I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. Revelation21:22-23
John has seen the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God and he has been privileged to do a tour of this amazing city with the angel. It has dimensions that echo that of the Old Testament Temple and the Holy of Holies, it has 12 layers of foundation stones that are of precious stones and gates of pearl and streets of gold.
But for me all of that splendour pales to drab insignificance next to v.22-23. For no matter how beautiful the city, it would be irrelevant if Jesus weren't there.
But God (Father, Son and Spirit) IS there - and His presence is so pervasive and so easily experienced that there is no intermediary needed.
In the Old Testament the temple was a symbol of God's presence to human souls whose hearts were too far away and too dull to recognise God's Omnipresence. But Eternal Life is about sin and death that have been defeated and that we are forgiven and healed. We are able to experience God's presence in the closest and most intimate way and Jesus words to the Samaritan woman reach their ultimate fulfilment: We worship the Father in "Spirit and in Truth."
And Eskom won't be needed either! The awesome, holy and majestic glory of God, that once glowed temporarily on the face of Moses will now fill our existence with light. It will cast no shadows and we will experience freedom from darkness.
The splendour of the city speaks of the majesty of God, the 12 foundation stones speak of the 12 tribes and therefore the inclusion of all humanity. But at the heart of the picture of the Holy City are not the details of gold and precious stones, but this idea that God is there - and if He is there, we need nothing else.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
