. . .the
so-called “Jerusalem appendix” (Rev. 21:9-22:5) is itself modeled on the
description of the temple in Ezekiel 40-48. Ezekiel was carried away by the
hand of the Lord to a high mountain to view the temple city (see Ezek. 40:1-2);
John was similarly carried away by the Spirit to a high mountain to see the
descent of the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:10). A “man” appeared to Ezekiel,
carrying a measuring reed and a rod, and guided him through the structure of
the temple; John also had the services of a guide with a measuring rod. The
bulk of Ezekiel’s vision consisted of a description of the temple (see Ezek.
40:5-47:12); John was shown the temple city itself and not a particular building.
Other
concepts from the Ezekiel temple chapters appear in the Jerusalem appendix with
regard to the descent of the New Jerusalem. Nothing unclean was permitted to
enter the temple of Ezekiel (see Ezek. 43:7-9; 44:5-9), and nothing unclean
will be permitted to enter the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:27). A healing river
flowed from underneath Ezekiel’s temple, its bank lined with miraculous fruit
trees with leaves of great medicinal value (see Ezek. 47:1-12); in the New Jerusalem
a river will flow from underneath the throne of God, and there will also be
similar trees with healing leaves (see Rev. 22:1-2). In short, all of the motifs
dealing with life and fertility that were associated with temples in the Old
Testament, including the temple of Ezekiel, are also found centered in the New
Jerusalem in the book of Revelation. (See Collins, The Combat Myth in the
Book of Revelation, 229)
In the
following passage, the future reconstruction of the temple-city in the eschaton
is specifically referred to as an act of creation:
For,
behold, I create new heavens and a new earth:
and the former shall not be remembered,
nor come into mind.
But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create
for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing,
and her people a joy (Isa. 65:17-18)
The
reconstruction of the temple-city will be more than a nationalistic symbol of
the restoration of Judah. It will be a renewal of the entire cosmos, of which
the temple is a miniature replica. Notice that the Lord said in verse 18 that
He would create Jerusalem, not build it, just as He created a
new heaven and a new earth in verse 17. (Levenson, Creation and the
Persistence of Evil, 89-90) . . . a whole new creation at the end of the
world entails far more than a simple return to the conditions of Eden. The new
world will be of a higher order than Eden, and, of course, a much higher order
than that presently prevailing upon the earth. The main features of the new
creation are outlined in Revelation 21:
·
Revelation 21:1: There will be no more sea
(the sea was the symbol of the initial chaotic disorder described in Gen. 1:2).
·
Revelation 21:2: The relationship between
bride and groom (Christ and His people) will be formalized.
·
Revelation 21:3: God will dwell among His
people.
·
Revelation 21:4: There will be no more
death, mourning, or pain (these are characteristics of chaos and disorder).
·
Revelation 21:5: The Lord will sit “upon
the throne” (this is another way of depicting the “rest” of the seventh day of
creation; enthronement of the Deity in His temple always follows a new
creation).
·
Revelation 21:22: There will be no
physical temple building because of the omnipresence of both the Father and the
Son. The temple marks the center place, with zones of less-sacred space
radiating outward to the edges of the earth, where the forces of chaos lurk. In
the new creation, God will be present everywhere; thus there will be no diminishing
of sacred space. There will be no “center place”—or in other words, the temple
place will be everywhere. (Martin J. Palmer, The Creation Concept: The
Genesis Creation Narrative In Light of Documents From the Ancient East [Salt
Lake City: Eborn Books, 2021], 390-91, 393)
