A shrine built after Bible times
The Dome of the Rock is the gold-domed Islamic shrine in Jerusalem’s Old City. Its Arabic name, Qubbat al-Sakhrah, means “Dome of the Rock”. It was built centuries after the New Testament was written, so Scripture does not name or describe the building itself.
Its importance for Bible readers comes from its setting. It stands on the large raised area traditionally linked with the temple in Jerusalem, a place central to much of the Old Testament and to key moments in Jesus’ life.
The place of Solomon’s temple
Second Chronicles identifies Mount Moriah in Jerusalem as the place where Solomon built the first temple, on the site David had prepared. The temple was where Israel came to worship the Lord and where sacrifices were offered according to God’s covenant with them.
Many people connect the present Temple Mount with this biblical location. The exact position of Solomon’s temple, and of the later temple, within today’s platform is debated. The site has changed greatly over thousands of years, and access for archaeological work is limited.
Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the Jebusite.
Jesus at the temple
By the time Jesus came to Jerusalem, a rebuilt temple stood there. Luke records Jesus driving merchants from the temple area, then teaching there day after day (Luke 19:45-47). He also wept over Jerusalem, grieving the city’s failure to recognise the peace God offered (Luke 19:41-42).
Jesus later told his disciples that the impressive temple buildings would be brought down (Luke 21:5-6). Christians commonly connect those words with Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. That loss helps explain why this small area of Jerusalem still carries such deep meaning.
And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him,
Why it matters to Christians
The site matters to Jewish people because of the first and second temples. It matters to Muslims as one of Islam’s most honoured places. For Christians, it recalls God’s dealings with Israel and the setting of Jesus’ teaching, death, and resurrection in Jerusalem.
Yet Christians do not need a particular building or holy site in order to come to God. Jesus described himself as the way to the Father (John 14:6), and Peter describes believers being formed together into a spiritual house (1 Peter 2:4-5). The Dome of the Rock is worth understanding, but Christian hope rests in Christ, not in control of a place.
To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.