A Holy Temple of Light
The temple stood as the primary place of worship for the Israelites. God called out to Solomon, the son of King David, to build the temple in 960 BC. By entering the temple and offering the blood of a perfect animal, man could experience temporal forgiveness. No such place is needed in the New Jerusalem because God’s presence and righteousness will be everywhere. The Lamb, Jesus Himself, completed man’s forgiveness on the cross.
When Jesus died, the temple veil tore in two from top to bottom, opening the door for sinful man to have a relationship with the one, true, living God.
The radiance of God’s holiness will be the light in heaven. Light symbolizes what is pure, holy, good, and true. The fact that God’s holiness illuminates the New Jerusalem makes it clear that His presence will be everywhere. Man will no longer feel alone or alienated from God, but instead peaceful, loved, and accepted. Because of the pure, perfect light of God, sin and evil will not have a place in heaven. Just as darkness cannot dwell in the presence of light, neither will man’s sin exist in the presence of God’s pure, bright righteousness. All the ugliness of this life will be washed away. In heaven, nothing will be able to hinder our worship of God. David wrote in Psalm 23, “And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (verse 6, esv).
When we come to Jesus, admitting our sin and trusting in His forgiveness, we are clothed in His righteousness. The darkness in our lives is swept away and replaced with the presence of the Holy Spirit. In eternity, just as the nations will walk by the light of the Lamb, so are we called to live by the light of His presence until Christ returns.
Father, I come to You today through the righteousness of Christ. Thank You for healing me from a darkened mind. I desire that Your light be so bright in my life that I am a beacon of Your love to those still in darkness. Amen.
