The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem [Paperback]

Margaret Barker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 6, 2008

In this book, first published in 1991, the prolific and innovative British biblical scholar Margaret Barker sets out to explore the origins and the afterlife of traditions about the Temple in Judaism. Using evidence from the deutero-canonical and pseudepigraphic texts, Qumran and rabbinic material, as well as early Christian texts and liturgies, she advances a host of radical and suggestive theories, including the following: 1. Apocalyptic writing was the temple tradition. 2. Temple buildings were aligned to establish a solar calendar, thus explaining the astronomical texts incorporated in 1 Enoch 3. The temple symbolism of priest and sanctuary antedated the Eden stories of Genesis. 4. The temple buildings depicted heaven and earth separated by a veil of created matter. 5. The throne visions, the basis of the later Merkavah mysticism, originated as high priestly sanctuary experiences, first attested in Isaiah but originating in the royal cult when king figures passed beyond the temple veil from earth into heaven, from immortality to the resurrected state, and then returned.

Product Details

• Paperback: 212 pages
• Publisher: Sheffield Phoenix Press Ltd (March 6, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906055424
• ISBN-13: 978-1906055424
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #361,962 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From the Pen of the Most Profound Biblical Scholar of the Past Century, February 10, 2009

By 

Bay Gibbons (Salt Lake City, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem (Paperback)

The Gate of Heaven is a reprinted edition of Margaret Barker's seminal study on the inextricable link between the first Temple worship of ancient Israel and Judah and the worldview and scriptural writings of the first Christians. The themes of the First Temple(that is, the liturgy, sacrifices, economy, literature and belief structure centered upon Solomon's Temple, which was largely destroyed during the reign of Zedekiah in about 590 B.C.E.) is clearly shown as the dominant motif of the New Testament writers. It permeates and informs everything about early Christianity, from the most central of Christ's teachings to the writings and teachings of the surviving apostles.

This long-neglected connection has vast ramifications for the belief structures of most of Christendom. Ms. Barker's later works, including The Great High Priest: The Temple Roots of Christian Liturgy, Temple Themes in Christian Worship and The Older Testament: The Survival of Themes from the Ancient Royal Cult in Sectarian Judaism and Early Christianity explore this vast and long overlooked world. The results are stunning to a lifetime student of scripture, like the undersigned. Once the temple connections are illuminated, it is hard to find a page of scripture from either the Tanakh or the Greek New Testament which is not literally permeated with Temple themes.

A word of caution to the Christian reader who may have strong and deeply felt feelings about the perfection or immutibility of Holy Scripture--Barker's work presumes that there have been alterations, both intentional and unintentional, to the corpus of scripture over the past two and a half millenia, most notably following the Temple purges of Josiah in the seventh century B.C.E., when she argues the fundamental worship structure of Judah was irrevocably altered, and then again following the death of the early Apostles, when the Temple connections of Christ's teachings was suppressed and intentionally masked by clergymen who for many reasons wanted to distance themselves from the Temple.

This book, and indeed all of Margaret Barker's books, could not earn a higher recommendation from this reader. If the reader finds this work too difficult for introductory purposes, I recommend instead the highly accessible and beautifully written (and fairly short)Temple Theology.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Academic but approachable, PROFOUND, September 11, 2010

By 

Lori Denning "Gardnwsl" (Salt Lake City UTAH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Gate of Heaven: The History and Symbolism of the Temple in Jerusalem (Paperback)

This was my first foray into M. Barker's prolific writings.
IT IS INCREDIBLE: Profound; insightful; inspiring.
This book has an academic flair, but is easy to read for most laity. It seems to strike a balance between fluff and academic. In other words, it had plenty of suppport for its claims, but I didn't get bored in the footnotes

It is incredibly insightful about the ancient Temple and its symbolism. These symbols continue today in Judaism, Christianty and Islam. I wrote notes in the pages, underlined and reread. I found myself shaking my head with surprise and insight. I felt my eyes were opened to my own religious practices over and over. I actually said, "WOW!" outloud while reading it and would quote parts to friends I was so fascinated.
I found myself very inspired and intrigued by her study of ancient symbols. I continued on to read most of her other books. Most are equally insightful, but this is a shorter, more approachable text for most.
If you have a basic understanding of the ancient temple or judeo-christian symbolism, this will be interesting and a must read. If this is your first book on these subjects, you might need to start with more of a survey or lighter introduction.