It is often asked when the prophesied return of the Shekinah Glory the Millennial Temple will be. There is renewed interest today in the millennium and the coming presence of God to the kingdom and its rebuilt temple. And there are questions to answer. For instance, is the Shekinah in the Old Testament the presence of God the Father, or of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?
First, the term shekinah comes from the Hebrew word shakan, meaning "to dwell". It represents the fellowship dwelling of God with His own on earth. Now the Bible makes it clear that God is omnipresent, so no geographical location is really "housing" Him in a limitation spatial sense. But the shekinah signifies that the Lord has taken up residence with His people in a specific fellowship/spiritual way.
Was the Shekinah in the Old Testament, and in the future rebuilt temple, the preincarnate Christ, or simple a representation of the presence of God the Father? I believe it has to do with God the Father because Christ said in Matthew 23:21: “He who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him [the Father] who dwells within it.” Here the second person of the trinity is referring to the first person—God the Father!
With both the tabernacle (the tent) and the temple, the rabbis considered the orientation of the earthly edifice to face the Heavenly Temple when praying. If they thought prayer depended upon orienting oneself towards the Shekinah, whose presence was within the Holy of Holies, then even after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple prayer could be continued in the direction of the desolated sanctuary.
Some have questioned whether God has ever left the site of the temple. Solomon would built a “house for My name” (2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kings 8:20) which some feel may imply that the Lord is always there in respect to His name, and thus ever present. His Shekinah glory is a demonstration of His presence. But this argument may not fit by what we know of what happened with the Babylonian invasion.
A question arises about the “Tent of Meeting” Moses was to construct. It was erected outside the camp of the people so that Moses could privately enter in the presence (Shekinah) of God and receive divine guidance. Some think this was a provisional structure. But it is better to see the Tent of Meeting and the inner tabernacle as two parts of a single structure. So when the first temple was dedicated, the portable Tent of Meeting/Tabernacle was incorporated within the new permanent structure (1 Kings 8:4).
The first Babylonian invasion took place in 605 B.C. with the second invasion and deportation following in 597. The temple treasures were removed (2 Kings 24:13), the prophet Ezekiel was deported, and the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem was prophesied to happen in 586. Ezekiel saw the Shekinah glory (the presence of the Lord) departing from the temple and vanishing over the Mount of Olives to the East (Ezek. 10:18-19). With the departure of God’s presence, the temple was set apart as something common, ready for destruction. All orthodox Jews believe the Shekinah never “fully” left the temple and therefore, since the site of the ancient Holy of Holies is unknown or debated, it would be sacrilege to step on the place where the temple stood since one may step on the Holy of Holies where the Lord still presently dwells.
Since neither the Ark nor the Shekinah were present in the Second Temple, rabbinical tradition held that the Ark will be revealed in the future by the messianic king, who will also build the Third Temple (Zech. 6:12-13). (Actually it will be the “Antichrist” who will fool the Jews in thinking he is the real thing. He will construct the “false” temple that will be standing during the tribulation.) However, the Messiah will come at the end of the tribulation. This will find future fulfillment in the reconstruction “fourth” temple prophesied by Ezekiel when the Shekinah re-enters its Holy of Holies (Ezek. 37:26-28; 43:1-7, 12). Since the Shekinah glory did not come to the second temple (Herod’s), this is why Ezekiel says so much about it with the Restoration Temple—this glory coming for the Millennial period (Ezek. 40-48).
With the return of the Shekinah to the Millennial temple, the condition of “no glory” (ichabod) will become “glory” (chabod). The Temple Mount will be physically elevated above all other mountains in the land (Isa. 2:2; 40:4-5; Micah 4:1) but it will shine out as a beacon to all the nations as the place where the divine revelation and presence will reside on earth (Isa. 2:2-3; 49:6; Jer. 8:20-23). So clear is it that the Lord will be there, the city of Jerusalem will have a new name—YHWH Shammah (“the Lord is there”).
While the Shekinah in the Old Testament mainly represents God the Father’s presence, in the Millennial temple Christ, as God the Son, will be seen also in His “glorious presence.” In the new Jerusalem there will be no physical temple because the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, “are its temple” (Rev. 21:22). The “glory of God” will illumine it, “and its lamp is the Lamb” (v. 23). In other words the Father and the Son, “their” Shekinah, and their glory, will be as sun light for the eternal state.
For further study, see The Temple and Bible Prophecy, Randall Price, Harvest House, 2005.
-- Dr. Mal Couch
First, the term shekinah comes from the Hebrew word shakan, meaning "to dwell". It represents the fellowship dwelling of God with His own on earth. Now the Bible makes it clear that God is omnipresent, so no geographical location is really "housing" Him in a limitation spatial sense. But the shekinah signifies that the Lord has taken up residence with His people in a specific fellowship/spiritual way.
Was the Shekinah in the Old Testament, and in the future rebuilt temple, the preincarnate Christ, or simple a representation of the presence of God the Father? I believe it has to do with God the Father because Christ said in Matthew 23:21: “He who swears by the temple, swears both by the temple and by Him [the Father] who dwells within it.” Here the second person of the trinity is referring to the first person—God the Father!
With both the tabernacle (the tent) and the temple, the rabbis considered the orientation of the earthly edifice to face the Heavenly Temple when praying. If they thought prayer depended upon orienting oneself towards the Shekinah, whose presence was within the Holy of Holies, then even after the destruction of the Jerusalem temple prayer could be continued in the direction of the desolated sanctuary.
Some have questioned whether God has ever left the site of the temple. Solomon would built a “house for My name” (2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kings 8:20) which some feel may imply that the Lord is always there in respect to His name, and thus ever present. His Shekinah glory is a demonstration of His presence. But this argument may not fit by what we know of what happened with the Babylonian invasion.
A question arises about the “Tent of Meeting” Moses was to construct. It was erected outside the camp of the people so that Moses could privately enter in the presence (Shekinah) of God and receive divine guidance. Some think this was a provisional structure. But it is better to see the Tent of Meeting and the inner tabernacle as two parts of a single structure. So when the first temple was dedicated, the portable Tent of Meeting/Tabernacle was incorporated within the new permanent structure (1 Kings 8:4).
The first Babylonian invasion took place in 605 B.C. with the second invasion and deportation following in 597. The temple treasures were removed (2 Kings 24:13), the prophet Ezekiel was deported, and the final destruction of the temple and Jerusalem was prophesied to happen in 586. Ezekiel saw the Shekinah glory (the presence of the Lord) departing from the temple and vanishing over the Mount of Olives to the East (Ezek. 10:18-19). With the departure of God’s presence, the temple was set apart as something common, ready for destruction. All orthodox Jews believe the Shekinah never “fully” left the temple and therefore, since the site of the ancient Holy of Holies is unknown or debated, it would be sacrilege to step on the place where the temple stood since one may step on the Holy of Holies where the Lord still presently dwells.
Since neither the Ark nor the Shekinah were present in the Second Temple, rabbinical tradition held that the Ark will be revealed in the future by the messianic king, who will also build the Third Temple (Zech. 6:12-13). (Actually it will be the “Antichrist” who will fool the Jews in thinking he is the real thing. He will construct the “false” temple that will be standing during the tribulation.) However, the Messiah will come at the end of the tribulation. This will find future fulfillment in the reconstruction “fourth” temple prophesied by Ezekiel when the Shekinah re-enters its Holy of Holies (Ezek. 37:26-28; 43:1-7, 12). Since the Shekinah glory did not come to the second temple (Herod’s), this is why Ezekiel says so much about it with the Restoration Temple—this glory coming for the Millennial period (Ezek. 40-48).
With the return of the Shekinah to the Millennial temple, the condition of “no glory” (ichabod) will become “glory” (chabod). The Temple Mount will be physically elevated above all other mountains in the land (Isa. 2:2; 40:4-5; Micah 4:1) but it will shine out as a beacon to all the nations as the place where the divine revelation and presence will reside on earth (Isa. 2:2-3; 49:6; Jer. 8:20-23). So clear is it that the Lord will be there, the city of Jerusalem will have a new name—YHWH Shammah (“the Lord is there”).
While the Shekinah in the Old Testament mainly represents God the Father’s presence, in the Millennial temple Christ, as God the Son, will be seen also in His “glorious presence.” In the new Jerusalem there will be no physical temple because the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, “are its temple” (Rev. 21:22). The “glory of God” will illumine it, “and its lamp is the Lamb” (v. 23). In other words the Father and the Son, “their” Shekinah, and their glory, will be as sun light for the eternal state.
For further study, see The Temple and Bible Prophecy, Randall Price, Harvest House, 2005.
-- Dr. Mal Couch
