THE TEMPLE OF THE TEMPLES – refurbished (recontemplated) from 2019 -
MARK 13:1 As he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, "Look, Teacher, what large stones and what large buildings!"
13:2 Then Jesus asked him, "Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left here upon another; all will be thrown down."
We may contemplate about temples, to name some, like the St. Peter Basilica in Rome, the Notre-Dame in Paris, the Westminster Cathedral in London, la Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona, etc., that they are huge, imposing, impressive buildings, astonishing stonework outside, carved marble and sophisticated art inside.
However, we have to remember that there is a temple, or there should be a temple on Earth, which should be or must be considered as Number One, and it is the Temple in Jerusalem, though it is actually not standing today. It was destroyed by the Romans approximately 2000 years ago, as it was foretold by Jesus:
“His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered them, You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.” The Holy Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, destroyed by the Roman legions, was not the original one, built by King Solomon, called the first Temple, because Solomon’s Temple was burnt down by the Babylonians in 587 BC. When the Jews returned from the Babylonian captivity, they built a second Temple by the help of the Persian Empire, and it had stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem for almost 600 years, until the Romans came and burnt it down to the ground.
Both Temples, the first and the second ones, were dedicated to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to the God of Israel, who had spoken to Moses from the burning bush, who revealed himself to the patriarchs and the prophets, and who sent Jesus to proclaim the Gospel to all nations. Both temples, first and second ones, had a major and essential attribute in common, that there was only but only one temple in Israel and later in Judea, respected by all, the temple in Jerusalem. All the other places were just buildings of religious gatherings like the ancient synagogues, but not temples.
Thus the temple in Jerusalem was not only the number one temple among others in Judea at that time, but the only one. It was forbidden to have other temples. Also the TEMPLE, with capital letters must stand in Jerusalem and nowhere else. Even in exile, the Jews were not allowed by God to build a temple somewhere else, maybe in a friendly though foreign environment, like in ancient Egypt, Greece or Persia or elsewhere.
The temple, Jeroboam built on the Mount of Gerizim, or the two temples built in Egypt by the exiled Jews, had never been authenticated on the level of the Temple of Jerusalem, the dwelling place of the presence of God. When the Jewish diaspora gradually reached all the ends of the world during the almost 2000 years of exile, they did not built a single temple in Athen, or Rome, or Paris, or Madrid, or Cairo, or Amsterdam, or Buenos Aires, or in Cape Town or in London, or in the United States.
They built synagogues all over, some of them even called temples, but not Jerusalem Temples. For nearly 2000 years they have kept mourning the distraction of the Temple and the Holy City. Moreover the strictly observing Jews still wear the black clothing for they still grieve the loss of the Jerusalem Temple.
Emperor Nero’s general, Vespasian was sent to crash the Jewish Revolt. Vespasian's son Titus was appointed as second-in-command. Before the very end of the war, general Vespasian was called back to Rome to be elected as an Emperor. He, himself became infamous, because he placed tax on the urine collection from the public urinals due to its ammonia content, used in the leather industry. He was ridiculed for this taxation, to which Vespasian faomusly reacted, saying: Pecunia non olet, aka "Money does not stink".
Hardly anybody notice today that very Construction of the Colosseum in Rome was funded by the opulent spoils taken from the Jewish Temple during the Siege of Jerusalem. According to an inscription found on the site, “the emperor Vespasian ordered the Colosseum to be erected from his general’s share of the booty and the loot.” He should have rather feared God, whose temple was robbed, profaned, demolished and burnt, whose people were killed, tortured, mass-murdered, enslaved, taken into captivity and exiled by the Romans.
Because the almost instant karma just stroke back. The urine taxing Emperor Vespasian, not a long time after that just died from the illness of such a heavy diarrhea that he all but swooned, he said: "An emperor ought to die standing," and while he was struggling to get on his feet, he died in the arms of those who tried to help him stand up. Eventually his son, Titus finished the siege of Jerusalem, and the burning of the Jerusalem Temple. The almost instant karma just kicked in again.
The ancient sages wrote: “When Titus was traveling back to Rome on a ship with the Jewish captives and the holy golden vessels of the Holy Temple, a storm at sea threatened to drown him. Titus said: "It seems that the G-d of these people only has power over water. ... Now He is about to drown me in water. If He wants to show His strength, let Him come onto dry land and fight with me there! " When Titus went ashore, a little gnat, a mosquito, came and entered his nostril, and pecked at his brain for seven years.
An eyewitness said: "I was with the great men of Rome at the time when Titus died. They examined his brain and what they found in it, his brain was the size of a small bird!" As Titus lay dying, he instructed his servants: "Burn me and scatter my ashes over the seven seas so that the G-d of the Jews cannot find me and bring me to judgment."
In the Gospel Jesus foretold the disciples about the upcoming disaster of the city and the Temple came through, 2000 years ago. It was a prophecy. Regarding the recent centuries, we have other Biblical prophecies writing about the events that have happened already or happening right now, or will happen hopefully sooner than later. One of them is the regathering of the exiled people, as prophet Isaiah foretold it:
“He will set up a banner for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” It keeps happening, together with the whole world we are the very eyewitnesses of it, that the exiles of Israel are returning to the Holy Land. Emperors are dead, Empires are dust, but the promises of the Lord are alive. When all will be finished, the sages say that the gathered people will rebuild not only Jerusalem, but they will also rebuild the Temple, erecting of a New Temple to the God of Israel, in Jerusalem.
This sign will mark a beginning of a new era, when the heavenly kingdom will descend to the Earth. We all feel the winds and the birth pangs of its coming, soon. A new era will be born, when the Lord will dwell among us. There will be no more wars and hatred but peace, healing and providence. May the Lord’s name be blessed for ever., AMEN.
