July 31 – The Temple in the New Jerusalem

July 31 – The Temple in the New Jerusalem
Revelation 21:22

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light and the Son is its lamp.” (Revelation 21:22-23)

Why do you suppose John made the declaration that he didn’t see a temple in the city? It might have been because he expected to see one there.  He’d already seen the throne room in heaven and it was from the heavenly temple that the Lord’s wrath had been poured out on earth.  There had always been a ‘place’ in which God could be found.

But, now things were very different.

Look at these words from John 2:18-22.  “The Jews then said to him, ‘What sign can you show us for doing this?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.’  The Jews then said, ‘This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you will raise it up in three days?’  But he was speaking of the temple of his body. After he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this; and they believed the scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.”

Jesus was trying to tell people not only about the coming resurrection, but the truth of the temple.  At that point, people came to Jerusalem … to a building that had been erected … to worship God.  He was going to change everything in just a short period of time.  The temple would no longer be the central focus for the relationship between God and man.

The New Testament transformed the idea of the temple as a gathering place into the church, a place where Christians could gather to worship, but also to engage in a community where they would share their lives with each other.  The temple where our relationship with God was built was within our hearts.

But remember, the only way that God can live in our hearts is through the atoning blood of Christ.  God’s glory consumes sin and our poor sinful hearts don’t stand a chance against that kind of power.  However, as Jesus’ sacrifice covers our sin, God can reside with us.

So what happens when all sin is eliminated from the world and the New Jerusalem is in place?  God can walk among his people with no concern that He will destroy them.  His glory is free to simply exist around all that He loves.  Jesus no longer must be seen as the Lamb who was sacrificed.  There is complete freedom, not only for us, but for them to be among us.  God no longer will need to establish a location for worship and for judgment, he will simply be among his people, who will worship him as a natural part of existence.

The temple is no longer necessary.  The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.  Can you imagine the glory that will be experienced?