Revelation of John 21:22 · Bible study
Revelation 21:22 Commentary: God and the Lamb as the Temple
Greek · 10 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Revelation 21:22 shows that in the New Jerusalem, God and the Lamb are so directly present that no temple building is needed, the entire city is holy ground.
Research Summary
- Meaning: In the New Jerusalem there is no physical temple because God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple, making the whole city a place of direct worship.
- Key words: ναός (naos), the inner sanctuary; παντοκράτωρ (pantokratōr), the Almighty; ἀρνίον (arnion), the Lamb.
- Main debate: Whether the absence of a temple implies the end of all liturgical worship (Gill, JFB) or the expansion of worship to every part of the city (Barnes, Cambridge).
- Theological theme: The fulfillment of God’s promise to dwell with His people; the Lamb’s full deity; the end of the separation between holy and common.
- Best use: To comfort believers who long for God’s presence, and to shape hope for a world where God is all in all.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
But I saw no temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
WEB World English Bible 2000
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
KJV King James Version 1769
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God the Almighty, and the Lamb, are the temple thereof.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And a sanctuary I did not see in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, is its sanctuary, and the Lamb,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And I saw no temple in it; for the Lord God Almighty is its temple, and the Lamb.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And I saw no temple therein. For the Lord God Almighty is the temple thereof, and the Lamb.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y no vi en ella templo; porque el Señor Dios Todopoderoso es el templo de ella, y el Cordero.
E nela eu não vi templo, porque o templo dela é o Senhor Deus Todo-Poderoso, e o Cordeiro.
Je ne vis point de temple dans la ville; car le Seigneur Dieu tout-puissant est son temple, ainsi que l’ agneau.
Und ich sah keinen Tempel darin; denn der HERR, der allmächtige Gott, ist ihr Tempel, und das Lamm.
En ik zag geen tempel in dezelve; want de Heere, de almachtige God, is haar Tempel, en het Lam.
E non vidi in essa alcun tempio, perché il Signore Iddio, l’Onnipotente, e l’Agnello sono il suo tempio.
Alem kościoła nie widział w niem; albowiem Pan, Bóg wszechmogący, jest kościołem jego, i Baranek.
Храма же я не видел в нем, ибо Господь Бог Вседержитель — храм его, и Агнец.
我未 見 城 內 有殿，因 主 神─全能者 和 羔羊 為 城 的殿。
And I saw no Temple there; because the Lord God, the Ruler of all, and the Lamb are its Temple.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 21:22
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this verse does not describe a city without worship. Instead, it proclaims that the entire city is one living sanctuary. Barnes writes that it “was all temple, nothing but a temple.” Gill notes there will be “no material temple” because God and Christ are immediately present. Vincent observes that the whole city is now “one holy temple of God.” The Cambridge Bible explains that the earthly figure of the temple is replaced by the manifest presence of the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb. All affirm that direct communion with God makes a physical structure unnecessary.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The central meaning is clear: in the New Jerusalem, God and the Lamb are so directly present that a physical temple is unnecessary; the whole city is holy ground.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The meaning of 'no temple' | Christians agree that this means there is no need for a physical building because God and the Lamb are directly present. | Some see this as the cessation of all liturgical forms and ordinances (Gill, JFB); others emphasize that the entire city becomes a temple where worship continues without interruption (Barnes, Cambridge). |
| Continuation of the heavenly temple | All affirm that God’s presence is manifest in the New Jerusalem. | Cambridge suggests the heavenly temple of earlier chapters (Revelation 11:19) may still exist, while others hold that the city itself is now the only sanctuary. |
| The role of the Lamb | The Lamb is included as part of the temple, affirming his divinity and mediatorial role. | Some stress that the Lamb functions as temple alongside the Father, while others focus on his sacrificial work as the basis for the access that the temple provides. |
Historical & Cultural Context
In the ancient world, a temple was the house of a god, the place where heaven and earth met. Israel’s temple in Jerusalem served that role, but Solomon acknowledged that even the highest heavens could not contain God (1 Kings 8:27). Revelation 21:22 takes that truth to its finale: the meeting place is no longer a building but the persons of God and the Lamb. The verse fulfills Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, when the hour comes for worship that is not tied to a mountain or Jerusalem but offered in spirit and truth (John 4:21,23).
Earlier in Revelation, John saw a temple in heaven (11:19). Now he sees no temple because the heavenly reality has descended. The Cambridge Bible notes that this does not prove the heavenly temple has ceased, but rather that God dwells so manifestly in the New Jerusalem that no earthly symbol is required. The Lamb stands beside the Almighty (Gill), underscoring Christ’s full deity and his role in providing access. The city itself takes on the dimensions of the holy of holies, a perfect cube (21:16), and its entire surface is consecrated by the presence that once filled only the innermost room.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants for Revelation 21:22. The main Greek manuscripts agree on the wording. Minor differences in English translations (e.g., whether to read “the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple” or “the Lord God Almighty is the temple of it, and the Lamb”) reflect syntactic choices rather than manuscript disagreements.
Reception History
Revelation 21:22 has been a wellspring of hope across Christian traditions. Early Church fathers saw it as the fulfillment of the temple typology in the Old Testament. In medieval spirituality, it inspired visions of the heavenly Jerusalem as a place where God’s presence makes every space sacred. Protestant Reformers used the verse to challenge the idea of holy places and to emphasize direct access to God through Christ alone. It has been a regular comfort in hymns and devotional literature about heaven, reminding believers that the separation between God and humanity will be completely overcome and that worship will become unbroken communion.
Preaching This Verse
Three-Point Outline
- John Saw No Temple (v. 22a). The earthly symbol of God’s presence is gone because the reality has arrived. There is no need for a place set apart when every place is filled with the glory of God and the Lamb.
- The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb Are the Temple (v. 22b). God and Christ together constitute the dwelling place. This affirms the Lamb’s deity and shows that his sacrifice secures eternal access to the Father.
- Direct Presence Replaces Symbols. Means of grace give way to the God of grace. Unbroken communion becomes the normal, constant experience of the redeemed.
Five-Point Outline
- The physical temple has served its purpose; it pointed forward to this moment.
- God’s immediate presence makes all of life worship; no boundary remains between sacred and common.
- The Lamb’s inclusion emphasizes Christ’s full divinity and his atoning work as the ground of our access.
- The New Jerusalem fulfills the OT promises of God dwelling with his people (Ezekiel 37:27, Zechariah 2:10).
- This hope transforms how we worship now, teaching us to seek God himself rather than the forms that contain him.
Illustration Hooks
- A home where the host is so engaging that guests never retreat to a separate room; the whole house becomes the place of fellowship.
- A city square that feels like a cathedral during a wedding or celebration, because the event itself makes the space sacred.
- The experience of deep worship in a simple setting, a hospital room, a kitchen, where God’s presence is felt without elaborate architecture.
Questions Your Congregation Is Asking
- “Will we still go to church in heaven?”
- “How can God and the Lamb be a temple? Does that mean we worship them as a building?”
- “If there is no temple, what happens to worship?”
Leading a Discussion
Revelation 21:22 invites us to imagine a world where God’s presence is so immediate that everything becomes holy ground. This is not the absence of worship but its fulfillment. As you discuss this passage, let the wonder of God’s nearness shape your conversation.
Discussion Questions
- What does John say he saw (or did not see) in the New Jerusalem? (v. 22a)
- Why is the temple’s absence surprising, given the centrality of the temple in Israel’s worship?
- What does it mean that the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb “are its temple”? Who is included in that description?
- How does this verse connect to Jesus’ words in John 2:19, 21 and John 4:21, 23?
- In what ways does the presence of God change the value of physical spaces for worship today?
- How might this future reality shape the way we practice church life now?
- What hope does this verse offer to someone who feels distant from God?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| I Kings 8:27 | But will God in very deed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house that I have built! |
| II Chronicles 2:6 | But who is able to build him a house, since heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain him? Who am I then, that I should build him a house, except just to burn incense before him? |
| II Chronicles 6:18 | “But will God indeed dwell with men on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can’t contain you; how much less this house which I have built! |
| Isaiah 66:1 | Yahweh says: “Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build to me? Where will I rest? |
| John 2:19 | Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” |
| John 2:21 | But he spoke of the temple of his body. |
| John 4:21 | Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. |
| John 4:23 | But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
9 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke notes that the absence of a temple in the new Jerusalem is not a loss but a sign of greater intimacy. Because God and the Lamb are directly and visibly present, the temple that once signified their dwelling is no longer needed.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes highlights that the absence of a separate temple in the New Jerusalem means the entire city is itself a temple. No single place is set apart because God and the Lamb fill every part with their presence, making all of it equally holy and devoted to worship.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator stresses that the absence of a physical temple in the New Jerusalem does not mean the heavenly temple has ended. Instead, God and the Lamb themselves serve as the temple, making any earthly symbol unnecessary. This direct presence also highlights the remarkable pairing of the Lamb with the eternal Almighty.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes specify the exact order and English names of the twelve stones on the high priest's breastplate, from sardonyx through amethyst. This list fixes which stone corresponds to which position, resolving ambiguity that arises from ancient translations.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill stresses that the New Jerusalem has no material temple because God and the Lamb themselves serve as the temple. This means no external forms of worship, no preaching or ordinances, only direct, spiritual communion. He also notes that joining the Lamb with God Almighty affirms Christ's full deity and equality with the Father.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB draws a reciprocal relationship: as God once dwelt in the Church as His temple, so the perfected Church will dwell in God as hers. Means of grace give way to the end of grace, and church ordinances are replaced by direct, unmediated communion with God and the Lamb.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange reads the New Jerusalem as the visible union of heaven and earth, where the Theocracy, the believing nations, and glorified nature all reach their perfected form. He stresses that this vision is not merely a spiritual symbol but the actual fulfillment of the entire Old Testament story. The title Bride expresses the supreme dignity, liberty, and freedom of the blessed in love.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent notes that the absence of a temple in the New Jerusalem means the entire city has become one holy temple of God. No single building is set apart because every part of the city is equally sacred and filled with His presence.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley draws attention to what replaces the temple in the new creation: not a building, but the immediate presence of God and the Lamb. He sees this as a complete filling and sanctifying of everything, where God becomes all in all.