Was the temple still standing and were sacrifices still being offered when Paul wrote Galatians?
Yes. When Paul wrote Galatians, around A.D. 58, the Temple was still operating in Jerusalem. Israel remained under the Law and was still practicing it, with sacrifices being offered by the thousands. This historical setting supports the contrast between the present earthly Jerusalem in bondage and the free heavenly Jerusalem.
Les explains that when Paul wrote Galatians, about 58 A.D., the Temple was still operating in Jerusalem. Israel was still under the Law, still practicing it, and the sacrifices were being offered by the thousands. In the allegory, Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and answers to the Jerusalem that now is, which is in bondage with her children. The Law given to Israel through Moses was God's perfect, spiritual Law, but in its setting, usage, and practice it was fleshly or carnal, depending on the people under it. By contrast, the Jerusalem above is heavenly, free, and the mother of us all, referring to Sarah, the free woman who had the child by promise. She stands in contrast to the Law given at Sinai.