In Gods Temple

22Then Paul stood in the midst of the iAreopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23“for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25“Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26“And He has made from one jblood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27“so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28“for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’

Acts 17: 22 - 28 NKJV 

I don't envy the ancient Isrealites.  True, these were our Lords chosen people, but just as we do today, they all too often fell short of the holy standard set before them.  Because of this, there was indeed needed some sort of covering of the sins that the people most assuredly would fall into.  For if there is one thing that was certain even back in the time of the Isrealites, is that mankind could never hit the holy standard of behavior which God desired for them.  But oh how they tried, and failed.  So it is that we have more in common with the Isrealites than we may know.  It is because of this that Yom Kippur, the "Day of atonement" was instituted in the book of Leviticus.  Funny thing is, the day of atonement was believed to cover the sins of the people, but the underlying sin issue remained.  And so, each year on the appointed day, the priest would enter the temple to sacrafice and offer prayers over the sins of the people of Isreal.  However, during this time, only the priest was allowed into the temples inner sanctum.  Throughout the old testament and into the new testament we see the inner confines of the Lords temple as only available to the Jewish priests.  For a "common" person to enter into the temples inner courts was forbidden.  However, something definately changed when Jesus came onto the scene.  For Jesus was certainly not one to follow mans strict religious rules and regulations, but to reveal the truth of Himself to Gods children.  Indeed, Christ Jesus came to break down the man made walls seperating Gods children from Himself.  

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been bfreed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. 10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, creckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.

Romans 6: 6 - 12 NKJV 

As we see in Romans 6, the death of Jesus not only brought about the forgiveness of sins, but also the very death of that sin nature which we were born into.  For since mans fall into sin in the garden of eden, our sin nature had been upon us.  What was needed was elinination of that old nature, not just a sin covering.  This we realized through Jesus.  No longer are we bound by the chains of the sin nature which once enslaved us, for as Paul tells us, "For he who has died has been freed from sin."  Also, the outdated belief that Gods children only had access to their heavenly Father through a priest was also put to death.  Indeed, we who have accepted Christ Jesus  now walk and live each day AS CHRIST.  We ourselves are the temple in which God dwells. 

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

Galations 2:20 NKJV 

~Scott~