Bishop Edir Macedo, the founder and leader of the neo-pentecostal church, at the time of construction explained that "We are preparing ourselves to build the temple, in the same mold as Solomon's.

"[4] Bishop Macedo has said that the temple is twice the height of Rio de Janeiro's Catholic-sponsored Christ the Redeemer statue.

[4] Its dimensions therefore far exceed the temple it replicates, described in the Bible as having the relatively modest height of some thirteen meters ("thirty cubits", 1 Kings 6:2).

[8] The sanctuary has a conveyor belt system designed to carry tithes and offerings from the altar directly into a safe room.

The main ceiling is adorned with 10,000 LED light bulbs which will form different patterns designed to look like stars.

[4] The temple takes up an entire city block, and 24 properties had to be purchased in order to create the space to build it.

Rafael Edad, Israel's ambassador to Brazil, stated during the end of the temple construction that "four years is too little time to build something so great, with so many details.

[17] Some have had more mixed feelings, such as Brazilian rabbi Nilton Bonder, who stated "on the one hand, there's the favorable way in which Jewish culture and history are treated in the structure, [but] on the other, there's the bizarre aspect of the project's dimensions and aggressive marketing".