On May 22, the Temple of Solomon received a special visitor. Israel’s Ambassador to Brazil, Rafael Eldad, was welcomed by Bishop Domingos Siqueira and his wife Nubia, Pastor Miguel Lacerda and his wife Ana Beatriz, along with leaders of the Universal Engineering company to view the building site.

A few days earlier on Tuesday, May 20, Bishop Siqueira had been received in Brasilia by Ambassador Eldad to talk about the inauguration of the Temple. The spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Lior Ben Dor was also present, and both men were receptive and attentive to the importance of this extraordinary construction.

They were noticeably touched by the Universal Church’s tribute to the Almighty God, and to the people of Israel. It was explained to them that the Temple would be open to all Jews and to all the nations of the world, and that anyone who enters that holy place will feel as if they were being transported to the Holy Land, as if they were in Jerusalem. Our belief in One God and all that we understand about faith is our inheritance from Abraham. The ambassador felt so honored and grateful for the invitation, that on the following day he visited the site for a closer look.

The first area which he visited was the Upper Room of the Holy Spirit, where the Temple’s Memorial will be. The building, which utilizes cutting edge interactive technology, will show visitors a historical perspective from the first Temple of Solomon, until the construction of today’s impressive replica. As soon as he saw the stones of the Temple, the ambassador reached out to touch them and reminisced, “This reminds me of my house in Jerusalem, it’s built with these stones.”

Fascinated by the sight, Eldad wondered why a replica of the Temple of Solomon was built, and not a replica of the Second Temple. “Because the first was grander. The second Temple was smaller, and Herod changed many things. It did not have the same magnitude of the Temple Solomon,” Bishop Domingos explained. “Yes, that’s true, Solomon’s Temple was the original one,” the ambassador agreed.

They also walked through the Garden of Olives, where he saw the twelve hundred-year-old trees. It’s the fruit of the olive tree that makes olive oil, mentioned in the Bible as a symbol of the presence of the Holy Spirit. “And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil” (Exodus 30:25). He passed by the Menorah, a candelabrum that symbolizes God’s perfection and the presence of the Most High, and walked towards the terrace, where he could see the majestic entrance of the Temple.

“It’s a wonderful work. Four years is such a short amount of time to build something so huge, with so much detail. It is big, big like Brazil. I am speechless,” said Rafael Eldad. Bishop Domingos explained that the constructions team has not stopped, even for a day. “We’ve worked all holidays and weekends. We don’t depend on the government for help. Just as Solomon’s Temple was built with donations, we have built all of this through donations as well,” he stressed.

Once he took a look inside the building, the ambassador was not short on compliments. “It’s impossible not to be impressed with the magnitude of this project, the details, the beauty and the size of this entire space with a capacity for ten thousand people. I’ve never seen anything like it—the height, the stones from Jerusalem, and the allusion to ancient times. I would like to thank the Universal Church for this immense work and wish them success.”

Bishop Domingos spoke about the importance of the visit of Ambassador Eldad and reinforced the importance of the project, which is drawing vast attention, especially from among the people of Israel. “The visit of the ambassador reveals the great interest of the authorities representing the Jewish people to rebuild the Temple, the goal of which is to awaken faith in the One True God.”

After the visit, Eldad assured the Bishop that he would share his good impression. “I would like to have pictures of this, because if I just tell people what I saw here, they wouldn’t believe me. It’s extremely beautiful. I will carry the spirit of this house with me—a spirit of peace and friendship with Israel and the Jews, to preserve the biblical story of the Jewish people, who have such a special friendship with Brazil.” The ambassador also promised to send the invitation to visit the Temple of Solomon directly to Israeli authorities.