Prayer – Show me Lord if there is any sin in me—cleanse
my rebellious spirit. Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and
I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7
Then the Spirit took me up and brought me into the
inner courtyard, and the glory of the LORD filled the Temple. And I heard
someone speaking to me from within the Temple, while the man who had been
measuring stood beside me. The LORD said to me, "Son of man, this is the
place of my throne and the place where I will rest my feet. I will live here
forever among the people of Israel. They and their kings will not defile my
holy name any longer by their adulterous worship of other gods or by honoring
the relics of their kings who have died. They put their idol altars right next
to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such
detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger. Now let them stop worshiping
other gods and honoring the relics of their kings, and I will live among them
forever. Ezekiel 43:5-9
Meditate. Consider God’s desire to live in His Temple.
Where is this Temple of the Lord? Wherever it is, He
desires holiness—purity. No idol worship. At this time Ezekiel was in Babylon
and was given the prophecy of the plans to rebuild the Temple. This was not
Solomon’s Temple, but the Millennial Kingdom Temple. That is still years in the
future—but there is more to come.
 |
| Photo of the Moon No need for the Sun or Moon... in the New Jerusalem. God illuminates and Jesus is the Light. |
It is risky to take verses out of context but consider Revelation 21:22 and the following verses.
I saw no temple in
the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the
city has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God illuminates the city, and
the Lamb is its light. The nations will walk in its light, and the kings of the
world will enter the city in all their glory. Its gates will never be closed at
the end of day because there is no night there. And all the nations will bring
their glory and honor into the city. Nothing evil will be allowed to enter, nor
anyone who practices shameful idolatry and dishonesty—but only those whose
names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Revelation 21:22-27 (Underlined for emphasis.)
There is no Temple in the city of the New Jerusalem. Just
as believers are the Temple of the Holy Spirit now—God and Jesus will be The
Temple in the New Jerusalem.
Don't you realize
that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given
to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, for God bought you with a high
price. So you must honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Where is the Temple about which Ezekiel wrote? Will we see
it one day in Heaven or on Earth? Not likely since we are told in Matthew and
Mark that is will be desecrated.
"The day is
coming when you will see what Daniel the prophet spoke about—the sacrilegious
object that causes desecration standing in the Holy Place." (Reader, pay
attention!) Matthew 24:15
Pay attention. Dig into God’s word for yourself and above
all…worship our God in Spirit and in Truth. Don’t be deceived and worship any
idols for our God is holy and expects to be honored as such. Can you do that?
Verse of Salvation ~ As for us, we can't help but thank
God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always
thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation--a
salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your
belief in the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2:13
© 2023 Text, photos, and illustrations by Mickey M. Hunacek. All
rights reserved.
All scripture quoted from the New Living Translation (NLT) unless
otherwise noted.
New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale
House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Biblical search from Blue Letter Bible - http://v3.blueletterbible.org/search.cfm.
Books by Mickey M.
Hunacek
Available as e-books or paperbacks at Amazon.com
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