The temple replaced the tabernacle as God’s dwelling on earth. The temple first signifies the incarnated Christ, the embodiment of God (Col. 2:9), as God’s dwelling on the earth (John 2:19-21; 1:14). It also signifies the church, including all the believers, the members of Christ, as the enlargement of Christ to be God’s dwelling on the earth (1 Cor. 3:16-17; 6:19; Eph. 2:21-22). Christ and the church are one, Christ being the Head and the church being the Body (Eph. 1:22-23; Col. 1:18a). The Body is the enlargement of the Head for God’s dwelling. Hence, God’s dwelling in Christ is God’s dwelling in the church.
Solomon and the temple built by him typify Christ and His Body, the church, respectively, as the center, the reality, and the goal of God’s eternal economy. Since Solomon and the temple play the strongest roles in the history of Israel and occupy a wide realm in such a history, they are strong evidence that the history of Israel is very much related to the accomplishing of God’s eternal economy in the Old Testament in the way of typology. This is a clear indication that the books of history were written from the point of view of God’s eternal economy concerning Christ and the church.
The temple was built on the ground of Mount Zion, called Mount Moriah, where Abraham offered Isaac (Gen. 22:2) and David offered his sacrifice to Jehovah (1 Chron. 21:18-30; 22:1; 2 Chron. 3:1). This is a further indication that the Bible is a record concerning God’s economy. Isaac was a type of Christ, who was crucified in the same place where Isaac was offered to God (see note Gen. 22:21 and note Mark 10:11).