The Ancient Path

Less Traveled–The Narrow Way

 

 

The early believers identified themselves as “people of the way;” the path of intimacy with the Savior and holiness, the path of ever-increasing glory and selflessness; those who walked the narrow way; who entered through the narrow gate; who consecrated their lives wholly to GOD. Jeremiah warns Israel, “Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls” (JRM 6:16).

Although the church dramatically changed since Acts Chapter 2, going through many revolutions as Constantine made Christianity the national religion, introducing pagans into the then radically-believing church. This action resulted in many heretical doctrines, the elimination of Biblical feasts and the addition of disguised pagan holidays in their stead. Throughout the centuries, there have always been the holy, faithful few who pursued GOD with all their hearts, souls, minds and strength. Those who found the “ancient paths,” walked in miracles, signs and wonders, proving that GOD cannot and does not change, but is the same “yesterday, today and forever” (HBR 13:8).

The only cessation consists of the inability of Holy Spirit’s pouring out His presence on sinful, unbelieving, rebellious believers, whose faith remained based in religious liturgies and self-inflicted penance without the WORD of GOD. Many of today’s churches seem not much different in that tradition holds more esteem than the WORD. But GOD still works miracles, signs and wonders; GOD still delivers and heals! He still desires an intimate walk with us just as when He walked the earth; nothing has changed, however, the LORD enjoys surprising His children in new and various ways so that we never come to a place of thinking that we can predict His every move. That fact has sometimes made it difficult for us in recognizing GOD when He does work!

The pathway, however, has been before us since at least the time of the tabernacle in the wilderness; GOD desired that we should find it and gives us hints in the tabernacle and in His Moedim (Feasts of the LORD), if we look carefully for the way. The tabernacle speaks to us through the placement and type of every piece of furniture within it, unfolding the mystery of the path to intimacy in each step. GOD always works carefully and purposely in everything He does and He gave us subtle clues to the things which benefit us that we may think and do rightly when we seek Him with all our heart.

Just as when the disciples asked Jesus why did He speak in parables and He answered saying, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them (those outside of His disciples, casual observers) it has not been given” (MTH 13:11). The ancient paths have been well concealed from the world, but for seekers are made evident.

The Apostle Paul teaches in 1 Corinthians 3:16, “Do you not know that you are GOD’s temple and that GOD’s Spirit dwells in you?” (ESV). The parallel between our beings and the temple goes even further. The temple/tabernacle layout consists of an outer court, in which anyone might enter, the Holy Place in which only priests minister and the Holies of Holies in which only the High Priest could enter once a year on the Day of Atonement.

One may compare the outer court to the body, receiving visitors of all kinds from the ear gate, the eye gate and the mouth gate. In case the Reader has not already discovered this, not all words that come out of your mouth are your own, unless the Spirit strongly leads you. Have you ever considered, “Why did I say that?” or repented that you did. The likely source may not have been YOU, but in you. We receive input, good and bad, godly and ungodly, continually; that is why we have been admonished, “Casting down (vain) imaginations and every high (proud) thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of GOD and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 COR 10:5 KJV).

The Holy Place, where the priests minister, compares to the soul or mind, will and emotions. In the Holy Place, many priests, good or bad, holy or false/unholy, may minister. Sometimes, radical deliverance may happen in some areas at the time of salvation, but that is not always the case. Even if one is saved, the soul may retain plantings of spiritual strongholds either from one’s own deeds or generational curses until one receives cleansing or deliverance[i]. The roots of these strongholds, like weeds, spread and gather strength as continued sin reinforces them, intertwining with other roots, until they bear fruit in the body as the corruption of the “heart” pours out in words and deeds and disease.

The Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies of the temple represents the spirit of man, which if saved, receives complete cleansing and renewal to life everlasting. In fact, Holy Spirit bonds with our spirit in such a way the “two become one.” That is also why we become “a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new” (2 COR 5:17 KJV). We are grafted into the Olive Tree of Israel, “and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them (Israel), and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree” (RMN 11:17 NKJV). This makes us eligible for becoming “joint-heirs with Christ” (RMN 8:17 KJV) when we become mature sons (JHN 1:12 ESV).

Not only does the tabernacle picture our bodies in analogy, but the furniture of the tabernacle maps out our spiritual journey. The courtyard (outer court) of the tabernacle was curtained off from the surroundings and referred to as the “Tent of Meeting.” Moses was told, “You shall set the Altar of Burnt Offering before the door of the tabernacle of the Tent of Meeting” (EXD 40:6 ESV). As we enter the tent, we first behold the Brazen or Bronze Altar, also called the Altar of the Burnt Offering constructed of a hollow wooden box, plated with metal.

The LORD instructed Moses, “You are to build an altar of acacia wood. The altar must be square, five cubits long, five cubits wide and three cubits high” (EXD 27:1 BSB). Whether these are special cubits consisting of a cubit and a handbreadth/span as in Ezekiel’s temple (EZK 40:5), equaling close to two feet, remains uncertain; making the Brazen Altar between 7.5 and 10 feet square and between 4.5 to 6 feet high. Acacia wood, today believed was the gum Arabic tree, a very close-grained hardwood, resistant to insects, which formed the basis of the altar’s construction.

“Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece and overlay it with bronze” (EXD 27:2 BSB). The bronze overlay signifies judgment. The entire box, a very large barbeque pit, overlaid inside and out with bronze, making it beautiful and fire-proof, spoke of the judgment of sin and the flames during its use represent the fires of Hell to which those under judgment belong.

The horns represent the heads of the animals sacrificed within the altar, preferably bullocks, and on which blood was applied, covering the sin transmitted to the sacrifice which died as a representation of man, signifying the Messiah’s sacrifice on our behalf. A grate of bronze mesh sat on a ledge halfway up the altar; heavily constructed for the support of all the sacrifices as the mesh had no inner supports.

All utensils pertaining to the altar were of bronze, even those used for removing the ashes. And just as with the Ark of the Covenant, the Brazen Altar moved with poles set through rings, solid bronze, and the poles of acacia wood with bronze overlay. Every detail in the construction of the Brazen Altar spoke of the judgment of sin by the use of bronze.

The Altar of Burnt Offering pictures the salvation of the believer. Just as Jesus became our Passover lamb, dying at the time of the evening sacrifice, the Brazen Altar reminds us of the necessity of the death of the innocent for the covering of our sin. “In fact under the law almost everything is cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness [neither release from sin and its guilt, nor cancellation of the merited punishment]” (HBR 9:22 AMP).

In Leviticus, Moses tells us, “For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement, by reason of the life [which it represents” (LVT 17:11 AMP). GOD therefore admonishes in the command given to Noah after exiting the ark, “You shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood” (GNS 9:4 NASB).

At the Passover meal with His disciples, Jesus lifts up the fourth cup of the meal, “And He said to them, ‘This is My blood of the [new] covenant, [My blood] which is being poured out for many [for the forgiveness of sins]’” (MRK 14:24). Jesus speaks in prophetic anticipation of His death about the reason He came to earth and the reason He MUST die. “Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also live [together] with Him, because we know [the self-evident truth] that Christ, having been raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has power over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin [ending its power and paying the sinner’s debt] once and for all; and the life that He lives, He lives to [glorify] GOD [in unbroken fellowship with Him]” (RMN 6:8-10 AMP).

The first and most important step in walking the ancient pathway of intimacy with GOD is a stop at the Brazen Altar where we lay down our lives on the altar of sacrifice. Jesus said, “No one can take My life from Me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again; for this is what My Father has commanded” (JHN 10:18 NLT). In the same way, Paul admonishes us, “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of GOD, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to GOD, which is your rational [logical, intelligent] act of worship” (RMN 12:1 AMP).

In this place, we commit ourselves to Jesus, not only as our Savior, but the LORD of our lives in complete submission to the will of GOD. Some believers readily accept Jesus’ sacrifice as payment for their sins, but never follow through with the corresponding action of laying down their own lives, thereby, aborting their Destiny at the very beginning of their walk. The result becomes a cooling for the love of Christ, no sense of personal connection to Him and/or a complete compartmentalizing of GOD in their lives, saving Him for Sundays and holidays with no real change in their lives and no real effect on the lives of those whom they have been given for ministry and NO power. This condition represents that of the Laodicean church (RVL 3:15).

The second piece of furniture in the outer court which we encounter, the Brazen or Bronze Laver, presents to us a basin in which the priests wash their hands and feet, representing their leaving the filth of the world behind. Therefore, we read the admonishment, “Thus they are to wash their hands and feet so that they will not die” (EXD 30:21).

GOD’s instructions to Moses commanded, “You shall also make a basin of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar and you shall put water in it…20 When they go into the tabernacle of meeting, or when they come near the altar to minister, to burn an offering made by fire to the LORD, they shall wash with water, lest they die” (EXD 30:18, 20 NKJV). Every time the priests ministered in any way, the ritual cleansing was required.

In Solomon’s temple, we read, “Later Solomon melted the bronze and molded it into a great bronze basin called the ‘Sea’” (1 CHR 18:8). “Then he made the Sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits (approx. 16-20 ft across) from brim to brim, and five cubits high (approx. 8-10 ft tall), and a line of thirty cubits (about 48 to 60 ft) measured its circumference. 24 Under its brim were gourds (most likely pomegranates), for ten cubits compassing the sea all around. The gourds were in two rows, cast with it when it was cast. 25 It stood on twelve oxen, three facing north, three facing west, three facing south and three facing east. The Sea was set on them and all their rear parts were inward. 26 Its thickness was a handbreadth, and its brim was made like the brim of a cup, like the flower of a lily. It held two thousands baths” (1 KNG 7:23-26). The Sea was of sufficient size to allow complete immersion of the priests if desired but there were no steps within that would facilitate such access.

After the destruction of Solomon’s temple in Jerusalem, this procedure of cleansing eventually evolved into a complete immersion in the Mikvah, a baptismal pool in which all faithful Jews perform ritual cleansing for purity, particularly women at the time of their cycle’s end. The Mikvah, not a simple basin, however, must be connected to a source of “living water,” such as a spring or groundwater well. The Christian rite of baptism comes from this Hebrew rite of purification, initiated by Jesus’ own baptism under John the Baptizer.

Therefore, the Bronze Laver represents the second step in our walk of faith, Believer’s Baptism. An interesting note about the construction of the Bronze Basin in the tabernacle in the wilderness, exists in the fact that it’s bronze came from the bronze mirrors of the women. These mirrors would have been given to them by the Egyptian women in the way of looting Egypt and as incentives for the Israelites’ exodus in hopes of stopping the plagues. The Bronze Laver, made from mirrors, prophetically speaks of our transformation into the likeness of Christ, represented in Baptism as our participation in the death and resurrection of our LORD. “Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore, we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life” (RMN 6:3-4 NASB 1977).

The next stop on the pathway to holiness takes us into the “Holy Place,” which lies in the middle court of the tabernacle and which contains three pieces of furniture: the Golden Lampstand or Menorah, the Table of Showbread, and the Altar of Incense. The Golden Lampstand or Candlestick, stationed on the left was a menorah with seven lamps filled with a sanctified olive oil for fuel.

“You shall make a Lampstand of pure gold. The Lampstand and its base and its shaft shall be made of hammered work; its cups, its calyxes (buds) and its flowers shall be all of one piece with it. 32 Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the Lampstand out of the one side and three branches of the Lampstand out of its other side [the shaft being the seventh branch]. 33 Three cups shall be made like almond blossoms, each with a calyx and a flower on one branch and three cups made like almond blossoms on the other branch with a calyx and a flower— so for the six branches coming out of the Lampstand; 34 and in the [center shaft of the] Lampstand [you shall make] four cups shaped like almond blossoms, with their calyxes and their flowers. 35 A calyx shall be under the first pair of branches coming out of it and a calyx under the second pair of branches coming out of it and a calyx under the third pair of branches coming out of it, for the six branches coming out of the Lampstand. 36 Their calyxes and their branches shall be of one piece with it; all of it shall be one piece of hammered work of pure gold. 37 Then you shall make the lamps [of the Lampstand] seven in number [with one lamp at the top of the shaft]. The priest shall set up its seven lamps so that they will light the space in front of it. 38 Its snuffers and their trays shall be of pure gold. 39 It shall be made from a talent (50-80 lbs.) of pure gold, with all these utensils. 40 See that you make them [exactly] after their pattern you have been shown on the mountain” (EXD 25:31-3 AMP).

“In front of the curtain that separates the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place (Holy of Holies), where the sacred chest is kept. Aaron and his sons are responsible for keeping the lamp burning every night in the sacred tent. The Israelites must always obey this command” (EXD 27:21 CEV). “Aaron must burn fragrant incense on the altar every morning when he tends the lamps. 8 And each evening when he lights the lamps, he must again burn incense in the LORD’s presence. This must be done from generation to generation” (EXD 30:7-8 NLT).

The Lampstand represents Holy Spirit (RVL 4:5), “In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of GOD,” which speak of the seven aspects of the Spirit (ISH 11:2); that it was made from pure gold, denotes sovereignty, purity and holiness. The hammering used in its formation, symbolizes the transformative work of the Spirit. The use of the symbol of the almond branch signifies GOD watching over His work (NMB 17:8; JRM 1:11-12 NIV).

“You shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil for the light, that a lamp may regularly be set up to burn” (EXD 27:20). The olive oil of the Lampstand also corresponds to the anointing of the Spirit as we see in the later use of such oil for anointing kings, especially. In a vision of Zechariah (ZCH 4), he saw two olive trees pouring out oil to a golden menorah, which the angel explained to him as the two witnesses beside the LORD GOD, in that day, specifically the High Priest, Joshua, and the Governor of Judah, Zerubbabel, anointed for the rebuilding of the temple, “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit” (ZCH 4:6). “So he (the angel) said, ‘These are the two anointed ones (the two olive trees pouring out oil), who stand beside the LORD of the whole earth’” (ZCH 4:14).

The Golden Lampstand speaks to us of the Infilling or Baptism of Holy Spirit. The Scriptures clearly speak of three baptisms, by water, by Spirit and by fire: “I (John the Baptist) baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to GOD. But someone is coming soon, Who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be His slave and carry (or untie) His sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (MTH 3:11 NLT).

In the process of salvation, Holy Spirit bonds permanently with our spirit regenerating it and turning us into “new creatures” (2 COR 5:17). This process, however, may or may not have any effect on our soulish area as Holy Spirit usually confines Himself to our spirit until we give Him the permission of spreading into the rest of our being. That is, our spirit receives complete renewal and regeneration at salvation and reconnects to GOD. Therefore, many but not all, when saved, receive complete deliverance from serious sin issues. That doesn’t mean complete deliverance from all sinful strongholds, but sometimes we must be delivered even that we may believe. For some, however, the process of deliverance takes longer as we walk out our salvation all the days of our life as Paul admonishes us “in fear and trembling” (PHP 2:12).

However, when we surrender to the will of Holy Spirit in this second baptism, He quickly takes over the work of cleansing and healing our souls (our minds, wills and emotions, the seat of spiritual strongholds) and our bodies as we give Him the opportunity of letting Him speak and worship in His supernatural languages which bypass the language center[ii] in our brains and therefore, we pray without understanding (1 COR 14:14 NLT) but in the perfect will of GOD (RMN 8:26 AMP). When one receives the Infilling or Baptism of Holy Spirit, we give Him freedom into all areas of our lives and He willingly begins His work of conforming us to the image of Christ with the fruit of the Spirit in our character. After this baptism, one may find the WORD of GOD reads more easily with greater understanding and that one hungers for it. The process of cleansing and building up our soul may go quickly or slowly depending on our cooperation with Holy Spirit in reading and believing the WORD, prayer, fasting and worship.

In front of the veil to the Holies of Holies, we find next the Altar of Incense. The LORD commands Moses, “You shall make an altar on which to burn incense; you shall make it of acacia wood. 2 A cubit (18-24 inches) shall be its length and a cubit its breadth. It shall be square and two cubits shall be its height. Its horns shall be of one piece with it. 3 You shall overlay it with pure gold, its top and around its sides and its horns. And you shall make a molding of gold around it. 4 And you shall make two golden rings for it. Under its molding on two opposite sides of it you shall make them and they shall be holders for poles with which to carry it. 5 You shall make the poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 6 And you shall put it in front of the veil that is above (before) the Ark of Testimony, in front of the Mercy Seat that is above the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 And Aaron shall burn fragrant incense on it. Every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it 8 and when Aaron sets up the lamps at twilight, he shall burn it, a regular incense offering before the LORD throughout your generations. 9 You shall not offer unauthorized incense[iii] on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it. 10 Aaron shall make atonement on its horns once a year throughout your generations. It is most holy to the LORD” (EXD 30:1-10 ESV).

For the incense, “The LORD also said to Moses, ‘Take fragrant spices—gum resin[iv] , onycha[v] , galbanum[vi], and pure frankincense—in equal measures, 35 and make a fragrant blend of incense, the work of a perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy. 36 Grind some of it into fine powder and place it in front of the Testimony in the Tent of Meeting, where I will meet with you. It shall be most holy to you. 37 You are never to use this formula to make incense for yourselves; you shall regard it as holy to the LORD. 38 Anyone who makes something like it to enjoy its fragrance shall be cut off from his people” (EXD 30:34-38 BSB).

Interestingly, the Altar of Incense construction resembles the construction of the Altar of Burnt Offering on a smaller scale. Both were square, made of acacia wood covered with precious metal, both displayed horns, both possessed rings and poles for carrying which were of acacia wood covered with precious metal and both were for daily service. But the LORD admonished Moses that the Altar of Incense was not for anything but incense. The LORD Almighty declares, referring to His millennial reign, “My Name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to Me, because My Name will be great among the nations” (MLC 1:11 NIV).

The Altar of Incense prophesies to that age, but to the believer on the ancient path, the Altar of Incense represents the Baptism of Fire. We see the three Baptisms in succession, the Bronze Laver’s water baptism, the Golden Lampstand’s baptism of the Spirit and the Altar of Incense’s baptism of fire. These may happen all at once, but more commonly happen as the believer gets revelation and desires and pursues them.

There have been some who impart this baptism through the laying on of hands, just as with the baptism of the Spirit, but until the believer walks in such a way that he prepares his soul for the raw power of GOD, he may not see any effect. The Infilling of Holy Spirit’s work prepares one for the baptism of fire. Each baptism effects a deeper and deeper cleansing and change in the believer’s life, accustoming that believer to the increasing levels of glory.

Those who fully walk in the baptism of fire become the holy “burning ones,” whom the LORD calls as forerunners in training others for the end times. They walk in power which can be “felt” by those around them and their presence changes the atmosphere in any place where they go. The incense of the Altar hints of the fragrance of Christ in us, the fruit of the Spirit which makes us a fragrant aroma to the LORD (2 COR 2:15 NKJV) and covers man’s stench of sin in the nostrils of the LORD.

The last piece of furniture in the middle court or the “Holy Place,” resides to the right of the room as a beautiful table, the Table of Showbread where the Bread of the Presence was placed. Moses received instructions, “You shall make a table of acacia wood. Two cubits (between 36 and 42 inches) shall be its length, a cubit (between 18 to 24 inches) its breadth and a cubit and a half its height (between 27 to 36 inches). 24 You shall overlay it with pure gold and make a molding of gold around it. 25 And you shall make a rim around it a handbreadth (about 4 to 6 inches) wide and a molding of gold around the rim. 26 And you shall make for it four rings of gold, and fasten the rings to the four corners at its four legs. 27 Close to the frame the rings shall lie, as holders for the poles to carry the table. 28 You shall make the poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold, and the table shall be carried with these. 29 And you shall make its plates and dishes for incense, and its flagons (flasks/pitchers) and bowls with which to pour drink offerings; you shall make them of pure gold. 30 And you shall set the Bread of the Presence on the table before Me regularly … 37:16 And he (the craftsman Bezalel for Moses) made the vessels of pure gold that were to be on the table, its plates and dishes for incense (frankincense), and its bowls and flagons with which to pour drink offerings” (EXD 25:23-30; 37:16).

“You are also to take fine flour and bake twelve loaves, using two-tenths of an ephah for each loaf, 6 and set them in two rows—six per row—on the table of pure gold before the LORD. 7 And you are to place pure frankincense near each row, so that it may serve as a memorial portion for the bread, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 8 Every Sabbath day the bread is to be set out before the LORD on behalf of the Israelites as a permanent covenant. 9 It belongs to Aaron and his sons, who are to eat it in a holy place; for it is to him a most holy part of the offerings made by fire to the LORD—his portion forever” (LVT 24:5-9).

As the Altar of Incense, this table is also of acacia wood covered in pure gold with rings and poles for carrying. All utensils, plates, bowls and flagons are cast of pure gold. Notice that on the table sit twelve loaves of the Bread of Presence, one for each tribe of Israel. The drink offering would usually be wine poured into the bowls. At the end of the week on the Sabbath, the priests ate the Bread on the table and replaced it with fresh loaves and poured out new offerings of wine and frankincense.

In one of the LORD’s last teachings, He said, “I AM the Living Bread that came down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this Bread, he will live forever. And the Bread that I will give for the life of the world is My flesh… 54 Whoever feeds on My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day” (JHN 6:51, 54).

John who records this passage, also wrote very much on “abiding in Christ,” especially in Chapters 14 and 15 of his gospel where he explains the relationship between our LORD and the believer, even as Paul later writes, “GOD [in His eternal plan] chose to make known to them how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in and among you, the hope and guarantee of [realizing the ] glory” (CLS 1:27 AMP).

The Scriptures tell us that the LORD returned to Heaven that Holy Spirit might come into us, “And I will ask the Father and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor, Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) to be with you forever—17 the Spirit of Truth… You know Him because He (Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you” (JHN 14:16-17 AMP). So the Spirit of Christ (Holy Spirit) bonds with our spirits and abides in us permanently.

When we tell people, “Let Jesus come into your heart,” we really mean let the Spirit of Jesus come into your heart, which the Scriptures speak of in many places, “The Spirit is the guarantee [the first installment, the pledge, a foretaste] of our inheritance until the redemption of GOD’s own [purchased] possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory” (EPH 1:14 AMP). The NIV translation says, “a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” and KJB says, “the earnest of inheritance,” referring to a down payment guaranteeing “earnest or true” interest in a purchase as when we purchase a house. The LORD says in this way that what He began, He will finish.

In this transaction at salvation, Jesus does not bodily enter the believer, but Holy Spirit comes into the believer as a promise. Jesus promised His disciples, “Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and manifest Myself to him… 23 If anyone loves Me, he will keep My WORD. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (JHN 14:21, 23 ESV). John devotes Chapter 15 of his gospel in his discussion of “abiding,” “As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love” (JHN 15:9-10 ESV).

It has been avoided in Protestant churches, but the idea of “feasting” on the Bread of Heaven persists in a form of the view of communion taught in some churches. The ritual of the priests eating the Showbread and drinking the wine reflects our modern day communion. Why is this ritual called “Communion?” Because it embodies “communing” or becoming one with Christ. This pictures what truly happens when we abide, when we reach such a point of intimacy with our Savior, that He bodily moves into our being and it is, “No longer I who live, but Christ Who lives in me” (GLT 2:20 NASB). The Savior’s bodily presence belongs to those who pursue Him and consecrate themselves to Him, not to the general body of believers. The writer believes this distinction important that we may understand the “ancient path” of a holy and consecrated life.

Revelation 3:20 expresses this to all believers, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with Me.” This verse, often quoted in salvation messages, applies well enough to that, but this writer believes it refers specifically to the Bride receiving the Bridegroom when He comes for the “snatching away” and the intimacy of the Bridegroom when He later dines with His Bride at the wedding feast. He invites all believers into an intimate walk with Him. Later, we will see the process finds completion in the last piece of furniture.

The inner-most section of the temple, called the Holy of Holies lies behind what we will call the next piece of “furniture,” the Veil before the Holy of Holies. The LORD instructed Moses, “And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. 32 And you shall hang it on four pillars of acacia wood overlaid with gold, with hooks of four posts of acacia wood, overlaid with gold, on four bases of silver. 33 And you shall hang the veil from the clasps and bring the Ark of the Testimony in there within the Veil. And the Veil shall separate for you the Holy Place from the Most Holy (Holy of Holies)” (EXD 26:31-33 ESV).

The Most Holy Place or the Holy of Holies stood ten cubits cubed (between 18 ft cubed to 20 ft cubed) and the Veil covered the entire front of the cubicle concealing the Ark of the Covenant with its Mercy Seat, which represented GOD’s throne on the earth. Just as in Heaven, where cherubim guard the presence of the LORD, the Veil bore two cherubim guarding the Most Holy Place, representing also the cherubim which guarded the entrance to the Garden of Eden with flaming swords (GNS 3:24) and the separation between GOD and man by sin. Even the hardware of the Veil speaks as the pillars which held the curtain, plated with gold stress the holiness and purity of GOD; while the bases of silver testify to our need of redemption. The beauty of holiness is represented by the many-colored fabric of the curtain.

The Veil also symbolizes the thin layer of separation between this dimension and the spiritual world. Since Adam and Eve were driven out from the Garden, man has been keenly aware of his separation from GOD, but in truth the spiritual realm co-exists with and around us. However, until we prepare our souls in holiness, our spiritual eyesight may not comprehend the eternal realm fully. We may think we saw a flash of something out of the corner of our eye, but we usually ignore such things. Though not true for all, for some have been born seeing in the spiritual realm, this reflects the condition of most.

Just as we possess senses in our physical body, we have been created with spiritual senses so that we might experience a tangible relationship with GOD and understand what He is doing in our lives and the lives of others. Man was created for fellowship, with a “foot” in both realms, as it were, and GOD made us that we might function equally well in both realms. Eden was an interdimensional realm of GOD and Adam and Eve were so accustomed to operations in their spiritual capacities, that when they fell, they were surprised in finding themselves naked and not in communion with GOD.

Although, the New Age movement has spoiled and perverted the gift of imagination for many believers, the imagination is the GOD-given bridge to revelation of GOD and the beginning of encounters and interactions with Him. However, we must take the Apostle John’s warning of carefully testing the spirits (1 John, Chapter 4), but the imagination is the key to intimate fellowship.

Awareness of our spiritual senses trains us in operating in the spiritual realm, walking in the Spirit, as the prophets of old, seeing in the Spirit, feeling the presence of GOD and the presence of ungodly things, and even translating in the Spirit as Elijah, Enoch, Ezekiel, Phillip and others. GOD created us with the abilities needed for reigning on the earth and communing with Heaven just as Adam and Eve did before the fall. Eden, an inter-dimensional junction made that possible so that once fully trained, Adam and Eve could simply walk in and out of Heaven at will as Enoch later did. That was always GOD’s design for us.

At the time of Jesus’ death, “At that moment the Curtain (Veil) of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split” (MTH 27:51). The amazing thing about this event, aside from its “coincidence” with the death of Messiah, appears in the way the Veil tore. In an earthquake, the movement of the ground might cause the splitting of the Veil from bottom to top as the rocks and foundations split apart, but instead, the Veil split from TOP to bottom; an unmistakable sign that the finger of GOD opened the once-sealed entrance to the Presence of GOD again.

In the time of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Veil represented the inapproachable distance between GOD and man, which even the animal sacrifices could not remedy, but only forestay GOD’s judgment for a while. But with the Perfect Sacrifice of a Perfect Man, the Veil no longer remains, “Therefore, let us [ with privilege ] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of GOD’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment]” (HBR 4:16 AMP).

Our next step on the ancient path is beyond the Veil, into the Holy of Holies, where only the High Priest could go and where only one very special piece of furniture sits. The Ark of the Covenant/Testimony represented the throne of GOD among Israel at that time; literally, a pre-incarnate “GOD with us.” It also presents a prophetical picture of the throne of GOD in Zion during the millennial reign of the Messiah in which the LORD physically sits as GOD-King of the whole earth and Ruler of all nations, not just Israel.

The LORD instructed Moses, “They shall make an Ark of acacia wood. Two cubits and a half (between 45 to 60 inches) shall be its length, a cubit and a half (between 27 to 36 inches) its breadth and a cubit and a half its height. 11 You shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and outside shall you overlay it and you shall make on it a molding of gold around it. 12 You shall cast four rings of gold for it and put them on its four feet, two rings on the one side of it and two rings on the other side of it. 13 You shall make poles of acacia wood and overlay them with gold. 14 And you shall put the poles into the rings on the sides of the Ark to carry the Ark by them. 15 The poles shall remain in the rings of the Ark; they shall not be taken from it. 16 And you shall put into the Ark the testimony that I shall give you.” The Ark, constructed of wood overlaid with gold, pictures the wood, representing the frailty of man, and in the gold, the deity of GOD; an embodiment of the Savior, The GOD Man.

“You shall make a Mercy Seat of pure gold. Two cubits and a half shall be its length and a cubit and a half its breadth. 18 And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work shall you make them, on the two ends of the Mercy Seat. 19 Make one cherub on the one end and one cherub on the other end. Of one piece with the Mercy Seat shall you make the cherubim on its two ends. 20 The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the Mercy Seat with their wings, their faces one to another; toward the Mercy Seat shall the faces of the cherubim be. 21 And you shall put the Mercy Seat on the top of the Ark and in the Ark you shall put the testimony that I shall give you. 22 There I will meet with you and from above the Mercy Seat, from between the two cherubim that are on the Ark of the Testimony; I will speak with you about all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel” (EXD 25:10-22).

Since Moses in anger threw down the first stone tablets, which GOD made, when he came down the mountain and saw the Israelites worshipping a golden calf, the LORD instructed Moses to “Chisel out two stone tablets like the originals, come up to Me on the mountain… 2 And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke; and you are to place them in the Ark” (DTR 10:1-2 ESV).

Even though the writer of Hebrews quotes by tradition in 9:4 that the Ark contained the two tablets of the Law, a representative jar of manna and Aaron’s rod that budded, the Scriptures record that, “This is what the LORD commanded: ‘Keep an omer of manna for the generations to come, so that they may see the bread I fed you in the wilderness when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’ So Moses told Aaron, ‘Take a jar and fill it with an omer of manna. Then place it BEFORE the LORD to be preserved for the generations to come’” (EXD 16:33).

Also, “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Put Aaron’s staff back in FRONT of the (Ark of) Testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebellious’” (NMB17:10 BSB). No one but the High Priest could enter the Holy of Holies once it was consecrated, at which time it only contained the tablets of the Law, therefore these two verses explain that the jar of manna and Aaron’s rod were placed BEFORE the Ark of Testimony, NOT in it as tradition held.

The Mercy Seat of solid gold weighed hundreds of pounds (EXD 25:17) and one man (perhaps with the exception of Samson) could not have easily lifted the cover for the insertion of these two memorials, not to mention that Aaron’s rod might not have fit. This also explains why 1 KNG 8:9 and 2 CHR 5:10 report that at the time of the installation of the Ark into Solomon’s temple, the Ark held only the two stone tablets. No doubt, these two ephemeral memorials would corrupt quickly unless preserved by the LORD, especially if they abode not in the Ark but before it.

As the writer understands from the previous verses, the Ark of the Covenant or Testimony actually contained only the stone tablets of the Law, representative of our LORD Jesus, the WORD of GOD and Mediator between GOD and man. The Ark of the Covenant which supported the Seat of Mercy once yearly received the blood of atonement to stay the judgment of GOD until the Perfect Sacrifice, the Messiah should come. This final step in the ancient path shows the completion of all the promises of GOD to His beloved, those who love GOD and keep His WORD (JHN 14:21-23). “You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between GOD and people and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel” (HBR 12:24 NLT) or in the NASB, “which speaks better than the blood of Abel.”

Although all who receive the atonement for their sins through the sacrifice of our Savior achieve Heaven, not all who take the journey of life follow through to their completion into the fullness of the presence of the Godhead, which the Ark embodies. In the outer court, where most believers stay, things are removed from the believer. In the Holy Places, things are given to the believer. An outer court believer cannot fulfill his destiny because he never receives the equipping and equipment for doing so.

At salvation, Holy Spirit enters us and permanently bonds with our spirits, changing us forever (2 COR 5:17), when we pursue the ever-present LORD Jesus with all our whole heart, He enters bodily into our beings and “abides” with us (JHN 14:21). The final step in the process happens at the marriage supper of the Lamb, our LORD Jesus, when the Father bodily enters the Bride, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My WORD and My Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him” (JHN 14:23). This, not Heaven, is the true prize, the indwelling of the entire Godhead in the Beloved of Christ, His Bride.

Interestingly, when observed from an aerial view, the Tabernacle furniture’s placement appears in the form of a cross. In fact, everything concerning the Tabernacle in some way portrays our Savior: 1) one door into the Tabernacle; Jesus is the door (JHN 10:7, 9; 14:6); 2) the tent top of badger skins, again representing flesh and the white linen of the walls, deity and purity; 3) the Brazen Altar, substitutionary sacrifice; 4) the silver of the Tabernacle, an analogy of salvation, and the gold, deity and purity; 5) the Menorah, not only represents Holy Spirit, but Jesus, the “light of the world” (JHN 9:5); 6) the Table of Showbread, “I AM the Bread of Life” (JHN 6:35); 7) the Altar of Incense, He makes intercession for us (ISH 53:12; RMN 8:34); 8) the Mercy Seat, the shedding of His blood (CLS 1:20); for example.

Beloved, the way has always been before us in the subtle hints of the Old Covenant and in the teachings of the Author of the Renewed or Revised Covenant. It looks like a “narrow” way and some without understanding will say, “narrow-minded,” but this way leads to the Destiny written for the “Called,” those who love GOD with all their hearts, all their souls, all their minds and all their strength (LUK 10:27; MRK 12:30; MTH 11:37; DTR 6:5) and keep His WORD. “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” (MTH 16:24).

Christian Stratiotes

ENDNOTES:

[i] International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

[ii] Verified by a study from Oral Roberts University and other scientific studies

[iii] “But Nadab and Abihu (Aaron sons) died before the LORD when they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father” (NMB 3:4 ESV).

[iv] Scented waxes, coniferous resins and oils made from pine, cedar, and juniper, as well myrrh and balsams melded together, creating a smoky, spicy perfume.

[v] (Styrax benzoin), common names include Friar’s Balm and Javanese Frankincense.

[vi] “Galbanum is an aromatic gum resin and a product of certain umbelliferous Persian plant species in the genus Ferula, chiefly Ferula gummosa and Ferula rubricaulis. Galbanum-yielding plants grow plentifully on the slopes of the mountain ranges of northern Iran. It occurs usually in hard or soft, irregular, more or less translucent and shining lumps, or occasionally in separate tears, of a light-brown, yellowish or greenish-yellow colour” (from Wikipedia). Its odor is initially somewhat turpentine-like or piney and bitter, with spicy, woodsy notes. Hebrew scholar, Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki, (1040–1105) comments on this passage that galbanum is bitter and was included in the incense as a reminder of deliberate and unrepentant sinners.