Creation Pictured as God Erecting His Cosmic Temple
Many have noted the creation-narrative of Genesis 1 heavily employs temple language. They argue that Genesis 1 describes the construction of a cosmic temple [1]. Three spaces were created – the heavens, the earth and the deep (Genesis 1:2). The heavens are the abode of God (Isaiah 66:1), the earth is the dwelling place of man and the deep is the place of the dead (Psalm 71:20; 107:26; Ezekiel 26:19; 31:15; Jonah 2:5). These three spaces parallel the three compartments of the tabernacle/temple: the Most Holy Place (the abode of God), the Holy Place (the place of service of men as priests in covenant with God) and the outer court (the place of the spiritually dead).
The Transformation of God’s Cosmic Temple
At Jesus’ death, the curtain separating the Most Holy Place from the Holy Place was torn in two (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45), signifying access to the Father had been restored. To ancient Israelites, the curtain represented the firmament or vault of heaven (Genesis 1:6) that separated God’s abode from man’s dwelling on earth.
The firmament is described as a hammered out, impenetrable surface (so Strong’s concordance), revealing that entrance to God’s domain in prior ages was closed. Its destruction signified that the cosmos (the old creation) had been deeply and permanently modified, transformed from its prior state. The change was so comprehensive that it was in effect, a new creation. Hebrews 10:20 tells us that the curtain represented Christ’s body, making Christ both agent and reality of this new creation. He cosmically opened the way to the Father, restoring us to God’s presence.
Coincident with this event, the “the earth shook, the rocks split” (Matthew 27:51) and “the sun stopped shining” (Luke 23:45), signaling that the old creation had begun passing away. Its destruction had occurred in inauguration, consistent with prophecies that the old creation would pass away with the Messiah’s coming [2].
Matthew testified “the tombs broken open” and “the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life” (27:52), affirming another cosmic transformation in the old creation. The deep, which for the dead in prior ages was inescapable had been opened and the righteous dead released [3].
Their release points to a new creation that is spiritual given that spirits – the spirits of the dead in the deep, had been released and the righteous dead now dwelt in heaven with God. Their release from Hades may be viewed as the destruction of the Outer Court of God’s cosmic temple in inauguration awaiting its total destruction in consummation described in Revelation 20:11-14.
Christ’s death destroyed the separating firmament conflating God’s cosmic Holy of Holies with His Holy Place, the earth. For those in Christ, heaven and earth are now one. God’s new cosmic temple was transformed from three chambers to two.
Revelation 20:7-15 details Satan’s defeat and judgment (thrown in the Lake of Fire) and the destruction of death and Hades, the abode of the dead (the deep). With the destruction of the outer court of God’s cosmic temple, God’s new creation/cosmic temple has only one compartment, allowing God to dwell throughout all His creation, no longer limited only to heaven. The declaration “the tabernacle of God is with men” (Revelation 21:3) signals God can now freely dwell (tabernacle) throughout His new creation without constraint as cleansing for sin has been made [4].
The Cleansing of God’s Cosmic Temple
Revelation provides a complimentary picture of judicial actions taken to cleanse God’s cosmic temple. Revelation 12 reveals a war in heaven that routs the forces of the dragon, hurling them to the earth. Their expulsion signals God has cleansed His cosmic Holy of Holies.
Revelation 20 envisions an angel descending from heaven with a chain in hand and key to the Abyss. The English word Abyss comes from the Greek abyssos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew tĕhowm, the deep. The angel bound and locked the dragon in the Abyss for a thousand years, signifying that Satan is barred from the Holy-Place of God’s cosmic creation-temple (the earth), cleansing the Holy Place of God’s temple. Destruction of Hades at the end of the age (Revelation 20:14) signals the cleansing (through destruction) of the Outer Court of God’s cosmic temple.
At the conclusion of God’s redemptive program, His cosmic creation-temple has been fully cleansed allowing God to dwell throughout it. His glory fills all creation and is manifest to all (see Figure 2). Creation as a temple has been so thoroughly transformed that it truly is a new creation/new temple.
The transformation seems to span our inter-advent age. Some may argue that the Millennium – John’s duration of Satan’s imprisonment (Revelation 20:2), follows Christ’s Parousia, and that is certainly a possibility. But the picture of Satan’s imprisonment in the Abyss may not mean he is no longer present on earth, but restricted from the Holy Place of God’s cosmic temple, meaning his attacks are effective only with the spiritually dead.
His exclusion from God’s Holy Place may signal that God’s people are safe (those serving Him in a priestly role), preserved from his attacks during this period of our age. Safe from attack does not imply that one is not subject to attack. Rather, it indicates that the believer’s salvation is vouchsafed in Christ, regardless of the ferocity of Satan’s attacks. Such knowledge would be important for the end-times, as the Antichrist attacks against God’s people with unparalleled ferocity.
The passage however is difficult enough that we choose to avoid dogmatism and remain open to further study. Our current purpose is to highlight the possibility that the Millennium may be a “temple picture”, representative of God’s redemptive program. Another important temple picture will be developed in future posts showing the transformation of God’s Old Testament temple of stone in Jerusalem to His new temple of living stones – the new Jerusalem.
Relevance to Christians Today
For this post, important is realization that our eschatological age is a time of sanctification. The process of cosmic transformation hints of a transformation believers experience after accepting Christ. If all creation is being transformed, one should expect all its creatures would also be transformed.
At the core of the transformation is driving out all carnality, sin and evil, that God may dwell in perfect communion with His creation made holy through His redemptive program. The presentation of creation as a temple emphasizes holiness as temples were sacred places. It also emphasizes the role of mankind as priests serving and interceding for creation and its creatures, again pointing to a redemptive role. Mankind was appointed to partner with God in redemption, accomplished through holy living that requires a transformation by Christ.
Most striking is the extent of the transformation. It is not merely a change in our present state and condition but includes bodily resurrection to a new (spiritual) body capable of enduring for eternity. God’s redemptive program also includes people from all ages. Even the righteous who passed away long ago are resurrected, transformed to holiness and granted eternal reentry into God’s blissful new creation. God’s redemptive program is truly awe inspiring.
[1] Examples include Walton, John H., The Lost World of Genesis One, Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, Downers Grove IL, InterVarsity Press, 2009 and Brower, Kent E. & Elliott, Mark W. , Eschatology in the Bible & Theology, Downers Grove, Il, Intervarsity Press, 1997. The belief is quite ancient, reported in the testimony of Josephus and Philo.
[2] Note the Messiah’s appearance followed by judgment in Isaiah 4:2-5 and 1:7-9, 24-31; 2:9-3:1-26, Isaiah 9:6 and 8:6-17, 11:1-5 and 9:8-19.
[3] Note Brower, Kent E. & Elliott, Mark W. , Eschatology in the Bible & Theology, Downers Grove, Il, Intervarsity Press, 1997, p. 33
[4] John further describes the centerpiece of the new creation, the new Jerusalem with dimensions of 12,000 stadia in length, width and height, a perfect cube, after the pattern of the Most Holy Place in the tabernacle. Yet the dimensions are greatly expanded from the tabernacle Holy of Holies (only ten cubits in length, width and height). The dwelling space of the tabernacle could not hold His divine Presence, being too small (1 Kings 8:27). John’s enlarging seems to be by design. At the consummation of God’s redemptive plan, His Most Holy Place has been greatly expanded so that God’s glory fills all creation.