The Book of Revelation concludes with a magnificent description of God making all things new (Rev. 21-22). This depiction marks the glorious culmination of God’s redemptive story. As we explore the characteristics of the new creation symbolized by the city-garden known as the new Jerusalem, we encounter a simple yet profound statement: “I saw no temple in the city…” (Rev. 21:22). This vision is loaded with hope for shalom—peace, wellbeing, perfection, and fullness—for the entire creation. But what does this absence of a temple signify, and how does it relate to our present time?
Symbolic and Problematic Roles of the Temple:
The Tabernacle/Temple in the Old Testament is meant to symbolize God’s presence indwelling the whole creation. The dwelling place of God is seen as the center of creation and the life of the community. However, ironically, the establishment of the temple has created a sacred space that distinguished God’s space from the rest of the land. It also created distinctive classes among the people, dividing the sacred from the common. That which is common would stay away from that which is sanctified unto God. The majority of the content of the Book of Leviticus is dedicated to defining the distinctions between the common and the sacred.
Divisions, Boundaries, and Power:
Temples not only create division but also boundaries of God’s presence. While sanctifying a specific space, they desacralized the surrounding land. Furthermore, while consecrating a class of people for temple service, temples make a majority of the people unprivileged and disadvantaged, which is consequently caused by the domination of clerical classes.
In addition, temples are used to uphold the power of an empire. They are built to secure imperial power. The worship places of other people groups are desecrated, contaminated, and demolished to demonstrate power and dominion. In other words, temples also serve political purposes, even today (e.g., the demolition of Babri Masjid and the building of Ram Mandir at Ayodhya). This pattern persisted throughout history, even in the biblical narrative.
Take the story of the Jerusalem Temple, for example. Solomon’s building of the temple had a royal purpose – to secure his power. After the death of Solomon, Jeroboam erected two shrines at Dan and Bethel to make sure that the people of his kingdom would not go down to the Jerusalem Temple, which is now in the territory of the Southern Kingdom (1 Kings 12:26-33). The later history of the monarchy of Judah speaks a lot about how different kings used the temple for their political purposes – using temple treasury to pay tributes to foreign kings (e.g., 2 Kings 18:14-16); installing idols in the temple (e.g., 2 Kings 16); and temple renovations (e.g., 2 Kings 12). Finally, the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar of the Babylonian Empire in 587/6 BC, which was an act of declaring the Babylonian power over Judah. While the Second Temple was built under Zerubbabel in the 5th century BC, Herod the Great renovated the temple in the 1st century BC, making it one of the most magnificent buildings of the ancient world (e.g., Matt. 24:1-3). Herod did this to gain loyalty from the Jews. Finally, the Second Temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in AD 70, which marked the end of Jewish autonomy over Jerusalem. Thus, the Jerusalem Temple was not just a religious symbol but also a political tool to secure or demonstrate one’s power and authority. This is not just the story of the Jerusalem Temple but a representation of the politics of all the empires of the world, ancient and present.
Dismantling Distinctions and the New Age of God’s Reign:
Isaiah’s post-exilic oracles (Isaiah 56-66) began with the vision of an open temple. All distinctions among people were overridden: the defiled and cursed were promised the status of God’s children (Isa. 56:3-8). The climactic oracle of Isaiah is also about the reestablishment of the truth about God’s presence indwelling in whole cosmos and the limitation of temple in representing God’s cosmic presence (Isa. 66:1). The people are no longer distinguished based on their religiosity or ritual purity but only based on the way they revere God in life and actions.
According to the testimony of the New Testament writers, Jesus of Nazareth became the embodiment of God’s presence. His body is symbolically called as temple (John 2:21-22). The fullness of Godhead dwelt in him (Col. 2:9). He is tabernacle in flesh (John 1:14). He is God with us and among us (Matt. 1:23). Thus, Jesus is the new temple where the fullness of God’s presence came into contact even with the least of the humanity – those who are ritually impure, socially antagonized, sinners, the dead, etc. There was no form of human existence that was untouched by this temple, marking the beginning of a new age of God’s reign on earth as in heaven.
The story does not end with Jesus. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit in the global disciples of Jesus Christ is a foretaste of God's immanence to the people, unrestricted by any buildings or institutions (e.g., 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:11-22). It symbolizes the dissolution of the physical temple and its institutions.
End of the Temple and a Call to Action:
The Book of Revelation builds on Isaiah’s vision, depicting a new creation where the concept of a physical temple becomes obsolete. God’s presence is so pervasive that a designated space is no longer needed. This vision for the "end of the temple" is a vision for the end of all the divisions and atrocities that occurred in the name of a particular deity. It communicates a powerful truth about how God would bring an end to all communal and religious violence. Perhaps, it could even mean God would bring an end to all religious quests.
This vision also holds immediate significance. We are called to surpass divides and foster inclusiveness. Let the churches become communities that foreshadow the new creation where all divisions and discriminations fade away because of the experience of the immediacy of God's presence.
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