- Temple in Different Eras of the Bible
- Temple of God in the Old Testament
- Temple of God at the Time of the First Coming
- Temple of God at the time of the Second Coming
- How God Wants to Build His Dwelling Place
- The Blueprint of God’s Temple
- The Foundation of God’s Temple
- How Can We Find the Place Where God Will Dwell?
- Conclusion
In the beginning, the reason God created mankind was to dwell with them. We can see in the book of Genesis that God was walking with Adam in the Garden of Eden. He was dwelling with His people.
However, due to the entrance of sin into God’s creation, God had to leave because men became sinners and as someone who is holy, God couldn’t dwell with humans anymore. It was because of the existence of God’s enemy, the devil who is the origin of sin that the relationship between God and His chosen people got disconnected.
This is where religion comes into play. From the Latin word ‘religare’ which means ‘to reconnect’. God gave us the true religion for us to be re-connected to Him.
But since the work of re-connection hasn’t been completed yet, how can God dwell with His creation?
In this blog, we’ll introduce you to the different kinds of temples where God dwells from the time of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and Revelation, which is our time today!
Temple in Different Eras of the Bible
Since sin entered the creation, God couldn’t contend with men forever (Genesis 6:3). God left the creation not to abandon it but out of love that He didn’t want it to perish. Even so, God’s desire to dwell with men didn’t fade.
Temple of God in the Old Testament
Consequently, as seen in the time of Moses, God commanded Him to build a tabernacle strictly according to the pattern He would show him (Exodus 25:8-9). And Moses did so as commanded.
The Tabernacle was a sanctuary of God where he could dwell with His chosen people. It was divided into two rooms, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. One of the things you can find inside the Holy Place is a lampstand. While in the Most Holy Place, you can find the Ark of the Covenant.
However, interestingly, in Hebrews 8:5, everything inside the Tabernacle, from the lampstand up to the Ark of the Covenant, is just an illustration of what is in heaven and a copy and shadow of the good things that are coming (Hebrews 10:1).
Temple of God at the Time of the First Coming
Because the Tabernacle built at the time of the Old Testament was only a copy and shadow not the reality itself, it means that an actual entity would appear in the future which pertains to the time of the first coming of Jesus.
Unlike the temple at the time of the Old Testament, the temple at the time of first coming is no longer a physical building. Rather, God’s dwelling place was Jesus at the time of first coming. As seen in Matthew 3:16, Luke 3:22, and even in John 1:32, God’s spirit descended like a dove and remained on Jesus.
This idea was also solidified by Jesus when He said in John 2:19 that He could raise that temple in three days. Though the Jews didn’t understand what He meant, we were referring to His body which was then God’s temple, God’s dwelling place.
Therefore, the temple where God dwells in the Old Testament and the first coming of Jesus were two different kinds of temples. While God’s temple in the Old Testament was the physical building, His temple at the first coming was no longer the physical building but the one He sent to give His words to the people.
But what about at the time of the second coming? What kind of temple God will be dwelling in?
Temple of God at the time of the Second Coming
At the time of the second coming, which is also referred to as the end times, God’s temple was promised in the book of Revelation. It was already prophesied 2,000 years ago that a temple would be established according to God’s word of promise.
As we can see in Revelation 15:5, a Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony will be opened. And since the book of Revelation is a book of promise or prophecy (Revelation 22:18), then a time will certainly come that it will be fulfilled, and that time is undoubtedly our time today!
But where is that temple now? What is the reality of that temple? How do we know that it is the temple established according to the promise in Revelation? Do you think these questions are important? If you think so, then shouldn’t we exert efforts to know the answers to these questions?
Further, on a smaller scale, we also understand that each of us can be a temple of God where He can dwell. People who were created to be God’s temple are gathered in the promised temple of God in Revelation 15. But how can we be created into God’s beautiful temple so that we can also become His dwelling place?
How God Wants to Build His Dwelling Place
Proverbs 24:3-4, it says, “By wisdom, a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.” Therefore, for one to be built as God’s temple, he must acquire first the wisdom, knowledge, and understanding of God’s word. Once God’s word is in that person, then God will be with him since God Himself is the word (John 1:1). And where God’s word is, there God will be also.
The Blueprint of God’s Temple
The blueprint of God’s dwelling place is within His word. If a person doesn’t have the word of God, then there is no way that he can be created as God’s sanctuary. So, for a person to be created as God’s beautiful and holy temple, he must have the word of God and obey it so that by doing so, he can be purified spiritually (1 Peter 1:22).
The Foundation of God’s Temple
Jesus is likened to a rock in Matthew 7:21-27 that if anyone built his house on the rock, it would never fall. As God’s temple, we need to build our foundation on Jesus to not easily fall away from our faith. Our faith must be anchored on God’s and Jesus’ words of promise and fulfillment. We must keep the promises Jesus left for His second coming until He returns.
How Can We Find the Place Where God Will Dwell?
The place where God dwells at the time of the second coming of Jesus has already been promised in the book of Revelation. A temple will be established according to the promise. But since the words contained in this book are prophecies, we must look for the one that testifies to the fulfillment of these promises because only through the fulfillment of a word of promise is understood.
Conclusion
In Revelation 21, the heaven in the spiritual realm will come down to New Heaven and New Earth, the promised New Kingdom that God will establish in the last days. As believers, we must do our best to look for that place and enter that place because it is the only place promised that God will eventually dwell.
At the same time, let us also give our effort to be created to a temple where God can dwell because at the end of all these, God’s Kingdom will come (Matthew 6:10), and it will only come to the people who are created as God’s temple.
