‘Temple’ is the
dwelling place of God among his people. This presentation aims to illustrate the
theme of ‘temple’ across the Bible story line.
1.
Eden was a garden-temple
Genesis chapter 1 recounts God’s creation of the heavens and earth. The ‘heavens
and earth’, means the entire cosmos is considered the temple since God’s
presence fills the creation. And God assumed a position of kingly rest in it on
the seventh day, demonstrating his sovereignty. This scenario manifests God’s transcendent
presence in that he is not bound to
any earthly dwelling place, but above and beyond all that he has made and
distinct from it. However, God also wants to dwell with man in a unique earthly
location—temple, for God longs for human beings to enjoy an intimate
relationship with him in his presence.
Genesis chapter 2 tells of the first sanctuary—Eden, a temple-garden. Garden of Edenגּן־בְעֵ֖דֶן , means an
enclosure and Adam was placed by God in it, feeling secured and safe with all
the provision, including a helper and companion, Eve. Both Adam and Eve lived
in intimate relationship with God and in harmony with nature and animals. There
they found absolute rest and acceptance in an absolute blissful state.
Gen 2:15 says Adam is “to cultivate it and to keep it”, means “serve עבד and guard שׁמר”, often refer to priests who “serve” God in the
temple and “guard” the temple from unclean things from entering it (Num 3:7–8;
8:25–26; 18:5–6; 1 Chr 23:32; Ezek 44:14). הִתְהַלֵּךְ is used for God’s “walking back and forth” in the Garden (Gen 3:8), also
describes God’s presence in the tabernacle (Lev 26:12;Deut 23:14; 2 Sam 7:6–7).
So in Eden, God is the king and Adam is the vice-regent or priest who bears the
image of God. Adam is to trust and obey God’s word, which means submitting to
God’s rule in fulfilling his priestly duty to serve and glorify God. In so doing,
he will remain in Eden to receive the blessing and life forever, failing which he
will be blocked from tree of life (Gen 3:2—24) and die (Gen 2: 17; 5:5). To
live under God’s rule in the temple-garden means to enjoy his presence and his blessing.
However, Adam and Eve failed in their priestly task when they succumbed to
the serpent’s temptation and disobeyed God’s command. They transgressed the
boundary to act as if they were God, wanting to decide for them what is good
and evil by eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. That
has been the nature of sin ever since. Then Adam and Eve were expelled from
Eden (Gen 3:23—24), losing the blessing of being in the intimate presence of God.
Consequently, the whole humanity and creation entered into curse instead of
blessing, and became contaminated and enslaved by sin.
Later, God placed two cherubim to “guard” Eden (Gen3:24) and this resembled
Israel’s temple where two cherubim figures are stationed hovering over the “ark
of the covenant” in the “Holy of Holies”. The “tree of life” in Eden was likely
modelled after by the golden lamp stand located outside the “Holy of Holies” in
the temple. The garden-temple is just like the tabernacle, decorated by gold
(Gen 2:12; Exod 25:3) and precious gems stone (Gen 2:21; Exod 25:7). We know
that as the entrance to Eden faces east (Gen 3:24), the entrance to Israel’s
temple faces east and is located on mountain Zion (Exod 15:17); and the eschatological
temple of Ezekiel also faces east (Ezek 40:6) and is located on a mountain
(Ezek 40:2; 43:12). There are four rivers flowing out from Eden (Gen 2:10), likewise
the end time temple described in Ezek 47:1–12 and Rev 21:1–2 is said to have
rivers flowing out from within.
In sum, as shown above we find close parallel between Eden and Israelite temple
imagery where God dwells with man, has fellowship with man, grant man rest (Gen
2:1—2;2:15), bless the people (Gen 1:28)
and received man’s service and worship (Gen 2:25). Eden is the prototype
of temple, a place we dream for, the final hope of paradise we long to get to,
yet remains as a distant dream.
Gen 1:28:“And God blessed them . . . Be fruitful and
multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea
and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that creeps on the
surface.” This is the first pronouncement of God’s blessing to man and it also
contains a commission to man. By this GK Beale insightfully argues that Adam was
to extend the geographical boundaries to the Garden of Eden until Eden extended
throughout and covered the whole earth. This means that God’s presence and
glory were to “fill” the entire earth by means of his faithful royal priestly image
bearers. Ever since Adam's failure, God has been at work to re-establish his
kingdom and to call a people back into fellowship with himself. He wants us to
enjoy the goal of creation end enter into his rest.
In this regards, we see that out of Eden, God preserved a
line of faithful remnant such as Seth, Enosh, Noah, Abraham and other patriarchs, and passed on to them the Adamic
commission. They are said to engage in “call upon the name of the Lord”(Gen
4:26), “walk with God”(Gen 5:24) and building of small sanctuaries, results in
God appearing to them (except in Gen. 12:8; 13:3-4); also "pitch a tent
" on a mountain; build "altars" and worship God, where they also
"call on the name of the Lord," probably also include sacrificial
offerings and prayer, at the place where these activities often occur, for
example "Bethel"—the "House of God”. The combination of the
above elements is an allusion to the cultic practice of Israel tabernacle and
temple. So we see that God’s presence has not ceased to be with the faithful remnant
and their informal sanctuaries in Genesis, a scenario points to Israel's
tabernacle or temple whereby God is said to dwell in the midst of his people.
2.
Israel’s Tabernacle and the Solomon Temple
God’s unique presence with his covenant people is formally called a
“temple”. The preparations for the temple begin at the Exodus. The first sanctuary is the tabernacle building began
at Mt Sinai, a portable construction (Exod 24, 38:21; Number 3:25). God
instructs Moses how to construct the tabernacle, the tent in which his presence
is to be focused among them as they travel towards the Promised Land. The
tabernacle is the place where God dwells in the midst of this people (Exod 25:8)
and gives his people divine revelation (Exod 25:22). Through sacrifices offered
and mediated by priests, the peoples’ sins atoned (Exod 29—30). God is the king
and laws are given for the people to obey. Now that God’s people are under his
rule again and thus they are able once more to enjoy his presence collectively.
God’s people, the Israel nation is the priestly kingdom (Exod 19:24), ultimately
through Israel the world be blessed.
The tabernacle is featured in three sections—the Holy of Holies, the Holy Place,
and the outer courtyard. The ark of the covenant and over it the mercy seat and
the cherubim were situated in the Holy of Holies. The lamp stand, table,
incense altar, bronze altar and laver were also housed in the tabernacle
(Exodus 40:1—11). The tripartite feature reflects a miniature model of
God’s huge cosmic temple that was to dominate the heavens and earth at the end
of time. The Holy of Holies represented the invisible heavenly dimension, the Holy
Place represented the visible heavens, and the outer courtyard represented the
visible sea and earth, where humans lived.
After the Israelites settle in the Land and at the
time of Solomon’s reign, the first temple is permanently built, bearing many
similarities to the tabernacle. From this place God dwells among his people, reveals
his will and pours out his blessing upon his people. It is natural that the overall purpose is linked to God giving
"rest" to Israel's king from his enemies (1 King 8:14—26). Besides,
Gentiles can be joined to the people of God only by coming to the temple, for
it is here that God chooses to deal with those who seek him (1 Kings 8:41—43).
The temple reminds Israel of the same task that Adam should have carried
out but failed, Israel was to execute: to “multiply and fill the earth and
subdue it” (Gen 1:28) by expanding the local boundaries of the temple to
include the entire earth. That is to spread God’s presence throughout the
entire earth. However, Israel wrongly viewed the temple to be symbolic of their
election as God’s only true people and that God’s presence was to be restricted
only to them as an ethnic nation. However, we know very well that God is not
bound to his earthly dwelling. God’s
presence in the temple could not be taken for granted or as guaranteed (Jeremiah
7). As God had chosen to dwell there, he could leave it if his people disobeyed
him (Ezek 10), or even allowed his temple to be destroyed. Throughout Israelite
history from wandering in the wilderness and living in the Promised Land, they
have most of the time exhibited disbelieve and disobedience to God. As a
result, they were driven out of the land and brought into exile as Moses had
forewarned (Deut 9:4—5).
The exiled prophet Ezekiel says that
though God had exiled Judah and Benjamin to Babylon, "yet I [Yahweh] was a
sanctuary for them a little while . . ."(Ezek 11:16) This suggests that
the presence of the Lord, which gave essential meaning to the temple, continued
with the faithful remnant in exile to form an invisible temple for them until
they could return and build the second temple. The same embryonic temple-building
pattern occurs when the remnant of Israel returns from Exile to build the
temple. They include:
(1) "Built the altar of the God of
Israel" on the foundation of the former temple at Mount Zion (Ezra 3:2-3).
(2) They began to offer burnt offerings
(Ezra 3:2), and they worshipped through the playing of music and by praising
and giving thanks (Ezra 3:10-11).
(3) They also
refer to the structure as "a house to our God" (Ezra 4:3).
However, like the Solomon temple, Israel's second temple fell
short of the ideal description of an eschatological temple as Exodus 15:17-18
and 2 Samuel 7:10-16 and subsequent prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel
foresaw, for example the new-temple (more magnificent than the first) promised
in Ezekiel 40—48. The post-exilic prophets, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
addressed this issue by prophesising that a great future day of perfect restoration
will come. So now the hope is rested upon some future time God will act to
bring about the eschatological temple presence alongside with his kingdom and
the salvation of his people.
3.
Jesus Christ is a temple
Jesus and the church have finally done what Adam, Noah and Israel had
failed to do in extending the temple presence of God throughout the world.
Jesus, the obedient last Adam, as God incarnate is God’s presence on earth,
continuing the true form of the old temple, which in OT era foreshadowed
Christ’s presence (2 Sam 7:12–14; Zech 6:12–13).
Jesus’ repeated claim that forgiveness now comes through him and no longer
through the sacrificial system of the temple means that he was taking over the
function of the temple as evident by the ruined veil at his death. The
symbolism is powerful. The door to God’s presence is now wide open for all who
will go in: “…..we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of
Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain.” (Hebrews
10:19—20)
Jesus also repeatedly refers to himself in the Synoptic gospels as the
“cornerstone” of the temple (Mark 12:10; Matt 21:42; Luke 20:17). Luke-Acts through Stephen’s frontal attack on the
temple and the aftermath of believers scattering to the Gentile world, depicts
the loyalty to the temple of Jerusalem was replaced by the loyalty to Jesus. John 1:14 says Jesus is the Word became flesh and made his dwelling or “tabernacled” among us. And in John 2:19,
Jesus says to the Jewish leaders, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I
will raise it up.’ He actually pointed to his body (John 2:21). Jesus standing
in the temple courts, declared, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and
drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living
water will flow from within him (John 7:37—38).” This declaration alludes to
Ezekiel’s promise of the new temple, from which a river would flow, bringing
life to all (Ezekiel 47). Jesus is the temple and the water is the Spirit he
gives to all who trust in him.
4. Christ’s followers, the church is
a temple
As the Lord Jesus, the true temple of God has ascended to heaven; God
continues to live in this fallen world. His temple now is a holy people. When
we believe in Jesus, we become a part of Jesus and the temple. Paul reminds us:
“…..your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have
received from God (1 Cor 6:19).” God also lives within us as a Christian
community, in 2 Cor 6:16: “….for we are the temple of the living God” (and so
likewise Eph 2:21–22; 1 Pet 2:5; Rev 3:12; 11:1–2).
Ephesians uses
the temple image for the universal church where Jews and Gentiles forming the
new temple (Eph 18—20), both have unhindered access to the sanctuary of God’s
presence. Christ is the cornerstone, the source of church’s life and growth and
the building can grow into a holy temple (Eph 2:21). God condescends to dwell
in his unfinished and imperfect church.
1 Peter 2:4—8 completed the circle of ideas
represented by the temple image. Christ is the cornerstone, the source of the
church’s life and growth. Believers are ‘living stones’, exhorted to coming to
Christ, they altogether form a ‘spiritual house’, to offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
Jesus the new temple also says that the Hoy Spirit will take his presence into the entire world through the
preaching of the gospel (Acts 1:8). And inasmuch as people are gathered to the
Saviour, there is also the new temple. So as Christians, we know God’s presence with us
by his Holy Spirit; the church is God’s temple on earth. Are we fulfilling the role of temple, whereby harmonious and intimate
5.
The New Heavens and New Earth is a city- temple
In the epistle to the Hebrews, the writers says that Christ the high priest
has entered into the heavenly shrine (Heb 9:11—12; 6:19-20; 8:2) which is
‘true’ and its earthly counter-part as ‘shadow’ or ‘copy’ (8:5; 9; 24). Such
heavenly temple is the setting for the drama played out in Revelation chapters
4—20. It is also depicted as the consummated condition of the New Heavens and
New Earth in Rev 21:22, according to John, “I saw no temple in it, because the
Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb are its temple.” The New Heavens and New
Earth is a temple-city where the barriers separating worshippers from God are
removed completely that they enjoy uninterrupted communion with God similar to
the divine presence with his people and the rest of creation in Eden (Gen Chap
2).
In sum, the New Heavens and New Earth in Rev 21:1–22:5 are a
temple—which equals God’s presence—encompasses the whole earth. It is the work
of Christ and continuation through the people of God which consummates in the
New Heavens and New Earth that will come down from heaven and fill the whole
creation. Until then the eschatological goal of the temple of the Garden of
Eden dominating the entire creation will be finally fulfilled, taking us back
to the beginning, to the way everything was designed to be in the first place:
a new Eden.
God’s people, the church now has a mission to shine as the light of the
world, through witnessing Christ redemptive works in this dark world. In 1 Pet
2:4–5, Peter addresses Christ a “living stone” in the temple and his people are
“living stones” who as a “royal priesthood” (allusion to Exod 19:6) are to
“proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his
marvellous light.”
To experience God’s temple-presence, we must believe in Christ that he
died for our sin. Three days late he resurrected and he now reigns as the Lord
God. God’s Spirit will dwells in us just as God dwelt in the sanctuary of Eden
and Israel’s temple. We are to as priests offer ourselves as living sacrifice
to serve God, believe and obey God’s word, and with a prayerful heart
witnessing to the world to win lost souls and strengthening them for priestly
service to God. As a result, the boundary of the temple presence of God is
extended and until Christ returns, it will be extended worldwide.
Conclusion:
God’s first
dwelling with his people is in Eden, where God chooses to have fellowship with
man and bless him with resting in a harmonious living. Man is a priest in this
temple-garden, is to serve God by obeying the God’s word and extend the
temple-garden boundary beyond Eden. When Adam and Eve chose to disobey God, sin
has come in and they were driven out of Eden. Ever since the Adamic commission
passed down to Noah, Abraham and his descendants until the formal form of
tabernacle and Israel temple were erected.
The
eschatological temple presence of God is culminated in Jesus, the New
Temple. Christ is the chief stone in the
new temple and believers are closely connected to Christ being call the ‘living
stones’ in the temple. The use of the temple image also serves to depict
Christ’s work in that he secures forgiveness for his people and mediates their
prayers to God.
Through the
church now, people have access to God’s presence and be bless. The church is to
carry the mission to expand this temple presence of God to their fellow
humankind. Until Christ returns, a New Heavens and New Earth will descend as
graphically portrayed in the book of Revelation which depicts God and the Lamb
themselves as the temple. By then, God is directly and fully accessible to his
people through his Son the Lamb. Then the whole of creation will finally
achieve rest in the presence of God as that once was found in Eden.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander,
T.D. From Paradise to the Promised Land:
An Introduction to the themes of The Pentateuch. Grand Rapid: Baker, 1998.
Beale, Gregory K. TheTemple
and The Church Mission. Downers Grove: IVP, 2004.
Dumbrell,
William J. Covenant and Creation: A
Theology of The Old Testament Covenants. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.
Goldsworthy,
Graeme. According to Plan: The Unfolding
Revelation of God in the Bible. Leicester: IVP, 1991.
McKelvey, R.J. “Temple.” In the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by .Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D.A. Carson and Graeme Goldsworthy, 806—811. Leicester: IVP, 2000.
Richard J. Bauckham,
The Theology of The Book of Revelation.
Cambridge: Cambridge, 1993.
Roberts, Vaughan. God’s Big Picture: Tracing the storyline of the Bible. Downers Grove: IVP, 2002.
Sailhamer,
John H. “Genesis.” In The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 2: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, edited by Frank E. Gaebelein; Grand Rapids, MI:
Zondervane, 1990.
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