The Temple

The Temple is the house of worship built in Jerusalem by King Solomon as God's dwelling-place, for the exercise of the priestly rites of sacrifice in the Jewish religion. Jesus recognized the Temple as God's dwelling and a house of prayer — and identified himself with the Temple as God's definitive dwelling-place (CCC 583, 797).

Solomon's Temple

The First Temple was built by Solomon around 950 BC on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem — the site where Abraham had offered Isaac. It housed the Ark of the Covenant, the Tablets of the Law, and the Presence of God (the Shekinah) in the Holy of Holies. It was destroyed by Babylon in 586 BC and rebuilt as the Second Temple, which was expanded by Herod the Great and destroyed by Rome in 70 AD (CCC 583).

Jesus and the Temple

Jesus cleansed the Temple of merchants and money changers, calling it "my Father's house" (John 2:16). He also predicted its destruction (Matthew 24:2) — fulfilled in 70 AD. Most significantly, he identified himself with the Temple: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" — referring to his body (John 2:19–21; CCC 586).

The Temple as Type

The Temple prefigures Christ himself (God's definitive dwelling among us), the Church (the temple of the Holy Spirit), the Virgin Mary (who bore God in her womb), and the individual Christian (whose body is a temple of the Holy Spirit). In Heaven, God himself is the temple — there is no physical temple in the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:22; CCC 797).

Frequently Asked Questions

Will the Temple be rebuilt? The Catholic Church does not teach that the physical Jerusalem Temple must be rebuilt before the Second Coming. Some Christian communities hold this view, but it is not part of Catholic eschatology. The Temple's purpose has been definitively fulfilled in Christ (CCC 586).