The Temples of God (1): God’s Eternal Temple

God introduced the concept of TEMPLES to the human race from the very beginning, which is why you see temples in every ancient culture and religion. Even if the religion is corrupted, man has an understanding of the fundamental concept of a temple as it is part of God’s original general revelation to mankind. A TEMPLE is designed to be a DWELLING PLACE of GOD, and God introduced TEMPLES to reveal His ULTIMATE PURPOSE for mankind. God created man to be His TEMPLE, and now His plan is to redeem us, so that we might be the DWELLING PLACE of God, that God would dwell with us and IN US! In salvation, the forgiveness of sin is just the beginning, the necessary preparation in order to make possible the fulfilment of His ultimate purpose - that we might become the holy Temples of the Living God. Each Temple of God was a visual aid, a teaching tool, designed to reveal what it means to be a Temple of God (the nature, design and operation of a temple). Ultimately, these temples are all revelations of redeemed MAN in Christ – God’s ultimate and eternal Dwelling Place, which we see fulfilled in Rev 21-22. All the earthly temples of God are pictures of God’s ultimate eternal TEMPLE – redeemed MANKIND in Christ. We are designed to be Temples of the Living God, so that God might dwell in us and be glorified through us. The EARTHLY Temples were made according to a HEAVENLY blueprint – the HEAVENLY Temple (Heb 8:5). So, earthly Temples are images of the heavenly Temple (Mount Zion, the New Jerusalem), both of which are pictures of God’s ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN in Christ. The Bible describes a sequence of earthly Temples, which are patterned after the heavenly Temple, and all these earthly and heavenly Temples are pictures (revelations) of God’s ultimate eternal Temple – redeemed MAN. The ultimate fulfilment in Christ is not just that we individually are Temples of God, but that God joins all redeemed humanity in Christ together into a union, so that together, we all form one great corporate Temple of God, Christ & His Body - the Dwelling Place of God forever. This is God’s vision for mankind. All the different temples have different characteristics, each providing different pieces of the complete picture. They all harmonise together, but each one carries only part of the whole revelation of God’s ultimate Temple. To get the full picture of what we are called to be, we must put together what each temple reveals. The main earthly temples are: (1) The Garden of Eden, (2) Mount Sinai, (3) The Tabernacle of Moses, (4) the 1st Temple of Solomon, (5) the 2nd Temple (Herod's Temple), (6) the 3rd (Tribulation) Temple, (4) the 4th (Millennial) Temple. Individually, we are Temples of God, and God is also fitting us together as living stones to form one great ultimate Temple of God (1Peter 2:5). We understand spiritual things by their physical analogy, so by understanding all the analogies (the earthly and heavenly temples) we can learn much about God’s ultimate Temple (the Church), and we will understand how we are designed to be God’s Temple, and how everything works and connects together. Basically, a Temple has 2 PARTS: (1) the Temple BUILDING, and (2) the GOD who dwells within the Temple, for a Temple is the Dwelling Place of God: “(2) the LORD GOD Almighty and (1) the LAMB (Christ and those who are in Christ) are its TEMPLE” (Rev 21:22). A Temple is a Holy Place, for God’s PRESENCE dwells within the Temple, and His GLORY shines out from the Temple, sometimes represented as RIVERS of LIVING WATER flowing out from the Temple (Gen 2:10, Ezek 47, Joel 3:18, Rev 22:1-2, John 7:37-39). Through the New Covenant, established by Jesus Christ, His believers become Temples of the Living God, indwelt by the Spirit of God. This is God’s plan & purpose for man coming to pass – that God would dwell in man, that man would become a Temple of God. Jesus came & died & rose again to make this possible (1Cor 3:16-17: 6:17-20, 2Cor 6:16, Rev 21:3). Man is the ultimate Temple of God, so all the other temples are teaching tools to reveal God’s purpose for man, and how man is designed to connect with God and function under the grace and power of God. Jesus came as a sinless man, the PROTOTYPE TEMPLE of God, a man indwelt by and filled with the Spirit of God - showing us what man is meant to be like. He declared He was a TEMPLE of God (John 8:12). By His death & resurrection, Jesus multiplied and reproduced Himself in us (John 12:23-24). Through the New Birth the Holy Spirit indwells every believer, making us all into Temples of God. The Spirit is the Fountain of living waters within us (Jer 2:13, 17:13), a continual Source of outpoured grace (rivers of life) flowing into our heart, causing us to worship God & empowering us to serve Him. (John 4:13-14). So now there are many Temples, and God is building us all together into one great Temple (Christ) – His ultimate Purpose.