This Part 2 is the continuation and conclusion of “God Tabernacles With Humans (1)”. Part 1 should be read first; the verses and background material covered in it won’t be repeated here in Part 2.
At first, the Lord God dwelt in the garden of Eden with Adam & Eve. Later, the Lord dwelt with Israel in the portable “tabernacle” (noun) of Moses. Then God/Christ dwelt or ‘tabernacled’ (verb) in Solomon’s stationary temple.
Then in the 1st century AD, the Lord dwelt/tabernacled in a physical body. Jn.1:14 “The Word became flesh and tabernacled [Strongs g4637 skenóo, Greek verb] among us, and we beheld His glory.” No longer did He dwell in the innermost room of a sacred tent or a temple building. Jesus, the pre-incarnate Word of God and Rock of Israel (1Co.10:4 & De.32:18), was now able to have a closer personal relationship with the people He would encounter while on earth for 30–35 years.
However, it was not yet time for Him to tabernacle even more fully than in a physical body! Jn.7:2 “Now the Jews Feast of Tabernacles was at hand.” Literally, the ‘Feast of Tent Pitching’ (g4634 skenopegía). Some translations say “Feast of Booths”. In John’s account, at this season when Jews were leaving for the week-long Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus said His time had not yet come (v.6-10).
It’s interesting to note that although Jesus is God, as flesh He never set foot inside the temple sanctuary (g3485 naós) in Jerusalem! Only Levitical priests could enter the Holy Place, and Jesus wasn’t a Levite or a priestly descendant of Aaron. (Only the high priest could enter the innermost Holy of Holies.)
What comprised Herod’s temple? In the Greek, the term naos (g3485) referred only to the sanctuary…the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. Whereas the term hierón (g2411) referred to the entire temple mount complex/precinct, which also included the chambers, Solomon’s Porch, the courts, etc.
In the New Testament (NT), naos occurs 45 times and hieron occurs 70 times. Yet the KJV and many English translations render both naos and hieron simply as… temple. So the distinction and meaning is somewhat clouded. For example: in Mk.11:27, Mk.14:49, Lk.2:37, Ac.2:46 they aren’t in the sanctuary/naos, but are in the overall temple complex/hieron. Such generalizing in translation can also affect reader perception of specifically where God tabernacled.
Then on the cross as Jesus’ spirit departed His physical body, Mt.27:50-51 indicates the veil separating the Holy of Holies was torn from top to bottom (not torn from bottom to top, as by man). A second veil was at the outside entrance to the Holy Place. Did it also tear? Willoughby Allen wrote, “A cleavage in the masonry of the porch which rent the outer veil and left the Holy Place open to view, would account for the language of the Gospels”. Josephus Wars of the Jews 5:5:4 “Before these doors was a veil of equal largeness with the doors. It was a Babylonian curtain.” Also the Talmud noted the veil. (ref the topic, “Babylon the Great’ in Revelation”.)
Father God’s tearing of the veil symbolized three things: #1 Father God/YHVH rending His garment in divine mourning at the death of His Son. (Some think a vague allusion is Mt.26:65.)
#2 The veil was figuratively Jesus’ flesh. He.10:19-20 “We have confidence to enter the holiest place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.” As the veil had covered the entrance in the ancient tabernacle and temple where YHVH/Christ dwelt inside, the flesh of Jesus’ physical body covered Jesus who is Deity. Col.2:9 “In Him [Christ] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
#3 The torn veil opened access to a relationship with God for all of mankind! He.9:8-9 “The Holy Spirit is signifying that the way into the holiest place has not been disclosed while the first tabernacle is still standing, which is a symbol for the present time.” Also He.10:19, mankind now may enter the holiest of all where God/Jesus is. (Not solely the high priest once a year in the Holy Land.) Heaven itself. JFB Commentary “The holiest of all’ – heaven, the antitype.” Poole Commentary “In heaven.”
It is significant to note…history indicates there were no sculptured cherubim to ‘guard’ the Most Holy Place of Herod’s temple! Josephus Wars of the Jews 5:5:5 said the Holy of Holies was entirely empty. The cherubim stationed at the gate of Eden (Ge.3:24), and the sculptures of them in Moses’ tabernacle and Solomon’s first temple, had guarded or ‘protected’ God from sinful humanity. Figures of cherubs had even been embroidered on the veil and curtains of the tabernacle (Ex.26:1, 31, 36:8, 35), and engraved on the walls of the first temple (1Ki.6:29, 32, 35, 7:29, 36). But in Herod’s temple there were no cherubim to ‘guard’ Christ …Jesus was out walking the Land! No cherubim to prevent a repentant mankind from eventually knowing God and experiencing the benefits of a relationship with Him!
Jerusalem and the temple structure were destroyed in 70 AD, during the time of the Roman Empire. Jesus had prophesied the temple destruction in Mk.13:2, “Not one stone shall be left upon another which shall not be torn down”. Since heaven is God’s throne and the earth His footstool, God doesn’t need an earthly structure anyway (Is.66:1, Ac.7:49)! God’s Holy Spirit (HS) now indwells Christians.
Centuries later the Roman Empire collapsed. The Da.2:35 prophecy contains imagery. “The stone that struck the statue [of man’s kingdoms] became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.” And in v.45, “You saw that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands”. This divine stone or Rock represents Jesus crushing the Kingdoms of Man and replacing them with the Kingdom of God. Jesus is figuratively also the stumbling stone and Rock of offense (1Pe.2:7-8) which tripped-up those who didn’t believe He is very God, the Rock of Israel. (See “Jesus Was The Old Testament God”.)
As all humanity has access to God. Is.2:2-3 “Many peoples will say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord.” Ezk.40:2 Ezekiel saw in vision, “God set me on a very high mountain, and on it to the south there was a structure like a city”. He saw a mountain city, a city on a hill. Furthermore in Ezk.43:12, “Its entire area on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy”. Here Ezekiel adds to the Edenic mountaintop setting of Ezk.28:13-14. ref in Part 1 the imagery for Rock, stone, mountain. A spiritual structure is being built!
In other words…a holy temple or sanctuary is being built! Who is the Builder? Mk.6:3 “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” Jesus in the flesh was a carpenter or building engineer. Paul wrote to the church in 1Co.3:9, “You are God’s building”. Continuing in v.16-17, “You are a temple [naos g3485] of God, and the Spirit of God dwells [g3611 oikéo] in you”. The HS dwells in God’s temple sanctuary of saints! (also ref 2Co.6:16.)
Jesus had prayed to His Father in Jn.17:21, “That they may all be one, even as Thou Father are in Me, and I in Thee, that they may also be in Us”. We as one with God. Paul wrote in Ep.4:4-6, “There is one body, one Spirit, one Lord, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all”. God dwelling within people, through His Spirit.
Ep.2:19-22 “Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building is growing into a holy temple [naos g3485] in the Lord, built together into a habitation of God in the Spirit.” Jesus is the Head Cornerstone in this spiritual edifice of God.
Zec.4:6-7 “By My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts. What are you O great mountain? And he [Zerubabbél] will bring forth the top stone with shouts of ‘Grace, Grace to it!” Targum Jonathan here reads, “He will bring forth His Messiah…and He shall rule over all the Kingdoms”. Linked with the imagery of this verse, a pyramídion or miniature mountain sits atop Zechariah’s (supposed) tomb today at the foot of the Mount of Olives. More imagery….
Peter referred to the Christians (1Pe.4:16), to whom he wrote, as living stones being built upon Christ the Cornerstone. 1Pe.2:4-6 “You as living stones are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood.” And we as living stones are built upon a Rock (not upon sand, Mt.7:24-26).
When elderly Peter wrote 2Peter, he knew the time had come for him to depart his bodily tabernacle. 2Pe.1:13-15 Young’s Literal Translation “Soon is the laying aside of my tabernacle [g4638 skénoma]…my outgoing.” The time had come for Peter to leave his fleshly tent, in which he and the Holy Spirit had dwelt jointly as one (cf. 1Co.6:17).
The Christian church will also be metaphorically married to Jesus, the Lamb of God…signifying a very close relationship. In 2Co.11:2, Paul said they were as a pure virgin betrothed to their husband Christ. Then John wrote, Re.19:7 “The marriage of the Lamb has come and His wife has made herself ready”.
John’s vision of Re.21:2 follows. “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband.” Then an angel says to John in v.9-10, “I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” So here we see the images combine, the bride/wife of Christ is the city! The holy structure, New Jerusalem, is the saints!
Continuing with the next verse, Re.21:11 “Having the glory of God, her brilliance was like a very costly stone”. Then in v.19-21, “The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone”. John identifies the beautiful precious stones he saw. These precious stones of the spiritual structure are the living stones of which Peter wrote…the saints of God!
Jesus told His disciples in Jn.14:2-3, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. I go to prepare a place for you.” The apostle Paul yearned for his future heavenly dwelling. 2Co.5:1-4 “We have a building from God, a house not made with [human] hands, eternal in the heavens.” Then we’ll see God! John wrote in Re.22:4, “They shall see His face”. (Also ref “Life and Death – for Saints”.)
Back in John 7, it wasn’t yet time for Jesus to fully tabernacle with all people. But later, Re.7:15 pertains to the great multitude from all peoples & nations. John wrote, “They are before the throne of God in His temple [naos g3485], and He who sits on the throne shall tabernacle [g4637] over them”.
In Revelation, the time has come to fully tabernacle as a habitation of God! We will intimately know God (Jn.17:3), His character, His principles of living. In a sense, the Feast of Booths/Tabernacles/Tent Pitching (g4634) in future full expression!
To recap Part 1 and Part 2: Initially God dwelt in the garden with Adam & Eve (but ended the close relationship when they chose to disobey). Then later the Lord dwelt with His people Israel in the portable tabernacle of Moses; then in Solomon’s larger stationary temple. Christ departed at the time of their captivity. (No cherubim were in the Most Holy Place of Herod’s temple. And there was no Ark or mercy seat in Zerubbabel’s Temple. see “Temple of Zerubbabel”.)
Then Jesus tabernacled in the flesh in the Land of Palestine. After Jesus ascended, God sent the HS to inhabit or reside in believing Jews…and then in believing gentiles too (Acts 10), of all nations. Ultimately God will tabernacle or dwell forever with all believing humans!
Concluding with Re.21:3-4, “The tabernacle [skené g4633, noun] of God is among men, and He shall tabernacle [skenoo g4637, verb] among them, and they shall be His people. And He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall be no more death.”
It’s a beautiful relationship…for all eternity! Emmanuel, “God (is) with us”, in complete fullness. Re.21:5 “He who sits on the throne said, ‘Behold I AM making all things new. These words are faithful and true.” God is the Master Builder. He is bringing it to pass, and He will achieve the eternal close relationship with humanity which He so desires.
Bible Topic Exposition 