Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 2427
“And the Temple of God was opened in Hea ven, and there was seen in His Temple the ark of His testament [covenant—R.V.] and there were lightning, and voices, and thundering, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Revelation 11:19.
I shall take the passage quite by itself. I do not fully understand its context, whether it relates to that which goes before or to that which comes afterwards, and happily, it is not necessary for us to know this, for the passage stands complete in itself and is full of valuable instruction.
Dear Friends, even we who believe have as yet failed to see much of the Truth of God. We know enough to save us, to comfort us and to help us on our way to Heaven, but oh, how much of the glory of Divine Truth has never yet been revealed to our eyes! Some of God’s children do not fully know even the common Truths of God as yet, and those who do not know them realize but little of their depth and height. From our text it appears that there are certain things of God which as yet we have not seen—there is need that they should be opened up to us—“The Temple of God was opened in Heaven.” When our Lord Jesus died, He split the veil of the Temple and so He laid open the Holy of Holies. But such is our dimness of sight that we need to have the Temple opened, and we need to have the Holy of Holies opened, so that we may see what is not really concealed, but what we are not ready to perceive by reason of the slowness of our understandings.
The two words for, “Temple,” here, may relate not only to the Temple, itself, but also to the Holy of Holies, the innermost shrine. Both of these, it seems, need to be opened, or else we shall not see what is in them. Blessed be the Holy Spirit that He opens up one Truth after another to us! Our Savior’s promise to His disciples was, “When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all Truth.” If we were more teachable. If we were more anxious to be taught and waited upon Him more, He would, doubtless, lead us into many a Truth of God which, at the present moment, we have not fully enjoyed. It is a happy thing for you and for me when at any time we can say, “The Temple of God was opened in Heaven so that we saw even that which was in the innermost shrine of the holy Temple.”
The saints in Heaven doubtless behold all the Glory of God so far as it can be perceived by created beings, but we who are on the right way there behold as in a glass darkly, the Glory of the Lord. We know only in part, but the part we know is not as great as it might be—we might know far more than we do even here. Some suppose that they can know but little because, they say, it is written, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.” Yes, but why do you stop there? Half a text is often not true— go on to the end of the passage—“But God has revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” And that which your eyes cannot see, and your ears cannot hear, and the heart of man cannot imagine, can be revealed to you by the Spirit of the Lord! Oh, that we were more conscious of the power of the Spirit and that we waited upon Him for yet fuller instruction! Then I am persuaded that in our measure and degree, it would be true to us, even as to the perfected ones above, “The Temple of God was opened in Heaven,” and they saw that which was in the holiest place.
What did they see when the Temple was opened? When the secret place was laid bare to them, what did they see? That is to be my subject. “There was seen in His Temple the ark of His covenant.” If we could look into Heaven at this moment, this is what we would see, “the ark of His covenant.” O Sinner, you think that you would see an angry God, but you would see the ark of His covenant! O child of God, perhaps you dream of many things that might distress you in the glory of that sight, but rest content, this would be the main sight that you would see—Jesus, the Incarnate God, the great Covenant Surety! You would see there, where the Godhead shines resplendent, the ark of His covenant!
I. I shall begin by noticing, first, that the ark of His covenant is always near to God—“There was seen in His Temple the ark of His covenant.”
Of course, the outward symbol is gone—we are not now speaking of a Temple made with hands, that is to say, of this building. We speak of the spiritual Temple above. We speak of the spiritual Holy of Holies. If we could look in there, we would see the ark of the covenant and we would see the covenant, itself, always near to God. The covenant is always there. God never forgets it—it is always before Him—“There was seen in His Temple the ark of His covenant.”
Why is this? Is it not because the covenant is always standing? The Lord said concerning His people of old, “I will make with them an Everlasting Covenant,” of which David said, “Yet has He made with me an Everlasting Covenant, ordered in all things and sure.” If God has made a covenant with you, it is not simply for today and tomorrow, nor merely for this life, but for the ages of ages, even forever and ever! If He has struck hands with you through the great Surety, and He has pledged Himself to you, remember, “If we believe not, yet He abides faithful: He cannot deny Himself.” Jehovah has said, “The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed.” What He has said He will stand to forever. He will keep His Word. He said to His Son, “I will preserve You, and give You for a covenant of the people.” And He will never revoke the gift. This covenant stands secure! Though earth’s old columns bow, and though my spirits sink, and flesh and heart fail me, yet this covenant shall bear me up even to the end.