The tabernacle contains important spiritual symbolism for Christians. It reveals truths about heaven and spiritual realities. It gives us a framework to understand our spiritual life and destiny.
Within the tabernacle there are many mysteries.
Expanding on the message from last week, here are a few more details about the important spiritual meaning of the tabernacle.
Brass Altar
The Brass Altar was the first thing a person encountered when entering the tabernacle. The Brass Altar was the largest thing in the tabernacle. The Brass Altar represents the sacrifice of Christ for our sins. The size of the Brass Altar shows the prominence the gospel should have in our lives.
A fire burned constantly on the Brass Altar (Leviticus 6:13). This continual fire shows that the gospel is always powerful and effective. Jesus is always ready to receive people when they believe the gospel. We should always keep the gospel at the forefront of our spiritual lives. The gospel is the foundation for our life in God. We should always be ready to share the gospel with others.
Regular sacrifices were made at the Brass Altar in the morning and in the evening. If anyone sinned, they could sacrifice at the altar at almost any time to atone for their sins. This shows that if we ever sin, we can confess our sins and immediately receive forgiveness from God because of the sacrifice of Christ (1 John 1:9). His blood is always effective to take away our sins.
Brass Basin
The Brass Basin was the second thing a person encountered in the tabernacle. The Brass Basin was made of the lookingglasses of women, which were made out of brass (Exodus 38:8).
The Brass Basin represents water baptism, when our sins are symbolically washed away. In order for our sins to be cleansed, we must repent. We repent when we look into the mirror of God’s word and see who we are in the bright light of God’s holiness (James 1:22-25). As we see things in our lives that are not according to God, we can repent of these things.
Table of Bread
The Table of Bread was within the Holy Place of the tabernacle. On the Table of Bread fresh bread was put out every week. The Table of Bread represents Christ. He is the bread of life (John 6:33, 35, 48, 51).The fact that the bread was put out each week shows the imporance of the weekly church meeting. The early church met together every Sunday, and this is why we meet together every Sunday. Commitment to this regular church meeting is important for our spiritual growth. This Table also represents the Lord’s Supper, in which we symbolically partake of the body and blood of Christ.
The bread on the Table was unleavened. This represents that the word of God is pure, and it is to be ministered without sin. There were 12 loaves of bread on this table. 12 is the number of the apostles. We need the full apostolic word of God in order to grow into maturity.
In the Old Testament, only the priests could eat of this bread. Today, we are all priests. We all need to eat the spiritual bread of Christ so we can grow spiritually.
Frankincense was placed on top of this bread. Incense represents prayer (Psalm 141:2). We need to pray when we read the word in order to understand it. We to pray so we can obey the word of God. We need to pray so we can share the word of God effectively with others.
Golden Lampstand
The Golden Lampstand was also within the Holy Place. The Golden Lampstand represents a local church (Revelation 1:20). It was made of solid gold. Gold is a symbol of the presence of God.The Golden Lampstand was made of 1 talent of solid gold, which weighed approximately 100 pounds. This hunk of gold is worth approximately 2.5 million dollars today. This shows that the church is very valuable. Jesus gave his life for the church. He calls us his precious people.
The lampstand was all one piece. This shows unity. Jesus prayed that all his people would be one (John 17:21).
The lampstand has one center stand and 6 branches. This shows that Christ is the vine, and we are the branches.
The lampstand was beaten into its final shape. This shows that for the church to fulfill its purpose, we must be willing to go through tribulation and challenge. As we do this together, we will come into unity with each other. We will also be shaped into God’s pattern for the church.
The lampstand takes oil and converts it into light through a wick. The wick represents our humanity. The wick was trimmed daily to remove extraneous parts pieces and reduce smoking. This shows that we need to be trimmed and pruned in order to bring forth more fruit for God. We need dead things cut out of our lives so we can burn more brightly.The wick takes oil and converts it into light through the application of fire. Oil represents the Holy Spirit. The church causes people to be able to convert the oil of the Holy Spirit into light. Jesus said that “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14). To be lights in this world, we need to be saturated with the Holy Spirit.
The lampstand has 7 lamps of fire. 7 is the number of God. The church is to give out a full revelation of God and his glory into the earth. Someday the church will be “glorious, without spot or wrinkle, holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:27). When this happens, the church will fulfill her purpose which is to reveal the glory of God to the world.
The Table of Bread and the Lampstand are at a similar point in the Tabernacle; they are opposite each other in the Holy Place. This shows there is to be unity between Christ and his church. The church will be able to fulfill her purpose to the extent that she obeys the word of God. She needs to eat of all 12 loaves of bread in order to become glorious. She needs to obey the fullness of the apostolic word, neither adding to it nor taking away from it. She must fully submit to Christ, giving up her own ideas and following God’s ideas. At the end of the age, this unity between Christ and the church will be consummated at the marriage supper of the lamb. The marriage supper will happen as the church prepares herself (Revelation 19:7) by fully submitting to Christ.
Golden Altar of Incense
At the end of the Holy Place is the Golden Altar of Incense. This is the place of prayer, as incense symbolizes prayer (Psalm 141:2). At the end of the age, as the church matures, she will be able to offer up powerful prayers to God that will change the world.
This event is revealed in Revelation.
Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense, that he should offeritwith the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altarwhich was before the throne.And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God from the angel’s hand.Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threwitto the earth. And there were noises, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.So the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. (Revelation 8:3-6)
At the end of the age, as God’s people join together in prayer, God’s powerful plans for the end of the age will come to pass, and the world will be transformed.
The Ark and the Mercy Seat
Within the Holy of Holies was the Ark and the Mercy Seat. This is the place of the full presence of God.
The Mercy Seat covers over the ark. The Mercy Seat is ilasterion(Hebrews 9:5), a Greek word that means propitiation (Romans 3:25).
Jesus is our propitiation. He is the one who takes away our sins. The place of propitiation is the place of God’s presence. This is the place where God dwells and where he talks to us. God speaks to us from the Mercy Seat (Numbers 7:89).
The Mercy Seat was a solid slab of gold with solid gold cherubim coming out of its two sides. It is the heaviest thing in the tabernacle. It is the most valuable thing. Its weight is not listed in the Bible. This shows that the value of God’s sacrifice, mercy, and propitiation is without limit. This place of infinite mercy is the place where we meet with directly God.
Conclusion
There are many important truths contained in the Tabernacle. May God help us understand these things by his Spirit. We want to understand them, not just so we can increase in knowledge, but so we can understand where we are going spiritually. The tabernacle helps us understand spiritual realities so we can implement these things into our lives. It gives us a vision of moving forward, both as individuals and also as a church.
Lincoln House Churches 