I say, that you had no Christ and were excluded from membership of Israel, aliens with no part in the covenants with their Promise; you were immersed in this world, without hope and without God. But now in Christ Jesus, you that used to be so far apart from us have been brought very close, by the blood of Christ. For he is the peace between us, and has made the two into one and broken down the barrier which used to keep them apart, actually destroying in his own person the hostility caused by the riles and decrees of the Law.
This was to create one single New Man in himself out of the two of them and by restoring peace through the cross, to unite them both in a single Body and reconcile them with God. In his own person he killed the hostility. Later he came to bring the good news of peace, peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near at hand. Through him, both of us have in one Spirit our way to come to the Father. So you are no longer aliens or foreign visitors: you are citizens like all the saints, and part of God's household. You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundations, and Christ Jesus himself its main cornerstone. As every structure is aligned on him, all grow into one holy temple in the Lord; and you too, in him, are being built into a house where God lives, in the Spirit. - Eph. 2:12-22 -
In a similar way, Saint Peter used the word house to describe baptized Christians as of a new spiritual temple. Once you were not a people at all and now you are the People of God; once you were outside the mercy and now you have been given mercy. - 1Pet. 2:4-10 -
In addition to understanding the Church as the new spiritual temple of God on earth that replaced the temple of Jerusalem, the New Testament alludes to a heavenly temple in whose life the Church participates. - John 1:51, 14:2; Gal. 4:26; Phil. 3:20 - Saint Paul and John, both allude to the heavenly temple, can be found, and it is the most developed in the Book of Hebrews and Revelation.
The author of Hebrews was concerned to demonstrate that Christianity is better than Judaism. Among other things, Christians have a better Covenant, a better Sacrifice, a better High priest, and a better temple/Church. The Temple in Jerusalem was only a copy and shadow, a type, of the true temple which is in heaven. Therefore the true, heavenly sanctuary into which Christ has entered on our behalf is better than its earthly copy. Because Christ our High Priest dwells in this heavenly sanctuary , we can enter the heavenly Holy of Holy and participate in the worship of the heavenly temple. The author appears to define the heavenly temple as 'the Church of the first-born.' 'But what you have come to is Mount Zion and the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem where the millions of angels have gathered for the festival, with the whole Church in which everyone is a 'first-born son' and a citizen of heaven.' -
According to Saint John, the author of the Book of Revelation, there is a celestial Mount Zion, a heavenly Jerusalem, and a heavenly temple. Christians who overcome temptation and trails are made pillars in the heavenly temple of God. From this heavenly temple God will issue His judgments on the nations during the Tribulation. The martyrs of the Tribulation will serve God day and night in His [heavenly] temple. The temple in Jerusalem will be measured and judged during that time.
In the New Jerusalem there will not be a temple because 'the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.' In that perfect city [The City of God] nothing will come between God and man, and we shall see God face. In the new heaven and earth 'the tabernacle of God' will be 'with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God.' '
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; the first heaven and the first earth had disappeared now, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the holy city, and the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, as beautiful as a bride all dressed for her husband. Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, 'You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.'
Saint Paul identified the new temple with the Church, but Saint John identified it with the heavenly realm where Christ dwells. [The City of God] Further more, just as there was no temple before the fall, so Saint John anticipated a new heaven and earth without a temple. These different ways of understanding the relation of the temple to the new 'People of God' are complementary, not contradictory.
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
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