So far we have been able to see from God’s Word that the disciples, who were living under the Old Testament while Christ was upon the earth, had to be converted to the New Testament or the New Covenant. This they did on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon them. As God’s presence filled them they effectively entered into the Holy of Holies.

At Christ’s death the veil which represented the body of Christ, was rent or removed. Two rooms in the tabernacle, or the temple, became one room filled with the presence of God.

Today we will go one step further and study what the tabernacle represented. We must understand that it was for the purpose of teaching us a spiritual truth, or as the writer of Hebrews said…

Hebrews 9:8-9
⁸ The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
⁹ Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;

The tabernacle was a symbol given for the time then present to show us something that was to come later. The book of Revelation gives us further insight into this tabernacle.

Revelation 21:2-3
² And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
³ And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

John saw the new city of Jerusalem coming down from God out of Heaven. It was then that a great voice announced “Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men…” So the Holy City (the new Jerusalem) is the tabernacle of God.

Now, while we are on the subject of the Holy City, you may remember from the book of Hebrews that Abraham set out looking for a city.

Hebrews 11:8-10
⁸ By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
⁹ By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
¹⁰ For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

He looked for a city whose builder and maker is God. Did he ever find that city? He could not have! Although he was in the earthly land of promise it still felt like a strange country to Him because He was looking for a divine city.

Every city upon the earth is made by man. The only city that is made by God is the one that comes down FROM GOD OUT OF HEAVEN. This is the tabernacle of God. In effect, Abraham was looking for the tabernacle of God.

So now we must ask ourselves “what is the tabernacle of God?” or “where does one find the holy city?” As we know the holy city is one that is built by God and not man, we must then ask ourselves “What did God build?”

We need not look any further than the words of Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, who said this in the book of Matthew…

Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Jesus Christ built His Church. So then the tabernacle of God, or the Holy City, is in reality the Church of God. The Church is from God and built by Him. Do we have further proof of this? I believe we do. Let’s consider the garden in Eden.

The whole picture of the garden in Eden represents a spiritual truth. Although it was definitely a real situation it was for the purpose of pointing to a spiritual reality. For example, in the midst of it was the tree of life, which we can understand to represent Jesus Christ.

John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Jesus Christ is the life which is why we know the tree of life is a picture of Jesus Christ. Just as the tree of life was in the midst of the Garden, so is Jesus in the midst of His Church

The next thing we must notice about the Garden is that Adam and Eve did not walk in there on their own accord but God put them in there. In the same way, we did not enter the city of Jerusalem – the tabernacle of God – on our terms, but God put us in there when we met the conditions of repentance.

Acts 2:47
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

It is important that we see that THE LORD added to the church. Only God can grant us access to His Church. We do not gain access by signing up to a membership roll, agreeing to some man-made rules or practicing some outward ceremonies or rituals. God deems whose repentance is true and whose hearts are pure and HE adds them to the Church.

We know that Adam and Eve were also removed from the Garden, the tabernacle of God, because of their sin. This alone should serve as a warning to us that if we sin, God will also remove us from His Church – irrespective of all of our other works.

In the book of Genesis we can also see the flaming sword which represents the Spirit and the Word.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

This tells us the sword represents the Word and the flame upon the sword represents the Spirit accompanying the Word, just as there were tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit descended upon the Church.

The cherubim represent the redeemed of all ages which bear the Spirit and the Truth to show the way to the tree of life, or Jesus Christ.

Now let’s look at what happened after Adam and Eve were removed from the Garden…

Genesis 3:21-24
²¹ Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
²² And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever:
²³ Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.
²⁴ So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

God clothed Adam and Eve with animal skin. This is the very first sacrifice ever. God took an innocent animal without blemish or spot – one that He declared was “very good” at creation – and sacrificed that animal on Adam and Eve’s behalf. This was all pointing to Jesus Christ whom God sacrificed on our behalf.

1 Peter 1:18-20
¹⁸ Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
¹⁹ But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
²⁰ Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Now here’s the question we must ask ourselves: Why did God not put Adam and Eve back in the garden after He sacrificed the animal for them? Keep in mind that the Garden represents the Church of God which is the tabernacle of God.

Or here’s another question: Prior to Calvary, how could the disciples enter into the tabernacle of God (or be born again) as many teach they were?

We read before that God added to the Church daily and it was not by the blood of animals which is what the disciples practiced prior to Calvary. To answer this we need to turn to the book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 9:1-5
¹ Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
² For there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called the sanctuary.
³ And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
⁴ 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;
⁵ And over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat; of which we cannot now speak particularly.

Let’s stop there for a moment and take in something that will open things up for us. Verse two talks about “a tabernacle” which was the Holy Place. Then in verse three we see that after the second veil was “THE tabernacle” which was the Holiest of all.

We read before from Revelations 21 that when the new Jerusalem, the Holy City built by the hand of God which is His Church, descended from Heaven, THE tabernacle of God was with men. The tabernacle, the holiest of all, is the Church of God.

Let’s read further paying special attention to verses 10 and 11…

Hebrews 9:6-11
⁶ Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
⁷ But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
⁸ The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
⁹ Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
¹⁰ Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
¹¹ But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;

The tabernacle that Moses built after the pattern given to him represent two covenants, or more precisely, the people of two covenants.

The first covenant was “a tabernacle” referenced in verse two. The second covenant is THE tabernacle referenced in verses 3 and 11.

Those of the Old Covenant, including Adam could not enter THE tabernacle whilst the first covenant was still in force (verse 8). The people of the first covenant were kept in a tabernacle until Christ died and enabled the new covenant. This is why we read…

Hebrews 9:15
And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

By Christ’s death, those that were under the first covenant were translated from the first tabernacle which stood in meats, drinks and diverse washings, to the tabernacle of God. The tabernacle of God is the eternal house and Church of God.

Now the question we will leave you to consider is this: As the blood of Christ ushered in a new covenant that does not stand in meats, drinks, diverse washings and carnal ordinances, how do we explain some of the behaviour of the early church in the book of Acts?

Why did Paul circumcise Timothy when he had preached for many years against ?

Why did Paul go through the ceremony of purification in the temple in Acts 21?

I believe that the book of Acts covered a forty year transition period between the Old and the New Covenants. We will cover this in more detail in the next issue.

Brothers and Sisters, let us rejoice in the truth that we also have been translated from the covenant that stood in meats, drinks, diverse washings and carnal ordinances, to the new covenant.

Romans 14:17
For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

Filed under: Category The Daily Desk | Tags: by Gil Reitsma