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"On advancing to the second temple a stone balustrade was thrown around it four feet
and a half high, and withal beautifully wrought, and in it stood pillars at equal distances
proclaiming the law of purity, some in Greek and some in Roman letters, that no alien
might pass within the sanctuary."
"Such was the first enclosure, and far from it in the middle was the second, ascended
by a few steps and encompassed by a stone balustrade for a partition, which prohibited by
inscription any alien from entering under penalty of death."
In 1871 one of these inscribed stones was discovered by Mr. Clermont Ganneau built
into a wall of the Via Dolorosa at Jerusalem. The original is the possession of the
Palestine Exploration Fund and a cast is in the British Museum. The inscription being as
follows:
"No one, being foreigner, may enter into the enclosure around the holy place.
Whosoever is apprehended will himself be to blame for his death which will certainly
follow."
The word foreigner allogene is a word derived from the same root that gives us `alien'
namely allos. The veil of the temple which was rent in twain from top to bottom
indicated that at the death of Christ the way into the holiest of all was opened (Heb. 9: 8;
10: 20), and this removed the barrier between the believer and the Lord. Here in
Ephesians, the barrier not only kept the Gentile at a distance from the Lord, but it
separated the believing Jew from the believing Gentile. During the period covered by the
Acts of the Apostles this barrier stood, and the problem to which the differences between
Jew and Gentile gave rise caused the calling of the council at Jerusalem, as is recorded in
Acts 15:
This chapter has not only suffered at the hand of those who deny the inspiration of the
Scriptures, but at the hands of those whose basis is the integrity of Holy Scripture. We
will not advertise the publication from which we shall quote, but the reader can be
assured that these things have been said by some who profess not only to believe the
Word, but to abide by the principle of `right division'. Acts 15: deals with two related
subjects (1) The imposition of circumcision upon the believing Gentile and (2) the
problem of the different attitude of Jew and Gentile to such things as `things strangled'
which is solved for the time being by the decrees issued. The seriousness of this point of
view will be evident to any who ponder the following `explanation' given on this
passage. With reference to James--who is described as the `fleshly James'--it is stated
that "when he makes his decision, saying, `Wherefore I decide', he does not consult Peter
or the rest of the apostles". The reader will probably realize at once the inaccuracy of this
view, for in Acts 15: 22 we read: "It pleased the apostles and elders, with the whole
church, to send chosen men of their own company." If this so called interpretation were
true what could we make of the express statement: "It seemed good to the Holy Ghost"?
Continuing our quotation from this questionable source, we read:
"It is to be noted that this epistle claims that this `burden' was placed upon the nations
because `it seems good to the Holy Ghost and to us'. It would have been more
honourable for this flesh-controlled council to assume responsibility for their fleshly
decision, instead of trying to place the responsibility upon the Holy Spirit Whom they
wholly ignored."