No Temple

I. Introduction
A. Review of new Jerusalem
1. Bride
2. City
3. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, no more death or pain anymore
4. Foundation: 12 apostles
5. Gates: 12 tribes silhouette
6. Holy of holies: 10x10 to 20x20 to...
B. Revelation 21:22–27 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
II. Three sections
A. Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.
1. “No temple” But a temple was a symbol of God's presence with His people, why would it now be abolished? Well, ordinarily you would think that if there’s no temple, there’s no God there. But this is just the opposite.
2. Actually the temple was a symbol of the two realms existing side by side: God setting up His tent in man's realm. But now the two realms are made one, so the notion of a temple is passe.
3. Remember how the OT temple demonstrated God's distance from man: all these barriers, all these rules and restrictions, and so little actual contact between any human being and God Himself.
4. John could see that all the promises in the Bible were now being fulfilled in the new Jerusalem.
a. The former physical temple and holy of holies and ark of the old Jerusalem were now being fulfilled in the new Jerusalem.
b. — This replacement began with Christ’s first coming, when He referred to His resurrection as the rebuilding of the temple (John 2:19-22; Mark 14:58; 15:29).
5. Think about the history of the temple.
a. Before the Exodus out of Egypt and meeting with God at Mt. Sinai, God had only occasionally visited His people to tell them something, e.g. spoke to Noah, spoke to Abraham in Ur, visited Abraham again before the Sodom & Gomorrah incident, spoke to Jacob at Bethel, appeared to Moses in the burning bush. But once He met with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, He came alongside them in a closer way. He led them in the pillar of fire and smoke, and He instructed them to build Him a tent so He could go on this road trip to the promised land with them.
b. The first time the word temple is used in the Bible, it is used in reference to God’s tent, the tabernacle.
c. After the Israelites settled in houses in the land of Canaan, David & Solomon built a house for God, a beautiful temple, where God was worshiped and where sacrifices were offered.
d. For a while, it seemed like everything was going along well, but the people began to turn to idols to the point that the temple fell into disrepair, and God brought Assyria and Babylon against them, rooting them out of the land and destroying the temple and the city of Jerusalem.
e. The temple was the first thing they rebuilt when they came back to the land 70 years later, but it was a more modest temple than Solomon’s. Remember that at the dedication of that temple, the people who had never seen Solomon’s temple sang, praising and giving thanks to the LORD, and shouted with a great shout. But the old men who had seen the old temple, wept with a loud voice, even while others shouted for joy, so you couldn’t distinguish the sound of the joyful shout from the sound of the people’s weeping. (Ezra 3:11-13)
f. This is not only interesting, it’s significant. The prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 40-48) had prophesied the rebuilding of a temple much greater and more glorious than the previous temple.
g. And, of course, all the Jewish teachers believed that the promises of a new temple were to be fulfilled in another architectural temple.
h. And the old people knew that even after all their waiting, this wasn’t it. So, they cried.
i. But after a few centuries, in the generation before the birth of Christ, Herod the Great tried to please the Jews by fulfilling Ezekiel’s prophecy and building a new magnificent temple in Jerusalem for the Jews. This was the temple during the days of Jesus. But it only lasted ~ 80yrs.
j. Some significant things happened in the temple when Jesus was there.
(1) He was first taken there at 40 days old, by His parents, where He met Simeon and Anna.
(2) He was there again at age 12, where He was found by His parents, confounding the elders.
(3) After other encounters there, He returned again in His final week to cleanse the temple.
(4) But a few days later, during His final visit to the temple, knowing what was soon to happen, He said to the people as He left, “See, your house is left to you desolate.” (Matthew 23:38)
k. Of course, Herod’s temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70AD, and has never been rebuilt.
l. But before Jesus announced that He was abandoning the temple, He taught some very important things about the temple in his conversation with the woman at the well in Samaria in John 4.
(1) She asked him a question having to do with the difference between the way Samaritans think and Jews think about the proper location of worship.
(2) The woman said to him, “You Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship, but our fathers taught us to worship here on this mountain in Samaria.”
(3) And this is what Jesus said to her, “You Samaritans worship what you do not know; but we Jews worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But, believe Me, Woman, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father.”
(4) Is He talking about when we worship in the new Jerusalem on the last day? No. Because He goes on to say, “The hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit & truth.” John 4:19-24
6. Now, when John is writing the book of Revelation, 60 years after His conversation with the woman at Samaria, Christians no longer go to the temple to pray, for Jerusalem and its temple had been destroyed by the Romans.
a. But the apostle Paul has taught them that they themselves are the temple of God (1Cor.3:16).
b. And likewise the apostle Peter has taught them that they themselves are living stones being built up into a spiritual house (1Pet.2:5).
7. And now the apostle John in Rev.21:22 tells us that in the new heavens and earth, there is no more temple, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are the temple.
8. Some people might be disappointed to hear this. They say, “I’d rather have a real temple than just an imaginary one.” But they couldn’t be more wrong. That’s not the point at all.
9. Like everything else which is earthly, earthly temples were in one sense never real. You can’t contain God in a house, as Solomon prayed when he dedicated the temple, “Will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You; how much less this house that I have built!” 1Kings 8:27
10. God graciously gave the temple to teach mankind both about the possibility of actually meeting Him, but also about the barriers which exist between us and Him because of sin – barriers which could only be removed by the shedding of the blood of a sacrificial substitute.
11. You see, when children are little, parents often teach them to kneel down, fold their hands, and close their eyes while they pray. But one day they will know that kneeling isn’t praying, and folding your hands isn’t praying, and closing your eyes isn’t praying. But they’re not old enough to understand that praying is actually communicating in your spirit with God. But children aren’t yet mature enough to understand what all that means. And in the same way God gave a temple.
12. But as time went on, God gave His people a clearer and clearer picture of the way things really were. Worship isn’t really about going to a certain city. And the temple isn’t made of stone or wood. The true temple is made of living stones: that is, people who love Jesus and are being bonded together in Him to worship Christ in spirit and in truth.
13. And Rev.21-22 are our last lesson. It teaches us that on that day we’ll worship Him face to face!
a. And it teaches us that God won’t just visit us; He won’t just be available to us when we want to come see Him. Rather, we will be married to Christ, and dwell with Him in intimacy forever.
b. There is no “this is my house” and “this is God’s house.” We will move in together and dwell in the same house!
c. Of course, oneness with God doesn’t mean becoming one in essence, for we will never become God. But we will be One as a husband and wife are one.
14. “But I thought no man could see God and live!” Yes, that’s why we need new bodies and minds, so that we have the necessary circuitry to be able to withstand the high voltage of God’s intimate and glorious presence.
15. And Christ prepares us for that coming day by teaching us that the things of this present world are shadows of what is to come.
16. How should this impact how we think about church buildings? (There are still believers who are wedded to the temple mentality.)
a. There are no church buildings in the NT.
b. The church building spoken of in the NT is the one made with living stones.
c. I can enjoy the spectacle of a glorious cathedral just like anyone else.
d. But the most spectacular church building in the world looks like an outhouse compared to the spectacular beauty of a group of imprisoned Christians worshiping Jesus together in their cell.
e. You know, in Matthew 24:1-2 there’s a story of Jesus responding to folks who were oohing and ahhing over a glorious church building. As Jesus was walking out of the temple, His disciples came over to Him to point out to him the magnificent buildings of the temple.
(1) Now, if I had been there, I’m sure I would have been caught up in the magnificence of that structure which was one of the wonders of the ancient world.
(2) But Jesus answered them, “You see all these? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” If ever Jesus had a chance to admire the glory of a church building, that was it. But instead, He lamented over its future just as a few verses earlier He had lamented over Jerusalem (Matt.23:37-39).
(3) What made Him lament? Was it poor architecture? Was it trashy or dirty? No, it was the rebellious hearts of the people.
(4) You see, not only did He know the future of earthly Jerusalem, not only did He see the corruption in the hearts of men, but His eyes had seen the glory of the new Jerusalem descending out of heaven! And all that dampened His awe over Herod’s temple.
f. In my opinion, a church building ought not be what draws someone to church. But, on the other hand, a church building ought not ordinarily be what prevents someone from coming to church.
g. Our cathedral is being built for us now. It is the new Jerusalem – where we will be in the immediate and abiding presence of the one who loved us and gave himself for us.
B. Revelation 21:24-26 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations.
1. The gates of ancient cities were closed each night to protect from unexpected intruders. But since it is always day in the new Jerusalem (for there shall be no night there since it is not dependent on the sun for light but “the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb”), its gates shall never be closed; and the glory and the honor of the nations will be brought into it (v.25-26).
a. The process began when the magi showed up with gold, frankincense and myrrh. And down through history, people from every nation on earth have been bringing their gifts to Jesus.
b. And on that day, the greatest Treasures of the world, the ones whose names are written on the Lamb’s book of life, will stream in from the four corners of the earth to present themselves to Him – with joy, gratitude and love – as gifts of worship.
c. And I believe the process will continue forever, as people learn and gain insight into history, and bring those discovered treasures to the Lamb and lay them at His feet.
2. This concept of the wealth of the nations being brought to Israel was repeated often in the OT (e.g. Is.60:5, 11, 24). It was thought that this was what would happen when the Messiah came.
a. But here we see that the fulfilment of this (and many other prophetic expectations) was not to be fulfilled in this present age, but in the age to come.
3. The idea of open gates picks up on the torn curtain theme: the door is now open for redeemed sinners to boldly go into the throne room of God’s grace, for good.
a. Jn.10:9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved & will go in & out & find pasture.
C. Revelation 21:27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
1. Whenever you have a gospel of free grace, there’s a tendency for untransformed people to count themselves in as a part of Christ’s kingdom. And so, as the vision describes this glorious city, it keeps stopping to clarify the fact that the false believers will not be there.
2. So John adds in v.27 that no one unclean, detestable or false will be in the new Jerusalem. This is to warn people in the churches at the time (and thus subsequently) that they must not deceive themselves into thinking they’re believers when their lives prove they’re not.
3. No person whose name is written in the Lamb's book of life can be a person who lives a life of abomination and falsehood.
4. He basically is repeating the same thing he said in v.8, adding abomination and falsehood to the previous list of cowardice, faithlessness, murder, sexually immorality, sorcery and idolatry. And remember these are lifestyles, not individual sins. Otherwise David himself would be disqualified.
5. The fact that the citizens of the new Jerusalem are written in the Lamb’s book of life not only tells us that they belong to Him eternally, but also that their redemption comes as a result of the Lamb’s death & resurrection life.
6. In this, we see the gospel, the good news of Christ.
a. We see that there is such a place as this, a place of glory, a place of peace, a place of eternal joy.
b. We see that there is a means provided by which sinful human beings can get there: through identification with the Lamb.
c. Becky’s book on Buddhism: the way to find peace is to train yourself to stop hoping and you’ll never be disappointed.
d. But God tells us and shows us in His word that there is reason for hope. There is ultimate fulfillment. There is eternal life. There is ultimate love. This is what we were made for.
III. (Conclusion)
A. There will be no temple in that city because the city itself is the Holy of Holies, filled with people of whom the world was not worthy, people who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb.
B. The one who said, “Be holy for I am holy,” (Leviticus 21:8; Exodus 19:6; 1Peter 1:16) will complete His work in their lives so they really will be holy as He is holy – perfectly, pervasively, permanently holy.
C. What every believer longs for will be fulfilled, as expressed in Ps.27:4, “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
D. The Aaronic blessing comes true once and for all: “The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Num.6:24-26)
E. No more seeing in a mirror dimly, no more knowing in part. On that day we shall know Him fully, and see Him face to face, even as we have been fully known and seen by Him (1Cor.13:12).