What will worship be like in the new creation?
Unmediated, unbroken, and universal. John sees no temple in the city because God and the Lamb are the temple; His servants see His face and serve Him without any curse. Every thread of this trail converges there: no more sacrifice because nothing is withheld, no more distance because nothing separates, and one multitude from every nation singing with one voice.
This question arose from studying Is all of life worship, or only what happens on Sunday? and Is it right to worship Jesus, or only God?.
Begin by reading
Go into the Word
Not a summary of these passages: the passages themselves. Read them, then come back to the study below.
The study
What the Scripture says
Worship will need no building because God is the temple
John measures the new Jerusalem and reports what is missing: 'I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.' A temple exists to bridge distance between a holy God and His people. When God's dwelling is permanently with people, the bridge becomes unnecessary because the two ends have met. Gathered worship now is a pointer; then it becomes a presence.
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.
I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.
Service without sorrow, sight without veil
The worship language of eternity is serving: 'his servants serve him', and then the promise that outruns every limitation of life now: 'They will see his face.' Moses was hidden in the rock cleft; the high priest entered once a year with blood; Isaiah's seraphim cover their faces even in the throne room. In the new creation the servants see His face, and His name is on their foreheads like a wedding announcement.
There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
Nothing withheld, nothing broken: no more curse
'There will be no curse any more' is the sentence behind all future worship. Romans 12 asked for our bodies as living sacrifices because something in us resists being offered; in that day the resistance is gone. No tears to wipe mid-song, no death interrupting the choir, no sin to confess between verses. What we call the worship wars now will look like learning scales before the symphony.
There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him.
He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.”
The congregation is already bigger than your tradition
John sees the final worship service in advance: a great multitude 'out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages', standing before the throne and crying out, 'Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!' One song, every tongue. Every faithful expression of gathered worship today is practice for that day, and none of our preferences will survive as walls.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah.
As you read, you may wonder…
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What is the new heaven and new earth?→Our Hope trail“I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.””What will we do in the new creation?→Our Hope trail“I heard a loud voice out of heaven saying, “Behold, God’s dwelling is with people, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away from them every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.””Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty, and the Lamb, are its temple.
There will be no curse any more. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.
After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could number, out of every nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
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