In the Temple of God
Some people speak of heaven itself as being God’s sanctuary. But the
book of Revelation refers to a specific sanctuary/temple within the New
Jerusalem, where God’s throne and the sea of glass are located (Rev. 4:2–6,
Rev. 7:9–15, Rev. 15:5–8). There the great multitude of saints from all
nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues will worship God forever (Rev. 7:9–17).
Compare Revelation 7:9–15 with Revelation 21:3, 22. How can we
harmonize the description of the great multitude of the redeemed
serving God “ ‘day and night in His temple’ ” (Rev. 7:15, NKJV)
with the statement that John “saw no temple” in the New Jerusalem
(Rev. 21:22, NKJV)?
The heavenly sanctuary/temple has always been the place where the
heavenly hosts worship God. But with the appearance of sin, that sanctuary
also became the place from which salvation is offered to humanity. “When
the sin problem is over, the heavenly sanctuary will once again revert to its
original function. In Revelation 21:22, John the revelator reports that he no
longer saw a temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are its temple. But does that mean there is no longer a house of the Lord
where His creatures can come and have special fellowship with Him? By no
means!”—Richard M. Davidson, “The Sanctuary: ‘To Behold the Beauty of
the Lord,’ ” in Artur Stele, ed., The Word: Searching, Living, Teaching, vol. 1
(Silver Spring, MD: Biblical Research Institute, 2015), p. 31.
The book of Revelation gives special attention to the One who is
being worshiped and to those who are worshiping Him. This heavenly
worship is centered on God and the Lamb (Rev. 5:13, Rev. 7:10). As
always, and as it should be, Christ is the focus of the worship.
The worshipers are those “ ‘who have come out of the great tribula-
tion; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood
of the Lamb’ ” (Rev. 7:14, NIV). They are living witnesses of God’s
redeeming and transforming power. They sing praises to God for who
He is and for what He did for them.
Revelation 21:3 reads: “ ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people.
God Himself will be with them and be their God’ ” (NKJV). This
verse reflects numerous other passages (Jer. 32:38, Ezek. 37:27,
Zech. 8:8, Heb. 8:10). What does it mean for us now, still here on
earth, that God will be our God, and we will be His people? How
do we live out this amazing truth now?
