Page 112 - Satan in the Sanctuary

114 Satan in the Sanctuary

salem Temple was truly a marvel, even among the mag-
nificent architecture of its age.
The Temple's value as a military fortress was not un-
noticed. Huge walls surrounded the site and the city—a
comforting addition to an area that had seen battles and
lootings from time immemorial. A tall tower rose in the
foreground of the site. Josephus noted: "The temple was
a fortress that guarded the city, as was the tower of An-
tonia a guard to the temple; and in that tower were the
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guards of those three."
With all of the Greek tradition of gorgeous architecture,
and the Roman tradition of plenty of soldiers on the
scene, the Temple was still exemplary in its primary pur-
pose—the worship of God. The Day of Atonement—the
once-a-year owning up of the Jewish people to God for
their sins—was observed faithfully and with great fervor.
Steckoll writes:

It is said that there is no person holier than the High
Priest. There is no place holier than the Holy of Holies
[area] of the Temple. There is no holier time than during
the Day of Atonement. And nothing holier than the Inef-
fable Name of the Almighty God, the name which it is
forbidden to utter. These four come together and it was
the custom, before the destruction of the Temple, for the
High Priest to utter the Name of God on the Day of
Atonement in the Holy of Holies. Such was the awe in
which the annual occasion was held that the belief grew,
belief which in turn became dogma, that, should the
High Priest have the slightest impure thought while pro-
nouncing the Name of God in the Holy of Holies, the
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immediate destruction of the world would ensue.
It was perhaps this kind of premonition of doom, which
could hardly be respected by serious scholars of God's