Page 111 - Satan in the Sanctuary

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likely the superlative tourist attraction of its time, with
its unusual mixture of architecture, politics, manners, and
morals.
Then Herod proposed to replace the house of God.
Zerubbabel's Temple was too small, he said. Jerusalem,
with its new (Greek) grandeur, should have a fitting
monument to the God who had inspired such fascinating
lore as the learned Jews could tell. Herod utilized the
Jewish "legends" as an excuse to spend the public funds
on his masterpiece, gaining the approval of the Jewish
leaders and many of the people.
The project was passed off as a "remodeling" of the
original second temple, but was in reality a complete re-
building. The main structures were in place in eight
years time, but the adornments took another seventy years.
There is no doubt that this shrine rose to world im-
portance for its beauty, but it asked the Jews to swallow
some obvious paganism. Massive Corinthian columns
rose to support the main structure, and the detested eagle
of Rome dominated the entrance, defying the Jewish pro-
hibition on graven images.
Herod continued to Hellenize the other cities of Pales-
tine with expensive public buildings unimpressive to the
Jews. Revolutionists plotted against him constantly and
the aging king took to brutal public punishments of the
suspects. He disguised himself on occasion, went out
among the people and did his own police work. He man-
aged to die a natural death, just at the time Christ was
born, but his project of embellishing the Temple went on
for the better part of a century.
During the ministry of Jesus and well beyond, Hellenic
"improvements" were constantly added until the Jeru-