The Throne and the Temple

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 shelter them with his presence. Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Rev 7:15-17

Notice the throne and the temple. In fact, there are two thrones in this passage. There is first the throne of God, which is the throne of the Father, reigning over all the universe. But the second mention of the throne, He who sits on the throne, is a reference to the throne of Jesus on earth. In the letter to the Laodicean church, Jesus said, He who overcomes I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne (Revelation 3:21).

A temple is mentioned here as a reference to the millennial temple yet to be built in Jerusalem, the one Ezekiel describes in the closing chapters of his great prophecy. It will be the place where nations come to worship in the days when Christ rules over the earth. There is a beautiful description in the prophecy of Micah 4:1-6: There the prophet describes the government of God as centered in Jerusalem; justice will flow out to all the earth; the nations will bring their tribute; and men shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks and will make war no more. Peace will come at last over all the earth.

Here we are told, they serve the Lord day and night. There is no day or night in heaven. This is clearly an earthly scene. He who sits on the throne (the throne of David) will spread his tabernacle over them and never again will they hunger or thirst. It is a beautiful description of the blessings of that millennial day. Many other passages in the prophets also describe it.

This is the fulfillment of the dream of the prophets of the past. Israel shall blossom as the rose and fill the earth with blessing. The nation will be like a beautiful, fruitful vine that runs its branches throughout the earth and blesses the nations, just as Abraham was promised, All nations shall be blessed because of you (Genesis 22:18). Associated with them will be thousands of Gentiles who likewise serve the Lord day and night in relationship to the temple, ministering throughout the whole earth. You can read of this in Isaiah 66:20-21.

Jews and Gentiles are all under the care of the Great Shepherd. Jesus is the Great Shepherd, and he has more than one flock. On one occasion he said to his disciples, Other sheep have I that are not of this fold. Them also must I bring that there will be one flock and one Shepherd (John 10:16 KJV). That is what we see here. He is bringing another group, saved by his blood — they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb — yet he leads them also to refreshment and blessing, with every tear of sorrow wiped away.

Father, you are so good. Thank you for the hope you give that you will wipe away every tear from my eyes. Amen.