Solomon's temple

Our local guide Sam told us that the original temple built by Solomon was on the sit of the Dome of the Rock. Solomon's temple fell with the Babylonian conquest foretold by Jeremiah. The Israelites were exiled to Babylonia, but returned in 538 BC. Alexander the Great conquered the area in 332 BC, and the Maccabean rebellion was in 167. The Romans took over the area in 63 BC, but then Herod the Great reconstructed the temple. That was the temple in which Jesus spoke. Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple which occured in 70 AD. All the geneological and other records were destroyed in that fire, and the Hebrews no longer had the center of their religion -- no Holy of Holies, no sacrificial sites, nothing. When Jesus died, the veil of the temple was torn into -- the one covering the tabernacle (Holy of Holies) which contained the Ark of the Covenant. Only the high priest could enter the Holy of Holies, once per year on the feast of Purim. The rending of the veil signified that ALL could now come to God -- Jesus was the new Ark of the Covenant. After leaving the Temple Mount, we went to the pools of Bethesda where Jesus healed the paralytic. This is located near St. Stephen's gate and in the courtyard of the church of St. Anne (the traditional site of Mary's birthplace). Excavations in 1871 uncovered these pools that were used as a rain catchment during Herod's reign. The man healed of his paralysis was evidently not healed in his soul, because he turned Jesus in to the officials for healing on the Sabbath!