Read with Me
Revelation 21:22-27 (HCSB)
I did not see a sanctuary in it, because the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its sanctuary. The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, because God’s glory illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Each day its gates will never close because it will never be night there. They will bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. Nothing profane will ever enter it: no one who does what is vile or false, but only those written in the Lamb’s book of life.
Listen with Me
The angel continues to give John a guided tour of the New Jerusalem that he has already been told is symbolic of the bride, the wife of the Lamb, the Church as God designed it to be (verses 9-10).
One of the startling things that John quickly noticed was the absence of a temple in the city. At the time John was shown these things, Jerusalem and its temple had been completely destroyed 20 years earlier by the Roman armies under General Titus. John had naturally assumed that any restored Jerusalem would include a restored temple as well.
But he was quickly reminded of why this was not the case: he was not being shown a restored city of Jerusalem, but the Church, the New Jerusalem, a city that did not physically exist in a single earthly location. In the Church, there is no need for a temple. The temple in Jerusalem was considered by the Jewish people and the Gentile God fearers to be the one place on earth that God’s presence and glory was manifested. It was also the one place on earth at which animal sacrifices could be made and received by God for both the payment for sins committed and for fellowship offerings that would keep the relationship between God’s people and Him strong.
But now these earthly symbols and rituals were no longer needed. The sacrifice of Jesus that paid for the sins of all humanity and that enabled and maintained the relationship of the Church with God had already been made and received. And the manifestation of God’s presence was no longer restricted to a single location on earth. Instead, God now lives in the heart of every person who lives in Jesus, and His presence and power is manifested in and through them constantly. For these reasons, John understood that in the Church, the New Jerusalem, no temple building or complex is needed. Instead, God and Jesus are the temple.
John was also shown that the city, the Church, needs no earthly sources of light, because each person carries the light of God’s presence in their hearts constantly. They are the light of the world by which all nations can see and walk (Matthew 5:14-16). And because God’s light always shines through the light of his people, night never falls on the Church. The gates are open continuously so that any can come in who choose to follow Jesus.
Because the Church is God’s holy assembly, the communion of the saints, only those whose names are written in the Lambs Book of Life are able to enter into it. No one who is unclean, unforgiven, or unwilling to live under God’s rulership can enter the gates of the city. But any who are willing to confess and to turn away from their sins, any who trust in Jesus for forgiveness, and any who allow the Holy Spirit to transform their hearts and lives are welcome.
Pray with Me
Father, so many these days have taught that this New Jerusalem will not appear until some point in the misty future that it is hard to understand that You were really showing John a current reality. All Your people can and must live in this New Jerusalem as a current reality or we are still living apart from Your presence, Your power, and Your light. Lord, help me to not only keep this picture before me continually, but help me also to live in this reality every moment of every day, from now on and forever. Amen.