Revelation 21:22
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
Revelation 21:22
Verse 22 starkly contrasts the visible temple in earlier Jerusalem with the absence of a temple in the New Jerusalem. In classical Jewish expectation, the temple was the place where God’s presence dwelt with His people. Here the vision says that in the eternal state, God’s presence fills the city directly—the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. This shifts the locus of divine encounter from a building to the divine presence itself. The cultural backdrop is a world where divine proximity was mediated by sacred spaces; Revelation redefines that mediation as Person and Presence—God and the Lamb—being the temple where worship happens. This points to the intimate, unmediated relationship between God and humanity in the age to come. It also invites readers to rethink the church’s role: not simply a temple in the old sense, but a people living in God’s presence.
The absence of a separate temple emphasizes the fullness of God’s presence with His people. It aligns with John 1:14 and 2 Corinthians 6:16 about God dwelling among His people. This highlights Trinitarian unity and Christ’s mediatorship—no need for a physical sanctuary because God’s glory and the Lamb’s light dwell everywhere among the redeemed. The verse foregrounds worship as direct communion with God, transforming how we understand church, worship spaces, and religious ritual: they point toward a reality where God’s presence permeates all of life.
In practical terms, this invites believers to pursue a life of ongoing, intimate worship, not confined to Sunday gatherings or church buildings. Consider how your daily routines—work, family time, service—become acts of temple-like devotion, where your actions reflect God’s presence. Build spaces (homes, workplaces, schools) that cultivate sacred awareness: prayerful quiet, ethical decision-making, and neighbor-love. Our modern equivalent of “temple” is God’s Spirit living in us and the community of faith living together in truth and grace.
Cross-References: John 1:14; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Ephesians 2:21-22; Hebrews 9:11-12