“Solomon also made all the furnishings for the Temple of God: the gold altar; the tables for the Bread of the Presence; the lampstands and their lamps of solid gold, to burn in front of the Most Holy Place as prescribed; the flower decorations, lamps, and tongs—all of the purest gold; the lamp snuffers, bowls, ladles, and incense burners—all of solid gold; the doors for the entrances to the Most Holy Place and the main room of the Temple, overlaid with gold.”
‭‭2 Chronicles‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬-‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

If you’re feeling bogged down in all these details of talents of this and cubits of that, would you be more interested in reading a detailed description of heaven?

😀 Oooo can we? Reading about heaven is SUPER cool! The cherubim and seraphim and that sea of blue crystal… Oh! And the River of Life and the fruit trees… Yeah. That stuff is AWESOME!

What if I told you that this chapter in 2nd Chronicles was revealing some things about heaven?

🤔 They got gold bowls and spoons in heaven? Cause that would REALLY raise my morning breakfast cereal experience.

Actually…. Yes. And we get a little snapshot of it by the Prophet Isaiah.

😏 Did he get to eat heavenly Cocoa Puffs in a golden bowl? That would be epic.

Well… not exactly. He had his lips branded with a hot coal.

😳😱

😬 Uh… I feel like you need to explain. And what does this have to do with Solomon’s Temple?

They both involve…tongs.

🤔 Tongs? Those pinchy picker-uppers at the salad bar?

Yes. Those. Sort of.

The temple tongs were for picking up and moving hot coals, pieces of incense, or perhaps pieces of boiled meat or cooked bread but yeah – that’s the basic idea. Tongs have not changed much in thousands of years. Here are some ancient incense tongs in the British Museum…

Tongs are only mentioned 6 times in scripture. Two of them are tongs for the Tabernacle of Moses. Two mentions are for the tongs in the temple. And the last two are in Isaiah. One is a set of tongs seen in a vision and the other…is in heaven.

😐 Heavenly…. Tongs? So… there are like, kitchen utensils in heaven?

Yes. And one of the seraphim uses the tongs…

😲 A seraph?! Aren’t they the ones that are maybe kinda like dragons of flying snakes with 6 wings?!?!

The very same.

🤔 Hmm… well… I don’t think they can be exactly like snakes.

Why’s that?

🤔 How on earth does a snake work a pair of tongs? With its tail?

Good point. Seraph also means burning or fiery or shiny.

🤔 So… a shiny, lit-up, 6-winged, possibly reptile-like…something?

Yes.

“Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven.””
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭6‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

😐 Poor Isaiah. That must’ve been terrifying. If a 6-winged fiery dragon-y thingy was coming toward me with a red hot coal I’d be outa there. What was the point of this story again?

The design for the Temple- down to the last spoon and snuffer, was given to David by revelation from God. It didn’t just symbolize heaven in the Holy of Holies with the golden cherubim. The altar of incense with the burning coals was a miniature replica of the original in heaven. And not just the altar, but all of its accessories- down to the tongs.

We use the term “heaven” rather loosely. Technically, we shouldn’t use it without some specific clarification if we refer to the New Jerusalem. Because in heaven there IS a temple, while in the New Jerusalem, there is no temple:

“Then, in heaven, the Temple of God was opened and the Ark of his covenant could be seen inside the Temple. Lightning flashed, thunder crashed and roared, and there was an earthquake and a terrible hailstorm.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭11‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬

(See also Rev. 14:15-17, 15:5-8, 16:1, 17)

“I saw no temple in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭21‬:‭22‬ ‭NLT‬‬

🙂 So, as we read about Solomon’s temple, we’re getting pictures of what the heavenly temple is like? Even the utensils?

That’s the idea. Kinda makes the temple more interesting doesn’t it?

😏 Yup. But I’d still like to eat cereal out of a golden bowl.