The temple

The latter-day goal all along of the heavenly temple was that it descend to earth and permeate every part of it. That did not happen during the epoch of Israel because of the nation's disobedience. Until the time of Christ, God's special revelatory presence extended only to the borders of the holy of holies. Then Christ came and did what Adam should have done, and in so doing he began to expand the temple even during his earthly ministry. When he ascended into the heavenly temple, he then sent his Spirit to create God's people as a part of that extending heavenly temple. But since the church represents only a remnant of the earth's inhabitants who accept the gospel, God's unique presence does not spread throughout the world, so that the universal extent of the temple has not yet been achieved, and will not during this age. Only when Jesus Christ returns a final time will he destroy the old cosmos and create a new one, wherein God's presence will dwell completely.

- G.K. Beale, The Temple and the Church's Mission, pg. 387.