Explorers Edition: The Temple Jesus Actually Knew (and the One He’s Coming Back To)

Most of us carry a mental image of the Jerusalem Temple: towering walls, warning stones that threatened death to any Gentile who went further, a special Court of the Women complete with balconies, men only past the fifteen steps, and only priests allowed at the altar. That picture is historically accurate; but only for the final, Herodian version of the…