blueadept Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 This thread died a few days back, but I wanted some referencesQUOTE(Billy @ May 8 2009, 12:01 PM) Did the NT church members go into the Jewish Temple?As a matter of fact-Acts 2:41-46"41 Link to comment
Uncle Dale Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 ...So my question is, could a non-Jewish Christian enter the Temple?...Depends upon what you mean by "the Temple." Such a visitor could probably have entered the "court of the Gentiles," but not the inner courts of the temple complex -- unless a circumcised convert to Judaism. There was evidently a period when such Jewish converts (who professed Jesus to be the Messiah) could have entered the inner courts -- but not "The House of the Lord," since a convert was not of the house of Levi.There was a period of chaos in and around the Temple, shortly before it fell to Roman destruction. Some old traditions mention James the Just as having temporarily been the High Priest during part of the chaotic period. If there is any truth in these traditions, then James may have departed slightly from standard Jewish custom, allowing "Melchizedekian" priests (not of Levi) into "The House of the Lord," and -- possibly -- even uncircumcised Gentile Jesus-followers into the inner courts. All of this is very speculative, but is the only circumstance I can think of, whereby a non-Jewish "Christian" might have passed beyond the court of the Gentiles. UD Link to comment
blueadept Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Depends upon what you mean by "the Temple." Such a visitor could probably have entered the "court of the Gentiles," but not the inner courts of the temple complex -- unless a circumcised convert to Judaism. There was evidently a period when such Jewish converts (who professed Jesus to be the Messiah) could have entered the inner courts -- but not "The House of the Lord," since a convert was not of the house of Levi.When I checked my NAB Acts 2:46, it referred to 'Temple area' versus the KJV where it refers to just the 'Temple.' So your explanation makes perfect sense to me.There was a period of chaos in and around the Temple, shortly before it fell to Roman destruction. Some old traditions mention James the Just as having temporarily been the High Priest during part of the chaotic period. If there is any truth in these traditions, then James may have departed slightly from standard Jewish custom, allowing "Melchizedekian" priests (not of Levi) into "The House of the Lord," and -- possibly -- even uncircumcised Gentile Jesus-followers into the inner courts. All of this is very speculative, but is the only circumstance I can think of, whereby a non-Jewish "Christian" might have passed beyond the court of the Gentiles. UDI agree with this speculation of the practices of the early non-Jewish Christian. Link to comment
Bill Hamblin Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 When I checked my NAB Acts 2:46, it referred to 'Temple area' versus the KJV where it refers to just the 'Temple.' So your explanation makes perfect sense to me.The distinction between hieros (outer courts) and naos (inner sanctuary) is clear in Greek, though both are translated as "temple" in the KJV. Gentiles could enter the out "court of the Gentiles" only. Since Jews, and not Christians, controlled the temple, there is no way to know what a Christian-controlled temple would have been like. We do know, however, that people who had not been baptized were required to leave churches during the Eucharist among early Christians, so it is likely that some type of restrictions would have applied. See Acts 21:26ff for an account of what occurred when the Jews thought Paul had brought a Gentile into the inner courts. Link to comment
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