Dedicating the Temple

What does dedicating the temple really mean?

Chanukah (Hanukkah) is a festival celebrated by Jews world wide and especially in the United States of America. Chanukah has also came to be celebrated by many of the Children of Truth (followers of the Man of Truth) in the United States and other countries as well.  Why would the Children of Truth celebrate a Jewish holiday?  What does Chanukah have to do with following the Man of Truth ?

Chanukah means "dedication". In particular it is celebrating the Maccabees dedicating the Temple after driving out the Syrian king of Greek descent who had desecrated it.

This was the third time that the Temple had been dedicated.  The First Temple was dedicated by King Solomon (2 Chronicles 6:1-3). The First Temple was destroyed because of the disobedience of the Jews and then the Second Temple was commanded to be built when they returned to obedience (Ezra 5:11-13).  The Second Temple was then built in troublesome times as the Prophet of Truth had foretold (Daniel 9:25).  The Second Temple was then dedicated a second time by the people of Israel (Ezra 6:15-17).  Then the Syrian king of Greek descent desecrated the Second Temple after he was pushed out of Egypt as the Prophet of Truth had foretold (Daniel 11:29-31).  That is when the Maccabees rose up and drove out the Syrian king of Greek descent at great personal cost because of their dedication to the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) (Daniel 11:32-35).  After eight days of cleaning, the Second Temple was dedicated a second time.  This second dedication of the Second Temple is commemorated by the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) that the Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) celebrated at the Second Temple (John 10:22-23).

This Second Temple had been greatly expanded after the Maccabees by Herod the Great to show his dedication to the Law of Truth (Torah aka The Law) until it had become the largest religious structure in history.  It grew to the point of being able to hold 300,000 people at a time.  The only other structure of any kind in history that could hold as many people was the Circus Maximus in Rome.  It was twenty times the size of the Temple of Diana in Ephesus that Herodotus had listed as the greatest of the seven wonders of the ancient world while the First Temple was still in ruins (Acts 19:26-28).

People had given so much gold for use in the Second Temple to show their dedication to the Law of Truth that it was likely the largest single accumulation of gold in one place in all of history (Matthew 23:16).  It had many beautiful buildings inside of it (Matthew 24:1).  All of these massive and majestic buildings caused it to be considered to be the most beautiful building in the world (Mark 13:1-2).  These buildings were decorated with costly stones and gifts that people had given to show their dedication to the Father of Truth (Luke 21:5).  The rulers and people of Israel had been expanding and decorating the Second Temple for 46 years to show their dedication to the Law of Truth when the Man of Truth celebrated the Feast of Dedication (Chanukah) there (John 2:20).

The people of Israel were so dedicated to the Second Temple that it became even more magnificent than the First Temple that Solomon had built (Haggai 2:9).

However, dedicating the Temple in this manner was not pleasing to the Father of Truth.  He brought about destruction of the First Temple because the people of Israel had been dedicated to the First Temple but not to Him (2 Chronicles 7:19-22).  The Man of Truth said that His Father would also destroy the Second Temple (Matthew 24:1-2).  Not only the Second Temple, but the entire city of Jerusalem, was destroyed because the people of Israel had been dedicated to the Temple but not to the Son that the Father of Truth had sent (Luke 19:41-44).

Their dedication to the Second Temple was useless because they were not dedicated to the Son that was greater than the Temple (Matthew 12:6-8).  In like manner, many that call themselves the Children of Truth are dedicated to their church or synagogue but they are not dedicated to the Father of Truth that they gather to worship in their building!

While buildings to congregate in are necessary and the Father of Truth honors the dedication of buildings to be used for His purposes this by itself is not the kind of dedicating the temple that pleases Him.

No building can contain the Father of Truth for the universe cannot contain Him (1 Kings 8:27).  How could He dwell on the Earth? (2 Chronicles 6:18).

His Son was with Him when He created everything and was like the Father of Truth in every way (John 1:1-3). His Son, the Man of Truth, dwelt among men (John 1:14).  It was the same as if His Father was personally dwelling among men on the Earth (John 14:8-10).

The Spirit of Truth (Ruach HaQodesh aka The Holy Spirit aka The Holy Ghost) dwelt between the Cherubim on the lid of the Ark of the Covenant that was in the Holy of Holies in the First and Second Temple (Isaiah 37:16).  That same Spirit dwelt in the Man of Truth (Luke 4:1). The body of the Man of Truth was the temple that mattered more than the massive and beautiful buildings that had been dedicated to the Father of Truth (John 2:20-22).

The same Spirit of Truth dwells in the Children of Truth (Romans 8:11).  Since the Spirit of Truth dwells in the Children of Truth then each of their bodies is also a temple that matters more than their large and beautiful buildings that have been dedicated to the Father of Truth (1 Corinthians 3:16).  He will destroy those that defile this temple (1 Corinthians 3:17).

How can this temple be defiled?

It can be defiled by sexual sin (Romans 1:24).  Homosexuality is one way to defile this temple (Romans 1:26-27).  However, anyone engaging with sex with a partner of the opposite sex other than their spouse is also defiling the temple (1 Corinthians 6:15-17). 

This temple was made for the purposes of the Father of Truth and not for fornication (1 Corinthians 6:13).   The Children of Truth are dedicating the temple when they flee from fornication (sex outside of marriage) of any kind because fornication destroys the temple (1 Corinthians 6:18).  This is the kind of dedicating the temple that that He desires (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

When the Children of Truth give their bodies over to His purposes by living differently that those that do not know Him then they are dedicating their temple (Romans 12:1-2).  Their bodies are the temple of the Spirit of Truth and they should dedicate their temple to the will of the Father of Truth just like the Man of Truth did when he paid for their sins with his very life (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  The Children of Truth are dedicating the temple when they put to death all of the evil desires of their bodies (Galatians 5:24).

This dedicating the temple was so important that it was one of only four things that the Gentiles who believed were commanded to continue doing until they could learn more about the Law of Truth (Acts 15:19-21).   Dedicating the temple in this manner was one of the four necessary things that the Gentile believers had to continue doing in order to do well (Acts 15:28-30).  This dedicating the temple was the same for the Gentile believers as fulfilling an oath in the Second Temple was for the Jewish believers (Acts 21:24-26).

This is dedicating the temple is not not a one time ceremony like the dedication of the First Temple or the dedication of a new building to congregate in.  This is dedicating the temple, your body, as a living sacrifice by living according to the reasonable constraints placed upon it by the Father of Truth (Romans 12:1).  This sacrifice of dedicating the temple is done daily like those that the priests presented every morning and evening in the First Temple and Second Temple (1 Peter 2:4-5).

If we are not dedicating the temple by keeping our bodies from sin then we will be destroyed for defiling the temple - even if we have been used to bring the Good News to others (1 Corinthians 9:27)!  Anyone that is not so dedicating the temple will not have a place in His kingdom (Galatians 5:19-21).

If you are a Child of Truth then you may have realized for the first time that you have been defiling the temple and are wondering what you can do about it.  Like the Maccabees, you can put an end to the defilement of the temple by putting an end to your sexual sin like the woman who was caught in adultery (John 8:10-12).  Like the Maccabees, you can clean the temple by removing every filthy thought out of your mind and replacing them with thoughts that are fitting instead (Philippians 4:8).  Like the Maccabees, you can start dedicating the temple a second time because the Man of Truth is your advocate (1 John 2:1-3).

If you are not a Child of Truth then your body is not the temple of the Spirit of Truth.  It will only become the temple of the Spirit of Truth when you come into the House of Truth (Romans 8:9).  After you come into the House of Truth then the Spirit of Truth will give you the ability to start dedicating the temple (Galatians 5:21-23).  You first come into the House of Truth by calling the Man of Truth your boss in every area of your life because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth.

Chasing Aphrodite

What does it really take to be attractive?

Ladies, are you tired of the never ending struggle, to be that perfect woman?  You go through waxing and other tortures to meet some ever changing standard of beauty.  You work out and starve yourself to get one dress size smaller but it just gets harder every year.  You squish your innards to make your waist seem smaller.  The clothes, that retailers told you, that you had to have last year, are no longer good enough to die in, according to those same retailers this year.  You constantly worry yourself over your hair and nails.  You squeeze your feet into shoes that are too tight in the toes, and that are damaging to your ankles just so your legs will appear to be a little smoother.  You constantly spend money to have the latest fashion, the newest make up and the rarest perfume.  You just can never seem to be good enough.  Would you like to get off of the hamster wheel?  Are you tired of chasing Aphrodite?

Gentlemen, are you tired of women, who never seem as good a few years after, you first become involved with them?  You meet a woman that seems perfect, but somehow she always deteriorates into someone, that you cannot stand to be around.  Then you meet another woman, and the same thing happens again.  This pattern seems to continue with no end in sight.  You might even think, that you need to up your game, so you start trying to improve yourself, so that you can obtain that perfect woman.  You go to the gym to become more buff.  You work long hours, and do whatever it takes to become richer.  You drive the nicest cars, and wear the best suits.  Then you spend, spend, spend, on what you have been lead to believe, is a better class of woman.  Still, it is all in vain.  No matter how classy the woman that you find, in the end the pattern still holds true. You just can never seem to be good enough.  Would you like to get off of the hamster wheel?  Are you tired of chasing Aphrodite?

Ladies and Gentlemen, you are not the first generation to chase Aphrodite.  In fact, chasing Aphrodite was the root of marital and sexual dissatisfaction among the Corinthians that Shual (aka Paul) had to address in his letters to them. You see Aphrodite was the principle deity that was worshiped in Corinth.  She was literally a sex goddess.  Every night, more than a thousand harlots (temple prostitutes) would descend upon Corinth from the temple of Aphrodite that was on the high hill that over shadowed Corinth.  These women were chasing Aphrodite in order to be seen as among the most beautiful women in the world.  They would engage in every imaginable sexual activity, often right in the middle of the street, with any man that was willing.  In first century Greek culture, to call a woman a Corinthian was the same as calling her a harlot.  These men were chasing Aphrodite in order to be seen as a man that could obtain a perfect woman.  The man had to promise to make an offering to Aphrodite at the Temple and give an offering to the harlot if he could although an oath to do so was sometimes accepted.  A young man might not have to even pay anything for his first encounter.  Of course, the men were also encouraged to drink wine to lose their inhibitions.  The men would soon be hooked on the harlots and making frequent offerings to Aphrodite.  In first century Greek culture, to call a man a Corinthian was the same as calling him a drunkard.   Those who were chasing Aphrodite made Las Vegas look like Disney Land compared to first century Corinth.

Although those who ran the temple of Aphrodite had promised satisfaction to their adherents, inevitably those who were chasing Aphrodite found themselves to be miserable.  Why is that chasing Aphrodite is never leads to long term satisfaction?

Aphrodite is like a woman that I heard speak at a church one time.  This woman had been a model for a well known pornographic magazine and later went on to model for fashion magazines.   She explained that they would spend hours preparing her and the setting for a shoot, including rubbing oil all over her body to accentuate every nuance.  They would then have her pose in dozens of positions and shoot a photo of each position from more than fifty camera shots adjusting the camera angle and lighting for each shot.  After it was over, they would have sometimes have a thousand photos, of which they would use one for the magazine.  This woman stated that not even she could look as good as she looked in the final photo all of the time.  She could never be good enough.  So one day she got off the hamster wheel.  She was done chasing Aphrodite.  How was she able to stop chasing Aphrodite?

She had been reading the Book of Truth (The Bible) and discovered the truth about chasing Aphrodite.  She also discovered how to stop chasing Aphrodite.

She realized that she could never be as good enough for those that are chasing Aphrodite because Aphrodite is not real.  Those that are chasing Aphrodite are chasing after the unrealistic imaginations of men instead of the truth that comes from the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) (2 Kings 17:14-16).   [Aphrodite is known by different names in different cultures.  Some of those names are Asherah, Ashtoreth, Ashtaroth, Ishtar, Esther and Easter.]  Aphrodite was an idol and idols have no basis in reality (Jeremiah 10:14-15).  Those who are chasing Aphrodite, are being lead about by an idol that can never help them to become good enough (Habakkuk 2:18-19).  Aphrodite was the chief idol that carried away the people in Corinth to a state of continual dissatisfaction (1 Corinthians 12:2).

In like manner, men can never measure up when they are chasing Aphrodite.  Her lovers are often shown with begetters (those things men use to beget children) the size of a horse (Ezekiel 23:20).   I saw pictures of the lovers of Aphrodite on ancient pottery when I used to live in Greece and their begetter was literally shown to be that size in the pictures.

She realized that chasing Aphrodite is destructive. The Father of Truth divided Israel into two kingdoms because Solomon was chasing Aphrodite (1 Kings 11:31-33).   Those in Corinth that were Children of Truth (those that obey the Father of Truth because they love Him) would lose their salvation if they left the House of Truth to return to chasing Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:9).  Chasing Aphrodite can even destroy your health (1 Corinthians 6:18).  Chasing Aphrodite caused those that once followed the Father of Truth (YHVH aka God aka THE LORD) to be destroyed (1 Corinthians 10:6-8).

She realized that chasing Aphrodite was a spiritual thing.  You probably are not literally bowing down to an idol made of white marble like the Corinthians but that does not mean that you are not chasing Aphrodite.  Aphrodite is a spirit that leads to whoredom whose goal is to separate you from the Father of Truth (Exodus 34:13-16).   Aphrodite is a Spirit of Lies (devil aka demon aka unclean spirit aka god) that keeps you from giving yourself to the purposes of the Father of Truth because you sacrifice so much to chase after what Aphrodite represents (Deuteronomy 32:17).  Aphrodite is a spirit that leads to fornication (2 Chronicles 21:11). [Fornication comes from the same Greek root word as pornography and means ANY sex other than between a husband and his wife.]   Aphrodite is a spirit that leads to adultery (Jeremiah 7:8-10).  The Man of Truth (Yeshua HaMashiach aka Jesus Christ) said that if a man lusts after any woman other than his wife then he is committing adultery which is chasing Aphrodite (Matthew 5:27-28).  The Man of Truth said that the actions that come from chasing Aphrodite starts in the spirit of the person (Matthew 15:19).  Any time a man joins his body to a harlot he is chasing Aphrodite because he has joined his spirit to Aphrodite (1 Corinthians 6:15-17).  Any sacrifice that you make in chasing Aphrodite is a sacrifice to a Spirit of Lies (1 Corinthians 10:19-21).  If you are coveting another person other than your spouse as a sex partner or coveting being lusted after as a sex partner by any person other than your spouse then you an idolater that is chasing Aphrodite (Ephesians 5:5).

She stopped chasing Aphrodite when she started pursuing the things that the Father of Truth said were worth pursuing.  Husbands stop chasing Aphrodite when they look to satisfy the sexual needs of their own wife and wives stop chasing Aphrodite when they look to satisfy the sexual needs of their own husband (1 Corinthians 7:2-4).  Single people stop chasing Aphrodite when they learn to be content with pursuing the Man of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:7-9).  Single men stop chasing Aphrodite when they seek to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to the Man of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:32).  Married men stop chasing Aphrodite when they seek to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to their wife.  (1 Corinthians 7:33)  Likewise married women stop chasing Aphrodite when they seek to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to their husband while single women stop chasing Aphrodite when they seek to dress and conduct themselves in a manner that is pleasing to the Man of Truth (1 Corinthians 7:34).  The Children of Truth stop chasing Aphrodite when they no longer seek to be joined to those that are not following the Man of Truth (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).  The Children of Truth stop chasing Aphrodite when they decide to separate themselves from those that do not are not in the family of the Father of Truth (2 Corinthians 6:17-18).

The truth is that you are more than good enough the way that the Father of Truth made you so you do not need to be chasing Aphrodite (Psalm 139:14).   A woman who does what is pleasing to the Father of Truth will want to marry a man that seeks to please the Father of Truth (Ruth 3:9-11).  A man who does what is pleasing to the Father of Truth highly values a woman that seeks to please the Father of Truth (Proverbs 31:10).  Those who seek to please the Father of Truth no longer find themselves chasing Aphrodite (Proverbs 31:30).  People are freed from the hamster wheel when they come to know the truth by coming into the House of Truth (John 8:31-32).

Are you tired of chasing Aphrodite?

You can come into the House of Truth by seeking to please the Man of Truth in all you do because you believe that the Father of Truth raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

Come into the House of Truth.