Mark 13:1-2

Mark 13:1-2  As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher!  What massive stones!  What magnificent buildings!”  “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus.  “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 

Luke 23:44-46  It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”  When he had said this, he breathed his last.

Mark 13:1-2 was fulfilled in 70 AD.  However, in Luke 23 we see the place of God's earthly dwelling, the Holy of Holies, being destroyed.  The curtain to the Holy of Holies was rent at the crucifixion.  No longer would man have to go to the temple to approach the almighty God, for Jesus Christ came to Earth to redeem man and to abide within him.  No longer would the temple consist of stone and mortar, a manmade edifice, but it would be a work of God in the fleshly hearts of men.  Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?  (1 Corinthians 3:16)  Yes, Jesus prophesied that the temple would be destroyed completely one day, but a greater cataclysmic event came to the temple grounds much earlier: Jesus' death and resurrection.  The temple of Jesus' time must have been a magnificent structure with beautiful courtyards, but it was manmade and therefore destructible, but the magnificent temple planted in each of us is God's work and consequently not able to be destroyed.  God's temple within us is an eternal one.  It is a place where we lay our personal sacrifices, our lives, on his altar for his glorification.  Now, we always have a place where our prayers and worship reach the heart of God.  We are never far from his blessing and glory.  It says in the Bible that his Words are even at our mouths.  

What a wonderful salvation we have.  We are no longer pilgrims, journeying through this world, attempting to find God at some temple made by man's hands.  We no longer need the next sermon, the next book, the next revelation to find our God.  No, because of Christ's work, we are always in his presence.  His laws have been written on our hearts, placed in our inner man; therefore, we are never far from his Word.  We are never alone, for we are nested in his very presence.  We are literally in his presence forever, serving him.  Therefore, “they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will spread his tent over them.  (Revelation 7:15)  Because we are his temple, God's ownership of our lives is complete.  He owns the deed to our lives.  We are not our own, for we are his dwelling place.  This revelation of knowing who we are makes us accountable to doing his will, to following the path where He leads.  

Yes, the second temple was destroyed in 70 AD.  It was magnificent, but it pales in comparison with the temple within us.  Our temple is clean, made clean by the complete and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ, THE LAMB OF GOD.  We are never absent from his presence, even when our flesh is not righteous, even when we fail God in our lives, for the blood of the Lamb cleanses us continually from all sin.  The blood of Jesus Christ constantly cleanses our temples, allowing for the Holy Spirit to inhabit these temples.  His sacrifice puts us in right standing with God.  We, who are but flesh, still in the raiment of sinful flesh, born from Adam's seed, are made holy through the work of the cross.  Yes, because of Christ's work, we are finally redeemed, finally in God's image, so holy, so magnificent, so clean and so special that the Holy Spirit has come to abide in us.  The Holy Spirit, part of the triune God, is in us--to comfort us, to advocate for the Lord Jesus Christ, to be our "closer than a brother" companion.  Therefore, dear Christian, lift up your head.  You have been greatly blessed.  You have been chosen among millions, because of your faith and position in Christ, to house the presence of the Lord God.  You are not just anyone; you are a temple of God, known as A CHILD OF GOD.  What greater label could be placed on you.  None!