Not One Stone Shall Be Left
Matthew 24:1-2
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His
disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things?
Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here
upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
After His triumphant entry into Jerusalem in Matthew 21, Jesus
spent about 4 days in that city.
Jesus went to the Temple, and drove out all those who were buying
and selling there. He overturned the tables of the moneychangers,
and the stools of those who sold pigeons. There the chief priests
and the elders questioned Jesus about His authority.
Jesus shared three parables - one about the two sons, one about the
wicked vinedressers, and one about the wedding feast. He answered a
few questions about paying taxes, the resurrection from death, the
Great Commandment and the Messiah. He warned against the hypocrisy
of the religious teachers and the Pharisees. And He also revealed
His love for Jerusalem as He lamented over the city for not willing to
come under the wings of the Lord!
While Jesus was about to leave the Temple, His disciples came to
Him, and called His attention to its buildings. How beautiful those
architectural structures were, how majestic those pillars were, and
how grand those entrances and stairways were etc. They had the
desire for Jesus to build His kingdom there and then! They had
secret ambitions that were rooted from the lust of the flesh, the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. They still loved the world,
and the things in the world.
Jesus told them that those buildings and structures might look well
and fine. But very soon, not a single stone would be left in its place. Every
one of them would be thrown down. The Temple would be in ruins
and rubbles.
The disciples of Jesus were taken aback when they heard these! How
could it be? No more Temple? Where could they go to worship God? How
could they celebrate the feasts of the Lord?
About 40 years later, in AD 70, the Roman army captured the city of
Jerusalem. Both the city and its Temple were destroyed.
Revelation 21:22-25
The Glory of the New Jerusalem
22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb
are its temple.
23 The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it,
for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light.
24 And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light,
and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it.
25 Its gates shall not be shut at all by day (there shall be no
night there).
The Apostle John told us clearly that there was no temple in the new
heaven and the new earth. There will be no physical temple in New
Jerusalem because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
Why is there no temple in New Jerusalem? The answer is found in
these two verses:
Acts 17:24
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of
heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands.
Isaiah 66:1
Thus says the LORD:
“Heaven is My throne,
And earth is My footstool.
Where is the house that you will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?
God desires us to worship Him freely without any obstruction. As He
fills all in all, no physical building is good enough. Thus, the
garden is the best setting for Him as heaven is His Throne, and
earth is His footstool. Therefore, there is no need for a temple.
Also there is no need of the sun or the moon to shine their light
upon the city. The LORD Himself is the everlasting light! There will
also be no night as the glory of God illuminates the whole heaven
and earth.
The place God had appointed for true worship from the beginning in
Genesis was a garden. It was where the tree of life is. It was not
an ivory house nor a palace overlaid with luxuries and works of
arts, but a beautiful garden, fully furnished and adorned with God’s
creative works of nature. It was where the mountains and the hills
would break forth into singing, and all the trees of the field would
clap their hands (Isaiah 55:12). Back to the Garden of Eden.
This will put the pride of man down. How often we have been proud of
some majestic and magnificent buildings that we have built, when in
fact, we need none of them from the very beginning and to the very
end.
The roof of Adam’s house was the heaven itself. His dwelling place
had no ceilings. And he was not confined by any walls! Adam was free
indeed. He lived and slept under the canopy of heaven. His floor was
a green pasture, scented with fragrances of the flowers around. All
of Solomon’s palaces and dwelling places, in all their glories, were
not arrayed like them. Under the cool shadows of the trees and the
beaming moonlight, Adam rested his body, enjoying perfect rest and
sleep.
Life then was simple and plain without any artificial delights and
inventions to continually gratify the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes and the pride of life. Even without clothes, Adam and his
wife were unashamed (Genesis 2:25). But when they sinned, they lost
their innocence, desiring clothes and houses, and lusting for this
and that.
1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world.
If anyone loves
the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the
world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who
does the will of God abides forever.
The sooner we rediscover this truth, the sooner we will attain
godliness with contentment. True godliness is being full of grace,
contented with the necessary, and lusting for nothing.
Psalm 91:9-11
9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
God Himself shall be the Temple. He is our Refuge and Dwelling
Place. Yes, God is our Dwelling Place! He will protect and preserve
us from all harms. He will order His holy angels to take good care
of us. In Him we abide. And in Him we live and move and have our
being (Acts 17:28). When God is our Dwelling Place, we are safe and
secure from all alarms. When we have God, we have everything. God is
our Everything. He is our All!
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives.
And we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Written on 29 December 2021