Did King Solomon's Temple in
Jerusalem actually exist, or was it a metaphor for wisdom?
The Secret of Solomon’s
Temple: A Sacred Site or a Metaphor for Enlightenment?
by Philip Gardiner
For centuries, Christians, Freemasons, Jews,
Knights Templar and other sects and religions have sought to uncover
the truth behind Solomon’s Temple, and they continue today to fight
for control of what they believe to be the sacred temple site. In
fact, scholars and academics have neither confirmed the location nor
have they discovered archaeological remains of the temple, while
conspiracy theorists accuse the various interested parties of
covering up the legacy of Solomon, the King of Israel.
Some believe that Solomon’s temple lies beneath the stones of
Jerusalem, and therein lies its importance to today’s world.
The fact is that the teachings of the ancients as revealed through
the stories of Solomon and Sheba were actually a working-through of
a psychological process of inner balance. They gave us this teaching
in the only way they knew, through analogy and symbology built
around their own worldview. Part of that symbology was the concept,
rather than the actual construction, of Solomon’s Temple.
The research for my book, Gnosis: The Secrets of Solomon’s Temple
Revealed, and evidence from other historians and archaeologists
shows that the temple was purely a metaphor and never existed in
reality. According to Professor James Pritchard in his book, Solomon
and Sheba:
". . . Megiddo, Gezer and Hazor and
Jerusalem were in reality more like villages. . . with small
public buildings and poorly constructed dwellings with clay
floors. The objects reveal a material culture, which, even by the
standards of the ancient Near East, could not be judged
sophisticated or luxurious. The ‘magnificence’ of the age of
Solomon is parochial and decidedly lackluster . . "
Again we find the author David Rohl in his
book A Test of Time: The Bible from Myth to History, claiming
that the temple could not have been built at that time:
"when it comes to the Iron Age (which is
purportedly the time of Solomon and his ally, Hiram of Tyre) there
are no stone buildings…. how then did Solomon acquire building
expertise from Phoenicia if the Phoenicians did not have the skill
or resources to build stone structures?"
A temple of the magnitude described in
religious texts would have had to be an archaeological miracle,
impossible to achieve in the era of its supposed construction. Ruins
of a massive edifice with all its fabled, magnificent surroundings
have never been discovered. Excavations have turned up only simple
structures in humble hamlets. Even the location of the temple is
hotly debated––it simply cannot be found.
Another clue to the secret of the temple is the discovery that the
word Baphomet is derived from the Latin words for the Temple of
Solomon, and Baphomet, the head, is what the Knights Templar were
accused of worshipping. Baphe means immersion and metis
means wisdom. Therefore, Baphomet is the immersion of oneself into
wisdom, it is the true temple.
I believe that the writings of Moses, the Prophets and those of all
earlier teachers are not to be taken literally, but
figuratively––they contain a secret meaning hidden behind the words.
There was no Temple of Solomon, and there is no archaeological or
historical evidence that Solomon or his Queen, Sheba, ever lived. We
are left with only one reason for the telling of the old stories of
the king and the temple. The stories are metaphoric parables meant
to teach us, as Solomon and Sheba learned, to balance the male and
female sides of our nature, and the peaceful and aggressive sides of
our temperaments. The true temple is built when the symbolic king
and queen are in balance, and that is the lesson of the stories of
Solomon and Sheba––each of us builds our own temple, which is a
collection of our experiences, influences and causes of suffering.
The Lord told his people to build his temple without the use of
tools, as it would be an affront to him. His hidden message was that
the temple is the inner reality of the physical and spiritual body.
Solomon’s Temple did not exist. It is a symbol of our own spiritual
growth.
If the world’s religious come to understand the true meaning of the
temple, one of the reasons for strife and warfare in our world will
fall away.
Now that we know that the Temple of Solomon is a teaching device, a
symbol used over the centuries to aid us in achieving enlightenment,
we find that it is as compelling a gift today as it was in the time
of the mythical king. Philip Gardiner
is the best selling author of
Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon's Temple Revealed,
he Shining Ones: The World's Most Powerful Secret Society Revealed,
Proof? Does God Exist? and
The Serpent Grail: The Truth Behind the Holy Grail, the
Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life (www.gardinersworld.com).
Gardiner appears in a new DVD, "Gnosis: The Secret of Solomon's
Temple and Secrets of the Serpent", which features stunning footage
taken on his journey into secret societies and his travels around
the world uncovering myths and historic puzzles and paradoxes. He is
also featured in the upcoming Discovery Channel (U.S.) documentary
series, "The Secret History of the Freemasons".
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