Reason # 3 – The
Seat of Christ
Earlier, I wrote that
the Ark of the Covenant represents
the character, ways and government of
God. In effect, this is the essence
of God. God designed the Earthy
tabernacle to teach men and women
about His essence without an
overpowering spectacle. Even the
tabernacle itself was covered with
black sealskins. (Exodus 36:19) In
other words, God could have
“wowed” the Israelites with
a Sinai cathedral dwarfing the
all-to-familiar pyramids of Egypt. He
could have ensconced Himself in some
lofty and glorious grandeur that
would have embarrassed Pharaoh and
the Philistines. He could have easily
intimidated the Israelites into
submission by showing great displays
of power, miracles, signs and
wonders. On several occasions, God
did use marvelous miracles on behalf
of Israel, but He does not want to be
worshiped because He happens to be a
great king, who has great authority
and owns everything. (Psalms 95:3;
Malachi 1:14) Rather, God wants His
children to worship Him because of
the truth about His essence. (John
4:24) The more they understand about
His character, the more they will
appreciate His ways and government.
God seeks our worship for our good,
not His. God will not force the
worship pf one creature because He is
love. Jesus’ life is an
excellent example of this point. He
could have chosen any parents He
wanted, but He chose to live and look
like an ordinary person because the
understanding of the character, ways
and government of God are of greater
value than glory.
Therefore, here is why
I believe the Table of Presence
represents the throne of God: During
the days of the Earthy tabernacle,
the Ark of the Covenant was the focus
of worship. The Shekinah dwelt in the
Most Holy Place because God’s
character, ways and government were
to be the focus of God’s
instruction, for man and His glory
rested on that aspect of temple
service. However, the evidence
indicates that the Table of Presence
was a source of blessing, in addition
to being physically located on the
north side of the temple. Since God
is more interested in our worship
than His glory, the Ark of the
Covenant was hidden from view. The
Table of the Presence symbolized His
presence and represented the throne
of God. If this is true, then the
physical location of Jesus makes a
great deal of sense. The Bible says
that Jesus sits at the right hand of
the Father. (Hebrews 1:3) This places
Jesus (the Shekinah) where you would
expect a mediator to sit, between
the throne of God and the Ark of the
Covenant.
Summary – Temple
Furniture
We have briefly
examined the tabernacle furniture,
learned the purpose of each item, how
it relates to the Heavenly Temple.
Much more could be said, so much
more, that it could fill many books.
God is thoughtful and deliberate in
all He does and the Earthy/Heavenly
temple parallel is no exception.
Remember that the essential purpose
for understanding the Earthy
tabernacle today is its parallel
operation with Heaven’s Temple.
The revelation of law, sin, penalty,
grace and the orderly ways of God to
redeem man is revealed in His Temple.
Now to summarize this section on the
temple furniture:
1.
Services at the Alter of Burnt
Offering pointed forward to the death
of man’s perfect substitute,
Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.
2.
Daily services at the Altar of
Incense pointed backward to the
intercession of Jesus Christ on
behalf of sinful man. Jesus daily
stands between the demands of the law
and guilty man.
3.
The Ark of the Covenant represents
the character, ways and government of
God.
4.
The Laver illustrates the daily
spiritual cleansing that sinful man
needs.
5.
The Lampstand represents the agents
of God who are to let their light
shine for the glory of God.
6.
The Table of the Presence represents
the throne of God.
Temple Feasts
Temple services were
augmented with six annual feasts.
These feasts also reveal certain
aspects of God’s PLAN to save
man. God required all males to attend
three of the feasts: The Feast of
Unleavened Bread, The Feast of Weeks
and the Feast of Ingathering. (Exodus
23: 14-17) Three of the annual feasts
were in the Spring, and three were in
the Fall. These annual feasts always
occurred in the first, third and
seventh months. The timing of the
appointed feasts introduces a problem
to today’s Bible student. What
month was considered the first month?
When did the year begin? How did
ancient people agree on dates and
times with very limited long-distance
communication? God was very specific
in regards to the timing of these
annual feasts, so He gave the Hebrews
a very cleaver calendar to solve the
problem of determining time-periods.
God foreknew that the Hebrews would
be scattered hundreds of miles apart,
so He provided a calendar to be used
by everyone so they could know
current time without sending a runner
to Jerusalem to determine the day and
month.
Observable Calendar
Before the Exodus, the
Egyptians (and consequently, the
Hebrew) observed a Summer-to-Summer
calendar of 365 days. However, two
weeks before the Exodus, God
initiated a new calendar. God
established the first day, first
month and first year by divine
decree. (Exodus 12: 1-12; 40:17) The
importance and accuracy of this
calendar are demonstrated by the fact
that God, Himself, said: “This
is day one, month one, year
one.” A year in God’s
calendar is a solar year. The
fulfillment of the 70 weeks of
prophecy of Daniel 9 proves this
point. The decree of Artaxerxes in
457 B.C. extends to 34 A. D. – a
period of 490 solar years. God’s
calendar reaches from Spring equinox
to Spring equinox. The equinox offers
precise astronomical positioning
twice a year – once in the
Spring and once in the Fall. The Fall
equinox is exactly halfway through
the solar year. (A solar year is 365
days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 46
seconds in length.) Further, each
equinox is easy to observe because
the sun crosses the celestial equator
at the equinox and shadows begin to
move in the opposite direction.
The Julian/Gregorian
calendar (named after Julius Caesar
who implemented it in 45 B.C. and
Pope Gregory XIII who corrected
Caesar’s calendar in 1582) is
still uses today. It is also a solar
calendar, but it reaches from
Winter-to-Winter and a new year
always begins every 365 (or 366) days
with January 1, regardless of the
phase of the moon. God’s
calendar, however, is a solar
calendar. A new year begins with the
first sight of a new moon after
the Spring equinox. For example, in
1994 the Spring equinox occurred on
March 20. The first new moon after
March 20 was April 11. (A new moon is
totally dark and a full moon is fully
illuminated.) If a tiny crescent of
the new moon could be seen during the
night of April 12, then a new year
began on April 12 and the timing of
religious feast (Passover, ect.) for
that year would be established
accordingly. Incidentally, this
method of reckoning always places
Passover (the first feast) and the
Feast of Ingathering (the last feast
of the year) on a full moon. The
chart below shows how the new year
began in 1994 according to God’s
calendar.
After reviewing the
chart, you might ask, “How were
the 22 days between the equinox on
March 20 and the beginning of the new
year on April 12 reckoned?”
Answer: They were considered as part
of the previous year. In other words,
a new year does not begin at the
Spring equinox unless the tiny
crescent of the new moon is observed
during the night of the Spring
equinox. Therefore, the last month of
the old year continues until the
crescent of the new moon is seen
– even if it goes past the
Spring equinox. This means that it is
possible under God’s calendar,
depending upon the position of the
Sun and Moon, to have a year longer
or shorter than 365.24 days.
Incidentally,
God’s solar-lunar method of
reckoning time always places the
Passover between April 3 and May 2.
This timeframe insured the
availability of ripe barley that was
waved before the Lord at the time of
Passover. (Leviticus 23: 5-14)
Today, orthodox Jews claim that
God’s calendar is not a
solar-lunar calendar, but rather a
lunar calendar. If this were true, it
would mean that a year is 10 or 11
days short of a solar year. For
example, if a lunar calendar were
used, the 70 weeks of years (Daniel
9) would be 14 years short of the
required 490 solar years or 475.39
years. History does not confirm a
prophetic fulfillment of Daniel 9
during this time frame. In addition,
barley begins to ripen around the
first April in Canaan. A lunar
calendar would place the Passover too
early in the growing season for
ancients Jews to offer a sheaf of ripe
barley before the Lord.
Another point should
be mentioned. After the Babylonian
captivity, the Jews incorporated a
Fall-to-Fall calendar. This was done
to synchronize their civil records
with the dating scheme used
throughout the kingdom of the
Persians. However, the Fall-to-Fall
civil calendar of the Medes and
Persians and the Spring-to-Spring
calendar of God were never confused,
merged or used interchangeably by the
Jews. In fact, Bible writers
sometimes juxtaposed both calendars
to secure a specific date. For
example, notice these two passages:
Kislev 9th
Nissan 9th
- “The
words of Nehemiah son of
Hacaliah: In the month of
Kislev in the twentieth year,
while I was in the citadel of
Susa…” (Nehemiah
1:1)
- “In
the month of Nisan in the
twentieth year of King
Artaxerxes, when wine was
brought for him, I took the
wine and gave it to the king.
I had not been sad in his
presence before…” (Nehemiah
2:1)
In the first text,
Nehemiah associates the month of
Kislev (ninth month of God’s
Spring-to-Spring year) with the 20th
year [of Artaxerxes], according to
the Fall-to-Fall Persian calendar.
Later, Nehemiah dates another event
in the month of Nissan (first month
of God’s year) as though it were
still the 20th year of
Artaxerxes. Scholars have asked,
“Why didn’t Nehemiah
increment the year of Artaxerxes to
21?” Simply this – the year
was not incremented to 21 because the
king was still in his 20th
year. Consider the chart above and
see the harmony of this reckoning.
You can see that
Kislev, God’s ninth month, and
Nissan, the first month of God’s
new year, fell within the 20th
year of Artaxerxes reign, even when
the king’s 20th year
is reckoned from Fall-to-Fall. Today,
Americans reckon time in a similar
way without confusion. When producing
new cars, auto manufacturers observe
a Fall-to-Fall calendar for each
model year. New cars appear in auto
dealer’s showrooms in September,
even though the calendar year begins
on January 1.
One last point needs
to be made before leaving the matter
of calendation behind. Notice this
text: “Celebrate the Feast of
Harvest with the firstfruits of the
crops you sow in your field. Celebrate
the Feast of Ingathering at the end
of the year, when you gather in your
crops from the field.” (Exodus
23:16) Some people have questioned
how the feast of Ingathering (also
known as the Feast of Tabernacles)
could be “at the end of the
year” since the feast itself
begins on the 15th day of
the seventh month. (Leviticus 23:34)
The context of this language has to
do with agriculture. The Feast of
Ingathering marked the end of
the year’s growing season. Some
have claimed that this text proves
that the Jews observed a Fall-to-Fall
calendar prior to the Babylonian
captivity. However, No Biblical or
archeological evidence has been found
to support this claim. Think about
the specifics of this text. How could
one celebrate the Feast of
Ingathering and the end of the year
if the feast occurs on the 15th
day of the seventh month! (Leviticus
23: 34) The seventh month is not near
the end of the year! If the feast
were celebrated near the end of the
year, then the Lord would have placed
the feast during the 12th
month.
I have introduced the
subject of solar-lunar calendation so
you can appreciate how God enabled
the Hebrews to mark the passage of
time, especially the timing of the
feasts. In addition to the six annual
feasts, God required a feast to
coincide with the observance of each
new moon. How thoughtful of God! By
placing a “monthly party”
on the arrival of new moons, the Jews
unwittingly documented the passage of
time for those of us who would live
thousands of years later.
The Passover
The story of
Israel’s miraculous deliverance
from slavery in Egypt has significant
meaning. Remember that god not only
designed the deliverance process, He
also required Israel to perpetually
commemorate the events surrounding
the Exodus each Spring, beginning the
14th day of the first
month. (Exodus 12: 10-14) There are
four lessons surrounding the Exodus
that are particularly noteworthy, so
pay close attention to the parallels
as they relate to end-time events:
1.
God tested the loyalty of the Hebrews
through a Sabbath Rest Test before He
delivered them.
2.
God tested the faith of Hebrews and
Egyptians by demanding, “blood
be posted on the door posts” the
night He passed over the nation.
3.
God punished Egypt with ten plagues
because of rebellion.
4.
God destroyed Pharaoh and his army
because of defiant rebellion.
Exodus/End-Time
Parallels
1. A test of loyalty:
First, most Bible students understand
that a time is coming when no one
will be able to buy or sell unless he
receives the mark of the beast. The
mark belongs to a “beast”
that will appear in the near future.
This beast is none other than that
great fallen angel, Lucifer. He is
symbolized as a “beast” in
Revelation 13:11 because he will come
with great deceptive power. John
describes Jesus as the lamb in
Revelation 5:6. Interestingly, John
describes Lucifer as having
“lamblike” appearance to
the people of Earth, but speaking
like the great red dragon of
Revelation 12. Lucifer is the great
imposter who will physically appear
in the form of a man-god with his
fallen angels. He will have a mark
that represents evil. The widely
known number “666” will be
tattooed on the right hand of those
who submit to him and his mark will
also be his assumed name which will
be tattooed on the foreheads of his
lieutenants. Those people who choose
to worship or submit to the demands
of the devil will openly display
these marks. This ancient Antichrist
(the devil) will demand that all
people who oppose his laws and
authority be executed. (Revelation
13:15) In this setting, God will test
the loyalty of all people on earth
through a Sabbath Rest Test just
before deliverance comes – just
like He tested the Hebrews before
they entered the Promised Land. The
prophet John states very clearly that
the remnant that remain loyal to God
during Earth’s last days will
obey God’s commandments.
(Revelation 12:17), even to the point
of forfeiting their lives.
(Revelation 6:9) God’s fourth
commandment will become the focus of
this worldwide contest. God requires
the human race to rest on the seventh
day of the week. (Exodus 20:8-11) The
devil, imposter that he is, will
exalt the sacredness of a counterfeit
day of worship and demand that
everyone render homage to him on that
day. The contest will be simple to
understand, just like the Sabbath
contest was easy to understand in
Pharaoh’s day.
2. A test of faith:
The events surrounding the
‘Passover” contain three
important parallels: First, God
Himself, passed over the land and
examined each household for Himself
to see if blood was properly applied
over the doorposts. (Exodus 12:13)
This close scrutiny parallels the
final judgment of mankind when each
heart will be examined to see if the
blood of Jesus has been applied. The
great question asked of every person
in the judgment is this: “Did
you live by faith?” (2
Corinthians 5:10; Romans 8:1) Second,
the Bible is plain about the human
condition – everyone has sinned
against God and deserves to die. The
wages of sin is death by execution.
(Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23) The
parallel is this: The guilt that
rested upon the Hebrews before the
Exodus is the same guilt that
rests upon all sinners today. Yes,
God allows for the transfer of guilt,
but the application of blood (from
the Lamb of God) still must be placed
on the doorsteps of the heart
(submission to the will of God), in
order to be saved. The blood on the
doorstep in Egypt revealed the faith
of those people who believed that (1)
God would pass over, and (2) God
would accept the blood of the Lamb.
The people that believed the Word of
God acted accordingly were saved.
(James 2:17) In days to come, the
will of God will be fully proclaimed
to every nation as a testimony.
(Matthew 24:14) Then, the actions of
people will reveal their faith or
their great rebellion! The question
that will confront the inhabitants of
Earth will be: “Who will receive
Jesus as their Passover Lamb? Who
will depend upon His shed blood for
salvation?”
Finally, God did not
execute the first born in Egypt that
night, whether man or
Beast, Hebrew or
Egyptian, without warning. The object
lesson here is twofold. First, God
will warn the world of His actions.
Second, He wants the world to
understand a profound point: His law
cannot be changed. In fact, when
Jesus offered to be man’s
substitute, the Father had no
alternative but to execute the
firstborn over all creation! (Romans
8:29; Colossians 1:15) Jesus is
called the Firstborn of creation
because of His preeminence over all
created beings. This title firstborn
is often used by men to indicate the
first-born child. However, in the
United States, we also use the term
“First Lady” to represent a
preeminent position (the wife of the
President of the U.S.). The second
context is how Paul used the term
“Firstborn” to represent
Christ, for Jesus has always been an
eternal member of the Godhead. By
killing (or threatening to kill) the
firstborn of Egypt, God revealed the
sacrifice He would have to make for
the salvation of man. This drama also
reveals that God would someday kill
His firstborn Son because the PLAN of
salvation requires the substitute to
die according to the demands of the
law. Jesus became sin for us, so He
had to be executed as a sinner. (2
Corinthians 5:21; Revelation 20:9)
The killing of the firstborn becomes
significant when we realize how the
first-born male was regarded in
ancient times. First-born males were
viewed as “much more
special” than the other
offspring because the first-born was
heir to the family name and blessing.
3. Ten plagues –
result of rebellion: The ten plagues
that fell on Egypt reveal two
important truths First, we have to
marvel at the rebellion of Pharaoh
after reading the narrative in the
Bible. His kingdom was decimated by
the plagues and yet, he continued to
rebel against the authority of the
Most High God. What does
Pharaoh’s mindset say about man?
Paul wrote: “The sinful mind
is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God’s law, nor can it do
so.” (Romans 8:7) When we
consider the end-time parallel,
remember that a time is coming when
the authority and the will of God
will be just as plainly presented to
the inhabitants of the Earth as it
was to Pharaoh. Unfortunately, many
people will respond the same way
Pharaoh did. (Revelation 11:8)
Second, the Bible is very clear that
God is going to punish the
inhabitants of Earth with a series of
14 plagues will be real, painful and
deadly. However, the good news is
this: The seven last plagues
(Revelation 16) will not affect the
children of God, just as the last
eight plagues in Egypt did not affect
the Hebrews.
4.
Destroyed because of defiant
rebellion: This parallel should not
be hard to grasp. At the end of time,
Satan is going to lead the armies of
the world into conflict with the
Almighty. God will completely destroy
His enemies just as He destroyed
Pharaoh and his army. (Revelation
19:11-21)
God carefully designed
these four object lessons so the
Passover’s perpetual observance
would continuously keep the issues
that actually concern man’s
salvation before the minds of the
Hebrews. Did the Hebrews appreciate
these lessons? If they did, it was
never for very long. In fact, history
indicates that the celebration of
Passover became an outward religious
ritual having little or no
transforming effect upon those who
commemorated the event. How sad that
the true significance of the Passover
was largely lost by those who
observed it because they failed to
search beneath the surface of this
ceremonial law.
The Feast of
Unleavened Bread
“Celebrate the
Feast of Unleavened Bread, because it
was on this very day that I brought
your divisions out of Egypt.
Celebrate this day as a lasting
ordinance for the generations to
come. In the first month you are to
eat bread made without yeast, from
the evening of the fourteenth day
until the evening of the twenty-first
day. For seven days no yeast is to be
found in your houses. And whoever
eats anything with yeast in it must
be cut off from the community of
Israel, whether he is an alien or
native-born. Eat nothing made with
yeast. Wherever you live, you must
eat unleavened bread.” (Exodus
12: 17-20)
: 1 : 2 : 3 : 4 : 5 : 6 :
page 4 of 6
