Part Three of
The Earthly Sanctuary & its Services
Now also, we come to the usefulness of the earthly sanctuary building which was a shadow of the heavenly.
"For the [ceremonial] law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience [or action] of sins". Hebrews 10:1-2.
It was intended to be a place of focus for those whose faith required a physical or earthly manifestation rather than a heavenly one, and was serviced by mortal priests in place of the immortal Son of God. Hebrews 5:1. It operated 24 hours a day and seven days a week to represent the work of Christ "who ever lives to make intercession" for us. Hebrews 7:23-25.
Click here for a larger picture of the framework of the sanctuary (takes a while to load)
The original tent-like building made in
Moses' time consisted of four layers of material held up by a
solid framework of upright planks which were covered with gold
plate on the inside. Exodus 26:15-25. These planks or
"boards" were approximately 15ft high by 2ft 3ins wide,
and must have been quitethick (probably 4.5ins), making each
individual one a very heavy burden (5m x 0.8m). There were twenty
boards for each side of the
tabernacle
(north and south) and six for the west or back end, with two
special ones for the north-west and south-west corners. These
special ones were held up by means of "rings" or braces
top and bottom, while the side planks were made rigid by five
bars, the one in the middle being pushed through a center hole
mortised in each board (and therefore invisible), and the four
others through fixtures located on the outside walls. Exodus
26:26-30. Each board stood on two silver "sockets" or
foundation stones, with its "tenons" or tongues fitting
into holes in the sockets. These may have looked rather like the
cement building blocks of today which have two openings in them.
Laid side by side, all one hundred of them made a very solid
foundation for a portable building.
The linen curtain
Over this framework was laid a collection of curtains made of white linen, embroidered with coloured patterns and representations of cherubims (angels). Exodus 26:1-6. Ten curtains were joined at the sides by loops and handles to make one piece capable of stretching over from one side to the other of the 15ft tall building, but not touching the ground. From the inside of the building the colours and angels could be seen reflected in the apparently solid gold plate by the light of the seven-branched lampstand which was later installed there.
The other coverings
Over this first curtain was placed another made of eleven pieces fabricated from "goats' hair", 30 cubits (45ft) long and four cubits (6ft) wide. This one did reach to the ground level on either side completely obscuring the white linen. The whole shape of the goats' skin covering had a width which enabled it to hang over the back side of the tabernacle and also allow for an upturned and therefore double section at the front. Exodus 26:7-13. This front piece did not reach to the ground but left room for a vail below it as an entrance to the first apartment. On top of the second layer went "ram skins dyed red", and finally, as an external covering, a layer of "badger skins". Exodus 26:14. This made the building water tight and dust proof. There was no man-made floor for this portable structure - the earth served that purpose, but the whole was very solid and firm, held upright by the "pins" and "cords", of which not much is mentioned. Exodus 35:18.
Its drab exterior was a fitting representation of the human body that was prepared for Jesus during His sojourn on earth, while the glory of God was shown by the internal gold plating. Hebrews 10:5-6. It is written of Him that "He has no form or comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him". Isaiah 53:2. He was not unattractive, but His appeal had to lie within, in His character, not His good looks.
Two rooms
The area covered by this building was quite small, being 10 cubits wide by 30 long, or approximately 15 x 45 feet (5 x 15 metres), not much bigger than a large lounge room in a house. It was divided into two rooms by another curtain hanging across it on four gold-covered "pillars" or poles. This "vail" was also made of embroidered white linen with representations of angels worked into it, like the ceiling above it. Its positioning made the first "room" (the holy place) an oblong of approximately 15 x 30ft (10 by 20 cubits) and the second (the most holy) into a 15 x 15ft square (10 by 10 cubits). Exodus 27:31-33. Because the height of the building was also 15ft the second room was therefore a cube. Sometimes the first room was called the "tabernacle of the congregation", and when this occurred the second room was known as the "holy place". (e.g. Exodus 27:21; 28:43.) But the normal reference was to the "holy place" and "most holy place", or, first and second apartments.
The exterior "door" or entrance of the "tent" as it was called, was woven from white linen with embroidered work similar to that on the ceiling, but this time there were no pictures of the inhabitants of heaven present. It was hung at the eastern end on five gold covered poles which stood on sockets of brass. Exodus 27:36-37.
The furniture inside the
sanctuary
The Holy Spirit and His work was pictured by the seven-branched lampstand (sometimes called a candlestick) which was on the south, or left side, of the 1st apartment as the priest entered it. Exodus 25:31-40. One of the Old Testament prophets was given a vision which helped explain the purpose of that piece of furniture. Zechariah 4:1-14. He saw two olive trees supplying the oil into a golden bowl at the top of it, and from there running into the lamps. When he questioned his guide what this meant, (who was surprised that he didn't know) he was told that they represented "the two anointed ones that stand by the LORD". In this phrase he recognised the two major sections of the Bible. In his time, "the law [of Moses] and the prophets" (Matthew 11:13), and in our time, the Old and the New Testaments, or covenants. In this way he was shown that the truth of God would always be available for those who search for it in the only way it can be found. Deuteronomy 4:29.
Jesus told us,
"Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you". John 16:13-14.
On the priest's right hand and opposite the candlestick was the table with twelve loaves of unleavened bread representing the Bible. Exodus 25:23-30. Thus the light from the lampstand fell directly onto them. These were replaced each Sabbath and the priests on duty ate the old ones. 1 Chronicles 9:32; Matthew 12:3-4.
"Your words were found, and I did eat them; and Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart: for I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts". Jeremiah 15:16.
Also on the table were the various
spoons and dishes used in other ceremonies. Exodus 25:29-30.
Between the two, and directly in front of the priest, yet nearer
to the 2nd veil (and therefore nearer to the presence
of God), was the altar of incense.
"And you shall make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shall you make it. A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same. And you shall overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof;
and you shall make to it a crown of gold round about. And two golden rings shall you make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shall you make it; and they shall be for places for the staves [poles] to bear it withal. And you shall make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold".
"And you shall put it before the veil that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with you".
"And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresses [refills] the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lights [tends] the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations".
"You shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall you pour drink offering thereon".
"And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy to the LORD". Exodus 30:1-10.
The smoke and odours ascending from it and wafting over the curtain into the 2nd apartment represented the prayers of the people mixed with the righteousness of Jesus, reaching the Father. Beside the golden altar (but sometimes behind the curtain) was a portable incense burner which was used by the high priest when he ventured into the holy of holies.
The situations of the tabernacle
The picture given by the sanctuary was used by the Spirit to teach many truths as the people of Israel wandered around in the wilderness, and also when they settled in the land of Canaan. During the conquest the tabernacle remained at Gilgal near Jericho, but was eventually moved to Shiloh until the "ark" was captured by the Philistines. (Joshua 18:1). Its presence there reflected a name given to Jesus many years before by Jacob as he blessed his children under the guidance of the Spirit.
"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto Him shall the gathering of the people be". Genesis 49:10.
After the return of the ark the sanctuary was moved from Shiloh and kept in another place called Nob. Psalm 78:59-60; 1 Samuel 22:11. Here the priesthood gathered and the righteous sought the Lord until the reign of king Saul. Then, after many centuries of use and misuse, the sanctuary was replaced by the stone temple built by Solomon at Jerusalem. Although this was dedicated to God and He lit the fire on its altar as He had done for the wilderness sanctuary, and at other times, it has ever been known as "Solomon's temple". See Leviticus 9:24; 1 Chronicles 21:26; 2 Chronicles 7:1. Destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar in 685BC, rebuilt by Ezra and his companions in 537BC, reconstructed by Herod in 20BC, destroyed again by the Romans in 70AD, it has never resumed its unfortunate place in the minds of God's people. Today, those Christians who think of a sanctuary should think of the one in heaven in which the Son of God still ministers. Hebrews 8:1-2; 13:10.
Great Controversy 018.002
The history of more than a thousand years of God's special favor and guardian care, manifested to the chosen people, was open to the eye of Jesus. There was Mount Moriah, where the son of promise, an unresisting victim, had been bound to the altar - emblem of the offering of the Son of God. There the covenant of blessing, the glorious Messianic promise, had been confirmed to the father of the faithful. Genesis 22:9, 16-18. There the flames of the sacrifice ascending to heaven from the threshing floor of Ornan had turned aside the sword of the destroying angel (1 Chronicles 21) - fitting symbol of the Saviour's sacrifice and mediation for guilty men. Jerusalem had been honored of God above all the earth. The Lord had "chosen Zion," He had "desired it for His habitation." Psalm 132:13. There, for ages, holy prophets had uttered their messages of warning. There priests had waved their censers, and the cloud of incense, with the prayers of the worshipers, had ascended before God. There daily the blood of slain lambs had been offered, pointing forward to the Lamb of God. There Jehovah had revealed His presence in the cloud of glory above the mercy seat. There rested the base of that mystic ladder connecting earth with heaven (Genesis 28:12; John 1:51) - that ladder upon which angels of God descended and ascended, and which opened to the world the way into the holiest of all.
It is not intended that Old Jerusalem should ever be rebuilt or the situation into which it degenerated ever arise again.
Testimonies, Vol. 8, page 133.003
I have been looking over some of my writings, and I find that warnings on this point were given years ago. It is plainly stated that the buildings in Battle Creek should not be enlarged, that building should not be added to building to increase facilities there. We were instructed not to accumulate interests in that one place, but to enlarge our sphere of labor. There was danger that Battle Creek would become as Jerusalem of old--a powerful center. If we do not heed these warnings, the evils that ruined Jerusalem will come upon us. Pride, self-exaltation, neglect of the poor, and partiality to the wealthy--these were the sins of Jerusalem. Today when large interests are built up in one place, the workers are tempted to become lifted up in selfishness and pride. When they yield to this temptation they are not laborers together with God. Instead of seeking to increase our responsibilities in Battle Creek, we should bravely and willingly divide the responsibilities already there, distributing them to many places.
Early Writings, page 075.002
Then I was pointed to some who are in the great error of believing that it is their duty to go to Old Jerusalem, and think they have a work to do there before the Lord comes. Such a view is calculated to take the mind and interest from the present work of the Lord, under the message of the third angel; for those who think that they are yet to go to Jerusalem will have their minds there, and their means will be withheld from the cause of present truth to get themselves and others there. I saw that such a mission would accomplish no real good, that it would take a long while to make a very few of the Jews believe even in the first advent of Christ, much more to believe in His second advent. I saw that Satan had greatly deceived some in this thing and that souls all around them in this land could be helped by them and led to keep the commandments of God, but they were leaving them to perish. I also saw that Old Jerusalem never would be built up; and that Satan was doing his utmost to lead the minds of the children of the Lord into these things now, in the gathering time, to keep them from throwing their whole interest into the present work of the Lord, and to cause them to neglect the necessary preparation for the day of the Lord.
The ark of the covenant
Finally, inside the second veil of the tabernacle, was the "ark of the covenant", the box inside of which the Ten Commandments were placed. In a compartment on the outside of it was the jar of manna and Aaron's rod.
"And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat..." Hebrews 9:3-5.
Just before the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar's army in August 586BC there was a short period of time in which the siege was lifted because of an attack on the Babylonians by the Egyptians. During this time, Jeremiah and a few other faithful souls took the ark of the covenant and hid it in a cave in a mountain on the other side of the Jordan.
Prophets & Kings 453.002
Among the righteous still in Jerusalem, to whom had been made plain the divine purpose, were some who determined to place beyond the reach of ruthless hands the sacred ark containing the tables of stone on which had been traced the precepts of the Decalogue. This they did. With mourning and sadness they secreted the ark in a cave, where it was to be hidden from the people of Israel and Judah because of their sins, and was to be no more restored to them. That sacred ark is yet hidden. It has never been disturbed since it was secreted.
The seat of mercy
Used as a lid for the box, but really a separate piece of furniture, was the "mercy seat", the spiritual centre of the building. Exodus 25;17-22. It was the place of meeting, for the LORD told Moses, "There I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims..." As a part of this throne, at each end there was an angel depicted as kneeling before the Ruler of the universe and worshipping Him. When Moses or the high priest came into the Presence they used the portable incense burner to supply a cloud of incense smoke to protect them from the brightly shining glory of God. The incense represented the righteousness of Christ, and if mixed with our prayers ("all saints", Revelation 8:3-4) we too may enter boldly into the most holy when we are protected by much prayer and guidance.
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He has consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh; and having an High Priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water". Hebrews 10:19-22.
Thus we may have a complete picture of Him who tabernacled, or, "dwelt amongst us", and how we may approach Him, for He said, "There I will meet with the children of Israel..." John 1:14; Exodus 30:43.
The courtyard
Surrounding the tent, and separating it from the "common" ground, was a white linen hanging 5 cubits (7.5ft) high, marking the boundaries of the courtyard. In this area, immediately to the right of the entrance on the "side of the north", was the meeting place between priest and penitent who was now "inside" the righteousness of Christ, growing "in grace". 2 Peter 3:18. Here the individual's offering had hands laid on it and its throat was cut.
Even though "Show us the Father" (John 14:8) was a request in the time of Jesus' sojourn on earth, it was the believing and converted "Christian" who was expected to walk in through the gateway into the sanctuary courtyard from the first moment of its existence. Thus it is written;
"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just [the justified one] shall live by his faith". Habakkuk 2:4
The courtyard represented the special place on earth where God met with His people, while the building within the courtyard, the two-roomed tabernacle, represented the area in heaven where Jesus does His public work. Therefore to come into the courtyard without the circumcision and passover spiritual experience of "justification" was to act out the symbolism without the power and was a waste of time and energy.
Testimonies Vol. 6, 366.001
The church of God below is one with the church of God above. Believers on the earth and the beings in heaven who have never fallen constitute one church. Every heavenly intelligence is interested in the assemblies of the saints who on earth meet to worship God. In the inner court of heaven they listen to the testimony of the witnesses for Christ in the outer court on earth, and the praise and thanksgiving from the worshipers below is taken up in the heavenly anthem, and praise and rejoicing sound through the heavenly courts because Christ has not died in vain for the fallen sons of Adam.
While angels drink from the fountainhead, the saints on earth drink of the pure streams flowing from the throne, the streams that make glad the city of our God.
Oh, that we could all realize the nearness of heaven to earth! When the earthborn children know it not, they have angels of light as their companions. A silent witness guards every soul that lives, seeking to draw that soul to Christ. As long as there is hope, until men resist the Holy Spirit to their eternal ruin, they are guarded by heavenly intelligences. Let us all bear in mind that in every assembly of the saints below are angels of God, listening to the testimonies, songs, and prayers. Let us remember that our praises are supplemented by the choirs of the angelic host above.
Because the women of Israel were entrusted with the care and teaching of the young they were too busy to play-act, and were excused in the most part from attending the ceremonies which, after all, were only pictures of the realities. Satan, however, soon turned this situation around by making the picture into the reality in many male minds. He then persuaded them to make it a rule that women were not allowed to enter the temple area and this is how most have understood the Old Testament times. Satan was (and still is) desperately scared of the female understanding of God’s ways and wanted them out of it! But, as we have seen, those who did come were very welcome in God’s sight. [See "The Perfect Christian" for more on this].
The Scriptures mainly use the male pronoun to describe the offerer in the sanctuary but those who follow the Lamb should remember that He also intends us to read "she" for "he" and "her" for "his".
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