Participants: Stephen Bohr
Series Code: HWIS
Program Code: HWIS000001
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00:33 Shall we bow our heads for prayer.
00:38 Our loving heavenly Father, as we begin this series 00:44 on the Hebrew sanctuary that you gave as a model 00:49 of the plan of salvation, we ask, Father, that You 00:53 will enlighten minds and that You will soften our hearts 00:56 so that we might understand the great truths that we find 01:00 in the sanctuary. 01:01 And not only understand them in our minds, but also apply the 01:05 lessons in our hearts. 01:08 We ask for the presence of Your Holy Spirit, 01:11 for human minds cannot understand the great things 01:15 of God unaided. 01:18 So we plead for your presence. 01:20 And we thank You, Father, for the privilege of 01:22 approaching Your throne boldly, because we do it in the precious 01:26 name of Jesus, our Savior and Lord. 01:30 Amen. 01:33 I'd like to invite you to turn in your Bibles with me to 01:35 the book of Psalms and I'm going to Psalm 73, 01:40 and I would like to read verse 3 and then verses 12 through 14, 01:45 and then we will jump down to verse 17. 01:50 This psalm was written by Asaph. 01:53 You know, many of the psalms were written by David. 01:56 But this particular psalm was written by 01:58 an individual called Asaph. 02:01 And basically, what Asaph is struggling with is 02:05 the prosperity of the boastful and of the wicked. 02:11 And I want you to notice how he expresses this envy 02:15 at the beginning, and then how he answers his question about 02:19 why the wicked prosper. 02:23 Let's begin by reading Psalm 73 and verse 3. 02:28 "For I was envious of the boastful when I saw 02:34 the prosperity of the wicked." 02:38 Then we jump down to verse 12. 02:41 "Behold, these are the ungodly, who are always at ease; 02:46 they increase in riches." 02:50 And then he says, "Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, 02:55 washed my hands in innocence. 02:59 For all day long I have been plagued, 03:03 and chastened every morning." 03:06 In other words, what use is it to cleanse your life, 03:10 to be righteous, because the wicked prosper 03:14 and the righteous are chastened. 03:16 But now I want you to notice the answer that he found 03:21 to his problem. 03:23 It's found in verse 17. 03:26 It says there, "Until I went into the sanctuary of God; 03:33 then I understood their end." 03:37 There was something in the sanctuary, in the Hebrew 03:40 sanctuary, that explained that it is good to cleanse your heart 03:46 from sin, and that the wicked who prosper, the boastful 03:53 who are successful in life, will eventually receive a just reward 04:01 for their deeds. 04:03 The Hebrew sanctuary has the explanations 04:07 that many times leave questions in the mind. 04:11 Now I'd like to begin by mentioning the sanctuaries 04:16 that are brought to view in Scripture. 04:19 Particularly the earthly sanctuaries. 04:23 Now the first sanctuary that was built, of course, was the 04:26 sanctuary in the wilderness in the times of Moses. 04:30 This sanctuary was built around the year 1445 BC. 04:36 And I'd like to read Exodus 25 and verse 8, 04:40 and then we'll go down to verse 40, 04:43 where this particular tabernacle or this sanctuary is spoken of. 04:49 Exodus 25 and verse 8, here God is speaking. 04:53 And He says... 05:02 And then in verse 40, God told Moses to make this sanctuary 05:06 according to the pattern that He showed him in the mountain. 05:10 It says there... 05:21 And then in Exodus 36 through 39, we find 05:26 the building of this sanctuary that God told Moses to build. 05:32 Now after the sanctuary had been built, 05:35 all of its different parts, we find in Exodus chapter 40 05:40 and verse 34 that the Shekinah Glory of God 05:44 entered the Hebrew sanctuary. 05:47 Let's read that verse, Exodus 40 and verse 34. 05:52 The sanctuary has been built, all of its parts are complete. 05:56 And now we find these words. 05:58 "Then the cloud covered the tabernacle of meeting, 06:02 and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." 06:07 So this is the first sanctuary that is mentioned 06:10 in Holy Scripture that was built on earth; 06:14 the Hebrew sanctuary at the times of Moses. 06:19 But then God had Israel make a more permanent structure. 06:24 Because the sanctuary in the wilderness was actually a tent 06:27 that they could move around. 06:29 But when Israel entered the Promised Land, 06:31 God told David, and then Solomon, to build 06:35 a more permanent structure. 06:38 Which came to be known as Solomon's temple. 06:41 Now that's a misnomer because it wasn't Solomon's temple. 06:44 Solomon built it, but it was really the Lord's temple. 06:48 This temple was built around the year 960 BC. 06:54 And to give you a little bit of background, 06:57 if you read in 2 Chronicles chapter 6, you'll find that 07:05 Solomon offered a prayer after the building of this temple. 07:10 And then in 2 Chronicles chapter 7 verses 1 and 2, 07:14 once again the Shekinah Glory of God entered the sanctuary, 07:19 or the temple that Solomon had built. 07:22 Let's read from 2 Chronicles chapter 7 and verses 1 and 2. 07:50 And so once again, we find the building of a sanctuary. 07:55 This is a permanent temple in the year 960 BC. 08:00 Built by Solomon. 08:01 The building is actually described in 08:04 2 Chronicles chapters 3, and 4, and 5. 08:09 And then in chapter 6, we have Solomon's prayer. 08:12 And in chapter 7, we have the Shekinah Glory 08:15 entering the temple that Solomon built. 08:19 But because of the apostasy of Israel, this temple 08:23 was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar in the year 586. 08:29 And of course, Israel was taken captive for a period of 70 years 08:34 to Babylon. 08:36 And there was a promise that after they were in Babylon for 08:39 70 years, they would be able to go back to their land, 08:43 re-establish their religion, and build the temple once again. 08:49 So after the captivity, in the year 536 they went back 08:53 to their land, and they built the temple. 08:56 And the temple was finished in the year 515 BC. 09:01 This temple is spoken of in Haggai chapter 2 09:05 and verses 6 through 9. 09:08 Now there's something very interesting about this temple 09:11 that was built after the captivity. 09:13 And that is that this temple had no Shekinah Glory go into it. 09:19 In fact, when this temple was finished, many of those 09:23 who had seen Solomon's temple actually cried 09:27 when they saw how inferior this temple was 09:31 to the temple that Solomon had built. 09:34 Let's read about this temple in Haggai chapter 2 09:38 and verses 6 through 9. 10:12 And then comes this promise. 10:16 The latter temple is the temple that is built 10:18 after the captivity. 10:25 The former is Solomon's temple. 10:35 Do you know the Jews are still trying to explain 10:38 how this prophecy was fulfilled. 10:41 Because the temple that was built after the captivity, 10:44 at least outwardly, never reached the magnitude of glory 10:50 that the temple built by Solomon had reached. 10:53 What was meant here when God gave the promise 10:57 that this post exilic temple would be filled with glory 11:02 and that the glory of this latter temple would be 11:04 greater than the former temple? 11:07 The fact is that this was fulfilled because Jesus Christ 11:11 Himself walked in the courts of this temple. 11:16 Now His glory, according to Scripture, was veiled. 11:20 But He brought peace to this place because He was 11:24 the Prince of Peace. 11:27 Now this temple was actually beautified and remodeled 11:32 and enlarged by Herod the Great. 11:35 We find a description of this in John chapter 2 and verse 20. 11:40 Actually, it took 46 years for Herod the Great to remodel 11:47 and to enlarge and to beautify this post exilic temple. 11:52 It says there in John chapter 2 and verse 20... 12:06 Of course, Jesus had said, "Destroy this temple 12:09 and in three days I will raise it up." 12:12 And they thought that He was talking about the temple 12:14 that Herod had remodeled that had taken 46 years 12:19 to remodel and to beautify. 12:22 So we find these temples in Scripture. 12:25 We find the sanctuary in the wilderness, 12:27 we find the temple built by Solomon, 12:30 we find the temple which was built after the 12:32 exile in the year 515, and then the temple that was beautified 12:37 and enlarged by Herod the Great. 12:41 Now the questions is, what did these sanctuaries represent? 12:45 What did these sanctuaries symbolize? 12:48 Did God just build these sanctuaries because He 12:51 wanted to dwell among Israel? 12:53 Or was there a particular reason why God told Israel 12:58 to build these sanctuaries? 13:00 The fact is that these earthly sanctuaries were symbolic, 13:05 or represented several things. 13:07 I want you to notice the first thing that these sanctuaries 13:11 represented or symbolized. 13:13 The earthly sanctuary actually was a symbol 13:17 of the heavenly sanctuary. 13:18 It was a scale model of the heavenly sanctuary. 13:22 God wanted Israel to understand by looking at the 13:25 earthly sanctuary things about the heavenly sanctuary. 13:29 Let's go to Hebrews chapter 8 and verses 1 through 5 13:33 where we find very clearly that the earthly sanctuary 13:36 was a symbol, or was an illustration, of the 13:39 much greater heavenly sanctuary. 13:42 It says there in Hebrews chapter 8 and verse 1... 14:27 And now notice what it says about the earthly sanctuary. 14:37 What was the earthly sanctuary? 14:39 It was a what? 14:40 It was a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. 15:01 So the earthly sanctuary was only a small scale illustration 15:07 of the heavenly sanctuary to give an idea of what 15:11 God's heavenly sanctuary is like. 15:14 Also Hebrews 9 verses 11 and 12 tells us about this comparison 15:20 between the earthly sanctuary and the heavenly sanctuary. 15:24 It says there in Hebrews 9 verses 11 and 12... 15:26 And I'm reading from the King James Version, 15:28 which is more accurate. 15:30 It says, "But Christ being come an high priest 15:34 of good things to come..." 15:35 Now notice. 15:37 "...by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, 15:40 not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 15:47 neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood 15:52 He entered into the Holy Place, having obtained 15:56 eternal redemption for us." 15:58 Notice once again that the true tabernacle, 16:02 the heavenly sanctuary, is a more perfect tabernacle 16:06 not made with hands. 16:09 In other words, the earthly sanctuary had the purpose 16:12 of serving as a scale model to illustrate great truths 16:16 about the greater heavenly sanctuary. 16:19 So one reason why God had all of these earthly sanctuaries built 16:24 was because He wanted people to catch a vision 16:27 of the heavenly sanctuary. 16:29 But these earthly temples represented 16:32 other things as well. 16:33 And we're going to study this in this seminar. 16:36 These temples also represented our body temple. 16:41 Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 19 and 20. 16:45 You see, the sanctuary is an illustration of us, 16:49 of our body temple. 16:50 In fact, we have a whole lecture that is titled, 16:52 The Two Temples, towards the end of this series 16:55 where I'm going to compare the sanctuary with our body temple. 16:59 God gave these temples to illustrate plans that He had 17:02 for our own personal body temple. 17:05 It says in 1 Corinthians chapter 6 verses 19 and 20, 17:15 See, the Shekinah is the Holy Spirit, in the case of 17:18 our body temple. 17:34 So in other words, another reason why God had these 17:38 sanctuaries built is because He wanted to give great lessons 17:41 about our own personal body temple. 17:46 Incidentally, these temples were also built to give great lessons 17:52 about the body temple of Jesus. 17:55 Notice what we find in John chapter 2 and 17:57 verses 19 through 21. 18:00 John chapter 2 and verses 19 through 21 18:03 See, these earthly sanctuaries also illustrated great truths 18:06 about Jesus and His body temple. 18:09 It says there in John chapter 2 and verse 19... 18:30 Now notice verse 21. 18:36 "Therefore when He had risen from the dead, 18:39 the disciples remembered that He had said this to them and they 18:43 believed the Scripture and the word which Jesus had said." 18:48 So the temple was actually symbolic of the body temple 18:52 of Jesus, interestingly enough. 18:54 So the temple was given, not only to give lessons about 18:58 the heavenly sanctuary, about our body temple, 19:02 but also about the body temple of Jesus Christ. 19:06 But there's another dimension to these earthly temples. 19:09 These earthly temples were also given as an illustration 19:13 of the Christian church, which in Scripture is called 19:18 the temple of God. 19:19 Go with me to Ephesians chapter 2 19:21 and verses 19 through 22. 19:24 Ephesians chapter 2 and verses 19 through 22. 19:29 Here we find that these earthly temples, or sanctuaries, 19:33 represented the Christian church. 19:36 It says there in verse 19... 19:48 Now notice the spiritual temple. 19:54 See, these are not stone foundations. 19:57 The foundations of this temple are the apostles and prophets, 20:01 Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone. 20:04 See, the temple had a chief cornerstone 20:06 that held it all together. 20:08 And now notice that we are the building. 20:10 It says in verse 21... 20:26 Is there a Shekinah in this church temple? 20:28 Absolutely. 20:38 So these earthly temples were given to teach great lessons 20:42 about the heavenly sanctuary, about Jesus Christ, 20:46 about our body temple, and about the Christian church. 20:50 In fact, later on we're going to have a lecture where we 20:52 talk about the antichrist sitting in the temple of God 20:56 showing himself to be God. 20:58 Some people think that somebody is going to rise over in the 21:01 Middle East and sit in a literally rebuilt Jewish temple. 21:05 Is it just possible that he's going to sit within 21:08 the Christian church itself, and that's the temple 21:11 that Scripture is talking about? 21:13 I believe so. 21:14 Now let's talk a little bit about the geography 21:17 of the sanctuary, or of the temple. 21:20 And you'll find an illustration here on the platform. 21:24 The only one that is not in order is the central one 21:29 where you have the priest and you have the lamb. 21:32 I put that one there because that's central 21:34 to the sanctuary service. 21:35 Without that, you don't have anything. 21:37 All of the other panels are in the exact order in which 21:42 the sanctuary was built. 21:44 Now we're suppose to read from east to west because 21:47 the sanctuary was actually, the entrance to the sanctuary was 21:51 actually on the east side. 21:52 Which means that when people worshiped towards the sanctuary, 21:56 their backs were to the sun. 21:58 That was intentional. 21:59 Because in antiquity, people worshiped with their faces 22:03 towards the sun, according to Ezekiel chapter 8. 22:06 But because the entrance to the sanctuary was on the east side, 22:09 when people faced east, their backs were what? 22:12 Their backs were to the sun. 22:14 They were not to worship the sun god. 22:16 And so, you have first of all the camp. 22:21 And that's not depicted here on the platform. 22:24 You have the camp. That's where Israel lived. 22:26 That's where sinners lived. 22:28 They were the ones who needed the sanctuary. 22:30 The sanctuary encampment was actually part of 22:33 the Hebrew Sanctuary. 22:35 We usually start with the court, Holy Place, and Most Holy Place. 22:38 But the camp, we're going to find, was very, very important 22:41 in the sanctuary service. 22:43 And so the camp is the first key place of the Hebrew sanctuary. 22:48 There were three tribes that camped at each point of 22:52 the compass of the sanctuary. 22:54 And then, of course, we have the court. 22:56 Which is kind of like a yard without a roof on it. 23:00 And the court had two key pieces of furniture. 23:03 As you went in through the gate into the court, 23:06 you had the altar of sacrifice. 23:09 That's where all of the animals that were sacrificed 23:12 were placed and they were burned. 23:14 And then a little bit further in, before you got to the 23:17 entrance of the sanctuary, you had the laver. 23:21 And so I want you to keep this in your mind. 23:24 Because every aspect of the sanctuary 23:26 is extremely important. 23:27 So you have the camp beyond all of this where Israel was camped, 23:32 where the needy sinners were living. 23:34 And then you have the altar of sacrifice. 23:38 And then you have the laver. 23:39 Both of those pieces of furniture were actually 23:42 in the court of the sanctuary. 23:44 And then you go into the tent proper. 23:47 And as you go into the tent, you go into an apartment 23:51 which is called the Holy Place of the sanctuary. 23:54 And by the way, you're going from west to east. 23:58 So as you're going in through the door, into the tent, 24:00 you look to the left, that's south, and you see 24:04 a seven branch candlestick. 24:07 And you have the illustration in your hands. 24:09 You have a seven branch candlestick that remained 24:14 lighted all the time. 24:15 It had oil all of the time. 24:18 And then as you look to the right, which is north, 24:21 you have the table of the showbread. 24:24 Twelve loaves of bread in two stacks on this golden table, 24:29 the table of the showbread. 24:31 And then straight in front of you as you go towards 24:37 the Most Holy Place, right before you go beyond the veil, 24:40 you have the golden altar of incense. 24:44 So in other words, in the Holy Place of the sanctuary, 24:47 you have three pieces of furniture. 24:49 You have in the south the seven branch candlestick. 24:54 Pure gold, 120 pounds. 24:56 We're going to study that. Of pure gold. 24:58 And then you have the table of the showbread, which is north 25:01 as you look to your right. 25:02 Twelve loaves of bread. 25:04 That is a very important number, we're going to find. 25:07 And then straight ahead of you, before you go into 25:09 the Most Holy Place, you have the golden altar of incense 25:13 where incense was burning all the time. 25:17 And then you have a veil. 25:19 And behind the veil, you have the apartment which is called 25:22 the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. 25:25 And in the Most Holy Place, you have one piece of furniture. 25:29 And you can see it over there on the far side. 25:32 You have what is called, the ark of the covenant. 25:36 And above the ark of the covenant, you have the 25:38 Shekinah Glory; the glory of God that was above the ark. 25:43 And the Bible tells us that inside the ark were the 25:49 two tables of stone that contained the Ten Commandments. 25:54 But not only were the Ten Commandments inside the 25:57 ark of the covenant beneath where the glory of God was 26:00 manifested above the mercy seat, which was the cover of the ark. 26:05 But you also had inside the ark of the covenant, 26:09 a pot of manna. 26:12 Very, very important symbolically. 26:14 You had a pot of manna, the manna that fell in the 26:17 wilderness for 40 years. 26:19 And you also had in the Most Holy Place inside the 26:23 ark of the covenant, Aaron's rod, which was a dead rod 26:28 that budded miraculously. 26:31 And so in the ark of the covenant, you have three things. 26:34 You have the tables of the law, you have a pot of manna, 26:38 and you have Aaron's rod that budded. 26:43 So is it clear in your mind the geography of the sanctuary? 26:47 Very important that we have this clear in mind, 26:49 because we're going to be referring to it time and again 26:52 as we move through this seminar. 26:54 Now let's talk about the relationship between the 26:57 earthly sanctuary and the heavenly sanctuary. 27:00 Now the earthly sanctuary was a small scale model 27:04 of the heavenly sanctuary. 27:06 In other words, it was a miniature 27:08 of the heavenly sanctuary. 27:10 The heavenly sanctuary is far greater than the 27:13 earthly sanctuary ever was. 27:15 Let's go to 1 Kings chapter 8 and verses 27 to 30. 27:21 1 Kings chapter 8 verses 27 to 30, 27:25 where it speaks about the heavenly sanctuary. 27:29 It says there... 28:06 Notice that in this earthly temple, God is looking 28:10 upon the earthly temple. 28:44 Where was God? 28:46 God was in His heavenly temple. 28:49 But He also was present through His Spirit where? 28:52 In the earthly temple. 28:53 But the earthly temple was far inferior to the heavenly temple. 28:59 Notice also Acts chapter 7 and verses 47 through 50. 29:04 Acts chapter 7 and verses 47 through 50. 29:09 Here, Stephen is speaking. 29:11 He's telling the story of Israel in Acts chapter 7. 29:16 And he says there in verse 47, "But Solomon 29:20 built Him a house..." 29:21 That is, built God a house. 29:23 "However, the Most High does not dwell 29:27 in temples made with hands..." 29:29 Where does God dwell then? 29:31 God dwells in the heavenly temple. 29:33 The earthly temple is simply a figure or a symbol. 29:38 And then it continues saying, "...as the prophet says, 29:42 'Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool. 29:46 What house will you build for Me' says the Lord. 29:50 'Or what is the place of My rest?'" 29:54 In other words, the earthly sanctuary was only a scale model 29:58 of the heavenly sanctuary. 30:00 In fact, let's notice Exodus 25 and verse 40, 30:03 which we already read. 30:04 Let's take a look at it again. 30:06 Exodus 25 and verse 40. 30:09 I'm going to include verse 8 also. 30:12 It says, "And let them make Me a sanctuary, 30:15 that I may dwell among them." 30:17 And then it says in verse 40, God speaking to Moses... 30:28 So what did God show Moses on the mountain? 30:31 God did not show Moses the heavenly sanctuary. 30:35 God showed Moses a scale model of the heavenly sanctuary. 30:40 In other words, God made a miniature 30:43 of the heavenly sanctuary. 30:44 In fact, let's notice Exodus 26 and verse 30 30:48 where we find the same idea. 30:50 Exodus 26 and verse 30. 30:53 It says... 31:04 Now we've already read Hebrews chapter 8 and verses 1 through 5 31:08 where it says that the earthly sanctuary was a copy, 31:13 the earthly sanctuary was a shadow, 31:16 of the true heavenly sanctuary. 31:18 Allow me to explain and illustrate so that we can 31:22 understand the relationship between the heavenly 31:24 and the earthly sanctuary. 31:27 Let's take the idea of the scale model. 31:29 You know, several years ago, our airport here in Fresno 31:33 was remodeled. 31:35 And I don't know if those of you who were here remember 31:39 that there was a little scale model of what the final 31:44 airport would look like. 31:46 Now you could get an idea where everything was going to be. 31:49 Where the parking was going to be, 31:51 where the terminal was going to be. 31:53 You had an idea of where everything was going to be. 31:55 But that was only a small scale model of the finished product. 32:01 In other words, what God showed Moses was a little scale model 32:06 of the heavenly sanctuary. 32:07 Because the heavenly sanctuary is so large that nothing like it 32:11 could have been built upon the earth. 32:13 Or it's kind of like taking a picture. 32:16 You know, you get a camera and you take a picture of someone. 32:20 Does the picture give you an idea about that person? 32:22 Yes. 32:24 Is the person a lot smaller in the picture? 32:26 Absolutely yes. 32:28 But does the picture give you an idea of the greater reality? 32:31 Of course. 32:32 And so it is with the sanctuary. 32:34 The sanctuary; God took a snapshot of the sanctuary 32:37 and He showed the snapshot to Moses. 32:40 And then Moses built the sanctuary according to the 32:43 scale model that God showed him. 32:45 Or we could compare it with the map. 32:48 Have you ever seen a map of California? 32:50 Let me ask you, what existed first, the map or California? 32:55 Of course, California. 32:56 And then they make a little map. 32:58 It shows you where all the cities are, the distances, 33:00 where all the rivers and where the mountains are. 33:02 You get a pretty good bird's eye view of California, right? 33:06 But it's a miniature of California. 33:09 California is much greater. 33:11 And so, the sanctuary was in that way. 33:14 God showed Moses, so to speak, a little map of the 33:18 heavenly sanctuary, which is far greater. 33:22 The Bible says that the earthly sanctuary was a shadow 33:25 of the heavenly sanctuary. 33:26 Now in order for there to be a shadow, there has to be a 33:29 reality that projects the shadow. 33:31 Let me ask you, what's more real; a shadow or the 33:35 reality that projects the shadow? 33:37 The reality. 33:38 What's more real; a picture or the person who's in the picture? 33:42 The person who is in the picture. 33:44 Let me ask you, what is more real; a scale model 33:47 or the finished product that the scale model was pointing to? 33:51 The finished product. 33:52 And so the heavenly sanctuary is very real. 33:56 But it's huge, it's immense. 34:00 The Bible tells us that millions and millions of angels 34:03 angels are in the sanctuary. 34:05 We're going to study that tomorrow morning. 34:06 Lord willing. 34:08 I mean, there's no earthly person that even conceive 34:11 what the heavenly sanctuary is like. 34:13 So God made a little scale model. 34:15 And He said to Moses, "You build a sanctuary 34:17 according to the scale model, which is an illustration 34:21 of the greatness of the heavenly sanctuary." 34:25 It reminds me of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 12 34:29 where it says... 34:42 In other words, we can know little now, enough to get there. 34:46 And when we get there, we will see the real thing. 34:51 Now we need to also talk about the Messiah's calendar 34:57 in relationship to the sanctuary. 34:59 The sanctuary primarily presents the events of salvation history 35:05 by Jesus Christ. 35:06 But the Hebrew feasts present the calendar 35:11 or the timing of those events that are illustrated 35:15 in the Hebrew sanctuary. 35:17 Now let's go to Leviticus chapter 23 and verse 3 35:21 and read about these so called Hebrew feasts. 35:25 They follow the exact order of the sanctuary. 35:29 Leviticus 23 and verse 3. 35:32 And actually let's start reading at verse 1 for the context. 35:35 It says, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 35:39 'Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, 35:42 "The feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be 35:47 holy convocations, these are My feasts."'" 35:51 Now there were four spring feasts and there were 35:55 three fall feasts. 35:57 And in between the spring feasts and the fall feasts, 35:59 you have a long summer drought, a long summer where there are 36:04 no feasts at all. 36:06 Now allow me to mention the spring feasts. 36:09 The spring feasts were the Passover... 36:14 What was the Passover? 36:15 What was sacrificed on the Passover? 36:17 A lamb. 36:19 See, there you have the altar of sacrifice represented. 36:22 And then the next two feasts are Unleavened Bread 36:25 and First Fruits. 36:27 Now do you know what Unleavened Bread represents? 36:30 It represents the burial of Christ. 36:32 And First Fruits represents His resurrection. 36:34 Because the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 36:37 that Jesus rose the first fruits of those who went to sleep. 36:42 We're going to find in our study that the laver represents 36:45 the resurrection of Jesus Christ, interestingly enough. 36:49 And the feast of First Fruits represents the 36:52 resurrection of Jesus. 36:53 So we have Passover and Unleavened Bread. 36:56 They were connected. 36:57 And then we have First Fruits, represented also by the laver, 37:01 the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 37:03 And then you have after this the Feast of Pentecost. 37:08 On the Feast of Pentecost, we're going to find that Jesus 37:11 entered the Holy Place. 37:13 He entered there to interceded for us. 37:15 In other words, He entered where the candlestick is, 37:19 and where the table of the showbread is, 37:21 and also where the altar of incense is found. 37:27 In other words, Pentecost, which came exactly 50 days 37:31 after First Fruits, represents the beginning of the 37:35 intercession of Jesus in the Holy Place of the sanctuary. 37:39 Do you see how this is following the order of events 37:42 in the ministry of Christ? 37:43 But it's giving us the dates. 37:46 Because Passover the year Jesus died was the 14th of Nisan, 37:49 Unleavened Bread was the 15th of Nisan, 37:52 First Fruits was the 16th of Nisan, the third day, 37:55 and Pentecost was 50 days later. 37:57 And the Bible tells us that on the day of Pentecost, 38:01 the Holy Spirit was poured out because Jesus had begun His 38:04 intercessory ministry in the heavenly sanctuary. 38:07 And then we have the fall feasts. 38:10 You see, the Feasts of Trumpets was the first fall feast 38:12 and it announced the coming of the Day of Atonement 38:15 which took place, it was the great day of judgment 38:17 in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary. 38:20 Let me ask you, what is the next apartment in the sanctuary 38:23 in the ministration of Christ? 38:25 It is the Most Holy Place where the ark of the covenant 38:28 and where the Law is. 38:30 In other words, we find in the sanctuary the movements of 38:34 Jesus Christ and the timing of those events. 38:37 Because the Hebrew feasts give specific dates 38:41 when Jesus was going to begin His ministry in these particular 38:46 apartments of the sanctuary. 38:48 And of course, we're going to be studying this in detail 38:51 as we move along. 38:54 Now how important is the sanctuary? 38:56 Let me just mention a few very important things. 39:00 The book of Daniel is seeped in sanctuary terminology. 39:05 In fact, there's no way you can understand the book of Daniel 39:08 without the sanctuary. 39:09 Particularly chapter 8 where it speaks about a little horn 39:14 that takes away the daily. 39:16 And where it speaks about the sanctuary being cleansed; 39:19 a reference to Leviticus chapter 16, 39:22 what happened on the Day of Atonement. 39:24 There's no way you can understand Daniel 39:26 without understanding the sanctuary. 39:28 Furthermore, the whole book of Hebrews from beginning 39:32 to end is an illustration of what Jesus has accomplished 39:37 in the sanctuary. 39:39 There's no way that you can understand the book of Hebrews 39:41 unless you understand the Old Testament Hebrew sanctuary. 39:45 Because the book of Hebrews is saturated 39:48 with sanctuary terminology. 39:51 The book of Psalms. 39:53 There's no way that the book of Psalms can be understood 39:56 independently of the feasts and of the sanctuary. 39:59 You know, David was called the... 40:02 The Bible tells us that he was skillful in playing the harp. 40:06 He was a great musician. 40:07 You can read that in 1 Samuel chapter 16 and verse 18. 40:11 He was so proficient in playing the harp 40:14 that the demons even fled when he was playing for King Saul. 40:19 The Bible also tells us in 2 Samuel chapter 23 and verse 1 40:23 that David was called the sweet psalmist of Israel. 40:27 He wrote 73 of the 150 psalms. 40:31 In fact, the book of Psalms was the hymnal of the sanctuary. 40:35 Each psalm had a particular sanctuary setting 40:39 or the psalm was read during a particular Hebrew feast. 40:44 Let me illustrate the point. 40:48 You know, when Jesus met with His disciples in the upper room 40:52 to institute the Lord's Supper, they sang Psalm 113 and 114. 41:01 See, the Psalms were the hymnal of the sanctuary. 41:05 And when the service was finished when Jesus had 41:08 instituted the Lord's Supper, they sang Psalm 115 41:15 through Psalm 118. 41:17 Do you remember that it says in the gospels that when they had 41:20 sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives? 41:23 Well, what they sang was actually Psalm 115 through 118. 41:28 Psalm 135 was sung at the Feast of Unleavened Bread. 41:35 Psalm 29 and Psalm 132 were sung at Pentecost 41:40 and at the Feast of Tabernacles. 41:42 The book of Ruth was sung at the Feast of Pentecost 41:45 because it has to do with the harvest. 41:48 And Psalms 47, 68, 29, and 132 were sung at the 41:53 Feast of Tabernacles. 41:55 In other words, the Psalms help us understand the sanctuary 41:59 and the Hebrew feasts because the Psalms were connected with 42:02 the sanctuary service. 42:03 In other words, the theme of the Psalms were connected with 42:06 specific events that had to do with the Hebrew sanctuary. 42:11 The book of Revelation cannot be understood 42:13 without the Hebrew sanctuary. 42:15 In fact, the book of Revelation is saturated 42:17 with sanctuary terminology. 42:18 Let's notice several examples. 42:21 Notice Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. 42:24 Revelation chapter 5 and verse 6. 42:26 It says there... 42:41 There were millions of lambs that were killed 42:43 in the sanctuary service. 42:52 The seven candlesticks are mentioned 42:54 in the book of Revelation. 42:56 Notice Revelation chapter 1 and verses 12 and 13. 43:00 It says there... 43:08 See, there you have the Holy Place ministry of Christ. 43:21 The altar of incense is in the book of Revelation. 43:24 Notice Revelation chapter 8 and verses 3 through 5. 43:29 It says there, Revelation 8 verses 3 through 5... 43:53 So notice, you have the Lamb, you have the seven candlesticks, 43:57 you have the altar of incense. 43:59 You also have the manna. 44:01 Notice Revelation chapter 2 and verse 17. 44:05 Revelation chapter 2 and verse 17. 44:20 Do you know that the Most Holy Place is also mentioned 44:23 in the book of Revelation? 44:25 Notice Revelation chapter 11 and verse 19. 44:27 Revelation chapter 11 and verse 19. 44:39 In which temple? 44:41 In the heavenly temple. 44:43 Is there an ark in the heavenly temple? 44:45 Most certainly. 44:56 In fact, we don't have the time right now to show this, 45:00 but the book of Revelation follows the exact order of 45:03 the Hebrew sanctuary. 45:05 It goes from the people in the camp to the lamb, 45:10 to the candlesticks, to the table of showbread, 45:13 to the altar of incense, to the Most Holy Place, 45:16 and then to the cessation of intercession 45:20 in the Most Holy Place. 45:21 In fact, let's read that in Revelation chapter 15 45:24 and verses 5 through 8. 45:26 You know, the time is coming when the service of the 45:28 sanctuary is going to come to an end. 45:30 And nobody is going to be able to enter the sanctuary 45:33 by faith anymore. 45:34 Probation will have closed. 45:35 That is presented in Revelation 15 and verses 5 through 8. 45:40 Notice... 46:19 Is the sanctuary service going to come to an end some day? 46:23 Most certainly it will. 46:24 The Most Holy Place ministry of Christ will come to an end. 46:27 And when it comes to an end, probation will close. 46:30 A time of tribulation will come; the time of the plagues. 46:33 And then Jesus will return in power and glory. 46:37 The book of Revelation follows the exact order 46:40 of the Hebrew sanctuary from beginning to end. 46:43 Which means that there's no way that we can understand 46:45 the book of Revelation unless we understand the sanctuary. 46:49 So we must understand the sanctuary to understand the 46:52 Psalms, to understand the book of Revelation, 46:54 to understand the book of Hebrews, 46:56 to understand other portions of Scripture. 46:59 The sanctuary is of critical importance 47:02 for understanding Scripture. 47:04 Do you know that the sanctuary also presents 47:07 step by step each event of the life of Christ, 47:11 of the ministry of Christ? 47:13 Let's read several verses now so that you see how the sanctuary 47:17 points to each action of the ministry of Christ. 47:20 John chapter 1 and verse 14 speaks about Jesus coming 47:24 to the camp to live with us. 47:27 John chapter 1 and verse 14. 47:30 It says here... 47:40 Do you know that word "dwelt" actually means, 47:42 He pitched His tent. 47:46 The Greek word skenoo, it means He came and He pitched His tent. 47:49 He came to live in our midst. 47:50 Before He goes into the court to die at the altar, 47:54 He lives in our midst. 47:56 Because He came to live a perfect life so that 47:58 His sacrifice would be accepted. 48:00 See, sometimes we forget that He had to live a holy life 48:03 in order for His sacrifice to be accepted. 48:05 So the first step of the ministry of Jesus is to come 48:09 and live with us in the camp. 48:10 And so it says... 48:21 Did Jesus live without sin in our midst? 48:24 He most certainly did. 48:25 Notice Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15. 48:28 Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15. 48:31 "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot 48:34 sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted 48:38 as we are, yet without sin." 48:41 He lived in the camp with us, but He never what? 48:44 He never sinned. 48:46 Because He was that perfect lamb of the sanctuary service. 48:49 But then the lamb had to die. 48:51 That's the next step in the ministry of Jesus. 48:53 He was slain and then placed on the altar. 48:56 Notice 1 Peter chapter 1 and verses 18 through 20. 49:00 1 Peter chapter 1 and verses 18 through 20 49:03 speaks about the death of the unblemished lamb. 49:27 Was He without blemish and without spot 49:29 before He shed His blood? 49:30 Absolutely. 49:32 He came to live in our midst, to live a life without sin, 49:35 so His sacrifice as the lamb would be acceptable. 49:38 So first He came to live with us, then He came to die. 49:41 Now, the interesting thing is that the next thing that 49:44 Jesus does is intercede for us in the Holy Place. 49:48 Notice what we find in the book of Hebrews chapter 7 49:51 and verse 25. 49:53 This is the next step. 49:54 Jesus is now in the Holy Place where the table of showbread is, 49:57 where the seven branch candlestick is, 50:00 where the altar of incense is. 50:02 And we're going to follow Him, in each lecture, we're going to 50:06 follow Him in His trek through the sanctuary. 50:09 It says there in chapter 7 and verse 25... 50:24 See, Jesus went to heaven to the Holy Place to be 50:27 the intercessor. 50:28 Notice also 1 John chapter 2 and verse 1 speaks about 50:32 this stage of the ministry of Christ. 50:35 It says, "My little children, these things I write to you 50:39 so that you may not sin. 50:41 And if anyone sins, we have..." What? 50:44 "...we have an advocate with the Father, 50:48 Jesus Christ the..." What? 50:50 "...the righteous." 50:52 Let me ask you, is Jesus also going to perform someday 50:56 a Most Holy Place ministry of judgment? 50:59 He most certainly is. 51:01 Notice 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10. 51:04 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 10. 51:08 It says here... 51:22 And let me ask you, where was the judgment in the sanctuary? 51:27 Where did the judgment take place once a year? 51:30 It took place in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary, 51:33 because people will be judged by the perfect law of liberty. 51:38 The judgment takes place where the law is. 51:40 So Jesus is going to fulfill that function as well. 51:44 And you know what's interesting? 51:45 After Jesus performs His work in the Most Holy Place 51:48 of the sanctuary, the Bible tells us that He will take off 51:52 His priestly garments and He will return 51:54 to this earth as King. 51:58 The sanctuary also tells of that stage of the ministry of Christ. 52:02 Notice Revelation chapter 19 and we'll read verse 11, 52:05 and then we'll jump down to verse 16. 52:08 Revelation 19 verse 11. 52:29 In other words, Jesus will come back to this earth as 52:32 King of kings when He has finished 52:34 His Most Holy Place ministry. 52:36 But do you know there is another ceremony that needs to 52:38 take place after this. 52:40 It's found in the very next chapter. 52:42 Chapter 20 of Revelation. 52:44 Have you ever heard about the scapegoat ceremony? 52:48 When the scapegoat was sent to the wilderness 52:50 to a non-inhabited land, you see, that's in the next chapter. 52:54 Revelation chapter 20 and verses 1 and 2. 52:58 Let's read it. 53:19 So the sanctuary presents the order of all of the steps that 53:23 Jesus takes in the plan of salvation. 53:26 Now the final point that I want to make in our lecture today 53:29 is that the sanctuary actually explains all of the doctrines 53:35 of the Bible. 53:37 The sanctuary is the great magnet that brings 53:40 all of the doctrines of the Bible together. 53:43 Now let me mention some of those doctrines. 53:45 Does the sanctuary present the character of God? 53:49 It most certainly does. 53:50 It shows that God is justice; the law demand death. 53:54 But it shows that God is mercy because God takes the judgment 53:57 upon Himself. 53:59 It shows His justice and His love. 54:03 Does the sanctuary present the doctrine of sin? 54:06 Millions of sacrifices died in the sanctuary service 54:09 showing that the wages of sin is... What? 54:11 ...death. 54:13 Does the sanctuary present the humanity of Jesus? 54:16 It most certainly does. 54:17 You know, it's interesting that the sanctuary outside 54:20 was very ordinary, but inside it was beautiful. 54:24 And that was a picture of Jesus. 54:26 Inside, His character was beautiful. 54:28 But outside, He had no comeliness 54:31 that we should desire Him. 54:33 Does the Bible present the perfection of 54:35 the life of Christ? 54:36 Yes, because the priests could not have any blemish 54:39 and the lamb could not have any blemish. 54:42 Which shows that Jesus had to be a perfect sacrifice 54:45 and He had to be a perfect priest. 54:47 Is death revealed in the sanctuary? 54:50 It most certainly is. 54:51 Is forgiveness revealed in the sanctuary? 54:53 Absolutely. 54:55 When the sinner placed his sin on the head of the animal 54:57 and confessed his sin on the head of the animal, 54:59 the transfer was made. 55:01 And now the sinner could have the assurance of forgiveness. 55:06 Is the priesthood of Jesus presented in the sanctuary? 55:09 Most certainly. 55:10 Because the priest would take the blood into the Holy Place, 55:13 the blood of the victim to whom the sin had been transferred. 55:17 The blood was taken in, and in this way 55:20 forgiven sin was transferred into the sanctuary. 55:25 Is the importance of the study of Scripture 55:27 presented in the sanctuary? 55:28 Yes, in the table of showbread. 55:30 Is prayer presented in the sanctuary? 55:33 Yes, the altar of incense. 55:34 We're going to study all of these things. 55:36 Is the importance of the church shedding the light 55:39 of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit 55:41 presented in the sanctuary? 55:43 Yes, in the seven branch candlestick. 55:47 Are angels presented in the sanctuary? 55:49 We're going to study this tomorrow morning. 55:51 Amazing. 55:53 The doctrine of baptism is presented in the laver. 55:56 The Trinity is presented. 55:58 There's one seated on the throne. 55:59 Before the throne, a Lamb as though He had been slain. 56:02 And also the seven branched candlesticks, 56:05 which are called the seven Spirits of God. 56:08 The three are there. 56:09 Tithing is presented in the sanctuary. 56:12 This whole system was sustained by the tithes 56:15 and by offerings. 56:16 All of the doctrines of the Bible come together, 56:19 and you see the relationships of those doctrines 56:22 in the perspective of the sanctuary. 56:24 But not only the general truths, but also the distinctive truths. 56:28 Is the judgment presented in the sanctuary? 56:31 Absolutely, the cleansing of the sanctuary. 56:33 Is the law presented in the sanctuary? 56:36 Yes, it was in the ark of the covenant. 56:38 Is the Sabbath found in the sanctuary? 56:40 Yes, it's in the ark of the covenant. 56:42 Is healthful living in the sanctuary? 56:45 The manna pointed to healthful living. 56:47 We're going to study about that. 56:49 God gave manna to teach Israel to have a simple diet. 56:53 Is the state of the dead presented in the sanctuary? 56:56 Yes, that rod that sprouted life by a miracle of God, 57:00 we're going to find, represented that life comes 57:02 only through Jesus Christ. 57:04 The antichrist is presented in the sanctuary as well. 57:08 He sits in the temple of God showing himself to be God. 57:11 The millennium is in the sanctuary because the 57:14 scapegoat ceremony is found in Revelation chapter 20. 57:18 So all of the doctrines of the Bible are found 57:21 in the sanctuary. 57:22 What a magnificent lesson that God taught 57:25 through the Hebrew sanctuary. |
Revised 2014-12-17