Reading Revelation 21:1-5: From Tent, to Temple, to town: Where God resides
- Thad DeBuhr
- Jun 19
- 11 min read
Imagine a young Jewish girl, perhaps named Miriam, growing up in ancient Pergamum. From the time she was a small child, huddled close to her grandmother by the flickering oil lamp, she was steeped in the stories of her people. She learned about the Holy of Holies, the innermost sanctuary of the Temple in Jerusalem. Her grandmother’s voice would drop to a whisper as she described it: a sacred space veiled from all but the high priest, visited only once a year on Yom Kippur. Miriam would hear tales of its precise gold adornments, its perfect dimensions, and the overwhelming reverence with which it was approached. This knowledge ignited a deep, aching longing within her. To one day make the arduous pilgrimage to Jerusalem, just to see the Temple, to stand near the place that held God's very presence—that was her greatest dream.
Life in Pergamum, however, was a constant, almost jarring, contrast to her faith. All around her, pagans freely visited local temples dedicated to Zeus, Artemis, or even the deified Roman Emperor. She'd watch them offer sacrifices, seeking immediate access to their gods, performing rituals right there in their own town. Miriam and her family weren't just forbidden from such practices; these public displays were a persistent, even taunting, reminder of how distant her God seemed. While the gods of the gentiles were seemingly "right there," accessible in every city square, the God of Israel, the one true God, resided in a distant, veiled sanctuary hundreds of miles away.
Then, word of Jesus reached them. Miriam and her grandmother listened intently to the stories of this Nazarene, of his radical offer of forgiveness, a forgiveness that didn't require a pilgrimage to Jerusalem or the sacrifice of an animal. They embraced Him, and as they learned to follow His teachings, they found a new, exciting path. It was a comfort to see how much Jesus relied on the old stories, the very scriptures they knew so well, to help His followers understand God, His Father. They heard about the veil in the Temple tearing in two when Jesus was crucified, a powerful symbol of God's presence no longer being confined but mysteriously going out to be with His people. They had felt it—this new way God communed with them in the quiet of their minds, something they were still learning to discern. It was all so new and different, but in a profoundly good way. Even though Jesus had covered their sin and there was no longer a need for temple sacrifices, their reverence for the Holy of Holies and the idea of God’s tangible presence remained undimmed.
So, when brothers arrived from Patmos, bearing John’s revelation, Miriam and her grandmother were eager to hear what God had revealed to him. As the reader got to the description of the New Jerusalem, echoing the Holy of Holies, it struck a deep chord within them. An overwhelming excitement surged through Miriam, an immediate longing for this place to come just as John saw it. They didn't want to lessen the value of what Jesus had done, nor ignore the way God now came to them in the quiet of their hearts, but this was something more—something concrete and real that tugged at those old feelings of joy and anticipation, the desire to be near the very presence of God. Miriam, bursting with a hundred questions, began to voice them even before the reader had finished, but her grandmother quietly hushed her. "Your questions will have to wait, child," she whispered, "for now, I am not sure I have any answers anyway." What they both knew, what everyone in the room knew, was that it was going to be absolutely amazing.
Setting the stage: Revelation 21:6-21
Today, we’re diving into Revelation 21:6-21. Now, if you’ve ever cracked open Revelation, you know it can feel like a sci-fi movie mixed with an ancient puzzle. But don’t let that scare you off! N.T. Wright, in his book "Revelation for Everyone," reminds us that this isn't just about some distant, spooky future. It’s about God making all things new, right here, right now, and eventually, perfectly.
John, the guy who wrote Revelation, was exiled on the island of Patmos. He was seeing these visions that would have been mind-blowing for anyone, especially back then. Think about it: no TVs, no internet, just a guy seeing what sounds like a massive, sparkling city coming down from heaven.
Specifically, verses 6-8 give us the "I am the Alpha and the Omega" bit. This is God, making it super clear that He’s the beginning and the end. He’s got everything under control. He’s the one who provides "the spring of the water of life without payment." This immediately connects us back to Old Testament prophecies about God providing for His people and even Jesus in John 4, offering living water to the Samaritan woman. It’s all about God’s free, overflowing grace.
Then, we jump into this incredible description of the New Jerusalem (verses 9-21). Now, when John describes this city, he’s not just making up pretty stuff. He’s using imagery that would have resonated deeply with his original readers. The measurements, for example, are perfect cubes. This echoes the Holy of Holies in the Old Testament temple – the most sacred place where God’s presence dwelt. These Old Testament connections are crucial for understanding Revelation. It’s like God is saying, "Remember how I was with you in the temple? Well, now I’m going to be with you in a much bigger, more amazing way!"
The materials described – the jasper, the pure gold, the precious stones – these weren't just fancy bling. These were some of the most valuable and beautiful things known in the ancient world. This isn't just literal gold and jewels, but it’s a way of saying that this new creation is utterly glorious, pure, and infinitely valuable. It’s God’s perfect handiwork, reflecting His glory. The foundations being made of 12 different gemstones, with the names of the 12 apostles, and the gates with the names of the 12 tribes of Israel – this tells us that God’s plan includes both the Old Testament people of God (Israel) and the New Testament people of God (the church). It’s a complete, unified picture.
What’s really cool is that this city isn't just "up there" somewhere. It’s "coming down from heaven." This isn't us escaping Earth to go to heaven; it’s heaven coming to Earth. It’s God's ultimate act of restoring creation and dwelling with His people.
Rabbit Trail: The Evolving Dwelling of God's Presence
For centuries, the concept of God's tangible presence among His people was intrinsically linked to a very specific, physical "place": the Holy of Holies. Understanding its evolution helps us grasp the profound impact John's vision would have had on his original audience, particularly those Jewish believers like Miriam.
The Tabernacle in the Wilderness: A Movable Dwelling
Our journey begins in the wilderness. After the Exodus from Egypt, God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-40). This wasn't a permanent structure but a portable, meticulously designed tent, meant to move with the Israelites as they journeyed. The heart of this Tabernacle was the Most Holy Place, or the Holy of Holies. It was a perfect cube, separated from the rest of the Tabernacle by a thick veil. Inside, it housed the Ark of the Covenant, upon which rested the mercy seat, the very place where God's presence (the Shekinah glory) would descend.
This setup taught Israel several critical lessons:
God is Holy: The veil and the restricted access (only the High Priest once a year) emphasized God's absolute holiness and man's sinful nature. Approach to God was dangerous without proper atonement.
God is Present: Despite His holiness, God chose to dwell among His people, a unique privilege no other nation enjoyed with their deities.
Atonement is Necessary: The annual Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) ritual, where the High Priest entered the Holy of Holies with the blood of sacrifices, underscored the necessity of atonement for sin to maintain this divine presence.
The Temple in Jerusalem: A Permanent Abode
Centuries later, under King Solomon, the temporary Tabernacle was replaced by the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 6-8). This was a grand, stationary structure, built with immense wealth and skill. Yet, at its core, it mirrored the Tabernacle's design, retaining the Holy of Holies as the innermost chamber, still housing the Ark of the Covenant and veiled from all but the High Priest.
The Temple solidified the idea of Jerusalem as the spiritual cent
er of the world for Jews. Pilgrimages were made to this singular place, reinforcing the belief that God's primary dwelling on Earth was fixed in this sacred edifice. The glory of God was understood to reside within those consecrated walls, making the Temple the ultimate symbol of God's covenant with Israel and His accessibility (albeit limited) to His chosen people.
The Coming of Jesus: God Among Us, and Within Us
The miraculous birth, mission, and message of Jesus dramatically shifted this understanding of God's presence. Jesus himself declared, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up" (John 2:19), speaking of His own body. He was Immanuel, "God with us" (Matthew 1:23). God's presence was no longer confined to a building, but walked among humanity in the person of Christ.
The pivotal moment was Jesus' crucifixion. The Gospels record that at the very moment of His death, the veil in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom (Matthew 27:51). This was a profound symbolic act. It signaled that the barrier between God and humanity, once represented by that veil and the restricted access to the Holy of Holies, was now removed through Christ's atoning sacrifice. Access to God was no longer limited to a High Priest, a specific time, or a physical place.
After Jesus' resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit was poured out on believers (Acts 2). This ushered in an even more radical shift: God's presence now resided within His followers. Paul later wrote, "Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you?" (1 Corinthians 6:19). The "place" where God's presence resided had fundamentally changed from a physical building to the very lives of believers, individually and corporately as the Church.
John's Vision: The New Holy of Holies
For John's audience in Revelation, largely Jewish Christians who intimately understood the significance of the Holy of Holies and the Temple, the description of the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 would have resonated on a deeply spiritual and emotional level.
When John describes the New Jerusalem as a perfect cube (Revelation 21:16), he's using deliberate imagery. The Holy of Holies in both the Tabernacle and the Temple was a perfect cube. By describing the entire city as a cube, John is powerfully communicating that the entire New Jerusalem is the New Holy of Holies. This isn't just a part of the city; the whole city is the sacred dwelling place of God.
This vision wasn't meant to diminish what Jesus had already accomplished or the reality of God's Spirit dwelling within them. Instead, it was an overwhelming affirmation and expansion of it:
The Ultimate Fulfillment: It showed the ultimate fulfillment of God's desire to dwell with His people, a longing expressed since Eden. The tearing of the veil opened the way, and the indwelling Spirit began that new reality. The New Jerusalem is the glorious consummation.
Beyond Imagination: While they now had God's Spirit within them, the New Jerusalem depicted a physical, communal, and global manifestation of God's presence. It was a Holy of Holies so massive it encompassed a city, dwarfing the Roman Empire that seemed to dominate their known world. The idea of God's presence, once confined to a room, then spread to individual hearts, now encompassing an entire, glorious new creation, would be truly mind-boggling.
Tangible and Glorious Hope: For the believers in the early church, while they cherished the intimate, spiritual presence of God, the vision of the New Jerusalem offered a concrete, tangible hope for a future where God's glory was universally evident, unmarred by sin, and permanently accessible. It was not a negation of God's indwelling Spirit but a promise of a future, perfected state where His presence would be universally revealed and enjoyed in an unimaginable, communal glory. It was the grand, ultimate "homecoming" for God and His redeemed people.
The first believers hearing John's letter would have reconciled these beliefs not as contradictions, but as a progression. The Tabernacle, the Temple, Jesus' sacrifice, the indwelling Spirit – each was a step in God's unfolding plan to draw nearer to His people. The New Jerusalem was the glorious crescendo, the ultimate, unveiled, and expansive dwelling where God would finally and fully make His home with humanity, and they with Him, forever.
There's more to this Reading Revelation 21:6-21 STUDY GUIDE
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN FURTHER FOR:
Questions to chew on and discuss (or for your journal)
A Journey Group Discussion Starter (use in your small group time)
Modern Day Application Ideas
Want to watch the video version of the Daily Bible Podcast Episode that corresponds to this study guide? Here you go!
Questions for You to Chew On and Discuss
When you read about "the spring of the water of life without payment," what does that tell you about God’s character and His desire for us?
The New Jerusalem is described with incredible beauty and precision. What does this reveal about God’s attention to detail and His ultimate vision for His creation?
How does the idea of heaven "coming down to earth" change your perspective on what our hope as Christians is?
Journey Group Discussion Starter
The New Jerusalem is described as a place where God's presence is abundant and accessible. How does knowing this impact your daily walk with God, especially when things feel tough or distant?
Want to learn more about our Journey Groups (Small Groups online or in person)
Modern-Day Application: Go from "reading Revelation" to applying the lessons and principles:
First off, knowing God is the "Alpha and the Omega" should give us massive peace. Whatever chaos is swirling around us, He’s got the whole story in His hands. We can trust His plan, even when we don't understand it.
Secondly, the description of the New Jerusalem, with all its glory and preciousness, isn't just some far-off dream. It’s a picture of the future that is already breaking into the present. Remember, we are called to be part of bringing that "new creation" life into the world now. That means living justly, loving mercy, caring for creation, and sharing the good news. We are called to be agents of God's new creation, reflecting His beauty and righteousness in our lives.
Finally, the idea of God dwelling with us – that’s the ultimate goal. If God is making His home with humanity, then we should be striving to make our lives a place where God feels at home. That means seeking purity, pursuing holiness, and living in community with other believers. It means recognizing the value and beauty that God places on all of creation, including us.
RESOURCES TO HELP YOU GROW AS A CHRISTIAN
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