A Tale of Two Temples part one

For a time and a season, God humbled Himself and dwelt in a house made with hands. But the day came when the veil was torn and God departed from the Temple made with hands. This was when God the Father departed from the Temple but Jesus preceded him in Mathew 24 verse one - " And Jesus went out and departed from the Temple". He no longer dwells in a temple made with hands but Religion has tried to keep Him in a place where He can be controlled, where He is surrounded by, kept by, man rather than where man is surrounded by and kept by God. In fact, the next time Jesus showed up there, he was in chains. He was bound by men. This is a clear picture of what Religion does to God, or wants to do.

"His disciples came to Him" Mt:24:2. All true disciples of Jesus will follow Him wherever He leads. If He departs from a church or fellowship they will follow Him out but their attention and focus was still on their church or denomination - "For to show Him the buildings of the Temple" Mt:24:2. They were still focused on what man had made. Hey, God, aren't you impressed with what we've made? Aren't you impressed with what we create and build, with our pomp and circumstance, our religious traditions and ceremonies? (All for you, all to honor you, of course).

Jesus' reply? See all this? See all these religious structures (denominations) built and designed by man to impress God? "See ye not all these things"(for what they truly are - a result of man's pride and arrogance, designed to impress men and glorify men, not God). "There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down". In other words, I'm gonna see to it that every last bit of Religion, of pride, of Babylon and it's rebellious ways, will be thrown down. Like Jeremiah 50:15 and 8 - "Her walls are thrown down, Her foundations are fallen". God did, for a time and a season, dwell in the temple made with hands but no more. He could, for a time, be found in denominational churches, but no more. Forget about Elvis, Jesus has left the building!

"And as he sat upon the Mt. of Olives". In order to avoid being in the Temple that will be torn down (like the one the Philistines were in when Samson was used by God to tear it down), we must follow Jesus out of it. He went to the Mount of Olives. The Olive is a wonderful gift from God, very healthy. It's oil is the best in the world. But to get that oil, it must be crushed, great pressure must be put on it. So it is with us. To get the anointing of the Holy Spirit out of us, God must put us through times of pressure and crushing, where he removes all that is impure from us. "The discilpes came to him privately saying TELL US". All true disciples of Jesus will follow him wherever he goes. In verse one, they came to him publicly, here they come to him privately. True disciples will meet with him in both places. One is not enough. If we meet with him only in public, where men can witness, we become proud and our walk becomes a display to impress others. To become his bride, we must meet with him privately, we must enter into a place of intimacy with him. We must spend time with him when no one else is around but If we only meet with him privately and we never witness of him publicly, this too is a tragedy. We must do both. And when we meet with him it is natural and good to say "tell us". He is the one we seek knowledge and understanding from and no other.
"When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?" This chapter of scripture is very prophetic and speaks loudly to us today. He is about to describe conditions at the end of days for he will destroy the temple made with hands (Babylon) by his returning physically but first he has returned spiritually. And when he shows up it always means the end of the world. Physically and spiritually. When he returns the second time physically, the world will be judged and destroyed by fire, but when he enters a human heart by his Spirit, the spirit of the world relenquishes control and dominion in that person and they are set free and the worldly spirit inside the person is also destroyed by fire, the fire of the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!

To be continued...