Altar and Tabernacle
The Hebrew and Greek meaning for “Altar,” from their prime roots is, “slaughter, kill, slay, and sacrifice.” The Hebrew had one extra, and that is “filthiness.” Then the Greek really blew me away when I dug to the root word. The word used means, “place of sacrifice,” but the prime root also means, “to rush, breathe hard, blow, and smoke.” Everything about the altar is actually negative, and the real interesting part is the altar is no longer used in the New Testament. Paul talks about it in 1 Cor. 9: 13-16. In verse 13 he says that they which minister about holy things live of the temple, and those that wait at the altar (slaughter, sacrifice) are partakers with the slaughter, sacrifice. Those of us that are following holy things live of the temple, but most of the church system stays at the altar and never even gets close to the Tabernacle entrance. They continue to crucify Jesus anew instead of going into the Tabernacle where the Christ and His Church is resident. They stay at the slaughters, sacrifices, slayings, killings, breathing hard where the smoke is. Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice and now sacrifices are no longer needed. He fulfilled the law. Sure the altar is inside the courtyard, and that's where most people are, in church at the altar, but that's not where the power of God is. Sure God is everywhere and hears and blesses, but the Christ, the anointing, is inside the Tabernacle with the Candlestick (the Church).
Verse 15 says that Paul uses none of those things and that it would be better for him to die then for his glorying to be void. He goes on to explain this in the following verses. He says something that most people would overlook. He calls the gospel that he preaches the “Gospel of Christ,” not the “Gospel of Jesus.” The whole world has already heard the “Gospel of Jesus,” (salvation) but only a small fraction has heard the “Gospel of Christ,” the “Message of Perfection.” The glory of the Lord and getting the message out to those ready to receive is what's important. Boy do I know that. I can't go out to the court yard, and the altar anymore. I want to stay inside where the “Christ,” the “Anointed One” is. The Tabernacle is total and complete truth, “Christ.” Jesus, the “Son of Man” knew the total truth, and said He is the “Way, the Truth and the Life” and to follow Him, but His ministry wasn't finished yet, not until His death and resurrection, and His Holy Spirit returning. As we know, His spirit came back on Pentecost, after He ascended. And, no one touched Him before that except Thomas. And I don't believe Thomas didn't believe that Jesus was before him, he was showing that even the devil can manifest himself as light, and the word tells us to “try the spirits and see if they are of God.” The only thing that devil CANNOT manifest to us are the wounds. He has shown himself to people who thought they were seeing Jesus, and by not checking for the wounds, they eventually died, and so did most if not all of their ministry.
Hebrews 7: 11-, talks about the “Order of Melchisedec” and if perfection were by the “Levitical Priesthood,” under the law, then we wouldn't need another. The priesthood is changed and so has the law, Verse 12. Verse 13 speaks of another tribe and of "which no man gave attendance at the altar." That is one of the few times the altar is even mentioned in the New Testament. Verse. 14 tells us that Moses never mention a priesthood out of Judah. Priesthoods were made out of the "law of a carnal commandment," Verse 16, and the priesthood from Judah is after the "power of an endless life," after the “Order of Melchisedec.” Verse. 18 states that the commandment is disannulled, weak and unprofitable, and Verse 19 states that the "law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope, by which we draw nigh unto God."
The Tabernacle is covered with 10 curtains, "five coupled one to another" and the other five coupled, and then each set of five is looped together. To couple is to connect. To loop is to fold or double, which leaves space between for something to pass through. Five is the number of disunion, discord, and of the five-fold ministry, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers; two sets of five. The church system has discord, and that one set is like the thief on the cross that rejected Jesus, and the other set, made up of true church, is like the thief on the cross that accepted Jesus. The Kingdom, (Tabernacle) loops them together and the Holy Spirit can pass through the folds so they all can have fellowship, that none perish. We can still fellowship with those in the system, plant seeds for the Lord to water and nourish. Those caught in the deceptions of the systems of religion are not lost, they are only bound, either by brain washing (the mark on the forehead) or separating themselves out and refusing to fellowship (the mark on the hand). They must be set free for total reconciliation. The Word does tell us that every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.
What is really interesting is there is a remnant that hangs over the back of the Tabernacle that is rarely ever mentioned. A remnant is what is left after the biggest portion is used or gone. Spiritually speaking, the remnant is the man-child out of the church. Also remember, there is no armour for the back, only the front. That is why Jesus sent the disciples out in pairs, to protect each other's back. Two warriors at night when traveling will sit back to back for that reason, and if one starts to fall asleep and fall over, the other will feel the movement and awaken him. The devil is deceiving people out in the courtyard, but there is no way he can get into the Tabernacle, not even from the back, that's where we are right now. In a way you could call it a hidden place of God. Most people don't even think about the back of the Tabernacle; they're too busy playing church out front, but the adversary would. “Back to back with Christ,” so to speak. We all become one in the spirit of Christ, moving in and out and through the Tabernacle. Like a “wheel within a wheel.”
Love Eternal in Christ, Darlene Luke PO Box 1883 Bethany, OK 73008-1883
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