Rabbi Jacob Neusner's seminal work on the Mishnah has uncovered the layer of writings that pertain to pre-A.D.70 Pharisees, whom,he argues, were seeking, through the keeping of religious laws, to re-create the atmosphere of the Jerusalem temple wherever they were, and especially in their homes.This quest to recreate the temple was in part a quest to create the atmosphere in which God had promised to be present. 

 

The present work argues that this same concern, to find, enter and live within the presence of God, is reflected in the writings of Paul in the New Testament, with the difference being that Paul believed that God's presence was now to be found primarily in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.