November 8, 2010 – Catechism 583-586

The relationship between Jesus and the Temple is an interesting one.  The Temple, for the Jews, was such an important place.  It was where God came to earth to be with them.  It was an indication that they were the chosen people.  When Jesus comes, all that changes.  God no longer uses the Temple because God comes to them in a different way.  What is interesting is that Jews, even to this day, in their beliefs, need a temple to perform the proper sacrifices.  But they have not had a temple since 70 AD when it was destroyed by Rome.  Their entire religion has been without one of its most essential pieces for almost 2,000 years.  I don’t know what how a Jewish person feels about that and I don’t know how the religion goes along without that, but from looking at the Old Testament and seeing how important that is to the Jewish religion, to now have that any more seems like a pretty large gap.

I do know there are attempts or have been attempts to rebuild the Temple again.  Obviously none have succeeded.  I read a book once that indicated the Jews rebuilding the Temple is one of the signs that the end of the world is coming.  I don’t know anything about that, it is just something I have always been curious about how Jews today see the lack of a temple.