Did you know that the Greek New Testament uses two different words for
(a) the Jerusalem temple structure (hieron); and
(b) the sanctuary of God (naos)?
Hierón: The entire temple complex in Jerusalem (always in Jerusalem). It includes the naós (the sanctuary of God) because it enclosed/housed the naos.
Naós: The Sanctuary: Once in the New Testament it's referring to shrines for the goddess Diana (Acts 19:24). In every other verse the word is used, it's referring to the sanctuary of God.
Did you know that Jesus was not a priest in terms of Moses's law, and hence in accordance with Moses's law, was not allowed into the naós (the holy place, where only the priests were allowed)?
So it makes sense that without exception, whenever you read of Jesus entering the temple in Jerusalem, the Greek word employed for "temple", is hierón.
The Jerusalem temple continued to be referred to as the hierón following the death and resurrection of Christ (multiple times in Acts).
Did you know that the last time that the New Testament uses the word naós (referring to the actual sanctuary) in reference to the 2nd temple in Jerusalem, is in the verses in the Gospels which tell about the tearing of the veil between that holy place / holy of holies, - which occurred when Jesus died on the cross (Matthew 27:51; Mark 15:38; Luke 23:45),
but with regard to His body which was to be made a sacrifice for the sins of the world, Jesus said,
"Destroy this the temple [naos], and in three days I will raise it up."?
When Jesus said this, the Jews then said, "Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days?"
But Jesus spoke of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said." (John 2:19-22).
PAUL WRITING ABOUT THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM
When Paul wrote his letters to the churches at Corinth, Ephesus and Thessaloniki, he used the word hierón in reference to the temple in Jerusalem, which at the time of Paul's writing, was still standing (1 Corinthians 9:13).
PAUL REFERRING TO THE BODIES OF INDIVIDUAL SAINTS,
AND TO THE CONGREGATION OF THE SAINTS AS THE TEMPLE OF GOD
When speaking about the bodies of individual Christians, and the congregations of Christians as the tabernacle (temple) of God, Paul consistently used the word naós (1 Corinthians 3:16-17 & 1 Corinthians 6:19; 2 Corinthians 6:16; and Ephesians 2:21-22):
"And what agreement does a temple [naós] of God have with idols? For you are the temple [naós] of the living God, as God has said, "I will dwell in them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." -- 2 Corinthians 6:16.
"Do you not know that you are a temple [naós] of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple [naós] of God, God shall destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which you are." -- 1 Corinthians 3:16-17.
* When writing about the man of sin seating himself up in the sanctuary of God (2 Thessalonians 2:4), Paul used the word naós:
"Let not anyone deceive you by any means. For the Day of Christ shall not come unless there first comes the apostasy, and the man of sin shall be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple [naós] of God, setting himself forth, that he is God." -- 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4.
So in the New Testament the word used for the sanctuary of God remains consistent with these statements:
"The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of Heaven and earth, does not dwell in temple sanctuaries [naós] made with (human) hands." (Acts 17:24).
"God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." (Jesus the Messiah, John 4:24).
THE HOLY CITY OF THE REVELATION
The "cities" mentioned in the Revelation are:-
- 1. "Babylon the Great".
- 2. The city "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt".
- 3. The cities of the nations which fell when the 7th bowl of wrath was poured out.
- 4. "New Jerusalem".
There are no verses in the Revelation where "Babylon the Great", or the city "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt", or the cities of the nations which fell when the 7th bowl of wrath was poured out, are called "the holy city",
but the Revelation calls New Jerusalem "the holy city" three times:
Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:10; and Revelation 22:19.
- Revelation 11:2 is talking about the holy city. The word in Revelation 11:1-2 translated into English as temple, is naos:
"And a reed like a rod was given to me. And the angel stood, saying, Rise up and measure the sanctuary (naós) of God, and the altar, and those who worship in it.
But leave out the court which is outside the sanctuary (naós), and do not measure it, for it was given to the Gentiles. And they will trample the holy city forty-two months. And I will give power to My two witnesses, and they will prophesy a thousand, two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth."
About the earthly Jerusalem, Paul wrote, "For Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answers to Jerusalem which now is, and is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem from above is free, who is the mother of us all." (Galatians 4:25-26).
But you have come to Mount Zion
and to the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem,
and to an innumerable company of angels,
to the general assembly and church of the first-born
who are written in Heaven,
and to God the judge of all,
and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
and to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant,
and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
(Hebrews 12:22-24)
- Revelation 11:2 is talking about the holy city.
- The other city referred to in Revelation chapter 11, is referred to as a city that is "spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." (Revelation 11:8).
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