The meaning of a temple from the spiritual viewpoint

Each religion has always built temples. We can understand temples on different levels, for example as centers of religious worship, as places of offering, as a representation in symbol or image of microcosm man or of the macrocosm, and as a foundation in the spiritual world. Here i shall focus on the meaning of a temple from the spiritual viewpoint.

Suppose that you are a traveler through the spiritual world and you approach the temple of a religion on earth. The temple in spirit world is the spiritual counterpart of a physical building and site. Everything in the temple built on earth has a significance in the spiritual world.

Normally, in the spiritual world, there will be several fences with gates that you have to pass. For a well-functioning temple, these gates are guarded by angels and sometimes by human spirits. You cannot just enter the inner quarters of such a temple in the spiritual world. You will be checked at these gates and important are the offerings you carry with you.

At each level of the temple, from outer to inner, more cleansing is needed of yourself and what you carry. Suppose that you brought with you an object that belongs to an other religion, something that is considered unsacred by the angels controlling this particular temple, then your entrance will be refused.

The meaning of each temple is based on what is contained in the most inner or most holy part of the temple. Here is visible what is the center of worship. Sometimes this is a person, a saint, a founder of the religion, sometimes these are the holy books of the religion, sometimes these are objects of creation such as rocks or golden objects or flowers or fruits, and often it will be a combination of these.

In each temple there are different rooms, always organized from outer to inner or from inner to outer. There usually is a kind of front court. The meaning of this from a spiritual viewpoint is that here the visitor must put off what is unsacred. It is a place of cleansing before entering the deeper parts of the temple. In the physical world, such a space could be where you put off your shoes, where you wash your hands and face, where you leave behind the things of the world and where you maybe put on sacred clothing that you need to wear to enter the real temple.

The next level would be a place where offerings are brought, burnt offerings such as candles and the burning of incense to cleanse the atmosphere. Sometimes in the physical world in some temples of the past, animals were ritually killed here and the blood needs to run symbolizing the purification of the offering. This next level could also be a place of meeting, a place of worship, a place of offering things of creation (money for example). In spirit world, this level of the temple is that which is permitted for entrance for common believers in the faith, after they have gone through a cleansing in the hall or front court of the temple.

The most inner level of the temple is only accessible to ordained priests. Also in the spiritual world, this place is restricted to some selected angels or humans spirits who must perform priest-like functions. The angels usually have tasks of protection of this sphere.

Most external principles for temples of worship under good spirits are similar to those temples built by evil angels. There exist temples for worship of evil. In the center of such a temple in spirit world, fallen angels and fallen priests are serving.

The most inner level of God's Temple is where God's Spirit dwells. God's Spirit can come here when all the conditions for the temple are kept well, meaning that only believers and objects are allowed in the temple who and which are purified and sanctified.

The building of a central temple in a religion is first of all a spiritual accomplishment and it has tremendous importance. It needs a foundation of believers. In God's world, that foundation is called 'The Foundation to Receive the Messiah.' A temple for God is a place of power for God, a place from where God's ideal can be expanded. It cannot be built without an adequate foundation and once established, must be protected. As it is the center of the religion, if it would get invaded by evil in spirit world, it would not last in the physical world. An example for this is the temple of the Israelites that still existed in the time of Jesus, but that got destroyed about 40 years after Jesus' crucifixion.

Image:
Model of Second Temple made by Michael Osnis from Kedumim -From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Model_of_Second_Temple_made_by_Michael_Osnis_from_Kedumim_1.jpg