest. While the Apocalypse of Weeks reveres Solomon’s temple and describes it in ways that indicate that it anticipates the eschatological temple, the Second Temple is ignored, implying a strong polemic against it. Hebrews makes no explicit mention of the Second Temple, but several texts reflect a critique of temple, priesthood, and sacrificial system. Hebrews claims that the temple and its associated rituals were a symbolic foreshadowing of the eschatological dwelling of God with his people in the last days, now come with the exaltation of Christ. Since the reality has now come, the readers can no longer be occupied with the symbols.
ISSN:0082-7118
2752-7042