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Revelation 11:19
says, “Then God’s temple in heaven was
opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen
within his temple. There were flashes of
lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an
earthquake, and heavy hail.”
The
Mosaic Law, or the Old Covenant was given
specifically to the nation of Israel (Exod. 19;
Lev. 26:46; Rom. 9:4), and the command
to keep the Sabbath was meant for Israel
alone because it served as a ceremonial sign
of the Mosaic Covenant (Exod. 31:16-17;
Ne. 9:13-14; Ezek. 20:12, 20). Christians live
under the New Covenant and are not under any
of the laws of the Old Covenant (Acts 15:1-20;
2 Cor. 3; Heb. 8). The Old and the
New Covenants are separate and distinct
covenants given to different people groups,
at different times in God’s redemptive
history.
The abolished Old Covenant
was the Law of the Ten Commandments and the
entire Mosaic Covenant’s legal system.
The tablets of the covenant (the Ten
Commandments), were placed inside the ark of
the covenant and were specifically called
the covenant that was abolished in the book
of Hebrews:
Hebrews 8:13-9:4 says,
“When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made
the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming
obsolete and growing old is ready to
disappear. 9:1 Now even the first covenant
had regulations for worship and an earthly
place of holiness. 2 For a tent was
prepared, the first section, in which were
the lampstand and the table and the bread of
the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3
Behind the second curtain was a second
section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having
the golden altar of incense and the ark of
the covenant covered on all sides with gold,
in which was a golden urn holding the manna,
and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the
tablets of the covenant.”
2 Corinthians agrees that the abolished
Old Covenant was the Law of the Ten
Commandments and all the rest of the laws
contained in the Mosaic Covenant.
2 Corinthians 3:6-11 says, “who has
made us sufficient to be ministers of a new
covenant, not of the letter but of the
Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit
gives life. 7 Now
if the ministry of death,
carved in letters
on stone, came with such glory that
the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face
because of its glory,
which was being
brought to an end, 8 will not the
ministry of the Spirit have even more glory?
9 For if there
was glory in the ministry of condemnation,
the ministry of righteousness must far
exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case,
what once had glory has come to have no
glory at all, because of the glory that
surpasses it. 11 For
if what was being
brought to an end came with glory,
much more will what is permanent have
glory.”
There
can be no doubt that Paul was talking about
the Ten Commandments. It is the law of the
Ten Commandments that “fades away” in light
of the “glory that surpasses it. The New
Covenant makes many changes to the laws of
the Old Covenant. It is a completely new
covenant! We have a new legal contract that
is now based on the law of Christ!
Christians are freed from having to please
God by keeping the Law to live by God’s
grace (Eph. 2:1-10). We are not under the
Old Covenant Law at all. We are not under
its authority. It has no power over us what
so ever.
It’s not the Old Covenant
all over again. God has different laws under
each covenant. Each of the Bible’s covenants
were a new legal contract. Every contract
must have all of its requirements spelled
out in that contract. Each covenant could
use elements from previous covenants,
reapply them, or omit them altogether and
give new laws.
The only laws we are
to follow are the ones commanded of
Christians in the New Covenant.
In
Revelation 11:19, God’s temple in heaven is
seen. The ark of his covenant in the Old
Testament was a chest of acacia wood
(Deut. 10:1-2). It represented God’s presence,
leadership, and protection of Israel in the
wilderness, and in the Promised Land
(Num. 10:33-36; Josh. 3:3; 3:15-17).
The
ark seen in the book of Revelation
represents similar blessings related to the
New Covenant, people of God and Christ’s
return (see Heb. 9:1, 4, 11; 9:23-28). The
temple in heaven and this ark symbolizes
God’s faithfulness in keeping covenant with
his people.
Seventh-day Adventists
try to make a big deal about the ark
seen in heaven but fail to apply the
same principles to the rest of Revelation as
a whole and this vision in particular.
The temple, the court yard, the alter,
manna and Aaron’s staff are all seen too.
The Temple was where the animal sacrifices
were offered regularly. Are we to assume
that animal sacrifices are still required
because John saw an ark in heaven? The fact
that the alter is enshrined in Heaven does
not mean that animal sacrifices are still a
requirement for Christians. The same is true
of the Ten Commandments inside the ark.
This “was not a physical Temple sitting
in the clouds, for the point is made later
that there would be no Temple in the new
Jerusalem (Rev. 21:22). John had already
seen God’s throne and the altar in heaven
(Rev. 4:2; 6:9; 8:3). What John was seeing
is the place where God dwells and the ark of
his covenant, which had always symbolized
God’s presence and faithfulness among his
people. God’s promises would be fulfilled
and his purposes completed. In this vision
of God’s open Temple, John saw heavenly
worship before God himself. There would be
no sin to act as a barrier between God and
his people. In addition, the Ark of his
covenant symbolized God’s presence with his
people. That John saw the ark also assured
the readers of God’s presence and protection
in their coming trials.”
[1]
The New
Covenant has its own legal code, the law of
Christ. Christians are not under the same
law that the Jews had to keep under the Old
Covenant.
Paul explained the New
Covenant, law of Christ in 1 Corinthians 9.
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 says, “For
though I am free from all, I have made
myself a servant to all, that I might win
more of them. 20 To the Jews I became as a
Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under
the law I became as one under the law
(though not being myself under the law) that
I might win those under the law. 21 To those
outside the law I became as one outside the
law (not being outside the law of God but
under the law of Christ) that I might win
those outside the law. 22 To the weak I
became weak, that I might win the weak. I
have become all things to all people, that
by all means I might save some. 23 I do it
all for the sake of the gospel, that I may
share with them in its blessings.”
Paul said he wasn’t
under the Old Covenant law of the Jews now
that he was under the law of Christ. The law
of Christ contains some new commands
(1 Tim. 4:4), some old ones (Rom. 13:9), and some
revised ones (Rom. 13:4). The only laws Christians are
required to keep are the laws expressed in
the New Covenant (James 2:8-13). Not a
mixture of laws from both the Old and the
New Covenants.
The New Testament is
clear, the Ten Commandments and all of the
other 613 laws of the Old Covenant were
fulfilled by Christ and done away with at
the cross (2 Cor. 3:6-11; Rom. 14:5-12;
Gal. 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Eph. 2:11-16;
Col. 2:14-17; Heb. 7-10).
References:
1. See: The Life
Application New Testament Commentary:
Revelation 11:19.
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