Old Testament Reading: Ezekiel 40:1–6 & Ezekiel 43:1–12

“In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was struck down, on that very day, the hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me to the city. In visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, on which was a structure like a city to the south. When he brought me there, behold, there was a man whose appearance was like bronze, with a linen cord and a measuring reed in his hand. And he was standing in the gateway. And the man said to me, ‘Son of man, look with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart upon all that I shall show you, for you were brought here in order that I might show it to you. Declare all that you see to the house of Israel.’ And behold, there was a wall all around the outside of the temple area, and the length of the measuring reed in the man’s hand was six long cubits, each being a cubit and a handbreadth in length. So he measured the thickness of the wall, one reed; and the height, one reed. Then he went into the gateway facing east, going up its steps, and measured the threshold of the gate, one reed deep” (Ezekiel 40:1–6, ESV).

The measuring continues through chapter 42. When we come to chapter 43 we read, “Then he led me to the gate, the gate facing east. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory. And the vision I saw was just like the vision that I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and just like the vision that I had seen by the Chebar canal. And I fell on my face. As the glory of the Lord entered the temple by the gate facing east, the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple. While the man was standing beside me, I heard one speaking to me out of the temple, and he said to me, ‘Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places, by setting their threshold by my threshold and their doorposts beside my doorposts, with only a wall between me and them. They have defiled my holy name by their abominations that they have committed, so I have consumed them in my anger. Now let them put away their whoring and the dead bodies of their kings far from me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.’ As for you, son of man, describe to the house of Israel the temple, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and they shall measure the plan. And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple, its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, that is, its whole design; and make known to them as well all its statutes and its whole design and all its laws, and write it down in their sight, so that they may observe all its laws and all its statutes and carry them out. This is the law of the temple: the whole territory on the top of the mountain all around shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple” (Ezekiel 43:1–12, ESV).

New Testament Reading: Revelation 11:1-2

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months’” (Revelation 11:1–2, ESV).

Introduction

Here is what I believe the proper interpretation of this passage to be: the vision shown to John, of which he becomes a participant as he is “given a measuring rod” and told to “rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there”, symbolizes God’s presence with and protection of his people as they worship and serve him in a troubled world. John being told to “not measure the court outside the temple; [but to] leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months”, symbolizes the fact that God’s people will suffer trials and tribulations in this world in the time between the first and second coming of Christ.

In other words, the temple, its court, and the holy city symbolize the church. The measuring of “the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” signifies God’s presence, protection and preservation of the church. The leaving out of the court and the holy city to be trampled by the nations signifies the church’s vulnerability in regards to suffering. The church is both secure and vulnerable in this world. This theme pervades the book of Revelation.

Not A Literal Temple, Contrary To Dispensationalism

I’m well aware of the fact that this is not the interpretation that most of you grew up with. Instead most of us were told that this vision will be fulfilled in the future during the last three and a half years of a seven year tribulation. In that time the ethnic Jews, having been regathered in Jerusalem and their temple having been rebuilt (temple is taken to be literal here) will suffer tribulation at the hands of the Gentiles, but will be protected and preserved by God. There are certainly variations within this hyper-literalistic, futuristic, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, dispensational scheme, but what I have just said gets at the heart of the view. They imagine this text to be only about events in our future, they take the temple to be a literal brick and mortar temple, and they claim that this has nothing to do with Christians, but instead with ethnic Israel.

To put things in a more pejorative way, when reading Revelation 11:1-2 the hyper-literalistic, futuristic, pre-tribulational, pre-millennial, dispensationalist (we are surrounded by them) thinks, “this text had nothing at all to do with the Christians who received this letter from John in the first century, it had nothing at all to do with the Christians who have lived since that time, it has nothing to do with us today, and it will have nothing to do with us for, according to their view, all Christians will be raptured out of this world before this tribulation begins.

This is interpretation is clearly wrong for a number of reasons which I will list briefly:

1. It is ignores the repeated emphasis in the book of Revelation concerning the of fulfillment of these prophesies being near in time to those who revived the book originally in 90 A.D. There are clearly references in the book to the time of the end which any reader should be able to recognize. That event – the second coming of Christ, the resurrection, final judgment, and the ushering in of the new heavens and new earth – are clearly in our future. But everything else in the book has to do, not with that last day, but with life as we know it now. The book begins and ends with the warning, “for the time is near”(1:3; 22:10) in order to keep us from making the error that the futurists have made.
2. This view is incorrect in that it ignores the fact that this book had to do with the lives of those who first received it. They were said to be blessed if they kept what was in it. This too is said at the beginning and end of the book (1:3; 22:7) in order to keep the reader from making the error of the futurist who imagines that these prophesies will have only to do with people living in the last three and a half years of human history.
3. The dispensational view is incorrect because it cannot give a reason for thinking that this passage has to do only with the time of the end. The burden of proof is on them. Where is the gap of time? Why does the say, this will happen a long, long, time from now at the very end of human history. The truth of the matter is that they impose their unbiblical system upon this text, and it cannot hold the weight.
4. The dispensational view is incorrect because it is clearly out of step with the established meaning of the book of Revelation. The book has to do with how things will go with the people of God in the time between Christ’s first and second comings. First, John was shown visions concerning how things were in his day (the letters to the seven churches). After that he was shown visions concerning how things would be from that day forward (4:1). The visions that followed, with the exception of the ones that clearly depict what will happen on the last day, symbolize in general how things will be in this world for Christ’s followers. This has been demonstrated time and again in this sermon series. The point is that any Christian living at any time and in any place is able to pick up the book of Revelation and say, “I see what is depicted here in the pages of holy scripture at work in the world today. There are wars and rumors of wars, famines, trials and tribulations. The evil one is at work, but God, by his mercy, restrains him. And he keeps those who belong to him.” The hyper-literalistic, dispensational, futurist is not wrong to think that the prophesies of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled in world events. But they are wrong to assume that these prophesies will be fulfilled in one event only, and only in our future. Their interpretation of 11:1-2 as a description of a literal temple to be rebuilt in our future at which ethnic Jews will worship is yet another example of this error. It’s out of step with the meaning of the book of Revelation, which is clearly organized, not chronologically, but involves reputation and recapitulation.
5. The dispensational view is incorrect because it badly contradicts the clear teaching of the New Testament. We will return to this point in a little bit. For now recognize that the New Testament makes it clear that the Old Covenant with its old forms of worship (centered at the temple) had passed away with the first coming of Christ and the establishment of the New Covenant. Consider these things: In the New Covenant there is no longer a distinction between Jew and Gentile – the dividing wall of hostility has been broken down (Ephesians 2). The true children of Abraham are those, born not according to the flesh, but of the Spirit – they are those who have faith in Christ (John 1, John 8, Romans 9). They are to worship, not on this mountain or that, but in Spirit and truth (John 4). Christ himself declared the physical temple in Jerusalem – the one destroyed in 70 A.D. by the Romans – to be desolate (Matthew 23:38). Christ himself claimed to be the temple. He tabernacled amongst us in his incarnation (John 1:1, 14), and he said, “destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up”, referring not to the literal and physical temple, but to his body and to the resurrection. And notice that it is the church that is referred to as the temple throughout the New Testament. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth saying, “For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, “I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV). And he says to the individual Christian, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you” (1 Corinthians 3:16, ESV)? And listen to what Peter wrote to Christians: “As you come to him [Jesus], a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:4–5, ESV). Ironically, the dispensationalist, though obsessed with the thought of a future rebuilt brick and mortar Jewish temple, seems to miss entirely what the New Testament clearly teaches about the temple – that it is no longer physical and earthly, but spiritual and heavenly. The book of Hebrews should make any thought of a literal rebuilt temple and a reinstitution of Old Covenant animal sacrifices unthinkable to the Christians. Why? For the Christ has come who was the fulfillment of those Old Covenant types and shadows. The dispensational scheme is so terribly out of step with the entire New Testament. Their scheme, when put to the test, essentially misses the significance of Christ’s first coming.
6. The dispensational view of Revelation 11:1-2 is incorrect because it contradicts the clear teaching of the Old Testament too. It is true that the Old Testament prophets spoke often of a restored Israel and a rebuilt temple, but they did so in such a way to make it clear that what was in view was far more glorious, universal, and pure than anything known under the Old Covenant. When we come to the pages of the New Testament they make it exceedingly and undeniably clear that the original intent of the Old Testament prophets was to point forward, first, to the arrival of Jesus the Christ, and through him, to the ushering in of the new heavens and earth at the consummation, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus the Christ]” (2 Corinthians 1:20, ESV). Did not Jesus teach his disciples whom he met on the road to Emmaus saying, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?’ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:25–27, ESV).

The Earthly Temple Pointed To Christ, His Church, And The New Creation

Brothers and sisters, the Old and New Testament scriptures are centered upon Christ, his person and his work. The Old Testament pointed forward to him through promises, prophesies, types and shadows. The New Testament looks back to him, telling of his person and work, applying all that he has accomplished to our lives under the New Covenant. The Old and New Testaments are about Christ’s redeeming work. They describe how it is that God has taken sinful, rebellious, alienated, judgment-deserving humanity and has rescued out it a particular people for his own possession – a people amongst whom he dwells –  a people of whom he can say, “I am their God, and they are my people.”

This phrase is repeated throughout the Old Testament, especially in the prophets as they looked forward to the coming of the Christ, and the establishment of the New Covenant. The phrase, “I will be their God, and they will be my people”, is significant. To put it differently, God promised that the in the days of the New Covenant, all the covenant members “would belong to him, and he to them.”  The phrase, “I will be their God, and they will be my people”, or something close to it, appears in Jeremiah 24:7, 31:33, 32:38, Ezekiel11:20, 37:23, 37:27, and also Zechariah 8:8. The prophets clearly pointed forward to the day when all of the people of the covenant would truly be God’s, and God would be theirs. It is this phrase that the Apostle Paul picks up on in 2 Corinthians 6:16 when he says, “What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (2 Corinthians 6:16, ESV).

Paul picked up the phrase, “I will be their God, and they shall be my people” and applied it, not ethnic Israel, which would run contrary to the rest of the New Testament, but to the church – to all who have faith in Christ, Jew and Gentile alike. He calls the church – those who have faith in Christ – “the temple of God” because they belong to him, and he to them, for he has redeemed them with Christ’s blood, and he dwells in them and with them.

Paul also alluded to another Old Testament passages in that 2 Corinthians 6 text. He says, “for we are the temple of the living God; as God said, ‘I will make my dwelling among them’”. This is a reference to Exodus 29:43-45. There the context is all about the tabernacle, which would later become the temple, and the sacrifices that were to be offered there under the Old Covenant. God said, “There [at the tabernacle] I will meet with the people of Israel, and it shall be sanctified by my glory. I will consecrate the tent of meeting and the altar. Aaron also and his sons I will consecrate to serve me as priests. I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God” (Exodus 29:43–45, ESV).

The temple was the place where God dwelt in the midst of his people and was to be worshipped and served. Under the Old Covenant the temple was earthly and physical and was given to the Jews. Under the New Covenant the temple – the place where God dwells with man and is to be worshipped and served – is not earthy and physical, but heavenly, personal, and spiritual. “We are the temple of the living God”, Paul said to the Corinthians. To the Roman church he said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1, ESV).

The thing that I am laboring to help you see is that the tabernacle and later the temple as it was under the Old Covenant symbolized God’s presence with his people. Everything in the New Testament, and even in the Old, makes it clear that that temple, along with the priesthood and the sacrifices which were offered there, were temporary and typological, pointing forward to a greater reality to be ushered in by a greater priest who had make a greater sacrifice.

When the fullness of time had come God the Son tabernacled amongst us in the incarnation through the person of Jesus Christ. The temple of his body was indeed destroyed as he offered himself up for his people but he was raised on the third day. The veil in the earthly temple was torn in two. He then ascended to the Father, “not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf” (Hebrews 9:23–24, ESV). And Jesus the Christ, who is our great High Priest, did not leave us orphans, but has sent the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, which filled the Old Covenant temple with the glory cloud, now fills the church. You are the temple of of the Holy Spirit.

It is interesting, I think, that every time the word “temple” (ναός) is used in Paul’s writings it is used in reference to Christians or to the church, and not to the physical and Jewish temple. Just listen to Paul as he writes to the Ephesian church: “Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called ‘the uncircumcision’ by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 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, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit” (Ephesians 2:11–22, ESV).

Adam was a priest in the garden of Eden. He was to tend that temple where he enjoyed unbroken communion with the living God. The kingdom was offered to Adam there in the garden paradise. He belonged to God, and God belonged to him. He forfeited it.

God promised Adam that he would reestablish his kingship through the seed of the women. That process began to take shape with the calling of Abraham. The promises of God concerning redemption of a people were reiterated to him. From Abrahams loins a savior would come who would bless all the nations of the earth. Also, from Abrahams loins a peculiar nation would come who would belong to God.

That nation was born in the days of Moses as they were lead out of bondage from Egypt and toward the promised land. The Spirit of God was with them from the beginning, guiding them at night by a pillar of fire, and in the day by a pillar of cloud. The glory cloud of the Spirit would eventually come to rest upon the tabernacle and later the temple, filling the most holy place. It was there under Moses that the kingdom of God was prefigured. Everything in it pointed forward to the Christ.

When Jesus was conceived it was by the Spirit. When he began his ministry he was baptized by the Spirit descending upon him like a dove. His message, as well as John’s, was that the kingdom of God was at hand. Christ was filled by the Spirit so that everything he said and did was of the Spirit.When he was raised from the dead it was by the Spirit. Truly, he was the Messiah, which means, the one anointed of God. He was anointed by the Spirit. And when he ascended to the Father what did he do except give the Spirit to those who belong to him. “For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure” (John 3:34, ESV). He prepared his disciples for this, saying, “And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49, ESV). This was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost, for it was then that the Spirit was poured out from on high upon the disciples of Christ for the first time.  It was then that the Spirit filled the New Covenant temple of God.

The kingdom has been offered, promised, prefigured, and inaugurated. When the kingdom is consummated everything will be temple.

Turn with me to Revelation 21:1 where see a vision depicting the consummation. “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And 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” (Revelation 21:1–3, ESV).

Now look at 21:9: “Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, ‘Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.’ And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement” (Revelation 21:9–17, ESV).

Look at 21:22: “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life” (Revelation 21:21–27, ESV).

The Ezekiel passage that I read portions from at the beginning of the sermon finds it’s ultimate fulfillment here, not in a physical and earthly temple, but in the new heavens and new earth. The prophet Ezekiel spoke to a people who had been in exile for some time, their temple having been destroyed. God showed Ezekiel a vision of a temple on a high mountain and told him to measure it.  He also described the purity of it’s priests and worship. The promise to the exiles was found in these words from God: “Son of man, this is the place of my throne and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the people of Israel forever. And the house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their whoring and by the dead bodies of their kings at their high places” (Ezekiel 43:7, ESV). In other words, “I’m not done with you Israel. Though you have been disciplined through exile, I will keep my promises to you. I will bring about the redemption of my people, and the promise of a new heavens and new earth.” It is important to notice that very last word’s of Ezekiel’s prophesy are these:  “And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The Lord Is There” (Ezekiel 48:35, ESV).

Please tell me that you can see the progression. Adam and Eve lived in a kind of temple where they enjoyed living in God’s presence. They were kicked out due to their sin. God promised to redeem. Things progressed. In the days of Moses the temple signified God presence amongst his people but in such a way so as to magnify their sin and to point to a coming Savior. The Savior came, being himself anointed by the Spirit and earned the right to give the Spirit. Those who are in him are filled with the Spirit and are individually and collectedly called the temple. In this age, the kingdom being inaugurated but not consummated, God’s temple is in hostile territory. At the consummation only the temple will remain, for “the dwelling place of God [will be] with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.”

If this is all true, then why would Christians celebrate at the thought of a rebuilt brick and mortar temple where animal sacrifices are preformed? In light of all that the New Testament has to say about Christ, the temple, and the church, why would we celebrate or encourage such a thing? Wouldn’t a rebuilt temple and a return to the Old Covenant forms of worship be a most blatant denial that the Messiah has come. I can’t even begin to understand why Christians would celebrate such a thing. I understand the system – I grew up in a dispensational church. What I’m saying is that the system, when pressed and tested, ends up denying Jesus as the Christ. The Christian who is found rooting for a temple rebuilt by the Jews is really rooting for the Jewish people to continue in their rejection of Jesus as the Christ.

It is far better to understand that the temple and the court that are mentioned in Revelation 11:1-2 symbolize the church.  When John measures the “temple of God and the altar and those who worship there” it symbolizes this truth: God is with his people now as they worship and serve him on earth. He protects and preserves his people spiritually as they live on earth. This corresponds to the sealing of the 144,000 in the interlude between seals six and seven. John being told to “not measure the court outside the temple; [but to] leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months”, symbolizes the fact that God’s people will suffer trials and tribulations in this world.  Symbolized here, then, is the church of God prior to the consummation of all things. Symbolized here is the church of God living in the age between Christ’s first and second comings. This age is marked by tribulation. At the consummation all will be temple, as described in Revelation 21. No longer will the nations trample God’s people underfoot. Until that day, the church will suffer tribulation. “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33, ESV).

This interpretation is perfectly in step with the way the Old Testament talks about the temple – both the earthly Mosaic temple, and the future, eschatological temple of Ezekiel 40-48. This interpretation is perfectly in step with the way that Jesus spoke about the temple – he claimed to be the true temple, declared it the earthly one to be desolate, and promised to send his Spirit to fill, not the physical temple but his people. This interpretation is perfectly in step with the way that the Apostles of Christ, particularly Peter and Paul, spoke of the temple. “You are the temple of the Holy Spirit”, Paul said. “As you come to [Jesus], a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual”, Peter said.  And this is perfectly in step with the way that the book of Revelation speaks about the temple.

The book uses temple imagery and applies to the church from the beginning. The opening vision was that of Christ walking in the midst of seven golden lamp stands. This is the lamp stand that was in the temple. Here it represents the church. To the church in Philadelphia Christ said, “The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name” (Revelation 3:12, ESV).

Conclusion

Brothers and sisters, if you are in Christ, you are God’s temple. His Spirit is you. His Spirt is in us. It is we who are to offer up to God spiritual sacrifices as we live in this world. But we are still in the world, are we not? And in this world we will have tribulation. But God is with us. He is our God, and we are his people. Just as he sojourned with Israel in the wilderness those forty years – a pillar of fire by night, and a pillar of cloud by day – so too he is with us. We have all that we need in Christ Jesus. He is our sanctuary. We are seated with him in the heavenly places. He gives us spiritual manna to eat and spiritual water to drink. He will protect and preserve us until we take full possession of the new heavens and new earth go which it is said, “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. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3–4, ESV). Take comfort in these things, brothers and sisters. And walk faithfully in Christ until that day.