We, William, we are that temple. We are also called a city, the City of God. And God is building it now. See what Paul says in Ephesians 2:19-22...
"So then (Gentiles) are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God (Israel), built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in Whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
And Hebrews 10:... "By faith (Abraham)... was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God."
The promise itself is "layered"... has a lesser and a greater fulfillment. Or, if it makes it easier to understand, a short-term fulfillment and a long-term fullfillment, a temporal one and an eternal one. Abraham, of course, could not have known this, but as Jesus said, the meek shall inherit the earth. This is the greater land promise of Genesis 12:1. The lesser promise is the Promised Land of old. This "lesser" is not in the sense that it was "less important" or "less real" or anything like that; it is in the sense of a "type," a foreshadowing, of the larger... thing... to come. So this promise ~ to Abraham, yes, but to all his progeny, through Isaac, the child of the promise ~ has a lesser (short term) and greater (long term) fulfillment. The greater promise is the whole earth ~ as Jesus clarified... made clear... in Matthew 5:5 ~ and that is still yet to come.
This lesser and greater thing is true with Malachi 3:1, too. Jesus will return suddenly, as He said... <smile>
Grace and peace to you.
Last edited:
