As the temple is opened, that ark now appears and is seen! As the temple is opened by the revelation of the Lord within us we are even now able to see by the spirit and in the spirit the great glories and realities contained therein! In God’s due time these wonderful things shall be seen, known, touched, and experienced by all the Lord’s people who constitute the holy city of God! And therefore it is the symbol of God’s righteous nature, His law put into our minds and written on our hearts His priestly heart revealed in Aaron’s rod and His eternal and incorruptible life in the Spirit. It contained the law of the covenant as well as the golden pot of manna and the budding rod of Aaron. It stood in the immediate presence, glory, and power of God, as represented in the cloud, and on its mercy seat the blood of atonement was sprinkled, bespeaking God’s nature of goodness, mercy, and blessing toward the whole world. It is called the throne of God in scripture. It was in a most specific sense the representation of the character and majesty of God Himself, His plan and purpose, and His covenant with mankind. Naturally, when the temple (naos, inner sanctuary) is opened, the ark of His covenant is seen! For the ark stood in the most holy place, under coverings of skins and separated by a thick veil. The third step is that His presence, glory, and power fill the whole city so that there is no more temple! At the conclusion of that work John describes the city itself as “having the glory of God.” Then the city descends into the earth realm and His glory shines forth from the city, flooding and enlightening the whole earth and all peoples and nations. The second step is that the temple is opened in the heavens of the Spirit, and the glory and substance of Himself is caused to be seen, or revealed throughout the city of God. The first step is that He builds a temple and dwells there in the midst of mankind. God shall not remain in His temple separated from the world, and unseen by mankind! There are precise steps in the progressive unfolding of God among men. It speaks of the fact that in the world at large God does not manifest His presence, glory, and power in an overt way. But to this must be added that it was a limited place, where God dwelt on a different level of manifestation than He did in the outward world, and in distinction, too, from the holy city without. It was the place where the manifest presence, glory, and power of God resided in the most holy place. The temple was the house of God, His habitation. The idea of the temple is that of a dwelling place of God.
The temple of God in Jerusalem was made after the pattern of the heavenly or spiritual temple, as it was shown unto Moses on the mount. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament” (Rev. (This study is long, but excellent and for NOW!!!! Copy & paste and save to read. THE TEMPLE OPENED IN HEAVEN by J Preston Eby