The Tabernacle which Moses made at the foot of Mt.Sinai represents 3 things:
1. OT Worship 2. Life of Christ 3. Church Of Christ.

When a person has heard of the life of Christ and how Jesus died for everyones sins and he finds himself at the foot of the cross, in tears wondering now what do I do? Here is where we are begotten of God, Jn.3:1-8; Jn.6;44,45; Jesus very words ring from the cross, "Follow Me."

Jesus came from heaven through the Spiritual Tabernacle and has now returned to heaven and to get there, everyone must go through the Spiritual Tabernacle.

The Doorway to the Outer Court
Represents the Word of God - unless one believes the Bible to be the inspired word of God, one cannot come to God. So many seek to find a spiritual life but totally miss a relationship with God because they refuse to believe the Bible is the Truth. Jn.1:1; 2Tim.3:16;

The Altar of Burnt Offering
Is where we offer OUR sacrifice, OURSELF. Ro.12:1-3; living sacrifices. Here we have to die to ourselves, not my will but God's will be done.

The Laver
Once one has died, he needs to be buried. Here we join Christ in His death in baptism Ro.6:1-7 and have our sins forgiven and are given the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Ac.2:38,39; To enter the Holy Place the priests had to be washed or they would die.

There is no door identified with the Holy Place, to get in one must be placed by God, Col.1:13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. Baptism is not a born again experience as it is a resurrection Rev.20:6;

The Holy Place
Now that we are Christians, and in the Kingdom of God, in the Holy Place, we enjoy:

The Table of Shewbread
We now have full communion with God's people the saints because we are now of the household of God and are brothers and sisters.

The Lampstand
We now have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit 1Cor.6:19,20 - giving us illumination of His Word Jn.16:13 As we ask God for wisdom Ja.1:5; God rewards us with insight to Truth. Heb.11:6; Via the HS.

The Altar of Incense
Our prayers go directly to God Heb.4:16;

The Veil
Which separates us from God was torn in two when Jesus died. Interesting the Veil consisted of 3 colors, blue, purple and scarlet - the color of a beaten body.
"Therefore brethren, since we have confidence to enter the Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil that is His flesh and since we have a great High Priest over the house of God let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water." Heb.10;19-22

The Ark of the Covenant
Now we can approach the throne of God because Jesus has made the way possible, I am:
The Way - the Jar of Manna - Jesus is the Bread of Life
The Truth - The Tablets of Stone - Jesus is the Word
The Life - Aaron's budded rod - Jesus is the resurrection.
and no one comes to the Father except through Me. Jn.14:6;

"Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb.4:16

God told Moses, "that you make all things according to the pattern which was shown you on the mountain." Heb.8:5

It had to be just right because not only was the Tabernacle the way for Israel to draw near to God in the beginning but it is also a shadow of the Life of God's Son who came from heaven and it was also a shadow of how all men everywhere in the future were to come to God, through His Son, through the Spiritual Tabernacle which is Christ.

"And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold the Tabernacle of God is among men and He will dwell among them and they shall be His people and God Himself will be among them." Rev.21:3;

Amen!

RJ

Wisdom is not knowledge. Wisdom is the correct application of knowledge. I used to believe the Holy Spirit gave us some kind of illumination of the scriptures and I have even taught it. I have since studied myself out of that notion. I believe it is our responsiblity to know the truth and to rightly divide the word of God.

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"My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him." 1 John 3:18-19

The church of Christ at Granby

2 Timothy 2:15, KJV

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

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--Laura

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NKJV)

John 16:13 was directed to the apostles anyway, it was not meant for us today.

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In Christ,
brother Sonnie

An older preacher used to talk of a sermon given in the early 1900s entitled: "Are You Reading the Apostles' Mail?" Context is your friend

That's a good one, Lee. I think I'll use it.

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--Laura

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NKJV)

Here is where we differ greatly. I believe unless one is baptized, one remains in the dark to understanding the mystery of God's Word. Obviously if you haven't been baptized properly you haven't received the Holy Spirit as we see in Ac.19:1-7; I believe as we study the HS blesses us with insights that the denominational scholars cannot rise to, because they have refused to come to God the way He commanded. God even allows them a deluding influence as we see in 2Th.2:10-12; so they believe in such foolish teachings as "The Rapture" that demands Jesus has to rule on the earth for 1,000 yrs. Or the miraculous powers of the HS are being poured out in the last days, today, so most denominations recognize one another because they all claim to have such an outpouring. Why? because they got off track on square one, how to become a Christian so they don't have the insight of HS and away they go.

It is not because we are smarter and more studious with the books, nothing we have comes from self it all comes form God via the HS.
Jam.1:5 - If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all generously and without reproach and it will be given to him. Therefore if I don't believe the HS will bless me, then He won't. If I don't ask God to give me the wisdom, but turn to commentaries written by ungodly men of the denominations then I will receive an ungodly understanding of the scripture, if that is where I draw my answers from. But if I seek out the answers from godly men and only godly men, then I will rise up only as high as they have. But if I use godly men's studies and rely on God to bless me with more wisdom, and sharing it with the fellowship I am already a part of (to be sure I am not off track) then not only will I rise higher but the brethren will rise as well. In the fellowship we lift one another to higher heights, no one man the teacher as we all turn to Christ for our guidance using church history for our platform.

Heb.11:6; he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who (diligently) seek Him. God rewards us for our efforts but not those of the denominations, again because they don't have their sins washed away and the indwelling of the HS. Sad many in the brotherhood don't believe in the indwelling either, ignoring such texts as 1Cor.6:19; "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the HS who is in you. whom you have from God and that you are not your own?"
Therefore one's insights to the mysteries of God is limited to what they have been taught because personal study relies souly on personal achievements not the blessing of reward from God, which is the wisdom we strive for.

Lk.8:18 So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given and whoever does not have even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.
I believe Jesus is reminding us that it all comes from God and we better do something with what we have been given or it will be taken from us. Just when we thought we understood for all these years and it falls between our fingers because we sat back and didn't put it to work and let him bless us with more.

A man by himself cannot find his way through the scriptures, I think the Ethiopian proves that in Ac.8:30,31; ..."Do you understand what you are reading?' "Well how could I unless someone guides me."
He knew he needed help, then after he was baptized, he rode off joyfully without Phillip,his interpreter, but he knew he had the HS to help him on his way.

Sometimes in our personal study we ourselves go off on a tangent, ie rapture? So we present our material to others to test the spirits as John instructs us in 1Jn.4:1; We have to be sure the wisdom we believe God has blessed us with is from God, so we sharpen our iron with our brethren, so as not to follow a false teaching. We strengthen one another as we all rely on God for insight and share those insights with one another, not relying on one man but the whole body of Christ, each doing his part as we draw our strength from His word as His Spirit leads us through this life.

This is why I believe the Lampstand in the Holy Place represents the HS, because once I became baptized everything started coming together thanks to the HS within, the lights were turned on, out of the darkness of the world and into the kingdom of His Son, and with the continuing help of what my brothers have written and what my brothers teach and share with me today, it all keeps getting clearer and I keep getting stronger and the credit always goes back to God who blesses us all with the wisdom we need to get through the life we find ourselves in.

RJ Mac

So how do you explain the fact that your understanding of the mystery of God's word is vastly different from that of the Christians here? If the Holy Spirit is giving all those who are baptized for the remission of sins understanding of God's word, then all who are baptized for the remission of sins will have the SAME understanding. This is clearly not the case.

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--Laura

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NKJV)

Good point. I belong to the Restoration Movement, it is an on going movement where people continue to strive forward in their understanding of the Word of God. As much as our understanding of the Word needs to be challenged within the congregation, it also needs to be challenged within the brotherhood. My purpose in some posts is to challenge your thinking to go even deeper and actually question what you may have believed all your life and defend it or change it.

Example - only recently (last 30 yrs) have brethren truly turned their attention to the study of Revelation. I believe Homer Hailey did a great work in unlocking our understanding to how the book applies to the Roman persecution. Because of his labors and the labors of other brethren who have written of their work, we can study, then discuss and become more enlightened. Whereas the understanding of Revelations at one time was taught that it was all about the Catholic church, I don't agree with that understanding in light of what Brother Hailey has done and in discussing his insights with others, in the congregation and within the brotherhood, can stand with great confidence this new understanding of Revelation.

The on going work being done by Apologetics Press concerning Genesis and the insights we are blessed with, comes from the labor of good brethren being blessed by God and we are being enriched by it. Now you must understand when new insights happen, they are not always right and if they are they are not always well accepted. Many brethren will cling to what they have been taught without reasoning with the text or may just cling reluctantly to what they've grown up with. Ie. physically washing feet, or one cup only for communion.

What allows for growth is open hearts and minds, with a willingness to study the text. But still mens hearts get in the way and you have disagreements and break aways such as instrumental congregations and the Truth will come out only in the end. But for those with an openness to Truth, God will reward with greater insight.

The early brethren of the restoration movement started the ball rolling, it won't stop till Jesus returns. May I never have a heart that is not willing to look at the insights the next generation of Christians, is going to discover in this incredible communication from God. You can read the Bible for what it is, history book and walk away with a knowledge of history. Or you can treat it as a living entity, that is exciting and refreshing every time you come to it. Truly we haven't come close to unlocking the wealth found in the Bible and maybe we never will. Jesus came to give us abundant life and He tells us how in the Bible but do we treat as such or is it just a way to find the plan of salvation.

No I don't believe everyone will agree with me, if I am wrong I will be corrected, I don't fear that but if I am right?

RJ Mac

RJ, I have no problem questioning what I always have believed. I used to be in a Bible class with a teacher who would constantly challenge our beliefs, attacking old arguments, tearing them down to see if they were valid, and coming up with solid arguments. And in the end, not much changed as far as my beliefs went (except as I state below), but I understood better why I believed what I believed. I found this to be exciting and it made my faith rock solid. There were others in the class who were too weak for this kind of study. It made them uncomfortable. But, let me point out something in the difference in style between yourself and this teacher. This teacher *never* came in and declared what he was saying to be fact. Rather, he gently asked questions and guided us through the study. So what changed in my beliefs as a result of this kind of study? My entire understanding of Romans 8 changed. This brother brought new thoughts I had never considered and helped the passage make sense and be consistent with the rest of the scripture, whereas it never made sense in light of my beliefs prior to that time.

P.s. I don't consider myself to be part of the Restoration Movement. I consider myself to be a Christian as defined in the scriptures -- nothing more, nothing less.

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--Laura

O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.
Jeremiah 10:23 (NKJV)

Amen, I am the same way. The RM is really a group of people in a region of the US that came out of denominations to try to be like the church. There are many recorded congregations that worshiped as we have in the bible all over the world long before, during and after the RM. Some of them joined together in fellowship because they shared beliefs.

Just because some people repented, does not mean I am part of a movement. I read the bible myself, asked the questions heard both Truth and lies, right and wrong. I concluded that those that abide in the Truth are my brethren, not those that can trace some sort of relationship to this group of repentant people. I respect their efforts but I get my guidance from the book of God, not a man. I do not refer to any of them or their teaching even, no matter if it is wrong or not. I do not quote them when teaching or preaching. I love my brethren and respect the faithful, no matter where they come from or their background so long as they do the will of the Lord and abide. My people began in the beginning, through Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Joshua, Jesus, the early church in Acts 2 and the same Word of the Holy Spirit that influenced them, influences me and my fellow faithful brethren today. I pray this continues through my children till Jesus returns, no matter if is next week or 20,000 more years....The Word will remain and so also will His Church.