If I could sum up the reason and impetus of this website in one brief statement it would be: A proper understanding of the sanctuary teaches us something very special about the 3 articles of furniture in the first apartment. These 3 articles are: (1) Table of Shewbread (2) Lampstand (3) Altar of incense (prayers of God’s people) These items of furniture are important and significant. They were in every sanctuary that the Hebrews built. From the original sanctuary in the wilderness, to Solomons Temple built around 950 BC. This lasted for 400 years until destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC. This was replaced by Zerubbabel’s Temple built by the returning exiles. It lasted from 444 BC until 20 BC. This was replaced by Herod’s Temple which lasted from 20 BC until AD 64. This was the temple in which Jesus walked. It was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. All of these temples housed these 3 simple articles of furniture. Outside was the altar of burnt offering which is covered in our article ‘The Burnt Offering’. These 3 articles of furniture are so significant as to have been included in every one of these Hebrew sanctuaries. They are little appreciated, even today.
These 3 can be represented in a simple formula: The finished work of Christ (table of shewbread) + The work of the Holy Spirit (lampstand) + Prayer and Intercession by those who are called to pray (altar of incense) = SALVATION (This is covered in more detail in the article ‘A Message For Sabbath Keepers’)
The sanctuary service in the Old Testament is simply a microcosm of the plan of salvation. It is an illustration of how God’s good news (the gospel) works. What does the altar of incense signify? God has seen fit to make us a part of the salvation, not of ourselves, but others. This is a truth that needs to sink in. We who are believers and have tasted the first fruits of the Spirit can do nothing to add to our own salvation. But the altar of incense is telling us that we have the privilege of praying and interceding for others.
This may explain why we are placing all this emphasis on the Old Testament sanctuary.
We have replaced these articles of furniture with false assurances. We have replaced them with church membership. We have replaced them with a mere adherence to a set of doctrines. Fundamental beliefs will not save us.
There is a spiritual meaning to the lessons of the sanctuary.
…..see, our holy place, our beauty, and our glory have been laid waste; the Gentiles have profaned them. 1 Maccabees 2:12 NRSV
To those who can understand, the Psalmist’s words are relevant:
Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs. They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees. And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers. They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground. Psalm 74:4-7 ESV
Is this the sort of thing that we are learning at church? The whole message of the New Testament or the ‘New Covenant’ is that God will lead people individually through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. This is stated in Scripture in both the old and the new testament.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Jeremiah 31:31-34 ESV And in the New Testament: Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. John 16:7-8,13 ESV
This is a very personal work between the individual believer and God. While church membership is important for fellowship, encouragment and inspiration, the real work is happening at a deeper personal level. This has been more fully covered in the article “A Message For Sabbath Keepers”. The reader is directed to this article. This gives new meaning to the word ‘intercession’. God has ordained that this is the way it is to be. Genuine prayer and intercession is behind the marvelous spread of the everlasting gospel happening in the world at this time.
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