2-23-2020 The Most Holy Temple Revelation 21:22-27

Introduction:

Thanks to modern technology, We live in a time like no other. Through the telecommunications network, our world has become so much smaller. A grandchild in Michigan can speak “face-to-face” with his grandmother in Colorado through the wonders of internet services like Skype and Face-time. Yet, as helpful and convenient as tools like this may be, they often serve to remind us of just how far short they fall of real, face-to-face connection: the pixilated screen, the time lag, the occasional freeze and connection issues—all these things really make us hunger for the next time the grandparents can visit! And, no matter how clear the image, Grandma can’t wrap her arms around her grandson, hug him, and give him a kiss.

We can look forward to experiencing God’s presence without any hindrances or limitations. One day, we will see Jesus face-to-face. We will stand and bask in the presence of our heavenly Father. The barriers of sin and spiritual blindness will have been removed. That is good news!

Transition:

The description of the heavenly city first mentioned in 21:1–8 continues in 21:22–27, where the focus turns to the inside features or conditions of the temple city. The passage includes statements about what is excluded from the city, followed by explanations as to why these things have been removed. John adds two comments in vv. 24 & 26 about nations/kings and what they bring into the city. John’s two comments about the redeemed nations bringing their honor and glory into the city stress once again God’s mission to rescue people from every tribe, language, people, and nation. Their response will be to worship their Creator and Redeemer with all their being.

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:22–27

Revelation 21:22–27 LEB

22 And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon, that they shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 25 And its gates will never be shut by day (for there will be no night there), 26 and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. 27 And every unclean thing and one who practices detestable things and falsehood will never enter into it, except those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

God’s mission to create a people from all nations, first appearing in his promise to Abraham back in Genesis 12:3, culminates here in Revelation.

Throughout Revelation, the nations receive YHWH’s offer of salvation. While many reject His offer and face judgment, some nations respond positively and enter God’s eternal kingdom. Jesus talked about the gospel of the kingdom being preached in the whole world prior to the end of the age (Matt. 24:14). The great commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20), the powerful work of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2 as a reversal of Gen. 10–11), the Spirit-empowered missionary work of the early church, and the crucial theme of “witness” throughout Revelation all reinforce God’s love for the nations and the priority of missions.

Transition:

John offers us a different type of Temple-- one that we must pay special attention to:

I. The Nature of the Temple (vv.22-23)

The temple was such a significant part of Jerusalem that some have described it not as a city with a temple but as a temple with a city around it. As a Jewish believer, John would have expected to see a temple as the central landmark in the heavenly city. Yet the city contains no physical temple, because the temple at this time is YHWH and the Lamb

Revelation 21:22 LEB

And I did not see a temple in it, for the Lord God All-Powerful is its temple, and the Lamb.

His first statement in verse 22 is actually quite precarious-- and the biggest reason for this is because of Ezekiel. To summarize Ezekiel here, he was preparing to become a priest and serve in a temple when Yahweh intervened just before he became a priest, and made him into a prophet instead. But at the end of the book, YHWH rewards Ezekiel by showing him a grand, spectacular temple bigger than he’s ever seen or known before for a future time that has not yet been fulfilled. In the timeline of eschatology, it would be really convenient to stick Ezekiel's temple here—especially with the gigantic city it would make some sense to have a gigantic temple to match.

So then, where is Ezekiel’s temple?!?!? John could not be more explicit in the fact that there is no temple.

We know that the Bible does not contradict itself; therefore, we can trust Ezekiel’s Temple and this new city are compatible. So there are a few ways we can resolve this apparent discrepancy. First, we could either allegorize or spiritualize Ezekiel’s temple, but then that opens up a host of other problems such as how could a symbolic temple described in painful detail encourage and motivate Ezekiel? Also, if we are to allegorize or spiritualize Ezekiel’s temple, why not make this even easier on everybody’s interpretive woes and allegorize or spiritualize John’s vision of the city. You can easily see how this becomes an exercise in arbitrarily explaining away any difficulties while discounting the authors of these passages-- and even The Author of all scripture, Himself.

My preference and the best respect to scripture would be to take these things literally especially since there is no literary reason to take these to things otherwise. One quick explanation then is to stick the Ezekiel temple in the millennial kingdom, and certainly this could be so as there would be no scripture that would contradict that timing. But, there’s no mention of the temple there also, so it is an argument from silence which doesn’t necessarily dismiss it as impossible, just that it is not something to be dogmatic about.

There are some that hold to a literal view that say that with the new Jerusalem coming down from the heavens that it never touches completely down on Earth. Therefore the Old Jerusalem would be on the surface and have the temple while the new hovering Jerusalem doesn’t have the need for the temple. While this would be a way to explain the absence of the temple and account for Ezekiel’s, it is based on speculation of the new Jerusalem hovering (or in some cases orbiting) over the Earth. But the New Jerusalem has features like rivers and trees much like the surface of Earth. Besides, instead of hovering over Earth to explain the difference, why not just have the New Jerusalem in a different spot than the old one.

Ezekiel’s prophetic vision about the restored temple will be fulfilled in an unexpectedly wonderful way. Ezekiel concludes his description of the city with this statement: “And the name of the city from that time on will be: the lord is there” (Ezek. 48:35).

When God is fully and finally present among his people, there is no need for a physical temple. The copy has given way to the original. God’s people will not only observe his Shekinah glory from a distance; they will experience his glorious presence. The ninth and final use of the title “Almighty” (pantokratōr) emphasizes God’s sovereign power, and the inclusion of “the Lamb” reemphasizes the unity of the Father and the Son.

Revelation 21:23 LEB

And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon, that they shine on it, for the glory of God illuminates it, and its lamp is the Lamb.

The heavenly city no longer needs earthly sources of light, because the glory or presence of God and the Lamb provides light. There are subtle allusions in the context to the Holy Spirit, the third member of the Godhead, who plays the less visible but crucial role of connecting God with his people: temple, light, empowerment for the mission to the nations, purity or holiness, water, and, most of all, presence and glory. The provision of light echoes Isaiah 60:19:

Isaiah 60:19 LEB

The sun shall no longer be your light by day, and for bright light the moon shall not give you light, but Yahweh will be your everlasting light, and your God your glory.

John substitutes “the Lamb is its lamp” for the last part of Isaiah 60:19 to highlight once again Jesus’s deity and oneness with God. God is often associated with light throughout the Bible, and his light-giving presence will exclude darkness, a common image for evil.

Transition:

So the Temple for the New Jerusalem is the Lamb and also the city itself since God dwells there and His glory fill the whole place. But what’s the purpose?

II. The Purpose of the Temple (vv.24-25)

The nations who are spared to enter after the millennial kingdom will walk in its light, and all earth’s rulers will bring their glory and honor to this throne city.

Revelation 21:24 LEB

And the nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.

The glory of God in the face of Christ Jesus is our light even now, a light that has shone into our darkened hearts, and that light we will enjoy eternally in the home of the saints above. In a similar fashion,

Revelation 21:25 LEB

And its gates will never be shut by day (for there will be no night there),

In ancient times, city gates were open during the day to permit travel and trade but closed at night for protection from enemies. In the new creation there will be no night, no darkness, no evil. The light of day will endure forever. Consequently, the gates of the city will never close (cf. Isa. 60:11), illustrating how God’s people will experience perfect protection and total freedom from the fear of their enemies. The image of continuously open gates also highlights that among the redeemed, no one is closed out. The multicultural people of God will have full and unlimited access to God’s glorious presence.

Transition:

The purpose of this temple city then is for the Jews and the gentiles to live with and glorify their Creator perfectly forever!

III. The Use of the Temple (v.26)

In contrast to the ungodly nations that once brought their wealth into Babylon (18:12–16), the redeemed nations now bring their “glory and honor” into the new Jerusalem. This “melting pot” of God’s people will bring their own glory and honor to use for worship!

Revelation 21:26 LEB

and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

Images of worship replace images of consumerism and idolatry. For the nations to bring their glory and honor to God means they bring “themselves as worshipers before God’s end-time presence (so 22:3–5).” By God’s grace, we bring our righteous deeds into God’s presence as tributes of praise and gratitude for all he has done for us (14:13; 19:8).

God’s people will be a multicultural people in fulfillment of the long-standing promise made to Abraham (Gen. 12:3).

Genesis 12:3 LEB

And I will bless those who bless you, and those who curse you I will curse. And all families of the earth will be blessed in you.”

This scene “envisions a time when all nations will devote their gifts and energies to the worship of the one true God.”

Revelation 21:26 LEB

and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it.

The parallel statement we saw in verse 24 equates nations with kings, but the next verse, verse 27, makes it clear that these cannot be the same nations/kings who rebelled against God and experienced His judgment.

Revelation 21:27 LEB

And every unclean thing and one who practices detestable things and falsehood will never enter into it, except those who are written in the book of life of the Lamb.

Instead, these are the redeemed from among the nations who have had their names written in the Lamb’s book of life and are now permitted to enter the eternal city. The coming of redeemed Gentiles into the heavenly city fulfills Old Testament passages such as Isaiah 60-61; Jeremiah 3; Zechariah 2 & ch 8.

Only the true citizens of the city may enter the city, meaning those whose names have been written in the heavenly register. Three specific groups are denied entrance:

the unclean or impure, referring to the idolatrous and immoral things of the world;

anyone who does what is shameful or detestable or repulsive to God; and

anyone who practices deceit or falsehood, indicating once again how utterly evil deceit really is.

God is holy and nothing unholy will enter His holy city.

You might be here saying, well what about me? I, as a believer, still practices detestable things from time to time in my weakest moments”

Illustration:

IF you are thinking that, then I want to offer you this Quote: from Muscular Faith, by Ben Patterson.

Though we have been freed from the consequences of sin—eternal judgment and hell—we are not yet released from the struggle against sin. Our redemption is as decisively sure and complete as Christ’s resurrection from the dead.… That miracle accomplished, we may now fight against the sin that once held us in its deathly grip, no longer as sin’s slaves but as God’s children.… We are no longer sinners struggling to be the children of God, but the children of God who struggle against sin, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We put sin to death, not so we may live, but because we do live.

Notice here that the notion of a person “entering” here is the reverse of Jesus wanting to “enter” in Rev 3:20,

Revelation 3:20 LEB

Behold, I stand at the door and knock! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, indeed I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.

This is then suggesting that “we will only ‘enter’ the New Jerusalem when we have allowed Christ to ‘enter’ our lives.

So What?

For those of us who are saved, this is going to be our home forever! For those that are unsaved, this glorious paradise will never be home. There are at least three “take-homes” from this:

1. In the eternal city, we will not only live in God’s presence; we will also live without anything that will threaten or hinder our experience of His presence.

There will be no temple, no sun or moon, no closed gates, no night, and nothing impure, shameful, or deceitful. Our experience of God’s presence is limited now by many things (1 Cor. 13:12: “Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face”). Then it will be completely perfect, without the limitations of a fallen world, without enemies, and without sin. Sometimes we just need to be reminded that while our experience of God’s presence is good now, it will be unimaginably great later. We have a lot to look forward to.

2. God is on a mission to redeem people from every tribe, language, people, and nation.

Some have confused this passage and concluded that all the nations will be converted.

But images throughout the book must not be used in this manner. The wicked have already been destroyed (19:18–21; 20:8–10, 13–15). This passage does not teach universalism, as verse 27 makes clear. What it does teach is that the nations have either been condemned or given citizenship in the new Jerusalem, depending on the witness of the church and the nations’ response to God’s offer of salvation. God longs for and celebrates ethnic diversity among His people. He created and loves all peoples. Sadly, the church in many places remains remarkably homogenous. A multicultural church by its very nature proclaims the liberating gospel of Christ and offers the world a window into heaven.

3. Those who practice immorality and deception will not be allowed to enter the eternal city.

This text warns us to follow Christ in what we say and how we live. The whole city will be God’s temple with no more division between the sacred and the secular; all will be sacred space. And the citizens will be wholehearted worshipers of God and the Lamb. Immorality and deception are specifically named as sins that will prevent one from entering the new Jerusalem. This passage calls for God’s people to inspect their lives carefully for patterns of sin and challenges them to make radical choices about avoiding sin and following the Spirit. After listing the works of the flesh in Galatians 5:19–21, Paul warns, “those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21). That is exactly John’s message here. While holiness may not be popular in society today, Revelation (and the entire Bible) repeatedly tells us to turn away from sin and to encourage others to do the same. Overcoming the world involves holiness!

So What?

In Conclusion:

God’s glorious presence will fill the new creation, turning the whole of it into a temple.

In the heavenly city, God’s multicultural people will worship him with all their being.

Only genuine Christ followers will be allowed to enter the heavenly city.