OT vs. NT Temple

A friend of mine was questioning the purpose of the LDS Temple. To him, believing in Jesus Christ should be enough without needing anything else for salvation. For my friend, if Christ is our only mediator with God the Father, then what purpose is a temple?

In response, I told him he was being too concrete about the NT temple ceremony. Christ said he would reveal the mysteries of the kingdom in parables. Consequently, being concrete about the temple demonstrates how you easily many look past the spiritual significance and meaning behind the ritual.

According to Acts 2, the temple as well the Lords Supper remained a central part of Early Christian worship. In fact, Acts 2:44-47 says that it is a benefit of temple attendance and regular observance of the Lord's Supper that empowers the Early Christian Saints in their ability to eat their meat with gladness, and singleness of heart, praise God, find favour with all the people, and add to the church daily. After the temple was destroyed in AD 79, we see the church begin to go into decline and Apostasy. How can I prove the Apostasy? We no longer live with all things in common. The covenant of consecration/sanctification is the NT temple covenant that Christ revealed to the rich young man when He said, "If thou wilt be perfect, sell all that thou hast, give to the poor, and come and follow me." The Story of communalism is the story of Thanksgiving and also big part of the Early days of the LDS Church.

Acts 2:44-47 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Yes, Joseph Smith did borrow or was inspired by a few elements of the Masonic Ritual. He was impressed by how the ritual symbolism placed the most educated and uneducated on an equal level. The man plowing the field could learn truth along with the most educated.

The endowment ceremony is represented in scripture in other forms such as the vision of Lehi/Nephi, the vision of Moses, King Benjamin's speech, and Christ's covenant people speech among others. The symbol and ritual used may be different, but what is being taught is the same.

But most make the mistake of thinking that Masonic and LDS ritual teach the same thing. They do not. Equating them other than superficially would be like saying a powerpoint presentation on Biology was teaching the same thing as a powerpoint on Art History.

In the OT temple, only the high priest representing Christ was able to pass through the veil once a year. That priest dressed in white and passed through a thick 3-4 inch veil with embroidered angels representing the angels who guard the way of the tree of life.

In the NT temple, the veil is thin and almost see through. The veil has perforations which allow people to pass representing the torn veil at Christ's death. FYI, the Bible said the veil was torn, it does not say the veil fell down as it was hanging up like a curtain.

A person representing Jesus Christ is the only one that stands on the other side of the veil representing that Christ has been the only one who was able to pass through the veil. The true believers are washed, anointed, and clothed in white clothing (sanctification) as the OT high priest, and they are brought through the veil by Christ who was the first. The other assistants at the veil on our side of the veil represent the embroidered angels who stand in the way of the tree of life. Except now they help us and present us at the veil instead of impede our access to it.

But it is only Christ alone that has bridged the gulf between God the Father and Man that brings us through the veil into the presence of the Father.

Other Notes

Many Evangelicals rejection of priesthood, church organization, and gifts of God come down to a reactionary response and rejection of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Because they do not accept Papal authority, they interpret the Bible to say anything having to do with hierarchy, authority, and gifts has been done away. This includes the temple.

Acts 2:44-47 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

The Bible contains many details about the temple such as the OT veil was 4in thick with embroidered seriphs representing the angels who guard the way of the tree of life after the Fall 0f Adam and Eve.

We know the temple will be rebuilt but in the Last Days unto every nation, kindred, tongue, and people instead of only one nation, kindred, tongue and people.

The NT veil is white, thin, and has partitions representing the torn veil and that the atonement of Christ has bridged the chasm between God and man. Now all Gods children can become sanctified and pass through the veil and past the angels into the presence of God and partake of the tree of life.

Remember Rev 1-3 and the promises of John to those that have have overcome the world have have not themselves been overcome: they are promised to be made kings and priests unto God, to eat of the tree of life, to be given "hidden manna", to be given a new name, and to be blessed to sit with Christ in His throne with Him. These promises are realized in the NT Temple.

In the OT temple the priests wore multicolored robes and undergarments and only the high priest once a year was permitted to be washed and annointed to pass into the holie of holies. Now through Christ and the higher covenant, all of Gods children are blessed to wear white robes, and pass through the veil into Gods presence through Christ.

John asks who are all these people dressed in white robes. The angel said, these are they who have sanctified themselves and washed their garments white in the blood of the lamb and serve day and night in His temple.

The veil doesn't separate. There are partitions. But obviously, you aren't in the presence of the Father at this moment. The temple symbolically represents the promise and process of actuually entering into heaven into the presence of the Father.
You are being too concrete. The temple is a parable. The veil represents the actual reality that you and I are not in heaven with the Father right now. A person representing the Lord Jesus Christ at the veil represents that only Jesus Christ can bring us through the veil into the presence of God.

1. Christ said he would reveal the mysteries of the kingdom in parables is the wicked would not understand them because they don't pay enough attention to the meaning behind the story. The LDS temple is a parable. 1. Matt 13:11. Luke 8:10

2. You are not literally in heaven seeing the Father in the flesh with your natural eyes. So, therefore there is a veil present currently in this sense.

3. The person at the veil represents the Lord Jesus Christ at the veil at the Final Judgement. What happens is all symbolic. Don't get so concrete about it. The symbolic meaning of what is happening is what is important over the concrete symbols themselves.

You miss the whole point of the OT temple. The shortcoming of the OT temple was that only one person per year was able to pass into the Holy of Holies.

Now in the NT temple everyone can be washed and annointed, dressed in white priesthood robes like the priests and be brought through the veil by Christ who was the first, and who tore the veil to make a way for the rest of us to pass through.

Remember Paul said the Levitical Priesthood had not the power to make one perfect else why would another priest arise after the Order of Melchesidek. Ie Christ.

Therefore Christ was the first to pass into the presence of the Father and has made a way for the rest of us to become sanctified and pass as He has done.

As far as the oaths associated with the temple covenants, they were a reminder of the example of Annanias and Sopphira who broke the higher covenant of sanctification/consecration by withholding a portion and were struck dead by God. That's kind of a OT thing for God to do in Acts. But this part of the older temple ritual just reminds us of the spiritual consequences of breaking our covenants. Again these are just ritual symbolism teaching something symbolically.

Joseph Smith confessed he was impressed by the Masonic ritual and how it taught abstract truth using ritual symbolism to the learned and refined as well as the unlearned and illiterate. So, yes Joseph Smith felt inspired to barrow the system the same way your preacher may give a lecture using Microsoft Powerpoint. If you were to see a lecture on Biology and History, you may assume the same thing was being taught if you only focused in the laser pointer dark room and slides. Conversely, the message of the Masonic ritual and the LDS temple is totally different.

The LDS temple is about Jesus Christ and tells the story of creation, fall, our separation from God and the Tree of Life, and the plan of salvation by which through Christs atonement we can receive the higher covenant and become prepared and sanctified, to again enter I to the presence of the Father through Christ. Realizing Gods love for you through His plan gives you an eternal perspective that empowers that person to resist sin better.

The message of the Masonic ritual is about Hyrim Abiff and becoming a better man, citizen by learning about Gods charactistics as a creator, how God brings order to chaos, and by contemplating ones death to acheive a higher perspective.

Christ stands at the veil and makes us worthy. Those who follow Christ are washed and anointed and clothed in beautiful white robes. We are then brought through the partitioned veil by Christ. Again, the temple is a parable, don't get too concrete about it. It's symbolically teaching this.

How welcome are the poor, the fatherless and the widow without means to travel around the world to the temple. In the Last Days, the NT Temple is being made available to all people, nations kindreds and tongues, and even the poor, fatherless, widows, etc. Everyone is invited and if they have faith in Christ, He will empower anyone to forsake the sins listed in 1 Cor 5

Paul says is any man be called a brother who is guilty of: Fornication, Covetness, Idolatry, Railing, Drunkenness, Extortion

These should receive correction, disipline and assistance by the Church or be cast out. False religion speaks nothing of these sins and continues to serve the flesh and blood of the Lords Supper to those who are unworthy or unrepentant.

This sin is called priestcraft, or gainsaying and is represented by Aaron who took the gold of the Israelites and made them a false God so they could defile themselves.

The OT Temple was given to one nation=Israel
The OT Temple was given to one kindred=Abraham,Isaac, Jacob
The OT Temple was given to one tongue=Hebrew
The OT Temple was given to one people=Israelites
John saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven with the seal of God and everlasting gospel to give to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people.

The NT Temple is given to All Nations
The NT Temple is given to All Kindreds
The NT Temple is given to All Tongues
The NT Temple is given to All Peoples

and the Last shall be first and the first shall be Last. After the NT temple has been built to all nations, it will finally be rebuilt in Jerusalem to the Jews.