Much written about eschatology centers
around the city of Jerusalem in Palestine.
Bible prophecy is interpreted so as to give
preeminence to the physical city?
Is Jerusalem the place to worship? Jesus
debated the issue with a woman of Samaria
almost two thousand years ago.
Jesus ventured outside the box of his
fellow Jews and traveled through the land
of Samaria.
He met a woman who asked him a direct
question about the valid place for men
to worship.
“Our fathers worshiped on this mountain
[Mt. Gerizzim] and you Jews say that
in Jerusalem [Mt. Zion] is the place where
one ought to worship.” (John 4:20).
Rather than quote Deuteronomy 12:5, 11, the
Lord, addressed not the present reality, but
pointed the woman to a change soon to
occur.
“Jesus said to her, “woman, believe me, the
hour is coming when you will neither on this
mountain, nor in Jerusalem worship the Father.
Without apology, the Lord discredited the
worship of this woman as done in ignorance.
“You worship what you do not now, we know
what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews.”
(John 4:22).
Although salvation was of the Jews, i.e. it
originated through that nation as God’s
revelation through that ethnic group, Jesus
saw that relationship soon coming to an end.
“But the hour is coming, and now is, when
the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking
such to worship Him. (John 4:23)
When Christ added the words, “now is” he
placed imminence on the change which
was about to occur.
For John, the term now is, is equivalent to
the term “at hand,”found in the synoptic
gospels.
What did Christ mean by the statement?
He told the woman, that in the very near
future, “neither place, Gerizzim or
Jerusalem would be religiously significant.
Geography is no longer an issue with worship,
The Lord says wherever two or three are
gathered in his name, he would be in their
midst. (Matt. 18:20).
It is no longer confined to the temple that
once stood in Jerusalem. Is Jerusalem
the place to worship?
Israel has no Biblical claim to the land, only
a political one. They are just another nation,
and most of the world is deceived by it.
Ironically, they are like all the rest of the
nations, a choice the ancient nation a
choice the ancient covenant people desired,
(1 Sam. 8:7)
Christians, are God’s only holy nation.
Christ said except you believe that I am
he [the Messiah] you will die in your sins.
He also said, I am the way the truth and
the life, no man comes to the Father except
by me, John 14:6. Those who did, are
God’s holy nation, 1 Peter 2:9.
Contrary to popular opinion, there is no
holy land on this earth today, except for
that within the hearts and minds of true
believers in Christ.
God says he does not dwell in temples
made with man’s hands.
“Heaven is My throne, and earth is My
footstool. What house will you build for
Me? says the Lord, or what is the place
of my rest? has My hand not made all
these things? (Acts 7:49, 50).
Rather, God says the church is his temple.
He now dwells in his people, wherever
they may be in on this terrestrial ball.
“Do you not know that you are the temple
of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in
you? (1 Cor. 3:16).
“For you are the temple of the living God. As
God has said, I will dwell in them and walk
among them. I will be their God and they
shall be My people. (2 Cor. 6:16).
Other passages showing that believers
are now God’s temple are: Eph. 2:19–22,
Phil. 3:3; and 1 Pet. 2:5.
Jesus taught that true worshipers must
worship God in spirit and in truth. That is
the new location for God’s temple.
Thus, God says, “But I saw no temple in it, for
the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its
temple.” (Rev,. 21:22)
God warns against defiling his temple with
idolatry and unbelievers. Thus, as the temple
of old had to be kept sacred, believers must
cleanse themselves from all filthiness of the
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the
fear of God.
