The Ark

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of His covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.”
Revelation‬ ‭11:19 NLT

Look at the sequence of events in Revelation 11 regarding the third and last terror. The trumpet sound penetrated loud and clear over the earth. Then shouts were heard in Heaven, declaring that the time for the rule and reign of Christ had come. The elders gave praise to God, thanking Him that together with Christ’s reign comes the judgement of the bad and rewards for the good. And this chapter in Revelation then bows out with another confirmation of what is about to happen. We read that the Heavenly Temple of God is exposed for all to see, and, even more, the inner place where the Ark of His covenant is kept, will also became visible. But who will be able to see it?

All those residing in Heaven would have been no strangers to God’s Temple. They were in Heaven with God Himself. So this mighty Temple edifice must have become visible to all those on the earth. Imagine the process of looking up and seeing the Temple of God, and its inner parts, even those parts that were the most sacred. And as though to emphasise the event, there was a terrible tropical storm, complete with thunder, lightning, and hail. An earthquake completed the impact of this amazing event. But is that really what John saw in his vision?

In the beginning of chapter 11 in Revelation, John wrote about being asked to measure the Temple. And we concluded in a blog a few days ago that the Temple referred to God’s people. But we know that from 1 Peter 2:5, “And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple… “. As an aside, we thank Him that all we have to do is make ourselves available as living stones. He is the Master Builder. He will do the building. Making us fit into the living stones either side, above and below takes a lifetime of diligent attention. Thankfully God is very patient!

The elders, in their prayer in the previous verse, defined the people who make up the Temple – “…Your servants the prophets, as well as Your holy people, and all who fear Your name, from the least to the greatest…”. So at long last, by the visibility of God’s Temple, we have a public demonstration of who God’s people really are. And their relationship with God is exposed, as portrayed by His Ark. Presumably within the “Temple” there would also be all of God’s attributes there to see. His grace and mercy. His love and kindness. But also His righteousness and awesome presence, enough to instil a deep sense of foreboding, even fear, in those who don’t know Him. God’s holy people will experience the thunder, lightning and earthquake as well, but with a joy because of what was coming.

Is it too late for all those who didn’t know God to turn to Him? Having lasted this long through all the terrors and woes, perhaps they have become even more hardened of heart. But in this pre-End-Times season of grace, we have the time to turn to God, if we haven’t done so already. God’s love will always soften hearts, if we let Him.

Paul wrote in Romans 13, “Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbour, you will fulfil the requirements of God’s law“. And, “This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armour of right living“. (Romans 13:8,11-12). If Paul wrote two thousand years or so ago that the time for salvation was limited, how much more that must be the case today. God’s patience with mankind will one day come to an end, and the season of grace in which we live will end. We don’t know when the seventh trumpet blast will be heard. But it’s coming.

Father God. We thank You for Your love, always there and available for us to embrace. We join together in praying for our neighbours and friends, that they too will feel Your loving touch, while there is still time. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

God’s House

Posted on by Adrian Clark

“So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are His house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in Him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through Him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:19-22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Can we imagine what it must have felt like? Knowing that there was a God in Heaven but being excluded from being able to know Him. It was like a religious apartheid, with signs saying “No Gentiles” plastered everywhere. Life would have been much like those racially segregated times in South Africa and the US. The Jews claimed that God was exclusively their God. No-one else’s. But an amazing thing happened. God had a plan, as we read earlier in this Epistle. Through the wonderful act of mercy of Jesus’ sacrifice at the Cross, all of a sudden, God was accessible to everyone. No exceptions. But Paul was now saying to the Gentiles, the “strangers and foreigners“, that they were citizens of the Kingdom of God. However, we know that this new and wonderful status comes with some responsibilities. 

Paul said that as members of the same family, God’s family, we become His house. And we get this foundational picture of Jesus being the main support, the “cornerstone” with the apostles and prophets completing the substratum, the bedrock. Solid stuff, certainly. And Paul completes the house building analogy by saying that God’s people are carefully and exactly joined together forming the house. A house which then, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, becomes “a holy temple for the Lord”. And Paul couldn’t resist pointing out the Gentiles forming the Ephesian church were also made part of it.

But coming back to the responsibilities. A bit scary really. Any member of a house and family, has responsibilities. We all know what it must be like to have a rebellious and aggressive person in our houses. My wife and I fostered difficult children with challenging behaviour for many years. When everyone of them was following the house rules and were doing and behaving as they should, peace reigned and all was well. But when one of them decided to smash up his or her bedroom, all mayhem broke loose. It’s the same with God’s Temple. We are each “bricks” that dovetail into the next “bricks”. A brick that decides to be something else will cause some difficulties for the house. In today’s verses, we see that “we are carefully joined together in Him”.  And that is the secret of being part of God’s Temple. Our relationship with Jesus. Our constant referral to, and our relationship with, the master builder, who is carefully joining us together in Him, will ensure a Holy Temple. And God lives with us by His Spirit. 

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul wrote,  “Don’t you realise 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 honour God with your body.” So God is using “bricks” that are in themselves places where the Holy Spirit lives. 

At this point, we would be forgiven for thinking that we can never measure up to these standards. And in our own strength that is right. But we serve a loving and gracious Heavenly Father who understands our human frailties, and who has given us the means to become suitable building material. As we read earlier in this Epistle, through Jesus we are made anew. So in humble thankfulness we praise and worship Him. There is no alternative.