Revelation 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

(First there was the temple of the tabernacle in heaven, the same one that Isaiah saw the Lord in:)

 

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

 

(The heavenly temple has the heavenly tabernacle in it:)

 

Revelation 15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:

 

(And in that heavenly tabernacle, in the heavenly temple, is the heavenly ark, and the other heavenly furniture:)

 

Revelation 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

 

(Moses was commanded to build the earthly tabernacle, ark, and other furniture, after the pattern of the heavenly:)

 

Hebrews 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

 

(Moses was to make the tabernacle, so that the LORD would dwell among Israel.

Also, so that the LORD would meet and commune with Moses, Aaron, and subsequent high priests, from above the mercy seat.)

 

Exodus 25:8 And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.

  22 And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

 

(From the outside, all that was seen was skin and hair, very plain looking, and not beautiful:)

 

Exodus 26:7 And thou shalt make curtains of goats' hair to be a covering upon the tabernacle: eleven curtains shalt thou make.

  14 And thou shalt make a covering for the tent of rams' skins dyed red, and a covering above of badgers' skins.

 

(But within the tabernacle was the glory of God:)

 

Exodus 40:34 Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

  35 And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.

 

(The tabernacle would be sanctified by the glory of God within, and thus the LORD would dwell among his people:)

 

Exodus 29:43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

  45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.

 

(However, only the priests could come into the tabernacle, and then only the high priest could enter the most holy place:)

 

Leviticus 16:2 And the LORD said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place within the vail before the mercy seat, which is upon the ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon the mercy seat.

 

Hebrews 9:7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:

  8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:

(Then the LORD gave the pattern of the temple to David, apparently, also, after the pattern of the heavenly temple:)

 

I Chronicles 28:19 All this, said David, the LORD made me understand in writing by his hand upon me, even all the works of this pattern.

 

(Then Solomon built the temple after the pattern given to his father, David:)

 

I Kings 5:2 And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,

  5 And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.

 

I Kings 6:14 So Solomon built the house, and finished it.

  17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.

 

(And the ark and tabernacle were placed into the temple, and the glory of the LORD was in the temple:)

 

I Kings 8:4 And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up.

  6 And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims.

  10 And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the LORD,

  11 So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD.

 

(When the Babylonians destroyed the first temple, and took the remnant captive, there was no mention of them taking the ark.

Also, when they were allowed, by Cyrus, to return and build the temple, there was no mention of the ark, then, either.

There is no mention of the ark being in the second temple, in either the post exilic writings, or in the gospels.

Also, the appearance of the second temple was not as spectacular as the first temple:)

 

Ezra 3:12 But many of the priests and Levites and chief of the fathers, who were ancient men, that had seen the first house, when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice; and many shouted aloud for joy:

 

(When the second temple was finished building, there was also no mention of the glory of the LORD filling it, like before.

Yet, the LORD prophesied that the glory of the second temple would be greater than the first.

How was this going to be, without the ark, and without the glory of the LORD filling it, as soon as it was completed?)

 

Haggai 2:9 The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the LORD of hosts: and in this place will I give peace, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

(So, initially, the LORD dwelt among Israel, in a tabernacle of skin and hair, yet with the glory of God within.

Then, the LORD came to dwell among Israel, in a different tabernacle of skin and hair, in a man's body.

And like the tabernacle in the wilderness, not beautiful on the outside, but inside, the glory of God:)

 

John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

 

Isaiah 53:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

 

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.

  20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?

  21 But he spake of the temple of his body.

 

(However, it was prophesied that this greater tabernacle would suddenly come to the temple:)

 

Malachi 3:1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.

 

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

(Haggai prophesied that the glory of the second temple would be greater than the first, even though the ark was not there.

It was fulfilled when the glory of God in a body, came into the temple, the Lord Jesus!)

 

Matthew 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.

 

(Even the children declared this, while in the temple:)

 

Matthew 21:15 And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were sore displeased,

 

(When Jesus had cast out the moneychangers, he called the temple building, "My house", as it was still the LORD's house.)

 

Matthew 21:12 And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

  13 And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.

 

(Then Jesus said the temple building, which at that point, he no longer called his house, but their house, would be left desolate:)

 

Matthew 23:38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

  39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

 

Matthew 24:1 And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple.

 

(Right after he said that, he departed from the temple – the glory departed – and it was from that point on, desolate.

This happened first, with the tabernacle, when the ark was taken:)

 

I Samuel 4:22 And she said, The glory is departed from Israel: for the ark of God is taken.

 

(Then it happened again, right before Nebuchadnezzar destroyed the temple, and the remnant went into captivity:)

 

Ezekiel 10:18 Then the glory of the LORD departed from off the threshold of the house, and stood over the cherubims.

 

Ezekiel 11:23 And the glory of the LORD went up from the midst of the city, and stood upon the mountain which is on the east side of the city.

 

(Then, the glory departed the third time, seen in Matthew 23:38-24:1, when Jesus departed from the temple building.)

 

(Currently, in the church age, the temple is the Holy Ghost in us:)

 

I Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

  17 If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

 

I Corinthians 6:19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

 

II Corinthians 6:16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.

 

(Then, thank the LORD, the glory doesn’t depart from that temple, but rather that temple will depart!)

 

I Thessalonians 4: 16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

  17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

 

(Then at the second advent, Jesus will return, and even though there will be a magnificent millennial structure,

the real temple, the real tabernacle, will be the LORD in a body, dwelling with his people for a thousand years.

Then, in eternity, in the new Jerusalem, there will not be a temple structure, but the Father and the Son, together, are the temple.

So, it began with the LORD in the tabernacle dwelling with people, but not all had access to his presence.

Then the LORD in a body, dwelling among his people.

Then the LORD dwelling in the bodies of the believers.

To, finally, the LORD being the temple, with us dwelling in him.)

 

I John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.