GOD HAS LEFT THE BUILDING

Study 2 — Why Doesn't the Old Covenant Come Back?

The curtain was torn.

The sacrifice was offered.

The High Priest entered.

And God moved His dwelling into His people.

So here is the obvious question:

Is God someday going to put the old system back together?

Will there again be a temple in Jerusalem, an earthly priesthood, animal sacrifices, feast days, and the other parts of the system God gave Israel through Moses?

Many sincere Bible students believe there will be.

But before we decide, let's ask a simpler question:

What does the New Testament say happened to the Old Covenant when Christ came?

The Old Covenant Was Not a Mistake

We need to make this clear from the beginning.

There was nothing wrong with God giving the Law to Israel.

The Law came from God. The tabernacle came from God. The priesthood came from God. The sacrifices came from God.

They served the purpose for which God gave them.

Paul explained:

“So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”
— Galatians 3:24

Notice the word until.

The Law was going somewhere.

It was preparing God's people for Christ.

Paul says just a few verses earlier:

“It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise referred had come.”
— Galatians 3:19

Again:

Until.

The old system was never intended to be God's final arrangement.

The Shadows Pointed to Something Better

Think about the temple.

A priest entered a holy place.

Blood was offered.

A curtain separated sinful people from God's presence.

Sacrifices were repeated year after year.

Why?

Because God was teaching Israel something about sin, holiness, sacrifice, and the need for reconciliation.

But the ceremonies were pointing beyond themselves.

Paul writes:

“These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”
— Colossians 2:17

Shadow and reality.

That's important.

A shadow isn't bad. It tells you something is coming.

But when the person casting the shadow finally arrives, you don't embrace the shadow and ignore the person.

Christ is the reality.

God Promised a New Covenant

Hundreds of years before Jesus came, God told Israel that something new was coming.

Jeremiah wrote:

“‘The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.’”
— Jeremiah 31:31

God didn't say He would repair the old covenant.

He promised a new covenant.

Jesus used that exact language at the Last Supper:

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”
— Luke 22:20

The New Covenant wasn't postponed until some future age.

Jesus established it with His blood.

Hebrews Uses a Strong Word

The writer of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah's promise and then explains what it means:

“By calling this covenant ‘new,’ he has made the first one obsolete.”
— Hebrews 8:13

Obsolete.

That's not our word.

That's Scripture's word.

The old covenant had accomplished the purpose God intended for it. Something better had arrived.

Hebrews continues this argument by contrasting the repeated sacrifices of the old system with the sacrifice of Jesus.

“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.”
— Hebrews 10:11

Then comes the contrast:

“But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.”
— Hebrews 10:12

They stood because their work was never finished.

Jesus sat down because His sacrifice was complete.

Once for All Means Something

Hebrews keeps using language that should make us stop and think:

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
— Hebrews 10:10

Once for all.

Not until another temple is built.

Not until another priesthood begins.

Not until animals are again placed upon an altar.

Once for all.

And Hebrews goes even farther:

“And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.”
— Hebrews 10:18

That raises a serious question for anyone expecting future animal sacrifices:

If God says sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary, why would He restore a system built around sacrifices for sin?

Going Backward Is Not Going Forward

This is where the larger story of the Bible matters.

God's plan keeps moving toward greater access to Himself, not greater separation.

Under the old system:

Temple.
Priests.
Sacrifices.
Curtain.
Restricted access.

Through Christ:

One sacrifice.
One permanent High Priest.
The curtain torn.
Access to God opened.
God dwelling in His people.

Which direction is God's plan moving?

Back toward the curtain?

Or beyond it?

Hebrews answers:

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus... let us draw near to God.”
— Hebrews 10:19, 22

Draw near.

That is the direction of the whole biblical story.

God Isn't Moving Back Into the Building

This is where our title matters again.

God has left the building.

He hasn't abandoned His people. Quite the opposite.

Under the old covenant, God dwelt among Israel while remaining separated from them by the sanctuary and its curtain.

Under the New Covenant, Paul says:

“You yourselves are God's temple and God's Spirit dwells in your midst.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:16

God isn't preparing to move back behind a curtain.

He has moved into His people.

And the story isn't finished yet.

Revelation shows us where everything is going:

“Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.”
— Revelation 21:3

Then John says:

“I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
— Revelation 21:22

The Bible doesn't end with another temple.

It ends with no temple at all.

No curtain.

No sacrifice for sin.

No separation.

No death.

No curse.

God and His people together.

Don't Sew the Curtain Back Up

God gave the old system.

God fulfilled its purpose.

God sent the reality to which its shadows pointed.

And when Jesus died, God tore the curtain Himself.

We shouldn't spend our time trying to figure out how God might someday sew it back together.

The better question is:

What has God put in its place?

The New Testament gives a remarkable answer.

Not another building.

Us.

God's people have become His temple.

And that is where we go next.

NEXT STUDY

Study 3 — Where Does God Live Now?

If God has left the building, where is His temple today?

John says Jesus is the Temple.

Paul says we are God's temple.

Peter calls us living stones.

Let's see how those statements fit together—and where the story ultimately ends.