Revelation 11:19 Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a great hailstorm. (NIV)
In the Epistle to the Hebrews, a big point is made concerning God's instruction to build everything in the earthly tabernacle according to the exact pattern of the heavenly Temple:
Hebrews 8:5 They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." (NIV)
Evidently there is a complete Temple in Heaven of which the earthly one was only a replica. Here we see this heavenly Temple opened, revealing the ark of God's covenant (Revelation 11:19, above).
The ark, as you may recall, was the main piece of furniture in the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle in the wilderness and later in the Temple in Jerusalem. It had a golden throne on its top, which was the place where the blood of a spotless lamb was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement by the high priest. When this was done, symbolically this throne changed from a throne of judgment to a throne of mercy. It was called the "Mercy-seat." It was here that God met man's need for forgiveness in the Old Testament.
Every believing Jew knew that the ark was where God dealt with their national and personal problem of sin and separation from Him. There understanding of all this wasn't perfect, but they understood enough to know that this sacrificial provision gave them acceptance and forgiveness with God.
The fact that God opens heaven's Temple and shows the Jews the ark is to remind them that He will be unconditionally faithful to His covenant of forgiveness that He makes with those who will accept the message of His Messiah Jesus.
This great chapter closes with flashes of lightning and violent peals of thunder – a warning to those who reject the Messiah that God's final climatic judgments are on the way.
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