Revelation 21:22

Revelation 21:22

In Revelation 21:22 the Apostle John wrote, "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." In Revelation Chapter 21 John is in the midst of describing a city called the new Jerusalem that God will prepare for His believers for their eternal dwelling place. If you go to the city of Jerusalem that is today in Israel, you will find that one of the most prominent places is the wailing wall. This wall is all that is left of the temple that was destroyed by the Romans almost 2,000 years ago. Ever since there has been much speculation about when another temple will be built there. The city of Jerusalem and the temple have been inseparable since the first temple was built there by King Solomon. Without a doubt John looked for the temple when He saw the new Jerusalem, but he did not find one.

Why will there not be a temple in the new Jerusalem? The answer is given in the second part of Revelation 21:22. It says that there will be no temple because "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." When we get to heaven, we will know God in a way that He has never been known before. We will see Jesus. The worship of God will be at its purest form, and there will be no temple. Many people in this life associate the worship of God too closely with some location or building or edifice or cathedral. But God is everywhere, and He can be worshipped wherever you are. There is no special place where you must be in order to worship God in spirit and in truth. If you have not learned that, then you have not learned much about the true worship of God. A church refers to the assembly of people. The building is just a practical necessity as a place to assemble in the name of Jesus.

Instead of a temple there will be the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. Of course, the Lamb is Jesus. The worship of God is implied and Jesus is mentioned right along with the Father. This is just one of the vast multitudes of references in the New Testament in which God and Jesus are given the same importance, and in which they are put into the same context. If you want to learn how to worship God in the same way that He will be worshipped in heaven, then learn to worship Jesus. There will be no temple in the New Jerusalem, but there will be the Lamb. Connected with the temple worship of the Old Testament there were always animal sacrifices, because without the shedding of blood there was no remission of sin. Lambs were sacrificed, but one problem with the animal sacrifices of the Old Testament was that they had to be repeated over and over. But Jesus was offered up on the cross as our sacrifice once for all. Forever in heaven we will honor Him and worship Him for being the Lamb of God, because otherwise we would have no hope of being in heaven. If Jesus were not the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the golden pavement of heaven would stand empty and vacant and would never know the footsteps of a human being upon them.

John continued his description of the New Jerusalem and he said in Revelation 21:23-24, "And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it." In these verses "light" is mentioned three times. We are told that God lightens the city, and we are told that Jesus is the light thereof. Again, God and Jesus are mentioned doing the same thing together. What one does, the other also does because they are One. Remember when Jesus told the disciples, "If ye have seen me, ye have seen the Father also?"

Light is symbolic of knowledge and understanding. Salvation is an enlightenment. Truth is spiritual in nature, and truth can only be understood when the light shines into the heart. The light must come from God and Christ. No one can be convinced to believe through intellectual arguments or persuasive reasoning. When you are in darkness, only light can do away with the darkness. Darkness inside the mind and soul of a human being will always be there, until the human allows Jesus to take away the darkness. Second Corinthians 4:3-4 says, "But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost; in whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

In Revelation 21:25-27 the Apostle John wrote about the New Jerusalem, "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it anything that defiles, neither whatsoever works abomination, or makes a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life." Ancient cities always had to have walls and gates in order to keep out intruders. This is a dangerous world in which we live. In this world there will always be some who have darkness in their hearts and who go about as predators seeking whom they may destroy. A wise person must take steps to keep thieves and liars away from their substance. One of the wonderful things about the heavenly New Jerusalem is that such a circumstance will not be present there. The gates will not have to be closed. There will be no one on guard duty, because there will be no one or nothing to fear. Those who did not repent of their sins will already be in the lake of fire.

We are told one more time very clearly who will be allowed into the wonderful eternal city, where the gates are made of pearl and the streets are paved with gold. The ones who will be there are the ones whose names are "written in the Lamb’s book of life." Notice that it is called the book of life. Those whose names are written in that book will live forever. Remember when Jesus said in the Gospel of John that, "whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die." Notice also that it is called the Lamb’s book of life. Jesus is the one who gives eternal life. No church, no religion, no human being can give you eternal life: but Jesus can. Everyone who enters the eternal city will have this in common: they received from Jesus the forgiveness of their sins and the gift of eternal life.

The Bible says in Revelation 22:1-2, "And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." We are told that there is a river that proceeds from the throne of God and from the Lamb. There are spiritual lessons to be learned from this river. The first thing we are told about the river is that it is pure. Everything in heaven will be pure. Nothing that is defiled, nothing that is sinful, and nothing that is unholy will be there. If you are not holy, then how are you going to get there? The answer can be found in the symbolism of the river. A river of pure water can cleanse. That which is dirty becomes clean by being washed in the river. This is symbolic of the forgiveness of sins. One of the greatest things that Jesus ever said when He was on the earth was, "Thy sins be forgiven thee." Through Christ you can go to heaven because there is cleansing from sin available from a loving and forgiving God.

Just make sure that you have gone to the right place to receive the forgiveness of your sins, because you must have noticed that the pure river of the water of life "proceeds from the throne of God and from the Lamb." If you are going to be saved, you can only receive salvation from a personal contact with God and with Jesus Christ. The angel announced to Mary, "You shall call his name Jesus, because He shall save his people from their sins." John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, "Behold the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." You cannot receive the forgiveness of sins from a religion or a church or a religious ceremony of any kind. You must come to Jesus and receive Him, and in so doing you will also receive all the benefits of knowing Him. To receive means to believe. The Apostle John wrote, "But as many as received Him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name."

The greatest benefit to believing on His name is indicated by the river being called a "river of the water of life." This is speaking of eternal life. There is no such thing as a fountain of youth, but there is a river of life, eternal life. Life as we know it is temporary, but if you have come to the river and tasted the water of life that proceeds from God and from the Lamb, you will live forever. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well, "But whosoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."

When a river flows into a valley, at the banks of that river will grow the best of trees and plants. From the life-giving fruits and grains people can come and find food and sustenance. Of course, in this world there is never a guarantee that the next harvest will be as good as the last. The farmer is forever at the mercy of the weather and the climate. But Revelation 22:2 is reminding us that in the great plan of God, paradise lost will become paradise rediscovered. Adam and Eve were originally placed in the Garden of Eden, but because of the failure of man and because of sin, a curse came upon the earth, and death and hell came with the curse. But because of the mercy of God and the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, one day the curse will be taken away and all its negative effects will be no more.

Revelation 22:3 says, "And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads." Why is there death? The curse. Why is there pain and suffering? The curse. Why do humans fight and hate one another? The curse. Why are there famines and disease? Why do weeds grow so easily in the place of fruit and grain? Why must man work by the sweat of his brow to earn his bread? The curse. If only the curse were taken away! The curse shall be taken away, and Revelation 22:3 tells us the glory of it and the wonder of it and the hope of it. The curse silently works all around us and is one of the significant reasons to explain what happens every day on this earth.

The Bible declares in Revelation 22:3 that "there shall be no more curse," and then perhaps to explain why or how the curse will be taken away, Revelation 22:3 also says that "the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." Only Jesus can take away the curse and its effects. Human reformation, human efforts, human plans, and good intentions will never be enough to take away the curse. But God can, and the reason He can is because Jesus is the Lamb of God, the sacrificial lamb that was offered for the sins of the world. If you want to enjoy the blessedness of the Kingdom to come where there will be no curse and no effects of it, then you must get saved through faith in Christ. The Bible says in Galatians 3:13, "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree."

Once when Jesus was with the disciples, they said to Him, "Show us the Father." Jesus answered them, "If you have seen me, you have seen the Father." The oneness and the unity of the Father, the Son, and the Spirit is such that if you have seen the one, you have seen the other also. In the age in which we live, we have not seen the Father, or the Son, or the Spirit; but we know that they exist for many reasons, not the least of which being that the Spirit speaks to our spirit, although not with words which are uttered. Even so He speaks to us in a definite and unmistakable way. The Spirit of God spoke to our hearts and drew us to Christ for salvation. The Spirit of God bears witness to our hearts that we are therefore the sons of God. The Spirit of God enlightens our understanding so that the Bible is opened up to us, and the mysteries that once were hidden to us are revealed by a shining light that cannot be mistaken.

In this age we believe without seeing, but the day will come when every believer will open their eyes and look straight into the face of Jesus, and they will know Him as they have never known Him before. Just the gaze of His eyes will undoubtedly fill us with the greatest love and peace and security that will ever be known. How blessed were the disciples and other believers of the first century who had the opportunity to see His face in this life. There must be some significance to the fact that they did not write about what He looked like. Perhaps they were too enthralled by His words to have time to think about His appearance. Remember when it was said of Him, "No man ever spake as this man?"

Some artists have attempted to create what they think might represent the face of Christ. We can see how it would be a challenge to an artist to try and find the combination of features that could be the Christ’s. What artist ever born on the earth could possibly create the features that would express in one face the attributes that must have been those of Jesus: strength and tenderness, suffering and joy, empathy for all of mankind, truth, justice, and holiness, as well as the eternal love of God and all the other attributes of the Father? How do you put the attributes of the divinity into the face of a man? They must have been there, and we will see Him face to face.

Face to face with Christ my Savior.

Face to face: how can it be?

When with rapture I behold Him,

Jesus Christ of Galilee.

If you turn to Christ for the forgiveness of sins before it is too late, you also will see Him face to face in the bliss and peace and joy of heaven.

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