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I. THE SYMBOL OF THE DIVINE GLORY, WHICH WAS SEEN IN THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM, WILL BE EXCHANGED IN HEAVEN FOR THE IMMEDIATE PRESENCE OF GOD AND OF CHRIST. There shall be no display of supernatural light there, such as dwelt in fearful majesty of old within the holy place of the temple; there shall be no symbol of mysterious glory, as in the ancient sanctuary, fitted and designed rather to veil the face of God than to reveal His character; the Almighty will not clothe and hide Himself, as in former days, with the impenetrable cloud, or the equally impenetrable brightness. But, without the intervention of any sign or symbol, or even outward representation, the living God shall be there seen as He is; the excellent glory that blazed between the cherubim as the representative of the Divine presence in ancient times will give place to the revealed form and the open face of Jehovah.

II. THE SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS FOR SIN, WHICH FORMED A PRINCIPAL PART OF THE SERVICES OF THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM, WILL BE EXCHANGED IN HEAVEN FOR THE FAVOUR OF A RECONCILED GOD AND AN EXALTED REDEEMER. The sacrifice once presented on the Cross by the Son of God Himself has completely taken away the guilt of sin and the Divine wrath that was due to it. The one shedding of blood upon Calvary has perfectly done what the blood streaming upon a thousand altars, and shed by ten thousand victims, in former ages, could never accomplish. There shall be no temple in heaven, in respect that there shall be no need of sacrifice or shedding of blood there. But more than this. We are assured by the inspired apostle that, in the absence of any other temple, "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb shall be the temple there"; and no small share of the happiness of the redeemed, as we learn from the passage before us, will be that, in exchange for the sacrifices and offerings presented for sin in the ancient temple, the saints of the Lord in heaven shall enjoy the favour of a reconciled God, and dwell in the presence of an exalted Saviour. And shall not the presence of the Lamb in the midst of heaven, the appearance of the crucified Saviour in human form among the multitudes whom His blood has saved, lend to them an assurance of peace and safety, and complete acquittal from the guilt of sin, which cannot fail to swell their hearts with more than mortal gladness?

III. THE IMPERFECT REVELATIONS PECULIAR TO THE ANCIENT TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM WILL BE SUPERSEDED IN THE CELESTIAL WORLD BY THE FULL KNOWLEDGE OF GOD AND THE REDEEMER. In this world of sin and imperfection the Christian sees only through a glass darkly. He sees, therefore, but in part, and he knows but in part. Mortal ears are not capable of hearing the accents of eternity; and there are sights there which could not be unveiled to mortal eyes. The angels of heaven "desire to look into them," and even they look in vain. And the redeemed of the Lord, when they break away from the confinement of their present condition and awaken to the vastness of their future lot, shall enter upon a state of existence in which new thoughts, new feelings, and new truths concerning God and concerning the Saviour, shall occupy and enlarge their souls throughout eternity.

IV. THE PARTICULAR PLACES AND SEASONS, WHICH WERE PECULIAR TO THE DEVOTIONS OF THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM, WILL BE DONE AWAY WITH IN THE WORSHIP OF HEAVEN. The many mansions of that celestial city will be alike pervaded by the glory of the Almighty, and alike sanctified and gladdened by it. The inhabitants of that kingdom, which is eternal in the heavens, will not have to wait the slow return of those annual seasons when His ancient people were invited to appear before God in Zion, and to hold fellowship with the Most High in His sanctuary; for their life will be a season of continual and endless fellowship with their Maker; and the day of glory which they shall spend in His presence — a day which has no morning and no night — will be one everlasting and uninterrupted Sabbath.

(J. Bannerman, D. D.)

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KJV: And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

WEB: I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.