"THE MOST HIGH DOES NOT DWELL
IN A SANCTUARY [naos] MADE WITH HUMAN HANDS".
IN A SANCTUARY [naos] MADE WITH HUMAN HANDS".
Stephen and Paul both said that the Most High does not dwell in temples (G3485 naos: sanctuaries) made with (human) hands (Acts 7:48; Acts 17:24)
- which is why the Jews who accused them, said they had spoken against "this holy place".
- Unbelieving Jews falsely accused Stephen of speaking against "this holy place" [hagios topos]. They were calling the temple of stones in Jerusalem "the holy place" (Acts 6:13).
- Unbelieving Jews falsely accused Paul of defiling "this holy place" [hagios topos] (Acts 21:28). They were calling the Jerusalem temple of stones "the holy place".
The entire New Testament testifies to the fact that the holy place [hagios topos] is where the Holy Spirit is - which since the day of Pentecost, has been in the churches of Christ:
Hebrews 9:11-12:
"But Christ has come - the high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with (human) hands, that is to say, not of this building. Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
Jesus Himself had previously said the following to a Samaritan woman who had said to Him,
"Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." :
"Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." (John 4:20-24).
- The veil in the holy place of the temple of stone was torn in two from top to bottom when Jesus died on the cross (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45).
- Fifty days later the Holy Spirit came down from God and filled the church gathered in Jerusalem - and that is where the holy place has remained since the Day of Pentecost - in the churches (see also Revelation chapters 2 and 3).
PAUL, THE LAW, AND THE TEMPLE
In Acts we read that a time came during Paul's missionary journeys when he 'purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome."' (Acts 19:21), and he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem before Pentecost (Acts 20:16).
However, Paul was repeatedly warned by others, speaking through the Spirit, that he should not go, and before even arriving in Jerusalem, Paul said the following in Miletus (when saying goodbye to the elders of Ephesus who had come from Ephesus to see him):
"And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem without knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit warns me in town after town that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me." (Acts 20:22-23).
When Paul had reached Tyre on his way to Jerusalem, he stayed for seven days. Disciples in Tyre again through the Spirit told Paul that he should not go up to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:3-4).
Later on In Cæsarea, a prophet named Agabus who had come down from Judea "took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."
So when Paul's companions heard this, they "besought him not to go up to Jerusalem, but Paul then answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts 21:7-8 & 10-13).
Paul remained determined to go to Jerusalem, believing that he had been compelled by the Holy Spirit to go (Acts 20:22), yet others had warned him repeatedly through the Spirit NOT to go.
So after Paul said the above, his disciples and traveling companions stopped pressing him not to go to Jerusalem.
The day after arriving in Jerusalem Paul went to James's house, and the elders of the church in Jerusalem informed him that there were Jewish 'believers' in Jerusalem who were zealous for the (religious) laws, who despised what they had heard about Paul's teaching regarding the religious law, and regarding the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 17:24; Acts 21:21 & following).
"God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with (human) hands" (Acts 17:24).
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." (Galatians 3:10).
So the Jewish 'believers' in Jerusalem, who were zealous for the (religious) laws, despised what they had heard about Paul's teaching regarding the law, and regarding the temple in Jerusalem.
It's the reason Paul - at the request of the elders of the church in Jerusalem - agreed to appease the same law-abiding Jewish believers by going into the temple of stones (on the second day following his arrival in Jerusalem), in order to complete a seven-day purification ritual required by the religious law
- a ritual that would have been completed with an offering made for sin (Acts 21:26).
Paul was a guest of the elders of the church in Jerusalem, who were deeply concerned for his safety. Would he have felt constrained to agree to the request?
As it turned out, in the process, and near the end of the seven day purification period required by the law, Paul was recognized in the temple by other Jews from Asia, who then stirred up the crowd against Paul - accusing him of "defiling" that 'holy place' [hagios topos]
- and Paul was almost killed because of it.
Paul lost his freedom that very same day, and remained under arrest for the rest of his life.
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