The Entrances To The Courts of The Lord
The Courts of The Lord and Our Priesthood Today
in
Moses’ Tabernacle
The Tabernacle of David
The Temple of Solomon
The Spiritual Temple
Jesus’ work in these four temples are shown in colored ink. In this study, I want to show you Christ’s eternal work in these courts.
Moses’ Tabernacle
The physical tabernacle, given by pattern to Moses, is the forerunner of the permanent temple which it replaced many years later. Since the tabernacle was moveable, the people carried it with them wherever the cloud and fire (the manifest presence of God) led it. It represents Christ in us (individually and corporately) as a living temple, being led by the Spirit of God.
This tabernacle has its’ completion in the church age—the Spirit of God leading the different reform movements of this 2000 year time frame (represented by Israel’s wilderness experience) to the millennium, (represented by the promised land). This includes our death to the flesh (the crossing of the Jordan (death) into Canaan), with the presence of the Lord into the millennium (with the priests carrying the ark into the promised land ).
The provision provided by God, (manna, and quail) in the wilderness, (before the crossing of Jordan) is a picture of the daily provision that goes with being led by the Spirit; where everything is given to us; requiring only our cooperation and overcoming..
THE PROVISION:
1. manna– the supernatural food from heaven–the bread of life Christ.
2. quail –physical food from the skies –food not labored for, only gathered.
The provision is both for the spiritual and the physical. It represents the supernatural faith walk.
THE OUTER COURT OF THE TABERNACLE
This “tent of meeting” or tabernacle, faced east and had two inner courts with an outer court outside the tent which was the place of sacrifice. To serve as a priest in the outer court, their job was one that received other people’s sacrifices and presented them to God on behalf of the person. Today, no one enters here without the sacrifice of accepting the atoning blood of Jesus Christ for their personal and Adamic sin.
In this place was the:
Altar of Sacrifice for burnt offerings
(The old testament priest) and the new testament priest deals with :
1. (the sin offering) sin
2. (trespass offering) guilt from wrong acts
3. (burnt offering) becoming pure in God’s sight
4. (meal offering) feasting on Jesus
The laver for washing.,
This is where we are washed and cleansed, qualified and authorized to enter the inner court. Carnal Christians can spend their whole life in this outer court – while priests from the inner court minister to them continually there. The present day priests who serve in the outer court are due honor as they continually deal with people’s sin, guilt, getting clean and staying clean, instruction and establishment of righteous life principles. Does this remind you of the work of today’s church pastor?
Jesus speaking in Mark 1:15 says: “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
This is the perfect present day description of the outer court.
Priests go in and out of this court to: preach the gospel and bring others into it. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of Father, and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
Matthew 28:19
INNER COURT IN THE TABERNACLE
Currently, to serve in the inner court –you must be a priest doing God’s will (service-work) (Latreia, Greek). This work required being sanctified (dedicated to God) handling the tithes, and offering worshiping prayer (ministering unto God Himself) (Proseuche, Greek).
Only priests could move in this court. Priests were appointed and sanctified. Today as we heed His call to become a kingdom of priests, we will take our place in this court moving in His supernatural life with the flesh under crucifixion. In this court we die and HE lives. His will is done, and His words are spoken. If you are doing your own will and speaking your own words you are not dwelling here, no matter what you might think.
This court has furniture in it that speaks of Christ’s work for us and in us. The 12 loaves of bread were on a table overlaid with gold showing its’ holiness. The bread was baked with fire, the lampstand oil was kept burning with fire, and the incense was burned with fire. Now that is a lot of fiery stuff. It is the fire that purges and purifies. That is why there is so much burning in this court.
Table of showbread
This holy bread is called the “bread of the Presence” (Face) and these 12 loaves were offered on the table to God. The priests eat of this bread of life — Jesus Himself. They get their food directly from Christ. This enables them to feed others (teach) who have little access to direct food because of their distance away from the presence of the Lord. Once you taste of this food you tend to lose your desire to feed the starving, and selfishly gorge! The bread from this table was given to the priests to eat every Sabbath. This speaks of the living food of eternal life being dispensed through “rest” since the Sabbath was a day of rest. This is referring to the Hebrews 4 “rest from our own works”.
Lampstand having seven lamps
This typifies Christ and the Church just as in Revelation 1:13, He was seen standing in the midst of the seven candlesticks which represented the 7 churches.
Isaiah paints this picture of the Messiah in 11:12, that includes these 7 attributes which are the light of Christ: “The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. These seven attributes speak of Christ’s eternal ministry that he imparts to His church to make it pure and holy. This is a corporate anointing for the bride. Concerning us individually, this lampstand speaks of the fire from the oil (Holy Spirit) that is kept burning within us; burning with the fiery zeal of those 7 attributes.
Altar of Incense just in front of the veil to the Holy of Holies
Today, the incense burned here is the fragrance of our prayers. It could be offered only by the one who could enter the Holy of Holies, although it was still in the inner court. This represents Jesus’ high priestly ministry, forever living to make intercession for us and offering the incense of our prayers before God.
There are two things here; the altar, and the incense. I believe that the altar represents the foundation that Christ laid during the atonement, the whole passion from beginning to the new beginning! Personally, for us, the incense is our trials and tribulations, stored up through prayer, until there is perfect fullness of time for the answers.
HOLY OF HOLIES IN THE TABERNACLE
To get into the Holy of Holies you had to be an appointed high priest from the royal tribe. You wore special clothes (purity), and carried the tribes with you on your shoulder (intercession for the nations of the earth), and you applied the Blood to remove sins from a nation (royal work). Jesus ministers from the holy of holies in heaven, and has made the way for us to enter. This is our inheritance, but there are few who care for this kind of work.
The Tabernacle of David
Moses’ tabernacle was functioning at Bethel when the Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines and taken into exile. Later, it was rescued by King David, and put into a new tent in a new location (Jerusalem on Mt. Zion, Melchizedek’s city) This tent contained only the ark, with 24 hour worship by Asaph and his Levite musician family 1Chron.16:7. It was the forerunner of Solomon’s temple, which was later built on this hill.
This was the arrival of God’s presence to Zion— through worship. This looks past the one time blood sacrifice of Christ, to our entrance into God’s presence through worship alone.
Once again the Ark is in a tent representing not mobility but impermanence! There were no sacrifices and no courts, only worship to the Father. Moses’ tabernacle in Bethel, continued functioning without the ark (presence of the Lord), although Zadok the priest and his relatives offered burnt offerings there before the tabernacle of the Lord, in the high place which was at Gibeon, until the Temple of Solomon was built. Solomon’s Temple would be built on the hill of Zion, where David’s Tabernacle was, not at Gibeon. God made a covenant with David about a greater temple that was to be eternal 1Chron17:11-14. This leads to the Spiritual Temple and ultimately to the New Jerusalem from above, the ultimate Ark. We see this worship tabernacle operating today in our round the clock worship events, as we are entering the spiritual temple of glory. See Spiritual Temple below.
The Temple of Solomon
The Temple of Solomon was a glorious physical structure on the actual Mount Zion (Isa 8:18;18:7; Mic 4:7) that represents the millennial dwelling of God among men on the spiritual, or possibly physical Mount Zion. Isa 60:14,Heb.12:22, Rev.14:1. The Temple of Solomon took two generations to build. The Temple of Solomon was a glorious physical structure on the actual Mount Mariah. David had the vision and did all of the preparation (while the Tabernacle of David was in operation.). Solomon’s reign of peace with wisdom, built it. Today, the “Tabernacle of David” prepares it, and the priests of the Kingdom-reign of Christ, will build it through “peace” and “rest” (from our own works). Heb. 4:9,10
The priests for this temple were taken from the sons of Zadok at Gibeon, not from Asaph’s family of worshippers. This shows that the priesthood in the millennial reign will be by appointment. The worshipers of David’s tabernacle were to prepare the way.
Currently, Solomons’ Temple represents the gentile Church together with Israel as the one new man Eph.2:15, being built into a millennial and eternal structure. v.16-22. This is different from the tabernacle which was moveable, representing God in us leading us, providing for us and being our life (second day light). In the millennial temple we corporately go to where HE is. He abides in Zion. This temple is about all of US IN HIM. This is the next step in our mutual (restored Israel & the Church) journey.
The temple had the same courts and articles as the tabernacle, but on a much grander scale for the glory of the Lord dwells there. Do you recall how the priests could not even stand to minister because of the glory? As we explore these temple courts we will explore them as the millennial temple.
The court of the gentiles was one addition to Herod’s temple that the tabernacle did not have:
The Court of the Gentiles
This was originally for those outside of the Mosaic covenant. Because this court was added to the Temple, it will also exist in millennial Zion. What was this court doing in the Lord’s house? It seems that He has made a place for everyone that wishes to connect with Him. This demonstrates that in the millennial rule a place will be made for all people to come and worship the Lord. That temple will be inclusive, not exclusive.
The Outer Court
The ONE NEW MAN dwells in this glorious court in Zion; the beloved place of God.
The Inner Court
In this millennial temple the “one new man” are becoming priests and moving in HIS ministry in the inner court. By the end of the millennium we will have become The Kingdom of Priests.. 1Peter2:9
From the inner court, priests minister in the outer court to the one new man, and in the court of the Gentiles to those who will bring their tribute to the KING. These priests can also enter the Holy of Holies to minister with Christ in blessing and prayers.
The Holy of Holies
This court is a dwelling place for the priests to minister unto Him –close to his glorious presence as represented by the ark of the covenant
What will this future temple look like? Will it be physical? We know that it cannot look like Solomon’s’ Temple, nor Ezekiel’s visionary temple because never again will there be blood sacrifices offered. The way was made once and for all, through Christ’s offering of Himself as the Lamb. Heb. 9:26,28 Yes, I believe that there will be a millennial structure, on physical Mt. Zion, in physical Jerusalem, because there are too many scriptures stating this. It will not be the heavenly city, nor will it have blood sacrifices. Yes, it will probably have courts because the type for this is Solomon’s temple, not David’s tabernacle. David’s tabernacle is the type for the spiritual temple.
These are my opinions, based on the revelation given at this point of time.
The most important thing is to be part of the spiritual temple that is eternal. To learn about what kind of work goes on in the millennial temple (and even today) please read: The Melchizedek Priesthood. (in three levels–one for each court.)
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