Great Buildings

[Music] john roblin was a building genius his specialty was bridges and when his life's dream of building a bridge from manhattan to brooklyn came to fruition in 1883 it was the longest and tallest bridge in the world sadly john augustus roebling died building his bridge as he was surveying in preparation for the construction his foot was crushed between a ferry and a piling it had to be amputated and he died a short time later of a tetanus infection after that before the construction even began everyone said that this building project just could not be done this was a structure that was just too difficult to create the architectural challenges were just too great the physical demands were just too much but his son washington would not listen and continue to work on his father's dream despite the words of the naysayers and then washington roebling was hurt he began to suffer from decompression sickness from working on the construction in the river at that time decompression sickness as they built pilings deep into the earth under the water they didn't they weren't familiar with how to deal with it and decompression sickness was a problem ultimately he was paralyzed his he had brain damage he lost his ability to speak and many again said give it up but he didn't he simply found another way to build and it was ingenious with the help of his wife emily he discovered he could communicate by tapping with one finger on her arm so with her help he began to tap out messages on her arm with his finger and developing a system of communication that allowed him to to message the builders day in day out and he continued to do so as she studied construction mechanics so she could be able to understand what he was saying and he tapped with her his finger on her arm day in day out for the next 10 years they continued that way until the bridge was completed he watched from his window as he was lying in bed little by little the bridge began to take shape his passion and his determination with his wife's tireless tireless patience and perseverance paid off and it led to the opening of the brooklyn bridge in 1883 and it was a marvel that stands to this day in 1883 it was by far the longest suspension bridge in the world one thousand five hundred and ninety five and a half feet from the massive stone tower on the manhattan side to the matching tower on the on the brooklyn side the brooklyn bridge was an amazing structure it was a marvelous wonder of man's ingenuity his skill and his productivity throughout history man has designed and built amazing structures the great pyramids of egypt the taj mahal the burj khalifa in dubai more recently which rises 2717 feet has 209 floors it's that massive building perhaps you've seen a picture of it in in dubai and that tower has stood as the both the tallest building in the world and the tallest man-made structure of any kind in the world since it was completed in 2010 and and these buildings give or you might say a a or symbolize man's potential for greatness their size their beauty their engineering genius symbolizes man's productivity and man's ability to construct great things in 1987 i visited the twin towers in new york city with my wife to be's family at that time and as we came into the building we were able to go into an elevator an express elevator that went directly to the top 1800 feet in this express elevator and it still at with at in that express elevator it took a full 60 seconds to go all the way up to the top one full minute at at top speed so it was an impressive sight to stand at the top of the twin towers and look at the surrounding city very exp very very impressive site to be able to see that area but all i could think about as i was going up and i was coming down in the elevator was the plumbing and all i could think about was how in the world were they able to design a system where they could move water not only down but up through this massive construction both these these two twin towers how could they maintain the pressure in these massive buildings man has built and used amazing structures over his history but have you ever thought about how god has used great structures great buildings as well see some of the most poignant and important lessons in the bible are told through god's great buildings i'd like to tell the story of god's great buildings today because for all of man's hopes and dreams that are reflected in his great building marvels what god has done what god is doing and what god will do outshines man's greatest efforts ironically the first great building that we come to in the bible was built in defiance of god let's go to genesis chapter 11. genesis chapter 11 where we read about the tower of babel verse 1 genesis chapter 11 verse 1 now the whole earth had one language and one speech and it came to pass as they journeyed from the east that they found a plane in the land of shinar and they dwelt there and they said to one another come let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly they had brick for stone and they had asphalt for mortar and they said come let us build ourselves a city and a tower whose top is in the heavens let us make a name for ourselves lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth but the lord came down to see the city and the tower which the sons of man had built so note some of the characteristics of this great building this building work of mankind number one it was it was uh it was a built in an atmosphere of defiance an atmosphere of rebellion against god number two a second characteristic that we can gather is that it was a gathering place of rebellious minds a gathering place of those who are antagonistic towards god who are hostile towards god of a rebellious mind and thirdly it was a place for the promotion of false worship false religion a place to to practice and to teach a false anti-god system you might say it was a repository of false knowledge both a place to learn to study and to promulgate false knowledge and we know the story god saw to its destruction but that doesn't mean that god doesn't recognize the utility and the usefulness of buildings going forward we see his command to moses to construct a temporary building which he would use to place his presence among the israelites the tabernacle let's go to exodus 25 exodus 25 and we read here in exodus 25 26 and 27 about the tabernacle this is verse 1 of exodus 25 he said then the lord spoke to moses saying speak to the children of israel that they bring me an offering from everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take my offering and this is the offering which you shall take from them gold and silver and bronze blue purple and scarlet thread find linen and goat's hair ram skins dyed red badger skins and acacia wood oil for the light spices verse eight and let them make me a sanctuary that i may dwell among them so if we flip forward through the account here we see exodus well going to chapter 27 and 28 and 29 and 30 we can flip forward all the way really to to chapter 40 where we read in the last few chapters there of the the account of the performance of the work that was involved in building the tabernacle now the tabernacle served as a temporary building but as jerusalem was established as the place where god would set his name david recognized that the tabernacle this temporary building was not enough so we read in second samuel chapter 7. let's flip forward second samuel chapter 7 verse 1 it came to pass when the king was dwelling in his house and the lord had given him rest from his enemies all around that the king said to nathan the prophet see now i dwell in a house of cedar but the ark of god dwells inside tent curtains then nathan said to the king go do all that is in your heart for the lord is with you but it happened that night that the word of the lord came to nathan saying go and tell my servant david thus says the lord would you build a house for me to dwell in for i have not dwelt in a house since the time that i brought the children of israel up from egypt even to this day but have moved about in a tent and a tabernacle wherever i have moved about with the children of israel verse 7 have i ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of israel whom i commanded to shepherd my people israel saying why have you not built me a house of cedar and he goes on and talks to continues the thought with david but verse 12 he says when your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers i will set up your seed after you who will come from your body and i will establish his kingdom and no david you won't build a house for me but your son will verse 13 he shall build a house for my name and i will establish the throne of his kingdom forever so we see that god determined to have a temple a beautiful place of worship but it was not david who would build it it would be solomon his son but david was to be involved in the preparations as we begin to get into this great building of god the tabernacle the rather the temple at jerusalem so we see verse let's go to first chronicles chapter 21 verse 18. first chronicles 21 18 and we see that david was given information about the location where it was to be first chronicles 21 verse 18. therefore we're breaking into the the account here uh certainly of the plague that came upon israel but i want to just catch these last verses that deal with the tabernacle i mean the temple rather specifically verse 18. therefore the angel of the lord commanded gad to say to david that david should go and erect an altar to the lord on the threshing floor of ornan the jebusite remember the jebusites were the former inhabitants of jerusalem and so we see here that there were instructions verse 19 david went up at the word of god which he had spoken in the name of the lord now ornan turned and saw the angel and his four sons who were with him hid himself but ornan continued threshing wheat so david came to ornan and arnon looked and saw david and he went out from the threshing floor and bowed before david with his face to the ground then david said to ornan grant me the place of this threshing floor that i may build an altar on it to the lord you shall grant it to me at full price that the plague may be withdrawn from the people so we see that in this case that this place was was selected as the place that uh david should build an altar verse 26 we read about that um god approved of the place speak from what we read in verse 26 because david built there an altar to the lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and called on the lord and he answered him from heaven by fire on the altar of the burnt offering so we see that this location was determined to be a special location to construct an altar to god this this area that was built on this rocky outcropping north of the city above the city and but we see it has a connection historically second chronicles chapter three now we're we're going to see that ultimately this is the spot for the building of the tabernacle but first we see again we know that david was not to build the temple rather said the tabernacle again but david was not to build the tabernacle but he was to prepare for the building of the of the temple okay let's go back to uh second chronicles chapter three second chronicles chapter three where we see that this location we've been reading about is where the temple would be established so ii chronicles chapter 3 and verse 1. now solomon began to build the house of the lord at jerusalem on mount moriah where the lord had appeared to his father david at the place that david had prepared on the threshing floor of ornin the jebusite so that's ultimately where the temple was built and but we want to go back i mentioned the history genesis chapter 22 because this spot as i i mentioned has a history to it genesis chapter 22 you see this was the same location that abraham offered his son isaac or began to offer his son isaac before god stepped in and said no there will be no sacrifice of any human except my son who will give his life for all of mankind but we see here genesis chapter 22 and verse 1 it came to pass after these things that god tested abraham and said to him abraham and he said here i am and then he said take now your son your only son isaac whom you love and go to the land of moriah and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which i shall tell you so we see that this this uh this mountain and the land of moriah is pointed to and it's as you read through the account and you see how ultimately god said no i will provide for you and ultimately abraham was not required to give his son yet this this spot the mountains on the land of moriah is is noted as we go through the story okay back to david's preparation of materials first chronicles 22. so that location that mount moriah is is the historical backdrop or the historical uh location ultimately of the tab the temple was to be built first chronicles chapter 22 we see david's preparation of materials first chronicles 22 verse 1. then david said this is the house of the lord god and this is the altar of burnt offering for israel and david commanded to gather the aliens who were in the land of israel he appointed masons to cut hewn's stones to build the house of god and david prepared iron in abundance for the nails of the doors of the gates and for the joints and bronze in abundance beyond measure and cedar trees in abundance for the sidonians and those from tyre brought much cedar wood to david and we see here verse 25 david said solomon my son is young and experienced and the house to be built for the lord must be exceedingly magnificent famous and glorious throughout all countries i will now make preparations for it so david made abundant preparations before his death and verse six he called for his son solomon and charged him to build a house for the lord god of israel and we see how this is described in the the verses here throughout the rest of the chapter so we see that david prepared materials later in first chronicles chapter 28 verse chronicles 28 verses 1 well the better part of the of the chapter here we see specifics about the uh instruction to build the temple but i want to draw your attention specifically to to verse 11. then david says gave his son solomon the plans for the vestibule its houses its treasuries its upper chambers its inner chambers and the place of the mercy seat and the plans for all that he had by the spirit of the courts of the house of the lord of all the chambers all around of the treasuries of the house of god and of the treasuries for the dedicated things also for the division of the priests and the levites for all the work of the service of the lord of the house of the lord and for all the articles of service in the house of the lord so solomon was given instructions by david and david said these were instructions were specifically inspired by god so god was very intentional about the building of the temple he was extremely intentional about what he was doing as to the where we say we see he gave very specific instructions as to the where the when during solomon's reign it was the right time for this as the kingdom of israel was was established after david's death who it was to be solomon not david and and even the how god inspired the details in verses 11 and 12 we we read about that as we just did so if we want to jump to second chronicles and just do a just a quick overview of some of the some of the details second chronicles chapter two second chronicles two we see here how solomon began to prepare to build the temple and then do so we see solomon determined to build a temple verse 1 of second chronicles 2 for the name of the lord and a royal house for himself solomon selected seventy thousand men to bear burdens eighty thousand to quarry stone in the mountains and three thousand six hundred to oversee them and you can read about more about that in the succeeding chapter the rest of chapter 2 and chapter 3 chapter 4 the furnishings of the of the temple so the bible goes into great detail about the detail of the temple god was intentional he was involved and it was something that was he was going to use for a purpose i'll just give you a brief overview a thumbnail sketch of what we read through these these chapters in terms of some of the details the the inside ceiling of solomon's temple was 180 feet long 90 feet wide and 50 feet high so that's the size of this building the highest point however in the temple was 207 feet now that was actually that's 20 stories i i say that is a bit different from the 100 rather the 50 feet high that i mentioned before the the inner dimensions because the 207 feet was part of a a porch or a a a front area that actually rose up in front of the of the temple that was the 50 foot high portion so it was in two two areas in terms of the height and the dimensions but we see that over 3000 officials were appointed to see the work of upwards of 150 000 workmen on this building i was trying to get an idea as i was looking at some of the descriptions of the of the the gold and the silver and the precious jewels and the wood that was part of the temple and in doing so i thought well what would be a good comparison from the cost of today's buildings so i'd like to just give you uh just a little bit of of detail about the world's most expensive buildings today uh here i'll just give you a couple the one world trade center in new york one world trade center in new york costs this is as of 2019 so the figures are about a year old but one world trade center cost 4.1 billion dollars to build the palace of the parliament in bucharest cost 3.9 billion dollars in singapore marina bay sands which is a major hotel complex in singapore cost 6.2 billion dollars to build so it gives you an idea we're talking four five six billion dollars to build these particular buildings and the most expensive building on the planet at this point is actually the uh majid al-haram or the great mosque of mecca the the complex that surrounds the the the kabah this this court where muslims go and uh to mecca and they they walk around this building that houses these different objects there in uh in saudi arabia so the cost of the masjid al-haram is estimated because it has ongoing work that's been going on for a long long time the estimate is about a hundred billion dollars that this particular mosque is the largest mosque in the world and that is the estimated cost of of it as as a building altogether so that gives you an idea let's say a hundred billion dollars in terms of the most exp expensive buildings today well how about the value of solomon's temple well if we look at what we read in first chronicles 22 and 29 and also in first kings chapter 5 and we and we lay out some of the details we find that in in terms of solomon's the gold in solomon's temple that about 108 000 talents of gold were used in the building of the temple 108 000 talents of gold now one talent is approximately 75 pounds so if we multiply one talent or 75 pounds times uh which would would give us then uh eight eight a billion one hundred million i'm sorry eight million one hundred thousand one hundred and eighty seven and a half pounds of gold okay again that's eight million eight 8.1 million pounds of gold we multiply that times 16 ounces per pound which would give us 129 million 603 thousand ounces we multiply that figure times the the price of gold today which is oh about eighteen hundred dollars the last i checked was one thousand eight hundred and eighty one dollars per ounce for for gold so we multiply that the cost of gold per ounce times the total amount of ounces in 108 000 talents and what we're looking at is around 244 billion dollars just in the gold the cost of the gold today's cost in the gold that was used in the temple now people will debate some of these figures as to if they're exaggerated or what have you we could go around in circles but that's what the bible that's what the figures the bible gives us how about silver about silver we read again in those same chapters that there were 1.01 thousand i'm sorry 1 million 17 000 talents of silver that were used 1 million 17 000 talents will we multiply that again times how many pounds are in a talent and how many ounces in a pound and what we come up to is just over three billion dollars in silver that was used in the temple so that doesn't include all the precious metals the iron the ivory the cedar wood all the different other types of wood so you get a sense at least by comparison as to the value that was put into the temple at jerusalem it was a staggering amount of value and quality that was put into this building in first kings chapter 6 and verse 7 we read that it was built of stone made ready before it was brought there so that no hammer or ax nor any tool of iron was heard in the house while it was being built so it's a remarkable testimony to the engineering and the construction skill of ancient peoples because in order to erect this magnificent temple every portion was so carefully fabricated away from the construction site that the building had to be completely erected in reverent silence and the stones were not small and rough either we read in first kings chapter 5 and verse 17 how they brought great stones costly stones huge stones to lay the foundation of the house so they were quarried from the limestone beds beneath the city apparently and they had to be fabricated and brought to the temple they had to be hewn they had to be measured carefully everything had to be measured exactly before it was brought to the temple area and ready to be laid in place and these were massive massive stones as well now let's go to second chronicles chapter six second chronicles six just a couple chapters from where we last were reading here where we read about the dedication of the temple the lord said verse one solomon spoke the lord said he would dwell in the dark cloud i have surely built you an exalted house and a place for you to dwell in forever and we see verse three the king turned around and blessed the whole assembly of israel while the assembly of israel was standing and he said blessed be the lord god of israel who is fulfilled with his hands what he spoke with his mouth to my father david saying since the day that i brought up my people out of the land of egypt i have chosen no city from any tribe of israel in which to build my house that my name might be there nor did i choose any man to be a ruler over my people israel yet i have chosen jerusalem that my name may be there and i have chosen david to be over my people and it goes on and describes he describes david's desire to build and solomon's fulfillment of building this great house for god and as we read the dedication here ultimately we see the the intent was to please god recognizing that god could not dwell in a temple and yet this was to honor god verse 18 but will god indeed dwell with men on the earth behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you how much less this temple which we have built yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication o lord my god and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you that your eyes may be opened toward this temple day and night toward the place you said you would put your name and that you met you may hear the prayer which your servant makes toward this place for all its beauty and and genius of design let's not forget the underlying reasons that god inspired this building to be constructed and interestingly it's it's for the same reasons that i mentioned earlier with that great building in the city that came to be called confusion or babel number one the solomon's temple say solomon's temple for god it was a building to establish a common gathering place a common ground of assembly way back in deuteronomy chapter 12 deuteronomy chapter 12 we read that god would place his name at a point in the land where he places people deuteronomy chapter 12 and verse 1 these are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the lord god of your fathers has given you to possess so destroy all these pillars and images he says verse 5 but you shall seek the place where the lord your god chooses out of all your tribes to put his name for his dwelling place and there you shall go you shall take your burnt offerings your sacrifices your tithes the heave offerings of your hand your vowed offerings your free will offerings and the firstborn of your herds and flocks and there you shall eat before the lord and he goes on to describe that further so god intended to establish a place where he would set his name and this building solomon's temple was a part of his design at this point that did that a common gathering place an assembly of his people at that place and secondly that building then established an atmosphere now i talked about the atmosphere that the tower of babel established that was a very different atmosphere in this case we see this building establish an atmosphere of quality of grandeur of reverence towards god you know this is what great buildings do don't they i mentioned the twin towers before of course they're they're gone now but that first time that i saw the twin towers as i was walking down the sidewalk approaching these towers i mean you can't you you can't you have to look almost backwards as you look up to try to track the the towers as they rise above you it was so massive and so impressive that the only way that i could really get a good picture of it was to lie down on the ground on the sidewalk and take a picture of the buildings above me as they as they rose because they're so massive of course some of the people around me were a little bit embarrassed of my obvious lack of oh well i clearly wasn't from new york city and was clearly a guest and so um they they i stood out like a sore thumb in the midst of the new york city pedestrians going up and down the the sidewalk but but it was so massive that's the impact that it had upon me that it has upon people as they would go up and down and this is the way great buildings are whether it's the taj mahal or the great pyramids or the brooklyn bridge or the great mosque or the great buildings that are in existence today or have been over the centuries they they establish an atmosphere now one of the blessings that i was able to enjoy while i went to ambassador to college was to see ambassador auditorium this building that was built to honor god we had our church services there we had performances of great musicians and at night sometimes with the lights on and the area around the the auditorium all lit up you could stand back up the hill and look at this beautiful building and clearly it it it created a sense of of awe and wonder for the beauty that was produced in that building and honestly as uh as you're able to be in that building to walk around it helps frankly to establish an atmosphere of quality and excellence that uh really facilitated an honoring of god because it was it was a place where you appreciated the uh the fact that god has designed beauty even in buildings and so we were able to worship god there we were able to uh to honor god and even the building itself it helped to create this this atmosphere and i would i can only compare it to what we read about in the bible with solomon's temple where the beauty and the grandeur inspired in people a sense of of an honor for god and a reverence towards towards god and the third point that i wanted to mention in terms of great buildings and how god used the temple was that great buildings often provided a designated repository of learning i mentioned that in terms of the tower of babel how it was a place where there was false worship or a false worship system was established and taught in this case we see that the temple was used as a place to teach the things of god and it was constructed to teach the things of god and to be a repository of the things of god in deuteronomy chapter 17 we read how kings were to get a copy of the law from the priests from the one that was in the temple ultimately and copy that law and the tabernacle certainly at when deuteronomy was written but ultimately the the tab the temple was the place where god's law was taught was learned and also was a repository of of the the writings and the records of god's law and you can look at deuteronomy chapter 17 to to read that little note about about kings and how they were required to to read and learn and study that law again kept at the at the temple so in 586 bc that temple that building we've been talking about here was destroyed and 70 years later after a small contingent of jews returned from babylon then they did what they recognized was so important they restored the temple not to its former glory but as best they could ezra chapter 3 ezra 3 and 4 and 5 we read about that ezra chapter 3 we see verse 1 when the seventh month had come and the children of israel were in the cities the people gathered together as one man to jerusalem and you can see how as you go down to the chapter the restoration of the temple begins in verse 8 and 9. we see all those who had come out of the captivity to jerusalem began work and appointed the levites from 20 years old and above to oversee the work of the house of the lord we see in chapter four how there's a resistance to building the temple but how that resistance was overcome and in chapter five we read about how again the the work of restoring the temple began and they continued to work on that and in uh ezra chapter 6 and verse 15 we see it was finished on the third day of the month of adar which was in the sixth year of the reign of king darius so it was completed then we we can see clearly that it was it was completed and used by the people as they recognize the importance of that place that building how was it used again first as a common gathering place an anchor a place they knew that god had set his name secondarily it was a place of atmosphere it was an environment that was established which again is so important our environment shapes us and so an atmosphere with st of learning was established of learning god's way was established at the temple and and thirdly it was that place uh and repository of learning not just to go and chant or sing or or simply to just carry on social affairs but it was a place of learning a place to learn of the ways of god so we see those three purposes that god used buildings for here in the in the scriptures continue forward now when we speak forward to the time of christ we see these same characteristics let's go to luke chapter two luke chapter two luke chapter 2 and we'll read here in verse verse 41 his parents went to jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover and when he was 12 years old they went up to jerusalem according to the fee the custom of the feast so you know the story here how he was left in jerusalem and where did they find him verse 46 so it was that after three days they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers both listening to them and asking them questions and that all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and answers so we see him sitting in the temple learning listening and in this this atmosphere of of learning the temple in this case was the building that represented the the final authority in the land the final religious authority the things of god emanated from here decisions um descriptions the teachings of god's law emanated from this place it was a place to learn and gather to learn and this temple herod's temple was a magnificent building the temple that we're looking at right here that is mentioned here the disciples were very familiar with this great building matthew chapter 24. let's go back to matthew 24. this was a different building than the one we read about during the days of ezra and nehemiah matthew 24 we read verse 1 then jesus went out and departed from the temple and his disciples came up to show him the buildings of the temple so they were very impressed with what herod had done this is an excerpt i'd like to read take a couple of minutes and read from a book called jerusalem the biography by simon sorry simon montefiore simon montefiore it's if you want to read in detail about jerusalem the temple in particular and the building of jerusalem and jerusalem's history this book is uh is really excellent very readable and fascinating book but here's here's how he describes the the grandeur of herod's temple he says knowing and i'm taking an excerpt here knowing that the prestige of jerusalem was linked to his own herod decided to equal solomon herod pulled down the existing second temple and built a wonder of the world in its place the jews were afraid he would destroy the old temple and never finish the new one so he called a meeting to persuade them preparing every detail a thousand priests were trained as builders lebanese cedar forests were filled the beams floated down the coast at quarries around jerusalem the massive ashlar stones gleaming yellow and almost white limestone were marked and cut out a thousand wagons were amassed but the stones were gargantuan in the tunnels alongside the temple mount there is one stone 44.6 feet long 11 feet high that weighs 600 tons no den no hammering had polluted the building of solomon's temple so herod ensured that everything was readied off-site and silently slotted into place the holy of holies was ready in two years but the entire complex was not completed for 80. herod dug down to the foundation rock and built from there so would he he would have destroyed any remnants of solomon's and zerubbabel's temples though limited to the east by the steepness of the kidron valley he expanded the esplanade of the temple mount to the south filling the space with a substructure held up by 88 pillars and 12 vaulted arches now called solomon's stables to create a three acre platform twice as large as the roman forum the courts of the temple led in diminishing sighs to ever increasing sanctity gentiles and jews alike could enter the huge court of gentiles but a wall encircled the court of women with this warning inscription foreigner do not enter within the grill and partition surrounding the temple he was caught will have only himself to blame for his death which will follow and then he goes on to describe the the courts and the gate just want to read this part it says the design of the temple supervised by the king and his anonymous architects showed a brilliant understanding of space and theater dazzling and awe-inspiring herod's temple was covered all over with plates of gold and at the first rising of the sun reflected back a fiery splendor so bright that visitors had to look away arriving in jerusalem from the mount of olives it reared up quote like a mountain covered with snow he's reading from accounts at the time particularly josephus and others this was the temple that jesus knew and that titus destroyed so this gives just gives a quick peek into the grandeur of the temple that was that actually even although it was built by herod a godless man it was used by god for a purpose at the time of christ and for those same three purposes that i've mentioned here two or three times already now there is a temple that we bypass in the bible we bypassed it because it is prophesied for the future even though it was written a long time ago ezekiel rather ezekiel chapter 40 ezekiel 40. i'll simply draw your attention to it here where we read ezekiel chapter 40 and 41 and 42 and 43 and 44 and 45 and 46 and 47 where ultimately we read of the healing waters coming out of this building the temple these chapters describe the temple that will be established in the new city as we move forward to the time of the millennium now this temple will be extremely large it will be much larger in size multiples larger in size than herod's temple if you look at some of the the drawings some of the dimensions it's about five or six times in in size and which is also herod's temple was larger than solomon's temple but it's a massive complex and again at the time in the future it will be the place from which is extended to gather to establish and promote an atmosphere of worship and of reverence for god and to teach and to learn these these uh characteristics of this temple will be part of the future temple that we read about here in ezekiel chapter 40 through 47. but back to matthew 24 we left christ with his disciples teaching at the temple matthew 24 and we read verse 2. back in matthew 24 verse 2 and jesus said to them do you not see all these things assuredly i say to you not one stone shall be left here upon another that shall not be thrown down not one stone not one stone so he taught them something from this point about the the end of the age but he he taught them something else you see god used the marvel of human ability to create buildings we've read about that to some degree and and so god's encouragement to do so even god's guidance in doing so through the design through the plans the adding of skill all of this physical effort could lend itself to a good purpose to providing a place to gather repeat god's people to gather together to fellowship to worship together to providing an atmosphere to providing a repository of learning and the exercise of learning the practice of learning but christ taught them that all of this was only a physical system for something more see christ turned their world upside down this magnificent temple that they were described showing to him that would be destroyed the building the temple certainly was important yet it was not all about the building and the words of jeremiah certainly rang with this lesson jeremiah chapter 7 jeremiah chapter 7 and verse 1. the word came to jeremiah from the lord saying stand in the gate of the lord's house and proclaim there this word and say hear the word of the lord all you of judah who enter in at these gates to worship the lord and he said verse 3 amend your ways and your doings and i will cause you to dwell in this place verse 4 do not trust in these lying words saying the temple of the lord the temple of the lord the temple of the lord are these because ultimately verse verse 12 he said it's not about the temple the temple will not save you it cannot be used as an idol the place cannot be used as a replacement for what is supposed to happen when you gather together in this atmosphere to learn god's ways and to live god's ways and verse 12 he said but go now to my place which was in shiloh where i set my name at the first and see what i did to it because of the wickedness of my people israel so christ had already begun back here through inspiring jeremiah to plant the seeds of understanding of how great buildings can be used but there's something more there's something more that god is doing let's go to matthew chapter 16. back to matthew matthew chapter 16 where he said to verse 18 he told his disciples peter in particular i also say to you that you are peter and on this rock himself as the chief cornerstone we know i will build my church and the gates of the grave shall not prevail against it so we see that he introduces this concept of building of god building his church not just a physical building but his body of believers and we read more about that in ephesians chapter 3 ephesians chapter 3. ephesians chapter 3 and we read here rather chapter 2. i should say chapter 2 where paul taught he said now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of god having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets jesus himself being the chief cornerstone in whom the whole building being fitted together grows into a holy temple in the lord in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of god in the spirit so verse 22 emphasizes that ultimately it's about the individual as part of the whole you know god is very intentional he's called us individually by design he's called us with purpose and he's placing us in his building and he's also building us as a building you might say ourselves individually and he's just as intentional with us he's just as intentional with his church as he was with solomon's temple instructing as to the who and the where and the when and the how see in a way the most amazing building that god is working on is you and i hope me see the purpose of the temple of solomon was not about the building itself it was a means it was a mechanism part of a system to strengthen the nation and the individual god is a bodybuilder you might say not a physical body but a spiritual body builder with the temple at jerusalem it was the person who was bettered by assembling a gathering to a place in unity and harmony with others it was the individual who was brought into harmony with god and with their neighbor by being and by being in a place where there was an atmosphere of respect for god worshiping god recognizing that even the holy of holies this place could only be entered once a year by the high priest it was an atmosphere of of reverence and respect and deference and worship for god that was part of the environment environment it wasn't just there to exist it was for a purpose and it was the person the individual every individual not just the priests not just the king but every individual who is built and strengthened the pillars of truth in their heart made strong by the truth that emanated from the temple the knowledge that was was disseminated now that's the same principle that's even more true from the time that the holy spirit was poured out on his church look at something acts chapter 2 acts chapter 2. you see they were at the temple the temple was still serving its purpose even as the church was pointed to a new concept of the importance of the individual even when the building is gone acts chapter 2 we see here in verse 1 when the day of pentecost had fully come they were all in one accord with one place and there appeared to them verse 3 divided tongues as a fire we read here verse 4 and 5. how where they were was uh dwelling in jerusalem jews devout men from every nation under heaven when the sound occurred verse six the multitude came together and were confused because everyone heard them speak in his own language and so we can see as you go through the account here i'm not going to read the whole chapter here but they were actually at verse 11. we read this 14 rather as peter gives the sermon they were gathered together in the place where teaching was was done and they were gathered together in this in in the temple and you can read throughout this this whole section to see how that how that took place and first corinthians chapter six let's go to first corinthians 6. so the temple was used as a gathering place and then as time went by lessons were gained from this first corinthians chapter 6 and verse 19. how then paul as he taught the church at corinth said do you not know that your body is the temple of the holy spirit which is in you which you have from god and you are not your own therefore he says you were bought at a price therefore glorify your god in your body and in your spirit which are god's so the body is the temple of the holy spirit so this this understanding of the temple and all the temple was about was brought into a very personal way with the individual ephesians chapter 4 ephesians 4. ephesians 4 and verse 21 we read about putting off the the old man and grow and and verse 22 the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind and that you put on the new man which was created according to god in true righteousness and holiness god is you might say he's building he's creating he's building in us he's renewing us he's building us as a new creation second corinthians chapter five second corinthians five another place that is used here paul uses this this concept of building chapter five verse one second corinthians for we know that if our earthly house this tent is destroyed we have a building from god a house not made with hands eternal in the heavens so the reality is that god is building us every trial every sickness every failure and every success are part of the brick and mortar in the building of you and me hebrews chapter 9 hebrews chapter 9. hebrews chapter 9 we read an extensive review of this this concept and the purpose for the tabernacle and the temple but we come to verse 11. let's just read verse 11. well let's go back to verse 6. now when these things have been thus prepared it's talking about first the tabernacle and then these these objects were placed in the temple verse 6. now when these things have been thus prepared the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle performing the service but into the second part the high priest went alone once a year not without blood which he offered for himself and for the people's sins committed in ignorance the holy spirit indicated this that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was yet standing but understand here verse 9 it was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who perform the service perfect in regard to conscience so it's pointing towards something more whether it's the tabernacle or the temple and the rest of the chapter emphasizes that i'm just going to refer you to hebrews chapter 12. let's jump forward to hebrews chapter 12. let's let's go ahead and read verse 18. beginning in verse 18. he said verse 18 for you have not come to the mountain that may be touched and that burned with fire and to blackness and dark darkness and tempest and the sound of the trumpet and the voice of words so that those who heard it begged that the word should not be spoken to them anymore for they could not endure what was commanded and if so much as a beast touches the mountain it shall be stoned or shot with an arrow and so terrifying was the site that moses said i am exceedingly afraid and trembling but verse 22 but you have come to mount zion and to the city of the living god the heavenly jerusalem to an innumerable company of angels we have come in that sense he says we we come to the tabernacle the temple the mount of god the place of god we come to that place as god works with us as and we're part of of the whole legacy in the history of people with whom god is working and building over the last 2 000 years and more we come to this this place together to be part of you might say the bricks and the stones and the mortar large and small who are part of this building even as we individually are being built by god at the same time he says verse 24 or rather verse 23 to the general assembly and church of firstborn who are registered in heaven to god the judge of all to the spirits of just men made perfect in other words they aren't floating around there today but god knows who they are he has a record of their of their existence their character their personality and and he says look these people have have gone before they have left a legacy and they have carried the the the church forward throughout history as you look back through church history and we see those who have come before us who have been some persecuted and martyrs and martyred in in horrifying ways that we we can't even comprehend today they're all part of that building as god was working with them and building them as he's building us to jesus the mediator of the new covenant and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of abel so we're part of this building together assembled together even as god works with us now god has has planned and designed and seen to the buildings of great edifices over human history the the temple of solomon its restoration and and even herod's as it was patterned on the original and and by the way uh mr wakefield has an article about this same topic here in the living church news dating back eight or nine years ago if you want to read more about some of the details of the temple and of its import as an adjunct to what i'm talking about here today look it up because it it goes into some detail somewhere to what we're talking about here today and so so god has has built his church patiently brick by brick floor aboard by by floorboard in our time that we've experienced but that experience has gone back over the over the centuries and and he's building us together as a church quietly patiently every tongue and groove every detail every every tap of the chisel is part of building his church and also building us and we can appreciate that we can be thankful for that there's one more building project that we read about in the bible that we should not neglect as we conclude revelation chapter 21. this amazing camp capstone gives us a glimpse far into the future and let's read what we re what we what we can hear in verse 9 of revelation 21 then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me saying come i will show you the bride the lamb's wife and he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the great city the holy jerusalem descending out of heaven from god having the glory of god her light was like a most precious stone like jasper stone clear as crystal and she also also she had a great heart great and high wall with 12 gates and 12 angels at the gates and names written on them which are the names of the 12 tribes of the children of israel three gates on the east three gates on the north three gates on the west and three gates on the on the south and three gates on the west and and you read about the dimensions of this new jerusalem but we come to something in verse 22 that i think is a good spot to end because we read in verse 22 but i saw no temple in it for the lord god almighty and the lamb are its temple the city had no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it for the glory of god illuminated it the lamb is its light and the nation shall walk in its light and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it its gates shall not be shut at all by day and there shall be no night there and they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations to it and see god once again here gives us the pattern of a city in this case god almighty and the lamb are its temple see ultimately god's family when god's family would be gathered all willing people those who are willing to submit to god will be gathered together we won't be disunified we won't be disorganized we won't be separated and and experiencing the divisiveness that is so much a part of our our world we will be gathered together in the family of god as part of of of god as and and his family and we will also be part of the perfect environment in god's family typified by his temple here will be part of will be part of the perfect environment the atmosphere that will be positive and up uplifting and encouraging not negative like our world is today and we will also be complete in knowledge and wisdom and understanding of god's way john roebling envisioned a structure that would be unique in the world for his time in the year 1883. he died but his dream tick came to fruition through the work of his son his wife and the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of of workmen who worked on that project through his word god gives us a very real vision not just of a bridge but of a temple he gives us examples of great and magnificent buildings through history that he used but he also uses those not just for that time and place but he uses those to teach us important lessons lessons about what he's doing with his church and what he is doing with us personally and points us to an eternity in which we will be part of his family part of his temple forever and ever [Music] you

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Published: Sat Feb 20 2021