Well, let's bow in prayer and ask the Lord's blessing and enablement upon the ministry of his word. Father, we do pray now that as we come to the scriptures, your word given to us that you would, by your spirit, enable us to understand to and to believe your promises that You would grant us faith to take you at your word and to not sin against you in unbelief. We pray that you would grant us faith to tremble at your threatenings and and that you would grant us more and more love for the Lord Jesus Christ. Father, we pray that you work mightily in us now, and we pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, the title of this sermon is Home at Last, and that's really a fitting title, not so much for the sermon, but for the ending of the Bible that we just heard read already this morning from the twenty-first and twenty-second chapters of the book of Revelation. This brings us to the end, the second E of our acrostic Temple, which the first year, of course, did for Eden and a man's expulsion exclusion from Eden because of sin. And now we've arrived. The final letter, the second E, which is Eden restored and excelled. And, of course, by now we all know that that Eden restored and excelled is nothing less than the new heavens and the and the new earth. And we've been particularly repetitive in this in this series. I hope we can say with confidence now that we as a church have a much better understanding of and anticipation of heaven as a as a real place. We've seen that the story of the temple is the story the history of of redemption. It is stated very clearly in Leviticus chapter twenty six verses eleven and twelve. where God declares, I will make my dwelling among you and my soul shall not abhor you and I will walk among you and will be your God and you shall be my people. And you just heard those words yourself. Very should sound very familiar because we just heard them from the twenty first chapter of of of Revelation. We could spend much more time in much more intricate detail than we have in this series examining many more examples in the Scriptures from beginning to end and how God is working out his purpose of coming and dwelling among a redeemed people that is bringing his heavenly temple back into reconciliation with this with a with a redeemed earth redeemed in the Lord Jesus Christ. But we will need to move on, and so we're going to end this morning by coming up to Revelation 21 and 22. But before we do that, and we'll only be able to do that very briefly when we when we do, I want to point out to you how the theme of Temple continues to be developed in the New Testament. We've already seen part of it, of course, in a good part of it in the Gospels. the Lord Jesus Christ himself came as the temple and tabernacle then among us and then we saw that big event in Acts chapter two the day of Pentecost when which was nothing less than the glory of God descending in and filling his temple which had happened in the tabernacle it had happened in the Garden of Eden it happened in the in the permanent temple and the renewed temple and now it is happening in the that which is the temple in this biblical era. This stage of the history of redemption in us in the people of God in the church and here's this incredible thing then that as a Christian. That same glory of God that scattered even the priest and they couldn't stand to be in the temple in the glory of God descended on it. That glory is in us. Such is the work that Christ has done for us. Well, let's look at a couple of beginning with a couple of examples from the Apostle Paul of Temple. We've we've referred to these these before, but you'll just see. I want to show you these so that you understand that this this really is a grand theme. of the Bible, as stated there in Leviticus 26. First Corinthians chapter three, beginning at verse six. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. to be central text if you were teaching a church growth class, right? I don't know that I ever heard those scriptures in a church growth class that I that I had, but here this is how it works. We plant, we water, God gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field. Now look at what happens here. God's building. The metaphor changes. It changes from a field, you might say a garden, to a temple building. You are God's field, God's building according to the grace of God given to me like a skilled master builder. I laid a foundation and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become manifest for the day will disclose it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss. though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him for God's temple is holy and you are that temple. There we have it. This is the acknowledgement again in the New Testament epistles of the fact that the temple of God is no longer a physical building or a tent in the wilderness. It isn't. It isn't even the the grand temple that was at Jerusalem, probably standing, no doubt, still standing when Paul when Paul wrote these words, as Jesus said, There won't be a stone left on another stone. That temple is going to be destroyed. It was no longer. So it was in 70 A.D. The temple had become, it had advanced with a great advancement in the intimacy of God with his people as God draws closer and closer and closer through the work of his son in bringing all of creation back into his immediate present nine present. I noticed right. I emphasize that you notice the transition in the metaphor there is the same pattern that you see in Revelation twenty one. There and we'll we'll comment on that a little bit more later. But the strange transition in in Revelation twenty one where John says that he sees a new heaven and a new and a new earth, a new Eden, you might say. And then all of a sudden he starts describing a city temple, a city, the new Jerusalem as it comes down. He goes into into great detail about it. And there's a reason for that. But notice that you see the same pattern here with the Apostle Paul. He begins with an Eden, a field with plants growing, seed being sown and so on. and then he immediately changes to the imagery of the temple of God as as a building. Of course, this building is not a literal building, but it is. It is the church and the and the and the people of God is, as Paul makes very plain in in verses sixteen and seventeen, and so the temple always has some connection all through the history of redemption. with the original Eden with trees and a river of love of life and all of these kinds of things tree of life. You can find representatives of them in in every form of in every form of the of the temple. We see it again in second Corinthians chapter six beginning at verse sixteen and I didn't put in second Corinthians five here but You can read about there as well. Second Corinthians five. Second Corinthians six. What agreement has the temple of God with idle. Rhetorical question right. None. There's no. You don't bring an idol of false God into the temple of God. Israel, of course, had done that many times in her history. For we are the temple of the living God. As God said no look what he doing he is quoting a Leviticus chapter twenty six verses eleven and twelve and he is saying that God's. Intent of dwelling among his people is being fulfilled now in the people of Christ in the in the church in the New Testament temple. As God said, for we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, right application go out from their midst, he's telling us he's telling believers in regard to idols and false worship and. and those that defile themselves in false worship go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. And that's the language of the father's house, right? As he brings us into his house, his his his temple. The application is that knowledge of this fact that we are the temple of God must lead us to holiness of life, and we've seen that in the New Testament believers are priests. They're actually prophets, priests, and kings, and as priests, we are responsible for keeping the temple of God holy and unstained by the world, and that means keeping ourselves holy and unstained by the world. Here is a huge step ahead in our personal holiness and corporate holiness as a church is to understand we are the temple of God. Think about it. Now we know that this building is not the temple of God. It's not the temple of God. It's a place where The temple of God comes and worse we we the church we are the temple of God. Even so, however. Think about things that you would not do. Here that may be you do we do elsewhere. Some of which might be all right. They're vulgar. The old word is vulgar. It just means in the sense of being common, all right, and not sacred. But there's other things that are sin. Do we bring our sin? What kind of sin do we bring into this place as we gather? There's a check on us, isn't there? Why? Well, we recognize that this is the the church, it is the temple of God. Well, the same thing is true with us individually. Every moment, then, of every day. And so God calls us, then, touch no unclean thing. When we're tempted to sin, we need to think of it this way. When I bring an unholy thing into the temple of God, you see. And there's a great impetus there, then, to help us stand against the temptation to sin. Probably the clearest statement of the theme of the New Testament temple is Ephesians chapter two, beginning at verse nineteen. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens. Now, Paul here was talking primarily to Gentile believers, I suppose, and he's telling them You know, he had told them, I think, earlier in the chapter that you used to be entirely without hope and without God in the world, because you were you were cut off from the promises and covenants that made to made to Abraham. But now that has all changed in Christ. People from all nations are brought into the household of God. You are fellow citizens with the same and members of the household of God. This is the real citizenship that matters, isn't it? I mean, there's there are many people, many, many people who are citizens of the United States. But they are not citizens of of God, of God's kingdom, they're not citizens, they're not members of the household of God. That is the citizenship that ultimately is what really, really matters. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Now, we should comment there. Notice the continuity of this construction project. It didn't begin at, on the day of Pentecost as such, right? It's built on the foundation, the foundation was being laid even among the old, when the Old Testament prophets were speaking, and I think that's who the prophets are here, that he has in mind. That the church, this temple of God is built on the foundation that was laid by the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. Now we won't take time to go into that in detail, but think about it. I suppose I don't know. I haven't researched old biblical architecture, but maybe is the cornerstone is the cornerstone laid first. In construction like that, I'm not sure, but I know that it's part of the foundation. Right. And we usually think of Christ Jesus as the cornerstone in the sense of, you know, his death in the New Testament era. But does this speak of the work of Christ even before in the Old Testament era? Something to think about more, but you certainly see the continuity of the Scripture here. The temple, the real temple of God, has been being built. The plans laid and construction built for the millennia. In whom the whole structure being joined together grows, right? It's growing, it's still growing, into a holy temple in the Lord. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. So there it is very, very plain that the individual believer and particularly the church, the corporate church, is the temple of God and it's still being... living stones are still being added to it and will be until the Lord comes. And so the temple, the temple formed today after the time of Christ has come far has brought God far, far closer to to his to his people. He has brought us into every believer has been brought into his house. Now, this theme, understanding this theme, this work of in the history of redemption of God working out the temple and what he's doing here, he's going to dwell among his people and ultimately, of course, that happens perfectly and eternally in the new heaven and the new world, but an understanding of how this is working itself out from Genesis to Revelation will shed lots of light for you on various passages of Scripture. As we commented already this morning in regarding psalm psalm forty seven. But let me give you an example. Here's another place that the temple of God is mentioned. In the New Testament, much ink has been spilled and words spoken, arguing for various interpretations and positions. This is 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. It's a very interesting passage and Paul, we won't go back to read that now, but Paul certainly had in mind the book and the prophecies of Daniel. in the Old Testament when he when he wrote this passage, but listen as we read and notice the occurrence of the concept of the temple here. Now the second Thessalonians two verse one now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and are being gathered together to him. We ask you brothers not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed either by a spirit or a spoken word or a letter seeming to be from us to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. All right. So what's happening in the church at Thessalonica? Somebody was introducing false doctrine. They were warping the doctrine of the final coming of the Lord Jesus Christ of the day of the day of the Lord. Deception was being spread in the church, and so Paul says to them, let no one, verse three, let no one deceive you in any way for that day, the day of the return of Christ and the day of the great judgment. That day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction. That word rebellion is apostasy apostasy. The man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in here is in the temple of God proclaiming himself to be God. Do you remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things and you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time for the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. and then the lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders and with all this wicked deception for those who are perishing because they refuse to love the truth and so be saved. God sends them a strong delusion so that they may believe what is false in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. Now, this is an example, a very important example of something that shows us that we need to understand what what the temple of God is, as I was reading that I all these thoughts were going through my mind as to how I was going to explain all of that and I won't be able to explain all of that. But let's just begin this way. What is this temple? Right? Verse four. Here's this man of lawlessness, and he opposes and exalts himself against every so-called God or object of worship so that he takes his seat in the temple of God proclaiming proclaiming himself to be gone. What is that? What is the temple? Did you notice how many times the word? It's a apocalyptic. It's revealed to apocalyptic. It's a verb apocalyptic to be revealed to reveal something or to be revealed that verb occurs quite a few times in this in this little in this little passage. The question is, what is this temple and what is this revealing? Who is this lawless, this man of lawlessness or this man of sin? Most of you have been taught in your past life, as I was, that here's the scenario in 2 Thessalonians 2. that these events are future events that are yet to happen. That one day in a literal temple in Israel that's been rebuilt in Israel someday, the Antichrist, the man of lawlessness, will come to power. He will reveal himself and he will set himself up in that temple and proclaim himself to be God, and then perhaps that's at the middle of some tribulation period or whatever, and he will eventually then be destroyed by Christ. There are a number of reasons why we reject the idea that Paul is speaking of an earthly temple of any kind here. let alone one that is yet to be built in in the future. Two primary reasons. We just read several of the passages written by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament as to his teaching about the nature of the temple. It's not a building now. It's the church. It is. It is the people of God. It's not a building, not now or or in the future. The church is has has. Now this is a dangerous word here nowadays. If you say the church has replaced the temple, then that gets a bit convoluted. But nevertheless, I'll say that the church has replaced the temple that was in that was in Jerusalem. All right. The temple is the church, the people, the people of God. And that's what Paul taught very clearly. Secondly, the Lord Jesus himself taught this very thing. He said that the physical temple would be torn down and that a greater temple had come. And he's referring to his body, this temple, and then that develops as he is the head of the church in Acts chapter two into the glory of God coming and filling the temple which is which is the church and not a building and so we reject the idea that one day the man of lawlessness will come and set himself up in a physical temple here on this earth. And I also want to suggest to you that that is that that is a dangerous that has a dangerous consequence. Why? because it looks at these events and the activity of the man of lawlessness who does what kinds of things? Well, his activity is from Satan. He uses false signs and wonders. He has a satanic power. He works for the promotion of wicked deception, and as a result God gives people over to his deceptions who do not love the truth. The danger of taking a future interpretation is what. What's going to happen someday. All that all that's going to happen someday because the temple is at Jerusalem. What happens though if we understand and then approach this passage in this manner. if we understand that the temple is the church. That the temple is the church, and that in light of some passages from the Apostle John that we'll read in a moment, we know that the Antichrist is not only coming, but many Antichrists have come. And what if then, and this is what I would certainly suggest to you that Paul means here, this business, this work, this activity of the man of lawlessness. Opposing truth, exalting himself against God, taking his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God, has been going on since the Garden of Eden, the first temple, continued to occur in the wilderness tabernacle temple. kept occurring in the in the Solomon temple and subsequent forms of the temple, certainly then in Herod's temple in in Jerusalem. And then what does that mean? What does that mean? It means that he is doing that in the church right now, right now. Now, that should set you back a bit and cause us to take some considerably more serious applications of warnings that are given to us in in the Scriptures. Think about it. Eden was the first temple. Right. We know that. Right. What happened in that temple. Well, a lawless one came into that temple and he essentially proclaimed himself to be God. Right. That's what he's always been trying to do and he's deceiving introducing deception every form of the temple has the except except the final form of the temple, the new heavens and the new earth and the revelation of something new that old serpent cast out into into then the lake of fire. Listen to John warn us first John two children It is the last hour, and if you have heard that Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us, for if they'd been of us, they would have continued with us, but they went out that it might become plain that they all are not of us. But you have been anointed by the Holy One and you have all knowledge. I write to you, not because you do not know the truth. but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. Who is the liar? But he who denies that Jesus is the Christ. This is the Antichrist. He who denies the Father and the Son. And then, similarly, we have it in 1 John chapter 4. Beloved, do not believe every spirit. but test the spirit to see whether they are from God for many, many false prophets have gone out into the world by this. You know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the Antichrist which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Again, second John one for many deceivers have gone out into the world. Those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the Antichrist. Watch yourselves so that you may not lose what we have worked for, but may win a full a full reward. It isn't that the Antichrist. It isn't that the man of lawlessness is going to come into some future temple and exalt himself. It's that he's already done it. He's doing it. He's doing it. Now, think further about this matter of him being revealed. That passage repeats itself over and over again in this text. Revealed. He will be. He will be revealed. In fact, let's let's just take the time to to to count it here. Second Thessalonians two. You have it in verse three, the man of lawlessness is revealed that no one deceive you in any way for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first. and the man of lawlessness is revealed. And then he exalts himself in the temple of God. Verse six, you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. I'd like you to note that that is in the passive voice. All right. You know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed. he may be revealed in his time. And then, verse eight, then the lawless one will be revealed. So there's three references in that short passage. What is this scenario that we've been taught? It's that in a future time, the man of lawlessness will come, he will have made some covenant with the physical nation Israel. He'll break that covenant in maybe three and a half years into some proposed seven-year tribulation period, and then he will come right out and reveal himself and demand that everyone worship him and so forth. Let me suggest, at least for your consideration, this interpretation of this passage. The spirit of the Antichrist is not only working in the world, but is working in the Eden Temple, the church. Just as he set himself up to deceive and be worshipped in Eden, his activity involves wicked deception, strong delusion and falsehood. His activity and this is an important. This is an important word. It's in verse seven for the mystery. of lawlessness is already at work. In other words, the activity of the man of sin now is a mystery. What's that mean? It means something that's there, but it's concealed, right? The mystery of something that is concealed and has not been revealed. His inactivity is a his activity is a mystery of lawlessness. Right now, it's not been revealed. And the apostasy, here again, we have been taught, I think, to look ahead to a time when there will be this great, huge apostasy in the church. And so the problem with this view is we're always thinking it's not now, it's not us, it's then. We can be moving toward it and so on. What if the apostasy has been going on for 2,000 years? What if the activity of the lawless one has been going on for two thousand years in the church? It's a mystery. And what if it is not the man of lawlessness who reveals himself and brings himself out in the open for all to see, but Christ reveals him when he comes and brings him out of his hiding for all to see and then slays him with the word of his mouth. It is if you. Now, I don't I don't teach all of that is absolutely dogmatic by by any such thing, but some of it, some of it I present to you as look, the man of lawlessness, the serpent man is in the church now. He is in he is active, he's been active in the church from from day one from from creation. from the first Eden, and he continues it today, so that when when the New Testament tells us. Test the spirit, look out, look out, then we better. We had better look out. We had better take care because the man of lawlessness, the spirit of the Antichrist is working now. His representatives are already are already at work. Listen to this explained by G.K. Beale. The Thessalonian Christians and we must not think that the Antichrist deception will come only when he appears in final fleshly form. But we must be on our guard now. in order not to be deceived by his unusual invisible coming into the new covenant temple, the church right through his corporate emissaries, the false teachers. Now and how does Paul tell us in second Corinthians that Satan's false teachers, his representatives come. They come as an angel of light, servants of righteousness. and they come as sheep. Right. Wolves dressed in sheep's clothing. Paul is saying that even now the false teachers that have been prophesied by Daniel and Jesus are with us. This means that the end time Great Tribulation has become begun in part the prophecy of the apostasy and coming of the man of lawlessness into the temple of the New Covenant Church has started has started fulfillment and if you don't look out if you if we don't watch. We will be deluded. We cannot. We cannot afford to be careless in the past few weeks and made a couple of mentions by way of illustration of the current. From within the so-called evangelical Bible believing Christian camp. of the preaching renewed preaching of universalism that in the end love wins. Everybody everybody is going to end up and end up in heaven. There's a there's a perfect example that is antichrist that is antichrist and and if you even read some of the words of that kind of. preaching and teaching. You should be impressed with how deceptive it is, how pious it sounds, how wonderful, how loving, how merciful, and so on. And so, now, and it's not only, and in that case, that's just an out and out heresy. Now, in other cases, however, any of us in any pastor, any elder, any teacher who is genuinely Christian. Nevertheless, we aren't careful, can be deceived and propound false teaching. Listen again to to G. K. G. K. Beal. The practical relevance of this discussion for the temporary contemporary church, the is that the spirit of the Antichrist may already be found hovering in its midst when its leaders change God's word and contradict its meaning. For example, many church leaders today say that we need to be accepting of other faiths, contending that sincerity in any kind of faith may be a legitimate path to God. Who are we, after all, to say that we have the only truth? To many, the exclusive claim of Christianity sounds narrow and harsh. Yet Jesus himself said, I am the way and the truth and the light. No one comes to the father but through me. His follower, Peter, said there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that's been given among men by which we must be saved. Such teachings represent the lawlessness of the Antichrist prophesied by Daniel. to pollute the end time temple. That's up the church. The end time temple true believers need to be on the alert not to be deceived by such eschatological corruption in order to keep the temple of God doctrinally and ethically pure. Remember we are the priest. Believers are the priest of the temple and we are to keep we are to keep it doctrinally and morally practically ethically pure. Indeed, it should not be assumed that the spirit of the Antichrist influences only unbelieving false teachers. Leaders who are true Christians and those under their guidance are susceptible to this influence and can be caught up in worldly ways of thinking. All in the church, to one degree or another, are confronted and tempted by this worldly influence. This is why we continually need to be alert to resisting it, and especially in a day like ours, when dogmatism and narrowness and absolute truth are shunned and frowned upon, we need to be careful that we don't get drawn into some kind of a false accepting humility, you see, that is broader and wider than Jesus. I would, I won't take the time to read the review for you, but I'd recommend to you that you go to Amazon.com on the web page and look up a book called Beyond Talent. Don't, don't buy it. I'm just going to tell you to read a review that's there. Beyond Talent, become someone who gets extraordinary results. It's written by John Maxwell, who used to be a pastor, and there's a really good review on there written by Anna Wood down in Alabama. She's a reviewer, a book reviewer, and she frequently gets books sent to her like this by publishers to review, and she did a very good job on this one. I published by a Christian publishing a professing Christian publishing company and she ends it. Mr. Maxwell should have shown much more spiritual discernment since he didn't. You must stay far, far away from this book. And so there's discernment then in in action. You can read the whole thing there. And so we are certainly the man of lawlessness. the spirit of the Antichrist is working now that that should also do something else for you. It should be like open up the Bible. That makes sense. Yeah. Even if the temple, the first temple. Sure enough, the serpent comes in. He exalts himself as God exalts himself above God. And we trace it. We trace this down all through the temple and and and we find him Sure enough, as we come into the New Testament temple, the church, the New Testament is filled with warnings to us about the emissaries of the serpent, that old serpent, the devil. And we're warned because he comes into and he takes his seat in the temple of God. The New Testament is filled with warnings that we that we watch for him. There's only one temple that he will never enter into. and that the ultimate temple, then the new heavens and the new earth. Well, we better move on their second Thessalonians two, as an example of properly understanding the temple, its nature and that theme on the temple appears in Hebrews. The epistle to the Hebrews is filled with temple. Some examples are in chapters eight and twelve and thirteen. Hebrews teaches us very plainly that the earthly temple forms have always been pictures of the real heavenly temple that will one day be send right that city the New Jerusalem and the Holy of Holies the temple of God will fill the redeemed and the renewed universe and therefore Christians must focus on the invisible Zion, the invisible New Jerusalem, not this present earth and not some structure built on this present earth, unredeemed earth. The temple, of course, appears ultimately and most gloriously in Revelation. We've already listened to the end of the story as the New Jerusalem then descends. I don't know about you, but these kinds of things, when I see these kinds of things in the Bible so that, oh, that fits, that makes sense, and you see things more clearly than you have before, that that is exciting and extremely helpful. And so when we read in verse three of Revelation 21, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God. That is an announcement of a time that hasn't happened yet. But but but it is coming when God's purpose stated millennia ago. In fact in eternity past has been has been completed and God effects the new heavens and the new earth God dwelling with his people. The amazing thing, once again, remember our acrostic temple begins with the Trinity before creation in eternity past John chapter seventeen when Jesus is praying the father of the glory that he had with the father before the world began and we go back there and we emphasize when we consider that time God needs nothing which means what God doesn't need you. God doesn't need me. Anything he didn't. He didn't create us because he's like man I'm tired of hanging out by myself. This loneliness is killing me off. I want some company. He doesn't need anything. But but motivated for the purpose of his glory and by his own holy character and his love. his love, he brings us into existence, knowing, knowing, as we've already made mention of today, that as he does this, all the ramifications of sending his son to the cross and that Christ is going to have to come and suffer and and and take the wrath of God upon himself for us. He knows this, and yet he did it. He did it and he decreed it. in eternity past, so that the book ends with the people of God being a people of God, new hearts, new creations, brought into the temple, which is to say, brought into the Father's house, which is to say, home at last. That's the story of the Bible. So when people ask us, What's that old book got to do with me? It has everything to do with you. Everything. It brings you home where you belong instead of cut off from God in eternal death for all of eternity. We are the temple. We are the priests. We are the prophets. We are the kings. not feel like Kings. One day we shall rule over angels. What is it all mean right now? Well, I'll just close with a few very specific applications. First of all, first of all, let's face it. If it weren't for the Lord Jesus Christ revealing all these things to us coming into the world is a historic event. being raised from the dead, and even with all of that, if he hadn't grabbed hold of us and shown us redeeming mercy and saved us, who would believe this? Do you ever catch yourself? In part, I guess this is my sinful unbelief. In another part, it's kind of like this is too good to be true. Do you ever catch yourself, kind of pinch yourself? What new heavens and new earth That means that means that everyone here. I hope everyone here is in Christ. I hope everyone knows knows Christ. I don't make that assumption, though, but everyone here who knows Christ. Who departs this life in Christ. We are going to be there. Do you think about that? Do you think about that? Sometimes we are going to be there. the day. Remember, maybe when you were in last October, I turned sixty, right? I didn't think about that that much in my prior life, but I thought about it some. And you ever had that happen? Something so far off, and then it comes, and you look, and it happens. It happens. Well, in this case, it's like one of these days, and not that far off apparently important in at least in comparison to eternity. You're going to wake up in a sense no full sleep right. But you're going to you're going to be resurrected and we are going to find ourselves in the new heaven and the new earth. It's a real place a real place. I wonder if to some extent the evangelical church the church is hesitant to affirm that doctrine because of its abuses in some of the cult Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses and so on. Perhaps in and it sounds a little bit weird right. Well it does. It's strange to us and yet this is what the Word of God. The Word of God declares before you know it. We're going to be sitting in the new on the new earth. chatting with one another. If you're in Christ, it is going to happen. We are going to be there together. And so that is one application that will radically, radically transform your life. In addition, what about now, though? More so, what are the implications for now? These are sobering. We are called to do what the first Adam failed in doing. Christ has effected it, but he's called us to this work. We are to be a holy nation, a royal priesthood, and it's our job to take and show the knowledge of God to the whole world. That's our job. That's why there's the Great Commission. Jesus didn't pull that up and say, well, what do you want us to do? Well, I think you should go out into all the world and do this. That's been the plan from the beginning. That's what Adam was supposed to do, to subdue things and rule over things and spread and expand Eden, the holy of holies, the knowledge of God throughout all the world. That's what Israel was supposed to do. That's what we are supposed to be doing. And therefore, as believer priests, we are, first of all, to believe and obey God's word ourselves first. Number one, believe God and obey Him. Second, we must spread this word that we believe and obey through the world like seeds. And so it's planted and watered and God can give it the increase when Satan's kingdom is diminished so that ultimately we work toward the knowledge of the Lord filling the whole earth. As priests, we must pursue holiness in our own lives. and in the church, because God is holy. I made a note here to refer to an error. I think this is an error. Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven. Like any half-truth, it's dangerous, right? Because that so easily translates into Christians aren't holy, just forgiven. Christians aren't obedient, they're just forgiven. We're far more than forgiven. We are. We are believer priests. We are new creations and we are to live like it. We are to live like it. So you can scrape those bumper stickers off after church. And I don't think I've seen any around for a long time. But as priests, we must pray. Priests represent people to God as a prophet represents God to people. So, we must be priests in the sense of praying for others to come to Christ, for one another. A priest that didn't pray? What would that be? We are to represent God's truth to the world, to speak the word of God to the world as prophets. And priests also offer sacrifices. In the New Testament era, these are not Old Testament sacrifices. They are our own bodies, living and holy, well-pleasing to God. We sacrifice ourselves when we stand for Christ and we suffer. Paul speaks of being poured out as a drink offering. When we stand for Christ and suffer, we confess his name. That's part of being a priest for God, and we're hated by the world. We function as priests by mediating between God and the world, shining his light of truth. We make sacrifice pleasing to God when we give of our material resources so that the gospel might be taken out into the world in all kinds of ways. I was thinking about this last week and I thought, and this is This is something that should not be. Fortunately, it's not the case all the time, but I think we have to admit that it's far too often. I told you before that sometimes I like to go on the Internet and look at listings for. There's a site called Pastor Finders dot com. Right. And so they give all these job descriptions. You can kind of see how people think about this isn't very biblical, usually about their church and the role of pastors and leadership and so on. But at any rate, you'll often come across little churches. Now, they can be faithful ones. Maybe they're faithful and maybe they're not. But I saw a couple of them last week that are in a pretty, pretty rural, very remote, small town places, right? and I thought you know just from experience more often than not. Unfortunately this is how it could be and I suppose it was that way even in the New Testament era. What would you find. Say you're you're a visitor and you're cruising out in the middle of nowhere and on a Sunday you see this church building and so you stop and you go in or what would people find we have vacationers and people that come here. And this ought to just take us back. What the world must find is the temple. A holy, radically new creation otherliness. Must exist, that's what Christ has called us to. What is, should I say, normally? What is often found? What is found? Little social clubs, no speaking of Christ, factions and divisiveness, and all of these kinds of places where you just think, oh, let me out of here. You see, we don't understand. We are the temple. We're the temple. Is that what it would be like? People need to be able to see the glory of Christ when they come. radically different than the world. That is our calling. Let me close with another quote from Beal. Thus, extending the boundaries of the temple by witnessing and strengthening those receiving witness is a priestly sacrifice and offering to God. God's presence grows among his priestly people. by their knowing his word, believing it and by obeying it. And then they spread that presence to others by living their lives faithfully and prayerfully in the world. For example, a persevering and joyous faith in the midst of trial is an amazing priestly witness to the unbelieving world. Why does God let bad things happen to his people? There's a reason right there. A persevering and joyous faith. You know, you don't just the believer doesn't curse God and die as Job was tempted to do, but he didn't. Persevering and joyous faith in the midst of trial is an amazing priestly witness to the unbelieving world. The main point of this book, this is Beal's book, is that our task as the covenant community, the church, the temple is to be God's temple. so filled with his glorious presence that we expand and fill the earth with that presence until God finally accomplishes the goal completely at the end of time when Christ comes. This is our common mission. May the church, the true Israel and true temple, experience the priestly blessing pronounced on Israel from the tabernacle. The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you. Look at you face to face and give you peace in the new heavens and the new earth. Let's pray. Father, we come before you First of all, acknowledging our sins and thanking you for bringing these truths before us from your word. Father, we pray that you would reveal to us individually and as a church any way that we are not showing forth your glory and being faithful prophets, priests, and kings in this local temple of your church. and in our own in our own personal lives. Father, do what is necessary in us and among us to cause your glorious presence to be so evident among us and in us that the world will see it. And the world may not like it. The world might hate it. those that you call will be drawn to drawn to that glory, but that we would not be that we would not fall prey to the enemy's strategies into our own sinful flesh of being a lukewarm, mild-mannered, relevant place where those who are Citizens of the world can relax in stupor and slumber and never be awakened to their need for Christ. We pray father that you would change us radically and soon and we would pray that and we pray all of this in Christ's name. Amen.