Note: Solomon's Temple is not to be confused
with the Second Temple built by King Herod centuries later.
The Anthropic Temple
King Solomon's temple, also called the First Temple, may have been constructed in the hidden form of a human body which is actually a composite of three biblical figures, says temple researcher Tony Badillo. The three are the Levitical High Priest, Jacob and a "metallic Messiah." The measurements and description of the temple are given in I Kings 6:1-8:7 and II Chronicles 3:1-5:9. Based primarily on these verses, Jewish and Christian reference works depict the holy house as a rectangular structure with a triple-tiered row of cells wrapping around three of its sides, north, south and west. See below and next illustration.
The key, says Badillo, is in the (floor) plan of the temple
and the correct arrangement of its interior and exterior furniture.
The Divine plan (Heb., tabnit) is specifically referred
to in I Chronicles 28:11, 12, 18 and it was followed precisely
by King Solomon, as had Moses before him when he built the tabernacle.
See Exodus 25:9, 40 where tabnit is translated as "pattern"
in the Jewish Publication Society's Tanach and other Bibles, but
some prefer "design," instead.
Here is how the High Priest's
body and clothing correspond to the Temple and all its furniture:
TREASURIES/PRIESTS' CELLS = The High Priest's turban. See illustration
below for more details.
TWO LARGE STARS (cherubs) = Two eyes. Cherubs are winged men, not winged lions.
ARK with two small stars = Nose. Poles = nostrils. Poles were drawn forward, I Kings 8:8; II Chronicles 5:9.
STAIRWAY from Holy Place to Holy of Holies = Neck or throat.
INCENSE ALTAR = Heart.
SHOWBREAD TABLES with Bread and Wine = Flesh
and blood (the human body); 12 cakes =12 tribes of Israel.
LAMPSTANDS (7 branched) = Light, Sabbath; Spirit.
ENTRANCES on shoulders = Epaulets with six stones each (6 + 6
= 12) for the twelve tribes, Exodus 28:6 - 12.
PORCH = Pelvis, symbolizing childbirth; procreation.
TEN LAVERS, five on each side = five fingers of each hand.
TWIN PILLARS Jachin and Boaz = Legs.
BURNT or SACRIFICIAL ALTAR = Feet, footstool;
marriage.
SEA OF BRONZE with12 BULLS = Red Sea crossing by the 12 tribes.
Otherwise it served as a wash laver for the priests.
Notice above that it is the High Priest's turban (Heb., misnepet) which corresponds to the western end of the Temple building. The common priest's cap (migbaot) was probably more globular and may have appeared like an inverted cup or calyx; however, it too was a type of turban. Translators often make no distinctions between these two Hebrew words, rendering both as "turban" or "miter."
Garments of White Outside; Gold Inside
The previous illustration is largely self-explanatory and was reproduced almost exactly as it appears in Badillo's study paper King Solomon's Astonishing Temple Secrets, which he hopes to have published as a book. The exterior of Solomon's temple, like the Second Temple built by Herod centuries later, was constructed of the brightest white limestone blocks carved from the hills of Judah; their color corresponds to the High Priest's "Garments of White" worn on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. On the remaining days of the year, however, he wore the "Garments of Gold" and these correspond to the gold interior of the temple.
Jacob as Temple Man
Jewish tradition tells us that Jacob (forefather of the twelve Israelite tribes) saw the Temple in advance in his dream at Bethel. After seeing angels ascending and descending on a stairway, he says in Genesis 28:17, "This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven." The house of God is another name for the Temple, and King Solomon's Astonishing Temple Secrets uses this scene to explain why Jacob is the second Temple Man. Jacob's raised head relates to an elevated Holy of Holies, and the rock he used for a headrest to the Even Shetiyah, the "Foundation Stone" where Abraham bound Isaac. The floor of Holy of Holies was directly over this Foundation Stone or rock. Only the Stone may be seen today inside the Dome of the Rock mosque at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
KING
SOLOMON'S METALLIC MESSIAH AND HEAD OF GOLD
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S METAL STATUE
At left is King Nebuchadnezzar's metallic statue which he saw
in a dream, Daniel 2:31 - 33. As can be seen below, the statue
is the counter part of King Solomon's metallic temple messiah.
The four metals of Nebuchadnezzar's statue represent four kingdoms
(the clay counts with the iron). Jewish and Christian Bible expositors
tell us the kingdoms depict secular, Gentile world dominance throughout
the ages symbolized in one man. The four world ruling kingdoms
are Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece and Rome, according to the traditional
view, which is quite well known among prophecy watchers. It should
be noted that the metallic statue is of a nude man, no clothes
are given him in Daniel's description. As shown below, the Temple's
metallic messiah is also disrobed so that onenude figure is compared
with another. But the messiah figure has only three metals: gold,
silver and bronze, which correspond to the three metals used in
the tabernacle, Exodus 25:3, 31:4; 35:5. Nebuchadnezzar's metallic
statue is directly related to Solomon's Metallic Messiah for a
very good reason: both portray world
rule in a human figure. But in the messianic figure gold depicts
royalty, silver priesthood and bronze human flesh (i.e., humanity).
Below, the Bronze Sea is not part of the human anatomy and is
therefore excluded.
SOLOMON'S METALLIC MESSIAH
How were the metals for the messiah determined? Since the Temple was in the hidden form of a man, it means its interior also depicts a hidden man; and since the interior was plated with silver and gold, then the inward man must be composed of these metals plus bronze (the outside furniture). The inside gold plating of the Holy of Holies, Holy Place and Porch are referred to in I Kings 6:20 - 22 and II Chronicles 3:4 - 10; bronze furnishings in I Kings 7:15 - 27 and II Chronicles 4:1 - 12. This gives the Metallic Messiah a golden head and torso, with hands, legs and feet of bronze. Only his arms and shoulders of silver need explaining. The interior silver plating is deduced from I Chronicles 29:3 - 5 which refers to certain Temple cells with silver plated walls. These cells, which surrounded the Temple on three sides, form the turban, arms and shoulders of Temple Man; but the turban is excluded in this case because we are comparing one nude figure with another. The 90 silver cells relate to the 100 silver sockets used in the tabernacle, Exodus 38:27, and these numbers relate to the ages of Sarah and Abraham at Isaac's birth. Silver is linked to priest- hood and sacrifices. Send comments to Tony Badillo : tonybadillo@earthlink.net
Copyright©1999 by Vivian M. All rights reserved.
About the Author: How did I become interested in this topic? Originally I became somewhat intrigued by an article in a religious encyclopedia mentioning that decades ago an Italian researcher named Pierotti was assured by Arabs that two fountains near the sakhra (rock) produced bitter tasting water because they were linked to the Temple's ancient sacrificial rites. But Pierotti found the water to be sweet, instead. But more specifically, I came upon a diagram of the (Solomonic) floor plan in a pictorial dictionary. Although the artist who drew it made several mistakes, I thought that the diagram vaguely resembled or could resemble a human face and torso. It seemed a wild idea but over the period of a few months, and as I made corrections based on research, I discovered that the Temple's floor plan, indeed, revealed a head and torso. But where were his limbs? These were discovered later and very slowly after much consideration of the biblical text. I made various mistakes along the way and even created diagrams which I later rejected. I remember one case where I showed the poles of the Ark pointing north and south, only to find out later that the poles could be "seen" from the Holy Place. How could this be since the Holy of Holies was dark and a veil or curtain separated the two rooms? In a manuscript I was writing, I provided what is essentially a Jewish solution, while pointing the poles west to east. I then redrew my diagram.
After I had gathered all the information I needed and resolved various difficult questions to my satisfaction, I set about trying to find out whether anybody else had ever made such a discovery (that the Temple was built in the hidden form of a man). Soon after I had my answer. Yes, there was a Jewish tradition of such a concept and it was referred to in some books. But I soon discovered that the Temple-Man view in these sources was not well defined and the explanations were incomplete or wrong in major ways. However, it was good that others had thought along the same general lines, this was not one individual's strange idea. One source where the concept appears is Rabbi Leibel Reznick's "The Temple Revisited" (see his Introduction, pp. xiv, xv.) Another is The Tanach Study Center. Also some works on kabbalism allude to it. Nevertheless, my ideas did not originate from any of these sources or others, they only helped confirm what I had already found through independent Bible study.
Still later, I discovered that the Egyptian pyramids also manifest a Temple-Man concept, according to Schwaller de Lubicz. And although I am uncertain at this point, the concept may have also existed in the design and art-form of the Aztec or Mayan pyramids. If so, they all possibly depict one view: the relationship between God (the Head) and humanity (the body). However, I believe that Solomon's temple not only depicts this but also the Divine objective: the ultimate redemption of the human race. Tony Badillo, October 30, 1999. tonybadillo@earthlink.net