REVELATION 21

21:22-25 THE LORD IS THE TEMPLE

“And I saw no temple therein, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. And the nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it” (Revelation 21:22-25).

The temple on earth was an arrangement necessitated by sin, because it was impossible for mankind to have direct contact with God—“I will set My tabernacle among you, and My soul shall not abhor you” (Leviticus 26:11). Sinful man, who would have been destroyed by the glory of God’s direct presence, confessed his sinfulness over the innocent victim in the hands of the “holy” priest, both of whom represented Jesus. The sin was transferred to the victim, and the priest carried the “sin” (the blood of the victim) into the presence of God. The blood was sprinkled, wiped and poured on the sanctuary furnishings and furniture, showing that God took upon Himself the guilt ofthe sinner. Thus the lawbreaker could have indirect contact with God and in the interaction could be made clean so that he was no longer guilty before God. However, with sin eradicated there will be no need for a mediator. Just as we have been coming directly to Jesus, so we will come directly to “the Lord God Almighty.”

In the Old Testament sanctuary system only the High Priest could come into the Most Holy Place, where the visible glorious presence of God made candles or other sources of light unnecessary. The holy city itself is constructed in a perfect cube, just like the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary,[1] and like the Most Holy Place, has no need for any other source of light besides the glory of God. This indicates that New Jerusalem, the home of the redeemed here on planet Earth, will be the “Most Holy Place” of the universe, the place where “all the nations” shall come and bask in the immediate presence of “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb”— “And the nations of those who are saved will walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. And its gates shall not be shut at all by day; indeed, there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. And there shall not enter it anything that defiles, or causes abomination or a lie, but only they which are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” (Revelation 21:24-27). These verses describe an existence beyond our comprehension. But the last two chapters of Revelation tell us enough about it to know that we wouldn't want to miss it!