Last week, in The Heavenly Temple, Part 8, we saw that this is no mention of the “table of shewbread” in the heavenly Sanctuary because Jesus, the Lamb of God, our Bread of Life, is there. We must partake of Him for our sustenance. We must look to Him for our unity and for our communion and fellowship: He is our table of shewbread, and there is no need of another!
There is one final lesson to be learned from the Heavenly temple, and it has to do with the final temple, the temple in the Earth made new, as it is described to us in Revelation 21: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.’… But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.” (Rev 21:3-4,22 NKJV)
Wait a minute. Did that verse just say that there will be…No temple?
Yes, it did. We notice, however, that although there is no building called a “temple,” the city is a perfect cube, just like the most Holy Place. We, then, are living inside the most holy place. There is no temple because God is the temple, and the bride, the Holy city, the Church, is the place where God resides! The Lamb is the “vessel” that burns–or radiates–the glory of God. The temple is our home!
In the next chapter of Revelation, we get yet another important glimpse of the final temple: “And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life…And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev 22:1-5, NKJV)
In these verses we learn that God, the River of Life, is all that we need. We may think we need more, but we truly don’t. We are complete and perfect in Him. All we need is truly found in Him. Therefore, the important lessons we can learn from the final temple are this: We live in the temple, and the glory of God is all that we need.
But wait. Since this is gospel truth, why is it that we try to live our lives as if God is just a part of them? Shouldn’t our lives be totally sold out to Him in everything that we do?
Some time ago, a colleague saw a recent post on Facebook about my new book, “Aboard God’s Train.” A bit surprised, she googled my name and came up with hundreds of listings, mostly old posts from this newsletter. She approached me the next day to say that although she knew from my actions at work that my faith was important to me, she had no idea how big a part of my life God really was.
My colleague’s comment made me think. If God is truly my everything, if I am living in His temple, then why was my colleague surprised by the “Lyn” she met through my writing?
The answer was clear: I live for God through my ministry and home and church life; but I must live for something totally different at work.
Are there other parts of my life that fall outside of God? I don’t know, but I pray God will reveal them to me, for I do not wish to live outside of God’s final temple at any time!
Father, as we contemplate the final temple and what it means for our heart-temples today, help us to realize that our heart-temples are not just there for a piece of our lives: They are there to encompass all of our lives! Help us to live out our faith and our passion in everything that we do and say, so that no more will anyone be surprised to learn of the depth of our faith!
This is the last lesson in the series, The Heavenly Temple series. Over the past few months, the Nugget has featured a total of four studies on temples in the Bible, all designed to help us understand more fully the extent and importance of our heart temples today. These studies include: Wilderness Instructions, a series looking at the significance of the tabernacle in the wilderness; Lessons From Ezekiel’s Temple, a series based on the elaborate temple instructions given in the last 9 chapters of Ezekiel; and Building Solomon’s Temple, a series based on what we can learn from the building of Solomon’s temple; and this final series: The Heavenly Temple. If you have missed any of these studies, you are welcome to access them by clicking on the indicated links. If you do not have access to the Internet, email me and I will send them to you via email. May God bless you abundantly as you continue to come to a more thorough understanding of our heart-temples, the residence of God’s Spirit!
In His love,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, and Scriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, with Answers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “The Heavenly Temple” mini-series, please click here.)