Divine Blueprints

Sacred structures often seem to have divine origin stories.  In Egypt, for instance, the very first step-pyramid was designed by an architect named Imhotep.  So influential was this man—and obviously his design—that he gained semi-divine status after his death; and by 500 B.C. he was viewed as a full-god!

It is not unusual to find such divine origins connected to sacred sites.  In Cambodia, the wonderful temple cities are said to have been built by the architect of the gods, Visvakarma.

In fact, there are numberless examples of a connection between a deity and a human construction. Gudea, the ruler of the city of Lagash in the third millennium B.C., was shown the plans of his temple by the goddess herself. In Greek lore, the god Poseidon built the walls of Troy according to the Iliad.  And in Assyria, the king Sennacherib is said to have received the design of Nineveh drawn in a heavenly script.

The Bible makes this connection even clearer since it just assumes it is historical fact.  So Noah was given divine instructions to build his ark; Moses received divine instruction to build the portable Tabernacle in the Wilderness; and David received divine instructions to build the first Jewish temple.  Similarly, both Ezekiel and Saint John describe cities they saw while led by an “angel".